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letters   January 31, 2026

Cleaner solutions

Normally, I would welcome a new wind farm project. However, having read Bob Brown’s article (“ Licence to kill ”, January 24-30), I can see that the cost in rare native species can be too high. Furthermore, why do we approve a multinational company...

indigenous affairs   January 31, 2026


January 26 and the limits of history

My Australian story starts with a photo. It is a photo of a man with a face hitherto unseen in the world. The bearded man wears a long winter coat, collared shirt and stylish hat. In his right hand he holds a stone axe. He is standing next to a...

editorial   January 31, 2026

Hatred and silence

According to police, the bomb was packed with screws and ball bearings. Weapons such as this are called fragmentation devices. They are designed to cause as much damage as possible, the shrapnel ricocheting out from the blast.

politics   January 31, 2026


How to rebuild the Coalition

The implosion over hate laws is a bad start to the Coalition’s new year and for supporters of good government. The situation is existential, but the outcome is not preordained. Liberals and Nationals have agency to affect the outcome. History...

politics   January 30, 2026


Albanese’s time to reassess ties to the US

The world as we know it is changing fast. It is not at all clear what the seating arrangements will be or who will be leading the opposition when parliament resumes next Tuesday. At face value, the disarray of its opponents is a gift for the...

letters   January 24, 2026

Prime target

The waste of money and effort by Australia on the AUKUS agreement is appalling (“ ‘Rich dummy’: How the AUKUS deal is set to fail ”, January 17-23). There are so many better things to spend and concentrate on. Australians should be less concerned,...

politics   January 24, 2026

New Year resolutions for the treasurer

Did you sign up for the gym this month? Perhaps you cancelled your Uber Eats account? This is the season for resolutions – the time when many of us commit to eating better, exercising more and getting off our phones. Treasurer Jim Chalmers should...

politics   January 24, 2026

A minister for social cohesion

A most important national challenge to all involved in our political process – especially government, opposition and media – is to restore social cohesion. Surely one of our great national successes was to build a tolerant and effective multi-ethnic...

editorial   January 24, 2026

The lost party

The big lie the Liberal Party told itself was that moderates lost their seats at the past two elections because they were moderates. For the hard right, it was the perfect lie. Like much of what they imagine, it is the inverse of what is true.

education   January 24, 2026

How public school students will start the year

On the final day of school last year, a public high school catering to a very disadvantaged community presented its students with a gift pack. It included a young adult novel, a classically popular picture book – so the student could read it to a...

politics   January 23, 2026

A brief history of Liberal Party collapses

Deep dysfunction on the conservative side of politics has led to the end of the federal Coalition after the Nationals embarrassed the Liberals over the Albanese government’s hate speech bill. The Nationals betrayed a shadow cabinet commitment on...