news

news   January 31, 2026

What happened to happiness?

Four years after Treasurer Jim Chalmers promised a budget geared more to wellbeing, the initiative has foundered, with no framework for monitoring or evaluation across government.

international relations   January 31, 2026

‘Level-headed and respected’: Mr Moriarty goes to Washington

Succeeding Kevin Rudd as Australia’s ambassador to the United States, Greg Moriarty will need all his diplomatic acumen to navigate a volatile administration.

technology   January 31, 2026

Is Sam Altman the world’s most dangerous man?

OpenAI founder Sam Altman is building a trillion-dollar enterprise that feeds on vast resources of water, energy and intellectual property – and may never turn a profit.

politics   January 31, 2026

Pauline Hanson and the AI ‘slopaganda’ election

One Nation was the first Australian political party to register a website. Now, the party is poised to exploit AI ‘slopaganda’ in the 2028 election campaign.

politics   January 31, 2026

Exclusive: Larissa Waters on the Greens’ pitch to Labor

In an interview with The Saturday Paper, the leader of the Australian Greens outlines her vision for the party as a ‘happy outcome’ of the split between the Liberal and National parties.

health   January 31, 2026

Exclusive: Misfeasance case paves way for robodebt action

A damning judgement of ‘highhandedness or cynical disregard’ by the Medicare watchdog has established a new front for civil litigation of public servants named in the robodebt royal commission.

politics   January 31, 2026

‘She’s dead … they’re amateurs’: The plot to roll Sussan Ley

The Liberal Party is expected to vote on its leadership on Tuesday, with Ley having been undermined by the ‘ego and hubris of two conservative men who can’t work out who wants to be the leader’.

law & crime   January 24, 2026

The making of a tobacco warlord

The arrest of Kazem Hamad in Iraq is welcomed by Australian authorities, although the illicit tobacco trade that built his brutal empire shows no sign of waning.

news   January 24, 2026

ABC whistleblower reaches the Federal Court

A long-running case connected to the ABC axing The Checkout has resulted in a new finding on whistleblower liability.

international relations   January 24, 2026

Trump, Greenland and the end of NATO

ANALYSIS: The US president’s erratic campaign to acquire Greenland forces Europe to strategise for NATO’s demise, and Asia to think about the limits of American power.       

environment   January 24, 2026

Murray Watt’s licence to kill endangered species

Murray Watt’s latest approval for Korea Zinc includes a table that explicitly permits the company to kill thousands of native animals a year, including critically endangered species such as the swift parrot.