Promises, promises, but will Labor keep them?
Colleen Lewis 12:52 AM Trust in politicians may not be easily restored, but urgent integrity legislation is a crucial first step for the new Victorian government.
Why the Coalition lost in Victoria
Peter Reith 9:04 AM The Victorian Coalition government didn't know what it stood for and failed to pursue policies that were distinct from Labor's
Do you hold a Bayesian or Boolean worldview?
Tim van Gelder 8:45 AM To understand issues such as climate change we should weigh up all information rather than reject evidence and arguments that are not our own.
No need to dumb down on digital platforms
Jonathan Holmes 12:00 AM There is plenty of scope for cerebral content in the digital era - if we're willing to learn.
Major parties jittery over voting patterns
Sally Young 12:00 AM Weaker voter attachment to the major parties can make events beyond their control more significant and elections less predictable.
PM will rob the nation if he rips off Victoria
Peter Martin Abbott will be shooting himself in the foot if he holds back the billions of dollars he promised for the state's construction industry.
High risk: drug war fought with dollars
Ross Gittins 12:15 AM How goes the war on drugs? On the face of it, not well. But in thinking about the drug problem it helps to know a bit of economics. When you do, you see things aren't as bad as they seem.
Liberals abandoned their principles
James Paterson Every Victorian Liberal party policy should be tested against liberal philosophy.
A city-style campaign backfired in the bush
Chris Earl The loyalty of regional people will take many years for the Victorian Liberals to win back.
A recipe for yet more violence against women
Clementine Ford Male violence is the leading cause of preventable death for women aged under 45, and virtuous patience has failed to deliver results.
For Captain Dan, now comes the hard part
Tim Colebatch These are tough times to be governing Victoria. We're about to find out if Labor is up to the task.
Victoria's political rhythms favour the ALP
Paul Strangio This state moves to the beat of its own political drum, and Saturday's election result reveals no silver lining for the Coalition.
How Labor, unions blew up the Coalition
Nicholas Reece This result has changed the face of campaigning.
Tell a new vision? Not these nyetworks
Peter Martin Anyone would think the commercial TV networks owned our airwaves.
Politicians' rhetoric makes matters worse
Warwick McFadyen Today's politicians are hardly masters of the noble art of rhetoric and the Prime Minister and Defence Minister proved this last week.
Poetry loses its flagship on ABC
Barry Hill The ABC has ended its flagship poetry program, Poetica, which had 60,000 listeners a week.
Capitalist winds expose the spiritual void
David Brooks Daniel Bell argued that capitalism undermines itself because it nurtures a population of ever more self-gratifying consumers.
History in danger of repeating itself
Avinash Paliwal Afghanistan's fledgling government is struggling to deliver the jobs, money and power promised to its supporters, and the consequences are being spelled out in bloodshed.
Napthine's perfect storm
Michael Gordon If Denis Napthine loses the state election, voters will have broken with tradition and punished his first-term state government for the sins of his party colleagues.
The end of an ugly affair
Shane Green The silence was golden. At midnight on Wednesday, the off switch was flicked on electronic media advertising in the Victorian election campaign.
We have to fight for our ABC
Martin Flanagan The ABC's quality broadcasting has broad support, but News Corp's indefatigable and deceptive attacks on it mean ordinary Australians must defend it.
Love, cherish, obey... and go to galleries
Danny Katz Just the words 'gallery', 'let's' and 'go' throw me into a state of rapturous excitement.
Coalition marooned in a sea of troubles
Waleed Aly Tony Abbott's broken promises are just the garnish on top of the real problem: the Coalition government is in serious strife.
Wrong and right of Abbott's vulnerability
Mark Kenny As debate builds over the Coalition government, conservative voices weigh in with their concerns.
How to make cricket safer
Lyall Johnson A ball travelling 140km/h on a hard wicket can be lethal, yet helmets are not mandatory for batters.
Prosecutors dodged their duty over Ferguson
Noah Feldman An obscure and cumbersome relic of the 18th century was never going to paper over the cracks in the case of police officer Darren Wilson shooting dead unarmed Michael Brown.
Election veering to boredom territory
Josh Gordon Elections in this country have become a race to the middle. Will Saturday's election see Denis or Dan in the middle?
Ashes forgotten in wake of Hughes' injury
Michael Vaughan Phillip Hughes' tragic accident has united the cricket world and highlights its dangers.
Experts find flaws in national parks
Peter Fagg and Leon Bren Single-interest groups trying to hijack managed forests, say industry experts.
Home truths: high prices are here to stay
Ross Gittins The pressures of urban geography in Australia's largest cities are likely to stave off possible market collapse.
Noel Pearson takes on Right's intelligentsia
Dominic Kelly The issue of genocide has been sidestepped by conservative commentators, an avoidance that speaks volumes about our readiness to change.
When politician's promises mean nothing
Colleen Lewis Voters should focus on accountability and transparency when political pledges are hollow.
Abbott all at sea handling US and China
Hugh White The PM is swinging wildly between two poles of regional power, probably mistaking insincerity for clever diplomacy.
Palmer's everyman image battered
Lindy Edwards Jacqui Lambie's stand risks painting Palmer as someone who quietly bats for the big end of town behind closed doors, while claiming to stand up for the little man in public.
How Bollywood moulds Modi's new India
Pankaj Mishra India's popular film industry offers one of the clearest windows on the evolution of the country.
Yooralla failings: no more excuses
Alan Blackwood Victorians with disabilities and their families should not have to rely on whistleblowers to keep them safe.
Mark Scott's two hats make trouble for ABC
Jonathan Holmes The broadcaster's combined managing director and editor-in-chief role is misleading and potentially unhealthy.
A win by Labor would be a blow for Victorians
Peter Reith The possibility that Labor might win next weekend's Victorian election is more worrisome than usual.
The secret report Napthine won't let you see
Peter Martin Much work went into the preparation of a state-based reform agenda, so why has it never been released?
Barack Obama: The Disappointer-in-chief
Aaron David Miller He has made notable achievements, but he is not a great president.
The election neither side deserves to win
Kenneth Davidson The desalination disaster is a blight on both Labor and the Liberals.
Victims never, but we are campaigners forever
Carmel Boyce White Ribbon month is especially critical in Victoria.
Truth and ideas casualties in Victorian politics
Farrah Tomazin A post-election hangover seems inevitable for the winning party, with optimistic promises being bandied about but no certainty over how they are to be paid for.
Seven good reasons to love democracy
Warwick McFadyen Democracy is good. It fortifies the soul. It also presents a challenge - how to retain faith in it as an ideal? A list was necessary, Warwick McFadyen writes.
Look to Dubai for answers to Middle East
Thomas Friedman Ever since the Arab awakening in late 2010, America has lurched from one policy response to another.
Blank screen on which we project our dreams
Alyssa Rosenberg Kim Kardashian is making her fortune from the gawping fascination of the masses.
A tale of two Tonys
Michael Gordon There may be some collateral damage over the contradictions flowing from the Abbott government.
'Your mother has passed away'
Martin Flanagan Mum's deathbed was a crowd scene, kids and grand kids in the half-lit room, one person on either side of Mum, holding her hands.
Some deaths aren’t dignified
Suzy Freeman-Greene Is "dying with dignity" the best way to describe assisted suicide?
Now my champagne party trick thingy-thing
Danny Katz What's left when the dazzling lore of idle hands fails to impress?
Absence of morality in the Nauru netherworld
Nick Feik Immigration Minister Scott Morrison's reaction to claims refugees on Nauru were self-harming and being molested was to attack those who made the allegations.
Let's not over-complicate euthanasia debate
Paul Komesaroff and Stephen Charles Does the voluntary euthanasia debate merely involve ethics and religion? Maybe a simple, practical, legal solution can be found, write Paul Komesaroff and Stephen Charles.
Women's battle a visual one on tv
Cathy Newman A television presenter who wears the same clothes every day could only be a man.
The nation state is key to peace and prosperity
Peter Varghese The great paradox of our time is that we live in a globalised and ever-connected world, yet we guard our sovereignty zealously.
Editors' Pick
The art of self-pleasuring is in women's hands
If women are more sexually assertive now why don't they masturbate as often as men?
Investigative journalists always under the cosh
As journalists we should have the courage to act for more than the lofty notion of freedom of speech. We have a duty to be the voice of the powerless, writes KATE MCCLYMONT.
Whitlam's wild ride in the race for reform
The pre-modern prime minister gave his name to an era in politics that shifted gears on values and election campaigning, writes GIDEON HAIGH.
Why the campaign against Islamic State is doomed
Enthusiasm for a swift and cheap war against Islamic State ignores the bitter lessons of failure Australia learned so recently in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Lateline clash shows need for better questions
Bullying is no way to act or to find out what someone being interviewed on TV thinks, writes LUKE JOHNSON.
Emma Watson speech hardly a game-changer
Women don't need to engage men in the gender debate, they need to wrench from them the power they hold so tightly.
