Smallness of politics exposed, once again
Waleed Aly 7:45 PM Melbourne's medicos remind us that the utilitarian politics behind our brutal asylum seeker policy strikes at the heart of our civilisation.
Latest Comment
88 billion reasons to lose weight
Jessica Irvine 2:32 AM Obesity is expected to cost us $88 billion over the next 10 years. But it's not all bad news.
Turnbull can afford to dump the Abbott script
Mark Kenny 12:35 AM There are signs that people are ready for the PM to make a break with the past.
We can’t forget the lessons of Balibo
Nick Xenophon and Clinton Fernandes 9:00 PM Six journalists were killed and it shouldn’t have been swept under the carpet.
Please, no wedding production line
Ailsa Piper Public access to site of national significance could go if plans to make it private so weddings can be held there proceed.
Porn has ruined Playboy and it's our loss
Stephen Bayley 8:07 PM Playboy elevated "low" culture into something rather finer. But the internet has changed everything, and not for the best.
Let's act before El Nino ravages Horn of Africa
Majella Hurney 12:00 AM More than 19.2 million Africans face hunger as global temperatures rise and droughts and floods loom.
No offence, but you really are causing offence
Heckler 8:30 PM How is it that two words can suddenly make it OK to blatantly insult someone, asks Lexia Chilcott.
View from the Street
Andrew P Street 8:00 PM And childish government backbenchers plan pointless, mean-spirited protest vote for non-existent legislation. Your news of the day, reduced to a snarky rant.
PM's agility must strengthen Direct Action
9:00 PM His flexibility will be crucial to the Paris climate talks and beyond.
OCTOBER 16
Letters to the Editor
10:10 PM As a practising Catholic I am aghast at the comments made by Archbishop Anthony Fisher regarding the implications of approving same-sex marriage.
Column 8
9:00 PM Column 8 has received another letter, that's one a week since this Column 8 assumed the mantle. Is this going to be a regular thing?
In the Herald: October 16, 1961
Harry Hollinsworth 12:00 AM A close encounter with snakes and a strange snipper were in the news in 1961.
The bad news is piling up for Shorten
Paul Sheehan The combination of dreadful opinion polls, a shrewd new PM, and Dyson Heydon's royal commission have put Bill Shorten in a vice that appears to be tightening.
English isn't easy for new arrivals
Rachael Jacobs Demanding that immigrants become "like us" if they want to live here is an emotional argument, but not a reasonable one.
Nauru women
Women on Nauru need leaders to take a stand
Catharine Lumby Sexual assault is a crime many of us continue to brush aside. But it's the most fundamental violation of human rights. It's an intimate and visceral violation of the body.
Time to clean up student loans mess
Martin Riordan New Minister of Education has made a promising start to cleaning up the education loans crisis.
Communities can counter violent extremism
Anthony Bergin Lowering the control order threshold age is likely to be viewed favourably.
I'm a victim of the compost revolution
Heckler My attempts to be a good eco-citizen brought me to my knees, writes Paul Brennan.
View from the Street
Andrew P Street And the new Social Service Minister gets ready to sort out those greedy, grasping disabled people. Your news of the day, reduced to a snarky rant.
A little solace amid the tragedy of MH17
The process of pinpointing the exact culprits of the missile attack continues through a multinational criminal investigation, made more complex by Moscow's air strikes against Syria.
OCTOBER 15
Letters to the Editor
The people of Sydney have been conned by vested interests who are gung-ho for privatisation of our railway network.
Column 8
"I'm been a little surprised in the last few weeks to have received donations from charities, rather than the more traditional requests-for."
In the Herald: October 15, 1949
Harry Hollinsworth Menzies speaks out on Socialism and Shirley Temple talks divorce.
Previously in Comment
Highlights
Not all radicalisation needs to be bad
Hussain Nadim: We need to revisit our understanding of radicalisation to understand why a 15-year-old Muslim kid resorted to violence recently in Parramatta.
Sam de Brito: the writer, the philosopher, the friend I could call at 3am
Sure we talked about footy and women, but that was always secondary to the search for something more interesting, something to make life worth it, writes Adam Gibson on his decades-long friendship with Sam de Brito.
Sam de Brito: a polarising writer who wore his vulnerability on the page
Helen Pitt: Sam De Brito was a passionate though polarising figure of Australian journalism.
Why parents should share a bed with their children
Sam de Brito: Childbirth, breastfeeding, co-sleeping - it's difficult for a male to voice an opinion on these subjects.
Demon of division must be denied
The advent of Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister has created the opportunity for a different approach on social, religious and racial issues - and he is taking it.
A dark-skinned doll shouldn't be a big deal
Sam de Brito: Viewers were "moved" when they saw Frankie Thurston cuddling her black doll, but it shouldn't have been remarkable.
The battle for equality starts at home
Jessica Irvine: We live in a society that still puts unfair demands on only one parent.
Sunny slogans won't change the forecast
Peter Martin: The Treasurer must accept we have a revenue problem as well as a spending problem.
Who pays for the Pope's hard choices?
Paul Sheehan: When Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, addressed the United States Congress on Thursday, he spoke about making hard choices.
NSW's abortion laws are outdated
Jenny Ejlak: The biggest myth about abortion in Australia is that it is legal and easily accessible.
Abbott should retreat gracefully
Tim Dick: If Abbott was serious about his team Australia rhetoric, he would see that the country would be better served by him leaving politics.
When Keating kept Turnbull in the game
Alan Ramsey: When the new Prime Minister was considering quitting Parliament, former Labor prime minister said the country needed him to stay on.
It's time for a flag we can be proud of
Elizabeth Farrelly: Malcolm must feel like a castle under siege right now, the air thick with eleventy zillion arrows of advice on what exactly "21st century government" implies. So, uh, here's mine.
