Turnbull will resist poll temptation

Mark Kenny   An early election would carry the risk of being perceived by voters as opportunistic and a breach of faith.

Comments 144

League tables don't mean anything

Jenny Allum   I am the head of a school which the Herald claims has done very well in our HSC results. According to its coverage, we climbed "dramatically" from 20th to 13th spot. SCEGGS is a great school but its excellence is not verified by these dubious calculations

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The new Islamic anti-terrorism alliance: will it work?

Amin Saikal   Saudi Arabia's announcement of a new military alliance of 34 Muslim countries to fight terrorism is unprecedented.

View from the Street: Which of the government favourites pay no tax?

Andrew P Street   Because when you're paying a company billions to look after all those human rights abuses, expecting tax from them would appear rude! Your news of the day, reduced to a snarky rant.

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James Nesbitt faces toughest role

James Corrigan   FIFA should have nothing to do with Ballon D'Or awards until its corruption crisis is over.

Paris climate agreement could herald a new era for diplomacy

Phil Ireland   This time six years ago I found myself in the company of other campaigners and politicians (including Kevin Rudd) from around the world in the depths of despair after the calamitous Copenhagen climate negotiations.

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Ray's Rant: Learning to live with risk while being stifled by health and safety

Ray Sparvell   The other evening, I had to wrangle three dogs and myself off a suburban backstreet and onto a verge to avoid being wiped out by a speeding driver.

Comments 37

Is it any wonder?

Why Star Wars: The Force Awakens is both a triumph and a tragedy

Karl Quinn   JJ Abrams has made a fine film of a certain sort. But there is one thing missing.

What would you do to improve Melbourne?

Michael Short   What would you like to see change in Melbourne? What would you do if you magically had the power? What ideas, small or even radical, might you have to improve our metropolis for everyone as a place to live, to work, to create and, for some, to raise a family?

Comments 142

Is social media sounding the death knell for actually being social?

Nic Hayes   How many couples now sit in their lounge room once the kids have gone to bed in front of the TV with a second screen on their lap taking up all of their attention?

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The young white male has lost his advantage

Paul Sheehan   Their once dominant position is being eroded incrementally, in measurable ways, with each passing year.

All I want for Christmas can't be found in aisle three

Madonna King   There's a kind of magic we can see each day, in our own city, if we look hard enough, but it's certainly not played out in our shopping centres come Christmas.

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In the Herald : December 17, 1988

Ellen Fitzgerald   There were no angry parents and no protest banners as Prospect Public School closed its doors for the last time after 121 years, the Herald reported on this day in 1988.

Malcolm and Lucy: Two for one?

John Warhurst   One fascinating aspect of federal politics next year will be how much more of a public figure Lucy Turnbull, wife of the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, becomes. She already has a prior public profile greater than any other prime ministerial partner, serving for a time as Lord Mayor of Sydney.  Add to that she has just been appointed by the New South Wales state government to head a new Sydney metropolitan planning body, the Greater Sydney Commission.

We need to go back to basics

Ben Roediger   Australian scientists and engineers are among the most inventive and resourceful individuals on the planet. Any initiative that enables their ideas to see the light of day and be tested in the marketplace should be lauded for the forward-thinking policy it is.

Letters to the Editor

Fine print cuts will have echoing national repercussions in Capital

I'm disappointed that the Turnbull government is making budget cuts to the "cultural and collecting entities" here in Canberra ("Capital pain in budget fine print", December 16, p1).

Editorial

Libs stuck in the public transport slow lane

The Canberra Times   For a party determined to make next year's Territory election a referendum on light rail, the Canberra Liberals' have moved at a snail's pace in formulating their own public transport policy.

Ignorance, fantasy fuel anti-vaccination parents

Julie Szego   The movement reflects an underlying disease that makes us susceptible to the notion that truth is an ever-negotiable, relative concept.

The Australian fair go is dead

Elizabeth Farrelly   Why are we OK with this? How did the fair go slip so seamlessly into tooth and claw? Or was it always thus?

Don't let competitive grandparenting spoil Christmas

Cari Rosen   Christmas can be one of the most stressful times of the year. And if you're a grandparent or an in-law, deciding who spends dinner where can easily spiral into a war of the (Cadbury's) Roses.

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Paris: City of tragedy and hope

Kingsley Faulkner   The COP 21 UN Climate Change Accord reached in Paris on December 12 has torn down the veil of ignorance, obstruction and inaction to allow real hope for humanity and the planet. The climate change deniers, doubters and agnostics have been left intellectually marooned and the worst fossil fuel lobbyists have been left morally exposed.

What does it mean to be educated?

Rosemary Follett   Education is about "expanding the mind", "discovery" and freeing the mind from the "tyrannies✓ of unexamined opinions, current fashion and inherited prejudices".

View from the Street: Who even needs stupid arts or dumb healthcare?

Andrew P Street   And we ask the question "Scott Morrison does know how to add up, right?" Your news of the day, reduced to a snarky rant.

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Don't forget children when talking about domestic violence

Kim Oates   Our awareness of the extent of domestic violence has been slow in coming. But we must remember children are victims too.

'Something in me snapped': the silent fury women feel

Jill Stark   How are women meant to know the difference between the nice guy and the monster?

Revisiting Love Actually after midnight

Emma Freud   We got near-hysterical at the school Nativity scene, where our then seven-year-old daughter literally owned the non-speaking role of Second Lobster.

Cutting carbon may require downsizing our consumer appetites

Christopher Flavelle   Our love of big homes, big cars and long-distance travel may need to be curtailed if we're to meet the Paris targets.

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