Latest comment and opinion
Beware, the states are about to hike up taxes
Peter Martin 11:00 PM Now that a GST rise is off the table, expect state governments to do the tax reform that the Federal Government won’t.
Madonna King: Graduating with distinctions
Madonna King 8:48 PM Why are we steadfastly sticking to a system, whether it's the OP score or the 2018 ATAR plan, which acknowledges nothing other than a student's academic test scores?
A land tax would reduce NSW inequality
Tim Ayres 8:00 PM One of the biggest questions facing New South Wales and especially our state government is how to respond to the rise of inequality.
A man who put his stamp on history
Over his long career he designed more than 50 stamps and postal cards.
View from the Street: Greg Hunt, bestest minister in the whole world!
Andrew P Street 5:56 PM And how's that whole Closing the Gap thing going, would you say? Your news of the day, reduced to a snarky rant.
Regeneration on the cards for Turnbull's mob
Alex Malley 5:47 PM With the loss of Warren Truss and Andrew Robb, the Turnbull Cabinet is undergoing more of a regeneration than a reshuffle.
Council elections: Need for honest growth debate in 2016
Chris Mountford 4:40 PM You may have noticed the city's letterboxes, airwaves, train stations and social media feeds are becoming saturated with campaign messages for March's council elections.
Australian overseas aid seen to be less effective
Terence Wood, Camilla Burkot and Stephen Howes 10:45 PM The government needs to come up with a new aid Transparency Charter and be accountable to its standards.
Would GST hike have saved Tony?
John Warhurst 10:45 PM The conventional wisdom is that leaders in strong positions can take on risky reforms, but big issues can also help those in tight corners.
The new Big Short: China may soon rock the global financial system
Paul Sheehan 2:50 PM The Big Short is a sensational movie about rotten banks, but an even bigger story about banking may be unfolding in China.
Sky rail more an eye opener than an eyesore
Julie Szego 11:00 PM Protesters are selfishly moaning about a project that could be good for Melbourne.
Australia must commit to closing the nutrition gap
Stephen Simpson 1:44 PM The Closing the Gap health strategy neglects food and diet, despite the benefits of improving Indigenous communities' food supplies.
The breathtaking irony of Ruddock's UN human rights appointment
Elizabeth Farrelly 8:00 PM I've heard of being kicked upstairs but this is ridiculous. I know people get promoted to their point of incompetence, but the UN? The Vatican? These are not incompetence-friendly situations.
My dad killed himself when I was 13. He hid his depression, I won't hide mine
Amy Marlow 10:18 AM I’m not ashamed of his life or his mental illness or his suicide. The burden of silence ends with me.
Detoxing from a smartphone addiction
Emily Sohn 10:08 AM On the first days without the internet, I feel twitchy, unsettled and panicky. Then a feeling a contentment washes over, but it never lasts.
In the Herald: 11 February 1964
A collision between two Australian warships off the south coast of New South Wales resulted in one sinking, the Herald reported on this day in 1964.
Save school kids from radical views on sexuality
Kevin Donnelly 11:00 PM Under the guise of anti-bullying, the Safe Schools Coalition is promoting a radical view of gender and sexuality.
Towers not needed to build density
Benjamin Driver We should congratulate the Herald for promoting expanded and new public transport projects for Sydney, but at the same time be politely skeptical about the details surrounding some of these proposals.
Best ad for Australia is its people
Tim Schildberger It's time we shook off whatever identity crisis we've battled these last couple of decades, and embrace our slightly unsophisticated, but charming personality.
Investigative journalists are finding innovative ways to expose secrets and lies
Jonathan Holmes Most of the fourth estate lacks the time and money needed to prise open the secret doors that the powerful keep locked.
Fifty years of safety from sharks must not be ignored in Queensland
Bill O'Chee If there is one subject sure to attract discussion at surf lifesaving clubs, it's sharks, especially on our most popular beaches.
Let Aboriginal people take control of their destiny
Ben Stephens and Matthew Tyler Australia will move forward when it cedes power to Indigenous people and demands accountability.
Astronaut saw Earth as a planet in crisis
Richard Goldstein Becoming the sixth man to walk on the moon was not a wholly positive experience for Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell.
Australian schools are entrenching division and inequality
Rizina Yadav and Sam Wolfe The question of "public versus private" education is a distraction in Australia, diverting us from a far more substantive task: what can we do to ensure schools serve all students better?
And the secret ingredient is ...
Alan Stokes Rissoles. A mixture of ingredients that are wonderful individually in their own right yet miraculously transform into something special when combined. Sound familiar?
Parties need money, business supplies it
Ross Gittins According to the Labor Party's rising star, Senator Sam Dastyari, 10 big companies control our political process. You don't need to look far to find evidence of the power wielded by "the big end of town".
Here's how to change the Senate voting system
William Bourke Simple, but also fair and democratic – a solution to the Senate voting question
View from the Street: Will Malc lose three ministers in two months?
Andrew P Street And the government continues its weird vendetta against Gillian Triggs. Your news of the day, reduced to a snarky rant.
Racial profiling is not quite what you think
John Coyne and Anthony Bergin Our border agencies examine behaviour and characteristics to create profiles of high-risk travellers. And this is as it should be.
