If PM wants crackdown, Sinodinos must go
Prime Minister wants a tough building industry watchdog while fresh cloud looms over Arthur Sinodinos.
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In the Herald: March 31, 1966
Divided loyalties in caucus and the sentencing of the last man legally executed in Australia, were in the news on this day in 1966.
Why the states should charge income tax
Face reality: we can’t vote for better schools and hospitals in state elections and lowers taxes in federal elections and expect to get both.
Multi-talented writer was a major creative force in early TV drama
Don Battye was a witty man and will be remembered for his generous and warm spirit.
Can solving bus woes be this easy?
The Liberals have answered their critics with their new bus network, a plan marked by sheer audacity and simplicity.
Grassroots efforts beat big boys on sustainability
Four green shoots that have broken through the deadening layer of Abbott-spewed ash.
Is it just too hard to be PM in 2016?
There may never have been a more exciting time to be prime minister but it's probably never been this difficult to govern.
Penniless refugee drove computer giant
Andrew Grove was a longtime head of Intel Corporation, whose microprocessors were essential to modern appliances.
Singing the same school song and NAPLAN gains
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority recently delivered report cards on NAPLAN 2015 and there are signs of improvement across the country. Much discussion in explaining these results has centered on the hard work of teachers, good teaching and the quality and experience of teachers.
Sir Robert Menzies and the building of the National Library of Australia
To the left of the main-entrance steps of the National Library of Australia, there's an unassuming foundation stone laid by Sir Robert Menzies on March 31, 1966, when the library building was still a five-storey steel shell.
To be a big small party or a small big party is the Greens' conundrum
With the party's future unclear, it will try to keep many balls in the air simultaneously to see what happens.
View from the Street: Government releases new tax dodg… sorry, "plan"
And Barnaby Joyce gets some sorta-good sorta-news about that mine he doesn't want. Your news of the day, reduced to a snarky rant.
To daylight save or not to daylight save? That is the question
Australians are perfectly happy to shrug over boring, vital issues – but force our free citizenry to occasionally adjust their clocks? That, sir, will not stand.
Family violence: fixing the culture starts now
This scourge has been with us for far too long and requires wholesale changes to our social structures.
Domestic violence: politicians must be united
It is critical the domestic violence report receives bipartisan support. After all, we don't want this work to disappear in the election cycle.
Cool hand needed for law and order
Regime is strong on infrastructure and progressive on social policy, but surging crime is an issue much harder to control.
Martin was unfairly branded after Stawell victory
There is plenty of evidence to show there was nothing irregular in the 15-year-old's improved performance.
Are Brisbane's statues racist?
COMMENT: For a city with so many fabulous statues, I was shocked to find one thing missing.
Dad's bid to watch Hateful Eight sparks family TV war
Family TV wars are still won and lost on straight party lines.
The clean-energy deadline is sooner than we think
New estimates say we must shift all new electricity generation to zero-carbon technology by the end of 2017 or face some grim alternatives.
Why are Australians so gloomy about the future?
Snap out of it Australia. Despite our wealth, health and good weather an international survey has revealed consumers here are among the gloomiest in Asia. And it's been that way for most of this decade.
In the Herald: March 30, 1926
An eight-day carnival in aid of the Grafton Hospital concluded, with its principal feature of an ugly man competition, the Herald reported on this day in 1926.
The NBN is already out of date
Australia has fallen to 60th in global Internet speed rankings. If we fell to 60th in the Olympics medal tally there'd be a national outcry. Just a few years ago we were 30th in terms of average peak Internet speed, which is the key measurement of broadband performance.
Where are all the women scientists?
Malcolm Turnbull, our innovation Prime Minister, says there's never been a more exciting time to be an Australian but I'm only half convinced. The bright light shining on this new innovation age is not illuminating many women.
Hollow critics miss the stories, and the point
Fairfax reporters take pride in producing stories that give ordinary Victorians a voice.
Trump's weakness with women
It's perhaps not surprising that a former owner of three beauty pageants, Donald Trump, has helped turn his party's campaign into a shallow "Mrs America" pageant between potential First Ladies.
What's missing in the same-sex marriage debate
One of the frustrating aspects of the debate on same-sex marriage is the elusiveness of opponents of the measure.
Injustice turbocharges inequality of Aborigines
Our laws were not drafted with the intention to discriminate, but discriminate they do.
Never read the terms and conditions?
Online contracts should not be binding unless they are short and easy to read.
Why armed guards don't make airports safer
Sophisticated terrorists find it easy to circumvent obvious security measures that do more to ease public fears than make travel safer.