Nick Xenophon is political enemy number one
Peter Hartcher 12:00 AM He's unconventional, and so is his relationship with his onetime wife.
Latest Comment
Liberals are already dividing the spoils
Mark Kenny 12:42 AM The polls point to a narrow Coalition victory but either side could yet crash and burn.
The great tragedy of Malcolm Turnbull
Elizabeth Farrelly 12:00 AM Another day, another solemn prime ministerial hypocrisy: climate change and the Reef, Centennial Parklands and trees, Orlando and homophobia, Indigenous recognition.
The things we shouldn't say to little girls
Julia Baird 12:00 AM Every now and then, the most well meaning comment can make me worry.
Gay rights could defeat Islamic State
Jacqueline Maley 1:30 PM It's only a hunch. But I am pretty sure that if you did up a Venn diagram of those who hate gay people and those who hate Muslims, there would be such significant cross-over it would resemble a near-eclipse.
LinkedIn is the worst social media network
Dominic Knight 1:55 PM How can the home of the humblebrag be worth $35 billion?
COMMENT
Exposing the ridiculous slur of 'radical Islam'
Daniel Flitton 11:45 PM The trap is choice of language, of the words-are-bullets variety. How to best describe the terrorist threat, and by extension, how to craft a policy to extinguish it.
Fast action on tax havens needed now
Andrew Leigh 7:14 PM A few years ago, a team of American journalists decided to set up a company in a tax haven. After a quick internet search, they paid US$900 to set up a shell company in Belize (they called it 'Unbeliezable').
Malcolm in the dock
Michael Gordon 11:45 PM Turnbull's return to Q&A; might be his most daring move in this risk-averse campaign to retain government.
Shorten hangs on but Turnbull's stability pitch looms large
7:00 PM The Coalition's headstart on economic management and asylum policy will be tough to claw back.
JUNE 18
State your case but do not inflame hatred
9:00 PM Not since the rise of Fascism in the 1930s have the voices of hatred been so prevalent. ("British MP Jo Cox dies after being shot by man reportedly shouting 'Britain First'", June 17).
Column 8: To pronounce the 't' or not when it comes to Turandot
12:41 AM Column 8 readers are divided over the pronuncition of Turandot, but it's the upcoming rain event that gets the last word. Column8@smh.com.au
Threats and spin will not deter us from reporting on Unaoil
Nick McKenzie, Richard Baker, Michael Bachelard Over the past few months, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice, the UK Serious Fraud Office and the Australian Federal Police have been running a major international corruption probe into Monaco company, Unaoil.
It's not all about Gladys
Sean Nicholls All eyes – in NSW politics at least – will be on Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian next Tuesday as she delivers her second state budget. But it's Luke Foley who will be under real pressure.
Sydney's gay bars matter more than ever
Nic Holas This week, the LGBTIQ community has struggled to comprehend that the biggest mass shooting in American history was also a hate crime directed right at us in the very space we consider our most sacred and profane, the gay nightclub.
Thank you, Australia, for making people safe
Aubrey Perry Thank you, Australia, for doing the job the United States can't: making its people safe.
What mass killings and domestic violence have in common
Amanda Taub Violence in the home can be seen as a psychological training ground for someone like Omar Mateen to commit a mass attack, writes Amanda Taub.
End of life choices are vital, but not cut and dried
Fiona Patten As a community we need to be prolonging life ... not death.
JUNE 17
Care for the elderly should be a priority
I am sure there were more than a few of us who were driven to tears after reading John Watkins outpouring of compassion for the aged, particularly in "care".
Nation building on Indigenous recognition
What does it say about us as a nation, that there never seems to be a good time to talk about a treaty with Indigenous Australians?
Unpicking radical Islam's pathological obsession with sex
Julie Szego Progressives need to find the intellectual dexterity to conceive of Muslims as both victims and perpetrators of dangerous bigotry.
We need to speak up for our parents
John Watkins Middle-aged men and women are having conversations about a subject they dread: what to do about about the future care of their aged parents.
The truth about a gluten-free diet? It's nonsense
Peter H.R. Green and Rory Jones Most people who believe that they are wheat-sensitive, without medical confirmation, are probably not.
Why cancer can cost more the rarer it is
Richard Vines Cancer patients are doing it tough because they've been unlucky enough to develop a rare cancer.
Next time our love will be just for us
Alya Mooro Do you delete all those photos that now make you cringe? Do you unfollow each other?
And the world's best restaurant is...
Karl Quinn When it comes to dining, fine or otherwise, there's more than one way to judge the best in the world.
Baird's half-baked property tax grab
Not that such brazen fund-raising is such a bad thing – in theory.
JUNE 16
Buoyed by show of love in face of hate
As a gay man and as someone who remembers the past invisibility of my sexuality in the media, I am astounded at the worldwide outpouring of grief and support for the victims of the Orlando massacre.
Column 8
"It appears that some in the media are becoming a bit rattled by this super long election lead-up," says Robert Bear, of Sydenham.
Why we need more Irish dancers in Parliament
Alan Stokes We need fewer union bosses, political apparatchiks and self-serving businessmen.
Orlando was a crime born from homophobia
Trent Zimmerman Nothing prepared me for the emotions that I have felt after the events of Orlando.
The festival that Sydney would never allow
James Valentine There's fires everywhere. In Sydney there would be a carefully guarded perimeter. Not here.
How did the FBI miss Omar Mateen?
David Gomez If you follow social media on the topic of the FBI and terrorism, you will find two themes predominate whenever a terrorist incident occurs in the United States.
Why I light candles after tragedy
Billy Kluttz Prayers still matter to me, even though they seem useless to some.
Orlando shooting: Prayers from hypocrites don't help
John Birmingham The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as the old saying would have it. Unless they're gay, in which case… awkward!
Better gun laws could have stopped tragedy
Donald Trump is playing to the gun lobby and the jelly-backed Congressmen and women at its beck and call.
JUNE 15
No end to gun violence with Trump
Orlando has increased the horrific prospect of a Donald Trump presidency. Trump has already addressed a supportive National Rifle Association.
Why Turnbull is right about the Greens
Peter Reith However important the minor parties may think they are, the truth is that they remain minnows.
The case for a four-day week, every week
Madeline White It's not just gender equality to play for. More leisure time can be devoted to volunteering, with associated benefits to self-esteem and wellbeing.
Previously in Comment
Highlights
How your father is controlling your salary
The answer to the question "Who's your daddy?" has never been more important.
For Republicans, it's easier to ban Muslims than guns
Over 40,000 Americans are dying each year partly because they live in a society in which it is more politically viable to propose banning Muslims than regulate gun sales.
Two images haunt me from the storm
They tell me I don't get Australia. I love it, but do not understand it. Do you, honestly?
Don't turn Muhammad Ali into a sanitised caricature
We're left with a man of inordinate courage who made some awful mistakes, was sincere enough to admit them, but at every moment was prepared to pay the price of his convictions.
Don't take this personally
Cartoonist Cathy Wilcox shows you how to get more out of your seething outrage online.
Sydney will be unrecognisable
Everything that you (or at least I) love about this town under threat, the city's planner are conspicuous by their silence.
What young voters want (and it isn't selfies)
Our politicians can learn a lot from Bernie Sanders, who can't tell a joke and I doubt he could DJ to save his life.
Baird's light rail is bastardry of the first order
Tree-felling, park-gouging, history-trashing, bus-killing and street-closing. For what? You can have light rail and trees, high density and parks. It's a false dichotomy.
Turnbull will lose unless he wins back Liberals
The Prime Minister has not actually done anything to explain his rapid downhill trajectory. But contradicting himself almost every week, Turnbull has stood fast in indecision.
The story that sums up a mad world
If Donald Trump is elected president of the United States, London's new mayor would be barred from entering the country because he's a Muslim.
Turnbull's 30-minute city is a silly idea
Should the development of new rail lines be based on their potential value to property developers? The government thinks so.
Labor can't deny its role in Manus Island tragedy
'Stopping the boats' was a bipartisan policy and both sides of politics are responsible for its monstrous outcomes.
The fight China will take to the brink of war
Peter Hartcher: The world's two greatest powers are competing for military dominance of the western Pacific Ocean and the contest is about to intensify.
Wrong museum, wrong place, wrong reasons
Elizabeth Farrelly: Does the Baird government's planned Powerhouse-to-Parramatta move make any sense at all, to anyone?
Why you don't really need health insurance
Marcus Strom: Every year people rail against private health insurance companies hiking up their premiums. I couldn't care less.
The Trump plan that is a real danger to Australia
Peter Hartcher: Donald Trump has made an idiotic and potentially incendiary claim about one of the world's most flammable strategic tinder boxes.
The unfair truth about a woman's handbag
Annabel Crabb: Like our brains, women's bags have to do 10 things at once. And that's tiring enough, even before tax.
With friends like Malcolm, equality is far away
Tim Dick: What is the point of a gay-friendly prime minister if he can't slap down those keen on perpetuating teenage hate, angst and suicide.
Apology
In last Monday's paper, the Herald reported the details of an alleged sexual assault under the headline "The horrifying untold story of Louise".
Turnbull, stop dithering on tax reform
The Turnbull government has yet to explain why we need tax reform. Meanwhile, Labor is strangely coherent on tax policies.
Why you really should pay a sugar tax
Jessica Irvine: We know we've got a problem when it comes to sugar and obesity.
Class clown Joyce has centre stage to prove himself
Peter Hartcher: Barnaby Joyce's capacity for populist revolt made him famous and effective. But the new Nationals leader will have to control his bluster if he is to be taken seriously.
Great irony of Ruddock's human rights appointment
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.
