We cannot afford to follow the haters
Peter Hartcher 12:05 AM It would be a dire mistake for Australia to import the anger, fear and hatred that's now running amok among our civilisational cousins.
Latest Comment
Why I quit social media after Orlando
Andrew MacLeod 11:45 PM The last straw was the tragic murder of Jo Cox, the British MP, by a man yelling "Britain first". Was this not a radical, lone wolf Brexit supporter's act of terrorism? Not to my friends.
WestConnex spruikers won't stop the spin
Pauline Lockie 12:05 AM The issues surrounding WestConnex are too big to ignore. Attempting to sweep them under the rug by telling people they should be proud it is going ahead does Sydney no favours.
Corruption crisis in PNG catches Australia out
12:05 AM Dysfunction in Papua New Guinea's democracy is Australia's problem, too.
View from the Street: Election 2016 - Dude looks like a tradie!
Andrew P Street 7:34 PM And Medicare is either definitely or definitely not being privatised, a bit. Your election news of the day, reduced to a snarky rant.
JUNE 21
Medicare focus no mere scare tactic
12:05 AM Under a Turnbull government, bulk-billing will soon be a thing of the past for most patients. A high percentage of GPs are already preparing to raise their fees in anticipation of a re-elected Coalition.
We should be proud of WestConnex
Tony Shepherd I have been in this toll road game too long. Through Sydney Harbour Tunnel, Melbourne City Link, EastLink and now WestConnex, I have heard the same critics spouting the same untruths and unsubstantiated rubbish.
Not all of Europe wants Britain to stay
Richard Ogier Might Brexit be a good thing for Europe? There's a comic wrinkle in watching the British Remain campaign translate the argument that Brexit would be devastating for Europe, when Europe itself is not so sure.
Religion's wicked neighbour
David Brooks Barack Obama is clearly wrong when he refuses to use the word Islam in reference to Islamist terrorism. The people who commit these acts are inflamed by a version of an Islamist ideology.
Leave us introverts alone, we're fine
Erin Stewart Introverts are not some ultra-sensitive minority requiring a special approach to unlock hidden brilliance.
JUNE 20
Exposure of Exclusive Brethren this election
12:00 PM It takes courage to expose scandals, particularly involving allegations of sexual abuse, which continue to be white-washed by powerful religious organisations such as the Exclusive Brethren.
Shorten fights for the faithful and fairness
The official Labor launch focused on Medicare privatisation, too, but that scare campaign carries risks.
Art sale devastates Wurundjeri community
Karmen Jobling, Wurundjeri Elders The auction of a significant artwork and its loss from public collections has shattered the Wurundjeri community.
Why emotions blind us to science and facts
Craig Cormick A significant, credible report has come out to state that genetically engingeered crops present no more risk to human health than conventionally bred crops.
Steven Freeman: Too little, too late
Julie Tongs It was 13 months ago that Steven Freeman, a young Aboriginal man on remand in the Alexander Maconochie Centre, was bashed so severely that he almost died.
Our skewed value system
Peter FitzSimons Here in Australia, our own skewed value system was apparent last Sunday.
The lie that diminishes us all
Peter Martin We tell ourselves we are compassionate to the people and creatures in our care. But that's not true.
Builder Baird must end Sydney Metro secrecy
Sydney's need for a second rail link across the harbour is pressing. Without it, passengers will be unable to board crowded trains and the city's future held hostage to the crippling effects of poor public transport.
Liberals are already dividing the spoils
Mark Kenny The polls point to a narrow Coalition victory but either side could yet crash and burn.
Stop the votes: marriage plebiscite not the way
Michael Short A plebiscite on same-sex marriage risks being a national catastrophe.
JUNE 19
Time to take a reality TV check
Andrew Hornery gives voice to the feelings I have had since seeing Channel Nine's promotional ads for its new reality show The Briefcase. What next? Human sacrifice for the entertainment of the masses?
The great tragedy of Malcolm Turnbull
Elizabeth Farrelly 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 Every now and then, the most well meaning comment can make me worry.
Gay rights could defeat Islamic State
Jacqueline Maley 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 How can the home of the humblebrag be worth $35 billion?
COMMENT
Exposing the ridiculous slur of 'radical Islam'
Daniel Flitton 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 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 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
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
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
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.
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.
