Turnbull knows what matters to Australians
Tom Switzer 12:05 AM What the received media wisdom fails to recognise is that Turnbull would have committed a dangerous betrayal if he had supported policies that fly in the face of most party members
Latest Comment
Celebrities don't need to speak up
Tim Dick 12:05 AM The weird belief that the ease of expression brings a duty to say something should be firmly dispatched. Of all the things we need to do, making speech more compulsory than free is not one of them.
The true menace to our borders
Joseph Petyanszki 12:15 AM In the border security debate, it has been easy to deflect the public's attention to boat arrivals.
What if no one wins the election?
George Williams 12:00 AM With polls showing the major parties running neck and neck, attention has turned to whether this weekend's election will produce a hung parliament. What would happen then?.
JUNE 27
Don't do a Brexit and vote on fear
12:05 AM Whichever party wins next Saturday, let it be for good rational reasons and not for its appeal to our baser emotions.
Turnbull ramps up his 'trust me' pitch
12:05 AM The Prime Minister has appealed to the broader electorate, counselling them not to "roll the dice" on anyone other than Coalition candidates in both houses.
We must follow Britain to the exit
Peter FitzSimons Who saw Bill Shorten being interviewed by Leigh Sales on 7.30 on Thursday evening?
Turnbull's 'marriage reform' disaster waiting to happen
Mark Kenny On same-sex marriage, a potentially weakened Malcolm Turnbull is sitting on a powder keg.
The rise of the millionaire Labor voter
Matt Wade The property boom has boosted wealth in traditional Labor electorates.
Lunch with an old friend
Charles Waterstreet My friend Marcus Einfeld, post incarceration, has gone from mentor to tormentor. We meet and mourn the loss of language.
Why Malcolm Turnbull deserves his own mandate
... as long as he reconnects with his core values and keeps his promises.
Sydney's planning storm is building to a tempest
Elizabeth Farrelly Conditions in Sydney right now conspire toward a perfect planning storm of unprecedented ferocity, and the power tie-ups across three levels of government are critical enablers.
Women are behind from the start
Anne Summers Is it coincidence or is it causal? Is there a correlation between the number of women holding seats, or likely to win one next Saturday, and that federal parliamentary party's policy on women? At first glance, it would seem so.
The world's most expensive delaying tactic
Jacqueline Maley All jokes aside, it's hard not to feel sorry for Scott Morrison. It must be tough backing a doomed cause.
Europe's new nationalism is here to stay
Simon Toubeau The British referendum that has delivered a vote for “Brexit” is the latest, dramatic indication that this nationalism is here to stay.
Football's abuse of women is institutional
Rachel Matthews The abuse of women in football is ongoing. Its language. Its attitudes. And sexual assault.
New York: Impressions of a first-timer
Martin Flanagan This is a country whose citizens kill one another at a rate unmatched in the western world.
Trump's political suicide mission
Mike Murphy The political neophyte billionaire is substituting egomania for strategy.
Why we need domestic violence leave
Ged Kearney Such leave would give people an invaluable safety net as they try to get the help they need to protect themselves and their families.
A Disunited Kingdom and the European Disunion
The vote for Brexit creates enormous threats to the economy and social cohesion.
JUNE 25
Brexit: Britannia waives the rules
A growing disquiet in Western democracies illustrated by the Brexit movement in Britain and the Trump phenomenon in the US are expressions of growing discontent.
Column 8: Don't get too down, crossword puzzle suspiciously tricky
"Instead of an alternative, how about an addition to the C8 ranks of peerage?" writes David Brooker in Bomaderry.
Swing voters have swung to Trump
Francis Wilkinson Swing voters tend to be low-information voters. But when veteran pollster Peter Hart convened a group of 11 "blue-collar and economically struggling" voters from suburban Pittsburgh on Tuesday, in research for the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, it seemed that Donald Trump's campaign messages had pierced the fog.
Abortion bill shouldn't be ignored
Nicholas Cowdery There is a compelling argument for NSW (and Queensland) to come into line with the rest of the country on the matter of decriminalising abortion.
Baird's cabinet reshuffle dilemma
Sean Nicholls The question of longevity is once again on Mike Baird's mind, if the persistent talk among government MPs is on the money. But not his own.
Why you should be able to take your leave to a new job
Dave Oliver A national leave bank scheme would mean workers in insecure jobs could still access their leave entitlements.
Forget hollow apologies, take away the money
Emma Buckley Lennox Behavioural change cannot happen without people like Sam Newman, Eddie McGuire and other men with power changing their language.
Myer should stick with what it does best
Madeline White Classic, dependable and enduring – that's what we want from Myer.
Brexit: helping to save a united Europe would be a fitting legacy for Jo Cox
Nicholas Kristof RIP, Jo Cox. May Britain remember your wisdom.
Trump savaged himself when he attacked Clinton
Chris Cillizza It's very hard to bash your opponent on not turning over her speech transcripts when you won't turn over your tax returns.
It's about more than Nick Xenophon this time
The surging Senator's team of relative unknowns might not live up to his reputation for fairness, flexibility, independence and accountability.
JUNE 24
Plebiscite 'a free kick for all bigots'
If Peter Waterhouse's argument (Letters, June 23) is about preserving the "covenant" of marriage, perhaps he should look into its history.
Why you should pay more for soft drinks
Jane Martin Sugary drinks are the largest contributor of added sugar in Australian diets. This is sugar that our bodies simply do not need, and a major contributor to Australia's obesity epidemic.
Human rights failures say a lot about our government
Ben Saul The government can sing its own praises. I will sing its failures.
Treasurer out of touch with LGBTQI issues
Claire Connelly "I'm a victim, too" is the confused reply of somebody who doesn't know how to properly defend their position.
Cuts to legal services will erode the social fabric of communities
Robert Pelletier An increase state funding for domestic violence programs is welcome news. But cuts to federal funding for legal services will be devastating.
COMMENT
Brazil should be embarrassed about Rio's acceptance of crime
Lia Timson I can never tell my dad in advance that I'm going back to Brazil for a visit. This is why.
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.
