Fifteen years after the 9/11 attacks, violence plagues the Middle East
Despite its initial military successes in Afghanistan and Iraq, the US lacked a viable strategy for post-invasion management of the two countries.
Latest commentary
Politics under the influence gets ugly
You can bet your bottom dollar, whatever Dastyari was up to, others are also at the trough.
What is so controversial about a climate ‘toolkit’?
The idea that an emissions trading scheme is the "one true climate policy" is one of the last vestiges of the Kevin Rudd era.
Scholarship boy rose to become a dedicated architect of state's modern education system
As Victoria's most senior public servant in education until 1984, Lawrie Shears was insightful, clear-minded and powerful.
If I were the federal health minister, I would ...
Consumers with private health insurance need to be given a fair go by the government. If I was the federal health minister there are three areas I would focus on immediately to take the pressure off the entire health care system.
Heritage values being trashed in the rush to redevelop Inner South
Manuka Oval is an important heritage listed site and the National Trust (ACT) supports the ACT government's decision to reject the proposed massive redevelopment proposed by a consortium comprising Grocon and the GWS Giants Football club. The site includes the oval, caretaker's cottage and setting, grandstands, seating areas, practice areas, parts of road verge and surrounding landscape areas.
The Sam Dastyari affair confirms what many voters think
The Sam Dastyari affair was for most a confirmation of how the political system works.
Why John Howard is wrong. Very wrong
One of the ancillary effects of our nation's current thing for vigorous prime ministerial crop-rotation is that the last guy to hold down the job for a full term – Mr John Winston Howard, private citizen – has smoothly assumed oracle status.
A Turnbull leadership tragedy could be unfolding
Malcolm Turnbull's own backers fear they are witnessing the unfolding of a tragedy as epic as the one that destroyed Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.
Where there's smoke ... there's a slightly less pleasant flight
On April 17, a United Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner jet with 238 passengers, 11 cabin crew and four flight crew onboard left Sydney for San Francisco.
Refugistan: how a virtual state might alleviate the refugee crisis
A striking and moving feature of the Rio Olympic Games was the presence of a team composed entirely of refugees. The team included swimmers from Syria now based in Germany, judokas from the Democratic Republic of Congo living in Brazil, and Sudanese track athletes based in Kenya.
Tromp walkabout no picnic, more a fresh entry in Australian storybook
The family-jaunt-gone-awry narrative is straight from an Australian horror-story, the road-trip turned nightmare journey into a netherworld.
Why Mike Baird needs to tame toddlers to reduce crime
In her bible on toddler behaviour, The Mighty Toddler, the midwife and Australian high priestess of baby-knowledge, Robin Barker, lists common toddler behaviours.
How will our political parties avoid addressing donation reform?
Donation reform has never been a more urgent issue, so how will our nation's politicians make it all go away?
Besim's sentence shows we're soft on terror
Sevdet Besim has a vision for Australia and it goes like this. It's the middle of April, 2015, and Besim's insides rumble with loathing and hate. Revenge will be loud, brutal and sweet. In a week's time, the nation will commemorate another Anzac Day. What better date to send a message they will never forget?
Don't laugh too hard at AFL X - it's all part of the plan
The AFL just may take over the country yet. Surely that's the plan behind AFL X?
In Passing
Isabelle Dinoire; Elisabeth Hardy; The Lady Chablis
Five reasons the women playing AFL deserve a decent deal
You can't call them professional and then tell them they can't earn a living from it.
How to protect your brilliant invention
Have you got an awesome idea but are afraid to tell anyone in case they steal it? Then this Sister-In-Law column is for you!
I'm a 32-year-old virgin, and I'm living the feminist dream
I decided I would save every act of affection, including kissing, until my wedding day.
Council's 40 km/h plan doesn't make sense
Today the Port Phillip Council chimed in on the proposed design of Domain Station, part of the new rail link, Metro Tunnel. The council made a number of suggestions, including having a few more than 25 parking spots for bikes, and maybe cutting down a few fewer trees. Sensible enough.
It's nice to imagine there's a Tassie tiger out there ... somewhere
It's long thought to be extinct, but reported sightings of this mysterious creature are keeping the legend alive.
The three times when you need to be extra nice to your neighbours
We undertook the most in-depth investigative work since Woodward and Bernstein cracked Watergate – except this was FenceGate.
Springsteen refuses to suffer depression silently
When Bruce Springsteen became the pin-up of American teenagers and patriots in the 1980s, punk musician Henry Rollins was unimpressed. He told an interviewer: 'I really dislike that guy. I think he is a very good businessman, a good scammer, he is taking advantage of a country that is unsure of itself.' What was the difference, he said, between pumping your fist to 'Born in the USA' and 'Deutschland Uber Alles'? 'It's bogus nationalism with a good rock beat.'
Tenor who was big in stature, voice and personality
The tenor was hurt by suggestions that he was not believable as an on-stage lover. "I sing like one," he insisted.
Rebuilding integrity and public trust in parliament, post Dastyari, is vital
When Bronwyn Bishop last year took a ride on a helicopter to a political party function when she could have been driven, there was a clamour that she had acted corruptly. "How corrupt is that" her critics cried. At the time I wrote, "That's not corruption. It is arrogance, stupidity, a reflection of a politician out of touch with their community and with an inflated sense of their own importance, and all of this against a backdrop of very poor leadership which looked the other way."
I'm against ban, but burkini still makes me uncomfortable
The suggestion that bare breasts were more representative of France than a headscarf has been savaged by historians and other politicians.
Economics behind dishing out dining advice
An economic analysis of 1.6 million Yelp reviews has revealed the worst location to dine out.
How Apple lost its mojo
Apple's design difficulties prompt two questions: how bad is this problem? And how can Apple solve it?
Sadly, Howard's explanation on gender imbalance is right
Former prime minister's comments indicate a failure to see that women's unpaid labour does not come about as some sort of biological imperative.