Talented students are neglected by our schools
It's a worry that Australians fret so volubly over the fortunes of our sporting elite yet the long, steady decline in the results of our best and brightest young students barely rates a mention.
Latest commentary
We got wrongly billed but how could the groom not know?
Just imagine if you did what Liberal MP Steven Irons did. That is, you charged your customers, or clients, or patients $2000 to fly to your own wedding
'Tangles' loved for his rowdy, larrikin style
Walker demonstrated throughout his career that good bowling has far more to it than raw speed
Poor people do pay for schools with their taxes, Scott Morrison
The Treasurer reminds poor people that maybe they could send their kids to better quality schools if they'd stop selfishly being so poor all the time.
Clinton faces enduring fear of women in power
The endless conspiracy theories about her having a body double, having dementia, having a terminal illness, wearing a colostomy bag – they are, all of them, theories inspired by a deep-seated fear of women, and particularly older women, having power.
This is how much leading Republicans hate women
The "war on women" started as a Democratic talking point intended to delegitimise Republican positions on abortion, rape and domestic violence. But over the past couple of days, we haven't even needed a policy debate or a slightly hyperbolic political slogan for a number of Republicans to do a truly impressive job of demonstrating just how much they personally hate women.
How the first presidential debate really played out
I have taken the liberty of abridging the debate in case you were one of the six or so Americans who did not watch.
Taboo broken to negotiate historic peace accord
Dogged by a reputation for back-room dealing, Shimon Peres ended his years in public office as a remarkably beloved figure.
In the Herald: September 29, 1974
Another art record
Victoria being short-changed on federal funding
If you want to get a sense of what's wrong with infrastructure funding in this country, look no further than Victoria.
Clinton's triumph over Trump is a victory for clever girls everywhere
While Hillary Clinton clearly won by a mile, calm, diligent females outperforming loud, attention-disordered males does not necessarily translate into success in a world that sadly still fears the former and rewards the latter.
Dr Joe Kosterich: Statins - the plot thickens
Conflicting views have again emerged about statin medications in two leading British Medical Journals.
Mooning laws are, well, un-Australian
The new laws would be comical in their absurdity and potential overreach - if they weren't true.
How I fought a charge for protesting the light rail and won
Have you ever thought about what you would do if part of your suburb were under threat from your own government in the name of progress? I hadn't until last May.
The unacceptable risk to airport security these school holidays
Monday saw the start of the Community and Public Sector Union's two weeks of intermittent rolling Border Force strikes at international airports. The random and rolling nature of these half-hour stoppages will dramatically restrict the Border Force executive's capacity to mitigate the impacts of the strike.
I watched the presidential debate with the sound turned off and still know who won
Can you learn more about who won the debate by watching it on mute?
We shouldn't turn our backs on the world economy
Remember globalisation? It was big news some years back. Now, however, the leaders of the global economy worry that public opinion is turning against it, pressuring governments to reverse it.
Dangerous, ignorant, petulant: Trump has no business being president
In any normal political campaign, Donald Trump's performance in the US presidential debate would be judged an unmitigated disaster.
Channel Country: The greatest nature show on Earth
In the barely perceptible depressions that make up the Channel Country, nature has come to life in abundance. Weeks of steady rain have flood the plains around the Cooper, stirring life from deep beneath the stony soil, and transforming the landscape.
Party bureaucrat-speak
Just as governments depend upon the public service, political parties depend upon their bureaucrats, party officials, campaign directors and ministerial staffers.
How I know the Sharks will win the grand final
Just about anything is better than playing golf – even watching Cronulla win their first NRL title.
Not every debate zinger hit its mark
Both candidates tried to nail their opponent, but not every one-liner was a keeper.
Social justice champion inspired by gratitude of POWs
Silk stockings and cigarettes, useful bribes to gain entry to the Moulin Rouge.
Why Generation X are going nuts for the bands of their youth
For Gen X the time stretching out behind us now feels much longer than the time stretching out ahead of us. And it seems no coincidence to me that the bands of our youth are touring again.
In the Herald: September 28, 1958
The end of jazz
The people's game deserves a public holiday more than most
The AFL Grand Final deserves a public holiday. Every year.
A mother has lost four sons to gun violence, but still no one has gone to prison
For the fourth time in her life, Phyllis Gray got the news that a son had been gunned down
Our cherished rights could be gone in a flash
We must stand, and bend over, for a precious Australian tradition.
Have we reached peak secrecy?
Without an independent adjudicator, sufficiently resourced to hold government to account, where would we be? Well, right about here actually.
Sorry, Facebook, but curing every disease is a stupid idea
The Zuckerberg-Chans have the most ambitious vision yet. We'd better hope they don't succeed.