In a cynical world, can people still take us by surprise?
Working in the media can make it hard to see the lighter side.
Latest commentary
Rinehart has a valuable lesson for Australia
Gina Rinehart has just proffered a valuable lesson for Australia: when it comes to our economic future we should be looking to agriculture.
We need to read more stories like Jasmin's in mainstream media
The cover of the latest issue of the Australian Women's Weekly shows Michelle Obama and Meryl Streep embracing behind a coverline that reads, "Why we're friends." The image is catnip to a gay lefty like myself: two of the world's most beloved no-last-names-needed women – Michelle! Meryl! – together at last, sharing a sly joke, just as they do monthly in my dreams.
Lecherous Trump presents an even bigger target
The real Donald Trump has been in full view from the very beginning. The only difference now is that Republicans can no longer pretend they can't see him.
So much for Trump's real victims
It's fascinating that this is the moment that may derail Trump's White House dreams; that this is the step too far.
China's treatment of Hong Kong is a lesson for Australia
Anson Chan, the "Iron Lady" of Hong Kong, says that the Chinese government's treatment of her city is an object lesson for Australia and the world.
Trump like a drunk having an argument with a mirror
About the most reliable method of doing in your head is to walk sober into a bar where a drunk is having an argument with a mirror.
Why Turnbull should be looking over his shoulder
It's very easy to look at the current position of Malcolm Turnbull - whose talent for legislative inaction, internal disunity, and massive public relations own goals rivals that of his predecessor - and assume his days are numbered, but there have been two things that have largely ensured his safety as leader.
Time to improve treatment of the most costly disease in Australia
Victoria once invested more per capita in mental health care than any other State. Now we languish at the bottom of the list.
Women, join me in the locker room
Society has been policing the wrong gender for centuries! Yes, we have been shamed, controlled, patrolled.
Creator of Sid seagull in Slip! Slop! Slap! cancer campaign
Stitt's dancing seagull, in the "Slip! Slop! Slap!" campaign for the Cancer Council of Australia, became part of the most successful advertising campaigns in Australia's history
Stop saying these things to your single friends
The Washington Post
Singer in Dixie Cups trio which recorded hit Chapel of Love
Lyrics that unseated the Beatles: Goin' to the chapel and we're gonna get ma-a-arried.
The new face of war in a connected world
Here's a turn-up for the books: Barnaby Joyce has finally managed to get something right.
Medical school can be brutal, and it’s making many of us suicidal
I wrote publicly about my own struggle with depression during medical school. The days leading up to the article's publication were terrifying.
In the Herald: October 11, 1957
Obscured over Sydney
Trump has always been a suitable candidate . . . to the missing
You've got to feel for all those senior Republicans who have suddenly discovered Donald Trump is not a suitable candidate for the Presidency.
In the Herald: October 10, 1958
Millions mourn Pope Pius
Is this the end of the age of cheap air travel?
The aviation industry has crossed a threshold. After almost two decades of talks, 191 countries gathered in Montreal last week to adopt a global market-based system to tackle the rise of carbon emissions from international air travel.
It's time for Mike Pence to take a stand
It's hard, at this point, to understand how a Christian, a conservative, or a Republican could support Trump as he drags his candidacy further into the gutter - and his party toward defeat in November.
Many men talk like Donald Trump. And only other men can stop them.
I know Donald Trump. Though we have never met, I know him well. At several moments throughout the campaign, I have felt that something about Trump was disturbingly familiar, but I couldn't quite pinpoint it.
Why is flying to Weipa not cheaper than Bali?
Infrastructure could open tourism opportunities.
Nine signs you need to invest in your lifestyle
Investing in your lifestyle may have traditionally been a clear signal to rush out and buy your dream boat or spending endless hours a a Day Spa.
The reality is that Trump's bravado camouflages inadequacy
In the short term, this is a personal humiliation for him. In the long term, it could wreck the conservative movement.
Clamshell computer paved the way for the laptop
John Ellenby was a British-born computer engineer who played a critical role in developing the laptop computer.
Feminist, activist and councillor recognised for outstanding contributions to community life
Monica Hayes was long-term and proud Labor Party member and office holder, she was also an active campaigner for refugee rights
Donald Trump, Groper in Chief
Jill Harth's first concern with Donald Trump's hands wasn't that they were small. It's that they were everywhere.
We are suffering from a massive empathy deficit
I walked past a man sitting on a bench in an inner-city park on Thursday. He was clearly drunk, clutching a precious longneck, and yelling his stuff.
Why Donald Trump and Billy Bush's leaked conversation is so awful
The Washington Post
The dumbest thing people say about drug addicts
I spent much of 2015 hanging out in a drug house. I knew it when it was a cozy man-pad in north Brisbane, where my son had lived for five years.