![Premier Mike Baird (right) and Opposition Leader Luke Foley put political pragmatism before principles in the racing saga.](/web/20161013141754im_/http://www.watoday.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/x/o/n/2/image.related.wideLandscape.620x349.gs14u9.png/1476359651811.jpg)
Baird's craven backdown shows it's business as usual in NSW
Neither Mike Baird nor Luke Foley have lived up to their claim to be conviction politicians.
Neither Mike Baird nor Luke Foley have lived up to their claim to be conviction politicians.
Few are in doubt Labor will be hit with a protest vote at tomorrow's poll. The unknown is where that protest vote goes.
You can expect to hear a lot more from the Turnbull government about an "investment approach" to welfare. But what, exactly, does that mean?
The Syrian situation is becoming more complex by the day and Russia is set to gain wider influence in the Middle East than could have been anticipated a year ago.
"What do you stand for?" What do you believe in?" Simple questions that tend to attract vague and variable answers in today's politics, here and globally.
Even as the Labor Party appears to have blunted the chances of the proposed plebiscite into gay marriage this week, the most vociferous opponents of gay marriage have been hitting the airwaves casting doubt and weaving mischief.
I am most certainly not condoning shoplifting. But what the vast majority of us – all law-abiding people - don't need or deserve is to be treated with a contemptuous and unthinking corporate suspicion as a default setting.
Save it for Beach Road, brother ... Melbourne bike riders' most annoying habits.
School bazaar
Following Monday's presidential debate, no one mentioned Trump's grope boasts, but all mentioned his preposterous mane.
Derek John Mulvaney, born October 26,1925; died September 21, 2016
The decision to move away from hormonal birth control is a controversial one.
From the Russian convoys to the Vietnam War.
Same-sex marriage now joins serious climate change policy as one of Australian politics' unachievables, where the machinations of parliament sit entirely at odds with the demonstrated popular will.
Wednesday was my sister Karen's 49th birthday. Sadly, she wasn't here to celebrate that with us.
Katie Murphy and her partner Fergus always said that they wanted to have a family together. They just didn't know that they would need to wipe out Katie's superannuation to pay for it.
A good chunk of Scott Morrison's budget problems could have vanished, just as they vanished for Peter Costello during mining boom at the start of the century.
The HSC is a stressful experience and it is normal to experience some anxiety. However, for some children, high levels of anxiety can affect their exam performance.
If the Premier can ditch an issue on which he staked his moral authority, many will be hoping he will launch his Manly torso into a string of acrobatics.
Donald Trump is a dill. But his support for the sexual assault of women - because that's what he was doing in the 2005 video - is downright dangerous.
If Premier Mike Baird is serious about tackling domestic violence, and we believe he is, then he must remain committed to the state-wide 10pm closing time of bottle shops on the back of the significant reductions in assaults these changes have brought.
There is increasing recognition that the human right to water cannot be separated from global discussions about water scarcity and governance.
The Latrobe Valley may have a proud history of supplying cheap power to the state. But those days are probably going to end.
Some are intent on maintaining the status quo on a narrow issue at the expense of continuing to build the vibrancy of our national capital.
The Washington Post
Something is changing. This week one male voice spurred millions of female voices to reply in a chorus.
Defied widespread anti-Nazi sentiment by arguing strongly for the prohibition on German players competing at Wimbledon to be lifted.
Sorry to ruin your angry pub conversations about "if only we had proper leaders!", but running the country is a second-string prime ministerial priority at best.
The essential fact is that students in independent schools receive less government money than those in government schools.
Panama and Australia