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SMH Editorials

Great schools focus on student needs

There's a fine line between raising standards and putting too much pressure on students.

The question is often whether a preference to support public education and the local community is strong enough, and whether the neighbourhood comprehensive high school is still the best option.

Robust state finances give Baird government a year-end glow

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It's been a rough year for the Baird government. But the latest Half-Yearly Review which updates the state's financial position provides us with the opportunity to step back and look more broadly at the 'core' of how the government travelling.

Turnbull buckles on effective climate action

 Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg, pictured with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, said the only reason for power ...

Look at last week's appalling capitulation on constructive climate policy debate to see how dysfunctional and beholden to the Abbott right that the government purportedly led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has become.

Politicians the main threat to growth and budget repair

Treasurer Scott Morrison says the GDP result is more than a wake-up call for Australia.

Australia needs a policy circuit-breaker to find economic drivers to replace the mining investment boom. Despite claims of agility and innovation from the Turnbull government, they haven't emerged yet largely because so many proposals are ruled out on purely political grounds.

We've waited too long for media law reform

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in a 2GB radio interview: media reform has been dogged by political inertia.

The media loves a debate; it thrives on the vigorous interplay of competing views. But we have to say, there's one debate that has dragged on quite long enough. We are long overdue for reform on media ownership laws.

Why we need more Australian stories on the big screen

Teresa Palmer and Mel Gibson at the Australian premiere of <i>Hacksaw Ridge</i>.

Nothing says hot days are coming more than the launch of the much hyped summer movie blockbuster. While Australians flock to cinemas not just as a way to escape the heat, we also go to escape from the daily grind and to be entranced by stories. But increasingly, this year at least, we've been drawn to films not made on our own shores.The  top three grossing films  in 2016 in this country came out of Hollywood: Captain America: Civil War, Finding Dory and Zootopia, all made by Disney.

Sydney v the regions: our two-speed state

NSW Premier Mike Baird and former deputy premier Troy Grant were stunned by angry and economically fearful voters in Orange.

The growing fear of regional torpor and the backlash against conventional politics bring potentially self-defeating solutions, like a lurch back into protectionism.

ATAR improvements a good start

Professor Peter Shergold's report has offered sound proposals to make the university entry process more transparent.

Universities will have to be more transparent about how they use ATARs and other criteria in admissions. That will rob them of a key - yet often misleading - marketing message: that high ATAR admissions equal prestige education.

Trump card leaves migrant workers at a loss

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten have each displayed political opportunism over 457 ...

Rather than playing the migration card, the Turnbull government's priority must be to better match the 457 visas with skills shortages, without disadvantaging Australians who are skilled to do the same jobs.

Sydney 2026: the Herald examines the shape of the city to come

By any measure, the coming decade will be a tumultuous one for the city. And it is with this knowledge that the Herald ...

Sydney can never be full. In a globalised economy, the city must invariably evolve and grow. The city's industrial composition will change. Demand for different types of housing will emerge. Powerful interests will fight to preserve privilege. New pockets of disadvantage will be created, and should be broken down. These are some of the dynamics that will inevitably shape the future of a city, like Sydney, beholden to the movements of trade, commerce and migration.

Pill-testing protests: It should not have come to this

One in 10 Australians over 14 years of age has tried ecstasy (pictured).

The Australian summer music festival season is about to ramp up. The risk to festival fans is ramping up too. For many young Australians drug taking is part of the festival experience, but with illicit drug manufacturers becoming ever more creative in their pursuit of unscrupulous profits the dangers have never been greater.