Lindt siege: Monis was the murderer but face it, our system failed too
The community must confront one issue, lest police once again allow inaction to play the predominant role in the outcome.
We're at war and we're not ready
Australia isn't 'sleepwalking' into war; we already did that.
Does increased defence spending make a country safer?
Does setting an arbitrary target for defence spending, rather than carefully judging the likely strategic threats, actually make a country any safer?
Dumping on Trump and a halal grilling: a day at estimates
Welcome to what are blithely known as Senate estimates committee hearings.
Meet the real high taxpayers. They're not high earners
The budget pushed low-income earners' marginal tax rate up towards 100 per cent.
Advance Australia Fair is a mid-tempo dirge and needs to go
We should love our national anthem not fall asleep because of it.
Birmingham's subtle style
Government ministers bring very different approaches to the job.
Budget squeezes women without NDIS cover
The Turnbull government's budget measures may hit women earning below-average wages with an effective marginal tax rate of 100 per cent.
A long time ago, in a budget reality far away ...
The economic future that the Treasury has forecast for Australia is, sadly, a nonsense.
Twiggy has discovered what many us won't: giving makes us feel good
With $400 million, Twiggy Forrest has discovered what many us won't: giving makes us feel good - and research shows he's right.
Democracy at a price - NSW Liberals charged to attend gathering on party's future
Liberal Party members in New South Wales will be charged $199 to attend a two-day talk-fest.
Peter Dutton's fake war on asylum seekers
Peter Dutton's war on "fake refugees" is misleading, based on a false premise and dangerous in that it pre-empts a fair hearing of claims for refugee status.
Watch out, clever ones, the 'bogans' have had enough
A government's job is to make the best decisions possible in the long-term interest of all of us.
How top cops massage the news
Police have long had a very slippery understanding and application of sub judice laws.
Remembering the forgotten people
These elegant, thought-provoking addresses still reverberate 75 years later, even among critics,
Why AFL will not take off in China
If developing an Aussie Rules competition in the US is difficult, having one in China is well-nigh impossible.
Hermits and spaceports vanish, but the river abides
The crocodiles, they say up north, finally got old Hugo, the hermit of the Olive River.
Trump troubles extend to allies
Imagine if you read this news story: Malcolm Turnbull has sacked the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police for continuing investigations into past links between Mr Turnbull's office and a foreign government. The extraordinary move coincides with explosive new revelations of impromptu intelligence sharing with that same government, by the Prime Minister himself. This fictional rendering conveys the gravity of events now swirling around Donald J Trump's idiosyncratic administration by posing the question: what would happen if an Australian PM leant on the AFP to forget past links with a foreign government; free lanced on sensitiv
The 2017 budget's inconvenient truth
Adjusted for tricks, there's no chance of a surplus for a long time.
WA Liberals turn their fear and loathing to the deep blue sea
Being perched on the edge of the world is apparently so oppressive it turns some citizens quite batty.
'Policy based on love' at odds with reality
Plan to test dole applicants seems like the budget's wackiest measure, writes Judith Ireland.
Banks may yet win this tax war
The industry may be unpopular but it has vast political power at its disposal.
Budget fails to propel Turnbull, but it may yet pay off
The absence of a poll bounce may render the budget an expensive failure, but there is hope for the PM.
What should the Greens do with Gonski 2.0?
With Labor implacably opposed, the Greens must play a positive role in the Senate.
Christensen chose to spend his time with bigots
The Queensland conservative is trying too late to distance himself from racist anti-Semites.
Illusion of action in the absence of thoughtful policy
Scott Morrison's hit on banks shows his preference for stunts over meaningful policy development.
An unpopular politician has found a way to be popular
Scott Morrison is not one of Australia's more popular politicians and only 2 or 3 per cent of voters generally prefer him as Liberal leader.
![Malcolm Turnbull: "If we don't sell [coal] to [India], someone else will.''](/web/20170526013442im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/3/b/p/l/image.related.landscape.120x80.gw4g4s.png/1495416047919.jpg)
Budget gives Coalition something to build on
Labor-lite the budget strategy may be, but the PM's calculus is that most voters live in the middle ground.
Don't pop the champagne just yet, Malcolm
The Fairfax Ipsos post-budget poll shows a boost for the Prime Minister, but it is also hardly a disaster for Bill Shorten and Labor.
A budget for voters, not the common good
Unless we act seriously to preserve our threatened planet, all the budget's nuances will be meaningless.
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Campaign highlights - and lowlights
The hurly-burly of the 2016 election campaign, as seen through the eyes of Fairfax reporters and photographers.