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Fans fall foul of the AFL money machine
Opinion
AFL

Fans fall foul of the AFL money machine

On Thursday night it will point to the near capacity crowd figures and hefty television ratings, and ask what all the fuss was about.

  • by Sam Duncan

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'Silly': PM's call for values-free public schools makes little sense
Opinion
National

'Silly': PM's call for values-free public schools makes little sense

It’s not just sex education or anti-bullying programs that reflect a school’s values.

  • by Kerri Sackville
The next sharemarket crash is coming. Here's what to do about it
Opinion
Investing

The next sharemarket crash is coming. Here's what to do about it

A classic weakness of the average investor is complacency.

  • by Marcus Padley
How to have a successful scroll-free September
Opinion
Health & wellness

How to have a successful scroll-free September

It offers you the opportunity to review and reflect on your relationship with your smartphone - a chance to reset your priorities and regain control of how you spend your time.

  • by Linda Blair
Why the banks will ignore customer anger and match Westpac’s rate rise
Opinion
Banking & finance

Why the banks will ignore customer anger and match Westpac’s rate rise

Punishing wrongdoers won’t fix our problem with banking

  • by Ross Gittins
Enough is enough: After 11 years, I'm deactivating my Twitter account
Opinion
Technology

Enough is enough: After 11 years, I'm deactivating my Twitter account

If Dorsey can show he's serious about improving things in the next 30 days, before my account is gone forever, I might come back. But I’m not holding my breath.

  • by Peter Wells
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In encryption wars, it can be a matter of life or death
Opinion
Technology

In encryption wars, it can be a matter of life or death

Imagine this: A bomb's about to go off in the CBD. Apple could help prevent it. Would privacy or security win out?

  • by Ben Grubb
Every woman I know has had that Ariana Grande moment
North America

Every woman I know has had that Ariana Grande moment

Before this happened, I wouldn't have recognised an Ariana Grande song. But I do recognise the hug and the hand that are too close for comfort.

  • by Kate Woodsome
Our withering institutions are betraying us
Opinion
Federal

Our withering institutions are betraying us

When organisations are put on a pedestal and allowed to operate in secrecy, they will fail us.

  • by Stephen Bartos
Crony capitalism and corruption in our midst
Opinion
Federal

Crony capitalism and corruption in our midst

Look for corruption in Australia and you'll never be disappointed. Indeed, it’s been normalised.

  • by Michael McKinley
No burning desires in today's submissive secretaries
Opinion
Federal

No burning desires in today's submissive secretaries

Apart from Mike Pezzullo and a few others, agency heads have demonstrated a pathetic lack of guts.

  • by Paddy Gourley
Just who are the hobbits of Home Affairs?
Opinion
Federal

Just who are the hobbits of Home Affairs?

'They go back into their holes not knowing the sacrifices endured to keep them safe.'

  • by Markus Mannheim
Book extract: The Mess We're In
Opinion
Federal

Book extract: The Mess We're In

A drop in the quality of senior public servants has contributed to the many bureaucratic bungles of recent years.

  • by Bernard Keane
'Trump is checking out of Asia': What Australia should do about it
Opinion
Asia

'Trump is checking out of Asia': What Australia should do about it

Australia needs to make contingency plans for finding security in a region where the US is increasingly remote and China increasingly present.

  • by Peter Hartcher
Tax breaks can solve the housing crisis
Opinion
Federal

Tax breaks can solve the housing crisis

If governments won't provide enough public housing, they should subsidise more community housing.

  • by Stephen Anthony
Executive pay and community anger
Opinion
Federal

Executive pay and community anger

Pay rises to executives vastly beyond what other staff receive break the social contract and tarnish the organisation's reputation.

  • by Peter Wilson
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Fake honey claims an argument for supporting local food producers
Opinion
ACT

Fake honey claims an argument for supporting local food producers

Australia produces some of the purest foods in the world. Is it really worth risking your family's health just to save a few dollars by buying a cheap import?

  • by The Canberra Times
Bring back these Aussie sayings. They're fresh, brilliant and ours
Opinion
National

Bring back these Aussie sayings. They're fresh, brilliant and ours

Have a gander at ’em! Use them. Because so many of them are largely forgotten.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Is food the key to a calm mind?
Analysis
Health & wellness

Is food the key to a calm mind?

Open a bottle of kombucha and grab a punnet of blueberries, anxious comrades.

  • by Michelle Andrews
It is a matter of trust
Opinion
ACT

It is a matter of trust

It starts with political donations, and so it must follow that there comes a times to seek a return on such "investments".

One halal of an ex-senator
Opinion
Federal

One halal of an ex-senator

Sam Dastyari's anodyne memoir and TV show suggest he hasn't given up on a comeback.

  • by Stephen Holt
Energy inquiry highlights the Coalition's policy vacuum
Analysis
Federal

Energy inquiry highlights the Coalition's policy vacuum

A royal commission cannot fix a fundamental challenge for the Coalition – its proven inability to reach agreement on energy policy.

  • by David Crowe
Why our nursing homes are such a long way from world class
Opinion
National

Why our nursing homes are such a long way from world class

Staffing levels, particularly the number of trained nurses, have fallen to unsafe levels in many homes in Australia over the past 21 years.

  • by Lynda Saltarelli
The blatant, in-your-face scam that's catching us all
Opinion
Consumer affairs

The blatant, in-your-face scam that's catching us all

Ever travel? Then you'd be a victim of the hotel pre-authorisation scam.

  • by John Birmingham
Time to update the electorate guidelines
Opinion
ACT

Time to update the electorate guidelines

The decision to name the ACT's third Commonwealth Parliament electorate after a white Australian male calls for rethinking of how electorates are named.

  • by Kim Rubenstein & Katrina Hall
Here we go again: Smith wrestles with the elephant in the room
Analysis
NRL

Here we go again: Smith wrestles with the elephant in the room

The Storm captain was stunned when told Souths counterpart Sam Burgess complained about their wrestling techniques the last time the sides met.

  • by Andrew Webster
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What a coincidence: ABC news website blocked in China
Analysis
Asia

What a coincidence: ABC news website blocked in China

The ABC website became inaccessible the day after the Turnbull government said Huawei, could not be involved in Australia's 5G network rollout.

  • by Kirsty Needham
September to the Max: Gawn primed for finals impact
Analysis
AFL

September to the Max: Gawn primed for finals impact

The finals are the big time, and they might belong to the big Melbourne man.

  • by Chris Judd
The great fear I have with new teaching standards
Opinion
Workplace

The great fear I have with new teaching standards

Will we lose the enormous benefits that can come with the brilliant, the eccentric, the odd teacher?

  • by William McKeith
How the big four banks work out the best day to raise interest rates
Opinion
Banking & finance

How the big four banks work out the best day to raise interest rates

It was no coincidence that Westpac chose a Wednesday to lift its interest rates, now all eyes are on when its rivals will move.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
Joe Root is revitalised after outflanking his big rival Virat Kohli
Opinion
Cricket

Joe Root is revitalised after outflanking his big rival Virat Kohli

The day was pure Indian summer but it felt like spring for Joe Root's captaincy.

  • by Paul Hayward
Window for change opens at Virgin as owners take exit row
Analysis
Companies

Window for change opens at Virgin as owners take exit row

Last week's purging of its balance sheet and its board guidance creates an opportunity to de-clutter Virgin Australia's share register and board.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Public sector virtues v private sector values?
Opinion
Federal

Public sector virtues v private sector values?

The differences between the two organisational cultures are not as great as often imagined.

  • by Richard Mulgan
Dire consequences: fake honey imports could lead to a humanitarian disaster
Opinion
Consumer affairs

Dire consequences: fake honey imports could lead to a humanitarian disaster

The growing popularity of 'fake honey' puts honey bees at risk, and could lead to a humanitarian disaster never before seen in modern society.

  • by Robert Costa
What we get wrong about 'baby brain'
Opinion
Life & relationships

What we get wrong about 'baby brain'

What drives me round the twist about talk of 'baby brain' and 'mum brain' is the deficit model it takes.

  • by Polly Dunning
To prove they don't have a woman problem, the Liberals should fix this
Opinion
Life & relationships

To prove they don't have a woman problem, the Liberals should fix this

The government doesn't have a clue on one of the biggest bread and butter issues for ordinary families

  • by Kasey Edwards
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Au pairs aside, the case for discretion in Home Affairs
Opinion
Federal

Au pairs aside, the case for discretion in Home Affairs

In the political point scoring over the Dutton au pair controversy, there’s a danger that the value of discretion in the operation of bureaucracies will be lost.

  • by Stuart Rees
The true key to my success in science
Opinion
National

The true key to my success in science

There's a baffling exodus of women from the top tiers of science. This year's winner of the Eureka Prize for Emerging Leader in Science considers how to change that.

  • by Elizabeth New
Bikies visit coincides with ACT Policing leadership change
Opinion
ACT

Bikies visit coincides with ACT Policing leadership change

Reassuring a nervous populous will need to be one of the first priorities of Canberra's new chief police officer.

  • by The Canberra Times
Manning's ban shows main parties are trying to suppress free speech
Opinion
ACT

Manning's ban shows main parties are trying to suppress free speech

It's OK to sell and drop bombs but not to report where they fall and who they kill.

Afterpay and the US: a match made in heaven, or a potential disaster?
Opinion
Companies

Afterpay and the US: a match made in heaven, or a potential disaster?

A company that allows people to buy things without paying for them should do well in a land where consumerism is king, and regulation is lax.

  • by John McDuling
Ten habits of people who lose weight and keep it off
Analysis
Health & wellness

Ten habits of people who lose weight and keep it off

Most people who diet will regain 50 per cent of the lost weight in the first year after losing it.

  • by Gina Cleo
When are we going to start teaching our children how to write?
Opinion
National

When are we going to start teaching our children how to write?

More children are writing poorly, NAPLAN suggests, and the number of good writers drops as they progress through school.

  • by Stephen Downes
4 Points: Can master coach find a master plan?
Opinion
AFL

4 Points: Can master coach find a master plan?

Hawthorn's Alastair Clarkson is hunting Tigers; Finals selections a matter of trust; Wave bye to the bye; A successful Merger on the big screen.

  • by Michael Gleeson
Green the right woman to sell rhythm and bruise of league to Victoria
Analysis
NRL

Green the right woman to sell rhythm and bruise of league to Victoria

Victoria now has a PhD to lead the code in the southern state: Dr Amanda Green, who can dead-lift 100kgs, symbolising the challenge she faces in AFL heartland.

  • by Roy Masters
Wallabies v Springboks: The five key battles that will decide match
Analysis
Rugby Union

Wallabies v Springboks: The five key battles that will decide match

Australia must put the Bledisloe Cup disaster behind them and focus on South Africa this weekend. We break down the key contests.

  • by Paul Cully
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Mission more urgent than healing the wounds at home
Opinion
Federal

Mission more urgent than healing the wounds at home

Scott Morrison headed to Indonesia to address an issue that rates higher on his agenda than staying put to tend to the deep divisions in his party.

  • by Michele O'Neil
AFL fixture analysis: In retrospect, a tough slog for the Saints
Analysis
AFL

AFL fixture analysis: In retrospect, a tough slog for the Saints

Long-suffering Saints devotees probably won’t take solace from the argument that the red, white and black brigade ended up with the toughest draw of the lot.

  • by Scott Spits
The economic forces tearing apart communities and friendships
Opinion
Life & relationships

The economic forces tearing apart communities and friendships

Once we get beyond our 20s, maintaining friendships becomes harder - just when you actually need them more than ever.

  • by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Super changes could leave thousands without enough insurance
Opinion
Consumer affairs

Super changes could leave thousands without enough insurance

More needs to be done to clean up discrepancies, reduce overcharging and ensure low income members are not disadvantaged.

  • by Michael Easson