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Opinion

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There's billionaires hoarding their riches, and others who give large parts away such as Microsoft's Bill Gates. But fact is there shouldn't be any billionaires.

Abolish Billionaires. The world would be better off without them

If we aimed,through public and social policy, to discourage people from attaining and owning more than a billion in lucre, just about everyone would benefit.

  • by Farhad Manjoo

Latest

Tributes have flowed for Emiliano Sala at Cardiff City and Nantes.
Opinion
Soccer

So much for grief: Nantes shows true colours with demand for Sala fee

Behind the prayers and the vigils for Emiliano Sala, the scarves and the No.9 shirts, lies a web of boundless cynicism.

  • by Oliver Brown
Listening to Adele at work could change your productivity, depending on your taste in music.
Opinion
Small business

How your taste in music affects your work

Your favourite bands could have an impact on your job satisfaction - and how you're recruited.

  • by James Adonis
The ACTU warns that if Australia fails to change course it is at risk of becoming an "Americanised society of high inequality and dead-end jobs, with long working hours, no holidays, zero job security and poverty pay levels".
Opinion
The economy

Why Australia's economy is not a freak of nature

Australia's economy needs to be freed from folklore that's built up around the 27-year stretch sans recession.

  • by Daniel Moss
Peace in our times? Mark Latham with One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.
Opinion
National

Why democracy in NSW will survive Mark Latham

The One Nation candidate will fight for "our civilisational values”, but civilisation as we know it will probably march on.

  • by Andy Marks
Opposition leader Bill Shorten
Letters
Banking & finance

Self-interest only stretches so far with retiree tax rort

Greed is obviously king - especially in trying to rip off the taxation system.

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President Donald Trump giving his State of the Union speech.
Editorial
North America

Trump's speech lacks global vision

The State of the Union described a very small agenda.

Kenneth Hayne's cautious approach minimises uncertainty.
Opinion
Federal

Hayne's toil and trouble for Morrison's election plan

Banks and the economy combine for a potent brew ahead of the May election.

  • by Shane Wright
The bigger a company is, the more responsibility its leader has to think about the world, its citizens, and their long-term opportunities.
Opinion
Companies

Microsoft is now the grown up in an industry full of problem children

All of a sudden, Microsoft has become one of the few adults in the tech industry, as other players such as Facebook lurch like toddlers from one disaster to another.

  • by John McDuling
In the Herald dinkus
Opinion
NSW

In the Herald: February 8, 1987

Ronnie, Rupert, the bills and the rent

  • by Stephanie Bull
The cover image from Christopher Rimmer's 'Confluence' exhibition was removed by Facebook for violating community standards, and the photographer banned for a month.
Opinion
Life & relationships

Why are women's nipples still regarded as 'obscene'?

'What annoys the hell out of me is the double standard: the male nipple is fine but the life-sustaining female nipple is not.'

  • by Wendy Squires
The illusive story on jobs and unemployment.
Opinion
National

The one-hour week and other damned lies in our job statistics

The "good news" on jobs masks the truer story of the gig economy and underemployment. It's time we changed the stats.

  • by Nick Dyrenfurth
Geoff Wilson and Tim Wilson.
Opinion
National

Why Tim Wilson must resign

Tim Wilson was, before he was appointed as a Commissioner to the Australian Human Rights Commission and after, not a person with an outstanding record in human rights law.

  • by Jenna Price
Consequences:  Suspending Dylan Napa would set a grave precedent.
Opinion
NRL

With more videos to come, suspending Napa would be a grave mistake

NRL boss Todd Greenberg's hands are tied with yet another unsavoury video featuring three first-grade players set to drop at any moment.

  • by Andrew Webster
Column 8 granny dinkus
Opinion
NSW

Column 8

Featuring lords and privies and seals.

Pregnant woman, no longer taking antidepressants.
Opinion
Health & wellness

Nausea, panic, tears – why wasn't I warned

After going off medication, a sense of impending doom began to creep.

  • by Chloe Booker
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The NAB board decided to sacrifice both Ken Henry and Andrew Thorburn.
Opinion
Banking & finance

The end was inevitable after NAB duo annoyed royal commissioner

Once Kenneth Hayne singled out Andrew Thorburn and his chairman, Ken Henry, from a multitude of equally-deserving peers for harsh criticism in his final report they were on shaky ground.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
The big smoke ... dangerous particulate pollution is getting worse.
Opinion
NSW

Our year of breathing dangerously: Sydney, Hunter pollution alert

Rising air pollution is a failure of governance, says the author of a report that identifies hotspots from Liverpool to Parramatta Northt and Muswellbrook.

  • by Ben Ewald
The royal commission left AMP's vertically-integrated model intact. Its recommendations may, however, force new chief executive, Francesco de Ferrari, to develop a different version.
Opinion
Banking & finance

AMP dodges break-up but hasn't escaped unscathed

The royal commission may not have decreed the end of vertical integration but the recommendations it did make, and its own internal challenges, will still impact and reshape AMP.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
A crowd gathers to protest Labor's proposed changes to franking credits.
Opinion
Banking & finance

Taxpayers should not be subsidising lifestyle of wealthy retirees

The current imputation cash refund system is, essentially, a reverse death duty: low and middle-income earners are subsidizing the estates of the very wealthy.

  • by Emma Dawson and Tim Lyons
Please Explain podcast
Analysis
National

Royal reckoning: is it enough to make the banks change?

Royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne has made 24 referrals for criminal or civil action - and 76 recommendations that will shake up the industry in a way that hasn’t happened in generation - but was it the great reckoning the public hoped for?

  • by David Estcourt and Rachael Dexter
Scott Buchholz has apologised for "idiot" behaviour.
Opinion
Federal

Where idiots play: the Parliament of the inappropriate

Assistant Minister Scott Buchholz is apologising for being an idiot, but won't say what sort of "inappropriate behaviour" caused a female RAAF officer to complain about him. So what's new?

  • by Tony Wright
Hakeem Al-Araibi in a Thai court.
Opinion
Soccer

Silence from FIFA president as world unites behind Hakeem

The question is whether FIFA is prepared to apply the kind of pressure that might make a difference and possibly save Hakeem Al-Araibi's life.

  • by Sam Wallace
Telstra chief executive Andy Penn has warned of a shortage of software engineers.
Opinion
Small business

Who’s really to blame for too many unwanted graduates?

Australia’s skill base suffers as students choose oversupplied professions.

  • by Tony Featherstone
Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe
Editorial
Banking & finance

RBA shows it can change its mind on interest rates

Reserve Bank governor Phil Lowe had good news for homebuyers in his speech on Wednesday.

Are we raising 'generation anxiety'?
Opinion
Health & wellness

Pushing happiness as the holy grail is creating 'generation anxiety'

We’re still teaching children to deny their feelings and pursue happiness as the holy grail.

  • by Jill Stark
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Eddie Obeid.
Opinion
NSW

Labor better hope it has shaken its skeletons in NSW

If memories of the last NSW Labor government were fading, they would have been resurrected this week.

  • by Alexandra Smith
Illustration: Dionne Gain
Opinion
Banking & finance

Why you're better off paying a mortgage broker yourself

Reform of mortgage broker pay is long overdue, writes Jessica Irvine.

  • by Jessica Irvine

The big banks are shown to be guilty of greed and corruption, but their share prices rise sharply .
Letters
NSW

Investors bank on business as usual after Hayne report

The big banks are shown to be guilty of greed and corruption, but their share prices rise sharply.

In the Herald dinkus
Opinion
NSW

In the Herald: February 7, 1952

The King is dead, the new Queen, and Menzies speaks

  • by Brian Yatman
Reserve Bank Of Australia (RBA) building in Sydney, Tuesday, November 6, 2018. RBA board meeting - interest rate decision.(AAP Image/Brendan Esposito) NO ARCHIVING
Opinion
The economy

Let's not talk ourselves into an interest rate cut

Amid talk of interest rate cuts, it's also important to consider the strengths of the domestic economy.

  • by Jessica Irvine
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten.
Opinion
Consumer affairs

Labor is exploiting misunderstandings about franking credits

The problem the electorate has with the Labor Party policy proposal is unraveling the terminology.

  • by Tony Dillon
column 8 granny dinkus
Opinion
NSW

Column 8

Oh, the Payne.

School teacher Erin Canavan.
Opinion
National

The culture driving teachers like me from the profession

As many as half of Australian teachers leave the profession within their first five years in the job. This young teacher understands why.

  • by Erin Canavan
Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Matt Comyn.
Opinion
Banking & finance

Messy and lacklustre: CBA earnings suffer from Hayne hangover

CBA says banking conditions are challenging

  • by Elizabeth Knight
President Donald Trump during his State of the Union address.
Opinion
North America

Trump shamelessly used Jewish Americans in State of the Union address

While slurring refugees as a dangerous threat, the US President sought to shield himself from charges of racism by invoking a Jewish tragedy.

  • by CJ Werleman
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Pressure: St Kilda coach Alan Richardson.
Opinion
AFL

Saints coach wisely quits TV gig in year of living dangerously

With his job on the line, St Kilda coach Alan Richardson is right to give up his weekly Fox Footy appearance.

  • by Jake Niall
New man: Matt Lodge says he can give back after his recruitment dominated headlines this time last year.
Opinion
NRL

A sanctuary for sinners, rugby league must be more frugal with its charity

Rugby league has helped reform many lost souls but another serious incident means the code has no choice but to be more clinical with its outreach.

  • by Phil Lutton
Putting the interests of ordinary Australians before those of the political class was one of the first promises made by Scott Morrison when he took over the leadership of the Liberal Party.
Analysis
Federal

Lower rates were once a political positive, but a cut will not be on Scott Morrison's wish list

Political rhetoric and economic reality are on a collision course.

  • by Shane Wright
Darren Weir leaves the RAD board hearing on Wednesday.
Analysis
Racing

From rags to riches to disgrace: Weir's career and reputation in ruins

The rise of Darren Weir was one of racing's great rags-to-riches stories, but it has ended in disgrace after he was disqualified from racing for four years.

  • by Michael Lynch
5G smartphones are launching in 2019.
Analysis
Technology

Why you should not buy a 5G phone in 2019

Let's put aside the hype for a moment and look at what a 5G smartphone in 2019 really means for you.

  • by Krishan Sharma
Jerome Powell's abrupt shift has bought the crumbling world economy some time.
Opinion
Markets

Bloodbath averted: The world economy may have been saved in the nick of time

The Fed chief's instincts may have just bought the world economy another year.

  • by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
President Donald Trump espoused unity and bipartisanship in previous speeches but has failed to act on his promises.
Opinion
North America

Trump will call for 'unity' in State of the Union address. It's a scam

It's one of the most dispiriting rituals that attend State of the Union addresses in the Trump era but this time around, there's just no excuse for playing along.

  • by Greg Sargent
The development slated for Victoria Cross station in North Sydney.
Opinion
National

'Permanently destructive': new tower will make North Sydney's problems worse

There is a single site suitable for a civic centre in North Sydney and the state government is putting a building on it.

  • by Jeremy Dawkins
In the Herald dinkus
Opinion
NSW

In the Herald: February 6, 1965

The ballad of Winston, Doug and Ramblin' Bob.

  • by Brian Yatman
Kenneth Hayne's cautious approach minimises uncertainty.
Opinion
Banking & finance

'Why wait': challenge laid down to the banks and Parliament

Here's a way we can get some action from the banks without having to wait.

  • by Adele Ferguson
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Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen was very blunt when addressing a concerned listener on radio last week.
Opinion
Tax

Tax the rich, not the helpless

Today, apparently, policy is king. The odd person who gets in the way of the ever-turning wheels is seemingly disposable.

  • by Nicholas Stuart
Commissioner Kenneth Hayne.
Letters
NSW

Cost of corporate greed is public's loss of faith

In the fallout from the banking royal commission, we are all poorer.

Jessie Tu
Opinion
Life & relationships

'Why is it OK to ban certain races on your dating profile?'

'You’d never find a job advertisement that discriminates applicants based on race. Why is it OK to put a race-based ban on your dating profile?'

  • by Jessie Tu
column 8 granny dinkus
Opinion
NSW

Column 8

Blanket mortgage bingo.