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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
Jim Pavlidis
National

FINANCE: Dialling down to the nitty gritty on refunds

The pros and cons of the franking system draws a mixed response from readers.

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
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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
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.

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
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
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
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Opinion
National

CBD Melbourne: Wood's sideboard side hustle

You can forgive some nervous Liberals for forward planning and laying the foundations for a potential new life, and income stream, after the federal election. But we take comfort from the fact that some enterprising MPs already have options in play.

  • by Samantha Hutchinson and Kylar Loussikian
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
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
Age editorial dinkus masthead
North America

Trump's State of the Union address lacks vision

The US President failed to provide global allies with even a hint of a vision on many key issues.

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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 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
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
Illustration: Andrew Dyson
National

The royal commission: Very little will change in this venal system

Readers continue to discuss the final report of the royal commission into banks and the finance sector.

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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The fire at Chum Creek as seen from Healesville on Black Saturday.
Opinion
Victoria

Ten years on, there is a bit of complacency in all of us

The next time we have a summer scorcher, picture yourself in the great Australian bush, and ask yourself: what have you learnt?

  • by Richard Thornton
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
The aftermath of Black Saturday in Kinglake.
Opinion
Victoria

I look back on that weekend and hope next time I'll act differently

Luckily, the Black Saturday fires didn't reach us in the part of Victoria we were staying in. Lucky, because I hadn't really taken them seriously.

  • by Elizabeth Quinn
Age editorial dinkus masthead
Editorial
Victoria

Complacency still a risk 10 years after Black Saturday bushfires

We have learnt a lot about fighting fires in the past 10 years, but we have also been lucky. No fire since has been so deadly.

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
Informer 3838
Analysis
Victoria

The revelation that has made certain Melbourne lawyers very nervous

The law student from the privileged background who usually had all the answers was trapped. A serious conviction could derail a promising legal career before it began.

  • by John Silvester
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
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
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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
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
Illustration: Michael Leunig
National

Banks: Every bank worker's duty to act ethically

Readers react to the final report from the banking royal commission.

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
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
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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
NAB Chairman Ken Henry and CEO Andrew Thorburn received a slap fromn the royal commissioner, Kenneth Hayne.
Opinion
Banking & finance

The banks haven't escaped unscathed, quite the contrary

The reaction to the royal commission's final report might suggest the major banks got off lightly. They didn't.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Age editorial dinkus masthead
North America

Political principles depend on deal in US

The onus therefore is on Democrats and Republicans to forge a position that both sides can confidently defend in public and recommend to Trump.

The hardest word: Elton John sang it, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is feeling it. 
Opinion
Federal

It's getting absurd: Josh Frydenberg's struggle with one little word

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg can't find the words to apologise for attempts to avoid the royal commission on banking.

  • by Tony Wright