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A few convictions may result from Kenneth Hayne's royal commission, but how much will bank culture really change?
Opinion
National

A few bank scalps won't help unless they change their rotten culture

There's not much in the Hayne royal commission’s recommendations that directly addresses the central weakness of the banking system: the culture.

  • by John Hewson

Latest

Ebay has strict rules against feedback extortion.
Opinion
Technology

Don't give in to eBay feedback extortion tactics

Sellers hide poor customer service by exchanging partial refunds for positive reviews, ensuring more buyers get sucked in.

  • by Adam Turner
The Treasurer downplayed the wider impact of falling property prices on the general economy.
Opinion
The economy

The mystery paper that could explain Australia's housing slump

A new bestseller might be in the offing. If the public could get its hands on it, that is.

  • by Daniel Moss
NAB Chairman Ken Henry and CEO Andrew Thorburn.
Banking

Welcome to the CEO killing season

Are CEOs being booted for poor performance, or are they being made scapegoats by boards looking for excuses?

  • by Scott Phillips
Minister for Home Affairs Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Opinion
National

Coalition’s dodgy deals on refugees

There is a clear scare campaign, based on the Coalition’s dangerous and disingenuous claim the medical evacuation bill weakens border security.

Woolworths will stop selling $1-a-litre milk this week.
Opinion
Companies

Why Woolworths' milk price hike is a smart move

Woolworths was always a reluctant participant in the milk wars. Now it has sniffed the political wind and scrapped $1-a-litre milk.

  • by Robert Hadler
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison on his recent trip to Fiji.
Opinion
Federal

Dominating headlines is the new dark skill of politics

Politicians rely on most voters simply focusing on what’s in it for them, today, rather than worrying about proper policy settings or taking the long view.

  • by Nicholas Stuart
Participants at the Franking Credits Inquiry.
Opinion
The economy

If only the Indigenous had the worries of the well-off aged

As the righteous retired rallied to protect their franking credits, the PM released the Closing the Gap report.

  • by Ross Gittins
Yang Hengjun is being held in a secret prison without charge and denied access to lawyers and his family.
Opinion
National

Are we prepared to pay Beijing's high price for prosperity?

Australia should understand the values of the rising new superpower are very different from the old.

  • by Chris Uhlmann
Minister for Finance Mathias Cormann in Parliament yesterday.
Letters
NSW

Cormann’s airfares excuse is just a flight of fancy

You have to be impressed at Mathias Cormann spending money on personal travel while never having the funds subtracted from his account.

Reducing the number of multiple super accounts is the key to making serious inroads into reducing the amount of lost super
Analysis
Super & retirement

Real action at last on reducing the $17 billion of lost super

Federal parliament took a big step to help reduce the huge mountain of lost super, but there is another that needs to be taken.

  • by John Collett
ANZ did not find clear evidence that federal elections affect retail trade.
Analysis
The economy

Election campaign slowdown? Maybe not

It's often said business slows down in an election campaign but this is not supported by the latest statistics.

  • by Clancy Yeates
In the Herald dinkus
Opinion
NSW

In the Herald: February 20, 1987

Former Test batsman, Alan Turner, has been appointed to the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust.

  • by Harry Hollinsworth
Police are accused of using strip searches as a first not last resort.
Opinion
NSW

Rise in strip searches in NSW damaging the credibility of police

People are being reduced to tears after being made to feel humiliated, overpowered and downright scared.

  • by Samantha Lee
Wesfarmers chief Rob Scott pulled off a masterstroke in cutting Coles loose.
Opinion
Companies

Coles' results shows Wesfarmers' Scott is the meister of timing

The release of Coles' underwhelming maiden result as a standalone listed company explains why Wesfarmers' decision last year to cut it loose was a no-brainer.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
White Ribbon has seen donations decline in the wake of high-profile problems at the top.
Opinion
National

As its dramatic debt is revealed, can White Ribbon survive?

The charity, which aims to highlight the role men can play to stop violence against women, is in the red to the tune of $840,000.

  • by Jenna Price
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column 8 granny dinkus
Opinion
NSW

Column 8

Have Contract - Will Travel.

A derailment in the Pilbara helped derail BHP's first half result.
Opinion
Companies

BHP's missing 'Ps' as productivity gains derailed by outages

If productivity, production and prices are the three "Ps" that drive miners' earnings, BHP missed on two of its ''Ps.''

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Dylan Shiel
AFL

Inside job: ex-Giant adds grunt to his game with Bombers

New Bomber Dylan Shiel has been surprised by how much he misses Sydney, the native Victorian admitting to a touch of homesickness.

  • by Sam McClure
Uber has community guidelines which prohibit gaming the app.
Analysis
National

Uber drivers gaming the app to get cancellation fees from riders

Uber drivers can game the app to get cancellation fees from riders, but the company says that behaviour is rare.

  • by Hamish Hastie
Lawrence Mooney.
Opinion
Life & relationships

Lawrence Mooney, you owe us an apology

It is difficult to know where to begin unpacking such strategic sexism.

  • by Wendy Tuohy
Defending against influence campaigns involves dialogue between stakeholders.
Opinion
National

What if the political hack was part of an influence campaign?

If hacked information was used against Australia, how would the country react? Thinking about it now could be useful for challenges.

  • by Chris Zappone
Mathias Cormann
Opinion
Federal

Mathias Cormann solves the parable of loaves, fishes and a credit card

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has attempted to explain the mystery of his free flights and an apparently magical credit card.

  • by Tony Wright
Without uncertainty, there is no market.
Opinion
Markets

Why uncertainty is essential to markets

There is no shortage of uncertainty in markets at the moment - but that is not necessarily a bad thing.

  • by Tom Stevenson
Time we make room in the bed for a male pill ...
Opinion
Life & relationships

'I am tired of women being responsible for contraception'

Somewhere along the way, a woman’s right to use birth control translated into a woman’s responsibility to use birth control.

  • by Kerri Sackville
ASIC says it needs court to clarify investment advice.
Analysis
Companies

The corporate regulator is getting a taste for bank blood

The freshly turbocharged corporate regulator is throwing grenades into just about every crevice in the banking industry - and Westpac is the latest to feel the heat.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison will make  asylum seekers an election issue.
Opinion
NSW

Poll shows country cries out for a leader to inspire

The Ipsos poll serves as yet another reminder of the absence of vision and leadership at the helm of the two major parties and hence apparent indifference of the electorate.

Former prime ministers Gough Whitlam, Bob Hawke and Malcolm Fraser in 1992.
Opinion
National

In my dreams: the model of a perfect Aussie prime minister

We need a slice of Menzies, a pinch of Curtin, a touch of Whitlam and more.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
The state government has revealed details of successful intrusions into its data network.
Opinion
National

Farewell tech utopia: how governments are readying the web for war

The web is a frontier in a hardening confrontation between the autocratic world and the democratic one.

  • by Peter Hartcher
In the Herald dinkus
Opinion
NSW

In the Herald: February 19, 1946

Two men who police say escaped from a ‘Black Maria’ last month, were re-arrested yesterday.

  • by Harry Hollinsworth
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull o Thursday said Australians would be "crying out for an election" following a leadership change.
Opinion
Federal

It's time political parties lost their cushy exemption from privacy laws

Australians have just been given a dramatic reminder of a weakness that could easily compromise the election campaign.

  • by David Crowe
The market is flooded with cannabis much stronger than the old stuff.
National

I smoked pot but I don't want my children to

Some of the friends I used to get stoned with did end up depressed, paranoid or underachieving.

  • by Jemima Lewis
column 8 granny dinkus
Opinion
NSW

Column 8

A Canberran Chorus Line.

Who would have thought the cricket would provide the excitement in the BBL final?
Opinion
Cricket

Look over here and make some noise! It's Big Bash's brand new gimmick

At Marvel Stadium, the Big Bash final was almost ruined by infantile circus around it. Then came the best trick of all.

  • by Greg Baum
Gatwick Airport was recently shut down after drone sightings.
Opinion
National

The age of the drone has dawned, but government is still in the dark

The downing of a $500,000 drone is a reminder that even industry is calling for greater regulation of this emerging technology.

  • by Claudio Bozzi
Family matters: Cody Walker with his children after the game.
Opinion
NRL

Why can't we all just hum along? No need for hysterics in anthem debate

The NRL is a good forum for rational, reasoned debate about the relevance of our anthem. But for an interim solution, we only have to look to the Spaniards.

  • by Phil Lutton
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U.S. President Donald Trump stands for a photograph during an interview in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018. Trump said he doesn't regret appointing Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chairman, even after criticizing interest rate increases by the central bank. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
Analysis
North America

We've seen this political hacking movie before - and it didn't end well

To grasp the significance of the unprecedented cyber hack on Australia's political parties, consider the state of affairs across the Pacific Ocean.

  • by Matthew Knott
In 2016, Scott Morrison was in favour of clearly defining the objective of superannuation.
Opinion
Federal

'Friendless and ignored': the retirement reform the PM has lost interest in

In 2016 Scott Morrison gave the thumbs up to the Financial Services Inquiry's major recommendation, Since then? Nothing.

  • by Shane Wright
Trump
Opinion
Markets

The art of the fake victory lap: In Trump's mind, he never loses

Even as a businessman, in the face of obvious failure, Trump never admitted to coming off second best.

  • by Timothy L O'Brien
Gucci apologised for putting this turtleneck black wool balaclava sweater on sale.
Opinion
Companies

The fashion bubble: Why big brands keep making racially insensitive ads

Retailers and top fashion brands like keep apologising for products that smack of racial insensitivity. The big question is: Why does it keep happening?

  • by Alexandra Olsen
Facebook vice president of policy for Asia Pacific Simon Milner.
Opinion
National

Facebook fightback: ACCC has not made the case for its most striking plan

Where's the evidence that monitoring how digital platforms rank and display news content will save journalism?

  • by Simon Milner
Jilly Gibson, mayor of North Sydney.
Opinion
NSW

Drawbridge mentality of older residents unfair to young flat dwellers

It never ceases to surprise me how negative the older generations can be.

  • by Jilly Gibson
Wentworth: John Howard and Scott Morrison.
Opinion
National

Morrison is modelling John Howard, but it's a risky move

The politics around boats and refugees remains potent. But voters have changed.

  • by Sean Kelly
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Letters
NSW

Morrison finishes last in the authenticity stakes

Authenticity is the most valuable thing that a politician can have.

Kenneth Hayne made 76 recommendations for sweeping reforms across the financial services industry.
Opinion
The economy

Having stuffed up deregulation, let's not stuff up re-regulation

Having gone for decades under-regulating many industries and employers, there’s a high risk we’ll now swing to the opposite extreme of over-regulation

  • by Ross Gittins
Refugee Behrouz Boochani from Iran, on Manus Island.
Opinion
Federal

Victories for human rights highlight Australia’s tarnished reputation

The global plaudits for two refugees in Australian offshore detention have exposed the absurdity of Australian government policies.

  • by Elaine Pearson
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'Lots of podcasters in the middle tier of podcasting are making great money,' Russell Ivanovic, centre, head of product at Pocket Casts.
Opinion
Companies

A billion-dollar land grab in podcasting has begun, and Spotify's leading the charge

The audio format is evolving from cottage industry into a strategically important segment of the global media market

  • by John McDuling
In the Herald dinkus
Opinion
NSW

In the Herald: February 18, 1973

Actor Glen Ford has denied that he refused to shake hands with Senator McClelland.

  • by Harry Hollinsworth
David Crowe.
Analysis
Federal

He's captured the attention of voters but Morrison will need more than one poll bounce to win

It will take more than one bounce in the polls for the government to recover from chaos.

  • by David Crowe
Pamela Macklin
Opinion
National

How to turn a struggling (or middling) school's performance around

Some Victorian schools perform better than others in similar circumstances. Understanding why is the key to improvement.

  • by Pamela Macklin and Vic Zbar