Opinion
Opinion
World markets
The echoes of China’s financial crisis are being heard as a giant struggles to survive
A state-owned company set up to manage bad debts is itself apparently teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, highlighting the problems in China’s financial system.
- by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Latest
Opinion
Global warming
What keeps climate scientists like me awake at night - and why the next 10 years are so critical
The Climate Council says Australia needs to triple its ambition to cut carbon emissions by 2030. Here’s why.
- by Lesley Hughes
Opinion
Property upsizing
Fuelling the property fire? The stir-crazy Australians seeking better homes and gardens
When you can’t take the kids to the playground, you’d give your last roll of Quilton for a backyard.
- by Polly Dunning
Opinion
Art
Surprise! The pandemic improved the standard of drawing in Australia
The standard of entries in this year’s Dobell Drawing Prize prove lockdown has been good for art.
- by John McDonald
Analysis
War
Echoing Trump, Biden vows to end ‘forever war’ in Afghanistan
The US withdrawal from Afghanistan shows that, for all their stylistic differences, there is plenty of continuity between the Biden and Trump administrations.
- by Matthew Knott
Analysis
NRL 2021
Can anyone stop the red-hot Panthers? It certainly won’t be the Broncos
Penrith are too professional to take it easy against the battling Broncos in Thursday Night Football. It’s another chance for them to show why they are clear premiership favourites.
- by Andrew Johns
Opinion
Federal budget
Reasons to be cheerful in our island economy
For starters, we’re enjoying a local tourism boom and confidence in the economy is up - and rightly so.
- by Jessica Irvine
Opinion
Publishing
Australia needs more media diversity – and there are ways to achieve it
Media ownership in Australia resides in too few hands and that is unhealthy for any democracy.
- by Bruce Guthrie
Opinion
Deaths in custody
Thirty years on, our people still die in custody. This is why
The recommendations of a royal commission have been systematically ignored. What is stopping governments implementing those reforms now?
- by Karly Warner
Letters
Letters
The many layers of the Australia Post saga
Age readers have their say on Christine Holgate’s Senate inquiry appearance.
Editorial
Federal politics
PM should apologise to Holgate for his hasty actions
The Prime Minister’s behaviour will fuel ongoing criticism of the government over its response to allegations of sexism, bullying and harassment of women.
- The Age's View
Opinion
NRL 2021
Morris wasn’t given a fair go by Sharks, Fitzgibbon should expect no different
For a coach, the two most important people whose direct role it is to support him are the club chairman and CEO. John Morris never had a chance.
- by Peter FitzSimons
Analysis
Superannuation
To fee or not to fee: The bitter stoush over super costs
Finding the best way to reduce fees and increase competition has proved controversial and become the subject of significant debate as the Your Future, Your Super legislation nears a vote.
- by Jennifer Duke
Opinion
Christine Holgate
When politics trumped the law, injustice was delivered post-haste to Christine Holgate
The removal of a masterful Australia Post chief executive was an exercise
- by Tony Harris
Opinion
Coronavirus pandemic
Joyce’s optimism hits hard reality - international travel is out of his hands
This year’s award for optimism has to go to Qantas boss Alan Joyce. His decision to hold firm with opening international operations by October is a glass three-quarter full moment.
- by Elizabeth Knight
Opinion
China relations
We must compete and co-operate with China at the same time
Coping with a rising China is a challenge the Japanese have had to face earlier than many other countries.
- by Akio Takahara
Analysis
Please Explain podcast
Holgate stands up to PM over watches scandal
Today on Please Explain, Tory Maguire speaks with federal political reporter Lisa Visentin about the former Australia Post boss’s accusation she was bullied by the Prime Minister.
- by Tory Maguire
Analysis
World markets
‘Don’t bet against Masa’: Risk-taking billionaire rises again
As the world’s biggest tech investor was ravaged by the pandemic, its founder saw opportunities. A year on. Masayoshi Son looks to have been vindicated.
- by James Titcomb
Opinion
Inflation
The trillion-dollar inflation conundrum facing the world
The outlook for inflation is the most disruptive threat to financial markets since the GFC.
- by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Analysis
Coronavirus pandemic
America’s COVID vaccination success story hits a speed bump
The big concern is that doubts about the J&J dose will metastasise into a more general reluctance to get inoculated as American vaccine hesitancy grows.
- by Matthew Knott
Opinion
Recaps
ABC’s Ghost Train Fire expose is fascinating but flawed
The Exposed investigation of the 1979 tragedy is undermined by true-crime cliches and overly dramatic recreations.
- by Craig Mathieson
Opinion
WordPlay
Lamington wars: claiming an Australian invention really takes the cake
Steal the pavlova if you must New Zealand, but only an April Fool would deem the lamington an import.
- by David Astle
Opinion
Literature
Yes Philip Roth was morally flawed, but his work was also liberating
Portnoy’s Complaint spoke to me in a way other Jewish novels did not because it dared to ventilate the pathologies tormenting the postwar Jewish psyche.
- by Julie Szego
Opinion
Timor-Leste
East Timor’s independence hero risks his legacy and the lives of his people
East Timor needs Xanana Gusmao more than ever, but his recent conduct is not helping.
- by Michael Rose
Opinion
Coronavirus pandemic
Vaccine rollout casts a long shadow over the Morrison government’s competence
It was the government’s job to deliver the vaccine and it will be held responsible for failure.
- by Chris Uhlmann
Analysis
Coronavirus pandemic
Did Australia get it right on AstraZeneca?
The almost-total absence of criticism for Australia’s decision to preference Pfizer’s vaccine over AstraZeneca’s for under 50s is remarkable.
- by Liam Mannix
CBD
City life
Christine Holgate’s wear white campaign delivers
The former Australia Post chief’s supporters are gathering.
- by Stephen Brook and Samantha Hutchinson
Letters
Letters
Underfunding our own cleverness has a price
Age readers have their say on vaccine development, rollout and funding.
Opinion
Managed funds
How to tell if your managed fund or ETF is truly green
Investors should look for accurate greenhouse gas emissions data to make a fully informed decision that they are investing for the benefit of the planet.
- by Arian Neiron
Opinion
SMSFs
Running an SMSF is far from set and forget
Control of your retirement savings comes at the price of legal responsibility and can only be achieved if trustees continually improve their financial literacy.
- by John Maroney
Analysis
Superannuation
Get used to COVID-19 effects on investment earnings
Investors will need to lower their sights on expected investment returns
- by John Collett
Opinion
Credit cards
Time for action to curb high-interest credit cards
Fresh regulatory ideas are needed to curb high-interest credit cards that tend to hurt the people who can least afford it.
- by Joel Gibson
Opinion
Ask an expert
Why not try tax deductibility of interest for first home buyers?
It would help many young people struggling with rising housing affordability to get a foot on the property ladder.
- by Noel Whittaker
Editorial
Deaths in custody
Incremental improvements not enough to end tragedy of high Indigenous incarceration rate
Urgent, tangible reform is called for if Australia is to truly move forward in its treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
- The Age's View
Opinion
England
When is a wicket not a wicket? When it’s out
The Hundred, England’s cricket short form, is trying way too hard to be cool.
- by Greg Baum
Opinion
Executive shake-up
The gifts that were really responsible for Australia Post’s woes
There were generous and inappropriate gifts handed out at Australia Post, but they weren’t the Cartier watches awarded to senior executives by Christine Holgate.
- by Elizabeth Knight
Opinion
Sketch
Once suicidal, Christine Holgate re-emerges to damn powerful men
The former chief executive of Australia Post is the latest strong woman to produce evidence of being wronged by Australia’s political culture.
- by Tony Wright
Analysis
Please Explain podcast
Why are there numerous inquiries into Ben Roberts-Smith?
Today on Please Explain, Tory Maguire is joined by Deputy Editor of The Age, Michael Bachelard to discuss the investigations to Ben Roberts-Smith.
- by Tory Maguire
Opinion
Healthcare
Australians need healthcare that is both accessible and high quality
Australia has an enviable healthcare system, but we need to lift our game in general practice.
- by Mariam Tokhi
Opinion
Coronavirus pandemic
In a turnaround, China is starting to lose the COVID Cold War
The success of Beijing’s lockdown pushed the West into an existential crisis. Now, the success of Western vaccines brings questions about China’s rise.
- by Sherelle Jacobs
Opinion
Fintech
Jack Ma’s Ant Group is becoming a member of a club he despises
China’s authorities continue to turn the screws on the empire of outspoken tech tycoon Jack Ma.
- by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Opinion
Marriage
Woke weddings a real name-changer
When my cousin got married, the final announcement from the celebrant delighted some and stunned others.
- by David McLean
Analysis
Royal family
What the tributes from Harry and William reveal about the brothers’ schism
As Prince William and Prince Harry released very different tributes to their grandfather within 30 minutes of each other on Monday, it was impossible to resist reading between the lines.
- by Camilla Tominey
Opinion
Tech crackdown
Biden is about to burst Big Tech’s bubble
Just weeks after taking office, Joe Biden has signalled big changes are coming for Silicon Valley. The industry may never be quite the same again.
- by Robin Pagnamenta
Opinion
Bob Dylan
Happy 80th birthday to the man who gets you closer to the meaning of life than any other bastard since Shakespeare
Last year I wrote to Bob Dylan asking if I could interview him on a tape to be kept under lock and key for 50 years.
- by Peter FitzSimons
Opinion
Myanmar coup
Trump’s example playing out in Asia, the world has to intervene
Like Trump, they declared a free and fair election to be a fraud.
- by Peter Hartcher
Opinion
Social media
Paradise lost: Why I’m leaving Byron Bay, just when Netflix is moving in
The new reality show Byron Baes has only confirmed my decision to move is the right one.
- by Penny Leonard
Opinion
Aged care royal commission
LGBTQ elderly face abuse, but the royal commission let them down
None of the 148 recommendations in the final report mention LGBTQ people.
- by Claire Allen
Editorial
Secrets of War
Justice must prevail after all the investigations into Ben Roberts-Smith
Courts and tribunals need access to all the evidence available to bring justice to bear. It’s concerning that some of that evidence was buried in a lunch box.
- The Age's View
Letters
Letters
Timing of the rollout is not entirely in our hands
Age readers discuss problems associated with the rollout of Australia’s COVID-19 vaccination program.