Opinion
Opinion
Superannuation
How to boost your tax refund by stuffing cash into super before EOFY
Now is a great time to think about ways to either minimise this year’s tax bill or turbocharge any tax refund you may be owed.
- by Jessica Irvine
Latest
Analysis
NSW Votes
Upper Hunter byelection result disastrous for Labor
To ever return to government, Labor must be picking up votes, not bleeding them.
- by Alexandra Smith
Opinion
Superannuation
Who wants to be a super millionaire? Here's how
Aided by the power of compounding interest, your most valuable asset to reach the retirement milestone is time.
- by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
Opinion
Ask an expert
Paying down mortgage with an inheritance is a good option
The 2019 budget promised to allow people aged 65-66 to use the three year bring-forward superannuation contribution option but this has not yet been made law.
- by George Cochrane
Opinion
Royal family
Prince William is quietly winning the battle of the royal brothers
The Wales brothers’ responses to Bashir revelations are as different as they are as people - but we knew they would be.
- by Camilla Tominey
Analysis
Australian cricket
In the news: Pat Cummins
Handsome, affable and generous, Pat Cummins backs it up with the ball and is on track to end up in the all-time great category of Aussie fast bowlers.
- by Daniel Cherny
Opinion
Vaccination
The high cost of life in our gilded cage, Australia
With our borders shut until the middle of next year, the government is pursuing the obvious solutions with a dreamlike languor.
- by Peter Hartcher
Opinion
Consent crisis
The great consent debate: Adults need to be honest with boys and girls about biology
We are leaving the next generation without the tools to understand their emotional needs and assert them.
- by Parnell Palme McGuinness
Opinion
Political leadership
Scott Morrison’s in a race to get re-elected before he has to do the one thing he’s stubbornly avoided
This week felt like the dry run for an early poll.
- by George Megalogenis
Opinion
Infrastructure
A demolished bridge too far: the unholy rush to replace charm with concrete
NSW has 1800 timber bridges - but for how long?
- by Elizabeth Farrelly
Opinion
NSW Votes
D-Day for Labor’s Ms 17%: Jodi McKay must win the Hunter or become hunted
John Howard had a second coming, even after he was ousted as Liberal leader with a lowly preferred prime minister rating. But unless NSW Labor can seize the Upper Hunter in Saturday’s byelection, Jodi McKay’s leadership looks terminal.
- by Alexandra Smith
Opinion
Nuix investigation
‘Stuck with the rancid bacon’: Despite a tip-off, ASIC dropped the ball on Nuix
The aftermath of the Nuix float should prompt soul searching inside ASIC, alongside a thorough investigation of what went wrong.
- by Adele Ferguson
Analysis
AFL 2021
The curious case of Glen Bartlett’s departure from the Demons
The story behind the departure of the Demons boss in a year in which the team has been dominant.
- by Caroline Wilson
Letters
Letters
Myopic Morrison is putting us all at risk
Scott Morrison has been derided as purely a marketing man. Yet this is not evident in recent events.
Opinion
MyCareer
Bias and misdirection can cloud your path in life and work
Decisions about careers also come with risk, and are also prone to all kinds of irrational and biased thinking.
- by Jim Bright
Opinion
Cryptocurrencies
Monetary madness: Why we need bitcoin more than ever
Yes it is volatile and unpredictable. But it is not nearly as crazy as what our governments and central banks are up to.
- by Matthew Lynn
Editorial
Coronavirus pandemic
Clear messaging is needed to beat vaccine hesitancy
The federal government should be selling the benefits that will come from reaching a high level of vaccination more boldly.
- The Herald's View
Opinion
WordPlay
Stumped on how to spell Woolloomooloo? Start with sheep toilet
We all have little word games or habits for recalling facts and spelling treacherous words. Here are a few memorable favourites.
- by David Astle
Analysis
Melbourne
Dee-lirium tremors: Melbourne fans dare themselves to believe
What is more wearing: 55 years without a premiership, or nervousness about winning one this year?
- by Greg Baum
Opinion
The lowdown
The business case for diversity in one word: profit
Improving workforce diversity is not just good business sense. Ethically it’s the right thing to do.
- by Susan Pettifer
Opinion
Review
New Chinese art with laser beams, strobes and clever contraptions
The latest show, Lumen, at White Rabbit Gallery offers a visual, visceral and provocative experience.
- by John McDonald
The Fitz Files
Test cricket
Cape Town revisited a shining example of stating the bleeding obvious
Truly, you shouldn’t need to have Michael Clarke’s expertise and experience to see what’s most likely happened here.
- by Peter FitzSimons
Analysis
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is changed forever by this war
Israeli and US officials may tout the return of calm after a ceasefire, but experts fear the opposite.
- by Ishaan Tharoor
Opinion
NRL 2021
Imagine rugby league had just been invented ... would it even be legal?
The game can learn from the normalisation of death in Formula One in the 1960s and ’70s. Indeed, collision sports may one day be seen as unjustifiably reckless.
- by Darren Kane
Analysis
Please Explain podcast
Royals in uproar after BBC cover-up exposed for 1995 Diana interview
Today on Please Explain, Tory Maguire speaks to Europe correspondent Bevan Shields about the unprecedented spray Prince William has launched on the way the BBC managed to ‘trick’ his late mother into an interview in 1995.
- by Tory Maguire
Opinion
Federal budget
Big government debt manageable, but with one proviso
The Treasury Secretary argues our budget deficit, our debt and the interest bill on the debt aren’t particularly risky but at some stage we will need to ‘rebuild our fiscal buffers’.
- by Ross Gittins
Opinion
Work therapy
That joke isn’t funny any more
If you laugh too hard at an office joke, be warned. You may unleash a monster jokester.
- by Jonathan Rivett
Analysis
Australian rugby
Opening round of Trans-Tasman showed why Michael Hooper debate is ridiculous
Speculation about alternative options for Wallabies captain has to be based on Hooper’s place in the team being under threat. It is not.
- by Paul Cully
Opinion
Australian cricket
After a shoddy burial, the Sandpaper Zombie-pocalypse is back. And England will be overjoyed.
Unless the participants sit down and tell all, the stench of Sandpapergate will never go away. Can the Ashes be motivation to finally address it honestly?
- by Malcolm Knox
Opinion
Mergers & acquisitions
Amazon buying MGM would be a crushing blow for movie cinemas
It may be good news for television audiences, but the continuing alignment of Hollywood studios and streaming services will not bode well for cinemas.
- by Ben Wright
Analysis
Coronavirus pandemic
How faulty PPE unmasked our health watchdog’s approvals process
It’s very easy to get lost in the detail of the news cycle. Sometimes we need to pull back, join the dots, work out what things really mean.
- by Liam Mannix
Opinion
Emissions
The bell has tolled for the fossil age: Why net zero makes us all richer
The International Energy Agency’s conversion pulls the rug from under those with vested interest who keep repeating that we cannot afford to stop global warming.
- by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Opinion
Coronavirus pandemic
Outrage nation: The rapid decay of discourse
The heated reaction to Virgin CEO Jayne Hrdlicka’s statement on opening up international borders highlights the paucity of nuanced discussions on complex issues.
- by Waleed Aly
Analysis
Vaccination
Journey without a map to our vacci-nation
Australia has two problems with COVID vaccination: hesitancy among too many citizens and - even if we were all queuing up for the jab - global supply of vaccines.
- by David Crowe
Letters
Letters
Not all COVID-19 vaccines are seen as equal by some
So-called experts have misunderstood the COVID-19 vaccine-hesitancy for over-50s.
In the Herald: May 21, 1946
Mascot breaks records, epidemic eases, and Iceland gains independence.
- by Harry Hollinsworth
Opinion
Coronavirus pandemic
With little emotion, a nation’s door is slammed shut
Australia should be able to deal with people caught in family crises – wanting to leave the country for compassionate reasons such as illnesses or funerals.
- by Michelle Grattan
Opinion
Column 8
The answer, vaccination sausage is.
Whither by road or rail, the travelling mouse circus is coming to town.
Editorial
Class action
Frydenberg should put interests of investors before company directors
Two new laws will make it harder for superannuation investors to get accurate information about what company bosses are doing with their money.
- The Herald's View
Opinion
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
I don’t think Gaza can rise from the ashes this time
I discuss with my friends how to prepare for the next, inevitable attack. We ask each other: have you packed your bags? Have you remembered all your documents? Food? Clothes for the children?
- by Asmaa Abu Mezied
Opinion
Middle East tensions
We lived amid rockets raining down on Israel: this conflict is complicated
As a human rights lawyer, Rachel Lord took a dim view of Israel until she lived there with her children while her husband, Dave Sharma, served as Australia’s ambassador. Now she doesn’t take a firm position on who is right or wrong in the conflict, but she asks people to understand what it means to live under threat.
- by Rachel Lord
Opinion
Aviation
How can an airline boost cash flow in a pandemic? Ask Alan Joyce
The Qantas boss has a real knack for sharing the pain but capitalising on the gain.
- by Elizabeth Knight
Opinion
Ball tampering
How much longer can Warner stay silent about Sandpaper-gate?
It’s widely assumed he will reveal all about Sandpaper-gate when he retires. It must be hard to stay silent when his teammates keep throwing him under the bus.
- by Andrew Webster
Opinion
AFL 2021
The phone call Mitchell should make before becoming a senior AFL coach
For the most part, the Clarkson way is all Sam Mitchell knows. He should be looking for greater experience elsewhere before taking on what is surely a lengthy rebuild at Hawthorn.
- by Wayne Carey
Analysis
Please Explain podcast
‘The worst time for COVID is right now’: what is driving Australia’s vaccine hesitancy
Today on Please Explain health reporter Melissa Cunningham joins Nathanael Cooper to look at the hesitation around receiving the vaccine in Australia.
- by Nathanael Cooper
Opinion
Immigration
No rights, all the dangers: Lack of support for migrant workers counterproductive
As this federal government struggles to build a workforce that will boost the economy while our borders are shut, it is time to finally value – not penalise – our migrant and refugee workforce.
- by Shankar Kasynathan
Opinion
AI
Should Alexa read our moods?
If Amazon’s Alexa thinks you sound sad, should it suggest that you buy a tub of ice cream?
- by Shira Ovide
Opinion
World markets
China, the Fed and a threat of regulation roil financial markets
Cryptocurrencies plunged and stocks and bonds were volatile after China announced a crypto crackdown, US lawmakers threatened to regulate the sector and the Fed hinted at discussions of a tapering of its quantitative easing.
- by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Analysis
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Crisis in Israel ends Joe Biden’s White House honeymoon
Biden came into office without any grand plans to reshape the Middle East. His main focus has been on strategic competition with China. But presidents do not get to choose which events they must respond to.
- by Matthew Knott
Opinion
Racism
Fifty shades of beige, but women of colour left out
Shopping for make-up as a woman of colour is an exercise in frustration - and exclusion.
- by Rebecca Willink