Opinion
Analysis
Political leadership
Who really runs the country? The secret roles of Albanese’s ministers
Anthony Albanese’s ministers have portfolios – they also have other roles: confidantes, influencers, attack dogs. And some are more equal than others.
- by James Massola
Latest
Analysis
Science
A new study links fluoride with cognitive issues. Should we be worried?
Many studies have linked higher levels of fluoride to lower IQ in children, but not all studies are equal.
- by Angus Dalton
Opinion
Indigenous
The number of Indigenous AFL players has plunged from 87 to 71. It’s going to get worse
Recruiters tell me the number of Indigenous AFL players is likely to fall to the mid-60s next year due to retirements and a lack of talent coming through, and worsen from there.
- by John Evans
Dutton shows woeful lack of empathy for our veterans
Fulminating over the Albanese government’s increase in the number of public service employees, many of whom were employed to address the backlog of veterans’ claims left in limbo by the Morrison government, Dutton shows a woeful lack of empathy for those who have served and sacrificed much for this country and deserve the respect of each and every one of us.
Editorial
AI
Timing of Telstra’s workforce cuts raise suspicions about spectre of AI
The proposed mass redundancies at one of the country’s biggest employers are a shock but also raise community fears about the future of jobs in the face of the rise of AI – even though Telstra said the losses were unrelated to machine learning.
- The Herald's View
Opinion
Kylie Kwong
Bugger! Now Kylie’s closing. I’m fed up, but who can blame her?
The hospitality industry is in its direst predicament for decades and even the most successful restaurants have tighter margins now.
- by Jenna Price
Opinion
NRL 2024
Happy 50th birthday Brad – you’ve received the most Eels-style present ever
From club member number 2911828, here’s a tribute to the former Eels coach on his birthday.
- by Adrian Proszenko
Opinion
Telecommunications
Why Telstra needs to sack 10 per cent of its workforce
The good news for chief executive Vicki Brady is that the mobile division continues to motor on nicely. She needs this motor to purr like a kitten.
- by Elizabeth Knight
Analysis
Super Rugby
The Eddie-shaped shadow hanging over a Cheika rescue mission at Waratahs
With the embers of last year’s bin fire only just extinguished, Rugby Australia is facing a fraught decision: does it bring back another colourful ex-coach to fix rugby in NSW?
- by Iain Payten
Opinion
Flu season
I know pseudo remedies won’t cure my winter cold. But they make me feel special
We’re currently experiencing a unique hell of virus soup, and despite knowing what we need to do to get better, following doctor’s orders feel painfully pedestrian.
- by Wendy Syfret
Opinion
Financial planning
This is what good financial planning really looks like
You might ask what a two-month sojourn in New York has to do with personal finance, but good planning goes well beyond just the numbers.
- by Paul Benson
Opinion
Investing
Why ‘Roaring Kitty’ is the poster child for next-generation investors
After a long period of calm, all it took to reignite the meme stock flames was a cryptic post last week from GameStop investor “Roaring Kitty”.
- by Marcus Ashworth
Opinion
WordPlay
Australia leads the world in the use of this oxymoronic term
During this year’s budget there was one recurrent word association that appeared more than others.
- by David Astle
Analysis
World politics
What a change of leadership in Iran means for the world order
The now dead Iranian president and foreign minister did everything they could to consolidate the “Axis of Resistance”. There is a decision to be made.
- by David Sanger
Opinion
Climate policy
The two major threats to a ‘net zero’ world
Shell’s head of strategy says the chances of meeting the global carbon emissions targets depend on two crucial factors.
- by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Opinion
NRL 2024
Parramatta’s shambolic attempt to sign Bennett exposes what’s wrong with the club
They weren’t late to the party to sign the supercoach. They weren’t in the same hemisphere.
- by Andrew Webster
Opinion
Supermarkets
Supermarket self-checkouts must die. And no, I don’t wish to print a receipt
Supermarkets’ faith in customers’ ability to negotiate the self-checkout appears to be fading faster than a BBQ chicken after six hours in the bain-marie.
- by Michelle Cazzulino
Analysis
NRL 2024
Operation woo Wayne west: Inside the Eels’ failed plot to replace Arthur with Bennett
On May 11, while the rugby league world poked fun at the Eels for not pursuing Bennett’s services, club bosses boarded a flight to Brisbane to meet him at his farm.
- by Michael Chammas and Adam Pengilly
Opinion
China relations
When Taiwan changed leader, Beijing sent its own guests, uninvited
This is the atmosphere in which Taiwan on Monday inaugurated its new president, Lai Ching-te.
- by Peter Hartcher
Analysis
Ange Postecoglou
‘Big Ange’ and the political football: Postecoglou’s place in sporting code wars
Ange Postecoglou arrives back in Melbourne in the middle of the AFL season. Steeped in two codes, how should he negotiate the “No Sherrin” rule?
- by Greg Baum
Immigration needs proper debate, not scare tactics
By all means cut immigration, Peter Dutton – but please explain how we will fill the myriad jobs that have need for workers across our economy.
Opinion
Real Footy Podcast
‘Showed a lot of cracks’: The competition in season 2024 is closer than you think
This week on the Real Footy podcast, Mathew Stokes joins Michael Gleeson and Jake Niall to discuss what this round taught us about how even the competition is, St Kilda’s struggles and the Bombers’ top four bona fides.
- by Staff writers
Opinion
Casinos
The kindest thing to do with Star is to find it a new owner
There will always be jackals milling around a smelly corporate carcass. But none will want to pay top dollar for this one.
- by Elizabeth Knight
Opinion
Federal budget
Page 97 of the budget kept me awake at night, and is a stain on Morrison’s legacy
A $6.5 billion funding allocation is an indictment against the Coalition’s treatment of veterans, and the backstory to it enough to make your blood boil.
- by Shane Wright
Editorial
NRL 2024
Leichhardt Oval has home ground advantage
Despite the austere times, politicians are finding funds to save the Wests Tigers ground that has been part of Sydney life since 1934.
- The Herald's View
Opinion
Inside China
China just unveiled a ‘ground-breaking’ fix for its property crisis. It’s not enough
Three years after China’s property sector started imploding, Xi Jinping is finally doing something meaningful to fix it. He needs to do more.
- by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Analysis
AFL 2024
The killer stat that shows Harley Reid really is the new Dusty
All the hype about Harley Reid was justified. Well, most of it anyway. The teenage phenomenon is the AFL’s No.1 tackle-buster, and in just nine games, he’s already made a start on a hall-of-fame highlights reel.
- by Peter Ryan
Analysis
World Boxing
Who is the greatest? Ranking boxing’s undisputed heavyweight champions
Oleksandr Usyk is the undisputed world heavyweight champion after beating Tyson Fury. But how does he rate against Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and George Foreman?
- by Gareth A Davies
Opinion
Archibald Prize
In defence of Gina Rinehart, I hate my portrait too
The vanity in portraiture lies in the conceit of being selected in the first place, swiftly followed by dismay at the outcome.
- by Antoinette Lattouf
Analysis
Political leadership
Why Labor’s budget is not enough to reverse its two-year slump
It is not unusual for governments to suffer a slump after two years in power – it happened to John Howard in 1998 and he recovered. But there are danger signs for Labor.
- by David Crowe
Analysis
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
What Iranian president’s helicopter crash means for the Middle East
Iran views itself as the chief patron of Palestinian resistance to Israeli rule, and top officials have called for Israel to be wiped off the map.
- by Joseph Krauss
Opinion
Federal budget
Money can’t buy everything, but Chalmers can buy an inflation reduction
The treasurer’s use of new policy tools to solve new kinds of inflation has enraged many commentators, but the anger of those stuck in the past doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be looking to the future.
- by Richard Denniss
Opinion
Super Rugby
The exiled player whose form proves the Waratahs are in a full-blown crisis
NSW were torched by Ben Donaldson on Saturday in Perth: a playmaker they released last year. And his improvement speaks volumes about the Tahs.
- by Paul Cully
Exclusive
NRL 2024
Inside the Magic Round meetings that saved PNG’s NRL bid from collapse
If the bid to establish an NRL franchise in PNG is successful next month, discussions inside Suncorp Stadium’s Chairman’s Room will be remembered for saving it.
- by Andrew Webster
Opinion
Political leadership
Dutton’s grim picture is close to reality, but his migration schtick isn’t the solution
In treating migration as his golden leadership goose, Peter Dutton is making a classic political mistake, which is to identify your strength and then over-emphasise it.
- by Sean Kelly
Opinion
Real life
What do King Charles and Margot Robbie have in common? They’re both avid kidulters
It’s easy to assume that toys speak only to kids and that once puberty hits, we stop needing their comfort. But that assumption would be wrong.
- by Shona Hendley
PM’s policies make Dutton look sadly short-sighted
Peter Hartcher’s article gives Australian voters a perfect 20/20 view of the choice that the nation faces at the next federal election.
Opinion
UK
I attended the Sea Power Conference. On behalf of Australia, I was embarrassed
Inexcusably, not a single officer of our navy had bothered to travel from Canberra to attend our AUKUS partner’s principal naval strategic forum.
- by George Brandis
Road to ruin for dumped bikes
The consumer mentality is stimulated by manufacturers and retailers who pander to the desire for new. Therefore, more waste of things that could be reused.
Analysis
AI
Google, OpenAI race to create indispensable AI assistant
Both companies are rolling out technology that lets you talk to their chatbots in a much more natural way.
- by Tim Biggs
Analysis
NRL 2024
Court case shines light on Paul Kent’s demons
The Fox Sports NRL host’s well-publicised fall warrants compassion. This is why he won’t get much.
- by Danny Weidler
Opinion
Ask an expert
We’re running low on super, can we use our house equity as backup?
Downsizing and contributing the proceeds into your super has minimal limitations, but it might affect your age pension.
- by Paul Benson
Opinion
Education
Push to ditch physical books reignites tablet versus textbook debate
The proliferation of technology in classrooms leaves educators facing the question of how to make the most of the ways it can support learning without increasing students’ exposure to the negatives.
- by The Herald's View
Opinion
Wellness
Just keep chugging: this water bottle fixation is a generation’s security blanket
Are there risks from this obsessive water-carting beyond constant trips to the loo? Just ask Novak Djokovic, who recently copped one in the head.
- by Claire Heaney
Opinion
Federal budget
Why it’s time we got rid of the women’s budget statement
That women are being prioritised should be celebrated. But separating these budget measures only furthers the divide, both socially and economically.
- by Victoria Devine
Opinion
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Why Israel is losing the PR war
We are witnessing an epoch-defining communications disaster.
- by Parnell Palme McGuinness
Opinion
Five Minutes with Fitz
The childhood secret that has driven Julie Goodwin, and the recipe everyone should have
The 2009 MasterChef winner has just released a memoir, and there’s a generous serving of real life and ripper recipes.
- by Peter FitzSimons
Opinion
Hip pocket
Contemplating an EV? Here’s the buzz on the pros and cons
Electric vehicles are soaring in popularity, but “range anxiety” and fears over costs are preventing many drivers from making the switch.
- by Dominic Powell