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Opinion

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At 33, I’m still getting started. Does that make me soft and whiny?

At the same age, my grandmother had two sons, spoke three languages and had escaped the Nazis. What would we have to talk about?

  • by Genevieve Novak

Latest

The day after the night before … Michael Maguire fronts the media after the Origin I loss.

Sack the half. Bring in the out-of-form star. Bag the coach. Just another day for the Blues

The criticism of the Blues has been predictable. Michael Maguire needs to hold his nerve when selecting his team for Origin II.

  • by Andrew Webster
Difficult coworkers undermining you in meetings is not an uncommon occurrence.

Did a colleague mock my story without me realising?

The comment made by your colleague implies the story you told was so implausible, it can only have taken place in a Disney-fied alternate reality.

  • by Jonathan Rivett

The RBA has squeezed us like a lemon, but it’s still not happy

Maybe the Reserve Bank needs to see more blood on the street before it will believe we’re getting inflation back under control. If so, we’re running a bigger risk of recession than the central bank cares to admit.

  • by Ross Gittins
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Opinion
Column 8

Underwriting Hindi noir

Star-crossed in translation.

The Queensland Reds are back where they finished last year. How far have they come?

‘New era’: Why the other winning Queensland team is in for the long haul

Queensland Reds coach Les Kiss has sent a message simply by submitting his team sheet for their quarter-final clash with the Chiefs in New Zealand.

  • by Nick Wright
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets supporters as he arrives at Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Opinion
India

When the people speak in the world’s most populous nation, we win too

For too long the India sceptics have questioned its democracy. This election should give them cause to rethink.

  • by Barry O'Farrell
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Has Laura Tingle’s questionable claim tarnished her brand?

There are problematic issues with the ABC journalist’s comment describing Australia as a racist country.

Spite has long motivated Larry David’s character on Curb Your Enthusiasm, but it’s not a healthy way to view the world.
Opinion
Friendship

I’m a collector of petty grievances. Now I’m giving them away

The idea of wanting to “stick it” to someone has pushed me to accomplish wild feats. And yet I can see that too much of it is making me into someone I don’t want to be.

  • by Roby D’Ottavi
Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese.

The Paris paradox: Why Albanese can’t send Shorten to France just yet

For months, the chatter about Bill Shorten being the next ambassador to France has bubbled up and then deflated like an old souffle. But it refuses to go away.

  • by James Massola
An outpost painted with a Taiwan flag is seen on Da-dan island, where Taiwanese soldiers are stationed, near the maritime boundary with China, in Kinmen, Taiwan.

Why ‘Taiwanese-ness’ is complex and increasingly important

For three days, the Shangri-La hotel in Singapore was thronging with political leaders, defence ministers and top military brass from around the world.

  • by Lisa Visentin

The Greens are playing with red paint over Gaza. It could stain their hands

The Greens have resorted to outright falsehoods amid an overheated Middle East debate – and it’s dangerous.

  • by David Crowe
Opinion
NRLW 2024

My sport is having a Matildas moment. I know because of the trolling

Playing State Of Origin footy is a dream come true, but social media trolls felt the need to comment on my appearance and question my athletic ability.

  • by Caitlan Johnston
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang.
Opinion
Investing

Nvidia leaps into the $3 trillion club and could soon own it

The chipmaker’s market capitalisation has grown by more than four times the market value of BHP – in just six weeks.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
Inner West housing.
Editorial
Planning

Sydney’s housing crisis is no place for low-rent NSW Liberal politics

The NSW Liberals are working to tear down legislation aimed at Sydney’s housing crisis but remain tight-lipped about how they will solve the problem.

  • The Herald's View
Companies are baulking at paying for staff to travel in business class after prices surged 45 per cent.

Senior staff don’t deserve to fly business, so let’s ditch the work perk

It does not make sense why management should get to fly business class while everyday pleb employees are left to languish in economy.

  • by Jim Bright
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A gloved hand holds traces of lithium concentrate at a lithium mine in the Atacama Desert, Chile.
Opinion
Lithium

Resources nationalism is threatening China’s push to secure critical minerals

Partial nationalisation of a vast lithium project in Chile is the latest move by developed and developing countries to prevent China from locking up the mineral supply critical to its dominance of the world’s battery industry.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Nicho Hynes was disappointing on Wednesday night.

Hynes had his chance: The four changes NSW must make for State of Origin II

When presented with the moment to dispel a perception that he requires a pack of Strepsils when the lights are on him, Nicho Hynes instead got lost in them.

  • by Michael Chammas
Opinion
Aviation

An early review of Qantas’ new looooooong-haul flights. BYO gas mask

Of course, none of this should be interpreted as a defence of stopovers, which are one of the few good arguments for staying the course for 22 hours.

  • by Michelle Cazzulino
Angus Crichton and the Blues cut a familiar figure.

How NSW saved the game, just 25 minutes too late

The Blues’ biggest headache is once again the focus thanks to the earliest send-off in Origin history and their reaction to it.

  • by Dan Walsh
Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan, Essendon’s Zach Merrett, Sydney’s Isaac Heeney, and Carlton’s Charlie Curnow.
Opinion
AFL 2024

Flag favourites, disasters and the side that’s just plain boring: Kane Cornes’ mid-season verdict on every club

At the halfway point of season 2024, here’s a look at the AFL ladder and the masterstroke moves made to date, the teams in the fight for the flag, and the clubs who should just move on to planning for next season.

  • by Kane Cornes
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra
Opinion
CBD

The curious case of Anthony Albanese’s shuttered electorate office

When exactly did pro-Palestine protesters force the prime minister to close his electorate office?

  • by Kishor Napier-Raman and Stephen Brook
Joseph Suaalii is given his marching orders by referee Ashley Klein.

Ashley Klein made the right call in sending off Joseph Suaalii

The rules of the game are clear, but fans have every right to be confused about where the Origin boundaries exist.

  • by Andrew Webster

A political wrecking ball could destroy urgent housing before it’s even built

The Liberals have devised a bill to undo NSW Labor’s push to build more apartments around 37 train stations, but a mix of NIMBY and YIMBY MPs makes things awkward.

  • by Alexandra Smith
Illustration: Dionne Gain

The mood on immigration is tinder dry and Dutton has lit a match

Politicians in strife, desperate to save their backsides, have often reached for dog whistles. But these days it’s a loudhailer.

  • by Niki Savva
Elon Musk has started dropping heavy hints that he would rather go off and concentrate on his other businesses if he doesn’t get the rewards he feels he is entitled to for running Tesla.

It’s time Elon Musk faced a blunt truth about Tesla

Elon Musk is one of the great entrepreneurs of the century, but even he isn’t worth the biggest pay packet in history.

  • by Matthew Lynn
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Joseph Suaalii.

Blues were brave but ballistic shoulder shot made a victory mission impossible

NSW went into the first Origin match of the year as unbackable underdogs. It didn’t take long for their odds to blow out even further.

  • by Malcolm Knox
The Blues after conceding an early try.

Blues rarely win when it’s 13 on 13 ... take one away and stop the fight

This year’s Origin opener was effectively over before 10 minutes had been played. I’ve got a horrible feeling the same can be said of the series.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Game one.

State of Origin player ratings: How the Blues and Maroons fared in game one

Queensland romped home in State of Origin I in Sydney on Wednesday night – but which stars shone the brightest on the big stage?

  • by Nick Wright and Paul Zalunardo
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Opinion
Column 8

The Caped Crusader comes clean

But Batman ain’t no soap opera.

Melbourne and Collingwood have arguably the fiercest rivalry in the AFL.
Analysis
AFL 2024

‘We were busy celebrating’: Moore reflects on May’s jibe ahead of mouth-watering King’s Birthday clash

When it comes to Melbourne and Collingwood’s recent rivalry, the Demons have been all talk, and the Magpies all action.

  • by Andrew Wu
Piggy bank

Australians have been dipping into their piggy banks just to make ends meet

Growth at 0.1 per cent is abysmal. GDP per capita has fallen by 1.6 per cent since mid-2022. You don’t see that sort of fall outside a deep recession.

  • by Shane Wright
Climate change will shut down the majority of Australia’s ski fields  by 2080.

An increasingly uncomfortable world: Loss of skiing a minor issue in the climate change context

Loss of snow cover is further proof, if any were needed, that our climate is changing – and not for the better.

The ADHD tax costs Australians more than $20 billion annually.
Opinion
Healthcare

Yes, an ‘ADHD tax’ is a real thing. I know because I pay it every day

We work and strive to live normal lives. But our financial, workplace, education and legal systems are all designed for neurotypical people. And that comes at a price.

  • by Caroline Zielinski
Narendra Modi had looked unbeatable heading into the election, backed by one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.
Editorial
Narendra Modi

Modi’s third win a chance to restore India as a leading democracy

India’s Narendra Modi has won a third term but for the first time he’ll have to share power with coalition partners.

  • The Herald's View
The privacy watchdog has sued Medibank over its cyber hack.

Medibank on the hook for trillions but there’s more at stake than money

The $21.5 trillion in fines that the health insurer faces is an uncomfortable reminder to corporate Australia that it’s not just the cyber criminals that are now on the hook.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
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The “All Eyes on Rafah” post, believed to have been created by AI, that has been shared by millions of users on Instagram.

Sharing images on social media isn’t activism. My generation is fooling itself

There’s a running joke that older generations fall victim to online scams and misinformation, but the joke’s on us now. We need to do more than just scroll.

  • by Gitaanjali Nair
The strength of the US dollar is causing problems across the globe.
Opinion
Currencies

The US dollar is making a comeback at China’s expense

The demise of the US dollar has been predicted so often it has been taken as an established truth. It may or may not be true in the long term – but for now, the greenback is back in favour.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Opinion
ABC

So Laura Tingle has been outed as ‘partisan’? What nonsense

The ABC does not have the luxury of defiantly ignoring accusations of bias, but this News Corp initiated pile-on is absurd.

  • by Alan Sunderland
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is greeted by supporters as he arrives at his party’s headquarters in New Delhi.

Modi, who casts himself as ‘sent by God’, loses his aura of invincibility

The once-dominant opposition has made electoral gains on the government over issues like unemployment, social justice and Modi’s ties to India’s billionaires.

  • by Mujib Mashal and Alex Travelli
Alex de Minaur shows rare emotion as he records another win at the 2024 Roland-Garros tournament.
Analysis
French Open

‘Being a defender wasn’t going to cut it’: The numbers behind the Demon’s world-class weaponry

Alex de Minaur’s transformation from admired also-ran into world-beating top-10 star has captured the attention of a sporting nation. This is how he has done it.

  • by Marc McGowan
Shifting your super from accumulation mode to pension mode can have tax benefits, but you’ll be forced to withdraw some each year.

We’re done with travel, should we shift our super into pension mode?

Shifting your super from accumulation mode to pension mode can have tax benefits, but you’ll be forced to withdraw some each year.

  • by Noel Whittaker
It’s worth paying to get the right advice from the right people.

How to make sure you’re getting good financial advice

There’s a lot of mistrust of financial professionals, and it’s not totally unfounded, but there are ways to make sure you’re getting good advice.

  • by Paridhi Jain
Adding even a small amount to your super now can make you thousands of dollars richer in retirement. So why don’t more people do it?
Analysis
Super Fit

Adding to your super early can help you buy a first home. Here’s how

Even a small extra contribution from your income to your super now can make you thousands of dollars richer in retirement. So why don’t more people do it?

  • by Caterina Hrysomallis
Payne Haas.

The Maroons are faster and flashier. But they have a weakness and Blues can exploit it

Game-day conditions at Accor Stadium promise to be perfect for NSW in the Origin opener. This is the gameplan that can lead them to victory.

  • by Andrew Johns
Illustration: Andrew Dyson

Australia’s caught in a spin cycle. Thank goodness you’ve got me to slow it down

Politicians like to deploy spin doctors, and economists, to give you a version of the truth. It’s my job to make sure you’re not led astray, but it’s getting harder.

  • by Ross Gittins
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NSW captain Jake Trbojevic on Tuesday, the day before he captains NSW for the first time.

‘He’s like Christopher Columbus’: The dorky passion of NSW captain Jake Trbojevic

The Manly lock’s love of rugby league and life is exactly what the Blues need heading into Origin I.

  • by Andrew Webster
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Opinion
Column 8

Bunkering down for a bin fight

While preserving the art of course drinking.

Clare Fletcher spent a month at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, researching for her PhD in extraterrestrial geoconservation.
Analysis
Space

The race to stop people destroying evidence of alien life

Looting and scientific vandalism on Earth has scientists worried we could destroy evidence of extraterrestrial life before we even find it.

  • by Angus Dalton
Elyne Le Faou in Melbourne.
Opinion
Sociology

As a visiting Frenchwoman, I find Australian men to be not at all what I expected

Living in Melbourne and working in hospitality, one cultural difference with France was immediately apparent: men’s behaviour towards women.

  • by Elyne Le Faou