Opinion | Comment & Analysis | The Sydney Morning Herald

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Opinion

Advertisement
Tom Wright celebrates after scoring.
Analysis
Wallabies

Five things we learned from the Wallabies win over Wales

The Wallabies are a work in progress, but what did we learn about the new-look team as they started the Joe Schmidt era?

  • by Jonathan Drennan

Latest

The high-flying Swans and (inset) Matthew Johns.
Analysis
NRL 2024

Fox red-faced after Matthew Johns spruiks AFL

The NRL and Fox Sports have been left embarrassed, with the face of Fox League, Matthew Johns, involved in an advertising campaign to promote the game’s great rival.

  • by Danny Weidler
Dioenn

Boomers, don’t say you had it worse, even if you mean well

The problem with the generational measuring contest between who did it tougher and lived to tell the tale is that it’s deeply, deeply flawed.

  • by Victoria Devine
For most, there comes a time in later life where the costs in time and accounting fees of a self-managed super fund outweigh the benefits.

I’m getting old and my SMSF has become a burden. What should I do?

For most, there comes a time in later life where the costs in time and accounting fees of a self-managed super fund outweigh the benefits.

  • by Paul Benson
Donald Trump and Joe Biden will appear in two presidential debates before November’s poll.
Opinion
Ageing

Boomer or bust? No, leaders like Biden and Trump should know when to bow out

Since the US presidential debate, discussions of the dangers of gerontocracy have moved from the abstract to the horribly real.

  • by Jacqueline Maley
Senator Fatima Payman announcing her resignation from Labor.

Australia will lose if Payman’s identity politics triumphs

The senator’s passionate politics renders compromise unpalatable. The last thing Australia needs is this type of politics.

  • by Parnell Palme McGuinness
Advertisement
Where else might you see tiny people taking their first steps, young people having their first kiss and old people just happy to be alive?

My new favourite place to go - and the fun is free

Where else might you see tiny people taking their first steps, young people having their first kiss and old people just happy to be out and about?

  • by Thomas Mitchell
Pounding away at your keyboard, or eating loudly in the offce, could be putting your colleagues offside.

If you can’t spot the jerk at work, it might be you

There is a decent chance something you do is driving your co-workers nuts. Here’s how to avoid being that person.

  • by Danielle Abril
No, traveller’s cheques are not a thing any more.
Opinion
Hip pocket

On the fly: How to manage money when you travel overseas

Australia is back in a travel boom, with overseas tourist numbers outstripping pre-pandemic levels for the first time.

  • by Dominic Powell
Michael Cassel, in New York last year, was hooked on the excitement of the stage from a very early age.

Michael Cassel didn’t throw away his shot, even after Ray Martin knocked him back

The theatrical impresario who brought Hamilton to Australia cut his showbiz teeth early. Very early.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Red Symons, on stage with the Skyhooks, plays the black Les Paul Custom that was stolen from his house decades ago.
Opinion
Real life

Some punk stole my guitar 50 years ago. I never thought the mystery would be solved

It was in Brunswick Street that my house was burgled. I was robbed of a heavy black Les Paul Custom. I’d expected the fate of that guitar to remain unknown.

  • by Red Symons
“Staying in” has become the new “going out”.

Forget FOMO! I just want to put on my PJs and stay in bed

In the winter, life calms down and a lovely wave of laziness washes over me.

  • by Kathy Lette
Taniela Tupou (centre) and teammates celebrate Australia’s win over Wales on Saturday night.
Analysis
Wallabies

Wallabies player ratings: How the men in gold fared against Wales

We take a look at the performances of every Wallabies player following a 25-17 win over Wales in Sydney.

  • by Tom Decent
From left: Nine CEO Mike Sneesby; Beverley McGarvey, Paramount Executive Vice President; Greg Hywood, Free TV Australia chair; and former Seven West Media CEO James Warburton during a hearing in Canberra in February.

‘Sobering reality’: What the future for Australia’s media giants looks like

With mass job cuts across Australia’s largest media companies, is there a way out of the advertising downturn, or is it time to face up to a new normal?

  • by Calum Jaspan
Zach Merrett and Nick Daicos.
Analysis
AFL 2024

Easy Pies, raging Dons: How handling of Merrett, Daicos showed contrasting mindsets

The space – and lack of close-up attention – permitted to Zach Merrett was the complete reverse of how the Bombers dealt with the similarly destructive powers of Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos.

  • by Jake Niall
The City Tattersalls Club at 194-204 Pitt Street, which is currently closed and being redeveloped into a a 50-storey mixed use tow. The club is being forced into a fire sale of its historic club to pay off debts caused by falling patronage and declining gaming revenue. Photographed in Sydney on June 27, 2024. Photo: Dominic Lorrimer

Goodbye to the City Tatts club and its 130 years of history

Sydney’s Tatts Club is a city institution.

Advertisement
Australia’s Lauren Jackson and Josh Giddey.
Analysis
Paris 2024

‘We have to earn it’: How Opals, Boomers could realise their Paris medal dreams

Australia will head to Paris with dreams of stunning the USA and winning gold. But with world basketball growing ever-stronger, the Opals and Boomers will be tested like never before.

  • by Roy Ward
Wimbledon and the Australian Open can learn a thing or two from each other.
Analysis
Wimbledon

A sporting colossus and ‘the most important tournament in tennis’: What sets the AO and Wimbledon apart

One Melbourne ex-pat calls Wimbledon and the Australian Open “the two best sporting events in the world”. Here’s what separates them from the pack, and what they can teach each other.

  • by Marc McGowan
Leicester South MP winner Independent candidate Shockat Adam holds up the Palestinian keffiyeh as he celebrates. “This is for Gaza.”
Analysis
UK politics

‘This is for Gaza’: What the UK election means for Anthony Albanese

UK Labour lost five seats to pro-Palestinian independent candidates during the course of the night, all in areas with significant Muslim populations.

  • by Rob Harris
Jason Demetriou.

Too late to save Demetriou, but Souths’ turnaround is still a vindication

Before his sacking, coach Jason Demetriou pleaded for more time at the Rabbitohs, maintaining that the side’s poor form was on the cusp of changing. Turns out, he was right!

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Port Adelaide coach Ken Hinkley.
Opinion
AFL 2024

Booed, under-paid and over-scrutinised: Who’d be an AFL coach?

The AFL must end the conversation about improving the lot of coaches, and act. Watching Ken Hinkley after last Sunday’s game should have proved another wake-up call.

  • by Caroline Wilson
Clancy “the digger” Glover!
Opinion
Pets

Ten things that man’s best friend could do better

Do dogs really need to follow you from room to room, all day, every day, in the expectation that you’ll do something interesting?

  • by Richard Glover
Getting a bonus on top of your super when you retire is a trick many funds are using to attract new members.

Have you heard of retirement bonuses? Here’s how to get one

Some super funds are paying out up to $22,000 to those ending their work lives. Here’s how that works.

  • by Bec Wilson
Aussie borrowers now know to talk to their lender before they get into serous money trouble, and that’s a good thing.

The ‘brace position’ that could help some homeowners’ budgets

Australian borrowers now know to talk to their lender before they get into serious money trouble – and that’s a good thing.

  • by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
Someone who makes your working life unpleasant can be difficult to deal with.

How to artfully deal with an office backstabber

There’s one lurking in every workplace, but dealing with them can be a harder task than it seems.

  • by Nina Hendy

Will Fatima Payman become the Pauline Hanson of the left? That’s up to her

The now-independent WA senator has chosen performative identity politics over Labor Party solidarity. But her next decision could have even more profound implications for Australian politics.

  • by Peter Hartcher
Advertisement
Joe Schmidt with Laurie Fisher.

What we can expect from a Schmidt-coached Wallabies team

Following a shambolic period for Australian rugby, Joe Schmidt steps into the spotlight as Wallabies coach on Saturday against Wales. The Wallabies should be visibly different.

  • by Paul Cully
Letch

Tailgaters are dangerous bullies but the legal onus is on safe drivers

Tailgaters are cowards and idiots, but the bases are loaded in their favour.

  • by Malcolm Knox
Steven van de Velde
Analysis
Paris 2024

A convicted child rapist will compete at the Paris Olympics. Where is the outrage?

The Dutch Olympic Committee has selected a beach volleyball player who served prison time after pleading guilty to rape charges. The IOC will not overrule his participation.

  • by Darren Kane
China’s leaders vowed to kick-start spending by offering subsidies for households to buy cars and appliances. But many consumers aren’t biting.

China’s desperate bid to fix one of its biggest problems has backfired

Four months ago, China’s leaders announced what seemed like a straightforward and proven plan to recharge the economy, but its citizens are not playing ball.

  • by Keith Bradsher
<p>

Payman’s defection a personal choice

As a Labor Senator or any major party representative, Senator Payman should be prioritising the governance of Australia.

King Donald.
Tony Wright’s Column
US Votes 2024

Donald Trump and the king who could do no wrong, but lost his head

The US Supreme Court grants immunity from prosecution for former presidents like Donald Trump. But could a king really do no wrong and keep his head?

  • by Tony Wright
Feeling the love: Bulldogs players celebrate a golden point win over Cronulla.
Analysis
NRL 2024

The art in Ciraldo’s Dogs of War: How one man’s obsession revived Belmore

The Bulldogs bucking of NRL numbers and conventions, as well as a roster and defensive overhaul, has a finals return looming.

  • by Dan Walsh
Robotinho euro24 quarter finals

Robotinho predicts the result of the quarter-finals at Euro 2024

We’re reaching the pointy end of the Euros and a weekend where some big names will fall. Will Spain and France march on, how far can Turkey go, and can England bore their way through, again? The answers are all here.

  • by Robotinho and Mark Stehle
Jay Shah with Indian skipper Rohit Sharma.
Analysis
India

His dad is Modi’s right-hand man. India’s Jay Shah may soon be running world cricket

Why was Jay Shah on the podium when India won the Twenty20 World Cup? There is an election coming up.

  • by Daniel Brettig
Usman Khawaja spoke at the MCG on Friday, after being charged with breaching ICC regulations.
Opinion
Racism

Batter to boat-rocker … and neither Khawaja nor Dutton will back down

As a breed, Australian cricketers are generally on the conservative side of things, but the softly spoken opener has shattered the convention.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Advertisement
Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai celebrate victory in last year’s grand final, their third straight premiership win together.
Opinion
NRL 2024

The first team to stem the tide of tries will emerge victorious

NRL coaches can be forgiven for feeling like King Canute when it comes to repelling attack.

  • by Roy Masters
Newly elected UK PM Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria on election day in London.
Analysis
UK politics

Celebrations will be short-lived for Starmer, staring down Britain’s monumental challenges

Britain’s new prime minister faces perhaps the most monumental challenges of any incoming UK leader since Clement Attlee’s Labour Party won in a landslide in 1945.

  • by Rob Harris

When I met Starmer, he’d have won my ‘least likely PM’ vote. Look at him now

He’s cautious, a bit bland and with no big vision, but he’s ousted the crooked Conservatives in this chaos-weary country.

  • by Kathy Lette
There’s a simple way for men to get in the good books with their partners.
Opinion
Marriage

What makes for a good husband? It’s the small things

At a time when almost half of Australian marriages end in divorce, TV presenter Richard Hammond has some smart advice for men. And it’s got nothing to do with a sexy hotel stay or a Zamel’s catalogue.

  • by Kate Halfpenny
Joe Schmidt with Laurie Fisher.
Analysis
Wallabies

The currency of hard graft: Deciphering Joe Schmidt’s first Wallabies team

Rugby Australia bosses would sell their grannies for a win over Wales on Saturday but Schmidt appears focused on the long game.

  • by Iain Payten
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JULY 04:  Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt looks on during a Wallabies training session at David Phillips Sports Complex on July 04, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Opinion
Wallabies

Rugby union is not about to collapse, despite what the NRL keeps telling us

A new era starts under new Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt on Saturday against Wales.

  • by Andrew Webster
Self-portrait with the Yellow Christ, 1890–91.
Opinion
Review

Master or monster: The artist equally loathed and revered

Call it charisma, presence or personal magnetism. Paul Gauguin had it in abundance.

  • by John McDonald
Workers should always read their contracts carefully, as once signed, there can be little you can do to change it.

Did my workplace trick me into signing away my bonuses?

Workers should always read their contracts carefully, as once signed, there can be little you can do to change it.

  • by Jonathan Rivett

If you care about your offspring, you should support ‘nature positive’

So much has been lost, and with such serious consequences, a consensus has emerged that we must now commit to nature repair.

  • by Ross Gittins
If a mortgage is out of reach, it is a lot easier to skip jobs, notwithstanding eye-watering rents.
Opinion
Jobs

Why do young people hate their jobs? I’ll give you a clue

Why should young workers slave away at a job they hate when the traditional rewards of hard work, such as owning a house, are so far out of reach?

  • by Jim Bright
Advertisement
Masculinity is in crisis, and young men need support to find their way.
Opinion
Sexism

Gen Z men have a problem with feminism. We need to talk about why

Earlier this year, a global study found one generation of men more than any other thinks feminism has gone too far. That generation, I’m uncomfortable to say, is mine.

  • by Daniel Cash
<p>
Opinion
Column 8

Is shelf stacking the new branch stacking?

And do three lions make an early crow?

Payman’s exit tells a different story

Senator Fatima Payman’s resignation from the Labor Party is a symptom of the Middle East’s capacity to impose itself on Australian politics, no matter how distant it is.

  • by Rodger Shanahan
Victoria’s gas connection ban will apply to granny flats, but now new homes without planning permits.
Analysis
Gas

Yes, we really are dumb enough to import our own gas. Here’s why

There’s plenty of blame to go around for the current mess we’re in.

  • by Mike Foley