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
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 13: Filipo Daugunu of the Wallabies scores a try during the International Test Match between Australia Wallabies and Wales at AAMI Park on July 13, 2024 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
Analysis
Wallabies

Flying Filipo saves blushes and secures second Wallabies win over Wales

The Wallabies kept up their winning ways under Joe Schmidt but Wales threw the kitchen sink at them.

  • by Iain Payten

Latest

Welcome to a world of toxic positivity, where ‘team players’ and ‘thought leaders’ are continually energised and thrilled by their own success but mostly excited to witness your downfall.
Opinion
LinkedIn

Is it great to connect? The many lies of LinkedIn

Welcome to a world of toxic positivity, where ‘team players’ and ‘thought leaders’ are continually energised and thrilled by their own success but mostly excited to witness your downfall.

  • by Thomas Mitchell
St Kilda president Andrew Bassat (right) embraces Josh Battle following the Saints’ win over the Swans.
Analysis
AFL 2024

How the Saints can lose this Battle, but win the war

St Kilda could net early first-round compensation if Josh Battle leaves, so it may just be in the Saints’ best interests to let him walk.

  • by Jake Niall
Work in the finance industry for long enough, and you’ll regularly hear boomers piping up about how high interest rates were back in their day.

It’s tougher now than in the 1980s

Even Boomers agree: younger people are doing it terribly tough because of the cost of putting a roof over their head.

Max Holmes of the Cats runs with the ball.
Analysis
AFL 2024

‘Definitely a way to play them’: Scott hints at the way to battle the Pies; umpires make a shock rule tweak

Max Holmes explains an embarrassing mid-game moment, while Chris Scott responds to a new-look umpiring interpretation that caught players by surprise.

  • by Danny Russell
Angus McDonald’s portrait of Marcia Langton.
Opinion
Review

A critic’s pick of the best and worst of the Archibald Prize portraits

A handful of works stand out from a selection that seems to have been made for variety rather than quality.

  • by John McDonald
Advertisement
Wait Mate co-founder Jessica Mendoza-Roth said smartphones “are like pokies in children’s pockets”.

How do children tell if online news is fake? Here’s a slip, slop, slap-up idea

Prevention is better than cure when it comes to saving our children from the impact of prolonged scrolling on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.

  • by Bryce Corbett
The Olympic flame on its way from Greece to Paris.
Opinion
Paris 2024

Olympic Games: The truce is out there

The Olympic Games are full of grand, empty gestures. This time, though, the truce feels like it matters in a turbulent world.

  • by Greg Baum
Trying to always ‘keep up with the Joneses’ can be something many people fall victim to as they get older.

Are you guilty of these five midlife money myths?

It can feel easy to take financial shortcuts as you get older. But these myths will stop you from having a healthier, wealthier and wiser retirement.

  • by Bec Wilson
The Bank of Mum and Dad is one of Australia’s most popular lenders.

Giving money to your kids? Here’s how to avoid catastrophe

More and more parents are looking at ways to gift their children money while still having enough for themselves.

  • by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders go through one of their routines. “Why are these skilled performers treated with such contempt and disrespect?”

Don’t jeer at cheerleaders until you’ve watched this show

A Netflix documentary series forces many of us – including me – to rethink long-held stereotyping of cheerleaders as simply pin-ups of the patriarchy.

  • by Julia Baird
Illustration by Jim Pavlidis

The West, like Biden, is in the wars. But the architects of peace are mobilising

Despite rising global uncertainty and geopolitical anxiety, Western democracies have started building the “sinews of peace” to prevent another colossal war.

  • by Peter Hartcher
Despite allegations of animal welfare abuses, the premier says the sport will continue in NSW.

Dogs’ days are over, and it’s only eight years too late

The news this week was as sickening as it was predictable. Cats may have nine lives, but surely the greyhound racing “industry” has run out of second chances.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
President Joe Biden.

Biden must step aside

That the most powerful person on the planet continues to be in place despite the history, signs and symptoms pointing to the presence of brain disease, impaired cognition, capacity and the syndrome of dementia should be of concern.

Thursday night at the Wentworth Park greyhound racetrack.

Urine samples, soft-serves and an empty grandstand: A night out at the greyhound track

A horror week of headlines for the greyhound racing industry didn’t deter regular punters from watching the dogs on Thursday. We thought we’d go along.

  • by Anthony Segaert
Housing development

Exposing councils with slow DA approval histories will spur reform

The publication of a name and shame list of NSW councils dragging their heels on processing development applications should spur reform.

  • The Herald's View
Advertisement
Cody Walker sets up Bradman Best for a debut Origin try last year.

The Blues game plan produced Origin carnage. Here’s how Queensland combat it

NSW nailed 40 perfect minutes of Origin football in Melbourne. Can they reproduce it for an entire 80 minutes in Brisbane?

  • by Dan Walsh

Double, double toil and trouble: Can England, Blues and Rory shake off their curses?

The fascination is gruesome, morally dubious but endlessly fascinating. You keep watching, but are you cheering for the competitors or for the curse?

  • by Malcolm Knox
Property baron

Why the cookie-cutter can’t solve Sydney’s housing crisis

Creating templated homes will degrade the suburbs further and leave councils and communities furious.

  • by Tone Wheeler
Prince Charles attempts to breakdance in 1985.

Breakdancing Charles was cooler than Prince William will ever be

Sure, William dances to Shake It Off and rides an electric scooter around Windsor Castle, but nothing will rival his father’s valiant attempt to breakdance in 1985.

  • by Kate Halfpenny
Opinion
Renewables

Renewables v nuclear: the facts point to one clear winner

Australia’s huge natural advantage of best-in-world solar and wind make renewables the clearly superior option. So why the debate?

  • by Rod Sims
 Alphonse Mucha
Opinion
Review

When was the last time a soap ad gave you spiritual pleasure?

Alphonse Mucha made the bold claim that his posters turned the street in “open-air art exhibitions”.

  • by John McDonald
If the ultimate decision to let you go came as a surprise or simply wasn’t explained well, it’s not surprising that it would still occupy your thoughts - conscious and unconscious - years later.

Did getting fired give me work-related PTSD?

If the ultimate decision to let you go came as a surprise, it’s not surprising that it would still occupy your thoughts years later.

  • by Jonathan Rivett
Where does all that tax money go?

Forget smaller government, let’s shoot for better government

Randomised controlled trials aren’t just for medicine and pharmaceuticals – they can also help put our taxes to better use in properly evaluated government programs.

  • by Ross Gittins

Brace for impact Australia, we’re about to be Trumped again

Given Joe Biden’s plight, it seems increasingly likely that Donald Trump will again become US President in November – and Australian leaders will have to scramble to adjust.

  • by David Crowe
<p>
Opinion
Column 8

Positively glowing policy

And a champion take on genealogy.

Advertisement
Carly Sophia recently went on Hinge and had no matches, and then got a flood once she’d paid for a subscription.
Opinion
Dating

Dating apps are sheer hell. But I’m not ready to go ‘boy sober’, either

It takes every ounce of mental strength to not believe I am destined to end up with a man who thinks “doing” countries is a personality trait.

  • by Carly Sophia
Dutton’s Brexit

Nuclear versus renewables row is all about winning power

Although it is crucial that Australia demonstrates to the world that it will achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, the nuclear versus renewables debate is largely about winning elections.

Manuel Graeber was sacked in November.

The asylum backdoor system for international students should be closed

The rise in the number of international students who enter Australia under the guise of studying but then apply for asylum suggests redemption for some, a rort for others.

  • The Herald's View
Sam Walker and the Roosters celebrate a try.
Opinion
NRL 2024

Why Sam Walker is the new Alfie Langer, and the next Maroons No.7

His dad played with Alfie Langer and, until now, there hasn’t been a player so similar to the little genius.

  • by Andrew Johns
Artwork: Monique Westermann

Identity politics has the power to be meaningful. If only we stopped making it an incoherent mess

Since the resignation of Senator Fatima Payman, fretting about identity politics has become a renewed national sport. Now it’s the frame through which all political actions must pass.

  • by Waleed Aly
Growing divide:

How can Australians be so wealthy yet still be poor?

The average Australian’s wealth grew by about 10 per cent last year but the gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots” is growing.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
A series of stable measures of the job market are all pointing in the same direction.

The crude piece of career advice I think about all the time

Next time you find yourself in a difficult situation at work, this admittedly crude advice might just help.

  • by Tim Duggan
The list of challenges facing Xi Jinping and China is growing.

The US is losing patience with China

A senior US official has taken aim at China, saying “more creative approaches may be necessary” to protect the global economy.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Kane Cornes says Adem Yze is being too soft on his players.
Opinion
AFL 2024

Cheerleader or coach? Adem Yze has a decision to make

The Richmond coach needs to stop being Mr Nice Guy if he is to get the best out of his players.

  • by Kane Cornes
Emmanuel Macron’s standing among the French public is at a new low.

Respect for Macron falls to new low among French public

Emmanuel Macron was once France’s young and charismatic president who embodied hope. He is now widely despised, considered narcissistic and disconnected.

  • by Rob Harris
Advertisement
George Clooney, Joe Biden, Julia Roberts and Barack Obama at the June fundraiser.

I love Joe Biden. But we need a new nominee

I saw Biden three weeks ago at my fundraiser for him. It’s devastating to say it, but he’s not the same man he was and he won’t win the election.

  • by George Clooney
Jessica Hull and Faith Kipyegon
Opinion
Paris 2024

‘She said I was marvellous’: Why world record breaker congratulated Aussie rival

Jessica Hull set an Australian record in the 1500m final of Sunday’s Diamond League meeting – but was still beaten by track legend Faith Kipyegon.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Illustration: Dionne Gain
Opinion
Energy

Energy policy is becoming Australia’s own Brexit, and proving just as intractable

If the Coalition isn’t making up the policy as it’s going along, then it’s doing a Vegas-level impression of a political outfit that is.

  • by Shaun Carney

I’m attending my 50-year school reunion. This is what I’m expecting it to teach me

Yes, we get fatter, thinner, greyer, wrinklier and either balder or hairier or both, but I bet my old classmates remain essentially the individuals I remember.

  • by Jane Caro
Alex de Minaur’s reaction was muted after advancing to the quarter-finals because of a hip injury.
Analysis
Wimbledon

He’s no Lleyton-lite: Why a sore hip won’t halt the Demon’s rise

A hip injury robbed Alex de Minaur of his chance to play Novak Djokovic on Wimbledon’s centre court in the biggest match of his life, but his legitimacy as a player cannot be taken away.

  • by Marc McGowan
<p>
Opinion
Column 8

A high calibre town

Better than living in oblivion.

I even get angry at people like me, people who are grumpy all the time.

The world is a bin fire, so why am I angry at a sink?

There is a lot to be furious about in the world right now, in the face of it all we are frustratingly impotent. We need targets for our anger, and we find them, everywhere.

  • by Kerri Sackville
Greyhound

State-sanctioned cruelty to greyhounds needs to stop

The fate of dogs in the racing industry reminds us yet again that this routine cruelty is morally unsustainable.

Mike Baird in 2016.

Why NSW Labor will not take the same road on greyhounds as Baird

Former premier Mike Baird stunned the industry when he banned greyhound racing. Labor watched on and will not follow his lead despite more damning revelations.

  • by Alexandra Smith
Greyhounds
SMH editorial
Greyhound racing

The greyhound racing industry has run its course

The NSW greyhound industry was unable to reform itself when it was given a second chance eight years ago. It has now been exposed for further failing to meet community expectations of how to treat animals.

  • by The Herald's View
Advertisement
Anjali Sharma with Senator David Pocock.

In 2022, I left court in tears. Standing in parliament felt like deja vu

Protecting current and future young Australians from the impacts of climate change is all we ask from our politicians. But still, they refuse to safeguard us.

  • by Anjali Sharma
g

Sliding Doors moment: Will Demon limp out or step up against Djokovic?

Alex de Minaur has spoken about sliding being a key strategy for him on grass rather than something to avoid. But the rewards of such a tactic come with risks.

  • by Craig O'Shannessy
US President Joe Biden’s poor showing during the debate created uncertainty.
Opinion
Investing

Why markets are fretting less about this US election

Elections make for nervous sharemarkets. But this time it’s different for one reason.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers.
Opinion
Bills

Stop fishing for red herrings and start fixing the problems

There’s an urgent need to lessen the cost-of-living crisis, provide more homes and drive investment. Playing the blame game is not helping anyone.

  • by Bran Black