Opinion
Opinion
WordPlay
The English language is full of surprises. Here are my three favourites
English, I thought I knew you.
- by David Astle
Latest
Analysis
AI
Will Microsoft’s new AI assistants revolutionise the office? Maybe one day
Microsoft has poured millions of dollars and significant resources into its new Copilot AI tools. It might be a while until it sees a return on investment.
- by Matt Day
Opinion
Workplace culture
The surprising upside of impostor syndrome
Impostor thoughts, while often labelled as wholly negative, might just have a silver lining.
- by Shadé Zahrai
Opinion
Paris 2024
Je ne regrette rien: How I scored an interview with French President Emmanuel Macron
The phrase “No regrets” was in the back of my mind when I cheekily squared up to the French leader.
- by Peter FitzSimons
Opinion
NRL 2024
How to make the greatest game of all even greater
Six-agains, more teams in the finals, fewer games, ditch the disruptors … and don’t mention the Bunker. What needs to change in rugby league?
Opinion
US Votes 2024
Harris, Trump and the fight for America’s soul
There are 100 days to go until the US election, and it’s going to get even uglier. Hell, it’s only the future of the free world.
- by Bruce Wolpe
Opinion
Trade wars
China’s trade policy is almost a declaration of economic war
Forget free trade: Beijing aims to demolish its rivals and achieve monopolistic hegemony across entire industries, seeing trade as ideological warfare against democracies.
- by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Opinion
Money & relationships
A scourge on our society: We need to talk about financial abuse
Economic abuse can take many forms and, like all forms of abuse, impacts people from all socio-economic backgrounds and across many different relationships.
- by Victoria Devine
Opinion
US Votes 2024
Hero to political toast: The achievement Harris should keep quiet about
Joe Biden unleashed a surge in spending that briefly slashed the childhood poverty rate in half. Even so, politicians just “can’t get no respect” for economic wins.
- by Peter Hartcher
Opinion
Olympics
Straaaaaaya! Humility, you’re disqualified. The Olympics boasting has well and truly begun
Brace yourself for weeks of green-and-gold wigs, Vegemite references, Akubras and opining about how we are simply just the best at everything. THE BEST.
- by Kate Halfpenny
Analysis
Cybersecurity
‘The world is in meltdown’: Inside the front lines of the CrowdStrike outage
It was at about 3.30pm on an otherwise quiet and uneventful Friday that Ashwin Pal’s phone began blowing up.
- by David Swan
Opinion
US Votes 2024
So Kamala is the ‘childless cat lady’? White male power plays its hateful gender card
Brace for more attacks on Kamala Harris as the hounds of misinformation, juiced on the steroids of misogyny and racism, are unleashed.
- by Julia Baird
Opinion
Careers
More pay, better skills: How job-hopping can turbocharge your career
Job-hopping divides employers, but a growing number of professionals are embracing it as a strategy for career advancement.
- by Téa Angelos
Opinion
Work therapy
Why is my colleague making fun of my standing desk?
Your slightly crabby teammate may think you’re participating in a frivolous fad rather than making a change for genuine health reasons. They’d be wrong.
- by Jonathan Rivett
Opinion
Scams
Banks no longer protect us from scammers. It’s time they paid the price
We now live in a world where even the savviest, best educated people cannot protect themselves. Australian banks should reimburse scam victims, as UK banks are set to do.
- by Waleed Aly
Opinion
Inheritance
How to ruin a family with one quick court case
As Rupert Murdoch attempts to set his legacy using his family trust, thousands of Australians are following suit. So, who gets to keep what – and why does it matter?
- by Jenna Price
Opinion
Paris 2024
Palfrey backed a rival swimmer. Now he must pack up his goggles and go
With a flipper in both camps, Australian swim coach Michael Palfrey’s position is untenable. Swimming Australia must move him on.
- by Greg Baum
Opinion
Kamala Harris
Harris faces the sexism directed at Clinton and the racism directed at Obama
The Democratic Party’s next test is protecting Kamala Harris from the vile onslaught coming her way. The MAGA attacks on the US vice president have already become deeply personal.
- by Charles M. Blow
Opinion
Careers
The careers advice for my daughters is obsolete rubbish - they might as well aim for a job at Kodak
There’s an exciting future of work ahead of us - so why is the high school careers algorithm pushing unrealistic careers in spying, dog walking and podcasting?
- by James Panichi
Opinion
Media & marketing
Rupert Murdoch’s attempt to rule from the grave is stranger than fiction
Through the decades, the media billionaire has been no stranger to taking risks – but this latest roll of the succession dice is next level.
- by Elizabeth Knight
Opinion
Paris 2024
No Kerr, no medal? Think again when it comes to skilled and hungry Matildas
A first-up meeting with Germany will test Australia’s women’s team, but they have proved they’re up to any challenge.
- by Craig Foster
Opinion
Work/life balance
Why it’s time we stopped obsessing over ‘work-life balance’
It’s a message that can be difficult to deliver to a society that’s been fed hustle culture and girlbossing, but it’s a truth we all need to hear.
- by Tim Duggan
Analysis
US Votes 2024
Biden gives the speech he never wanted to, and does it with passion and grace
Four days after withdrawing from the presidential race, Joe Biden says the time is right to “pass the torch to a new generation”.
- by Farrah Tomazin
Opinion
World markets
$1.1 trillion wipeout: Wall Street just got hit with a reality check
Wall Street has been riding an AI wave, but it just recorded its worst day since 2022 after investors were spooked by results from two of the world’s biggest companies.
- by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Opinion
AFL 2024
Why the AFL should stop Harry McKay from playing this Friday night
The fact that the Blues forward has been cleared to play this week, despite such visible signs of a head injury, underscores a shocking inconsistency in the AFL’s concussion guidelines.
- by Kane Cornes
Opinion
Foreign relations
Trump v Rudd: who’d win, the master of the barb or the prince of persuasion?
Kevin Rudd may have called him “nuts”, but a re-elected Donald Trump would learn the former PM is a crafty diplomat, not easily intimidated.
- by David Livingstone
Opinion
Paris 2024
Marky Mark is the weapon Australia’s sevens team needs in Paris
A league-bound Wallaby and a French legend loom as major threats in the men’s rugby sevens tournament.
- by Michael Hooper
Opinion
Paris 2024
Why Paris will shake off les Olympiques bleus
When it comes to pre-Olympics grumbling, Parisians are gold medallists, but wait until the Games themselves start on one of the world’s great sporting stages.
- by Peter FitzSimons
Opinion
NRL 2024
The Origin decider was out of this world. But how much more can these players give?
I’ve taken time to watch the game three replay. It was one of the toughest and most brutal games I’ve ever seen.
- by Andrew Johns
Opinion
US Votes 2024
A Trump victory would leave Australia handcuffed to the whims of a narcissist
America is not well, and it will take a long time before it gets better, if it ever does. If this is not the time to take a hard look at how we approach and deal with the US, when will that time come?
- by Shaun Carney
Opinion
Sunday Life
Men are not from Mars. They are from another galaxy entirely
Am I generalising? Yes. Do I care? No.
- by Kathy Lette
Opinion
Friendship
The first time I saw crying that frightened me, it came from my father
I have been practising being better in the company of others crying. It’s a human act that scares us, but I’m learning to embrace its power.
- by Jacinta Parsons
Opinion
US Votes 2024
Trump trades: Markets are betting against Europe, oil and humanity
How would one have “priced” global markets in 1912 or 1937, when the writing already was on the wall, but nothing was predetermined, and one could still hope? Worth pondering.
- by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Analysis
FIFA
Money and power: Why Europe’s top leagues have declared war on FIFA
The game’s governing body is the subject of legal action by players and leagues who say the international calendar is at breaking point. Here’s what you need to know.
- by Vince Rugari
Opinion
Aviation
How Flight Centre’s news on falling airfares became Qantas’ problem
As international airfares continue falling from the highs reached after COVID-19, aviation profits should settle to more normal sustainable levels.
- by Elizabeth Knight
Opinion
Australian economy
You want cheap stuff? You’ll need to accept more pain like the CrowdStrike crash
The blue screen of death was just the latest in a string of crises that have afflicted the global economy. Brace yourself for more.
- by Shane Wright
Analysis
AFL 2024
The run home: Where the contenders stand in the race for the AFL top eight
While the Swans appear to have top spot locked up, the race for the top eight is well and truly on as we head into the home stretch of the AFL season. Where will your team finish?
- by Jon Pierik
Opinion
Sharemarket
Betting on autonomy: Investors are waiting for Tesla’s future to arrive
The electric carmaker’s latest earnings have again missed expectations. It’s time for Elon Musk to keep his promise to turn the company into more than what it is today.
- by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Opinion
Holidays
The main problem with tourist trails? The tourists
Here’s how to get off the road most travelled.
- by Richard Glover
Analysis
Retirement living
Retiree, beware: New residential village model charges more the longer you live
One retirement village company has come up with a solution for residents who stay longer than the average nine years: just keep charging them.
- by Rachel Lane
Analysis
Debit cards
Westpac offers debit cards to eight-year-olds in youth banking push
Children as young as eight are being offered a physical debt card in an effort by Westpac to improve their financial literacy.
- by John Collett
Opinion
Ask an expert
Can you withdraw a loved one’s super after death to save on tax?
It’s important to clarify strategies to save on superannuation “death tax”, as there are certain methods that will not work after death.
- by Noel Whittaker
Opinion
Cost of living
Cost-of-living crisis? Why only some of us are feeling the pinch
A fascinating study into how our standards of living have changed since before COVID helps to explain why some Australians are feeling no pain.
- by Ross Gittins
Opinion
Side hustle
The financial steps that can make or break your new business
Starting a new side hustle is a serious undertaking. Here are four mistakes I see people make all the time.
- by Paridhi Jain
Opinion
Estate planning
Death and taxes are inevitable. Here’s how retirees can minimise the latter
If couples and families don’t put proper preparations in place, serious financial problems can emerge when a loved one dies.
- by Noel Whittaker
Opinion
Building Bad
Can’t get a tradie? The CFMEU’s stranglehold on major projects is choking all of us
Victoria’s major road and rail projects mean we are building fewer houses, at greater expense. The construction union’s grip is affecting costs, efficiency, quality and the availability of skilled labour.
- by Harley Dale
Analysis
Financial planning
Consumers locked out of financial advice as fees keep rising
The incoming changes to legislation are not enough on their own to get costs down, advisers have warned.
- by John Collett
Opinion
Childcare
I’m a grandmother, not a child carer. I did the job the first time around
I long ago made it very clear to my adult children that while being a grandmother is something I might enjoy, I would not be participating in exhausting hours of tending to toddlers.
- by Avril Moore
Opinion
CFMEU
How the government’s CFMEU response plays into the Coalition’s hands
The government’s light-touch response to the allegations swirling around the CFMEU risks emboldening Labor’s critics.
- by Elizabeth Knight
Opinion
Workplace
I’m a cafe worker. There’s one question customers ask that shows a lack of respect
Most people have little idea of the stigma directed at hospitality workers. There is an assumption that wait staff above a certain age lack the skills or gumption to “get a proper job”.
- by Liam Heitmann-Ryce-LeMercier