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Opinion

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“I take my job seriously. I’m not here to just have a cruisy ride for the next four years,” Fatima Payman says.
Editorial
Fatima Payman

Rebel senator’s poor grasp of legislation is alarming

The suggestion by the newly independent West Australian Senator Fatima Payman she may have to abstain on complex legislation rather than vote on something she does not fully understand beggars belief.

  • The Herald's View

Latest

A possum found indoors by 1800 Possums.
Opinion
Insects

I’ve worked out why Aussies are laid-back, and I didn’t even have to leave the house

Wasps, slugs, redbacks, possums, snakes … Australians encounter them before we even venture outdoors.

  • by Jo Stubbings
Nathan Cleary was injured in the loss to Melbourne.
Analysis
NRL 2024

Bellamy took out Penrith’s biggest weapon - before Cleary went down injured

Imagine the Panthers psychological advantage if they had somehow snuck away with another win on Thursday night. Melbourne might now have one of their own.

  • by Dan Walsh
Opinion
Grief

I used to think the worst of people, but grief showed me I was wrong

Other people’s empathy made my world a better place.

  • by Genevieve Novak
Australian breaking athlete Rachael Gunn, who became one of the biggest and most divisive stories of the Paris Olympics, says the “hate” she received after bombing out of competition has been “pretty devastating” for her and her family.

45,000 signed an anti-Raygun petition!? What a bunch of miserable haters you are

Haters gonna hate, but the vitriol launched against Rachael Gunn and an abhorrent petition demanding an inquiry is next level.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Aussie storylines to watch in European football season 2024/25: Ange Postecoglou, Nestory Irankunda, Alessandro Circati, Massimo Luongo, Maty Ryan, Kusini Yengi.

Ange, Nestor and co: These are the Aussies to follow in Europe

Almost everywhere you look across Europe’s most important football leagues, there’s a local storyline worth keeping an eye on this season. Here are the best of them.

  • by Vince Rugari
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Raygun in Paris.
Opinion
Olympics

The verdict on Raygun’s Olympics performance is in: Craptastic to the max

Before we start, remember your trash could be my treasure, which is the whole point.

  • by Kate Halfpenny
Essendon’s outgoing list boss Adrian Dodoro was discovered by Kevin Sheedy 33 years ago.
Opinion
AFL 2024

Breaking up is hard, as Bombers struggle to let go of the past

Kevin Sheedy has finally stepped down from the board and Adrian Dodoro has taken personal leave, but 20 years after their last win in a final, the Bombers need to redefine the meaning of an “Essendon person”.

  • by Caroline Wilson
Letch
Opinion
NAPLAN

Our kids aren’t failing NAPLAN. NAPLAN is failing our AutoCorrected kids

If our education system’s purpose is to turn students into passive consumers and mindless followers, then it is doing better each year.

  • by Malcolm Knox
While being rostered on to work on a public holiday can feel like a tough gig, if your work has given you enough notice, there may not be much you can do.

How can I deal with the ghastly artwork in my office?

Why not embrace your disgust and see where it takes you: presumably to pulling the monstrosity from the wall and flinging it out the nearest window.

  • by Jonathan Rivett
RBA governor Michele Bullock said people’s expectations for rate cuts in the next six months didn’t align with the board’s feeling.
Opinion
RBA

Why the Reserve Bank thinks it’s too soon to cut rates

The central bank has come under attack over the past week. Here’s the thinking behind their latest comments.

  • by Millie Muroi
NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman has called for consequences.
Editorial
NSW councils

Liberals’ local government fiasco must never happen again

The NSW Liberal Party’s local government election fiasco borders on the comical, but there must be consequences.

  • The Herald's View

Despite the FM PM every AM, it’s Dutton getting the listeners

When it needs to win back voters, the government looks underpowered.

  • by David Crowe
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Opinion
Column 8

Dishlicker diction or just rabbiting on?

At the end of the day, just get out of the way.

Jacq Gallagher

My home became a holiday rental, so I lived in a cemetery

My friends and I don’t deserve to be homeless any more than you do. No one is immune to homelessness.

  • by Jacq Gallagher
Matt Golding

Is Dutton’s view on refugees positively Trumpian?

The opposition leader knows there’s a world of difference between having some sympathy for some of the aims of an organisation and being a supporter - it just doesn’t suit his political ambitions to acknowledge it.

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Mark Speakman has called for consequences.
Analysis
NSW councils

Liberals’ spectacular council failure could not have been more disastrous

The Liberal party’s grand plan to storm the northern beaches in this year’s local government elections is now in tatters.

  • by Alexandra Smith

How Telstra’s first female chief is transforming the telco giant

The 53 year-old is transforming our telco giant by deploying pragmatism, abandoning hubris, and adding a big dollop of financial realism and a focus on investors.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
Opinion
Bali

When it comes to Bali, people fall into two camps. Last week I almost switched

There’s the “I’ve been to Bali 25 times” camp and the “Bali’s not for me” camp. For reasons unknown my feet have been firmly in the latter.

  • by Annemarie Fleming
Les Boyd
Opinion
Australia

Great or grub? Should Les Boyd be in the Hall of Fame?

He was one of the most dominant players of his era and played 17 Tests for Australia. But he was also given the equal longest suspension of 15 months for foul play.

  • by Adrian Proszenko and Adam Pengilly
Opinion
AFL 2024

Gr-eight expectations: Our experts predict who will play finals

The AFL ladder has come to resemble a footballing version of snakes and ladders, so let’s have a bit of fun and forecast exactly how things will look in 10 days’ time.

Having a triple-barrelled name makes me a target. But I’m not going to give up my identity.
Opinion
Real life

I see you look at my name tag. I know what you want to ask. But no, I am not changing it

Yes, the double hyphen of Heitmann-Ryce-LeMercier might seem like overkill, but there is a reason why I have so many surnames.

  • by Liam Heitmann-Ryce-LeMercier
We’ve all been there. Those times in our career when every hour feels like quicksand.
Opinion
Jobs

Hate Mondays? Here’s how to free yourself from a work funk

We’ve all been there. Those times in our career when every hour feels like quicksand. Here are four ways to shake that feeling and move forward.

  • by Tim Duggan
Pit-stop: a US nuclear-powered submarine docks at Rockingham, Western Australia, in March this year.
Opinion
AUKUS

AUKUS is unhinged from reality. Australia will only ever be a pitstop for nuclear subs

We will host but not operate AUKUS submarines supplied by the US and Britain. The notion of building our own would be funny if there wasn’t so much at stake.

  • by Elizabeth Buchanan
Tottenham Hotspur head coach, Ange Postecoglou

X-rated rants and a plan to win everything: Ange’s Spurs project steps up a gear

New season, new star player, new focus … Ange Postecoglou is in it to win it all.

  • by Matt Law
Rivals are circling Richmond star Shai Bolton.
Opinion
AFL 2024

Players have too much power. It’s time for the AFL to act

The AFL is now subject to farcical scenes, and league chief executive Andrew Dillon needs to act for the good of the game.

  • by Kane Cornes
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A recession could doom the White House hopes of Kamala Harris.

The shadow hanging over Kamala Harris that could doom her

A serious economic threat is rising in the US, and it could deal a fatal blow to the White House hopes of Kamala Harris.

  • by Tim Wallace
SPORT: NRL Dragons Kyle Flanagan departs the judiciary hearing for the charge of biting Bulldogs Stephen Crichton. Photo: Wolter Peeters, 13th August 3024, The Sydney Morning Herald.
Opinion
NRL 2024

There’s no excuse for biting. Kyle Flanagan should have copped longer than four weeks

The game has gone down a treacherous path with wrestling and the Dragons star was in a bad position, but the video evidence was damning.

  • by Andrew Johns
Gambling and sport
Opinion
Gambling

Why sports gambling ads need to be out of our lives

Debunking the arguments of those still in favour of sports betting is an important exercise.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Christian Petracca suffered serious injuries to his ribs and spleen in the King’s Birthday clash against Collingwood.
Analysis
AFL 2024

Behind Melbourne’s fall back into the abyss

Three years after a drought-breaking AFL premiership, Christian Petracca is concerned about the direction of the Demons as a review of a disappointing season starts with two rounds remaining and a finals spot beyond them.

  • by Peter Ryan

Forget the metro delay, why is my mother of a train trip not getting faster?

The Sydney Metro delay is nothing compared with the stunning failure to have the new intercity fleet up and running.

  • by Alexandra Smith
Artwork: Dionne Gain
Opinion
Paris 2024

Gina Rinehart is the patron saint of Aussie sports. But it comes with weird strings attached

Though Gina Rinehart’s patronage of Australian sporting codes goes back well over a decade, her presence at the Olympics was more overt than what we’ve seen in the past.

  • by Geoff Lemon
Eventually, I did find self-fulfilment in Asia... lounging in a Sri Lankan beach bar, drinking cocktails, interspersed with occasional dancing.

Forget ‘Eat, Pray, Love’. My holiday mantra is ‘Dance, Drink, Shag’

Looking for wellbeing in Asia, what about a good time instead?

  • by Kathy Lette
<p>
Opinion
Column 8

Hope springs north coastal

It’s nice when celebrities drop in.

CBA chief executive Matt Comyn could see the digital threat coming.

What’s driving the CBA money machine, and what would a rate cut do?

The biggest company on the ASX is a critical bellwether for the economy. Beneath the bank’s headline $9.8 billion profit, a few points stood out.

  • by Clancy Yeates
Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system fires interceptors at rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, in the days after the October 7 attacks.

Going to war isn’t making Israel safer. Its enemies have only grown in number

Tens of thousands have been killed and many more wounded in the bombing of Gaza. But when the guns eventually fall silent, the threat to Israel will remain.

  • by Rodger Shanahan
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The Queensland Teachers’ Union work bans have been canned after a hearing in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission.

Parent-teacher partnerships critical for school success

There is so much that should be done in public schools, but it has to be done with the partnership of teachers, governments and parents.

The ability to enjoy our lives is a cost of body-shame.
Opinion
Body image

How to overcome the distaste we have for our middle-aged bodies

Poor body image and disordered eating in middle age is more common than you think. We can recover, but it doesn’t involve diets or more self-control.

  • by Sarah Berry
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton

Dutton’s heartless call has a human cost – and a political price

Peter Dutton is certain to gain support for his strident call to ban all refugees from Gaza. But that does not make him right.

  • by David Crowe
Bunnings says its investments in manufacturing could one day see the retailer move into producing other key products like doors and window frames.

Builders going broke are hampering efforts to confront housing crisis

The collapse of small to medium building companies is making it much harder to solve Sydney’s housing crisis.

  • The Herald's View
The everyday appearance of Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz presents a fresh problem for his Republican rivals.

Trump’s big new problem is that by attacking Walz, he punches his own voters

For Donald Trump, making personal snipes is a compulsion. But it’s hard to see how his usual attacks will work against a Democrat who embodies middle America.

  • by Katy Hall
Damian Roach is the chairman of ASX. The exchange operator is being sued by the corporate regulator over disclosure failures.
Opinion
Governance

Our two corporate cops move from dynamic duo to enemies

The corporate watchdog claims ASX misled the market about troubles it was having on its new trading platform project.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
Ruckman Lloyd Meek celebrates Hawthorn’s late-season rise into the final eight
Opinion
AFL 2024

Wildcard round? More like cash grab. This is an AFL ‘innovation’ we just don’t need

The AFL keeps coming back to the idea of a wildcard round. But don’t be fooled by the hype, it’s a bad idea for our game.

  • by Jake Niall

There are many reasons Bluesfest failed. Not all of them are bad news

The imminent demise of Bluesfest is not a complete surprise, but nor is it a death knell for the concept of music festivals.

  • by Bernard Zuel
Mohammed Sheeth

The shocking figure that reveals the depth of Sydney’s housing crisis

Sydney desperately needs houses, so why are more builders going broke than in any other industry?

  • by Matt Wade
US President Donald Trump has continually criticised the Fed's interest rates moves.

Trump as de facto Fed chair is a dangerous idea

Donald Trump thinks that his experience as a reality TV star and casino and real estate investor gives him a superior sense of monetary policy.

  • by Jonathan Levin
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Got the Blues: Charlie Curnow, Harry McKay and Patrick Cripps.
Analysis
AFL 2024

Battered, bruised, almost broken: How Carlton’s season has soured

Carlton are ravaged by injury, but their problems started when they had close to a full list to choose from. Six weeks ago, when the club’s juggernaut was stopped in its tracks, there was a series of eyebrow-raising moves.

  • by Andrew Wu
Morningstar senior equity analyst Nathan Zaia said the next set of bank results would see margins coming down for the big four banks.
Analysis
Big four

Why you’re being charged too much to send money overseas

The big four banks continue to charge more for international transfers than many of their rivals, prompting calls for fresh regulation.

  • by John Collett
Simon Letch

I don’t like my job but it pays well. What should I do?

We get so attached to the status we think our bank balance gives us that we forget that the point isn’t of life isn’t to make the most money.

  • by Paridhi Jain
Former Qantas boss Alan Joyce frustrated senators by refusing to answer questions at an inquiry in August.
Opinion
Shares

The Alan Joyce effect: Why business bosses get to run amok

Chief executives are often given enormous latitude because they work for companies that are owned by everyone in general and no one in particular.

  • by Ross Gittins