Opinion
Opinion
The Fitz Files
Bravo to you, Ron Coote, but this Immortals-mania needs to slow down
Further trips back through rugby league’s history is an exercise that best be avoided.
- by Peter FitzSimons
Latest
Opinion
AFL 2024
Why so many people are rejecting the Eagles’ coaching job
At least four leading candidates have turned their backs on approaches from West Coast for their senior coaching job, and the reason why is a warning to the AFL.
- by Caroline Wilson
Opinion
Comedy
Are you sure there’s no such thing as a dumb question?
The world is full of questions that should never be asked.
- by Richard Glover
Opinion
WordPlay
What this Pixar film gets so right about the human condition
Is this boredom I’m feeling, or ennui?
- by David Astle
Opinion
How to get a pay rise
Women work 50 days extra to equal men’s pay. Here’s a way to fix that
For every dollar an average man earns, the average woman makes just 89 cents. I don’t know about you, but that also makes me think: challenge accepted.
- by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
Opinion
Ageing
The truth about why we’re working for longer in retirement
Retirement is being redefined. It’s no longer about stopping work; it’s about managing and balancing your money, health and happiness in a way that suits you.
- by Bec Wilson
Analysis
Side hustle
Lost your job? Maybe it’s time to re-invent yourself
The jobs market can feel turbulent, so it might be time to turn a long-held passion job into a money-spinner.
- by Emily Chantiri
Opinion
Parliament House
Is ‘rip him a new one!’ really necessary for robust democratic debate?
The teals are inviting us to see the cacophony as something else – stupid, harmful to social civility and, above all, unnecessary.
- by Jacqueline Maley
Opinion
Censorship
Elon Musk saying civil war is inevitable is not inciting violence. Here’s why
Beware the online-harm brigade, or we’ll have police on our doorsteps as fast as we can say boo online.
- by Josh Szeps
Opinion
US Votes 2024
The most telling thing about Kamala’s pyjama party? How Fox News treated Trump right after it
Donald Trump phoned in to Fox to offer his critique of Harris’ acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. They duly put him to air, initially...
- by Peter Hartcher
Opinion
Scams
Why Australian banks are better at stopping scammers than British banks
Winning the war against these international criminal gangs can only be achieved through a collective show of strength from all parts of the scams chain.
- by Anna Bligh
Analysis
US Votes 2024
Jubilant Kamala Harris makes the choice clear: freedom or chaos
In accepting her nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate, the US vice president highlighted all the ways her rival Donald Trump would take the country backwards.
- by Farrah Tomazin
Analysis
AFL 2024
Inside the ‘war room’ that sparked Hawthorn’s stunning rise
Hawthorn had just finished barely above the bottom four despite having one of the league’s oldest lists, so something had to give.
- by Marc McGowan
Opinion
NRL 2024
Immortals heaven is filling up fast. When will the ‘Full House’ sign go up?
The game’s administrators are happy to kick these questions down the road until a future generation is forced to close the border.
- by Malcolm Knox
Tony Wright’s Column
Regional Australia
Mobile phones, 3G and the coming sounds of silence in the bush
The approaching closure of the 3G telecommunications service means an unknown number of mobile users will no longer be able to connect with emergency services.
- by Tony Wright
Opinion
Global economy
China can’t rescue the global economy this time
The global economy is sputtering and an “enormous error” in the US just ramped up the pressure. We can’t rely on China to fix things.
- by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Analysis
NRL 2024
Finals of fortune: The dollars, deals and reputations up for grabs in September
Several halves - from the biggest earners to unlikeliest match-winners - are stepping out of the shadows and into the NRL spotlight.
- by Dan Walsh
Opinion
US Votes 2024
I jumped up and down when I heard Michelle Obama utter one amazing word
I am not getting dewy-eyed here, but I see signs that Americans – across the political divide – are reviving a graciousness that had lain dormant.
- by Julia Baird
Opinion
Divorce
Whether you’re Jenny from the Block or a suburban matron, divorce is not a spectator sport
Sure, celebrities trade privacy for fame. But I’d rather revel in their clothes or babies or weddings, not the death of something they believed was forever.
- by Kate Halfpenny
Opinion
AI
I asked AI to write this column. Trust me, I have nothing to fear
Satire and emotion were lost on that silicon scribe.
- by Anson Cameron
Opinion
AFL 2024
Sunday showdown: Blue heaven or hell for Carlton
On the final day of the 2024 AFL home and away season, Carlton will take the field against St Kilda with a straightforward equation: Win and they will play finals.
- by Jake Niall
Opinion
NRL 2024
When it comes to the Immortals, less is more
The more exclusive the club, the more that entry is prized. Which is why the red velvet rope should keep out all but rugby league’s very best.
- by Adrian Proszenko
Opinion
Careers
Our jobs aren’t a horse race, so stop trying to pick a winner
If we knew the results ahead of time, it’d be easy to pick the perfect career. But backing a winner with no experience is almost impossible.
- by Jim Bright
Opinion
Work therapy
My colleagues keep calling in sick and it’s wearing me out. What can I do?
Absenteeism, especially in public health roles, can result in extra workload for those who are still on deck.
- by Jonathan Rivett
Opinion
US Votes 2024
You know Trump’s in trouble when he can’t settle on a nickname for his enemy
The fact Harris has been relatively anonymous, once the sign of an underwhelming VP, is now the very thing that enables her to appear new.
- by Waleed Aly
Opinion
Productivity
How GPT (not that one) could be a painless fix for our inflation problem
I asked ChatGPT what its chances were of improving productivity in Australia – if it was a betting man. Here’s what it said.
- by Millie Muroi
Opinion
Governance
Sales success meets governance mess at Super Retail
When the sugar hit of a special dividend fades for Super Retail Group, chief Anthony Heraghty will still be fielding a raft of legal allegations.
- by Elizabeth Knight
Opinion
Supermarkets
That unexpected item in bagging area is you doing all the work for your supermarket
From digital-trolley innovations to customer feedback machines, my grocers are becoming grosser by the day.
- by Michelle Cazzulino
Opinion
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Dutton is placing all his bets on an issue not crucial to voters
The Middle East has become new and ugly territory for Australian politics, but the engaged minority’s focus is no guide to how it will play out for the disengaged majority at the ballot box.
- by David Crowe
Opinion
Workplace culture
No, your work is not your family, so let’s stop pretending it is
You can’t choose your family that you are born into, but you can – and should – choose the right workplace that works for you.
- by Tim Duggan
Opinion
AFL 2024
Scandals, a derailed rebuild and questionable drafting: Unpacking a seven-year AFL slide
The Crows have been in disarray since the 2017 grand final. After seven seasons of mediocrity, distractions, controversy and mishaps, patience at West Lakes must be wearing thin.
- by Kane Cornes
Opinion
NRL 2024
Albo’s early exit, Bennett snub couldn’t take shine from Ron Coote’s night
The naming of Ron Coote as the 14th Immortal was done in the middle of the show because the Prime Minister had to leave early.
- by Andrew Webster
Opinion
Doping
Sex, too many eggs, cocaine, and dodgy beef: ‘Contamination’ is doping’s get out of jail free card
It is the anti-doping equivalent of Monopoly’s get out of jail free card and Jannik Sinner became the latest athlete to play it and escape a drugs ban.
- by Ben Rumsby
Opinion
Inside China
China has a ‘vicious’ problem and even Xi Jinping will struggle to fix it
Chinese companies continue to churn out more products than the world may need. Even Xi Jinping may be powerless to slow them down.
- by Shuli Ren
Opinion
US Votes 2024
‘Coach’ Walz has the runs – and lessons – on the board to stare down Trump and Co.
It’s a long way from Mankato West High School to maybe holding the second-highest office in the United States.
- by Peter FitzSimons
Opinion
NRL 2024
Sorry, Graham, but it was my job to kick field goals. This is why blockers are unavoidable
The NRL’s argument is good in theory, but it’s just not practical. We should never see a repeat of the fiasco at the end of the Sharks versus Knights game.
- by Andrew Johns
Opinion
Political leadership
What Peter Dutton has in common with Australia’s most famous fly spray
Polls show Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese are as unpopular as each other. For a first-term opposition leader, that is a historically good result.
- by Shaun Carney
Opinion
Divorce
If only Ben and Jennifer had followed my divorcee’s guide to marriage
Divorce is always monumentally unpleasant. I’ve tried it, and I rate it zero stars. But there is an excellent way to avoid it.
- by Kerri Sackville
Opinion
Earnings season
Fast food fashion: What’s hot, what’s not
Fast food brands are slaves to consumers who might daily choose between a burrito, a burger, fried chicken, some sushi or pizza or cooking for themselves.
- by Elizabeth Knight
Opinion
US Votes 2024
Many fear Trump will take power with guns. But his real weapon is the gavel
A close US election result might well reproduce the scenes of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots. But the Supreme Court, and its habit of overturning norms, could be what helps Trump prevail.
- by Maher Mughrabi
Opinion
Supermarkets
After the pull-up bar incident, I’m a less aggressive shopper
Yes, I do believe in karma. And yes, I have learnt a valuable lesson and I’m now more mindful of my actions.
- by Denise Mills
Analysis
Gambling
Rowland in the deep on Labor’s big gamble
It should have been a political win for Labor to curtail ads that annoy voters. Instead, questionable political management put the government on the defensive.
- by Paul Sakkal
Opinion
Drugs in sport
Tennis drug testers have lost all credibility over Sinner silence
Professional tennis players are furious Jannik Sinner has not been suspended after returning two positive drugs tests - regardless of how small the amount was.
- by Oliver Brown
Analysis
Global economy
The Rocky Mountains meeting that has the world on edge
The world’s central bankers are gathering in Wyoming this week. They find themselves more divided than perhaps any time since before the pandemic.
- by Swati Pandey, Mark Schroers, Tom Rees and Garfield Reynolds
Opinion
Financial literacy
Are you really financially secure or do you just think you are?
Financial devastation can come as a shock. One minute, everything is fine – good incomes, bills paid on time. The next minute, you’re struggling to get by.
- by Paridhi Jain
Opinion
Ask an expert
Should we sell our investment property to top up our super?
When it comes to selling property, it can be prudent to wait until you’re in a lower tax bracket to lessen the impact of CGT.
- by Noel Whittaker
Analysis
Immigration
Migrants relying on family, Facebook to navigate ‘stressful’ finances
Moving from your home country to another is a daunting prospect, and can be made even harder when trying to navigate Australia’s tricky financial system.
- by Emily Chantiri
Analysis
Interest rates
Can’t bank on the RBA? Mortgage holders may have to get their own rate cut
Those with variable rate mortgages hoping for some repayment relief may have to haggle with their lender for a lower rate.
- by John Collett
Analysis
Cash
Savers told to act fast as term deposit rates tumble
There is still a window of opportunity to lock in a good term deposit interest rate, but only if you act fast.
- by John Collett
Opinion
Online shopping
Think you’ve snagged a bargain online? It’s you who’s been snagged
While new and competitive businesses are a good thing for consumers, we should keep a careful eye on these companies. After all, they’re keeping a close watch on ours.
- by Millie Muroi