This Month
Magic pudding economics is about to make all of us poor
Australia is now ruled by short-term ethical dilemmas instead of concern for long-term consequences.
March
WGEA gender targets quack like quotas
Just as the critics of the Workplace Gender Equality Agency warned 20 years ago, what starts off as an aspiration has become a must-do for companies.
Mining’s promising future could come under union siege
At the heart of any Labor government lies the obligation to serve the interests of their parent company, the union movement, before the national interest.
Memo to Hugh Marks: DOGE-like efficiency’s the fix for ABC’s news bias
The new managing director forcing the newsroom to operate as productively as commercial rivals would lead to more stories, more views and more angles.
February
What Chalmers should say to save Washington from itself
The treasurer has a wonderful story to tell about free trade that might help save US exceptionalism from Fortress America.
Why Australia’s Fair Work Act changes hurt housing
The new rules are sinking jobs and businesses, and mean more expensive housing and an explosion in innovation that could create the very real risk of no building industry
January
I was sex discrimination commissioner, but Trump has a point about DEI
The old biases the women’s movement railed against so persuasively have been replaced by new biases, almost as unfair and opaque as those of the ancien régime.
March 2022
The West has found its backbone and purpose in Ukraine
After decades on the back foot, the West has been shamed into action. Now it should challenge Russia’s rotten state and hollow economy.
February 2022
Is the AGL dream team the PM’s climate saviour?
The bid to decarbonise Australia’s power giant could allow the government to let the market carry the transition risk and show the climate independents that private enterprise has it covered.
Let’s judge governments on their record, not the rumours
If we decide elections on faux character assassination, real accountability will be lost and the contest for government all the poorer.
January 2022
Grace Tame’s year as an angry young woman
The 2021 Australian of the Year represents a generational baton-change for the women’s movement, in which neither generation really gets the other.
Omicron is the one to live with
It’s not the golden variant of the coronavirus, but governments have clearly realised people want to make their own choices about managing the risks.
December 2021
What makes students succeed in life?
A groundbreaking NSW study into the impact of year 10 choices could now delve into other factors that shape outcomes for school kids.
Sexual harassment: time to put this house in order
It is tough, feisty women who get elected to parliament who suffer a disproportionate amount of harassment. No wonder there are so few.
November 2021
Lisa and the gender pay gap
The gap is widest at the top of the labour market and will never be closed if well-paid women aren’t allowed to complain about being paid less than men.
Great carbon transition must commit to leaving no one behind
The market sees carbon neutrality as a profitable opportunity. But the greatest costs will be borne by those least able to make the transition.
October 2021
Why you shouldn’t underestimate the underclass
They are damaged, lacking in trust and discipline, and highly self-interested. But they are still a force that Australia needs to properly harness.
Perrottet’s challenge is to charm an electorate mourning Gladys
The NSW Liberals have lost their best re-election asset, especially among women. Here is what the new premier needs to do to win a fourth term, writes Pru Goward.
September 2021
Risk managers are the new tyrants
We have come to demand risk-free lives, a world without downside. Now we are also realising how much it costs.
The fake women’s safety summit
To really stop domestic violence, set reduction targets. Accountability would make state governments and service providers quake in their boots.