This Month
Australia must keep its hands clean and walk the talk on free trade
The government is right to reject retaliatory tariffs: international trade and investment are simply too vital to the Australian economy for this to be a good option.
Lessons for Australia in Trump’s stop-start tariff madness
The message is clear: the US will ignore any trade agreement or treaty, and will not necessarily honour contracts that have been entered into in good faith.
February
Blue Poles: how Australia came to own the Jackson Pollock masterpiece
This edited extract reveals how Australia acquired one of the 20th century’s most prized paintings – and why then PM Gough Whitlam was so invested in the purchase.
January
Who can best manage Trump – Albanese or Dutton?
Instead of caution and guile from Canberra, we have the absurd posturing of the prime minister and opposition leader on who is best fitted to influence the mad king.
November 2024
National Gallery handed $15m in biggest-ever donation
Kerry Stokes’ $15 million donation is about one-quarter of what the Canberra institution needs to raise for a new sculpture garden.
Where did all the Jeffrey Smart paintings go?
Over the past decade, on average, 15 of the artist’s oils have sold each year, but only three have sold in 2024.
October 2024
Welcome Charles, King of Great Britain alone
There is a way to achieve a republic by stealth. And one that Charles III might well understand.
A giant of Australian journalism, George Negus dies at 82
The father, partner and renowned journalist interviewed Thatcher, Gaddafi, Gorbachev and many more in a career spanning 50 years.
Charles III will find republicans who missed their best chance
The vibrant republican sentiment of the 1980s has been replaced by a dour, downbeat guilt-ridden version in the 2020s.
September 2024
‘Beautiful chaos’: Iconic Melbourne power diner owner calls time
Simon Hartley has hosted every prime minister since Gough Whitlam at his CBD restaurant Becco. But on Friday, he held the last supper.
Why has a long-term understanding with Asia eluded us?
Even as Australia has become more multicultural, the best we can manage is a pragmatic relationship punctuated with fits of enthusiasm.
July 2024
Vale Terry Ingram, and a life observing in the Saleroom
Saleroom’s founding columnist spent 44 years reporting stories the industry wanted to keep quiet, including the art sale story of the century on Blue Poles.
How Fatima Payman is defying political traditions
In the era of identity politics, are rules requiring Labor MPs to bind behind collective decisions out of step with the views of younger voters?
June 2024
Big name Indigenous artists bring the love to Redfern
A high-end auction brings Indigenous art to the people, while Menzies hopes Kirk Douglas can be their hero.
March 2024
Iron ore price, cooler job market to weigh on budget: Chalmers
The federal government’s revenue expectations will be downgraded significantly in the May budget due to falling commodity prices and a softening jobs market, the treasurer says.
When the minister met the ‘mischievous’: What Wong said to Curran
Foreign Minister Penny Wong parried with James Curran at The Australian Financial Review Business Summit this week. This is an edited transcript of that discussion.
Sense of urgency as Australia finds its true international identity
There is a meaning to be extracted from the ASEAN summit for Australia’s international identity.
January 2024
Australia Day has always been controversial
It’s nothing new for the national holiday to be plagued by debates over its meaning and significance. Indeed, that’s become part and parcel of the day itself.
Harder, faster: Kim Williams takes lessons from News Corp to ABC
Pushing deep, structural change at News Corp put Kim Williams offside with editors early on in his short tenure there. How will he lead as ABC chairman?
Existential panic at the ivory tower
The Claudine Gay fiasco at Harvard has triggered a US debate about the purpose of higher education that Australia seems determined not to have.