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Perspective

This Month

Rhema Tieu with her Mitsubishi EV.

Inner-city EV owners resort to desperate measures

Electrical cables snaking over balconies and over hanging roads and footpaths are a nightly occurrence in many inner-city suburbs. And it’s about to get worse.

Trump’s review may not be the biggest threat to AUKUS

Defence insiders are alarmed that Australia isn’t moving fast enough on its end of the deal with Washington.

Displaced Palestinians walk past the ruins of destroyed buildings along the Gaza City shoreline on Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)

How Frank Lowy’s Tel Aviv think tank says the Gaza war can end

Once Israel ends the war, an Arab-Egyptian reconstruction plan would have to be modified to ensure Hamas cannot regroup and take over again.

If AUKUS falls over, Australia is left with very little indeed

For the past three years, Labor’s national security team has steadfastly insisted that it has no plan B. This Pentagon review will stress test that formula.

Critics of Jason Clare say his attention must now turn to the university sector.

Fixing the ‘crisis’ of Australian universities

Higher education, in the words of one expert, is in “serious trouble”. Can Jason Clare, regarded as the nicest minister in Canberra, fix the system?

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In Los Angeles chaos, Trump thinks he is on to a winner

Immigration raids in California have sparked nationwide protests, but Donald Trump surged to power promising to crack down on illegals and law and order. Will his base reward him?

Party of chaos: Brad Battin, Moira Deeming and John Pessuto.

‘Bunch of losers’: What Victorian Liberals think about their party

The chasm inside the Victorian Liberal Party has grown so big, some fear a one-party state will emerge from all the chaos.

Apocalypse or a four-day week? What AI might mean for you

If you’re “AGI-pilled” and you believe artificial intelligence will soon surpass humans, you’re probably worried about your job. But insiders reckon that might be the least of our problems.

Christine Christian is resigning as the first female chair of the Victorian State Library.

‘It’s been one of the hardest things we’ve had to deal with’

Christine Christian is preparing to end her time at the State Library of Victoria, leaving behind an institution reformed in more ways than one.

Holden HQ Kingswood (1971-1974)

The current moment feels like the 1970s (not in a good way)

Key indicators echo the second half of the 1970s when Australia was a second-rate, over-regulated and over-protected economy.

5 ways to stop AI from making you dumb

How to make sure you’re using the AI, rather than the AI using you.

Australian banks dominate the ASX.

Why we shouldn’t celebrate Commonwealth Bank’s $300b value

Five of the 10 most valuable companies on the ASX are banks. That says something about Australia’s productivity and dynamism – and it’s not good.

May

For love or money?

Love is in the heir: How inheritance is upending the marriage market

Finding love in 2025 can feel like a march across a barren hellscape. But it may also be the best, if not only, way to access the property market.

At Harvard, more than a quarter of students come from across the globe.

I help kids get into Harvard. Here’s what I’m telling them now

Students from our region have never been strangers to headwinds. So to the families wondering whether to step back: Don’t. Step up.

The disturbing things I learnt when my name appeared on the Rich List

When future Rich Lists are populated by beneficiaries rather than entrepreneurs, wealth inequality risks becoming a cancer on our egalitarian ethos.

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The flashing signals I just saw in Israel

I just spent a week in Israel and, while it may not look as if much has changed, I felt something new there for the first time since October 7, 2023.

Trump’s war on Harvard is un-American

The trigger-happy firing range that is the present administration has put America’s universities squarely in the crosshairs.

Albanese’s triumph could also mark Labor’s use-by date

Labor’s thumping election victory rests on just 35 per cent of the primary vote and a big government agenda. But are any of Australia’s parties fit for purpose?

‘I don’t think John Howard has met these Nats’

This week’s stunning split in the Coalition has been building for a decade and insiders blame the Nationals, who have become a party of protest.

Why this year (really) is crunch time for pay rises

Years of flatlining productivity have finally caught up with the minimum wage and this year’s decision could set the standard for years to come.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/perspective-1mu9