NewsBite

Opinion

Advertisement
Carlton’s banner reads “Stronger together” but at this stage it’s not clear whether Tom De Koning will stay with the club in 2026.
Analysis
AFL 2025

St Kilda’s appeal is growing, but Blues shouldn’t fret about losing De Koning

The Carlton ruckman is playing great football and is about to become a free agent. But the Blues need to keep his value in perspective.

  • by Peter Ryan

Latest

An ibis, derisorily known as a “bin chicken”, in inner city Redfern.
Opinion
Wildlife

From nuisance to mascot, the true history of Sydney’s bin chicken

The much-derided white ibis wasn’t always a city-slicker. But now it calls Sydney home, a rare case of a metropolis being the saviour of a threatened species.

  • by Antone Martinho-Truswell

Dutton harbours dreams of Kirribilli, but Australians never liked a Sydney bias

In framing their Constitution, the Australian people rejected Sydney as the federal capital. Perhaps Peter Dutton needs a refresher.

  • by Helen Irving

The key issues that will define the election – and where the major parties stand

Tax is a latecomer to the campaign agenda, Medicare has taken centre stage, and a nuclear energy fight will keep climate change in the conversation.

  • by Natassia Chrysanthos
Trump’s tariffs are not having the effects he was after.
Opinion
Trade wars

Is Trump sending America into a financial crisis? We’re about to find out

The ways markets are reacting to Trump’s tariffs paint a very threatening picture of the outlook for the US and the world.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Opinion
Trade

Trump’s shadow is electoral kryptonite to the voters Dutton needs most

Donald Trump is anathema to the educated, affluent voters in the once-Liberal strongholds the Coalition needs to win back to seize power.

  • by Christopher Pyne
Advertisement
Angel Cabrera waves after receiving his Masters jacket in 2009.
Opinion
US Masters

It’s shameful that the Masters welcomes serial abuser Angel Cabrera

Augusta National has no qualms inviting the former champion back to their tournament despite the Argentinian being convicted and jailed for domestic violence crimes.

  • by James Corrigan
Carlton coach Michael Voss leads his winless team off the MCG on Thursday night.
Analysis
AFL 2025

Why Carlton coach’s weekend got worse on Saturday: Key takeouts from round four

Michael Voss is close to the point of making wholesale changes. The problem for the Blues coach is he has more spots available than he has players worthy of taking them.

  • by Andrew Wu
Peter Dutton at a state campaign launch in Exton, northern Tasmania, on Sunday.

Three challenges for Dutton in landing the backflip on working from home

The opposition leader has made a necessary decision to stage a big policy shift so he can assure voters – especially women.

  • by David Crowe
Broncos fullback Reece Walsh is struggling to rediscover his 2023 mojo.
Opinion
NRL 2025

How NRL coaches solved the Reece riddle

Reece Walsh set the game alight in 2023 at NRL and Origin, but he has yet to reach those heights again.

  • by Neil Breen
Latrell Mitchell and Isaiah Tass celebrate the match winner on Friday night.
Analysis
NRL 2025

Wayne’s weight watchers: How Bunnies lost 42kg and gained winning edge

South Sydney are leaner and meaner in 2025, and it’s down to a tongue-lashing from coach Wayne Bennett on his first day in the job.

  • by Dan Walsh

Australians want change, but not if it looks like Donald Trump

What will the world’s reaction against Trump do to the widespread desire for change, and how will it affect the federal election?

  • by Sean Kelly
 Demonstrators rally against US President Donald Trump and his recent policies in Trafalgar Square,  London, England.
Opinion
Trade wars

Trump’s trade war is bad, but how bad is up to the rest of us

What matters most is the indirect effect on Australia from Trump’s attempts to start a trade war with the other big economies.

  • by Ross Gittins
Min Aung Hlaing
Analysis
Earthquakes

Thailand just gave Myanmar what it craved, and it wasn’t humanitarian aid

The junta was so happy with the news that it dominated the first five pages of the Myanmar newspaper, even as thousands lay dead or dying in rubble.

  • by Zach Hope
We’ve done it all in my house - smoothies, vegetarian, high protein. But I drew the line at vegan.
Opinion
Trends

My house is a testing ground for trends, and a graveyard for the failures

Have you tried the sliced cucumber fad? Or used apple cider vinegar as a hair rinse? In my family, there’s no TikTok trend too fleeting to give a burl.

  • by Claire Heaney
Peter Greste (left) and actor Richard Roxburgh, who portrays him in the movie The Correspondent.

They made a movie about my prison nightmare. I watched it through my fingers

As Richard Roxburgh stars as me in a feature film, I confront a disturbing reality: more journalists are behind bars today than when I was incarcerated in Egypt more than a decade ago.

  • by Peter Greste
Advertisement
US President Donald Trump went to his golf course in Florida on Friday as global financial markets collapsed after his tariffs announcement.

How the West was lost by Trump, a predator upon his own allies

Donald Trump has abandoned any meaningful notion of “the West” and, with it, America’s role as “leader of the free world”.

  • by George Brandis
From left, Kouichi Kawamoto, Tetsuya Sasaki and Takuhiro Dohta served as producer, director and technical director overseeing Switch 2’s development. In New York, they answered the media’s questions via translator.
Analysis
Video games

Nintendo’s plan for eight more years at the top of its game

Thanks to a focus on developer freedom, a powerful Nvidia chip and ongoing killer software, the Switch 2 has the ingredients for success. But also some challenges.

  • by Tim Biggs
Blues coach Michael Voss says pointed conversations would be held this week with players struggling to perform.
Analysis
AFL 2025

‘It means you’re stuffed’: These Victorian powerhouses are in the AFL’s no man’s land

It can be said there are four stages of a team’s development: Contending, rebuilding, building, and no man’s land. We run an eye over every club, and just where they sit.

  • by Jake Niall
Suffering is not the last word.
Opinion
Religion

Gratitude is a form of preparation for the suffering we all endure

It was gratitude that drew me to faith as an adult convert, and provided my wife and me with the perspective to cope with pain and loss.

  • by Barney Zwartz
Elon Musk in Wisconsin, where he paid $32 million for a failed judicial election.
Opinion
Elon Musk

Musk’s bizarre child support battles show he is a monumental tightwad

For a man determined to have as many children as possible, he appears set on paying them and their mothers as little as he can.

  • by Victoria Devine
Starting to tap into your super during heavy market fluctuations can feel like a bad move.

Should I start drawing on my super if the markets are down?

Starting to tap into your super during heavy market fluctuations can feel like a bad move, but it can actually benefit you.

  • by Paul Benson
Nine Network commentators Brad Fittler and Andrew Johns.
Opinion
NRL 2025

The NRL’s latest attempt to control the narrative has crossed a line

The governing body has already gagged coaches. Now it wants to know what the likes of Phil Gould, Paul Gallen and Gorden Tallis are going to say on TV.

  • by Danny Weidler
Stephen Graham as Eddie Miller and Owen Cooper as his son Jamie in Adolescence. The series illustrates how vulnerable young boys can be when they fall under the influence of toxic masculinity.
Opinion
Parenting

Adolescence is compelling, but here’s what it gets wrong

This most talked-about British drama raises very important questions, but it also turns a blind eye to uncomfortable truths.

  • by Parnell Palme McGuinness
Opinion
Feminism

Are boys really toxic or are we in a moral panic?

A crisis in masculinity? Young men should get off the internet and meet women in real life.

  • by Jacqueline Maley
There is a host of budgeting apps on the market.
Opinion
Hip pocket

The simple tech tools that can help you budget better

There is an array of apps and spreadsheets and templates that can make budgeting easier – so which ones are the best?

  • by Dominic Powell
Advertisement
Blanche d’Alpuget is selling the “city retreat” she bought with Bob Hawke in 2015.

Why I turned to crime: Blanche d’Alpuget, six years after losing Bob Hawke

What is one of the finest biographers in the country doing in crime fiction? Let’s ask her.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Once the darling of social media and a powerful tool for mobilising the masses, the humble #hashtag must now only be used ironically, preferably not at all.

The one thing that separates old and young people online

Once the darling of social media and a powerful tool for mobilising the masses, the #hashtag must now be used only ironically, or preferably not at all unless you’re a parent.

  • by Thomas Mitchell
Coen Hess’s crunching tackle on Nathan Cleary.
Analysis
NRL 2025

Is this the moment Penrith’s NRL reign came to an end?

The Panthers looked dysfunctional at times on Friday night as they lost to the lowly Cowboys for their fourth straight defeat. And one moment summed it up.

  • by Christian Nicolussi
Frustrated Petracca gif 04/04/25
Analysis
AFL 2025

Petracca moved to tears on another dark night for the Dees

A despondent Christian Petracca could barely contain his emotions after Melbourne slumped to 0-4 for the first time since the dark days of 2012. The anguish on his face said it all.

  • by Andrew Wu
Andrew Krakouer died from a suspected heart attack at the age of 42.
Opinion
AFL 2025

I visited Andrew Krakouer in prison. This is what I learnt

We shared nothing in common but a football jumper, but we became close. He taught me more than he will ever know.

  • by Wayne Campbell
Gout Gout

Silver lining: Why this was the defeat Gout Gout didn’t know he needed

There are several good reasons the young sprint sensation’s second place behind Lachie Kennedy at the Maurie Plant Meet wasn’t the tragedy it might have seemed.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
The crossword clue is poetry to pore over and savour.
Opinion
WordPlay

Feeling puzzled? This is how crosswords soothe us in hectic times

I can monster a cryptic before my beer goes flat, but what’s the hurry?

  • by David Astle
We may be at the start of a refinancing frenzy, with more rate cuts on the way.

How savvy borrowers can double the coming rate cuts

With more rate cuts on the way and refinancing starting to kick off, it’s a perfect time to save big bucks on your mortgage.

  • by Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon
Working out your retirement income’s lifespan doesn’t have to be a complicated calculation.

Planning to retire? Here’s exactly how much you can afford to spend

Most people, whether they have a meagre or a juicy lump sum in super, still struggle to work out how much they can safely outlay before they die.

  • by Bec Wilson
Donald Trump holds up his chart of “reciprocal tariffs” at the announcement event in Washington.
Editorial
Trade wars

Australia must bolster other partnerships as Trump pursues magical thinking

The effects of Donald Trump’s tariffs on China and our other Asian trading partners will have inescapable economic consequences for us.

  • The Age's View
Advertisement
Oscar Allen made a public apology over his meeting with Sam Mitchell.
Opinion
AFL 2025

The Eagles threw Oscar Allen to the wolves: The story behind Hawthorn’s raid

West Coast’s culture is not toxic – the club dealt with its worst issues almost two decades ago – but it’s hardly strong and supportive, either, and Sam Mitchell can’t be the only coach who smelt blood.

  • by Caroline Wilson
Trump and Professor Ross Garnaut don’t agree on tariff policy.
Opinion
Trade wars

Trump wants to close off America. If he succeeds, the global consequences will be catastrophic

Under Donald Trump, the country that created the global free market is bringing it to an end, not soberly but vengefully. The entire episode would be comically clownish if it weren’t so serious.

  • by Peter Hartcher
Modern Guru
Good Weekend

Should I have corrected my son’s teacher’s spelling?

Give them a break, writes our Modern Guru. They were exhausted, possibly inebriated – and thankfully, not relying on autocorrect.

  • by Danny Katz
Illustration: Simon Letch

St George Pell? Now that would be a miracle

The late cardinal George Pell has been credited with interceding to save the life of a little boy. But a sign of Pell’s humanity was always the mystery many of us were looking for while he lived.

  • by Thomas Keneally
Donald Trump holds up a chart of “reciprocal tariffs” while speaking during a Make America Wealthy Again trade announcement event in Washington.

Melting down: Trump has put America on the road to a deep economic crisis

Donald Trump thought markets would help beat his victims into submission. Instead, they have turned on him.

  • by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Dr Kerryn Phelps briefly held the inner-Sydney seat of Wentworth.

Independents wield the power of balance

The emergence of more and more credible community independent campaigns is a sign that more Australians are actively engaging in the political process.

  • by Kerryn Phelps
Blues coach Michael Voss says pointed conversations would be held this week with players struggling to perform.
Analysis
AFL 2025

The target is on Voss’ back in part because his players can’t hit them

In the coming days and weeks, we will likely see a closing of ranks around Michael Voss. Carlton’s examination of their failings will look far beyond the once-traditional practice of sheeting blame home to the coach.

  • by Jake Niall

I want to follow people who wear the ‘wrong’ thing and stay out too late

Does my brand look big in this? How influencers sold their souls.

  • by Brodie Lancaster
For Shane
Analysis
Trade wars

Economic turmoil created by Trump’s tariffs will affect everything from coffee to interest rates

The turmoil caused by Trump’s “Liberation Day” has been more wide-ranging than even the president could have expected. But what does it mean for me?

  • by Shane Wright
Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs have lost again.
Analysis
EPL

Ange Postecoglou took on Tottenham fans and lost ... this feels like the end

Postecoglou had clashed with Spurs fans in the past, most notably after the defeats at Bournemouth and Fulham, but this felt different. This felt like the end of what had started as a love affair.

  • by Sam Dean, Matt Law and Rob Bagchi
Advertisement
Canterbury Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton.
Analysis
NRL 2025

Dogs of four: Why Canterbury are undefeated

Canterbury are back on top after a decade of despair, thanks to the simplest rugby league revival of all.

  • by Dan Walsh
Even as he rocked the world with his tariff announcement, Donald Trump attempted to sell America to rich would-be immigrants with a $US5 million gold for a fast track to citizenship.

Is this the beginning of the end for Trump?

Cracks are appearing in Donald Trump’s armour. Let’s consider his self-inflicted wounds.

  • by Bruce Wolpe
The wellness industry has questions to answer.

Albo, please tell me you haven’t bought into this ‘wellness’ con

You know the industry is cooked when you have a Married at First Sight groom calling himself a “wellness advisor”.

  • by Kate Halfpenny
Max Gawn leads the beaten Demons from the field.
Opinion
AFL 2025

How Max Gawn can put Melbourne back together again

Have their skills deserted them? Are the stars fully committed? Is the forward line up to it?

  • by Bob Murphy

Original URL: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/topic/opinion-1ql