Opinion
Analysis
NRL 2025
Forget the Blues’ backline. This is the big issue facing Laurie Daley
Reece Robson is the most penalised player in the NRL and his form has dipped. If Robson doesn’t wear the NSW No. 9 jersey, who does?
- by Christian Nicolussi
Latest
Analysis
Australia votes
Labor vowed to take on miners over Indigenous heritage. Now Albanese is their guest
The prime minister’s tour of northern Australia came with no moves to rekindle memories of the Indigenous Voice referendum.
- by Mike Foley
Opinion
Donald Trump
Trump’s made nationalism great again, just not in America
Rather than jingoistic chest-thumping, Trumpism has stirred a stoical civic pride in the things that differentiate individual countries from the US.
- by Nick Bryant
Scrapping fuel standard will take us back decades
Peter Dutton overstates the benefit of his proposed temporary cut to fuel excise of $0.25 a litre to the average Australian motorist.
Editorial
Adoption & fostering
The crying shame of South Korea’s adoption scandal for Australia
Labor has promised an in-house investigation into Australia-Korea adoptions, but it needs the heft of a parliamentary inquiry.
- The Herald's View
Analysis
Trade wars
Xi holds more cards than Trump in trade showdown
With the two leaders standing eyeball to eyeball as global markets whipsaw around them, who will blink?
- by Lisa Visentin
Analysis
Gout Gout
Gout broke sprinting’s magical mark twice in one night, and it wasn’t even his best event
While not official times, Gout has now broken the 10-second barrier for the 100m. Who knows how fast he might run in his pet event; the 200m.
- by Michael Gleeson
Analysis
Super Rugby
The numbers don’t lie – why Super Rugby is the best club comp in the world
A rugby-loving French data scientist has examined the figures and found that Super Rugby is superior to its European counterparts.
- by Paul Cully
Analysis
NRL 2025
What to do with Jye and Trell? Bennett’s number one dilemma at the Rabbitohs
Can Wayne Bennett have his cake and eat it too with two outstanding fullback options and a long-term positional move for Latrell Mitchell?
- by Dan Walsh
Opinion
Political leadership
There’s an obvious successor for Albanese. The Libs face a tougher choice
Election results trigger, or subsequently lead to, leadership resets. Even in the turmoil of a campaign, players will also have their eyes on the future.
- by Michelle Grattan
Analysis
NRL 2025
Could Melbourne pinch the NRL grand final from Sydney? Here’s how Storm boss says it can happen
Storm chief executive Justin Rodski believes if his club can create a marquee game at the MCG, it could be a precursor to hosting the NRL grand final.
- by Roy Ward
Opinion
Political leadership
Call me cancelled, but our po-faced progressives need a good laugh
The war against wrong-think is as dangerous for the canceller as it is for the cancelled.
- by Anson Cameron
Analysis
NRL 2025
The Panthers are in disarray. How did it get to this?
It appeared there would be no end to the Penrith dynasty. But after five consecutive losses, the Panthers are in freefall.
- by Adrian Proszenko
Opinion
AFL 2025
The four players Essendon should trade, and a couple they should chase
Essendon’s record in the past 20 years is an indictment. Here’s what they must do, according to a former AFL list boss.
- by Chris Pelchen
Analysis
Europa League
Ange says the ‘football gods’ won’t save him, but he still has a pulse at Spurs
Angeball is not dead. Not yet. Worst-case scenario, this project has exactly one week to live, assuming we believe the talk that Ange Postecoglou’s future at Tottenham Hotspur depends entirely upon winning the Europa League.
- by Vince Rugari
Opinion
Real life
Blinded to what I had, I spent a mad day stalking my younger, hotter self
They were the best-looking pair I’d ever seen in real life. And I’ve been in the same room as Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky.
- by Kate Halfpenny
Opinion
Mergers & acquisitions
How Versace’s ‘blunder’ opened the door for Prada’s $2.3b takeover
Fashion executive John Idol made a big shift after acquiring Versace in 2018. It did not go to plan and now rival Prada has pounced.
- by Jeannette Neumann
Tony Wright’s Column
Australia votes
Trump-lite dynamite: Did copying the president’s playbook blow up Dutton’s campaign?
The opposition leader clearly thought he was on a good thing when he looked to the approach of Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
- by Tony Wright
Opinion
Trade wars
‘Drip, drip, drip’: How Trump’s ‘beautiful’ tariff plan gave the world a cold shower
A week ago, Donald Trump announced Liberation Day. We’ve moved to un-Liberation Day and the world is still reeling.
- by Shane Wright
Opinion
Trade wars
Trump’s trade vision? Been there. Wore the saggy undies
People talk about growing up behind the Iron Curtain, but I grew up behind a Tariff Curtain.
- by Richard Glover
Opinion
WordPlay
What’s a Rum’un? How this new AFL mascot got its name
Meet a monster with meaning in every snarl.
- by David Astle
Opinion
Jobs
Don’t shy away from feedback at work. Instead, do this
Many professionals assume that they must be doing well if they’re not receiving feedback. Unfortunately, that’s a dangerous assumption.
- by Michelle Gibbings
Opinion
Work therapy
I accidentally ignored an important email. Did I deserve to be yelled at?
The fact this email turned out to be important seems like something you should have been warned about in advance.
- by Jonathan Rivett
Opinion
Competition
Supermarkets may not be price gouging, but don’t discount the need for a stick
The competition watchdog has stopped short of calling them out for excessive prices. Here’s why we still need to keep the pressure on.
- by Millie Muroi
Analysis
Shoddy Sydney
Why the government wants you to think there’s no home defects crisis
This North Sydney apartment building has the same faults as it had when the building minister called it out in 2023.
- by Max Maddison and Anthony Segaert
Analysis
AFL 2025
A Cat above: Dangerfield, Cameron and Smith show Crows what it takes to be contenders
There are another eight games remaining in this Gather Round, but it’s doubtful that any will exceed the quality of the first.
- by Jake Niall
Opinion
Column 8
Is this election a mug’s game?
Because the prospects of one poster boy are going south.
Opinion
Australia votes
There’s a key problem in Dutton’s campaign, and he’s running out of time to fix it
Peter Dutton has run a steady race for three years, and looked at times like he was trouncing Anthony Albanese, but he enters the final three weeks as the laggard.
- by David Crowe
Opinion
Healthcare
Doctors like me pay a heavy price to do our jobs. Pay us what we’re worth
Doctors spend many years and thousands of dollars to become qualified. There are good reasons why they’re striking for more money.
- by Anonymous
Analysis
AI
Did an AI chatbot help draft the US tariff policy?
If it did, it almost certainly warned that implementing it would be a bad idea.
- by Tim Biggs
Opinion
Trump diplomacy
Trump has put America into a no-win war just to alienate its closest allies
Instead of uniting the industrial world against China, Trump has made it America against the whole industrial world.
- by Thomas L. Friedman
Trump has picked a fight with the wrong opponent
China won’t be the first to blink in the tariff war, writes Graham Lum.
Editorial
Courts
Public’s right to know demands open justice and transparency in courts
An alleged serial rapist wanted the courts to allow him to remain anonymous. We did not.
- The Herald's View
Analysis
Australia votes
‘Bit of a shadow campaign’: The curious case of the missing environment minister
Tanya Plibersek is everywhere and nowhere this campaign, showing her own popularity within Labor … and a schism with Anthony Albanese.
- by Mike Foley
Analysis
World markets
Trump says now is a ‘great time to buy’. Is he right?
While a wash of green on market screens may tempt investors to jump in, analysts are warning against irrational exuberance.
- by William Bennett
Opinion
Trump's White House
Trump’s sharemarket bonanza and the billionaire bros club
There were many winners in the market frenzy that followed Donald Trump’s about-face, including the US president himself, but his capitulation revealed who is really in charge.
- by Colin Kruger
Opinion
US politics
Too many narcissists in the nest: Why Trump’s bromances were always bound to clash
Elon Musk’s public fallout with Trump’s trade advisor came as no surprise to psychologists like me. It’s increasingly clear that we might be dealing with significant personality pathologies in this administration.
- by Ahona Guha
Opinion
AFL 2025
Message for Curnow and co: The Blues must commit to these non-negotiables to save their season
This is Jimmy Bartel’s simple plan, line by line and player by player, for the Blues.
- by Jimmy Bartel
Opinion
Trade wars
‘Mad king’ Trump was facing a financial crisis, so he capitulated
There were desperate efforts from White House staff to spin Trump’s backdown as the latest example of his deal-making genius. But surprisingly, the man himself told the truth.
- by Stephen Bartholomeusz
‘You shouldn’t be in survival mode’: Why this Sydney seat matters so much at this election
A booming CBD, nine universities and cultural hubs: Inside the Sydney seat everyone is watching.
- by Matt Wade and Anthony Segaert
Analysis
Trade wars
Donald Trump’s China tariffs an act of economic war
The consequences of this war are unpredictable, but we know one thing already: trade is conducted for mutual benefit – it’s win-win. Its cancellation is lose-lose.
- by Peter Hartcher
Opinion
World golf
Anger issues: The golfer who taped his mouth shut and the role of fury in elite sport
A golfer with a temper so out of control he taped his own mouth shut brings to mind sporting greats.
- by Peter FitzSimons
Opinion
NRL 2025
Why we’re watching the two NSW No.7s of the next decade and beyond
Nathan Cleary tells me he watches 21-year-old Isaiya Katoa “with admiration”. Both have critical learning curves, and more than a decade of dominance ahead of them.
- by Andrew Johns
Opinion
Trade wars
There is no winner in a tariff war and protectionism benefits no one
A weak compromise will only allow Donald Trump and the US to sabotage the international order and rules even more wantonly, dragging the world economy into a quagmire and an abyss.
- by Xiao Qian
Opinion
Australia votes
Dutton bitten by Britton and the NSW Libs’ calamities
The current problems in the NSW Liberals are more than a distraction for Peter Dutton. They could disrupt the federal campaign.
- by Alexandra Smith
Opinion
Australia votes
Is the Coalition ready to lead Australia? All evidence suggests not
Sure, tenderising your opponents with vigorous critiques is satisfying. But as Peter Dutton is finding out, it ultimately makes for empty calories.
- by Shaun Carney
Analysis
NRL 2025
The subtle change suggesting ‘controlled’ Walsh remains in Origin hunt
His attacking exploits have taken a back seat, but Reece Walsh is not out of form, a fellow Queensland star asserts.
- by Nick Wright
Analysis
Australia votes
The leader who spoke loudest at the treasurers’ debate wasn’t even in the room
The first treasurers’ debate of the election campaign between Jim Chalmers and Angus Taylor was dominated by one man: Donald Trump.
- by Shane Wright and Millie Muroi
Opinion
Political leadership
Voters aren’t just flirting with independents. It’s deep and meaningful now
Australians have seen that power-sharing delivers outcomes in the NSW parliament, and could do the same at a federal level.
- by Alex Greenwich
Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/opinion