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Janet Albrechtsen is an opinion columnist with The Australian. She has worked as a solicitor in commercial law, and attained a Doctorate of Juridical Studies from the University of Sydney. She has written for numerous other publications including the Australian Financial Review, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sunday Age, and The Wall Street Journal.

@jkalbrechtsen

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CommentaryCommentary

When a smiling Arden talks about empathy, it’s easy for people outside New Zealand to lionise her out of ignorance.

Ardern’s fuzzy empathy edict won’t change politics

Arden’s empathy schtick seems to mean feeling warm and fuzzy towards people you agree with. Where is the political revolution in that?

Janet Albrechtsen

commentaryNation

4 December 2024; A collage of scales with a hand pushing down on the right scale. Collage by Frank Ling. Sources: iStock. Ratio 4:3 for PRINT.

Equality under the law must be upheld

NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley must step up and do the right thing by the state’s legal system and the people, given that NSW judges can’t be trusted to do it.

Janet Albrechtsen

INQUIRERInquirer

In a world with so much suffering, is it wrong to mourn a dog? I think not

We didn’t own Huxley; he owned us. And that sweet, boofy creature didn’t stay long enough.

Janet Albrechtsen

commentaryCommentary

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA.NewsWire Photos. DECEMBER 12, 2024. Liberal MP Moira Deeming gives a press conference in the gardens of Parliament House after her defamation win against Victorian Liberal Leader John Pesutto. Picture: NewsWire/Ian Currie

Call this a ‘broad church’? Victorian moderates are trashing their own party

The critical point for a so-called Liberal Party is that Moira Deeming’s views should never have been a sacking offence.

Janet Albrechtsen

INQUIRERInquirer

Portrait of Honourable Justice Walter Sofronoff after his swearing in as President of the Court of Appeal today in Brisbane. Pictures: Jack Tran

Who will bring the ACT watchdog to heel?

The ACT Integrity Commission attempted to slander me, and the journalism of this newspaper, when writing its Operation Juno report. Ultimately it failed. This is the untold story.

Janet Albrechtsen

commentaryCommentary

There is no more important priority than learning how to read, write and do maths. Australian children are doing poorly in all three areas because educators have shown little interest, over decades, in evidence-based teaching methods.

There is something Trumpian about those on the left

Noel Pearson is right on reforming our kids’ education but wrong on the ‘obsession’ with culture wars.

Janet Albrechtsen

InquirerInquirer

EMBARGOED 24 MAY 2025. 22 May 2025; a photo comp of Chrysanthou, Collins, Moses and Justices Debbie Mortimer and Michael Lee. Sources: supplied. Ratio 4:3. FOR PRINT.

Guess which legal drama grabbed the nation’s attention …

While none of the live-streamed real-life legal battles in the Federal Court of Australia are as outlandish as Boston Legal, not everyone loves this new media development.

Janet Albrechtsen

commentaryCommentary

Taxing profits people haven’t made — only in Canberra.

So, who’s home free on the super tax?

The tax on unrealised gains inside superannuation accounts could only have been invented in Canberra. Taxing profits people haven’t made is a testament to the disconnect between the political and bureaucratic class from the productive parts of Australia.

Janet Albrechtsen

commentaryPolitics

What is the ACT government afraid of in this case?

What message does the ACT government want to send to the people of Australia? That the administration of justice is not taken seriously by the elected representatives in that jurisdiction?

Janet Albrechtsen

INQUIRERInquirer

The national curriculum has done nothing but dumb down education in Australia

Barely half of all students are proficient in maths, science and reading. Could it have anything to do with a national curriculum where Indigenous dance, storytelling and basket-weaving are included in maths classes?

Janet Albrechtsen

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/janet-albrechtsen/page/2