Commentary
Daily Cartoon
COMMENTARY
Albo’s postcard from China … and the things he can’t talk about
Human rights, Uighurs, Tank Man, AUKUS, China’s nuclear subs, the South China Sea, destroyers in the Tasman, Taiwan … all are on the list the PM can’t talk about on tour. Then there’s the person he can’t seem to talk to …
COMMENTARY
China’s cosy embrace of PM aimed at Trump, wider world
Anthony Albanese is being held up by Xi Jinping as a model Western leader, playing a bit part in China’s global effort to be seen as a reasonable alternative to Donald Trump.
COMMENTARY
The debate winner is … the crossbench
There was a winner from the Tasmanian leaders’ debate but it wasn’t either of the blokes calling each other names on the Sky News stage.
COMMENTARY
One change could prevent a repeat of my Robodebt hell
A court has upheld the controversial income apportionment debt calculation method. It could set thousands of people up for months or years of financial pain.
CHINA TOUR
PM walks in the footsteps of a Labor Party hero
Anthony Albanese spent most of Wednesday leading a Gough Whitlam tribute mission. The Chinese government was more than delighted to assist.
COMMENTARY
Australia’s legal profession has lost its way
The great aim of the Australian legal profession is now too often to use the law to win political victories it could never win at an election.
EDITORIAL
PM right to stand ground on FIRB
The national interest demands caution on Chinese investment.
EDITORIAL
Ken Henry has a natural remedy for productivity
Government should seek bipartisan support for any changes.
EDITORIAL
Climate courts would be fraught
Courtroom is no place for politics.
Walking Trump-Xi tightrope, PM sends mixed messages
The Canberra-Washington standoff could well worsen. Surely there are more important considerations at stake here than Albanese’s self-esteem and ideological loyalties.
Think beyond China visit and increase defence spend
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s meeting with Chinas’s President Xi Jinping shows how urgently we need to raise our spending on defence to a minimum 3.5 per cent.
Economic forces restrict young mothers’ childcare choices
Economic pressures – housing, cost of living and an unsympathetic tax system – have made it difficult for many to choose full-time care for their children.
Feeding the Chooks
Professor Palaszczuk’s about-face on hydrogen
Why has Annastacia Palaszczuk changed her tune on green hydrogen, and how much is the former Queensland Premier paid to lecture University of Queensland students about politics?
Steven Miles’s footmen learn the price of not showing up to work
We reveal how much it cost for eight Labor MPs to skip work as parliament’s powerful ethics committee finds David Crisafulli failed to declare a $200,000 ‘insolvent trading’ settlement; and guess which convicted criminal is back in the parliament?
LNP members lash Dutton’s ‘blokey’ campaign
Leaked documents reveal what some grassroots LNP members in Queensland really think about the disastrous federal election result, Peter Dutton’s nuclear policy, and the party’s “blokey” campaign messaging.
State-federal deal over Olympics … but not everyone is happy
The Queensland and federal governments are in negotiations on the final agreement to fund and deliver David Crisafulli’s Olympic stadium plan. Plus Keith Pitt’s Vatican credentials, Laura Gerber’s diary, and a tourism plan.
Which jobs are being ‘stolen’ by AI?
Anyone ranging from forklift drivers, crop farmers, call centre operators as well as accounting types might like to broaden their skill base to avoid being marginalised by AI.
The lessons for big mining from Rio’s leadership race
Simon Trott’s promotion at Rio Tinto has signalled a shift is under way as investors demand miners start doing more with what they already have.
West risks being frozen out of the Arctic Great Game
NATO is not doing enough to block Vladimir Putin’s plan for Russian supremacy in the High North; they shouldn’t shrug off the fast approaching strategic issues here.
Paying staff to research what they like? Ancient history, pal
The management reality that there are not enough students to pay all the present teachers in HASS, hence the current job cuts.
Longer range missiles only way to take Ukraine’s war to Putin
Trump’s decision to provide more defensive weapons to Ukraine is welcome, but the way to really pressure Putin is to give Kyiv the ability to take the war deep inside Russia.
Mothers and babies sent home too soon: just one symptom of broken maternity system
There’s a national crisis in private maternity care, but that’s just the beginning of the problem for our dual-model hospital system. Right now, the health of women and children deserves all our attention, but the cracks in the entire structure are widening.
Political blunders risk endangering our alliance with US
The longer this issue is unresolved, the more dangerous it gets and the more it will spill into other aspects of the alliance. Labor should see this as a national interest issue, not a domestic political opportunity to exploit.
Trump’s turn towards Ukraine is better late than never
We can probably thank European leaders for this turn of events: they counselled Zelensky to massage Trump’s ego by playing nice and thanking the US profusely for its support at every turn.
Hardest issues ignored in PM, Xi charm offensive
Mr Albanese made progress on trade, mainly dodged security points.
Best chance of Ukraine ceasefire
Trump threatens Putin with 100 per cent tariffs.
Reality trips up net zero energy transition
The unmistakeable lesson so far from the green revolution is that it is easier to shut things down than it is to build the things that are supposed to replace them.
Xi’s lunch invitation leaves Albanese in a delicate position
China’s Xi Jinping believes the Australian PM is a leader worth investing in – which will please some and worry others.
China visit all symbol and little substance
At least this time, Anthony Albanese was willing to mention some of the issues where Canberra disagrees with Beijing. Of course, there’s not the slightest chance that anything he says to Xi Jinping will affect China’s behaviour.
Rio Tinto’s CEO bet is on mining ability over bold strategy
The global miner has a full slate ahead of it and it needs a chief executive who has a record of delivery.
Apple the missing piece of RBA’s payments jigsaw
The RBA’s move on card fees and surcharges gives consumers something of a win, but there’s a big part of the payments system that sidesteps the crackdown.
Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary