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Labor says it will buy the failed airline if no private bidder emerges.
Opinion
Aviation

Rex needs an owner, Virgin a CEO, Qantas needs to fly under the radar

Australian aviation isn’t just an industry – it’s a messy headline. And it’s now a sector which is far too influenced by non-shareholders – its major union and the federal government.

  • by Elizabeth Knight

Latest

Elon Musk, US President-elect Donald Trump, Donald Trump jnr, Mike Johnson and Robert F Kennedy jnr eat McDonald’s food aboard Trump’s private plane.
Analysis
Trade wars

We’ll know Trump’s tariff war is serious when he hits Big Macs

Despite the worries about Trump’s tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium, the real concern is if he widens his trade war to burgers.

  • by Shane Wright
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin held a 90-minute phone call, their first as leaders since the Ukraine war started.

This is Putin and Trump’s world now

America is no longer interested in underwriting Ukrainian and European security. Britain and Europe must ask whether they want to be at the table – or on the menu.

  • by Roland Oliphant
Vladimir Putin with Donald Trump in 2017. The Russian president has been at pains to praise his US counterpart in recent days, a proven way to get Donald Trump’s attention.

Putin accepts Trump’s invitation to ‘come in from the cold’

“The time has come for our countries to work together,” the Kremlin has said, after a phone call between the Russian and US presidents.

  • by Michael Koziol
One-in-one meetings are the most common way we’ve been told we should manage people, however there are a bunch of flaws in their design.
Opinion
Jobs

Why you should immediately cancel all your one-on-one work meetings

One-in-one meetings are the most common way we’ve been told we should manage people, but there are a bunch of flaws in their design.

  • by Tim Duggan
Steve Smith.

The 630 missing wickets that have alarm bells ringing for Australia

Australia are about to begin hunting one of the few pieces of silverware not in their keeping, but their Champions Trophy lead-up has been anything but perfect.

  • by Dan Walsh
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President Donald Trump has imposed, then paused tariffs on Canadian, and Mexican. Tariffs on Chinese goods have been announced while tariffs on the EU have been threatened.
Opinion
Inflation

Trump wants lower interest rates. His tariffs won’t help

Less than an hour after Trump declared that lower interest rates would go “hand in hand” with his tariffs, poor US inflation data saw the prospects for rate cuts diminish.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
The Australian government has banned DeepSeek from being downloaded onto government devices.
Opinion
AI

Don’t fear DeepSeek – Australia can launch its own start-ups

We shouldn’t ban China’s new AI giant – we should regulate it. Then Australia should seize the opportunity to lead this sector.

  • by Raffaele Ciriello
Belle Gibson.
Opinion
Wellbeing

A decade on from Belle Gibson, wellness quackery is still big business

The timing of new Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar could not be more perfect, with RFK Jr. set to take one of the world’s most powerful health jobs.

  • by Sarah Berry
Sex, drugs and underlying health issues: The diabolical cost of insuring old rockers

Sex, drugs and underlying health issues: The diabolical cost of insuring old rockers

The huge financial hit from abandoning a show means the stakes for ageing artists couldn’t be higher.

  • by James Hall
Western Australia Premier Roger Cook says people should expect some ‘rough and tumble’ in an election campaign.

If WA voters’ hip-pockets are empty, why is Labor making them wait until next year for relief?

Roger Cook says, “we know people are hurting”, so surely he also knows they don’t need cost-of-living support in 2026 – they need it now.

  • by Connor McGoverne
Aresna Villanueva

New studies suggest a key Paris warming target has been breached

A leading climate scientist believes Earth may be even more sensitive to greenhouse gases than previously thought, but there could also be an upside.

  • by Nick O'Malley
At 65, I got to return to active parenting when caring for my adult daughter.
Opinion
Parenting

At 65, I thought my active parenting days were over. Then came a trip to Thailand with my daughter

In those first few days of recovery, as she lay in hospital, I remembered what it was like when she was small – the way time seems to stop when your child needs you.

  • by Lesley Podesta
Nadia’s Uber trip, when the driver got lost.
Opinion
Courts

Who cares if Sam Kerr called a policeman ‘stupid and white’? I don’t

I’ve been in Sam Kerr’s shoes – a terrified woman of colour trapped in the back of an Uber – and I don’t blame her.

  • by Nadia Russell
Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii has driven new levels of interest in the Waratahs.

The Suaalii effect: Has rugby’s multimillion-dollar recruit already paid for himself?

Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii will make his debut for the Waratahs on Friday. But before even wearing the sky blue jumper, the code-switcher has already made a big impact off the field.

  • by Iain Payten
Sam Kerr
Analysis
Courts

Why the battle has only just begun for Sam Kerr

Having left court on Tuesday in London after being found not guilty, Sam Kerr is about to meet a new set of challenges.

  • by Jonathan Drennan
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Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are going to need to confront the profound changes that Donald Trump brings to the world order.

Trump is the US president Australia had to have

Donald Trump is brazenly upending the world order and threatening mostly America’s friends. Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton will need to confront these profound changes.

  • by Shaun Carney
President Donald Trump has unleashed the first salvo of his tariff war.
Analysis
Trade wars

Could we show more restraint? Perhaps. Are we ‘killing’ the US aluminium market? No

President Trump’s steel and aluminium tariff war is a case of deja vu for Australia. But while his administration’s arguments are flawed, that might not really matter.

  • by Simon Johanson
Power coach Ken Hinkley.
Analysis
AFL 2025

Why Kenny and the Power have what it takes to put the success in their succession plan

Hinkley knew this would be his last season at Port Adelaide. Now, Tasmania might just come calling.

  • by Peter Ryan
Sam Kerr arrives in court.
Analysis
Courts

Drunken night out sparks questions about power, privilege and race

On social media and in cafes, many thought the case against Sam Kerr was a storm in a teacup. But inside the court, with two of Britain’s top-flight barristers, it was deadly serious.

  • by Rob Harris
Football Australia CEO James Johnson and Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn in 2021 as they announced that the bank had become the naming rights partner for the Matildas.
Opinion
Sam Kerr

One question made the CBA boss flinch – and it wasn’t about profit

Matildas captain Sam Kerr’s legal fight in Britain is a prickly and polarising issue, and it was kryptonite for Matt Comyn.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
NRL players who have sat on the fringes composite
Analysis
NRL 2025

These men have sat on the NRL fringes. They are too good to stay there

One of the game’s most luckless players, who has suffered another harrowing setback, is among those declared too good for the NRL’s periphery.

  • by Nick Wright
US President Donald Trump has a very selective memory.
Opinion
Trade wars

Trump set to unleash a lot of pain as he fails to learn from history

Donald Trump and his advisers are proving to have very selective memories. His latest move will benefit few but hurt many.

  • by Stephen Bartholomeusz
There will be plenty of players, teams and coaches under pressure in 2025.
Analysis
AFL 2025

The AFL clubs under pressure and players with a point to prove in 2025

We take a look at which players are in for big years and how your club might fare, as well as explaining why some are under more pressure than others.

  • by Marc McGowan
Sam Kerr
Opinion
Courts

You’re free to go, Sam, but the future is unsure

Sam Kerr walked free from court, but her behaviour on the night was appalling.

  • by Peter FitzSimons
Pedestrians seemingly no longer keep to the left.
Opinion
Real life

Dear fellow pedestrians, keep to the left, you drongos

Visitors are already warned that while it’s not a crime to walk on the right, people will think you’re an idiot. The warnings aren’t working.

  • by Claire Heaney
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Reg Gasnier and Bradman Best
Analysis
NRL 2025

We’ll never see a centre like Reg Gasnier again. Here’s why

Bradman Best and Stephen Crichton are extraordinary talents. But in today’s game, theirs is now the least important position on the rugby league field.

  • by Roy Masters
If you’re planning to put money aside for a child or godchild there’s one investment option that makes the most sense.

How do we buy shares for our three-year-old godson?

When it comes to investing on the behalf of people under the age of 18, you can fall foul of some punitive tax rules.

  • by Noel Whittaker
From tax implications to funding aged care, there are a few important factors to look into when it comes to early inheritances.
Analysis
Inheritance

What to consider before giving an early inheritance

From tax implications to funding aged care, there are a few important factors to look into when it comes to early inheritances.

  • by Caterina Hrysomallis
Don’t go in blind – have a direction when it comes to your finances.

The crucial step you’re missing when trying to save money

Many personal finance questions follow a pattern: should I do this, or that? But this is the wrong question to be asking.

  • by Paridhi Jain

Why Elon Musk and J.D. Vance went to bat for a self-described racist

One “kid” at a time, Trump’s inner circle are leading a cultural revolution where the old world rules do not apply – especially for government employees.

  • by Michelle Goldberg
Letch illo

The nation is finally coming to grips with home affordability

The problems of housing affordability are so serious that everyone agrees – something must be done.

  • by Ross Gittins
Antoinette Lattouf  and Ita Buttrose.

‘That’s not frank at all’: Ita Buttrose commands court in Lattouf case

Ita Buttrose took a dim view of proceedings at the Antoinette Lattouf unfair dismissal case.

  • by Harriet Alexander
Author David Sedaris has been touring Australia this month.
Opinion
Literature

Once my favourite author, David Sedaris has become a first-class prat

I thought it would be impossible for a writer who revels in shock value to get me offside, but then he started talking about wealth.

  • by Annemarie Fleming
Fish Oil capsules
Analysis
Science

A new study claims fish oil pills slow biological ageing. Should we be taking them?

Over three years, daily omega-3 supplementation slowed ageing by three months. Liam Mannix pulls the evidence apart.

  • by Liam Mannix
Analysis
Trade wars

We’re on Trumpian time now. Albanese’s win could last five minutes or five years

Anthony Albanese just survived round one in a political boxing match against Donald Trump – a bout that has him at constant risk of a knockout blow before the election.

  • by David Crowe
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Brayden Maynard is set to re-sign at Collingwood
Analysis
AFL 2025

‘Good spot at the moment’: Maynard set to re-sign as part of new-look Pies backline

Brayden Maynard is battling a foot injury but declared himself fit for the first game as he discussed his contract and where he fits in Collingwood’s stacked backline.

  • by Michael Gleeson
Patterson Labuschagne composite
Analysis
Test cricket

Resurgent two-Test wonder threatens Labuschagne’s Ashes mission

Once Australia’s golden boy, Marnus Labuschagne has endured a lean two years. Now, five men are coming for his spot – and one in particular.

  • by Nick Wright
This old dog knows the secrets to growing old.
Opinion
Pets

Be kind and keep going: A dog’s guide to growing older

Sometimes, the older humans in my circle go all weird when confessing to a quick snooze in the early afternoon. Why the embarrassment?

  • by Richard Glover
Elon Musk (left) cofounded OpenAI with Sam Altman in 2015, but left before the company took off.

Musk v Altman: Watch the billionaires’ faux fight for humanity

If billionaire biffo is your entertainment weakness, the latest outbreak in the war between Elon Musk and OpenAI’s Sam Altman will have you glued to your X feed.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
Many renters have given up on the dream of owning a home.

Why I traded saving for a house to ‘doom spend’ on an overseas holiday

Every person my age who I know who has a house had help from their parents. We’re now living in an inheritocracy, so I’m going to live a little.

  • by Simon Taylor
The NBN.
Opinion
Privacy

How my NBN connection was stolen from under my nose

When you deal with big companies, you learn there are two kinds of people: ducks and eagles. Ducks waddle around and make noise. Eagles spot the problem and swoop to fix it.

  • by Noel Whittaker
Sam Kerr, Australia’s best-known Matilda, is facing charges in a London court.
Opinion
Courts

I was a London judge. Sam Kerr’s case should never have gone to trial

The trial of Sam Kerr will shortly end, but whether the verdict is “guilty” or “not guilty”, questions must be asked about whether it should have taken place at all.

  • by Geoffrey Robertson
People at or near the point of retirement face sequencing risk.

How do we stop super becoming a trillion-dollar inheritance scheme?

In Australia, retirees get little guidance about how to use their super, and it’s leaving us with less money to spend in retirement.

  • by Brendan Coates and Joey Moloney
Starting at university is an
Opinion
Parenting

My eldest son’s left home for uni. I’m happy for him, a little sad for myself

I gave my son a little memento to take with him when he moved interstate. It was something my father gave me when I had just finished school.

  • by Melissa Coburn

Trump’s on a roll but the main game’s about to begin – and he may lose it

It appears the president is getting his own way on many fronts, but a storm is brewing in Congress which may derail his momentum.

  • by Bruce Wolpe
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ASIC is suing 10 former executives and directors of Star Entertainment.
Opinion
Casinos

Elastic bands, Eskies and merino blankets: Star’s sins laid bare

The corporate regulator has fired a fierce salvo in its legal case against a trio of former Star Entertainment management and 10 of its previous board directors for allegedly breaching their duties.

  • by Elizabeth Knight
Usman Khawaja relaxes in the Galle dressing room.

Smith’s future, the ‘golf trip’ jibe, and what’s next for Australia’s Test team

Why did Travis Head fire a shot back at Ed Cowan? What does the future hold for Steve Smith? Has Labuschagne done enough? Can Green and Webster play in the same team? The burning questions from Australia’s victory in Sri Lanka.

  • by Daniel Brettig
Look away now, Drake. Kendrick Lamar played Not Like Us while the whole world watched.
Analysis
Super Bowl

Kendrick dances on Drake’s grave, Serena Williams joins in

There’s no denying Kendrick is the man of the moment, but was he the wrong man for this one?

  • by Thomas Mitchell
Jamila Rizvi with son Rafi on the eve of her craniotomy in 2018.

Healthcare changes will shift the dial for women like me

Women’s health has long been a neglected area of public policy. There are hopeful signs that’s about to change.

  • by Jamila Rizvi

Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/comment