The evidence is clear and health professionals are taking notice, writes Melissa Sweet. Now it’s time for government to act
19 Apr 13Student achievement: frozen by inequity
Amid the fraught discussions about Gonski, the need to resolve deep-seated problems of equity and student achievement remains urgent, writes Bernie Shepherd
10 Apr 13Temporary migration is a permanent thing
There is a debate to be had about 457 visas, writes Peter Mares, but it’s not the one we’ve been having
29 Mar 13We know about the 457. What about the 485?
A different visa category could be the subject of future debates about temporary migration, writes Peter Mares
28 Mar 13Asking the wrong questions about gambling
Are Australian gamblers getting value for money, asks Darryl Woodford 21 Mar 13
Is the enemy of my friend always my enemy?
Do all Labor voters prefer the Greens to the Liberals? Do National Party voters opt for the Liberals if their own party isn’t running? What little evidence we have suggests the answer isn’t straightforward, writes Paul Rodan
07 Mar 13Noisily flows the Manning
A river community’s campaign to stop coal-seam gas captures the new face of rural politics in Australia, writes Robert Milliken
05 Mar 13Citizenship by the booklet
Like Australia, Britain decided to make it harder for new arrivals to become citizens. Kerry Ryan looks at the mixed results
Class sizes and the dead hand of history
Sure, smaller classes would be good, but at what opportunity costs, asks Dean Ashenden
01 Mar 13Unfair, inefficient and expensive: what went wrong with Australia’s superannuation system
The same ministers who scour every nook and cranny to find savings are throwing money at superannuation tax concessions with dubious benefits, writes Mike Steketee
18 Feb 13The captain’s pick
Julia Gillard’s press club speech gave an insight into how Labor sees itself governing an anxious country in uncertain times, writes Frank Bongiorno
05 Feb 13The electoral calculus of campaign oxygen
For more than a quarter of a century, short election campaigns have been the norm, writes Norman Abjorensen. Julia Gillard’s announcement recalls longer, and sometimes riskier, campaigns
31 Jan 13Caribbean copyright showdown
Antigua has taken a high-stakes roll of the dice, write Ramon Lobato and Darryl Woodford
Another blow to democracy in universities
Removing staff and student representatives from university councils in Victoria threatens scholarly values and independent criticism, argues Paul Rodan
20 Dec 12Gonski and Gillard won’t fix this problem
In a forthcoming paper for the Centre for Policy Development, Chris Bonnor describes a worsening school equity problem that will persist for decades to come
28 Nov 12Time for a referendum roadmap
Constitutional reform has stalled, writes Paul Kildea. But that provides the opportunity to rethink how we go about achieving change
09 Nov 12Australia’s unlucky parliaments
If it’s true that a country gets the politicians it deserves, then Australia is in a bad way, writes Norman Abjorensen
07 Nov 12Family matters
There are plenty of ways we can leave our money, but Australians remain remarkably conservative when they prepare their wills, write Michael Gilding and Christopher Baker
28 Oct 12A certain curiosity
Two key figures in the postwar development of the Labor Party never met, writes Norman Abjorensen
Notes from a low-key governor-generalship
Are the intriguing revelations from the notebooks of Paul Hasluck part of a larger trove, asks Paul Rodan
17 Oct 12