The busiest shopping weekend of the year is upon us, where shopping malls become a desperate frenzy of overindulgence and waste. But spare a thought for those who can’t afford even the trimmest of trimmings this Christmas.

Extreme heat is the number one cause of weather-related illness and death in all parts of Australia, except Tasmania. Older, poorer, and sicker people are more vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat. Our new report identifies the locations around Australia in which the greatest number of vulnerable people will be affected by extreme heat. Targeting these areas for support will ensure the greatest number of vulnerable people are helped during periods of extreme heat.

Australians are hungry to grow their own food and the reasons are simple: growing your own food is healthier and better for the planet. Whether it’s herb pots on a windowsill or a rambling backyard veggie patch, Australians say that growing some of their own food makes them feel better, eat better and tread lighter on the planet.

How is Australia’s system unfair? If you get caught speeding in Australia, you will be fined with a flat-rate traffic fine. Exceeding the speed limit by 12km/h in New South Wales earns you a $361 fine, whether you are on government benefits or a billionaire. This is not a fair system. What about the principle:

“An Albanese Labor government will restore Australia’s climate leadership, and listen and act on Pacific island warnings of the existential threat of climate change.” Despite a clear election campaign commitment to listen to Pacific Island nations and act on climate change, the Australian government continues to enable and encourage new and expanded fossil fuel projects. When it

The government’s latest housing affordability policies, “help to buy” and “build to rent” are the latest in a long line of policies from both major parties that will do nothing to ease the housing crisis.

The potential social and economic benefits of early childhood education and care are huge.

Right now, final submissions are being made by private health insurers to the government for an increase in insurance premiums next year.

The prices of many goods and services have increased dramatically across Australia since 2021. This has resulted in hardship for many households—along with $100 billion in increased profits for major companies. These corporate profits have been a key factor driving inflation.

Rather than show negative gearing changes are bad, a Deloitte report cited by the Prime Minister concludes they would improve housing affordability and home ownership.

This is an extract from Black Witness by Amy McQuire, published by University of Queensland Press.

Peter Dutton and Donald Trump have a knack for political division. There’s no doubt that stoking fear and the politics of division can be brutally effective, but the last thing Australia needs is to import the damaging culture wars of the American far right, dominated by bonkers conspiracy theories adhered to by militant acolytes untroubled

There is widespread public support for banning gambling advertisements on free-to-air media because of the harm caused by gambling. The main objection is that Australia’s free-to-air networks, hit by declining revenues and fragmenting audiences, can’t afford to lose the money. But there’s a simple solution. A small levy on the many billions of dollars gambling

My children are aged three and four. They love anything with super powers – Spiderman, vampires, Paw Patrol, everything.

Tasmania’s Government has failed to publish a State of the Environment Report since 2009,
despite having a legal obligation to do so every five years.

While public school funding lags, principals of private schools are paid up to four times their state system counterparts. 

Today, in a surprise development likely weeks in the planning, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was able to leave the United Kingdom for the first time in more than a decade after reaching a plea deal with the US government.

The United States Government’s indictment of Julian Assange has major implications for the future of public-interest journalism, according to his legal advisor.

Who would have thought that the legal and personal travails of Julian Assange, the Australian citizen whom US authorities are invested in prosecuting and jailing for the rest of his life without deep consideration of his fundamental rights, would become a lightning rod for former President Trump’s re-election hopes?

As pressure grows for action to establish new work rights, including additional leave, for those who experience menstruation and menopause, the Centre for Future Work’s Senior Researcher, Lisa Heap, canvases the debate about whether these rights will advance gender equality at work.

On Monday the Productivity Commission released its snapshot of inequality report.

The Australia Institute’s analysis of the 2024 Federal Budget finds that while there some big numbers and good measures, there’s no meaningful solutions to issues such as inequality, housing or climate change.

“Mandatory and coordinated accreditation would allow workers to have their skills recognised, boost job satisfaction and make the industry more attractive as a long-term career.

“The Aged Care Royal Commission has been crystal clear about the need for these reforms. It’s beyond time to deliver them.”

They knit, they sing, they even have their own ‘nannafesto’, and these unlikely environmental activists are a force to be reckoned with.

Private schools are competing to see who can boast the most luxurious accoutrements, and the tax-deductions they can claim on constructing buildings are helping them do it. The Scots College is awaiting construction of its new library, which will resemble a Scottish Baronial castle. At one point, they had a hypoxic chamber for altitude simulation sports training. Newington College

Watch Dr Emma Shortis’ address to ‘Night Falls In The Evening Lands: The Assange Epic’ at RMIT University, Melbourne, on 9th March 2024.

Soaring house prices, high household debt and the pervasiveness of variable rate home loans mean that Australians bear the brunt of interest rate rises, says Greg Jericho.

For three years, Meta and Google have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to Australian publishers in exchange for using news content.

As much as $1 billion in taxpayer funding may be being funnelled into the pockets of for-profit academic publishers every year, writes Dr Kristen Scicluna.

Big tech is kicking capitalism to the kerb, former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis tells a sold-out crowd at the State Library of NSW in a special episode of Follow the Money.