Comment

Midweek, as missiles and drones shattered a so-called ceasefire in the Middle East, Anthony Albanese unveiled his strategy to intercept the Exocet that Pauline Hanson has aimed at his government.

The teal independents will need to be united in intent. The opportunity to form a government, ready to confront corporate intransigence in the face of global inequity and breakdown, should not be lost. Simple as that.

Why is there suddenly a flurry of attention around gender identity? The Sex Discrimination Act amendments have not altered the fact that discrimination on the ground of sex is unlawful, as is the case with other related grounds, such as marital or relationship status ...

Much has been written about the Pope’s warnings of the perils of technology, but most have overlooked a crucial part of his message: our words are failing us.

It is tempting for the major political parties to take comfort in the distance to the next federal election, drawing on the age-old wisdom that the only poll that counts is the one on election day.

This month’s budget contains familiar themes when it comes to health: record investment in Medicare, bulk-billing on the rise, and urgent care clinics proliferating. It may sound positive, but it is really more of the same in an outdated system.

It is disturbing how the reforms to capital gains tax have thrown the opposition and their conservative media mates into a frenzy. It is not surprising that the ‘losers’ or potential losers will shout the loudest, but it is disappointing that serious efforts were not made to reflect genuine concerns and inadequacies – to improve the main initiatives, rather than just can them.

On Thursday, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, introduced into parliament his omnibus bill to legislate the major elements of his budget. It neatly glues the changes to capital gains, negative gearing and trusts together with the tax cuts for millions of workers.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor’s budget reply promise to remove social security rights from permanent residents diminishes social cohesion with a crude decoupling of small ‘c’ from large ‘C’ citizenship.

There are populists peddling cheap slogans and promising an easy fix, but all they offer is nostalgia, hatred and protest ... They are the problem, blaming us for the answer.