The MAGA billionaires taking over TikTok

TikTok is the most influential media platform for Australians under the age of 25. It’s where millions get their news – whether they realise it or not. But TikTok is no longer just a cultural force. A Trump-aligned group of investors has taken over its American operations, aimed at keeping China a…

Is now the time for Albo to be bold?

This week Australians were hit with another reminder that the cost-of-living crisis isn’t over, and that the government's room to move is narrowing fast.  An interest rate rise has sharpened the pressure on Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers, just as a federal budget looms. The government is now fo…

Is the Israeli President's visit a "bad mistake"?

In the wake of the Bondi terror attack, the Prime Minister invited Israeli President Isaac Herzog to Australia, a move framed as an act of solidarity with the Jewish community.  But that visit, which begins on Sunday, is now sparking criticism, including from within the government, with a series o…

Is a New Nuclear Arms Race Brewing?

Between them, the US and Russia hold 90 per cent of the world’s nuclear firepower. But today, the New START Treaty, which limits the number of missiles and warheads in their arsenals, expires. President Putin first suspended it two years ago. Now, without a last-minute deal, it looks set to coll…

Why 'good character' references are being scrapped

For years, survivors of some of the worst crimes imaginable have been put through hell. Their perpetrators allowed to use glowing character references in court, in an effort to have their sentences reduced. But today, that’s set to change as New South Wales introduces new laws scrapping character …

Colombia, Trump and the drug war

When the US military seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, people in Colombia were left wondering if they were next. Almost immediately, Donald Trump was accusing Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, of being tied to cocaine trafficking – without providing evidence – and publicly entertainin…

The national shame of locking up 10 year olds

Australia likes to present itself as a defender of human rights. But right now, on the world stage, that reputation is being seriously questioned.  Dozens of countries have called on Australia to stop locking up children, some as young as ten, and to confront the fact that Indigenous kids make up …

Is this why we still haven’t seen gambling reform?

In Anthony Albanese’s political universe, personal relationships are everything. High on the list for Albanese is his bond with Peter V'landys, the Chair of the Australian Rugby League Commission and Chief Executive of Racing NSW. That relationship has been central to the government’s decision to…

Sean Kelly on the right’s identity crisis

The Liberal Party is locked in a very public power struggle. The Coalition has broken apart. One Nation is on the rise.  What’s emerging isn’t just a shift in support, it’s something deeper – a realignment of the conservative side of politics, with broader ramifications that we’re only beginning t…

Daniel James on the Perth pipe bomb

At Forrest Place in Boorloo (Perth), on what this country officially calls Australia Day, around 2,500 people gathered to mark Invasion Day. They listened to speakers, held banners and, for a few hours, took up civic space in the way protest is meant to: visibly, peacefully, together. Then, from a…