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…

The man behind the Nationals’ leadership spill

Colin Boyce is a Nationals MP from Central Queensland. He represents a huge swathe of land stretching from Bundaberg to Rockhampton – and as he’s travelled around his electorate, he’s been confronted by the looming threat of One Nation. Colin is so dismayed about the split of the Coalition, he’s c…

Treason, coup plots and corruption: Behind Xi’s military purge

Xi Jinping has just sacked his top military general – putting him under investigation and accusing him of “grave violations of discipline and the law”. It’s the latest, and most stunning sacking in a massive purge of the country’s military and political elite. With China’s People's Liberation Arm…

Trump's ICE crackdown in Minneapolis

Minneapolis has become the focal point of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, as he tries to round up and deport 10 million people from the country.  As the city’s residents have fought back against ICE’s often violent arrests, protests have intensified. In just three weeks, two American citizen…

How AI is draining Australia’s green power

In 2019, a new venture in the Australian outback looked set to export our solar power to the world – upending our neighbours’ reliance on fossil fuels. Backed by the billionaires Mike Cannon-Brookes and Andrew Forrest – Sun Cable was supposed to be Australia’s largest ever renewable energy project…