Queen Elizabeth II at 90: does old age affect a monarch's ability to reign?

Apr 20, 2016 05:50 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Modern British monarchs may have it easier than their forebears but strength, intelligence and a hearty constitution are just as necessary today as they were in the Middle Ages. This may seem surprising. After all, as a...

US Election Series

Clinton wins New York, but fight for the Democratic Party's soul goes on

Apr 20, 2016 05:37 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

A fractious New York primary has given Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump the clear victories they badly needed to end any perception that the wheels may be coming off their campaigns. Trumps win will give him a desperately...

Nature is neglected in this election campaign – at its and our own peril

Apr 19, 2016 06:39 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

The electioneering has begun. In a campaign set to be dominated by economic issues, the Coalition and Labor are locking horns over who can best manage our finances, protect jobs and make housing more affordable. The Greens...

Balancing the budget mantra overlooks benefits of infrastructure spending

Apr 19, 2016 05:04 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy Politics

When the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) recently released its recommendations on how the government should balance the budget, it prefaced it with the statement No economic problem in Australia is...

The argumentum ad whingeum: an idea whose time can't pass quick enough

Apr 19, 2016 04:39 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

The marketplace of ideas is usually less a showroom for shiny new models and more of a cheery Op Shop. So its a big deal when a genuinely new argument is spotted in the wild even, or perhaps especially, when it comes from...

Scottish election 2016: six things you need to know

Apr 18, 2016 14:24 pm UTC| Politics

You might be wondering if it is worth paying attention to the Scottish election, which will be held on May 5. The result certainly looks a foregone conclusion: the ruling SNP will form a majority government for another...

With Dilma Rousseff impeached, Brazil is set for years of political turmoil

Apr 18, 2016 13:15 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

The lower house of Brazils National Congress has voted overwhelmingly to impeach President Dilma Rousseff for allegedly covering up the scale of the countrys budget deficit, sending the case to the upper house. As the vote...