South African court frees cannabis from colonial and apartheid past
Sep 24, 2018 06:54 am UTC| Insights & Views Law
A ruling by the South African Constitutional Court opens the way for decriminalising private use of cannabis, locally known as dagga. It marks a definitive shift in a century of notoriously punitive drug policy, recognised...
Influence in Australian politics needs an urgent overhaul – here's how to do it
Sep 24, 2018 06:53 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
Public policy should be made for all Australians not just those with the resources or connections to lobby and influence politicians. And mostly it is. But sometimes bad policy is made or good policy is dropped because...
Labour: why Jeremy Corbyn still struggles to turn his dream of a social movement into reality
Sep 24, 2018 06:51 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
During his 2016 leadership campaign Jeremy Corbyn spoke to a packed meeting of supporters. We are a social movement, he said. Corbyn has certainly overseen a transformation of the Labour Party. From fewer than 200,000...
Labor leads 54-46% in Newspoll that shows slight improvement for government
Sep 24, 2018 06:44 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics
The government would be trounced at an election held now, although the Coalition has clawed back slightly in the past fortnight and Scott Morrison has improved his lead as better prime minister, according to the latest...
Big Tobacco’s opposition to plain packaging is spin, not substance
Sep 24, 2018 06:42 am UTC| Insights & Views Business
No matter how you look at it, a standardized cigarette pack is ugly. The colours are unappealing, the font bland and the large graphic health warnings gruesome. Thats why standardized packaging is such an effective public...
The Catholic Church is a rich male collective
Sep 24, 2018 06:41 am UTC| Insights & Views Life
Im a typical sociologist, meaning I am skeptical about religion and human spirituality. Although I attended Catholic Church as a small child, I could see the hypocrisy, even as a child. I rejected that religion at an early...
Why life insurance companies want your Fitbit data
Sep 24, 2018 06:40 am UTC| Insights & Views Health Technology
I recently predicted that health data from electronic sources could soon be compiled into a health or wellness report and shared with insurance companies to help them determine who theyll cover. And now John Hancock,...