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Kate Macdonald

Associate Professor, Political Science, The University of Melbourne
I joined the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne in January 2009. Before coming to Melbourne, I did my DPhil in the Department of International Development at Oxford (jointly supervised in the Department of Politics and International Relations), and I worked as a Fellow of Government (Global Politics) at the London School of Economics and Political Science, a Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the Australian National University and a Research Officer at the Department of Politics and International Relations at Oxford University.

My research focuses on transnational governance and accountability systems, especially in relation to transnational business regulation, and accountability in the international development sector. I have conducted research and consultancy work on these topics for a range of Australian and international organisations including the Forest Stewardship Council, Amnesty International, ActionAid Australia, Oxfam Australia and the UK’s Corporate Responsibility Coalition, and I am currently on the advisory board of the Jubilee Australia Research Foundation.

Economy

Wall Street Falls as Oil Prices Rise and Tech Stocks Slide

Wall Street stocks declined for a second consecutive session on Thursday as rising oil prices, Treasury market volatility, and concerns over OpenAIs revenue outlook weighed on investor sentiment. At 13:07 ET, the SP 500...

Oil Prices Trim Gains After Trump Rules Out Iran Strikes Before Midterms

Oil prices reduced earlier gains on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Washington would not launch military strikes against Iran before the November 3 midterm elections, easing concerns over further...

Iran Refuses to Halt Uranium Enrichment Amid US Nuclear Demands

Iran has reaffirmed its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment or surrender its uranium stockpile, escalating tensions with the United States as diplomatic efforts continue to end the ongoing conflict and reopen the Strait...

Gold Prices Rise as Hormuz Tensions Fuel Inflation Risks

Gold prices moved higher on Thursday, recovering from their lowest level since early August as renewed tensions around the Strait of Hormuz increased concerns over energy supplies and inflation. Expectations that the...

Oil Prices Rise as Gulf Hurricane and Middle East Supply Risks Mount

Oil prices climbed on Thursday as traders assessed potential supply disruptions from a strengthening storm along the U.S. Gulf Coast and persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude futures for December...

Politics

US Suspends Microsoft, Adobe From Green Card Program

The U.S. government has suspended Microsoft, Adobe, and several major IT companies from a federal employment-based green card program as the Trump administration intensifies scrutiny of foreign worker hiring practices....

EU Rejects Italy, Greece Calls for Fiscal Rule Flexibility

The European Commission has rejected requests from Italy and Greece to ease EU fiscal rules as rising energy prices fuel inflation and increase pressure on government budgets. Brussels warned that repeatedly adjusting...

US Pressures Allies to Distance From Anti-Disinformation Conference

The US State Department urged Canada and European allies to distance themselves from an anti-disinformation conference after organizers included a panel examining whether the United States poses an information manipulation...

Hegseth Praises USS Abraham Lincoln Crew After Record Iran War Deployment

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth praised sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on Wednesday as the aircraft carrier completed an extended wartime deployment marked by intense combat operations and concerns over crew...

Tsai Warns of China’s Sustained Pressure on Taiwan

Former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen warned a U.S. audience on Wednesday that China is maintaining sustained pressure on Taiwan through military, cyber and economic activities designed to reshape the islands security...

Science

Blue Origin New Glenn Explosion Could Delay Launch Operations Until 2028

Blue Origin is facing a significant setback after a dramatic explosion involving its New Glenn rocket severely damaged a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. According to NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, repairs to the...

Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions

Blue Origin suffered a major setback after its uncrewed New Glenn rocket exploded during a launch pad test in Florida on Thursday, raising new challenges for Jeff Bezos space company as it competes with Elon Musks SpaceX...

SpaceX Delays Starship V3 Launch Ahead of Potential Record IPO

SpaceX on Thursday postponed the highly anticipated launch of its 12th Starship rocket test from Texas after technical issues interrupted the final countdown. The company now plans to attempt the Starship V3 launch again...

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

Technology

OpenAI Annualized Revenue Hits $50 Billion, Below Earlier Estimates

OpenAIs annualized revenue reached approximately $50 billion by the end of September 2026, significantly below the $70 billion previously reported to investors, according to financial documents reviewed by the Financial...

Oracle Uses Trucked Natural Gas to Power AI Data Centers Amid Pipeline Delays

Oracle Corp. is transporting natural gas by truck to several data centers across the United States as delays in pipeline construction threaten the companys artificial intelligence infrastructure expansion plans, Bloomberg...

Apple Names Steve Smith M&A Chief in Leadership Shakeup

Apple Inc. is making significant changes to its executive leadership, appointing Steve Smith as its new head of mergers and acquisitions (MA) as the technology giant continues restructuring its management team under newly...

Anthropic Launches Claude Dashboards and Motion AI Tools

Anthropic has introduced two new artificial intelligence tools, Claude Dashboards and Claude Motion, expanding its workplace productivity offerings as competition intensifies among AI companies seeking to attract business...

Jameson Lopp Downplays AI Threat to Bitcoin Cryptography

Bitcoin developer and Casa co-founder Jameson Lopp has challenged growing concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) could soon break cryptocurrency encryption, arguing that the industry is focusing on hypothetical...