Lethal injections and the tragedy of America's execution addiction

Jun 03, 2016 08:19 am UTC| Insights & Views Life Law

It began in Utah back in 1977. On January 17 of that year, Gary Gilmore became the first man to be executed in the US for more than a decade, ending a national moratorium on the death penalty. Gilmore, guilty of murdering...

Briferendum Series

Forget Brexit – austerity is far worse for the UK economy

Jun 03, 2016 08:15 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The weight of opinion holds that leaving the European Union would be costly for Britain. The latest forecast, from the respected Institute for Fiscal Studies, predicts that austerity measures such as cuts in public...

The trolley dilemma: would you kill one person to save five?

Jun 03, 2016 08:14 am UTC| Insights & Views Life

Imagine you are standing beside some tram tracks. In the distance, you spot a runaway trolley hurtling down the tracks towards five workers who cannot hear it coming. Even if they do spot it, they wont be able to move out...

Tax-free super is intergenerational theft

Jun 03, 2016 08:10 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

A number of politicians have struggled this week to explain the Turnbull Governments proposed changes to superannuation. Given the complexity of the area, thats not surprising. And this complexity explains why...

Humility’s value for democracy in dark times

Jun 03, 2016 08:07 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Surveying the world in 2016, it is hard not to get the feeling that it is starting to come apart at the seams. The civil war drags on in Syria, with a range of external actors willing to engage enough to perpetuate the...

Computing gives an artist new tools to be creative

Jun 03, 2016 07:51 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

The greatest tool of artists is their imagination but it is limited by their knowledge (try imagining something you dont know). But the diversity computing offers may address this problem. For the creative artist,...

What is the temporary deficit levy and why was it introduced?

Jun 03, 2016 07:48 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy

The temporary deficit levy might be here to stay if Labor is elected. The tax, which targets the wealthy, was actually introduced by the Coalition in 2014 as a means of reducing the budget deficit. The levy is a 2%...