The government wants to contain NDIS growth. But ineligible people with disability also need support

| Insights & Views

Ensuring the provision of high quality disability services will pose a significant challenge for the Albanese governments second term. The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) cost A$43.9 billion in 202324 and is...

RBA cuts interest rates, ready to respond again if the economy weakens further

| Insights & Views

The Reserve Bank of Australia cut the official interest rate for the second time this year, as it lowered forecasts for Australian economic growth and pointed to increasing uncertainty in the world economy. The bank...

The Coalition is on a break, but the Nationals risk finding their former partner doesn’t want them back

| Insights & Views

In the weeks since the federal election, theres been much speculation about the future of the Coalition agreement. In their soul-searching, it seemed possible the Liberals might pull the pin, given the degree of their...

Victorian budget has cash to splash on health, transport but new levies, job cuts, rising debt signal pain ahead

| Insights & Views

There was not a lot of cheer in the media reporting ahead of the 2025/6 Victorian budget released on Wednesday. Debt and deficits dominated the coverage. All eyes turned to new treasurer, Jaclyn Symes, to see if in her...

The band is breaking up: has the Coalition stopped making sense?

| Insights & Views

I remember seeing footage, several years ago, of a jubilant Malcolm Turnbull, then prime minister and Liberal leader, speaking in Tamworth to loyal members of the National Party. These were the rank and file who had spent...

Ancient pollen reveals stories about Earth’s history, from the asteroid strike that killed the dinosaurs to the Mayan collapse

| Insights & Views

If you are sneezing this spring, you are not alone. Every year, plants release billions of pollen grains into the air, specks of male reproductive material that many of us notice only when we get watery eyes and runny...

An 18th-century rebellion for liberty, equality and freedom − not in France or the United States, but Ireland

| Insights & Views

Shortly before midnight on May 23, 1798, highwaymen just north of Dublin intercepted and set on fire a mail coach headed to Belfast. It was the signal meant to ignite revolution across all Ireland. At the time, Ireland was...