news
politics
business October 24, 2020
What went wrong inside Australia Post?
The mail carrier’s chief executive has been asked to stand aside after revelations of luxury watches gifted to executives, but the company is facing much deeper crises.
economy October 24, 2020
Probe into Western Sydney airport land deal
A scathing audit of the Infrastructure Department’s purchase of land for the Western Sydney airport has led to an AFP investigation. But this is only the latest controversy in a long history of scandals relating to the Badgerys Creek site.
law & crime October 24, 2020
Failures of the criminal justice system
As politicians play a tough-on-crime game to win votes, pushing Australia’s incarceration rates ever upwards, an initiative led by high-profile patrons aims to reform the justice system and end a narrow-minded reliance on prison sentences.
health October 24, 2020
Victoria’s hotel quarantine inquiry
While Victoria’s hotel quarantine inquiry has been marked by the poor recall of some politicians and senior bureaucrats, the seeds of disaster were likely sown several governments ago.
immigration October 17, 2020
Exclusive: War on refugees moves to final phase onshore
Without warning, the government has removed all support from hundreds of refugees in community detention – denying them housing and income support.
environment September 19, 2020
Gas plan locks in decades of high emissions, experts warn
While the prime minister’s newly announced gas funding is politically useful – soothing the Coalition backbench and wedging Labor – it will imperil Australia’s climate targets.
health September 19, 2020
The collapse of aged care (part two)
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted two decades of aged-care mismanagement, but at the heart of the sector is a pyramid scheme that exposes the taxpayer to billions in liability.
health September 19, 2020
As more than 25,000 Australians wait for the chance to return home, at least one legal expert says the travel restrictions may breach the constitutional rights of citizens.
health September 12, 2020
Leaked Sutton call reveals failures in contact tracing
Exclusive: In a private briefing, Victoria’s chief health officer has contradicted the premier on the state’s failing contact tracing system and highlighted issues with the massive outsourcing of the response to private companies.
health September 12, 2020
Vaccine trials and tribulations
As the pause in Oxford University’s Covid-19 vaccine trials reminds the public of the realities of medical research, the Morrison government has locked in 84 million doses of this and a second vaccine.
health September 12, 2020
The collapse of aged care (part one)
As the royal commission prepares findings that will likely recommend a return to an earlier system of aged care, the crisis in the sector can be linked to Howard-era reforms that stoked greed and lowered care standards, and have been worsened by successive governments.
