One of the basic human drives is to find out more about ourselves and the world in which we live. This desire for knowledge goes back to the birth of civilisation, but it is only in relatively recent centuries that a modern scientific approach has developed
The banging of drums, ringing chants and a scarlet Australian flag. In Melbourne’s CBD, few people spare the image a second glance; some, like me, are slightly annoyed at the tram delay, but it’s just another Saturday. Another Saturday, another anti-vaxxer protest
Australian architects of the twentieth century were bound by a common thread — the search for a national style and identity. During the post-war period, immigration and mass production meant the formation of new communities and aesthetics that represented both a rebellion against conformism and a gateway to pluralism
In modern Australia there is a rich tapestry of family types that has been weaved from the social and cultural diversity that makes this country a privileged place to live. When viewed in contrast to the chaotic diaspora in which many families around the world strive to live, nay exist in a struggle for freedom and opportunity, this embroidered tableau of variety richly serves the cultural milieu in which Australian families can thrive
In September 2007, IBT Education Limited, Australia’s only stock market-listed provider of higher education, held its annual general meeting. Investors had every reason to be pleased. Profits were $54 million, a very healthy surplus on takings of $283 million. IBT Education had recorded a higher revenue than 13 public universities
Affordable housing of a reasonable standard is crucial to a country and its people. Without it, people are impoverished, families and communities eroded, jobs lost, the economy weakened and the environment damaged. Australia is facing a creeping crisis of housing affordability, often accompanied by deteriorating transport systems and poor urban planning
Back in the olden days, just before the internet was invented, there was a clear demarcation between journalism and advertising. The journalism brought in the readers, who consumed the ads, which paid for the journalism. It was simple. Life was good. Reporters had jobs and media proprietors were absurdly wealthy. Nowadays, in this era of digital disruption, everything is blurred
The case for public funding of scientific and technological research in Australia, as in most countries in the world, is generally regarded as self-evident and axiomatic. Without sustained and curiosity-driven research, as everyone knows, bridges might well fall down, cheap fuels remain undiscov- ered, new viruses spread unchecked from country to country
Alcohol and drugs: Why do people take them, what do they hope to get out of taking them? Why do things go wrong sometimes? How do people get into trouble? The history of substance use in Australia is rich and colourful. White Australia was settled with our first soldiers, the Rum Corps, being paid in alcohol
At the New News conference at the Wheeler Centre in Melbourne in October 2015, run under the auspices of the Centre for Advancing Journalism at Melbourne University, I chaired a session on the various ways in which organisations and individuals are using social media to reach audiences