Iran war exposes confusion at the heart of Australia’s foreign policy
Australia’s carefully calibrated but confusing diplomacy has struggled to cope with the political and strategic consequences of the US-Israeli war with Iran.
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16 March 2026
Australia’s fuel security crisis needs less diesel, not more refineries
Australia’s heavy reliance on imported diesel has left the economy exposed to global shocks, highlighting the need to cut demand rather than simply increase supply.
16 March 2026
Five years after March 4 Justice, women are still being killed
Five years after tens of thousands of women marched across Australia demanding action on gendered violence, the country has changed its language and policies. But the most brutal statistic – women killed by current or former partners – has not declined.
16 March 2026
Asia’s energy-reliant economies face ‘existential threat’ from prolonged Iran war
Asian economies heavily dependent on imported oil and gas face higher fuel costs, widening trade deficits and slower growth if disruption to Middle East energy flows persists.
16 March 2026
Mearsheimer on Iran: no off-ramp, no clear victory, huge global risk
In this wide-ranging discussion with Chris Hedges, political scientist John J Mearsheimer argues the US and Israel have entered a war of attrition with Iran that risks global economic shock and a strategic defeat for Washington.
16 March 2026
Allegra Spender reopens the tax debate – but the real divide is wealth, not generations
Australia’s tax debate often frames reform as a struggle between younger and older generations. But the real divide lies between wage earners and those who derive growing advantage from assets, wealth and capital income.
16 March 2026
The great discontinuity: the war on Iran marks the end of the world we knew
The war on Iran may trigger economic, geopolitical and energy disruptions that permanently alter the global order – leaving Australia dangerously exposed.
16 March 2026
Are soil carbon schemes really working?
New research suggests rainfall and climate variability may play a larger role in soil carbon increases than land management, raising questions about carbon credit schemes.
16 March 2026
Matt Canavan’s climate scepticism is a policy dead end for the Coalition
The National Party’s new leader has built his politics on climate scepticism. But rising costs, extreme weather and the accelerating energy transition make that stance increasingly difficult to sustain.
15 March 2026
After the Iran war, Gulf nations face tough decisions on the US
Iran’s attacks across the Gulf have exposed the limits of the US security umbrella and forced regional leaders to rethink how they balance relations with Washington, Tehran and their own populations.
15 March 2026
Environment: Carbon credit markets benefit the participants but not the climate
Carbon markets still promise big but deliver little, the Global North’s economic development path will not work for the Global South, an uncontrolled sale of rat poison is needlessly killing native wildlife.
15 March 2026
Iran war – controlling the narrative
Claims that groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah are simply terrorist organisations reflect a political narrative that obscures the context of occupation and resistance.
14 March 2026
Australia’s multicultural success cannot be taken for granted
Australia’s multicultural project has delivered enormous social and economic benefits, but recent governments have allowed it to drift, weakening social cohesion and leadership when it needs renewed attention most.
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