Federal Court dispatches Sofronoff empty-handed
The Federal Court has again shown itself to be a brutal arena for rebuilding reputations. In Justice Walter Sofronoff’s case, the court has backed the Integrity Commission’s conclusion of serious corrupt conduct.
Recent articles in Our Top Five Each Week
12 December 2025
What didn't happen in 2025
As leaders promised change at home and abroad, 2025 was shaped less by decisive action than by stalled reforms, broken assurances and opportunities left untouched.
12 December 2025
Why the Vatican’s latest word on women deacons has angered reformers
A newly released Vatican document on women deacons has sparked anger among Catholic reformers, revealing deep resistance to change, clericalism, and the marginalisation of women in church leadership.
10 December 2025
2025 in Review: immigration policy turns back toward dog whistles and drift
2025 marked a turning point in Australian immigration policy, as long-term planning was abandoned and discriminatory rhetoric returned to the political mainstream.
10 December 2025
Australia’s social media ban puts free speech on the chopping block
Australia’s social media ban for under-16s is being sold as a protection for children, but it raises serious questions about free speech, democratic participation and the perverse effects of prohibition.
10 December 2025
Too many states, too little nation: time to fix the federation
Australia’s federal system was designed for the nineteenth century. Today it produces duplication, dysfunction and state parochialism that frustrate national governance and reform.
9 December 2025
Australia’s cost-of-living crisis has a housing problem
Cost-of-living pressures dominate political debate, but the sharpest strain is not falling incomes. It is housing costs, particularly for first-home buyers, fuelled by stagnant productivity and chronic undersupply where people want to live.
9 December 2025
Writing as resistance in a year that refused to slow down
After a dizzying year of global upheaval, this reflection looks back on writing as resistance – against war, media failure, imperial power and silence – and why truth-telling still matters heading into 2026.
8 December 2025
Marles’ Defence overhaul raises an awkward question: why AUKUS at all?
Australia’s new Defence Delivery Agency may finally expose an uncomfortable truth – that Australia already has formidable deterrent capabilities through the Royal Australian Air Force and emerging drone systems, making the AUKUS submarine commitment both risky and unnecessary.
5 December 2025
Words or action? Dreyfus and human rights at home
Mark Dreyfus has been appointed Australia’s special envoy on human rights. Is the government prepared to match international advocacy with concrete action at home – by finally legislating a Human Rights Act?
5 December 2025
How media coverage helps normalise the far right
Media coverage does more than report on the far right. Through language choices, sensationalism and false balance, journalism can help shift racist politics into the mainstream.
5 December 2025
Trump’s drug war on Venezuela reeks of hypocrisy
Donald Trump’s campaign against Venezuela is less about drugs than power, exposing deep hypocrisy in US policy and raising uncomfortable questions for Australia about its alliance.
Catch up on other sections
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21 November 2025
Assessing the Liberal Party's policy-making capacity
19 November 2025
Working with PM Fraser - the changeover - Part 1
13 November 2025
ASIO's Mike Burgess and a lust for the limelight
