Category: The Conversation

One of the most dominant premiers in recent Australian political history, Mark McGowan, has resigned as Western Australian premier and the member for Rockingham. Put simply, McGowan has dominated WA politics since becoming premier in March 2017. His Labor Party holds 53 of 59 seats in the Legislative Assembly, and

Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP/AAPCongress appears to be on the cusp of passing legislation that would not only avoid an unprecedented US government default – and economic catastrophe – but also provide some much-needed political stability in Washington. Both Republicans and Democrats are claiming victory in the deal and

Aaron Bunch/AAPWestern Australian Premier Mark McGowan has announced he is quitting as premier and leaving parliament. In a shock announcement, McGowan told a news conference in Perth on Monday he had “loved the role.[…] But the truth is I’m tired, extremely tired – in fact I’m exhausted.

“We in the media must ask if we are truly honouring a world worth living in. Too often we are the poison in the bloodstream of our society.” So said the Indigenous journalist, academic and Q+A host Stan Grant last week, explaining his decision to take a break from the

Last Judgement – Michelangelo (c.1541): the image used for the cover of Harold Bloom’s The Western Canon. Wikimedia Commons.Joshua Cohen’s ribald campus novel The Netanyahus (2021), winner of the Pulitzer Prize, is set during the winter of 1959-60. It depicts Ben-Zion Netanyahu, father of the current Israeli Prime Minister, during

Report locations from people who felt the Sunbury earthquake on May 28. Geoscience AustraliaLast night at 11:41pm local time, the greater Melbourne region was shaken by a magnitude 4.0 earthquake – as calculated by the Seismology Research Centre – centred near Sunbury, approximately 30km north of the CBD. Geoscience Australia

Pexels/Andres Ayrton, CC BYWhen people decide it’s time to lose weight, they’re usually keen to see quick results. Maybe they have an event coming up or want relief from health problems and discomfort. But expert guidelines typically recommend slower weight loss for the treatment of obesity. This

Milton Moon in his studio in Tarragindi, Queensland, 1966, photo: John McKay, Milton Moon archive Milton Moon (1926-2019) was not your regular potter. He was deeply imbued with Zen Buddhism and once said each vessel is a container for thoughts, “a fundamental expression of life’s forces”. His work produced

Getty ImagesWhen the National Party’s transport spokesperson, Simeon Brown, questioned the logic of bilingual traffic signs, he seemed to echo his leader Christopher Luxon’s earlier misgivings about the now prevalent use of te reo Māori in government departments. Genuine concern or political signalling in an election year? After

Ali Unal/APRecep Tayyib Erdogan will remain president of Turkey for another five years after winning Sunday’s run-off election over his long-time rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. If he serves the full five-year term, he will have held power for 26 years – almost the entire history of Turkey in the

ShutterstockStray cats are a longstanding problem in Australian towns and cities. Common complaints about roaming cats include nuisance (fighting and urinating), disease risks to humans and other animals, and predation of native wildlife. The huge numbers of cats and kittens taken in by animal shelters and council pounds

Cheryl Axleby reads the Uluru Statement from the Heart outside South Australia’s Parliament in Adelaide on March 26, after SA becomes the first state to legislate for an Indigenous Voice. Matt Turner/AAPDoes the proposal for a Voice to Parliament prefigure a distinctive conception of democracy for Australia? A steady drumbeat