A national people’s convention on constitutional recognition for Indigenous people could be the circuit breaker the drifting issue needs, writes Paul Kildea.
As Tony Abbott arrives in the US for his first face-to-face meeting with Barack Obama, his failure to learn from the past on climate change could cause yet another diplomatic bungle, warns Christian Downie.
Science suggests winking is an inherently ambiguous gesture and context makes all the difference to interpretation, as Prime Minister Tony Abbott has discovered.
If Australia's defence planners can clearly identify the types of conflicts that are likeliest to engage the ADF, then the 2015 white paper should deliver an affordable and capable defence force, writes Alan Dupont.
By abolishing the independent monitor of Australia's anti-terrorism laws, the Abbott government is choosing to ignore evidence of how far the laws overreach, writes George Williams. VIDEO
The historical record shows that no party has a monopoly on human rights reform. It also shows that every government has, at some point, deserved criticism for breaching human rights, argues George Williams.
A review of the defence department is a herculean task and its success relies on challenging vested interests and institutional inertia by establishing an independent inquiry with a broad remit, writes Alan Dupont.