Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull may come to regret his bold statement that Barnaby Joyce is "qualified to sit in the house and the High Court will so hold", writes George Williams.
Businesses seem confident, consumers less so, China trade slows, Australian housing finance flattens, and the US economy is growing but remains hard to call, writes Richard Holden.
The Turnbull government’s decision to put the Australian Bureau of Statistics in charge of a voluntary postal plebiscite on same-sex marriage has left many scratching their heads, writes Paul Kildea.
The only explicable reason for the government's plebiscite policy – in all its forms – is to frustrate the move to same-sex marriage, writes George Williams.
Concerns have been raised about whether Australia adequately protects human rights given multiple reports of abuses, including mistreatment of juvenile detainees, write George Williams and Daniel Reynolds.
UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston will outline how extreme inequality and poverty violate human rights when he delivers a free public lecture at UNSW on Thursday 10 August.
Debates about freedom of speech, privacy, anti-terror laws and ASIO powers make George Williams’ book urging a national charter of rights more timely than ever.
Gail Kelly, former Westpac CEO, has donated $1 million and her skills and experience as a business leader and mentor to UNSW for an international exchange program with South Africa.
