Opinion
Opinion
Barry Jones
Barry Jones, still hauling around his loaded cart of knowledge
Barry Jones has devoted his life to learning. At 88, he is still revising his magnum opus: the 910,000-word Dictionary of World Biography.
- by Tony Wright
Latest
Opinion
Dyson Heydon
A single question reverberates throughout the Dyson Heydon affair
Just as accused sexual harassers seems to follow a pattern, so too does the protection afforded them.
- by Julia Baird
Opinion
Animals
Toppling statues won't be enough to save us from the next Great Dying
If we’re serious about this tearing down of the exploiters and colonisers we need a total mindset transplant.
- by Elizabeth Farrelly
Letters
Letters
Don't forget, a privatised ABC is the Libs' goal
Now is the time to boost funding to the ABC, not decrease it, more jobs not fewer.
Opinion
Arts
New Powerhouse not a museum but global 'embarrassment'
The art critic says the closure of the Powerhouse Museum in Ultimo will be the greatest cultural crime in Australian history.
- by John McDonald
Opinion
MyCareer
The wisdom of flexible plans
It's time to be more flexible, and not more rigid, about career planning.
- by Jim Bright
Opinion
Satire
So I went online and watched an Eckhart Tolle lecture...
Too much thinking creates unnecessary brain-baggage and we should take advantage of our current COVID-enforced stillness to clear our heads, engage with our senses, and be present to the wonders of the world.
- by Danny Katz
Opinion
Sex & relationships
Is it any wonder society is so screwed up about sex?
Herein lies the conundrum that surrounds sex today, with men being told to respect women’s rights and wants while pop culture reinforces stereotypes of women craving domination.
- by Wendy Squires
Opinion
China's Spy Secrets
Our China spy law bares its teeth with raid on Labor MP
When Australian police and intelligence action puts the national relationship with China in the dock, it's more than sensitive. It's explosive.
- by Peter Hartcher
Opinion
The Fitz Files
Only thing better than hosting the Women's World Cup would be winning it
All the attention, adulation and air-time will flow to the Matildas and the women's game as never before when Australia and New Zealand co-host the tournament in 2023.
- by Peter FitzSimons
Analysis
AFL 2020
Black lives matter: It really is that simple
Dropped into an AFL landscape awash with uncertainty, insecurity and stress the players' Black Lives Matter stand has become a lightning rod for past grievances and long-held prejudices.
- by Caroline Wilson
Opinion
ABC
It's been a devastating week for the ABC, and all Australians will suffer
Ongoing funding cuts are unsustainable for the ABC if the public broadcaster is to continue providing the high-quality media services Australians expect of it.
- by Ita Buttrose
Opinion
Sketch
Brendan Murphy, the steady Doc who became a star, makes his exit
Professor Brendan Murphy, having attended the Australian bedside for months during a pandemic, appears at his last press conference as Chief Medical Officer.
- by Tony Wright
Editorial
FIFA Women's World Cup
Women's World Cup offers a chance to rekindle pre-COVID spirit
This could be the first major sporting competition after the pandemic is brought under control.
- The Herald's View
Opinion
Review
Fallen idols: tradition of public statues now a stodgy relic
Rewrite the offensive plaques that say Captain Cook discovered Australia. We need to tell better stories about the past to instil confidence in the future.
- by John McDonald
Opinion
Aviation
Severe lay-offs on the radar as new-look Virgin rises from the ashes
Virgin's new private equity owners are set to track Qantas' job-shedding route, with the rescued airline looking to slash about 30 per cent of its 9500-strong workforce.
- by Elizabeth Knight
Analysis
Please Explain podcast
Please Explain podcast: The turbulent future of Australia's aviation industry
In this episode, national editor Tory Maguire is joined by business reporter Patrick Hatch to discuss Qantas' three-year plan to save $15 billion in costs.
- by Tory Maguire
Opinion
NRL 2020
All in all, it's just another Vic in the wall between two old foes
Isolation and the sealing of borders has led to a return of state consciousness. Shrinking horizons remind us that we are a Federation of different colonies.
- by Malcolm Knox
Opinion
WordPlay
Dictionary updates with 2020 vision
If it's June, it must be time for a burst of neologisms.
- by David Astle
Opinion
ABC
Scott Morrison is being fancy-pants in saying there are no cuts to the ABC
An adequately funded national broadcaster offers an opportunity for a different, and better, trajectory than the fractured politics of the US.
- by Margaret Simons
Opinion
Foreign investment
Foreign investors make huge profits in Australia, we should have a fair share
And the call by big business to lower the company tax rate to attract or keep foreign investment is just a try-on.
- by Ross Gittins
Analysis
AFL 2020
Why the Tigers are flagging
Its early days in a unique season but why do Richmond look so different to last year's premiership team?
- by Michael Gleeson
Opinion
Global economy
Off a cliff: India's economy has more problems than the pandemic
Don't let anyone tell you the pandemic is the main reason India's growth has cratered.
- by Mihir Sharma
Analysis
Racism
Where will Collingwood's racism investigation lead us and Lumumba?
Could this be a moment of reckoning for Collingwood as the club attempts to understand its past?
- by Peter Ryan
Opinion
FIFA Women's World Cup
With the 2023 Women's World Cup, football in Australia has a beacon
This is an opportunity to create a normal in which women footballers no longer have to fight for fairness and a voice, but that these values are self-evident.
- by Kate Gill
Opinion
Pets
When it comes to detection, leave it to the dogs
It’s your dog Clancy here, writing from the city.
- by Richard Glover
Analysis
FIFA Women's World Cup
Why the 2023 Women's World Cup is a supply ship, not a life raft
The 2023 Women's World Cup won't make Australian football rich, but it will make it happy and that can unlock its potential.
- by Dominic Bossi
Opinion
Marriage
I turned down a diamond engagement ring – then came the judgment
I hadn’t expected so much opposition to what felt like a logical position of not wasting money on a ring I didn’t need or particularly want.
- by Ashley Kalagian Blunt
Opinion
World markets
Why day trading is a dangerous game to play
Day trading might therefore be a exciting way of gambling for those who are locked inside waiting out the pandemic. But financial ruin looms.
- by Noah Smith
Opinion
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
'Annexation' is a misnomer: Israel wants a safe way to hand land to Palestinians in return for peace
Israel has legitimate claims of sovereignty in the West Bank, but it wants to negotiate most of it away - but first it needs Palestinians to come to the negotiating table.
- by Gregory Rose
Opinion
Smoking & vaping
Why Australia should make it as easy as possible for smokers to switch to vaping
Parliament's move to ban nicotine liquid for vapers ignores the evidence of a much-reduced risk compared with smoking cigarettes.
- by Alex Wodak
Opinion
Work in Progress
How technology damages your mental health
The greatest cause of underperformance isn’t a lack of motivation or inadequate training - it's poor mental health.
- by James Adonis
Opinion
University
Cultural cringe + market economics = lower education
The government wants to turn universities into factories turning out future workers, but can we trust it to know where the jobs will be? And while we're at it, do we settle for importing our culture?
- by Thomas Keneally
Letters
Letters
Sky's the limit on Coalition cuts to the ABC
As a news buff, nothing is as discouraging as the Coalition government's forced cuts to the ABC budget year after year after year.
Opinion
Work therapy
Educate yourself about your biases
What can I do to make a difference at work when it comes to racism?
- by Jonathan Rivett
Australia
In the Herald: June 26, 1848
The city’s slaughter-houses were a health hazard said witnesses. The Inspector of Nuisances agreed.
- by Stephanie Bull
Opinion
Black Lives Matter
The toppling of statues is a moment in history, not its erasure
Archaeologists have an unusual perspective on the dismantling of statues.
- by Hilary Gopnik and Jessie Birkett-Rees
Opinion
University
University fee changes prepare us for post-COVID opportunities
If we are to carve our own future, we will need to pivot to new market opportunities as the reliance on our resources shifts in the new energy order.
- by Katie Allen
Opinion
Coronavirus pandemic
The vicious cycle of stress and what it does to your body
Our ability to maintain equilibrium is faltering, and we're accumulating a number of unwanted behaviours that are fast becoming well-entrenched habits.
- by Linda Blair
Opinion
AFL 2020
Low-scoring footy is here to stay, and it's going to get worse
The real interest in scoring for the AFL 2020 season may well be reduced to seeing how low we can go.
- by Sam Duncan
Opinion
MyCareer Education
A most unexpected role after a decade in the theatre
From professional actor, director and writer to teacher and principal.
- by Barbara Fitzgerald
Editorial
Coronavirus pandemic
Qantas job cuts show danger of an economic hard landing
The federal government must wind back wage subsidies but replace them with public investment.
- The Herald's View
Opinion
NRL 2020
Morris brothers sparkle like fine wine – but on a beer budget
The Dragons will get a stark look at what they've lost when they line up against the Roosters on Friday night.
- by Andrew Webster
Opinion
Pension
Risk vs reward: Dilemma for retirees in low-interest world
No longer can you park your cash in a fixed-interest term deposit, sit back and enjoy the ride.
- by Stephen Miles
Analysis
Please Explain podcast
Please Explain podcast: Why is the ABC being restructured?
In this episode, national editor Tory Maguire is joined by media and telecommunications reporter Zoe Samios to discuss the ABC's cost-saving measures announced yesterday.
- by Tory Maguire
Opinion
AFL 2020
Did the Pies learn from preliminary final loss? It's time to find out
Collingwood's Friday night clash with the Giants is an important step in banishing any mental demons, not just for the club but for individuals.
- by Wayne Carey
Opinion
Gen Z
Plot twist: Millennials are getting the 'OK Boomer' treatment from Gen Z
Millennials are suddenly being forced to reckon with the realisation that they are losing their stronghold on being at the forefront of culture and that to Zoomers, they are practically the Cryptkeeper.
- by Jenna Guillaume
Opinion
Coronavirus pandemic
No country is an island in the COVID collapse
Welcome to the first truly global recession of the modern era.The corona downturn disrespects national borders and is contemptuous of differences between regions and levels of economic development.
- by Daniel Moss
Opinion
Energy
NSW's bullish coal export plan defies the global market realities
The world is turning off coal-fired power, so the NSW government's optimism that thermal coal has a bright future is baffling.
- by Simon Nicholas