Analysis

The Demerge NSW Alliance is asking Labor to amend the Local Government Act to give residents in forcibly merged councils more say. Pip Hinman spoke to Brian Halstead from Save Our Councils and DNA about why the changes are important.

While concrete details remain patchy, job security is not the only troubling aspect of Premier Peter Malinauskas' decision to merge the University of Adelaide and UniSA. Binoy Kampmark reports.

 

Outsourcing its responsibility to protect citizens and shield vulnerable arrivals from harm has become a matter of dark habit for Australian governments. Binoy Kampmark reports.

Sydney housing protest

The Greens leadership is wrong to focus on getting more MPs and that its someone else’s job to do the “street heat” it knows is needed, argues Sam Wainwright. The changes we urgently need will only come from sustained extra-parliamentary mobilisations.

The RBA wants unemployment to go up

The Reserve Banks of Australia's talk about the need to “increase productivity” means less regulation and more “flexibility” for the bosses. Mary Merkenich and Pip Hinman report.

Daniel Ellsberg revealed last December that he had been the WikiLeaks “backup” for releasing the documents that were eventually published in 2010. Binoy Kampmark reports on his conversion to whistleblower and support for Julian Assange.

The Greens have shown that Labor’s Housing Australia Future Fund bill would not guarantee funding for public, social and affordable housing nor would it tackle out-of-control rent rises. Alex Bainbridge reports.

Landlords are the real zombies, constantly searching for more rent

Isaac Nellist argues that rent controls have been used around the world to deal with skyrocketing rents.

Crack downs on vape usage will drive more young people to smoke cigarettes

Budget measures to raise the tax on tobacco products are supposedly about “harm minimisation” and discouraging smoking when it’s another attack on the poor. Isaac Nellist reports. 

I am not a NIMBY: I am not against progress. There is room for more housing by repairing and adding to existing public homes. Karyn Brown gave this speech to a public housing rally.

Why all the hype about artificial intelligence? Could chatbots destroy humanity? Ernst Merkenich takes a look at the dangers of misuse, bias and inaccuracy.

Strong, organised people-powered action, not government initiatives, are the reason for the drop in countries using the death penalty. Joel MacKay reports.