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Keywords: Money

  • AUSTRALIA

    Smartphones took over the world. Can we opt out?

    • Binoy Kampmark
    • 04 February 2025

    Smartphones dictate access to commerce, communication, and even education, and face-to-face transactions have all but disappeared. Have we willingly surrendered choice for convenience? As digital payments become the norm, are those choosing to live without a smartphone excluded from modern society?

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  • ECONOMICS

    Supercharged or superficial? The tax reform Australia can't agree on

    • David James
    • 29 January 2025

    A plan to raise superannuation taxes on high-value funds has stalled in the Senate, sparking a broader debate about government control over retirement savings. Rooted in a unique system that places ownership squarely with individuals, Australia’s approach has delivered impressive returns, yet political pressures threaten to reshape its future.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    How the politics of prohibition fuelled a gang war

    • Juliette Hughes
    • 29 January 2025

    While health advocates hail falling smoking rates, Australia’s tobacco taxes have inadvertently fuelled a black market in tobacco, with small businesses and law enforcement often bearing the consequences. Policymakers now question how the social toll measures against the health gains.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Trump inaugurated

    • Peter Craven
    • 24 January 2025

    In a second presidency begun with a spate of brash decrees — annexing Greenland, scrapping birthright citizenship — and forging odd alliances with billionaires, Donald Trump is already defying expectations. How did we reach this unsettling moment, and can America endure it?

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    An Australian tourist guide in New Orleans

    • Arnold Zable
    • 24 January 2025

    Tour guides were recently added to Australia’s National Occupational Shortage list, inviting skilled overseas workers to step in. This shift brought to mind a similar journey Arnold Zable took decades ago, guiding visitors through the streets of New Orleans.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The delight and discomfort of undeserved gifts

    • Emma Wilkins
    • 18 December 2024

    Gift-giving should be a celebration of kindness, but modern rituals often entangle us in obligation and excess. From generous neighbours to Christmas present hauls, reciprocal gifts build and shape our relationships. But what does it mean to give without strings?

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Celebrating Christmas, holy and hectic

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 16 December 2024

    At Christmas, the sacred and the secular seem locked together. Amid the tinsel and toasts, there’s a deeper narrative: one of radical generosity, shared humanity, and solidarity with the marginalised. This season invites not just celebration but reflection on who we are—and who we might become.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Sanmao and the priest

    • Margaret Simons
    • 13 December 2024

    High in Taiwan’s mountains, Jesuit priest Barry Martinson found a soulmate in celebrated author Sanmao, who inspired millions with her writing. Their relationship—neither romantic nor conventional—was a profound meeting of kindred spirits, rooted in shared curiosity, literary love, and the sacrificial essence of friendship.

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    Friendship in freefall: Unpacking a crisis of civic disconnection

    • David Halliday
    • 13 December 2024

    In 2024, a fifth of Americans reported having no close friends, and the number is growing, especially among those without college degrees. So what are the societal structures behind this crisis in loneliness, and how we can rebuild meaningful connections?

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  • ECONOMICS

    The trouble with a shrinking population

    • David James
    • 11 December 2024

    BlackRock CEO Larry Fink predicts AI and shrinking populations will bring higher living standards without growth. But his optimism overlooks a critical flaw: conflating productivity, efficiency, and the true cost of 'growth.' With economic foundations shifting, the future demands a radical rethinking of capitalism’s purpose and the systems driving it.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    How the male crisis is killing women

    • Sarah Klenbort
    • 10 December 2024

    From playground shrugs to a growing male crisis, outdated ideas about masculinity fuel violence, isolation, and despair. Addressing these challenges starts with how we raise boys — teaching compassion, accountability, and the courage to truly connect.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Russell Brand: Messiah or very naughty boy?

    • Cherie Gilmour
    • 06 December 2024

    Russell Brand's conversion to Christianity has sparked fascination and skepticism. Dismissing his newfound faith as a cynical PR move, critics cite his controversial past. Yet, his public embrace of grace and redemption speaks to a restless spiritual hunger. Is this a genuine transformation or another reinvention of Brand’s ever-shifting persona?

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