The latest annual taxation statistics from the ATO reveal that the gender pay gap remains very real and spans almost every occupation. Once we remove the 34 occupations where 10 or fewer men or women work (which distorts the averages), men have a higher average salary in 96% of the remaining 1,067 occupations.
It isn’t always easy to keep up with what’s happening in the US. “Shorter America” is a series where Dr Emma Shortis loops you in on what’s going on in America and shares news and analysis that you can trust.
How well have you kept up with the week's stories? Take the quiz and find out.
Australia’s total foreign aid budget was $5.097 billion in 2025-6. According to Animal Medicines Australia’s major survey and study of pet ownership, Australians spent $21 billion on their animals in the year to March 2025.
A star Socceroo has delivered a powerful message to the world about multiculturalism, diversity and the contribution of refugees, ahead of Australia’s next game at the football World Cup. Adelaide-based winger Awer Mabil, one of four Socceroos who came to Australia as refugees before finding their way into the national soccer team, spoke to journalists in the build-up to the clash with co-hosts the USA on Saturday.
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It might surprise people to realise just how little a majority of Australians earn. We are often told about average earnings and even average full-time earnings. But averages are not “the middle”. They are merely the sum of all earnings by all people working in Australia divided by the number of those workers.
In 2023-24, according to the ATO, 90 Australians who earned more than $1m in income paid no tax. The figures also reveal that the changes in the budget targeting the reductions in the discount for capital gains tax and trusts are very much affecting the richest Australians.
Despite the backing of its own review into firearm laws and Victorian police, the State Government has refused to crack down on gun ownership.
Public education advocate Jane Caro has warned Australia’s education system is on a ‘disastrous’ path, arguing the nation’s school funding system is driving growing inequality and segregation. Ms Caro said successive governments had spent decades 'turbocharging' the divide between advantaged and disadvantaged students.
The Greens have backed the Australia Institute’s call for a national plebiscite on taxing gas exports, with leader Larissa Waters urging voters to remind the Prime Minister “who his real boss is”.
The Conservation Council of WA (CCWA) has called for major environmental reforms, warning Western Australia's biodiversity is under growing threat as more than 128,000 hectares of native vegetation is subject to clearing applications. According to CCWA’s newly released report, WA has already lost 16 flora species and 23 fauna species to extinction.
The destruction of a historic raintree in Cairns has reignited calls for governments to recognise urban greenery as an essential public health measure. After months of campaigning and a discontinued legal challenge, devastated locals watched on as the tree was cut down on Tuesday.
The United States and Iran have signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending their conflict in the Middle East, but fears remain that a frustrated President Donald Trump could soon turn his attention to Cuba.
Former foreign minister Gareth Evans has described AUKUS as “one of the worst defence and foreign policy decisions” in Australia’s history, telling a public inquiry the submarine project may never be delivered and will “profoundly limit” the country’s freedom to make its own strategic decisions.
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You have probably read that Elon Musk is the world’s first trillionaire. This makes him the richest person in the world. But, does it also make him richer than most nations? Some parts of the Australian media seem to think it does.
The start of the FIFA World Cup would normally be a travel boom for the host countries. The impact of Donald Trump’s regime and the operations of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents has, however, led to numerous reports that travel to the USA (which co-hosts the World Cup with Canada and Mexico) is well below expectations.
