Society & Inequality
Factcheck: Do Australians 'overwhelmingly support' gun control? Yes they do.
Yes, they do. Polling surveys consistently show that Australians support strengthened gun control.
Crossbenchers ramp up pressure on Albanese government over potential NDIS cuts
Crossbenchers are ramping up pressure on the Albanese Government to come clean on planned changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), amid revelations Labor quietly established a “razor gang” to rein in costs.
Australia's gun laws need reform: tightening the "genuine reason" requirement
Recent Australia Institute research showing that perhaps 200,000 people in NSW have gun licences that they don’t need highlights a key aspect of Australia’s gun laws that has not been well implemented. To own a gun here, you need a genuine reason to. Post-Bondi, Australia’s gun laws are in the spotlight and understanding their details and history will be important if they are to be strengthened effectively.
Newcastle Uni shows how university governance is rotten in regional universities too
As a regional university, we so often escape the scrutiny applied to our metropolitan or more prestigious cousins like UTS and ANU. But the governance failures and mismanagement at the University of Newcastle (UoN) are as acute as those making the national news.
See What You Made Me Do: Foreword
This is the new foreword, written by Clare Wright, for the new updated edition of 'See What You Made Do' by Jess Hill
ANU spent $6k on a 'non-significant' meeting. Then why do they pay tutors even less for a semester?
Last year the Australian National University (ANU) was getting some bad press, so they engaged a company called Bastion Reputation to help with the media fallout from restructures and the heavily criticised leadership of its Vice Chancellor, Professor Genevieve Bell. The meeting cost $6,000, which is more than ANU paid me for a full semester of tutoring in 2023. According to a response to an FOI request, the meeting did not warrant any notetaking and was “not significant”.
Faster giving, faster change: billions in philanthropy is moving too slowly to meet the moment
Australia has more than $11 billion sitting in philanthropic funds that have already received generous tax deductions. Much of that money is intended for public good, but only a small portion is required to reach charities each year.
Private health premiums are rising, but is the system working? (spoiler: no)
This is the first of three articles examining the value private health insurance and private healthcare bring to the Australian healthcare system.
Australian universities face a governance crisis - and their communities are already building solutions
Concerns about unaccountable governance, limited transparency, high executive pay, and poor outcomes for staff wellbeing and student safety have put the Australian university sector under unprecedented scrutiny. Historian Hannah Forsyth argued that the solution is to “better connect universities to community, with more democratic internal decision-making systems”. The question is: how? The answer is already emerging from within universities themselves.
Lessons from ANU for Australia’s university governance crisis
The Australian National University (ANU) has spent the past eighteen months in a state of rolling crisis. The headline issues are now familiar. In October 2024, a large projected deficit was announced to staff. This was followed in 2025 by 'Renew ANU', a sweeping cost-cutting program that has reportedly seen over 1,000 staff leave the University.
