OPINION

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Is the focus on NAPLAN’s ‘top’ schools a good idea?

Parents and the community can see how schools performed in absolute terms and how their students performed compared to other students with a similar background.

Australian economic growth is solid but not spectacular. Rate cuts are off the table

The September quarter national accounts was the final major data release before the Reserve Bank’s meeting on 8–9 December.

An agenda for anti-corruption research in the Pacific

More research on such “islands of integrity” could illuminate strategies that work.

Many super funds are still failing retirees, even as millions prepare to stop work

For a growing number of Australians, this failure isn’t a future problem – it’s affecting their lives right now.

GNDI: a new approach to measuring economic performance in the Pacific

Economists agree this is the better measure but in most countries the difference between GDP and GNDI is minuscule.

Is Australia in a youth crime crisis? Here’s what the numbers say

These numbers are not at the level to sustain an argument for a crisis in youth crime, despite the high-profile media attention.

The key academic skill you’ve probably never heard of – and 4 ways to encourage it

When parents think about their child’s education, they probably focus on basic skills and exam results, the amount a child is trying and their wellbeing.

Sussan Ley talks about ‘Australian values’ in assessing migrants. What exactly does that mean?

Ley’s comments came in the wake of the case of civil engineer Matthew Gruter, a South African national who moved to Australia in 2022 on a work-sponsored visa.

The Hong Kong high-rise fire shows how difficult it is to evacuate in an emergency

This makes it one of Hong Kong’s deadliest building fires in living memory, and already the worst since the Garley Building fire in 1996.

From ancient class rule to Pauline Hanson’s stunt: why the burqa is not “essential in Islam”

Neither the Qur’an nor the earliest Muslim sources specifically require women to cover their faces or wear garments like the Afghan-style burqa or Gulf-style niqab.

Must-read

Australia partners with Indian cricket legend Kapil Dev to launch mental health initiative

“About the relationship between Australia and India, the governments are working very hard. For what Australia is doing for the Indian community there, I’d like to say thanks on behalf of them,”

Australia reaches 28 million people as migration drives growth, with one new resident every 75 seconds

The ABS estimates the population rose from 27.59 million in 2025 to 28.09 million in 2026, an increase of 491,743 people.

Victoria Police investigating targeted shooting in Melbourne’s north

The offender is described as a male wearing a black hooded jumper, black face mask or balaclava, black tracksuit pants
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