ON 30 SEPTEMBER last year the Australian Navy intercepted a boat off the coast of Western Australia and took the twelve Middle-Eastern asylum seekers on board to Christmas Island. These individuals who had made their way from Indonesia were the first unauthorised boat arrivals of the Rudd government era. Since then several more boats carrying...

IMAGINE THE OUTCRY if Fair Work Australia decided that the minimum wage had to be increased so every family could afford a huge $4000 fridge, the latest wide screen TV, extensive travel and a flutter on the pokies. Business would condemn the Rudd government’s new industrial relations body as a throwback to the bad old...

Well-known media blogger and journalist, Margaret Simons, herself wrestling with the challenges of adapting to novel demands and opportunities, tells Peter Clarke there is no turning back now to the old one-to-many model of news journalism.

Lawrence Springborg has a glimpse of the summit, but the polls suggest he won't get there this time, writes Brian Costar.

Black Saturday seared itself into the history books and the memories of many on 7 February 2009. Understanding the inevitability of devastating fires is essential for local communities and policy makers, historian Tom Griffiths tells Peter Clarke.