The agreement hammered out in Brussels on Friday creates fresh uncertainty and renewed danger for refugees It would be easy to lose count of the European Council meetings convened in recent months to devise a concerted response to the arrival of refugees in Europe. Each of them ended either inconclusively or with resolutions that weren’t...

Defence and economics mix in ways that aren’t considered by military strategists ONE OF the convictions that drives military policy in the developed world is a shared belief in the importance of keeping sea lanes open. For the authors of Australia’s white paper on defence, released to a generally favourable reaction earlier this month, freedom...

It’s not too late for Malcolm Turnbull to regain some of the ground he’s lost on tax. Labor’s plan shows why he can’t afford to dodge it THE LAST fortnight has been a bitter one for many Australians who wanted to see Malcolm Turnbull succeed as prime minister. His first weeks in power felt like...

New Zealanders living in Australia have been given a new way of becoming citizens. But only some of them stand to benefit “WHAT the new policy does is penalise New Zealanders engaged in low-paid work. The ‘occupation matrix’ in the Department of Employment ’s annual overview of the labour market, Australian Jobs 2015, shows that...

Ipsos and Newspoll have brought bad news for the government, but both parties would be wise to stay calm WHAT to make of today’s Newspoll, which has the parties level after preferences at 50 per cent each? It follows a closer-than-usual 52–48 Ipsos poll in Fairfax papers last week and a general narrowing since late...