Professor Brian Schmidt, a Nobel Prize winning astronomer and physicist, addresses a number of key issues confronting Australian scientists and researchers. To what extent should science be directed and the outcomes tailored to meet the commercial needs of industry and business or are there better returns to be made from basic science where sometimes the...

Overview: To those in the advertising business, political parties are ‘brands’, like Coke or Pepsi. Whom you choose to vote for is akin to deciding which brand of toothpaste you’ll purchase. Dee Madigan has been in the ad game for 18 years and has worked on 5 ALP election campaigns. She reveals the tricks of...

Food dominates the cultural landscape yet it is also public enemy number one when it comes to public health. A growing number of consumers are concerned about where their food comes from, how it is produced and whether it is sustainable. Then there are the political debates over food labelling and whether ‘junk food’ should...

Should we shrink the public sector and give the market a greater share? With the current focus on reducing public debt, the federal Treasurer says we have unsustainable expectations about what governments can deliver and so governments need to cut spending and downsize. But does smaller government guarantee economic growth ? Will the private sector...

The Australian federal system has adapted and changed since 1901 with the balance of power and responsibilities shifting between the States and the Commonwealth. Council of Australian Governments Chair John Brumby gives his view of the strengths and weaknesses of the federal system.