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Once upon a time, Australians were told Pine Gap was a space base. Then we were told it was a weather station. But now, of course, we know the installation deep in the Northern Territory outback is a US spy base. Which isn’t to say it’s any less secretive – we still don’t know a huge amount about what goes on there. We do know it’s likely America’s biggest offshore spy base and that it gathers cri...

For 31 years, there has been a rivalry – drawing on a divide so inherent and base – that it pits mate against mate. We’re not talking about State of Origin, we’re talking about the Reclink Community Cup. The football contest began in Melbourne, but is now held in cities across the country – with the Rockdogs, a team of not-so-athletic musicians, taking on the Megahertz, a band of various music med...

Nuclear power has been politically toxic in this country for decades. It’s been 55 years since a leader went to a federal election promising to build reactors and won. But Peter Dutton is hoping to do just that. And as unlikely as it sounds, he’s convincing people. A little over ten years ago, 62 per cent of Australians opposed nuclear power. Today, polls show the majority support it. So how is a...

There’s been another strike against whistleblowing. Richard Boyle was a tax office employee when he raised concerns internally about a scheme to garnish overdue taxes directly from people’s bank accounts. When that didn’t work, he told journalists. A court in Adelaide yesterday upheld a ruling that he’s not a whistleblower – which means he now has no defence for leaking that confidential informati...

There’s no nice way to put it: Australian childcare is broken, and not just for those with children. It’s prohibitively expensive, getting the days you’re after is like winning the lottery and if you do get some government subsidy, you have the pleasure of hours on the phone to Centrelink. We’re at a critical point though. The government has promised a huge overhaul of the system and the prime min...

Peter Costello’s legacy was set. He was the longest serving treasurer in Australian history and under the then prime minister John Howard, he transformed our economy into what it is today. That was until he appeared to push a journalist asking pesky questions at Canberra Airport earlier this month and all of it was caught on camera.  Three days later, he resigned as Chair of Nine amid a storm of s...

Barely a week goes by when the Department of Home Affairs isn’t under the blowtorch of media or political scrutiny. In one way, the level of scrutiny is to be expected. When a department is so huge it takes in security, intelligence, immigration and policing functions, with some 14,000 staff under the one secretary – it’s inevitable. The question is, should one department have so much power?  Toda...

Two years ago, on the day after the Labor government was sworn into office, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen called a press conference. In those very first remarks, the new minister said the climate wars were over. Some scoffed at the time. There were still plenty of political fights to be had over how Australia would reach net zero – but there was nonetheless a belief that Austr...

The US has a proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, and this one seems to be gathering momentum. It’s not much different to the previous plans, except that it’s backed by the UN Security Council. The council’s resolution says Israel has accepted the deal, and Hamas has welcomed its adoption, but it hasn’t been signed. So, why not? What’s preventing an agreement on a ceasefire? Today, senior foreign aff...

If you were a public service chief picking a firm to run ethics training, would one of the big four consulting firms be your first pick? They have faced intense scrutiny both in the media and in a recent senate inquiry, which will today release its report with recommendations to keep the private consultancy sector in check. Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis, on w...

Australia is about to receive a visit from the most senior Chinese leader we've had on our shores in almost a decade. But this visit by Chinese Premier Li Qiang comes at an interesting time for China. President Xi Jingping is contending with economic stumbles and looming sanctions, making his vision for the future more precarious than ever. So what is going on inside Xi's inner circle? And what me...

When the robodebt royal commission’s final report landed, it was scathing. It condemned the entire scheme, the individuals who rolled it out and the government culture that enabled it. The commissioner went to significant lengths to refer six people to the then very fresh National Anti-Corruption Commission. But last week, the NACC decided to drop the investigation, essentially saying it had nothi...

Over 90 years ago, a Swiss astrophysicist theorised there was an unseen, unobservable force that sits behind the universe we know. He called it ‘dark matter’, and today we’re not much closer to understanding it than he was. But that could be about to change, as a group of Australian researchers are part of our most promising effort yet to uncover the nature of this unseen force Today, Atticus Bast...

There’s an issue exposing fault lines within our political parties and pitting their traditional supporters against each other, fracturing the electorate. That issue is the new ban on vapes, which is set to pass parliament at the end of the month. The Albanese government’s proposed ban is putting pressure on the Coalition, which has already been losing ground with professional women tired of catch...

There’s been a slow but steady reckoning on sexual harassment and discrimination in workplaces across Australia. That reckoning should have already come to the most high-profile workplace in the country – Parliament House. But several years on from the Jenkins report, has the culture really changed? Today, chief political correspondent The Saturday Paper Karen Barlow, on the challenges of policing...

There are two things to know about the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The first is that it makes an immense difference to many lives across Australia. The second is that it’s wildly expensive and is projected to cost even more in the future. So, how to reconcile those two realities? It’s what the government is trying to solve with a new piece of legislation that’s been shrouded in secrecy f...

Many Australians have an idea of New Caledonia. It’s just two hours away by plane and is sold to travellers with images of luxurious hotel complexes and pristine beaches. But riots in the capital, a state of emergency and the intervention of the French military have been reminders that the future of New Caledonia is a fraught political question sitting on our doorstep. So, what provoked the unrest...

Donald Trump’s conviction in a New York courthouse has led to furious reactions from his supporters and allies. A presidential candidate has never been convicted of a felony during their campaign and that historic first is just the latest uncertainty thrown into an already fractious election campaign. So, could things combust? Has the risk of political violence just gone up? Today, senior research...

Some non-Australian citizens facing deportation for convictions of serious crimes like domestic violence and child sexual abuse are managing to hang onto their visas and stay in the country. It’s sparked fierce debate in Canberra this week, as both sides of parliament attempt to answer one question – who is to blame? So, why are non-citizens in Australia being allowed to stay after they have serve...

Nine years ago, the Liberal Party said it was aiming for gender parity by 2025. Since then, the number of Liberal women in parliaments across the country has actually fallen. And it’s costing the party seats in the federal parliament, with professional women abandoning the party in droves – often in favour of the teal independents. Now, with another election approaching, the Liberals have a fresh...

As many as 2000 people have been buried under rubble and dirt after a landslide in Papua New Guinea’s remote highlands this week. Video released days later showing locals digging with their hands is a reminder of how difficult disaster response is in a country that’s just four kilometres from the top of Australia. The PNG highlands are an inaccessible and dangerous part of the world. Now, after a...

There are currently a number of running campaigns concerned about the effects of social media on young people. These effects include exposure to harmful content to mental health issues, cyberbullying, depression and even suicide. And the proposed solution is to simply ban anyone under the age of 16 from social media for their own protection. But how realistic is that solution? And would it even wo...

Here’s a question for you: can you place a value on lost cultural heritage, on separation from land and on families divided? It’s not only a moral quandary. The Federal Court is currently trying to calculate how much compensation is owed in Western Australia's Pilbara region. Yindjibarndi Traditional Owners have been locked in a long-running legal battle with Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Grou...

The 2024 Euros are just weeks away – with some of the best footballers in the world competing in an event that draws in hundreds of millions of viewers. But the legacy of the last Euros is still an uncomfortable topic for many in England. Not only because they lost, but also the scenes of violence and hooliganism that led to a national debate and a new Netflix documentary. Today, journalist Martin...

On Monday, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan announced he would apply for arrest warrants for senior Hamas leaders as well as Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Yoav Gallant. So, how did the ICC’s prosecutor come to the point of applying for arrest warrants? What happens next? And can international law survive the scrutiny it’s now under? To...