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The rot festering in the floor of democracy

The rot festering in the floor of democracy

Have you ever suspected a partner of cheating? Trust rarely ends with a single dramatic betrayal but with the gradual accumulation of small doubts....

latest 0

Canberra Times

Garry Linnell

ANU's leadership crisis was a test of democracy. Here's what won

ANU's leadership crisis was a test of democracy. Here's what won

The recent early resignation of Julie Bishop as chancellor of the ANU, and the resignations of many of her allies on the ANU council, is on the one...

yesterday 2

Canberra Times

Ron Levy

Want to know would happen if we slashed immigration to zero? It's not good

Want to know would happen if we slashed immigration to zero? It's not good

There are no solutions in economics, only trade-offs. It's a great quote from economist Thomas Sowell, and it highlights the dishonesty we are...

yesterday 9

Canberra Times

Adam Triggs

The Goldie dodges a towering, trashy bullet

The Goldie dodges a towering, trashy bullet

Incredibly brave or utterly foolish? Three months ago, when plans for a 91-storey Trump tower on the Gold Coast came to light, it took no time for me...

yesterday 9

Canberra Times

John Hanscombe

'My niece was a little Australian girl': Price's powerful speech in full

'My niece was a little Australian girl': Price's powerful speech in full

"She was a child. She was part of a family. She was part of this nation. She deserved the same safety, dignity and opportunities every Australian...

previous day 5

Canberra Times

Senator jacinta nampijinpa price

When the chatbot tells the user to plant a bomb

When the chatbot tells the user to plant a bomb

The drone's callsign was Red Fang and it had just pinged 300 metres west of Adam Hourican's house. It had been dispatched by xAI, the...

previous day 10

Canberra Times

John Hanscombe

We can't afford to ignore Grand Theft Oil Futures

We can't afford to ignore Grand Theft Oil Futures

Last Wednesday in America another glimmer of hope the Middle East war could be resolved was reported by US news website Axios, based on information...

tuesday 10

Canberra Times

John Hanscombe

Yes, the Coalition bombed out spectacularly. But Farrer spells bigger trouble for Labor

Yes, the Coalition bombed out spectacularly. But Farrer spells bigger trouble for Labor

The result for Labor in the Farrer byelection was truly ghastly. Labor did not field a candidate, so it has largely been ignored. Subscribe now for...

11.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Crispin Hull

Working hard will not buy a roof over your head. If you can't inherit one, you're screwed

Working hard will not buy a roof over your head. If you can't inherit one, you're screwed

Australia has been in the grip of housing crisis for years. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to continue reading Home ownership is...

11.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Ebony Bennett

We're kidding ourselves about the social divide

We're kidding ourselves about the social divide

You might want to avert your eyes because I'm about to drop a C-bomb. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to continue reading Not...

11.05.2026 9

Canberra Times

John Hanscombe

I have a vested interest in the future of medical research. You do too

I have a vested interest in the future of medical research. You do too

I have a vested interest in writing this, so too does every person reading it and even those who don't, for the message it contains affects the...

10.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Colleen Lewis

When interest rates become too interesting

When interest rates become too interesting

Australia's hands-off method for setting monetary policy relies, solely, on the wisdom and independence of the Reserve Bank. Subscribe now for...

10.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Mark Kenny

The inconvenient facts of the intelligence funding blame game

The inconvenient facts of the intelligence funding blame game

Pressed on the ABC about royal commissioner Virginia Bell's interim finding that counter-terrorism's share of National Intelligence...

09.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

James king

Don't blame me and the Boomers. Here's who cooked it for younger generations

Don't blame me and the Boomers. Here's who cooked it for younger generations

The federal budget we are soon to see will be dedicated in part to the idea of generational equity, the idea that older Australians own too much at...

09.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Jack Waterford

When toilet paper is held to a higher standard than democracy

When toilet paper is held to a higher standard than democracy

There's a particular kind of exhaustion that settles in during an election cycle; not from the debates, the door knocking, the policy vacuum that...

09.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Zoë Wundenberg

Does an 86-year-old still miss their mum? I decided to ask

Does an 86-year-old still miss their mum? I decided to ask

My dad is in his 87th year. Not great on his feet anymore, but comfortably enough settled into aged care. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or...

08.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

John Paul Moloney

The ANU needs new guardrails, not just new faces

The ANU needs new guardrails, not just new faces

On Thursday night, ANU chancellor Julie Bishop finally resigned. Her departure follows the resignation of vice-chancellor Genevieve Bell in September...

08.05.2026 6

Canberra Times

Marija taflaga and francis markham

Gina, Pauline and a friendship that's really taking off

Gina, Pauline and a friendship that's really taking off

"If you want to know what God thinks of money just look at the sorts of people He gives it to." Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or...

08.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Ian Warden

The Farrer result will set off a willy-willy. The budget already has

The Farrer result will set off a willy-willy. The budget already has

The run-up to a budget always sees a degree of chaos. But this year it has looked like one of those willy-willies that blow up in outback Australia...

08.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Michelle Grattan

Waterford's claims on Israel don't stand up to scrutiny

Waterford's claims on Israel don't stand up to scrutiny

Jack Waterford's May 2 column, ostensibly on the Royal Commission, rehashed many of the untrue claims he has made about Israel and the Australian...

08.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Jamie Hyams

Shouldn't this be the moment we all agree housing is borked in this country?

Shouldn't this be the moment we all agree housing is borked in this country?

I fear our capacity for heartbreak in this country is too big. We inhale the misery and move on. And nothing gets fixed. Subscribe now for unlimited...

08.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Jenna Price

We fear the lab yet trust the chemistry of snacks

We fear the lab yet trust the chemistry of snacks

Late night in a secretive laboratory reeking of chemicals and sinister intent. White-coated scientists with thick glasses and unruly hair sit hunched...

08.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Garry Linnell

Are you an accidental misinformation superspreader? Five ways to stop the lies

Are you an accidental misinformation superspreader? Five ways to stop the lies

Each day we're bombarded by a flood of lies, misinformation and half-truths. Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to continue...

07.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Dom thurbon

Public servants have had enough. And it will be Canberrans who suffer if the ACT govt doesn't act

Public servants have had enough. And it will be Canberrans who suffer if the ACT govt doesn't act

ACT public servants in the ACT have had enough. That message could not have been clearer last Friday on May Day, when more than 700 union members...

07.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Maddy northam

A lot of people are to blame for tragic conditions in Alice. But we can't be scared to find answers

A lot of people are to blame for tragic conditions in Alice. But we can't be scared to find answers

The recent tragic death of Kumanjayi Little Baby from one of the town camps in Alice Springs and the response highlights the consequences of mistakes...

07.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Amanda Vanstone

If the housing crisis gets worse this Boomer's to blame

If the housing crisis gets worse this Boomer's to blame

It can't come soon enough. That's because five days ahead of it actually being handed down, it's a fair bet most Australians have had a...

07.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

John Hanscombe

I had a book contract, zero ideas - and then inspiration hit

I had a book contract, zero ideas - and then inspiration hit

Something terrifying happens when you have a book contract and zero ideas for the book. It's just you, a laptop and a blindingly blank page....

06.05.2026 20

Canberra Times

Sarah clutton

From soggy to savoury, broccoli's big comeback

From soggy to savoury, broccoli's big comeback

Greens. They could be insufferably earnest and bitter. And too often there was a guilt trip when you came across them. "Don't you know...

06.05.2026 20

Canberra Times

John Hanscombe

Australia should not make itself an accessory to a war crime

Australia should not make itself an accessory to a war crime

Australia is expected to consider this week a request from the US to join a coalition of allies in a military effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz -...

05.05.2026 20

Canberra Times

Crispin Hull

Sorry to butt in, but we all need to butt out again

Sorry to butt in, but we all need to butt out again

There was no big ceremony, no date recorded for posterity. All I remember is that some time in the mid 2000s, I stubbed out my last cigarette....

05.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

John Hanscombe

APS redundancy guide: know your rights as job cuts loom

APS redundancy guide: know your rights as job cuts loom

With the federal budget imminent, there is growing concern about the prospect of increasing redundancies in the Australian Public Service. Despite the...

04.05.2026 30

Canberra Times

John Wilson

May the focus be with you - in the cinema

May the focus be with you - in the cinema

A long time go in a galaxy far, far away ... they made a movie which has endured in our cultural memory for almost half a century. And on May 4 or, to...

04.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

John Hanscombe

The forgotten WWII fuel bunkers hidden under nearby hills

The forgotten WWII fuel bunkers hidden under nearby hills

The sun is shining brightly and but for a few streaks of white, the sky is deep blue. Rounded green hills highlighted with pine tree windbreaks...

03.05.2026 40

Canberra Times

Tim the yowie man

The major players are in big trouble over in little Farrer

The Australian literary giant, David Malouf - who died just a fortnight ago at 92 - once described his task as "going to an ordinary or familiar...

03.05.2026 20

Canberra Times

Mark Kenny

My phone is 'bricked' and I've never felt more alive or virtuous

As fridge magnets go, the one I received in the post two weeks ago was nothing much to get excited about - at least not visually. Subscribe now for...

03.05.2026 20

Canberra Times

Sally Pryor

The hidden costs of a 'made in Australia' future

"I know an economic slam dunk when I see one," Industry Minister Tim Ayres told a Hunter business audience last week, defending the Tomago...

02.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Michael Wu

The Bondi royal commission's most difficult and crucial task

Here's hoping that the royal commission into the Bondi massacre of last December does not turn into partisan point-scoring, least of all over...

02.05.2026 20

Canberra Times

Jack Waterford

Here's how a city as big as Canberra forms GPs deserts

A Senate inquiry is looking into rural healthcare. The biggest problem it should tackle is "GP deserts" - communities in the bottom 5 per...

02.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Peter Breadon

Licensing developers won't fix Canberra's building failures

The ACT government will introduce developer licensing from October 1, 2026. From that point on if you are building three or more dwellings, you...

02.05.2026 20

Canberra Times

Dan Carton

A moral obligation requires moral reform: a response to Linda Reynolds

Linda Reynolds argues that reforming the National Disability Insurance Scheme is a "national obligation." On that point, she is right - but...

01.05.2026 20

Canberra Times

Zoë Wundenberg

Warwick Thornton's outback western offers a rare ray of hope

Wolfram (M, 100 minutes) While this outback drama is one of a growing number of stories on screen about Indigenous dispossession, it is also a tale of...

01.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Jane freebury

Don't mess with this single mum - she's locked and loaded

Seven Snipers (MA15 , 88 minutes) It's not easy being a single mother - or a former combat sniper. Being both is even harder, especially when the...

01.05.2026 8

Canberra Times

Ron Cerabona

Anti-Semitism royal commission's interim report leaves key questions dangling

The interim report from the royal commission on anti-Semitism, set up after the Bondi massacre, leaves hanging more questions than it answers....

01.05.2026 20

Canberra Times

Michelle Grattan

The Devil Wears Prada is back - but it's wearing a little thin

The Devil Wears Prada 2 (M, 122 minutes) How time flies. It's been two decades since the release of the very enjoyable comedy The Devil Wears...

01.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Ron Cerabona

The hidden system that keeps the USA's most targeted president alive

US President Donald Trump appears to have fortuitously survived yet another potential assassination attempt. This latest incident occurred on April...

01.05.2026 20

Canberra Times

Clive Williams

The rot in our universities: we're failing our students and no one seems to care

The very best news for the Australian National University is that Julie Bishop, its chancellor, is on the way out. As Julie Hare, veteran higher...

01.05.2026 10

Canberra Times

Jenna Price

Men are hardwired for denial. It's killing them

"This won't take long," promised the specialist as I nervously lowered my pants. "It'll be over before you know it." He...

01.05.2026 20

Canberra Times

Garry Linnell

Why the quest to conquer Everest is the peak of male stupidity

"Because it's there." Subscribe now for unlimited access. Login or signup to continue reading - Mountaineer George Mallory's...

30.04.2026 10

Canberra Times

Ian Warden

How we do business today is affecting services in regional Australia

It costs more to do business in the regions than it does in the city. This has always been the case. It's as true for businesses selling things...

30.04.2026 20

Canberra Times

Adam Triggs

Forget peak oil, peak geopolitics will wean us off the stuff

The drone strikes on the refinery sparked an inferno that caused toxic black smoke to rise like an angry fist, a grey smudge visible from space....

30.04.2026 20

Canberra Times

John Hanscombe