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Back in May, Labor was basking in the afterglow of its historic, landslide victory. It was a triumph at a scale you’d think would have given any party an indisputable mandate to pursue its promised reforms.
Months later, one of the government’s signature policies is starting to look shaky. A plan to double the rate of tax on earnings from super balances above $3 million was first announced in 2023 – including a controversial move to tax unrealised gains.
But backlash to the proposal only grew fiercer after the election, with rumours now swirling the government may be getting cold feet.
Today, the University of Queensland’s Natalie Peng looks at why the government can’t seem to catch a break on this reform, and how to redesign it without abandoning it entirely.
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Matthew Hall
Deputy Business & Economy Editor
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Natalie Peng, The University of Queensland
Many Australians support the government’s plans to change the way large super balances are taxed. Yet key aspects of the policy still face vocal opposition.
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Andrew Dodd, The University of Melbourne; Matthew Ricketson, Deakin University
After a lengthy and bitter dispute, the future of the media empire after Rupert Murdoch’s death has been resolved – and son Lachlan is to take the reins.
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Xanthe Mallett, CQUniversity Australia; Loryn Sykes, Swinburne University of Technology
Erin Patterson, who received a life sentence for murdering three people, is one of just a handful of female mass killers. The evidence can help tell us why.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The ructions within the Liberal Party deepen over Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s recent comments on Indian immigration.
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Ian Langford, UNSW Sydney
Xi has removed nearly every rival, but he still governs with the urgency of someone who knows how quickly fortunes can turn.
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Saeed Akhlaghpour, The University of Queensland
Here’s what you should know – and ask – if your doctor uses an AI scribe in your consultation.
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Dan Dixon, University of Sydney
Shame is a feeling we struggle to know what to do with, precisely because we always seem to have too much or too little.
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Steven Chown, Monash University
The plans could also unintentionally harm fragile polar ecosystems.
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Politics + Society
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Megan Blaxland, UNSW Sydney; Yuchen Xie, UNSW Sydney; Yuvisthi Naidoo, UNSW Sydney
New research into the communities of support for Australian families show the benefits of social connection – but some are missing out.
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Health + Medicine
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Christopher Blyth, The University of Western Australia; Sanjay Jayasinghe, University of Sydney
This vaccine replaces previously listed pneumococcal shots, having been updated to offer better protection against the disease.
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Jamon Couch, La Trobe University; Adam Culvenor, La Trobe University
Around 41% of us have noisy knees. Here’s what we know about these clicks.
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Business + Economy
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Angus Dowell, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Christopher Luxon has hyped Amazon Web Service’s data centre plans as a chance for NZ to emulate Singapore and Ireland. Politics and geography make this unlikely.
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Environment + Energy
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Christine Hosking, The University of Queensland
A Great Koala National Park in NSW promises be an important wildlife haven. But it’s just one step on a long road to preventing koala extinctions.
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Shubham Tiwari, University of Waikato; James Lim, University of Waikato; Krishanu Roy, University of Waikato
Roofs are often the first point of failure in a storm, exposing homes to rainwater damage and creating flying debris that poses further risks to people and property.
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Gregory Moore, The University of Melbourne
It makes great sense many plants flower when the insects and birds so vital to their reproductive success are also getting busier (and getting busy).
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Science + Technology
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Eldin Milak, Curtin University
How do we make a complex piece of tech easy to understand? An analogy helps – as long as it’s not misleading.
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Arts + Culture
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Sara Oscar, University of Technology Sydney
The Museum of Contemporary Art’s exhibition of artists under 35 asks what it means for artists to create in a post-industrial age of reproduction.
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Kate Cantrell, University of Southern Queensland; David Raymond Fenton, University of Southern Queensland
Merlynn Tong’s new play feels like it’s not sure if it’s a meditation on loss, or a musical comedy about reinvention.
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Sugar hit
"The story about reduced sugar consumption, especially among children, is encouraging. However a lingering addictive demand for sweetness sustains the market for artificial sweeteners. Research points to serious health issues. If we are merely substituting one addiction with another, how to keep us aware of that?"
Hilary Ash
Rising crime?
"Is there any research on why violent crime is apparently rising in Victoria? And the solutions? We keep hearing about gang-related violence at shopping centres and the government responds by tightening bail laws and banning the sale of machetes. But human behaviour does not happen in a vacuum, what are the factors in our society that are contributing?"
Simone Mason
Ed: We recently did a series on violence and we're looking into the rise in youth crime in Victoria. Keep an eye on the newsletter later this week.
Tree hollows for wildlife
"Thirty-five years ago, we moved to Austins Ferry, Tasmania. I quickly discovered our local nature reserve, which had several dead trees. These regularly hosted a range of birds, particularly wood swallows, which perched on the branches to swoop upon passing insects. One time I saw an endangered Grey Goshawk awaiting passing prey. Sadly, these trees have all now been illegally felled for firewood. This is a major problem in Tassie, where in winter there are many trailer-loads of firewood being offered for sale at the side of the road."
Bob Holderness-Roddam, Former Associate, School of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Tasmania
We'd love to hear from you. You can email us with your thoughts on our stories and each day we'll publish an edited selection.
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Auckland University of Technology
Auckland, New Zealand
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Contract
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The Conversation AU/NZ
New Zealand
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Full Time
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AUT
Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand
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Full Time
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