The federal government has signed the death warrant for Australia's most significant ancient artistic treasure, the Indigenous rock art at Murujuga in north Western Australia.

Even the Productivity Commission is backing way from the for-profit model. We need to ensure that our human services serve humans A series of ABC 7.30 reports tells a familiar story of failure in human services. Inadequate staffing, dangerous incidents brushed under the carpet, ineffective regulation and, at the back of it all, for-profit businesses, either ASX-listed or financed by private equity. This time it’s childcare but the same problems have emerged in vocational education, aged care, prisons, hospitals and many other services. Every time the answer we get is the same. More and better regulation, we are told, will make the market work better, allowing competition and consumer choice to work their magic. Continue reading...

On election night, I sat glued to the TV, hanging on Antony Green's every word. All I wanted was the defeat of the Liberals and huge gains for the Greens.

Another federal election. Another Labor Government with a much enhanced majority. A campaign with no great convulsions, except for the Liberal debacle. An Opposition Leader conceding defeat with prope...