By Tony Wood, Senior Fellow in Energy and Climate Change, Grattan Institute
Renewables and energy storage were pitched as a way to drive down power prices. But the hidden costs of the clean energy transition mean lower prices haven’t fully eventuated.
That’s why this week’s news power prices will fall by up to 10% have been gratefully received by the government – and consumers. The falls are real, though they do not apply everywhere.
There are important caveats. The cheaper power will directly apply to customers on the default…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, during a College of Commissioners meeting in Brussels, Belgium, December 3, 2025. © 2025 Simon Wohlfahrt/Bloomberg via Getty Images As European Union commissioners prepare for their April 29 security college meeting on China’s influence on EU security, they should place human rights concerns at the center of those discussions. The Chinese government’s intensifying repression at home and increasingly coercive conduct abroad pose serious risks not only for people’s rights, but also for Europe’s long-term…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image A damaged residential building in the Russian-occupied eastern Ukrainian town of Severodonetsk, Luhansk region, August 8, 2024. © 2024 Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters Russian occupation authorities are seizing civilian property in occupied areas of Ukraine, despite international law prohibiting occupying powers from such conduct.Authorities have introduced a sham process to declare properties “ownerless” and transfer them to municipal ownership, while also imposing administrative and travel barriers making it nearly impossible for displaced Ukrainians to assert their…
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Spanish-speaking private military contractors and RSF fighters gathering in a courtyard between houses in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan. © 2025 Private With apparent support from the UAE, Colombian private military contractors have deployed to Sudan to support the abusive Rapid Support Forces.The deployment adds to evidence of UAE military support for the Rapid Support Forces, which have committed widespread atrocities in Sudan. Other countries should push for investigations, capable of leading to sanctions, into all those, including UAE officials,…
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By James Skinner, Dean Newcastle Business School/Professor of Sport Business, University of Newcastle
Danny F Hill, Assistant Professor Finance, Providence College
Cricket and soccer are two of, if not the biggest national sporting codes in Australia.
Yet the governing bodies of both have recently been in the news for their financial difficulties.
How can it be these two dominant codes are struggling?
Major sports, major problems
Football Australia (FA) recently announced it will cut around 20% of its workforce, following…
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By Czeslaw Tubilewicz, Senior Lecturer, Department of Politics and International Relations, Adelaide University
A parade of global leaders through Beijing is good for optics. But this visibility does not necessarily translate into global leadership.
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By Human Rights Watch
Click to expand Image Spanish-speaking private military contractors and RSF fighters gathering in a courtyard between houses in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan. © 2025 Private With apparent support from the UAE, Colombian private military contractors have deployed to Sudan to support the abusive Rapid Support Forces.The deployment adds to evidence of UAE military support for the Rapid Support Forces, which have committed widespread atrocities in Sudan. Other countries should push for investigations, capable of leading to sanctions, into all those, including UAE officials,…
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By Michael Ryan, Lecturer in Economics, University of Waikato
Higher inflation, tighter operating allowances and rising geopolitical uncertainty are turning this year’s budget into a test of national priorities.
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By Barbara Padalino, Associate Professor of Animal Behaviour, Husbandry and Welfare, Southern Cross University
This isn’t just a major animal welfare issue – it’s an economic one as well. And there are steps we can take to resolve it.
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By Niusha Shafiabady, Professor in Computational Intelligence, Australian Catholic University
Darius von Guttner Sporzynski, Professor of History, Australian Catholic University
Sandie Cornish, Senior Lecturer, Theology, Australian Catholic University
The pope has warned that AI is never truly neutral: it reflects the society that made it. He has called for ethical oversight – and protecting workers.
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