What the Gas Tax Debate Reveals About the Industry
A proposed 25% export tax on Western Australia’s LNG is sparking public outrage and a high‑profile protest at Woodside Energy’s AGM. The debate highlights that roughly 80% of the state’s gas exports escape royalties, allowing companies like Woodside to anticipate $215 billion in royalty‑free revenue through 2070. Japanese investors control over $70 billion in Australian gas projects and sit on dozens of policy committees, reinforcing perceptions of foreign profit over local benefit. Activists argue the industry’s cultural sponsorship cannot mask its environmental damage and tax avoidance.
Labor Is Manufacturing an NDIS Crisis to Justify Cuts - the Savings Will Be Spent on War
The Albanese Labor government has embarked on a coordinated campaign to shrink the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), stripping $14.4 billion in the 2024 budget and projecting $19 billion in savings over four years. A review commissioned in 2022 and a RedBridge‑led...
More Australians Die From Overdose than on Our Roads, but Criminalisation Is Not the Answer
Australia now records more than 2,000 overdose deaths each year, a figure that exceeds the nation’s annual road‑traffic fatalities. The toll has risen to a ten‑year high in Victoria, highlighting the limits of a criminal‑justice‑focused drug policy. Advocates argue that...
A Child Born Today Is Already in Debt.
A Deloitte report released in March 2026 warns that Australian 16‑year‑olds will inherit a climate‑related debt of about $185,000 Australian dollars – roughly $122,000 U.S. dollars – over their lifetimes. The cost stems from projected expenses tied to extreme weather,...
Want to Expand Your Media Diet? Here's Our Guide to the Indie Media Landscape
Australia’s media market remains one of the world’s most concentrated, with a handful of legacy owners dominating headlines. Decades of dwindling government support have weakened public broadcasters ABC and SBS, creating space for a burgeoning indie sector. The guide maps...
As Our Allies Drop Bombs over the Middle East, Australia Has Lost the Choice of Isolationism
Australia has recently committed millions of dollars, missiles, aircraft and personnel to support allied operations in the Middle East. In a column for Plan International Australia, Deputy CEO Hayley Cull argues that this military engagement must be matched by an...
Explainer: What Is Pine Gap and How Could It Be Assisting the US and Israel in Their War on Iran?
The Australian satellite‑tracking station Pine Gap, a joint US‑Australia intelligence hub, is alleged to be feeding real‑time data to the United States and Israel for strikes against Iran. Former intelligence officer and MP Andrew Wilkie told SBS that Australian intelligence...