Editor's note

Bill Shorten stole a march on the Coalition this week with a promise to narrow the gap between male and female superannuation balances by adding government-provided contributions to government-provided paid parental leave. He said it would “have a big impact down the track”.

But the Grattan Institute’s Owain Emslie and Brendan Woods find nothing of the kind. For middle income retirees who had had children, the impact would be “minuscule” – worth only $1.50 a week after the pension means test. A better way of supporting women at risk of poverty in retirement, they say, would be to boost rent assistance.

Peter Martin

Editor, Business and Economy

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Labor’s plan to pay super to women on paid parental leave would barely boost their retirement incomes. Shutterstock

Super. If Labor really wanted to help women in retirement, it would do something else

Brendan Coates, Grattan Institute; Owain Emslie, Grattan Institute

Bill Shorten says Labor's plan to make super contributions on behalf of women on paid parental leave would have a "big impact". We find its impact would be be minuscule.

Do you pull out your phone the instance you’re bored? You’re a zombie checker. rawpixel/Unsplash

Do you ‘zombie check’ your phone? How new tools can help you control technology over-use

Joanne Orlando, Western Sydney University

Our unproductive 'zombie' screen hours can creep up – but they don't need to rule us. Here are four steps to help you use new tools to monitor and change your technology habits.

Karnatukul during excavation in 2014, note the square holes dug below the rock walls.. Peter Veth

Aboriginal people lived in Australia’s desert interior 50,000 years ago, earlier than first thought

Jo McDonald, University of Western Australia; Peter Veth, University of Western Australia

They were looking to study rock art at a remote desert site but what they found showed people had been using the place almost since the first people arrived in Australia.

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  • Spartacus: the rise and rise of an unlikely hero

    Alastair Blanshard, The University of Queensland

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