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At some point before May next year, Australians will head to the federal polls. It comes as this nation faces a confluence of grave pressures – not least the need to slash our greenhouse gas emissions, and brace ourselves against the broader threat of climate catastrophe.
The policy curveball thrown by Coalition leader Peter Dutton last week ensured climate and energy issues will be a defining feature of the election campaign. Days after indicating a Coalition government would scrap Australia’s 2030 emissions-reduction target, Dutton released details – albeit scant – of the Coalition’s nuclear energy policy. It sent politicians, energy analysts and the media into overdrive.
As the Australian National University’s Mark Kenny writes today, all this focus on climate and energy policy should, in theory, work to the advantage of the Greens and the climate-focused teal independents. And Labor’s support for new fossil fuel projects, which has muddied the message on its broader climate policies, also serves to aid the government’s progressive opponents.
But the election fight has a long way to run. As Kenny explains, the Coalition believes it can turn the energy debate in its favour, by exploiting voters’ hip-pocket concerns. And if the cost-of-living crisis doesn’t soon ease, he writes, this line of attack could be very persuasive.
PS. Many thanks to those of you who have given to our donations campaign – your support means a great deal, especially amid the cost-of-living crisis. There is still just under a week left for those who are able to consider giving a tax-deductible donation.
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Nicole Hasham
Energy + Environment Editor
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Mark Kenny, Australian National University
A campaign fought on climate and energy might benefit the Greens and the Teal independents – but the prevailing state of the economy will determine their ability to capitalise.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
Paul Keating has joined the debate on the Coalition’s nuclear policy saying “"Only the most wicked and cynical of individuals would foist such a blight on an earnest community like Australia,”
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Andrew Norton, Australian National University
Education Minister Jason Clare has released more details on how the federal government wants to make changes to university funding and student places.
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Peter Tesch, Australian National University
Russia is increasingly trying to find common cause with the Global South, including countries that matter to the West, such as Vietnam.
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Daryl Sparkes, University of Southern Queensland
From M*A*S*H to the Hunger Games, Donald Sutherland, who has died at 88, always sat well in the eccentric, peculiar or ‘quirky’ roles.
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Charlotte Gupta, CQUniversity Australia; Dean J. Miller, CQUniversity Australia
Fancy retreats and suites with sleep butlers and pillow menus are becoming big business. But do you really need to leave home for some shuteye?
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Sam Ryan, University of Tasmania
In their different ways, these three poets demonstrate how to transform everyday realities into art.
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Arif Perdana, Monash University
Ways to interact with virtual versions of our deceased loved ones are now a possibility – but there’s a raft of ethical and emotional challenges involved.
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Victor Gambarini, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
We know some marine microbes produce enzymes that can break down certain types of plastics. But new research found areas of high plastic pollution don’t show high concentrations of these enzymes.
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Politics + Society
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The government has accepted all the recommendations in the final report of an inquiry done by a former Labor minister Craig Emerson.
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Caitlin Fox-Harding, Edith Cowan University
Momentum is one of sport’s great intangibles but what exactly is it and how can it influence athletes and teams?
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Annabel Ahuriri-Driscoll, University of Canterbury
One New Zealand’s ‘Let’s Get Connected’ campaign finds humour and emotion in a story of adoption – but glosses over the pain and loss of its reality.
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Health + Medicine
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Asha Bowen, Telethon Kids Institute
Azithromycin is facing shortages of its liquid formulation, which is used to treat respiratory and other illnesses in children.
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Chin Moi Chow, University of Sydney; Cynthia (Xinzhu) Li, University of Sydney; Mark Halaki, University of Sydney
Wool, cotton, polyester? Here’s what we found when it comes to choosing the right textiles for sleep.
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Science + Technology
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William Parker, Monash University; Alistair Evans, Monash University
Yearly growth lines and a conveyor belt of molars show how marsupial teeth carry a surprising amount of information.
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Environment + Energy
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Tony Wood, Grattan Institute
The Coalition’s nuclear plan is an unwelcome proposal which will slow the energy transition and increase our dependence on gas – a surefire way to drive up energy bills.
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David Hayward, RMIT University
Victoria’s government wants local governments to speed up development and get more homes built. But there are many questions around this goal.
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Arts + Culture
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Kirk Dodd, University of Sydney
Robert Menzies is outstanding as a physically feeble yet emotionally volatile Lear.
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Business + Economy
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Roger Dargaville, Monash University
If a future Coalition government were to bring nuclear into the mix, energy costs for residential and especially industrial customers would likely increase.
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