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Is it possible for the Coalition to claw back enough seats at the next federal election to take office again? Following the 2022 defeat that saw many traditionally Liberal seats shift into the hands of the teal independents (as well as those that went to the Greens and Labor), the battered Liberals emerged with Peter Dutton as leader and an onerous political task ahead.
Mark Kenny writes that while unity was Dutton’s initial focus, which involved keeping the party room happy, the question is whether what makes the party room happy is the same as what makes voters happy. But the so-called “throwing red meat to the base” within the party involves “belligerent oppositionism, taking the rhetorical fight up to the new government, and sometimes the adoption of core policy ideas deeply held by the true believers”. His
soon-to-be-released nuclear power policy may well be a case in point – will it be as popular outside the party room as inside it?
Then there is the Liberals’ so-called “women problem” (or as some commentators have noted, it should perhaps more accurately be called its “man problem”). Retiring Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds has pointed out that until the party finds a way to harness the electoral power of women, it won’t win another election. And given that, shifting further to the right might be exactly the wrong thing to do.
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Amanda Dunn
Politics + Society Editor
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Mark Kenny, Australian National University
Given the damage to the Liberal “brand” in recent years, the opposition leader faces an arduous task in clawing back seats or winning new ones.
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Weihuan Zhou, UNSW Sydney; James Laurenceson, University of Technology Sydney
Australian wine producers will face stiff competition and a significantly smaller market.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
Anthony Albanese will outline his plan for a “Future Made in Australia Act” which will bring together in a whole package of new and existing initiatives to boost investment in Australia.
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Julienne van Loon, The University of Melbourne
In Black Duck, Bruce Pascoe traces a calendar year on Yumburra, the farm his bestseller Dark Emu helped to purchase.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
In a hard-line speech, Peter Dutton has said the Albanese Government has failed to provide moral clarity on Israel and cannot see the danger that antisemitism poses to Australia.
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Clare Collins, University of Newcastle
We don’t tell people taking statins to treat high cholesterol or drugs to manage high blood pressure they’re cheating or taking the easy way out. Nor should we when people take drugs like Ozempic.
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Elise Waghorn, RMIT University
It’s hard not to shout guidance at kids’ sports games. But there are ways to do this without pressuring or criticising your child.
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Rod Sims, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
The government’s proposed merger reforms put the experts in charge. They will allow the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to be the decision-maker, not the courts.
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Alex Sen Gupta, UNSW Sydney; Kathryn Smith, Marine Biological Association; Matthew England, UNSW Sydney; Neil Holbrook, University of Tasmania; Thomas Wernberg, The University of Western Australia; Zhi Li, UNSW Sydney
Heat is surging in the world’s oceans. Climate change and El Niño explain part of it – but not all.
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Melanie Woodfield, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Hiran Thabrew, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
Quality mental healthcare requires more than training clinicians. They also need to be supported to implement their knowledge in the therapy room.
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Politics + Society
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Chris Barrie, Australian National University
Vice Admiral David Johnston comes into the leadership role with a lot of experience and a good reputation, but many challenges await him.
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Health + Medicine
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Ian Harris, UNSW Sydney; Adrian C Traeger, University of Sydney; Caitlin Jones, University of Sydney
A recent Four Corners episode questioned the use of surgically implanted devices called spinal cord stimulators for chronic back pain. Here’s what the evidence says.
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Fatemeh Aminpour, UNSW Sydney; Ilan Katz, UNSW Sydney; Jennifer Skattebol, Western Sydney University
Incorporating nature via biophilic design has interested architects and landscape architects for a long time, but its benefits for neurodiversity are not very well-known.
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Environment + Energy
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Bill Laurance, James Cook University
What harm can a road do? Plenty. Once built, illegal roads let loggers, miners, poachers and landgrabbers into the jungle, and the felling begins.
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Stefan Caddy-Retalic, University of Adelaide; Kate Delaporte, University of Adelaide; Kiri Marker, Universität Wien
South Australia stands out as having the weakest tree-protection laws, but cities around the nation are losing tree cover at a time when climate change makes them more important than ever.
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Arts + Culture
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Mandy Hughes, Southern Cross University
My recent study looked at the inequalities rural and regional young classical musicians face which are unknown to their city-based counterparts.
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Business + Economy
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Carol Richards, Queensland University of Technology; Bree Hurst, Queensland University of Technology; Hope Johnson, Queensland University of Technology; Rudolf Messner, Queensland University of Technology
Proposed toughening of the food and grocery code of conduct is long overdue. However, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will need to be well resourced to properly regulate the sector.
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