What issues are important to gen Y in the September election? The Newsroom team asked young people in Surry Hills what they thought the candidates should be addressing. The most commonly mentioned issues were the economy, environmentalism and gay marriage. Education and the carbon tax were important to some of the people we spoke to;…
DetailsLabor has announced it will hit smokers for another $5.3 billion in taxes over the next four years. By the end of 2016, the cost of a packet of 20 cigarettes will increase by $5.25, taking the cost of smoking to about $1 a cigarette. Treasurer Chris Bowen announced the plan this week, claiming the…
DetailsThe National Broadband Network is a major discussion point in the upcoming elections. The technical debate will divide voters as they choose between Labor and the Coalition’s alternative. Amy Neumann explains what the new network can mean for you.
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The National Broadband Network – the NBN – is a big election issue buried under a sea of alienating jargon. Cut through the hype and the politicking, and these are the facts: The network will dictate the speeds at which Australians can use the internet. As a key element in the Government’s infrastructure plans, it…
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The Federal Attorney-General has called for uniform laws protecting Australian journalists and their sources. Mark Dreyfus’s intervention has placed journalistic privilege firmly back on the legal agenda. At stake is the international standard of journalistic ethics that reporters should never be forced to disclose names of sources. This ensures that whistleblowers and public figures can…
DetailsSouth Africa celebrated Nelson Mandela’s 95th birthday yesterday though the iconic leader remains in hospital after six weeks in intensive care. It had been feared that Mandela would not reach this milestone but latest reports suggest his condition is improving. People around the country commemorated the man with 67 minutes of public service as a…
DetailsTwo weeks since Kevin Rudd returned as Prime Minister of Australia, much has changed: for one, he has shuffled cabinet portfolios and filled the gaps left by pro-Gillard deserters. Rudd has also changed Labor’s caucus rules to make it nearly impossible to overthrow a sitting prime minister – as Julia Gillard and Labor’s “faceless men” overthrew…
DetailsFormer president Nelson Mandela remains in critical condition in a Pretoria hospital. Officials and family members have confirmed that he is on life support, unable to breathe unassisted. South Africa’s top Anglican cleric, Thabo Makgoba, the Archbishop of Cape Town, visited the 94-year-old Mandela in his Pretoria hospital yesterday, praying with the ailing leader’s wife, Graca Machel, for…
DetailsThe Australian Defence Force has come under fire over incidents of sexual misconduct. Lieutenant-General David Morrison, Chief of the Army, took the unusual step of issuing a video message denouncing the acts of Defence Force members. In a video posted on the Defence website, he condemned degrading action against women, warning soldiers, “if that does not…
DetailsRacism is the topic dominating front pages in the media and circulating around dinner tables this week. Macleay student journalists went to Bondi, St George, Sutherland Shire, Liverpool and Parramatta to interview the public. The majority of people polled believed that racism is rife in Australian society. While few had themselves been victims of racism,…
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