Big Ideas

Roll on the end of 2020. Next year has to be better! With three Covid vaccines in the starting gate, life can begin to be normal again. But we can’t avoid the legacy of the pandemic. How will it shape our future and the way we respond to the next emergency? Can we make up for lost time in universities, the arts and the economy?

Sue Brierley is the adoptive mother of Saroo, the Indian boy whose remarkable story of finding his Indian birth mother is told in the film “Lion”. Sue has now written her side of the story, and she talks to Paul Barclay about her book, "Lioness".

Sue Brierley is the adoptive mother of Saroo, the Indian boy whose remarkable story of finding his Indian birth mother is told in the film “Lion”. Sue has now written her side of the story, and she talks to Paul Barclay about her book, "Lioness".

A permanent monument to Indigenous peoples should be built in recognition of their contribution to the modern Australian nation, says Mark Kenny. It’s to complete the symbolic axis in Canberra from War Memorial to Old and New Parliament House. A nation is unable to move purposefully forward, when people, institutions and politicians are not willing to look back. That’s the message of the 2020 Henry Parkes Oration.

A permanent monument to Indigenous peoples should be built in recognition of their contribution to the modern Australian nation, says Mark Kenny. It’s to complete the symbolic axis in Canberra from War Memorial to Old and New Parliament House. A nation is unable to move purposefully forward, when people, institutions and politicians are not willing to look back. That’s the message of the 2020 Henry Parkes Oration.

A month after the presidential election and Donald Trump won’t admit defeat. He says he’ll fight on in the courts. So how can America move forward? Political scientist Francis Fukuyama looks at the legacy of the Trump years , the prospects for Joe Biden and the strength of liberal democracy. Can Biden revitalize America's role in the international order and heal divisions at home?

A month after the presidential election and Donald Trump won’t admit defeat. He says he’ll fight on in the courts. So how can America move forward? Political scientist Francis Fukuyama looks at the legacy of the Trump years , the prospects for Joe Biden and the strength of liberal democracy. Can Biden revitalize America's role in the international order and heal divisions at home?

Forty five years after the event , the dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975 continues to make waves and the release of the palace letters has added a new dimension to the story. Earlier this year, the High Court of Australia overturned the Queen’s embargo on correspondence between Sir John Kerr and the Queen’s Private Secretary. What do these letters tell us about how events unfolded and what the palace knew?

Forty five years after the event , the dismissal of the Whitlam government in 1975 continues to make waves and the release of the palace letters has added a new dimension to the story. Earlier this year, the High Court of Australia overturned the Queen’s embargo on correspondence between Sir John Kerr and the Queen’s Private Secretary. What do these letters tell us about how events unfolded and what the palace knew?

The planet is getting hotter, due to climate change. As with COVID-19, it is older Australians most at risk from climate-induced health impacts. The pandemic has hit older Australians hard, none more so than those in residential aged care. If this was not enough, the aged care system itself is broken, and in desperate need of repair. How we can address these challenges?