Big Ideas

A landmark case in a European court marks a significant step on the road to justice for survivors of war crimes in Syria, and around the world.

If you’re a bird lover you’ll know how migratory birds depend on wetlands as staging posts. And if you’re a fisherman then wetlands are a breeding ground for fish. 

That’s just two of the services they provide. Yet globally, they’re drained for development. Apart from anything else , we’re destroying an ecosystem which can absorb carbon dioxide thirty to fifty times faster than terrestrial forests.

More people are digitally 'detoxing' and embracing mindfulness to try to calm their mind.

But what if, paradoxically, the digital technologies we are escaping from, are also able to enhance contemplative practice, and provide therapeutic benefits for, say, kids undergoing cancer treatment?

Can guided meditation in a 'virtual' natural environment lift your mood. Or a multi-sensory installation soothe those in palliative care?

Do cosmic catastrophes pose the greatest threat to the ongoing survival of biological life on earth? Or is the danger far closer and more imminent than we might like to imagine?

Advancing human rights is as an investment in society's future and should be at the centre of public policy making. We shouldn't only speak of human rights when there is a crisis or scandal. Monash University Professors Michael Mintrom and Paula Gerber say we need to consider the societal benefits – and financial rewards – of policies that support human rights

Do you remember the chorus line of the Joni Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi? You don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone. It could be the theme song of the recent State of the Environment Report which details the health of our land , water , plant and animal species. To stop the downward slide we need to pay attention to the findings.

High prices for petrol and expensive electric cars are not helping our Paris climate target. So do we need a carbon emissions ceiling to accelerate the race to net zero.

What does the future hold for Greece and Turkey? What role can the diaspora play in helping to bridge the divide?

Fossil fuels have powered our world and reaching net zero by 2050 requires a momentous shift. Every country in the world, rich and poor , needs to do their bit. Every economy in the world has to calculate how to pay for the switch to renewables .And every person on the planet will be affected, in one way or another, by the change.

Australia must reckon with its settler-colonial past and confront the mistreatment of First Nations Australians if we are to shape a shared future.

Telling the truth about the frontier wars and massacres, is a big part of this reckoning.