While banning the burqa might play with the Sky After Dark audience, it is miles from a broad concern among punters Nearly 30 years after she first entered politics with a firebrand maiden speech about Asian immigration, Pauline Hanson remains a committed fringe dweller, with narrow political interests and bad instincts. Suspended from the Senate on Tuesday, her decision to don a burqa in the chamber a day earlier badly disrupted proceedings and drew near universal condemnation. It is only the fifth time since 1901 that a seven-day suspension has been put in place, and the first time since 1979. Continue reading...

Wait … I’m hearing you have worked it out you’re just not doing it

That’s the kind of calculation a bureaucrat would literally have to make under Environment Minister Murray Watt’s new ‘environmental laws’.

Podcast Episode · 7am · 16/11/2025 · 16m

Love nature? Help save it. Australia’s environment laws are being rewritten for the first time in over 20 years. Nature can't take anymore business as usual. Sign the petition for stronger nature laws...

Aunty Thelma lived through the mission era, stolen children and forced assimilation. As she witnessed the signing of the country's first treaty, her thoughts were on those who came before.

About Earth Greetings Australian made earth friendly, 100% recycled greeting cards and sustainable stationery.

Nature legislation should not cede such ‘significant powers’ to a minister even in ‘national interest’, thinktank says

Protesters marked national day of action after NSW recorded the highest number of Aboriginal deaths in custody across any state or territory in a single year * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The families of those who have died in custody have braved the rain to tell their stories and cry out for change. Donning shirts emblazoned with the faces of loved ones, they marked a national day of action to oppose Black deaths in custody at Sydney’s town hall on Saturday. Continue reading...

For years, illegal fishing vessels operated near Australia’s Heard and McDonald Islands. Here’s what happened after they were stopped.

What should the government do? Damnation and mouldy figs to the lot of them

In the sleepiest towns I found bustling, light-filled places eager for conversations about books and writing That Australians have turned to local libraries in record numbers comes as no surprise. I’ve just returned from a speaking tour of regional and outer suburban libraries which reinforced in me the unquantifiable community value of these institutions. I’ve rarely felt more connected to readers than during these two weeks. Perhaps this shouldn’t be a surprise given the remarkable bond between libraries and the readers they serve highlighted in the latest Australian public libraries statistical report. Continue reading...

Dry winter conditions have resulted in extra fuel reduction burns in regional Victoria ahead of the fire season. But some scientists are asking if fuel burns are the best way to reduce fire risk.