Take me to the river

Paris has made a hugely expensive effort to clean up the River Seine for the Olympics and a similar effort to render Melbourne’s Yarra River safe for swimming may be more costly than it’s worth.

A view from the swamp

The federal government has rejected a proposed expansion of Port Hastings in Westernport, southeast of Melbourne, given its potential environmental impact, although the project was seen as vital to the development an offshore wind industry.

Must do more about MDMA

Eight people remain in critical condition after overdosing on MDMA at the Hardmission Festival in Flemington on Saturday night, leading the Victorian Greens to call for more pill testing at such events, but this may not be the best solution.

AUKUS Christi?

Australia’s embrace of nuclear powered hunter-killer submarines seems at odds with the country’s long-standing opposition to nuclear generated electricity supplies.

All welcome to country

A mantra paying respect exclusively to past, present and emerging Indigenous Elders is an incomplete and exclusive gesture when we should be respecting and caring for all our older citizens.

Vale, Ted Hopkins

Open Forum regular Max Thomas bids farewell to a former Australian Rules team-mate who graced the field for Carlton before pursuing a varied career in business, publishing and writing. He also founded Champion Data, a pioneering AFL statistics platform which continues to thrive today.

Misconstruing misinformation

The defeat of the Voice referendum has been blamed on latent racism and misinformation, but the Prime Minister was repeatedly warned the referendum would fail if recognition was linked to the Voice.

The scandal of Vales Point

The sorry saga of Vales Point Power Station in recent years highlights the muddled political thinking – and opportunistic private profit taking – which bedevil the energy sector to the detriment of the public it ostensibly serves.

One voice, shared values

Despite the defeat of the divisive Voice proposal, there remains ample scope to be optimistic about bi-partisan support for the work of assisting First Nations communities to find solutions to the issues they face.

Progress is still possible

The defeat of the Voice proposal will put the spotlight on existing institutions and frameworks dedicated to improving indigenous outcomes, including The National Indigenous Australians Agency funded with $2.6 billion of public money.

Rights and wrongs

The ‘yes’ campaign now appears to be about avoiding the consequences of failure for the PM and the nation. Should the referendum fail, it will severely embarrass the government. Far worse, it will bring shame, division and national disgrace onto Australia.

AFL must waltz like the Matildas

The unprecedented popularity of the Women’s soccer world cup in Australia is a sign that Australia’s own football code needs to up its game to retain the interest of the next generation.