In the lead-up to the budget, the story of crisis has been hammered home, but there’s more to a country than its structural deficit. So how is Australia doing overall? In this special series, ten writers take a broader look at the State of Australia; our health, wealth, education,...

Abbott spurning Indonesia’s invite confirms relationship troubles Australian prime minister Tony Abbott’s decision not to accept Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s invitation to meet at the Open Government Partnership forum Yudhoyono is chairing in Bali this week leaves the bilateral relationship where it has been since November – stuck....

Eating organic food significantly lowers pesticide exposure: study Eating an organic diet for a week can cause pesticide levels to drop by almost 90% in adults, research from RMIT University has found. The study, led by Dr Liza Oates found particpants’ urinary dialkylphosphates (DAPs) measurements were 89% lower when...

Abbott off to Indonesia next week Tony Abbott will interrupt his work on the budget to make a rushed trip to Bali early next week for his first face-to-face encounter with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono since the revelations of Australian spying fractured bilateral relations. The President invited Abbott...

The word innovation is often associated with banks of computers, not the back paddock. But Australia’s agricultural sector is actually a world leader when it comes to research and development. Calls are growing for Australia to reverse a productivity malaise by investing more in knowledge infrastructure – it would...

Australia’s future prosperity depends on how well it marries structural change in the economy to new opportunities emerging in Asia, especially China. At a time of deep shifts in the Australian economy, the challenge is to find new sources of growth and investment beyond mining. The Hon Andrew Robb...

Old MacDonald sold the farm: so what’s the future for agriculture? When most Australians think about farmers, one image still springs to mind: a family in Akubras and Blundstones, battling the elements with a Blue Heeler by their side. That’s still the image invoked by politicians when calling for...

Those of us in China recognise that outbound China FDI is about Food Safety more than it is about Food Security or Food Sovereignty – which are domestic issues. State Owned Enterprises and their corporate offshoots will invest outside of their core industries but there is a barrier  to...

Grasslands under pressure – will agriculture pull through? Rising human populations place enormous stress on grasslands and other resources used for agriculture. Land is taken over for housing, roads, growing crops. Do we want to wipe out the natural environment and grasslands simply to feed an over-populated Australia and...

Engaging in Myanmar: whose interest are we serving? By Jonathan Bogais, University of Sydney Myanmar is the “new frontier” of the Asia-Pacific region. With its large potential markets, abundant natural resources and strategic position, competition for control of the anticipated revenues intensifies pressure on all sides. While economic development...