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Disadvantaged students still falling behind in NAPLAN

By Andres Molina Last week’s NAPLAN results landed with their usual media splash. There were headlines worrying about the significant proportions of students below

The US has a sudden interest in small NSW town

By Robert Monterosso The town of Fifield near Parkes is about a six-hour drive west of Sydney, and at the last census was home to about 130 people. Now, the town has

Losing our religion – a census night big question

By Afzal Chowdhary When I sit down to fill in my first Australian Census in 2026, one question I will be watching closely is a familiar one. Back home in India, “What

Mathematics faces ‘spiritual crisis’ from AI breakthroughs

By Melissa Lee A little over a week ago, artificial intelligence company OpenAI announced 10 advances in mathematics and computer science made with their as-yet

Smart glasses come with a minefield of privacy issues

Kimberlee Weatherall and Milica Stilinovic There are now many more people walking the streets in Australia wearing glasses that can subtly film and record the world

Are the Year 3 NAPLAN alarm bells justified?

By Bronwyn O’Connor and Katherin Cartwright The national NAPLAN results are in for 2026. Years 5, 7 and 9 saw their numeracy scores increase, however a reported

Cancelled speech reveals perils of immigration policy

By Michelle Grattan Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke’s cancelling of his big speech on migration that had been scheduled for delivery at the National Press Club this

Miles Franklin shortlist shows willingness to experiment

By Alexander Howard Australian fiction has long been interested in the relationship between the local and the global – and the six books shortlisted for this year’s

Still time to protect wildlife from bird flu outbreak

By Saia Nahir Bartes Australia is now confronting an outbreak of a deadly bird flu strain. As of Monday, the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus had been detected in 78 wild

Ariana Grande health speculation asks the wrong question

By Vivienne Lewis Every time a celebrity appears to lose weight, the same debate begins. Some people say we shouldn’t comment on another person’s body. Others argue

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