The Policy Post

  Anatomy of a blame game. As public hospitals sink further into disarray, federal and state governments go to war over money. And nobody wants to take responsibility for fixing the system.

  The resistible rise of the modern fascist. Western liberal democracy is under more stress than at any time in eight decades. But today’s wannabe fascists are more mortal than most of us realise.

  The over-hyped world of AI. Artificial intelligence won’t change as much as the promoters claim. But, for some, its impacts will be disruptive – and sometimes disastrous.

  We should be so much better than this. Post-stroke treatment neglects the most effective – and cost-effective – options. Patients, the health system and the whole economy pay the price.

  A politics for a disintegrating world. The western democracies face a time of upheaval that could lead to breakdown and chaos. But only if we let it.

  Climate change, security … and Indonesia. Australia can, with difficulty, handle most of what climate change throws at us. Our biggest, nearest neighbour cannot.

  Democracy’s crisis of confidence. Autocracies are winning the trust of their people. Democracies are losing it.

  Prevention is not a substitute for cure. The better we get at preventing disease, the more we have to spend on hospitals. And life expectancy cannot improve forever.

  Australia Alone 1: The future without America. We are moving into a multipolar world  in which no single centre of power can dominate. For Australia, the time has come for independence.

  Australia alone 2: Where’s the enemy? The US wants Australia to help constrain China and preserve America’s supremacy. But what’s in it for us?