The government wants to curb NDIS spending. Here’s how it might succeed

This year, the National Disability Insurance Scheme is expected to cost taxpayers $50 billion. So what needs to change?

‘I never really know how to answer that’: why do women still have to justify being single?

A growing number of women are choosing to be ‘defiantly single’, yet the stigma against them persists.

Meet kungaka – the hidden one’. This ancient lizard could be the rarest reptile in Australia

The kungaka represents an ancient lineage from when Australia was wetter. Today, it survives in a sheltered desert gorge.

Victoria has made public transport free – NSW hasn’t. Has there been any difference in uptake?

Public transport access, travel time and familiarity with the network all play a role in how many people switch away from driving.

Strait of Hormuz blockade: the complex regional realities the US ignores at its peril

The pivotal waterway is much more than a global economic choke point. It is a politically and culturally dynamic region with its own dangerous undercurrents.

He exposed corruption and walked across Hungary. Now Péter Magyar has defeated a powerful state machine

Viktor Orbán had consolidated his power and taken over state institutions, but Magyar found his Achilles’ heel – growing public anger over corrupt elites.

An extinct echidna the size of a small child once roamed Victoria, new fossil shows

More than a hundred years after it was found in Foul Air Cave in Victoria, the fossil is granting us new insights into deep time.

Coalition would toughen scrutiny of migrants’ ‘values’ and wants new assessment of those from Gaza

The opposition leader has given an insight into his long-awaited immigration policy.

Joe Dolce’s Shaddap You Face has been inducted into the National Film and Sound Archive’s Sounds of Australia. How can we best understand this song in 2026?

👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/is-shad...

An app doesn’t have to be ‘educational’ to be included in Google’s ‘Teacher Approved’ section.

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Roblox is boosting safety features for young people. It’s a step in the right direction

The new safety features could help reduce online harm – but they ask a lot of parents.

📚🍯 Winnie-the-Pooh is a perfect mixture of sweetness and sharp observation, shifting between light and dark, funny and tragi-comic.

👉 Read the full story: theconversation.com/friends...

Claude Mythos and Project Glasswing: why an AI superhacker has the tech world on alert

A new AI model could automate the process of searching for cybersecurity bugs and flaws – for better or worse.

The government will invest upwards of $12 billion in uncrewed and autonomous systems over the next decade.

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No new hornet nests have been found for weeks. But as the invasive species enters a key breeding phase, public vigilance is needed.

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Do you taste words or hear colours? Here’s the neuroscience behind synaesthesia

About 1-4% of people have synaesthesia, a trait that both fascinates and puzzles scientists.

Is it anxiety or OCD? 2 psychology experts explain the difference

Many of us have rituals or habits to cope with worry that give us more of a sense of control. But here’s when they might be something more serious.

Special agents: the rise of the neurodivergent hero in TV crime drama

Why the prevalence of neurodivergent protagonists in police procedurals? And what are viewers gaining by watching stories predicated on this form of difference?

ABC’s Caper Crew delivers heists and heart – a bright spot in a struggling kids’ TV sector

The show reminds us how good Australian family programming can be, if we invest in it.

As Artemis II is celebrated, the world faces hard questions about US leadership in space

The US disregards international law on Earth. Is that what we want on the Moon?

China stands to be impacted first, as the main buyer of Iran’s crude oil. But if the blockade drags on, its knock-on effects could impact the whole world. 👉 theconversation.com/trumps-...

What Viktor Orbán’s landslide election loss means for Putin, Trump and the rise of right-wing populism

The White House and Kremlin tried unsuccessfully to influence Hungary’s election. But this doesn’t mean illiberalism is going away.

Australia gets its first female army chief, Susan Coyle

She is the first woman to be appointed head of any of the services in the Australian military.

The US disregards international law on Earth. Is that what we want on the Moon?
👉 theconversation.com/as-arte...

Michael Winkler’s debut made Miles Franklin history. Griefdogg is just as perplexing and philosophical

Michael Winkler’s quietly provocative second novel, Griefdogg, asks: what if you had enough money to just … exist?

A new ad campaign is pushing Australians to use less petrol. Has this happened before?

Australia has been forced to conserve and even ration fuel several times in its history.

Would a US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz be legal?

With peace talks breaking down, the US president has said the US will blockade the Strait of Hormuz, which will have a further dire impact on international fuel supply.

From river stain to your cup of tea: the secret world of tannins

Tannin stains on concrete, cars and decks may be unsightly, but that doesn’t mean tannins are unimportant.

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If you live in these parts of Australia, you’ll still get a public holiday if you work Monday to Friday. But millions of others aren’t so lucky.


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Humanitarian personnel put themselves in harm’s way to help others. An international law expert explains how we can keep them safe.

👉 Read the full article: theconversation.com/health-...