The Australian government entered this year’s federal budget with the confidence of a nation that had largely avoided recession, but not the anxiety of one that had escaped inflation. Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered a spending plan framed around “resilience” and “restraint,” even as households faced rising mortgage repayments, stubborn grocery prices and the prospect of further interest-rate pain from the Reserve Bank of Australia. The budget attempted a difficult balancing

The global shift from fossil fuels to clean energy is usually framed as a slow, incremental process but the conflict in the Middle East is kick starting a transformational move to home-grown renewable energy and battery storage, with independent experts saying there is no going back. The war in Iran is redrawing the contours of the global energy system, confronting governments with a stark and immediate question: do you double down on fossil fuels or accelerate the shift to c

Six female environmental activists from across the globe were awarded the 2026 Goldman Environmental Prize – known as the green Nobel Prize – in April, marking the first time in the award’s 37-year history that all regional winners were women.

In the outback expanse of Australia’s Northern Territory, two remote Indigenous communities have received funding to take an unprecedented step toward energy independence, as they move to build locally owned solar farms and microgrids designed to reduce both costs and reliance on diesel fuel. Backed by $11 million in federal funding, the projects in Borroloola and Santa Teresa mark the first wholly Indigenous-owned initiatives of their kind to receive such support, a mileston

With news that at least six dingoes were euthanised on K'gari (formerly Fraser Island) after the death of a Canadian backpacker, a coalition of scientists, conservation advocates and Indigenous people – the Dingo Network – has formed to advocate for policy that ensures Australia’s dingoes thrive in protected areas. In January, after the death of 19-year-old Canadian backpacker Piper James, Queensland authorities euthanised members of the pack found near her body, igniting a f

In a sunlit recreation room in suburban Australia, residents of an aged care facility sip tea and settle into their seats as the scenery begins to move. Outside the “windows,” snow capped peaks rise in the French Alps, fields roll past in the English countryside and red desert unfurls across Central Australia. No one has left the building. Instead, technology has brought the journey to them. As long journeys and even short outings become difficult for many older people, immer

After decades of steep decline, the eastern migratory monarch butterfly is showing a rare sign of recovery. New scientific surveys by WWF-Mexico and its partners indicate that the population increased by an estimated 64% during the butterfly’s most recent hibernation season, offering cautious hope for one of the world’s most iconic species. The monarch population’s increase was measured not by counting individual butterflies, but by tracking how much forest they occupied in

After two years of campaigning, Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) campaigners advocating to fix whistleblower protection within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to protect those who report wrongdoing have gained a significant win. In April, the Federal Parliament united to pass initial priority amendments to the NDIS Act , which they had developed together with Greens Senator Jordan Steele-John. The Albanese Government has also committed to consulting on more comp