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The long-running stoush over hospital funding has finally come to an end. Yesterday the federal government struck a deal in which it pledged a $25 billion boost to public hospitals struggling with a population growing bigger, older and sicker.
In return, the states and territories have agreed to match $2 billion in federal funding for the Thriving Kids program, which aims to ease pressure on the National Disability Insurance Scheme. But details on how this will work are scant.
And as the Grattan Institute’s Peter Breadon writes, it’s still not clear how the new deal will actually shift stranded patients out of hospitals and into the care they need, or whether there’s any actual reform to deal with ever-rising costs and the demands on our hospital system.
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Ruth McHugh-Dillon
Deputy Health Editor
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Peter Breadon, Grattan Institute
The deal struck between states and territories and the federal government follows a long-running standoff. Here’s what’s been agreed, and what’s still missing.
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Best reads this week
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Ian Kemish, The University of Queensland
The protection the US offers is less absolute — and far less reassuring — than Australian government rhetoric often implies. It’s time to stop pretending otherwise.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
Labor’s big 2025 victory sparked high hopes for significant reform. But real change is not so easy – especially in our time of high grievance and permanent campaigning.
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Steve Turton, CQUniversity Australia
Australia’s northwest is well known for its heat. But this furnace-like area can deliver heatwaves to the southeast, thousands of kilometres away.
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Pan Wang, UNSW Sydney
As traditional social structures change, technology is filling the gaps – for a price.
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Anna Clark, University of Technology Sydney
Swimming at the beach was largely banned in Australia until the early 19th century – but now, it’s intrinsic to our national identity.
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TC Weekly podcast
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The Liberal senator says ‘social media influencers’ have falsely ‘whipped up a frenzy’ of misinformation about new hate speech laws limiting freedom of speech.
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Gemma Ware, The Conversation
Amin Naeni, an expert on digital authoritarianism, tracks how Iran built the capability to shutdown the internet. Listen on The Conversation Weekly podcast.
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Justin Bergman, The Conversation; Digital Storytelling Team, The Conversation
There’s a recipe for autocracy: six steps tried and tested by some of the world’s most notorious leaders. How many has Donald Trump ticked off?
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Our most-read article this week
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David Lowe, Deakin University; Andrew Singleton, Deakin University; Joanna Cruickshank, Deakin University
While the split between those who want to change the date and those who want to keep it has not changed, those who oppose feel more strongly about it than ever.
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In case you missed this week's big stories
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
The times don’t suit the Liberals, and the Liberals don’t have top people to suit the times. Worse for them, there is no sign of either of those things changing.
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Amin Saikal, Australian National University; The University of Western Australia; Victoria University
Iran’s theocratic leaders are prepared to fight to the end, making regime change a very costly and destabilising exercise for the US.
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Erica De Bruin, Hamilton College
ICE, created in response to 9/11, meets most definitions of paramilitary forces. Critics worry it’s gone beyond its writ of immigration enforcement.
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David S G Goodman, University of Sydney
Removing top military leaders may suggest the Chinese military is undergoing a culture change. But it’s difficult to know in a system as opaque as China’s.
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Peter Draper, Adelaide University ; Mandar Oak, Adelaide University ; Nathan Howard Gray, Adelaide University
The new agreement will affect the lives of 2 billion people across economies representing about a quarter of global GDP.
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A/Prof. Elmira Jamei, Victoria University
Cities swelter in heatwaves - they heat up faster and stay hotter. But Australia has few strategies to cool them. Here’s how we could shift from laggard to leader.
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John Hawkins, University of Canberra
A rate hike next week would be an unusually rapid turnaround after the recent interest rate cuts.
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Megan Prictor, The University of Melbourne
An increasing number of Australians take multiple medications, increasing the risk of misuse and harm. But there is currently no centralised way to track prescriptions.
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Bradley P. Smith, CQUniversity Australia; Kylie M. Cairns, UNSW Sydney
Following the death of a young backpacker, the Queensland government has killed dingoes seen near her body. But will this cull protect tourists?
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Sandra van der Laan, University of Sydney; Lee Moerman, University of Wollongong
Burial and cremation come with some pretty major environmental problems. Both involve huge amounts of energy, resources and pollution.
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How hard is it to govern?
“The mythic view of the Hawke-Keating era is certainly an unfair comparison for the Albanese government. An idealised view of this time also does not take into account the failure of the promised Treaty with First Nations peoples and their very "blokey" style of government that engaged with equally blokey unions. The Albanese government has a lot of talent; however, it remains to be seen if the prime minister has the emotional intelligence and the grit to get to the heart of the fractures in our society and provide answers.”
Jane Davis
Feeding the chooks
“Seems strange to know that politicians working in Canberra have a private lunch room, or catered meal source. On top of this, they get taxpayer reimbursement when 'working' far from home... but somehow these decision-makers can't see fit to supply free lunches to schools?”
Bill Sheehy, QLD
On memory
“The article by Shane Rogers on memory was illuminating. As a biographer, I see how writing life stories that engage readers is dependent on weaving strands from both types of memory and their subsets. A person might record something they did and when, but the biographer might then be required to add context. It’s a rule of thumb as I now tackle my memoir.”
Richard Goodwin, Doubleview WA
We'd love to hear from you. You can email us with your thoughts on our stories and each day we'll publish an edited selection.
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