Ed Husic joins the call for an effective gas export tax and explains why it won't stop gas companies from operating in Australia live.thepoint.com.au/2026/03/the-...

A gas export tax won't come as a surprise to Australia's trading partners or investors. But it will drive down domestic gas prices & ensure that Australians get a fairer return for our resources. @rodcampbell.bsky.social & @ebonybennett.bsky.social discuss on Follow the Money ➡️🎧 theaus.in/4dJTmdJ

Now is a good time to talk to the government about arts policy: they're accepting submissions for the next plan. May be a good time to remind them that Australia has very low arts spending compared with other developed countries.

The fed gov is running a hearing on their arts and philanthropy inquiry today, but they're looking in the wrong place. Philanthropy is a tiny part of overall arts funding and won't help big problems like the post-covid arts recovery. Employment is still way down compared w the rest of the economy

Great piece on how Aus coal and gas decisions impact Asian countries. NSW stopped coal mines. Korea will end coal sooner. Feat Solutions for Our Climate in @newcastleherald.bsky.social www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/920499...

@andrewwilkiemp.bsky.social's right. A climate disaster levy will help Australia deal with the increase in climate disasters

Beyond ready for a gas tax. How about 25% as the ACTU suggested?

Laws are only effective if they're enforced and right now there's a big gap between the # of people get a firearm for hunting or sport shooting and the # of people who actually engage in those activities. If they're not using the gun for the stated reason, why are they are allowed to keep them?

If you have an old iPhone, clogged up with system data, allow me to recommend a full restore. I now have 30gb free and my phone is functioning again! There may be a few more years in this old girl yet (talking about the phone, not myself)

Subsidies to mining companies growing faster than the NDIS, child care, aged care. Australian gov fossil fuel subsidies now at $30,000 every minute of every day. Great piece on @australiainstitute.org.au latest research www.theguardian.com/environment/...

All-start lineup at Sydney Writers' Fest (Dav Pilkey, are you kidding??!!) but this is the best ticket (on sale 14 March): www.swf.org.au/program/fest...

Gee, I wonder what people mean when they give this as a reason for sending their kids to private school "this is very important where our children are going and what sort of friends they have"

@evelynaraluen.bsky.social was on the money when she called for tax free prizes. The PM's lit award is tax free, time to bring other prizes in line.

Excellent work by @skyelark.bsky.social on how many guns are stockpiled in each postcode of Sydney live.thepoint.com.au/2026/03/the-...

Byron Writers' Festival headed into town this year! Really looking forward to seeing the program when it comes out www.byronwritersfestival.com/festival

"Was the Adelaide University merger really worth $185 million in consultants?" @alicektg.bsky.social The merger cost a total of $500m & Deloitte won the contract worth $185m to manage the merger. thepoint.com.au/news/260219-...

Or if you prefer a webinar, join @australiainstitute.org.au @alicektg.bsky.social and I tomorrow at 11am AEDT to cover submissions and hearings, with a Q&A afterwards. australiainstitute.org.au/events/polic...

Canberra's very own Jurassic Park moment

Philanthropy is a nice to have in arts funding BUT it can only ever be a fraction of what we really need, which is a BIG increase in government funding. Where's the inquiry on making sustainable, serious funding for for the arts in this country? www.aph.gov.au/About_Parlia...

@abistephenson.bsky.social on The Point about why tax policy is far sexier than you think

I'm as glad as the next person that Meanjin will get a new home, but can we please stop with the knee-jerk cancellations and just have some continuity please? Thinking reinstatement of Sabsabi, re-issuing of the invite for Abdel-Fattah and now this. www.qut.edu.au/about/meanjin

If protests didn't work, then governments wouldn't try to ban them. thepoint.com.au/news/260209-...

Let's get this straight. Adani donates $600k the Qld LNP before election. After the election, Qld LNP ends legal action over $400 MILLION in unpaid royalties. Dodgy, dodgy, dodgy. Thread. www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Newcastle Writers Festival is not in the business of cancelling; it celebrates writing, discussion and debate.

With threats from culture wars, climate disaster and insecure funding, Australia's thriving writers' festivals face an uncertain future. Read more in @theconversation.com theconversation.com/what-is-the-...

Just in case you thought that we were transitioning away from coal ... @ketanjoshi.co sets the record straight on @thepointau.bsky.social

In his new essay in A Time for Bravery, Archibald Prize-winning artist Ben Quilty asks what courage looks like in the arts, and how Australia can be braver. Get your copy of A Time for Bravery today! 📖📖📖 #auspol

Triple J Hottest 100 out tomorrow! Last year just 27 Aus songs made it. Lowest since 1994!! Why? – Streaming favours the USA Thankfully, DJ Albo is in the house and can turn this around! Thread on how.

if you're trying to get a handle on last night's happenings at parliament, you need to read @amyremeikis.bsky.social coverage on @thepointau.bsky.social - she was there till the bitter end (aka 11pm) live.thepoint.com.au

The Creative Workplaces Survey is now open. Artists and arts workers are invited to share their experiences of working in the creative industries. 🗓 Open until 23 February 2026 🔗 buff.ly/iwI87Hz

Our January Focus On features books by Emily Adrian, Michael Brissenden, editors Anna Chang & Alice Grundy, Kate Flaherty, Anna North, and Maggie Shapley! marion.ink/focus-on #FocusOn @annachang.bsky.social @alicektg.bsky.social @affirmpress.bsky.social @hachetteaus.bsky.social

Miners exaggerating tax. Again. What's new is that this is so demonstrably false. Will they take down false ads? If you see this ad after today, please let me know. Debunked on @thepointau.bsky.social here, more below: thepoint.com.au/factchecks/2...

This is the way #Meanjin ends — not with a bang but a whimper. New FOI story from me for @crikey.com.au: www.crikey.com.au/2025/12/17/m...

It's nearly a year since @australiainstitute.org.au report on the state of firearm ownership in Australia came out. Horrified at the reason it's getting attention, but perhaps there will be some movement to make our community safer in the coming weeks and months

State Library of Victoria scraps restructure plan after outrage from famous writers and public

Timely reminder that the US hasn’t been interested in the so-called rules based order in a while. Case in point post 9/11 Guantanamo : podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/a...

A reminder Japan on-sells more Australian gas to other countries than is consumed on the entire East Coast of Australia. We don't need *more* gas, we need to tax our gas exports properly

The #SundayShot is up, people! Get into it...and claim your discount on @australiainstitute.org.au's great new book co-edited by panellist @alicektg.bsky.social, A TIME FOR BRAVERY. Don't miss the penultimate episode of the year. youtube.com/watch?v=wJq7Nnx-FZ4&feature=youtu.be

'Nothing remains': Sri Lanka cyclone survivors face colossal clean-up. Survivors of Cyclone Ditwah, which has ravaged Sri Lanka in recent days, return to their devastated homes, faced with a massive clean-up as they start rebuilding their lives. The powerful storm killed at least 474 people

What's your best book of 2025? If you share today, you might end up in our newsletter tomorrow. (Also, I just want to know!) theconversation.com/best-books-o...

Great to have the chance to talk about our research in this article for The Point! In it we emphasise the risks GenAI raises for Indigenous Education and what came from our recent study testing LLMs on Indigenous topics. 🦘🎓 #edusky #academicsky thepoint.com.au/opinions/251...

"Worryingly, the Minister will be able to alter accredited arrangements without any public consultation at all ... there remains a high degree of discretion and uncertainty (noting that no standards have yet been declared)."

Scary, scary! Save us from nasty renewables, lovely coal! I love that the word "blackout" appears just 2 times in AEMO's 154 page report, yet makes the SMH headline! www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...

@australiainstitute.org.au wearing aus music t-shirts today. You can donate to musicians doing it tough here: ausmusictshirtday.org.au

It's the last day of parliament and I am all out of fucks to give: Party that refused to properly negotiate on laws now bitching about laws they refused to negotiate properly on live.thepoint.com.au/2025/11/the-...

"I realised then that bravery is not about having all the answers. It’s about making the hardest decision in the loneliest room and walking out still able to look yourself in the mirror." Senator Fatima Payman on crossing the floor. The first extract from A Time for Bravery, up for preorder now

The abrupt and indefensible closure of Meanjin makes me ask, what can be done to shore up the future of literary journals in this country? How about funding the arts to the OECD average. That would mean an extra $5b per year. With thanks to @jocaseau.bsky.social for her ever-excellent edits on this

Did Kath and Kim come from the mother daughter duo in Patrick White’s Twyborn Affair or is that just a coincidence? An idle google bore no fruit

"Countries meeting in Brazil for two weeks could manage only a voluntary agreement to begin discussions on a roadmap to an eventual phase-out of fossil fuels, and they achieved this incremental progress only in the teeth of implacable opposition from oil-producing countries."