Australia has mothballed a $550m tank fleet. Ukraine would like a word

Australia has mothballed a $550m tank fleet. Ukraine would like a word

Bought for $550 million in 2004,the 59 tanks weigh 63 tonnes each and are equipped with cannons and machine guns.

  • byMatthew Knott

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‘Moral accountability demands more’:Calls for top brass to hand back medals
Exclusive
ADF

‘Moral accountability demands more’:Calls for top brass to hand back medals

Former Defence Force chief Angus Campbell and other leading military figures are facing growing calls to surrender their military honours after more junior Afghanistan war commanders were stripped of theirs.

  • byMatthew Knott
Children’s indoor lifestyle stunts their imagination

Children’s indoor lifestyle stunts their imagination

Daisy Turnbull’s point is well made. Where are the backyards to play in? Where are the creeks to dam? Where are the places to cycle to? It would be nice to think we can turn this around,but for many this will not be possible.

Private school funding is the root of inequality’s ‘great divide’

Private school funding is the root of inequality’s ‘great divide’

David Hastie’s quoting of the Netherlands as a country with more students than Australia in private schools than public ones is not an accurate comparison (“In defence of private school funding:it’s not the great divide”,September 13). Private schools in the Netherlands are mostly chosen for children who require additional needs or for international students who have not yet learned Dutch;they are certainly not regarded as a status symbol,as can happen here.

Ben Roberts-Smith welcomed at Defence party days before Marles strips officers’ medals

Ben Roberts-Smith welcomed at Defence party days before Marles strips officers’ medals

The war criminal attended a gala to mark a Special Air Service Regiment anniversary days before the government stripped officers of honours earned in Afghanistan.

  • byNick McKenzie andMatthew Knott
Army retains sense of hubris despite stripping of medals

Army retains sense of hubris despite stripping of medals

The Albanese government stripped distinguished service medals from some soldiers but the most notorious retains his tarnished Victoria Cross.

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‘National shame’:Richard Marles strips medals from Afghanistan war commanders

‘National shame’:Richard Marles strips medals from Afghanistan war commanders

Opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie choked with emotion as he said “our soldiers must tell the truth,and those in leadership must seek it out”.

  • byMatthew Knott
‘This would be embarrassing’:Deputy PM’s candidate for safe seat could be ‘rolled’

‘This would be embarrassing’:Deputy PM’s candidate for safe seat could be ‘rolled’

An internal fight over a safe Labor seat in Melbourne has spilled into public view as union-backed candidates go head-to-head.

  • byJames Massola
‘The enemy within’:Royal commission damns Defence for needless deaths

‘The enemy within’:Royal commission damns Defence for needless deaths

The landmark inquiry found current and former service personnel are 20 times more likely to take their own lives than to die in combat.

  • byMatthew Knott
Should we care if nosy data wonks ask about our sexuality?
Opinion
Census

Should we care if nosy data wonks ask about our sexuality?

It’s a shame there was no sensible public debate about the census changes because there are sensible views on both sides.

  • byJacqueline Maley
Labor factions at war over prized seat of Gorton

Labor factions at war over prized seat of Gorton

The seat of Gorton is a safe one for Labor. But two Victorian unions are about to battle to claim it.

  • byJames Massola