AQ: Australian Quarterly

For over 90 years AQ: Australian Quarterly has been packing its pages with the debates that have shaped Australia and the world, tackling the big topics in science, politics and society. Grounded in evidence, yet written in a style accessible to everyone, AQ is unique in Australia’s publishing landscape, pushing back against the trends of subjective truth and media spin. If it matters to Australia then it matters to AQ.

A Word

AQ: Australian Quarterly

The Burden of Transparency: Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025 • On 3 September 2025, the Attorney-General, the Hon Michelle Rowland MP, introduced the Freedom of Information Amendment Bill 2025 into the House of Representatives. The Bill sought to amend both the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) and the Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010 (the AIC Act). According to the Explanatory Memorandum, the reforms are designed to improve the operation of the Commonwealth FOI framework, yet ultimately, they will reduce government transparency and accountability.

Dictatorship and Destruction, Chaos and Corruption: MAGA and the Re-Election of Trump • On 6 January 2021, President Trump incited a large crowd of his militant followers to march to the Capitol Building with a view to physically disrupting the declaration of Biden as the president-elect. Whilst the building was violently breached and members of Congress evacuated, police eventually regained control, and members completed the certification of the election results. Despite impeachments, overt calls to insurrection, and manifest unfitness for office, under the US political system Trump was not disqualified for nominating again, and the Republican leadership eventually supported his nomination. And in late 2024, a (near) majority of Americans voted for his re-election. What led the self-proclaimed bastion of modern democracy to the point of electing a self-proclaimed autocrat?

Young Tall Poppy Science Awards 2025 Winners

2025 Young Tall Poppy Policy Briefs

Who Controls Birth Control? • Since antiquity people have searched for ways to control conception. In the 19th century, birth control advocates were jailed and today contraception crusaders are still battling.1 Now these hard-won gains are in danger and it’s time, once more, to fight to uphold these rights.

Heritage or Housing? The Generational Battle for Australia’s Suburbs • Amendment GC264, currently before the Victorian Government, proposes to rezone public land at 79 Balcombe Road, Mentone, to allow for a six-storey development beside the heritage-listed Mentone Station and Gardens.1 The proposal has sparked backlash and sharply divided the community. A local protest banner appeared on the site calling to “Stop the Tower, Save Mentone”. Some time later, another banner was hung beside it, declaring “Stop the NIMBYs, Build Mentone”.2

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Young Tall Poppy Science Awards