A report by the WWF has ranked Australian jurisdictions by their renewable energy achievements. — The World Wide Fund for Nature has released its Renewable Superpower Scorecard 2021, identifying achievements and potential areas of improvement for Australian jurisdictions in the race to become a renewable energy ‘superpower’. The report estimates that governments in Australia invested more than $7 billion in ‘clean energy stimulus measures’ last…

The extent of Labor’s massive election victory has consequences for democracy, climate action and electoral reform in Western Australia. — Labor, as expected, has won the Western Australian state election. The party will retain and increase its majority of seats in the state parliament’s lower house, allowing incumbent Premier Mark McGowan to continue as the state’s head of government. The biggest news, however, comes from the oft-overlooked upper house results…

Ding-dong, the witch is probably dead. — Last week, those of us outside the United States watched from afar, attentive but powerless, as you cast your vote in one of the most pivotal elections in living memory. As the results came in, we were glued to our screens, nervously awaiting developments. If you’ve ever wondered why the…

A timeline of possible developments, hour by hour. — This is one of the most pivotal elections of all time, and with everything that’s going on in 2020, it’s also a bit unpredictable. And yet, there’s a lot that probably can be predicted. I’ve trawled through various sources of information to create a timeline of what will or may…

Is pro-government sentiment being stirred up by astroturfers? — The COVID-19 pandemic has emerged as one of the most polarising events in Victorian political history. The controversy surrounding the Victorian government’s handling of the pandemic has created two sets of ultra-partisan zealots. One, a cult-like collection of staunch Labor voters unwilling to concede that Premier Daniel Andrews could ever…

Political debates often spin out of control. — Political debates are supposed to be of value to voters. A debate should be a fair and honest exchange of ideas. It should provide clarity to viewers about where each candidate stands on the issues. Sadly, the first presidential debate of the 2020 US election campaign failed to deliver such…

It really doesn’t matter what happened last time they met. — Last time they met, Richmond lost to St Kilda by 26 points. However, when the two sides face each other at Metricon Stadium on Friday night, Richmond will be the hot favourite to progress to the preliminary finals. The truth of the matter is that the most recent result between…

Greater Geelong has zero active COVID-19 cases… but thanks to Melbourne, it can’t host an AFL final. — The Geelong Football Club is accustomed to playing its home finals on the road. In 124 VFL/AFL seasons, the Cats have played just two finals in their home city — one in 1897, another in 2013. Since the latter, Geelong has been forced to play eight home finals at the…

Alastair Clarkson was once regarded as the best coach in the AFL, and for good reason. In 2005, Clarkson inherited a Hawthorn side that had finished 15th out of 16 teams in the previous season. By the end of 2008, he had coached it to a premiership. From 2011 to…