Opinion

MITCHELL JOHNSON: If the first Test was a blockbuster, the Gabba sequel could be just as wild and potentially over in two days again if the rain stays away after Ben Stokes’ pointed comments.

Paul Murray: Anyone who has watched Chris Bowen’s career over the past 20 years could hardly say that diplomacy is his strong suit. He’s graceless.

Breakaway rugby competition R360 will not launch until 2028, in a move that could leave NRL stars Zac Lomax and Ryan Papenhuyzen in limbo.

EDITORIAL: The Prime Minister can’t kick back while the cost-of-living crisis roars back to life.

JASON FALINSKI: Corporate Australia is stuck lobbying like it’s the 1990s.

BEN HARVEY: The Federal Government seems determined to make sure a comfortable retirement eludes us.

JUSTIN LANGER: It’s hard to tell from the outside, but England sticking to their guns is not that crazy and why can’t a bloke play golf?

Ben Harvey outlines a nightmare scenario for recent homebuyers and goes ballistic over feigned surprise by team Albo to the latest inflation data.

EDITORIAL: The move by Labor to subject gas projects to more onerous assessment processes is entirely at odds with Anthony Albanese’s previously stated strong support for the industry.

GEORGIE PARKER: This grand final is another chapter in the fierce battle between these titanic heavyweights and its the best thing that could be happening for the sport.

AARON PATRICK: Labor’s deal to create a new environmental agency will have the unfortunate consequence of damaging an Australian success story.

MARK RILEY: Pauline Hanson’s poll ‘surge’ is just a protest-vote blip that won’t last.

With the final season of the hit fantasy/horror series crashing the streaming platform on its release day, it’s timely to consider one question: what is Netflix without Stranger Things?

MITCHELL JOHNSON: Ben Stokes, and England, need to get some runs on the board — and maybe a Test win — before sledging their own greats as their hubris was clearly their undoing in the first Test.

EDITORIAL: The public service’s continued bloat is strangling private sector growth. Will the Albanese Government have the guts to make the cuts necessary to rein it in?