From the fall of Mosul, it would be easy for people to think the campaign against Islamic State is nearly at an end. But that is not the case, writes Rodger Shanahan.

Australian workers either feel they are going backwards financially or not getting ahead, so whoever can solve the wage-growth puzzle will be best-placed to secure government in 2019, writes Andrew Probyn.

Yet again, we are paying no heed to our farmers. We're stepping over them for a big coal company from another country.

Everything is going Bill Shorten's way, with Tony Abbott rampaging against his colleagues and the Sunday penalty rate cut giving the Opposition Leader a clear policy to sell, Michelle Grattan writes.

Even if Australia decided to invest in ballistic missile defence, it would provide little-to-no protection from a nuclear-armed North Korean ICBM.

If Australians are to eat healthy, unprocessed meats while making sustainable choices, native animals would be an obvious choice, writes Jillian Garvey from La Trobe University.

The world has laughed heartily at North Korea's moon-faced dynastic leader since his rise to power in late 2011, but Kim Jong-un's most successful long-range missile test is drowning out the mirth and forcing a rapid re-think of his intentions, writes Greg Jennett.

Central banks have signalled that nearly a decade of ultra-loose monetary policy is approaching its end, but the Reserve Bank appears to have missed the memo.

It's not just Paul McCartney's $400 concert tickets. There is an avalanche of re-issues, box sets and extras that are taking fans for an expensive ride.

Before cameras even begin to roll, female characters suffer sexism in how they are described on the pages of screenplays. But what can we do to improve this?

Reporting on the disaster in the self-declared state of Somaliland is heart-breaking and infuriating. In a time of science and plenty, children are needlessly dying of disease and malnutrition, writes Africa correspondent Sally Sara.

Johann Sebastian Bach's The Art of Fugue is a work of high art. But in keeping with the late works of artists such as Shakespeare, Beethoven and Goya, it contains elements of pathos, humour, gravity, exuberance and tragedy.

The label "Aboriginal activist" is often applied to Aboriginal Australians in the public eye, but it's not a very meaningful descriptor, writes Luke Pearson.

Crunch time has come for Australia's elite cricketers after a breakdown in talks to secure a new pay deal left 230 male and female players unemployed as of Saturday morning. So now the governing body has some serious questions to answer, writes Tracey Holmes.

As this year ebbs away, Malcolm Turnbull's hold on the leadership will become more precarious if there is no lift in those relentless Newspolls, writes Michelle Grattan.