Continued political and economic turbulence, pervasive threats of terrorism and climate change: 2015 was a testing year. Even Australia's charmed run as 'the lucky country' threatened to come to an end. The pressures of government resulted in Malcolm Turnbull ousting Tony Abbott to become the country’s fifth prime minister in five years. Will this prove to be a case of history repeating itself, or a turning point?

This collection of articles from The Conversation traverses the year's highs and lows, the issues and possible solutions from experts in education, environment and energy, business and health, the arts and society. Some commentators or writers capture events as they happened, others take a longer view, but all bring academic expertise to bear on the issues of the day and the challenges of tomorrow.