Latest
Greens the worst political performers of 2024: AFR readers
The Greens have been judged the worst-performing party by readers of The Australian Financial Review, who criticised its MPs for obstructing parliament.
- Tom Rabe
- Analysis
- Anthony Albanese
‘Albo knows best’: Inside Labor’s discontent with PM
A series of missteps has raised questions about Anthony Albanese’s judgment. Is he too confident in his own instincts?
- Ronald Mizen
Dutton pushes role for gas power amid blitz on Labor seats
The Opposition Leader hit five Labor electorates this week, in an indication the Coalition is increasingly confident of holding its own seats and is on the hunt for more.
- Phillip Coorey
Mark Butler’s health problem with no fix
The health minister is in the middle of an almighty fight between private hospitals and the health insurers, and he’s facing a difficult decision in the lead up to the election.
- Michael Smith
Dutton axes third wind farm ahead of nuclear pitch
The opposition leader has pledged to scrap plans for a massive wind farm off the NSW central coast if elected.
- Phillip Coorey
This Month
Teals back more small business IR exemptions as unions baulk
In a letter to the workplace relations minister, lower-house teal MPs argued smaller firms should not be subject to the same workplace laws as big companies.
- Ronald Mizen
- Exclusive
- Angus Taylor
More power bill discounts likely in new cost of living package
The Albanese government is mulling a third round of power bill discounts to take to the next election.
- Phillip Coorey
- Analysis
- Jim Chalmers
Chalmers approves more spending – but only until the election
After three years of putting little emphasis on the private sector, Labor is now spruiking the value of a business-led recovery.
- Phillip Coorey
How salmon could cost Labor majority government
A fierce backlash over a review into fish farming in Macquarie Harbour in the state’s west that is costing the party votes in battleground electorates.
- Ronald Mizen
Restaurants warn fee ban will lead to prices to rise
The government’s proposal could see credit card users doubly penalised by paying higher prices, and face an additional surcharge set around 2 per cent.
- James Eyers
Why glitzy Gold Coast is the next teal battleground
Erchana Murray-Bartlett ran the equivalent of 150 marathons in as many days last year. Now she’s running for federal parliament as an independent backed by Climate 200.
- James Hall
- Exclusive
- Anthony Albanese
PM lacks the guts to try again on EPA: Greens
Anthony Albanese has been labelled both courageous and gutless after he torpedoed talks to establish an EPA.
- Phillip Coorey
- Analysis
- Anthony Albanese
Finding life tough? Imagine if Dutton had been PM, says Albanese
The government does not dispute voters are worse off than three years ago, but argues it would be more dire had the Coalition been in power.
- Phillip Coorey
November
Albanese dangles childcare package in pitch to voters
Labor’s new childcare policy will not be legislated until after the election, making its delivery contingent on re-electing the government.
- Phillip Coorey
- Analysis
- Greens
Election looming, Greens take what they can get
Federal elections are usually remembered as contests between prime ministers and opposition leaders, but in 2025, Greens leader Adam Bandt has as much to lose as anyone.
- Tom McIlroy
How Black Friday really works | Investing ideas from world’s biggest banks | CEO’s election fears
This week, the Chooks explain how Black Friday really works, reveal what business is thinking ahead of the federal election and look at the best investment ideas from the world’s biggest investment banks.
Labor plans to kick with the wind for a second time
The dynamic could not be more different to this time last year when parliament wound up with the government blowing smoke and the PM resembling a shot duck.
- Phillip Coorey
What Labor achieved in the past three years
Parliament may return for two final weeks in February or maybe not at all before the next federal election. What has Anthony Albanese achieved so far in his first term?
- Tom McIlroy
PM’s legislation blitz clears decks for election
The government secured the bulk of its legislative agenda in one day, including the Reserve Bank restructure, after the Greens folded.
- Phillip Coorey
Emissions fell at one-fifth rate needed to achieve 2030 target: CCA
Emissions fell by 20 per cent of the 15 million tonnes the Climate Change Authority says is needed to achieve Australia’s 2030 emissions reduction target.
- Ronald Mizen
Birmingham warns Liberals against ideological extremes as he departs
Announcing his exit from politics, Liberal Senate leader Simon Birmingham also slammed China for abusing its power when it blocked Australian trade.
- Andrew Tillett
- Exclusive
- Anthony Albanese
Coalition hopes to win up to five federal seats in Victoria
The federal Liberal Party is planning a major push into Victoria including billboard advertising that plays off the flailing state government under Jacinta Allan.
- Phillip Coorey
RBA board overhaul back in play after Labor, Greens reopen talks
The Albanese government has reopened talks with the Greens on reforms of the Reserve Bank, two months after declaring them dead.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Budget slide shows Chalmers’ fiscal luck has run out
If the government calls an early election before the budget is scheduled for March 25 next year, it would underscore how big a political problem – of its own making – economic management now is for Labor.
- The AFR View
Labor MPs told to campaign hard on Senate votes
The party’s upper house decline has been stifling its policy ambitions, as it needs 14 extra votes for every bill it needs to pass.
- Phillip Coorey
