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When Anthony Albanese became prime minister he imagined an optimistic future for his government. Sensible reform in the first year that the public would warmly welcome, followed by boldly winning the first referendum since 1977. But the reality is far from that. A win in the referendum is looking less assured than ever, while the cost of living crisis has almost everyone feeling miserable.  Today,...

As rent prices continue to spiral and many tenants finding themselves at breaking point, the rental crisis shows no sign of slowing. The Greens are calling for a national freeze on rents, which they say would save households thousands of dollars per year. But in a country where renters have been overlooked, is there political will to address rising rents? And would capping rents even work? Today,...

It was an inquiry meant to get to the bottom of why the trial of Bruce Lehrmann had to be abandoned. Its goal was to improve the justice system and how it handles sexual assault cases. Instead, the inquiry itself has ended in a complete shambles. The man who brought on the report, Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold, has resigned.  The head of the inquiry, Walter Sofronoff, KC, was talk...

The iconic words of Martin Luther King Jr are now being used to promote the exact causes that the civil rights activist would have opposed.  In the United States, conservatives quoted him to celebrate the supreme court’s ban on affirmative action based on race in university admissions. Here, people like Peter Dutton are invoking MLK to rally opponents of the Voice to Parliament. Today, writer, law...

David Pocock admits that sometimes he's had to vote for policy he doesn’t fully agree with. The first-term senator came into parliament with the best intentions to avert the climate crisis, but has sometimes found himself having to work to make legislation he thinks is bad, a little bit better. Now, he’s trying to put forward a solution he does actually believe in: a private senator’s bill that wo...

Parliament is back – and it ain’t pretty! The government is pushing ahead with its contentious housing bill and finds itself, once again, sparring with the Greens. Meanwhile, the Coalition has a new strategy for encouraging a ‘No’ vote in the Voice referendum. So will the combative nature of this parliament stop Labor from being productive in government and could they lose key bills in the senate?...

The royal commission into robo-debt found Scott Morrison to have allowed cabinet to be misled.  Commissioner Cathrine Holmes also found he provided untrue evidence to the commission and that he pressured departmental officials over the scheme. It took a few weeks, but the former prime minister this week addressed those findings head-on: denying it all. Today, senior reporter for The Saturday Paper...

Australia’s offshore processing facility on Nauru now sits empty.  The detention centre has been a feature of Nauru’s identity for over a decade, but now we’re learning extraordinary details about how millions of Australian taxpayer dollars were spent in questionable deals to keep the facility running. Last week, the focus turned to the then-Home Affairs minister, Peter Dutton, who awarded a lucra...

Australians love to heat their homes and cook their meals with gas, but its future in our households has a limit.  Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews has taken a big step in phasing out gas by banning it in new homes from January 1, 2024. But the announcement provoked anger and outrage among conservative commentators, and some members of the public, who insist gas is best. So, does Australia have a...

Australian housing is in crisis – the country doesn’t have enough affordable homes for the growing number of people who need them. This week, the Albanese government will begin its second attempt to pass its key housing policy. The bill is being reintroduced to parliament unchanged, but will need the Greens’ support. All signs point to a political stalemate. Today, contributing editor of The Polit...

Today, author Don Watson will be reading his piece from the June issue of The Monthly , reflecting on WW2 ace pilot Sir Douglas Bader. Bader was a remarkable Royal Air Force pilot in the second world war. Brazen and courageous, he managed to escape death countless times, scored dozens of victories, and was even redeployed as a pilot after having both legs amputated. However, in the words of Don Wa...

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has a new pet project. He is reinventing, and possibly destroying, the site formerly known as Twitter. Now known simply as X, the iconic blue bird logo is no more. But Musk’s rebrand isn’t purely for aesthetics. It's the beginning of the billionaire’s vision to create a ubiquitous ‘everything app’ of the future.  Could this ambitious plan to centralise communica...

Environmental groups such as the World Wildlife Fund and the Australian Conservation Foundation are some of the biggest recipients of donations from Australians who want to make a difference for the planet. But increasingly the biggest groups are working with the government and corporate Australia – instead of resisting them. What does that shift mean? Will it help or hinder the fight against clim...

Who would axe a campaign to promote consent on university campuses? We know that sexual assault of students is an enormous problem, and a national campaign designed by experts is exactly the kind of thing you’d expect to be part of the solution. Well, not if you’re one of the university vice-chancellors who put a stop to it. Today, journalist and contributor to The Saturday Paper Kristine Ziwica r...

In recent days, there has been speculation over whether the government should abandon the referendum and instead legislate the Voice through parliament. Campaigners say legislating the Voice – rather than enshrining it in the constitution – would weaken its standing and risks repeating mistakes of the past.  Today, business leader and author of the new book ‘ On The Voice to Parliament ’, Nyikina...

It started with PwC, but now accusations are being levelled at the other big consultancy firms in Australia. Over the last 10 years, more and more government decision-making has been outsourced to multi-billion dollar firms in lucrative contracts.  Now, the firms’ relationships with government and their level of influence are under close scrutiny in Canberra.  Today, chief political correspondent...

Anthony Albanese concedes support for the Voice to Parliament has slipped. Polls taken around this time last year showed more than 60 per cent of respondents in favour of the Voice. Now, it’s as low as 41 per cent.  Each side of the debate has just published their official argument for voting ‘yes’ or ‘no’, which will be posted to every Australian household ahead of the referendum.  Today, columni...

The FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off tonight, with the Matildas playing Ireland in Sydney. The 83,500-capacity Stadium Australia is completely sold out, making it one of the biggest crowds in the history of women’s football. But, as the game’s popularity explodes and the players cement themselves as household names, the Matildas are still fighting for basic rights – like equal pay. Today, writer a...

The international criminal court in the Hague looks at some of the gravest war crimes and crimes against humanity. Now, Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie has asked it to investigate senior Australian Defence Force commanders for alleged war crimes. She says the Brereton report, which found credible information about 39 alleged murders in Afghanistan involving members of the Australian special forc...

The Reserve Bank of Australia is getting a new governor: Michele Bullock. It’s an historic appointment. Michele Bullock is the first ever woman to hold the position. She was, until now, second in charge. It comes after the controversial term of Philip Lowe, who provoked public anger for suggesting interest rates wouldn’t rise until 2024, and then hiking them 12 times in just over a year. So will a...

The 2022 federal election saw a historic loss for the Coalition and a historic shift towards independent candidates like Allegra Spender in Sydney, Zoe Daniel in Melbourne and Kate Chaney in Perth.  Elected on promises to fight climate change, make progress on gender issues and advocate for more integrity in politics, the Teals flipped some of the wealthiest and safest Liberal seats.  But now, as...

Today on the show, writer and filmmaker John Safran, with his piece from the latest edition of The Monthly .  Father Bob Maguire was an icon in his own right, but for many, they knew him through his years of conversation with John Safran on TV and their Sunday Night radio show. Father Bob passed away earlier this year and received a state funeral in Melbourne and today we feature John’s writing ab...

There is one story that had radiated through the witness list at the robo-debt royal commission, which profoundly altered the shape of that inquiry: the story of Rhys Cauzzo. There were many cases like his, but Rhys Cauzzo’s experience under robo-debt sparked a fight for justice that still continues. Rhys Cauzzo killed himself in January 2017. The public servants and ministers responsible for this...

Robo-debt should never have made it into the real world, but once it did, its gatekeepers became greedy and turned the scheme on full throttle. In late 2016, without warning, more than 100,000 people across Australia were swamped by life-altering debts stretching back years. That became a political problem. A scheme politicians thought was a neat and tidy solution to their own ambitions quickly sp...

How did robo-debt ever make it out of the lab? We may never get a perfect answer to that question. But there is one person who can help piece together how this astounding period of public service fakery was uncovered. You see, the flaws in robo-debt were not discovered by any government department or oversight body, like the ombudsman's office. They were revealed by a group of people on Twitter: l...