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As the Liberal Party examines its electoral defeat, questions are being asked about the party’s future. The frontrunner for the leadership is Peter Dutton. But what kind of Opposition would he lead? And is the moderate wing of the party, all but wiped out by independents, now dead?  Today, former Liberal leader and columnist for The Saturday Paper John Hewson on what went wrong for the Coalition o...

Right now, one of Australia’s most decorated soldiers, Ben Roberts-Smith, is suing Nine newspapers over a series of articles alleging war crimes.  As the case has played out, we have learned extraordinary details about Australia’s most secretive operations during the war in Afghanistan, with evidence being aired in civil court.   Some witnesses have told the court they saw Ben Roberts-Smith unlawf...

Almost a decade of conservative government in Australia has ended. Votes are still being counted, but it looks like the Liberal and National Party have suffered their worst result in decades. The Greens, independents and minor parties have had historic wins, and will wield significant power in the new parliament. But the government will be led by Anthony Albanese, Australia’s 31st Prime Minister –...

It’s election day, but when will the results start coming through? When will we start to know who’s winning? And what should we all look out for, which seats should we pay attention to? To answer these questions, we decided to speak to election analyst, Ben Raue, about the most important races to pay attention to and how we should be watching results. We hope you enjoy Ben’s guide to watching the...

It’s all come down to this. On Saturday night, Australia will decide it’s next government and next Prime Minister. The final week of the campaign saw Scott Morrison, who is trying not to be a bulldozer, bulldoze a child during a media appearance at youth soccer training in Tasmania. And Labor released the costings on its policies, just two days out from the election. The party says it’s policies w...

With just days to go until the election, our politicians are frantically trying to secure every last vote they can.  At this stage of the campaign, the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader can travel to three different states in a single day, visiting key seats and making announcements to win over undecided voters. Where are they going, what’s their pitch, and which campaign is more confident head...

What happens when the cause you’ve dedicated your life to, turns into something you can no longer support? That’s the question Fred Chaney, the former deputy leader of the Liberal Party, has had to confront this election. Now, he’s hoping people like his niece, who is running as an Independent in Western Australia, can teach the major parties a lesson. Today, former federal politician Fred Chaney...

On the weekend, the Coalition launched its campaign, just six days before the election. The centrepiece of the launch was a new housing policy, which it promises will help more young people to buy a home, by allowing them to take money out of their superannuation. But will the scheme really help new home buyers or is it too little, too late? Today, national correspondent for The Saturday Paper , M...

On election night, the Melbourne seat of Kooyong could be one of the most fiercely contested in the country. The Treasurer of Australia, Josh Frydenberg, is facing what he’s described as the fight of his political life. His opponent was virtually unknown to most Australians a few months ago, but now polls show she has a chance at victory.  So who is the woman taking on the Treasurer? Today, 7am pr...

With just one week to go until election day the debate over the minimum wage has taken the spotlight. And the polls are showing some Coalition strongholds are at risk of falling.  So what can we glean about how Labor and the Coalition are gearing up for the final days of the campaign, and should we trust the polls this time around?  Today, to analyse all the latest events, we’re joined by: Chief p...

As Australia prepares to elect its 31st Prime Minister and next federal government, there’s a proportion of people under represented in that vote.  Indigenous enrolment remains lower than the rest of the population, particularly in remote areas, like parts of the Northern Territory.  A complaint lodged with the Human Rights Commission alleges that there is a pattern of indirect discrimination and...

When Australia heads to the polls in a couple of weeks, 1 in 5 Indigenous people who are eligible to vote won’t be enrolled and won’t be able to cast a ballot.  60 years after First Nations people won the right to vote in Australia, why is access to democracy still a challenge? Today, producer for 7am Ruby Schwartz travels to remote Australia to find out why some people are more enrolled than othe...

The latest leaders debate has been described as “messy” and a “joke” by observers.  There’s one more debate to go before the election — but it won’t be hosted by the public broadcaster, the ABC — despite the organisation’s best efforts. In fact, the ABC has been effectively sidelined, as the rocky relationship between the government and the national broadcaster continues to play out. Today, senior...

Sometimes the contest for a single seat can be about more than who wins. Hunter is just that; it’s a seat that spans some of Australia’s oldest coal mines, and the questions in Hunter have huge consequences for us all. How seriously we are taking the climate crisis, how quickly we can transition to renewable energy and whether workers in these industries will be looked after. Today, investigative...

As we close in on election day, housing affordability has become a central issue of this campaign. First, Labor announced its solution, the Help to Buy scheme and then just a few days later, the Reserve Bank increased the cash rate from its historic low of 0.1% to 0.35%. People’s mortgages are going up and it could put upward pressure on rents. So, how are cost of living pressures factoring into t...

Adam Bandt sits down for a one-on-one interview with Ruby Jones. This election, issues the Greens have championed for years, like an integrity commission and reducing emissions, are now finding a lot of popular support. But the party finds itself at a crossroads. It’s been unable to increase the number of lower house MPs and senators it has at the federal level for over a decade. Adam Bandt, the p...

The war in Ukraine has led to soul searching about how Russian oligarchs have built cosy relationships with institutions around the world. Lawyers and bankers in London have been warned by the British prime minister not to defend the wealth and reputations of Russian oligarchs who have ties to Vladimir Putin’s government. And one of those oligarchs actually has a connection to Australia as well. L...

The Labor Party officially launched their campaign on Sunday, unveiling new policies and making their most comprehensive pitch to voters so far. But the policy offering remains slimmer than it was three years ago, which is part of what has been described as the party’s small target strategy. So what is Labor actually offering? And who are they targeting with these election promises? Today, nationa...

As we enter the final weeks of the election campaign there’s one group of people more stressed, more disillusioned than most. Teenagers, desperate to see change but unable to vote to get their voice heard.  Today, 7am producer Kara Jensen-Mackinnon on a day in the life of a teenager trying to make change happen before it’s too late. Guest: Producer for 7am , Kara Jensen-Mackinnon. Stay in touch wi...

Today, Anthony Albanese is set to end his isolation and return to the campaign trail after he tested positive for Covid-19 last week.  As he returns to campaigning in-person, the cost of living has become an even more pressing election issue. New inflation figures show prices are 5.1 per cent higher today than they were this time last year – which could mean interest rates are raised in the middle...

This election, one person is having more of a say than anyone else when it comes to the political advertising Australians are seeing everyday. That person is Clive Palmer. And he’s not only outspending the major political parties by a significant margin, he’s also got a huge personal say in the ads he’s putting onto billboards and TV screens. That’s because he writes them all himself.  Today, seni...

In the Northern Territory, there’s a youth detention centre that has been subject to multiple reports, complaints, and a Royal Commission.  That commission recommended it be shut down, but children as young as 10 years old are still being held there, with reports of minors having been locked inside their cells for 23 hours a day. Today, journalist for The Saturday Paper , Esther Linder on the gran...

As the election tightens, there is a very real possibility that neither major party wins the 76-seat majority they need to govern in their own right. If this happens, they will have to convince independents and minor party representatives in the lower house to join them and form a minority government. For independents in this scenario, it’s an enormous choice – who do they support, what do they as...

Earlier this year, Brittany Higgins and Grace Tame went to Canberra together. The day before, Prime Minister Scott Morrison had delivered an apology to people who had worked at federal parliament, who had been subjected to sexual harassment, assault and bullying. What Ms Higgins and Ms Tame said at the National Press Club was a devastating indictment of Australia’s political institutions, and as t...

With a crucial deadline now passed, Liberal candidate Katherine Deves will almost certainly remain the Coalition’s pick for the seat of Warringah.  That’s despite her transphobic comments, and the concern expressed about them from senior Liberal figures. Today, columnist for The Saturday Paper Paul Bongiorno on the Katherine Deves controversy and how it looks to the independents who could be shapi...