Australian Politics

Hardline exchanges over the 34 Australian women and children stuck in Syria have continued this week, with the opposition saying the group should be blocked from returning due to their ties with Islamic State. Political editor Tom McIlroy speaks to shadow minister for home affairs and immigration Jonno Duniam, who argues that the government has had a ‘hands-off’ approach so far. In the lead-up to...

Since October, the Guardian Essential poll has been following the rise in support for One Nation but this month’s results might also ring alarm bells for Labor. This is because nearly half of Labor voters said they would be open to voting for One Nation at the next federal election. Political reporter and chief of staff Josh Butler and Essential Media executive director Peter Lewis discuss why One...

Reserve Bank of Australia deputy governor Andrew Hauser speaks to economics editor Patrick Commins and business and economics reporter Luca Ittimani about the 2025 surprises that led to the first interest rate rise in two years. Hauser also responds to last week’s criticisms by Tim Wilson, the newly appointed shadow treasurer, that the RBA has not down enough to curb inflation. And we put to the d...

In his first comments after the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, Anthony Albanese says that the ex-prince has had an extraordinary fall from grace. And while the prime minister is a firm republican, this disgrace will not prompt another referendum. Speaking with Guardian Australia’s political editor Tom McIlroy, the PM hits back at Pauline Hanson’s comments about Muslim Australians. He also d...

Protesters around Australia, including Nick McKim and other Greens colleagues, gathered to express opposition to the visit of the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, this week. The Greens senator tells political editor, Tom McIlroy, that the confronting scenes of police aggression towards protesters in Sydney was a “massive overreach”. McKim is the Greens spokesperson for economic justice and treasur...

After the Reserve Bank’s first rate hike in more than two years, Guardian Australia’s political editor, Tom McIlroy, speaks to the economics editor, Patrick Commins, and Lea Jurkovic, the economics correspondent at the Australian Financial Review, about the indicators that informed the central bank’s decision this week. They also discuss the ongoing vulnerabilities in the economy, the missed oppor...

The messy fallout of the Coalition’s breakup continues this week with Sussan Ley and David Littleproud attempting to weather criticisms of their leadership after the Bondi terror attack. LNP moderate Andrew Wallace speaks to political editor Tom McIlroy about his support for Sussan Ley, and describes her as ‘principled’ and ‘tough’ under very difficult circumstances. The shadow attorney general al...

In the first Guardian Essential poll after the Bondi terror attack, both Anthony Albanese and Sussan Ley have fallen in their approval ratings. Meanwhile, One Nation’s support continues to rise and now disrupts the traditional two-horse race in Australian politics. Guardian Australia political reporter Josh Butler speaks to Essential Media director Peter Lewis about why both major parties need to...

In an eventful start to parliament for 2026, MPs came together with condolences for the victims of the Bondi terror attack and passed hurried reforms on guns and hate speech. And then, on the national day of mourning on Thursday, the Coalition split for the second time and Sussan Ley’s leadership is now all but over. Guardian Australia political editor, Tom McIlroy, speaks to the independent MP fo...

In our final episode for 2025, political editor Tom McIlroy speaks with Melissa Clarke from ABC RN Breakfast and Michael Read from the Australian Financial Review. The press gallery colleagues discuss the prime minister’s performance and his seemingly mild ambition for bold reform, and assess the government’s diplomatic balancing act of maintaining relations with the US president, Donald Trump. Th...

After the furore over Pauline Hanson’s burqa stunt and Barnaby Joyce’s defection to One Nation, the latest Guardian Essential Poll shows a surge in the party’s primary vote. Essential Media’s executive director, Peter Lewis and Guardian Australia political reporters Josh Butler and Krishani Dhanji unpack whether or not the Joyce factor played a part in One Nation’s uptick. They also pull apart vot...

This week Labor committed additional military support for Ukraine in its war against Russia as part of a Nato-led initiative. The government also announced new sanctions on Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of oil tankers, which are a source of revenue for Moscow. Amid these announcements and in the last week of Senate estimates, foreign affairs minister Penny Wong speaks to political editor Tom McI...

Ever since she was elected opposition leader, Sussan Ley has faced strong criticisms from within her party and across the parliament. Some commentators even predicted she’d be out of the job already. But she has made it to the last sitting week of parliament for the year. On the other side of the aisle, the Albanese government managed to meet their own deadline to legislate changes to outdated nat...

Just over half of voters say that climate change is happening and is caused by human activity, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll. The same number of voters had the same response more than 15 years ago, so Essential Media’s executive director, Peter Lewis, and political reporter Josh Butler unpack the difference between the science and politics of climate action in Australia. They als...

Author and columnist Sean Kelly says despite Labor’s overwhelming majority and an opposition largely consumed by its own infighting, there are signs that Anthony Albanese’s government will waste the opportunity handed to them by the Australian people. Kelly talks to Guardian Australia political editor Tom McIlroy about his new Quarterly essay, which examines the Labor party’s move away from ideali...

In conversation with political editor Tom McIlroy, deputy leader of the Greens Mehreen Faruqi says a neo-Nazi rally in front of NSW parliament this month caused fear for many Australians – and the federal government is yet to respond to recommendations for a national framework for anti-racism. And with both houses of parliament returning for their last sitting week for the year, Faruqi says a poss...

It’s been six months since the May election, which brought new personalities to Parliament House – along with an even larger majority for the Albanese government. Labor MP Renee Coffey, who beat the Greens housing spokesperson Max Chandler-Mather, and Liberal MP Leon Rebello, a former staffer and parliamentary attendant, join political editor Tom McIlroy to discuss the start to their first terms....

Speaking at Cop30 in Brazil, the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said the ‘consensus is gone’ on tackling the climate crisis. It’s an apt assessment because this week Australia’s two major political parties have had very different commitments when it comes to climate action. The minister for climate change and energy, Chris Bowen, speaks to Guardian Australia’s political editor, Tom McIlroy,...

From cyberattacks to disinformation campaigns, hybrid warfare is reshaping global security. Visiting the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Helsinki, Guardian Australia’s political editor, Tom Mcllroy, speaks with its director, Teija Tiilikainen, about how the EU and Nato are confronting covert interference from Russia, China and other non-democratic countries – and wha...

Anthony Albanese might have had his rock star moment upon his return from the US, but the latest Guardian Essential poll shows voters are unconvinced about the outcomes of his negotiations with US president Donald Trump. Political reporter and Canberra chief of staff Josh Butler speaks with Essential Media’s executive director, Peter Lewis, about why parliament lacks the necessary friction for goo...

In the aftermath of former frontbencher Andrew Hastie’s fighting words, opposition leader Sussan Ley continues to struggle with persistent internal tensions in the Coalition over its direction on immigration policy. Political editor Tom McIlroy speaks to shadow minister for immigration Paul Scarr about why he rejects rhetoric about ‘mass migration’ and argues that those seeking to inflame emotions...

This week, the Albanese government has been criticised for a tactical backdown on its plan to wind back tax concessions on superannuation balances worth more than $3m. But the assistant minister for productivity, competition, charities and treasury, Andrew Leigh, argues that this change in approach has maintained fairness in the super system. The MP for Fenner also talks to political editor Tom Mc...

As Labor’s new aged care system gets set to begin on 1 November, Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne speaks about her father’s recent move into residential aged care and the personal stories she has heard as chair of a Greens-led inquiry into the sector. She speaks with Guardian Australia’s political editor, Tom McIlroy, about how she has seen lives put at risk by a for-profit system, and why she th...

This week, Labor expanded Australia’s first home guarantee to allow more buyers access to a mortgage with a reduced deposit of 5%. But the plan has many critics. Guardian Australia political editor, Tom McIlroy, speaks to the federal minister for housing and homelessness, Clare O’Neil, about why she thinks the government is pulling on the correct levers to address the housing crisis

Political reporter Dan Jervis-Bardy speaks to executive director of Essential Media Peter Lewis about Australian voters’ views on the government’s climate action ambition and the immigration debate. Lewis also explains why he thinks The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a perfect analogue of the prime minister’s approach to politics in the midst of global instability