SBS Our House

Just days after her party ditched its support of net zero emissions targets, federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley talks to SBS Chief Political Correspondent Anna Henderson about that policy, immigration, and more in a lengthy one on one interview.

The Coalition has formally solidified its dumping of the net zero emissions target in a party room meeting in Canberra. But it's gone much further, with the Liberals and Nationals unveiling a plan to strip climate change from the national energy regulator's list of objectives, while vowing to continue to reduce emissions by monitoring the progress of other countries.

Australia's leaders remain circumspect about the terms of a security agreement with a key northern neighbour after finalising the deal with Indonesia's president. But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the deal commits the nations to consult regularly on matters of security, and consider possible measures should either's security be threatened.

The Liberal Party has voted to officially abandon its net zero by 2050 emissions reduction target, following a contentious internal meeting. This dramatic policy reversal, which will also seek to remove the target from the Climate Change Act, has triggered fierce internal debate among senior members and drawn criticism from the government and independents.

On November 11, 1975, Australia experienced its most dramatic constitutional crisis when Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed Prime Minister Gough Whitlam 50 years ago. We examine the full story of the Dismissal, from the political deadlock and the Loans Affair to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's recent claim of a "partisan political ambush" and new evidence suggesting foreign interference.

Reddit and live-streaming platform Kick will be added to the platforms required to ban 16s when the new rules come into effect in December. Australia's impending social media ban for under-16s, which covers eight major platforms, hinges on ongoing eSafety assessments that distinguish between social media, messaging, and gaming services, explaining why platforms like Steam and Twitch were not initi...

Australians in three states are to be offered three hours of free electricity in the middle of the day, under a scheme to share abundant solar energy harvested in non-peak hours. The plan has been welcomed by environmental groups, but some in the Opposition are unimpressed.

An unusual alliance of crossbenchers and the Coalition has forced an ongoing extension of Question Time in the Senate. They are demanding the Labor government immediately release the "jobs for mates" report, which it has withheld for two years. Critics, including Transparency International, say the government's refusal to release the report is further evidence of a "culture of secrecy" at a time w...

Under-fire Optus executives have copped a parliamentary bashing for their response to a triple-zero outage linked to the deaths of three people. The proceedings have immediately zeroed in on CEO Stephen Rue, who is being pressured to explain a significant delay in reporting the fatalities to both the government and the regulator.

The Nationals have formally walked away from support of Australia's net zero emissions by 2050 policy after a party room meeting in Canberra. The decision sets up a potential showdown with their coalition partner the Liberals, who are also reviewing their approach to climate change after their disastrous election defeat.

The author of the review that triggered the government's environment reforms has fully endorsed Labor's nature legislation. Professor Graeme Samuel has told SBS the bill implements the 'totality' of the recommendations he made in his report, five years after it was delivered. The Greens and Coalition have objected to the bill, with Greens leader Larissa Waters describing it as 1400 pages gift-wrap...

The Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) is under intense political scrutiny following the launch of a forensic nine-month federal audit. The $10 billion scheme, intended to boost social and affordable housing, is accused by the Opposition of wasting taxpayer funds and overpaying for properties. The debate has been dominated by the fund's slow delivery and expert concerns that its structure incent...

The long-awaited overhaul of Australia’s national environmental law is set to ignite Parliament this week, as the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) faces its first major reform in twenty-six years. This second attempt at a package, featuring an independent EPA and a new National Interest power, has already generated a political firestorm. The Opposition is demanding t...

The federal opposition has accused Communications Minister Anika Wells of misleading parliament over when her office was notified of the Optus Triple-Zero outage that has been linked to four deaths. It comes as emails that Optus sent to notify the government and the regulator of the outages, which ultimately affected more than 600 people last month, are scrutinised in Senate estimates. Meanwhile,...

The government has fast-tracked legislation into parliament aimed at strengthening the 000 call system after failures by Optus to ensure access to emergency calls. As parliament resumed, the nation's leaders made time to commemorate the second anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.

The coalition are revamping their proposal for nuclear energy, despite suffering an election loss with this policy. The details are yet to be confirmed, but the Opposition Energy Minister says they will adapt their plan to meet developments in the space.

Climate advocates say the federal government's 2035 emissions reduction target falls "dangerously short", while the Coalition has said its plan is "grounded in fantasy land". Government ministers are now working to justify the target to the public and the community, as the Coalition is under pressure to outline their climate policy.

As one of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters per capita, Australia has announced its new 2035 emissions reduction target. The federal government has committed to a target to cut emissions by 62 to 70 per cent by 2035, based on 2005 levels. Some say the target is too high, others say it's too low. Labor says it's both ambitious and achievable.

The Prime Minister is leaving Papua New Guinea empty-handed after a landmark security agreement wasn't signed in the final hours. The delayed deal comes less than two weeks after a similar defence with Vanuatu was delayed over concerns it will affect their other relationships.

Australia's eSafety commissioner has published regulatory guidelines for social media platforms, giving effect to the government's under-16 social media ban. While the ban won't be in place until December 10th, the eSafety commissioner says they want it to be as minimally invasive as possible. Under the guidance, social media platforms will not have to verify the age of every user on their platfor...

Liberal senator Jonathan Duniam has warned the Coalition will face a "mass exodus" from its frontbench if it adopts a net zero policy without caveats, handing Opposition leader Sussan Ley a fresh test over the party's stance on climate action. The warning comes a day after Liberal MP Andrew Hastie threatened to quit the party if it pursued a policy of net zero emissions by 2050.

Politicians are warning against the risks of extremism and political violence, after rival rallies were held in Australia's capital cities and regional centres.

The federal government has given the final approval for the Woodside North West Shelf gas project with a series of conditions. The approval comes ahead of the Albanese government's announcement of a 2035 emissions reduction target, and after Australia emphasised its commitment to tackling climate change to Pacific leaders.

Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has been removed from the Coalition frontbench, following fallout from remarks she made about Indian migrants. Sydney Lang takes a look at how the last week unfolded.

What was sold as a rally against mass immigration had far right ideology from the start. With neo-Nazis attending the rally and attempting to recruit new members, is far-right extremism on the rise in Australia? Dr Callum Jones and Professor Greg Barton break down what's behind these rallies, and how the government should respond.