Political news and analysis from the ACT and Federal Parliaments
"It's difficult to justify the ACT's excess taxation when debt's rising, the hospital system is the country's poorest and services for disadvantaged groups are the nation's worst," write JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED.
"It is an election year. The candidates for Murrumbidgee would be wise to promise the people of the Molonglo Valley that they will rectify the mistakes of Minister Yvette Berry," says political columnist MICHAEL MOORE.
“Rattenbury is caught between a rock and a hard place. As Gaming Minister he works within the constraints of a government. As Leader of the Greens, he is committed to gambling reform," writes political columnist MICHAEL MOORE.
Social media companies can’t be immune from the need for a social licence, writes political columnist MICHELLE GRATTAN.
"Depletion of cash, unbudgeted borrowings and an equity injection into a joint venture raise some tantalising questions that the government needs to answer." JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED look at another of the Budget Review's 'initiatives'.
"A good wedge gets voters off the fence. Voters become very much engaged and very much angry. Time to take that anger out at the ballot box," writes political columnist ANDREW HUGHES.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is to walk the Kokoda Track and engage in some jungle diplomacy, writes political columnist MICHELLE GRATTAN.
Ethnic tensions will complicate the Albanese government’s multicultural policy reform, writes MICHELLE GRATTAN.
"Since 2012-13 the ACT has attained a reputation as a laggard, the worst performing jurisdiction in Australia, a status that is currently reflected in the forward estimates." More ACT budget revelations from JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED.
"Recruitment has been the base on which the rebranding argument has been built. It is a pretty shallow base. The key to recruitment is to have high morale," writes MICHAEL MOORE, a former ACT Health Minister.
The Albanese government can’t be accused of excessive caution any longer, writes political columnist MICHELLE GRATTAN.
MARK KENNY explains why moving to the right could be wrong for Peter Dutton and the Coalition.
"All parties should realise that the fastest primary vote gainers in the last decade of ACT politics, 'Others', do not currently have a seat in the assembly. But they do have influence," writes political columnist ANDREW HUGHES.
"With the election not scheduled until late October, this is an unusually early release of a major policy. However, it is an Exocet missile aimed directly at the most vulnerable point of the government," writes columnist MICHAEL MOORE.
"Witnesses must tell the truth and that giving false or misleading evidence… may be considered a contempt of the Assembly.” Did Andrew Barr mislead the Public Accounts Committee? He got his history wrong, say JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED.
Maybe proponents of trickle-down economics think it's just a coincidence that many of the dollars earned by Apple, Meta and Google find their way to low-tax jurisdictions such as Ireland, writes Assistant Competition Minister ANDREW LEIGH.
Prime Minister Albanese has made a statement in choosing Sam Mostyn as governor-general, but he could have been bolder, writes political columnist MICHELLE GRATTAN.
The political narrative is that the ACT’s financial woes are blamed on the Commonwealth Government for not providing sufficient funding. That's just not true, say JON STANHOPE & KHALID AHMED
Peter Dutton says Labor is pushing Australia ‘over an energy cliff’ as he talks up nuclear, writes political columnist MICHELLE GRATTAN.
