The claim The Albanese government came to power promising to get wages moving again. After a year in office, Treasurer Jim Chalmers claimed the government had achieved exactly that. “[Labor] said that we’d get wages moving again, and we are,” he told parliament on September 11. “An average full-time worker was $3,700 better off in the first year of the Albanese government.” Is that …

A cross-section of New South Wales politicians, including several Labor members and one Liberal MP, has issued a letter stating they stand with Palestinians and the Palestinian-Australian community “facing a catastrophic crisis”. The group, which calls itself the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Palestine, is co-chaired by Labor MP Julia Finn and Greens MP Jenny Leong. Its letter has signatures from 22 sitting parliamentarians, including 16 who are part of …

When the prime minister flies out of the country, it’s standard protocol for there to be an acting PM. In most cases, it’s the deputy prime minister who fills in. That person is Defence Minister Richard Marles, or “the DPM” as staff call him. Getting to sit in the big chair clearly offers a point of pride. This week, with Anthony …

After an election, combatants normally have a cooling off period to reflect, digest, and adjust before parliament resumes. This dust-settling process, while counting is finalised and writs are returned, can last weeks, sometimes even months, before everyone files back to Canberra to face off again. Not so with a referendum. Parliament resumes this morning, with the scars from Saturday night’s …

For Indigenous Australians who supported an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, the comprehensive loss of the 2023 referendum — its defeat in every state as well as nationally — is so much more than just a political loss. As the Uluru Statement from the Heart said, it was an invitation to the rest of us for a better future: a coherent …

When Anthony Albanese is pondering the all-but-inevitable emphatic loss of this weekend’s referendum on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, he might look to one of those things only prime ministers can do. Calling an early election would have a lot more upside than any contrary thought. It would change the political conversation with a loud-hailer. It would completely catch Peter …

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has denounced “horrific” displays of anti-Semitism in Sydney as an escalating crisis in the Middle East leads to warnings of further tensions in Australia. Demonstrators chanted “f— the Jews”, and burned an Israeli flag at the forecourt of the Opera House on Monday night, as its sails were illuminated in blue and white in what was intended as …

The ex-boyfriend of former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian faces ongoing court proceedings, charged with lying to the state’s corruption watchdog over his business dealings. Former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire did not enter a plea when the matter was mentioned at Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court on Monday. He is charged with giving false or misleading evidence at a public inquiry, …

Australia’s status in the world has risen as the government invests in both defence and strategic relationships, Anthony Albanese says. Speaking after the ALP national conference, the Prime Minister reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring the nation acquired nuclear-powered submarines under a security pact with the US and UK. “I’m absolutely convinced that nuclear-powered conventional submarines are the way to go …

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has accused the Greens of racism, and will lodge a case with the Australian Human Rights Commission. Senator Thorpe, who quit the Greens earlier this year, revealed she would take up her dispute with the party to the commission after receiving legal advice there was “enough ground”. “I’ve experienced racism all my life in every workplace, …