Scott Morrison has downplayed tensions with the new NSW premier, but hasn’t denied launching verbal volleys during a heated exchange. The prime minister is adamant he has a strong working relationship with Dominic Perrottet, who became the state leader on Tuesday. Mr Morrison was quizzed about reports he hurled an “f-bomb” at Mr Perrottet in a fiery private meeting about …

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been handed a one-year prison sentence by a Paris court after being found guilty of illegal campaign financing over his failed 2012 re-election bid. Sarkozy, 66, is unlikely to go to jail. He is expected to appeal against the sentence, a move that will in effect suspend it, and the judge said on Thursday …

French defence company Naval Group is set to bill the Australian taxpayer after a $90 billion submarine contract was scrapped when the Federal Government joined the AUKUS defence agreement. A claim for compensation would be sent to Canberra in the coming weeks, Naval Group chief executive Pierre Éric Pommellet told Le Figaro newspaper. The company had signed a deal with the Australian Government in …

Federal Labor MP Anne Aly has accused her party of hypocrisy over a plan to parachute former New South Wales premier Kristina Keneally into a safe multicultural seat in Sydney’s south-west while pushing aside a local candidate. Senator Keneally, who lives on the Northern Beaches, has been vying for a seat in the House of Representatives and yesterday confirmed her intention …

Who are the Taliban and what do they want? Here’s what you need to know about Afghanistan’s militant extremists The President of Afghanistan has fled and Taliban insurgents have taken the capital Kabul after a lightning offensive. Returning from a 20-year exile from power, the Taliban hardliners are expected to impose harsh restrictions on the lives of Afghans, to the dismay …

In a Sydney pub with her colleagues, Cathy Ngo thought it would be a normal Friday night out for after-work drinks. Instead, to her shock, she was approached by a male colleague at the company, who picked her up and swung her over his shoulder. Ms Ngo said her now former co-worker shouted to the pub, “I love Asian women!” He later told Ms …

A leaked report has painted a damning picture of ongoing concerns around women and culture in the Liberal Party – indicating that some issues had been raised years earlier. Room For Movement: Women and Leadership in the Liberal Party, commissioned in 2015, was briefly covered in the media, but never released publicly. The Drum has obtained a copy of the document, which …

Employers could be forced to take more proactive action on workplace sexual harassment under reforms to shift the burden away from victims. The Morrison government’s long-awaited response to Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins’ Respect at Work report is imminent. The report was handed to then industrial relations minister Christian Porter in March 2020 and the government is yet to make …

Tasmania’s Premier has written to the Prime Minister, urging him to “consider” accusations Liberal senator Eric Abetz “slut-shamed” alleged rape victim Brittany Higgins. In a written statement, Peter Gutwein said Tasmanian Speaker Sue Hickey told him several weeks ago that Senator Abetz had made offensive comments — which he has since strongly denied — but not to the level of detail raised in the state’s Parliament this …

A guard on duty the night of the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins in a Parliament House ministerial office has questioned Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s claim it was a “security breach”. Higgins, a former Liberal staffer, alleges she was raped by a colleague in minister Linda Reynolds’ office in March 2019. Experienced security guard Nikola Anderson found Higgins naked on a couch in …