PM flags changes to Chinese ownership rules
Mark Kenny and Philip Wen 6:12pm Prime Minister Tony Abbott has pleaded for a mature public debate on Chinese government ownership of Australian assets, saying it is too easy to whip up a populist storm against it.
Latest political news
Hockey signals rise in pension age
Treasurer Joe Hockey has also hinted at more welfare means testing and co-payments for medical services in a speech in Washington delivered as the budget takes shape.
Joe Bullock refuses to stand down
James Massola, Jonathan Swan 2:49pm Labor at war as outgoing West Australian senator contradicts senator-elect over alleged union deal.
Negative gearing in budget spotlight
Nassim Khadem 11:17am Treasury had done work on limiting negative gearing to new homes as part of preparations for the May budget, according to media reports citing departmental sources last week.
Dollar at year's high, bets rates rise
Peter Martin The Australian dollar has hit a new high for the year and financial markets are betting on higher interest rates after a shock unemployment result suggested the jobs market had turned a corner.
Former colleagues open fire on Carr
MATTHEW KNOTT Bob Carr has denied being self-indulgent, a snob or a bigot following attacks from former Labor colleagues over the publication of a diary recounting his 18 months as foreign minister.
Cyber snoops scouring social media
Noel Towell and Amy McNeilage Federal government departments are using increasingly powerful cyber-snooping equipment to monitor the social media lives of millions of Australians.
Tamil asylum seeker fighting for his life
SARAH WHYTE A Sri Lankan asylum seeker on a bridging visa is fighting for his life after dousing himself in petrol following a decision by the Australian immigration department to deport him back to Sri Lanka.
People smugglers target NZ
MICHAEL BACHELARD People smugglers in Indonesia are mounting their first credible attempt to ship asylum seekers on the hazardous voyage to New Zealand and circumvent the Abbott government’s Operation Sovereign Borders.
Feminism not just for the left: Wong
JUDITH IRELAND Acting Labor leader Penny Wong has called on women across the political spectrum to call themselves "feminists".
Antiviral drug stockpile 'waste of money'
DAN HARRISON Anti-viral drugs stockpiled by Australia to protect us from a pandemic of bird or swine flu are less effective than thought and carry serious side effects.
Budget tensions on the rise
Josh Gordon Tensions between Victoria and Canberra have deepened, with the Napthine government accused of taking three months to clarify budget demands for Commonwealth infrastructure funding.
Call for Bullock to resign from Senate spot
LISA COX The union that helped install Labor’s Joe Bullock to the top of the WA Senate ticket has called on the freshly elected Senator to stand down.
Jewish leaders hit back at Bob Carr
I am not a snob: Bob Carr defends his diaries
PM praises China's economic achievement
Shock fall in unemployment to 5.8%
Triggs accuses government over Nauru ban
Libs break ranks on race-hate law
Interim report on welfare due before budget
Hockey blasts US over IMF delay
Bureaucrat flagged insulation risks: inquiry
Crimea may harm nuclear disarmament talks
Charities commission may get lifeline
Official quits, mining tax collection in doubt
No submarines for five months
Union disputes social media 'dob in' policy
Hunt takes a step back on bandicoot
Turnbull locks in multi-technology NBN
Albanese rejects funding claims
Australia pushes global growth goal
Ice cream exporters to gain from Japan deal
PM stared down by North Korean soldiers
Palmer 'treated me like a one night stand'
Committee looks at Senate 'blow-ins' ban
Doctors blast emergency fee proposal
Successful youth jobs service faces axe
UN denied access to Nauru detention centre
Royal commission 'not hostile to unions'
Car-safety tester braces for budget cut
Warning 300,000 may miss out on NBN
AEC still confident about WA voter turnout
Snowden a traitor, Brandis tells US think tank
Comment & Analysis
Policy leaving older people behind
Patricia Edgar The Commonwealth Treasury seems obsessed with the costs of an ageing society. The "doom and gloom" rhetoric has spilled over from health care into a debate about work and welfare. But the government is pushing the proverbial cart before the horse.
What's the point of marriage vouchers?
GAY ALCORN From July, couples intending to get married will be eligible for a $200 government-funded voucher for relationship counselling.
Coalition more to fear from minors' rise
Gary Humphries Opinion When Green Scott Ludlam declared the WA result a blow to the major parties, he may have been right.
Stopping lawyers charging like wounded bulls
RICHARD ACKLAND When Dr HV Evatt as chief justice of NSW was ailing and not in good mental shape, the attorney-general of the day, Reg Downing, conspired to find a way to get rid of him.
Noah, the IPCC report and climate change
Paul Monk The climate group's warnings may not be biblical, but they are what should be grabbing our attention.
Beware ace up sleeve in free trade
PETER MARTIN What's next after the Japan free trade agreement and the Korean free trade agreement?
Free speech and the public service
Tim Wilson Before anyone screams "free speech", they should actually know what they are talking about.
Media and the baseline sentencing plan
Jonathan Holmes Thanks to 'baseline sentencing', the state’s prison population will keep on rising.
Abbott hedging Australia's allies in Asia
PETER HARTCHER While America dithers, everyone else is getting nervous. There is no system of international rules for the Russian bear or the Chinese dragon, only the law of the jungle.
Special features
The political week
Tony Abbott's Asian trip and the politics of the week told through video, music and photographs.
Reasons stack up for ALP's Israel divide
Mark Hawthorne A decade ago former Whitlam government minister and ALP president Barry Cohen expressed his dismay at what he called ''rampant anti-Semitism in the Labor Party'' to a ''Labor legend''.
'Israel lobby' claims inaccurate, bizarre
Mark Leibler Bob Carr has made various claims about what he refers to as the Melbourne "Israel lobby" exercising extraordinary influence over the office of prime minister Julia Gillard.
Carr challenges Kochie to get down and dirty
Megan Levy Many fitness fanatics would agree that Pilates at sunrise is an ideal way to start the day.
What's in the book?
Bob Carr's 'Diary of a Foreign Minister' is causing quite a stir even before its official release. Fairfax reporter Jonathan Swan is one of the few who have read it.
Carr's diva demands
Former foreign minister Bob Carr lifts the veil on arguably the most towering - and eccentric - ego in Australian politics in his new book.
Carr takes aim at Gillard and Rudd
Bob Carr has detailed Kevin Rudd’s reputation for explosive outbursts among the world’s foreign policy elite and widespread dislike of him in the Labor Party, in an extraordinary inside account of his time as foreign minister in a crumbling Labor government.
The biggest challenge in unions probe
Anne Davies Dyson Heydon, the retired judge appointed to head the royal commission on union governance, is as removed from working class as you can get.
Warship gets set to hit the ocean
David Wroe She’s the biggest warship the Royal Australian Navy has ever had. And the HMAS Canberra Landing Helicopter Dock is nearly ready to put to sea.
The Senate - how will it look come July 1?
Interactive The Senate contains 76 seats. With WA voters heading back to the polls this weekend, which party will hold the balance of power come July 1?
The week that was
The week in politics, told through photos, video and music.
Investigating MPs' expenses
Fairfax Media has conducted an extensive investigation on MPs claiming expense entitlements. Read our coverage here.
Political pics of the year
Three Prime Minister, two leadership ballots and an election campaign for 2013. The best photos from a tumultuous year.
Cartoon Gallery
Home of the best cartoons by our resident artists from The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times.
