Fraser death: national leader and family man remembered
Lisa Cox and Jason Dowling 1:48 PM Malcolm Fraser was a "proud leader with more passion for Australia than anyone I know", his granddaughter Rachel Fraser has recalled. But at heart, the political giant was a "joker" and most relaxed around his family eating ice cream straight from the tub.
Latest political news
PM's office faces possible shake-up
James Massola 2:00 PM A shake-up of Prime Minister Tony Abbott's office is on the cards, with long-serving political fixer Tony Nutt in discussions to return to Canberra after the NSW state election.
Senate approves Parliament security review
Philip Dorling 3:16 PM Parliament House security will be reviewed by a high-powered Senate committee in an effort to reassert parliamentary control over the Abbott government's plans to fortify the national legislature.
Joko Widodo too busy to talk to Abbott
David Wroe 4:00 PM Indonesian President Joko Widodo has been too busy to return Tony Abbott's phone call about the fate of the Bali Nine pair on death row, Jakarta's envoy in Australia has said.
Senate passes controversial metadata laws
Elise Scott 4:02 PM Australians will have two years of their metadata stored by phone and internet providers after the Abbott government's controversial data retention laws passed Parliament.
Malcolm Fraser's unrealised manifesto
Dan Harrison 4:01 PM The political party Malcolm Fraser was working to set up when he died was to stand for an Australian republic which was reconciled with its first peoples through a treaty, with a larger population, a more independent foreign policy and a post-carbon economy.
Greste condemns detention centre secrecy
Josh Dye Freed Australian journalist Peter Greste has criticised the Abbott government for denying journalists access to asylum seekers held in detention centres.
Queensland outshone, Victoria is No.1
Peter Martin 3:58 PM Victoria is outshining Queensland as the No.1 destination for Australians moving interstate.
Power sector to get 'special treatment'
Peter Hannam and Lisa Cox 3:59 PM The Abbott government has proposed a major concession to the heavy-polluting electricity industry in its Direct Action climate change policy by exempting individual companies from caps on emissions.
Ice epidemic to be investigated by Parliament
Heath Aston Parliament is set to examine the ice scourge ravaging communities all over the country following the release of a landmark report into the issue.
Native title battle shaping up over coal mine
Lisa Cox Indigenous land holders are mounting a challenge to Australia's largest coal project and are calling on Queensland's Labor government to refuse a mining lease to the Indian company developing it.
Comment & Analysis
Chinese diplomats run rings around Australia
John Garnaut 12:00 AM Successive Australian governments have failed to talk with honesty and nuance about China, making challenges posed by the rising power look more daunting than they are.
Has the pro-business party lost its nerve?
Mark Kenny 10:32 AM Business bodies are concerned that a weakened Coalition leadership is putting political stability ahead of reform.
Sick of Abbott? Send Baird to Canberra
Alan Stokes Vote for Mike Baird.The federal Libs need a saviour. So he goes to Canberra and a Turnbull-Bishop-Baird dream team takes over. Simple.
Greste delivers a lesson in journalism
Lisa Davies 3:57 PM Peter Greste walked to the microphone at the National Press Club and deftly schooled the nation's media in journalism.
Minor league players will decide election
Glenn Druery In 2011, voters brought about the political evisceration of the ALP after 16 long years in government. We witnessed some of the biggest swings against the Labor in NSW political history.
Time to act on undeniable harm on Nauru
Steven Glass On September 25 last year, for the more than 900 asylum seekers in Nauru, hope for a life free of persecution turned instantly to despair.
Same-sex marriage bill simply about equality
David Leyonhjelm Most Australians are horrified when they hear how some parents arrange their children's marriages and then get angry, or even violent, when the kids won't play along.
Why Liberal Party risks becoming irrelevant
Dale Hughes The Liberals need to engage young people by focusing on big picture ideas that politicians like Malcolm Fraser championed.
Whistleblowers likely to become rare species
Jonathan Holmes Data retention laws mean journalists must be technologically competent enough to honour a promise of confidentiality to a source.
Bishop needs to leave Speaker's chair
Tim Dick Bronwyn Bishop is a formidable political combatant but a terrible parliamentary speaker. She should be moved on.
Catholic funding pleas fall on willing ears
Ross Gittins Catholic schools' superior bargaining power tends to spread gains to other religious and independent schools.
Joe Hockey to tart up the budget with lipstick
Peter Martin The Treasurer moans about Labor’s budget tricks, yet considers a similar sleight of hand.
Game of seduction we need to battle
Debra Smith and Virginie Andre Like any predator, Islamic State knows its target and its savvy social media campaign is tapping into the emotional needs of young people seeking to make their mark on the world.
Aid becomes a pawn in leadership play
Mark Kenny The exasperation on the Foreign Minister's face on Monday spoke more clearly than a thousand angry words.
How democracy is letting us down
Peter Hartcher Lee Kuan Yew built Singapore into a fully developed economy, but he leaves it a half-developed democracy. And that’s just the way he liked it.
Is this the recession we had to have (again)?
Peter Reith If both sides of politics decide we may as well walk away from fiscal repair before the next election, Australia could experience a serious blow to our economy and real poverty for potentially hundreds of thousands.
How Malcolm Fraser saved my life
Martin Sherrard Fraser's fight against racism made Australia a better country, and changed the life of this refugee from South Africa's apartheid regime.
All our disabled eggs in one NDIS basket?
El Gibbs Many questions remain about the future of disability services in NSW.
Have siren, will harass, in policed state
Paul Sheehan NSW is over-policed. Tax-payers are funding a costly, inefficient and increasingly intrusive force.
Ten things polls never tell you
Patrick Begley Here are 10 poll results you won’t ever find in a pie chart on the front page of the paper.
Tax cuts for wealthy hidden in report
Peter Martin The intergenerational report projects massive and hidden tax cuts that would add as much as $150 billion per year to the budget deficit by 2055, a new analysis claims.
Special features
How property investing politicians have skin in the game on the negative gearing debate
Interactive Australia's federal politicians have been outed as the country's most enthusiastic property investors.
Fraser funeral: as it happened
Judith Ireland Malcolm Fraser was farewelled on Friday during a moving state funeral service in Melbourne.
Greste gives journalists a lesson in journalism
Lisa Davies Peter Greste walked to the microphone at the National Press Club and deftly schooled the nation's media in journalism.
Malcolm Fraser, 1930-2015
See our full coverage as Australian political figures, past and present, pay tribute to former Liberal prime minister who has died age 84.
Chinese diplomats run rings around Australia
John Garnaut Successive Australian governments have failed to talk with honesty and nuance about China, making challenges posed by the rising power look more daunting than they are.
I don't have a Facebook page!: Howard
Former US president George W Bush once called John Howard a "man of steel" in a reference to his steadfast support for the United States-led invasion of Iraq.
The Pulse live from Parliament
It's the last parliamentary sitting day for quite some time. But before we up stumps there are a few things to tick off the to-do list.
Why Liberal Party risks becoming irrelevant
Dale Hughes The Liberals need to engage young people by focusing on big picture ideas that politicians like Malcolm Fraser championed.
Same-sex marriage bill is simply about equality
David Leyonhjelm Most Australians are horrified when they hear how some parents arrange their children's marriages and then get angry, or even violent, when the kids won't play along.
Whistleblowers likely to become rare species
Jonathan Holmes Data retention laws mean journalists must be technologically competent enough to honour a promise of confidentiality to a source.
Bronwyn Bishop needs to leave the Speaker's chair
Tim Dick Bronwyn Bishop is a formidable political combatant but a terrible parliamentary speaker. She should be moved on.
How Malcolm Fraser saved my life
Martin Sherrard Fraser's fight against racism made Australia a better country, and changed the life of this refugee from South Africa's apartheid regime.
Joe Hockey to tart up the budget with lipstick
The Treasurer moans about Labor’s budget tricks, yet considers a similar sleight of hand.
Foreign aid becomes a pawn in leadership play
The exasperation on the Foreign Minister's face on Monday spoke more clearly than a thousand angry words.
'Job done': RET uncertainty killing renewables
The uncertainty over the Renewable Energy Target is killing investment- and that's just what the government wants says the Solar Council's John Grimes.
Taking out the trash but too clever by half
Mark Kenny: Is there no limit to the cynical manipulation of public information by governments looking to minimise political pain?
Abbott's unique despair
Coalition MPs nervous about the next federal election will find a few salutary lessons in the past.
