Julie Bishop 'fears the worst' for death row Bali nine pair
11:27 AM Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says she fears the worst for Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan, as Australian embassy officials are called to a meeting about Indonesia's plans to execute them.
Latest political news
One in 10 on welfare is overpaid: Centrelink
Heath Aston 11:12 PM Nearly 750,000 welfare recipients were overpaid by Centrelink in the second half of last year, creating what welfare advocates say is a "bonanza" for debt collectors.
Australia risks isolation over climate: Doherty
Dan Harrison 11:07 PM Nobel Laureate Peter Doherty says Australia is being seen internationally as "public enemy number one" on climate change and risks being isolated as China seeks to reduce its reliance on coal.
Record number of product safety recalls
Dan Harrison 12:15 AM A punching bag filled with nails and needles, a spear gun that fired unintentionally, and supposedly "egg free" ice cream that contained egg whites are among a record number of products being recalled for safety reasons.
Regional unemployment hits 12-year high
Gareth Hutchens The unemployment rate in regional Australia has risen to 7.3 per cent, a 12-year high, as job demand shifts increasingly to major cities with the winding down of the mining construction boom.
Glory abroad hides shame at home
Mark Kenny As thousands of Australians spend millions in their pilgrimage to Anzac Cove to honour diggers who died 100 years ago, an unknown number of more recent war veterans suffers silently among us.
Lawyers win Christmas Island access
Bianca Hall Lawyers have won an emergency court order allowing them to access a Christmas Island compound that is home to 12 asylum seekers, who the government claims are dangerous.
Heavy security ahead of centennial ceremony
Ruth Pollard Dignitaries including Tony Abbott, Prince Charles, Prince Harry and NZ Prime Minister John Key to lead ceremonies.
More academics fire up over Lomborg
James Massola, Matthew Knott 1:03 AM Academic Ray Wills has compared the appointment of "sceptical environmentalist" Bjorn Lomborg to head up a new development think tank to putting disgraced former premier Brian Burke in charge of economic policy.
Abbott speaks out on Bali nine duo
Jewel Topsfield A grim Tony Abbott says he's made Australia's position clear amid news executions could take place in days.
Seismic testing begins in marine parks
Lisa Cox Seismic testing to look for petroleum has begun in protected marine areas off the coast of Western Australia after permits were quietly granted by the Abbott government.
Comment & Analysis
Stop the boats, just like Australia
David Wroe Across Europe, and particularly in Germany, newspapers this week carried stories that asked: Could Australia's tough border protection regime serve as a model for Europe?
The dangerous view of Iran
Daniel Flitton Covering Julie Bishop's visit, the first by an Australian minister to Tehran in more than a decade, was a chance to see a country in what might be the final days of relative international isolation.
Lest we forget Gallipoli was a disaster
Peter Hartcher 8:19 AM As we commemorate the Anzacs, it is vital we recognise that Gallipoli was a military debacle we must strive never to repeat.
Brothers in arms a compelling narrative
Gina McColl It's a dangerous idea, drawing parallels between the idealistic recruits who left Australia for Gallipoli and World War I and young jihadis leaving to fight with Islamic State in Syria and Iraq today. And potentially incendiary on Anzac Day in its centenary year.
Double standard politics takes a new leap
David Leyonhjelm It always surprises me when people ask whether a comment I've made is "appropriate" for a Senator. It implies that my standards should be different from everyone else's.
A fresh take on sacrifice and glory
John Birmingham It wasn't always this way. Fifty years ago, on the 50th anniversary of the landings at Anzac Cove, the dawn service was much smaller, attended by a few hundred survivors of the Gallipoli campaign, the returning ghosts of battles past, their passage paid for by the Australian and Turkish governments.
Medicare review could help patients, budget
Harriet Alexander Sussan Ley's collaborative approach, in contrast to her predecessor's combative approach, has the healthcare sector on-side.
The East West Link is dead, accept it
Shane Green This is the headline you were never going to read: 'Labor to build East West link'. And rightly so.
Time to stop fighting other peoples' wars
Alan Ramsey 11:19 AM Fifty years on and the anniversary of Australia's entry into its first war without Britain, the "mother country" has been ignored, smothered by the jingoism of the circus the Gallipoli centenary has become.
Hockey and Abbott pay the iron price
Mark Kenny As the iron-ore price heads back towards its long-term average, taking revenue with it, frustration is about the only thing filling the space between the represented and those doing the representing.
A young person's view on radicalisation
Rizina Yadav The government needs to engage with young people to fight radicalisation, not lecture them.
Crackdown politically risky, but makes sense
Mark Kenny Tax concessions on super were designed to encourage people to save for retirement, not to allow the very wealthy to park their money out of reach of the taxman.
Our shining Foreign Minister needs to focus
John Garnaut These are testing times and Julie Bishop should keep a close eye on her portfolio.
Headscarf shrouds a diplomatic sell-out
Julie Szego Julie Bishop's decision to wear a head covering in Iran, even though she didn't need to, exposed a lack of moral courage.
A chilling step closer to secret police
Jonathan Holmes For days, we've been scaring ourselves silly, because a few Melbourne teenagers might have planned to attack police officers with knives on Anzac Day. Good on the cops for nabbing them, but hardly an existential threat to our society.
Soldiers’ courage, stoicism set example for all
Tony Abbott On a still spring night a century ago the ships carrying the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps stole in towards the high coastline of the Gallipoli peninsula.
Why all taxpayers should subsidise childcare
Jessica Irvine As citizens who care about creating an equal society for women and children, let's not question the value of childcare.
Tighter borders will not stop refugee deaths
Jane McAdam International co-operation is the only way to address global refugee crises.
Big banks need to compensate little guys
Sam Dastyari When Kevin made the fateful mistake of trusting the wrong financial adviser at the Commonwealth Bank, he was in his 50s and planning for a long and fun-filled retirement.
Special features
The dangerous view of Iran
Daniel Flitton Covering Julie Bishop's visit, the first by an Australian minister to Tehran in more than a decade, was a chance to see a country in what might be the final days of relative international isolation.
Brothers in arms
Gina McColl Can the youthful recruits going to Turkey to defend the British Empire 100 years ago be compared to young jihadis leaving for Syria and Iraq today?
Lest we forget Gallipoli was a disaster
As we commemorate the Anzacs, it is vital we recognise that Gallipoli was a military debacle we must strive never to repeat.
Supporting start-up entrepreneurs
The government is considering increasing support for hi-tech start-up companies. Liberal MP Wyatt Roy explains why.
Pyne set to show different side of himself in upcoming memoirs
James Massola He's been called the most hated man in Australian politics, an alien from another planet, and describes himself as a "fixer". But now Christopher Pyne is preparing to show a different side of himself in his memoirs "A Letter to My Children".
Hockey and Abbott pay the iron price
Mark Kenny As the iron-ore price heads back towards its long-term average taking revenue with it, frustration is about the only thing filling the space between the represented and those doing the representing.
A young person's view on radicalisation
Rizina Yadav The government needs to engage with young people to fight radicalisation, not lecture them.
Our shining Foreign Minister needs to focus
John Garnaut These are testing times and Julie Bishop should keep a close eye on her portfolio.
Labor's crackdown on super tax breaks risky, but makes sense
Mark Kenny Tax concessions on super were designed to encourage people to save for retirement, not to allow the very wealthy to park their money out of reach of the taxman.
Labor's house of cards
Bill Shorten's the winner after a realignment of factions within the Victorian ALP. James Massola explains.
Soldiers’ courage, stoicism set example
On a still spring night a century ago the ships carrying the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps stole in towards the high coastline of the Gallipoli peninsula.
A chilling step closer to Australian secret police
Foreign journalists are falling off their chairs in shock at the brutality of our data retention law, yet we hardly blink an eye.
The compelling case for deeper emissions cuts
Tom Arup Australia needs to set much more ambitious targets if it wants to keep up with other nations on climate change policy.
One million Australians in poverty - it's not good enough
Judith Ireland When we think about poverty, we don't think of Australia. But new data suggests that attitude is not helping us address the large number of Australians doing it tough.
Bishop visits Charlie Hebdo cartoonists
Nick Miller A new cartoon sits on the crowded walls of Charlie Hebdo's offices in Paris.
Black or white: no need to be afraid of each other
Harold Ludwick Only constitutional reform can bring real, rather than symbolic, recognition.
The view from Iran
Fairfax's Daniel Flitton witnesses history in the making in Tehran as Julie Bishop forges a new relationship.
