'Can we please do more?' Liberal MP's refugee plea
Michael Gordon 12:06 AM An impassioned plea from a Coalition MP appears to have prompted the Abbott government to consider taking more refugees from Syria as a response to the growing humanitarian crisis in Europe.
Latest political news
Immigration 'knew of Nauru asbestos risk'
Nicole Hasham 5:18 PM Piles of burnt rubble riddled with asbestos lay around a prison at Nauru where scores of asylum seekers have been held and government contractors have worked, posing a "potentially serious" health risk, leaked emails show.
Risk of recession put at 50 per cent
Jessica Irvine 12:15 AM There is a 50 per cent chance Australia will slide into recession in the coming year, according to respected economist and former Reserve Bank board member Warwick McKibbin.
Peter Dutton hits back at New York Times
Kate Aubusson 6:36 PM Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has hit back at the New York Times editorial that criticised Australia's treatment of asylum seekers, insisting the government's policies were lawful, safe and worked.
Citizenship laws need to be narrowed: MPs
David Wroe 9:48 PM Laws to strip dual national terrorists of their Australian citizenship are likely to be passed within a fortnight after a bipartisan group of MPs backed the draft legislation while urging significant changes.
Sidelined competition review's $3m in costs
Heath Aston The 550-page Harper review of competition laws, which Labor claims has been "punted off into the never never" due to divisions in the Abbott cabinet, cost $3 million in salaries and travel costs alone for the expert panel and 16 bureaucrats supporting them.
Push for science graduates could backfire
Matthew Knott 6:45 PM Calls to boost the number of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) graduates are based largely on "hope and hype" and could leave many graduates jobless, according to a new report.
Gay-marriage referendum might hit powers
Mark Kenny 6:05 PM A referendum on same-sex marriage could lead to a weakened Parliament and even more ambiguity over the legal regulation of marriage, according to top-level legal advice.
Bipartisan backing for stripping of citizenship
David Wroe Laws to strip dual national terrorists of their Australian citizenship are a big step closer with a bipartisan committee of MPs calling for the bill to be passed, though with significant changes.
NDIS board ousted in 'midnight ambush'
Sarah Whyte Board members on the National Disability Insurance Scheme were given a "midnight ambush" when their jobs were advertised in a national paper before they were told, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says.
Rupert Murdoch calls for snap election
Liam Mannix The newspaper mogul tweets that Tony Abbott is still by 'far the best alternative' for a 'beautiful country ... with large problems'.
Comment & Analysis
When the Border Force goes overboard
Nicole Hasham 9:00 PM Last week's visa-check debacle in Melbourne, Operation Fortitude, has many questioning the motivation of the new Border Force whose actions left ordinary citizens feeling intimidated.
Time for Australia to tackle refugee crisis
Anne Summers 9:00 PM Like the Austrians who waited to greet Syrian refugees at a Vienna railway station this week, there are many Australians who have rolled out the welcome mat to desperate new arrivals to this country.
No, PM, we don't have the answer
Michael Gordon 10:56 PM No, Prime Minister, the Australian experience does not offer anything remotely useful to countries dealing with the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War.
Abbott's asylum seeker policy misrepresented
Mark Kenny 4:19 PM The New York Times has urged European leaders not to adopt the heartless Australian model of denying asylum seekers exercising the maritime option in their bid to escape war and seek a better, safer life.
Jumping off the hamster wheel
Peter Hartcher 9:02 PM Not all politicians think in sound bites as the latest crop of books by Labor and Liberal MPs show.
Two years on, it's all about Tony
Michael Gordon 12:15 AM The federal government's problems with voters start at the top.
Rough edges to be knocked off laws
David Wroe 6:38 PM Friday's parliamentary report on planned citizenship laws is crafted to ensure the laws are more carefully aimed at the right people: foreign fighters and actual convicted terrorists back home.
Pub test: a new tool in the politics of cynicism
Waleed Aly Critics who claim Dyson Heydon's decision would not pass the pub test should mount a challenge or shut up.
Paying the price of the good times
Jessica Irvine When times were good, Australia chose the path of individualism. It's a path that successive governments have followed, and now Australians are likely to pay the price.
China trade deal is the PM's greatest success
Mark Kenny Prime Minister Tony Abbott finds himself standing with the sensible centre now that the trade deal has become partisan.
Bending truth on tests for Chinese workers
Bob Kinnaird and Bob Birrell Trade Minister Andrew Robb can't deny what is written in the Australia-China free trade agreement.
Markson Sparks! presents PM's new job push
Konrad Marshall In Melbourne's Ringwood on Thursday Prime Minister Tony Abbott was merely one half of an odd pairing with the shiniest of Sydney PR impresarios.
Why 60 cents might be just what we need
Peter Martin The Australian dollar has dipped below 70 US cents twice in the last two days. Next time, it's set to stay below 70 and keep falling.
Bill Shorten is flogging a dangerous horse
Paul Sheehan Despite claims that Dyson Heydon's decision to stay on as head of the trade union royal commission would not pass the sniff test, an online radio poll shows his rebuttal has weight in the community.
Laws will increase Aboriginal deaths
Rob Hulls More Aborigines will die unless we overturn laws such as those in the NT that allow arrests with no police accountability.
Smart politicians find news ways to be heard
Josh Gordon The government is unable to get its message across and its frustration is growing.
When politicians need a poll boost, be afraid
Sally Young Flag waving and inciting security concerns can help lift a government’s approval rating, but it is only temporary.
Libs light a fire and complain about the heat
Mark Kenny Voters might experience it like a recurring wave of nausea. A faltering government is lashing out, blaming others as the accounts of its own dysfunction pile up. This seems too familiar. And too rich an irony.
A jihad, Mr Dutton? Hand us the confession
Tony Wright Peter Dutton, you may have noticed, has accused Fairfax Media of conducting a jihad against the current regime. We hastily confess to knowledge that jihad is being waged. Who wouldn't?
Wedge politics game has few winners
Ross Gittins If you wonder why our politicians don't seem interested in good government, their addiction to playing the wedge-and-block game explains a lot.
Power to the people: give politicians the flick
Alan Stokes One Australian party with the best name ever, Online Direct Democracy – Empowering the People!, wants every voter to use a free app to tell the party's MPs how to vote.
Special features
When the Border Force goes overboard
Nicole Hasham Last week's visa-check debacle in Melbourne, Operation Fortitude, has many questioning the motivation of the new Border Force whose actions left ordinary citizens feeling intimidated and unwelcome.
Jumping off the hamster wheel
Not all politicians think in sound bites as the latest crop of books by Labor and Liberal MPs show.
Abbott's asylum seeker policy misrepresented
Mark Kenny The New York Times has urged European leaders not to adopt the heartless Australian model of denying asylum seekers exercising the maritime option in their bid to escape war and seek a better, safer life.
No, PM, we don't have the answer
Michael Gordon No, Prime Minister, the Australian experience does not offer anything remotely useful to countries dealing with the biggest refugee crisis since the Second World War.
Federal politics quiz: The week ending September 4
Ten questions, 10 chances to prove yourself.
Economy neither wonderful nor woeful
Searchers after truth rather than headlines don't take quarterly changes in GDP too literally. This graph shows why we shouldn't lose our bundle over the economy.
Pub test: a new tool in the politics of cynicism
Critics who claim Dyson Heydon’s decision would not pass the pub test should mount a challenge or shut up.
Why 60 cents might be just what we need
Peter Martin The Australian dollar has dipped below 70 US cents twice in the last two days. Next time, it's set to stay below 70 and keep falling.
Nazi reference reveals PM's recklessness
Mark Kenny Tony Abbott never uses the words, Islamic State, or IS, or ISIS, or ISIL.
Yesterday's budget jam risks leaving the cupboard bare
When times were good, Australia chose the path of individualism. It's a path successive governments have followed, and now Australians are likely to pay the price.
Bill Shorten is flogging a dangerous horse
Despite claims that Justice Dyson Heydon's decision to stay on as head of the trade union royal commission would not pass the sniff test, an online radio poll shows his rebuttal has both moral and legal weight in the community.
Defence spending keeps economy growing
A 41.5 per cent jump in government spending on defence equipment helped Australia's economy grow by 0.2 per cent for the three months to June. If it wasn't for that, the economy wouldn't have grown at all.
Smart politicians find news ways to be heard
The government is unable to get its message across and its frustration is growing.
Dutton media attack a reminder of Gillard era
A government flailing in the polls, struggling to explain a policy agenda and beset by internal instability. A senior minister emerges from the wreckage to accuse the media of bias. I say "deja", you say "vu".
Wedge politics game has few winners
If you wonder why our politicians don't seem interested in good government, their addiction to playing the wedge-and-block game explains a lot.
When politicians need a poll boost, be afraid
Sally Young Flag waving and inciting security concerns can help lift a government's approval rating, but it is only temporary.
Government lights a fire and then complains about the heat
Voters might experience it like a recurring wave of nausea. A faltering government is lashing out, blaming others as the accounts of its own dysfunction pile up. This seems too familiar. And too rich an irony.
