'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'
![United Voice, the union representing Wilson Security staff, said it had repeatedly raised the issue of asbestos exposure on Nauru.](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/e/t/g/4/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gje3z1.119ydf.png/1441372320632.jpg)
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
![Warwick McKibbin](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/f/a/5/t/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjffwv.119ydf.png/1441401337297.jpg)
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
![Immigration Minister Peter Dutton.](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/p/d/j/w/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjflgk.119ydf.png/1441366491554.jpg)
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
![Immigration Minister Peter Dutton will consider the amendments.](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/w/4/y/x/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjfhul.119ydf.png/1441380368857.jpg)
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
![Review panel chairman Professor Ian Harper.](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/b/n/5/t/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjfb9b.119ydf.png/1441366491554.jpg)
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
![Research has questioned the push for more science and technology workers.](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/u/b/w/7/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjfa10.119ydf.png/1441366491554.jpg)
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
![Illustration: Andrew Dyson](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/q/d/9/7/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjf7qu.119ydf.png/1441366491554.jpg)
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
![Australian citizenship could be stripped for dual citizens under the proposals.](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/y/1/h/5/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjf4or.119ydf.png/1441426068425.jpg)
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'
![Dr Bruce Bonyhady, chairman of the NDIS.](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/s/7/7/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjeyh2.119ydf.png/1441380627267.jpg)
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
![Rupert Murdoch thinks Australians are "gtreAt people but with large problems".](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/5/3/r/5/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjes1x.119ydf.png/1441366491554.jpg)
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
![Protesters stop traffic outside Flinders Street during action against Operation Border Force.](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/a/6/c/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gje6lg.11d82q.png/1441408541996.jpg)
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 dinkus Dinkus](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/2/t/m/m/w/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjemqe.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
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
![A migrant holding her child is detained in Bicske, Hungary, Thursday, Sept. 3, 2015.](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/f/d/e/j/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjfjqc.11d82q.png/1441382643684.jpg)
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
![Haidar 41 (left) from Baghdad in Iraq holding his son Mohamed, three (2nd from left) with Nasma 25 (right) Libyan of Bangladeshi descent with her husband as they wait to be rescued from their wooden boat by the Migrant Offshore Aid Station crew supported by Medecins Sans Frontieres last Wednesday.](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/b/r/n/q/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjf3wv.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
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 dinkus](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/p/b/c/9/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjfb6r.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
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
![Prime Minister Tony Abbott](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/c/h/6/u/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjf5xe.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
Michael Gordon 12:15 AM The federal government's problems with voters start at the top.
Rough edges to be knocked off laws
![Immigration Department secretary Michael Pezzullo.](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/8/y/4/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjfjpo.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
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 dinkus. Dinkus](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/2/t/x/j/n/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjdy8y.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
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](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/f/s/h/q/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gje6tx.11d82q.png/1441401337706.jpg)
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 dinkus](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/y/f/y/k/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gje6fr.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
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
![Chinese state-operating enterprises could soon be able to tender for big infrastructure projects, such as Sydney's Westlink, with their own workers.](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/e/3/l/y/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjc8ca.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
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
![Prime Minister Tony Abbott.](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/e/g/y/t/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gje1pj.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
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
![<p>](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/m/p/0/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjenh3.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
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](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/g/2/2/f/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjdgvy.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
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
![AFR First use only please ---- 14th August 2007 --- AFR Pic by Ben Plant
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Image shows the Australian Aboriginal Flag in the foreground against the background of the George V Statue in the grounds of Old Parliament House, Canberra, ACT.
Generic, Flag, Protest, Aboriginal, Aborigine, Torres Strait Islander, Land Rights, Indigenous affairs, Traditional owners, Statue, Building, Canberra, Racism, Australian](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/a/f/3/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjd114.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
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
![Sports will be the key to the Foxtel and Ten deal](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/n/y/f/f/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjddf8.11d82q.png/1441426735584.jpg)
Josh Gordon The government is unable to get its message across and its frustration is growing.
When politicians need a poll boost, be afraid
![?John Shakespeare colour cartoon / illo / illustration / toon / artwork
Tony Abbott in army uniform with fist tattooed with GOOD on each finger/cape made out of the Australian flag
?
oped tuesday 24 2.jpg](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/c/b/l/x/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjc5st.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
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 dinkus](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/y/f/y/k/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjcnv8.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
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
![Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says Australia has 'a lot to be proud of'.](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/0/p/h/6/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjclzn.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
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](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/1/1/d/9/g/6/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjca68.11d82q.png/1441365366146.jpg)
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.](/web/20150905055813im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/3/8/v/3/6/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gjc6ft.11d82q.png/1441426493558.jpg)
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.