Turnbull ends Abbott's war on wind
Adam Gartrell 12:03 AM EXCLUSIVE: Malcolm Turnbull is lifting Tony Abbott's ban on government investment in wind power.
Latest political news
GST rise would add $900m to Christmas costs
![gst pic by oliver ledoux generic gst money taxes](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/l/y/n/a/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gllm4c.119ydf.png/1449927784847.jpg)
Adam Gartrell 12:42 AM Christmas will become a lot more expensive if the GST is raised.
Macfarlane clears another hurdle in defection
![Former Liberal MP Ian Macfarlane is jumping ship and joining the Nationals.](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/f/d/1/y/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glm34x.119ydf.png/1449921301398.jpg)
Adam Gartrell 12:00 AM Liberal turncoat Ian Macfarlane has cleared another hurdle in his bid to defect to the Nationals.
Branson asks PM to decriminalise drugs
![Malcolm Turnbull with Virgin founder Richard Branson.](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/l/r/b/f/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gllaai.119ydf.png/1449921301398.jpg)
Eamonn Duff 12:15 AM Billionaire Richard Branson's submission to the National Ice Taskforce calls on Malcolm Turnbull to decriminalise drugs in Australia.
Leaders sound alarm on budget
![Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/l/l/x/9/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gllt8q.119ydf.png/1449921301398.jpg)
Australia's federal and state leaders have issued a stark warning of growing budget pressures amid calls for the federal government to dramatically reset voter expectations about the health of Australia's public finances.
'No captain's pick' on sex discrimination role
![Former sex discrimination commissioner Liz Broderick.](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/h/s/8/r/8/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gll9ff.119ydf.png/1449921301398.jpg)
Judith Ireland The Turnbull government will use a selection panel to pick a new sex discrimination commissioner, in a move that follows concerns the high profile position would be filled by a "captain's pick".
Shorten contacts police over driving offence
![Opposition Leader Bill Shorten in Parliament House.](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/k/y/o/2/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gll6q6.119ydf.png/1449921301398.jpg)
Fergus Hunter Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has reported himself to police for using his mobile phone while driving, an offence that attracts a $443 fine and the loss of four demerit points.
Plan for terrorists: reform or stay locked up
![Dan Tehan](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/i/y/2/b/k/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glkaos.119ydf.png/1449921301398.jpg)
David Wroe and Mark Kenny Convicted terrorists would be treated like paedophiles and kept behind bars even after their sentences have expired, under a proposal to be considered by federal and state governments.
GST rise still on the table after top talks
![Treasurer Scott Morrison](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/k/n/a/d/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glkdex.119ydf.png/1449921301398.jpg)
Mark Kenny, James Massola, Matt Wade Tax reform that could result in the states regaining a dedicated share of income tax for the first time since the 1940s appears possible after federal and state treasurers meet.
Bishop offer puts staffer's wife in the picture
![Former Speaker Bronwyn Bishop speaks during the condolence motion for the late Don Randall, at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/d/7/p/g/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glklzm.119ydf.png/1449921301398.jpg)
Heath Aston A potential new candidate to succeed Bronwyn Bishop in Mackellar has emerged amid rising factional angst at the former Speaker's determination to resist retirement and contest another election.
Abbott is a 'very unusual man': Shorten
![Opposition Leader Bill Shorten whispers to then prime minister Tony Abbott earlier this year.](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/b/c/j/8/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glk5nl.119ydf.png/1449921301398.jpg)
Lisa Cox Tony Abbott is a "very unusual man" who is presenting a poor image of Australia overseas, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says.
Comment & Analysis
Bishop, Abbott, Trump and politics of delusion
![Illustration: Matt Davidson.](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/m/7/7/8/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glkzip.11d82q.png/1449925065675.jpg)
Adam Gartrell 9:00 PM Politicians aren't just good at lying to us – they're good at lying to themselves too.
The mad monk and the coming of the raptor
![Annabel Crabb dinkus](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/1/3/l/0/c/w/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gllgb1.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Annabel Crabb 9:00 PM The end of the year, when everyone is tired and snippy, is always a bit prone to farce of one kind or another.
Macfarlane defection will end in tears
![Michael Gordon](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/z/a/8/r/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gll9ql.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Michael Gordon The history of political defections in Australia is replete with unhappy endings.
Tax avenger in hunt for millions spirited away
![Peter Hartcher dinkus](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/p/b/c/9/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glldq4.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Peter Hartcher Chris Jordan is on a mission to make multi-national companies pay their fair share of tax and is kicking down doors around the world to make them do it.
Vulnerability is the new strength in politics
![Judith Ireland dinkus](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/z/q/o/3/t/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glk1jw.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Judith Ireland Politicians hate showing weakness. But it's time they realised there's a power that comes with vulnerability.
Tony Abbott's 'dangerous' ideas
![Anne Summers dinkus Dinkus](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/2/t/m/m/w/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glkiyu.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Anne Summers We have to hope that no one is listening because many of the former prime minister's ideas could make the world a more dangerous place.
Politics, climate, Islam, and the credibility gap
![Mark kenny dinkus](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/g/y/f/y/k/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gljt74.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Mark Kenny For politicians, the daily quest to convey conviction is hardly aided by their tendency to shift ground when it suits without even acknowledging they've done so.
Keep unrepentant terrorists behind bars
![<i></i>](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/1/0/j/r/e/5/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gljxdb.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Dan Tehan Terrorists who remain unreformed by a jail term should be subject to indefinite detention.
Arch conservatives offer nothing but guff
![Waleed Aly dinkus. Dinkus](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/2/t/x/j/n/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gljz1i.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Waleed Aly Abbott and Trump are not intelligently discussing Islam, they’re just demonstrating that their brand of politics is fast collapsing.
Interpreting Australia through Aboriginal eyes
![Aboriginal art and culture draws from the land, for Aboriginality and the land are essential to each other and are inseparable.](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/j/z/4/w/5/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glj8f4.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Paul Keating Our identity cannot be separated from that of Aboriginal Australia.
Let Muslim progressives speak for themselves
![Tony Abbott](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/b/0/y/v/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glj0d9.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Reem Sweid Muslims do not need a Western cultural supremacist like Tony Abbott to tell them what Islam needs.
New innovators don't need huge tax breaks
![The square kilometre array site in Western Australia. Australia and New Zealand bid to host the SKA in Murchison Shire in WA. It will be the biggest and most advanced radio telescope ever constructed, consistsing of 3000 dishes.](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/i/6/s/c/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gli4fe.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Nicholas Reece The PM's innovation statement is a good start, but it falls well short of being the game changer that the Australian economy needs.
Don't fall for the super industry's scare tactics
![Peter Martin dinkus](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/z/q/y/b/x/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glgmjj.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Peter Martin Retirees’ cost of living is not as outrageously high as the industry would have us believe.
PM switches to forward-looking formula
![The Turnbull government on Monday launched reforms to make it easier to bounce back from a business failure.](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/h/7/d/e/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glho2h.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Mark Kenny In a rapidly changing world, only the fleet of foot can prosper. That is Malcolm Turnbull's message.
Barnaby Joyce should be worried
![Peter Reith.](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/3/1/i/z/1/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glh4cq.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Peter Reith Ian Macfarlane's party switch has been billed as a coup for the Nationals, but it's hard to see how it will help them or the Coalition.
Our tax system is heading for trouble
![<p><p/>](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/q/n/q/n/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glghcj.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Amanda Vanstone You do not make less-wealthy people richer by making the rich less wealthy.
Treatment is better than imprisonment
![<p>](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/6/e/s/i/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glgj9q.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Tim Dick Another music festival, another drug death, making two at different Stereosonic events within a week.
Our flag should signify unity, not prejudice
![Susie Latham](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/l/g/q/j/0/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glfmv2.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Susie Latham We need to unite against terrorists who want to divide us, but what about the right-wing extremists who want to do the same thing?
Objectivity can be subjective
![Paul Malone thumbnail](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/z/s/h/g/8/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glfpa1.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Paul Malone I would argue that every journalist - indeed everyone - comes at the news from his or her own subjective position.
Where to now for an unseated PM?
![Peter Hartcher dinkus](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/1/m/p/b/c/9/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.glft15.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Peter Hartcher The government may have moved on, but Tony Abbott is still adjusting to his new reality and coming to grips with life beyond the prime ministership.
Super-rich get to keep their tax secrets
![MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 13: Minister for Resources Josh Frydenberg poses for a photo on November 13, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Wayne Taylor/Fairfax Media)](/web/20151212193956im_/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/y/8/v/n/image.related.thumbnail.90x60.gleqqc.11d82q.png/1449920855996.jpg)
Heath Aston The tax booby trap left behind by Labor's former assistant treasurer David Bradbury was designed to blow up in the face of the Coalition in 2015.