Paris attacks: PM Turnbull calls it the 'work of the devil'

Adam Gartrell and Mark Kenny 5:14 PM   Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has sought to reassure Australians in the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks, which he has described as "the work of the devil".

Latest political news

Government refuses to rule out eath duties

Treasurer Scott Morrison has not ruled out reinstituting death duties as part of the government's tax reforms.

Adam Gartrell 12:15 AM   The Turnbull government is being urged to resurrect death duties and Treasurer Scott Morrison isn't ruling it out.

Australia stands against terror: Husic

Condemns Paris terrorist attacks: Federal Labor MP Ed Husic.

Australians need to stand together as one in the face of the terror threat as terrorists will seek to divide and harm everyone, a Labor MP says.

Half a mill: How's that for a royal bill?

Prince Charles and Camilla meet the crowd in Sydney's Martin Place.

Adam Gartrell 12:15 AM   Australian taxpayers will be charged close to half a million dollars for this month's brief royal tour.

Border Force spends big on media training 

Police watch as protesters rally inside Flinders Street Station on August 28 against    Australian Border Force officers taking part in Operation Fortitude.

Adam Gartrell 12:15 AM   You've heard of Border Force. Now get ready for Talk Force.

Free at last, Ranjini is not a security threat

Sri Lankan refugee Ranjini has been released from detention

Michael Gordon   Ranjini, the Sri Lankan mother of three who has spent more than three years in detention after being deemed a national security threat by ASIO, has been freed.

Alleged people smuggler asked for 'help'

Jasmine, one of two boats which asylum seekers claim they were transferred onto by Australian Border Force after being intercepted.

Jewel Topsfield and Amilia Rosa   The captain allegedly paid by Australia to return asylum seekers to Indonesia begged for help because he would not receive money from a people smuggling agent unless the boat reached New Zealand.

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Negative gearing mostly benefits rich: analysis

Not all workers gain the same benefits from negative gearing, analysis shows.

Gareth Hutchens   One of Australia's most respected public policy think-tanks says 'negative gearing' does not benefit everyday Australians in the way its proponents suggest.

Darwin port sale raises questions in US

Shadow assistant defence minister David Feeney.

David Wroe   The sale of Darwin's commercial port to a Chinese firm with military ties has prompted a flurry of diplomatic conversations between Canberra and Washington, which regularly rotates hundreds of Marines through the Northern Territory capital.

Concern at 'broader definition' of terrorism

Professor Anne Twomey of the University of Sydney Law School.

Jane Lee, David Wroe   People could be stripped of their citizenship overseas even if they did not commit a terrorist act if a controversial bill is passed, legal experts warn.

Nuclear review 'needed before permanent site'

50 countries are willing to pay $1 million per tonne to store their nuclear waste.

Jane Lee   The Turnbull government's search for a permanent nuclear waste dump should not proceed until a full review into safe storage has been completed, environmentalists say.

Comment & Analysis

Will Bill Shorten's GST scare campaign work?

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Adam Gartrell 12:00 AM   Scare campaigns – including over the GST – have a long history of success in Australian politics. But will Bill Shorten's GST scare campaign work?

Turnbull's awkward summit season

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Michael Wesley   ​Prime Ministers usually look forward to summit season. The big international meetings provide a chance to escape the tumult of domestic politics and spend time with peers.

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Something about Julia and Lyle with pairing

Judith Ireland dinkus

Judith Ireland   As followers of other people's love lives may recall, when Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett got married in 1993, the world did a collective "huh?!"

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Each asylum seeker has a face, a story

Visible moved: Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has seen the plight Jordan's refugees first hand.

Arnold Zable   I am alive today because my parents left Europe just in time. My mother did not sit back and wait, but actively sought a way out.

Health reforms must never erode foundations

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Brian Owler   What do we want our healthcare system to look in 10 years? The federal government's vision for Australia's healthcare system currently lacks clarity, let alone consensus.

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A quick once over before the final good-bye

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John Birmingham   It must feel like one of those dreadful dates at the end of a relationship, when both partners know it's over. Did Charles and Cammy regret making the trip?

Two-faced politicians should make us angry

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Mark Kenny   When cabinet members rail at Labor for not getting "new politics", they actually mean forget what we once said.

Big employment jump? Don't believe it

Peter Martin.

Peter Martin   October was one hell of a month. Like most months, it was made up of 31 days. Night-time included, that's 44,640 minutes.

Death of the Queen won't bring on a republic

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Marcus Strom   The official republican movement in Australia is kidding itself if it thinks there will be an outpouring of sentiment to remove the monarchy when Queen Elizabeth dies. 

Factions will destroy Labor from the inside

Embattled Labor MP Cesar Melhem at Parliament House.

Josh Gordon   Labor's latest crop of festering messes can be traced back to its factional system, which rewards patronage and shady deals.

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Don't look to Key for tips on managing reform

Stephen Mills dinkus.

Stephen Mills   Despite the Prime Minister's comments it is unlikely that Malcolm Turnbull would be satisfied with John Key's limited policy ambitions.

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We'll do whatever it takes to stop coal mine

Environment minister Greg Hunt.

Geoff Cousins   The Adani coal project is wrong on economic and environmental grounds.

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Diversity a national strength, not a weakness

People from the Sudanese Dinka tribe at a
National Harmony Day celebration.

George Vasilev   It is oppressive and impractical to compel everyone to make English their first language.

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Economic growth needn't cost the world

Ross Gittins

Ross Gittins   Scientists and economists have come up with scenarios for the future of economic growth and environmental vandalism, and the window is small.

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Political right in the Anglosphere is in trouble

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Tom Switzer   Hillary Clinton is the favourite to become the next US president and a close look at the Republicans shows why.

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Getting super tax right fixes reform problems

Tinkering around the edges of tax reform isn't going to offer Turnbull the results he needs to make any changes palatable.

Peter Martin   GST and income tax proposals tinker around the edges of the real problems.

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Turnbull takes out some early GST insurance

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Mark Kenny   Ask any MP on either side of politics what went wrong with the Abbott government and right away they'll cite the 2014 budget with its hardline cuts, its failure to spread the task of budget repair to the top end and its bullish, defiant justification.

Insuring the GP gap is a costly error

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Stephen Duckett   Allowing private health insurers to cover general practice fees is likely to lead to higher costs and reduced access to care for the uninsured.

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US all at sea over China’s ambitions

Illustration: Alan Moir

Hugh White   US foreign-policy advisers underestimate China's resolve to claim a larger role in Asia.

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Adoption taboo is hurting children

Jeremy Sammut dinkus

Jeremy Sammut   Only 89 children were adopted from care last year, but negative stories about past adoptions are not the full story about adoption today.

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Appetite for conflict fuels unjust desserts

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Annabel Crabb   It was suggested to me that "PR puff pieces" like Kitchen Cabinet are "swamping" journalism. Dear God. I have never heard such bollocks.

Special features

'Fazel is free now, God gave him a visa'

Michael Gordon When Peter Dutton was asked this week how it was that Fazel Chegen came to be detained on Christmas Island, he wasn't the least bit fazed.

Family payment cuts and childcare reforms are like Julia and Lyle

Judith Ireland As followers of other people's love lives may recall, when Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett got married in 1993, the world did a collective "huh?!"

Getting down and dirty on Direct Action

Peter Hannam It's the Abbott-Turnbull government's signature climate policy, but what is it and how does it work?

Who killed the car industry?

Jason Dowling The end of of Australia's car manufacturing industry is approaching and it will be brutal. It is shaping as an extinction event of Australian jobs, an entire industry being wiped out.

Each asylum seeker has a face, a story

Arnold Zable I am alive today because my parents left Europe just in time. My mother did not sit back and wait, but actively sought a way out.

Politics quiz: Have you been paying attention?

The royal visit, cigarette taxes and nuclear waste - have you been paying attention to the week in politics?

Two-faced politicians should make us angry

When cabinet members rail at Labor for not getting "new politics", they actually mean forget what we once said.

GST: It's dynamite (with apologies to AC/DC)

With talk of the GST ringing in our ears, the decision to parody an AC/DC classic was an easy one.

The death of Queen Elizabeth won't bring on a republic

The official republican movement in Australia is kidding itself if it thinks there will be an outpouring of sentiment to remove the monarchy when Queen Elizabeth dies. 

The Pulse: The day from Parliament 

Stephanie Peatling Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has just left on his first overseas trip leaving his deputy, Julie Bishop, to answer questions about her role in Mr Turnbull's elevation to the top job.

Political star recruits - the good and the bad

Judith Ireland The bright idea that just keeps happening in politics is to get someone famous to stand for Parliament. But does it actually work?

Turnbull shouldn't look to Key for tips on managing reform

Stephen Mills Despite the Prime Minister's comments it is unlikely that Malcolm Turnbull would be satisfied with John Key's limited policy ambitions.

Encounters of PMs past

Malcolm meeting Charles wasn't the most awkward encounter on Wednesday.

A nation in crisis: The Whitlam dismissal, 40 years on

First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on November 12, 1975 Australia will go to the polls before Christmas to elect a new Federal Government.

Rudd warns Turnbull about 'nut jobs'

James Massola Kevin Rudd says his former rival, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, has made a good start in the nation's top political job - but he has warned him to watch out for the "nut jobs" in his own party.

Economic growth needn't cost the world

Scientists and economists have come up with scenarios for the future of economic growth and environmental vandalism, and the window is small.

Spot the difference with revamped QT

Sketch Question time gets a revamp ... and it's just the same as before.