Coalition to give extra $120m to corporate watchdog
James Massola 11:04 PM ASIC to get a big boost in funding after Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison are confronted by backbenchers pushing for a crackdown on banks' bad behaviour.
Latest political news
This anti-pokies ad is not for normal people
Michael Lallo 2:27 PM This ad claims pokies are rigged and likens them to cocaine. But it's not for you. It's a warning to our politicians.
Coalition plans tougher crackdown on super
Peter Martin 5:04 AM The Turnbull government is preparing to trump Labor in the budget, cracking down harder on high-income superannuation tax concessions to raise four times as much as the opposition.
'He just did it 'cause he likes you'
Judith Ireland 3:20 PM The Coalition government has launched a confronting new ad campaign, designed to get parents, teachers and coaches to clamp down on disrespectful and aggressive behaviour by boys and young men.
How 76 big companies saved $5.6b in tax
Heath Aston 5:27 AM New report found the average rate of tax paid was 16.2 per cent - or less than the income tax rate paid by a working nurse in Australia.
Sinodinos to front inquiry over fundraising
10:44 PM Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's recall of Parliament to secure a July 2 election has delivered unintended and potentially damaging consequences for the Liberals, with the Senate agreeing to hold a snap inquiry into political donations which will target the dealings of Cabinet Secretary Arthur Sinodinos.
Budget 'leak' shows big changes to tax, super
Michael Koziol 5:09 AM The federal government will reportedly spruik $16 billion in savings in the May 3 budget, as it prepares for an all-but-certain double dissolution election on July 2.
What $1500 a night gets taxpayers
Nicole Hasham 5:51 PM New figures show the extraordinary nightly cost of detaining people on Christmas Island.
Barati's killers could be free in three years
Michael Gordon 6:17 PM Two Manus Island locals found guilty of killing Iranian asylum seeker Reza Barati in 2014 could be free in three years after being sentenced on Tuesday.
Poll plan puts public servants in tough position
Henry Belot APS must still assist with the budget, despite looming campaign.
Hinch tipped to take Muir's Senate seat
Heath Aston 8:49 PM Ricky Muir may have ''voted himself into unemployment'', and could be replaced by the Human Headline.
Comment & Analysis
Banks haven't shown contrition for bad apples
Ross Gittins 10:58 PM Corporate bad behaviour is not on. We must bring the banks to heel, and a royal commission is a fine way to do that.
Turnbull needs big win or it will be same again
Alan Stokes 7:00 PM Assuming Labor falls short, simply getting back into power won't be enough for the Prime Minister to consign the Abbott era to history.
PM will fight poll as just another politician
Peter Hartcher Malcolm Turnbull will now get the election he wanted, but without the sort of advantage he'd hoped for.
History keeps repeating in politics
Peter Reith Many MPs and media commentators have little grasp of Australia’s political past. That’s a pity because knowing the past can explain today.
Battlelines drawn for drawn out contest
Mark Kenny If the election is reduced to a tale of two grievances, Bill Shorten will win it.
Death in black and white
Michael Gordon Imagine if a royal commission was held into a matter of national shame, and it spent tens of millions of dollars, produced a vast report, but the headline indicators of that shame went backwards.
PM's election pitch stamped 'Made in China'
Peter Hartcher Our economic 'transition' is central to Malcolm Turnbull's election campaign. And China is the key to that transition, happy to play up to the 'all powerful' image.
Australia, why do you hate big ideas?
Judith Ireland It is a much-honoured national pastime to shoot down ideas and resist even the slightest hint of change. We might be surrounded by sea, but we are also girt by the status quo.
Against the odds the stars line up for Labor
Waleed Aly Increasing inequality has allowed Labor to start doing something it hasn't done for decades - articulate a worldview.
Turnbull primed to shine in China
Mark Kenny The Prime Minister has assembled a crack group of advisers for his China visit but they're playing to a tough audience.
Very Fast Train - the mother of all projects
Peter Knight In less than a decade and at a price we can afford, a high-speed link could transform the nation, if only politicians weren't so lily-livered.
Silence will destroy our democratic values
Greg Barns Around the world politicians are raising issues of fairness, equality and social values – so why have Australians gone quiet?
Marriage debate is not about equality
Jeremy Bell If governments make laws about marriage, they must define what marriage is.
Shorten's royal commission call a poll stunt
Peter Reith If Bill Shorten was seriously wanting a royal commission into the banks, he could have voted for it last year when the Greens put up the idea.
Beauty of science lies in unexpected moment
Surendra Verma The CSIRO's pursuit of science will be hampered by the naked hunt for cash.
Better teachers? Better at what, exactly?
Ned Manning We all know it is bureaucratic procedures, lack of funding and poor pay rates that hold back educational standards, not bad teachers.
Bill Shorten a dud no more
Tim Dick Abbott, Abetz, and Andrews are the triple-A batteries of Australian politics: each started full of power, but not as much as they thought.
Gonski opposition doesn’t add up
Jane Caro The voters love Gonski. Astonishingly, every educational sector – public, Catholic and Independent – are also in favour.
Why our new subs should be built at home
Amanda Vanstone On this project, we should be wary of the Japanese.
Turnbull snookered by populist bank probe
Mark Kenny Tell me it isn't so: the more furiously the banks resist public scrutiny of their ultra-profitable dealings, the more their long-suffering customers feel such a probe is justified.
Robb pushes aside pessimism, backs China
Peter Hartcher On the eve of Australia's largest ever trade mission to China, the nation's 'best trade minister' Andrew Robb still has unfinished business.
Special features
Labor could shape new senate crossbench
Labor party preferences could decide which micro-party and independent candidates are elected to the new upper house, according to Senator David Leyonhjelm.
Super backlash might not stem savings
Any Coalition move to slash superannuation tax breaks for high income earners risks alienating a key supporter base.
Turnbull's wishy-washy declaration of July 2 poll
Malcolm Turnbull's unpreparedness for the fight of his life showed in the way he confirmed he would be visiting the Governor-General after the budget to request the July 2 double dissolution.
Politics Live: The day from federal Parliament
Only 74 days to go people. We are in the warm up campaign following the Senate's rejection of the government's building watchdog legislation which handed Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull a trigger for a double dissolution election.
Turnbull is making the same mistake as Gillard
Mark Kenny When the July 2 election date was put to Julie Bishop on Tuesday morning during a Sky News interview, the Deputy Liberal leader did her best to dial down the certainty factor, even implying that later election dates remained in play as live options.
An unfinished opera for the ages
Tony Wright Bronwyn Bishop, a small but perfectly formed seethe of indignation after being cast adrift, has things that must be set to rights, you might be sure.
Once irresistible, PM will fight poll as just another politician
Peter Hartcher Malcolm Turnbull will now get the election he wanted, but without the sort of advantage he'd hoped for.
Nick Xenophon's pivotal power
Nick Xenophon's preferences could help sway the election outcome and his team may win the balance of power in the Senate.
Double dissolution trigger is live, so what happens now?
Malcolm Turnbull has a constitutional deadline of May 11 to advise the Governor-General to dissolve both houses.
Tumbleweeds roll across the chamber as DD looms
It was almost as if bringing Parliament back was a stunt.
Unions or banks? Battlelines drawn for drawn out contest
If the election is reduced to a tale of two grievances, Bill Shorten will win it.
Voter disappointment drives Coalition down
Michael Gordon The Turnbull government's strong lead has evaporated to nothing as increasingly nervous Coalition MPs gather in Canberra.
Malcolm Turnbull a cautious PM, and voters are punishing him for it
Peter Hartcher Bill Shorten is taking a riskier line, announcing controversial policies, and it's working for him.
No integrity in disguised tax hikes
With just over a fortnight to go, the Turnbull government's first budget is looking a bit green, writes Jessica Irvine.
The highs and lows of Bronwyn Bishop's long political career
In 1955 a 13-year-old schoolgirl named Bronwyn Setright told her friends she was going to be the first female prime minister of Australia.
185th anniversary: view from the newsroom
How has the Herald changed in 185 years? How should I know – I've been working for it for less than a quarter of that time.
Political dinosaur's days are numbered
Chris Johnson Looking back, Clive Palmer's spectacular fall from grace was inevitable from the outset.
Malcolm Turnbull in China
Malcolm Turnbull visits China for the first time as Australian Prime Minister and Andrew Meares is on hand to capture the historic trip.
Australia, why do you hate big ideas?
It is a much-honoured national pastime to shoot down ideas and resist even the slightest hint of change.
Turnbull sets fire to footy, all the way from China
Tony Wright The Prime Minister has entered the eternal debate on which football code is the best, and his verdict has ruffled feathers around the nation.
Barnaby is running the country! What a time to be alive!
Tony Wright When Malcolm Turnbull steps on a plane for China on Wednesday night, he leaves Barnaby Joyce in charge.
