Manus Island detention centre to close, PNG leader says
Nicole Hasham 7:49 PM The Manus Island detention centre will close after the Papua New Guinea Supreme Court ruled it was illegal and unconstitutional, PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill says.
Latest political news
Dutton struggles to explain Manus solution
Michael Koziol 8:37 AM The fate of around 900 asylum seekers on Manus Island hangs in the balance as Immigration Minister Peter Dutton struggles to explain why the government was ill-prepared for the detention centre's closure.
Budget day rate cut looms as deflation hits
James Massola, Peter Martin, Mark Mulligan 7:43 PM An election-campaign interest rate cut is now a strong possibility after the economy experienced deflation for the first time in seven years.
Pyne wrongly claims Defence made subs call
David Wroe 7:44 PM Industry Minister Christopher Pyne has wrongly claimed that the decision to build all 12 new submarines in Adelaide was based on a recommendation from the Defence Department.
Sinodinos defies order to front Senate inquiry
Sean Nicholls 7:23 PM Cabinet secretary Arthur Sinodinos has refused to appear before a Senate inquiry into the controversial Free Enterprise Foundation and similar fundraising bodies.
Australians baulk at Rudd for UN's top job
Heath Aston 7:45 PM Twice as many Australians support New Zealand's Helen Clark to lead the United Nations than Kevin Rudd.
Nauru refugee sets himself on fire
Nicole Hasham 4:29 PM Horrifying video footage has emerged purportedly showing a distressed refugee at Nauru setting himself alight.
Dutton holds line - but what happens next?
Michael Koziol 2:23 PM The Turnbull government is scrambling for legal advice following Papua New Guinea's shattering court ruling on the detention of asylum seekers, as Immigration Minister Peter Dutton vows they will not come to Australia.
Baby Boomers braced for bleak retirement
Mark Kenny 7:46 PM Australians approaching retirement age are facing declining living standards under a system in which the rich have done better from superannuation rules, a survey has found.
ALP powerbroker Richardson in intensivs care
Michael Koziol 8:37 PM Labor powerbroker Graham Richardson has suffered a setback in his recovery from a major cancer operation and has been rushed back to intensive care.
Coalition shifts on tax to tackle bracket creep
Mark Kenny Treasurer Scott Morrison's first budget will now include previously ruled-out changes to income tax to arrest bracket creep.
Comment & Analysis
Manus refugees must be sent to Australia
Madeline Gleeson 4:20 PM Australia now has a choice. An optimistic person might expect freedom for the 900 men on Manus Island, but it's more complicated than that.
What's $50 billion between besties?
Daniel Flitton For all the serious and weighty talk of national security, there must surely be a better way for Australia to decide on a dozen submarines.
Umpire calls time on negative gearing
Ross Gittins Many voters have strong views for or against negative gearing. But when rival politicians fall to arguing about their policies, most of us find we don't know enough to decide who's right.
Libs must find ticker for real workplace reform
Peter Reith If ever there was a political opportunity to start the rebalance of Australia's labour market, then this is it.
Spin can't hide harm of negative gearing
John Daley By refusing to change the tax laws, the government is missing out on $5 billion a year.
Lessons for Malcolm and Bill
Michael Gordon Malcolm Turnbull remains the favourite to win on July 2. But ...
Turnbull faces a tougher race than predicted
Mark Kenny One of the key advantages of incumbency, first dibs on announcing the election date and then framing the terms of the contest, has been squandered.
The new threat to our social compact
Jessica Irvine In less than five months, Australia will bid farewell to its Reserve Bank governor for the past decade, Glenn Stevens.
Morrison needs a reality check on tax
Peter Martin The government's theme for selling the budget reads like a Seinfeld script.
Opaque campaign finance rules fail every test
Maxine McKew Politicians on the election trail need to come clean about where their campaign funds come from.
Unis need funding reform, not more cuts
Michael Spence Whatever happens on budget night, a 20 per cent cut to universities must come off the agenda.
Banks haven't shown contrition for bad apples
Ross Gittins 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 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.
Special features
Time for new direction on asylum seekers
When Malcolm Turnbull confessed on Wednesday that he could not produce a "definitive roadmap", he may have delivered the understatement of his prime ministership.
Verdict on Manus Island: Punitive and now illegal
Michael Gordon The PNG Supreme Court has given Malcolm Turnbull cover to do the right thing and, not a moment too soon, end the inhumanity of indefinite detention of vulnerable and damaged people.
Dear Shinzo, the Frogs know nothing about subs. Love, Tones
Tony Abbott has written to his friend, Japanese Prime Minister Shinto Abe, commiserating at Japan's failure to make the cut in the $50 billion bid to build submarines in Australia.
Votes for boats: Subs decision avoids a political meltdown in SA
Mark Kenny Luckily, South Australia does not grow balsa trees, or we might just have committed $50 billion to submarines that won't submerge. Instead, they'll be built from high-quality non-buoyant Australian steel.
Clive, Australia's political prisoner?
Tony Wright We're not sure which gulag Clive Palmer has been condemned to inhabit, nor how he might be confined - let alone what catering arrangements have been made.
Coalition MPs in need of climate refresher courses
Stephanie Peatling The international scientific community might have accepted the reality of climate change, but it is a different matter in the Coalition.
Best submarine at the best price
Analysis Two things stand out about Tuesday's announcement that France will help Australia build the new fleet of submarines.
Turnbull out on a limb over negative gearing
Peter Martin You've heard the one about the one-year-old who's buying a house.
PM rips up his script on tax reform debate
Malcolm Turnbull had only been an MP for a matter of months when he turned his mind to a fairer, broader tax system.
Sophie Mirabella: pork barrelling on its way to Indi
If Sophie Mirabella is "the most honest politician in Australia" - as Crikey called her on Friday - then the widespread malaise with Australian politics is well founded. We're all rooned.
How PM's doorstop drew attention to the housing crisis
Matt Wade A system that encourages young families to buy property, but not live in it, is not working efficiently.
How the Senate ferals will survive a double dissolution
Tony Abbott called them "feral" and Malcolm Turnbull reckons they're a "disgrace" and an "embarrassment".
Through the looking glass: Turnbull shrinks as Shorten grows
Curious and curiouser: with a July 2 election all but certain, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has begun to grow into the job, while Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has been brought down to size.
Strategy targets improved cyber security
These are cyber intrusions into government departments and agencies, big and small businesses and private individuals.
Turnbull's inner circle moves to war footing
Fairfax Media has spoken to current and former Liberal Party operatives who fear the Prime Minister's Office is not campaign-ready.
Shorten may yet plod to the top
The Turnbull honeymoon is over and voters are now wondering whether it's time to take Bill Shorten seriously.
Stop the campaign complaints! Elections are as good as politics gets
It may be cool to act like elections are a horrible affliction we are forced to endure on a triennial basis. But really, we should be celebrating their arrival, not complaining.
