Federal Politics

ELECTION 2016 LATEST

One Nation pair cast shadow even in their absence

One Nation senator-elect Malcolm Roberts was not present for the AEC's formal declaration of results.

Only half of Queensland's successful Senate attended the Australian Electoral Commissions formal declaration of results on Friday, but it was the two absent future One Nation senators – Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts – that loomed large over the proceedings. 

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Comment & Analysis

Senator David Leyonhjelm says there is no qualification to 'free speech'.

Free-speech fundamentalists break free of good conscience

David Leyonhjelm is a boorish, supercilious know-all with the empathy of a besser block. And that new Hansonite conspiracy theorist from Queensland? He's an absurdist fringe-dweller and fellow hate-speech apologist. It's wacky and wackier. Neither of these self-promoting misanthropes would have the first idea about entrenched discrimination. Yet both are experts.You may disagree with this harsh critique and probably think it unbecoming of a serious media outlet. But offensive to them, it is not. And that's the point.

Banks respond to the Reserve Bank rate cut as one

Glenn Stevens oversaw the central bank's rate cut this week in his last major move as RBA Governor.

Our biggest banks move fast. Either that, or they collude. At 2.37 pm on Tuesday within minutes of the Reserve Bank cutting its cash rate to an all-time low, the Commonwealth Bank announced a completely different way of responding. Instead of passing on some of all of the cut, it would only pass on half and hand some of the rest out to customers as higher term deposit rates.

Christensen's hasty Islam slurs help no one

George Christensen speaks at a Reclaim Australia rally in Mackay on July 19.

This is what Duncan Lewis, the head of ASIO, told Fairfax Media late last year about Islamist extremism's connection to the broader faith: "This is not about the religion other than the fact that it is being hijacked by ne'er-do-wells."

Twists and turn in 2016 vote count

Alexander Zhang counting postal votes at the Australian Electoral Commission counting room in Civic.

Election 2016 was like a soccer match where the overwhelming favourites found themselves stuck at one-all at half-time, still tied after 90 minutes but then squeaked out of jail with a couple of quick goals in extra time.