• 47 mins ago

President of the Human Rights Commission, Gillian Triggs, has backed a proposal to reform section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.

• 54 mins ago

Labor will vote against the Turnbull government's plan to impose a lifetime ban on refugees and asylum seekers who arrive by boat from entering Australia, throwing doubt over whether the controversial plan can pass the Parliament.

• 1 hr ago

Federal Labor has quibbled with media reports claiming it is poised to support the Turnbull government's modified superannuation package as is, which would save the budget about $3 billion over four years.

Senate crossbenchers Jacqui Lambie and Pauline Hanson look set to propose three controversial plebiscite questions to coincide with the next federal election, on same-sex marriage, Indigenous recognition in the constitution and voluntary euthanasia. 

• COMMENT

Government now battling to remain in control of public service workplace wars.

New divisions within the Coalition have emerged over the place of Islam in Australia, as controversial Queensland MP George Christensen accused a Victorian colleague of being part of Parliament's "elitist set".

Politicians don't usually admit to mistakes when they address the national parliament, but veteran Liberal Russell Broadbent confessed to a big one on Monday evening: failing to repudiate colleagues who promote fear and division.

Decision will force a new conversation that will divide the Coalition and threatens to destabilise the Turnbull government.

• EXCLUSIVE

Gillian Triggs also hits out at News Corp and politicians "who have deliberately misunderstood the law".

Record hot years such as last year's global scorcher will become the norm before 2030 unless greenhouse gas emissions are curbed, a new study by Australian researchers has found.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has backed the government's call to have the election of one of her senators referred to the High Court, saying her integrity and accountability to the Australian people offered her no other choice.

As the Dutch government considers halting intercountry adoptions, Australia has signed agreements with three new countries in the past year.

• ANALYSIS

Few doubt that the PM's heart is in the right place on the issue, but how strongly is it beating?

Hello and welcome to a doozy of a day in federal politics. The High Court, same-sex marriage and a One Nation press conference - you couldn't ask for more.

Immigration Department dispute will go to arbitration after crushing no-vote.

Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has asked the Auditor-General to investigate a $2 million federal grant to a trades training school associated with former senator Bob Day.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has hammered the Human Rights Commission's handling of complaints under section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act, calling on the independent body to "urgently review" its conduct after a case against a group of Queensland students was thrown out by a judge last week.

A member of the Liberal party has filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission against new Liberal MP and former party president Trent Zimmerman for saying ethnic communities engaged in branch stacking.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has attacked ABC TV's Barrie Cassidy, challenging the Insiders host over comments about Labor's record on treatment of asylum seekers and refugees in offshore detention.

• EXCLUSIVE

The amount of agricultural land owned by Chinese interests has soared above three million hectares, more than double the 1.46 million declared by the Australian Tax Office last month, according to a Fairfax Media analysis of reported land sales.

Pressure from the Coalition party room could bring a major backdown in the long-running stand-off between the Coalition leadership and MPs over Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.

Australia is hailing the promise of streamlined management and accreditation of live cattle to Indonesia following trade talks in Sydney on Sunday, even as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade urges tourists travelling there to avoid big crowds and to exercise caution.

Peter Georgiou 

• EXCLUSIVE

In an attempt to avoid lengthy disputes, the Australian Taxation Office cut more deals in the 2015-16 financial year, but the dollar value of those settlements dived, largely because a backlog of old disputes with companies have come to an end.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has given his strongest indication yet Labor will oppose a lifetime visa ban on former refugees and asylum seekers, describing the move as "ludicrous" and unfair.

Doctors say patients will be charged $15 to $20 more to visit a GP if the government regulates the rents they can charge pathology companies.

The Australian Federal Police will spend $40 million to further fortify its facilities in Australia's capital cities, amid increasing fears of improvised explosive devices and car and truck attacks.

The AMA has detailed shocking cases of apparent medical neglect, wasting and severe ill-health among asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru, and accused immigration bureaucrats of failing to adequately follow up cases.

Chicken Littles may be on to something when it comes the effects of global warming.