Australian Politics - Fairfax

"I love meeting people, I get hugged and I'm very comfortable hugging back. It's not something I've contrived."

Over homemade passata and a glass of red with Annabel Crabb, the Prime Minister says many of his critics just "don't get it".

The concept was simple, but the execution was delicate.
The idea was to take portraits of politicians that revealed their true feelings, to capture split seconds of real, reactive emotion before the mask came down and the politician-subject put on a face for the camera.

Malcolm Turnbull has attempted to clear up growing confusion about a national plebiscite on same-sex marriage by saying he wants a vote held by the end of the year and expects it to be compulsory.
But Mr Turnbull appeared to open up a new front of uncertainty by saying for the first time that he wants the plebiscite process to be modelled on a referendum vote.

Voters in Malcolm Turnbull's electorate have one of the lowest death rates in Australia, reveals a new analysis mapping deaths across the political divide.

Is Malcolm Turnbull's deal of a same-sex marriage plebiscite unravelling?

Cartoon of the Day: David Pope with stability and government. More political cartoons here http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/cartoons

Two of Malcolm Turnbull's most senior ministers have refused to say how they would vote in Parliament if the government's plebiscite on same-sex marriage is passed.

A small ABC radio station received an unusual phone call from the Prime Minister on Tuesday morning

A split has emerged in the Coalition over how MPs would vote in the wake of a successful plebiscite on same-sex marriage, with several intending to abstain or vote in line with their electorate rather than the nation.

Cartoon of the Day: Alan Moir with Battle of the Porkies. More political cartoons here http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/cartoons

Most families using childcare would be better off over the next two years under Labor's policies, a new independent analysis has found.

The number of apprentices across Australia has plunged since the Coalition took office, government figures show, with some of the steepest falls occurring in high-unemployment marginal seats still up for grabs at Saturday's election.

Tonight, Peta Credlin
1) Predicted the legislation to allow a plebiscite could fail to pass Parliament
2) Said that would mean MPs would have to vote
3) Warned that could trigger a Coalition war
4) Said that war would rival the 2009 dispute that brought down Malcolm Turnbull's leadership

Bill Shorten remains close but his chances of snaring an unlikely against-the-odds victory appear to be fading, with the major issues gaining attention in the final days of the campaign playing more to Malcolm Turnbull's advantage.
One of Australia's most experienced and respected pollsters, has combined the 11 major polls over June to create a survey group of some 19,500 electors to find the Coalition is ahead on a 50.3-49.7 two party preferred basis, after preferences.
That represents a swing away from the government of 3.2 per cent since 2013 - an insufficient swing to give Labor the seats needed to form a majority.

Former Liberal Party darling Jackie Kelly is trying to derail the party's chances in the bellwether Sydney seat of Lindsay.
The skirmish highlights the continued fallout from the deposition of former prime minister Tony Abbott.

Rancour in the fight for New England has plumbed new depths after Tony Windsor claimed a Nationals television ad implies he cheated on his wife.
Mr Windsor demanded the withdrawal of the "offensive gutter ad" which he said left his wife Lyn "deeply upset".
He then appeared to accuse Nationals incumbent, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, and his campaign chairman, James Treloar, of their own philandering.

It was the single most damaging attack on Bill Shorten during the entire campaign, and it was delivered by Julie Bishop.