Senator likens black and white-dressed female cabinet minister to zebra
A Labor senator has been blasted for using the appearance of Michaelia Cash as the butt of a joke about animals.
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Heath Aston
Heath Aston is a federal political correspondent. Most recently Heath was the state political editor for the Sun-Herald. Before joining the NSW press gallery he worked for newspapers in Sydney and London.
Government threatens to sue grandfather over 'save Medicare' website
The Turnbull government has threatened to sue a retiree who established a little-visited website that campaigns against cuts to Medicare, accusing him of unauthorised use of the healthcare system's green and yellow logo.
Nigeria 'takes more in oil and gas revenue than Australia'
The governments of Nigeria, Indonesia and Malaysia - Australia's competitors in the oil and gas export sector - extract twice as much tax revenue from petroleum companies as a proportion of production than the federal and state governments combined.
Ex-minister Emerson urges inquiry into LNG tax revenue hole
One of the architects of Australia's tax system on natural resources, Craig Emerson, has backed calls for a parliamentary inquiry into why the boom in liquefied natural gas exports is failing to deliver any meaningful contribution to the public purse.
PM's department head warns against Trump's 'short-term domestic focus'
Australia's most senior public servant, Martin Parkinson, has taken a veiled swipe at the short-sightedness of Donald Trump's pledge to tear up the Trans-Pacific Partnership and scale back the United States' economic leadership in Asia.
Labor stokes ethnic groups' concern for fight back against 18c changes
Labor is attempting to mobilise ethnic communities against the Liberal Party's latest push to water down legal protections against hate speech enshrined in Section 18c of the Racial Discrimination Act.
RSL payments scandal deepens as NSW officials quit
Crisis in the leadership ranks of the RSL in NSW has deepened, with two councillors resigning in disgust at the league's handling of the controversy.
Lifetime visa ban for refugees in doubt as crossbenchers baulk
Malcolm Turnbull's "ring of steel" asylum seeker arrangements designed to buttress his new US resettlement deal could be weakened by Labor, Greens and crossbench opposition to a proposed lifetime visa ban on post-2013 boat arrivals.
Lawyers want PMs in dock over asylum detention
Every Australian prime minister from John Howard onward should be investigated for crimes against humanity in relation to the indefinite detention of asylum seekers, a group of international lawyers claims.
Nauru and Manus centres to close by 2019 under Coalition asylum seeker solution
Australia's offshore detention system would be shut down before the next federal election under a series of international deals.
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