Abbott's warning to Turnbull: don't break your promise on same-sex marriage
Tony Abbott has delivered a blunt message to the man who replaced him as prime minister.
James Massola is chief political reporter in the Canberra bureau. He was a Walkley finalist in 2015 and has worked in the federal press gallery for eight years, including stints for The Australian Financial Review and The Australian before joining the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Tony Abbott has delivered a blunt message to the man who replaced him as prime minister.
Australian and American officials spent Friday scrambling to shore up the US refugee swap deal – and repair damage to the alliance relationship – amid signs that Donald Trump will likely follow through on the agreement with Malcolm Turnbull.
The push to allow a free vote is being driven by the backbench, though some cabinet ministers are aware the discussions are under way.
President Donald Trump has thrown the US-Australia refugee deal into grave doubt with a single post on Twitter.
Australia is falling behind modern Asian economies and could become an "unskilled enclave", according to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, because low-cost labour is taking Australian jobs.
Labor is preparing to fire a fresh salvo in the political fight over penalty rates, ahead of a long-awaited decision from the Fair Work Commission on whether to cut Sunday penalty rates.
Politics is an occupation increasingly concerned with personalities as much as it is with policies.
For Malcolm Turnbull, 2016 has been a year of political compromises, dashed expectations and the occasional policy win.
Motorists could save up to $519 a year on their petrol bills but the cost of new cars would climb substantially, the government's own modelling suggests.
Crossbench senators say they are not convinced by Treasurer Scott Morrison's call to back his full company tax cut plan, following the release of the mid-year budget update.
Search pagination
Save articles for later.
Subscribe for unlimited access to news. Login to save articles.
Return to the homepage by clicking on the site logo.