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Dutton under pressure after crushing Aston loss
Peter Dutton faces internal pressure to freshen the party and shift gears on policy or face questions about his leadership, after the Liberal Party’s historic and crushing loss at the Aston byelection.
- 1 hr ago
- Phillip Coorey
- Exclusive
- Trade wars
UK free trade deal to be settled within weeks
UK Investment Minister Lord Johnson says Britain’s emerging network of free trade deals helps make London an attractive place for firms wanting a global HQ.
- Andrew Tillett
We have a lot of work to do, says Dutton after historic loss
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addresses Mary Doyle’s Melbourne victory; Austal executives charged with fraud on US navy projects. Follow live.
- Updated
Liberals suffer morale-crushing loss in Aston
Peter Dutton has promised to listen to voters after the Liberal Party suffered a morale-crushing loss to Labor in the seat of Aston, becoming the first Opposition to lose a seat to the government in a federal byelection in 103 years.
- Updated
- Phillip Coorey
Labor’s hopes for majority NSW government extinguished
The newly elected NSW Labor government will not secure a majority in parliament, with counting in three close seats pushing two into Liberal territory.
- Phoebe Loomes and Farid Farid
Opinion & Analysis
Liberal’s can’t win by veering to the fringe
The Liberals need to define their difference from Labor with policies that broadly appeal to ordinary voters, focusing on sharpening incentives and promoting prosperity.
Editorial
Dutton’s suburban dream becomes a Liberal nightmare
An impending byelection in Scott Morrison’s suburban seat of Cook could make or break Peter Dutton’s leadership.
Political editor
Conservatives used to think Aston was the Liberals’ future
For years the Liberal Party’s right wing has argued that outer-suburban seats could replace inner-city losses.
Senior correspondent
The Libs are in deep trouble (and Aston may not be the bottom)
The Liberals are in political free fall after the disastrous loss of a previously solid seat in outer suburban Melbourne, confirming how out of touch they are with community sentiment.
Columnist
More From Today
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Liberal’s can’t win by veering to the fringe
The Liberals need to define their difference from Labor with policies that broadly appeal to ordinary voters, focusing on sharpening incentives and promoting prosperity.
- 55 mins ago
- The AFR View
- Opinion
- Byelection
Dutton’s suburban dream becomes a Liberal nightmare
An impending byelection in Scott Morrison’s suburban seat of Cook could make or break Peter Dutton’s leadership.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Liberal Party
Conservatives used to think Aston was the Liberals’ future
For years the Liberal Party’s right wing has argued that outer-suburban seats could replace inner-city losses.
- Aaron Patrick
- Opinion
- Byelection
The Libs are in deep trouble (and Aston may not be the bottom)
The Liberals are in political free fall after the disastrous loss of a previously solid seat in outer suburban Melbourne, confirming how out of touch they are with community sentiment.
- Jennifer Hewett
- Opinion
- Byelection
Why Aston lances Liberals’ delusions
Liberals are still approaching politics like it is the early 2000s, when voters got their news from nightly TV broadcasts, and demography was their friend with dominant anglo Boomers whose worlds were relatively small.
- Tim Wilson and Jason Falinski
- Opinion
- NSW Election
The NSW election was no landslide for Labor
Despite hyperbole on the night, it’s clear that this was not a Labor landslide. Here are three lessons from the data.
- Michael Turner
March
- Exclusive
- Gas crisis
China, Japan united on Australian gas export fears
Asian LNG buyers are worried that the Albanese government’s multi-pronged attack on the gas industry will adversely affect their energy security.
- Andrew Tillett and Angela Macdonald-Smith
Minority government likely for Minns as three seats sit on knife-edge
The results for Terrigal, Ryde and Holsworthy remain too close to call almost a week on from election day.
- Samantha Hutchinson and Sally Patten
- Opinion
- Federal budget
Australia needs a moment of truth on tax and budgets
National politics might be ready for a conversation on taxation and spending that could dwarf even that of the 1980s.
- Laura Tingle
Decaying tax base a major concern for Australia, Spender warns
The teal independent MP hosted a tax roundtable in Canberra, kick-starting a major project on proposals for structural reforms to the system.
- Tom McIlroy
David Rowe’s cartoons for April 2023
David Rowe is a multiple Walkley award-winning cartoonist. He draws a daily political cartoon and one for the Chanticleer column. You can see all of his political cartoons for April 2023 here.
- Updated
Trump faces fingerprints, mug shots after historic indictment
Donald Trump has become the first former US president to be charged with a crime, the culmination of a political rise defined by unprecedented scandal. How the announcement of Trump’s indictment unfolded.
- Updated
- Georgie Moore and Campbell Kwan
- Analysis
- NSW Election
Now the hard work starts for NSW Labor
It’s a difficult balancing act to appeal to the voter on the street and big business. Can new NSW leader Chris Minns pull it off?
- Samantha Hutchinson
This Aston voter likes Albo but will vote Liberal anyway
Melbourne barrister and councillor Roshena Campbell is widely expected to win Saturday’s by-election, retaining the seat vacated by Alan Tudge for the Liberals.
- Gus McCubbing
New appointments to drive the Financial Review’s growth
The Australian Financial Review is delighted to announce several new appointments to expand the newsroom and drive growth for the masthead’s 3.6 million monthly readers across print and digital.
- Updated
- Opinion
- Satire
True or deepfake? Better get used to asking the question
Sometimes the news is shockingly hard to believe. Now it is going to get even harder.
- Rowan Dean
‘Three would be cataclysmic’: Why Aston is about more than one seat
Already on the backfoot with Melbourne voters, the Coalition could be forced to ask itself some hard questions about relevance and leadership if Aston comes a cropper.
- Tom McIlroy
How Australia’s youngest mayor became home affairs minister
Home Affairs minister Clare O’Neil was not earmarked for the sprawling portfolio until the high-profile Kristina Keneally failed in her attempt to move to the lower house.
- Michael Read
- Exclusive
- Property market
Negative gearing push threatens Labor’s first-home buyer plan
The Greens say eligibility for Labor’s shared equity scheme is so tight that few first home buyers will be able to use it.
- Michael Read
- Exclusive
- Tax reform
Labor puts gas tax rise on budget agenda
A tax rise on gas producers’ profits looms as soon as the May federal budget.
- John Kehoe
