Today
Banking and business lobby blast 583-day wait for ANZ’s Suncorp deal
The ACCC’s former chairman Graeme Samuel was also critical of the decision to block the deal, saying it was clear to him that it was wrong from the outset.
- Ronald Mizen
Navy to shrink then get bigger, deadlier under $80b revamp
The Albanese government will slash its frigate order from nine to six but add ships bristling with missiles in a revamp that adds $11 billion to naval spending.
- Updated
- Andrew Tillett
David Rowe cartoons for February 2024
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 February 2024 here.
- Updated
- David Rowe
- Opinion
- Letters to the Editor
National ethics body is doomed to fail
Readers’ letters on the best way to tackle corporate ethics, the value of a nuclear debate, the need to limit immigration and the joy bought by Taylor Swift.
‘We want real action’: Hastie criticises Labor’s navy plan
Andrew Hastie says Labor is not taking swift enough action to manage strategic risk; the Greens cast doubt on defence’s capacity to build out its combatant fleet within 15 years. Follow updates here.
- Updated
- Lois Maskiell
- Analysis
- Defence
Navy shambles is now Labor’s to fix, or own
The new naval shipbuilding plan contains some sensible decisions. But there are still risks and failure will be on the Albanese government.
- Andrew Tillett
- Opinion
- Disability
I predicted NDIS disaster. Here’s how to make it sustainable
Instead of a demand-led and open-ended scheme, it is perfectly ethical and practical to calculate the total level of funding needed and then distribute it fairly.
- Simon Duffy
Yesterday
$20b blowout forces navy rethink, but number of warships could double
A review of Australia’s fighting warships exposed another blowout in the frigate project, and will force the government to go smaller, faster.
- Andrew Tillett
PM says Aussie nickel will prevail, Nats demand climate policy relief
Anthony Albanese says Australian nickel miners will ultimately have a competitive advantage over environmentally-unfriendly Indonesian competitors.
- Phillip Coorey, Tom Rabe and Brad Thompson
Fix supply before changing negative gearing: builders
Changes to negative gearing rules or capital gains tax concessions would further slow badly needed housing supply and hurt residential construction, builders say.
- Tom McIlroy and Cindy Yin
Albanese GST stunt belies pressure from tax backflip
Anthony Albanese says changing his mind on the stage three tax cuts was good policy because economic circumstances shifted.
- Tom Rabe
- Updated
- Cash
ACCC probes monopoly-making Armaguard merger
ACCC chairwoman Gina Cass-Gottlieb said she was particularly concerned about Armaguard’s undertakings relating to cash distribution in regional areas.
- Ronald Mizen and James Eyers
Dutton aiding people smugglers with overblown claims: PM
Anthony Albanese has accused Peter Dutton of acting as a cheer squad for people smugglers by over-egging the seriousness of the latest arrival.
- Phillip Coorey
Four hospitalised in Sydney after lightning strike on tree
The group of people were injured while taking shelter near the Royal Botanic Garden; the PM says the massacre in Papua New Guinea is “very disturbing”. Here’s how the day unfolded.
- Updated
- Lois Maskiell
- Opinion
- Private schools
Working women swing to Labor – and to private schools
As soon as families can afford it, they have been switching to independent schools. No amount of public money is likely to reverse that soon.
- John Black
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Voters indifferent to tax cuts, worried about crime
The spring put in Anthony Albanese’s step by the redesigned stage three personal income tax cuts has not produced a big leap in Labor’s standing.
- The AFR View
Labor unscathed but unrewarded for tax U-turn
Just one-third of polled voters feel they will be better off under the revamped tax cuts, although 84 per cent of taxpayers will receive more on July 1.
- Phillip Coorey
Barnaby Joyce’s approval rating among voters sinks like a stone
Voter perception of former Nationals’ leader has plunged following the release of video showing him lying in a Canberra street, affected by alcohol and prescription drugs.
- Phillip Coorey
Voters warn Labor on crime and social order
The latest poll shows an 8-percentage point increase in the proportion of voters selecting crime as a top concern.
- Tom McIlroy
This Month
Labor plans tax credits to help nickel miners
The Albanese government is fast-tracking a system of production tax credits to try to protect the ailing nickel mining industry.
- Phillip Coorey, Brad Thompson and Hans van Leeuwen
