Latest
Pallas vows to prove rating agencies wrong
Treasurer Tim Pallas has fended off warnings Victoria could face a third credit rating downgrade since 2020.
- Gus McCubbing and Patrick Durkin
Schools sweat on election funding promises as Victorian debt rises
Melbourne’s Hampton Primary School fears the Victorian government won’t follow through on a promise made on eve of the 2022 election.
- Gus McCubbing
Outer Perth ‘pain seats’ at risk as Albanese cocks ear to west
Federal Labor is bleeding votes in Western Australia that could cost it several key seats, pollsters warn.
- Tom Rabe
China admits to firing flares near Australian chopper: PM
China admits helicopter was not in Chinese territory says Albanese; slow housing pipeline worries Chalmers; Stormy Daniels testifies. Follow updates here.
- Updated
- Tom Burton
High Court rejects Crown immunity for sacred sites damage
The custodians of Kakadu National Park have won a test case in the High Court over a walking track at picturesque Gunlom Falls.
- Michael Pelly
China wrong on defence flare stoush: Albanese
Beijing now says an Australian navy helicopter was spying on its military in the Yellow Sea.
- Andrew Tillett
Opinion & Analysis
Victoria must get a grip
The heavily indebted state has at least stopped whacking its private sector. But there is little sign of resolve on its debts.
Editorial
All hat, no bull: PM’s tough task disarming farmers in Qld
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are in Rockhampton for Beef 2024. One suspects Labor will need to look elsewhere in Queensland to win seats at the next election.
Political editor
Governor and treasurer share blame for sticky inflation
Michele Bullock and Jim Chalmers had fair warning about the need for decisive action.
Economist
Look to South America to see Made in Australia in practice
The Albanese government’s Peronist-like policies won’t add to growth and investment, despite the prime minister and treasurer’s rhetoric.
Columnist
More From Today
Perpetual CEO to retire; Druckenmiller’s big wins; New iPads analysed
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
Chalmers locks in business tax breaks to help Made in Australia
The budget will contain tax breaks for investors to turbocharge the government’s Future Made in Australia Act, Jim Chalmers has confirmed.
- Phillip Coorey
Everything we know about the budget, so far
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will hand down Labor’s third budget on May 14. Here are all the spending measures we know about so far.
- Updated
- Tom McIlroy
- Exclusive
- Federal budget
Labor’s plan to ‘restore faith’ in Qld
Anthony Albanese said Labor’s Future Made in Australia Act was key to “restore faith” with blue-collar Queenslanders, who deserted the party in 2019 over the confused position on the Adani coal mine.
- Phillip Coorey
Yesterday
Critical minerals boost from $566m plan to fully map Australia
Deposits of critical minerals and rare earths badly needed for the development of renewable energy technologies will be mapped, Anthony Albanese says.
- Tom McIlroy
David Rowe cartoons for May 2024
David Rowe is a multiple Walkley award-winning cartoonist. He draws a daily political cartoon and one for the Chanticleer column.
- Updated
- David Rowe
Beijing blames ‘provocative move’ for helicopter flare incident
Stabilisation of ties between Canberra and Beijing suffered a setback after a Chinese fighter jet released flares near an Australian navy helicopter.
- Updated
- Andrew Tillett
- Updated
- Victorian budget
Ratings warning over Victoria’s $188b debt
Rating agencies have put the Victorian government on notice after it revealed state debt would climb to $188 billion, with a daily interest bill of $26 million.
- Updated
- Gus McCubbing and Patrick Durkin
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Victoria must get a grip
The heavily indebted state has at least stopped whacking its private sector. But there is little sign of resolve on its debts.
- The AFR View
Calls for power to break up Coles and Woolies split inquiry
The ACCC should get new legal powers to prosecute supermarkets found to be engaging in price gouging, a parliamentary inquiry has recommended.
- Tom McIlroy and Carrie LaFrenz
- Analysis
- Political leadership
All hat, no bull: PM’s tough task disarming farmers in Qld
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are in Rockhampton for Beef 2024. One suspects Labor will need to look elsewhere in Queensland to win seats at the next election.
- Phillip Coorey
Victorian government to shrink for first time in 15 years
Victorian budget deficit rises, but surplus predictions brought forward; Biden warns Netanyahu to pursue ceasefire, not invasion. Follow updates here.
- Updated
- Maxim Shanahan
Size of Victorian government to be cut for first time in 15 years
Tight control over salaries and operating expenses will result in reduced average expenditure of 2.2 per cent over forward estimates.
- Tom Burton
Victorian budget winners and losers
There are no new taxes or levies for the first time in several years – although the state’s waste and fire levies are increasing – but the budget avoids many tough decisions save for a slowdown in infrastructure spending.
- Patrick Durkin
ANZ reveals $2b buyback; Macquarie bets on AI; Bonza backers’ plot
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
- Exclusive
- Renewables
‘A big risk’: Voters wary of nuclear replacing coal-fired power
Voters in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley have raised the spectres of Chernobyl and Fukushima when asked about Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s plan to build large-scale reactors in their community.
- Tom McIlroy
This Month
Albanese pledges $500m for drought relief as Queensland fight heats up
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are squaring off at Beef Week in Rockhampton as the political fight in central Queensland gathers pace.
- Phillip Coorey
Chalmers’ budget to fight inflation first, spend up big second
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says his budget next week will avoid a “scorched earth” approach to fight inflation, but spending will come in the out years.
- Ronald Mizen
Navy helicopter near miss in latest Chinese confrontation
Australian personnel had to take evasive action when their helicopter was confronted by a Chinese fighter jet.
- Andrew Tillett
Labor warned on overheating western Sydney road spend
Labor said on Monday that its spending in the population growth area was now more than $17.3 billion.
- Tom McIlroy
