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    Jim Chalmers says he is not at war with the RBA, but on the same page.

    I’ll tell it as it is on the economy: Chalmers

    Jim Chalmers says his first duty is to level with voters, as he comes under fire for saying the RBA was smashing the economy with rate rises.

    • 51 mins ago
    • Phillip Coorey and Michael Read
    The CFMEU has made $6 million in donations and in kind support to Labor since 2019-20.

    CFMEU ban to deny Labor millions in election cash

    Party figures expect rival unions including the United Workers Union and the conservative Shoppies to fill a funding void left by the CFMEU’s administration.

    • 1 hr ago
    • Tom McIlroy and David Marin-Guzman

    Extra 21,000 childcare workers needed now: report

    Low pay, excessive overtime, lack of career progression and high levels of burnout are contributing to high attrition rates in the childcare sector.

    • Julie Hare

    Feds launch takeover of dysfunctional NSW Liberal division

    The NSW Liberal Party will be placed under control of party elders amid fears its ineptitude could cost Peter Dutton dearly at the federal election.

    • Phillip Coorey

    Peta Credlin had hand in Higgins’ statement, trial told

    Sky News political commentator Peta Credlin helped Brittany Higgins draft a statement outlining the former staffer’s plan to reform how parliament handled sexual harassment, a trial has been told.

    • Aaron Bunch

    CFMEU launches High Court challenge against government

    Sacked CFMEU officials have submitted the challenge; TWU disbands Victorian branch in shock move; Journalist recounts China arrest and detention at Asia Summit. How the day unfolded.

    • Updated
    • Lucy Slade

    Opinion & Analysis

    Australia’s Constitution isn’t that hard to change

    Most of the 44 attempts to change the Constitution involved taking power from the states and giving it to the Commonwealth. Virtually every time, voters said “no”.

    James Allan

    Professor

    James Allan

    Why Albanese is talking big in WA

    The Albanese cabinet is trying to prop up its electoral standing in Western Australia with the promise of new jobs and economic opportunities. The resources sector is highly sceptical of Labor’s agenda.

    Greens, Coalition set the pace on a hapless government

    Anthony Albanese’s Labor has been left as piggy-in-the-middle, trying to catch a ball being thrown by the opposition parties.

    Laura Tingle

    Columnist

    Laura Tingle

    At CFMEU protests, the most important group didn’t turn up

    The average trade union member these days is not a big beefy bloke in a hard hat and black T-shirt, but a 46-year-old female nurse.

    Phillip Coorey

    Political editor

    Phillip Coorey
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    More From Today

    Australia’s Constitution isn’t that hard to change

    Most of the 44 attempts to change the Constitution involved taking power from the states and giving it to the Commonwealth. Virtually every time, voters said “no”.

    • James Allan

    Yesterday

    David Rowe cartoons for September 2024

    David Rowe is a multiple Walkley award-winning cartoonist. He draws a daily political cartoon and one for the Chanticleer column.

    • David Rowe
    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, second from right, at the Garden Island naval base with ministers Madeleine King, Richard Marles and Pat Conroy on Monday.

    Why Albanese is talking big in WA

    The Albanese cabinet is trying to prop up its electoral standing in Western Australia with the promise of new jobs and economic opportunities. The resources sector is highly sceptical of Labor’s agenda.

    • Jennifer Hewett
    Treasurer Jim Chalmers insists the comments are not new.

    Albanese backs in Chalmers over RBA rates stoush

    Dr Chalmers said at the weekend that global uncertainty and rate rises were “smashing the economy”. The opposition has accused Labor of trying to blame others for its failures.

    • Tom McIlroy
    International students at the University of Sydney. IDP Education expects to be cushioned from the full impact of restrictive visa policies as it services higher-quality institutions.

    Student caps about education quality, not houses: Labor

    Assistant Immigration Minister Matt Thistlethwaite said the changes were not about easing housing pressures, but instead about maintaining quality in higher education.

    • Tom McIlroy
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    Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has sued former staffer Brittany Higgins for defamation.

    Reynolds picked wrong target in Higgins defamation suit

    Brittany Higgins’ barrister said she spoke out about her alleged rape in parliament to ensure nobody experienced a similar ordeal, not to traumatise her former boss.

    • Aaron Bunch

    Flights delayed, cancelled across east coast airports amid high winds

    At least 26 domestic flights departing from Sydney Airport have been cancelled; More than 100,000 residents without power in three states as island records 157km/h winds. Follow live updates.

    • Lucy Slade
    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Collie, Western Australia on Sunday.

    AUKUS jobs and Korean carbon planned for Labor’s big week in WA

    Anthony Albanese’s bid to woo Western Australia includes a cabinet meeting and a swathe of events and announcements throughout the week.

    • Ronald Mizen

    This Month

    Max Chandler-Mather, Greens MP for Griffith.

    Greens’ housing solution: hire 1000 public servants and slug landlords

    The minor party wants a new national authority to crack down on dodgy real estate agents and landlords, promising to hire 1000 federal public servants to enforce renters rights. 

    • Tom McIlroy
    Only 28 per cent of AFR readers said they make their next vehicle purchase an EV.

    ‘More for a second-hand toothbrush’: Why EVs are on the nose

    The most commonly held concerns about buying an electric vehicle related to upfront cost, charging facilities, and deterioration.

    • Gus McCubbing
    Senator Andrew Bragg.

    Coalition eyes student caps amid housing crunch

    The Coalition has backed caps on the number of international students; a campaign to inoculate children in Gaza against polio has begun. Here’s how the morning unfolded.

    • Lois Maskiell

    August

    Going rogue: The big questions over the CFMEU clean-out

    Secret meetings of a self-described “leadership in exile” are raising fears the administrator has yet to take control of the union.

    • David Marin-Guzman
    August 31, 2024

    David Rowe cartoons for August 2024

    David Rowe is a multiple Walkley award-winning cartoonist. He draws a daily political cartoon and one for the Chanticleer column.

    • David Rowe
    ACU Provost Julie Cogin describes as “irrational” attempts to cap international students.

    ‘Irrational’: caps cut best overseas students from mix

    The government’s attempt to cap new overseas students is a “train wreck” as universities struggle to understand their numbers and colleges don’t have theirs.

    • Julie Hare
    A US-made Virginia-class attack submarine.

    AUKUS chiefs torpedo submarine sales fears

    AUKUS is a strategic imperative for all three navies, a top US Navy commander says, although there are challenges ahead.

    • Andrew Tillett
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    Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as the government finds itself not in control of events.

    Greens, Coalition set the pace on a hapless government

    Anthony Albanese’s Labor has been left as piggy-in-the-middle, trying to catch a ball being thrown by the opposition parties.

    • Laura Tingle
    Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers.

    Cost of living concerns start to moderate, but it’s still number one

    Concerns have moderated for the first time in almost three years, but it leaves no room for complacency for the Albanese government as the federal election approaches.

    • Phillip Coorey
    The crowd look on during the 2024 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

    Albanese backflips on sexuality census question

    Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has agreed to reinstate a census question on sexual orientation, but remains under pressure to survey all gender identities.

    • Tom Burton and Phillip Coorey
    Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan tapped career public servant Greg Wilson to conduct the review following a deep investigation into illegal and unethical behaviour on Big Build sites.

    Watchdogs, whistleblowers need more power on union thuggery: report

    The review into Victoria’s construction sector follows an investigation into illegal and unethical behaviour at taxpayer-funded worksites, but the opposition has labelled it a ‘whitewash’.

    • Gus McCubbing

    Frustrated Elliott pushes back on accusations of a scandal

    ANZ’s Shayne Elliott faces questioning in the big four banks review; Kamala Harris says in CNN interview she was cooking bacon when Biden quit. How the day unfolded.

    • Lucy Slade