Politicians tested in the wake of Sydney stabbing attacks

The past week has seen two shocking stabbing attacks by lone actors in Sydney - one in the city’s east, and one in its west.  Both incidents have horrified the community, but the attack against a Bishop at an Assyrian Christian church on Monday evening has prompted a particularly strong political …

What does Australia's shift on Palestinian statehood mean?

Six months after the deadly conflict between Israel and Hamas began, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has signalled a shift in Australia’s position on the question of Palestinian statehood. Wong said that recognising Palestinian statehood, without waiting for years of peace talks with Israel, c…

The good, the bad and the ugly in the Albanese government

This week, national affairs editor James Massola and political correspondent Paul Sakkal join Jacqueline Maley to look at how the Albanese government is going ahead of the next election, likely to take place next year, after an interesting few months of political ups and downs. They also to examin…

Labor's chaotic bid to play god on migration

In the final days of Parliament before a long break, the federal government tried to rush through drastic new deportation laws that would give it the power to threaten people with jail if they are not deemed refugees and refuse to leave the country. Labor says the laws close a loophole that preven…

Another government abandons religious discrimination laws

It is an issue that has come up for the last couple of governments, and one that none of them have yet been able to resolve.  Religious discrimination laws have been a contentious topic in our politics for the better part of a decade now, with the rights of gay and gender-diverse students and teac…

The age-old problem of funding

Wealthy Australians should pay more for aged care, and use their superannuation to do so. That’s one of 23 findings from a government-appointed taskforce that has examined how the country covers its rapidly growing aged care costs. Meanwhile, the Albanese government is also mulling an overhaul of …