Australian politics

There is a lot of pain in the economy and this poses a challenge for the May budget.

A major professional accounting body insists cuts to its compliance team, amid the fallout from the PwC scandal, won’t have a material impact.

It is difficult to ignore the spectre of China at the ASEAN summit in Melbourne, even though the country is not even present at the event.

The Australian economy may have posted smallest expansion on an annual basis this millennium, or possibly even since the 1990s downturn.

The collective outrage that has met Meta's move to tear up deals with the Australian media industry distracts from flaws in the laws underpinning them.

There are fears behind the scenes in Canberra that the Albanese government will act hastily to curry favour with Australia's largest media companies heading into the next election.

IFM Investors is the biggest infrastructure investor in Australia. Its chief economist warns that offshore opportunities in green energy are likely to drag money out of the country unless the government provides a clear plan for the transition.

A few months ago, Labor was on track to lose the outer-suburban seat in Melbourne's southeast.

The privacy regulator is investigating several allegations against the department over the management of its online database.

The Reserve Bank’s rate rise in November wasn't a surprise but for many it was an irritation. With inflation now slowing quicker than expected, debate is raging about whether the central bank has pushed too hard.

As voters in the southeast Melbourne electorate prepare to go to the polls on Saturday, the major parties have been aggressively talking down their prospects.

As the prospect of a hung parliament looms, the Greens are making cost of living just as central to their pitch as the climate.

Naming and shaming big businesses is one way to respond to new pay gap data. But top economists say government shouldn't be off the hook.

Victorians are being swamped with bombastic social media advertisements in the lead-up to the Dunkley byelection. It could be a signal of what to expect for the federal election.

The unemployment rate is going to rise. But businesses will continue to struggle to find talent. This poses a big challenge for the government ahead of the May budget.

Federal Labor knows it needs to implement a road-user charge, but it doesn't want to discourage the take-up of electric vehicles.

As the major parties draw election battle lines out west, changes to electorate boundaries may have an impact on who wins the next election.

No one can agree on whether WFH is good or bad for productivity. Here’s what the latest evidence says.

The Defence Department could be hauled before a judge after a vulnerability in its online database left the data of thousands of former servicepeople at risk of being exposed.

She is tasked with leading the institution trying to solve one of the economy's trickiest challenges. But Dani Wood insists she is up for it.

The federal government has ramped up defence spending to more than double the navy's surface combatant fleet, in an acknowledgement Australia faces the "most challenging strategic circumstances since the Second World War".

Labor MP Andrew Leigh has written a new book on the history of economics. What it says about competition, AI and policy is especially revealing.

Productivity growth has been dismal for over a decade in Australia. Two of the economy's key figures support the idea of a summit to fix it.

Crossbenchers, who could hold the balance of power after the next election, want changes to the rules around lobbying at Parliament House.

In an interview with Capital Brief, the Opposition treasury spokesman says his party needs to regain its reputation as the most economically responsible side and will take a sensible tax reform package to the next election.

Will super soon be paid on parental leave? Industry is getting more confident.

A rise in unemployment was inevitable as the RBA entered the “last mile” of the inflation race. But managing it remains a challenge economically — and politically.

More than three months after the High Court handed down its decision in the NZYQ case, the Albanese government this week found its agenda again derailed by the release of hardened criminals onto the streets.

Three of Australia's closest friends have imposed sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank. A group of Labor MPs want their government to follow suit.

As part of their proposal, Rod Sims and Ross Garnaut want to win the public's support before going to the politicians with their ambitious plan for the nation's economy.

A broad review into federal funding for national security think tanks was quietly announced last week. Some believe it could have a narrow focus on "anti-Chinese" outfit, the Australian Strategy Policy Institute.

As Indonesia's economy grows, so too do Australia's incentives to build closer ties with its neighbour.

Both the Greens and Coalition are attacking the government over potential changes to negative gearing, even though Labor insists it has no plans to do so.