Tag: Politics
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Australia Unemployment at 4.7%: Nearly 40,000 Fewer People in Work
Australia’s unemployment rate is sitting at a five-year high, and nearly 40,000 fewer people were employed in September. The economy appears to have misunderstood the instruction to bring prices down. It’s started with employment. The latest ABS figures put unemployment at 4.7 per cent. There’s a wrinkle: August’s figure was revised upwards to the same…
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Alleged Chinese Spy Network Used LinkedIn to Target Australians
Forget the trench coat, secret handshake and mysterious briefcase. An alleged Chinese spying network apparently preferred LinkedIn. Espionage has entered the corporate era. Somewhere, James Bond is being asked to endorse someone’s stakeholder-management skills. An ABC investigation reports that two accounts linked to suspected Chinese intelligence operatives built connections with more than 100 people linked…
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Albanese’s HECS Debt Joke: Viral Swag on the Beat Skit Explained
Meeting your partner’s parents can be stressful. You worry about your manners, your job, whether to bring wine. Apparently, you should also bring your student loan statement. Anthony Albanese has appeared in a comedy sketch with social media duo Swag on the Beat, playing a protective father meeting his daughter’s boyfriend. And before anyone starts…
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Private Health Rebate Cuts: Could 78,000 Older Australians Drop Cover
Nearly 80,000 older Australians could drop their private health insurance under proposed government rebate changes. Apparently, retirement now comes with a new hobby: checking which household expense you can still afford. But first, an important clarification: these changes are proposed, and the legislation still faces a Senate battle. The government wants to remove the additional…
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Australia Rejects Russian Diesel: What It Means for Fuel Prices
Australia has told Vladimir Putin: thanks, but we’re not buying your diesel. Following Donald Trump’s fuel agreement with Russia, Energy Minister Chris Bowen reaffirmed that Australia would maintain its opposition to Russian fuel. Apparently, “fill it up” now requires a foreign-policy briefing. Bowen’s argument is that Russia should not benefit financially while continuing its invasion…
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Pauline Hanson vs the Coalition: A Deal to Oust Labor – CPAC 2026
Pauline Hanson has delivered a message to conservative voters: abandon the Coalition. And a message to the Coalition: call me if you need help forming government. Australian politics, where you can apparently dump someone and still offer to help them move into the Lodge. At Brisbane’s Conservative Political Action Conference, Hanson criticised the Liberals over…
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Video Podcast: Australian Politics Weekly – Rates, Housing, Greens Shake-Up and More
Rising interest rates, falling house prices and a new Greens leader: this Australian politics roundup brings together ten stories from 28 September-4 October 2026, examining what they mean for households, businesses and the country’s future. Australia Under Pressure combines our ten commentary videos into one full episode. From the Reserve Bank’s rate decision to Pacific…
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Community Forum: Kate Chaney MP, Federal Independent for Curtin (WA)
Kate Chaney MP is the Independent Federal Member for Curtin in Western Australia, first elected to Parliament in 2022. Raised in the electorate, where she has also brought up her children, she brings experience in law, business and community services to her parliamentary work. Before entering politics, she worked as a lawyer and strategy consultant,…
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Community Forum: Dr Monique Ryan MP, Independent Federal Member for Kooyong (VIC)
Dr Monique Ryan MP is the Independent Federal Member for Kooyong in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. First elected in May 2022, she became the first woman and the first independent to represent the electorate. Before entering Parliament, she was a paediatric neurologist, medical researcher and Director of Neurology at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, where she led…
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Video Interview: Tania Lawrence MP – Labor for Hasluck, WA
Tania Lawrence is the Federal Labor Member for Hasluck in Western Australia, first elected to the House of Representatives in 2022. Before entering Parliament, she worked in senior policy roles with the Western Australian Government, spent nearly a decade in the resources sector and established her own small distillery business. Her diverse experience spans public…
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Community Forum: Chris Bowen MP, Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy
Chris Bowen MP is the federal Member for McMahon in Western Sydney and Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy. A member of the Australian Labor Party, he entered the House of Representatives in 2004 after almost a decade in local government, including serving as Mayor of Fairfield. During his parliamentary career, he has held…
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Community Forum: Senator David Pocock, Independent for ACT
Senator David Pocock is an independent senator representing the Australian Capital Territory and the first independent senator elected by ACT voters. Born and raised in Zimbabwe, he moved to Australia as a teenager before building an outstanding international rugby career, captaining the Wallabies and serving as vice-captain of the Brumbies. After retiring from professional rugby,…
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Community Forum: Senator Andrew Bragg, Liberal Party for NSW
Senator Andrew Bragg is a Liberal Senator for New South Wales and currently serves as Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness and Shadow Minister for the Environment. First elected to the Senate in 2019 and re-elected in 2025, he has been a prominent voice on housing affordability, home ownership, economic reform, superannuation, financial technology, productivity…
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Video Podcast: Australia’s 10 Weirdest Political Stories
Hi, and welcome to this week’s episode of Australia Asks, where we ask whether our politicians know what is actually going on. From friendless gambling reforms and revolutionary school students to disappearing ICAC messages, an orange elephant and a cableway through a family farm, we examine ten of Australia’s strangest political stories from the past…
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Video Interview: Dr Brian Walker MLC (WA) – Legalise Cannabis Party
This week’s guest on the Australia Asks video podcast is Dr Brian Walker, a Member of the Legislative Council of Western Australia for the Legalise Cannabis Party. Dr Walker is a Western Australian politician and general practitioner with over 45 years of clinical experience. Serving as the Parliamentary Leader of the Legalise Cannabis WA Party…
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Video Podcast: Australian Politics Gets Weird
Australian politics has delivered another week in which the headlines seem determined to outdo satire. A Senate inquiry heard extraordinary allegations about gambling companies supplying high rollers with drugs, escorts and luxury travel; a federal MP was charged following an alleged clash with the King’s representative; and Liberal factional warfare was compared to Braveheart. Meanwhile,…
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Community Forum: Cam Wilson, The ABC’s AI Reporter
In this Reddit community forum, Cam Wilson, the ABC’s AI Reporter, answers questions from the public about AI. Cam Wilson is an investigative journalist and writer known for his deep-dive reporting on internet culture, digital extremism, and the mechanics of online disinformation. Over his career, he has tracked the evolution of digital communities, unmasked influential…
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Video Podcast: This Week’s Strange Australian Political Stories
Welcome to this week’s edition of Australia Asks, where the headlines are factual, the consequences are serious, and the political behaviour occasionally resembles a television comedy written by people who thought subtlety was overrated. From missing financial statements and a $312,000 branding contract to diplomatic insults, billionaire-funded travel and a telecommunications outage blamed (without evidence)…
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Community Forum: Professor David Heilpern, Dean of Law at Southern Cross University
David Heilpern is an Australian legal trailblazer, author, and former NSW Magistrate who served on the bench for over two decades before retiring in 2020. Throughout his distinguished judicial career, he presided over thousands of cases in regional and metropolitan courts, earning a reputation for his compassionate approach and commitment to social justice. Before his…