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Randwick council cleaners remove antisemitic graffiti from houses in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Albanese buckles to Dutton over anti-Jewish hate laws

Under pressure over rising antisemitism, the government has agreed to Coalition demands for mandatory minimum sentences to win support for hate crimes laws.

  • 58 mins ago
  • Andrew Tillett
Western Australia Premier, Roger Cook is seen at a Primary School in Perth.

WA election campaign kicks-off with personal attacks

Writs have been issued in a state election that will be a crucial test for Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton possibly just weeks before the federal poll.

  • Tom Rabe
Teal independent Zoe Daniel.

‘It’s not 2022 anymore’: How teal MPs are reshaping their pitch

The shift in language from teal MPs over the past year tells a story about how the independents have broadened their pitch in a changing political landscape.

  • Ronald Mizen
Dovetail co-founder Benjamin Humphrey says his relationship with a senior lawyer for the company was consensual and declared.

Dovetail executive alleges the start-up’s CEO repeatedly assaulted her

The senior female lawyer has detailed a workplace where staff were often drunk. The company denies her claims and says the relationship had been declared and was consensual.

  • Amelia McGuire
Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announce the measures on Wednesday.

PM tops up hospital funding, but states still lag on NDIS reform

The states will receive an extra $1.7 billion in hospital funding next year under a deal that is supposed to relieve the financial burden of the NDIS.

  • Phillip Coorey
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UBS’ Richard Schellbach expects ASX companies to talk more about the uncertainty to their outlooks and guidance due to the impacts of the trade war.

UBS tips more ASX companies to make tariff confessions

The trade war is a late entrant to the February earnings season and will be a source of investor interrogation for CEOs.

  • Joanne Tran
Professor S. Bruce Dowton, Vice-Chancellor and President of Macquarie University, and Dr Ross McLennan, Pro Vice Chancellor, Research Services, Macquarie University.

Controversial academic still on Macquarie University payroll, says VC

Macquarie University academic still employed despite spate of antisemitic statements over the past 16 months.

  • Julie Hare
Australian PE firms have slowed fundraising and dealmaking activity.

Three letters will force private equity to solve a $5 trillion problem

The ‘towering backlog’ of investments on private equity firms’ books needs to start clearing this year. 

  • James Thomson

CSR land sale to fuel Sydney’s Aerotropolis dream

Up for grabs is one of the largest tracts left in the fast emerging precinct that will be home to Sydney’s new airport.

  • Nick Lenaghan

Return to office push a boon for landlords

The pendulum is now swinging strongly toward more workplace attendance, according to the country’s largest pure-play listed office landlord.

  • Nick Lenaghan
Armaguard was excluded from a meeting at the RBA on Wednesday.

Major banks ready to carry Westpac’s Armaguard load

The banks and regulators met on Wednesday afternoon without the cash transit monopoly to work out how to replace Westpac’s unique cash distribution operation.

  • James Eyers
Jim Chalmers, Michele Bullock, and Steven Kennedy.

Public servants must have independence to give fearless advice

The normalisation of political appointments to top bureaucratic jobs has resulted in public servants becoming more timid about providing robust advice to governments.

  • The AFR View
Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump at their press conference.

Reality will bite Trump’s big dreams in Gaza

The US president’s vision of the US taking over Gaza and turning it into a peaceful, prosperous property development project is a fantasy.

  • Jennifer Hewett
Dnald Trump is flanked by Scott Bessent, his newly minted Treasury secretary, and Howard Lutnick, his pick to be commerce secretary.

Trump’s hardliners seize control in 72 hours of trade chaos

The US president’s brinkmanship with Canada and Mexico shows he and his new economics team are willing to take risks to get his way on the economy.

  • Aime Williams, James Politi and Michael Stott
Steve Hui is committed to flying flat, he just appears to prefer doing so on some airlines over others.

Virgin has the ear of ‘The Points Whisperer’

Flight concierge Steve Hui may not have a business relationship with Velocity, but he has a personal one.

  • Hannah Wootton
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“Agencies view the Australian governments, by world standards, as remaining a safe harbor for investors”: NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey.

States reject ratings warning on debt

NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey is returning from a US mission to keep debt costs down, but S&P warns Australian states’ credit ratings are at risk of downgrade.

  • Paul Karp, Gus McCubbing, Simon Evans and Tom Rabe
The RBA found company tax cuts are probably more effective than instant asset write-offs promoted by both Labor and the Coalition.

Business tax breaks don’t spur investment: RBA

The RBA found company tax cuts are probably more effective than instant asset write-offs promoted by both Labor and the Coalition.

  • Michael Read
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu address the media at the White House.

Ethnic cleansing or real estate grab. Trump launches Gaza gamble

Bold, insanity, a money grab. Take your pick as to how to describe Donald Trump’s plan to “own” Gaza.

  • Andrew Tillett
Robert Lervasi MD of SPC.

Food producers taking a hit on power prices in Victoria

Victoria-based food, juice and infant formula maker SPC Global says power price rises are out of whack with other states, and that’s hurting the bottom line.

  • Patrick Durkin

EVs can’t shake sceptical motorists despite steep price falls

Electric vehicles are at their lowest proportion of new cars sales in more than two years as buyers show growing concerns about resale values and repairs.

  • Simon Evans

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/latest