March
Who could hold power on the crossbench, and what they want
Tougher action on climate change and breaks for small business are what an emboldened crossbench could champion if teals and Greens get the election results they want.
What these five voters think of the budget (and Labor’s election bid)
Jim Chalmers’ budget may be Labor’s last big pitch to cling to majority government. We spoke to voters in five crucial electorates to hear what they have to say.
Coalition targets Climate 200 candidates over Greens affiliations
Polls show neither major party will win enough seats to form a majority government, so focus is on independents who could hold the balance of power.
Instead of gaining teal seats, Dutton could lose another one
Liberals are targeting three Sydney electorates, Bradfield, Mackellar and Warringah on cost of living, but there’s little buyer’s remorse in electorates that sent teals to Canberra.
Teals push to index income tax thresholds to inflation
Independent MP Allegra Spender blasts major parties for “lack of ambition for major reform” to return rising income taxes to wage earners
February
The 12 teal battlegrounds to watch out for this election
Climate 200 is backing 35 community independents this federal election – here are the dozen who are likely to retain or gain a seat in federal parliament.
Fund home batteries if you want my vote: Spender
Teal independent Allegra Spender says she’ll put household electrification measures at the centre of any balance of power negotiations.
Bullock concedes RBA too slow to raise rates against inflation
The Reserve Bank governor said one of the reasons the board cut the cash rate this week was because it did not want to be too late to act again.
Liberals face strife in teal seats, Ruddock warns
The party has a tough fight in the old Sydney heartland seats of Wentworth, Mackellar, Warringah and Bradfield, the former attorney-general says.
Dutton hails ‘dealmaker’ Trump over Gaza takeover plan
The opposition leader also calls for an independent inquiry into what Anthony Albanese was told about alleged antisemitic caravan bomb plot.
Parliament squabbles, then unites to condemn antisemitism
Anthony Albanese says antisemitism stands in “vile opposition” to Australian values.
Spender push to toughen hate speech laws amid antisemitism crisis
Labor is facing demands for amendments that would criminalise the “F--- the Jews” Sydney Opera House chant.
January
‘Dark forces’ at work: Lowy; How to make Australia great again; The sexy new arena sport
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
Meet the McKinsey analyst turned teal powerbroker
Allegra Spender, who could hold the balance of power after the next federal election, grew up in privilege but prides herself on being able to talk to anyone.
Teals to demand truth in advertising laws in hung parliament
The teals, who could prove decisive in a hung parliament, say a right-wing campaign group is spreading misinformation about their views on tax hikes in billboards and other advertising.
Why Spender is right on the tax debate
Readers’ letters on Allegra Spender’s push for reform, why think tanks are doing their jobs properly, Meta’s decision to kill fact-checking and Anthony Albanese’s misplaced priorities.
‘Smears and lies’: Spender blasts claim she wants to raise taxes
The teal MP has called for truth in political advertising laws after a new right-wing campaign group, Australians for Prosperity, paid for ads saying she wants to lift taxes.
December 2024
Teals aren’t letting the Liberals whitewash them as Greens
Allegra Spender’s push to change the definition of small business complicates the Coalition’s attempts to pigeonhole the independents as lefties.
Tradies to join yoga instructors on core migration skills list
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the federal government was moving to address critical shortages, including in new home construction.
Liberals hold Christmas party in Allegra Spender’s seat
The Liberals were at the last election defeated in their ancestral homelands. But they’re still there, fundraising and planning a resurgence.