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Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles will join UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Defence Secretary John Healey for talks.

Brits arrive with an aircraft carrier and AUKUS reinforcements

The UK’s foreign and defence secretaries will hold talks with their Australian counterparts in Sydney on Friday.

Former Treasury boss Ken Henry (right) has given Treasurer Jim Chalmers more to chew than ‘bite-sized’ chunks of reform

Tax reform, red tape and faster approvals top business wish list

Business wants tax reform to get its own inquiry so it can focus on more readily achievable productivity measures.

Calls for transparency after Keating’s $1m tax bill waiver

Experts warn that new laws making penalties non-deductible will increase the incentive for taxpayers to privately petition the ATO to cancel their debts.

Blogger’s list of Latham’s “Lemmings” lives on

The plaque under Mark Latham’s portrait in the party caucus room should name the serving ministers who made him Labor leader.

Full speed ahead on Darwin Port sale

Industry players and analysts expect the government to push the sale after the Chinese-owned port failed to cause a stir in Beijing.

Trump takes credit for lifting of beef ban, Coalition wants a review

The government said the decision to lift the import ban on US beef was based on science, not politics, but they don’t mind if that’s what the US thinks.

Opinion & Analysis

Memo to Nats: You can’t abolish net zero if you can’t form government

Sussan Ley had a process to manage the Coalition’s climate policy. The mad rush by Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack to abandon it undoes all that.

Phillip Coorey

Political editor

Phillip Coorey

Menzies’ message forgotten as Liberals create leaners, not lifters

Correlation is not causation – but sometimes it is. In recent years, as the size of government has grown, Australia’s economic productivity has declined.

John Roskam

Columnist

John Roskam

Saving Melbourne from Labor’s planning regime is not selfish NIMBY-ism

The city is at a crossroads: more homes, yes, but in a way that risks losing what makes Melbourne worth living in.

Climate action is a productivity challenge for Chalmers’ roundtable

An economy-wide carbon tax, which would encourage the private sector to invest in the cheapest ways to reach our climate targets, should be on the agenda at the summit.

The AFR View

Editorial

The AFR View
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Memo to Nats: You can’t abolish net zero if you can’t form government

Sussan Ley had a process to manage the Coalition’s climate policy. The mad rush by Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack to abandon it undoes all that.

Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek

Too many wealthy home owners claiming age pension, Plibersek warned

Affluent retirees are being subsidised by low and middle-income earners while building their nest eggs, the Department of Social Services says.

Anthony Albanese and Sussan Ley in first question time: It’s only to be expected that the Labor Party makes government bigger. Liberals are meant to be different - but in practice they’re not.

Menzies’ message forgotten as Liberals create leaners, not lifters

Correlation is not causation – but sometimes it is. In recent years, as the size of government has grown, Australia’s economic productivity has declined.

Victorian sawmills have slashed their operating capacity and laid off staff amid weakened demand for timber.

Sawmills struggling, laying off staff due to housing slump

The timber industry was bracing for supply shortages to meet increased demand for housing. Instead, they are now struggling to sell their products.

Melbourne’s tree canopy, a quiet but vital  amenity, faces slow death by a thousand cuts or in this case, a thousand chops.

Saving Melbourne from Labor’s planning regime is not selfish NIMBY-ism

The city is at a crossroads: more homes, yes, but in a way that risks losing what makes Melbourne worth living in.

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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles during Question Time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra on July 24, 2025.

‘Australia is not complicit’ in Israel’s actions: Marles

Defence Minister Richard Marles has defended the government’s transparency on Gaza by insisting it is not providing any weapons to Israel. How the day unfolded.

$110,000 coffee date: CFMEU peace deal revealed as rot spreads north

A peace deal between a gangland associate and a Gold Coast developer has sparked calls for company bosses and gangland figures to join unionists at an inquiry.

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland.

Rowland defends corruption watchdog, flags privacy crackdown on AI

The attorney-general has outlined two major areas she wants to focus on as Australia’s first law officer, while strongly backing the under-fire NACC commissioner.

July 24, 2025

Glen Le Lievre cartoons for 2025

See all of Glen Le Lievre cartoons for 2025.

Australia has lifted its ban on US beef, paving way for tariff negotiations with Donald Trump.

PM lifts US beef ban, paves way for Trump tariff talks

The move removes the key excuse used by the White House to impose heavy tariffs on Australian exports, setting the scene for fresh trade negotiations.

Yesterday

Former prime minister Paul Keating.

ATO waived Paul Keating’s $1m tax bill: ABC’s Four Corners

Tax authorities wrote off the penalty owed by the former prime minister via one of his companies in 2015, according to Four Corners.

Transport Minister John Graham and his department secretary, Josh Murray, revealed a further 950 jobs will be cut from Transport for NSW.

Transport for NSW slashes another 950 white-collar jobs

The job losses flagged on Wednesday come on top of cuts to 300 senior management roles, and reduce the department’s bureaucracy by almost 10 per cent. 

Assessment and approval times have blown out for wind farms and solar farms.

Climate action is a productivity challenge for Chalmers’ roundtable

An economy-wide carbon tax, which would encourage the private sector to invest in the cheapest ways to reach our climate targets, should be on the agenda at the summit.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen in parliament on Wednesday.

Labor delight as Coalition reopens climate wars

Sussan Ley’s problems with managing the opposition’s energy policy just got much worse.

Barnaby Joyce at Parliament House on Wednesday.

Ley holds the line on climate as Nationals go rogue – again

Barnaby Joyce and other MPs overshadowed the start of parliament with a fresh revolt over climate change policy.

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Australia Post will extend its banking services.

Liberals call for explanation on Bourke St post office break-in

The Liberal party has called for Australia Post to explain how a post office break-in in Melbourne’s CBD that may have compromised customers’ personal details occurred. How the day unfolded.

This Month

Liberals fear Tony Burke and Anthony Albanese will play dirty pool in the new parliament.

Three hours in sin-bin, fewer questions in new parliamentary order

MPs expelled for disorderly behaviour will spend three hours in the sin-bin instead of one, under changes being pushed by the top dogs of Labor.

A pro-Palestine protest takes place on the lawns in front of Parliament House ahead of the opening of the 48th Parliament.

Israel, Jewish groups slam Australia’s criticism of aid ‘drip feed’

Australia has co-signed a letter with almost 30 other countries in its strongest language yet condemning Israel’s war in Gaza.

Business Council of Australia chief executive Bran Black.

AI a Trojan horse for more IR regulation, business warns

CEOs invited to next month’s meeting fear artificial intelligence will be used as cover to push for unions to have veto power over the introduction of technologies.

Vapes

More vape penalties on the way, but will they be harder to buy?

NSW follows Queensland and South Australia in increasing penalties and shutting stores which sell illegal tobacco and vapes, but inconsistency abounds.

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