This Month
Greens the worst political performers of 2024: AFR readers
The Greens have been judged the worst-performing party by readers of The Australian Financial Review, who criticised its MPs for obstructing parliament.
- Tom Rabe
November
- Analysis
- Federal election
Election looming, Greens take what they can get
Federal elections are usually remembered as contests between prime ministers and opposition leaders, but in 2025, Greens leader Adam Bandt has as much to lose as anyone.
- Tom McIlroy
PM’s legislation blitz clears decks for election
The government secured the bulk of its legislative agenda in one day, including the Reserve Bank restructure, after the Greens folded.
- Phillip Coorey
RBA board overhaul back in play after Labor, Greens reopen talks
The Albanese government has reopened talks with the Greens on reforms of the Reserve Bank, two months after declaring them dead.
- Phillip Coorey
Labor MPs told to campaign hard on Senate votes
The party’s upper house decline has been stifling its policy ambitions, as it needs 14 extra votes for every bill it needs to pass.
- Phillip Coorey
Super tax grab set to be shelved until after election
Unless the government backs down significantly, plans to increase the tax on super accounts worth more than $3 million will not pass before the election
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Federal election
Incumbency weighs on PM as Dutton piles on populist jabs
A government that does not want to upset people is finding itself outgunned by a man with simple and angry messages.
- Laura Tingle
Student caps row; Alan Jones arrested; Markets ‘dangerously bullish’
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
Election donation rules target Palmer and Climate 200
New rules due to come into force in 2026 will cap spending in federal elections and dramatically speed up public disclosure rules.
- Tom McIlroy
Voters furious at housing impasse, O’Neil warns Greens
The Housing Minister says voters will punish an ‘unholy alliance’ between the Coalition and the Greens.
- Tom McIlroy
- Opinion
- Leading Indicators
Inside Canberra’s hidden $180b spending boom
Australia’s budget numbers are increasingly a mirage as billions in spending are labelled as ‘investments’ to improve the fiscal optics.
- Michael Read
Greens plan to cancel student debt unfair to poor, says HECS architect
In what looks like an act of one-upmanship, the Greens will promise to cancel all student debt, not just 20 per cent like Labor. Experts say the idea stinks.
- Julie Hare
- Opinion
- Federal election
PM’s plan to spend Labor’s way out of trouble
Over the weekend we saw the emergence of a plan, or at least the latest plan, to try to shift the government out of its torpor.
- Phillip Coorey
The four seats that matter most out of the Queensland election
Queensland was said to be critical for Labor to avoid minority government but the election crystallised a concerning dip in support. Here are four seats to watch.
- James Hall and Tom McIlroy
PM chases young voters with pledge to wipe $16b from student debt
Every student will have their debt cut by 20 per cent at a cost to the budget of $16 billion, as Labor escalates its pitch to young voters.
- Phillip Coorey
Victorian Greens MP quits party after affair with staffer
Victorian Greens leader Ellen Sandell says Prahran MP Sam Hibbins has completely lost her trust and is “never welcome back” after admitting he had an affair with a female staffer.
- Gus McCubbing
Hanson racially vilified senator in ‘angry personal attack’: judge
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson racially vilified Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi in a tweet telling her to “piss off back to Pakistan”, the Federal Court has ruled.
- Gus McCubbing
October
Chalmers rules out big spending despite loss
Steven Miles looked like someone trying to spend his way out of trouble, not someone with an economic plan, the federal government believes.
- Phillip Coorey
Gambling lobbying reveals risk to our democracy
Readers’ letters on gambling advertising reform, Australia’s role in the Pacific, nuclear energy and politicians receiving perks from Qantas.
Chandler-Mather declines to own Greens flop in Queensland
Max Chandler-Mather defended combative tactics after the party’s poor state election showing raised doubts about its bid to retain federal seats in Brisbane.
- James Hall