Rachel Baxendale is a senior reporter in The Australian’s Melbourne bureau, where she covers state and federal politics from a Victorian perspective. She is interested in a range of policy areas including energy, infrastructure, health and education, as well as the internal machinations of the major parties. Rachel grew up in regional Victoria and began her career with The Australian in 2012, having completed honours in English Literature and edited Farrago at the University of Melbourne, and received a journalism diploma from RMIT. She has worked as a federal political reporter in Canberra, and became known for holding then Victorian premier Daniel Andrews to account during the Covid pandemic.