Michelle Grattan is a professorial fellow at the University of Canberra and chief political correspondent at The Conversation.
It's no secret the government is impatient for a rate cut, and frustrated we're not seeing one. But it can't say so, because that would invite attacks it was pressuring the independent bank.
The prime minister personally intervened in the wrangling and deal-making as the government battled to get as much as possible of Labor's legislation passed in the chaotic dying days of 2024's parliamentary sitting.
Despite being deputy prime minister, Richard Marles's profile is much lower than that of Treasurer Jim Chalmers, the candidate considered most likely to succeed Anthony Albanese as Labor's leader.
The general uncertainty of the looming early days of Trump's presidency adds to Albanese's challenges as he gets closer to the federal election.
You would have to be super optimistic to expect a revival in trust in the foreseeable future. But if it continues to fall away, the foundations of our political institutions and our society will become shakier.
If Donald Trump wins the US presidency on November 5, his victory will have profound implications for other countries on many fronts. Not least of them will be climate change policy.
The Coalition is well-placed for next year's election, but the looming battle over industrial relations could be more dangerous for Peter Dutton than his risky gamble to promote nuclear energy.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned the foreign crisis could feed directly into the domestic cost-of-living crisis, via the price of oil.
For many of us, COVID has become just a bad memory, despite its lasting and mixed legacies. But experts are urging that we learn from our mistakes and plan ahead.
The big US move will certainly make the RBA's stance harder to explain to families having trouble paying their mortgage costs and living expenses.
This week saw a huge flurry of government activity — it's as if the government looked up at the clock and saw time was rapidly getting away from it. But what loomed largest was tying down the aged care deal.
Liberals have had to bring in the big guns to deal with the party's hot mess.
The battle between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris showcases the differences between America's presidential and Australia's Westminster systems, and the contrasts in money, campaigning and razzamatazz.
With less than a year to go until the latest date for an election, the government is looking overwhelmed by its list of "still to do" and "issues outstanding" items.
The prime minister's reshuffle tells us much about political realities — and political problems.
Ahead of the June quarter inflation figure out on Wednesday, the collective holding of breath is palpable. That number, and its consequences, could affect the government's political fortunes for months.
No doubt the administrators will clean out the CFMEU. But you'd be an optimist to feel confident that one collection of bad applies won't eventually be replaced by another.
Labor's Don Farrell is working on changes that would cap both donations and spending during federal elections. But the far-reaching reforms are expected to face a rough parliamentary road ahead.
The local fallout from the Middle East war is signalling that Australian multiculturalism has moved into a new, more challenging phase, fraying its fibre. Even when it finally ends, the divisions and wounds will not be healed easily or soon.
Anthony Albanese needs to take the win and move on from the successful negotiation of Julian Assange's freedom. The issue could become sticky fly paper and with troubling inflation and Senator Fatima Payman voting across party lines, he now has other problems to tackle.
In the timing of his announcement, Peter Dutton is putting his nuclear power policy through an early stress test, writes Michelle Grattan.
Anthony Albanese says his cabinet is preparing "an offer" to put to the Australian people at the election. As it crafts its pitch, the biggest uncertainty is what sort of parliament a second term Labor government would likely face.
When we consider the desirability of federal hate speech legislation, we quickly run into the freedom-of-speech conundrum. But a line in the sand would be useful.
While federal politics often seems top-down on most issues, the fight against social media's grip on children is starting from the bottom and being pushed up.
In his budget reply, Peter Dutton tapped into the electorally emotive issues of housing and immigration. It was a logical path to take.