• 2:03 pm May 22, 2012

    ASIO rulings keep refugees in detention

    Despite being given refugee status, dozens of people are being kept in detention around Australia due to Australia's intelligence agency considering them a potential security threat.

  • 7:05 pm May 22, 2012

    No action against those named by Thomson

    Workplace relations minister Bill Shorten says there's no evidence to suggest any action be taken against the Fair Work Australia (FWA) personnel named in parliament by federal MP Craig Thomson.

  • 4:16 pm May 21, 2012

    MP Thomson says he received death threats

    Federal MP Craig Thomson has again denied using union funds to pay for prostitutes.

  • 9:39 am May 20, 2012

    Save Healthy Communities

    Our only LGBT health and wellbeing organisation, the Queensland Association for Healthy Communities (‘Healthy Communities’), is to be defunded by Queensland Health it was announced today.

  • 1:59 pm May 19, 2012

    Gay marriage on rocks

    The LNP Government looks set to overturn controversial civil unions laws.

  • 3:18 pm May 16, 2012

    Craig Thomson Resign Now

    It appears the Government can no longer count on bipartisan support for its National Disability Insurance Scheme.

  • 3:58 pm May 16, 2012

    31 arrested in Aboriginal protest eviction

    Police have broken up an Aboriginal protest in a Brisbane park, arresting 31 people amid claims excessive force was used.

  • 5:05 am May 15, 2012

    NBN: Broadband's rural 7 per cent - out of range, out of mind

    CommentMost stunning amongst them are those from folk who claim their current broadband connection is more than adequate for their foreseeable needs.

  • 12:13 pm May 15, 2012

    Doctors for the Family see some Australians as more equal than others

    George Orwell’s mordant satire of politics and bureaucratic doublespeak famously featured the slogan that “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others”.

  • 10:10 am May 14, 2012

    Gillard must act for Assange

    Since WikiLeaks raised the ire of the US government in 2010 through the publication of leaked diplomatic cables, PM Gillard’s conduct towards Australian founder Julian Assange has been reprehensible.

  • 9:43 am May 14, 2012

    Refugee family torn apart by ASIO

    A Sri Lankan woman and her two boys, aged six and nine, have been placed in Villawood Detention Centre by a negative ASIO assessment after spending a year in the community as approved refugees.

  • 1:25 pm May 13, 2012

    human rights arts and film festival

    Sometimes we feel that there are more film festivals on every year than there are actual films (maybe someone should create a film festival about film festivals?) This one we a the Human Rights Arts & Film Festival.

  • 4:17 am May 11, 2012

    Let courts resolve Thomson saga: Wong

    Federal Finance Minister Penny Wong remains adamant that suspended Labor MP Craig Thomson should be afforded due legal process, despite a key independent questioning his support for the government over the scandal.

  • 10:29 am May 11, 2012

    Kroger defends Costello claims

    Liberal powerbroker Michael Kroger has defended his claims that Peter Costello sought a return to politics and urged the former treasurer to "move on".

  • 7:54 am May 11, 2012

    PM's class war line offensive: Hockey

    All Australians should be offended by Prime Minister Julia Gillard's playing of class warfare, shadow treasurer Joe Hockey says.

  • 4:53 pm May 10, 2012

    Abbott's only language is 'no', Wong says

    Opposition Leader Tony Abbott delivered nothing but negativity and arrogance in his budget reply speech, the federal government says.

  • 7:32 am May 10, 2012

    Senate inquiry into jailed Indonesian boys

    A federal parliamentary committee is to investigate cases of Indonesian children detained in Australian adult jails for crewing asylum seeker boats.

  • 4:45 pm May 10, 2012

    Let's talk about the cover of today's Australian

    Look, I know journalism is a difficult calling in the modern age.

  • 6:32 am May 10, 2012

    Murray Goulburn sheds 301 jobs

    Australia's largest dairy processor and marketer, Murray Goulburn Co operative, is shedding 301 jobs.

  • 2:05 pm May 10, 2012

    Jobless rate good but will rise: Shorten

    Employment Minister Bill Shorten says a drop in the national jobless rate below five per cent is good news but some sectors of the economy are still doing it tough.

  • 4:53 am May 10, 2012

    Libs downplay Costello return

    Liberal frontbencher Christopher Pyne has downplayed reports Peter Costello has tried to strong arm his way back into parliament.

  • 11:03 am May 10, 2012

    Swan seizes on report of Costello comeback

    Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has responded to a television report that former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello last year raised the possibility of a return to federal politics.

  • 12:27 pm May 9, 2012

    Author Tim Winton pushes for marine parks

    Author Tim Winton has been in Canberra urging the federal government to make good on an election promise to establish a network of marine parks.

  • 2:10 pm May 9, 2012

    School kids bonus passes parliament

    More than one million families with school children will receive a cash bonus next month after the lower house of parliament passed Tuesday's budget measure.

  • 10:40 am May 9, 2012

    Service to mark Dr Duncan's death

    A memorial service will be held in Adelaide on Thursday to mark the 40th anniversary of the drowning of George Duncan, whose death was the catalyst for gay law reform in South Australia.

  • 1:59 pm May 10, 2012

    Thomson to address parly on allegation

    Embattled federal MP Craig Thomson says he will make a "comprehensive" statement to the federal parliament regarding allegations he misused union funds when head of the Health Services Union.

  • 5:32 am May 9, 2012

    Centro verdict 'a win for shareholders'

    The success of a $200 million class action case against the property group Centro Retail Australia is a win for all Australian investors, lawyers for the shareholders say.

  • 11:02 am May 9, 2012

    Katter wants $7000 a kid paid to parents

    Parents should be paid $7000 a year for every child to ensure the Australian race survives, maverick independent MP Bob Katter says.

  • 5:26 am May 9, 2012

    Shorten backs push for HSU administrator

    The federal government will support the NSW government in appointing an administrator for the embattled Health Services Union (HSU) East branch.

  • 4:32 am May 9, 2012

    Coalition in twist over school bonus

    Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says the coalition party room has yet to decide whether to vote against the Schoolkids Bonus in the federal budget.

  • 12:20 pm May 9, 2012

    Forecast surplus is a charade: Abbott

    Opposition Leader Tony Abbott says the federal government's forecast surplus of $1.5 billion is a charade that even the treasurer doubts can be delivered.

  • 2:47 pm May 8, 2012

    Dental, aged care focus of health budget

    The federal government has pumped just over $800 million of new money into dental and aged care as the centrepieces of the health budget.

  • 3:47 pm May 8, 2012

    Who says Swan can't buy me love?

    Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Treasurer Wayne Swan are taking a gamble on another broken promise.

  • 4:42 pm May 8, 2012

    Govt pushes back foreign aid increase

    The rapid growth of the federal government's overseas aid program will be slowed, to help get the national budget back into surplus.

  • 9:47 am May 8, 2012

    States ending free parent whooping vaccine

    Parents across Australia will no longer receive free whooping cough vaccinations because it is not effective in protecting newborns from the potentially deadly illness, a parliamentary committee has heard.

  • 1:40 pm May 8, 2012

    Slipper vacates Speaker's chair

    Speaker Peter Slipper has told parliament he is standing aside while federal police investigate claims he misused taxi dockets.

  • 5:53 am May 8, 2012

    Libs move against their Senate whip

    Opposition senators are set to dump their chief whip in the upper house.

  • 8:31 am May 8, 2012

    Oppn won't move against Labor or Slipper

    The federal government and Speaker Peter Slipper have dodged a parliamentary bullet with the coalition declining to move no confidence motions against them.

  • 6:35 am May 8, 2012

    Electoral commission probes HSU funds

    The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is examining a report by Fair Work Australia (FWA) which found Health Services Union (HSU) members' funds were spent on a Labor election campaign in 2007.

  • 12:27 pm May 9, 2012

    Australia govt plans surplus budget to bolster image with voters

    Australia's government will map out its plan for a surplus budget on Tuesday as it aims to shore up its economic credentials with voters and shift attention away from scandals that threaten Prime Minister Julia Gillard's grip on power.

  • 7:32 am May 8, 2012

    Newman backs down on carbon tax challenge

    This week's program is about a man who defies easy definition.

  • 9:28 am May 7, 2012

    Raue, from a paddy wagon en route to Newtown Police station: "sorry I won't make the [SRC] executive meeting today!" #saveusydjobs #usyd

    A former leading general close to Burma's former dictator Than Shwe has reportedly given up his position in the Burmese government amid talk of a battle between reformers and hardliners.

  • 8:00 am May 7, 2012

    Pike quits, triggering Vic by-election

    Victorian state opposition Labor MP Bronwyn Pike has announced her retirement from politics, triggering a by election in the inner-city seat of Melbourne.

  • 9:23 am May 8, 2012

    HSU not surprised by FWA report: Brown

    Health Services Union (HSU) acting president Chris Brown says Fair Work Australia's findings have confirmed what many officials knew of the problems in the union before 2008.

  • 5:31 am May 7, 2012

    Tributes for hockey star who died on pitch

    Tributes have begun for elite hockey player Elizabeth Watkins who died at the weekend after being hit on the head by the ball during a game in Perth.

  • 4:19 pm May 7, 2012

    'Fair go' budget endorsed by IMF: Swan

    Treasurer Wayne Swan says the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has given a "ringing endorsement" to Labor's plan to return to surplus.

  • 9:32 am May 7, 2012

    Budget will conquer political pressure: PM

    Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has promised a "fair go" budget for 2012/13, but the opposition believes it will be one of "spin" and fudged numbers because of the spending cuts needed to build a surplus.

  • 12:41 pm May 6, 2012

    Greens applaud dental package in budget

    A half billion dollar package to cut dental waiting lists is the first step towards developing a national dental care scheme, Greens senator Richard di Natale says.

  • 3:55 pm May 6, 2012

    Leave Slipper matter for the court: Hockey

    Senior coalition frontbencher Joe Hockey has called for an end to the public commentary over the sexual harassment accusations made against Speaker Peter Slipper.

  • 11:18 am May 5, 2012

    Julia Gillard can defeat Tony Abbott in 2013. But how does she neutralize Rupert Murdoch?

    Saturday, 5 May 2012 09:10 by Ad astraThe ‘secret’ is out.

  • 5:08 am May 5, 2012

    Bowel cancer screens set for budget boost

    50 million funding boost from the federal government will mean more people will be able to get free bowel cancer screens.

  • 2:44 pm May 5, 2012

    Brough: I urged Ashby to go to court

    Former Liberal cabinet minister Mal Brough has admitted secretly meeting James Ashby three times this year and telling him to go to police and to take legal action over allegations of sexual harassment and misuse of taxi vouchers by suspended Speaker Peter…

  • 6:57 am May 4, 2012

    Victorian Finalists in the 2012 Excellence in eGovernment Awards

    The Special Minister of State Gary Gray AO MP today announced the 2012 finalists for the Excellence in eGovernment AwardsIn 2011 Fisheries Victoria embarked on a massive overhaul of its 25 year-old wild catch fisheries and aquaculture production data…

  • 8:01 am May 4, 2012

    Newman defends Gladstone dredging changes

    Queensland Premier Campbell Newman has denied rolling over for resource companies after increasing the turbidity levels allowed at gas related dredging sites in Gladstone harbour.

  • 8:31 am May 4, 2012

    Public service bracing for job cuts

    Any federal government move to take an axe to the public service will mean bigger queues and longer lines for the Australian public, the public sector union says.

  • 12:36 am May 5, 2012

    Oppn answers needed on Slipper: Swan

    Treasurer Wayne Swan says Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and his frontbencher Christopher Pyne have questions to answer over the Peter Slipper affair.

  • 9:08 am May 4, 2012

    Greens select new senator for Tasmania

    The Australian Greens have chosen winemaker and economist Peter Whish Wilson to replace Bob Brown as a Tasmanian senator.

  • 4:02 am May 4, 2012

    Gillard defends defence spending cuts

    Prime Minister Julia Gillard insists there is no point giving Defence money it cannot actually spend.

  • 12:56 pm May 3, 2012

    Newspaper apologises to Xenophon

    A Malaysian newspaper that wrongly said South Australian independent senator Nick Xenophon had made an anti Islamic speech has apologised to him.

  • 10:32 am May 3, 2012

    Sick harbour's dredging limit raised

    Be involvedThe Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP) has amended the allowable level of turbidity in two out of six sites in Gladstone Harbour following an application by Gladstone Ports Corporation’s (GPC).

  • 4:15 pm May 3, 2012

    Parliament conduct code comes closer

    A code of conduct for federal parliamentarians will move a step closer next week with the release of a Senate inquiry report.

  • 2:37 am May 3, 2012

    ACTU boss coy on Gillard support

    Incoming ACTU secretary Dave Oliver has declined to back Prime Minister Julia Gillard's leadership.

  • 3:20 pm May 3, 2012

    Homestay for asylum seekers sought

    Australian families will be paid up to $300 a week to temporarily house asylum seekers to make up a shortfall in community housing.

  • 1:32 am May 3, 2012

    Govt seizes on Indon criticism of Bishop

    Matt Brown, Indonesia CorrespondentThe Deputy Chairman of Indonesia's parliament has accused Australia's opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman, Julie Bishop, of promoting an arrogant policy on asylum seekers.

  • 12:04 pm May 2, 2012

    At least 500 Vic TAFE jobs to go

    At least 500 jobs could be slashed from Victorian TAFEs and there are concerns schools in poorer areas will struggle under measures announced in the state budget.

  • 5:33 am May 2, 2012

    Kenneally wrong on carbon tax: Evans

    The government's Senate leader Chris Evans says former NSW premier Kristina Keneally is wrong in saying the government should scrap the carbon tax.

  • 7:22 am May 2, 2012

    Optus cuts 750 jobs

    Telco giant Optus is slashing 750 jobs as part of a restructure.

  • 7:17 am May 2, 2012

    Aid groups to meet with Carr

    International aid groups will plead with Foreign Minister Bob Carr to deliver on a Labor promise to lift foreign aid levels.

  • 6:23 pm May 2, 2012

    Police raid HSU headquarters in Sydney

    Police are raiding the Sydney headquarters of the embattled Health Services Union (HSU) as part of a corruption investigation.

  • 4:53 pm May 2, 2012

    Swan issues please explain to Pyne

    Treasurer Wayne Swan has issued a `please explain' to Liberal frontbencher Christopher Pyne over his contact with the staffer at the centre of sexual harassment allegations against Speaker Peter Slipper.

  • 7:42 am May 2, 2012

    AFP launches investigation into Slipper

    The Australian Federal Police have begun a formal criminal investigation into allegations the federal parliament's Speaker, Peter Slipper, misused taxi dockets.

  • 7:32 am May 1, 2012

    HSU branches back government court action

    An overwhelming majority of Health Services Union (HSU) branches will support federal government action in the Federal Court to put its powerful East branch into administration.

  • 5:45 pm May 1, 2012

    Labor turns Slipper case on coalition

    Labor has tried to turn the political heat over the Peter Slipper affair back on the coalition after opposition frontbencher Christopher Pyne confirmed he met three times with the adviser who lodged a legal claim against the Speaker.

  • 12:02 am May 2, 2012

    Ads to spruik benefits of mining tax

    Five workers on the Sino Iron Ore project in the Pilbara have been fired after not attending work on ANZAC day.

  • 9:26 am May 1, 2012

    CSG rally in Sydney's CBD

    Thousands of people from across NSW have descended on Sydney's Martin Place, calling on the state government to protect land and water resources from coal seam gas (CSG) mining.

  • 1:05 am May 1, 2012

    A Hildebrand guide: how Labor destroyed itself

    People looking for reasons for the ongoing implosion of the federal government are, it is fair to say, spoiled for choice.

  • 3:02 pm May 1, 2012

    Who is the real Clive Palmer?

    Calculator just how wealthy you are in comparison to some of Australia's wealthiest billionaires.

  • 1:02 am May 1, 2012

    Man stabbed at airport, carjacker flees

    A chauffeur has been stabbed at Sydney Airport by a shoeless carjacker.

  • 11:08 am May 2, 2012

    Labor bleeding voters to Coalition

    Labor frontbenchers are playing down the latest Newspoll which shows voter support has neared rock bottom.

  • 10:11 pm Apr 30, 2012

    Vic man arrested over Gold Coast shootings

    A 26 year-old Victorian man has been arrested in relation to the shooting of two people in a Gold Coast shopping centre.

  • 4:26 pm Apr 30, 2012

    Poll show Labor support near rock bottom

    Labor Party support is near record rock bottom, according to the latest Newspoll in The Australian newspaper.

  • 12:12 pm Apr 30, 2012

    Abbott, Slipper and an unedifying lack of perspective

    Find More StoriesIt's a truly terrible realisation, but the person most like Peter Slipper in the current Australian Parliament is none other than Tony Abbott.

  • 10:23 am Apr 30, 2012

    SA premier not surprised by Palmer's move

    South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill says nothing in politics surprises him anymore, even mining magnate Clive Palmer's bid to enter federal parliament.

  • 10:32 am Apr 30, 2012

    Let Gillard do her job as PM, says Wilkie

    THE way Tony Windsor recalls it, Tony Abbott begged crossbench MPs to make him prime minister, joking ''the only thing I wouldn' but I'd have to give serious thought to it''.

  • 9:30 pm Apr 30, 2012

    Vic budget to fund more V/Line carriages

    The TAFE system is now in a struggle for survival as the Coalition prepares to announce massive funding cuts in tomorrow's budget that will hammer the life chances of thousands of Victorians.

  • 11:07 am Apr 30, 2012

    Two new media industry bodies proposed

    Two new bodies should be set up to deal with the dramatic changes that have taken place in the media landscape over the past decade, to address regulation, competition, standards and ownership issues.

  • 10:38 am Apr 30, 2012

    Body found in Baden-Clay search: reports

    Police searching for missing Brisbane woman Allison Baden Clay have called a media conference amid reports her body has been found.

  • 8:58 am Apr 30, 2012

    Independents urged to ditch govt

    Federal Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has called on key independent MPs Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott to withdraw their support for the government.

  • 8:32 am Apr 30, 2012

    Business, consumers seek rate-cut boost

    All eyes will be fixed on the Reserve Bank this week, amid expectations it'll cut the cash rate by at least a quarter of a percentage point.

  • 2:15 am Apr 30, 2012

    Swan says Palmer would be a part-time MP

    Treasurer Wayne Swan says mining billionaire Clive Palmer must commit to being a full time MP if he wants to run in the federal frontbencher's Queensland seat of Lilley.

  • 3:14 pm Apr 30, 2012

    Koalas to be listed as protected specie

    Koalas in NSW, Queensland and the ACT will be classified as vulnerable under a protected listing by Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke.

  • 8:07 pm Apr 30, 2012

    Clive Palmer to stand against Wayne Swan

    Controversial Queensland mining magnate Clive Palmer will seek to stand against Treasurer Wayne Swan at the next federal election.

  • 4:10 am Apr 30, 2012

    PM should have cut all ties with Thomson

    Prime Minister Julia Gillard should have cut all ties with embattled MP Craig Thomson, Nationals Senator Barnaby Joyce says.

  • 11:32 am Apr 29, 2012

    Too little, too late for Gillard?

    Prime Minister Julia Gillard has made an eleventh hour bid to try to shore up community faith in the integrity of the Australian parliament.

  • 12:20 pm Apr 30, 2012

    Ministers back PM on Slipper and Thomson

    Labor has dismissed opposition calls for the government to reject the vote of embattled MP Craig Thomson, who has been forced out of the ALP to sit on the cross bench.

  • 9:04 am Apr 29, 2012

    Rethink Malaysia relations: Xenophon

    The federal government has been mute on human rights issues in Malaysia because it still wants to pursue a people swap deal, independent Senator Nick Xenophon says.

  • 9:44 am Apr 29, 2012

    Gillard’s hypocrisy on the presumption of innocence

    Journalists who report on politics for a living see plenty of hypocrisy.