Politics

The new year opens on an explosion of global uncertainty, with Donald Trump yet again at the epicentre. Why this extraordinary invasion of Venezuela, and where will it lead?

An extraordinary opening week in Australian politics in 2026 has seen a full-court press of business, sporting, security and political figures force Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to embrace a federal royal commission into the Bondi terror attack.

Albanese is convinced Australians want the nation to come together at a time like this. He says we will not allow the country to be divided, because that is what the terrorists seek. Unlike in previous disasters … the opposition and its supporters broke ranks with the government and blamed the prime minister for the atrocity.

ANALYSIS: “We need better local gas pricing For Australia, that means doing something hitherto unthought of: telling multinationals that the cost of doing business here is to provide better prices for Australians. These firms can then make up the difference through their export price.”

Before reflecting on the peaks and troughs of Australian politics in this tumultuous year, I want to emphasise the significantly more challenging environment, both globally and domestically.

ANALYSIS: “We need better local gas pricing For Australia, that means doing something hitherto unthought of: telling multinationals that the cost of doing business here is to provide better prices for Australians. These firms can then make up the difference through their export price.”

About once a decade, travel expenses and politicians’ access to entitlements crash their way into the headlines, usually to the discomfort of a government as the opposition ratchets up pressure for a ministerial scalp.

Anthony Albanese’s official honeymoon ends this weekend, but his honeymoon with the electorate is continuing, according to the latest opinion polls, boosted by his opponents’ disarray and the government’s significant wins since the May election. Albanese has successfully kept the balance between China and the United States, Australia’s biggest trading partner and its most important strategic ally respectively. He has also succeeded in passing the biggest environmental reforms in three decades.

Two thoughts come rushing to mind as I attempt to follow the ridiculous and irresponsible machinations of the two opposition parties over Australia’s climate targets, especially net zero by 2050. The first is the scornful philosophy of Humpty Dumpty in Through the Looking-Glass … The second is that most people would like to go to heaven, but no one wants to die to get there.

Watt had put everything on the line politically, creating a deadline to finalise what was in fact a five-year journey to reach a destination everybody agreed was needed, namely the implementation of recommendations proposed by businessman Graeme Samuel after his review of a framework that had been in place for 25 years.