Politics

Albanese, unlike Starmer, faces the next election as an incumbent defending the slimmest of majorities ... The prime minister can take little consolation from the fact that the UK is another country: the similarities of our political cultures are too significant to dismiss.

Ordinary Australians have suffered heavily over at least 15 years of poor performance by ASIC as it repeatedly failed to respond early and effectively to allegations of misconduct, and then to punish those responsible.

Knowing how crucial the cost of living has become for most Australians, the government must have been hoping for better than these latest inflation numbers.

In March, Trump lent his name and likeness to the God Bless the USA Bible. The book was a large-print Bible with the US Constitution inserted. If hypocrisy were an Olympic event, Trump would be a certainty for gold.

Australian political leaders require the courage to think in transformative and tangible ways about what it will take to secure a safer future for children and young people. The status quo is unacceptable for the current generation, and the next generation deserves better.

In the popular imagination, Vladimir Putin is too readily demonised, simplified or caricatured. He becomes a cartoonish character. The truth is far more complex, fascinating and ultimately chilling.

The prime minister managed three significant surprises this week, which variously caught his opponents off guard or demonstrated that when it comes to dealing with our most significant ally, the United States, he has considerable cachet.

It’s time to cut through the posturing and focus on Peter Dutton’s real strategy. It should now be clear the opposition leader’s basic motivation is a power grab. He will say or do whatever it takes to win the next election.

It can be expected that Dutton, in his quest for legitimacy beyond his negativity, will rush to identify with what he will claim is a global surge to the far right ... He will want to stitch himself to the coat-tails of such a movement, to out-Trump Trump.

The first visit of a Chinese premier to Australia in seven years perfectly demonstrated the complexity of the relationship with our biggest customer. It also confirmed that for Australia’s continued prosperity, accommodating Beijing is not optional.