Federal Parliament

There has been considerable comment about a race to the bottom in politics this week. But Thursday proved an equally dark day for the way we make laws in Australia, writes Laura Tingle.

Greg Barnes from Australian Lawyers Alliance has called for an independent review of each case, expressing grave concerns on the new legislation that will monitor released detainees electronically. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been under attack from the Coalition and some sections of the media since he took office for the number of international trips he has taken. But how does he compare to other recent prime ministers?

In Parliament the Government scrambles to deal with fallout from the High Court's decision making indefinite immigration detention unlawful.

The political week started with brisk assurances from the government of quiet competence, but went to custard quickly with the news that several sexual offenders had been released from immigration detention, writes Annabel Crabb and Brett Worthington. 

The federal government is proposing the use of ankle bracelets and curfews to monitor 84 people released from immigration detention last week, in emergency legislation rushed into Federal Parliament.

More than 1,800 Australians lose their battle with brain cancer each year, as advocates decry a survival rate which hasn't budged in 30 years.

The day began with a clear sign the opposition leader was feeling confident: he held his first press conference in Parliament House in more than three months. It ended on a different note, writes David Speers.

The veteran MP will move to the crossbench after losing preselection for the regional Victorian seat of Monash on Sunday.

Federal Parliament resumed today and with it, heated debate including on the Israel-Gaza conflict and the Government's response to the Robodebt Royal Commission

Eighty asylum seekers being held in immigration detention were released almost immediately following last week's High Court ruling that they were being kept unlawfully.

Identified in Parliament House by their orange access passes, lobbyists are free to wander the halls, governed not by laws but by a code of conduct. But the standard of regulation in the industry has been deplored by both integrity experts and independent politicians.

Australia still lags behind dozens of countries when it comes to female representation in federal parliament. A national program is now equipping more women with the skills and confidence to run for office. 

The growing sullenness amongst voters about cost of living pressures makes it inevitable that the economy will once again become the absolute core issue for the government, writes Laura Tingle.

Conservative politicians including Keith Pitt and Craig Kelly say killing koalas with blunt force trauma is part of the plan to make way for a Queensland wind farm. But there's more to the story.

The federal government's attempt to make a raft of major changes to industrial relations laws this year looks set to fail, after some of the crossbench secured support for a different approach.

Anthony Albanese has managed to pull off a successful double act over the past fortnight with his visits to both Washington and Beijing, writes David Speers.

The High Court rules a Rohingya man has been unlawfully detained in immigration detention, paving the way to end indefinite detention for other asylum seekers.

Xi Jinping chose a Chinese proverb about gratitude to welcome Anthony Albanese to Beijing — a reference to diplomatic ties forged by Gough Whitlam. But 50 years later another is equally apt: let sleeping dogs lie, writes David Speers.

Federal Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi has walked out of the Senate after labelling the Labor government as "gutless, heartless, cowards" and urging it to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Stephen Gageler has become the first Chief Justice of the High Court to make a formal acknowledgement of Indigenous Australians, at his swearing ceremony.

When he gets off the plane in China, not being Scott Morrison will help Anthony Albanese, but it only goes so far in stabilising relations in the long term, writes Brett Worthington. 

There is a disturbing lack of bipartisanship on the question of the Middle East, which has real world consequences and seems to potentially point to an ugly new direction in domestic politics, writes Laura Tingle.

With the prime minister out of the country this week, clear differences emerged between the acting PM and the foreign minister, who diverged somewhat on the Israel-Hamas conflict, writes Brett Worthington.

Bets on an interest rate rise next month gyrate dramatically on Senate testimony from the Reserve Bank governor, having surged on higher-than-expected inflation numbers.