Federal and state politics, policy, and governance
A $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitions sparked immediate confusion, stranded workers, and triggered lawsuits from states and business groups claiming the policy undermines both economic competitiveness and legal procedure.
Oliver Pemberton 
The federal electoral inquiry is asking Peter Dutton to give evidence about the nature and extent of the Liberal Party's relationship with the Plymouth Brethren church.
Daniel Kovac 
From March 2026, Australia's expanded age verification rules will cover search engines and app stores. Here's why tech platforms are struggling to keep kids off social media without turning into digital bouncers.
Jake Nguyen 
The Queensland government approved the Glasshouse Theatre name in advance of the public consultation process and left a key recommendation off the ballot, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
Tanya Birch 
Victoria is rolling out its toughest tobacco licensing regime in response to over 200 firebombings, but enforcement begins amid questions about whether restrictive policies inadvertently fuel the criminal syndicates they aim to stop.
Marcus Ashbrook 
The Nationals' new leader is an economist with ministerial experience and a reading habit. Whether policy rigour can save the party from One Nation's surge remains the open question.
Riley Fitzgerald Australia has identified 121 separate federal health workforce policies but no coordinated national strategy. Psychiatrists are leaving the profession, aged care faces a 110,000-worker shortfall, and emergency departments are at breaking point. This is not a left-right issue; it is a governance failure.
Daniel Kovac 
Victoria is set to introduce penalties for building owners who knowingly lease their storefronts to illicit tobacco retailers, following enforcement of the state's mandatory licensing scheme.
Fatima Al-Rashid 
As the Middle East conflict disrupts global oil supplies, Australia's fuel reserves of just 36 days—well below international standards—expose decades of strategic policy failure across governments.
Marcus Ashbrook 
Three more members of Iran's women's football team have withdrawn their asylum offers in Australia after initially accepting humanitarian visas. The decision follows one earlier reversal, highlighting the intense pressures players face.
Patrick Donnelly Australia's new age verification requirements for R18+ games came into force on March 9. Within hours, VPN downloads spiked to the top of Australia's app charts. The disconnect reveals a deeper problem with how governments try to control digital behaviour.
Jake Nguyen Grace Tame's speaking engagements have vanished, Nike terminated her contract, and lobby groups want her stripped of her Australian of the Year award. The question is whether the response represents legitimate criticism or coordinated suppression of dissent.
Aisha Khoury Europe's AI Act reaches full force in 100 days. Australia's tech sector will have to comply in Brussels while operating under much lighter rules at home. That gap poses both risk and opportunity for Australian policy-makers.
Oliver Pemberton 
One Nation's Farrer byelection candidate David Farley claims his campaign is attracting funding from wealthy donors in Woollahra and Toorak, the traditional strongholds of Sydney and Melbourne's established money.
James Callahan 
War in the Persian Gulf has triggered panic buying and fuel rationing across regional Australia. With only 36 days of petrol in reserve, critics say successive governments failed to maintain fuel sovereignty.
Tanya Birch 
After nearly a month in ICE detention, competitive gamer Ludovic Mbock has been granted release on a low bond following a hearing where supporters packed the courtroom.
Aisha Khoury 
UK Parliament's Public Accounts Committee chair has questioned why the DWP awarded Capita a major civil service payroll contract despite the outsourcer's recent failures managing pensions for 1.5 million public servants.
Riley Fitzgerald 
Estonia's foreign minister has urged Australia to join a growing list of democracies implementing travel bans on Russian soldiers who fought in Ukraine, citing security risks.
Daniel Kovac 
Australia's government has released extra fuel and relaxed quality standards to ease a deepening supply chain crisis, but the core problem remains unresolved: is this shortage real or manufactured by panic buying?
Daniel Kovac 
Racing NSW signalled its intention to appeal a Supreme Court decision that invalidated its move to appoint an administrator at the Australian Turf Club, claiming regulatory authority and industry stability are at stake.
Priya Narayanan