Federal and state politics, policy, and governance
Australia's new requirement for age verification on adult websites has sparked privacy backlash, with VPN downloads surging and major sites blocking users rather than comply.
James Callahan 
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee is pushing colleagues to renew sweeping surveillance powers, despite deep misgivings about who will wield them.
Daniel Kovac 
South Australians vote Saturday in an election that will likely see Labor landslide but determine whether One Nation has translated polling into real political support.
Aisha Khoury 
Anthony Albanese's visit to Australia's largest mosque for Eid prayers descended into confrontation, exposing deep fissures within the Muslim community over the government's handling of Middle East conflicts and new extremism laws.
Marcus Ashbrook 
A federal judge has blocked Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr's vaccine policy changes, invalidating his hand-picked advisory panel and raising uncertainty about how the government will respond.
Meg Hadley 
The Trump administration released an AI policy framework Friday seeking to prevent states from enacting their own AI laws. The plan faces bipartisan congressional resistance and legal hurdles despite winning child safety concessions.
Rachel Thornbury 
The AFL's failure to take a position on Tasmania's bitter stadium dispute—even as it mandates the project—highlights troubling gaps in institutional leadership under CEO Andrew Dillon.
Oliver Pemberton 
Palantir Technologies, a US surveillance firm with military roots, is consolidating power across defence, health, and security agencies globally. The expansion raises questions about vendor dependency and democratic oversight.
James Callahan 
Britain's cyber watchdog has warned that the £1.5bn Jaguar Land Rover bailout risks creating perverse incentives, with firms betting on state support instead of investing in real resilience.
Samantha Blake 
The UK government has signalled a different approach to technology procurement following controversial Palantir contracts, with the NHS deal approaching its break clause in February 2027.
Riley Fitzgerald 
The UK government's digital ID consultation has opened without basic information on cost or data retention timelines, leaving key questions about spending accountability and privacy unanswered.
Daniel Kovac 
A One Nation candidate running for Adelaide was dumped by the party on Friday after revelations he faces an arrest warrant in the UK for failing to appear in court on sexual assault charges.
Aisha Khoury 
A Victoria firefighter has been forced to pay for fire truck fuel from personal funds as Australia's fuel crisis intensifies. The incident reflects broader pressure on emergency services as petrol prices climb sharply.
Fatima Al-Rashid 
Australia's peak doctors' organisation has made an extraordinary request for outside oversight, signalling serious internal turmoil as members prepare to vote on leadership.
Meg Hadley 
NSW residents lost a record $9.3 billion to poker machines in 2025, outpacing the cost of the Metro West rail project. Yet the government budgets increasingly on gambling taxes while harm deepens.
Yuki Tamura 
Australia faces a critical vulnerability window from 2027 to 2032, when heightened Indo-Pacific tensions will peak but AUKUS submarines won't arrive until the early 2030s. Defence strategists warn the timing mismatch threatens deterrence at the moment it matters most.
Aisha Khoury 
As fuel shortages grip regional Australia, critics argue successive governments failed to maintain the strategic capacity needed to weather global supply disruptions triggered by Middle East conflict.
Aisha Khoury 
South Australia's Liberal Party faces potential wipeout at Saturday's election after four leadership changes in four years. New Opposition Leader Ashton Hurn has just 100 days to salvage the party as polls show Labor on course for landslide victory.
Tanya Birch 
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese left Lakemba Mosque after being heckled by protesters during Eid al-Fitr prayers, an incident highlighting deep fractures over the government's Middle East stance.
Marcus Ashbrook 
Anthony Albanese and Tony Burke were jeered and booed by crowds at Lakemba Mosque in Sydney's west on Friday during Eid al-Fitr celebrations, as frustration over Australian government Middle East policy came to the fore.
Kate Morrison