Politics news

• Parents 'sick' over years-long wait for database to help catch child abusers

  22-02-2026 20:00 via abc.net.au
  
  A key government commitment to protect children from sexual predators won't be "fully functional" for at least three years.
  
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• Tony Burke considers denying visa to Israeli journalist who called for 100,000 casualties in Gaza

  22-02-2026 19:00 via smh.com.au
  
  A planned visit to Australia in March by a controversial Israeli journalist is in doubt because of inflammatory remarks about the war in Gaza.
  
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• John Howard used nostalgia successfully as a political weapon. Angus Taylor will find it tougher

  22-02-2026 19:00 via smh.com.au
  
  The pull of the past can be deceptive. It is not only that the past was not the same for everyone. It was often not the past we think we remember, either.
  
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• Best of cartoons, February 23, 2026

  22-02-2026 11:11 via smh.com.au
  
  The news of the day as interpreted by our talented artists, illustrators and cartoonists.
  
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• How GPs plan to end Medicare politics and change bulk billing for good

  22-02-2026 09:30 via smh.com.au
  
  The college of GPs has been influential over government policy. Its latest call would dampen future election fights over Medicare by taking key decisions out of government hands.
  
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• Coalition wants to make criminals of anyone helping ISIS brides return to Australia

  22-02-2026 01:28 via smh.com.au
  
  The Coalition wants laws targeting NGOs and individuals who help people linked to terrorism back into the country.
  
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• Minister reveals process has started to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir under new hate laws

  22-02-2026 01:11 via abc.net.au
  
  Tony Burke has also provided an update on the cohort of 34 Australians seeking to leave a Syrian refugee camp.
  
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• Eating disorder clinic to open south of Perth, but missing link remains

  22-02-2026 01:09 via abc.net.au
  
  As an eating disorder clinic prepares to open its doors near Mandurah south of Perth, a residential eating disorder clinic is still in the planning stages despite being on the cards for years. 
  
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• ‘We are not’: Burke rejects claims government repatriating IS brides

  22-02-2026 01:01 via smh.com.au
  
  Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said the 34 women and children had received passports as required by law. He said nothing “at any ministerial level” had encouraged that process.
  
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• British submarine arrives for ‘extraordinary’ AUKUS visit

  22-02-2026 01:00 via smh.com.au
  
  A UK nuclear-powered attack submarine will spend a month in Australia despite theproblems plaguing the British navy’s ability to send its vessels to sea.
  
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• MotoGP, 'bum' comment controversy and the dynamics of the SA election

  21-02-2026 21:16 via abc.net.au
  
  In the final week before the election writs were issued, the SA Premier trained his sights on One Nation while the Liberals fought for oxygen. Is it a sign of the campaign ahead?
  
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• Migrants already sign on to Australian values, so what exactly is Angus Taylor proposing?

  21-02-2026 19:00 via smh.com.au
  
  The new Liberal Party leader wants to test how committed immigrants are to Australian values. But policing the values of freedom and tolerance can be precarious.
  
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• Middle income Australians shut out of new home market

  21-02-2026 19:00 via smh.com.au
  
  People earning less than $120,000 a year are being priced out of a property market as builders chase the high end, and governments support the poorest.
  
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• High-spending premiers appear immune to inflation pressure

  21-02-2026 19:00 via abc.net.au
  
  High-spending premiers remain popular and seemingly impervious to the rising cost-of-living anxiety piling pressure on the Albanese government.
  
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• Buy-out offer for Wang Fuk Court owners in Hong Kong

  21-02-2026 12:07 via abc.net.au
  
  After a deadly Hong Kong fire that killed 168 people and left thousands homeless in November, authorities have announced a buy-out offer for owners. 
  
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• ‘A culture of tolerance’: Frydenberg’s hope for Bondi royal commission

  21-02-2026 06:30 via smh.com.au
  
  Ahead of the royal commission starting on Tuesday, Josh Frydenberg has called for the inquiry to confront extremism and “rebuild a culture of tolerance”.
  
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• Why Trump’s tariff defeat has sparked fears of an interest rate spike

  21-02-2026 03:30 via smh.com.au
  
  While the wildlife of Heard and McDonald islands are likely to be spared another round of trade talks, the confusion of coming months will weigh on the economy.
  
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• Zempilas has three H's in mind. There's one more he'll want to avoid

  21-02-2026 01:04 via abc.net.au
  
  Housing, health and household stress — that's what WA's opposition leader says he's focused on in 2026 as he and his party face an uphill battle against the state government.
  
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• Should Labor have its own reshuffle?

  20-02-2026 19:00 via abc.net.au
  
  In the past few days, in a series of largely ignored milestones overshadowed by news of Angus Taylor's new frontbench, Albanese overtook Scott Morrison and John Curtin to become the 12th-longest serving prime minister.
  
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• Putin is taking a gamble as Russia-Ukraine war turns four

  20-02-2026 19:00 via abc.net.au
  
  Russian President Vladimir Putin is betting that the West and Ukraine will run out of resources first.
  
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• More unpopular than Xi, Trump is dragging down America’s reputation in Australia

  20-02-2026 19:00 via smh.com.au
  
  Donald Trump is significantly more unpopular than Xi Jinping, with almost half of Australians considering the US an equally big or bigger threat than China.
  
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• How PM’s tough line on IS brides has left 34 women and children in no man’s land

  20-02-2026 19:00 via smh.com.au
  
  Buried in the fine print of Anthony Albanese’s harsh words is a caveat: almost all of these people are entitled by law to come back to Australia from Syria.
  
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• Hanson could become our Farage, our Trump. Or she could just flame out

  20-02-2026 19:00 via smh.com.au
  
  Barnaby Joyce wants to transform the One Nation leader’s party from personality cult to a modern political movement. But is it actually just one untransformable woman?
  
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• Four years into the war, Putin is betting on one thing

  20-02-2026 19:00 via abc.net.au
  
  Russian President Vladimir Putin is betting that the West and Ukraine will run out of resources first.
  
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• Trump wants federal agencies to release files on UFOs

  20-02-2026 10:51 via abc.net.au
  
  US President Donald Trump says he will direct federal agencies to begin "identifying and releasing" government files related to UFOs and aliens.
  
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• Trump orders release of files on aliens after Obama's 'classified' slip

  20-02-2026 10:51 via abc.net.au
  
  US President Donald Trump says he will direct federal agencies to begin "identifying and releasing" government files related to UFOs and aliens.
  
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• Police receive ‘reports of crime’ in relation to Hanson interview

  20-02-2026 09:06 via abc.net.au
  
  One Nation senator Pauline Hanson accuses the government of trying to put her "back in jail", after police received reports of a crime in relation to the senator's inflammatory comments about Muslims during a media interview.
  
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• Police consider investigation into Pauline Hanson comments

  20-02-2026 09:06 via abc.net.au
  
  Senator Pauline Hanson has accused the government of trying to put her "back in jail" after police said they were considering an investigation over her inflammatory comments about Muslims during a media interview.
  
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• Jane Hume’s straight talk can get her in trouble, but she says the ‘time for timidity is over’

  20-02-2026 01:45 via smh.com.au
  
  The Liberal Party’s new deputy leader made high-profile mistakes in the last election but she knows being disliked is part of the job.
  
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• Live: Wilson walks back suggestion Liberals would rethink RBA mandate

  19-02-2026 21:12 via abc.net.au
  
  Shadow Treasurer Tim Wilson has walked back his call to overhaul the Reserve Bank of Australia's twin focus on taming inflation and full employment. Follow live. 
  
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• Live: Coalition willing to help strengthen powers to refuse Australian passports to IS-linked women

  19-02-2026 21:12 via abc.net.au
  
  Angus Taylor says the Coalition is willing to help the government strengthen legislation so women with ties to the Islamic State aren't issued Australian passports. Follow live. 
  
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• Coalition willing to help stop passports for IS-linked women— as it happened

  19-02-2026 21:12 via abc.net.au
  
  Angus Taylor says the Coalition is willing to help the government strengthen legislation so women with ties to Islamic State are not issued Australian passports. 
  
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• Taylor walks a tightrope on immigration policy as Hanson surges

  19-02-2026 20:39 via abc.net.au
  
  The rifts in Australia's social cohesion can be seen in the blow-up over the so-called ISIS brides and their children, who want to come to Australia.
  
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• Taylor may shoot for the summit. Even his backers will settle for base camp

  19-02-2026 19:00 via smh.com.au
  
  Can Angus Taylor re-establish the Coalition’s credibility? He could start by turning the volume down and addressing the opposition’s failings.
  
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• No good Muslims? Pauline Hanson has removed her racism fig leaf and mulched it

  19-02-2026 19:00 via smh.com.au
  
  This story is not merely about the possibility of the Coalition moving to the right. It’s about One Nation outbidding them by moving even further that way too.
  
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• Best of cartoons, February 20, 2026

  19-02-2026 11:47 via smh.com.au
  
  The news of the day as interpreted by our talented artists, illustrators and cartoonists.
  
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• ‘Do whatever is possible’: Top economists join forces to back capital gains tax changes

  19-02-2026 08:00 via smh.com.au
  
  Three days of parliamentary hearings will take evidence from some of the nation’s pre-eminent economists – and an international financial organisation – backing changes to capital gains tax.
  
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• Hanson plays into meme status, Taylor goes on tour

  19-02-2026 06:37 via abc.net.au
  
  This week the new opposition leader revealed his shadow cabinet while Pauline Hanson spun through a cycle she knows well. 
  
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• Albanese declares he has ‘nothing but contempt’ for ISIS brides seeking return

  19-02-2026 05:57 via smh.com.au
  
  The opposition said not all Australians were entitled to receive a passport, calling for the government to “shut the door” on their attempted return.
  
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• For salty South Australians, motorsport revenge is oh so sweet

  19-02-2026 05:23 via abc.net.au
  
  The last Grand Prix in Adelaide was held in 1995 before its move across the border to Victoria. Now, Adelaide has poached the MotoGP — but will it be enough to appease resentful SA Formula One fans?
  
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• PM and former One Nation candidate slam Hanson for anti-Muslim comments

  19-02-2026 04:24 via smh.com.au
  
  The prime minister condemned the One Nation leader’s remarks about Muslims on Thursday, and a Muslim former One Nation candidate has done the same.
  
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• WA premier slams Alcoa's 'disappointing' environmental record

  19-02-2026 03:29 via abc.net.au
  
  Roger Cook criticises Alcoa's "disappointing" environmental record, after it agreed to pay $55 million for clearing a native jarrah forest in WA's south without approval.
  
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• Alcoa's green efforts dubbed 'disappointing' by WA premier after $55m payment

  19-02-2026 03:29 via abc.net.au
  
  Roger Cook criticises Alcoa's environmental record for being "not at the level we expect", after the US mining giant agreed to pay $55 million for clearing a native jarrah forest in WA's south without approval.
  
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• Albanese slams Hanson for anti-Muslim comments, links remarks to violence

  19-02-2026 01:42 via smh.com.au
  
  The prime minister has condemned the One Nation leader’s remarks about Muslims and the Muslim-majority Sydney suburb of Lakemba as “disgraceful”.
  
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• An eight-year-old Australian girl with rotten teeth, trapped in a desert camp, did not make her own bed

  19-02-2026 01:20 via smh.com.au
  
  When I travelled to Roj camp in 2022 I looked into the eyes of a girl whose frame was so small and frail that she looked much younger than my own daughter, who was five at the time. She was showing signs of stunting from poor nutrition.
  
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• PM says he 'has nothing but contempt' for women in Syria linked to ISIS — as it happened

  18-02-2026 21:08 via abc.net.au
  
  The prime minister says he has "nothing but contempt" for Australian women who travelled to Syria to join ISIS.
  
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• Live: PM says he 'has nothing but contempt' for women in Syria with links to ISIS

  18-02-2026 21:08 via abc.net.au
  
  The prime minister says he has "nothing but contempt" for Australian women who travelled to Syria to join ISIS. Follow live.
  
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• Live: Coalition calls for Australians linked with ISIS to be blocked from returning home

  18-02-2026 21:08 via abc.net.au
  
  The shadow home affairs minister has called for Australians in Syria linked with ISIS to be blocked from returning home. Follow live.
  
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• Live: Burke confirms Australians in Syria linked with ISIS have passports

  18-02-2026 21:08 via abc.net.au
  
  Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has confirmed the Australians in Syria linked with ISIS fighters have been issued passports. Follow live.
  
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• Religious and union groups worry about proposed ban on certain phrases

  18-02-2026 20:46 via abc.net.au
  
  Religious groups and unions have expressed their concern about a Queensland government move to ban the use of certain phrases as part of an antisemitism crackdown.
  
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