Politics news

• Live: Minister announces tweak to controversial aged care assessment tool

  01-07-2026 23:04 via abc.net.au
  
  Aged care minister Sam Rae says the government's controversial algorithm-assisted tool can be changed in "extenuating circumstances". Follow live.
  
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• Live: Government backs down on aged care tool as MPs stun at Midwinter Ball

  01-07-2026 23:04 via abc.net.au
  
  The federal government has backed down on its aged care assessment tool to determine how much funding older Australians get. Follow live.
  
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• Thousands of survivors of child sexual abuse face looming redress backlog

  01-07-2026 21:20 via abc.net.au
  
  At its current processing rate, the scheme will not be able to clear its backlog before it closes.
  
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• Labor MP says 'much more' to do on gambling ads

  01-07-2026 21:16 via abc.net.au
  
  The Coalition, Greens and crossbench are also pushing for changes to the bill, which limits TV and radio ads during certain times and creates an opt-out feature for online platforms. 
  
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• Labor MP backs gambling ad bill but says 'much more' needs to be done

  01-07-2026 21:16 via abc.net.au
  
  The Coalition, Greens and crossbench are also pushing for changes to the bill, which limits TV and radio ads during certain times and creates an opt-out feature for online platforms. 
  
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• Influencers to be targeted in crackdown on gambling advertising

  01-07-2026 21:16 via abc.net.au
  
  The Albanese government will target social media influencers and individuals who promote gambling on social media as part of its proposed laws restricting advertising.   
  
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• Polling whets Labor's appetite for reform

  01-07-2026 21:00 via abc.net.au
  
  The slight recovery in Labor's polling shifts assumptions about what's in store for the remainder of this parliamentary term.
  
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• Bending the knee: Why Andrew Hastie is set to abandon the Liberal Party

  01-07-2026 21:00 via smh.com.au
  
  On the day Andrew Hastie vowed to die before kneeling to One Nation, Angus Taylor was squirming over whether he supported multiculturalism or monoculturalism.
  
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• Bending the knee: Why Andrew Hastie is on the brink of abandoning the Liberal Party

  01-07-2026 21:00 via smh.com.au
  
  On the day Andrew Hastie vowed to die before kneeling to One Nation, Angus Taylor was squirming over whether he supported multiculturalism or monoculturalism.
  
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• Albanese and Chalmers see reform as an antidote to populism

  01-07-2026 21:00 via abc.net.au
  
  The slight recovery in Labor's polling shifts assumptions about what's in store for the remainder of this parliamentary term.
  
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• Super-sized mortgages giving Australians a massive interest rate headache

  01-07-2026 16:01 via smh.com.au
  
  Australian mortgages are so large that the nation’s interest bill is higher than when official interest rates were almost 20 per cent.
  
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• Pat Conroy to announce defence shake-up aimed at cost blowouts

  01-07-2026 14:32 via abc.net.au
  
  Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy is set to appeal to the Labor faithful to get behind AUKUS as he announces a defence shake-up targeting wasteful spending. 
  
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• Tiny tweaks to war crimes laws put troops at risk, decorated veteran warns

  01-07-2026 14:30 via smh.com.au
  
  Seemingly innocuous legislative changes could hamper the military’s ability to fight terrorist groups, a former air force commander has warned.
  
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• Best of cartoons, July 2, 2026

  01-07-2026 13:19 via smh.com.au
  
  The news of the day as interpreted by our talented artists, illustrators and cartoonists.
  
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• ‘We have been here before’: No quick fix for social media ban, says rights commissioner

  01-07-2026 11:45 via smh.com.au
  
  Lorraine Finlay said introducing tougher penalties and stronger powers without sufficient scrutiny was unlikely to fix weaknesses in the Albanese government’s social media ban.
  
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• ‘Disillusioned’ customers discover the catch in three hours of free power

  01-07-2026 11:30 via smh.com.au
  
  Many households are hearing unwelcome news when they contact their electricity retailers as power retailers increase rates outside the free midday window.
  
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• Write us a cheque: Australian authors, musicians want AI forced to pay for using their work

  01-07-2026 07:57 via smh.com.au
  
  Senator David Pocock has accused the government of entertaining the idea of weakening copyright laws for AI giants.
  
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• Saying there’s an upside to falling house prices is sacrilege. But Labor needs to admit it

  01-07-2026 07:31 via smh.com.au
  
  Last year, disaster was coming from higher house prices. Now it’s disaster as prices fall. Australia needs to find some consistency.
  
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• South-east Qld water retailer backs down on planned price hike

  01-07-2026 06:32 via abc.net.au
  
  A major south-east Queensland water retailer has backed down on a planned price hike, which left the government's key cost-of-living measure in tatters.
  
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• Plan to add hundreds of parking meters at Sydney beaches rejected

  01-07-2026 04:58 via abc.net.au
  
  Randwick councillors vote against a plan to introduce hundreds of parking meters at some of Sydney's popular eastern beaches, with council staff to now look for other ways to improve the turnover of parking spaces.
  
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• Australian spy agency spars with China over foreign interference claim

  01-07-2026 04:21 via abc.net.au
  
  China's ambassador to Australia attacks ASIO over allegations of foreign interference and says the agency is at risk of damaging the bilateral relationship.  
  
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• Vanuatu deal is significant but a harbinger of what's to come in the Pacific

  01-07-2026 03:57 via abc.net.au
  
  Although a big moment in diplomacy, the Vanuatu agreement has come at a clear reputational cost to Australia.
  
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• Outrage as Ukrainian teens forced to face Russians at Australian AI summit

  01-07-2026 03:52 via smh.com.au
  
  An international hackathon hosted at an Australian university has drawn protests from Ukraine after organisers ignored pleas to bar the Russian delegation.
  
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• Liberals can't keep on track even with a prize in sight

  01-07-2026 02:51 via abc.net.au
  
  The Liberals, it seems, can't resist returning to damaging infighting even in the one part of the country where things have been going quite encouragingly for them.
  
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