Politics news

• From a tome to a pamphlet: Liberal vows to demolish building code

  11-08-2026 20:55 via abc.net.au
  
  Opposition housing spokesperson Andrew Bragg has promised to slash the National Construction Code from over 2,000 pages to 80 if elected.
  
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• Air is coming out of the housing bubble. Is now the time for first home buyers?

  15-08-2026 21:30 via smh.com.au
  
  The housing market in Australia has been a parlour game for the past 30 years, and one that the May budget is now upending.
  
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• I went for a run and nearly died: What having anaphylaxis taught me about life

  15-08-2026 21:00 via smh.com.au
  
  One in three Australians now have an allergy. Finally, the government has taken notice.
  
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• Can Albanese erase his permanent marker GST pledge?

  15-08-2026 21:00 via abc.net.au
  
  The electoral map that made surrendering to Western Australia irresistible to the prime minister has changed, but taking something back is always hard.
  
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• Beach holiday loophole? Spike in British seeking asylum in Australia

  15-08-2026 21:00 via smh.com.au
  
  It is a sign that refugee visas continue to be abused, as Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke mulls other means for deterring and deporting visa overstayers.
  
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• An experiment for Albanese to watch: British PM’s bid to stem working-class drift

  15-08-2026 21:00 via smh.com.au
  
  Andy Burnham’s strategy is to head the populists off at the pass, but that involves some risk on the progressive side of the ledger.
  
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• Albanese might regret using permanent marker on GST pledge

  15-08-2026 21:00 via abc.net.au
  
  The electoral map that made surrendering to Western Australia irresistible to the prime minister has changed, but taking something back is always hard.
  
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• Resources Minister King weighs in on WA GST furore

  15-08-2026 10:01 via abc.net.au
  
  The federal minister called an interim report that recommended cutting WA's share of the GST as "clearly incorrect" and said the resource-rich state had the prime minister's backing.
  
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• Labor-led committee warns of human rights risks in NDIS reform

  15-08-2026 06:04 via smh.com.au
  
  The Labor-led committee broke with government senators involved in a separate inquiry which steamrolled pleas of the disability community to recommend the NDIS reforms pass.
  
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• 'Existential period' for NDIS, as Albanese-Taylor inch toward deal

  14-08-2026 23:00 via abc.net.au
  
  Martin Laverty is the Chief Executive of Aruma Disability Services and one of the architects of the NDIS. He told David Speers for this week's Insiders On Background, the government must restore the scheme to its original intent.
  
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• What dozens of empty chairs revealed about Australia's racism inquiry

  14-08-2026 21:00 via abc.net.au
  
  Witnesses laid bare the impact of racism on their lives in hearings held around the nation. But the repeated absence of key decision makers raises questions about who was listening and what the impact will be.
  
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• Albanese made a terrible mistake. But for Taylor, it’s worse

  14-08-2026 21:00 via smh.com.au
  
  The opposition leader has only a short period to prove himself. This week showed that both sides are wasting time.
  
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• Labor quietly pauses working holidaymaker visas as stoush over backpackers brews

  14-08-2026 20:49 via smh.com.au
  
  Matt Canavan said backpackers had not been the cause of high migration, and visas would not be touched. But data shows otherwise.
  
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• Cory Bernardi condemned for anti-trans slur, labelling protesters 'incels'

  14-08-2026 11:57 via abc.net.au
  
  Derogatory comments from One Nation MP Cory Bernardi have been condemned by organisers of an anti-One Nation rally at SA parliament.
  
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• ‘They’re over top’: Albanese signals about-face on gambling promotions

  14-08-2026 09:52 via smh.com.au
  
  The prime minister previously said Labor’s gambling laws struck the right balance. Now he agrees promotions used to woo gambling addicts must be wound back.
  
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• A $60b GST fiasco: State vs state argument erupts between WA and ‘east coast whingers’

  14-08-2026 09:02 via smh.com.au
  
  The GST system has become so broken that a bushfire in NSW delivers a financial windfall to the taxpayers of Western Australia.
  
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• The petition Albanese didn’t talk about after ‘warm’ phone call with Trump

  14-08-2026 08:46 via smh.com.au
  
  Australia’s plan to force US tech giants to pay for local news is expected to complicate the PM’s attempt to get out of Trump’s latest round of tariffs.
  
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• First home buyers dropping out of market alongside investors even as prices fall

  14-08-2026 08:33 via smh.com.au
  
  First home buyers are dropping out of the market, and one big bank executive suggests they are waiting for house prices to drop even further.
  
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• Ex-One Nation candidate 'sorry' for labelling gay people mentally ill

  14-08-2026 08:08 via abc.net.au
  
  A former One Nation candidate has apologised for describing gay people as having a mental illness, saying he was repeating something he "heard people saying on social media".
  
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• Landmark review says GST plan costly and unfair

  14-08-2026 06:00 via abc.net.au
  
  The Productivity Commission finds the WA GST deal is a "costly mistake" that has led to "perverse" outcomes, and recommends it be scrapped.
  
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• A $60 billion GST fiasco: Report condemns Morrison deal as perverse

  14-08-2026 06:00 via smh.com.au
  
  The GST system has become so broken that a bushfire in NSW delivers a financial windfall to the taxpayers of Western Australia.
  
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• Investor home loans nosedive as they retreat from market

  14-08-2026 04:12 via smh.com.au
  
  The number of investor loans for existing homes has nose dived since the budget – but investor loans to build new homes have increased.
  
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• Investor home loans nose dive as they retreat from market

  14-08-2026 04:12 via smh.com.au
  
  The number of investor loans for existing homes has nose dived since the budget – but investor loans to build new homes have increased.
  
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• Albanese says Trump giving 'consideration' to tariff exemption after phone call

  14-08-2026 02:18 via abc.net.au
  
  Anthony Albanese says he has urged Donald Trump to consider giving Australia a full exemption from Washington's sweeping tariffs, or "at the very least no increase" from the old 10 per cent rate.
  
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• Albanese says Trump considering tariff exemption after phone call

  14-08-2026 02:18 via abc.net.au
  
  The prime minister says he has urged Donald Trump to consider giving Australia a full exemption from Washington's sweeping tariffs, or "at the very least no increase" from the old 10 per cent rate.
  
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• Trump weighs tariff exemption for Australia after ‘warm’ phone call

  14-08-2026 00:25 via smh.com.au
  
  The Trump administration has proposed a 12.5 per cent tariff on Australia and a slew of other countries.
  
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• PM maintains interpretation of melon hand gesture on podcast was incorrect — as it happened

  13-08-2026 23:08 via abc.net.au
  
  Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been asked about his hand gesture on the Bush Deep podcast where he discussed a melon present from Japanese PM Takaichi Sanae.
  
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• Live: PM maintains interpretation of melon hand gesture on podcast was incorrect

  13-08-2026 23:08 via abc.net.au
  
  Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been asked about his hand gesture on the Bush Deep podcast where he discussed a melon present from Japanese PM Takaichi Sanae. Follow live.
  
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• Live: Albanese and US President Donald Trump speak in overnight phone call

  13-08-2026 23:08 via abc.net.au
  
  Anthony Albanese has spoken with US President Donald Trump in a phone call overnight. Follow live.
  
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• Voting underway in Farage by-election battle with bin-wearing comedian

  13-08-2026 21:23 via abc.net.au
  
  Voting is in its final hours in a by-election in Britain's Clacton constituency after the Reform UK leader resigned amid scrutiny of a $9 million donation from a crypto billionaire.
  
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