Politics news

• Live: PM's melon gaffe has been misinterpreted: Gallagher

  10-08-2026 23:09 via abc.net.au
  
  Anthony Albanese is again facing calls to personally apologise to his Japanese counterpart over a gesture he made about two melons Sanae Takaichi gifted him, but a government frontbencher insists his remarks have been misrepresented. Follow live. 
  
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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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• Voting closes in Farage by-election battle with bin-wearing comedian

  13-08-2026 21:23 via abc.net.au
  
  Voting has closed 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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• Third of small businesses don't know if they made a profit last month

  13-08-2026 21:12 via abc.net.au
  
  Small businesses call for support to develop financial literacy skills as new research reveals a sobering reality.
  
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• Small businesses lacking skills 'don't know if you're turning a profit'

  13-08-2026 21:12 via abc.net.au
  
  Small businesses call for support to develop financial literacy skills as new research reveals a sobering reality.
  
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• Small business owners 'overwhelmed' by lack of financial literacy skills

  13-08-2026 21:12 via abc.net.au
  
  Small businesses call for support to develop financial literacy skills as new research reveals a sobering reality.
  
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• Anthony Albanese’s fatal flaw spooks Labor colleagues

  13-08-2026 21:00 via smh.com.au
  
  The PM’s stubborn streak and refusal to back down is a problem – for everyone.
  
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• Labor ponders deportation focus for visa overstayers in delayed migration overhaul

  13-08-2026 20:45 via smh.com.au
  
  It could become more common for border officials to investigate tips about undocumented workers, but the government does not want to create an aggressive, Trump-style system.
  
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• Best of cartoons, August 14, 2026

  13-08-2026 13:21 via smh.com.au
  
  The news of the day as interpreted by our talented artists, illustrators and cartoonists.
  
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• ‘Weaker at home’: Wong’s veiled warning to One Nation on national security

  13-08-2026 13:00 via smh.com.au
  
  The foreign minister will argue her own Malaysian background demonstrates migrants enrich the nation and play a key role in regional relationships.
  
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• Political opponents unite to push Albanese to hand over melon-gate documents

  13-08-2026 10:14 via smh.com.au
  
  Labor’s political opponents have united behind the Coalition to order Anthony Albanese to hand over official documents regarding “melon” comments the prime minister made in a crude podcast interview about a gift from the Japanese prime minister.
  
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• Taylor's tetchy press conference, Bragg's big day out

  13-08-2026 09:01 via abc.net.au
  
  The opposition leader and prime minister both had tense press conferences this week. 
  
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• Liberals split over Bragg’s rogue speech after Taylor, Hastie pull rank

  13-08-2026 08:03 via smh.com.au
  
  Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said he had pulled the senator in line, but Liberals from both sides hoped the clash would spur debate in the party.
  
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• Twenty violent threats to PM before courts as politicians across divide face record menace

  13-08-2026 08:02 via smh.com.au
  
  The government has quietly undertaken security upgrades at The Lodge and Kirribilli House which have kept Anthony Albanese out of his residences for weeks.
  
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• Australia on brink of record defence export deal with UK

  13-08-2026 04:17 via smh.com.au
  
  This masthead can reveal the contract to sell a Canberra-built radar system to the UK would be worth more than $10 billion.
  
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