Politics news

• Rates on hold as RBA grows wary about inflation pressures

  09-12-2025 04:42 via smh.com.au
  
  The Reserve Bank has finished the year with official interest rates at 3.6 per cent. But the next move may be up.
  
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• NACC chief updates official declaration of interests to disclose Defence link

  10-12-2025 21:08 via abc.net.au
  
  National Anti-Corruption Commission chief Paul Brereton has formally disclosed his consulting work for the Defence watchdog after the ABC revealed the links. 
  
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• Fears gas reservation plan will not lower prices as hoped

  10-12-2025 21:05 via abc.net.au
  
  A long-awaited scheme to force east coast energy giants to set aside gas for Australian use is being finalised in down-to-the-wire negotiations between half a dozen cabinet ministers grappling with concerns it may not lower prices as much as hoped.
  
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• Australia's social media experiment is live. Teens say nothing has changed

  10-12-2025 20:28 via abc.net.au
  
  After a year of waiting, Australia's world-leading laws to block kids from accessing social media are officially enacted. But the teens they're meant to impact say not much has actually changed.
  
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• Former SA deputy premier points out the great divide in Australia's schools

  10-12-2025 20:12 via abc.net.au
  
  South Australia's former deputy premier Susan Close has called out what she describes as "extreme" socio-economic segregation in Australian schools.
  
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• The political forces working for and against Ashton Hurn

  10-12-2025 20:02 via abc.net.au
  
  Ashton Hurn now has the job she said she didn't want. Could she be the leader the South Australian Liberal Party needs?
  
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• Nationals MP's high family travel bill highlights generous rules

  10-12-2025 19:47 via abc.net.au
  
  Calls for politicians' family travel entitlements to be tightened are growing, as analysis shows one Nationals MP was allowed to charge taxpayers more than $80,000 flying his spouse to and from Canberra 27 times in two years.
  
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• The single number that will determine interest rates in 2026

  10-12-2025 19:00 via smh.com.au
  
  The Reserve Bank could be lifting interest rates as early as February next year. A single number will determine the RBA’s next move, and we know the day it’s coming.
  
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• Drivers aged over 40 are pushing us towards record-high road tolls

  10-12-2025 19:00 via smh.com.au
  
  The nation’s road and transport ministers hope to halve the road toll by 2030. But deaths and accidents are increasing, at a huge human and financial cost.
  
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• Best of cartoons, December 11, 2025

  10-12-2025 11:18 via smh.com.au
  
  The news of the day as interpreted by our talented artists, illustrators and cartoonists.
  
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• Australia social media ban as it happened: PM lauds decision as children under 16 barred from social media in world-first; Wells says more than 200,000 TikTok accounts deactivated

  10-12-2025 10:51 via smh.com.au
  
  Australia’s social media ban is now in effect, with children under 16 barred from some of the most popular social media apps in the world. Look back on our live coverage.
  
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• Wells’ Kirribilli comeback mixes social-media crusade with crisis management

  10-12-2025 09:24 via smh.com.au
  
  Hiding under the doona was not an option for Anika Wells today. So she showed up. Did her job. Powered on. Answered questions. Apologies were not on the agenda.
  
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• Albanese digs in on MPs entitlements saga as more Wells spending comes to light

  10-12-2025 08:10 via smh.com.au
  
  The prime minister is backing his minister Anika Wells’ use of parliamentary entitlements, even as fresh information reveals more examples of her using taxpayer funds to attend party fundraisers.
  
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• Albanese digs in on MPs entitlements saga as more Wells event spending comes to light

  10-12-2025 08:10 via smh.com.au
  
  The prime minister is stubbornly backing his minister Anika Wells’ use of parliamentary entitlements, even as fresh information reveals more examples of her using taxpayer funds to attend party fundraisers.
  
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• AI energy demand to grow tenfold

  10-12-2025 07:20 via smh.com.au
  
  The surge in data centre growth will drive up emissions and electricity costs unless it is properly managed.
  
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• Wells’ expenses a costly distraction from admirable social media ban

  10-12-2025 06:46 via smh.com.au
  
  The Albanese government has needlessly allowed Anika Wells’ expenses to cast a shadow over its big-ticket reform.
  
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• ‘It didn’t work bro I’m still here’: Kids brag as they beat social media ban

  10-12-2025 06:00 via smh.com.au
  
  Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spent the morning speaking about Australia’s world-first legislation being a success while teens were flooding his social media comments with a different story.
  
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• Children as young as 10 to be fitted with ankle monitors under proposed laws

  10-12-2025 05:43 via abc.net.au
  
  The legislation removes the requirement for either the child, or their parent or guardian, to consent to wearing the device.
  
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• WA opposition blames police shortage for slow emergency response

  10-12-2025 05:30 via abc.net.au
  
  The WA Liberals say a slow police response to a violent incident involving St John Ambulance officers in the Goldfields is due to understaffing but the claim has been rejected by the police minister.
  
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• Teens still on social media warned that their day will come

  10-12-2025 05:17 via smh.com.au
  
  The prime minister declared victory during a formal address in Sydney, heralding the ban as one of Australia’s greatest ever reforms.
  
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• I take it all back. Barnaby is a fool, after all

  10-12-2025 03:21 via smh.com.au
  
  I’ve defended him as a sharp political strategist, but his move to One Nation is utterly idiotic.
  
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• Australia social media ban LIVE updates: PM lauds decision as children under 16 barred from social media in world-first; Wells says more than 200,000 TikTok accounts deactivated

  10-12-2025 03:03 via smh.com.au
  
  Australia’s social media ban comes into effect today, with children under 16 barred from some of the most popular social media apps in the world. Follow our live coverage.
  
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• A profound reform: PM

  10-12-2025 02:37 via smh.com.au
  
  Marking the first day of the social media ban, Anthony Albanese and other advocates have spoken about the bold change they say other countries will follow.
  
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• Wells says 'gut reaction' to travel claims fair but she has 'upheld' rules

  10-12-2025 01:20 via abc.net.au
  
  Communications Minister Anika Wells accepts her taxpayer-funded travel claims have prompted a "gut reaction" in people, after a week of scrutiny over her expenses.
  
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• Anika Wells questioned over social media ban

  10-12-2025 01:16 via smh.com.au
  
  On the first day of the social media ban for people under 16, Communications Minister Anika Wells has faced questions over how it's working and what constitutes its success.
  
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• Albanese, Wells decline to back overhaul of family travel perks for MPs

  10-12-2025 01:10 via smh.com.au
  
  Two Coalition MPs have called for entitlement rules to be scrutinised, while the prime minister and Wells attempted to keep focus on the government’s social media ban.
  
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• Australia social media ban LIVE updates: PM lauds decision as children under 16 barred from social media in world-first; teens flock to TikTok to show Snapchat ban

  09-12-2025 22:14 via smh.com.au
  
  Australia’s social media ban comes into effect today, with children under 16 barred from some of the most popular social media apps in the world. Follow our live coverage.
  
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• Why opposition to faster approvals is about more than just the environment

  09-12-2025 22:13 via abc.net.au
  
  As WA's state development laws make their way through parliament, critics are concerned about environmental approvals and concentration of power, but the government insists the new laws mean more transparency.
  
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• How facts may be sacrificed in the push for faster project approvals in WA

  09-12-2025 22:13 via abc.net.au
  
  As WA's state development laws make their way through parliament, critics are worried about environmental approvals and concentration of power, but the government insists the changes mean more transparency.
  
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• Former EPA chair raises questions about new WA development laws

  09-12-2025 22:13 via abc.net.au
  
  As WA's state development laws make their way through parliament, critics are worried about environmental approvals and concentration of power, but the government insists the changes mean more transparency.
  
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