The Latest Articles by Michelle Grattan

Reading Margaret Simons’ recently released biography of Tanya Plibersek brought to mind an interesting question. What sort of Labor government would we have if Plibersek, rather than Anthony Albanese, had become Labor leader in 2019, and then won the 2022 election?

The government’s planned Housing Australia Future Fund has hit a roadblock.

Peter Dutton needed to sketch a big picture in his Thursday night budget reply – to look like an alternative prime minister. He failed to do so.

Will the budget make inflation worse? Are its boosts to welfare payments just the first step for the Labor government? Could the projected one-off surplus be followed by another one or more? What (if any) of the budget measures will the Coalition oppose? There’s quite a bit about this budget…

Tuesday’s budget will forecast a surplus of about $4 billion for this financial year – the first Commonwealth budget surplus in a decade and a half.

A $14.6 billion four-year cost-of-living package will be the centrepiece of Labor’s second budget, which seeks to balance spending restraint with its election commitment to not leave people behind.

Real wages are expected to start growing slightly earlier and grow more strongly than previously forecast, according to the latest Treasury estimates.

The unpopular ParentsNext program is to be scrapped by the Albanese government from July 1 next year.

The timing of history. How Anglophile and monarchist Tony Abbott would love to have been the prime minister attending the coronation. To say nothing of John Howard, a key figure in fending off an Australian republic in 1999.

Tuesday’s budget will include $11.3 billion over four years to fund the 15% pay rise aged care workers will receive from July 1.

As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes “Word from The Hill”, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation’s politics team.