The Latest Articles by Michelle Grattan

The Albanese government has shifted again on the 2026 census, now saying it will include questions on both sexual orientation and gender identity.

Politics is full of “what ifs?” As Bill Shorten prepares to exit parliament early next year, and Anthony Albanese may be on the path to a minority government, the question invites itself: what if Shorten had won the 2019 election?

Finally, just months out from the election, the Liberal Party is tackling the Augean stable that is its New South Wales division. It is a task that should have been a priority two years ago, after the division’s toxic factionalism had been on inglorious display in the run-up to the…

Bill Shorten will retire from parliament in February but will remain in cabinet until then to continue his reform of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

It is almost been a year since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. Since then, the conflict in the Middle East has increasingly impinged on our domestic politics, despite Australia having no direct role in it.

Mike Burgess is highly respected by both Labor and Liberal politicians. When they talk about him, they nearly always throw in praise, sometimes fulsome.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers mightn’t have expected his weekend comment – made ahead of expected low growth figures later this week – that interest rate rises were “smashing” the Australian economy to set off the reaction it has. After all, it’s been something of a Chalmers mantra.

Inflation remains top of mind as the Reserve Bank of Australia continues to keep interest rates on hold at a time when the United States Federal Reserve signals that it will start cutting rates.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has backed down to agree to the 2026 census including a question asking about a person’s sexuality.

In one of those paradoxes of politics, a government that has delivered in spades to the union movement finds itself in a bare-knuckle fight with the country’s most militant industrial organisation.

The advocacy group Muslim Votes Matter has put together a high-profile speakers list to launch its national campaign in Melbourne on Sunday, which is aimed at leveraging its influence for the federal election.