Inside Politics

In this week’s episode, we dissect Labor’s brutal loss to One Nation in a supposedly safe seat in Western Australia.

Does this byelection really signify, as victor Luke Herdegen put it, that no MP is safe from the “orange tsunami”?

One Liberal MP who is worried is Andrew Hastie. Liberal strategists have been telling us his stance against accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith may cause voters in his electora...

This week we reported on some interesting polling that grappled with what makes One Nation voters tick, and one issue stood out.

There’s also been an argy-bargy in the party this week over immigration numbers, the net result of which being, perhaps, that One Nation is not totally against migration. 

Meanwhile, the Labor government is yet to announce its migration plan and which visa classes it may cut, but the early talk...

Today we have something special and a little bit different because Tony Wright, one of the stalwarts of Australian political writing, is stepping back from daily newsroom duties after 50 years in journalism.
For about 30 of these years, Tony reported on federal politics. Bob Hawke was the first prime minister he covered, while Paul Keating often rang Tony at home in the mornings to, at first, berate, and then ...

We’re back to talking about melons and the podcast interview that continues to cause dramas for the prime minister.

Six weeks ago, Anthony Albanese appeared on a podcast called ‘Bush Deep’ and was asked about the worst gift he received. Melons, he replied, gifted to him by Japanese prime minister.

What was said, and not said, has become the focus of attacks from the media, the Coalition and One Nation this week.

S...

This week on Inside Politics, we take a look at some of the major policy challenges facing the Albanese government – from migration numbers, to gambling-advertising reform and the news media bargaining code between Australian media and big tech companies.

Joining host Jacqueline Maley are chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and federal political correspondent Natassia Chrysanthos.

If you enjoyed this episode and want to...

It’s been another roller coaster this week for mortgage holders. Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock issued a stern warning about inflation, before the clouds parted a little when there was a welcome dip in the numbers.

We check in with the state of the economy with senior economics correspondent Shane Wright, before crossing to state political editor Chip Le Grand after quite a momentous week in Victoria.

This week, Jacint...

It has been quite the week in federal politics, and our attention has been sucked by two One Nation clangers.

First, Barnaby Joyce yelled at his dog on national television, then Pauline Hanson made some incredibly controversial remarks about domestic violence.

Meanwhile, our guests for today, chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal and federal political correspondent Natassia Chrysanthos, are tuning in under the fluorescent light...

We switch to sunnier climes this week, to a posh hotel in Sicily. It’s where the TV series White Lotus was filmed, and it’s also where our colleagues at The Australian Financial Review spotted One Nation leader Pauline Hanson poolside with billionaire Gina Rinehart.

So what’s Hanson doing in Europe?

In today’s episode, host Jacqueline Maley and chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal talk about who Hanson ...

This week, we’re talking about a visit from Narendra Modi to Australia and why Anthony Albanese wants to bask in the Indian prime minister’s limelight, despite questions around Modi’s human rights record.

And in an environment where One Nation and the Coalition want to go hard on migration, Albanese’s friendship with Modi looks like it stands in stark contrast.

But that’s not what piqued everyone&rsquo...

The government's capital gains tax and negative gearing changes are now legislated, and this week there has been some early data on how these changes are hitting the property market.

Plus, Labor's compromise on gambling advertising reforms and Angus Taylor's leadership of the Liberal Party.

Senior economics correspondent Shane Wright and federal political correspondent Natassia Chrysanthos join Jacqueline Maley to discuss.

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This week independent MPs Zali Steggall and Allegra Spender announced they would form a new political party, Community Strong Australia.

Steggall was successful as the first teal candidate, winning the prize seat of Warringah on Sydney’s north shore from former prime minister Tony Abbott in 2019.

Spender took Sydney’s blue-ribbon electorate of Wentworth from Liberal David Sharma in 2022.
But the le...

The hottest ticket in Australian politics this week was Pauline Hanson's first address to the National Press Club, which happened on Wednesday.

The Press Club, set up in the early 1960s, has become a rite of passage for any aspiring political leader. But Hanson has been an outsider, and the Press Club represents the type of institution she rejects, so until now the One Nation leader has never made an appearance there.

Her speech, a...

With the budget backlash era moving on to something like begrudged resignation, or budget fatigue, we’re expecting Treasurer Jim Chalmers to soon make a few announcements around the tax changes.

While this bubbles along, the only story in politics continues to be One Nation.

Inside Politics host Jacqueline Maley and chief political correspondent Paul Sakkal debate whether the media and the near-daily reporting on polls are dr...

This week polls showed, for the first time, One Nation ahead of the major parties and Pauline Hanson as preferred prime minister in second place ahead of Angus Taylor. 

Today we're talking about her strategy, her chances in the lower house and any parallels with the United States. Is it time to take Hanson seriously?

And the week would not be over if we didn't mention submarines - but second-hand ones this time. Was this alway...

The debate on the rise of Pauline Hanson is shifting rapidly.

This week, for the first time, polls are showing One Nation's primary vote has risen above the Labor Party's.

A conversation that focused on One Nation and the Coalition swapping preferences has now shifted to more profound questions about the long-term configuration of the right flank of Australian politics.

Hanson is yet to face the full force of scrutiny on her polici...

We are officially in week two of budget backlash, and both sides seem pretty dug in.

Today we’re talking about the disagreements about the capital gains tax - the most controversial part of the budget - and if, as some critics said, it will kill business aspirations.

The other news that sparked our interest was the tantalising prospect of the Teal independents forming a party to consolidate their power in the face of a rising...

We’re officially in our budget backlash era, with claims of death taxes, of aspirations killed, and the outraged cries of crypto bros across the nation. Not to mention, of course, the genuine anxiety from regular small business owners and shareholders who are unsure of how all of these changes will affect them.

Our guest this week is former Labor opposition leader Bill Shorten, who is now the vice chancellor of the Unive...

The federal budget was pitched as a big moment for a progressive government that wants to equalise wealth and home ownership.

And one of the main attacks from the opposition is that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has had to break a promise in order to get there.

So will the broken promise line resonate if the changes are broadly supported by the public?

Also today, Inside Politics host Jacqueline Maley and chief political cor...

The electorate of Farrer is holding a by-election this weekend and we’re expecting the contest will be a good one.

The NSW seat, which hugs the border with Victoria, belonged to former opposition leader Sussan Ley for 25 years. Now, it’s a microcosm of the pressures the Coalition is under from independent candidates and One Nation.

And as Inside Politics host Jacqueline Maley puts it, Labor has grabbed the popcorn ...