Abbott increases spend on orange lifeboats to $7.5 million
SARAH WHYTE 4:54pm EXCLUSIVE The Abbott government has tripled the amount of money spent on the large orange lifeboats used to tow back asylum seekers breaching Australian waters to Indonesia to $7.5 million as part of its tough border control policy.
Latest political news
Senate rejects carbon tax repeal bill
LISA COX 1:20pm The first attempt to repeal the carbon tax has failed. Labor and Greens senators have used their numbers to block the repeal package 33 votes to 29, potentially setting up a trigger for a double dissolution election, a decision that is up to the government.
Labor keeps up the pressure over Sinodinos
12:01pm Federal Labor is ramping up the pressure on Prime Minister Tony Abbott over the resignation of assistant treasurer Arthur Sinodinos from the frontbench pending his appearance at a NSW anti-corruption inquiry.
Staff quit over home insulation program
4:28pm Public servants were already overworked when the massive task of devising an insulation scheme for millions of homes was dumped on them, an inquiry has heard.
Live exports to resume to Egypt
11:37am Australia will recommence exporting sheep and cattle to Egypt after the government struck a deal with Egyptian importers on animal welfare standards.
Financial advice red tape cuts 'raise risk'
PETER MARTIN Financial planners will be able to break the financial advice law with impunity unless a client takes private action, the government has revealed.
Keep veterans' kids support or else: Palmer
LISA COX 9:27am Fairfax MP Clive Palmer has foreshadowed an obstacle to the government's repeal of the mining tax, declaring that it will not come at the expense of income support to orphaned children of war veterans.
Turnbull hits back at colleagues over ABC
MATTHEW KNOTT 11:43am Communications Minister Turnbull has warned his Coalition colleagues against seeking to punish the ABC for broadcasting news stories they disagree with.
Putin may be banned from G20 summit
LISA COX 11:37am Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has not ruled out preventing Russian President Vladimir Putin from attending the G20 summit in Brisbane later this year.
PM to meet unions, Qantas workers
JAMES MASSOLA 10:31am Prime Minister Tony Abbott will meet with Australia's peak union body for the first time since the government announced it would seek to abolish sections of the Qantas Sale Act.
Reports of Manus Island suicide attempts
SARAH WHYTE There have been three apparent suicide attempts on Manus Island, as detainees continue to protest against poor conditions at the offshore detention centre and the lack of progress in processing their asylum claims.
Labor to pay back election donation
10:41am The Labor Party will refund an alledgedly illegal $200,000 donation that was used to fund polling in former prime minister Kevin Rudd's Queensland seat during last year's federal election, according to a report.
Jobs, programs go as ASIC looks to cut costs
NOEL TOWELL Corporate watchdog says cuts to its staff and programs are being forced by a government-imposed spending squeeze.
Primary school curriculum 'overcrowded'
MATTHEW KNOTT 9:58am The Catholic education sector has backed principals' concerns that the national curriculum for primary schools is overloaded with content and needs to be pared back.
Truss hints at second Sydney airport
JAMES MASSOLA Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss has given another signal a second airport will be built in Sydney's west at Badgerys Creek.
Bureaucrats knew of insulation dangers
Thomson's wife says he's 'sorry'
Ex-soldier killed in Syria a 'good sapper'
Adviser behind move to scrap charities group
Australia declares sanctions on key Russians
Poverty engulfing many Australians
Changes would allow Morrison to 'play God'
Plan to wind back gender laws put on ice
Booklet claims dent deregulation boast
Qantas head cops a grilling from senators
Palmer speaks out for renewable energy
Live exports report examines trade in Egypt
Asylum children ordered out of school
Loan for wave energy company
Millions face exodus from climate change
Thomson in bid to stay out of jail
Liberal MP warns on race hate laws
Search for MH370 begins south-west of Perth
Report vindicates boat policy: Morrison
Thomson's conduct 'arrogant in the extreme'
Rush for CSG a major risk: Windsor
Greens push for Senate inquiry into Reef
Jobs, not debt, must be top priority, voters
Tasmania premier-elect warns green groups
Miners loaned taxpayers' money
Push to keep gender reporting rules
Financial advice changes bypass Parliament
Impact of Chinese house buyers 'overblown'
Scott defends Australia Network
ABC apologises to Bolt
Australia rarely uses Interpol database
Comment & Analysis
Taking an axe to acts will change little
PETER MARTIN Opinion It's easy to slash red tape when it changes nothing. Tony Abbott says by axing 10,000 acts and regulations he will help ''the local newsagent, dry cleaner, baker and butcher''.
Red tape cuts will help not-for-profits
Helen Rittelmeyer Since the days of Governor Macquarie, Australian governments have shown their respect for the charitable sector by giving financial support to not-for-profit organisations engaged in good works.
Cut the red tape and let's get moving
MALCOLM MAIDEN The corporate world is united in declaring that Tony Abbott's Red Tape Repeal Day is a good thing.
Centrist Liberals need stronger voice
John Warhurst Opinion Liberal blue is the colour of Australian politics at the moment, just what these Liberals stand for should not be overlooked.
Abortion: this battle is not over yet, Premier
JOSH GORDON Shrill political forces are agitating for an abortion debate, raising worrying parallels with American Tea Party politics.
Positives in foreign investment in housing
PAUL SHEEHAN Soon after 3pm on weekday afternoons, the bright kids who attend the state's most venerable selective high schools, Sydney Boys High and Sydney Girls High, pour out of the gates. One can only be struck by their homogeneity.
Hypocrisy adds insult to injuries
Richard Ackland If he can't stand the heat, Andrew Bolt shouldn't fan the flames of public opinion
Was Sinodinos saved by his minders?
JACK WATERFORD Opinion For the first time in a NSW corruption case, cheats did not prosper even in the short term. Is it a turning point?
Answer the question please, Mr Hockey
MICHAEL PASCOE It seems that if there's one thing Joe Hockey doesn't want to talk about any more, it's the rubbery MYEFO figures he trotted out in full Doomsday mode in December.
Parental leave scheme overlooks the fathers
Ben Moxham Giving incentives to new dads so they can take time off work could help to close the gender pay gap.
Think smart on infrastructure
ROSS GITTINS We get bombarded with economic and political news. Some of it is worth knowing, some isn't. Some gets much attention, some gets little.
Rolling out a new NBN strategy
MALCOLM MAIDEN Bill Morrow attended an NBN Co strategy meeting with key suppliers including Alcatel-Lucent on Monday, and sat in on an NBN board meeting on Tuesday.
Are we looking less like Americans?
PETER HARTCHER The US media have noticed a new trend in advertising of major brands in America - the mainstream taboo on using mixed-race families has been broken.
Rush to cut red tape threat to clients
ADELE FERGUSON Legislation designed to weaken financial services reforms will be snuck through Parliament on Wednesday before the launch of the Abbott government's twice-yearly ''Red Tape Day'', or Repeal Day, which is designed to cut $1 billion in red tape annually.
Road funding probes going nowhere
PETER MARTIN The latest report on roads is a breath of fresh air - with a touch of science fiction.
Special features
So many questions, so few answers
Labor is frustrated as it pursues Tony Abbott over the Arthur Sinodinos affair in Thursday's question time.
Regulation needed on TV remote
Jacqueline Maley Let the carillon peal and the streamers stream - as long as they are not red.
How the Tassie Liberals defeated Palmer
Andrew Darby The Tasmanian Liberal Party in Tasmania considered the Palmer United Party such a serious threat to its majority government ambitions in the state election that it hired a corporate spin doctor to run a campaign against it.
Paid parental leave: the Swedish model
In Sweden, it's not unusual for a man to take six months off to mind his baby - then return to work four days a week. As debate rages here over Tony Abbott's parental leave scheme, Richard Orange looks at the Swedish approach.
Sneers hamper race discrimination debate
Bruce Grant Rolling back discrimination protections is against the national interest.
Question time Wednesday
Labor pursues Prime Minister Tony Abbott over the decision by Senator Arthur Sinodinos to stand aside as Assistant Treasurer.
Arthur Sinodinos falls on sword
Arthur Sinodinos tells the Senate he will stand aside from being Assistant Treasurer until ICAC completes its investigations. Tony Abbott informs the House of Representatives.
Answers required from this charming man
Norman Abjorensen Arthur Sinodinos is a rarity among politicians: he has very few, if any, enemies.
The new unionist: no hard hat here
Anna Patty Female workers are more unionised than male workers in Australia, after a decades-long trend that has dramatically changed the union agenda.
'Twiggy' Forrest fights to end global slavery
Nick Miller 'When I walked through the little columns of beds to this kid, she was wailing at the back and just rocking from side to side.'
Q&A: home insulation inquiry
Jonathan Swan The origins of a royal commission in Brisbane can be found with a Labor stimulus package.
Abbott's men (and one woman)
Rocco Fazzari We are about six months into the Abbott government and among the few things we can glean so far is that his main men are Hockey, Morrison and Turnbull.
Investigating MPs' expenses
Fairfax Media has conducted an extensive investigation on MPs claiming expense entitlements. Read our coverage here.
Political pics of the year
Three Prime Minister, two leadership ballots and an election campaign for 2013. The best photos from a tumultuous year.
Cartoon Gallery
Home of the best cartoons by our resident artists from The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times.
