With an election on the horizon, the government’s budget is heavy with stimulus-focused spending that it’ll be hoping appeases voters. But will it worsen inflation?
Labor’s budget shows its manufacturing vision is in bombs, not batteries
The government wants us to focus on its ‘Future Made in Australia’ project. But the spending allocated to this manufacturing vision pales before that invested in Defence.
Is this the closest we’ll get to a stereotypical Labor budget?
The federal budget is equal parts restraint and reform, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in his press conference this afternoon. In fact, it’s neither.
Budget tells of a struggling economy in which employment is defying gravity
For its utopian visions of the rebirth of Australian manufacturing, Labor knows it needs workers. But where will they come from?
All the secret budget costs you’re not allowed to know about
It’s your tax money — just don’t ask where it’s going.
Another surplus? How big? Here’s the budget at a glance
There’s money for defence, tax cuts, housing, energy rebates, and much more. Here’s your quick guide to the budget.
Treasurer frolics under the budget tree, Crikey heads into lock-up, and Seven reprimands itself
This week’s tips and murmurs includes a dispatch from Parliament on budget day, and some fun times for Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
No Mercy: A review of Scott Morrison’s memoir
‘Repetition, cliché, malapropism, daft diction, plodding syntax, more cliché, and bucketloads of sentimentality? This book has got it all.’
Trump, ’68 and screaming into the darkness: The return of George Wallace
Is the 2024 presidential election shaping up like that of 1968? In key ways, no — but there are disturbing echoes.
Nine and Seven in a huge fight over a whopping 2,000 newspapers
Two of the biggest players in Australian media have got their gloves off, and it’s on for young and old! But who actually cares?
What is the future of great journalism? Awards give us some clues
Awards like the Pulitzers — and even our own Walkleys — showcase what each generation of journalists thinks of as the best of the craft.
What does Australia’s vote for Palestine in the UN actually mean?
The vote has caused strong reactions on both sides of the debate.
Australia green-lit PwC days before Senate report into tax leaks scandal dropped
The Australian government inexplicably rubber-stamped PwC just days before a cornerstone inquiry into the tax leaks scandal was to deliver its findings.
‘My disillusion with Labor is now complete’: Government’s gas plan a bunch of hot air
‘Labor will be punished at the election: no sensible person will listen to the lies and nonsense the party proclaims as good policy.’
Home Affairs is a disaster. It needs an urgent and radical overhaul
Home Affairs was so inept in its regulation of migration agents it simply allowed people it knew were accused of criminality to keep plying their trade.
The death of my Justice Party was hard to take. But running for Melbourne mayor was just too expensive
It’s not easy being an independent or running a small party in Canberra, writes former senator Derryn Hinch. For starters, there’s the cost.
Crunching the numbers on the environment since Labor took office
Australia needs to annually reduce emissions by 17 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent to meet its 2030 goal. In 2022-23, we increased emissions by 4 million tonnes.
Reverting last year’s bloated HECs indexation was a sensible change. But there’s plenty more to be done to assist students struggling with the cost of living.
Pilots at the airline tell Crikey that outsourcing, poor aircraft and route management, and prioritising profit over saving fuel have undone efforts to improve fuel efficiency.
ScoMo finally grilled, media power couple are expecting, and some curious flight logs
‘Why are they being aggressive-y?’ Scott Morrison faced some tough questions during his appearance on the Kyle and Jackie O show.
Waleed Aly fails to understand men’s violence against women and prevention
Waleed Aly is right to point to shame as an underlying cause. But his argument recycles strawman arguments and logical fallacies.
Has the budget got a Donald Trump contingency plan?
The international economy faces the threat of major trade war if Donald Trump is elected. And things aren’t much better under Joe Biden.
‘Exhausting nightmare’: No shortage of Qantas qualms for Crikey readers
‘Bonuses are usually paid to employees for their performance enhancing a company’s image, not for bringing their employer to the verge of destruction.’
Greens and Nats unlikely allies when it comes to cracking down on Coles and Woolies
The Nats have said they’re for divestiture powers, putting them at odds with their Coalition partner.
‘Man vs bear’ debate is emblematic of the paradoxical choices women face every day
One of the latest viral trends on male violence against women poses the question ‘would you rather be stuck in the woods alone with a man or a bear?’ Hannah Robertson isn’t surprised women are choosing the bear.
‘Pretending to care’: Walkley Awards face renewed boycott after doubling down on fossil fuel sponsors
The Walkley Foundation is forcing journalists to pick between industry recognition and self-respect.
Australia slumps in world press freedom rankings (again)
International perceptions of press freedom in Australia continue to be affected by ‘hyperconcentration’, our defamation laws and threats from government.
A dispatch from campus as protesters clash over Palestine
The Melbourne protest is part of a wave of actions at various campuses around the country and the world.
Peters’ ‘Chinese puppet’ dig at Bob Carr a bad look for Luxon’s fumbling government
Australia’s former foreign affairs minister Bob Carr joins a growing coterie of lawyered-up foreigners looking to sue New Zealand’s deputy prime minister.
What’s in the budget? Here’s what we know so far
Jim Chalmers hopes for a second surplus, but says there’s no need to fear ‘scorched earth austerity’.
Neoliberals want an austerity budget, but the economy doesn’t need savage cuts
There’s pressure on Labor to produce a contractionary budget next week. But the economy is already weak as rate rises inflict a huge toll.
Many suicides are related to gambling. How can we tackle this problem?
While gambling itself comes with a degree of risk, individual vulnerabilities can place certain people at even greater risk of harm.
Presenting schizophrenia as though it satisfies our questions is deeply stigmatising
Implying that the Bondi Junction attacker’s mental health diagnosis alone can explain why he decided to attack and murder multiple people is simplistic, offensive and damaging.
Indigenous peoples can’t be collateral damage in the push for a green future
‘The expectation is that Aboriginal people should merely be passive beneficiaries through the form of unfair, prohibitive and paternalistic mining royalty schemes.’
There is an alternative to neoliberalism, but Australia’s media class won’t tell you that
The climate emergency is forcing journalists and columnists into something more honest.
‘Paying to be exploited’: Labor has now fully succumbed to the fossil fuel industry
Bernard Keane
118
A Sydney council has banned books with same-sex parents from its libraries. But since when did councils ban books?
Sarah Mokrzycki
93
No Mercy: A review of Scott Morrison’s memoir
Catriona Menzies-Pike
88