The Morning Edition

It will go down as one of the most resounding victories in Australian political history. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese out-performed the expectations of just about everyone last weekend, decimating the Liberal party to the extent where even its leader lost his own seat. So, what next for Labor? As the caucus gathers in Canberra on Friday, we look at the new faces in the team and discuss which are the ones to watch. Also, we try t...

Since the Liberal Party’s election wipeout, Liberals, and their media allies, have turned to sources of conservative wisdom, including Margaret Thatcher, in search of guidance. 

But, as our political and international editor, Peter Hartcher, writes: “I haven’t seen any of them citing Thatcher’s 1975 observation: ‘In politics if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a wo...

This election was always going to be the test for the Greens. 

For the first time, there were more young people voting than baby boomers, and the previous election had shown there was strong support for the party from younger voters.

And, the thinking had for so long been that any election after a Labor government’s first time, would be the party’s moment.

So what happened...

Peter Dutton was full of bravado at the final question time before the election, but hiding in plain sight was a campaign about to go off the rails.

Today, political reporters Matthew Knott and Natassia Chrysanthos give the inside story on the demise of the Dutton campaign, and the recriminations that now follow. 

Read their full story here. 

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Anthony Albanese has defied the so-called “Incumbency curse” and made history with his astonishing landslide over the weekend. But, as they say in politics: That’s nice. What’s next? 

Might he finally tackle big reform? Perhaps try and solve our housing crisis, which has been generations in the making? And what else might he have in his sights?

Today, chief political correspondent David Crowe, and senio...

Well, that was quick, about two and a half hours after the polls had closed, the election had already been called for the incumbent Labor government. But as the night went on, Anthony Albanese’s win was looking like a landslide, and Labor increased its majority in parliament. For the opposition, it was disastrous, its leader Peter Dutton has lost his seat in parliament and recriminations will surely be savage.

To talk us thro...

Today we bring you a special episode recorded in the south-west Victorian electorate of Wannon. The seat encompasses tourist towns from Lorne along the Great Ocean Road, to Warrnambool. 

And who better to tell the evolving story of Wannon than our associate editor and special writer Tony Wright. He was born in Heywood, grew up on sheep and cattle properties in the Western District, went to school in Hamilton, started his caree...

Well, it’s finally here. Saturday is election day, and by Saturday night we will have some idea of who is going to govern Australia for the next three years, during this volatile and pivotal moment in global history. 

Today, we talk about the seats to watch on election night, the ones that will determine the outcome of the poll. 

And we will also zoom out to the bigger picture. 

Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutto...

Have your kids met Dot yet?

You might not think so; Dot is an AI companion. But these companions are becoming ubiquitous - sought after to provide everything from solace to friendship. And even love.

“The vibe”, said Dot’s creator Jason Yuan, “is, you turn to Dot when you don’t know where to go, or what to do or say.”

But reports are surfacing of disastrous consequences from relationships that pe...

We bring you this bonus episode today, on Wednesday April 30th, after the first day of what’s become known as the mushroom trial.

This is the case that centres around a quiet country lunch that resulted in three people dead, and another fighting for life, after the food they ate contained - as a jury was told - death cap mushrooms.

To tell us what unfolded in court today, we’re joined by The Age’s court reporter E...

It’s never happened in Australia. But should we have a federal Minister for Men? Dan Repacholi, a Federal Labor MP, who is currently campaigning for re-relection, says it’s a “no-brainer”. He knows how taboo it is. That to promote the idea risks him being labeled anti-woman. But tragedies and struggles in Repacholi’s electorate - and his own experience - have convinced him of the need to speak out.Toda...

Salmon farming is not something most voters consider when they go to the polls on election day. But for Tasmanian voters, it is a huge and often divisive issue. This debate about the environmental effects of salmon farming is playing out in an election where any other discussion of the environment is pretty much non-existent.

Which is curious because energy policy goes hand-in-hand with the environment and that is a decisive topic ...

For decades, modern-day Welcome to Country ceremonies have been an established ritual in Australia, performed by Indigenous elders, far and wide.

But on Anzac Day last Friday, during the hush of the dawn service remembering war veterans, Bunurong and Gunditjmara elder Mark Brown was booed, and jeered at, while performing the ceremony in Melbourne. 

And then that night, a planned Welcome to Country ceremony was ditched at ...

K’gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, is one of Australia’s natural wonders and every year, almost half a million people enjoy its wild and sprawling environment.

But as visitor numbers swell, the question of how tourists coexist with some of the island’s oldest residents, the dingo, becomes more important.

Twenty four years after a nine-year-old boy was fatally mauled by two dingoes on K’gari, strategies...

This week we are doing a special podcast about our complicated relationship with political polls. As journalists, we like them because, maybe, they can tell us something about what voters are really thinking. But we are a bit wary of them too. Especially after the federal election in 2019, where the polls were wrong. That caused a massive rethink in how polling is done, and how we in the media rely on it. Jacqueline Maley is joined...

Six days ago, American president Donald Trump signalled, with frustration, that he was prepared to walk away from trying to broker a peace deal with Russia over Ukraine, and leave the country to its fate.

And then, yesterday, we got the news. Russian president Vladimir Putin had a new offer.

Today, international and political editor Peter Hartcher, on where this leaves Ukraine. And what the latest negotiations mean for the rest of ...

It wasn’t uncommon, in the 19th century, for women to be given the diagnosis of ‘hysteria’ and admitted to mental health asylums if they didn’t do what their husband said, or, if they swore, or had sex outside of marriage. But did you know that women are still being involuntarily sectioned in Australia? Today, investigative reporter Aisha Dow on what has led many women to end up in this terrifying situation,...

The threat teal independents pose in this election - to the dominance of the two-party system, to the stability of our parliament and to the Liberal Party’s base - is very real. Today, we focus on two of these seats: Bradfield in Sydney and Kooyong in Melbourne where the teals and the Libs are neck and neck. City reporter for The Age Rachael Dexter and NSW political editor Alexandra Smith join Jacqueline Maley to discuss.

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Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, has died at the age 88. Francis, who had led the world’s 1.3 billion Roman Catholics since 2013, had been in increasingly poor health and pain.

We are re-publishing this episode, recorded in February, with former religion editor at The Age, Barney Zwartz, on Pope Francis' mixed legacy and the impact he has had on lives, whether Catholic, or not.

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