Politics
Federal
More fuel price cuts by Anzac Day if Iran keeps shipping pledge
Australia will consider contributing military assets to an international mission to keep shipping free of charge via the Strait of Hormuz.
- by Mike Foley
Latest
Opinion
Political leadership
At this moment, grubby populism won’t help Australia. So why fuel it?
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is working hard to subdue Australia’s populist outbreak. Liberal leader Angus Taylor is doing little to contain it.
- by Peter Hartcher
Australia’s debt hits $1 trillion this year - what did we spend it on?
Jim Chalmers’ fifth budget will confirm that Australia owes the world $1 trillion. Within two years, we will be spending more on interest than on the nation’s hospitals.
- by Shane Wright
Opinion
Racism
When a politician talks about ‘Australian values’, my brown skin crawls
Am I being invited to belong, or being told to become more like whoever is doing the measuring?
- by Denise Sivasubramaniam
Major chains under pressure as independent servos slash fuel prices
Major fuel retail chains face pressure to match price cuts and pass on savings to motorists.
- by Mike Foley and Nick Toscano
The latest illustrations from artist Simon Letch
Gallery of illustrations by the Sydney Morning Herald artist.
Marles hits out at ‘washed-up bureaucrats’ amid accusations of accounting tricks
Richard Marles warned Australia stands “at the foothills of a new nuclear arms race” in the Indo-Pacific and needed to spend more to defend itself.
- by Matthew Knott
Analysis
Defence
Trump has changed Australia’s defence spending. Just not in the way he thinks
The US president and his administration cannot claim credit for pressuring Australia to inject $53 billion more into defence over the next decade. The changing world has.
- by Matthew Knott
Opinion
Immigration
Taylor’s immigration policy points to a ban on one kind of migrant
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor’s comments and policy plans on immigration are reminiscent of Nigel Farage, Donald Trump and Pauline Hanson. The clear inference is that the migrants he describes as of “subversive intent” are Muslim.
- by Waleed Aly
Opinion
Liberal Party
Why Liberal heavyweights are gearing up for new stand-off over tax
Angus Taylor found rare consensus within the Liberal Party this week over immigration policy. But the budget may reveal new fault lines with his likely successor.
- by James Massola
Best of cartoons, April 17, 2026
The news of the day as interpreted by our talented artists, illustrators and cartoonists.