Paul J. Berating

Today's Top Stories

⚡ Top Story

SMH · Nick Newling

Farrer byelection: One Nation circles Ley's old seat as 12 candidates compete

The 48th parliament's first byelection sees 12 candidates contest the NSW Riverina seat vacated by Sussan Ley, with One Nation positioning to break Liberal dominance.

Twelve candidates fighting over Sussan Ley's leftover crockery, and One Nation reckons they're the dinner party. Farrer's been Liberal since the Menzies era — if Hanson takes it, the Coalition won't be able to raffle a chook in their own heartland. The bush isn't drifting right; it's drifting away.

Guardian Australia · Lisa Cox Environment and climate correspondent

CSIRO gets $387m after a petition does the work the budget should have

Albanese government tops up CSIRO by $387.4m after sustained advocacy and a petition exposed funding at its lowest level since 1978.

Lowest CSIRO funding since 1978 and it took a petition with tens of thousands of signatures to get the cheque book out. The science agency that gave us wifi was being run like a suburban op shop while the Treasury talked up the innovation economy. Pocock claps and the government takes the bow — handy work if you can starve the patient first and then bill yourself for the ambulance.

The Conversation · Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

Hanson eyes the lower house — the Senate carpet's worn through

Pauline Hanson floats quitting the Senate to run for the House of Representatives, with One Nation talking up its chances in the seat of Farrer.

Hanson's been in the Senate so long the carpet's worn a Pauline-shaped patch. Now she's eyeing Farrer like a prospector who's heard there's gold in the next paddock. The Senate gave her a seat for life and a megaphone. The lower house gives you a marginal and a three-year contract. She'll think about it until someone reminds her what work is.

SBS News

First week of antisemitism royal commission: hearings begin, country waits

The antisemitism royal commission has wrapped its opening week of hearings, with horrors aired and recommendations still to come.

Royal commissions in this country are what we reach for when the parliament's gone troppo and the press has moved on. A week of horrors aired, recommendations to follow, and the Bondi attack still sits in the same political ecosystem that produced it. Hearing it doesn't fix it. Writing the report doesn't either.

SMH · Nick Newling, James Massola

Wells repays $10,000 after husband's Grand Final tag-along

Minister Anika Wells refunds travel expenses tied to her husband's AFL Grand Final trip, months after the $190,000 New York jaunt.

Ten grand back for the husband's footy junket, but the $190,000 New York trip's apparently fine because that one had a lanyard. The rules in Canberra aren't broken — they're just calibrated so the embarrassing bills get refunded and the eye-watering ones get filed under 'official business'.

Michael West Media · AAP

WA banks its eighth surplus and shovels a billion back at the bowser

Western Australia delivers another iron-ore-fuelled surplus and parcels out more than $1 billion in cost-of-living relief, while the GST carve-up quietly does the work the Treasurer takes credit for.

Eighth surplus on the trot and WA's solution is to hand a billion back at the bowser. The iron ore price does the heavy lifting, the Treasurer takes the bow, and the rest of the federation watches its GST disappear west like a tide that forgot to come back. Cook's running a sovereign wealth fund and calling it a budget.