National Library of Australia “Fair go” is an expression we hear a lot in Australia. Activists use it to demand social justice, companies use it to promise customers a good deal, and politicians invoke it to persuade us that they understand the plight of ordinary people. Most political commentators and academics who write about the fair go associate the phrase with Australia’s famed egalitarian traditions, including equality of economic opportunity, universal political rights and the provision of a safety net via minimum wages and welfare programs. Yet the fair go expression is sometimes used ..read more

Wes Cockx & Google DeepMind, CC BY Today, the federal Minister for Industry and Science Ed Husic revealed an interim response from the Australian government on the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI). The public, especially the Australian public, have real concerns about AI. And it’s appropriate that they should. AI is a powerful technology entering our lives quickly. By 2030, it may increase the Australian economy by 40%, adding A$600 billion to our annual gross domestic product. A recent International Monetary Fund report estimates AI might also impact 40% of jobs wo ..read more

A national Freshwater poll for The Sunday Telegraph had a 50–50 tie between Labor and the Coalition, unchanged from a Freshwater poll for The Financial Review in mid-December. The Poll Bludger reported that primary votes were 39% Coalition (steady since December), 31% Labor (steady), 14% Greens (up one) and 15% for all Others (down one). This poll was conducted January 10–11 from a sample of 1,007. Freshwater has had better results for the Coalition than other polls, so Labor would probably have led if there was a Newspoll. Anthony Albanese led Peter Dutton by 47–38 as preferred PM (43–39 in D ..read more

When it was announced this afternoon that the Northern Territory’s Chief Minister Natasha Fyles had resigned, few could say it was unexpected. She has been under increasing pressure on several fronts, chief among them the failure to disclose shares she held, prompting accusations of having a conflict of interest. In the role for around 18 months, Fyles’ Labor government has been in the spotlight for everything from increased crime rates in Alice Springs to the controversial decision to approve fracking in the Beetaloo Basin. So what’s behind Fyles quitting the territory’s top job, and what’s n ..read more

Peter Dutton has his tail up, but he’s being careful to manage expectations. As the opposition celebrates its suddenly improved fortunes, Dutton told the party room this week that inevitably the government would recalibrate over the summer break. He also said that from the start, the opposition had been determined to chart a course to return to power after a single term. Even with Labor’s poll slide among its multiple problems, a Dutton government in 2025 looks, as things stand, unlikely – although Labor in minority is being widely canvassed. Nevertheless, while a few months ago Dutton was con ..read more

The recent open letter to the prime minister and parliamentarians broke the week-long silence from Indigenous leaders after the country rejected the proposed First Nations Voice to Parliament. The letter emphasised the damage caused by the “lies in political advertising and communication” prevalent in the recent campaign. Many outlets have documented these lies, including RMIT CrossCheck. The immediate consequences of these campaign messages have been profoundly damaging. There have been reports of rising racism, with Indigenous-led mental health helpline 13 YARN receiving an 108% increase of ..read more

It has been billed as Australia’s Brexit – a vote that pitted the so-called elites against the masses. The issue in question was the “voice to parliament”, a consultative body that would have given the roughly 3% of the Australian population that is Indigenous a constitutional right to be consulted before legislation pertaining to them was passed in parliament. On October 13, the proposition was only backed by 39% of voters. It was a snub to Labor prime minister Anthony Albanese, who was elected last year on a promise to put the issue to a vote. A bit of background is helpful to understanding ..read more

Who have been Australia’s most accomplished federal opposition leaders? The conventional answer to this question is Robert Menzies and Gough Whitlam, both renowned for rejuvenating their respective sides of politics and galvanising new constituencies of support. But what of the opposition leaders who never made it to prime minister: which among them boasts the most outstanding record? In modern times, Bill Hayden, who died this week aged 90, has powerful claim to that title. Hayden’s public career began in December 1961, with his election to the House of Representatives as the Labor member for ..read more

A majority of Australian voters have rejected the proposal to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament, with the final results likely to be about 40% voting “yes” and 60% voting “no”. What was the referendum about? In this referendum, Australians were asked to vote on whether to establish an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament. The Voice was proposed as a means of recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia in the Constitution. The Voice proposal was a modest one. It was to be an advisory body f ..read more

Shutterstock We have a problem with the state of politics and public discourse in Australia. The appalling neo-Nazi video threat made against Senator Lidia Thorpe is a disturbing reminder of the dark undercurrents that are swirling through political discourse in Australia. As the murder of British MP Jo Cox reminds us, threats against politicians and other public figures must not be dismissed lightly. And the threat comes not just from neo-Nazis, although the Christchurch massacre of 51 people by an Australian far-right terrorist means we can never again dismiss the threat posed by this kind ..read more