The big moments in Federal Politics in 2024: From tragedy to tomfoolery to political stunts and adversity

If a week is a long time in politics, then 2024 was an eon.

From policy backflips to major announcements, political stunts to leading tributes, there was hardly a quiet day for the Federal politicians.

Here’s a look back at some of the most defining moments of the year — captured in photos.

JANUARY

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ended days of speculation and confirmed he was scrapping the former Coalition government’s stage 3 tax cuts, rewriting it to give every taxpayer relief.

FEBRUARY

Barnaby Joyce took time away from Parliament after he was filmed lying on a Canberra footpath with his feet on a planter box, uttering profanities on the phone. Later explaining it as a “big mistake” to mix alcohol and prescription drugs during a Parliament House event. Mr Joyce went on to give up booze for Lent.

Anthony Albanese became the first prime minister to get engaged in office after he proposed to Jodie Haydon on Valentines Day. The pair have yet to set a wedding date.

Former PM Scott Morrison formally farewelled parliament when he gave his valedictory speech. He stood by his Government’s legacy on the Covid-19 response, the AUKUS pact and his stance on China, Russia and Iran in his final parliamentary address as he donned a Taylor Swift-inspired friendship bracelet reading “ScoMo” and attempted to get every one of Swift’s album titles in his speech.

Crossbenchers Bob Katter and Andrew Wilkie took on the supermarket giants in an unconventional, but eye-catching way, dressing up as pigs to draw attention to Coles and Woolworths’ excessive profits.

APRIL

Mr Albanese and Wentworth MP Allegra Spender joined NSW Premier Chris Minns to lay flowers after six people were killed and a further 10 were injured by Joel Cauchi at Westfield Bondi Junction.

Cauchi, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, went on a violent rampage during the Saturday-afternoon rush on April 13. He was shot dead.

Anthony Albanese became the headline after an awkward and tense exchange with a domestic and family violence protest organiser outside Parliament House.

MAY

Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down Labor’s second consecutive budget surplus, offering power bill relief and boosting rent assistance.

JUNE

Peter Dutton unveiled the first tranche of his plan to take Australia nuclear, revealing the seven ageing coal-fired power stations across the country that would become nuclear power plants by 2050.

WA Labor senator Fatima Payman broke ranks with her party and crossed the floor to support a Greens motion on recognising Palestinian statehood. She was suspended, and days later told ABC Insiders she’d do it again. She went on to quit the party to sit as a crossbencher where she will serve out the remainder of her term until 2028.

Julian Assange returns to Australia after pleading guilty to US espionage charges in the Northern Mariana Islands. After a hearing and sentencing in Saipan, he touched down in Canberra accompanied by US ambassador Kevin Rudd and UK ambassador Stephen Smith.

AUGUST

Anthony Albanese returned to Garma, the first festival since the Voice to Parliament referendum failed. He told the event in north-east Arnhem Land he remained “committed to Makarrata”.

OCTOBER

King Charles and Queen Camilla visit Australia, the first British monarchs to do so in 13 years, but independent senator Lidia Thorpe becomes the centre of a worldwide media storm after she disrupted a Parliament House event.

She launched an expletive-laden rant at Charles, telling him “you are not our king. You are not our sovereign. You committed genocide against our people, give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us”.

She was later censured by the Senate.

DECEMBER

Anthony Albanese visited the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne four days after it was firebombed in an early-morning terrorism incident. His Government was lashed for not taking rising anti-Semitism seriously, and attracted the ire of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu who said Labor’s ‘anti-Israel’ sentiment had allowed anti-Semitism to fester.