Australia

ANALYSIS: After a series of major missteps, the Labor Minister for Veterans’ affairs is discovering just how difficult his crucial but notoriously challenging portfolio is.

The update is set to deliver $4 billion in cost-of-living relief.

High excises are forcing drinkers and smokers onto the black market, but Australians are unlikely to see any immediate relief in the cost of alcohol and cigarettes.

Anthony Albanese has discussed joint anti-crime efforts with his Thai counterpart — just hours after fresh details emerged in the case of an Australian man accused of killing a teenager in Pattaya.

Australia’s banks have stepped up their campaign to access individual tax records after AUSTRAC uncovered widespread mortgage fraud where borrowers have lied about their income.

AFP officers downplayed the real threat to three undercover cops who had their covers blown while investigating organised crime in a bid to save compensation costs.

The government closes deal on long-awaited gambling reforms, with the changes now moving to the Senate after deal is hammered out with Opposition.

One Nation is demanding four teens who allegedly spat on and punched a staffer, leaving the woman with a broken rib, be tracked down and held to account.

Conservative politicians have joined with a Christian lobby group on the lawns of Parliament House to request healthcare for babies born alive via abortions.

Pauline Hanson says she still opposes Mardi Gras and has never attended, despite her own MP attesting to the event’s entertainment value.

Anthony Albanese could face a tough reception when he lands in Perth as he’s expected to host his Federal Cabinet next week after the Productivity Commission report which has angered many in the west.

The future under current settings looks a long way off intergenerational equity.

Martin Parkinson who worked as either an adviser or departmental boss to two Labor treasurers has delivered a scathing assessment about Jim Chalmers.

Some experts warn the scheme ‘should be approached with extreme caution’.

The legendary music personality who nurtured and protected a generation of new Australian talent, has died at 79.