Inside the raucous AUKUS caucus

Saturday Apr 1

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Australia's $368 billion AUKUS submarine deal raises more questions than it answers, David Hardaker wrote this week. Delve into the business dealings of Joe Hockey and Christopher Pyne in a four-part series on what Hardaker calls one of the most egregious expenditures in the nation's history.

In media matters, John Buckley got his hands on a fiery letter sent by Q+A host Stan Grant to ABC management, broke a story about the new business publication launched by former Nine execs, and reported on the new push for Labor to be more transparent and fix Australia's broken freedom of information system.

Elsewhere, Anton Nilsson wrote on Donald Trump’s historic indictment, Maeve McGregor wrote on the state of the Labor Party, Kristine Ziwica celebrated gender pay gap transparency finally reaching Australian shores, and Paris-based Megan Clement updated us on the furious protesters fighting against the Macron government’s retirement age legislation.

We hope you're having a wonderful weekend,

Gina Rushton,
News editor

‘Psychopaths running big polluters’: fossil fuel shares dip amid hard cap

EMMA ELSWORTHY

The hard cap could slash the number of fossil fuel projects in Australia, but the Greens warn the climate wars have barely begun.

Greens Senator Nick McKim (Image: AAP)

Finally, gender pay gap transparency reaches Australia’s shores

KRISTINE ZIWICA

A new bill will make it mandatory for employers to publish the size of the gender pay gap at their organisation.

(Image: Adobe)

The rise of New Labor and the politics of contempt

MAEVE MCGREGOR

It's possible that what is commonly regarded as timidity on the part of Albanese's Labor is in fact naked political design.

(Image: Gorkie/Private Media)

How the historic charges against Trump could affect the 2024 campaign

ANTON NILSSON

The former US president has been charged over alleged hush-money payments made to a porn actress.

Former US president Donald Trump (Image: AAP/AP/Evan Vucci)

DISSECTING DEFENCE

Why the Defence Department has to change — and why the public is right to be sceptical on AUKUS

DAVID HARDAKER

Defence should not be immune to accountability, and should ensure greater transparency about hiring processes and salaries.

(Image: Zennie/Private Media)

Joe Hockey has no right to call himself an ambassador

DAVID HARDAKER

Australia's former US ambassador still prefers to use the title, particularly at his advisory firm Bondi Partners — which is well set up to take advantage of the AUKUS deal.

Inside the AUKUS machine: scrutinising the political links to defence contracts

DAVID HARDAKER

Led by a prime minister with a penchant for fudging reality, the $368 billion AUKUS submarine deal leaves much unexamined.

How Christopher Pyne’s ‘business council’ became a de facto government trade agency with the UAE

DAVID HARDAKER

The former defence minister is using ADF officers to prop up his privately owned venture in the growing defence industry.

Young buyers beware! The housing market could turn — or go sideways

JASON MURPHY

It's tempting to believe the end of a fall means the start of a rise. But housing markets can chop sideways for a long time.

(Image: Zennie/Private Media)

Saul Griffith’s electrifying rallying call looks beyond Labor’s loophole-ridden emissions policy

KETAN JOSHI

Inventor, engineer and visionary Saul Griffith reveals the world that awaits if Australia capitalises on its electric energy future.

(Image: Private Media)

Stan Grant slams ABC management for ‘insulting’, ‘entire white’ NSW election coverage

JOHN BUCKLEY

In a letter to management, Grant said he was 'fed up' with being reassured that the ABC was on a 'journey' toward equity when 'the dial has barely moved' in 40 years.

Q+A host Stan Grant (Image: Q+A/ABC)

News start-up Scire plots raid of Nine newspaper talent

JOHN BUCKLEY

The fledgling news start-up has secured $5 million in funding, with more on the way. Now it's hunting for talent.

(Image: Private Media/Zennie )

Neo-Nazis, freedom movement rally behind Moira Deeming

CAM WILSON

Far right and conspiracy figures have criticised the Victorian Liberal Party for considering expelling the controversial MP.

A graphic created by a far-right group in support of Moira Deeming (Image: Supplied)

World affairs

Coverage of the Nashville mass shooting is the kind that leads to more mass shootings

CHARLIE LEWIS

There is vast evidence that the way we traditionally cover mass shootings has a 'social contagion' effect.

A composition featuring an article in The Sydney Morning Herald on the mass shooting in Nashville (Image: Private Media/SMH)

France’s fiery fury at pension reform a sign of country’s ‘democratic deficit’

MEGAN CLEMENT

Furious protesters keep up their tooth-and-nail fight against the Macron government's retirement age legislation.

Netanyahu’s plans are a direct and unsubtle assault on democracy

MICHAEL BRADLEY

The Israeli prime minister's goal to reform the country's court system is being hammered by furious citizens and senior figures.

The Coalition crumbled in NSW, just as pollsters predicted

WILLIAM BOWE

The weekend's results in NSW have left the Coalition without a foothold on the mainland. Meanwhile it looks like pollsters were the biggest winners on the night.

Incoming NSW Premier Chris Minns and former premier Dominic Perrottet (Images: AAP)

Fringe and extreme candidates flop at the NSW election, again

CAM WILSON

Mark Latham's One Nation picked up just one single seat, and other extreme candidates also failed to make an impact.

Mark Latham (Image: AAP/Joel Carrett)

‘Take a good hard look at its own record’: probe into Labor’s ‘broken’ FOI system welcomed

JOHN BUCKLEY

The Senate voted on Tuesday to establish an inquiry into Australia's decaying FOI system, despite opposition from Labor.

Independent MP Zoe Daniel (Image: AAP/Mick Tsikas)

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