Australian Politics

This week, the Albanese government passed major reforms to online gambling advertising and deep cuts to rein in NDIS spending – all with the Coalition’s support. David Pocock has long been a vocal critic of the government’s approach to both of these issues. He argues Labor and the opposition have failed to stand up to vested interests on gambling reforms. And while he agrees NDIS cuts are needed, he says major parties have ignored expert evidence on the value of community participation and are handing over important decisions to algorithms with little scrutiny. Political editor Tom McIlroy speaks to the independent senator about what he thinks this notable week of deal-making means for the nation’s political future – while both major parties continue to be spooked by One Nation’s rise

Federal parliament has returned from winter break with a frenetic start to the second half of the political year. There were days of commentary and squirming over ‘melon-gate’ and, with Labor planning to make a deal with the Coalition to pass gambling reforms, there are still doubts about the government’s ambition in its second term. Tom McIlroy, Krishani Dhanji, Josh Butler and Sarah Basford Canales, from Guardian Australia’s Canberra bureau, answer questions from listeners and readers

The criminal trial of veteran broadcaster Alan Jones has begun, almost two years after he was arrested over multiple counts of indecent assault and sexual touching — charges he strongly denies. What did week one reveal about the prosecution’s case, and the way Jones treated his alleged teenage victim? Nour Haydar speaks to Guardian Australia’s media correspondent Amanda Meade to unpack opening statements and key evidence from the trial’s first week

On Wednesday, the Labor government announced environmental and energy safeguards on new datacentres in Australia. Our political editor, Tom McIlroy, speaks to the assistant minister for science, technology and the digital economy, Dr Andrew Charlton, about the government’s push for national standards on datacentres. The former Rudd staffer and economist speaks about having his own book scraped by Anthropic, low public trust in AI, and how the government wants to use regulation to balance risk and opportunity

Two years into her role representing King Charles, Australia’s head of state, governor general Sam Mostyn says she has observed a ‘woeful lack of understanding’ among the adult population about the civic underpinnings of Australia’s democracy – beginning with the constitution. Mostyn speaks to political editor Tom McIlroy at Admiralty House in Sydney about her decision to focus on a wide-ranging civics education for modern Australia, to address the ‘growing catastrophe’ that undermines democratic participation