Politics Now

Dire budget deficits for years to come and stalling productivity growth are painting a bleak economic picture. 
Against this backdrop, a new policy idea has emerged: if Australia can't rely on productivity growth and tax reform to fix the budget blackhole, what about means-testing wealth? 
Peter Harris is the former chair of the Productivity Commission and now board director at the Policy Institute Australia.
He told Jacob Greber, for this week's Insiders On Background, means testing wealth - including the family home - for paid parental leave, aged care, pensions and childcare could fix the budget blackhole.

It's been a big week on the international stage for Anthony Albanese, from a Pacific blitz to bilateral talks with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Melbourne.
While a Chinese missile test threatened to overshadow the diplomacy tour, was the destabilising move actually a "cherry-on-top" for Australia — pushing Pacific nations closer to us?
Back home, the fallout from the Telstra outage is continuing and so are the politics. So, did the Opposition "jump the shark?"
And of course there was THAT podcast appearance and subsequent "unequivocal apology" from the PM this week. So, what are the risks for politicians trying to engage in new media to reach voters?
Patricia Karvelas and Fran Kelly are joined by Stephen Dziedzic, ABC Foreign Affairs Asia Pacific Reporter on The Party Room.
Got a burning question?
Send a short voice recording to PK and Fran for Question Time at thepartyroom@abc.net.au

A nationwide Telstra outage has caused chaos for commuters and businesses and prompted Communications Minister Anika Wells to return early from leave.
And artificial intelligence is back in the spotlight, with Assistant Minister Andrew Charlton suggesting now is the time to embed safety into AI. It comes ahead of the Labor Conference where an internal debate over AI is set to get "messy".
Meanwhile, a stoush is brewing between drug-makers and the Federal Government.
Patricia Karvelas and Clare Armstrong break it all down on Politics Now.
Read Clare's piece here — Critical Drugs could be pulled from PBS amid pricing stoush
Got a burning question?
Send a short voice recording to PK and Fran for Question Time at thepartyroom@abc.net.au

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has condemned China's missile test in the Pacific as a "provocative act", suggesting it destablises the region.
It comes as the PM holds bilateral talks with his Solomon Islands counterpart and continues his regional diplomacy blitz.
And back home, as preparations get underway for the Federal Labor Conference, there are already some clear battlelines taking shape.
Melissa Clarke and Tom Crowley break it all down on Politics Now.
Got a burning question?
Got a burning political query? Send a short voice recording to PK and Fran for Question Time at thepartyroom@abc.net.au

Australia has a new military alliance, signing a mutual defence pact with Fiji.
Australia has long had a defence alliance with the US and New Zealand. Last year, an historic pact with Papua New Guinea forged a new direction for Australia and now a similar pledge has been made with Fiji.
The "Ocean of Peace" alliance leaves the door opened to a multilateral pact that could see Australia, PNG, Fiji, New Zealand and Tonga form a military alliance.
But while riding high on the success of Pacific diplomacy, the Prime Minister has been forced to apologise "unequivocally" for remarks he made on a podcast.
Melissa Clarke and Jacob Greber break it all down on Politics Now.
Got a burning question?
Send a short voice recording to PK and Fran for Question Time at thepartyroom@abc.net.au