The fight to frame the debate around SPC Ardmona continues apace, and it's central to a broader ideological battle. Joe Hockey and Tony Abbott have been building the case that they are ushering in a new era of economic responsibility, that companies …

Fearful of a regional backlash against the Coalition over its failure to support SPC Ardmona, Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce (Nationals) has promised to fight in cabinet for a $7 billion bailout of distressed farm loans. Joyce told farmers in Queensland …

"Premier Jay Weatherill has threatened to resign before the election if Labor "faceless man" Senator Don Farrell is parachuted into State Parliament. Labor sources say the showdown between the two threatens to turn into "World War …

"This is not a federal election year, yet it is a year of elections just the same. In February, there will be by-elections in Queensland at both the federal and state level; then in March, state elections in Tasmania and South Australia. There could …

"New details have emerged about a boat interception operation earlier this month, with one asylum seeker saying Navy personnel sprayed him in the eyes. A Somali asylum seeker has told the ABC that there were angry protests when people found out the …

Asked to contribute $25m towards a $161m plant upgrade, the federal government rejected SPC Ardmona on the basis that its profitable parent company Coca-Cola Amatil should foot the whole bill, and that its operations in Shepparton, Victoria, were …

''You would like the national broadcaster to have a rigorous commitment to truth and at least some basic affection for the home team,'' Tony Abbott told 2GB's Ray Hadley yesterday. Abbott cited the Snowden leaks about Australian spying …

Welfare cuts and new work-for-the-dole proposals, thinly veiled threats to unions and the ABC, climate change denialism, 'traditional values' curriculum overhauls, anti-tax rhetoric and warnings about wage explosions – there is no doubting …

Prominent unionist Paul Howes last year stated that unions were facing a crisis of legitimacy and that another major scandal could wipe Australia's union movement off the map. A joint investigation by ABC's 7.30 program and Fairfax …

"The Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF), the central pillar of Australia’s Direct Action climate policy, continues to attract a fair bit of derision with its credibility said to be “hanging by a thread”. Is it really that bad? Probably. …

"Abbott’s belief in constitutional recognition is admirable. Achieving it would stand – together with the 1967 referendum giving the federal government power to legislate for Aboriginal people in the states, and the 2008 Apology - as …

"In any normal environment, the allegations aired by the ABC would prompt an orderly process where the claims could be put and answered. But having thrown out this most basic of public interest transactions in the quest to keep everything deemed …

Prime Minister Tony Abbott delivered his keynote address to the leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos overnight. It would surprise few that he urged nations to abolish protectionism and said competitiveness, free trade and encouraging business …

There have been several allegations made against Australian naval personnel by asylum seekers in recent weeks, but today's are the most dramatic. According to the ABC's George Roberts, "Asylum seekers have accused the Australian Navy of …

The government's announcement that it will be reviewing all welfare spending must be an early contender for least surprising political news of 2014. Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews has hit the airwaves armed with a battery of statistics about …