Parliamentary privilege is a powerful tool. But it escapes the restrictions that all other Australians are subject to, like defamation, hate speech and contempt of court. Parliamentary privilege depends on politicians (and committee witnesses) using it in good faith. thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...

Someone in Tas Govt leaks email with personal health detail about Estimates A chair Ruth Forrest. Part of a worrying trend of govts using personal info to wage media battles? SA Govt leaked a dead man's email to discredit his widow, wasn't even the right man. live.thepoint.com.au/2026/05/the-...

Infuriating that already rich kids wanting to sell AI apps no-one asked for to Venture Capital are getting 30 articles a day about how the tax changes will make them slightly less rich, but the NDIS changes are being cheered on in the media.

Last change to apply for a 2027 Anne Kantor Fellowship at the Australia Institute. Along the lines of a grad program, this is a chance to work with some of Australia's leading thinkers, working to change minds. Applications close midnight, 1 June.

“You may not know who my natural enemies are.” Outgoing NACC Commissioner faces Senate Estimates for first and last time. On @thepointau.bsky.social live blog. live.thepoint.com.au/2026/05/the-...

Parties manage contradictions by committing to a shared platform, dangling promotion as reward for discipline, and keeping disputes private. Community independents represent new forms of organisation – with their own contradictions. On @thepointau.bsky.social thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...

Y'day, Regional Affairs Estimates had to be suspended after bad behaviour by its Labor chair. Chairs are given special powers and responsibilities (and higher pay) to keep *other* senators in order! More on @thepointau.bsky.social live.thepoint.com.au?post=cd1273a...

Attorney-General Department avoided difficult questions yesterday, with relevant officials "flying the coop" before a key FOI document was tabled. More on @thepointau.bsky.social live blog: live.thepoint.com.au/2026/05/the-...

IN Senate estimates this morning Greens senator @davidshoebridge.bsky.social is absolutely ripping into the Attorney General's Dept over delaying FOIs (which @browne90.bsky.social uncovered) @amyremeikis.bsky.social has it covered live.thepoint.com.au

Here's the English version: gnv.news/archives/987...

On FOI, the Tasmanian Government cannot control its own business enterprises/state-owned companies -- 9 of 15 don't even reply when Govt asks them nicely to publish logs of FOI documents. As Treasurer Abetz says: "It is potentially indicative of a culture that is unacceptable".

“I can assure the Prime Minister that The Australia Institute is fair dinkum in our calls for Australians to get a fair return for our gas,” said Dr Richard Denniss, co-CEO of The Australia Institute. Read the full media release ➡️ https://theaus.in/4dnAfFN

Damning report into the Albanese Govt from the Auditor-General. They already knew that: Govt denies access to some or all information sought in 4 out of 5 cases. And when the impartial umpire reviews, the dept *got it wrong* most of the time.

Six months out from an election, Victoria is left with no political donation laws after the High Court ruled them unconstitutional. @browne90.bsky.social & @ebonybennett.bsky.social discuss the donation law shambles & what the ruling could mean for the federal government. 🎧 theaus.in/3PRUGSj

Rather than core and non-core promises, there are sacred “promises to property investors” and then there are disposable “promises to Indigenous Australians” and “promises to future generations”. In The New Daily thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...

It's the 30th anniversary of John Howard's invention of "core" and non-core promises. The non-core promises were the ones he broke in his first Budget. The media response? “Print media has fallen into line, their editorials are mostly glowing.” live.thepoint.com.au/2026/05/the-...

Without freedom of information, government scandals would go unreported. Here's eight ways freedom of information law held governments to account in just the last two months: thepoint.com.au/explainers/2...

Government scandals slip through the fingers of under-resourced integrity agencies -- without new resources for Audit Office or FOI reviews in the Budget.

Govts employ hundreds of media advisers and spend $10s of millions, only to communicate with Australians when they’re most distracted. It's called "taking out the trash", and it's one way governments try to bury embarrassing and unwelcome info. live.thepoint.com.au/2026/05/the-...

Eight stories we only heard about thanks to freedom of information laws -- in just the last couple of months. How many more are we missing out on because of FOI delays, denial and costs? On @thepointau.bsky.social live blog: live.thepoint.com.au/2026/05/the-...

No one in govt is talking about before the budget, but just FYI, the level of Jobseeker is now 42% below the poverty line - worse than it was during the Howard years... live.thepoint.com.au

Don't rush Victoria's new donation and election laws, warn 37 integrity and Vic community groups in a new open letter in the paper today. The old laws were unfair, self-interested, unconstitutional -- to introduce new laws with the same old defects would repeat this error.

"There's no such thing as a safe seat" went from unthinkable to "old cliche" in just three elections. One Nation's by-election win in Farrer is the latest evidence that no seat can be taken for granted. On @thepointau.bsky.social live blog live.thepoint.com.au?post=a671d91...

"Rich Kid, Poor Kid reinforces the urgency and devastation of the school funding problem in Australia. @janecaro.bsky.social delivers the story in a way that should propel readers into action" says Elisa Di Gregorio in The Conversation theconversation.com/australias-f...

Freedom of information laws doing their job in South Australia -- revealling the Premier's Department "requested" that public comms stop calling it the Harmful Algal Bloom. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-05...

This gas industry ad is trying to convince you they pay their fair share of tax... Eeven though it says exactly what we've been saying: the government gets more from the beer excise than the PRRT! @richarddenniss.bsky.social #auspol

Albanese Government may have pulled their “friendless” crackdown on freedom of information (FOI) rights but change is needed to address the culture of secrecy and denial that successive governments have allowed to fester in the public service. thepoint.com.au/off-the-char...

The Albanese Government's 3 hours of free electricity is genius in its simplicity -- because it is simple enough to fit into people's complex lives. thepoint.com.au/opinions/260...

Victorian political finance laws have been struck out in their entirety. We need transparency around political donations, but do we need to cap them? I argue no on Ali Moore's "What If Wednesday". www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

Queensland protesters sing John Farnham's "Two strong hearts" to protest the state's crackdown on free speech. Separately 20 pro-Palestine protesters arrested for using the banned phrase "From the river to the sea". On @thepointau.bsky.social thepoint.com.au/news/260420-...

You mean the superannuation tax breaks? No? You mean the CGT discount? No? You mean the fossil fuel subsidies? No? You mean the free gas for multinationals? No? You mean the failure of the PRRT? No? You mean the tax dodging trusts? No? You mean the lack of a wealth tax? No? No you mean the NDIS FFS

Good week for freedom of speech in Australia, bad one for imperious governments and lazy legislators -- On Wed, High Court voided Victoria's unfair donation cap scheme because of major party loopholes. Yesterday, High Court knocked back the latest round of NSW's restrictions on protest rights.

The High Court has confirmed what Australia Institute research has shown for years: Victoria’s election spending and donation rules are undemocratic, and key provisions are unconstitutional. Question now is how Victorian Parliament responds.

Since Kevin Rudd flubbed "great moral challenge" of climate change, major parties have lost 18% of the vote -- costing them far more in per-vote public funding than they receive from fossil fuel political donations. Lack of political will, not political donations, explains lack of progress.

Huge -- the High Court has struck down a big loophole for the major parties in Victoria's donation laws. The "nominated entities" loophole let the major parties receive uncapped donations from their fundraising vehicles, while everyone else was strictly limited.

Anthropic head Dario Amodei says a tax on Artificial Intelligence will be "inevitable" after years are spent working out details. He ignores the role of power in policy-making and politics. The graveyard of policy is littered with great ideas that people worked on for years.

Thanks for a stimulating piece Bill. I think a lot about inclusive patriotism in relation to education. If loving our country means anything, it has to mean lifting our gaze beyond just helping our own kids get ahead & committing to giving every Australian child the chance to flourish in life.

Australian politicians and thinkers aren't ceding "patriotism" to the far-right. In recent months Anthony Albanese, indie Allegra Spender and Senator Jacqui Lambie have considered what an Australian or inclusive patriotism might look like.

The Australian Ad Observatory report into last year's federal election finds that online political messaging in Australia “remains murky territory, lacking in transparency and accountability.” Top recommendation: truth in political advertising laws.

"the number of voters per federal seat – almost 121,000 – has become absurdly large, making a mockery of the idea that MPs share a deep connection with constituents." Clear arguments for an expanded parliament from Adam Creighton in The Australian.

Donald Trump is the "kiss of death" for far-right European political parties, writes Andrew Tillett in the Fin after Hungary election loss: "the third in which the White House has tried to influence the democratic processes and outcomes – only for the voters’ verdict to swing the other way."

Beautiful understatement from the ABC as yet another "cost cutting" uni finds money for management consultants: "By 2025 UTS had paid [leadership coach] Beyond Excellence $1,487,461. "The same year a motion of no confidence in the vice-chancellor's leadership passed with support from 95 per cent "

What we know -- thanks to FOI -- about Mike Pezzullo misconduct at Home Affairs, from @mrrexpatrick.bsky.social Contempt for democracy: "Parliamentary route is now contaminated with few exceptions. We need to build a meritocracy by stealth and run government from the bureaucracy."

"It was sectoral bargaining (a collective, solidaristic right) and not copyright (an individual, commercial right) that saw off AI in the Hollywood writers' strike." Cory Doctorow on artificial intelligence pluralistic.net/2026/04/02/l...

scarred me for life this movie. I will be much more circumspect about Claude now

#NoPunchesPulled #Exclusive. Coming to Michael West Media - the explosive report into Home Affairs Secretary Mike Pezzullo’s serious breaches of the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct that led to his sacking and subsequent stripping of his Order of Australia. #FOI #auspol

Australia is a Westminster democracy, but our parliaments don't need (and haven't always had) a "two-party system". Labor began as crossbench "balance of power" upstart. Most successful "party" of last 100 yrs is the Coalition. Independents have formed Govt, and Opposition.

Glenn Connley doing a great job of filling in for @amyremeikis.bsky.social on The Point Live blog (live.thepoint.com.au#efe25d381a), covering the parliamentary sitting in #auspol. The first post of the day is straight into it...

Last year Labor and Liberal passed rushed, unscrutinised changes to Australian electoral law -- but with welcome transparency improvements for political donations. They've had to delay the introduction by six months, now starting 1 Jan next year. live.thepoint.com.au?post=37a9582...

Summary of the Anthropic "forum" on Artificial Intelligence up at Parliament house (more of a presentation; no audience questions allowed): The firm emphasises that Artificial Intelligence is growing exponentially, so you cannot assume that AI's limits today will be its limits in a year's time.