Politics

The Liberal party sent its supporters a discussion paper canvassing options to modernise itself following rolling electoral defeats and a loss of support among professional women, people with Chinese ancestry, and those from suburban electorates with high multicultural populations. By the next election, the paper noted, one in five voters will have been born after the year 2000 with “no historical memory of September 11, the Howard government [or] a world without smartphones”. After the most recent federal election loss, the party established a commission to help generate ideas to win back voters chaired by Queensland senator James McGrath. In the email, McGrath said the party was in the “political fight of our lives” as “core demographics continue to turn away from us without looking back”.

The discussion paper was circulated amid a flurry of condemnation that echoed an episode from the party’s past. Liberal Northern Territory senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was rebuked for sharing a clip on social media that falsely claimed Labor was “importing” Indian migrants. Price was sacked from the shadow cabinet in September last year for suggesting the government’s migration program favoured Indians in order to help its electoral fortunes. Liberal leader Angus Taylor has said he would review the Northern Territory senator’s social media use. The episode has highlighted the party’s ongoing struggle to manage its more conservative voices while appealing to a broader electorate.

The party’s internal challenges are compounded by the rise of One Nation, which has drawn support from conservative voters. Sky’s latest Pulse/YouGov poll, taken between July 7-14, found One Nation’s primary vote dipped four points to 26 per cent as Labor regained the top spot as Australia’s most popular party at 28 per cent. Support for One Nation fell by three points in July to 26 per cent, while the coalition’s backing rose to 23 per cent, in a Resolve Political Monitor survey. The polling suggests that while One Nation remains a significant force, Labor currently holds the advantage. However, the Liberal Party’s primary vote remains below its traditional levels, indicating that it has not yet won back former supporters who drifted to minor parties.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, to Australia from 8-10 July 2026 for the Third Australia–India Annual Summit in Melbourne. The two leaders reaffirmed their shared commitment to further consolidate and expand the India–Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to respond to emerging challenges in a rapidly evolving global environment. They announced a Joint Declaration on Defence and Security Cooperation, reflecting a step-change in the depth and ambition of the bilateral defence and security relationship. The declaration underscores the growing strategic alignment between the two countries in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly in response to shared concerns about maritime security and regional stability.

The Prime Ministers welcomed the establishment of an Annual Defence Ministers’ Dialogue as a mechanism to enhance consultation and cooperation. They noted with satisfaction the growing frequency and complexity of defence exercises and exchanges under the Mutual Logistics Support Arrangement. The defence partnership now extends across all domains, with emphasis on deepening interoperability. The leaders agreed to enhance maritime cooperation through the India-Australia Maritime Security Collaboration Roadmap, reaffirming their shared commitment to a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific. The roadmap includes joint patrolling, information sharing and capacity building for regional partners, reflecting a practical approach to addressing common challenges.

The Prime Ministers acknowledged the significance of defence industry, research and material cooperation. They welcomed ongoing work to develop a Memorandum of Understanding for the Provision of Defence Articles and Defence Services, and efforts to promote connections between Australian and Indian defence industries. Both leaders looked forward to the placement of a visiting military instructor from India at the Australian Defence College in 2028-2029 and welcomed Australia’s upcoming hosting of the fourth iteration of the General Rawat India-Australia Young Officers’ Exchange Program. These initiatives are designed to build people-to-people links between the two militaries and foster mutual understanding of each other’s operating environments.

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Anthony Albanese has defended breaking his promise to attend the Garma Festival every year, stating he hasn’t “had a day off all year”. At last year’s event, Albanese vowed to attend the country’s largest Indigenous gathering for as long as he remained prime minister. “I commit here that, every single year that I have the great honour to be Australia’s prime minister, I will be here and engaged with you,” he told the Garma Key Forum. Last week the ABC reported that the prime minister would not travel to the Northern Territory for the festival, which kicks off on July 31. The decision has drawn criticism from Indigenous leaders and opposition figures, who view the commitment as a key demonstration of respect for First Nations peoples.

Asked whether this constitutes a broken promise, Albanese said, “I haven’t had a day off all year.” “And this weekend, in a few days, I’ll be in another remote part of the Northern Territory,” he said. “I will be on leave at that time, but I will be at another festival in the Northern Territory in the coming days. I’ve been to Garma every year that it’s been held since I’ve been Labor leader in 2019.” Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy will attend the four-day festival in north-east Arnhem Land, ensuring that the government has a senior presence at the event, which is seen as a crucial forum for dialogue between governments and Indigenous communities.

Hosted by the Yothu Yindi Foundation and the local Yolnu peoples, Garma is a gathering of leaders, families, cultural custodians and guests from across the country and is one of the most significant forums for discussing Indigenous affairs. In a statement, the Yothu Yindi Foundation said: “Mr Albanese is a good friend of the Festival, and has been to every Garma since 2019.” The foundation added that they understand the demands of the prime minister’s schedule and welcomed the attendance of senior ministers. However, some Indigenous leaders have expressed disappointment, arguing that the prime minister’s personal attendance sends an important symbolic message about the priority his government places on Indigenous issues.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese apologised on Monday after making a crude remark about singer Kylie Minogue in a comedy podcast interview, prompting outrage from women’s rights groups and opposition lawmakers. Albanese was asked by host Nikki Osborne which of three Australian female celebrities he would marry, date or “shag” — a vulgar term in Australia referring to sex. Albanese initially declined to respond, saying he was recently married, but Osborne pressed, asking who he would choose if his marriage broke down, and Albanese replied, “Kylie, clearly.” “You’d marry Kylie, and shag her, and date her?” Osborne said. “All of the above,” Albanese replied. The exchange was recorded and shared on social media, quickly gaining widespread attention and criticism.

Albanese was criticised by several opposition lawmakers, with senator Sarah Henderson saying the comments were “disrespectful to women, embarrassing to Australians and demean the office of Prime Minister.” “I apologise unequivocally for the comments,” Albanese said in a statement on Monday. A spokesperson for Minogue did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The incident quickly became a political flashpoint, with the opposition using it to question the prime minister’s judgment and respect for women. The prime minister’s apology was swift and unequivocal, reflecting an acknowledgment that the comments had crossed a line, and he emphasised that he holds Minogue in the highest regard as an artist and cultural icon.

Australia is famed for its informal culture, and politicians in the country are frequently quizzed during interviews on issues including pop culture and sport. However, the nature of the comments and the setting of the podcast raised questions about the boundaries of acceptable political discourse. Some commentators argued that the prime minister was simply participating in a light-hearted segment and that the outrage was overblown, while others maintained that a national leader should maintain a higher standard of decorum. The incident served as a reminder of the scrutiny that public figures face in the digital age, where even offhand remarks can be amplified and scrutinised.

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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese returned to his old stomping ground at the University of Sydney to reveal how Australia plans to approach era-defining technological change. In a much-hyped speech, the PM moved to centralise oversight of artificial intelligence and announced that Australia would force data centres to minimise water use and fund their own power supply under mandatory national rules. Albanese said Australia had a narrow window of opportunity to establish AI’s “social licence”. The announcement represents a significant shift in the government’s approach to AI regulation, moving from a wait-and-see approach to active intervention, and signals that Australia intends to be a rule-setter rather than a rule-taker in the global AI landscape.

Artists have taken some heart from the PM’s promise they will retain control over how their works are used by tech giants, but have told the government they want a seat at the table in his new office for AI. “No company should use Australian books, music, art or news to build or train AI without the artist’s control,” Albanese declared. “Anything less is theft,” he added. The prime minister signalled Labor wanted a new model that would allow creatives to choose whether their works would be used to train AI and how they are paid. The government hopes to next year introduce laws that would set minimum requirements for firms building data centres, including energy efficiency standards and location guidelines to manage environmental impact.

The speech came a day after 200 leading US economists warned that the new computing transformation could be as severe as the Industrial Revolution unfolding over a much shorter timeframe. Albanese argued that AI was a more profound development than social media, as New York became the first US state to put a moratorium on data centres and the Australian housing sector warned construction resources were being diverted away from home building. “We want AI to support and create good jobs, not replace them,” Albanese declared, emphasising that the government’s focus is on augmenting human capability rather than automating it away. He pointed to examples in healthcare and education where AI is already helping professionals work more effectively.

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