Brett Worthington
Canberra, ACT
Brett is the federal political correspondent with ABC News Digital. He started his career in newspapers before joining the ABC as a rural reporter. Brett presented the South Australian Country Hour and was the ABC's Parliament House national rural reporter. His claims to fame are growing a backyard wheat crop as the western Victorian rural reporter and later baking scones with the CWA live on the radio.
Latest by Brett Worthington
Analysis
analysis:Fatima Payman was once hailed as the modern face of the Labor party. Now she's joined the crossbench
Senator Fatima Payman was once held up by colleagues the modern face of both Australia and the party she represented. On Thursday, she joined the crossbench.
Analysis
analysis:As voters look forward to cost-of-living relief coming next week, they're not the only ones getting a pay rise
The electoral cycle rollercoaster has Labor holding on for dear life, with the federal party going through its lowest of ebbs this term.
Analysis
analysis:Flanked by a man mountain, Fatima Payman found sanctuary in defying her party
Fatima Payman is the embodiment of some of Australia's most marginalised people — young, Muslim and a woman. Though she might be diminutive in stature, she stared down the Labor Party machine and fearlessly defied those who wanted her to toe the line.
Extraordinary immigration powers and religious protections shelved
The federal government has effectively shelved its push to introduce both extraordinary immigration powers and religious discrimination laws, with Labor offering few signs it will seek to deliver on its promised policies before the election.
Analysis
analysis:The party of 'don't know, vote no' has had a change of heart when it comes to the nuclear age
It wasn't that long ago that Peter Dutton and his merry band in the Coalition had a simple message for voters: "If you don't know, vote no." It's a different story now as he asks voters to trust him to deliver a nuclear age.
Wong warns of higher energy bills and greater Chinese incursion into Pacific under Coalition climate plans
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has labelled the Coalition's decision to rule out setting a 2030 climate target as a move that will increase Australian energy bills and risk further Chinese influence in the Pacific.
Analysis
analysis:Some say Dutton's high-stakes gamble has cleared the way for another teal wave, but he's betting on a different outcome
Peter Dutton is taking a gamble that people are more worried about paying their bills than solving the climate crisis. It's high-stakes poker, in which he hopes his plan can flush out the teals and win back Liberal votes.
Deep inside the permafrost lies a doomsday vault holding the seeds of humanity. Only one person has taken them out
A team of scientists on the front lines of climate change are helping nature heal itself. But as wars rage around them, it's making their efforts to feed an increasingly hungry globe that much harder.
Analysis
analysis:In teaming up with the Liberals against the Greens, Labor may have won the battle but lost the war
It might have felt good to land a few punches on the Greens, but in winning that parliamentary battle some in Labor fear they could lose the war in key seats at the next election.
Analysis
analysis:Behind the short-lived Josh for Canberra campaign and what it reveals about the Liberal Party
You don't have to look very far to find Messiah complexes in politics. Nowhere has that been more on show of late than the 30-hour Josh for Canberra campaign.
Analysis
analysis:Love is in the air at Parliament House and that's probably not a good thing
Sunlight is literally permeating the home of Australia's democracy like never before. Figuratively, though, the government is as opaque as ever — especially the department tasked with running Parliament House.
Analysis
analysis:Breakfast TV can make political careers. Andrew Giles might soon learn it can break them too
The future of embattled Immigration Minister Andrew Giles hangs with Anthony Albanese. But sacking the factional heavyweight could bring with it problems for the prime minister so close to an election.
Parliament House boss denies relationship with deputy when her boss, won't confirm other times
The head of the federal government department tasked with overseeing Parliament House has flatly denied he was in a relationship with his deputy while he was her boss. But he has refused to tell Senate estimates if the two had a relationship before or after working together.
Parliament House department shrouded in secrecy facing calls for greater transparency
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing a call to reverse an "interim" law he introduced more than a decade ago to make a Parliament House department exempt from Freedom of Information requests.
It's tasked with protecting Australia's democracy. But inside bubble accusations of a toxic culture
It's the government department tasked with protecting Australia's democracy, yet within it bubble accusations of a toxic culture, the silencing of dissent and the routine cover-up of problems.
Analysis
analysis:Leaders on both sides are putting their foot in it this week — it does not bode well for the next election
It's one thing to have an opinion when faced with a hypothetical. It's a completely different matter when that hypothetical becomes a reality, as is about to become the case in the communities Peter Dutton wants nuclear power plants built in.
Analysis
analysis:One word in the Treasurer's speech may have gone unnoticed, but it could make all the difference
Jim Chalmers's budget statement was deliberately vague about the chance inflation easing by year's end, setting up a high-stakes gamble that — if realised — could bring with it a second term for his government.
Labor punts bid to gain extraordinary immigration powers
The federal government has punted bringing forward extraordinary immigration powers that just weeks ago it was saying were so urgent they needed to be rushed through the parliament.
Every household to get $300 credit for energy bills as government vows move will reduce inflation
A $300 energy bill credit for every household, a 10 per cent increase to Commonwealth rent assistance and capped PBS medicine prices headline a budget aimed at easing living costs and bolstering the government's pre-election standing.
Middle-income Australians, families and pensioners to receive boosts in budget, says Chalmers
Further energy bill relief is firming as a likely feature in Treasurer Jim Chalmers's third budget, as the government seeks to reassure Australians it will do more to tackle rising living costs.
'The ball is in their court': Coalition lists its demands to pass Labor immigration changes
A bid to give the immigration minister extraordinary new powers to deport people and ban others from coming to Australia hangs in the balance, with government and opposition locked in a stand-off.
Analysis
analysis:With China tensions boiling again and a high court decision looming, the PM's pre-budget week is anything but
Another high-profile immigration decision and a rocky relationship with China are likely the last things the prime minister wants to be talking about ahead of the Federal Budget release next week.
Analysis
analysis:Albanese is eager to blame anyone but his government. The Westminster system doesn't work like that
Anthony Albanese used to get frustrated at questions he felt should have been asked of the government of the day. Now in government, the prime minster appears frustrated when asked questions about decisions his government has made.
Analysis
analysis:'Be better my dudes': Why lots of men are feeling uncomfortable about the domestic violence conversation
The unspoken undercurrent of the week is that it's clear there are a lot of men feeling uncomfortable about this conversation. That doesn't make them bad men. It should be uncomfortable.
Analysis
analysis:The bloodied and bruised image that puts a human face on the High Court fallout
Assault victim Ninette Simons has become the human embodiment of a saga that has been engulfing the federal government for six months.