The races that could decide the outcome of the 2025 election.

The 12 seats to watch most closely – and they could determine the election

There are 151 seats in the House of Representatives,but these are a dozen electoral races you cannot take your eye off.

  • byJames Massola

Latest

X owner Elon Musk with US President Donald Trump.

Why Elon Musk is a big winner from Trump’s attack on cars

The latest escalation in Trump’s trade war has hurt car companies around the world. But among the many losers,Elon Musk’s Tesla stands out as a clear winner.

  • byDavid Welch,Gabrielle Coppola andJosh Wingrove
Commuters wait at a Sydney train station.

Why doesn’t my boss agree that commuting is a waste of time?

For too long,the time and cost associated with lengthy commutes was waved away as a necessary evil. That era is over.

  • byJonathan Rivett
Don’t let the tiny tax cuts distract you from a bigger problem.

Labor’s deficits aren’t that bad. But don’t let tax cuts distract you

The budget sweetener has doubled as a distraction from something the government would rather not talk about.

  • byMillie Muroi
Daly Cherry-Evans
Analysis
NRL 2025

Daly Cherry-Evans and Manly deserve better. One rule could have prevented the impending divorce

All aspects of the NRL salary cap are about to go under the microscope – and one big issue will be how to reward one-club players like Daly Cherry-Evans.

  • byChristian Nicolussi

I’ve jumped on this bandwagon,and I have no regrets

There is a rather silly human tendency to sneer at things once they become popular.

  • byJamila Rizvi
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The Demolition Derby was a low point in the Eagles Dockers rivalry.
Opinion
AFL 2025

Has the fizzle and pop gone out of the Western Derby?

“The hatred between Freo and the Eagles has been unremitting for almost 30 years,but lately,I’ve noticed that the fizz and sparkle have vanished from fans and even players before matches.”

  • byBrendan Foster

In 126 words,Dutton made it clear only one thing was wrong with Australia

When the opposition leader looked back at three years of Albanese,he saw Australian carnage.

  • byJames Massola
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Passports and the trouble with tunnels

Elements continue in interesting ways.

Younger men are cutting down on alcohol and drinking zero-strength beer.

Hold my (zero proof) beer ... meet the new generation of booze-free blokes

Mens’ behaviour is changing for the better. And this may be the cause.

  • byHannah Vanderheide
Owen Cooper as Jamie Miller in the four-part drama Adolescence.
Opinion
Gender

Adolescence has gripped parents,but our debates are missing a crucial thread

Add misogynistic influencers to the mix of feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness,and a growing wealth gap,and you have most of the ingredients for gendered violence.

  • bySonia Orchard
The 60-something male still has something to offer – but yes,it’s mainly garbage-related.
Opinion
Dating

Older women want to date younger men? Wait,let me change your mind

The sixty-something male still has something to offer,I promise.

  • byRichard Glover
Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton are officially in the race.

Voters deserve more than lightweight policy promises

Both major parties are simply spending to win votes but have no real fixes planned,writes Mark Nugent.

Are international travellers still welcome in Trump’s America? You have to wonder.
Analysis
Tourism

Has Trump’s America become a hostile place for tourists?

I’m starting to wonder if foreign tourists are still welcome,after several cases of international visitors being detained in questionable circumstances.

  • byChris Bryant
Illustration:Simon Letch

Budget rules have gone the way of skinny jeans,no matter who wears the pants

Fiscal discipline has been all but abandoned in favour of vote-buying.

  • byDavid Crowe
President Donald Trump and his team maintain they have not defied court orders.

Trump and co’s intransigence over breach sends bad Signal to the world

President Donald Trump’s attempt to sanitise the Signal chat scandal that has rocked the White House won’t wash.

  • The Herald's View
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Bored at work? Lucky you.

Why there’s nothing wrong with having a ‘boring’ job

Rather than view it as a negative,it’s time to admit that there are lots of underrated positives to having a typically ‘boring’ job.

  • byTim Duggan
Trump Wash Pol column

The 41-page ‘blueprint’ that shines a light on Trump chaos

President Donald Trump’s erratic trade policies have shaken up the global economy and have many observers shaking their heads. This paper from someone in his inner circle might explain his thinking.

  • byJeff Stein
The trend of sports fans recording themselves - or their friends - abusing players or coaches and uploading it to social media? It’s gotta stop.
Opinion
AFL 2025

Abusing your team is one thing. But filming it? You’re the embarrassment

Social media has unleashed a lot of bad stuff on modern sport,but this might be the worst development yet.

  • byVince Rugari
Footballers say they don’t listen to the media,but Libby Birch says that’s not true.

AFL players do listen to the media. This is why using it as motivation can be risky

AFL footballers are under more scrutiny and pressure than ever before. It’s impossible to ignore it all,no matter how hard you try. But you have to put it into perspective.

  • byLibby Birch
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers during debate.

Albo,you’re delulu and I have no solulu

Politicians do not need to be simultaneously fluent in talk tactics and TikTok. So why do they insist on trying?

  • byMichelle Cazzulino
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

‘Pathetic’:Leaked Signal texts aren’t just embarrassing for Europe – they’re a warning

The high-level message exchange leak shows US leaders’ view of all future collaboration with European allies as a trade.

  • byRob Harris
Bob Hawke and Margaret Thatcher
Tony Wright’s Column
Donald Trump

Trump for the Commonwealth? He’d make the Iron Lady seem soft-hearted

Donald Trump seems taken by the idea that he might be welcomed into the Commonwealth. Those pushing the idea must have lost their knowledge of history.

  • byTony Wright
Questions on gifting are becoming increasingly common,however the rules are actually quite straightforward.

How do we gift money to our grandson without hurting our pension?

Questions on gifting are becoming increasingly common,however,the rules are actually quite straightforward.

  • byNoel Whittaker
Comparing your financial success to that of others is extremely common,but it’s worth asking yourself why you’re choosing to do so.

I earn lots,but can’t stop comparing myself to others. What do I do?

Comparing your financial success to that of others is extremely common,but it’s worth asking yourself why you’re choosing to do so.

  • byParidhi Jain

Dutton says he’s ‘on the cusp’ of power. Time for his close-up

Dutton prospered mightily by leading the No case at the Voice referendum. But it’s not the same as an election,where everything is at stake.

  • byShaun Carney
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Back against the wall … Daly Cherry-Evans.
Opinion
NRL 2025

DCE is a $1.5m halfback who can play until he’s 40. So who is getting a bargain?

Rugby league’s changing nature and Daly Cherry-Evans’ rare ability as an elite playmaker makes him worth his weight in gold.

  • byAndrew Johns
Now where are my car keys?
Opinion
Evolution

We’re becoming dumb and dumber – welcome to the idiocracy

The human capacity for mental focus is in decline. I’m feeling it,people.

  • byCherie Gilmour
Getting ahead with leadership.

Modern Labor is losing the battle of ideas

Whatever their faults,former PMs Turnbull,Abbott and Keating were all driven to change things.

NDIS Minister Bill Shorten.
Editorial
Disability

Despite growth rate cut and best intentions,Australia’s NDIS remains an unsustainable program

The runaway costs of the National Disability Insurance Scheme need to be addressed as a matter of urgency,whoever wins the election.

  • The Herald's View
Pet-owning renters have established stronger rights,but will landlords dodge them by switching to holiday letting?
Opinion
Renting

Pet-owning renters won the battle,but might landlords win the war?

The courts and NSW law have affirmed renters’ rights to own pets,but landlords could sidestep those rules by switching to holiday rentals.

  • byJimmy Thomson
Shell’s Prelude floating LNG vessel off the WA coast flaring excess gas. WA was the only state to reserve gas for its local market.
Opinion
Energy

In Australia’s energy dilemma,Japan may end up selling us our own gas

The humiliation of Australia,the energy superpower,is now a very real prospect as we face the need to buy gas from our biggest customer.

  • byColin Kruger
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has purchased a $4.3 million home with ocean views on NSW’s Central Coast.

Should politicians be banned from owning multiple properties?

We need a broader conversation about not only disincentivising MPs owning multiple properties,but limiting them.

  • byWilliam Bennett
US President Donald Trump on Monday.

It’s jaw-dropping gall from team Trump,who just can’t admit a mistake

The Trump administration’s attempt to manage the Signal group chat scandal has run the full gamut of downplay,disparage and deny – but not convincingly.

  • byMichael Koziol
The bidding war for the healthcare vote has reached $12 billion before the campaign has even begun.

Albanese and Dutton are bidding to buy your vote,with no regard for the price

Australians are about to be invited to an auction where Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton bid for votes with competing claims about personal tax cuts.

  • byDavid Crowe
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One of the perks of SMSFs is the ability to put residential property inside your super fund.
Analysis
SMSFs

Think you’re too young for self-managed super? Maybe not

More and more young Australians are opting for self-managed super funds. So what’s the appeal?

  • byDaniel Zaffino
Shane Wright analyses the 2025 federal budget on The Morning Edition.

Listen:Modest budget full of sweeteners,no ‘grand message’

It wasn’t a bold budget,but then again,pre-election budgets never are,senior economics correspondent Shane Wright tells The Morning Edition podcast.

  • byShane Wright andSamantha Selinger-Morris
Australia’s head coach Tony Popovic,left reacts with Australia’s Jackson Irvine after winning a World Cup 2026 group C qualifier match against China held at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in Hangzhou,in eastern China’s Zhejiang province,on Tuesday,March 25,2025. (AP Photo)

One last push,and the Socceroos can book their spot at the 2026 World Cup

The equation is simple for Australia after their 2-0 victory in China:win their next match and they’ll seal qualification for next year’s tournament.

  • byVince Rugari

Why our former PMs should speak up,not shut up

Julia Gillard has been praised for maintaining a dignified silence since leaving politics. But wouldn’t we like to hear more from her?

  • byMatthew Knott
Wally Lewis
Opinion
Epilepsy

I hid my epilepsy for years,but brain surgery released me from misunderstood disease

They called me “The King”,but no one knew my secret.

  • byWally Lewis
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There’s yttrium,ytterbium … and also terbium and erbium

Plus,what to do about passport photos?

Jim Chalmers has delivered his fourth Labor budget.

The budget explained in seven charts

Here are seven key budget charts that shed light on the nation’s finances,the economic outlook and what lies ahead.

  • byMatt Wade andCraig Butt
Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

Was this really the budget we needed? Our experts deliver their verdicts

Shane Wright,Ross Gittins,Peter Hartcher,Jacqueline Maley and Matthew Knott break down the economic and political implications of the budget.

  • byShane Wright,Ross Gittins,Peter Hartcher,Jacqueline Maley andMatthew Knott
The winners and losers from the 2025 budget.

Are you a winner or a loser in this budget?

Nurses,schoolchildren and beer drinkers all had reason to toast this year’s budget. Some notable others much less so.

  • byPaul Sakkal
 Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers.

An extra $5 a week might not be much,but it’s intelligent

The budget reveals the political calculus of a government heading into an election,not one bracing the country for a new era of global tectonic shocks.

  • byPeter Hartcher
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Everything about Donald Trump was all over the budget – except for his name.

Trump is everywhere in the budget,but you won’t find his name

Just as inflation is moderating,and the Reserve Bank is cutting interest rates,the prospect of a global trade war is threatening to upend the government’s careful budget plans.

  • byMatthew Knott
Treasurer Jim Chalmers

Chalmers didn’t give much away. The real gift could come later this year

The treasurer’s fourth budget could easily have been a pre-election spendathon that stoked inflation,but the central bank chief can breathe a sigh of relief.

  • byShane Wright
The budget is a big document,we break it down for different types of people.

How the budget affects you – from students to retirees

The government hopes this budget will help secure your vote at the upcoming election. We explain who is getting what out of it.

  • byNatassia Chrysanthos andMike Foley
Jim Chalmers’ budget is modest – at best.

The government is timid,uninspired and uninspiring. This budget fits it perfectly

When Jim Chalmers says Labor’s new tax cuts are “modest”,he’s not exaggerating. However,this is a budget we’ve wished on ourselves.

  • byRoss Gittins