Australia News
The stories shaping Australia — Canberra's contests, the economy, communities and the wider region, from the capitals to the outback.
Open this topic in the app to listen.
Following a weekend trip west, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reaffirmed that the 2018 WA GST arrangement will remain untouched, with Premier Roger Cook declaring the deal safe after direct assurances. The commitment defies the Productivity Commission's call to scrap what it labelled a 'costly mistake', locking in a carve-up worth billions to WA while other states pay the price. Listen for what this means for the December final report and the growing state-versus-state fault line.
An investigation into the deepening financial ties between mining magnate Gina Rinehart and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, exploring how private wealth and a gifted plane coincide with a major policy reversal on the WA GST deal.
One Nation, bankrolled by mining magnate Gina Rinehart, is locked in a fierce battle with Labor in the Secret Harbour by-election, which could deliver the party its first seat in the WA lower house. The contest is unfolding against the backdrop of the explosive GST fight, with Pauline Hanson having flipped to defend WA's deal. Listen for what a One Nation win would mean for WA politics and the Rinehart-backed rise of the party.
A former treasurer has publicly defended the 2018 WA GST carve-up as 'the greatest public policy decision this century', hitting back at the Productivity Commission's interim report that branded the deal a costly mistake potentially costing taxpayers up to $12 billion a year. The intervention deepens a national fight over how tens of billions in GST revenue are split between states. Listen for how this reframes the political battle ahead of the Commission's final report due in December.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has reversed her long-held position that the WA GST deal was unfair, now endorsing the carve-up — a shift that coincides with her closer relationship to WA mining magnate Gina Rinehart. As the Productivity Commission's interim report reignites a state-versus-state brawl, Hanson's about-face reshapes the Senate crossbench politics of any future reform. Listen for what her switch means for the balance of power if Labor ever tries to change the deal.
The Productivity Commission report has ignited a bitter federation fight, with Premier Roger Cook lashing out at 'east coast whingers' while Victoria and Queensland declared the deal should be scrapped in the national interest. The clash exposes deep resentment over how $60 billion by 2029-30 is being distributed and whether every Australian gets comparable services regardless of where they live. Listen for how this reopens old wounds in Australian federalism.
Resources Minister Madeleine King has publicly branded the Productivity Commission's interim report 'unbalanced, highly speculative and clearly incorrect', reassuring WA voters Labor won't change the deal, while PM Anthony Albanese hedges and says he'll wait for the December final report. This is the day's live political story: a governing party at war with its own advisory body over $60 billion, with a WA election calculus baked in. Listen for how Labor squares defending the deal against pressure from every other state and its own commission.
The WA government says the Commission's preferred option could crash WA's per-person GST share from 82 cents to just 24 cents in the dollar, costing the state between $1 billion and $6 billion a year. For Western Australians, that raises real questions about hospitals, schools and roads funding. Listen for how much is genuinely at stake versus political rhetoric, and what happens before the December final report.
Fylom episodes are researched, written, and voiced by AI. Automated checks help catch inaccuracies, but episodes aren't reviewed by a human and AI can still get things wrong. Treat them as a starting point, not a source of record — more in our accuracy disclaimer.