Refugee takes new freedom challenge to High Court

Michael Gordon The federal government is facing another High Court challenge to the indefinite detention of more than 50 refugees deemed security risks by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

Party room to ask hard questions on leave scheme

Michael Gordon and Daniel Hurst Tony Abbott will be asked to defend, discard or modify his promised generous paid parental leave scheme in the Coalition party room next week, amid growing internal concerns that it is no longer...

EXCLUSIVE

Abbott rules out gay unions

Michael Gordon Tony Abbott douses expectations of any change on same-sex unions in the next Parliament.

The case for the positive

Michael Gordon Regular consumers of television or online news over the past 12 months could be excused for thinking that Tony Abbott, possesses just one solitary tie, the pale blue one you see him wearing whenever...

For PM, the suffering begins with the sell

Michael Gordon Julia Gillard's ''prepare for pain'' warning underscores the reality that selling this pre-election budget will be an even harder task than framing it.

Scarred by Sri Lankan torture

Michael Gordon 'Kumar's' scars are real and are only just beginning to heal - the result, he maintains, of four gruesome days of torture in a dark room, somewhere outside Colombo, barely two weeks ago.

More deaths predicted as two more boats arrive and numbers soar

Bianca Hall and Michael Gordon Two boatloads of asylum seekers arrived at Christmas Island on Tuesday, bringing the total to 11 since Friday amid an unprecedented surge in irregular immigration by sea.

Asylum seekers drown with officials on board

Michael Gordon and Jonathan Swan Two asylum seekers drowned and two more were seriously injured when their boat was hit by two freak waves minutes after being boarded by two border protection officials within 15 nautical miles of...

Between a rock and the 'new brutality'

Michael Gordon The TV cameras on both sides of the corridor that leads from the Prime Minister's suite to the House of Representatives were the dead give-away.

NT coup ends with 'spoilt brat' on top

Michael Gordon, Dan Harrison Adam Giles has become the first indigenous Australian to lead a state or territory.

Hazaras plea on failed refugee bids

Michael Gordon THE federal government has been urged to reassess the claims for refugee status of scores of asylum seekers from the Hazara ethnic minority in the light of escalating violence in Pakistan.

A handshake on a fresh start

Michael Gordon It was a day unlike any other in the national Parliament since the 2010 federal election, and no one called it better than the man who is often held responsible for the bitterly combative atmosphere...

After apology comes recognition

Michael Gordon AUSTRALIA has moved one step closer to recognising its first people in the country's founding document after one of the Federal Parliament's rare moments of unity between Julia Gillard and Tony...

Almost 50 years on, the dream burns still

Michael Gordon THERE will be echoes of 1967 in Parliament House on Wednesday when both sides of politics pass legislation that will give momentum to the push to recognise the first Australians in the nation's...

'This is the blackest day in Australian sport'

Michael Gordon AUSTRALIA'S top sporting codes have been rocked by revelations that organised crime is behind the increasing use of banned performance-enhancing drugs by ''multiple athletes'' across sporting codes...

Refugee's family reunion bid fails

Michael Gordon The High Court has dismissed a challenge by a teenage Afghan refugee whose bid to bring his mother and younger siblings to Melbourne was rejected by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship...

Teen refugee fights to be reunited with family

Michael Gordon Afghan boy set near impossible task by immigration official who rejected reunion bid, lawyers say.

Yunupingu voices hope for change to constitution

Michael Gordon Twenty years after releasing the song that became an anthem of the reconciliation movement, Yothu Yindi's front man has embraced constitutional recognition of indigenous Australians as the next step...

Refugees harm selves on Nauru

Michael Gordon Ten episodes of self-harm at the Nauru processing centre have been reported in 24 hours.

Backlash forces retreat on refugee work rights

Michael Gordon New rules denying asylum seekers work rights for up to five years will be softened in response to a backlash from Labor MPs and one of the principal architects of the Gillard government's policy to...