Is that a drum roll sounding?

Judith Ireland Prime Minister Julia Gillard and her fellow MPs return to Canberra this week for the final parliamentary stint before a seven-week hiatus.

Reprieve for Hazara man

Judith Ireland, Esther Han An asylum seeker who was to be deported on Sunday has been given a reprieve after a last-minute injunction was lodged with a Sydney court.

Measuring hot air in degrees

Judith Ireland A hot air balloon crashes into the side of Wayne Swan's department, Canberrans look around, befuddled.

On the QT

Gillard is not likely to be going anywhere soon

Judith Ireland If you're a political leader in a precarious position, it can be hard to know what to do.

Judith Ireland

Polls apart: Gillard gets taste of good, bad, ugly

Judith Ireland You can picture the scene. A new day has just dawned in the national capital. The Prime Minister has barely opened an eye - not even had time for a cup of tea - as an adviser hovers nervously: ''PM,...

Swan rejects banks tax

Judith Ireland, Clancy Yeates, Mark Kenny Treasurer Wayne Swan has dismissed a Greens idea to impose a ''super profits'' tax on the big banks, saying it was not under government consideration.

Greens' big bank tax shot down

Judith Ireland Treasurer Wayne Swan dismisses a Greens idea to impose a super profits tax on the big banks, saying it was not under consideration by the federal government.

Rudd still in the dark about facts of Zygier case

Judith Ireland Kevin Rudd says there are still questions to be answered in the ''Prisoner X'' case, as the Coalition says it ''defies belief'' that senior ministers were not informed over the detention of an...

Bishop demands Smith explain Zygier failings

Judith Ireland, David Wroe and Tom Allard The Coalition is putting pressure on Defence Minister Stephen Smith to explain what went wrong in the Ben Zygier case, saying that it ''defies belief'' that the former foreign minister had no...

A dose of sympathy from one deposed leader to another

Michael Gordon, Judith Ireland Kevin Rudd, the leader whose prime ministership was terminated after two and a half years, has empathised with the former Victorian premier, Ted Baillieu.

Defence Force accepts blame for deaths of two Afghan boys

Judith Ireland Defence Minister Stephen Smith has confirmed Australia and the International Security Assistance Force have taken responsibility for the deaths of two boys in Afghanistan but will not say who is...

Visa stand not xenophobic: Gillard

Judith Ireland Prime Minister Julia Gillard has dismissed suggestions her 457 visa stance is xenophobic and a move to the far right, saying she was simply putting Australian jobs first.

PM rejects xenophobia tag as 457 row heats up

Judith Ireland Prime Minister Julia Gillard has dismissed suggestions her 457 visa stance is xenophobic and a move to the far right, saying she was simply putting Australian jobs ''first''.

Joint blame taken for fatal shooting of Afghan boys

Judith Ireland Defence Minister Stephen Smith has confirmed that Australia and the International Security Assistance Force have taken responsibility for the death of two boys in Afghanistan, but will not say who is...

A new front in vilification wars

Daniel Hurst and Judith Ireland The number of employers found to have abused the foreign worker visa program has steadily declined over the past three years, casting serious doubts about the rationale behind the Gillard...

Leaders fire shots over 457 visa workers

Judith Ireland The political stoush over immigration policy has spilt over into the Prime Minister's own office, with the Coalition targeting Julia Gillard's communications director who holds a 457 visa.

Ending ALP waste will finance tax cuts - Hockey

Judith Ireland The Coalition has hit back at Labor claims that families would pay higher income tax and lose payments worth thousands of dollars a year under an Abbott government, saying the ''reality is the...

$1.2b pay rise incentive for aged care workers

Mark Kenny and Judith Ireland The federal government will spend $1.2 billion over four years to raise the wages of the country's 350,000 aged care workers.

Coalition denies families could be $2300 worse off

Judith Ireland The Coalition has hit back at Labor claims that families would pay higher income tax and lose payments worth thousands of dollars a year under an Abbott government, saying the ''reality is the...