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Anthony Albanese has delivered steady, gradual reform – but a minority government might force Labor to push through bolder solutions Polls tracker; election guide; full federal election coverage Anywhere but Canberra; interactive electorates guide Listen to the latest episode of our new narrative podcast series: Gina Get our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcast Australians know the government they elect on 3 May will have to navigate multiple crises. At home, a cost-of-living crisis is making daily life miserable for millions. Sky-high housing costs are locking younger Australians out of a life their parents took for granted. Continue reading...

The former PM has form when it comes to pushing corporate interests and meeting populists halfway When Tony Blair came out this week to say current net zero policies were “doomed to fail”, there was something familiar in his arguments: phasing out fossil fuels wouldn’t work because people perceived it as expensive, arduous and not their problem. Stop banging on about renewables; won’t someone think of the things we don’t know how to do, like carbon capture and such wizardry as is still locked in tech bros’ imaginations? Basically, net zero had lost the room, according to the former prime minister. And if anyone knows where the room is, and how to get it back, it must be him. The Tony Blair Institute (TBI) issued a statement on Wednesday saying that, in fact, it believes the government’s net zero policy is “the right one”. But this is a familiar trajectory for the former prime minister. He said something similar about “woke”, which sadly lost the room in 2022. “Plant Labour’s feet clearly near the centre of gravity of the British people,” Blair advised Starmer. “[They] want fair treatment for all and an end to prejudice, but distrust and dislike the ‘cancel culture’, ‘woke’ mentality.” What exactly does “woke” mean, if not an end to prejudice? Just how effective is cancel culture if Blair himself could work as a lobbyist for a Saudi oil firm in 2016, advise the government of Kazakhstan after it brutally suppressed public protests in 2011, and yet still walk among us as the voice of the progressive left? Memo to my fellow cancellers: we are bad at this. Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Former Labour PM accused of ‘handing talking points’ to Tories and Reform after saying net zero strategy faltering Climate experts and politicians have criticised Tony Blair for claiming any strategy that relied on rapidly phasing out fossil fuels was “doomed to fail”. The former prime minister’s comments, published in a report from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), prompted an internal row within Labour, with some accusing him of playing into the hands of a narrative used by rightwing parties to delay climate action. Continue reading...

PM says he and Blair aligned ‘if you look at the detail of what he said’ PMQs is starting soon. Here is the list of MPs down to ask a question. Continue reading...