Brett Worthington
Canberra, ACT
Brett is the federal political correspondent with ABC News Digital. He started his career in newspapers before joining the ABC as a rural reporter. Brett presented the South Australian Country Hour and was the ABC's Parliament House national rural reporter. His claims to fame are growing a backyard wheat crop as the western Victorian rural reporter and later baking scones with the CWA live on the radio.
Latest by Brett Worthington
Analysis
analysis:Watching the government respond to the CFMEU saga is like watching a brakeless freight train heading for a crowded station
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
The CFMEU saga has meant Anthony Albanese has again spent his week fielding questions about internal Labor matters, when he'd rather be talking about anything else.
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Federal Labor bans donations, cuts ties with scandal-engulfed CFMEU
By political correspondent Brett Worthington and Courtney Gould
Amid growing pressure from state premiers, Labor's federal leaders have suspended its links to the construction division of the CFMEU, which has been engulfed in scandals in recent days.
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'Uglier, more violent': Safety review for Australian politicians after Donald Trump assassination attempt
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
The attempted assassination of Donald Trump has Australian politicians calling for a calming of public debates, amid fears attacks on elected figures here could see a greater need for police protection.
US Secret Service facing questions after Donald Trump assassination attempt
Donald Trump was still receiving treatment from a failed assassination attempt when senior Republican politicians started demanding answers from the US Secret Service.
Kira Korolev, accused of being a Russian spy, didn't shirk spotlight as social media influencer
By political correspondent Brett Worthington and defence correspondent Andrew Greene
Australia's spy agency ASIO was the first authority to investigate concerns about Russian-born Australian citizen Kira Korolev. What followed was close monitoring of the army private and her husband, which has now landed them in custody, facing allegations of spying for their mother country.
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Analysis
analysis:Trump says he could end the Russia-Ukraine war 'within a day'. It's enough to send shivers down Australia's spine
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
The implications for what happens next in the race for the White House have ramifications that stretch far beyond US shores. And that's a key reason why Australia and China are closely watching what happens next.
Analysis
analysis:Fatima Payman was once hailed as the modern face of the Labor party. Now she's joined the crossbench
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
Senator Fatima Payman was once held up by colleagues the modern face of both Australia and the party she represented. On Thursday, she joined the crossbench.
Analysis
analysis:As voters look forward to cost-of-living relief coming next week, they're not the only ones getting a pay rise
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
The electoral cycle rollercoaster has Labor holding on for dear life, with the federal party going through its lowest of ebbs this term.
Analysis
analysis:Flanked by a man mountain, Fatima Payman found sanctuary in defying her party
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
Fatima Payman is the embodiment of some of Australia's most marginalised people — young, Muslim and a woman. Though she might be diminutive in stature, she stared down the Labor Party machine and fearlessly defied those who wanted her to toe the line.
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Extraordinary immigration powers and religious protections shelved
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
The federal government has effectively shelved its push to introduce both extraordinary immigration powers and religious discrimination laws, with Labor offering few signs it will seek to deliver on its promised policies before the election.
Analysis
analysis:The party of 'don't know, vote no' has had a change of heart when it comes to the nuclear age
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
It wasn't that long ago that Peter Dutton and his merry band in the Coalition had a simple message for voters: "If you don't know, vote no." It's a different story now as he asks voters to trust him to deliver a nuclear age.
Wong warns of higher energy bills and greater Chinese incursion into Pacific under Coalition climate plans
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has labelled the Coalition's decision to rule out setting a 2030 climate target as a move that will increase Australian energy bills and risk further Chinese influence in the Pacific.
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Analysis
analysis:Some say Dutton's high-stakes gamble has cleared the way for another teal wave, but he's betting on a different outcome
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
Peter Dutton is taking a gamble that people are more worried about paying their bills than solving the climate crisis. It's high-stakes poker, in which he hopes his plan can flush out the teals and win back Liberal votes.
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Deep inside the permafrost lies a doomsday vault holding the seeds of humanity. Only one person has taken them out
A team of scientists on the front lines of climate change are helping nature heal itself. But as wars rage around them, it's making their efforts to feed an increasingly hungry globe that much harder.
Analysis
analysis:In teaming up with the Liberals against the Greens, Labor may have won the battle but lost the war
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
It might have felt good to land a few punches on the Greens, but in winning that parliamentary battle some in Labor fear they could lose the war in key seats at the next election.
Analysis
analysis:Behind the short-lived Josh for Canberra campaign and what it reveals about the Liberal Party
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
You don't have to look very far to find Messiah complexes in politics. Nowhere has that been more on show of late than the 30-hour Josh for Canberra campaign.
Analysis
analysis:Love is in the air at Parliament House and that's probably not a good thing
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
Sunlight is literally permeating the home of Australia's democracy like never before. Figuratively, though, the government is as opaque as ever — especially the department tasked with running Parliament House.
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Analysis
analysis:Breakfast TV can make political careers. Andrew Giles might soon learn it can break them too
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
The future of embattled Immigration Minister Andrew Giles hangs with Anthony Albanese. But sacking the factional heavyweight could bring with it problems for the prime minister so close to an election.
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Parliament House boss denies relationship with deputy when her boss, won't confirm other times
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
The head of the federal government department tasked with overseeing Parliament House has flatly denied he was in a relationship with his deputy while he was her boss. But he has refused to tell Senate estimates if the two had a relationship before or after working together.
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Parliament House department shrouded in secrecy facing calls for greater transparency
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is facing a call to reverse an "interim" law he introduced more than a decade ago to make a Parliament House department exempt from Freedom of Information requests.
It's tasked with protecting Australia's democracy. But inside bubble accusations of a toxic culture
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
It's the government department tasked with protecting Australia's democracy, yet within it bubble accusations of a toxic culture, the silencing of dissent and the routine cover-up of problems.
Analysis
analysis:Leaders on both sides are putting their foot in it this week — it does not bode well for the next election
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
It's one thing to have an opinion when faced with a hypothetical. It's a completely different matter when that hypothetical becomes a reality, as is about to become the case in the communities Peter Dutton wants nuclear power plants built in.
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Analysis
analysis:One word in the Treasurer's speech may have gone unnoticed, but it could make all the difference
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
Jim Chalmers's budget statement was deliberately vague about the chance inflation easing by year's end, setting up a high-stakes gamble that — if realised — could bring with it a second term for his government.
Labor punts bid to gain extraordinary immigration powers
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
The federal government has punted bringing forward extraordinary immigration powers that just weeks ago it was saying were so urgent they needed to be rushed through the parliament.
Every household to get $300 credit for energy bills as government vows move will reduce inflation
By political correspondent Brett Worthington
A $300 energy bill credit for every household, a 10 per cent increase to Commonwealth rent assistance and capped PBS medicine prices headline a budget aimed at easing living costs and bolstering the government's pre-election standing.
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