As a senate inquiry investigates Rio Tinto’s destruction of the Juukan Gorge caves, Senator Pat Dodson says a royal commission into the entire Native Title Act may be necessary as the law ‘has been basically brought into disrepute by the capacity of those who are rich and powerful’.

Pressure is mounting against News Corp, led by former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd. They say democracy is damaged by the company’s ‘propaganda’ and ‘vendettas’.

The tightness of the US election tells us two things: Trump’s first win was not an aberration; and the plutocratic electoral system, with its roots in slavery, still grossly distorts outcomes.

Mining magnate Clive Palmer is pouring millions into political advertising for the Queensland election and, as at the federal poll, he is pushing a lie about a death tax the Labor Party never proposed.

As politicians play a tough-on-crime game to win votes, pushing Australia’s incarceration rates ever upwards, an initiative led by high-profile patrons aims to reform the justice system and end a narrow-minded reliance on prison sentences.

The real story this week is not Gladys Berejiklian’s relationship with Daryl Maguire but whether she knew the details of his deal-making – although her supporters would rather you focus on the former.

At this week’s NSW inquiry into Crown Resorts, former executive chairman James Packer acknowledged some ‘shameful’ behaviour in his leadership of the company, but often claimed ignorance of – and blamed others for – the casino’s alleged links to organised crime.

In the teeth of the pandemic, government spokespeople are no longer just obfuscating – they are hiding from the public the truth about what is really happening.

On everything from policies regarding water capture to koalas, the NSW Nationals – led by the controversial John Barilaro – are fast losing popularity with their rusted-on constituents and the support of their own party members.