I am furious. Angry, certainly, about the federal government’s proposed freedom of information laws, which mock the very idea of transparency, but seething especially about the justification for them,...

Run by multiple departments and hundreds of private companies, advocates warn errors will continue to rock a system ‘in crisis’ * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast It’s a system designed to help Australians who most need it. Yet its created continuous scandals, with parts of it paused because the government can’t say if it’s operating legally. Hundreds and thousands of Centrelink clients are affected by its frequent problems, being charged or overpaying debts incorrectly calculated as another class action is launched. Continue reading...

Private briefings confirmed how Labor intends to deal with some contentious elements of rewritten Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act Labor has confirmed the climate impact of fossil fuel projects still won’t be considered before they are approved under a revamp of federal nature laws, with the Greens labelling the government’s plan “worse than the status-quo”. The Greens, opposition and select environment and business groups have been briefed on parts of the long-awaited re-write of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Epbc) Act ahead of its introduction to parliament in the upcoming sitting fortnight. Continue reading...