Power has a tendency to set you adrift. Not all at once — it happens slowly, the way someone stops noticing the background noise of a city they’ve lived in too long. You rise, your circle narrows, your information gets filtered, and somewhere in that process you stop hearing the things that don’t make it […]

Opposition Leader Steven Miles framed this month’s Stafford by-election as a clear-cut Labor victory. The 4.1% swing against them tells a different, seemingly impossible story. A popular first-term government led by David Crisafulli, not yet halfway through its term, drove a swing against the Opposition in their own backyard. For some, this by-election is the […]

The One Nation surge in support is driven by cost-of-living pressures, immigration and an electorate hungry for more honesty and authenticity from politicians. In March this year at the South Australian election, the Liberal vote collapsed by almost 17% across both houses, securing just 5 seats in the lower house and 6 in the upper […]

Maybe you can help me with something? What do you hear when a politician uses the phrase ‘open for business’? I’m genuinely interested in your experience and insights, so email me at daniel.hobbs@sasgroup.net.au. When it comes to this month’s Inside Word Queensland State Politics Report, there’s plenty of grist for the mill, but most of it […]

It was two-time UK Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson who famously said, “In politics, a week is a long time.” For the federal Labor government, the next election is an eternity away with a margin large enough to weather a serious storm, so technically one week is just a blink. High interest rates, low productivity, […]

Kirribilli House, perched high on a cliff above Sydney Harbour, is about as far as it is possible to be from the mythical ‘everyday Australian’ referenced so often in political debate. Little wonder, then, that our Prime Ministers, ensconced behind the stone walls of their second official residence in one of Sydney’s swankiest suburbs, can […]

The 2026–27 Federal Budget was for Australian workers. Having chosen the “hard road of reform”, while facing charges of broken promises, Treasurer Jim Chalmers sent a clear message to the people and families of Australia tonight: wage earners, first home buyers and younger Australians will come out ahead, while property investors, trust beneficiaries and older […]

Jim Chalmers’ fifth budget has set the scene for a ‘young verses old’ race to the next election, with a determined effort to shift wealth and prosperity to younger and less affluent voters. The price of doing so is a broken promise to investors who are – generally – older and more affluent. The question […]

Tonight’s Federal Budget delivers significant changes to superannuation, capital gains tax and trust arrangements, with important implications for retirees and self-funded investors. Key takeaways: What this means for retirees: Self-funded retirees with investment properties acquired before tonight are protected by the negative gearing and CGT grandfathering provisions. Those with super balances under $3 million face no […]