The Signal is the ABC's daily news podcast that helps cut through the noise to cover the biggest stories, explaining not only what is happening but why. It's an entertaining 15-minute show, perfect for the daily commute.
We won’t know until after this election who has donated to the political parties for this campaign and how much they’ve handed over.
But voters are sceptical, with some of our listeners questioning the role of billionaires in our politics.
Evalyn from Bendigo in Victoria asked us about the mining magnate Gina Rinehart. What influence do donations to political parties get you?
Today, Kate Griffiths from the Grattan Institute explains what we know about political donors.
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Kate Griffiths, researcher at the Grattan Institute
It’s just a TV show, it’s not real, but the series Adolescence has really got people talking.
The Netflix crime drama is about a teenage boy accused of murdering a female classmate and it takes the issues of toxic masculinity, loneliness and the gender divide to the extreme.
It’s got a lot of parents thinking about what their children are seeing on their phones when they’re in their rooms.
Today, parenting author and educator Michelle Mitchell on what the show gets right and wrong and the responsibilities of parents.
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Michelle Mitchell, parenting author and educator
Last week, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young stood up in the Senate chamber holding a big dead fish.
Almost all of us have eaten Tasmanian farmed salmon at some point, so why has it become so contentious ahead of the federal election?
Today, Leon Compton, host of ABC Radio’s Tasmania Mornings program, explains the controversy and what it means for the pink flesh fish on so many dining tables.
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Leon Compton, host of ABC Radio Tasmania Mornings
On May 3rd, just five weeks from now, Australians will be heading to the polls.
The campaigning is underway after a visit to the Governor General by the Prime Minister.
So, who will convince Australians they deserve to lead the country for the next three years, Anthony Albanese or Peter Dutton?
It’s an election with key policy differences so far all about the cost of living and energy policy.
Today, election analyst Casey Briggs explains why there’s a growing number of swing voters.
He’s been looking at what they’re thinking as politicians begin the hard sell.
We want you to help shape ABC News Daily’s coverage of this election campaign. Send us a short voice memo telling us what’s caught your attention in this campaign. We’ll dedicate one episode each week of the campaign to explain a policy area and the politics around it with an expert or a journalist. We need topics and policies that a lot of people will be interested in. Email us: abcnewsdaily@abc.net.au
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Casey Briggs, ABC election analyst
Very senior members of the Trump administration have this week been caught mistakenly sharing secret plans to bomb the Houthi rebel group in Yemen with a journalist.
It happened when the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic was added to a group chat on the popular messaging app Signal, in what appears to be a spectacular breach of US national security.
Today, David Smith, from the United States Studies Centre on the great ‘Signalgate’ scandal.
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David Smith, associate professor of American Politics and Foreign Policy at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney
It’s a budget with a surprise tax cut, so there must be an election coming up.
Today, Laura Tingle, political editor for the ABC’s 7.30 program tells us the new tax cut is the world’s biggest ‘neon sign’, giving the Labor government a selling point for its fourth budget.
She says there are a few things working politically for the prime minister at the moment as the Coalition ‘implodes’.
But everything can change in the upcoming election campaign.
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Laura Tingle, 7.30 political editor
Every taxpayer is getting a new tax cut in a pre-election pitch from Labor revealed in the federal budget.
It’s not much extra, starting at just a few hundred dollars extra over the whole year in 2026-27 for a worker on average earnings.
At the same time, the budget’s back in red, with a decade of deficits forecast. So, how is Labor managing the economy?
Today, chief business correspondent Ian Verrender joins Sam Hawley in the budget ‘lock up’ where reporters and experts get early access to the government’s economic plan.
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Ian Verrender, ABC Chief Business Correspondent
The Trump administration insists there’s been real progress towards a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine, but is Donald Trump being played by Vladimir Putin?
Talks continue this week in Saudi Arabia, but it’s questionable whether Russia’s conditions can ever be accepted by the Ukrainians.
Today, Matthew Sussex from the Centre for European Studies at the Australian National University on where the talks are up to and what Putin really wants.
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Associate Professor Matthew Sussex, Centre for European Studies at the Australian National University
We’re being told to expect our electricity bills to go up again this year.
So why is it that we keep seeing hikes above the inflation rate and are extra government subsidies in this week's budget the best solution?
Today, energy expert from the Grattan Institute Alison Reeve explains why consumers keep being slugged and what the long-term outlook is for our power costs.
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Alison Reeve, energy and climate change deputy program director at the Grattan Institute
Donald Trump’s showdown with the courts reached a new level this week when it appeared that the US government defied a judge’s order blocking the deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan migrants.
The US president invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to send alleged gang members to El Salvador where they’re being held in a harsh prison.
It seems that planes were in the air when the judge made the ruling, so why weren’t they turned around?
Today, what happens if the Trump administration ignores the courts.
Ilya Somin, law professor at George Mason University, on the risks of a constitutional crisis in the United States.
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Ilya Somin, Professor of Law at George Mason University in Virginia and the B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies at the Cato Institute
Buying a carton of eggs at your local supermarket has become a lot harder in the past year.
The shelves are often bare, there’s a limit on the number of cartons you can take home and prices are rising.
Today, Landline reporter Tim Lee explains how bird flu is leading to a major egg shortage and why it could last for years.
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Tim Lee, Landline reporter