Speculation about what a new book called The Chairman’s Lounge would reveal about the prime minister’s relationship with former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has been swirling for months. But when it was released last week, Albanese seemed unprepared.

The saga has entangled politicians from both major parties and raises questions about how much our leaders love a freebie, and whether the prime minister in particular has lost touch with voters’ expectations.

The assessment from the Labor wise men who gather for lunch in Sydney once a month – Paul Keating, Bob Carr, John Faulkner and other warriors of the past – is that the Albanese government is too cautious and defensive. For many Labor insiders, the carping from the sidelines is an annoying distraction.

But there are some within the Albanese government who say the comments are providing the debate and contestability that the “broken” party sorely lacks. Today, Jason Koutsoukis on Labor’s war with its old guard.

With Australia’s terror threat level at “probable”, the need for all states and territories to be working with the federal government is greater than ever. But that’s not what’s happening.

The states and territories have taken the unprecedented step of abandoning the Albanese government’s planned counter-terrorism strategy, in favour of figuring it out themselves.

Peter Dutton is now on TikTok and using words like “demure” to try to appeal to young voters. Around a third of Australian politicians are now on the app, despite both major parties voicing major security concerns about the app’s parent company, ByteDance.

Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis on whether TikTok is actually a threat or just an opportunity for political embarrassment.

When Jim Chalmers said that interest rate hikes were “smashing the economy” he was either stating the obvious or starting a war, depending on who you ask.

But behind the apparent breakdown between the government and the Reserve Bank, there’s a much more bitter feud going on: between Jim Chalmers and Angus Taylor who has recently walked away from a bipartisan plan to fix the Reserve Bank.

The Albanese government’s long promised National Anti-Corruption Commission was met with high hopes that it would restore faith in politics. But there are concerns that the NACC is failing to live up to its obligations.

Today, special correspondent in Canberra for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis, on whether the body has been a failure.

The hard right group behind the “No” campaign is amassing a multi-million dollar war chest to take down its next opponent: the Australian Greens. Advance has called the Greens the “single biggest threat to freedom, security and prosperity in Australia” – and they have big plans to target their voters ahead of the next election.

Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis on who is behind Advance… and why they believe they can flip progressive women to the hard right.

It was one of the biggest corporate scandals the country has ever seen when it was revealed that PwC had used confidential government information to enrich itself and its corporate clients.

Since then there have been more than a dozen inquiries and investigations, yet important questions remain unanswered.

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has been stressing his closeness to both his home state of Queensland, and to his Coalition partners, the Nationals. Already he has promised to crack down on crime, slow immigration, break up supermarket monopolies, and deliver an energy revolution powered by nuclear. So will the upcoming Queensland state election be a testing ground for Dutton’s federal agenda?

Today, Jason Koutsoukis on how Peter Dutton is marketing himself, and whether Australia is ready to look more like Queensland.

In high-security labs, from Silicon Valley to mainland China, researchers are racing to be the first to achieve what has been dubbed ‘Q-day’. Q-day, after all, is the day the most powerful machine yet comes online: the first fault-free quantum computer.

Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper, Jason Koutsoukis – on why Australia wants to join the race, and why one American company got the billion-dollar deal to do it.

Back in 2016, when Donald Trump was elected President, the Australian government was caught off guard. This time around, the government is taking the prospect of a second Trump presidency seriously and has begun making preparations for it.

Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis on what the government thinks Trump 2.0 could mean for Australia and the safety measures that are already underway.

If you were a public service chief picking a firm to run ethics training, would one of the big four consulting firms be your first pick? They have faced intense scrutiny both in the media and in a recent senate inquiry, which will today release its report with recommendations to keep the private consultancy sector in check.

Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis, on what the crackdown might entail and why the public service still thinks a consulting firm is best placed to teach ethics to its leaders.

A proposed vaping ban is exposing fault lines within our political parties and pitting their traditional supporters against each other. Professional women, sick of seeing their kids sneaking a vape, are putting pressure on the Coalition, while the Greens fear they will alienate their younger voters if they oppose the bill.

Today, Jason Koutsoukis on the politics of the new vaping ban – and why it will be hard to police.

Nine years ago, the Liberal Party said it was aiming for gender parity by 2025. Since then, the number of Liberal women in parliaments across the country has actually fallen. Now, with another election approaching, the Liberals have a fresh batch of candidates. Some of them look and speak like teals, but will it be enough to win back sceptical voters?

Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis, on whether the Liberal Party’s problem is its candidates or its brand.

When you look at the Al Roj refugee camp in Northern Syria on Google Maps, you can see it’s only a few hundred metres away from an airport tarmac. But for the 40 Australian citizens stranded at the camp – with no water, electricity or real plan for the future – getting on a plane home could still be years away.

Today, special correspondent for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis, on why the government seems to have abandoned its plans to bring them home.

Almost every first-term government gets a second chance, but could the current Labor government be an exception? With so many voters feeling the cost-of-living crisis, and the government facing a slump in the polls, evidence is starting to pile up that Labor will struggle to retain majority government.

Today, special correspondent in Canberra for The Saturday Paper Jason Koutsoukis, on Labor’s strategy to hold on to power.