For anyone doubting her ability to rehabilitate the Coalition after its thumping May 3 loss, Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has a message: people have questioned her capability and drive before and she’s proven them all wrong. Now, as the first woman to lead the Liberal Party, she promises to “meet modern Australia where they are” and to win back women, young people and inner-city voters by 2028.

Today, Karen Barlow, on her conversation with Sussan Ley – and what it reveals about the Coalition’s path out of defeat.

Yesterday we were saying “rest in peace” to the Coalition – but today there are signs it could be reborn. The Liberal and National parties are back at the negotiating table, seeing if they can repair their broken bond.

How Sussan Ley handles this moment will determine the future of the Liberal Party.

Sussan Ley faces the public as the new opposition leader after voters rejected the Liberal Party, handing it its worst defeat on record. The task before Ley is threefold: unite the Coalition, reset its policy platform, and win back the city women and younger voters who deserted the Liberal Party.

Today, Karen Barlow on Sussan Ley’s uphill battle to rebuild the Coalition.

The Liberal Party’s soul-searching has begun after the Coalition’s resounding election loss, which saw it largely wiped out from major cities and facing its smallest number of MPs in modern history. But the question of “where to now?” is complicated by Peter Dutton having led the party away from its traditional values and the election having diminished much of its moderate wing.

Today, Karen Barlow on what’s next for the Liberal Party.

In December last year, a group of crossbenchers dialled into a secret call with the Albanese government for a briefing on a “frankly terrifying” Climate Risk Assessment report that has remained unpublished since early 2023. The report details national security threats posed by climate change and, with a federal election looming, crossbenchers warn it’s “recklessly negligent” to keep its findings hidden.

Today, Karen Barlow on why the government is keeping national security threats a secret.

When the country’s peak arts body decided to dump Khaled Sabsabi from his position representing Australia at the Venice Biennale, it set in motion an existential crisis for the arts.

Now, the boss of Creative Australia has faced questions about why he decided to drop Sabasabi – and whether there was ministerial interference.

Australia is a small player in global trade, compared with giants like the US and China. And when the world’s two biggest economies embark on a trade war, we feel the impact.

Donald Trump’s new tariffs on China could reverberate through the Australian economy – affecting everything from iron ore exports to the cost of everyday goods.

The government is increasingly using non-disclosure agreements as a condition of consultation on reforms, threatening advocates and social welfare groups with imprisonment if orders are breached. It’s a conundrum for the Albanese government, which campaigned in opposition for greater transparency and attacked the Morrison government for its high level of secrecy.

Today, Karen Barlow on the impact these NDAs have on meaningful consultation and how the government justifies its turn towards secrecy.

Politics was changed at the last election in a way the major parties are still grappling with. Now, the record crossbench it delivered looks set to grow even more, with a hung parliament looking ever more likely.

In the lead up to the next election, Labor is courting the teals, knowing the relationship could be crucial to forming government and keeping Coalition MPs out of inner-city seats.

After spending nine months in a coma at the hands of her former partner, Shenane Hogg discovered her abuser had amassed $56,000 of debt in her name. Her story is just one of many that was heard at a parliamentary inquiry into how the financial system can be used to abuse women.

Today, Karen Barlow on the sharp rise in financial abuse, and why we’re failing to prevent it.

Barely a week goes by when the Department of Home Affairs isn’t under the blowtorch of media or political scrutiny. The question is, should one department have so much power?

Today, chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Barlow, on the inner workings of the super department.

There’s been a slow but steady reckoning on sexual harassment and discrimination in workplaces across Australia. That reckoning should have already come to the most high-profile workplace in the country – Parliament House. But several years on from the Jenkins report, has the culture really changed?

Today, chief political correspondent The Saturday Paper Karen Barlow, on the challenges of policing parliamentarians and why alcohol is so ingrained in political culture.

Jim Chalmers delivered what could be the most important budget of his political career last night. But how much will it help with the cost of living and how will we feel the impact?

Today, chief political correspondent for The Saturday Paper Karen Barlow on the budget that’s attempting to reshape Australia’s response to the living crisis.