Deborah Groarke

Electioneering is essentially the process by which candidates in an election seek to convince voters to support them - and not the other guy. In the US, the campaigns of the Democratic and Republican nominees for president have centred around particular age and class groups of people - as well as voters in crucial areas known as battleground states, which could offer them a potential edge in electoral college votes. Those battleground states have become even more important in light of the polls which suggest neither Donald Trump and Kamala Harris has a clear lead, and are essentially tied. But the race is being complicated by social media and even artificial technology, which has changed the shape of electioneering for the US presidency.

Cory Alpert is a PhD researcher at the University of Melbourne looking at the impact of AI on democracy - but he has a wealth of experience in the world of American politics. He served for three years in the White House during the Biden-Harris Administration working in the Executive Office of the…

There has been a mixed response to Labor's announcement of HECS changes. The federal opposition has derided the plan as unfair, while others say it is a vote grab that will fail to counteract the impact of current indexation practices.

Voters trusted Donald Trump much more than the Democrats on the economy, polling shows. Four years after he was voted out of the White House,

Economists have told COP29 that developing countries need at least $1.5 trillion annually by the end of the decade to cope with climate change. The success of this year's UN climate summit therefore hinges on whether countries can agree on a new finance target for richer countries, development lenders and the private sector to deliver each year. But political tensions and disagreements are making progress a challenge.

Today was meant to be when Myer unveiled its iconic Christmas window display in Melbourne. But it was also going to be when a pro-Palestine group staged a protest at the formal opening, prompting Myer to cancel the formal ceremony.

China is aiming to be the first country in the world to develop what it calls the low-altitude economy, which could include passenger and cargo transport - as well as rapid-response emergency services.

There are more than 660,000 people with disabilities in the National Disability Insurance Scheme, a program meant to provide quality of life for its participants. But the scheme has undergone significant change, most recently legislation approved by Parliament in October 2024 limiting growth in the cost of the scheme to eight per cent a year. In this episode of the Too Hard Basket, we take a look at what's happened to the NDIS in the weeks since that bill was passed. For the federal government, the Scheme would not be sustainable without those changes - but advocates argue these cuts to the budget make little sense.

United States President Joe Biden's decision to pardon his son Hunter for his drug and tax convictions has attracted a great deal of debate and controversy amongst Democrats and Republicans alike. But this is not the first controversial pardon by a president; leaders throughout American history have often used their pardon power to forgive the offences of controversial figures and people close to them.

Pressure is growing on US President Joe Biden to decide on a range of pardons before he leaves the White House for good in January 2025. Advocates are calling attention to cases where they argue pardons would be appropriate - while others are said to be arguing for pre-emptive pardons for current and former public officials. As XXXX reports, there are concerns that incoming justice officials - and Donald Trump himself - could initiate prosecutions based on a desire for political revenge.