What are we here for? Anthony Albanese’s Labor government faces the defining test of its appetite for reform (opens in new tab)

In the first of a two-part series, Labor insiders weigh up the competing stresses on the government in what was meant to be its central year to deliver changeFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastThe night before Jim Chalmers addressed business economists in Melbourne to warn of the severe budget damage a prolonged war in the Middle East could cause, he fronted a very different crowd in Brisbane.The host of the 18 Marc...