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The Albanese government has announced the biggest smoking reforms in a decade – banning non-prescription vapes and hiking the tax on tobacco. Health minister Mark Butler says these reforms will close ‘the biggest loophole in Australian health care history’ that saw nicotine vapes marketed and sold to children. Medical editor Melissa Davey explains why the government has chosen this approach, and what these reforms means for vape users and sellers

Single parents are waiting for next week’s federal budget to find out whether Labor will reverse welfare cuts the Gillard government made in 2012. This pushed tens of thousands of single parents on to the lower unemployment benefit and into poverty when their oldest child turned eight years old. Inequality reporter Stephanie Convery speaks to Jane Lee about the problem with the single parenting payment

Last week, Prince Harry’s case over alleged phone hacking by the publisher of the Sun and News of the World reached the British high court. Jim Waterson reports

Amid the cost-of-living crisis, a growing chorus of Labor MPs are calling for the government to raise the rate of jobseeker – currently sitting at $50 a day. South-west Sydney MP, Michael Freelander, says people on the payment are ‘struggling to cope with even the most basics of life in a modern society’. Freelander speaks to Laura Murphy-Oates about the groundswell of support within Labor for raising the rate and why he believes change will occur within the year

After a busy week for the Murdoch family, which saw Fox News settling out of court with voting machine company Dominion and Lachlan Murdoch dropping his defamation case against Crikey, they capped it all of off by firing one of their biggest stars – Tucker Carlson. But does the fallout from these high profile stories tell us anything we didn’t already know? Gabrielle Jackson talks to Guardian Australia’s editor-in-chief, Lenore Taylor, and head of news, Mike Ticher, about Fox News, the Murdochs and the media

On Wednesday it was revealed the Hecs-Help debt of millions of Australians will rise by 7% this year – the highest hike in decades. Data shows more graduates are struggling to pay back their loans amid stagnant wages, with the government crossbench and unions calling for urgent measures to help those trapped in a cycle of debt.Higher education reporter Caitlin Cassidy speaks to Laura Murphy-Oates about what’s going wrong in Australia’s student debt system

The defence strategic review has found that the Australian defence force is ‘not fully fit for purpose’ and recommended projecting military power further from its shores. Foreign affairs and defence correspondent Daniel Hurst talks to Jane Lee about the future of the ADF

Economists and housing experts say local residents who oppose new and affordable housing in their area – sometimes referred to as nimbys, short for ‘not in my backyard’ – are inflating the country’s housing crisis. Transport and urban affairs reporter Elias Visontay looks at how and why nimbys are opposing new developments and the case for changing their mindset

The Reserve Bank of Australia has undergone its first review since the 1990s and is preparing to make sweeping changes to the way it makes decisions. Guardian Australia’s economics correspondent Peter Hannam talks to Jane Lee about how the recommendations will change the way bank sets interest rates

With the budget fast approaching and the cost of living continuing to hit the most vulnerable Australians hardest, the Labor government is at a crossroads. Will it provide immediate and meaningful relief for those most in need, or be cautious in an effort to prevent inflation from spiralling even further out of control? Gabrielle Jackson talks to Guardian Australia’s editor-in-chief, Lenore Taylor, and head of news, Mike Ticher, about the cost of living, the budget, and tough choices