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Parliament has wrapped for 2024 and politicians are now back in their electorates for the summer. Labor ended the year on a high, striking deals to pass more than 30 pieces of legislation through the Senate in just one day. And while the sitting year is over, speculation is still running hot over when the prime minister will call the federal election. Nour Haydar speaks to chief political correspondent Paul Karp about what the government achieved – and compromised – in the final frenetic sitting day, and what Anthony Albanese could now be weighing up as he decides when voters will head to the polls

In the early hours of 17 May 2023, Senior Constable Kristian White shot 95-year-old Clare Nowland with his Taser in a Cooma nursing home. Last week, after a high-profile trial in which he pleaded not guilty, a jury found White guilty of the manslaughter of the great-grandmother. He now awaits sentencing. Reged Ahmad speaks to reporter Jordyn Beazely about the unresolved questions surrounding how police officers interact with vulnerable people

The conversation about fluoride’s health benefits has exploded after a US federal toxicology report, court ruling and independent scientific review all called for updated risk-benefit analysis. Ian Sample hears from Catherine Carstairs, professor of history at the University of Guelph in Canada, about how attitudes to fluoridation have evolved, and Oliver Jones, professor of chemistry at RMIT University, Melbourne, about where the science stands today You can support the Guardian at theguardian.com/fullstorysupport

A heatwave has hit eastern Australia. As Sydneysiders struggled through the heat, the premier, Chris Minns, asked residents to cut back on their power use to prevent parts of the city from plunging into a blackout. And while the grid strained to keep up with demand, an all-too-familiar debate erupted about the transition to renewable energy.Bridie Jabour talks to Guardian Australia’s head of newsroom, Mike Ticher, and deputy editor Patrick Keneally about the challenges the Labor government faces when selling its climate credentials during a cost-of-living crisis

The remaining members of the Bali Nine – Scott Rush, Matthew Norman, Si-Yi Chen, Martin Stephens and Michael Czugaj – are all serving life sentences in jail. But now there is a real possibility the five men, arrested in 2005 for attempting to smuggle heroin out of the resort island, may finally return to Australia to serve their time here. Guardian Australia reporter Ben Doherty is a former foreign correspondent covering south-east Asia, and Kate Lamb was a senior Indonesia correspondent before joining as an international editor in Sydney. Both reporters reflect on what has happened nearly 20 years since the arrests and examine the delicate politics behind bringing the remaining members back to Australia.

When climate and energy policy is in the news, it’s not always easy to decipher what’s accurate and what’s not. There can be straw man arguments, false equivalencies and misleading claims. An interview with Dick Smith broadcast around Australia on a long-running ABC radio program earlier this month caused environment and climate correspondent Graham Readfearn to raise an eyebrow. He examines the millionaire businessman’s claims about renewable energy – and why his comments matter

Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones’s devastated families have pleaded with Laos authorities to get to the bottom of a suspected mass methanol poisoning tragedy. The Australians, both 19, are among six foreign tourists who have died in Laos. It’s not clear how the tourists came to ingest the suspected poison, but their deaths have started a conversation about the possible dangers of bootlegged liquor. Victorian state reporter Adeshola Ore tells Reged Ahmad what we know happened in Vang Vieng and why the parents of the teenagers who died hope their deaths are ‘not in vain’ You can support the Guardian at theguardian.com/fullstorysupport

Everyone in US politics has an opinion on why the Democrats lost the election, and finger-pointing within the party is rife. As the debate rages, Jonathan Freedland will be speaking to various experts about what the party got wrong – and how it can bounce back. This week he meets James Carville, the veteran political strategist who helped get Bill Clinton elected twice You can support the Guardian at theguardian.com/fullstorysupport

With only one parliamentary sitting week left this year, the ALP and the Coalition have their sights set on the upcoming federal election.Reged Ahmad talks to Guardian Australia’s editor Lenore Taylor, deputy editor Patrick Keneally and head of newsroom Mike Ticher about how the major parties are not only looking forward – they’re also looking back at the US election and whether there are lessons for them in Donald Trump’s big win

Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson have dominated the breakfast slot in Sydney for almost two decades. But their show’s recent expansion into the Melbourne market has tanked. And while they have a reputation for crude language and stunts, the conversations that are broadcast continue to raise questions about how the show skirts decency standards. Senior correspondent Sarah Martin and reporter Kate Lyons tell Nour Haydar how Australia’s highest-rating radio program gets around broadcast regulations