An unusual alliance of crossbenchers and the Coalition has forced an ongoing extension of Question Time in the Senate. They are demanding the Labor government immediately release the "jobs for mates" report, which it has withheld for two years. Critics, including Transparency International, say the government's refusal to release the report is further evidence of a "culture of secrecy" at a time when its integrity standards are under heightened scrutiny.

Under-fire Optus executives have copped a parliamentary bashing for their response to a triple-zero outage linked to the deaths of three people. The proceedings have immediately zeroed in on CEO Stephen Rue, who is being pressured to explain a significant delay in reporting the fatalities to both the government and the regulator.

The Nationals have formally walked away from support of Australia's net zero emissions by 2050 policy after a party room meeting in Canberra. The decision sets up a potential showdown with their coalition partner the Liberals, who are also reviewing their approach to climate change after their disastrous election defeat.

The author of the review that triggered the government's environment reforms has fully endorsed Labor's nature legislation. Professor Graeme Samuel has told SBS the bill implements the 'totality' of the recommendations he made in his report, five years after it was delivered. The Greens and Coalition have objected to the bill, with Greens leader Larissa Waters describing it as 1400 pages gift-wrapped for big business. But Professor Samuel says environmental groups and business interests alike had substantial input into his report, and their desires were fully taken into account in the recommendations. He's been talking to SBS chief political correspondent Anna Henderson.

The Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) is under intense political scrutiny following the launch of a forensic nine-month federal audit. The $10 billion scheme, intended to boost social and affordable housing, is accused by the Opposition of wasting taxpayer funds and overpaying for properties. The debate has been dominated by the fund's slow delivery and expert concerns that its structure incentivises market-tied "fake affordable" rents over genuine public housing.

The long-awaited overhaul of Australia’s national environmental law is set to ignite Parliament this week, as the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC) faces its first major reform in twenty-six years. This second attempt at a package, featuring an independent EPA and a new National Interest power, has already generated a political firestorm. The Opposition is demanding the bill be split, while the Greens warn the entire package is "riddled with loopholes."

The federal opposition has accused Communications Minister Anika Wells of misleading parliament over when her office was notified of the Optus Triple-Zero outage that has been linked to four deaths. It comes as emails that Optus sent to notify the government and the regulator of the outages, which ultimately affected more than 600 people last month, are scrutinised in Senate estimates. Meanwhile, legislation creating a triple-zero custodian has passed the lower house.

The government has fast-tracked legislation into parliament aimed at strengthening the 000 call system after failures by Optus to ensure access to emergency calls. As parliament resumed, the nation's leaders made time to commemorate the second anniversary of the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas.

The coalition are revamping their proposal for nuclear energy, despite suffering an election loss with this policy. The details are yet to be confirmed, but the Opposition Energy Minister says they will adapt their plan to meet developments in the space.

Climate advocates say the federal government's 2035 emissions reduction target falls "dangerously short", while the Coalition has said its plan is "grounded in fantasy land". Government ministers are now working to justify the target to the public and the community, as the Coalition is under pressure to outline their climate policy.