• 48 mins ago

Treasurer Scott Morrison will deliver a better than expected mid-year budget update a week before Christmas, as company profits and high employment figures stir the economy back to life.

• 1 hr ago

Gun-loving Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie will be catapulted from the backbench straight into federal cabinet after being named as Barnaby Joyce's new deputy.

• Live

Hello and welcome to the day in politics.

Charities and non-government organisations have expressed alarm and anger at the Turnbull government's appointment of controversial former Labor MP Gary Johns as the head of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.

The former PM says attacks on him are political.

Some of the world's most recognisable companies would lose nearly $250 billion if governments extended Australia's controversial plain packaging laws from tobacco to alcohol, sugary drinks and junk food.

Shorten "furious" with factional tough guy while the party has no confidence Feeney would hold his Melbourne seat in a byelection.

State-owned media including China's People's Daily and the pro-Kremlin Russia Today would likely have to register as agents of foreign influence under the Turnbull government's new laws clamping down on political interference.

The forced citizenship declarations of MPs this week has not only revealed those with dual-allegiances but has also allowed us to see for the first time if the diversity of Parliament reflects the diversity of Australia.

Two Labor MPs have been sent to the High Court over their citizenship status but the Turnbull government's plan to unilaterally refer three others has been blocked, giving Bill Shorten some reprieve after a horror fortnight that has left many in his team dismayed.

• ANALYSIS

Bill Shorten should be a lot happier. But storm clouds are gathering.

• Live

Hello and welcome to the day in politics.

But Labor is intent on referring the Sydney MP to the High Court, declaring his advice is "not solid proof".

Bill shock – or the fear of it – shut wallets across the country in the three months to September.

Environment groups have welcomed the Turnbull government's retreat from plans to curb environmental advocacy but concerns remain about other proposals to restrict the charity sector.

Violent men who breach personal protection injunctions will no longer be able to rely on drunkenness as a defence.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has known for more than a week that his close factional ally David Feeney was struggling to prove he renounced his British dual citizenship, as Labor continues to resist government demands to refer more of its MPs to the High Court.

The government will support Katy Gallagher's referral to the High Court.

Labor frontbencher Tony Burke has predicted a "very large" round referrals to the High Court over the worsening dual citizenship fiasco.

The head of the public service says he holds "no personal animus".

Only half of Australians think that life in 2017 is better than it was in 1967 before the advent of the internet, mobile phones and globalisation of world economies, which has seen consumers exposed to more choice than ever before.

The revelation raises the prospect of a byelection early next year in his Melbourne seat of Batman.

• EXCLUSIVE

A secret letter to former trade minister Andrew Robb reveals that his consulting deal with a company closely linked to the Chinese government contains terms so vague and ill-defined he gets paid $880,000 a year even if he does nothing.

Hello and welcome to the day in politics.

The Turnbull government's sweeping crackdown on foreign interference in Australian politics has prompted a furious response by former trade minister Andrew Robb, who has accused his ex-colleagues of helping paint him as "treasonous".

A prominent anti-wind farm group has been stripped of its status as a tax-deductible charity status in a landmark legal decision that could affect treatment of other groups claiming to promote health.

Labor and Coalition insiders argue that moves to restrict "political campaigners" such as charities and GetUp! are more significant than the foreign donations ban.

Christopher Pyne's intervention means there are now enough MPs to block amendments brought by conservative colleagues.

A former Reserve Bank board member has warned Australian workers' wages will fall if the country does not follow the lead of the US and cut the company tax rate.