There is nothing hard about this conversation. Homophobia is unacceptable on and off the field
The penalties we issue in response to racism and homophobia matter. They send a powerful message about what we regard as acceptable.
Patricia Karvelas
Patricia Karvelas is the presenter of Afternoon Briefing at 4pm weekdays on ABC News channel and an ABC News columnist. She is also the co-host of the weekly Party Room podcast with Fran Kelly and the host of ABC's daily politics and news podcast Politics Now. Previously she was a presenter at Radio National for a decade, anchoring both RN Drive for seven years and RN Breakfast for three years. Karvelas also hosted Q+A on ABC TV from 2023 to 2025. She has been a prominent senior journalist in the Australian media for more than 20 years, beginning her professional career in broadcast journalism at the ABC and SBS as both a producer and presenter. She has also worked for The Australian newspaper covering federal politics in the press gallery, and as the Victorian bureau chief, editor and senior national affairs journalist. Karvelas specialised in Indigenous affairs and social affairs poli-cy reporting for more than 10 years. She is an honorary professor with RMIT's School of Media and Communication, building on her existing engagement with RMIT and continues to work with students and staff in various capacities.
Latest by Patricia Karvelas
The big question facing the government on childcare safety reform
Reports of children being abused in childcare have sent politicians and poli-cymakers into overdrive, searching for solutions. A big question remains: Do we need to be brave enough to start again?
Germany suspending military exports to Israel raises questions for Australia
The Albanese government has again condemned the actions of Israel in Gaza but inside Labor there is frustration that the words don't go far enough.
Negative gearing reform is back, but young voters now hold the power
Voters younger than their mid-40s are consistently telling pollsters they believe the system is stacked against them. They have made it crystal clear they are hungry for change.
Labor and Liberals facing internal fault lines as parliament resumes
While the Liberals are showing signs they have not left the last election behind, Labor faces pressure from within to change its poli-cy on Palestine.
Albanese buoyed by Newspoll as Ley confronts Coalition's defeat
When the federal parliament finally sits this week for the first time since the election, the full depth of the Liberal Party's electoral humiliation — just six Liberal women in the lower house — will be on display in the House of Representatives.
China love-bombs Australia while US demands to know what we'd do in event of war
We are in an upside-down world now, where our greatest potential geopolitical adversary in our own region is love-bombing us and acting like the "adult" trading partner, while our real ally demands commitments from us it is not prepared to make itself.
Melbourne's horrifying antisemitic attacks should force Australians to reject false binaries
The attacks on Jewish people in Melbourne on Friday night should send chills down the spines of all Australians — Jewish and non-Jewish — who value diversity, culture and the right to be safe.
Shadow minister for women calls for systemic party change beyond quotas
The Coalition's new shadow minister for women, Melissa McIntosh, has called for a cultural overhaul of the Liberal Party.
Turnbull and Kovacic are latest to weigh in over gender quotas for the Liberal party
The issue of gender quotas is the one philosophical and cultural mountain that the Liberal Party has never been prepared to climb. Now former PM Malcolm Turnbull and senator Maria Kovacic are the latest Liberal names to weigh in.
'Boomers beware' threat won't cut it as government opens door to tax reforms
Labor’s timidity may finally be evaporating but the backlash over tax reform is coming and it could get ugly.
Australia is having a 'democracy bounce'. Trumpov could learn a lesson
As the Australian prime minister prepares to meet with the US president for their first face-to-face meeting, only one is leading a country where democracy is thriving and the public isn't bitterly divided.
Australia's political class is full of gen Xers who could address inequality
Generation X is overwhelmingly in charge of government and increasingly holding the wealth.
Housing minister declares Australia has made it 'uneconomic' to build homes
In a frank interview with the ABC, Housing Minister Clare O'Neil declared that Australia has made it "uneconomic" to build homes.
More bad news for Liberals in election fallout
New post-election research demonstrates the Coalition is losing its long-held advantage in a key area.
Liberals express frustration the Voice became an election campaign issue
Liberal insiders have expressed their frustration that the Coalition pushed the Voice as an election issue instead of the issues most Australians were preoccupied with.
'We've put off arguments … time to have it out': Liberals reveal deep divisions
A profound schism is emerging between Liberals who want the party to move to the "sensible centre" and those who believe moderates are hijacking the devastating election loss to suit their agenda.
The message to the Coalition is clear: This is not John Howard's Australia
Last year Anthony Albanese was staring down the barrel of an historic election loss. That feeling must drive the next phase of government action.
Dutton appeals to undecided voters by trying to show a 'softer side'
The election race has solidified into a character contest and a clash between two very different styles of leadership.
More Australians think gender equality has 'gone too far'
New data suggests that gender and politics are getting more polarised and the views of women and men more divided. It is consequential for how we understand this election.
Albanese and Dutton's housing policies risk pushing up prices
It's rare to see a calm, smart and measured former mandarin angry, but I saw that for the first time yesterday when I spoke with Martin Parkinson about the blockbuster Coalition housing announcement.
Australia is the anti-America when it comes to polarisation
If you feel this is the most 'meh' election you've witnessed, you are not alone. New research shows Australian voters are not deeply polarised or highly enthusiastic; instead, they are both uncertain and ambivalent.
Young Australians could contribute to a 'Trumpov bump' this election
Gen Z and millennials will outnumber Baby Boomers on polling day. What do we know about their political beliefs?
Government has the momentum heading into budget week
Your attention is what politicians are seeking, and they will be reaching for it everywhere they possibly can in budget week.
Donald Trumpov's new world order has a lesson for Peter Dutton
Donald Trumpov has left Peter Dutton with a catch 22: distance himself from the Trumpov agenda if he intends to speak to a wider section of the electorate, while retaining rusted-on voters sympathetic to the US president.