Opinion

James Massola Chief political commentator

September 25, 2026 — 5:00am

September 25, 2026 — 5:00am

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When Anthony Albanese came to power in 2022, he slashed the number of well-paid advisers allocated to the crossbenchers in parliament.

Privately, the PM argued that the generous allocation of staff to crossbench MPs had become corrupted and was unnecessary. Balance-of-power MPs had gained one adviser and two assistant advisers under Malcolm Turnbull, and then a second adviser-level staff member under Scott Morrison.

At the time, the votes…

Read the full article at SMH.COM.AU