Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wanted to talk about the budget surplus and the crack-down on the big supermarkets over their alleged ill-treatment of customers this week, but that was derailed by the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

While the government struggled to find the right form of words to respond to the crisis between Israel and its neighbours, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton labelled the Prime Minister weak, and said he needed to stand more firmly with Israel.

The result was an ugly week where both men vied to position themselves to voters as the best leader to handle a crisis, showing off their very different styles.

Deputy federal politics editor Nick Bonyhady and federal political correspondent Paul Sakkal join Jacqueline Maley to discuss.

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Federal politics got interesting this week when our very own James Massola and David Crowe reported that the Labor government has asked the Treasury to model cuts to negative gearing tax concessions, a policy that has previously caused Labor plenty of electoral pain.

The Prime Minister and his frontbench are being very coy about any proposed changes to the tax treatment of investment properties.

Are changes to negative gearing an option the government is really considering? How would they argue the case to cut the concessions this time, given they have tried and failed to do so before? And would changes to negative gearing make any difference to house prices anyway?

Joining Jacqueline Maley to discuss are chief political correspondent David Crowe and national affairs editor James Massola.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.

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The Albanese government came to power promising to ease the housing crisis by increasing supply. But has its housing agenda stalled?

This week, the Greens hardened their opposition to two key elements of the government’s housing policy.

The Prime Minister has urged the Greens to “get on with it” and wave the plans through. So will Labor be able to secure its agenda? And if not, who will pay the political price?

Plus we have a look at the war of words between the business lobby and the government. Is this just the usual tension we often see between a Labor government and corporate interests? Or is it something more significant?

Joining Jaqueline Maley to discuss, is federal political correspondent Paul Sakkal and chief economic correspondent Shane Wright.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.

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