This episode examines Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s phone call to President Donald Trump over looming US steel and aluminium tariffs, the AUKUS agreement and its US$500 million payment, and the potential political fallout ahead of the federal election. It also explores the Closing the Gap report and the need for structural reform on Indigenous issues, the failed 2023 referendum, Victoria’s by-elections, and how the rise of independents might reshape the electoral landscape – culminating in a look at Albanese’s controversial deal with the Coalition on electoral funding reform and its broader implications for Australian politics.