Brett Sheehy's first Melbourne International Arts Festival proved great for box office but also sparked debate with his tough, cerebral choices. Chief arts writer Raymond Gill reports.

With WA in doubt and upheavals in NSW, the aftershocks will be felt in Canberra. But other parties also have their problems.

THE Labor Party is precariously close to losing its coast-to-coast stranglehold on political power.

KIM BEAZLEY is a pessimist when assessing Labor's election chances. Winning government at any time in Western Australia, Labor's former national leader says, "requires the ALP to perform a double somersault with a pike and few twists thrown in". Even by Beazley standards, he is particularly glum about tomorrow's state..read more

THE Federal Government has been jolted by a cliffhanger election in the Northern Territory that has come close to ending Labor's monopoly on power in all states and territories.