Courtney Gould

Courtney Gould is a political reporter and live blog specialist at the ABC, focused on the daily manoeuvres and power struggles of federal politics. She stands out by running the network’s politics blog and a recurring federal politics wrap that turns a constant flow of parliamentary developments into clear, tightly edited narratives. Across straight reporting and analysis, she draws a line from insider strategy to its impact on voters, particularly around cost of living, tax and budget debates.

Politics live blog and rolling coverage of federal developments

Gould’s core platform is the ABC’s politics live blog, where she hosts rolling coverage across the parliamentary day. Her blog entries move quickly between committee hearings, floor debates, party-room manoeuvring and reactions from interest groups, while maintaining a simple, conversational structure that helps readers keep track of fast-changing events.

A typical day’s wrap under her byline ranges from corruption watchdog matters involving current and former politicians, to developments in AUKUS legislation clarifying that Australia will not accept nuclear waste from partner countries.

She threads in negotiations between the Greens and the government over the Reserve Bank, shifting “tax vibes” that hint at future fiscal policy, and sector responses from organisations such as Universities Australia. Even lighter colour - such as lobster being served at an Australia China Business Council gathering - is used to signal where political and business interests intersect.

Colleagues publicly credit her as the brains behind the ABC’s politics blog, underscoring her role as the central organiser of this live coverage.

Weekly federal politics updates on tax, cost of living and campaigns

Alongside live blogging, Gould writes a regular federal politics update that functions as a weekly briefing on what matters inside and outside the chambers. These pieces explicitly frame themselves as a way to “get you up to speed” on the week’s happenings, reinforcing her role as a guide through complex parliamentary detail.

One instalment on the close of the political year centres on cost of living pressures, capturing how persistent voter frustration shapes the tone of federal debate.

Another focuses on a man who bids $16,000 to pursue a budget tax grievance in court, using the story to explore the politics of negative gearing, ministerial speeches and gambling policy around the Midwinter Ball. Her weekly wrap on Senator Matt Canavan’s rebrand uses sunglasses, branding comparisons and references to figures like Donald Trump to show how personal image-making feeds into broader party messaging. In her report “Nationals pull election stunt as tax debate heats up”, she links campaign theatre with an escalating national argument over tax, reflecting her interest in how symbolic gestures sit alongside substantive policy fights.

Across these updates, Gould’s tone stays spare and explanatory, prioritising the practical consequences of political decisions for households and taxpayers.

Analysis of political strategy and the attention economy

Gould also writes analysis pieces that step back from the daily grind to examine how politicians chase and manage attention.

In her exploration of politics on TikTok and podcasts, she charts how parties and individual MPs use emerging platforms to reach new audiences, and the risks that come with constant content production. The article balances enthusiasm for innovative communication with scrutiny of the way missteps and controversies can be amplified when every tactic is built for shareability.

Her analysis of the long-running impasse with Türkiye over hosting COP31 looks at climate diplomacy through a political lens, highlighting how international negotiations and domestic positioning collide over questions of who will front a major global summit. In a column on the federal Budget, she distils several days of reaction into a clear account of how fiscal measures land in the community, particularly for regions weighing cost of living pressures against promises of future growth. Across these pieces, Gould’s distinguishing mark is an emphasis on strategy: who is trying to capture attention, what tools they use, and how those choices reshape both public debate and individual political careers.

Previous reporting on protest movements and pandemic politics

Before joining the ABC, Gould reported politics for other national outlets. Her earlier work includes coverage of anti-vaccine protesters converging on the ABC’s headquarters to challenge vaccination rules and pandemic powers, capturing the clash between institutional decision-making and organised dissent. That reporting combines straightforward description of protest activity with close attention to demands directed at senior media figures, reflecting a longer-running interest in how pressure groups try to influence powerful institutions.

This background in pandemic-era politics informs her current focus on the intersection of policy, public anger and political performance, especially when contentious issues spill out of parliamentary debate and onto the streets.