Paul Sakkal
Paul Sakkal follows how decisions in Canberra reshape Australia’s economy, security settings and party system, focusing on the pressures they create inside the major parties and for voters. He is chief political correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, covering federal politics with a mix of sourced news, policy reporting and explanatory analysis. An award‑winning political journalist with experience on both federal and state rounds, he brings a strong accountability lens to his coverage and regularly breaks stories based on senior political and government sources.
Federal Labor agenda, taxation and economic policy
Sakkal devotes significant attention to the economic program of the current Labor government, especially tax and budget decisions that test its relationship with business and voters. He reports on proposals to increase taxes on large superannuation balances, charting how criticism has built since Labor’s election win and how the government manages the politics of raising tax on balances above $3 million.
He covers debates over capital gains and other tax settings, including the political challenge of avoiding backlash from small business when making changes that affect investment and asset sales.
Housing and infrastructure policy are recurring subjects in his work. He has examined the government’s pledge to build 1.2 million homes by the end of the decade, highlighting warnings from within government that Labor is on track to fall short and the push to axe planning “red tape” to speed construction. His reporting links these housing targets to broader questions of affordability, supply and the political stakes for a government that has tied its credibility to ambitious building goals.
Sakkal also follows the intersection of economic policy with trade and biosecurity. He has covered efforts by the prime minister to secure carve‑outs from newly doubled steel and aluminium tariffs announced by Donald Trump at a rally, explaining the government’s strategy to protect local industry while preserving the broader relationship with the United States. In the same vein, he reports on the prime minister’s insistence that Australia’s strict biosecurity standards will not be compromised in tariff negotiations, showing how economic diplomacy is framed against domestic regulatory priorities.
Across these stories, he tends to anchor his reporting in concrete policy mechanisms and then spell out their long‑term political implications.
Defence, foreign policy and security alliances
Defence and foreign policy, particularly the AUKUS security pact, form another core strand of Sakkal’s coverage. He has reported on a snap review of the AUKUS arrangement, quoting senior Australian government sources who say the process might be designed to gain leverage as the United States pushes Australia to spend more on defence. In related coverage, he has detailed public assurances from Defence Minister Richard Marles and former prime minister Scott Morrison that they remain confident the US will continue to back the $368 billion submarine deal, exploring tensions between political messaging and alliance realities.
Sakkal extends this focus on contested security issues to international politics more broadly.
He has written about far‑right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben‑Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, reporting allegations that they incite and support systemic violence against Palestinians and aggressively expand illegal settlements. These stories show his interest in the way foreign leaders and conflicts shape Australia’s diplomatic posture and domestic debates on human rights and international law.
His defence and foreign‑policy coverage typically combines insider sourcing with clear explanation of complex agreements, costs and risks for readers.
Party crises, media ecosystems and internal tensions
Sakkal frequently covers internal party investigations and crises that threaten long‑term electoral viability. He has reported on a major inquiry into a party’s “existential crisis” that analysts warn could keep it out of government for a generation, using that process to explore structural problems, factional divisions and strategic drift.
His work on superannuation tax changes similarly situates policy debates within broader struggles over a party’s identity and its appeal to key voter blocs.
He reports closely on internal discipline and conflict, including coverage of a party’s escalating criticism of former senator Dorinda Cox after an earlier period in which the party had wished her well. In these pieces he traces how disagreements over policy and strategy spill into public reprimands, defections and shifts in leadership rhetoric.
His writing often shows how a single comment or decision reflects deeper ideological and organisational tensions.
Sakkal also examines the role of media in shaping party fortunes. In The Sydney Morning Herald’s politics section he has written analysis arguing that right‑wing media is carrying the Liberal Party towards defeat, and he dissects how coverage, commentary and campaign narratives influence internal decision‑making and electoral outcomes.
As a panelist on national political programs he has discussed the role of the Nationals within the Coalition and figures such as Jacinta Price, adding broadcast commentary to his written reporting on coalition dynamics and conservative politics. Taken together, these strands show a reporter who returns repeatedly to the question of how parties adapt - or fail to adapt - to a changing electorate and media environment.
Formats, platforms and reporting style
As chief political correspondent, Sakkal writes across straight news, enterprise reporting and longer‑form analysis for both The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. His stories routinely cite senior government sources and internal documents, reflecting a focus on breaking developments and exclusives within the federal parliamentary press gallery.
He has previously covered state‑level politics, which gives him familiarity with how federal decisions play out in state capitals and party organisations.
Beyond print and online articles, Sakkal co‑hosts the Inside Politics podcast for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, where he interviews key political figures and provides regular audio analysis of the week in Canberra. Episodes have included conversations with the minister for climate change and energy, Chris Bowen, in which he leads discussions on major reforms and political strategy. He also features in video explainers and budget previews alongside senior economics correspondents, offering joint coverage of federal budgets and economic settings. His public professional profiles note that he is a Walkley and Quill award winner and a Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery Journalist of the Year, underscoring that his role combines day‑to‑day reporting with recognised investigative and analytical work.
Across these formats, Sakkal’s distinctive through‑line is the way he connects sourced, inside‑gallery reporting to clear explanations of policy detail and party strategy. He returns to themes of taxation, housing, defence alliances and internal party crises, and he presents them through stories that highlight stakes for both governing parties and the broader electorate.
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