Rich James

Rich James is the Worm editor at Crikey, covering the intersection of federal politics, economic policy and technology in a daily digest format. His coverage stands out for tracking how decisions on tax, interest rates, housing, climate and regulation play through Parliament, party rooms and public opinion rather than focusing on markets or corporate earnings. He brings long experience in senior news editing roles across several digital publishers into that work.

At Crikey, James edits and writes the Worm, a recurring newsletter-style feature that strings together multiple stories into a single narrative about the day in politics and policy. The Worm often moves from economic data to parliamentary manoeuvring to public sentiment in one piece, with headlines that foreground specific pressure points on the government and opposition. His finance coverage sits inside this wider frame, making budget settings, tax debates and economic plans part of a broader story about political accountability.

Economic pressure on Albanese government's plans

James’s finance beat is anchored in how economic policy tests the Albanese government’s plans and messaging. He writes on interest rate rises as moments that place “increased pressure on government’s economic plans”, using Reserve Bank decisions to examine what they mean for the treasurer and prime minister’s narrative. He follows tax debates through pieces on negotiations over tax reforms and National Disability Insurance Scheme cuts, tracking how Greens and crossbench responses shape the government’s room to move.

In coverage of proposed changes to negative gearing, he focuses on how Jim Chalmers introduces potential reforms and what they signal for future budgets.

His work on tax reform includes reporting on calls for the Albanese government to go further, framing the issue as both a revenue question and a test of political will. He connects economic policy to household pressures, writing on polling that gives the government an “F” from voters on housing alongside discussion of wages and cost-of-living concerns.

Across these pieces he returns to the tension between fiscal constraints, political promises and voter expectations, treating finance as a live political contest rather than a technical exercise.

Algorithms, AI guardrails and technology regulation

James regularly covers the policy struggle over algorithms and artificial intelligence, treating technology regulation as part of the same power contest as tax and budget fights. He reports on the Albanese government’s push for a crackdown on social media algorithms, highlighting proposals to rein in how platforms promote harmful content and the political stakes of that effort. In pieces on Senate inquiries calling on AI bosses to appear after the Medicare hack, he focuses on the demand that technology firms “put their money where their mouths are” on security and accountability.

He returns to AI guardrails in coverage of Albanese doubling down on protections after the Medicare breach, framing the issue as a test of government capacity to keep pace with “developing technologies”. Earlier Worm instalments pick up the “fight for control over algorithms”, showing how concerns about automated decision-making sit alongside broader debates over online safety and corporate power.

These stories are treated as part of a continuum with economic regulation, where the same actors wrestle over who bears risk and who benefits from technological change.

Climate, energy and environmental reforms

Climate and energy policy are another recurring strand in James’s work, often linked directly to party conflict and economic consequences.

He covers “economic concerns” around a deepening global fuel crisis, tying international energy shocks to domestic political pressure. In reporting on Liberals officially ditching net zero targets as Sussan Ley capitulates to the right, he sets out the internal party struggle and its implications for climate policy.

James follows environment reforms through the legislative process, with pieces on Murray Watt “scrambling to pass environmental reforms in final sitting week”, showing how timelines and parliamentary arithmetic shape policy outcomes. In COP coverage framed by headlines such as “All hail President Chris Bowen!”, he presents international climate talks as arenas where domestic political identities and ambitions are tested. These climate stories sit alongside his economic and tax coverage, reinforcing a picture of policy domains that are closely linked rather than siloed issues.

Leadership contests, immigration and party tensions

Beyond finance and regulation, James devotes significant attention to leadership battles and internal party tensions, often tying them back to policy stakes.

He reports on Greens leadership contests after Larissa Waters steps down, focusing on what new leadership could mean for negotiations over reforms and inquiries. His coverage of a Liberal “cabal” looking to usurp Sussan Ley during a colleague’s funeral sets out the personalities and factions involved, showing a party at odds over direction and policy.

Immigration and social cohesion appear as recurring themes, with Worm instalments on “violence, arrests, neo-Nazis” at anti-immigration rallies across the country and separate pieces on Labor’s effort to move on from an immigration debate. He writes on Burke targeting families of foreign students as migration plans finally arrive, connecting the detail of policy proposals to their political reception. AUKUS and foreign policy are folded into this mix through coverage of Albanese touching down in the UK with defence arrangements “on the menu”, presenting international security choices as part of the same matrix of domestic politics.

Across these areas, James’s distinguishing trait is the way he uses the Worm to join finance, policy and politics into a single narrative. He treats tax reform, interest rates, algorithms, climate targets and leadership contests as connected fronts in the same struggle over power and accountability.

His background includes senior roles such as news director, executive news editor, senior editor and deputy news editor at outlets including BuzzFeed Australia, the i paper, Storyful and Metro, which underpins his focus on fast-moving, multi-strand stories.