In our final episode for 2025, political editor Tom McIlroy speaks with Melissa Clarke from ABC RN Breakfast and Michael Read from the Australian Financial Review. The press gallery colleagues discuss the prime minister’s performance and his seemingly mild ambition for bold reform, and assess the government’s diplomatic balancing act of maintaining relations with the US president, Donald Trump. They also share their political predictions for 2026 – including the future of Sussan Ley’s leadership, the ministers they will be watching closely and the policies that will resonate the most with voters