Remember Anthony Albanese’s Copacabana house drama? The PM was dragged in the media for buying a 4.3 million dollar home on the NSW central coast in the middle of a cost of living crisis.

Well now the opposition leader is facing a few questions of his own. This week, our national affairs editor James Massola has done a bit of digging, and has revealed Peter Dutton’s extensive, and rich, history of property dealings.

At the same time, News Corp has published allegations about Dutton’s share trading in the middle of the global financial crisis. Aside from denying he’s done anything dodgy, he’s also argued that the information is the work of Labor’s “dirt unit”.

Today, our intrepid reporter James Massola joins us to talk through these stories, and delves into this mysterious “dirt unit”.

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Well, the Reserve Bank finally answered our fiscal prayers this week, and announced an interest rate cut of 0.25 percent, providing relief to stretched mortgagees across the land.

But arguably no one was sweating on the rate cut more than the Albanese government, which desperately needed a strong sign that the cost of living crisis has turned a corner, and things are going to get easier for working Australians.

But is the rate cut enough, and will they reward the government for it by voting Labor at the next election? And what about the curious anomaly in the figures that has stumped even the experts.

Senior economics correspondent Shane Wright unpacks this with Jacqueline Maley, while national security correspondent Matthew Knott discusses the landmark national security speech given by ASIO boss Mike Burgess.

Audio credit:

• 'Everything everywhere all at once': ASIO details multiple security threats to Australia. SBS News.

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We bring you this episode of Inside Politics on Valentines Day, but right now the trade relationship between Australia and our closest ally is at a delicate juncture.

This week President Donald Trump declared his intention to impose tariffs on aluminium and steel imports from all countries, no exceptions. And the pressure was on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to negotiate a way out.

Albanese had a long, and reportedly warm conversation with Trump about the tariff issue, with Trump saying he would consider an exemption for Australian steel and aluminium.

But no promises were made, and in the volatile landscape of Trump 2.0, nothing is certain except we will have more uncertainty.

This week, Inside Politics host Jacqueline Maley is joined by chief political correspondent David Crowe, and senior economics correspondent Shane Wright.

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