A year next Wednesday since the coup that installed Malcolm Turnbull, many Liberals are disappointed and surprised he has turned out, so far, a mediocre prime minister.
- Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Labor senator Sam Dastyari has been forced to quit the frontbench after Bill Shorten decided his position was untenable.
Both Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese and Liberal backbencher Cory Bernardi were in the business of stirring expectations in interviews on Sunday. And if those expectations take hold, that’s particularly…
As any good farmer will tell you, always shut the gate. On Thursday a number of government MPs, including several ministers, rushed away from parliament, leaving the gate wide open, and the opposition…
At the end of the first sitting week of parliament, Labor caught the government flat-footed and without a majority in the House of Representatives.
Chaos reigned at Parliament House when key Liberals MPs went missing, and Labor staged an ambush.
The press gallery’s mid-winter ball, held on Wednesday, has become an institution. It raises money for charities as well as being an all-round good knees-up for media and politicians.
In the first sitting of the new parliament, conservatives within the government have muscled a proposed amendment to the Racial Discrimination Act onto the agenda.
The rules of engagement for Australian forces fighting Islamic State will be widened, with a proposed change in the law giving them legal power to target all parts of the armed organisation.
Dressed predictably if absurdly in a fluoro vest, with Employment Minister Michaelia Cash sporting matching gear, Malcolm Turnbull was out first thing on Wednesday spruiking his industrial relations legislation…
Fred Smith is no ordinary Australian diplomat. In postings served in the Uruzgan Province of Afghanistan, he built relationships with tribal leaders while continuing his side-career as a folk musician.
The government is “approaching this term with optimism”, according to the governor-general’s speech opening parliament. This is good to hear, because a more pessimistic character than Malcolm Turnbull…
Victorian ALP secretary Noah Carroll is being tipped to succeed George Wright, who has resigned as Labor’s national secretary.
Since retiring from politics in 2012, former Greens leader Bob Brown has continued to offer sharp perspectives on issues of national debate.
Former Greens leader Bob Brown has said the door should be kept open for a plebiscite if that is the only way of achieving same-sex marriage in the foreseeable future.
Federal MPs reassemble in Canberra on Monday ahead of Tuesday’s opening of parliament, with the government talking up what the Coalition used to call a budget emergency and Labor keeping maximum pressure…
The government’s plebiscite on same-sex marriage is unlikely to get off the ground, with the Greens announcing they will vote against its establishment.
Tony Abbott has exhorted the government to stand up for reform and avoid new spending that does not promote growth.
The government and Labor have offered up competing packages of budget savings. The question of whether they can meet halfway will be a test for both sides.
Sarah Hanson-Young – a loud voice on asylum-seeker issues – has lost a battle with her leader, Richard Di Natale, to keep her immigration portfolio in the Greens reshuffle.
With the new parliament finally opening on Tuesday, Bill Shorten’s tightrope tactics will soon be tested.
Incoming Victorian senator Derryn Hinch has the potential to be an ally or an enemy to the government's agenda.
Treasurer Scott Morrison has given notice of a fresh assault on the crucial challenge of budget repair. Let’s hope he and Malcolm Turnbull have learned from the unfortunate self-destructing experience…
Bill Shorten has proposed specific changes to the budget’s controversial superannuation reforms, which have been under attack from the conservatives in the Coalition ranks.
Political reporter Karen Middleton is releasing a book about the life and career of Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese. At its heart is a deeply personal story of Albanese's absent father.
Contact Michelle for
- General
- Media request
- Speaking request
- Consulting / Advising
- Research collaboration
- Research supervision
- Location: Canberra
- Website
- X (formerly Twitter): @michellegrattan
- Article Feed
-
- Joined
