Prime Minister Tony Abbott has appealed to Australians to “go about their business as usual” as a gunman holds a group of people hostage in the Lindt cafe in Martin Place, Sydney. After a meeting of cabinet’s…
- Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Some barnacles are not, it seems, able to be removed – certainly not in time for Christmas. As the political year grinds to its end, the Prime Minister’s Office is under almost as much attack as that of…
A very measured Joe Hockey has appeared on TV with a dual mission – to lay the ground for bad fiscal news, and to tell an angry electorate the government is revising its sales strategy. First, Monday’s…
University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Stephen Parker and Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics including the tension between Julie Bishop and Peta Credlin, the GP co-payment changes and Prime…
Julie Bishop and Peta Credlin had one significant parallel experience on the way to government. They both survived three Liberal leaders. Bishop was deputy to Brendan Nelson, Malcolm Turnbull and Tony…
Tony Abbott wants Australia’s Indigenous people recognised in the constitution on May 27, 2017, the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum, which gave the Commonwealth power to make laws for Aborigines…
Australia’s health care arrangements do not work well for those with complex and chronic conditions such as diabetes, cancer and mental illness, according to a federal government paper. These people need…
ALP national president Jenny McAllister will replace John Faulkner in the Senate when parliament resumes following the veteran Labor figure’s announcement that he is retiring after a quarter of a century…
The government has moved to scrape off another “barnacle” by announcing it will provide A$200 million over four years to the Green Climate Fund, despite its earlier criticism of the initiative. But it…
The government has stepped back from its A$7 proposed co-payment for visiting the GP but still aims to skin the Medicare cat, putting the onus on doctors to send a $5 price signal to non-concessional patients…
Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten will make their first joint appearance to promote the constitutional recognition of Australia’s first people on Thursday night. The function, in the Redfern area, is a dinner…
Among its many problems, the Abbott government is showing distinctly cannibalistic tendencies. It’s not just a matter of the odd leak, which happens in the healthiest of administrations. This is serious…
The government has again appealed to Labor to immediately recommence negotiations over the renewable energy target (RET). Environment Minister Greg Hunt has written to opposition climate spokesman Mark…
University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Stephen Parker and Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics including the end of parliamentary year, Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s appearance on the ABC’s 7:30…
Deputy National Party leader Barnaby Joyce might mangle the language but he is willing, inside the government and often publicly as well, to call things as they are. So amid Tony Abbott making all sorts…
The current economic environment, with its “headwinds”, reinforced the importance of getting the budget back into order, Treasurer Joe Hockey has said in a ministerial statement as parliament prepares…
Tony Abbott is sending Trade Minister Andrew Robb rather than Environment Minister Greg Hunt to accompany Julie Bishop at the United Nations climate conference in Peru. Bishop, as Foreign Minister, is…
After the Senate sent his higher education bill packing, Education Minister Christopher Pyne dropped into a Universities Australia reception, which serendipitously happened to be in full swing at Parliament…
The Senate has voted down Education Minister Christopher Pyne’s higher education measures – one of the budget’s key reforms – in a major defeat for the Abbott government. But Pyne announced the government…
Palmer United Party Senate leader Glenn Lazarus has warned Education Minister Christopher Pyne to “stop harassing” him and other crossbenchers as the government tries desperately to get its higher education…
After a shocker week in Canberra and a Liberal turf-out in Victoria, Tony Abbott conspicuously changed the tone of his government’s rhetoric. At his long Monday news conference he no longer behaved like…
Tony Abbott is appointing the former chief of the Australian Federal Police, Tony Negus, as Australia’s new high commissioner to Canada. Meanwhile, career diplomat Paul Grigson is being sent as ambassador…
In his statement on Labor’s Victorian election win, Tony Abbott referred to just one policy issue: the East West Link, which was a central Liberal promise. The Prime Minister declared he was “determined…
Modern politicians are schooled in the art of designer “blather” – how, as a dodging tactic, to talk endlessly without saying anything much. They are coached to avoid repeating words of a provocative question…
University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Stephen Parker and Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics including Bronwyn Bishop’s record day, Julie Bishop, the future leadership of the Liberal Party and…
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