Kevin Rudd doesn’t do anything by halves so his announcement that he now believes in gay marriage was a big production. There was a long and reasoned essay on his blog, followed by a news conference, called…
- Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The reform of Australia’s school funding system has degenerated into an unseemly arm wrestle between federal leaders and premiers, and conflicting claims about whether money would go up or down over the…
Barry O'Farrell must be Tony Abbott’s least favourite Liberal just now. O'Farrell has not just lived up to that old cliché “don’t stand between a premier and a bucket of money” by doing a deal with Julia…
Can you believe it? We’re now debating a second term Abbott government. On one hand, cautious Tony is presenting himself as careful and unthreatening: bipartisan on disability, accepting the budget’s savings…
It is not that this budget was a bad one. It’s that, according to most people on both sides of politics, voters aren’t listening anymore. Budget week seemed not a big economic moment, but principally another…
Tony Abbott has removed a big uncertainty for voters, and simplified the opposition’s task, with his promise to retain the carbon tax compensation even after he gets rid of the carbon price. The Coalition’s…
Tony Abbott has promised a Coalition government would keep the income tax and pension compensation Labor has given even after it scraps the carbon tax. The pledge, made in his budget reply, is a major…
Tony Abbott faces two tests in his budget reply. One he can afford to ignore; the other he needs to meet. The government calls for him to reveal the opposition’s fiscal program. But the Coalition has been…
There has been a mixed initial reaction to Treasurer Wayne Swan’s sixth budget from industry and community groups. Big business says it is disappointed with Wayne Swan’s sixth federal budget, laying doubt…
What is almost certainly the Gillard government’s last budget delays the attack on the deficit and concentrates on entrenching “legacy” programs, for which Labor hopes to be remembered. Dealt a difficult…
Treasurer Wayne Swan has delivered a budget with a A$19.4 billion deficit this financial year, falling only to $18 billion in 2013-14. The government would aim to bring the budget back to “balance” – less…
Softening up voters for harsh measures, Julia Gillard observed a fortnight ago that “Tuesday 14 May will be no old-fashioned pre-election budget night”. The budget would not be a “political pamphlet” but…
Brett Mason, opposition spokesman on universities and research, has one of the lowest profiles on the Coalition frontbench. Yet in terms of his own portfolio, he is among the most qualified in the shadow…
Liberal Senator Cory Bernadi has called on the federal Coalition to oppose the referendum to recognise local government in the constitution, which will be held with the September 14 election. Senator Bernadi…
With the election just four months away but the campaigning seeming endless, the view of politics from the marginal Labor seat of Eden-Monaro is one of disillusionment. Regardless of gender, age or voting…
In David Williamson’s satirical play “Don’s Party” based around the 1969 federal election night, Eden-Monaro gets a mention, among the early signs of a big swing to Labor. At that poll, the seat returned…
To insist on his fair dinkum “sensible centre” credentials as he unveiled his workplace relations policy, Tony Abbott recounted how, when a journalist and a union member, he’d moved a strike motion after…
Unions’ power would be curbed under an Abbott government, with more restrictions put on their right of entry to workplaces and a time limit imposed for concluding “greenfield agreements” for new projects…
When senior ministers decided to scrap the proposed 2015 tax cuts, the dark shadow of the L.A.W affair must have crossed their minds. Paul Keating legislated tax cuts before the 1993 election, talking…
The Reserve Bank giveth, the government taketh away. At least, that’s the latest pre-budget story. Many families with mortgages of $300,000 will save around $560 a year from the Bank’s 25 basis points…
The fracas over Tony Abbott’s “signature” paid parental policy has given a glimpse behind the curtain of discipline that the opposition leader usually keeps firmly in place and, much more importantly…
The row over Tony Abbott’s controversial paid parental leave scheme has widened with prominent Liberal moderate Mal Washer calling on the opposition leader and shadow treasurer to explain to the party…
The evidence of gross cruelty in Egyptian slaughterhouses that has just come to light underlines that while some progress may have been made, the problems in the Australian live export trade are far from…
After trying unsuccessfully this week to put distance between itself and Tony Abbott on the national disability insurance scheme, the government is now trying to minimise the gap on defence policy. With…
The Government’s new Defence White Paper has adopted a conciliatory tone towards China, focused attention on the region and announced the purchase of a dozen new high-tech fighter planes. Julia Gillard…
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