The Abbott government desperately tries, but nearly always fails, to run to a tight script.
Articles on Tony Abbott
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A defeat for Indigenous constitutional recognition would be disastrous and demoralising. But history tells us that even worthy proposals with bipartisan support are not assured of success.
The government will soon introduce legislation to give the immigration minister wide discretionary power to strip Australian citizenship from dual nationals involved in terrorist activities.
Most of the world’s ‘orphans’ are not orphans at all and many are caught up in a global trade in meeting demand for adoption. Making intercountry adoption easier adds to the risks for these children.
The government has given into the pressure from the big miners and formally abandoned the idea of a parliamentary inquiry into the iron ore sector.
Proposals for constitutional recognition of Indigenous people are gaining momentum but also raising legal concerns. Here is a form of words to create an advisory council that overcomes those concerns.
Tony Abbott has got into a terrible tangle over whether there should be an inquiry into iron ore prices.
Last week’s giveaway budget has received the thumbs up from voters and boosted Tony Abbott’s personal rating.
Australia has cut aid to Indonesia by 40%. That may cause diplomatic displeasure, but the country has restructured its development programs in recent years to be less dependent on foreign money.
Amid talk of paths to surplus and investing in infrastructure, both sides of politics seem to have forgotten Australia’s longstanding responsibility to govern sustainably, and not just for the economy.
Joe Hockey’s second budget has two large deficits: the fiscal one, plus the lack of a coherent and creative plan for Australia. The Abbott government failed to ‘have a go’ at building the future.
A soft budget - if you overlook the nasty bits still there from last year – with more giveaways than takeaways inevitably fanned talk of a possible double dissolution this year.
The two announcements in the federal budget beg the question: is a piece of infrastructure really needed or is it being built to buy popularity?
Joe Hockey’s first budget was a declaration of ideological belief. The second is about political survival and depends on breathing life back into the economy – the ideological urgency can wait.
The government will provide telecommunications companies with $131 million in the budget to help with the costs of retaining metadata, as part of further measures to strengthen intelligence capabilities and counter extremist messaging.
Lost in the political debate about subsidising child care is the fact that universal free preschool care has been abandoned as a goal of good social policy.
Budget day is high risk for all the political players.
As the Abbott government prepares Australia’s post-2020 emissions targets for this year’s Paris conference, the chairman of the Prime Minister’s business advisory council has make an extraordinary intervention in the climate debate.
In just a year, the Abbott government has gone from a radical nation-changing budget to promising a ‘dull’ one. Are we to believe the ideological zeal is gone, or has the survival instinct kicked in?
Here we are with the budget almost upon us and Tony Abbott has had to assure the public, and Joe Hockey, that the Treasurer won’t be sacked if it’s a flop.
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Dennis Altman is a Friend of The Conversation.
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Professor of History and Politics, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong
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