Shadow infrastructure minister Anthony Albanese is already mapping out policy for a future Labor government, challenging in particular the priority Tony Abbott has given to roads and stipulating greater…
- Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Scott Morrison’s release of more children from detention is selective, and the timing of his announcement has a distinctly political flavour to it. The decision applies to about 150 children under ten…
The Chinese embassy lashed out at Clive Palmer’s extraordinary attack on Chinese “mongrels” and “bastards”, as a PUP senator went further than her leader, suggesting they might invade Australia. Palmer’s…
Clive Palmer may have all sorts of motives but one surely is to drive Tony Abbott to distraction. As Palmer put it on Monday, after sending Joe Hockey’s chief of staff Grant Lovett on his way to do more…
Reducing the renewable energy target would cost the federal budget about $680 million more to meet Australia’s target of 5% emissions reduction by 2020, according to modelling released today by climate…
Tony Abbott should stop trying so hard with the slogans. The latest was his weekend effort pledging the government would crack down on “terrorism tourism on the taxpayers”. This was announcing (rather…
On the third day, Joe Hockey laid on the mea culpa with a trowel. Appearing on Sydney radio to try to clean up after his disastrous Wednesday line about the poor and petrol, Hockey declared: “I am sorry…
University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Stephen Parker and Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics including Joe Hockey’s bungles, ASIO Director-General of Security David Irvine…
David Irvine retires next month after five years as Director-General of Security, heading ASIO; before that he was head of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, which spies abroad. He’s spent more…
When a government has to negotiate with crossbenchers there is often an element of humiliation involved, especially if that government suffers from a touch of “born to rule”. Governments think of themselves…
Those around Tony Abbott will be heartened by aspects of the latest Newspoll and Essential. It’s a mixed picture and the bottom line is that Labor leads on a two-party basis in both. But the Coalition’s…
Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has criticised the Australian media’s lack of interest in how other countries tackle the big policy challenges that are faced here. “The Australian media rarely…
Australia and the United States have agreed to take the issue of foreign fighters to the United Nations, as ASIO chief David Irvine today outlined an increasing local threat from Islamist extremists. After…
Defence Minister David Johnston has said Australia is “not ruling out providing some back-up assistance” to American military action against insurgents in Iraq. Johnston today went further than Prime Minister…
Clive Palmer says he’s due to meet Treasurer Joe Hockey for dinner in Brisbane this week, but ahead of the talks the leader of the Palmer United Party is offering little joy to the Treasurer over his embattled…
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation is a lot more open than it used to be – it even has PR people – but it was still remarkable to see ASIO head David Irvine on Friday in the PM’s press conference…
University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Stephen Parker and Professorial Fellow Michelle Grattan discuss the week in politics including Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull, the mandatory metadata retention…
Proper “process” might sound like bureaucratic jargon but a prime minister ignores it at his or her peril. Applied to cabinet, it includes making sure ministers have all the facts. Importantly, it requires…
If there is one member of cabinet who understands the ins and outs of metadata, it’s Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Yet Turnbull has so far been nowhere to be heard as the government tries to…
It can be cast as cutting and running, or a belated burst of much needed pragmatism. Tony Abbott’s ditching of his ill-conceived attempt to water down the Racial Discrimination Act gets a weight off his…
The government has dropped its planned weakening of the Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) as it announces a tough set of anti-terrorism measures that will cost $630 million over four years. Prime Minister…
One of Tony Abbott’s best and boldest election promises was for a referendum to recognise Indigenous people in the Australian Constitution. That’s a promise he won’t want to break. Yet, as time goes on…
The travails of Tony Abbott’s paid parental leave scheme are symptomatic of the government’s wider problems. The Prime Minister says he won’t abandon the plan, adding that he doesn’t break promises. That’s…
Lawyers for the 157 Tamil asylum seekers now transferred to Nauru say that while being held at sea the people were told they would be put into orange lifeboats bound for India. The Human Rights Law Centre…
Immigration department secretary Martin Bowles has said his department was seeking advice about new data on the mental health problems of children in detention, not trying to cover it up. Bowles was responding…
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