Tony Abbott will outline limited and mixed progress on targets for addressing indigenous disadvantage in a report to federal parliament on “closing the gap”. No progress has been made against the target…
- Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Bill Shorten’s blaming of the Abbott government for the death of the car industry and condemning the royal commission into union corruption were entirely predictable positions. But they also highlight…
If there was ever a symbol of the trauma industry restructuring brings - to the national psyche as well as affected workers - the impending death of Australian car manufacturing is it. “This decision will…
The result in Saturday’s Griffith byelection has something for both sides: Labor has saved the seat and the Liberals have got a swing towards them. It is more than usually complicated to identify the role…
Labor has held on to the federal seat of Griffith, but the byelection has seen a small swing against the ALP in Kevin Rudd’s former electorate. The Liberal National Party refused to concede tonight, as…
What’s happening in the debate over asylum seeker allegations of mistreatment by naval personnel is extraordinary and alarming, both for public accountability and for journalism. It’s also hard to credit…
A former colleague of Tony Abbott says John Howard would never have flatly denied SPC Ardmona the $25 million in assistance. “He’d have given $15 million with conditions,” said the man, who was praising…
Paul Howes wanted to create a splash with his radical proposal for a business-unions-government “grand compact” to create a less adversarial industrial relations system, but the union leader is jumping…
The chief of the Australian Workers’ Union, Paul Howes, has called for a “grand compact” between business, unions and government to reduce conflict and pitch Australia’s industrial relations towards the…
The ABC has admitted the wording in its initial reporting of asylum seekers’ claims that the Australian Navy mistreated them should have been “more precise” and conceded it could have been misleading…
Liberal backbencher Sharman Stone has taken the political row over the government’s refusal to aid SPC Ardmona into new territory by bluntly labelling the Prime Minister a liar. At the same time the company…
One feature of this government is that it doesn’t mind showing what, to adapt a Labor term, are its policy “internals”. This is notable, given its penchant for secrecy and control on other fronts. So we…
The Liberals have the star candidate but Labor has the potent scare campaign, as both sides slug out the final week in Kevin Rudd’s old seat of Griffith. Since Rudd’s resignation, a couple of developments…
The Abbott government has been firing rhetorical bullets at friends and enemies alike in the last few days. Some employers are weak-kneed. The ABC is unpatriotic. On the face of it, there’s little in common…
The federal government has rejected the bid by the embattled food processing company SPC Ardmona for $25 million, in a victory for the Liberal economic “dries” and “a marker” for industry policy. Announcing…
The Abbott government is dancing along a fine line as it deals with speculation that it might consider a co-payment for GP bulked-billed visits. Campaigning in the Griffith byelection Wednesday, deputy…
Before the election, there was speculation in business circles that an Abbott government would launch a far-reaching royal commission into the unions. But the Coalition’s public focus was an inquiry that…
Governor-General designate Peter Cosgrove wants to visit “stressed” indigenous communities in tandem with Australian of the Year Adam Goodes to see what their conditions are like. But Cosgrove, 66, whose…
The choice of Peter Cosgrove as Australia’s next governor-general has been one of the worst-kept secrets in the history of vice-regal appointments. The Coalition has encouraged the speculation since opposition…
In his Australia Day message this weekend Tony Abbott will repeat his commitment to amend the constitution to recognise Aboriginal people as the “first Australians”. He’ll say this should be a “unifying…
Tony Abbott has said Australia wants the G20’s Brisbane meeting to produce a three-page communique explaining precisely how countries’ “good intentions are being put into practice”. Laying down his priorities…
Scott Morrison is right in declaring that thwarted asylum seekers have a strong motive to advance spurious claims of bad treatment at the hands of the Australian Navy. But he is wrong and politically unwise…
Whichever side won the September election, Australia’s policy on asylum seekers was destined to take on an even harsher edge. The Coalition campaigned for zero tolerance; Kevin Rudd sought to more than…
Voters in Kevin Rudd’s former seat might be groaning at another bombardment, but the February 8 Griffith byelection has enough tactical importance for both sides to ensure this campaign won’t be a low-key…
Immigration minister Scott Morrison has reversed the freeze he announced earlier this month on the granting of protection visas for asylum seekers. Morrison’s backtrack came after a move by refugee lawyers…
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