Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called for a rethink of the ‘top-down’ approach to immigration in Australia, allowing states and territories more input.
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With John Howard in 2004-7 the last prime minister to serve a full term, it may seem Australia has sunk into a long rein of political instability. But that is not necessarily the case.
‘One amorphous blob’: Prime Minister Scott Morrison announces changes to Australia’s immigration policy at a speech in Sydney.
AAP Image/Joel Carrett
As relations between Washington and Beijing take a turn for the worse, the announcement of a new naval base on Manus Island carries great strategic significance.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad expressed his displeasure to Scott Morrison this week over Australia’s proposed move of its Israel embassy.
Wallace Woon/EPA
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the Malaysian leader has a history of making derogatory comments about Jews.
After a positive start, Morrison’s relations with his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, cooled off after he suggested moving the Australian embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has a busy summit season ahead of him. After early foreign policy stumbles, it’s important he reads his briefs, listens to the diplomats and stays humble.
Mourners pay their respects to Sisto Malaspina, co-owner of Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar, who was killed in Friday’s terror attack.
James Ross/AAP
While broad-based counter-terrorism strategies aren’t very effective at preventing lone-actor attacks, community outreach efforts are having success turning troubled young lives around.
Fiji’s Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe “Frank” Bainimarama speaking at a trade forum in Brisbane in July last year.
Fijians go to the polls this week in only the second general election since a 2006 coup in which the current prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, seized power. He won an election in 2014.
The polls are not moving in the right direction for Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
AAP/Ben Rushton
Malcolm Turnbull has delivered a hefty blow to the struggling Morrison government by refocusing attention on the one question it has desperately tried to smother. That is: why was he sacked? When he appeared…
The absence of women rockers such as Chrissie Amphlett (pictured here in 2006) from an Oz playlist promoted by the prime minister speaks volumes about how women are excluded from the music canon.
Joe Castro/AAP
The PM’s Spotify playlists are significant as they offer insight into what he sees as valuable in popular culture. They also remind us how women are excluded from the music canon.
While their foreign policy approaches may seem very similar, there were some significant differences.
AAP/Lukas Coch
In one of the most difficult foreign policy environments since the end of the Vietnam War, the two leaders have revealed strong similarities but also key differences on our relationships abroad.
In happier times: Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison are now in dispute about the purpose of Turnbull attending the Oceans conference on Australia’s behalf.
AAP/Lukas Coch
It has been another turbulent week in politics, this time capped off by a difference of opinion between the most recent former prime minister and the current one.
This week’s fallout from Turnbull’s Indonesian excursion has undermined Morrison on foreign policy – about which he gave his first major address on Thursday – and cast doubt on his personal credibility.
Dan Himbrechts/AAP
For years Turnbull had to endure the sniping of Abbott, the man he brought down. Now Turnbull is the sniper at the window, though Morrison didn’t cause his fall (unless you buy the conspiracy
theory).
It took six months for Malcolm Turnbull to receive his first negative Newspoll net approval as PM; it has taken Scott Morrison just two months.
AAP/Joel Carrett
In the aftermath of the Wentworth byelection, the Coalition government has suffered another set-back in the polls.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indonesian President Joko Widodo arrive for high tea at the Grand Garden of Bogor Presidential Palace south of Jakarta.
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Hangga Fathana, Universitas Islam Indonesia (UII) Yogyakarta
If their trade deal is delayed, this will not only create a huge loss for the Australian and Indonesian economies but also change foreign policy dynamics between the two countries.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended the Coalition’s spending on aged care services after announcing a Royal Commission into the sector.
AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
Peter Whiteford, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended the Coalition’s spending on aged care as preparations for a Royal Commission into the sector get underway. We asked the experts to crunch the numbers.
Independent Dr Kerryn Phelps has easily won the formerly blue-ribbon Liberal seat of Wentworth.
AAP/Chris Pavlich
The trouncing in Wentworth will re-open fractures in the government, threatening more damaging in-fighting between the party’s conservatives and moderates.
Moving the Australian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is controversial because it would be a strong political statement of support for Israel.
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Senior Lecturer in Political Science: Research Fellow at the Cairns Institute; Research Associate for Centre for Policy Futures, University of Queensland, James Cook University