The Victorian federal electorate of McEwen was a hard seat for Labor to win during the Howard years thanks to the popularity of the then-incumbent Liberal MP, Fran Bailey. But this year, due to major changes…
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Election 2013 – Articles, Analysis, Comment
Displaying 101 - 125 of 205 articles
Pauline Hanson’s return to public life and the emergence of right-wing parties such as Katter’s Australian Party and the Rise Up Australia Party has rekindled interest in far-right politics in Australia…
Welcome to the The Conversation’s Election 2013 State of the Nation essays. These articles provide in-depth analyses of key policy challenges affecting Australia as the nation heads to the polls. Today…
When the Labor government introduced a national paid parental leave (PPL) scheme on 1 January, 2011, it was late to the international party. The International Labour Organisation had been recommending…
Who “won” or “lost” tonight’s debate – and opinion was divided – was less important that what new was said by Kevin Rudd. Most notably, Rudd seemed to significantly toughen the government line on foreign…
Prime minister Kevin Rudd and opposition leader Tony Abbott faced off tonight for the third time in the 2013 election campaign at the Rooty Hill RSL Club in Sydney’s western suburbs. In the town hall-style…
Treasurer Chris Bowen didn’t have much ammunition at the National Press Club’s Treasurers’ debate. He could talk about the NBN, Disability Care, education spend, and the like, but not really about the…
A sustainable future remains within our grasp but - thanks to the way human brains work - only governments can implement many of the necessary strategies. Our political leaders have a unique responsibility…
The idea a politician’s face would influence our vote one way or another seems preposterous: who would be swayed by something so seemingly trivial, so manifestly beside the point? But looks, alongside…
Rupert Murdoch may have perjured himself before the Leveson Inquiry, according to claims made by British Labour MP Tom Watson. Watson, who has spent much of the last five years investigating activities…
A number of seats in Queensland may go a long way to deciding the outcome of the federal election. However, it is doubtful that the seat of Fisher, located in the southern part of the Sunshine Coast, will…
Welcome to the **The Conversation Election 2013 State of the Nation* essays. These articles provide in-depth analyses of key policy challenges affecting Australia as the nation heads to the polls. Today…
Australia’s two major parties have promised to reduce the country’s emissions by 5% by 2020, with two different approaches. Labor has used carbon farming as part of its approach; the Coalition is making…
Consumers know well that buying a cheaper product often costs more in the long term when the cheaper product has to be replaced. This is true of the Coalition’s vision for the National Broadband Network…
Today, the National Press Club hosted a debate between minister for health Tanya Plibersek and shadow minister Peter Dutton. I went to Canberra for the show and what was outstanding about this debate was…
In this election campaign the major parties are carefully dancing round an elephant in the ballroom. The elephant is big and a bit frightening. Its name is privacy policy. Recent months have seen expressions…
After beating up Kevin Rudd and Labor over debt and deficits for years, Tony Abbott has now dumped any return to surplus mantra, merely saying a Coalition government would beat Labor’s bottom line over…
It’s an image as familiar as the mea culpa sympathetic TV interview. Bloke has the affair, gets caught with the sex worker, tweets out poorly lit photos of his dangly bits. He does the deed, delivers the…
The announcement by prime minister Kevin Rudd and minister for transport Anthony Albanese on high-speed rail suggests both men at least want to maintain the momentum of the debate on the project. Firstly…
Building the knowledge economy and a national innovation system should be a priority in the upcoming election but, as of today, only the Greens have released a dedicated research and development policy…
For me, the TPV is a prison. Our life is without hope, or purpose. The simplest thing that a person wants in his life is hope. Without hope, life is meaningless. - Iraqi temporary protection visa holder…
The federal Victorian seat of Indi covers a major part of Victoria’s northeast. The Hume Highway and the Melbourne-to-Sydney railway run through the electorate’s demographic centre and at various points…
In launching the Liberal Party’s campaign in Brisbane on Sunday, Tony Abbott appeared to renege on his previous announcement to bring the budget back to surplus in the first term of the Coalition government…
Western Sydney has been firmly in the spotlight throughout this federal election campaign. From the candidates who can’t remember their party’s plan to “stop the boats” to those who are “feisty and have…
The Coalition has released its policy “to help problem gamblers” under that very title. If the betting markets are any guide, the Coalition is poised to win government on September 7, so the likelihood…