Tony Abbott always said he wanted the Brisbane G20 to come up with practical actions and a communique of no more than three pages. He achieved both objectives – although the communique had a mass of attached…
Tony Abbott used his closing remarks at the G20 to reaffirm his commitment to coal.
AAP/Lukas Coch
G20 nations have supported “strong and effective” action on climate change, but included some equivocal wording on the timing for issuing post-2020 targets and on the Green Climate Fund to accommodate…
So we meet again: Tony Abbott and Vladimir Putin cope with an awkward moment.
AAP/Lukas Coch
When G20 leaders gathered for their “retreat” at Queensland’s Parliament House, they heard more about the Abbott government’s budgetary travails than they might have expected or wanted, even in a session…
Tony Abbott’s round of summiteering has given him a good opportunity to have discussions with a range of other leaders, but it complicated preparations for the G20.
EPA/Barbara Walton
Tony Abbott finds himself the party host caught somewhat off-balance as his guests set off crackers all over the place. The government is – and has been all year – shouting that it wants this weekend’s…
OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria, right, is welcomed by Queensland’s Governor Paul de Jersey at Brisbane International Airport.
Patrick Hamilton/AAP
The G20 summit must “go structural, go social and go green”, says OECD secretary-general Angel Gurria. Speaking at Griffith University’s pre-summit conference in Brisbane, Mr Gurria said trade, investment…
Politics was very much on display during last week’s memorial service for former prime minister Gough Whitlam.
AAP/Brendon Thorne
Last week, I was one of a sea of Australians who rose to remember Gough Whitlam. Fitting its subject, the Whitlam memorial was sweeping. It was as much a grand story of Australia’s evolution since the…
Tony Abbott is meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing this week.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Forget shirt-fronting Russian President Vladimir Putin. Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s most challenging task this week will be breaking an uncomfortable silence with Chinese President Xi Jinping. And he…
Prime Minister of The Netherlands Mark Rutte reacts as he listens to Australian Prime Minster Tony Abbott, in Canberra.
AAP Image/Reuters POOL, David Gray
The Russians have started coming. On Thursday, an aircraft with about 80-90 Russians arrived in preparation for the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Brisbane. There will be four more official planes, including President…
As both a word and an idea, ‘medieval’ carries centuries of connotation of a murky and brutal pre-scientific age.
US Fish & Wildlife Service/Swanson Scott
“Medieval” has become the accusation du jour in Australian domestic politics, used with equal conviction across the spectrum to discredit opponents’ views. One debate where this accusation has taken centre…
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has kept any leadership ambitions discreetly veiled.
AAP/Alan Porritt
This week’s Ipsos Fairfax poll on preferred leaders underlines the fact that there is no obvious heir apparent to Tony Abbott. Compare a year ago, when Joe Hockey would have leapt to mind, whether the…
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has pressed the need for a broad overhaul of the federation.
AAP/Paul Miller
Tony Abbott has declared he will make the case for changing the tax system and the federation, but said the outcome will depend on community acceptance. Again striking a cautious note as he tries to pave…
New Indonesian president Joko Widodo’s still unsure about attending the G20 Summit in Brisbane.
AAP Image/Eka Nickmatulhuda
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott met with newly sworn Indonesian president Joko Widodo after his inauguration in Jakarta, inviting him to attend the G20 Summit in Brisbane. But Jokowi, as the new…
Tony Abbott arrives in Jakarta to attend the inauguration of Joko Widodo as Indonesia’s new president.
AAP/Eka Nickmatulhuda
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott is joining in a big party in Indonesia. Indonesia’s new president and vice-president are being inaugurated today. Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Jusuf “JK” Kalla are being…
Universities in the US have led the divestment charge - the ANU is leading the Australian movement.
Light Brigading/Flickr
Tony Abbott’s criticisms of the ANU’s divestment decision will come back to bite him. The tide of change is such that Vice-Chancellor Ian Young and the ANU Council will be seen as leaders. Others will…
Tony Abbott was quick to offer assistance to the US for the action against IS, but has not been so forthcoming on helping with Ebola.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
Here’s a thought for Tony Abbott. Why doesn’t he ring up Barack Obama and David Cameron and ask them to help remove the impediment that’s apparently stopping the Australian government providing assistance…
Opening a mine in Queensland this week, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said coal was “good for humanity”.
Dan Peled/AAP
News emerging from Washington last week suggests climate change may amount to more than an FAQ in the appendices of this November’s G20 leaders’ summit agenda. President Obama’s deputy national security…
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Tony Abbott during the retreat session of the APEC Summit in 2013.
EPA/MAST IRHAM/POOL
Tony Abbott did not repeat his pledge to “shirt-front” Vladimir Putin when pressed on the subject a day after his initial threat. Now the promise is for a “very, very robust conversation” with the Russian…
Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane and Prime Minister Tony Abbott are looking to put science at the centre of industry policy.
AAP/Lukas Coch
The federal government will fund industry growth centres in five sectors that will encourage better use by business of Australian research, as part of a $400 million innovation and competitiveness policy…
Russian President Vladimir Putin has faced criticism from both sides of Australian politics.
EPA/ALEXEY NIKOLSKY / RIA NOVOSTI / KREMLIN POOL
A senior Russian diplomat says Australia-Russia relations are at a “historic low”, as Tony Abbott has pledged to “shirt-front” Vladimir Putin at the G20 next month over the downing of flight MH17. In a…
The pragmatic Tony Abbott some expected of him as prime minister has begun to emerge, but Joe Hockey is still on a course of crash or crash through.
AAP/Alan Porritt
A few days ago in a tutorial on political leadership, a student asked me, given my past professional contact with Tony Abbott, if the prime minister has what it takes to be a long-term success in the job…