The outcome of the Melbourne by-election, in which Labor has claimed a narrow victory, reflected a disappointing performance from the Greens. At the 2010 state election Labor’s victory was dependent on…
Greens candidate Cathy Oke and deputy leader Adam Bandt will be hoping for a win this Saturday.
AAP Image/Juolian Smith
Thanks to the hubris of Bronwyn Pike, the Victorian Labor party is forced to contest a byelection this weekend it did not want or need. After years of opportunities provided by the Labor party to the former…
Former politician and economist John Hewson speaks to ANU’s Crawford School’s Bruce Chapman and Daniel Connell.
Welcome to the latest in our In Conversation series, between former politician and economist Dr John Hewson, Australian National University (ANU) Crawford School Director of Policy Impact Professor Bruce…
Is next week’s Melbourne state byelection a test for federal Labor?
AAP Image/Joe Castro
The looming byelection in the state seat of Melbourne is set to have a national impact. With Greens candidate Cathy Oke strongly tipped to beat Labor’s Jennifer Kanis on 21 July - the first time the ALP…
Craig Emerson may be well regarded as Trade Minister, but he can’t sing.
AAP/Lukas Coch
It is a clear and incontrovertible case for the Deparment of Community Services and the public must immediately demand intervention. We cannot allow the suffering of the children to continue. I am of course…
Politics is more than just the daily tussle of the news cycle and soundbites.
AAP/Lukas Coch
The term political junkie gets bandied about a great deal, but this addict has no problem in admitting his habit. It’s been a pure joy to be able to read, think and write about politics and government…
While politicians debated a bill in Canberra, 150 asylum seekers’ lives were at risk.
AAP/Australian Maritime Safety Authority
When asylum seekers die at sea there are too many things we don’t want to talk about. Following the news of another asylum boat capsizing yesterday, at 2pm the federal Parliament began with a sombre and…
Opposition leader Tony Abbott is looking to the politics of the United Kingdom for policy inspiration.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Earlier this month, opposition leader Tony Abbott presented the second instalment of the Liberal and National parties’ “Plan for Stronger Communities”, having already outlined elements of the plan at the…
Rinehart’s right-wing views may have a new outlet if her tilt at Fairfax is successful.
AAP/PPR
What a dream come true for Australia’s right-wingers. First of all they can point to Gina Rinehart’s wealth (“the richest woman in the world”) as a sign of Australia’s arrival as a capitalist power and…
The Menzies government was voted in with the help of the John Henry Austral ads.
National Library of Australia
After languishing in an archive box at Melbourne University for more than 20 years, an astonishing piece of Australian political history has recently been dusted off and digitised. The university has unearthed…
Old foes Gough Whitlam (left) and Malcolm Fraser (right) unite over modern issues.
AAP/Bruce Postle
Politics, Independence and the National Interest: the legacy of power and how to achieve a peaceful Western Pacific I am honoured to be asked to make this speech. During the turbulent years of the 1970s…
Peter Slipper paid homage to tradition, but did not fulfil his moral responsibility to his electorate.
In 19th century Australia, democrats such as Henry Parkes could not emphasise too much how important it was to elect a Parliamentary representative who was honourable, decent and able to work on behalf…
We’ve had a glimpse into the world of Craig Thomson, but he’s trying to justify a view that no one outside the political game can understand.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
The ALP and the union movement have never liked scabs. But yesterday we witnessed a labour scab of a different sort as The Wound Formally Known As Craig Thomson continued to be bleed rather than heal…
Penny Wong’s rare moment of sincerity on Q&A betrayed the paucity of Australia’s political commentary.
ABC
If there is a turning point in the Australian debate on same-sex marriage it may well be Penny Wong’s remarkable grace and honesty when answering Joe Hockey on last night’s Q&A. Wong was asked by host…
Labor is out of touch with the attitudes of 21st century Australians.
AAP/Dan Peled
“Class warfare” is an emotive term that would seem to belong to a bygone age when there also existed, as in the minds of many people, something called the “class struggle”. It would seem strange that in…
Swan may be appealing to a voting bloc that doesn’t exist.
AAP/Alan Porritt
The 2012 budget came at a particularly challenging time for Labor. The government has sought to achieve two distinct (if related) political goals: bolster Labor’s “economic management” credentials and…
Wayne Swan’s responsibility to the citizens of Lilley may conflict with his role of treasurer. So why don’t we separate them?
AAP/Alan Porritt
Australia is on the eve of receiving one of its most anticipated budget announcements. Wayne Swan and the team within the Treasury have put together a pillar from which the Labor Party will draw strength…
Another free and fair Australian election - this time the recent Queensland state election - gets underway.
AAP/Dan Peled
Is there a role for deliberation about electoral rules? For many, the answer would be “no”. For them, the notion of principled discussion informed by careful reflection is deeply incongruous with the grubby…
The line between traditional and new media has now blurred into indistinguishability.
flickr/francescominciotti
It should be easy for the Gillard Government to accept the recommendations of the Convergence Review. On the surface it seems all very sensible: a converged Press Council and Australian Communications…
Clive Palmer should probably stick to what he’s good at.
AAP Image/Dan Peled
Mining magnate Clive Palmer has put his name forward to run for the Liberal National Party (LNP) against Treasurer Wayne Swan in the Queensland seat of Lilley at the next election. Palmer has been a vocal…