There seems little doubt that Families Minister Jenny Macklin’s office attempted to “fix up” her extraordinary faux pas last Tuesday – her claim that yes, she could live on the daily income of $35 received…
New legislation introduced in parliament today marks the beginning of reform of schools funding.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Today the Australia Education Bill – the legislation following on from the Gonski review into school funding – was introduced into parliament. In September this year, the government responded to the review…
Both political parties are lining up their elections strategies now, even though an election could still be a year away.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
The former British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson famously said a week is a long time in politics. If this is the case, then you have to wonder how long it will feel if the current Parliament runs it full…
Terry Mills has been sworn in as new chief minister of the Northern Territory.
AAP Image
The recent Northern Territory election attracted an unusual amount of media attention amongst the “politically informed public”, especially in the south-eastern states of Australia. Media reporting saw…
Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaking at the release of the Gonski report in Canberra earlier this year.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
After nearly six months on the policy bench, the Gillard Labor government is planning to release its response to the Gonski review into school funding. The government is still debating the reforms in cabinet…
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…
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…
The two major parties have taken different approaches to compensating households for the carbon tax.
Jonas B
The two main political parties agree to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 to 5% below the 2000 level, or about a 20% reduction below business as usual. However, they propose very different policy…
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…
Former prime ministers Gordon Brown and Kevin Rudd before the 2009 G20 summit.
What are political parties for? Do they exist only to win elections or are they for the benefit of members with process as important as outcome? These are the fundamental questions that former British…
It’s time for the government to review our national security laws.
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More than ten years ago, the Australian public and policymakers overreacted to 9/11 and created a set of laws that went beyond what was needed to protect us against terrorism. With the recent release of…
The union scandal surrounding Labor MP Craig Thompson shows just why the Labor party should re-consider its relationship with the unions.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
The Health Services Union’s scandal continues with calls for its national president to resign and moves to remove Kathy Jackson, the whistleblower who first revealed claims of credit card misuse, from…
Perhaps finance minister Bill Shorten and the Labor party should shout a bit louder about superannuation.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Labor’s devastating Queensland election result has prompted much soul searching within the party and questions about its fundamental approach. Do voters even know what the Labor party stands for? Or is…
The Bligh led Labor party’s devastating defeat in Queensland could present difficulties for federal labor seats.
AAP/ Dan Peled
The Queensland election can tell us a lot about Labor’s electoral future. There is no doubt that if the Queensland state election landslide against Labor were extrapolated to federal boundaries, the federal…
Labor leader Anna Bligh is likely to lose the Queensland election, but what are the federal implications?
AAP Image/Jack Tran
The likely defeat of the Bligh Labor government in this weekend’s Queensland elections may not have the negative implications for the Gillard government that many commentators might expect. The presence…
No need to laugh, Wayne, your base has disappeared.
AAP Image/Dean Lewins
In recent days, Treasurer Wayne Swan has been prosecuting a puzzling assault on a few billionaire mining magnates. Commentators have struggled to come up with a plausible explanation for his political…
“I am a natural senator”: Bob Carr at today’s cabinet reshuffle in Canberra.
AAP/Alan Porritt
The former NSW premier Bob Carr will join the Senate as Foreign Affairs Minister following a surprise announcement by the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, as part of her cabinet reshuffle. The appointment…
Gillard had a strong performance after yesterday’s leadership ballot, but there’s still a long way to go.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
One of Julia Gillard’s better days in Australian politics was nonetheless brought to an unusual end yesterday with the resignation of Mark Arbib. The former right faction leader, who most recently served…
Gillard had strong support from caucus this morning.
AAP/Alan Porritt
Prime minister Julia Gillard has defeated Kevin Rudd in this morning’s leadership ballot by 71 votes to 31. Rudd has said he will not initiate a further challenge to the prime minister’s leadership, but…
Kevin Rudd has said Julia Gillard is not the best person to lead Labor to the next election.
ABC News24
Less than 12 hours after making his dramatic resignation in Washington, Rudd was back at the lectern. This time, however, his speech sounded more like a campaign pitch. Watch part of Kevin Rudd’s conference…