While the Liberals’ decision to preference One Nation on how-to-vote cards might be expedient in the short term, it could seriously cost them if they are returned to power.
A day after moving to the crossbench, Cory Bernardi is feeling the heat. The media, former Liberal colleagues and South Australian voters all have a view on his defection.
Cory Bernardi says he aims to provide the many disillusioned conservative voters with ‘a principled, credible and stable alternative in which they can vest their vote’.
When maverick Liberal National Party backbencher George Christensen opens his mouth it’s usually bad news for the government. But on Monday, his comments were a relief to it. Christensen said he would…
With parliament resuming this week, the first Newspoll of 2017 has the government trailing Labor 46-54% on the two-party vote and the Coalition’s primary vote falling four points to 35%.
The struggle for political equality has shaped Australian democracy. But it’s undermined by having a political donations system that benefits the rich at the expense of other Australians.
Michael Courts, La Conversation et Wes Mountain, La Conversation
Check out our interactives showing the total donations to Australia’s major parties in 2015-16, who the biggest donors to the parties were, and how donations to parties have changed in recent years.
Disclosures add to transparency. They allow us to follow the money and scrutinise who has made large donations. But mere disclosure does not remedy the inequity in Australia’s current system.
Gladys Berejiklian becomes NSW premier with a great deal of experience, but she needs to overcome several problems – internal and external – to arrest sliding polls.
Mike Baird is the fifth New South Wales premier in ten years, and only one of them lost their job to an election. There’s little time, it seems, to learn and grow as a political leader.
Despite briefly being able to dine out on the legislation passed before parliament wound up last week, Malcolm Turnbull is headed to a not-very-happy Christmas.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott has taken a swipe at Malcolm Turnbull’s ‘innovation’ narrative and called for ‘another big push’ on repairing the budget.
Donald Trump’s election will affect Australia profoundly – including in the comfort it gives to those who oppose progressive policies in the name of fighting ‘political correctness’.
The Government leader in the Senate, George Brandis, has described the Queensland opposition as “very, very mediocre” and warned One Nation is likely to win “quite a few” seats at the state election.
The pressure on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to bend to the conservative right factions of the Liberal and National parties has been compounded by the election of Donald Trump.
Many in the government have clamoured for changes to be made to Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. Liberal backbencher Julian Leeser, however is not one of them.
Malcolm Turnbull and Mike Baird triumphed over Tony Abbott at the NSW Liberals’ weekend meeting but it remains to be seen whether their initiative for broad reform will lead to meaningful democratisation…