The irony of stridently warning people against voting for minor players and then, all charm, ringing those players when you personally might need their votes may be lost on Malcolm Turnbull.
Malcolm Turnbull has slapped down the prospect of Tony Abbott returning to the ministry, as both he and Bill Shorten talk to crossbenchers who could determine their fate in a hung parliament.
One-third of people believe the next Senate should have more or the same number of crossbenchers, according to polling done for the Australia Institute.
For those who might feel this election campaign will never end, it is worth revisiting why the voters are enduring eight weeks rather than the normal five. Calling a double dissolution – the specific circumstances…
When the politicians arrived in Canberra for their special parliamentary session, it was obvious everyone wanted to do what was necessary for a July 2 election, and do it quickly. Instead of taking weeks…
Australians will go to a double-dissolution election on July 2 after the Senate voted 36-34 on Monday night to defeat the government’s legislation to resurrect the ABCC.
Malcolm Turnbull says bluntly that he expects the coming special Senate sitting to reject the industrial relations legislation. Labor’s Penny Wong indicates the opposition won’t try to delay the bills.
In his typical blustering manner, Clive Palmer, having refused every attempt to persuade him to participate in Monday’s ABC Four Corners – an expose of his controversial business affairs and overbearing…
As Labor nosed ahead of the government in the latest Newspoll, Michelle Grattan tells Stephen Parker this won’t necessarily translate into an election loss for the Coalition.
Senators will return to Canberra later this month with the expectation that they will give final consideration to the government's industrial relations legislation.
What might be Malcolm Turnbull’s worst nightmare, apart from losing the election? Scraping back as a minority government, with Tony Windsor in balance of power.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has said Labor would not support an early recall of the Senate, further complicating the situation if the government wants to call a double dissolution.
Family First senator Bob Day is set to propose an amendment to the legislation changing the Senate voting system that would prevent the government using the new rules in a double dissolution.
Instead of treating crossbenchers in parliament as a source of chaos and an aberration, we should recognise that they play a crucial role in shaping legislation as the constitution provides.
It is fair to say that, in the eyes of the Australian public at least, the view of our politicians is currently at a very low ebb. The tone of the Australian Parliament is at its most toxic for a generation…