Kevin Rudd’s presence as Foreign Minister has been a constant reminder that Julia Gillard’s ascension to Prime Minister was never fully accepted in the electorate, a perception confirmed by the 2010 election…
Prime Minister Julia Gillard today announced the Government would seek to legislate in order to revive the “Malaysian Solution” ruled illegal by the High Court earlier this month. The plan would see Australia…
The American comedian WC Fields once joked that the best advice in business was “never give a sucker an even break”. Now the High Court has rejected the government’s deal with Malaysia to swap asylum seekers…
Both Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott have staked their political futures on their climate policies. So perhaps they should also be asking what the hallmarks are of a climate leader? The German political…
The deal’s been done and health reform is in the bag. It may not be quite as bold as originally planned by then prime minister Rudd – there’s even been a fair amount of watering down on Julia Gillard’s…
Health professionals and patients alike breathed a sigh of relief yesterday when Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced she had struck a final deal with the states to reform the nation’s hospital system…
The government’s position on climate change is now that it will pump $10 billion into particular projects and exact a minor tax on certain forms of electricity generation. The Coalition’s position is that…
The carbon tax will have a relatively small impact on household incomes, in most cases for those who are worse off, just a few dollars a week. So why is it so hard to sell? The posing of this question…
Before the details of the carbon tax were released this week, the government was fighting with one hand tied behind its back. Sometimes it looked like it had both hands and feet manacled as Prime Minister…
Opposition leader Tony Abbott claims the proposed carbon policy is “socialism by stealth”? I wish! I suspect we do need some emphasis on the common good and public benefits to counter the attempts to sell…
It began with the familiar sight of the Prime Minister standing behind a lectern, flanked by Australian flags. But unlike previous press conferences, she was joined by Treasurer Wayne Swan and Climate…
In the dying days of his own government, Gough Whitlam observed that Labor’s role in opposition was to win public support for the need for change, thereby raising expectations that would inevitably fail…
Former US presidential speechwriter, the late William Safire, outlined the components of a perfect political speech as follows: “tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em – then tell ‘em – then tell ‘em what…
Andrew Wilkie is correct when he says that the government needs to sell things better. Developing good policy is not enough in today’s consumer driven world. The government also needs to clearly communicate…
The Gillard Government just can’t sell its message. That was the view of independent MP Andrew Wilkie speaking on ABC Radio National this week. Recent opinion polls confirm the government has communication…
“Only an election could make an honest politician of this Prime Minister. Only an election can give Australia a government with authority to make the tough decisions needed to build a stronger Australia…