It didn’t take long for the political honeymoon to end. Malcolm Turnbull may still be far more popular than the man he removed, but he is now being accused of Abbottesque failings. He can’t sell difficult…
Malcolm Turnbull is keen on big ideas, but so far has been slow to put any of his own into action.
AAP/Dean Lewins
Five months into his prime ministership, it is difficult to know what Malcolm Turnbull really stands for, and his government risks paralysis as a result.
Malcolm Turnbull said on unveiling his revamped team that ‘organisms that don’t change are dead’.
Dean Lewins/AAP
Malcolm Turnbull had Saturday’s reshuffle forced on him by circumstances but he has used the opportunity to good advantage. He had much more space to promote people than one would normally expect after…
An internal review found Stuart Robert had acted inconsistently with the ministerial standards.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Human Services Minister Stuart Robert has been forced to resign from the ministry after an investigation found he had “acted inconsistently” with the code of standards.
Labor has accused Stuart Robert of breaching ministerial guidelines by misusing public office.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
The principle underlying the ministerial standards is that ministers should uphold the public’s trust as they wield a great deal of power deriving from their public office.
The 2016 Closing the Gap report represents Malcolm Turnbull’s first substantial statement on Indigenous affairs since assuming office.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Though commendable as a means of keeping Indigenous disadvantage on the policy agenda, the annual Closing the Gap report has come to reflect a lot of what is wrong with Indigenous affairs.
Economic models are not likely to give Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull any magic answers on tax reform.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Malcolm Turnbull has sought advice on whether Human Services Minister Stuart Robert breached the code of ministerial standards during a private trip to China in 2014.
A recent Human Rights Watch report condemned Australia for its ‘abusive’ approach to asylum seekers.
AAP/Eoin Blackwell
Strong evidence backs the increasing weight of international sentiment opposing Australia’s human rights record. Australia may already have pariah status in terms of its asylum policies.
Tony Abbott sought to rule rather than govern, in much the same way that Kevin Rudd did. Both unravelled.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Only when systems change and cultural adjustments occur will the political class return to governing rather than ruling.
Malcolm Turnbull can put his values into practice by calling on all members of his party to vote in favour of legalising same-sex marriage.
AAP/Lukas Coch
A vote on whether same-sex couples can get married is discriminatory because it applies a standard to them that does not apply to heterosexual couples.
Coalition senator Eric Abetz claims he and other Liberal MPs do not have to respect the result of a coming plebiscite on same-sex marriage.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
It is easy to envisage a number of arguments that MPs might use in an attempt to justify ignoring the result of a same-sex marriage plebiscite and voting contrary to its result.
Australian Republican Movement chairman Peter FitzSimons used Australia Day to renew calls for an Australian head of state.
AAP/Mick Tsikas
Settlements are illegal on occupied territory. They undermine the widely acknowledged right of Palestine to statehood. Yet Israel violates international law with near impunity.
Malcolm Turnbull strongly backed Barack Obama’s calls for Congress to pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
Michael Reynolds/EPA
2016 will be a year of transitions in the Australia-US relationship. Against a backdrop of change are three important issues: the fight against Islamic State, China, and passage of the TPP.
Malcolm Turnbull gave a speech to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington that focused on global security and trade.
Brad Hunter/PMO
Fixing copyright is essential for Malcolm Turnbull’s ‘ideas boom’ to succeed, but you wouldn’t know it given the slow and repetitive approach to copyright reform.
When Malcolm Turnbull became prime minister, the innovation debate began in earnest, but some of Australia’s rivals have a head start in the fierce global contest of ideas.
AAP/Dan Himbrechts
Politicians and policymakers are at last grappling with the urgent need to generate new ideas and fresh ways of doing things. But in the race to the top, Australia has barely reached base camp.