In his second Quarterly Essay, Lech Blaine tries to make sense of former Queensland policeman Peter Dutton. Who is he? What drives him? And what does he hope to achieve if he wins government?
Alan Kohler’s Quarterly Essay lays out how the policies of successive governments have not only failed to address housing problems, but actively created them.
The new Quarterly Essay weaves personal history and detailed policy analysis, examining the unintended consequences of the NDIS, and how we can best realise the scheme’s original intent.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison cheers in the sheds after a NRL match between the Cronulla Sharks and the North Queensland Cowboys in Sydney, 2019.
Craig Golding/AAP
There’s a lot that Richard Denniss gets right. Neoliberalism clearly has an array of problems. But he risks throwing out what is good about liberalism in attacking neoliberalism.
What future the Great Barrier Reef? What future energy policy? Two new publications on the ongoing battles of climate politics deserve close attention.
John Howard confirms the nation’s involvement in the war in Iraq in March 2003, a decision subject to remarkably little oversight by comparison to Australia’s allies.
AAP/Alan Porritt
It is important to restore public trust in any future decision for Australia to go to war. For this, a system that provides better democratic accountability is essential.
One of Tony Abbott’s first acts on coming to office was to remove Martin Parkinson (left) as Treasury secretary.
AAP/Saeed Khan
Debate, serious discussion and deliberation are valued highly in a democracy not just for their own sake, but because they are considered essential to testing the quality of ideas and arguments.
What do we learn about Labor leader Bill Shorten from David Marr’s new Quarterly Essay?
AAP/Andrew Brownbill
Faction Man is a product of Black Inc. From their perspective, Bill Shorten – and his fascination with grimy Labor machine politics – is an alien figure.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s conduct as a student politician is under scrutiny after the release of the new Quarterly Essay.
AAP/Lukas Coch
There is a limit to what any writer can do in 20,000 words, so not too much should be expected of the essays in the Quarterly Essay series. Nevertheless, a number of them have been influential, including…