James Murphy is Lecturer in Political Science at the University of Melbourne. His book, The Making and Unmaking of East-West Link, was published in July by Melbourne University Press.
National affairs
Pharaoh’s curse
James Murphy
28 September 2023
Daniel Andrews’s legacy is written across Victoria in concrete and steel
National affairs
Matthew Guy’s medical complications
James Murphy
7 October 2022
Will Victoria’s healthcare bidding war really benefit the opening bidder?
National affairs
The chant of East West Link
James Murphy
21 April 2021
Why are Victoria’s Liberals stuck on a controversial project twice rejected at the ballot box?
National affairs
Long knives, short memories
James Murphy
9 December 2019
Do bureaucratic shake-ups have the benefits prime ministers are hoping for?
Essays & reportage
The month Victoria held its breath
James Murphy
16 October 2019
Four weeks of suspense culminated in the demise of Victoria’s most controversial modern-day government in October 1999
National affairs
Can Mr Kevin07 create a winning leader?
James Murphy
9 July 2019
Tim Gartrell faces quite a battle, and not just with the re-elected government
Essays & reportage
Boris’s brain
James Murphy
1 June 2019
Australian tactician Lynton Crosby could win the prime ministership for Boris Johnson, but at what cost?
National affairs
Greg Hunt’s zeitgeist problem
James Murphy
14 May 2019
Election 2019 | Chill winds have been buffeting the health minister from all sides
National affairs
The Higgins curse
James Murphy
13 February 2019
Is life too easy for MPs representing this well-heeled Melbourne electorate?
National affairs
Paying the piper, but not quite calling the tune
James Murphy
6 August 2018
The finance industry is over-represented among political donors. But hedging your bets only gets you so far
National affairs
The law of large numbers
James Murphy
2 July 2018
How much does it cost to stop a freeway?
National affairs
Are the Liberals too big to fail?
James Murphy
18 June 2018
A Supreme Court decision on the Victorian branch’s finances has national implications — and not just for the party
National affairs
Is something rotten in the City of Melbourne?
James Murphy
28 March 2018
By the time a new lord mayor is elected in May, quite a few electors will have voted twice
National affairs
How Victoria’s Liberals went feral
James Murphy
16 February 2018
A looming court case is further evidence of a deep divide within a once-powerful election-winning machine
National affairs
How many ripped-up contracts will it take?
James Murphy
6 March 2017
Forget what you’ve heard about infrastructure – it might be time to put the politics back in
National affairs
Dancing the donation tango
James Murphy
4 February 2016
The Australian Electoral Commission’s latest political finance figures show how closely entwined are government and the development industry, writes James Murphy
National affairs
Less than frank and not quite fearless
James Murphy
14 December 2015
The Victorian auditor-general’s criticism of the quality of bureaucratic advice on the contentious East West Link raises broader concerns about the public service, writes…
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