National affairs
28 July 2017
Conservative Catholics left Labor in the mid 1950s – and we now know they were bound for the Liberal Party
National affairs
29 June 2017
Is it business as usual within the party, or are the Liberals heading for a showdown?
National affairs
21 June 2017
It would be a mistake not to take Peter Dutton MP seriously
National affairs
9 May 2017
Mark Latham isn’t the first Australian politician to journey across the political spectrum
National affairs
19 April 2017
Leaders turned wreckers have played a notorious role in Australian politics. Tony Abbott seems determined to continue the tradition, regardless of the growing anger among his…
National affairs
7 April 2017
While the Liberals deal with a series of setbacks, their Coalition partner is facing challenges of its own
National affairs
31 March 2017
With a Queensland election on the horizon, the party is still coming to terms with the size of the WA loss
National affairs
7 March 2017
The battle dividing the Liberal Party dates back to Labor’s electoral success during the second world war
National affairs
22 February 2017
Like his predecessors, Malcolm Turnbull needs to find his inner storyteller
National affairs
8 February 2017
This week’s events underline the fact that Liberals are still struggling with the question of how they can be more than simply an anti-Labor party
National affairs
27 January 2017
Political life has always had an ambivalent relationship with verifiable facts
National affairs
19 January 2017
A remarkable drop in polling figures preceded Mike Baird’s resignation announcement today
National affairs
9 December 2016
The political year is drawing to a close with government increasingly in the hands of the Liberal Party’s most conservative MPs
National affairs
28 November 2016
Australia isn’t entirely immune to the forces unleashed in Europe and the United States
National affairs
9 September 2016
The push for “party democracy” among Liberals isn’t quite what it seems, says Norman Abjorensen
National affairs
5 July 2016
Robert Menzies mastered it, but this might be one of the skills Malcolm Turnbull doesn’t share with his long-serving predecessor, writes Norman Abjorensen
National affairs
31 May 2016
The polls suggest that a big win is out of Malcolm Turnbull’s reach, writes Norman Abjorensen. So what happens if he scrapes back into office?
Books & arts
8 April 2016
Books | The Australian prime ministership was created out of almost nothing during the first five decades of the twentieth century, writes Norman Abjorensen
National affairs
22 March 2016
Fewer than a dozen prime ministers have been ejected from office by voters since Federation, writes Norman Abjorensen. Malcolm Turnbull will be anxious to avoid their fate
National affairs
1 March 2016
Elected prime minister twenty years ago this week, John Howard transformed Australia as few leaders have, writes Norman Abjorensen
National affairs
31 December 2015
The prime minister can take comfort from the fact that stormy political weather often blows over very quickly, writes Norman Abjorensen
Essays & reportage
23 December 2015
Circumstances propelled the gregarious John Gorton into the top job, writes Norman Abjorensen in this extract from his new book. But the party termites quickly got to work
National affairs
8 December 2015
What unites the group of Liberals who want to steer the party away from its roots? Norman Abjorensen profiles the ideas and the personalities
National affairs
26 November 2015
History and his government’s record suggest it won’t happen, writes Norman Abjorensen
National affairs
6 October 2015
The party sometimes forgets that Liberal leaders have been most electorally successful when they’ve governed from the centre, writes Norman Abjorensen
Books & arts
21 September 2015
Books | Can Bill Shorten sell an unexciting message? Norman Abjorensen reviews David Marr’s new Quarterly Essay
National affairs
15 September 2015
Tony Abbott, once a beneficiary of the new, brutally pragmatic treatment of prime ministers by their colleagues, became its victim, writes Norman Abjorensen
National affairs
6 July 2015
It’s not just Labor that suffers from the inordinate influence of a NSW right wing, writes Norman Abjorensen
International
1 July 2015
Benigno Aquino’s “straight road” campaign has encountered strong resistance, writes Norman Abjorensen. But gains are being made all the same
National affairs
12 February 2015
Other leaders have overcome bigger setbacks, writes Norman Abjorensen. But the signs aren’t good