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Tim Colebatch

Tim Colebatch (1949–2024) was a frequent contributor to Inside Story between 2014 and 2023. He joined the Melbourne Age in 1971 and was successively environment writer, investigative reporter, editorial writer and columnist before becoming the paper’s Washington correspondent, economics writer, and ultimately economics editor and columnist.

Tim’s widely praised book, Dick Hamer: The Liberal Liberal, was reviewed for Inside Story by Judith Brett. His articles for Inside Story during 2016 received the Keith Dunstan Award for Commentary at the Melbourne Press Club’s Quill Awards.

Peter Martin recalls Tim’s career.

National affairs Tim Colebatch 18 October 2017 The Turnbull government’s pledge could leave Australia as one of the G20’s biggest per capita polluters — and with prices as high as ever
International Tim Colebatch 2 October 2017 Life is still good for many Italians, but bad decisions are deepening the north–south divide National affairs Tim Colebatch 12 August 2017 Country Australia is losing out on full-time jobs, forcing its young to head for the cities National affairs Tim Colebatch 26 July 2017 A major economics conference wound up talking about the topic on everyone else’s lips National affairs Tim Colebatch 26 July 2017 No one has produced evidence that One Nation voters are primarily motivated by racism
National affairs Tim Colebatch 5 July 2017 Dig a little deeper, and the figures tell us unexpected things about more than one Australia
National affairs Tim Colebatch 23 June 2017 What are the consequences of choosing a second-best scheme? National affairs Tim Colebatch 10 June 2017 Growth continues to be slow and uneven, and we seem unable to distribute its benefits fairly National affairs Tim Colebatch 8 June 2017 Only if you don’t look too closely at how “recession” is defined National affairs Tim Colebatch 10 May 2017 The threat from Tony Abbott is no longer taken seriously, and the budget is all the better as a result 
National affairs Tim Colebatch 3 May 2017 The Victorian government needs to take a longer view in framing budget policy
National affairs Tim Colebatch 20 April 2017 Adjusting the intake in response to shifts in employment makes long-term sense National affairs Tim Colebatch 28 March 2017 Fortunately, though, there are four things we can do in the short term to alleviate the problem National affairs Tim Colebatch 16 March 2017 A true story of government controls, utility privatisations, and the incentive to export National affairs Tim Colebatch 13 March 2017 WA Labor should immediately tackle the upper house gerrymander – and the federal Coalition needs to use the budget to get back on track
National affairs Tim Colebatch 3 March 2017 By forcing Malcolm Turnbull to behave like Tony Abbott, the Nationals have gravely damaged the government. But Black Jack McEwen showed how that can change
National affairs Tim Colebatch 24 February 2017 Labor is creating unrealistic expectations by refusing to accept the decision of the umpire it created National affairs Tim Colebatch 17 February 2017 Malcolm Turnbull is staking his government on policies that are widely opposed and hard to defend National affairs Tim Colebatch 20 December 2016 The government still won’t acknowledge why the deficit isn’t going away, but it’s not too late to take some simple steps International Tim Colebatch 1 December 2016 In their different ways, the trajectories of François Fillon and Theresa May highlight the challenges facing Europe
National affairs Tim Colebatch 18 November 2016 It’s hardly surprising that the International Monetary Fund has urged the federal government to spend more on infrastructure
International Tim Colebatch 11 November 2016 With Republicans protecting the rich and Democrats failing to defend ordinary families, the time was ripe for an uprising Essays & reportage Tim Colebatch 17 September 2016 Howard on Menzies makes for compelling viewing. But its flaws echo the shortcomings of Australia’s longest-serving prime minister National affairs Tim Colebatch 16 September 2016 New figures reveal that Labor came perilously close to being knocked out in a key electorate in the second-last count, reports Tim Colebatch. Meanwhile, small party… National affairs Tim Colebatch 2 September 2016 What if we took the leaders at their word? Tim Colebatch looks at the initiatives that might result
National affairs Tim Colebatch 4 August 2016 The count has finished, writes Tim Colebatch, and Pauline Hanson has done better than expected. But has she the smarts to use that power?
National affairs Tim Colebatch 2 August 2016 Updated 7pm Wednesday | Results from three states confirm that the Coalition will need to be more flexible to succeed in government, writes Tim Colebatch National affairs Tim Colebatch 29 July 2016 The new Senate is coming into clearer focus, writes Tim Colebatch National affairs Tim Colebatch 11 July 2016 It’s not only Labor whose primary vote is at historic lows, writes Tim Colebatch. And there’s no mystery about why National affairs Tim Colebatch 8 July 2016 Detailed data shows that Labor isn’t likely to benefit from the late count in most undecided seats, writes Tim Colebatch