National affairs
Out of the campaign’s shadows, a hidden reality
Tim Colebatch
20 May 2016
The second week on the hustings revealed false conflicts and unspoken truths, says Tim Colebatch
National affairs
A Day in court
Tony Blackshield
20 May 2016
Senator Bob Day’s attempt to stymie the government’s Senate voting laws was doomed from the start, writes Tony Blackshield. But the High Court proceedings may…
National affairs
Chill winds for doctors, and their patients
Stephen Duckett
20 May 2016
A flat economy has stopped the Medicare freeze from becoming a major headache for the Coalition, says Stephen Duckett. But continuing to hold down the rebate…
National affairs
Pushing the wrong buttons
Peter Brent
19 May 2016
Hot-button doesn’t necessarily equal vote-winner, says Peter Brent. The question is why the Coalition distracts itself from its core message
National affairs
Robes rally for fairer courts
Peter Mares
18 May 2016
Barristers and solicitors have taken the unprecedented step of rallying to demand an increase in legal aid funding. Will it come to wigs on the picket lines, asks Peter Mares
National affairs
A not-very-compelling reform proposition
Paddy Gourley
16 May 2016
Another in a long line of reports on the Australian Public Service fails to understand the nature of the public sector, writes Paddy Gourley
National affairs
Labor braves some dark AAA questions
Tim Colebatch
13 May 2016
We might not like talking about it, but the ratings agencies have noticed Australia’s debt, writes Tim Colebatch. And so has Labor
National affairs
Election 2016: Reasons to be cheerful
Peter Brent
12 May 2016
There are seven reasons why the Coalition might think things are going well, writes Peter Brent. But the same goes for Labor
National affairs
The housing affordability trap
Saul Eslake
12 May 2016
Falling home ownership rates are bad for households and bad for the economy, writes Saul Eslake. Governments are starting to respond, but much more can be done
National affairs
3D, yes. But DIY? Not so much
Angela Daly
11 May 2016
The 3D printing revolution might not be as sweeping as the headlines suggest, argues Angela Daly. But that doesn’t mean it won’t change the way manufacturing works
National affairs
Why not New Zealand?
Peter Mares
6 May 2016
The Turnbull government says it won’t allow refugees to be resettled in New Zealand because it’s the “back door” to Australia. Its argument rests on a…
National affairs
Want to be a great treasurer? It’s all a matter of timing
Peter Brent
5 May 2016
Some treasurers find themselves in the right place at the right time, says Peter Brent. Others aren’t so lucky
National affairs
The budget’s two big ideas
Tim Colebatch
4 May 2016
Superannuation and business taxes were at the centre of the budget, writes Tim Colebatch, but these and the government’s other decisions aren’t risk-free
National affairs
Election 2016: The realists, the rationalists and the romantics
Paul Rodan
4 May 2016
We don’t know for certain why people vote the way they do, writes Paul Rodan. But three theories give us glimpses
National affairs
An early victory in the next carbon war
Peter Brent
28 April 2016
By taking the initiative on the dreaded three-letter word, Labor has scored an important win, argues Peter Brent
National affairs
Victoria spends up big – or does it?
Tim Colebatch
27 April 2016
Transport is where the action is in this week’s Victorian budget, writes Tim Colebatch, but the spending isn’t quite as generous as it looks
National affairs
Underwater extremes
Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick
27 April 2016
Diary of a Climate Scientist | With much of the Earth covered by oceans, a different kind of heatwave is attracting attention, writes Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick
National affairs
A fragile economy heading for an election
Tim Colebatch
23 April 2016
This election campaign will take place amid enormous economic uncertainty, writes Tim Colebatch. How are the major parties dealing with this inconvenient truth?
National affairs
The tyranny of the present
Peter Brent
20 April 2016
In the battle to write history as it unfolds, too much notice is being taken of shifts in the polls, writes Peter Brent
National affairs
The IMF is seriously worried
Tim Colebatch
15 April 2016
The International Monetary Fund wants governments to broaden their attack on sluggish growth and inequality, writes Tim Colebatch. The alternative could be another recession
National affairs
There’s more than one way of thinking big
Peter Brent
13 April 2016
Kevin Rudd’s fate is a cautionary tale for an announcement-prone Malcolm Turnbull, writes Peter Brent
National affairs
Australia’s urban boom: the latest evidence
Tim Colebatch
5 April 2016
Governments are in denial about population growth and its impact on Australia’s major cities, writes Tim Colebatch. It’s time to take up the challenge
National affairs
Hanging off Newspoll
Peter Brent
5 April 2016
A bad Newspoll result suggests that Malcolm Turnbull has provoked the economic anxieties of the electorate, says Peter Brent. The question is: why?
National affairs
State income tax: the idea that could one day fly
Tim Colebatch
31 March 2016
Abolished in 1942, revived but never implemented in the 1970s, this might have been the tax reform whose time had come, writes Tim Colebatch. But Malcolm Turnbull’s…
National affairs
How Turnbull-in-freefall became Malcolm the strategic genius
Peter Brent
22 March 2016
The PM knows that voters have a simple question in mind when they enter the polling booth, writes Peter Brent
National affairs
The prime ministerial eleven
Norman Abjorensen
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
A monster of a month
Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick
22 March 2016
Diary of a Climate Scientist | El Niño is only part of the explanation for a record-breaking February, writes Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick
National affairs
Keeping the sea lanes open: a cost–benefit analysis
John Quiggin
17 March 2016
Defence and economics mix in ways that aren’t considered by military strategists, writes John Quiggin
National affairs
With friends like these
Peter Brent
11 March 2016
Tony Windsor’s online supporters couldn’t be more different from the people he needs to vote for him, writes Peter Brent
National affairs
A low-cost way to derail the housing debate
John Daley and Danielle Wood
3 March 2016
A new report on negative gearing rests on deeply flawed assumptions, write John Daley and Danielle Wood. But that hasn’t stopped the government from using…
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