Inside Story

National affairs Is this the only leader less likely than Tony Abbott to win the next election? Paul Rodan 29 May 2015 Opposition leaders generally get a positive swing at their first election, writes Paul Rodan. Bill Shorten will probably need more than that From the archive What Julia Gillard couldn’t give us Stephen Mills 20 May 2015 Michael Cooney’s account of his years as prime ministerial speechwriter helps explain what went wrong Podcasts The Baird factor, the Abbott factor, and the challenge for Labor Peter Clarke 29 March 2015 The Coalition has won a convincing victory in New South Wales. Stephen Mills talks to Peter Clarke about the result and its implications National affairs Small targets, small ambitions Marija Taflaga 12 March 2015 Australia’s major parties have learned the wrong lessons from the failure of John Hewson’s 1993 Fightback! campaign and the success of John Howard’s bid…

National affairs What the Senate is telling us about big-party politics Peter Brent 21 November 2014 The challenges of dealing with a fragmented Palmer United Party are a reminder that the major parties are struggling with low levels of primary support, writes Peter Brent Books & arts Secrets within secrets Jack Waterford 31 October 2014 David Horner’s history of ASIO is a reminder of how “the Case” influenced ASIO for generations, writes Jack Waterford   National affairs The GST trap Peter Brent 30 October 2014 Opposing changes to the GST is unlikely to benefit Labor’s election prospects Essays & reportage Whitlam in China Billy Griffiths 22 October 2014 Gough Whitlam’s visit to China in 1971 was a turning point in relations between the two countries. But luck also played a part in this audacious mission

From the archive The rise and fall of Labor’s first party professional Stephen Mills 21 July 2014 Cyril Wyndham, the energetic, reformist outsider, changed forever the way Labor organised itself federally. And then he paid the price National affairs What should Labor stand for? Geoff Gallop 4 July 2014 The best way forward for Labor doesn’t fit well with structures inherited from the past, writes Geoff Gallop National affairs There’s something about Victoria Paul Rodan 30 June 2014 Paul Rodan looks at Victoria’s stubborn tendency to vote Labor in state and federal elections Books & arts Labor’s history wars roll on Stephen Mills 4 June 2014 Paralysed leader or bad advice? Stephen Mills reviews a new account of the Rudd–Gillard government and what it says about the party’s future