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politics
National affairs
A preference for the unknown in South Australia
Rob Manwaring
15 March 2018
A close result seems increasingly likely this Saturday, and that means preferences will again be vital
International
Is America’s gun debate different this time?
Lesley Russell
15 March 2018
As US gun-control efforts continue, there are signs of a shift in opinion and resolve
Books & arts
What are we talking about when we talk about China?
John Fitzgerald
15 March 2018
Books
| Is China a different kind of democracy, or simply a self-preserving one-party state?
National affairs
Australia today: slow growth, high debt
Tim Colebatch
13 March 2018
Behind the day-to-day swings in the economic data are worrying longer-term trends
International
Beijing’s black box
Kerry Brown
9 March 2018
Decision-making among the Chinese elite is as hard to read as it’s ever been, and the uncertainty extends to the character of the president himself
National affairs
Will Batman’s voters take no for an answer?
Kerry Ryan
8 March 2018
The Sunshine State continues to make its mark in Melbourne’s closely watched federal by-election
Books & arts
The randomised route to better government
Mike Steketee
28 February 2018
The story of how a cure for scurvy was found, then lost, then found again offers a vital lesson for policy-makers
National affairs
Is minority government the path to power for Tasmanian Labor?
Kate Crowley
26 February 2018
The Liberals are ahead in the polls, but the state’s electoral system could create a chance for the opposition
National affairs
The end of the era of mass politics?
Marija Taflaga
26 February 2018
Can the big political parties regain a sense of legitimacy, or have the conditions that sustained them come to an end?
National affairs
Good advice, and puzzling blind spots, in the IMF’s latest report on Australia
Tim Colebatch
23 February 2018
The International Monetary Fund gets some things right and some things wrong — but you wouldn’t necessarily know which from the coverage it’s had
National affairs
Keeping the country in the Coalition
Norman Abjorensen
23 February 2018
Over almost a century, relations between the two major non-Labor parties haven’t always been smooth
National affairs
South Australia’s newest fringe festival
Rob Manwaring
22 February 2018
Despite a few hiccups, the Xenophon insurgency continues to grip the state
Essays & reportage
The chronicler we deserve?
Matthew Ricketson & Rodney Tiffen
22 February 2018
Michael Wolff’s book owes a large debt to the ethically grounded work of the journalists he professes to disdain
National affairs
The long road to a hybrid Senate
Paul Rodan
20 February 2018
How did Australia’s upper house evolve into a part-elected, part-nominated body?
Books & arts
The politician as hero
Jane Goodall
19 February 2018
Our TV critic reviews the ABC’s two-part documentary
Hawke: The Larrikin and the Leader
, first screened in February 2018
National affairs
Why the ABC was right — eventually
Peter Brent
19 February 2018
The mystery is why Emma Alberici’s article was published in the first place
National affairs
The Coalition goes existential
Peter Brent
17 February 2018
The week’s events raise the age-old mystery: exactly what is this strange beast?
National affairs
Standing by your man
Brett Evans
16 February 2018
Barnaby Joyce isn’t the only political figure in a spot of personal bother
International
Midterm minefield
Lesley Russell
16 February 2018
Can the Democrats break Republican partisanship in the run-up to the November elections?
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
Will the Greens rebound in Batman?
Tim Colebatch
15 February 2018
The bookies are backing the Greens at next month’s by-election in inner-Melbourne. But the contest is more complicated than punters might think
National affairs
The coat-tail senators
Jeremy Gans
12 February 2018
Thanks to section 44 (and resignations), the current Senate might be the least democratic in Australian history. But it can be fixed
Books & arts
A losing game? Social democracy’s trial by ordeal
Frank Bongiorno
11 February 2018
Books
| Centre-left parties are struggling everywhere. Can they adapt?
National affairs
In Batman, the known unknowns provide plenty of uncertainty
Peter Brent
8 February 2018
The battle for the inner-Melbourne seat is no ordinary by-election for Labor
International
The return of Wang Qishan
Kerry Brown
6 February 2018
Despite his age, the former anti-corruption chief looks like returning to a key position in the Chinese leadership
National affairs
Are we overthinking referendums?
Peter Brent
2 February 2018
Conventional wisdom advises against holding referendums at election time. Conventional wisdom is wrong
Books & arts
How the Show went on
Paul Rodan
28 January 2018
Books
| A former communist and a former Catholic activist combine forces to cast new light on the organisation that helped fuel the Labor split
National affairs
The popular Mr X
Rob Manwaring
26 January 2018
To call Nick Xenophon a populist is to miss the reasons for his remarkable rise
National affairs
Our global backyard
Frank Bongiorno and Darren Pennay
26 January 2018
What happens when Australians are asked to name the most significant historical events of their lifetimes?
National affairs
It’s time for a new “unifying moment”
Mike Steketee
23 January 2018
Evidence suggests that Australians aren’t strongly wedded to celebrating a national day on 26 January
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