National affairs
10 August 2010
Australia votes in a fortnight but we won’t find out who made large election donations to the parties until early 2012. In this respect, we can learn something from the…
National affairs
10 August 2010
Tony Abbott’s family is playing an unprecedented role in this election, but will it shift votes, asks Stephanie Younane Brookes
National affairs
6 August 2010
GetUp! has scored an unexpected victory in the High Court, giving an extra 100,000 people a chance to vote on 21 August and opening up the debate about the right to vote, writes…
National affairs
6 August 2010
As Australian political records tumble, Rodney Tiffen looks at the pitfalls of poll-watching and the lessons of post-war Australian elections
Essays & reportage
5 August 2010
This Tasmanian seat might hold a surprise for Labor and the Coalition, wrote Natasha Cica during the campaign
National affairs
4 August 2010
Despite the bipartisan consensus, Australia’s role in Afghanistan is demonstrably counterproductive, writes Brian Toohey
National affairs
29 July 2010
It’s a federal election, but most of the issues in South East Queensland are local, writes Jane Goodall in Toowomba
National affairs
28 July 2010
It’s the focus on marginal seats that is excluding most of us from the election conversation, writes Norman Abjorensen, but that doesn’t mean the issues are…
National affairs
23 July 2010
The reasons for the Howard government’s electoral success are widely misunderstood
National affairs
16 July 2010
People might have strong feelings about asylum seekers, but there’s no sign in the latest polls that harsher measures are a vote winner, writes Peter Browne
National affairs
8 July 2010
With the government and the opposition treading water, Brian Toohey looks at alternative ways forward
National affairs
7 July 2010
Judith Troeth is trying to persuade Liberals that the presence of more women in the parliamentary party will mean a larger pool of talent for ministerial and leadership positions,…
National affairs
6 July 2010
Labor power brokers persuaded Julia Gillard to toughen up on border protection because they believed the issue was damaging the party. But are boat arrivals really as electorally…
National affairs
30 June 2010
Compared with other countries, Australia’s progress in giving women access to political power is patchy, writes Marian Sawer
National affairs
28 June 2010
Julia Gillard doesn’t owe the factions any favours, writes her biographer, Jacqueline Kent
National affairs
28 June 2010
Kevin Rudd’s downfall revealed the limits of Labor’s ability to introduce reforms opposed by powerful interests, writes Geoffrey Barker
Essays & reportage
28 June 2010
“I pull out my notebook, merge into a cluster of pundits and sidle through.” Novelist Shane Maloney was in Parliament House as Kevin Rudd’s time ran out
National affairs
24 June 2010
The former PM never really understood the party he led, writes Norman Abjorensen
Essays & reportage
23 June 2010
The prime minister was angry. So what did he say? asks Jock Given
National affairs
23 June 2010
Have the wrong kind of people – men – wielded too much power in New South Wales, asks Tony Smith
National affairs
22 June 2010
The Australian government should swing its support behind the growing international campaign for a banking levy, writes Ross Buckley, and then it should join the push for…
National affairs
17 June 2010
A change of leader is the last thing the government needs
National affairs
17 June 2010
Combined with the shortcomings of the media’s reporting, the government’s weaknesses are hiding some pretty good news, writes Rodney Tiffen
National affairs
16 June 2010
Although he’s largely unknown outside the ACT, Jon Stanhope is one of Australia’s most intriguing political figures, writes Norman Abjorensen
National affairs
10 June 2010
Despite the puzzling poll results, it would be premature to write off the government, says Geoffrey Barker
National affairs
9 June 2010
The federal government has increased the stakes in the debate over mining taxes. Stephanie Brookes looks at the thinking behind the government’s ad blitz –…
Books & arts
8 June 2010
What went wrong for Kevin Rudd? Judith Brett reviews David Marr’s Quarterly Essay
National affairs
27 May 2010
The heart sees a government in big trouble; the head knows that first-term governments usually survive. Either way, it’s time for the government to throw away its rulebook,…
27 May 2010
Britain’s voters have forced a two-party system to begin to operate by a three-party logic. And it’s about to get even more interesting, writes David Hayes
National affairs
25 May 2010
Why did most of the media run dead on the Securency bribery allegations?