Men of integrity
About half an hour ago Rob Oakeshott announced to the media that he has declined Julia Gillard’s offer to become Minister for Regional Australia. His major reason for doing so was to ensure that he...
View ArticleOakeshott – mad with power or man of good intentions?
Parliament will sit for the first time in the new term on September 28. Before they can get started, the House of Representatives needs to elect a Speaker. Traditionally, that Speaker was drawn from...
View ArticleEuthanasia and territory rights
Senator Bob Brown doesn’t waste any time. Before the new Parliament even gets to the doors, he’s signalled that he intends to introduce a private members’ bill aimed squarely at one of the most...
View ArticleThe beginning of the end?
On this, the opening day of the 43rd Parliament of Australia, I’d like to pause for a moment, and extend my deepest sympathies to Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott, Andrew Wilkie and Adam Bandt on the death...
View ArticleNew paradigm or new paranoia?
Day Two of the 43rd Parliament, and the first Question Time. We might be living in the era of the Great New Paradigm, but it feels awfully like the Same Old Crap. After yesterday refusing to give Simon...
View ArticleTony Abbott, the boy who cried ‘Censure!’
Few would argue that under the current government, Question Time in the House of Representatives has become little more than a farce. Questions from the Opposition tend to be variations on the themes...
View ArticleFair game: the Opposition’s sustained attack on the public service
Last night, Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey appeared on Lateline. Among other things, that interview touched on the Coalition’s ‘Direct Action’ plan to tackle climate change. This is a policy that’s been...
View ArticleDepartment of dirty tricks
In Australian politics, there’s a little thing called pairing. Until this Parliament, it was confined to the Senate, but as part of negotiations to form minority government, all parties agreed to...
View ArticleOne last ‘Order!’ for Harry
To some extent, we’ve come to expect ambushes from our Parliament under the minority government. Maybe it’s Opposition Leader Tony Abbott trying for yet another censure, or an Independent suddenly...
View ArticleMythbusting the Vote
It’s less than three weeks to the Federal Election on September 7, so let’s take a step back from the campaigns to look at actual voting. In every election, there are misconceptions, half-truth and...
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