May
Labor deploys Wong in increasingly divisive fight for Chinese vote
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has taken to Chinese social media platforms to attack Peter Dutton and the Coalition in the dying moments of the federal election.
February
Bob Carr blasts Labor’s steady-as-she-goes policy on Trump
Former Labor foreign minister warns Australia and other US allies need to wake up to ‘tectonic shift’ that Donald Trump’s agenda represents
December 2024
Right’s cancel culture distorts diplomacy
The government is under fierce attack for its UN voting patterns on Gaza, but it is voting in keeping with global norms.
November 2024
Trump’s foreign policy agenda a high-stakes guessing game
Donald Trump’s presidency is about to show up the contradictions in Australia’s defence spending and its domestic economy.
October 2024
Leading financial reformer Percy Allan dies aged 78
Allan worked under some of the most prominent political figures in NSW, including Labor premiers Neville Wran and Bob Carr, and as a key reformist under Liberal premier Nick Greiner.
February 2024
Auction houses target Asian art, farewell market stalwarts
Two auction houses are investing in their Asian art expertise, and the industry is mourning three deaths in the art market family.
November 2023
‘The steel rod in Bob’s back’: tributes flow for Helena Carr
Luminaries including former prime ministers and premiers paid tribute to former NSW premier Bob Carr’s wife at the funeral of the businesswoman and a natural peacemaker.
September 2023
Tough choices loom as AUKUS uncertainty grows
The right, figures in the Labor Party and a leading strategic analyst are questioning the alliance’s political and defence viability as the Trump factor looms larger.
August 2023
The ABC’s star investigative reporter packs her things
Caro Meldrum-Hanna’s office at Four Corners has been cleaned out.
June 2023
Labor’s internal dissent over AUKUS is building
The Albanese government’s embrace of the AUKUS security pact faces a second internal rejection in as many weeks with the Victorian branch of the Labor Party poised to condemn it on multiple fronts.
April 2023
The risks (and rewards) of Minns’ public service shake-up
The new Labor government’s redesign of ministries marks a decisive shift back to a more centralised flatter structure, but there are still risks to navigate.
January 2023
Defiant Perrottet fires back after Carr attack
Premier says he will not be lectured to by Bob Carr and takes aim at the former Labor leader for allowing the number of poker machines in NSW to soar during his term.
November 2021
Larger than life media figure Trevor Kennedy dies
He was a commanding presence, with disarming charm, shrewd judgment, personal generosity, earthy wit, and a rare capacity to get to the nub of complex issues
November 2020
Biden will be more nuanced on China: Bob Carr
Former foreign ministers Julie Bishop and Bob Carr say Joe Biden is a leader who values personal connections.
September 2020
Five dangerous myths in Australia's relations with China
This is not just a problem of over-heated rhetoric or a cycle of tit-for-tat. China is playing an entirely different game from us.
August 2020
Australia stumbles into an independent foreign policy
With the world still reeling from the pandemic and US-China relations plumbing new lows every week, Australia has been forced to forge its own path.
June 2020
How Jeff Kennett helped save the GST
Rob Lucas, the last political survivor of the GST era, said "it was Kennett and Stockdale who got it through".
Victorian scandal makes Albo's difficult task impossible
Anthony Albanese has been trying to establish himself as leader of a party focused on the community rather than its own internal convulsions and factional warfare. Then the branch stacking allegations emerged.
February 2020
There's more to China debate than lackeys versus stooges
Dividing researchers into Beijing or Washington camps is needless insinuation that would cost Australia a lot of valuable knowledge.
The think tank behind Australia's changing view of China
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute has played a central role in the breakdown of consensus on Beijing. Its critics accuse it of fomenting hysteria.