This Month
What Sussan Ley can learn from John Howard’s ‘lazarus’ moment
When the opposition is looking hapless, and you’re pondering why she even bothers, the new leader can look to John Howard, Tony Abbott – and even herself
May
‘I don’t think John Howard has met these Nats’
This week’s stunning split in the Coalition has been building for a decade and insiders blame the Nationals, who have become a party of protest.
‘We risk achieving nothing’, warns Nats MP after Coalition split
Nationals MP Darren Chester says his party risks spending years in the wilderness achieving nothing if it fails to rejoin the Coalition.
Howard sounds warning over historic Coalition split
The Liberal Party will sit alone in opposition after the Nationals decided to walk away following the breakdown of negotiations over policy.
Nats must reunite with Libs sooner rather than later
The prospect of prosecuting their agenda is made more likely if the Nationals end their self-imposed exile and recombine with the Liberal Party.
The longer the split, the harder it will be to reconcile
Sussan Ley, who used to hold her own in shearing sheds, is playing hard ball.
After three wobbly years, Albanese’s second term is taking off
The stack of new Labor MPs is reminiscent of the “class of 96”, which acted as John Howard’s praetorian guard for many years.
Ley can’t win in 2028 but maybe she can carve a competitive Coalition
Sussan Ley’s challenge is so onerous that just making it to the next election will be achievement enough.
Don’t believe the spin – the Australian election was Trumped
I’ve had enough of the misreading of the result. It was not about Labor’s strategic brilliance but rather voters’ response to Donald Trump’s wrecking ball.
How Albanese’s winning game put his opponents to the sword
For 20 years, the establishment has wondered who would be the next John Howard. It might have been looking at the wrong party.
Liberals need a bigger base and better ideas
In the contest for new leadership, these should be the questions the party must ask itself to spark a proper conversation on ideas.
How the Liberals got it so wrong
An aborted income tax cut plan pushed by Liberal campaign headquarters shows the disconnect with Peter Dutton’s travelling staff in the party’s most catastrophic federal election loss.
Please exclaim: Hanson’s surging support set to pay off in Senate
One Nation could double its Senate numbers as the right-wing minor party pulls in disaffected voters.
April
Old campaigner Howard makes a Curtin call
John Howard is lending his considerable political heft to the Liberals campaign to win back the WA seat of Curtin from teal Kate Chaney.
Hawke and Keating were wrong. There is a strong case for tariffs
The Hawke-Keating-Howard era got rid of tariffs. But in their place, they brought in a range of imposts that never existed before, or at least not to the same degree.
Why John Howard thinks teals are done in WA
Western Australia’s affinity for gas could cost teal Kate Chaney her seat of Curtin, former prime minister John Howard says.
March
Dutton doesn’t like Canberra, PM doesn’t like the Greens
Peter Dutton has caused outrage in the national capital by saying he would live in Sydney if elected, while Anthony Albanese became tongue-tied about Greens support.
Inside four RBA decisions that shook up elections
From controversial rate hikes to politically sensitive cuts, the central bank has often found itself at the heart of the campaign narrative.
Why Albanese is confident of winning – partly thanks to Trump
The government quietly hopes the Trump effect will boost its chances, but the focus of the election campaign will be resolutely on domestic cost-of-living pressures.
WA Labor softens criticism over North West Shelf delay
The decision on whether the huge Woodside-run gas venture can run for another 40 years could end up being made by a minority government.