This Month
Albanese fails on transparency – by some metrics worse than ScoMo
His path to power was paved with pro-integrity rhetoric, but in office Anthony Albanese has succumbed to secrecy and executive control.
The lucky country is quickly becoming the lazy land, and we will pay
We will get own version of Donald Trump one day, whether we like it or not. And for good or ill, the pendulum will swing back savagely in the other direction.
Albanese government postponed travel perks review twice
The prime minister says he has no plans to tighten rules that allow MPs to bill taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars in family travel allowances.
Why the Liberals can’t pick a leader and stick with them
Recent moves show impatience with any leader struggling in the polls. But history says it’s worth letting them settle in, even if it means an election loss.
‘She’ll die in the burqa in the Senate’: Latham warns Joyce of Hanson
Mark Latham lasted just over four years with One Nation. He says the honeymoon with Pauline Hanson will soon be over and Barnaby Joyce needs to watch out.
Tribes pay tribute to Richo, a deal maker who ‘gave voice to the mob’
The country’s political and media elite gathered to celebrate the “colourful” powerbroker, with Anthony Albanese acknowledging his service and controversies.
Why political appointments are messy, necessary and still democratic
A review recommends that there be a more professional approach to deepening and widening the board merit pool.
Richo didn’t make Hawke or Keating. He just took the credit
While he was unable to play a role in deciding who was going to win elections, the fabled backroom operator identified himself with those who had won.
Barnaby Joyce defects, gives One Nation party status
The former Nationals leader has joined Pauline Hanson’s party, ending months of speculation and pretence that he had yet to decide.
Tobacco tax should be slashed: AFR readers
In other survey results, nearly a third of readers expect to spend less on Christmas this year than previously, and ChatGPT leads among preferred AI platforms.
Another Liberal leader falls as party mulls its future
Talk of a breakaway centre-right movement was “stupidity on stilts”, one MP said, as the party crisis intensified with SA leader Vince Tarzia’s resignation.
Coalition has become a self-writing political satire
The clownish amateurism of the Liberals and Nationals means they have abysmally failed in their pivotal role of holding the Albanese government to account.
If Liberals need fictional voters to feel your pain, something is off
While the shadow treasurer was lost in his own world of absurdist make-believe people at the Press Club, his counterpart faces some real economic challenges.
Canberra must end plum jobs for overpaid political hacks
The problem with jobs for the boys and girls is that it prioritises political pedigree and loyalty over candidates with talent, skill and diverse experiences.
The Liberal Party’s new girlboss era is changing everything
There is more to female representation than the leadership, but it makes it harder for the left to argue that the Liberal Party is a misogynistic cabal.
‘Patronage, nepotism’: Labor releases damning jobs-for-mates report
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher commissioned the review in early 2023 after the Coalition was accused of stacking dozens of plum positions.
One in four male Gen Xers now support One Nation
Males over 50 and under financial stress are the new political “anti-heroes”, says a new jumbo poll looking at the rising support of Pauline Hanson’s party.
Can these three women drag the Liberals back to their principles?
For Ley, Wilson and Sloane, bravery means confronting an electorate that has become accustomed to a culture of dependency fostered by Labor’s political sugar hits.
November
‘My door is always open’, Littleproud tells Joyce
New environment laws demonise farmers, says Nationals leader David Littleproud, who has also offered an olive branch to Barnaby Joyce. Follow live updates.
The three women who could save the Liberal Party – or sink with it
Sussan Ley’s best chance of keeping her job is to talk about policies for the country, not gender quotas for her party.