Michael Yabsley
Michael Yabsley was a minister in the Greiner government and a federal treasurer of the Liberal Party. He is the author of Dark Money – A plan to reform political fundraising and election funding in Australia.
Opinion
Voice to parliament
The Voice failed the ‘man from the moon test’. Its architects must come back to earth
The government got it hopelessly wrong, ignoring the lessons of history and failing to understand Indigenous and non-Indigenous contemporary Australia.
- by Michael Yabsley
Latest
Opinion
Voice to parliament
Why the Voice referendum should be cancelled
I am an instinctive Yes supporter, but when this referendum fails, which it will, its proponents will have to face some hard truths.
- by Michael Yabsley
Opinion
Australia votes
Australian politics has changed forever. It’s time for the Liberal Party to do the same
There is a solution to the Liberal Party’s woes, but it can only happen if factional players are willing to focus on the party’s core roles, and see new members as more than a threat to their own power.
- by Michael Yabsley
Opinion
Australia votes
Democracy for sale: let’s stop this Americanising of our election campaigns
Some single-electorate campaigns have spent more than $3 million. The “teal” independents in Wentworth and Kooyong, for starters, have exceeded – by a multiple of 10 – what in the past was considered an expensive campaign at $300,000.
- by Michael Yabsley
Opinion
Australia votes
The scorned former PM who left the Liberals weaker and paved the way for a teal wave
Scott Morrison has barely been seen in the Liberal seats under threat from independents. Let’s see whether Malcolm Turnbull makes another intervention to support the teals.
- by Michael Yabsley
Opinion
Australia votes
Pollsters, beware polite voters. They can turn in the booth
There is much at stake in this election for the opinion pollsters who got it so spectacularly wrong last time.
- by Michael Yabsley
Opinion
Australia votes
Losing the unlosable or winning the unwinnable will fuel leaders
In political leadership circles there is no mantle more terrifying than to lose the unlosable election. Of course, the flip side is winning the unwinnable election.
- by Michael Yabsley
Opinion
Australia votes
The erosion of two-party hegemony is not new, but this time it could transform Australian politics
An independent ousted me as a Liberal MP in 1989, but now many of the old unassailable strongholds are slipping. We are seeing a permanent change to the two-party equilibrium.
- by Michael Yabsley
Opinion
NSW Votes
Why the hardest lesson for Liberals is in Willoughby, not Bega
Don’t fall for the traditional wisdom that state byelections have no implications for federal elections. While the Liberals will retain Willoughby, the huge swing against them is a sign of the damage that strong independents can do in the party’s heartland seats.
- by Michael Yabsley
Opinion
Australia votes
Christmas is coming early to self-appointed political angels who are raking in the big bucks
The independents are at the centre of a fundraising and campaigning extravaganza of American proportions.
- by Michael Yabsley
Opinion
Political donations
Time to shine a light on the ‘dark money’ of political funding
Let’s transition to a low-value, high-volume form of political fundraising.
- by Michael Yabsley
Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/by/michael-yabsley-p535uz