This Month
- Opinion
- Anthony Albanese
The longer Chalmers leaves it, the harder EV charging will be to fix
What are the Greens going to demand be spent when the fuel excise runs out? And do they not realise that just because a car is battery powered, it will still need a road?
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Opinion
Plan is to move on quickly from the referendum defeat
Pumping up its national security bona fides is not in Labor’s DNA. It needs to be.
- Phillip Coorey
September
- Opinion
- Opinion
To claw back power, the Libs need to stop being a hot mess
The Liberal party has swung to the hard right in some states - leaving Labor with the advantage. And accountability has suffered.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Anthony Albanese
Dutton’s nuclear plans are getting under Labor’s skin
Advocating nuclear power these days is about as passe as a politician admitting they once smoked pot.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Anthony Albanese
Focus begins to shift to the consequences of a No vote
The Yes case has been outplayed not by Peter Dutton but Aboriginal Liberal-Nationals senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who was not factored in as a threat at the start of the process.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Anthony Albanese
Prime minister takes off as midterm headwinds hit at home
Every first-term government since Whitlam has gone backwards at their next election. It’s a sobering statistic for a government with a three-seat majority.
- Phillip Coorey
August
- Opinion
- Ken Henry
Ken Henry has a dire warning on this forgotten issue
Ken Henry’s environmental warnings are arguably more dire, more imminent, more urgent, more troublesome and a great deal less hypothetical than the need to address a gradually shifting tax base.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Jim Chalmers
Jim’s pilot light of purpose is yet to fully ignite
The release of the Intergenerational Report has been accompanied by a level of intellectual preening from the treasurer, who hopes one day to be leader.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Anthony Albanese
PM’s message an important reminder of Labor’s fragile hold on power
It is not inconceivable that right now, Labor is notionally in minority government.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Anthony Albanese
Baseless fears about Rudd’s apology give hope for the Voice
A year ago, the prime minister was hamming it up alongside Shaq. The mood is far more sober now.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Opinion
Australians are owed a royal commission into the pandemic
A proper commission of inquiry should not be conceived with payback in mind but with a view to how things could be done better the next time.
- Phillip Coorey
July
- Opinion
- Opinion
Down but not out, the Voice could still be heard
Tony Abbott says the Yes campaign could yet “buy” the referendum with a short, well-funded campaign. Strip away the pejoratives, and he’s not far off.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Opinion
Dan knows best, regardless of the collateral damage
At some stage in this country, the definition of “good politics” needs to be expanded beyond doing what it takes to win elections. Legacy should also matter.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Byelection
The Voice risks becoming a lightning rod for broader discontent
The conundrum for Anthony Albanese is that the more he talks about the Voice, the crankier a large demographic of voters becomes. At the same time, it is not in his political interest for it to fail. Far from it.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Public service
Canberra readies for its robo-debt day of reckoning
Friday’s royal commission report is expected to be an unvarnished take-down of big government at its worst.
- Tom Burton
June
- Opinion
- Opinion
Like it or not, the NACC risks being weaponised
Let us hope the new National Anti-Corruption Commission does not become a case of be careful what you wish for.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Peter Dutton
Proxy housing battle pits Albanese against his younger self
The prime minister once professed “I like fighting Tories, it’s what I do” but, make no mistake, the Greens annoy him even more. He loathes them.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Anthony Albanese
There are no winners from the Brittany Higgins affair
Deciding to pursue a rape allegation through the media and the parliament was always going to end up a circus. And a nasty one at that.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Wage growth
RBA governor is an inconvenient truth teller for Labor
With his tenure up in September, Philip Lowe left little doubt this week he would go down swinging.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Opinion
Replacing Lowe for a fresh start at the RBA is not as easy as it seems
Jim Chalmers must weigh up repairing the institution’s reputation with the potential for suspicions about the independence of the replacement if they change tack.
- Phillip Coorey
