John Howard
John Watson
Let me remind you: it's 2001, John Howard is facing disaster
John Watson When reporters use the word 'historic' they mean: 'not in the time that I've been here'.
Annabel Crabb
Knowledge is power? Well …
Annabel Crabb One of the US's noblest popular traditions at election time, along with not voting, and hiding from telephone pollsters, is threatening to move to Canada if your preferred presidential candidate is...
Katharine Murphy
The vibes from America are bad for Abbott
Katharine Murphy What does Obama's win mean? Maybe, just maybe, carbon pricing.
Phillip Coorey
Absent Hockey will be front and centre if Abbott falters
Phillip Coorey There was a brief period of unrest in the Coalition last week when MPs were wondering why the shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey, was not among the speakers at an economic summit in Melbourne.
Brendon O'Connor
Troops make dance with next US partner a quickstep
Brendon O'Connor The outcomes of American presidential elections have not had that much of a direct impact on Australia in the past.
Phillip Coorey
As the Coalition knows, there is a long history of costing opposition policies
Phillip Coorey The opposition and some sections of the media are in high dudgeon because information has been released. However, it's not the first time a government has costed opposition policies.
Michelle Grattan
Figures frenzy turns spotlight on Canberra's bureaucracy
Michelle Grattan IT WAS a government sting, and then an opposition counter-sting, which left the public servants in the federal Treasury feeling the pain.
Michael Gordon
Amid the politics of fear, steps to reconciliation
Michael Gordon They were the other expert panel, the one that wasn't charged with stopping the boats.
Michael Gordon
Friendship hits a snag in a sea of confusion over boats
Michael Gordon Paris Aristotle and David Manne are good friends. They have been for more than 15 years.
Lenore Taylor
Voter enthusiasm now well and truly curbed
Lenore Taylor After two bitter years, Australia's political tug of war appears to have reached that frozen moment when the teams have struggled back to almost even pegging and no one is sure which way the...
John Birmingham
Power to the people, like it or not, Kevin
John Birmingham Prepare yourself for disappointment, Kevin.
Andrew West
Bipartisan ethos complicit in fall of Slipper and Thomson
Andrew West The cases against Peter Slipper and Craig Thomson seem pretty damning, although not conclusive.
Peter Hartcher
Never a clean way to slay a king
Peter Hartcher Regicide is such a serious crime that the usurper is tempted to go to extremes to rewrite the record.
Michael Gordon
The real lesson to be learnt from Labor's history wars
Michael Gordon Maxine McKew's blistering critique of Julia Gillard in her new book, Tales from the Political Trenches, invites three questions: Why did she feel compelled to write it? Is it accurate? And, most...
Daniel Flitton
Return of the 'vision thing'
Daniel Flitton THIS is a return to the big picture. Grand sweeping visions of Australia's place in Asia was a hallmark of the Keating era, but economic turmoil in the late 1990s — and John Howard's favour of...
Nicholas Stuart
McKew's tome reveals how leaders have lost their purpose
Nicholas Stuart I didn't bother speaking to Maxine McKew when writing my own book about the downfall of Kevin Rudd. The reason was obvious: she was just too loyal, she wasn't going to spill the dysfunction of his...
John Menadue
Relations with Asia are shot through with phobia
John Menadue Our deep-rooted fear of Asia undermines our commitment to engage with the region.
Tony Wright
Watch as we make a continent disappear
Tony Wright If you are to excise a country from its own migration zone, a visa-less soul can't apply for one anywhere.
Richard Ackland
Stench of Hicks prosecution lingers as court exposes its flimsy basis
Richard Ackland It would have taken the skills of a first-year law clerk in the Attorney-General's department to advise that the case against David Hicks was a big no-no.
Michelle Grattan
PM, Abbott on a steep foreign learning curve
Michelle Grattan Gillard is a quick study in foreign affairs, but Abbott has a way to go.
