opinion
Paul Bongiorno
economy April 20, 2019
Dutton serves as Labor’s Easter bunny
Being frontrunners in the election campaign, as confirmed by the latest Newspoll, has key Labor people nervous. They are uncomfortable with the almost universal expectation the election is theirs to lose or, worse, that Bill Shorten is already seen...
environment April 13, 2019
PM sets tone for May 18 election
The 2019 election campaign is off to an inauspicious start. The tone has been set by the prime minister, who admits he is the underdog and seems to have decided the best way to win over voters is to treat them like mugs, launching an absurd attack...
media March 30, 2019
Morrison gears up for last-ditch budget
The government is rushing at breakneck speed towards its date with destiny. On Tuesday night the treasurer will unveil the first budget of the Morrison government, which the polls suggest will almost certainly be the last fiscal prescription of the...
economy April 6, 2019
Coalition banks on infrastructure
“Scott’s giving it his best shot.” That was the generous assessment of one of the prime minister’s troops, who voted for him reluctantly in last year’s leadership coup. The prompt for the observation was the Morrison government’s first budget, a...
religion March 23, 2019
The Australian white supremacist who allegedly massacred 50 Muslims while they were at Friday prayers in Christchurch, New Zealand has recast the political debate in this country. The cowardly, hate-filled attack has shaken both nations to their...
politics February 2, 2019
Scott Morrison wants us to forget why he is prime minister. Instead, he assured a national TV audience he was “getting on with it”. The problem is his own MPs, party members and supporters – and the electorate – remain vividly aware of the turmoil...
politics January 26, 2019
The Morrison government this week did its best to relive the shipwreck that Captain James Cook suffered almost 250 years ago. The prime minister spent much of the week in the run-up to Australia Day trying to reignite the culture wars and restart an...
politics December 22, 2018
Scott Morrison disappeared from view for most of the week. He was in the Middle East, visiting our remnant military still trying to mop up after the miscalculation 15 years ago of joining the invasion of Iraq. But in many ways the TV news pictures...
politics December 1, 2018
Julia Banks and the Coalition’s loss of a sensible centre
The day the Morrison government sank deeper into minority with the desertion of backbencher Julia Banks, the Opposition leader went for the jugular. Bill Shorten’s first parliamentary question summed up the dreadful situation the government of...
politics November 24, 2018
Populist Morrison reverses policies
Next week federal parliament resumes and the leader of the house, Christopher Pyne, will table the schedule of sittings for 2019, an election year. He is sure to follow the convention of identifying the second Tuesday in May as budget day. But few...
politics November 17, 2018
Scott Morrison fails to persuade voters
The question dogging Scott Morrison as he rubs shoulders with world leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Port Moresby this weekend is how long he will remain a member of this exclusive club. By his own admission, the chances...
