opinion
Paul Bongiorno
politics September 22, 2018
Morrison’s ‘momentum’ peters out
Forget the Muppets, Scott Morrison took the nation into Strawberry Fields this week. That’s where John Lennon sang, “Nothing is real, and nothing to get hung about, Strawberry Fields forever.” The prime minister called a news conference to talk...
politics September 15, 2018
Scott Morrison thought it was a good idea at the time when he dismissed the power plays bringing down a Liberal prime minister as “a muppet show”. But as a metaphor for a dysfunctional troupe it is proving apt. The show came to town on Monday when...
politics September 1, 2018
Aftershocks of Morrison’s victory
The aftershocks of last week’s political earthquake continue to be felt, not least by Scott Morrison. The new prime minister, who represented the least bad option for just over half the party room, has not escaped the bitter recriminations of the...
politics September 8, 2018
Leaks undermine Scott Morrison’s image
There is compelling evidence a vicious “Scuttle Scott” campaign is under way and, unlike the “Kill Bill” strategy, this one is being mounted from inside the government itself. The new prime minister faces parliament next week for the first time...
politics August 25, 2018
Last Tuesday, as he trudged through the biting cold of a Canberra winter morning to Parliament House, one Liberal politician summed up the mood of many of his colleagues. “It didn’t have to come to this,” he said. “I am dismayed at Turnbull’s...
politics May 26, 2018
Pauline Hanson’s need for attention
Pauline Hanson sees herself as an Australian Joan of Arc. The saviour of a nation under siege from crippling debt, excessive spending and immigrants, neglectful of self-funded retirees, and abused by multinational energy companies. Worse, a nation...
politics May 19, 2018
Truth, they say, is the first casualty of war. And make no mistake, the government is in the battle of its life. Malcolm Turnbull is doing whatever it takes to regain a political ascendancy he has not had over the Opposition since last year’s...
economy May 12, 2018
Morrison’s budget fails to inspire
As treasurers go, Scott Morrison is no Paul Keating. He’s not even a Peter Costello when it comes to wit and making speeches. Morrison is dully combative and unimaginative. Even his own side found little that was inspiring in Tuesday night’s...
politics May 5, 2018
Next Tuesday Treasurer Scott Morrison will unveil the government’s blueprint for survival. His political opponents are convinced one bold move would go a long way to achieving it. And it’s giving Bill Shorten nightmares. Not that he’s admitting that...
politics April 28, 2018
Turnbull’s about-face on the banks
Maybe it was the Berlin location. More likely, it was the stark realisation that the government’s appalling handling of the banking royal commission was creating even more damage. Two kilometres away from Hitler’s bunker, where the Führer perished,...
politics April 21, 2018
The prime minister and his immediate predecessor will commemorate Anzac Day on the site of a World War I battleground at Villers-Bretonneux. Tony Abbott will be there, at Malcolm Turnbull’s invitation. The atmosphere is expected to be cordial and...
