opinion
Paul Bongiorno
health March 28, 2020
Government’s crashing failure in face of crisis
If anything crystallises the brutal impact of the coronavirus crisis in Australia, it is the thousands queued outside Centrelink offices around the country this week. The lines began forming the day after the prime minister announced that vast...
health March 21, 2020
Morrison’s coronavirus awakening
There in the prime ministerial courtyard of Parliament House, Scott Morrison finally admitted his world had crumbled. “Life is changing in Australia, as it is changing all around the world,” he began his news conference midweek. “Life is going to...
politics March 7, 2020
Scott Morrison’s misleading hedges
It is getting harder by the week to believe a word uttered by the prime minister of Australia. And no one has done more to undermine Scott Morrison’s credibility than the man himself. This harsh judgement is shared not only by his political...
health March 14, 2020
Morrison announces ‘Team Australia’ stimulus
The coronavirus-induced panic that has caused the great run on toilet paper is not confined to the herd instinct of millions of shoppers. Fear of being the first government to preside over the end of 30 years of uninterrupted growth is gripping...
environment February 29, 2020
Scott Morrison’s quest for immunity
There’s an old saying in politics, “Never waste a good crisis.” And it’s crystal clear Scott Morrison isn’t wasting any moment where he can be seen responding to the threat coronavirus – or COVID-19, as it’s now known – is posing to Australia and...
media October 26, 2019
The shadowy corridors of power
A citizen’s right to know should be a motherhood statement in our liberal democracy, but too much vested interest gets in the way. Most essentially, the pursuit of power – and the holding on to it – is the primal force distorting the way our...
politics October 19, 2019
PM under the pump over drought and economy
For Scott Morrison, God obviously votes Liberal – that’s how he explains his “miraculous” win in May. His mother-in-law confirmed on election night the family had all been praying for the result they got. On Tuesday, at the National Prayer Breakfast...
environment October 12, 2019
The hot topic of climate change
The ghosts of leaders past are haunting the political firmament as climate change, the one issue that played a major role in their demise, flares spectacularly. While Malcolm Turnbull, Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten ruminate on their contributions to...
rural October 5, 2019
Prime ministers do their best to hide it, but the fact is governing involves mostly flying by the seat of your pants. And this is particularly true for the Morrison administration, now into its sixth month after its surprise election win. It is...
environment September 28, 2019
Trump awards Morrison metal of honour
Scott Morrison is back on Australian soil with the ramifications of his seven-day Trumpfest romp still to play out. He returns with an accolade from the United States president still ringing in his ears. No “man of steel”, this Aussie leader is a “...
opinion September 21, 2019
Entering Trump’s dinner circle
The duchessing of Scott Morrison in Washington begins today with one of the most colourful ceremonies Donald Trump can muster. The United States Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, resplendent in their 18th-century uniforms and playing antique...
