opinion
Paul Bongiorno
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 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 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...
environment July 7, 2018
Tony Abbott’s latest demolition job
Last Tuesday night, Tony Abbott was in his element. Surrounded by climate change sceptics and deniers he set about destroying Malcolm Turnbull’s signature energy policy. And he did so with panache, his opening line more a battle cry: “It takes...
politics April 7, 2018
Pro-coal right comes after Turnbull
The frustration down the phone was palpable. “Does this prick know or care about how much damage he is doing to the government?” The Liberal marginal seat-holder was reacting to his colleague Craig Kelly becoming the mouthpiece for a new ginger...
politics March 31, 2018
Abbott’s giving up is not the same as letting go
The image of Tony Abbott planting a kiss on the cheek of Pauline Hanson was too much for some of the Coalition’s most seasoned campaigners. “He needs a kick up the bum,” was the angry reaction of one who believes the former prime minister is making...
education March 24, 2018
Bill Shorten’s strategies paying off
The atmosphere was electric when Labor’s victorious Batman candidate, Ged Kearney, entered the room flanked by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten. You would think they had just won the general election rather than retained a seat they had held for the...
politics March 17, 2018
Shorten acts on tax as Batman votes
This week, Bill Shorten made sure the chattering classes would be talking about more than Saturday’s byelection in the Melbourne seat of Batman, which Labor is expected to lose. The opposition leader seized the political agenda in a dramatic way on...
politics March 10, 2018
Malcolm Turnbull’s poll count looms
Senior Labor figures are convinced they won’t be facing Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister at the next election. Their calculation is based on the survival instinct that is a primal motivating force for all members of parliament. It was the one that...
politics March 3, 2018
The Coalition after Barnaby Joyce
Malcolm Turnbull returned from Washington in an ebullient mood, very early on Monday morning. He had just been feted by President Donald Trump and by all reports his visit had been a success. He and Trump were now “mates” and indeed “allies” in...
