Howard’s Golden Age
Monday, 20 August 2012 State of the parties 16 comments
The over-turning of the orthodoxies of the Howard period during 2008-2009 has been forgotten as much as the reason for the popularity for the man who brought them about.
Asylum seekers: a panic of the political class – an update
Friday, 29 June 2012 The Australian state 16 comments
The Oakeshott Bill removed even further protections for asylum seekers in what is already one of the most anti-immigrant pieces of legislation in the developed world.
9/11 – the event that never happened
Monday, 12 September 2011 State of the parties 8 comments
9/11 and the War on Terror didn’t mark the start of Labor’s problems, it marked the temporary suspension, for about five or six years, of the Coalition’s.
Review: George Megalogenis’s Trivial Pursuit
Thursday, 10 February 2011 Media analysis, State of the parties 10 comments
Megalogenis may lament the passing of reform, and the privileged role the media had in it, even if he cannot quite put his finger on what it was.
Leadership watch: Howard and Keating on Lateline
Saturday, 4 December 2010 State of the parties 1 comment
So who won the ideological war exactly?
The reform pantomime
Thursday, 4 November 2010 State of the parties 21 comments
There was a time when reform didn’t used to be such a fashionable word.
When did John Howard become boring?
Tuesday, 26 October 2010 Political figures 8 comments
Karl Bitar says that Howard’s agenda has little relevance to the electorate today. He should know.
Self-absorbed and deluded – an update
Friday, 6 August 2010 Tactics 35 comments
At least referring back to Howard gives Abbott an appearance of stability that he otherwise doesn’t have. The return of Rudd has exactly the opposite effect for Labor.
Unravelling Tony Abbott
Wednesday, 17 March 2010 Political figures 8 comments
Like One Nation, Abbott’s accession to the leadership is being confused with another phenomenon – the revival of the right.
Opposing on empty
Monday, 15 March 2010 Tactics 4 comments
If Howard couldn’t sustain a distinctive agenda in the run up to the 2007 election, why should Abbott after 2010?
