James Paterson’s welcome lateral thinking
Good on Victorian Liberal Senator James Paterson for his media campaign to sell Jackson Pollock’s drunken daub, Blue Poles, to…
Trolling with Clementine Ford
Fairfax columnist and ABC Drum presenter Julia Baird is drawn to forceful, opinionated public women. Baird is writing a biography of Queen Victoria, and in a column this week…
The trumpet blasts of the monstrous regiment
On the weekend I was on an ABC Radio National panel discussion about major topical events of the week. The return…
Hinch’s s*** on the liver
Revelations reported yesterday about Human Headline turned crucial Senate vote Derryn Hinch’s fondness for a tipple caused a bit of…
The Ides of Malcolm
So here we are, marking the Ides of Malcolm. One year ago today Malcolm Turnbull reached for his dagger and…
O brave new political world…
So here we are again. Federal parliament finally is reconvening, a mere four months since it last met and eight…
The morality of mandatory detention
Last week on the ABC programme, the Drum, I confronted my unwilling conscience. The topic was the Manus Island immigration…
There’s a silver lining to the census SNAFU
There’s no question that Census 2016 is an omnishambles of the first order that, as Simon Cowan succinctly sums up…
If James Ashby knocks, will Coalition ministers answer?
One of the most intriguing aspects of Pauline Hanson’s astonishing return to Canberra is how she and her three One…
The nannying NGOs make boobs of themselves
The World Health Organisation and Unicef currently are pushing the breastfeeding barrow on Twitter. As part of a WHO initiative…
The Senate: as ye sow, so shall ye reap
The final Senate results are in and the Star Wars cantina of the last parliament will look monocultural compared to…
The NT royal commission decision-making: not a good look
Monday’s announcement by the royal commissioner into youth detention in the Northern Territory, retired Northern Territory chief justice Brian Martin,…
Shorten’s Leyland P76 reshuffle
Last week, Malcolm Turnbull missed his best opportunity to put a Coalition A-team on the ministerial paddock ahead of a…
Being brusque does not justify George Pell’s trial by media
On Wednesday night, the whole of the ABC’s 7.30 programme was given over to an expose of historic allegations against…
Marriage equality: Daniel Andrews has big ears, but doesn’t listen
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has ears sticking out from his bonce like wide-open car doors. But for a bloke whose…
Hardly a ministry of all the talents
Malcolm Turnbull’s latest ministry – his third in less than a year – was announced on Monday. True to his…
Cory’s conservative crusade is misguided
Since the Coalition’s woeful election campaign, and Malcolm Turnbull’s less than brilliant result capped by his election night diatribe, Liberal…
Malcolm can’t blame Tony for this one
On election night Liberals expected to be clear winners of the longest campaign in memory, with Malcolm Turnbull having vanquished…
Gay Marriage – what the plebiscite question should be
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the 2011 census found about 33,700 same-sex couples in Australia. About 17,600 couples…
Labor can still steal this election
Less than a fortnight from polling day, the latest national Newspoll has the Coalition and Labor at 50:50, while Newspolls…
Abbott’s five stages
Abbott has accepted Turnbull. Can Turnbull accept Abbott?
What the PM should have said
Malcolm Turnbull’s speech notes mysteriously fell into the hands of...
Abbott’s sliding doors
As his latest writing demonstrates, things should have turned out very differently for the former PM
Attack the 18C disease, not the symptoms
Conservative commentators railing against the latest aggrieved and offended victim are missing the real target
Child’s play
In Australia there are tens of thousands of emotionally stable, financially secure but medically infertile people. As much as they…
