Elephants afraid of mice: how Coalition cowards plan to legislate against the Liberal Democrats
Australia’s electoral system has been designed by politicians for politicians, gently tweaked — usually with the support of both the…
Wham, bam, thank you Dan! Welcome to Lockdown VI
Victorians are about to plunge into Lockdown VI. Lockdowns are like The Fast and the Furious series of films. The…
No Newspoll? Don’t worry, political junkies. You can still get your Essential fix
Political junkies hanging out for a Newspoll yesterday or today have been disappointed, but won’t need to go completely cold…
Campbell Newman: can Can Do do it?
Let’s open with a trivia question: which Royal Military College Duntroon colleague did Campbell Newman act as best man to? The…
We have become Pavlov’s dogs – or Mark McGowan’s and Dan Andrews’, anyway
Just mention lockdown and a certain type of Australian starts salivating — Victorians and Western Australians. That’s one of the…
New polling: the emperor has no clothes
It’s official — or as official as it can be. The emperor — the Prime Minister, actually — has no…
The only two figures you need to know in Newspoll today
One fascinating figure is missing from today’s Newspoll – the margin of error. As a quick glance at the table…
The real victim of Kev's korona kraziness?
As the story of Kevin Rudd’s Pfizer pfuckwittery keeps rolling along, no one seems to have stopped to ask who…
A friendly reminder: Anthony Albanese is completely bloody useless
After last Monday night’s AstraZeneca slip of the tongue announcement, Scott Morrison simply vanished for three days until National Cabinet…
What did a poobah of public health just say?
Excuse me? Excuse me? What did Queensland’s poobah of public health (and governor to be) Jeannette Young say today? Really…
Jacinta Price: now for the real challenges
Jacinta Price has won the top spot on the Country Liberal Party’s Senate house ticket and, if usual electoral patterns…
How we’re pushing the off button on China
Another Tuesday, another Essential Poll — one that has some fascinating insights on how we’ve cooled on China. Australians, it…
Barnstormer
Scholars of the classics will remember that quote from This Is Spın̈al Tap: “It’s such a fine line between stupid…
Are we resigned to an early election?
After talk of an early election began in earnest in late January, polling suggested a majority of Australians were opposed…
Scott Morrison stands for nothing – and his kitchen cabinet thinks it’s great
The Spec Oz has been warning about this. Now it’s official. Scott Morrison stands for nothing. The Sun-Herald and Sunday…
The ABC does a Billy Snedden
The late Liberal leader Billy Snedden is well-known for his declaration after the 1974 election “We were not beaten. We…
The risk to ScoMo from Melbourne’s latest Covid flap
There are two very clear takeouts from Melbourne’s latest coronavirus crisis. The first is that Acting Premier James Merlino is…
Upper Hunter: Malcolm loses. Again
Pro-tip. If you’re going to back an independent candidate, perhaps don’t do it when there are 12 other people lining…
Battlelines
There can be little doubt that last night’s budget sets the stage for an election before the end of the…
A pre-budget boost in the PM’s polling?
Is all the talk of budget benevolence already boosted Scott Morrison’s standing? Today’s Essential Poll provides some support for the…
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The Budget is tomorrow week, and Josh Frydenberg has spent much of…
China’s wolf warriors now sound like Q&A panellists – and that’s a real worry
China’s wolf warriors have spent the week snarling away at Australia, but one attack has really stood out. It came…
How the premiers are keeping us at home
Another weekend, another lockdown. Brisbane at the end of March, now Perth. It’s probably only because someone sensible is filling…
Peacock feathers
Spectator readers are a civilised lot, and no doubt their mothers told them “If you don’t have anything nice to…
Beware claims of a gender electoral apocalypse
“Women abandon Coalition in droves“, a headline says in The Australian today. The story covers data from the Australian Leadership…
