Terry Barnes

We already have our Trump

11 November 2016 7:11 am

I enjoyed the sainted editor, Rowan Dean’s, rollicking Flat White account of his Trump, Trump, Trumpety-Trump election count party. Any…

Oh, those wide-eyed Buzzfeed kidz

4 November 2016 3:02 pm

It must be a quiet news day.  Buzzfeed’s Mark di Stefano posted a reheated story this morning, casting a close…

Abbott needs better advice, Turnbull needs to bury his pride

2 November 2016 7:31 am

Yes, it is true that the buck stops with him, and that he is responsible for his decisions and actions,…

Time to start looking beyond Abbott

28 October 2016 7:15 am

Whoever said or emailed what to whom, David Leyonhjelm’s Adler shotgun blasted through Coalition ranks last week.  What this week’s…

At least Abbott stands for something

20 October 2016 7:10 am

If Malcolm Turnbull eventually loses his leadership for a second time, his pathetic arse-over-tit performance on gun control this week…

James Paterson’s welcome lateral thinking

11 October 2016 7:33 am

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

4 October 2016 7:18 am

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

26 September 2016 1:59 pm

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

21 September 2016 12:50 pm

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

14 September 2016 11:34 am

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…

29 August 2016 4:10 pm

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

27 August 2016 9:00 am

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

11 August 2016 1:08 pm

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?

8 August 2016 10:34 pm

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

7 August 2016 5:34 am

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

4 August 2016 9:15 am

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

1 August 2016 7:52 am

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

30 July 2016 9:00 am

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

28 July 2016 5:17 am

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

25 July 2016 7:40 am

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

18 July 2016 11:43 pm

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

13 July 2016 4:17 am

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

9 July 2016 9:00 am

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

30 June 2016 12:55 am

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

20 June 2016 12:00 pm

Less than a fortnight from polling day, the latest national Newspoll has the Coalition and Labor at 50:50, while Newspolls…