Leading article Australia
Cloning Scott
Ultimately, prime ministers can only ever be as good as the front bench talent they have selected permits them to…
Mathias on message
As is now widely accepted, and was pointed out in this magazine shortly after Budget night (‘The budget isn’t the…
Back to Iraq
It’s twelve years and eleven months since a single graphic image punched us in the guts with such force. Then,…
Two worlds colliding
The imagery was faintly disturbing. A powerful whitefella sits in the middle of a group of Aboriginal elders, themselves surrounded…
Ukrainian quagmire
‘We will not be deterred in our efforts to get on to that site and retrieve the bodies of Australians…
Qualities of a leader
Decisiveness. Perseverance. Effectiveness. These are the three key words being bandied around by the world’s top diplomats to describe Australian…
You read it here first
In the digital age, weekly print magazines are not supposed to break stories, especially before the actual events have taken…
Hip, hip hooray for Tony Abbott’s carbon tax repeal
Barring any more sudden Ricky Muir-like surprises, it looks as if the Senate will repeal the carbon tax; so allow…
Our best newspaper
In polite company, it is now well known that the Australian’s claim to be the best newspaper in Australia is…
Mugged by reality
When American neoconservatives rose to intellectual prominence in the 1970s, they were invariably described — not least by themselves —…
Hillary and us
So it was the quail what done ’er in. Asked to give an example of the ‘outrageous sexism’ that brought…
Tanya powder keg
Yet again, Tanya Plibersek has shown herself ill-equipped for the critical and sensitive portfolio of foreign affairs. Launching into a…
Unrepresentative swill
Once again a majority of Australian voters find themselves in the infuriating position of having their clearly established wishes frustrated…
Morrison and the critics
Every Australian government since Ben Chifley’s has defined our immigration policy in terms of guaranteeing border control and an orderly…
Get serious about debt
‘This is something we have to take seriously.’ So said Treasury Secretary Martin Parkinson in his post-budget address to business…
Two cheers for Mr Fraser
Many Liberals and conservatives have been disgusted by Malcolm Fraser’s lurch to the Left since he lost office in 1983.…
It don’t come easy
‘Got to pay your dues, if you wanna sing the blues,’ sang Ringo Starr wistfully after the demise of the…
A heavyweight duel
In the lead-up to the main event, as excitement reaches fever pitch, the contenders go through the usual pre-bout rituals.…
Seventy ain’t old
Age, clearly, has not withered the Rolling Stones. With the average age of the remaining four members of the ‘greatest…
Abbott’s Asia accolades
Abbott-watchers amateur and professional are still having trouble coming to grips with the Prime Minister’s foreign policy. The latest intellectual…
A royal welcome
Australia prides itself on being a young country. For generations after independence in 1901, we still saw ourselves as essentially…
Joe’s Thatcherite message
The greatest accolade that can be granted to a public figure is not a knighthood, an OA or any such…
Our Watergate?
When we say the drama surrounding Arthur Sinodinos’s dealings at Australian Water Holdings brings back memories of Watergate, we do…
The Bolt crucible
Yes to free speech, no to racism. It should be a pretty simple formula but, of course, the devil is…
Consumer vs taxpayer
Remember Kim Carr’s dire warning: ‘The government has effectively signed the death warrant on Australia’s last fresh-fruit cannery, ensuring the…
