Search Results: Independents
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AUSTRALIA
- John Warhurst
- 29 June 2011
14 Comments
The media are not indulging in fantasies, but feeding off rumours around Parliament House and gossip from within Labor. The message is that Gillard has until Christmas to improve the party's standing. But the party has bigger problems than an unpopular leader.
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RELIGION
- Frank Brennan
- 04 May 2011
15 Comments
We now know that, in the name of the US alliance, our Government attempted to scuttle the significance of the UN Convention on Cluster Munitions. Thus far the Greens are the only party to take the point, and the only party in full sympathy with the Vatican on this issue.
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AUSTRALIA
- John Warhurst
- 02 May 2011
3 Comments
Political alliances can be strategically useful, but leaders must be careful not to appear too close to extreme groups. Tony Abbott and the NSW Greens have experienced 'guilt by association' in recent times, but the concept has a long history in Australian politics.
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MEDIA
- Tony Kevin
- 28 February 2011
32 Comments
At last, an Australian government has presented for public consideration an intelligently conceived framework for a national carbon emissions plan. Has Gillard broken her pre-election 'no carbon tax' promise? Does it matter?
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INTERNATIONAL
- Ashlea Scicluna
- 02 February 2011
5 Comments
The long-time political repression of the Egyptian people is now being avenged on the streets. Any step toward democracy that arises from the protests must involve the popular Muslim Brotherhood, or else it will be a wasted opportunity.
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AUSTRALIA
- Michael Mullins
- 31 January 2011
5 Comments
It is difficult for Prime Ministers to impose short term pain for long term gain if they want to be re-elected. But Gillard faces a different situation because the Independents are her masters, not the 2013 voters.
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ENVIRONMENT
- Tony Kevin
- 12 January 2011
3 Comments
If the Gillard Government manages to serve a full term, there is a good chance that Parliament will pass a well-designed, effective national carbon pricing policy into law in 2012. This would be a major policy success that Gillard could legitimately boast of going into a 2013 full-term election.
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AUSTRALIA
- Michael Mullins
- 18 October 2010
7 Comments
Tony Windsor is proving himself to be a politician of integrity and tact, but has his work cut out for him in the case of the Murray-Darling Basin irrigators. Mary MacKillop was a champion of rural and regional Australians. It is worth considering her strategy in the context of the irrigators' struggle for survival.
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INTERNATIONAL
- Tony Kevin
- 29 September 2010
6 Comments
If the Gillard Government manages to serve a full term, there is a good chance that Parliament will pass a well-designed, effective national carbon pricing policy into law in 2012. This would be a major policy success that Gillard could legitimately boast of going into a 2013 full-term election.
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AUSTRALIA
- John Warhurst
- 27 September 2010
6 Comments
Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull's past faults and misdemeanours have been forgotten and they have been charged with new responsibilities at the heart of Australia's domestic and international futures. The new leaders must wish their vanquished colleagues great success. But not too much.
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RELIGION
- Andrew Hamilton
- 23 September 2010
9 Comments
The aftermath of the election gave play to the mythical Australian preference for the underdog as people enjoyed the Greens' and Independents' day in the sun. There is an intriguing contrast to be drawn between this and the life of Mary MacKillop, who will become Australia's first saint.
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AUSTRALIA
- Michael Mullins
- 13 September 2010
5 Comments
Deals struck between Prime Minister Gillard and Independents Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott saw hospitals in their electorates receive preferential treatment ahead of regions with greater needs. Pork-barrelling has always been part of politics, but that does not make it any less of a scandal.
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