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Keywords: John Warhurst Is Professor Of Political Science At The Australian National University And A Canberra

  • AUSTRALIA

    Mystery of the pro-Rudd Coalition voters

    • John Warhurst
    • 06 June 2012
    18 Comments

    A Herald/Neilsen poll this week showed that Rudd leads Gillard by 62 per cent to 32 per cent. But that figure is distorted by the overwhelming pro-Rudd preference of Coalition voters, who prefer Rudd to Gillard by 71 per cent to 19 per cent. The motivation behind this preference is not immediately clear.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Christine Milne's chance to scupper an Abbott Senate

    • John Warhurst
    • 02 May 2012
    25 Comments

    To prevent Tony Abbott from having total control of the Senate after the next election, the Greens need to attract votes from otherwise non-Labor voters rather than the easier task of picking up disappointed Labor defectors. The 15 per cent of Coalition-leaning Greens is generally forgotten altogether.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Canned pairs reveal Opposition's fruity strategy

    • John Warhurst
    • 30 March 2012
    9 Comments

    The Opposition has unrelentingly resisted pairs, whereby an MP from one side doesn't vote in order to allow an MP from the other side to be away. Their strategy is to emphasise the closeness of the numbers in parliament. This hardline attitude has recently led to some crazy and downright silly situations.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    All democracies great and small

    • John Warhurst
    • 27 February 2012
    5 Comments

    From strata communities to federal politics, citizens of democracies exhibit similar characteristics. These include limited knowledge and interest, suspicion of office-holders, and assertions of self-interest. Those who stand for election deserve more credit than they often get because they are a small minority.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Long road to the Indigenous referendum

    • John Warhurst
    • 27 January 2012
    11 Comments

    The proposed referendum follows the 2008 Apology to the Stolen Generations and provides an opportunity for this Labor era to be remembered whenever the Indigenous story is told. Passing a referendum is exceptionally difficult and there is no fool-proof recipe for success.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Wreckers at work in leaky Labor

    • John Warhurst
    • 02 November 2011
    9 Comments

    The Gillard cabinet leaks are a sure sign of government instability. The worst aspect of the leaks is the likelihood that they are the product not just of understandable policy differences, but of leadership destabilisation.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Reflections on Gillard's atheism

    • John Warhurst
    • 17 October 2011
    10 Comments

    Gillard's atheism puts her in stark contrast to her immediate predecessors Kevin Rudd and John Howard. We consider several implications of Gillard's position, including her relations with church-state issues and community attitudes towards gay marriage and euthanasia. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Rudd resurrection no miracle cure for Labor

    • John Warhurst
    • 19 September 2011
    9 Comments

    If Rudd was re-installed as leader, Howard's Lazarus impersonation and Menzies' return to office in 1949 would have been outdone by the most remarkable twist ever in Australian politics. Only insiders know whether it might happen. Only voters know whether it might work.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Rallies take the good fight to Canberra

    • John Warhurst
    • 29 August 2011
    7 Comments

    Political rallies are on the rise. That is a good thing. The ones that should really make governments take notice are those that contain not just rusted on party supporters, but people who really are considering changing their vote from the Gillard-Abbott election in 2010.

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  • EUREKA STREET TV

    Religion and republicanism in Australian politics

    • Peter Kirkwood
    • 26 August 2011

    Political commentator John Warhurst has devoted his working life to observing what motivates politicians, particularly their religious beliefs. He sees an Australian republic as a 'logical, necessary and natural evolution of Australian political and constitutional identity'.

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  • AUSTRALIA

    ASIO and me

    • John Warhurst
    • 03 August 2011
    1 Comment

    I received the documents in a battered brown suitcase. They were from a time of high drama within the Movement and the Labor Party concerning the Labor Split. In the course of my research, I wrote to several international sources. This brought me to the attention of the CIA and ASIO. 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Gillard's chaplaincy challenge

    • John Warhurst
    • 02 August 2011
    13 Comments

    In the midst of debates about same sex marriage that will test and probably break relations between the Gillard Government and some Christian communities, the chaplaincy program is seen by both camps as a win-win. A challenge to be considered by the High Court this month could change all that.

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