Political Opinion
Make some allowances for common sense
AMANDA VANSTONE Tony Abbott could do more to bring MPs to account.
How a little power can sway us from playing by the rules
PETER MARTIN Opinion Of all the lies told in the parliamentary expenses scandal, the most dangerous is the white one - the one designed to make it look as if it's the rules themselves that are to blame, not the politicians who have abused them.
Decisive action needed on expenses
BIANCA HALL Opinion The media, like nature, abhors a vacuum. Since his elevation to Prime Minister on September 7, Tony Abbott has fronted the media in doorstop interviews a handful of times, making good on his vow to moderate his media appearances and ''take politics off the front page''.
Urban dwellers miss mark with Shooters' support
KIRSTY NEEDHAM Opinion Shooters Party MP Robert Brown had to take two blood pressure tablets before entering the NSW upper house to debate a law that has succeeded in disbanding his beloved Game Council and handed control of hunting regulation back to a government department.
Fixing Australian Labor Party doesn't start with shouting from the rooftops
MIKE CARLTON Opinion Graciously accepting his election as Labor leader last Sunday, former trade union boss Bill Shorten looked radiant in a tailored charcoal suit, crisp white shirt and a carefully knotted necktie of crushed mulberry.
Labor's carbon tax bind: surrender or die fighting
MARK KENNY Opinion She's offered it only within the confines of the government, but word is Peta Credlin has some world-weary advice for rookie Labor leader Bill Shorten: if you're serious about making Labor competitive again in 2016, you best swallow hard, take a deep breath, and turn your back on carbon pricing. And you best do it now.
How quickly self-interest replaces election promises
Mark Kenny Opinion When Tony Abbott wasn't casting the election as a referendum on the carbon tax or border security, he was framing it as a referendum on trust.
'Trust-me Tony's' silence on expenses is curious
MARK KENNY Opinion When Tony Abbott wasn't casting the election as a referendum on the carbon tax or border security, he was framing it as a referendum on trust.
Ooops! Quick! Where's that damn protocol?
TONY WRIGHT Opinion There was a time when politicians who had tickled the public travel dollar knew the courageous riposte.
Nicola Roxon on Kevin Rudd: How do I hate thee? Let me count the ways
PETER HARTCHER Opinion Nicola Roxon's speech on Kevin Rudd is an illustration of the central problem that beset Labor in power - it could never transcend the overweening ambitions and burning personal hatreds in its own ranks.
PM's rush to the past may trigger unforseen future
Geoff Gallop Opinion Tony Abbott might, inadvertently, help put the republic back on the agenda.
Jesuit influence overplayed
John Warhurst Opinion The number of Australian leaders with a Jesuit education is remarkable, its impact on their politics less so.
Dishonesty separates the dubious claims
Tom Allard Opinion West Australian MP Don Randall should be lawyering up and preparing for a full investigation by the Australian Federal Police after revelations of his taxpayer-funded cross-continental trip to Cairns last year, apparently to take possession of an investment property.
Lib MP should face police over expenses
Tom Allard, Analysis Opinion West Australian Liberal MP Don Randall should be lawyering up and preparing for a full investigation by the Australian Federal Police after revelations of his taxpayer-funded cross-continental trip to Cairns last year, apparently to take possession of an investment property.
Soup in blender far too early
JACK WATERFORD Opinion Labor must divide before it unites; it must have a hard look back and learn before it is fit to face the future
Fractious factions still to the fore
Mark Kenny Opinion The names Linda Kirk and Kate Lundy mean very little to most Australians.
Labor's Shorten experiment: the tale of 'Showbag Bill'
TONY WRIGHT Opinion Bill Shorten has made no shortage of enemies on his rise to the Labor leadership.
Labor must do more to free itself from faction chiefs
Clare O'Neil Opinion The members need more say, backroom heavies less.
Mum's the word for constitutional crises and in-laws
TONY WRIGHT Opinion It is surely a relief to Bill Shorten that, when speaking to Governor-General Quentin Bryce, subjects are not required to address her as ''ma'am'', as is protocol in conversation with her boss,
Time for some commonsense on live exports
Frank O'Shea Opinion It does not require much for television to put a particular slant on a story.
Lobbyist trio says the field is far from even
KIRSTY NEEDHAM Opinion It has been open season on lobbyists in NSW, and already one minister has declared they shall not darken his door.
Abbott and his very sorry lot
MARK KENNY Opinion Apologies have become almost de rigueur for new Australian prime ministers.
Tony Abbott must end expense perks
PETER HARTCHER Opinion The politicians' expenses scandal is a chance for the Abbott government to draw a line under bad practice and strike a blow for public trust.
Analysis
Gen why? Don't write off missing youth vote
JOHN WATSON Opinion While society's youth show little interest in the running of the country, our politicians ignore them at their peril.
Comment
Onus on Coalition to step up war on whaling
Terry Barnes Opinion Australia has an obligation to stand fast in opposing Japan's bloody-minded pursuit.
Proud Clive Palmer shows off Ricky Muir, his new wide-eyed PUP
Peter Munro Opinion Standing belly-to-belly like conjoined twins at a backyard barbecue, Clive Palmer and revhead Ricky Muir promised to stick together for Australia. Their new political alliance would end parliamentary gridlock, the arch-enemy of motoring enthusiasts in Canberra and beyond. "We've seen what can happen in the United States," Mr Palmer said, sympathising with the plight of President Obama.
MPs risk backlash by spurning Albanese
MARK KENNY Opinion In mid-2011, Republican hopefuls for the 2012 presidential nomination were landing some big punches on a weakened Barack Obama, who had been handed an economy on life support.
Labor's dual vote system showing flaws
MARK KENNY Opinion ALP risks a disconnect between party insiders and general voters by having two primaries running concurrently.
Why Slipper's Cabcharges may be different to PM's weddings
RICHARD ACKLAND Opinion Peter Slipper says it's unfair. He has been charged with misuse of MPs' travel entitlements, while others have been allowed to refund the Commonwealth and wipe their hands of the infraction.
Abbott owns rort problems
JACK WATERFORD Opinion Prevarication, self-indulgence and lack of leadership mean he will cop blame for everyone's dodgy claims
