Political Opinion
New laws will also hit domestic violence
BIANCA HALL Spare a thought for the ladies, the seemingly invisible 51 per cent of our population.
Chilly reception for Tony Abbott's stand-up routine at Davos
JUDITH IRELAND Opinion Tony Abbott packed his beanie and his uggs this week and flew off to Davos to meet his world colleagues, economic forum style
Poking a stick in hornet's nest stirs up Indonesian relations
JACK WATERFORD Opinion Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has virtually declared victory in recent days.
Wayne Swan responds: Global stage is no place for partisan domestic politics
Wayne Swan Opinion Leading the G20, the premier group of economies for international economic cooperation and decision making, is a rare privilege. Tony Abbott's leadership task is to make the agenda this year relevant, interesting and engaging.
Joe Hockey and Ian Macfarlane must walk a tight rope over Toyota
JAMES MASSOLA Opinion Joe Hockey and Ian MacFarlane are right to sound a warning about Toyota's manufacturing future in Australia.
Secrecy on boat policy leaves navy vulnerable
MARK KENNY Opinion On the two-way street of official secrecy, the government has learned, it is dark in both directions.
Julie Bishop reinvents international law in her support of Israeli settlements
Saeb Erekat Opinion The victims of that colonisation are wondering when the international community will muster the determination to end Israel's impunity.
Hey Mr Andrews, let's skip the talkfest. Here's the path to harmonious love...
JUDITH IRELAND Opinion If the aim of the federal government's 'relationship vouchers' scheme is to create harmony in Australians' love lives, would the scheme's $20 million budget be better spent on other things?
Tony Abbott's pitch to change constitution is dangerous
John Warhurst Opinion The PM's move not only to alter the constitution, but to complete it is understandable but ill-advised.
PM Tony Abbott shouldn't be playing the challenger's game
MARK KENNY Opinion For those of us doing relaxing summery things like watching tennis, the return of national politics may feel a tad premature.
Overhaul needed to fix gap between Newstart and disability pension
Comment Peter Martin Opinion At last, the Coalition has acknowledged what Labor would not - that having Newstart and the disability pension indexed at different rates is unsustainable.
Squandering social capital
JACK WATERFORD Opinion The public - and public purse - is much the poorer as community groups and smarties plunder assets.
Kevin Andrews is tackling the welfare problem Labor ignored
PETER MARTIN Opinion At last, the Coalition has acknowledged what Labor would not - that having Newstart and the disability pension indexed at different rates is unsustainable.
Mind the gap: health reform must ease costs
JENNA PRICE Opinion We need to make sure that whatever the government decides to do to change our health services, it doesn't make any of us worse off.
Echoes of the past as we turn boats back
BIANCA HALL Opinion They called it the Voyage of the Damned - the flight of 937 Jewish refugees who made a desperate bid to escape from Nazi Germany on the eve of World War II.
A review of the reviews might be a good place to start
Ged Kearney Opinion The Abbott government's opportunity to lead has been outsourced to big business in the form of a large number of reviews.
Premier Barry O'Farrell faces moral dilemma after High Court throws fund-raising into chaos
SEAN NICHOLLS Opinion The High Court's decision just before Christmas to strike down key elements of the O'Farrell government's laws on who can donate to political parties in NSW took most people by surprise - not least the Premier himself.
Analysis: Spying scandal gave Morrison the opportunity he needed
MICHAEL BACHELARD Opinion On December 12 last year, I exasperated the spokesman for Immigration Minister Scott Morrison by asking about the people-smuggling protocol he had been asked to negotiate with Indonesia.
Liberal Party rank and file best judge of candidates for presidency
Peter Reith Opinion In his first Herald column, Peter Reith looks at the divisions over the Liberal Party presidency.
Why Indonesia is so touchy about borders
Tim Lindsey Opinion It is not surprising that Australian naval vessels have crossed into Indonesian waters in the course of implementing the Abbott government's Operation Sovereign Borders.
Heaven help those trying to scrap Lord's Prayer in Parliament
JUDITH IRELAND Opinion You might think politicians are a godless lot, but they would beg to disagree.
Abbott should stay out of Liberal presidency contest
Peter Reith Opinion News of a conflict between Julie Bishop and Tony Abbott over the Liberal presidency is no surprise. Tony does not seem to realise that sometimes it's best not to meddle in Liberal Party organisational matters. In fact it's healthy that the party makes its own decisions without the decision on the federal presidency always being decided by the parliamentary leader.
Surprises come from this 'no surprises' government
MICHAEL GORDON Opinion Tony Abbott's "no surprises" approach on border protection suddenly has an asterisk attached to it. We now know that, contrary to the Abbott government's stated policy, there have been several incursions by Australian border protection "assets" into Indonesian waters.
Coalition set for clean sweep as year of elections begins
JUDITH IRELAND Opinion Lara Giddings' announcement of a Tasmanian state election for March 15 sets up the first quarter of 2014 as something of an election fiesta for Australia.
Chris Christie: Politicians must be responsible for personal staff
JACK WATERFORD Opinion Politicians can be judged and held accountable for the character and ability of their personal staff.
Keeping up appearances in frugal times
BIANCA HALL Opinion Undeterred by the threat of deep-vein thrombosis, Prime Minister Tony Abbott took to economy class last month to fly overseas for a family holiday.
Dear Cory, start to address inequality and then let's talk
Melinda Tankard Reist Opinion Rosie became pregnant at 17 last year. She was labelled a slut.
We're blessed to have Cory Bernardi batting for us
John Birmingham Opinion Ho, fellow conservative Australians, and welcome to this, the foreword to Cory Bernardi's new book. I would like to thank the good senator for inviting me to write a few words but, even more than that, I would like to express my heartfelt appreciation for the very large cheque which made my contribution possible.
Politicians failed Colin Russell, not the consular officials
ANDREW DARBY Opinion The speed with which Foreign Minister Julie Bishop rounded on freed Greenpeace Arctic 30 activist Colin Russell was something to behold.
Comment
'Tis the season for MPs to dump unwanted news
JONATHAN SWAN Opinion At the end of every year politicians observe a tradition as dear to them as Christmas. While Australians binge on food, drink and sunshine, federal ministers use the cover of the holidays to dump unfavourable news on a presumably uninterested public.
