Christopher Pyne has perfectly demonstrated how not to undertake complex reform. And it has cost the government dearly.
READ MORERundle: the Tony Abbott guide to cock-ups in three easy steps
With his Paddy’s Day address, Abbott managed to insult a people who are quite happy to acknowledge that they’re drunks.
READ MOREYour guide to the data retention debate: what it is and why it’s bad
It’s time to clarify what data retention is and the nature of the threat it poses to citizens.
READ MOREMoore Park the new battleground of the NSW election
Will the Baird government allow elite sports to take over the green lungs of Sydney? Urban planning analyst Vivienne Skinner reports.
READ MOREPop quiz, hot shot: what you need to know to become an Aussie
What’s Donald Bradman’s batting average? What was the most successful horse ever to run the Melbourne Cup? Howard’s “culture” questions have gone from the citizenship test, but there a few curveballs left.
READ MOREBaby come back: can Palmer lay claim to the brick with eyes’ Senate seat?
Does Glenn Lazarus’ seat belong to the Palmer United Party? Constitution says no, writes Crikey intern Brihony Tulloch.
READ MOREWar, what is it good for? Employment for the counter-terrorism crowd
What ever would those employed by the counter-terrorism industry do if peace were to break out for good?
READ MOREEssential: what intergenerational report?
Nearly half of voters haven’t even heard of the intergenerational report and another quarter haven’t heard much, according to today’s Essential Report poll.
READ MOREMayne: Turnbull should pursue media reform, despite leaks and his pro-Murdoch PM
Despite being harangued over a damaging leak, Malcolm Turnbull is right to start thinking about media reform. Whether he’ll be able to get the PM and his old mate Rupert Murdoch on board is quite another matter.
READ MORERundle: one cheer for Clive, unlikely saviour of the Left
It was Clive Palmer who stopped the government passing its disastrous budget, so stop dancing on his political grave.
READ MORELabor mouthpiece now spruiking Baird’s poles-and-wires sale
The Property Council of Australia is supporting the NSW Coalition’s planned infrastructure privatisation. Not that it would advertise for the government directly, of course …
READ MORECoalition wedged on media as Brandis sneaks away from protections
The media revolt on data retention forced the government and opposition to cave in on protecting journalists — while George Brandis tried to sneak through a get-out clause for agencies.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: Foley gains traction, but can he pull Labor over the line?
While it’s unlikely Luke Foley will lead Labor to victory in the NSW election on March 28, he will recover many of the seats the party lost after its devastating defeat in 2011.
READ MOREHillary’s in the hot seat, but Malcolm’s sitting pretty
The American media and public are outraged by Hillary Clinton’s decision to use her personal email while she was secretary of state. But when it was revealed our pollies use encrypted messaging, all we got was a collective shrug, writes Crikey intern Brihony Tulloch.
READ MOREPlenty of blame to go around for Labor’s data retention dilemma
The media’s belated discovery of the threat of mass surveillance has left Labor with a dilemma on data retention, Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer write.
READ MORENats turn on Libs as NSW election draws near
The Nationals are strongly opposed to the key policy of their coalition partners. What will that mean for their election chances?
READ MOREAirAsia X blames the crash of flight QZ8501 for refund delays
The decision to delay refunds to customers of AirAsia X flights is unforgivable.
READ MOREGoing Dutch: look to the Netherlands to encourage cycling in Australia
Cycling in Australia was much bigger historically than it is now — approaching 10% mode share during WWII.
READ MOREOn media ownership reform, keep an eye on the court jesters
There are more hurdles for media ownership reform than News Corporation’s focus on pay TV.
READ MORE‘A punishing of the black’: Aboriginal incarceration on the rise
Aboriginal Australians are vastly overrepresented in our prisons, and the numbers are growing. Freelance journalist Mat Drogemuller looks at the latest ABS report.
READ MOREJournos finally cotton on to the insidious danger of data retention
Parliament’s intelligence committee is examining the issue of security agency access to journalists’ metadata. But it might want to look a little closer to home as well.
READ MOREThanks for the shout-out, Bolt, but you’re wrong again
Andrew Bolt has mentioned ambulance volunteer Rachelle Irving’s Crikey story on witnessing remote Aboriginal communities first hand. But of course, he has missed the point entirely.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: odds shorten on a Liberal win in NSW election
A bevy of independents and maverick candidates has the made the NSW March 28 election a much closer race.
READ MOREF1 Grand Prix: what do you get for $70 million?
This Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park is likely to cost taxpayers close to $70 million. But the benefits don’t come within cooee of that outlay; there are much better uses for the money.
READ MOREPyne’s higher ed debacle comes with a big price tag
Christopher Pyne has perfectly demonstrated how not to undertake complex reform. And it has cost the government dearly.
READ MORERundle: the Tony Abbott guide to cock-ups in three easy steps
With his Paddy’s Day address, Abbott managed to insult a people who are quite happy to acknowledge that they’re drunks.
READ MOREYour guide to the data retention debate: what it is and why it’s bad
It’s time to clarify what data retention is and the nature of the threat it poses to citizens.
READ MOREMoore Park the new battleground of the NSW election
Will the Baird government allow elite sports to take over the green lungs of Sydney? Urban planning analyst Vivienne Skinner reports.
READ MOREPop quiz, hot shot: what you need to know to become an Aussie
What’s Donald Bradman’s batting average? What was the most successful horse ever to run the Melbourne Cup? Howard’s “culture” questions have gone from the citizenship test, but there a few curveballs left.
READ MOREBaby come back: can Palmer lay claim to the brick with eyes’ Senate seat?
Does Glenn Lazarus’ seat belong to the Palmer United Party? Constitution says no, writes Crikey intern Brihony Tulloch.
READ MOREWar, what is it good for? Employment for the counter-terrorism crowd
What ever would those employed by the counter-terrorism industry do if peace were to break out for good?
READ MOREEssential: what intergenerational report?
Nearly half of voters haven’t even heard of the intergenerational report and another quarter haven’t heard much, according to today’s Essential Report poll.
READ MOREMayne: Turnbull should pursue media reform, despite leaks and his pro-Murdoch PM
Despite being harangued over a damaging leak, Malcolm Turnbull is right to start thinking about media reform. Whether he’ll be able to get the PM and his old mate Rupert Murdoch on board is quite another matter.
READ MORERundle: one cheer for Clive, unlikely saviour of the Left
It was Clive Palmer who stopped the government passing its disastrous budget, so stop dancing on his political grave.
READ MORELabor mouthpiece now spruiking Baird’s poles-and-wires sale
The Property Council of Australia is supporting the NSW Coalition’s planned infrastructure privatisation. Not that it would advertise for the government directly, of course …
READ MORECoalition wedged on media as Brandis sneaks away from protections
The media revolt on data retention forced the government and opposition to cave in on protecting journalists — while George Brandis tried to sneak through a get-out clause for agencies.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: Foley gains traction, but can he pull Labor over the line?
While it’s unlikely Luke Foley will lead Labor to victory in the NSW election on March 28, he will recover many of the seats the party lost after its devastating defeat in 2011.
READ MOREHillary’s in the hot seat, but Malcolm’s sitting pretty
The American media and public are outraged by Hillary Clinton’s decision to use her personal email while she was secretary of state. But when it was revealed our pollies use encrypted messaging, all we got was a collective shrug, writes Crikey intern Brihony Tulloch.
READ MOREPlenty of blame to go around for Labor’s data retention dilemma
The media’s belated discovery of the threat of mass surveillance has left Labor with a dilemma on data retention, Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer write.
READ MORENats turn on Libs as NSW election draws near
The Nationals are strongly opposed to the key policy of their coalition partners. What will that mean for their election chances?
READ MOREGoing Dutch: look to the Netherlands to encourage cycling in Australia
Cycling in Australia was much bigger historically than it is now — approaching 10% mode share during WWII.
READ MOREOn media ownership reform, keep an eye on the court jesters
There are more hurdles for media ownership reform than News Corporation’s focus on pay TV.
READ MORE‘A punishing of the black’: Aboriginal incarceration on the rise
Aboriginal Australians are vastly overrepresented in our prisons, and the numbers are growing. Freelance journalist Mat Drogemuller looks at the latest ABS report.
READ MOREJournos finally cotton on to the insidious danger of data retention
Parliament’s intelligence committee is examining the issue of security agency access to journalists’ metadata. But it might want to look a little closer to home as well.
READ MOREThanks for the shout-out, Bolt, but you’re wrong again
Andrew Bolt has mentioned ambulance volunteer Rachelle Irving’s Crikey story on witnessing remote Aboriginal communities first hand. But of course, he has missed the point entirely.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: odds shorten on a Liberal win in NSW election
A bevy of independents and maverick candidates has the made the NSW March 28 election a much closer race.
READ MOREF1 Grand Prix: what do you get for $70 million?
This Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park is likely to cost taxpayers close to $70 million. But the benefits don’t come within cooee of that outlay; there are much better uses for the money.
READ MORE‘Soft totalitarianism?’ What Rundle gets wrong about constitutional recognition
The campaign for Aboriginal recognition in the Australian constitution is an important one with real-world consequences — no matter what Guy Rundle says, writes Tanya Hosch, Recognise joint campaign director
READ MORENSW ‘new Labor’ looks an awful lot like ‘old Labor’
Luke Foley is hoping the electorate will have forgiven Labor for previous sins during the past three years But his “new approach” still has a lot of the old approach in it.
READ MOREMoore Park the new battleground of the NSW election
Will the Baird government allow elite sports to take over the green lungs of Sydney? Urban planning analyst Vivienne Skinner reports.
READ MORELabor mouthpiece now spruiking Baird’s poles-and-wires sale
The Property Council of Australia is supporting the NSW Coalition’s planned infrastructure privatisation. Not that it would advertise for the government directly, of course …
READ MOREPoll Bludger: Foley gains traction, but can he pull Labor over the line?
While it’s unlikely Luke Foley will lead Labor to victory in the NSW election on March 28, he will recover many of the seats the party lost after its devastating defeat in 2011.
READ MORENats turn on Libs as NSW election draws near
The Nationals are strongly opposed to the key policy of their coalition partners. What will that mean for their election chances?
READ MOREPoll Bludger: odds shorten on a Liberal win in NSW election
A bevy of independents and maverick candidates has the made the NSW March 28 election a much closer race.
READ MORENSW ‘new Labor’ looks an awful lot like ‘old Labor’
Luke Foley is hoping the electorate will have forgiven Labor for previous sins during the past three years But his “new approach” still has a lot of the old approach in it.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: NSW Nationals under threat as Labor gets serious on CSG
NSW Labor might be able to drive the Coalition from the state’s north-east — if it plays its hand right.
READ MORESpare us from politicians mouthing housing affordability platitudes
Politicians love to opine about housing affordability but are unlikely to ever do anything serious about it.
READ MOREICAC a victim of its own success
According to the High Court, the Independent Commission Against Corruption is guilty of “over-reach”.
READ MOREBig names square off in NSW Strathfield cockfight
Jodi McKay is taking on sitting Liberal Charles Casuscelli in Strathfield, and the result could be predictive of the state election as a whole.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: Luke could luck out, but NSW likely to grin and Baird it
Labor’s recent surprise victory in Queensland was due, in large part, to the optional preferential voting system. NSW has the same system, but whether Opposition Leader Luke Foley can match Palaszczuk’s feat remains to be seen.
READ MOREHigh Court decision on Cunneen will decide the fate of ICAC
The High Court’s latest ruling is likely to have sweeping consequences for ICAC, writes senior associate at Maddocks specialising in public law Todd Neal for The Mandarin.
READ MOREBaird backed the wrong horse, but will it cost him NSW?
NSW Premier Mike Baird has bet it all on privatisation. Unfortunately for him, voters seem to hate it.
READ MORENSW Labor launches its campaign with more whimper than bang
Luke Foley has his work cut out for him to defeat the country’s most popular political leader, Mike Baird. And so far Labor’s election promises have been rather modest.
READ MOREFoley takes the gloves off, but Baird dominates the polls
Ahead of the NSW state election, Premier Mike Baird and his staff strut around, exuding smugness, enjoying their high polling figures, while Opposition Leader Luke Foley launches a Labor scare campaign.
READ MORENSW Labor has to go Green or go home
NSW Labor has historically turned its attention to competing with the Greens, giving the Liberals a free run.
READ MOREKeane: sorry, but ‘reform’ ain’t dead
The claim that the ability of governments to reform is dead is wrong — voters will back even complex reforms if they understand the benefits.
READ MORELabor’s fancy footwork makes the best of branch-stacking decision
Hicham Zraika has been found guilty of branch stacking in the NSW Labor Party — but that’s not all bad for Luke Foley.
READ MOREPeter Ryan’s bugging raises uncomfortable questions for NSW police
Suspicions that former police commissioner Peter Ryan was secretly bugged by his enemies was dismissed as paranoia — but this week’s revelations tell a different story.
READ MOREAbbott finds strong support among NSW Labor
The NSW Labor Party is very keen for Tony Abbott to keep his job, because the only campaign against popular Premier Mike Baird that has a hope of working is one that links the NSW Coalition with Abbott’s unpopularity.
READ MORE‘Pampered’ NSW police cop flak from bugging commission
Personal rivalries and a war of recrimination have worn away the public’s patience with the police — and Martin Place didn’t help.
READ MOREFunnily enough, ICAC’s ‘overreach’ only a concern for those in its crosshairs
While the ICAC blowtorch was focused on ALP politicians, conservatives applauded from the sidelines, happy to see Labor’s scandals unearthed and publicised. They seem to have changed their tune.
READ MOREReds under the bed: where are our socialist MPs?
New NSW Labor boss Luke Foley is emphatically not a socialist. So where are the socialists in government?
READ MOREBassett hound’s baying for Liberal Party blood
Bart Bassett has been foiled by the Liberal executive in his bid for the seat of Riverstone. And he’s not about to take the snub lying down.
READ MOREFred in denial: the Christian Democratic Party has lost all relevance
Fred Nile’s tired attempts to stir up controversy after the Sydney Siege are just further signs that the Christian Democrats have lost all relevance.
READ MOREWhy aren’t uni students jumping to the Left?
You’d think the debate over fee regulation would send student politicians Leftward, but the reality is very different, write Sally Whyte and Myriam Robin.
READ MOREBrandis moves to jail whistleblower and lawyer for revealing ASIS scandal
The government’s move to prosecute a whistleblower and his lawyer for revealing an ASIS scandal illustrates its determination to send a signal to all potential whistleblowers.
READ MOREPublic servants: escaping the budget axe — a work-in-progress
Bureaucratic deck chairs have been shuffled, some tossed overboard, but in the main the good ship HMAS Australia has come through relatively unscathed, writes The Mandarin publisher Tom Burton.
READ MOREWhen gay sex was a crime: campaign to expunge records goes national
Victoria and South Australia will finally expunge those convicted of consensual gay sex. So will other states follow? Crikey intern Broede Carmody examines the roadmap.
READ MOREThey do, at least for a week: your invite to Australia’s first gay marriages
Gay couples in the ACT are nervously awaiting a decision on whether their historic new unions will stand. Farz Edraki attended some of the country’s first same-sex weddings for Crikey.
READ MOREThe war on whistleblowers — it’s come to Australia
The tactics of the Obama administration’s war on whistleblowers and journalists have now been openly deployed in Australia. The Coalition government is on the attack.
READ MOREHow high-speed rail could destroy your suburb
Protecting the corridor of a high-speed rail network that will never be built will inflict significant damage on outer suburbs in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
READ MOREHow the ACT gay marriage law is designed to fail
The ACT gay marriage act is in deliberate breach of the constitution and is designed only to embarrass the Prime Minister, writes gay rights activist and former Democrats leader Brian Greig.
READ MORECanberra: dream city or nightmare?
Canberra: a great place to live, or akin to being embalmed alive in a dull, overly planned city of public servants? We asked our readers to decide, and the verdict was clear. Read the winners in our Crikey comp here …
READ MOREEssential: same-sex marriage opposition falls
Opposition to same-sex marriage is fading, and Tony Abbott’s approval is picking up, today’s Essential Report finds.
READ MOREThe looming legal battle over ACT gay marriage
It looks like the ACT will pass same-sex marriage laws, and the feds will try to knock them down in the High Court. ANU constitutional law lecturer Ryan Goss looks at the legal aspects of the looming stoush.
READ MOREThe trick question that may stall ACT gay marriage laws
The ACT wants to legalise gay marriage but there’s a bevvy of legal challenges the bill could face. David Donaldson lists the obstacles … and finds the big problem could be divorce, not marriage.
READ MORESeat of the week: Labor likely to hold on to Canberra
Labor lost its grip on the electorate covering the south of the national capital amid the wreckage of the Whitlam and Keating governments, but few people suggest it will go that way again this year, writes William Bowe.
READ MOREState polls with ‘federal implications’? Time to kill the myth
The idea that there are “federal implications” of state elections doesn’t hold up under examination. But that doesn’t mean the Gillard government will hold on in this year’s federal election.
READ MOREAnd then there were none: ACT Lib moderate faces the chop
Local ACT Liberal leader Zed Seselja has launched a raid on the seat of sitting Senator Gary Humphries, pitching conservative against moderate and annoying some at the federal level.
READ MOREPoll Bludger’s Seat of the Week: Oxley, Pauline Hanson’s old turf
Despite unfavourable redistributions and a statewide swing in 2010, Bill Hayden’s old seat has returned to safe Labor hands since the famous interruption of Pauline Hanson. It is William Bowe’s seat of the week.
READ MORESwing to women in ACT election shines a dim light in the tunnel of equality
The recent ACT election saw an unexpected swing towards women, though the overall number of women in the Legislative Assembly is declining, writes Glen Fuller.
READ MOREThe paper, the poll and the almighty ACT stuff-up
Ahead of the ACT election, The Canberra Times called it as an easy Labor victory based on its “exclusive poll”. The poll was way out. So what went wrong?
READ MOREWilkie tires of waiting on whistleblower laws
Andrew Wilkie’s move to introduce a whistleblowing bill prompted some action from a government hitherto content to ignore the issue — but legislative action may fall off the “to do” list again.
READ MORESome comfort for Labor, Greens in big polling weekend
Election results in Sydney, Melbourne and the ACT point to moderately good news for Labor — and the Greens will take some comfort from their inner-city results. Is the anti-incumbency vibe waning?
READ MOREBad blood sees Labor well-placed to win the ACT
The ACT has voted and political types are biting their nails as counting continues — but a Labor-Green government is the most likely outcome, due to fractious relations between Greens and Liberals.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: what Labor, Libs can take from ACT election
Leaving national implications aside, the major parties can both take heart from the gains made at the expense of the Greens in Saturday’s ACT election.
READ MOREPodcast: democracy sausages, the tally room and ACT election analysis
Student journalists Jacqui Garrity and Jelisa Apps, after gobbling down a couple of snags, analyse the ACT election result and the state of negotiations between the three parties.
READ MOREBreaking the syringe economy: prison union fights ACT plan
A national-first prison needle exchange proposed for the ACT has sparked debate ahead of the territory’s election on Saturday. Reporter Ben Westcott examines the proposal.
READ MOREVale ‘Tracker’ Tilmouth: the acerbic wit of a fearless man
Renowned Aboriginal activist Leigh Bruce “Tracker” Tilmouth died on the weekend. Crikey’s Northern Myth blogger, Bob Gosford, takes a look back at some of his most memorable quotes.
READ MORE‘Adam Giles has no integrity’: NT political spat becomes personal
Recently sacked Country Liberal Party minister Robyn Lambley rose in Parliament to launch an all-out verbal attack on Chief Minister Adam Giles’ government.
READ MORESend in the troops — Arnhem Land has been ‘smashed’
The Australian Defence Force was standing by to provide disaster relief in the wake of Cyclone Lam. So why weren’t the troops sent in?
READ MORELeaked recording: why Adam Giles ‘cracked the shits’, ‘went on the piss’
An assortment of select quotes from the transcript of a very candid meeting the NT Chief Minister Adam Giles had with Alice Springs branch members of the Country Liberal Party.
READ MOREGulag Territory: NT’s shameful incarceration of Aboriginal Australians
Why does Australia continue to fail Aboriginal Australia at such gross levels? John B. Lawrence SC, a Darwin-based barrister and immediate past president of the Northern Territory Bar Association, explains.
READ MORERoll up, roll up!! The circus is back in Darwin town …
The Northern Territory endures another round of politicians behaving badly — and this time it’s the Labor Party.
READ MORE‘You’re a fucking Indian, mate’: section 18C triumphs in Federal Court case
A Pakistani-Australian man has won a Federal Court battle against a Northern Territory strip club after he was racially abused by one of its employees.
READ MORENT is a failed state, and it’s time to intervene
The NT is a failed state — a “rotten boroughâ€? so corrupt and corrupted that it is beyond self-redemption
READ MORENT politics — from crazy-brave to crazy and back again
It has been a very weird 24 hours for Northern Territory politics. And the failed midnight leadership coup isn’t the half of it …
READ MORESpill pours petrol, not oil, on NT’s troubled political waters
Willem Westra van Holthe has promised his new government will bring “stability” to the NT, but that seems extremely unlikely. Byelections could cost the CLP its slim majority.
READ MORELies, death threats and identity theft: a tale of NT bureaucracy
A long history of confrontations and bad behaviour within the Northern Territory’s Education Department culminated recently in a very strange public apology.
READ MOREMorgue horror stories: death and politics in rural NT
Who’s responsible for morgues in rural areas of the Northern Territory? Years of buck-passing have resulted in truly horrific facilities.
READ MORENT public sex offender website will encourage vigilantism and fear
The Northern Territory’s new public sex offender website may make us alarmed, but it might not make us alert, writes criminal lawyer Russel Goldflam.
READ MOREHow we fail Aboriginal Australians with chronic kidney disease
The rates of end-stage kidney disease in remote areas are up to 30 times the national average. Why are so many Aboriginal people dying from a preventable disease?
READ MORECooking with gas: LNG pipeline proposed to supply east coast
APA wants to build a billion-dollar pipeline to connect the gas supply in the Northern Territory with the east coast. And that might not be such a bad idea …
READ MOREThe dogcatcher who would be king: meet Peter Chandler
Who is Peter Chandler anyway? The Northern Territory’s brand new Deputy Chief Minister is something of a dark horse. Whether that makes him at all exciting or interesting is quite another matter.
READ MORECan the NT govt oust its ‘nest of vipers’ and restore public trust?
The Northern Territory’s Country Liberal Party can’t seem to put a foot right, but an upcoming meeting of the CLP’s parliamentary wing will try to stem the tide of mistakes.
READ MOREMuckaty opponents on dangerous ground: the NLC responds
Northern Land Council media officer Murray McLaughlin responds to claims made in Crikey last week by opponents of the shelved Muckaty Station nuclear dump.
READ MOREMuckaty battle won, but war far from over
The Warlmanpa have successfully blocked government plans to put a nuclear waste dump on their land. But will that be the end of the story?
READ MOREOn a mother of a day, bureaucrats dither, native languages wither
Today is the UN’s official International Mother Language Day, a day to recognise the importance of indigenous languages. But writer and linguist Greg Dickson says that for Australia’s indigenous communities, those languages are being erode — and will never return.
READ MOREWhen gay sex was a crime: campaign to expunge records goes national
Victoria and South Australia will finally expunge those convicted of consensual gay sex. So will other states follow? Crikey intern Broede Carmody examines the roadmap.
READ MOREAbbott government peddles De Soto on Arnhem Land rights
Economist Hernando de Soto’s ideas on capitalism and poverty don’t fit the Australian Aboriginal experience. So why is the Abbott government trying to apply them, asks ANU professor Jon Altman?
READ MORECrikey Clarifier: should nuclear waste be stored at Muckaty Station?
Newly minted NT Senator Nova Peris used her maiden speech to denounce plans to put a nuclear waste dump at Muckaty Station, raising concerns about the impact on indigenous people. Freelance writer Sally Whyte takes a look at the issue.
READ MORENT drama (no crocs though): Alison Anderson dumped
The notoriously turbulent Northern Territory government has unceremoniously dumped another minister — but this one has friends in high places.
READ MOREDoes Mundine support another military intervention in the NT?
Is Warren Mundine in favour of military intervention in the NT?
READ MORENSW Labor has to go Green or go home
NSW Labor has historically turned its attention to competing with the Greens, giving the Liberals a free run.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: Labor takes the reins of a minority govt in Qld
Despite ominous warnings from the LNP of the “chaos” that could be caused by overzealous crossbenchers, Labor has formed minority government fair and square. And the Queensland Parliament in no stranger to minority governments.
READ MOREKeane: sorry, but ‘reform’ ain’t dead
The claim that the ability of governments to reform is dead is wrong — voters will back even complex reforms if they understand the benefits.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: a demoralised Springborg clings to false hope
The Queensland LNP’s new leader Lawrence Springborg hopes to prevent Annastacia Palaszczuk from forming government by triggering a byelection in the Labor-won seat of Ferny Grove.
READ MOREWhy a key independent chose to back Palaszczuk
Queensland independent MP Peter Wellington tells freelance journalist James Rose why proposed asset sales and the current culture of political donations helped shift his support to the ALP.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: why everyone (including me) failed to see Labor’s Qld win coming
The polls were unanimous: the LNP was going to retain government in Queensland. How did we all miss the great Labor comeback?
READ MOREDistrust of big business behind Labor’s rise to power in Qld
Anti-big business feeling and a targeted social media campaign gave Labor the votes to win the Queensland election, writes freelance writer and small business owner Andrew Stewart in Queensland.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: Labor’s Queensland win came from a surprising corner
The LNP has had its collective arse handed to it, surprising just about everyone. What was the factor psephologists overlooked?
READ MOREAbbott the Coalition killer needs a Press Club miracle
If not the direct cause, Tony Abbott is the lethal dose of background radiation that is crippling the conservative cause.
READ MOREAfter Queensland, Abbott needs a Howard-style miracle
A crippled Tony Abbott must completely reset the political agenda with his Press Club speech. And John Howard offers some inspiration.
READ MORECould Newman stay premier if he loses his seat? It’s happened before
A premier who’s not even in parliament? It can happen — in Canada, it’s not even that unusual.
READ MOREIn languid and broken Maryborough, a microcosm of Queensland’s problems
What is really at stake in tomorrow’s Queensland election? Freelance journalist James Rose reports from Maryborough.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: perhaps Newman should have ditched Ashgrove (before it ditches him)
Campbell Newman is polling badly in his seat of Ashgrove — it might have been wiser to depart the seat for a safer LNP one to ensure a stable transition to the new government.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: LNP will keep Queensland, but Newman’s a goner
As if things weren’t already looking bad enough for Campbell Newman in Queensland’s upcoming state election, the numbers now indicate voters could elect as many as 10 crossbenchers.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: parties play the odds with Qld how-to-vote cards
Both major parties, and some of the minor parties too, are manipulating the optional preferential voting system to secure seats.
READ MOREMayne: can Newman win his defamation case against Alan Jones?
Crikey’s founder draws some interesting parallels between Jeff Kennett and Campbell Newman’s defamation lawsuit.
READ MORECracks appear in Newman’s persona as crunch time approaches
Campbell Newman’s nerves appear to be frayed, with some questionable campaigning by the Queensland Premier.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: will Newman pull a Kennett on Saturday?
Remember when the Queensland LNP campaign was unrelentingly positive? That phase appears to be over …
READ MOREHundreds of donors hidden by Newman’s donations laws
Campbell Newman’s gutting of political donation disclosure laws means many hundreds of LNP donors can remain secret.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: LNP will hold on, but will Newman?
Labor is likely to do very well in the upcoming Queensland election, but probably not well enough to win government. But the real question is: will Queensland Premier Campbell Newman lose his own seat?
READ MOREThe sincere plodder v the blustery major: Qld parties start their engines
The Queensland LNP and Labor launched their campaigns this week, with both focusing on one important issue: whether Campbell Newman should be premier.
READ MOREMayne: Jones and Millner, Sydney’s crankiest autocrats go toe-to-toe in Qld election
Two Liberal party stalwarts, shock jock Alan Jones and New Hope Coal chairman Robert Millner, are at political loggerheads over the looming Queensland election.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: Newman’s relentlessly cheerful charm offensive
Labor and the LNP agree on one thing in their election campaigning: it’s all about Campbell Newman.
READ MOREMayne: Queensland privatisation will not be mired in corporate cronyism
Calm down — privatising some state assets does not mean Bjelke-Petersen-style brown paper bags of cash.
READ MORENewman to unveil ‘bells and whistles’ as privatisation dominates Qld election
Premier Campbell Newman prepares for his manifesto launch on Sunday while Labor waits, ready to pounce.
READ MOREWhy are the SA Liberals so completely terrible?
The South Australian Liberals have been in the electoral wilderness for 36 of the last 50 years. A Liberal elder statesman explains what the problem might be, writes InDaily political reporter Tom Richardson.
READ MORECrikey clarifier: why is a royal commission investigating nuclear power?
Royal commissions usually investigate events after they’ve happened, so why is the case for nuclear power being put to a royal commission in South Australia? Crikey intern Rowan Forster reports.
READ MOREParty time: will Xenophon be able to launch a national brand?
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has announced plans to form his own political party. But will his popularity in South Australia translate to a national party? Freelance journalist Casey Briggs reports from South Australia.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: SA byelection a canary in the electoral coal mine for fed Coalition
Labor’s surprise victory in a byelection for the South Australian state seat of Fisher at the weekend can be largely attributed to the plummeting stocks of the Abbott government.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: fed govt gaffes could hurt Libs’ chances in SA byelection
The death of independent MP Bob Such has triggered a byelection in the South Australian seat of Fisher. It looked like an easy Liberal win, but things aren’t so certain now.
READ MOREState 7.30 shows under threat, but still more popular than Leigh Sales
The loss of the local editions of 7.30, which used to be called Stateline, have prompted a fierce reaction, and a look at the ratings helps reveal why.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: SA byelection will define balance of power
The unfortunate death of South Australian state independent Bob Such has triggered a byelection in the seat of Fisher. This presents a make-or-break opportunity for the SA Liberals.
READ MOREShorten puts on the union schtick for ASC workers, but he doesn’t pull it off
Bill Shorten tried to gee up workers at South Australia’s ASC, but it was a few soundbites with little substance, writes InDaily political reporter Tom Richardson.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: why the Coalition can afford to throw SA under the submarine
Will abandoning its promise to build new submarines in South Australia hurt the Coalition’s chances in that state? Probably — but does it need SA to win at the next election anyway?
READ MOREWhy aren’t uni students jumping to the Left?
You’d think the debate over fee regulation would send student politicians Leftward, but the reality is very different, write Sally Whyte and Myriam Robin.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: SA Libs should embrace the American dream
The South Australian Liberal Party is trying to bastardise the Westminster system further to deliver it the results it wants. But Crikey’s Poll Bludger says that’s a lost cause — it’s time to think bigger.
READ MOREMcClure report fails on key issue of low-income housing
Access to housing is a key issue in welfare reform that has been missed by the McClure report
READ MORESA’s former Liberal leader joins the Weatherill government
Years of frustrations have tipped former Liberal Party leader Martin Hamilton-Smith into Jay Weatherill’s cabinet, writes his former communications adviser and InDaily journalist Kevin Naughton.
READ MOREAn SA gerrymander? Libs, short of government, test the boundaries
The Liberal Party won more support than Labor in South Australia, but it’s still short of government. Does the system need fixing? Our electoral analyst considers the possibilities.
READ MOREState polls: two new Liberal-led governments likely, one certain
Liberal oppositions are in the box seat to win government in state elections in Tasmania and South Australia tomorrow. But one of the races could be closer than many think.
READ MOREAdelaide’s quiet powerbrokers: the people who’ll decide SA’s election
South Australia is in flux. Labor will lose power; the mining boom is ending; Holden is leaving. There’s a new coterie of power players making their mark. Here’s who you should keep an eye on.
READ MOREToyota decision should herald the immediate end of car tariffs
The decision by Toyota to end manufacturing in Australia means there is no further rationale for our remaining car tariffs. The government should immediately dump them.
READ MOREWhy the ‘wrong’ party could win SA’s state election
South Australia has tried to ensure its electoral boundaries are fair to ensure the majority party wins government. But it does not always work out that way.
READ MOREWhy you could soon be sued for defamation in a Tassie court
Proposed new defamation laws for Tasmania could have an Australia-wide chilling effect on free speech.
READ MOREShould Tassie devils be introduced to Wilson’s Prom?
Authorities are considering introducing Tasmanian devils onto Wilson’s Prom to decrease the feral cat population. But biologist Allen Greer says there’s little evidence the devils will make any difference.
READ MOREState 7.30 shows under threat, but still more popular than Leigh Sales
The loss of the local editions of 7.30, which used to be called Stateline, have prompted a fierce reaction, and a look at the ratings helps reveal why.
READ MOREThe rich list absentee landowners behind Tassie anti-wind farm campaign
Two BRW rich listers have donated thousands of dollars to prevent a feasibility study into a wind farm off the coast of Tasmania.
READ MORE(Graeme) Wood for the trees: Tassie’s psycho forest wars reignite
Tasmania’s woodchip industry is uncompetitive, overseas demand has dried up, and Australian plants are closing. So why on earth are loggers still talking about the closed Triabunna woodchip mill as if it could be reopened?
READ MORETassie may hold the govt to ransom on the RET
Tasmania punches well above its weight in terms of political influence — and the state’s aluminium smelting industry is not happy with keeping the Renewable Energy Target.
READ MOREIn Tasmania, even crooks like Gay can run a business
Tasmania’s judges just don’t have a bad word to say about John Gay. How is it the former Gunns boss can run a company again, asks business director and commentator John Addis.
READ MORETasmania wakes to a new era — now comes the hard part
The Liberals have won the Tasmanian election after a long time in the wilderness, consigning Labor and the Greens to history. Here are the biggest challenges they face this term …
READ MOREState polls: two new Liberal-led governments likely, one certain
Liberal oppositions are in the box seat to win government in state elections in Tasmania and South Australia tomorrow. But one of the races could be closer than many think.
READ MORETasmanian forest wars: Liberal win could reignite a decades-old debate
They said the conflict over Tasmania’s forests was over. But with the Liberals poised to win the state election on Saturday, should we be bracing for another round of protests?
READ MOREWilkie: Gillard’s backroom deal — and how she betrayed me
Julia Gillard came to the member for Denison with a curious proposal. Federal MP Andrew Wilkie is now spilling the beans on the secret deal — and why he ultimately tore up an agreement once she stabbed him in the back.
READ MOREPower down south: the 10 people who’ll decide Tasmania’s election
As Tasmanians prepare to vote in the state election on March 15, Crikey names the most powerful people behind the scenes — the svengalis, staffers, journalists and businesspeople running the apple isle.
READ MORECrikey list: the 20 most powerful people in Tasmanian politics
As Tasmania gears up for a state election on March 15, here is Crikey’s list of the 20 most powerful people behind the scenes in the apple isle.
READ MOREIt’s the end of the ALP as we know it (and Greens feel fine)
The Labor Party is under attack from both sides, writes La Trobe University professorial fellow Dennis Altman at Inside Story. Voters trust the Liberals more to manage the economy; progressives are increasingly turning to the Greens.
READ MOREBrace yourself for a Liberal whitewash, from east to west
A fresh poll shows the Liberals on track to win the Tasmanian election in March. Will the Coalition hold every state and federal government from March 15?
READ MOREWhen gay sex was a crime: campaign to expunge records goes national
Victoria and South Australia will finally expunge those convicted of consensual gay sex. So will other states follow? Crikey intern Broede Carmody examines the roadmap.
READ MORETasmanian election: Lara is toast, but what about Clive?
The Tasmanian Liberals look set to win the state government at the March poll — but could Clive Palmer’s party cause an upset? Crikey’s polling analyst crunches the numbers.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: Griffith, state polls to test Abbott government mettle
Three state elections and some important byelections are likely to test voters’ loyalty to the newly minted Abbott government. Crikey’s resident polling analyst previews the electoral year.
READ MOREIs this threatened species in decline? The devil’s in the detail
Data appears to show populations of Tasmanian devils have stabilised. Biologist Allen Greer asks why you’re not hearing that from the state government or advocates of “saving” the devil.
READ MOREWill Brandis boycott the anti-boycott movement?
Calls for anti-boycott legislation by the Tasmanian forest industry will test the free speech bona fides of Attorney-General George Brandis. Will he take up the challenge?
READ MOREIs this your new PUP balance-of-power Senate warrior?
Jacqui Lambie, a Tasmanian Senate candidate for PUP, looks likely to win a seat and co-hold the balance of power. So who is she?
READ MOREA day out in Denison, where a familiar face counts for plenty
A day out on the campaign trail in Andrew Wilkie’s seat of Denison shows the power of personal connection — and pork-barrelling. Crikey hits the road with Wilkie and ALP candidate Jane Austin in Hobart.
READ MOREDenison: this is one seat the major parties might not win
It’s de rigueur to hate independents in this federal election campaign — but Andrew Wilkie is on track to hold his Tasmanian seat, probably with the help of Liberal preferences. What happens next?
READ MOREFeeling around in the dark, Walsh finds more shocking art
Hobart’s Dark Mofo arts festival, which runs till the Winter Solstice (June 23), is a celebration of the dark through large-scale public art, food and music, as well as “light and noise”.
READ MORETasmania, the failed state: budget highlights structural woes
Tasmania has too many holes in its budget, amplified by shrinking GST revenue and failing government businesses. Tasmania-based economist and accountant John Lawrence looks at the structural problems.
READ MOREF1 Grand Prix: what do you get for $70 million?
This Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park is likely to cost taxpayers close to $70 million. But the benefits don’t come within cooee of that outlay; there are much better uses for the money.
READ MORE‘Someone has been untruthful’: did Dan Andrews go too far?
The brutal dismissal of the CEO and chairman of WorkSafe in Victoria over a water contamination scare left some breathless. Did the Premier go too far in publicly calling them liars? The Mandarin examines.
READ MOREMayne: blocking foreign investment? Xu gotta be kidding me!
Why would a supposedly pro-business federal government be so intent on restricting foreign investment in Australia?
READ MOREHope and justice: Australia holds vigils for Chan and Sukumaran
Last night, heartfelt vigils for Bali Nine duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were held around Australia.
READ MOREAndrews says full steam ahead for Melbourne Metro — but is it all hot air?
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews faces several key challenges before his promised Melbourne Metro rail tunnel comes to fruition.
READ MOREOne year on from Hazelwood fire, deadly legacy lingers
The Hazelwood mine fire was not a natural disaster; it was a chronic industrial mishap of the most unnatural kind, writes freelance writer Tom Doig.
READ MOREStop hating on skyscrapers
Although high-density housing can be done badly, it is also essential to the community, particularly for affordable housing.
READ MOREWhy Melbourne Bike Share riders shouldn’t have to wear helmets
The new Victorian government has to decide what to do about the lacklustre performance of Melbourne Bicycle Share. One possible action could be to exempt it from the mandatory helmet law.
READ MOREWhat would it take to build a tram network the size of Melbourne’s?
Melbourne is fortunate it inherited the largest tram network in the world, because building something like it today — say in a city such as Sydney — would be extraordinarily expensive and difficult.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: what happens when the ‘wrong’ candidate wins
A complicated loophole in vote-counting legislation has awarded a seat to Labor that should have gone to the Country Alliance in Victoria.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: Andrews faces a daunting challenge in Vic upper house
With the excitement of an election win behind him, incoming Victorian premier Daniel Andrews must get to work on managing the makeup of his parliament.
READ MORE‘No business case’ for East West Link
The Napthine government’s signature East West Link policy would not have been able to pay for itself. Crikey Victorian politics reporter Dan Moss reports.
READ MOREMayne: Packer backed Andrews — now how about a new Crown hotel?
James Packer gave his support to Daniel Andrews during the election campaign, and now it seems it’s time to pay the piper.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: could the Greens be coming for Turnbull?
The Greens’ electoral success in Prahran was due to a number of demographic factors, with the seat an interesting mixture of hip young things and old money. Sounds like a certain federal Sydney seat we know …
READ MORERundle: if Morrison rolls Abbott, the Greens could end up stronger than ever
The Labor Party seems fresh out of ideas. And the Greens are more than happy to eat Labor’s lunch.
READ MOREHow the Greens (probably) wiggled out of Prahran’s three-way manjam
The Victorian Greens were up against a very popular Liberal incumbent and a strong Labor candidate in the Melbourne seat of Prahran. So how did they squeeze out a win? Victorian politics journalist Dan Moss explains.
READ MOREMayne: Andrews’ unsustainable promises could cost Victoria its AAA rating
The Labor Left is very good and making costly promises, but will it be able to keep them without breaking the bank?
READ MOREThree myths about the East West Link
The East West Link was bad policy, but that’s no excuse for perpetuating bullshit about it.
READ MORELabor’s Port of Melbourne lease won’t be smooth sailing
Labor has promised to lease out the Port of Melbourne in order to pay to replace 50 level crossings. But Crikey Victorian politics journalist Dan Moss says the Greens might make that tricky.
READ MOREThe pedant v the blowhard: meet the men vying for what’s left of Victoria’s Libs
Denis Napthine doesn’t want to lead the Victorian Liberals, battered and humiliated, in opposition. But what sort of man would want a job like that? Crikey Victorian election correspondent Dan Moss reports.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: have we reached a Greens zenith?
The Greens have finally won a Victorian lower house seat, but their primary vote has not increased since last election. Is the minor party on its way up, or is this all the support it will be able to manage?
READ MORERundle: Napthine’s loss the beginning of the end for the Right
Denis Napthine’s government has been comprehensively booted out of Victoria in a historic loss for a one-term government. And Crikey’s writer-at-large says there is more to come.
READ MOREWhat will the Andrews government do for public transport?
There are some conspicuous omissions in the costings of Dan Andrews’ election promises. Will the incoming Labor government
READ MORENats down, Greens up — Victoria’s minors ride the pendulum
The Greens got almost twice the number of votes as the Nationals in the Victorian election — and yet they have at best three seats to the Nats’ seven.
READ MOREFrom marijuana to firearms, micro-parties have a big part to play in Victoria
The counting isn’t over yet, but Victoria’s Parliament is in for a big shake-up, writes Crikey Victorian election correspondent Dan Moss.
READ MORETrauma in the Kimberley: what life is like in remote indigenous communities
Policies are made in Canberra with the best of intentions, but in remote Western Australia, the outcome is very different to what politicians imagined. East Kimberley Homelessness Project co-ordinator Rachelle Irving details life on the ground.
READ MORECrikey Clarifier: how can the government ‘close down’ WA communities?
The WA government has announced it will close down some remote indigenous communities. Is that legal? And what will happen to the people living there? Crikey intern Diana Hodgetts reports.
READ MORERundle: WA’s Aboriginal plan straight-up racism
Half of white rural Australia is a drain, but we overwhelmingly agree that we want it to persevere, because people live there, have made lives rich in tradition and memory there. The attack on Aboriginal Australia is about skin colour, plain and simple.
READ MOREState 7.30 shows under threat, but still more popular than Leigh Sales
The loss of the local editions of 7.30, which used to be called Stateline, have prompted a fierce reaction, and a look at the ratings helps reveal why.
READ MORENats v Libs in battle for the chair-sniffer’s seat
The Labor Party is uncompetitive in the south-western WA seat of Vasse, but the Nationals and Liberals are giving it all they’ve got.
READ MOREAustralian states are losing their AAA ratings. Should we panic?
Don’t worry about the AAA rating, writes economist and University of Queensland academic John Quiggin. It’s of little consequence for the day-to-day running of a state.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: chair-sniffer’s resignation robs Labor of an enduring gift
Yesterday morning, former Western Australian treasurer Troy Buswell resigned, ending his political career on his own terms. Unfortunately for Labor, the resulting byelection is unlikely to further ruffle the state’s already embattled Liberal government.
READ MOREWhy is Colin Barnett the only one who wants a gas hub at James Price Point?
James Price Point looms as another zombie fossil fuel project — but that’s not stopping the WA Premier.
READ MOREIs Dick Warburton already scaring off renewable energy investors?
A Californian algae producer has mysteriously abandoned its $300 million Pilbara project, writes freelance journalist Kerry Faulkner.
READ MOREMcClure report fails on key issue of low-income housing
Access to housing is a key issue in welfare reform that has been missed by the McClure report
READ MOREEssential: support for curbs on political ads, voters down on Palmer
Voters strongly support caps on political advertising spending, today’s Essential Report shows, and they’re not enthusiastic about Clive Palmer having the Senate balance of power.
READ MOREThe good, the bad and the ugly of the WA Senate re-run
The WA senate byelection on the weekend has produced three very different, and symbolic, examples of current trends in Australian politics. Some of it is good, but much of it is ugly politicking.
READ MOREPalmer, Greens win the West — now Abbott must play ball
The major parties had an unprecedented 58% of the vote in a clear sign voters are looking for alternatives. The Greens, who outspent Labor and the Coalition, were big winners, as was Palmer United.
READ MOREClown prince: how Clive Palmer bought himself a WA media frenzy
Palmer’s spent half a million on ads. And for those who don’t watch ads, he’s spent weeks playing the buffoon, earning him more coverage than any other party running on Saturday, write Myriam Robin and Ania Dutka.
READ MOREPalmer, Ludlam … and pot? Who can win the Senate in the wild west
The recall Western Australian Senate election is effectively a race for three seats — and Clive Palmer will probably decide it one way or another. Crikey’s polling analyst previews the race.
READ MOREGM canola in an organic field could signal winds of change
Would you eat genetically modified food? If a landmark legal case in Western Australia rules one way, you may not even know. Freelance journalist Tim Oliver explains the crop fight out West.
READ MORELibs likely the losers as WA heads to the polls … again
Western Australians get another crack at the Senate election, and their dissatisfaction with the Abbott government is likely to translate into a win for the Left. But will it matter for the Abbott government?
READ MOREWhen gay sex was a crime: campaign to expunge records goes national
Victoria and South Australia will finally expunge those convicted of consensual gay sex. So will other states follow? Crikey intern Broede Carmody examines the roadmap.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: Griffith, state polls to test Abbott government mettle
Three state elections and some important byelections are likely to test voters’ loyalty to the newly minted Abbott government. Crikey’s resident polling analyst previews the electoral year.
READ MOREReturn of the chair sniffer? How Barnett screwed it up so badly
Colin Barnett rose from the political ashes to win the WA state election by a landslide, but now he’s facing a leadership spill against him. Perth journalist Tim Oliver asks: how did it all go wrong?
READ MOREHow Julian Assange could become a WA senator
The High Court is almost certainly going to call for a fresh election in WA. That means a fresh set of candidates — and Julian Assange could have another tilt at the Senate.
READ MORESorry, WA, you’re going back to the polls (don’t blame the AEC)
There may be just one or two votes between two of the minor parties in the Western Australian Senate election, so voters will be heading back to the polls. But that doesn’t mean the system is broken.
READ MOREHow to avoid a fresh WA Senate election
With 1375 votes missing, will Western Australians be forced back to the polls over the disputed Senate result? The courts will decide, but our resident psephologist says it could be avoided.
READ MORESovereign risk at last? WA Premier threatens Browse venture
If you’re looking for sovereign risk in the resources sector, look no further than Colin Barnett’s threat to shutter the Browse project. Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer report.
READ MOREEconomic reality mugs the Liberal economic agenda
The downgrade of Western Australia’s credit rating illustrates how governments can’t merely talk about fiscal discipline, they need to show it. Glenn Dyer and Bernard Keane report.
READ MORERundle: the Tony Abbott guide to cock-ups in three easy steps
With his Paddy’s Day address, Abbott managed to insult a people who are quite happy to acknowledge that they’re drunks.
READ MOREHillary’s in the hot seat, but Malcolm’s sitting pretty
The American media and public are outraged by Hillary Clinton’s decision to use her personal email while she was secretary of state. But when it was revealed our pollies use encrypted messaging, all we got was a collective shrug, writes Crikey intern Brihony Tulloch.
READ MOREAirAsia X blames the crash of flight QZ8501 for refund delays
The decision to delay refunds to customers of AirAsia X flights is unforgivable.
READ MOREWhat really happened to MH370: the most likely case
A secret smuggling operation for gold bullion, an American shoot-down, a Russian plot by way of Kazakhstan? The most likely explanation for the disappearance of MH370 might be the most chilling of all.
READ MOREHalf the sky: Australia needs to stand up for women’s rights in Asia
China has detained at least seven women’s rights activists in the last few days. This is unacceptable — and Australia must speak up.
READ MOREHere come the Chinese hackers — yet again
Security experts are warning that China could turn off our power by hacking our power grid — like they’ve been saying for nearly twenty years.
READ MOREDon’t mention the war: Israeli pollies talk up a domestic agenda
Israel will go to the polls on March 17, and politicians on all sides are focused on cost of living, the economy and housing. And tellingly, no one is promising peace. Freelance journalist Nigel O’Connor reports from Israel
READ MOREWhat will be the consequences of Bali Nine pair’s execution?
What will the “consequences” be for Indonesia if it goes ahead with the planned execution of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan? Foreign policy experts weigh in.
READ MOREChina chokes under both an economic and literal smog
China’s Communist Party faces two challenges this month: how to recover its ailing economy, and how to deal with a controversial new documentary about Chinese air pollution.
READ MOREMH370, one year on: what is Malaysia hiding?
There are many theories about the disappearance of MH370, some plausible, others less so. But one thing that has been firmly established by now is that the Malaysian government has lied about the plane from the first.
READ MORERundle: Crosby, swill and trash
Lynton Crosby is pulling out all the stops for the Tories in the UK. And, in this case, the stops include xenophobic dog whistles and taking on the teachers.
READ MORETrain in vain: the absurd history of training the Iraqi Army
From Iran to Israel to Korea to Romania, the list of countries that have trained Iraqis since 2003 is lengthy. And none achieved anything.
READ MORESo you think you can Daesh: why schoolgirls are the new recruits
Infantilising young Muslim women won’t prevent the rise in “jihadi brides” fleeing Western nations to join Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
READ MOREHepatitis A scandal leaves China FTA up shit creek
Australian businesses, media and government are slowly coming to the realisation that China’s booming economy is not going to be the answer to economic woes Down Under.
READ MORESandilands: should we stop looking for MH370?
It now seems likely that Australia, Malaysia and China will wind up the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared a year ago this week.
READ MOREWho murdered Boris Nemtsov?
Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov was murdered and left lying in the streets of Moscow. Was he murdered by the state? By Ukrainian nationals looking for a martyr? By a jealous lover? Freelance journalist Sasha Petrova reports.
READ MOREIt is AFP’s fault Sukumaran and Chan are on death row — and AFP needs to step up to help save them
Indonesia has a hardline approach to the death penalty for those involved in the Indonesian drug trade. But Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were not involved in the Indonesian drug trade, writes an Australian crown prosecutor and former resident of Indonesia.
READ MORERundle: American Sniper is the self-hating nihilism of a nation in decay
American Sniper’s alleged anti-war complexities are nothing more than self-pity from a nation that’s lost all meaning.
READ MOREIs MH370 in Kazakhstan? On faking that crucial ping
All of the searches for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 are assuming the plane turned south. But what if it turned north?
READ MOREAbbott’s cavalier disdain for foreign policy will cost lives
Don’t believe everything you read — Tony Abbott’s not doing any better overseas than he is here.
READ MOREEssential: voters unimpressed with Abbott’s Indonesian diplomacy
A certain fortress mentality is evidenced in today’s Essential Report, with voters less likely to rate relations with all our major trading partners as important.
READ MOREIndonesia selective on capital punishment (and that’s very bad for Chan and Sukumaran)
Indonesia has a track record of affording clemency to its own citizens charged with drug offences, but foreigners are unlikely to get a reprieve, writes policy analyst Sarah Gill.
READ MOREThe remains of MH370 are officially nowhere
Authorities continue to bungle the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
READ MORERundle: Greece gives Germany the finger and hunkers down for the blitz
Greece has decided to stick it to the EU and extend its current loan arrangement. Germany says “nein”. Who will blink first?
READ MOREAirAsia X blames the crash of flight QZ8501 for refund delays
The decision to delay refunds to customers of AirAsia X flights is unforgivable.
READ MOREWhat really happened to MH370: the most likely case
A secret smuggling operation for gold bullion, an American shoot-down, a Russian plot by way of Kazakhstan? The most likely explanation for the disappearance of MH370 might be the most chilling of all.
READ MOREHalf the sky: Australia needs to stand up for women’s rights in Asia
China has detained at least seven women’s rights activists in the last few days. This is unacceptable — and Australia must speak up.
READ MOREWhat will be the consequences of Bali Nine pair’s execution?
What will the “consequences” be for Indonesia if it goes ahead with the planned execution of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan? Foreign policy experts weigh in.
READ MOREChina chokes under both an economic and literal smog
China’s Communist Party faces two challenges this month: how to recover its ailing economy, and how to deal with a controversial new documentary about Chinese air pollution.
READ MOREMH370, one year on: what is Malaysia hiding?
There are many theories about the disappearance of MH370, some plausible, others less so. But one thing that has been firmly established by now is that the Malaysian government has lied about the plane from the first.
READ MOREHepatitis A scandal leaves China FTA up shit creek
Australian businesses, media and government are slowly coming to the realisation that China’s booming economy is not going to be the answer to economic woes Down Under.
READ MORESandilands: should we stop looking for MH370?
It now seems likely that Australia, Malaysia and China will wind up the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared a year ago this week.
READ MOREIt is AFP’s fault Sukumaran and Chan are on death row — and AFP needs to step up to help save them
Indonesia has a hardline approach to the death penalty for those involved in the Indonesian drug trade. But Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were not involved in the Indonesian drug trade, writes an Australian crown prosecutor and former resident of Indonesia.
READ MOREIs MH370 in Kazakhstan? On faking that crucial ping
All of the searches for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 are assuming the plane turned south. But what if it turned north?
READ MOREAbbott’s cavalier disdain for foreign policy will cost lives
Don’t believe everything you read — Tony Abbott’s not doing any better overseas than he is here.
READ MOREIndonesia selective on capital punishment (and that’s very bad for Chan and Sukumaran)
Indonesia has a track record of affording clemency to its own citizens charged with drug offences, but foreigners are unlikely to get a reprieve, writes policy analyst Sarah Gill.
READ MOREThe remains of MH370 are officially nowhere
Authorities continue to bungle the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
READ MOREHope and justice: Australia holds vigils for Chan and Sukumaran
Last night, heartfelt vigils for Bali Nine duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were held around Australia.
READ MOREIn the Year of the Goat, we must bell the Chinese cat
Despite the optimistic posturing of Australia’s Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens, China’s economy is in trouble, and it’s time for Australia to readjust its policies to recognise the looming downturn.
READ MORERundle: how to save the Bali Nine
Smug moral superiority won’t save Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran. What’s required is an audacious creativity. But what are the odds the Abbott government has got the resolve to make it happen?
READ MORECould Aung San Suu Kyi become president of Myanmar?
As Myanmar’s ruling government is pushing for regressive legislation amounting to religious apartheid, Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi makes a bold play for democracy.
READ MOREIndia rises, as China comes to rain on Japan’s parade
The global pivot to Asia just became a little more complex. As everyone jostles for a bigger slice of the power pie, the Abbott government is left with some tough decisions to make on Australia’s future relationship with China.
READ MORETransAsia crash raises uncomfortable truths about air safety
The February 4 crash of a TransAsia ATR turbo-prop into a river near Taipei is not “just another unfortunate turbo-prop crash”. It has wide-ranging implications for Taiwanese air safety.
READ MOREA former Kerobokan prisoner pleads: spare the lives of the Bali Nine
Xander, a former prisoner at Indonesia’s notorious Kerobokan prison, pleads for mercy for Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
READ MOREAre the Bali Nine executions legal?
Indonesia’s recent “bundling” approach to application of capital punishment sentences seems as strange as it does distressing, writes policy analyst Sarah Gill.
READ MOREWhile we look away, Bali Nine prepare for their grim fate
Far from home, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan are expected to be executed this week. Sarah Gill, policy analyst and volunteer for the Mercy Campaign, says we let it get this far because we weren’t paying attention.
READ MOREChina’s party men concerned as anti-corruption campaign claims scalps
Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign is opaque, utterly devoid of due process — and hurting big business.
READ MOREYingluck is right, democracy is dead in Thailand
The military junta that controls Thailand is looking every inch a dictatorship.
READ MOREAirAsia pilots said to have cut off flight computers before crash
There are now competing claims as to whether everything on the A320 had been properly maintained or not, with a new report indicating the pilots may have cut power to a critical computer system.
READ MORERundle: the Tony Abbott guide to cock-ups in three easy steps
With his Paddy’s Day address, Abbott managed to insult a people who are quite happy to acknowledge that they’re drunks.
READ MORERundle: Crosby, swill and trash
Lynton Crosby is pulling out all the stops for the Tories in the UK. And, in this case, the stops include xenophobic dog whistles and taking on the teachers.
READ MORESo you think you can Daesh: why schoolgirls are the new recruits
Infantilising young Muslim women won’t prevent the rise in “jihadi brides” fleeing Western nations to join Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
READ MOREWho murdered Boris Nemtsov?
Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov was murdered and left lying in the streets of Moscow. Was he murdered by the state? By Ukrainian nationals looking for a martyr? By a jealous lover? Freelance journalist Sasha Petrova reports.
READ MORERundle: Greece gives Germany the finger and hunkers down for the blitz
Greece has decided to stick it to the EU and extend its current loan arrangement. Germany says “nein”. Who will blink first?
READ MORERundle: in Greece, on the cusp of history
Greece is a long way from saved, but the ascension of Syriza should provide a political road map for aspiring left-wing governments.
READ MOREAn unlikely martyr emerges from Paris supermarket siege
Yoav Hattab, a 21-year-old Tunisian Jew, was murdered in a kosher supermarket on the day of the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Eyewitness accounts show that he died a hero, trying to protect his fellow hostages, writes freelance journalist Ken Haley.
READ MORERundle: comrades, Greece is the word
The Left is in power in Greece for the first time in years — can an alliance of communists, socialists and fellow travellers stand up to the troika?
READ MOREWhat falling oil prices will mean for the RBA’s next rate decision
As the world’s economies struggle to cope with falling oil prices, what will Australia’s central bank decide to do?
READ MOREFacts go missing in the post-Hebdo rush to justify surveillance
Politicians have rushed to use recent tragedies to justify mass surveillance — and even the complete banning of encryption.
READ MORERundle: the complicated and weird electoral maths of the UK election
This was meant to be Labour’s year, right? But then UKIP, the Greens, some Scottish nationals and maybe even the hapless Lib-Dems got in the way.
READ MOREHow the West can broker a deal with Russia on Ukraine
Years of self-centred Western foreign policy has left Russia disenfranchised. But there is a way forward.
READ MORECharlie Hebdo attack was not an assault on free speech
Mass surveillance and aggressive prosecution of taboo topics are far greater threats to free speech than Charlie Hebdo, writes University of Tasmania graduate student in philosophy Tim Jarvis.
READ MORERundle: ‘Hebdoiste’ world leaders laud satire but quash true dissent
Recently converted “Hebdoiste� world leaders exemplify the meaninglessness of our post-political age.
READ MORESix ways to deal with the far-right
The fallout from yesterday’s Charlie Hebdo will likely produce a wave of support for far-right parties. Here are some practical lessons in dealing with extremist political parties.
READ MORERundle: Charlie Hebdo, terrorism and the distortion of popular memory
The violence against French journalists and cartoonists has shaken the world — but the reaction is something Charlie Hebdo itself would’ve mocked.
READ MOREThe top 10 elections of 2014
It was a big year in elections internationally, with six of the G20 members holding electoral contests during 2014. Herewith, the most exciting for the year.
READ MORESmall bumps on the road to 100% renewable energy
Two small Australian towns want to become 100% powered by renewable energy. Crikey intern Diana Hodgetts looks at some overseas examples and finds 100% renewable is nice, but not always 100% reliable.
READ MOREFrance’s plan to save the planet: keep Abbott away from climate talks
France is trying to trying to avoid a repeat of the Copenhagen disaster by keeping heads of state away from the Paris climate talks. But it has also singled out Australian and Canada as likely roadblocks.
READ MOREThe coal-backed fossil fuel lover setting Australia’s climate agenda
Trade Minister Andrew Robb, inexplicably travelling to Lima for climate talks, will have a friend at the conference — Bjorn Lomborg, speaking at an event sponsored by big coal company Peabody Energy.
READ MOREThe curious case of the missing French nukes
French President Francois Hollande delivered a strongly worded speech on Australian-French defence co-operation. But there was a word or two missing in the English translation. Nic Maclellan, journalist and researcher in the Pacific, reports.
READ MOREThe complicated politics of a French defence treaty
Australia and France have been quietly negotiating a defence treaty that will affect New Caledonia and French Polynesia. But the people that live there seem to have been lost in the negotiations, writes Nic Maclellan, journalist and researcher on Pacific affairs.
READ MOREPutin on the koalas: how the world’s media reported the G20
From India to Canada, China to Russia, Crikey intern Andrey Rodionov scour’s the world’s media for their take on Brisbane’s G20.
READ MOREG20 fails to deliver — but not for lack of Australia trying
The government was right to push for growth at the G20 summit but the minds of international leaders are no longer focused on the forum, write Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer.
READ MOREA little ditty ’bout Tony and Vlad
When did Russia’s kleptocratic, despotic and murderous leader become everyone’s favourite wacky, lovable hunk?
READ MOREDon’t mention the war: Israeli pollies talk up a domestic agenda
Israel will go to the polls on March 17, and politicians on all sides are focused on cost of living, the economy and housing. And tellingly, no one is promising peace. Freelance journalist Nigel O’Connor reports from Israel
READ MORETrain in vain: the absurd history of training the Iraqi Army
From Iran to Israel to Korea to Romania, the list of countries that have trained Iraqis since 2003 is lengthy. And none achieved anything.
READ MORESo you think you can Daesh: why schoolgirls are the new recruits
Infantilising young Muslim women won’t prevent the rise in “jihadi brides” fleeing Western nations to join Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
READ MOREThe devil wears Shahada: how IS uses radicalised women to market jihad
The increased use of female suicide bombers by Islamic State militants is, in large part, due to the increased media coverage they generate.
READ MOREPentagon shows the proper way to farewell a beloved monster
While many point out he was a brutal dictator, western elites are mourning Saudi King Abdullah - and none more so than the Pentagon.
READ MOREWhat falling oil prices will mean for the RBA’s next rate decision
As the world’s economies struggle to cope with falling oil prices, what will Australia’s central bank decide to do?
READ MORETerrorism has many faces in Pakistan
Extrajudicial punishment is meted out with alarming inconsistency in a state torn apart by terrorism.
READ MORERundle: Abbott visits Iraq, desperately seeking a coherent message
Team Abbott’s surprise visit to Iraq was, to put it mildly, a little curious. To put it less mildly, the move smacks of a government desperate to find a meaningful project after a year of failures.
READ MORE‘The Christians had nothing’: refugees, safe but weary, prepare for a Christmas far from home
Jordanian churches have become the temporary home of thousands of refugees from Iraq. Journalist Nigel O’Connor talks to them in Amman and finds that although conditions are harsh, they feel lucky to be alive.
READ MOREAs we chuckle at the ‘cali-fatties’, real questions remain unanswered
Western young men travelling to the Middle East to become jihadis is a serious problem that demands serious coverage. But all the tabloids care about it is jelly belly jihadis. Irfan Yusuf, lawyer, author and commentator, reports.
READ MOREG20 fails to deliver — but not for lack of Australia trying
The government was right to push for growth at the G20 summit but the minds of international leaders are no longer focused on the forum, write Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer.
READ MORECrikey Clarifier: is Peter Greste coming home?
Foreign nationals could be deported instead of held in Egyptian prison under a new law passed in Egypt last week. Does that mean Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste will be sent home? Crikey intern Andrey Rodionov investigates.
READ MOREWhy George Brandis wants to throw me in jail
I travelled to Iraq to see the effects of the war being waged in my name. But under the Foreign Fighters Bill, I could be prosecuted and jailed — and I would have no defence, writes freelance journalist Dan Moss.
READ MOREAll good in the Hudood: Pakistan doesn’t need Malala’s secularism, says female pollie
Former Pakistani MP Raheel Qazi believes a woman’s first priority should be her family and that Malala Yousafzai’s goal of a secular Pakistan should never be realised.
READ MOREAn ‘apocalyptic death cult’? What IS really wants
Western politicians talk about Islamic State as a devastating, almost mythical terrorist organisation that only wants evil and destruction. Freelance journalist Andrei Ghoukassian finds the group is more of a mid-sized militia.
READ MORECritical thinking the first casualty of war
Not only are we not getting satisfactory answers about the new conflict in Iraq — no one is even asking the right questions.
READ MORERundle: embracing Islamists abroad while fomenting terrorism at home
The global making and breaking of alliances in the fight against the Islamic State is an incoherent mess. Likewise our own government’s self-serving response to the matter.
READ MOREAbbott’s (and Shorten’s) lies lead Australia to a sinister place
The government has based its extensions of national security powers, and its involvement in Iraq, on lies. And they will damage us like the previous Iraq war damaged us.
READ MOREAFP gagged, state agencies run for cover on terror-Iraq link
The government won’t allow the Australian Federal Police to comment on whether its decision to go to war in Iraq has increased the risk of terrorism in Australia.
READ MOREScots stay put, but there are others in the queue
Despite a resounding win for the unionists in Scotland, other regions around the world seeking independence, like Catalonia and Kurdistan, remain hopeful.
READ MORETerror raids a media spectacle, but it’s war that puts us in danger
While we reap the consequences of returning to Iraq, it’s clearer than ever that the campaign against ISIL will struggle to be effective.
READ MORERundle: attacking IS will bring the caliphate into being
Taking on the Islamic State will require the West to make some uncomfortable friends. Are we going to arm Hamas? Hezbollah? Is al-Qaeda or Assad our best hope now?
READ MOREBrandis goes Left Bank in his search for terror hype
Using words like “existential” to describe terrorism is part of a lengthy, and wholly absurd, tradition of hyping it.
READ MOREAbbott, the nervy pugilist who may or may not have taken us to war
Tony Abbott’s eagerness to get involved in the “war” against Islamic State obscures how little we know what we’re doing in Iraq, or with whom we’re doing it.
READ MOREWhat falling oil prices will mean for the RBA’s next rate decision
As the world’s economies struggle to cope with falling oil prices, what will Australia’s central bank decide to do?
READ MOREThe two words in climate talks that could change everything
Who knew two little words could make such a difference? Lawyer and freelance journalist Marcus Priest reports from Lima on the little words that could have a big impact on climate talks henceforth.
READ MORELittle progress in Lima, inside or outside the barricades
Delegates gather in a well-off district to spend hours parsing language on climate change agreements, while protesters outside shout slogans. Neither side is accomplishing much, writes journalist Marcus Priest in Lima.
READ MORENaomi Klein on climate change, cooking the poor and the disgraceful Australia-Canada bond
Author Naomi Klein says it’s not necessarily that the Right doesn’t believe in climate change, it’s that they see economic advantage in drowning the poor.
READ MOREThe coal-backed fossil fuel lover setting Australia’s climate agenda
Trade Minister Andrew Robb, inexplicably travelling to Lima for climate talks, will have a friend at the conference — Bjorn Lomborg, speaking at an event sponsored by big coal company Peabody Energy.
READ MOREGlencore’s ugly tax rorts have real consequences
Glencore, currently pursuing Rio Tinto, is one of the world’s most unconscionable tax dodgers.
READ MOREScots stay put, but there are others in the queue
Despite a resounding win for the unionists in Scotland, other regions around the world seeking independence, like Catalonia and Kurdistan, remain hopeful.
READ MORERundle: while we manufacture IS panic, a real virus is threatening the world
Will the arrival of a possible Ebola case in the Gold Coast reset global priorities? Don’t hold what’s left of your breath.
READ MORERundle: why Libya was different
Increased hostilities in Libya have some wondering if Western powers should not have intervened. But Crikey’s writer-at-large believed then — and believes now — it was a good idea.
READ MOREWhy we’ve lost interest in the Nigerian schoolgirls, 100 days on
It has been 100 days since the Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped. What did #BringBackOurGirls achieve, and where has the outrage gone? United Nations adviser Robert Johnson writes from Nairobi.
READ MOREEgypt’s distrust of Hamas strains Palestinian ties
Could Egypt be doing more to broker a peace deal between Israel and Gazan militants? Rachel Williamson, freelance journalist in Cairo, says although Egypt used to support the Palestinian cause, its fear of Hamas has caused it to take a step back.
READ MOREBrazilians would be protesting against the Cup — but there’s soccer to watch
When Brazilians watch soccer, they are not individuals watching sport. They are a heaving, unified glorious mass with a single mind — and who can protest when that sort of thing is going on? Crikey’s man on the ground Django Merope Synge reports from Rio.
READ MOREViva Rio! A field guide to recognising the tourists of the Cup
The sunburnt, drunk tourists of the World Cup are having the time of their lives. But they’re certainly not seeing the real Brazil. Freelance writer Django Merope Synge reports from Rio.
READ MOREWorld Cup: the upside to three straight losses
Australia lost all of its World Cup matches and is on the plane home — but Aussie freelance writer Django Merope Synge, who’s in Rio for the tournament, has drunk the Kool Aid and sees the positives.
READ MOREGooooooooooaaaaaaal! Rio’s riches in the most expensive World Cup
This year’s World Cup is expected to cost the Brazilian government a whopping $14 billion, but it could be worth $30 billion to the country’s GDP. And don’t forget the sponsors. Crikey intern Jake Stevens follows the money …
READ MOREEven al-Qaeda thinks schoolgirl kidnappers Boko Haram too violent
The Western media is (belatedly) outraged over the abduction of Nigerian schoolgirls. But an international reaction is exactly what terrorist group Boko Haram wants, writes UN adviser Robert Johnson in Nairobi.
READ MORE#BringBackOurGirls a familiar song, but feminist chorus could be lethal
The Western media is finally paying attention to (one sensationalist, emotional story in) Africa. But our focus on #BringBackOurGirls may have got 300 people killed.
READ MOREIn Cuiaba, Australia’s field of dreams, they’re sick of the Cup already
The World Cup starts in just a few months. But Dan Moss, an Australian freelance journalist in Cuiaba, says Brazil is nowhere near ready to host the showcase of the world game.
READ MOREThe new tri-polar world: why Russia can do whatever it likes
The United States is effectively powerless in the empire-building of Russia. There’s three sherifs in the world right now, and America might not even be the most influential.
READ MOREFollow Friday: @bloggingsbyboz, who has both eyes on Latin America
If you want to understand Latin America, James Bosworth’s Twitter feed is a very good place to start. The strategic analyst is Crikey’s latest Follow Friday story.
READ MOREFollow Friday: @ClairMacD, our woman in Monrovia
What’s an Australian journalist doing in Liberia? Clair MacDougall is fascinated by the “deeply complex” nation and coverage of Africa broadly. The intrepid freelance is worth a follow.
READ MOREArriba! Why are we a trendy destination for Latin American students?
Think you’re hearing more Spanish on George Street? You’re not imagining things — the number of Latin American students studying in Australia is soaring. Crikey intern Isabel Filgueiras looks at why.
READ MOREIs Australia complicit in the Tamil genocide? The tribunal is in
A tribunal of academics and activists has found the Sri Lankan government guilty of the genocide of its Tamil minority. Retired diplomat Bruce Haigh was at the tribunal as an expert witness and asks: is Australia also to blame?
READ MOREHow South Sudan fell apart so quickly — and how it might be saved
South Sudan has been in a vulnerable position since its independence in 2011, and there is no clear end in sight to the sectarian violence. How does the fledgling nation move forward?
READ MORERazer’s class warfare: Nelson Mandela and giving violence a chance
Let’s stop banging on about forgiveness and peace. Nelson Mandela was locked up for being a terrorist — and sometimes armed rebellion is the only way to bring about change.
READ MOREHillary’s in the hot seat, but Malcolm’s sitting pretty
The American media and public are outraged by Hillary Clinton’s decision to use her personal email while she was secretary of state. But when it was revealed our pollies use encrypted messaging, all we got was a collective shrug, writes Crikey intern Brihony Tulloch.
READ MOREHere come the Chinese hackers — yet again
Security experts are warning that China could turn off our power by hacking our power grid — like they’ve been saying for nearly twenty years.
READ MORETrain in vain: the absurd history of training the Iraqi Army
From Iran to Israel to Korea to Romania, the list of countries that have trained Iraqis since 2003 is lengthy. And none achieved anything.
READ MORERundle: American Sniper is the self-hating nihilism of a nation in decay
American Sniper’s alleged anti-war complexities are nothing more than self-pity from a nation that’s lost all meaning.
READ MOREPentagon shows the proper way to farewell a beloved monster
While many point out he was a brutal dictator, western elites are mourning Saudi King Abdullah - and none more so than the Pentagon.
READ MOREBarrett Brown: five years ‘to investigate the prison-industrial complex’
Journalist Barrett Brown, who first exposed the sinister links between the cybersecurity industry and the US government, has been sentenced to five years’ jail.
READ MORERundle: Obama has no hope of achieving his agenda, so why is he smiling?
President Barack Obama was in his element at the annual State of the Union address, despite knowing that almost none of his legislative agenda will pass a recalcitrant Congress.
READ MORECrikey Clarifier: is the US really experiencing a ‘war on police’?
The backlash against heavy-handed policing in the US is getting lots of media coverage, but police officers aren’t necessarily in any extra danger.
READ MORERundle: Bush v Clinton mark II and the death of democracy
Anyone can be president of the United States, so long as they come from one of two political dynasties …
READ MORECIA’s torture program is NOT a relic of the past
The beyond-Kafkaesque nightmare of the CIA torture report isn’t a document of history or a one-off derailment of American values, it’s exactly how the War on Terror continues to be pursued.
READ MOREUS Senate torture report: the essentials
The CIA engaged in a torture program that didn’t work, tortured and killed innocent people, and the agency lied systematically to the authorities while intimidating those who raised concerns, a congressional report finds.
READ MOREThe coal-backed fossil fuel lover setting Australia’s climate agenda
Trade Minister Andrew Robb, inexplicably travelling to Lima for climate talks, will have a friend at the conference — Bjorn Lomborg, speaking at an event sponsored by big coal company Peabody Energy.
READ MORERundle: the legend of D.B. Cooper
As he bids farewell to the States again, our correspondent-at-large offers the tale of one of a Thanksgiving mystery which changed the experience of being a plane passenger forever.
READ MORERundle: the culture of fear in an America where black lives don’t matter
After years of the War on Terror breeding a climate of fear, Americans are finally rising up against authority and class divides.
READ MORERundle: in Ferguson, no justice, no peace
The protests over the grand jury decision over teenager Michael Brown’s death are unprecedented in modern America, but not unexpected.
READ MORERundle: Obama’s amnesty to illegal immigrants brings millions out of the shadows
The real and symbolic importance of Obama’s promise to provide amnesty to illegal immigrants cannot be overstated.
READ MORERundle: the Philae landing, Jonathan Swift, and Kim Kardashian’s arse
Two world-shattering events occurred last week: we landed a probe on a comet, and Kim Kardashian got naked on the cover of a magazine. Crikey’s writer-at-large ponders the significance of the two.
READ MOREG20 fails to deliver — but not for lack of Australia trying
The government was right to push for growth at the G20 summit but the minds of international leaders are no longer focused on the forum, write Bernard Keane and Glenn Dyer.
READ MORECatching Obamania in a hot and bothered Brisbane
The President of the United States sure knows how to put on a show. Freelance journalist James Rose is suitably impressed by the Magic of Obama.
READ MORERundle: kvetching Democrats don’t know how good they have it
The Left is nothing if not self-defeating, but US Democrats have a lot to be proud of.
READ MOREUS-China climate deal shows up Australia’s pathetic targets
It is clearer than ever that Australia must act on climate change — or risk being left behind. Climate Institute deputy CEO Erwin Jackson explains.
READ MORESurprise! It’s another good war for defence contractors
The share prices of the defence contractors benefiting from the war against Islamic State continue to surge.
READ MOREXi-Obama deal leaves Abbott with nowhere to hide on climate
The climate action agreement between China and the US removes the assumption on which the Coalition’s entire contradictory approach to climate change is based.
READ MOREPoll Bludger: Aussie public takes Left turn as US voters polarise
American voters have been pulling steadily away from the centre over the past ten years, but Australia has moved solidly Left.
READ MORERundle: finding peace in the decaying remains of America’s malls
Standing in the hollowed-out carcass of a dying mall, Crikey’s writer-at-large catches a glimpse of the transience of modern life.
READ MOREMUST READ
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Mayne: Turnbull should pursue media reform, despite leaks and his pro-Murdoch PM
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Coalition wedged on media as Brandis sneaks away from protections
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‘A punishing of the black’: Aboriginal incarceration on the rise
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Plenty of blame to go around for Labor’s data retention dilemma
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‘Soft totalitarianism?’ What Rundle gets wrong about constitutional recognition
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Journos finally cotton on to the insidious danger of data retention
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Razer’s Class Warfare: in UN attack, Abbott’s slip is showing