Michael Gordon
Michael Gordon is the political editor of The Age.
The hazards on Turnbull's high road
Michael Gordon The PM is inclined to resist the temptation to dash to the polls. It's a risky strategy.
Politics in 2016: the search for substance
![Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is on a three-week tour of marginal seats. He visited Woolworths in Queanbeyan to put forward his views about a possible hike in the GST. He chats with the Grant family of Royalla NSW.
--](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131174150im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2016/01/15/7142107/Thumbnail1004719017gm4iegimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gm6m5l.png1453518475581.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Michael Gordon It was a good question, but Bill Shorten let it pass as he embarked on a three-week national tour of fruit and veggie markets in marginal seats on his first day back after the Christmas break.
My Manus Island nightmare
Michael Gordon Punishing one group of people endlessly in order to deter others is immoral.
The dangers of driving with ScoMo
![It's a tough job: Treasurer Scott Morrison.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131174150im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/12/18/7093426/Thumbnail1003980960gln4g5image.related.thumbnail.320x214.glqso0.png1450584456913.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Michael Gordon Scott Morrison overlooked one detail this week when he likened the task of returning the budget to surplus to hopping in the family car and heading off for a summer holiday with the family.
The Ian Macfarlane defection will end in tears for the Coalition
![Michael Gordon](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131174150im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/12/11/7077031/Thumbnail1003723149ggza8rimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gll9ql.png1449815670434.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Michael Gordon The history of political defections in Australia is replete with unhappy endings.
Malcolm in the muddle: time for a captain's knock
![The longer Mal Brough refuses to step down as Special Minister of State (until he is either cleared or charged over his role in the demise of Peter Slipper), the more the issue becomes one of Turnbull's judgment in appointing him in the first place.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131174150im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/12/04/7060566/Thumbnail1003462299gldh0dimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.glfogr.png1449284809738.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Michael Gordon Turnbull's almost messianic status in the electorate will only last if voters continue to see him as a cut above the desultory politics of the past eight years.
Gillian Triggs steps in from the cold
![Gillian Triggs:](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131174150im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/11/27/7043139/Thumbnail10031828021mwnhtimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gl9osy.png1448768714142.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Michael Gordon The end of her period as outcast is significant, not least because it reflects the end of the ascendancy of ideology over civility.
Obama, Turnbull and the war on terror: First date for a new double act
![AFR. Portrait of Malcolm Turnbull in his office at Parliament House in Canberra. Pic by Nic Walker. Date 14th March 2012.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131174150im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/11/20/7026254/Thumbnail100290461213bg15image.related.thumbnail.320x214.gl3q5g.png1448059113470.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Michael Gordon The PM's post-Paris challenges include practising what he preached.
Losing the plot: the sad tale of refugee Abyan
![Michael Gordon](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131174150im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/02/09/6243310/Thumbnail6597264511siiximage.related.thumbnail.320x214.13a0th.png1423511171369.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Michael Gordon A young, vulnerable and traumatised woman who sought protection in Australia has been very badly let down.
The return of the big picture?
![Former prime minister Paul Keating.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131174150im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/10/16/6935705/Thumbnail1001556782gk9fe3image.related.thumbnail.320x214.gkau5q.png1445656032777.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Michael Gordon We will soon discover how big a canvas Malcolm Turnbull is contemplating, and how ambitious the brushstrokes will be.
October 10
The Turnbull dilemma: go now, or go full term
![Michael Gordon](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131174150im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/02/09/6243310/Thumbnail6597264511siiximage.related.thumbnail.320x214.13a0th.png1423511171369.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Michael Gordon The pressure is building on the new Prime Minister to call a snap election.
Malcolm Turnbull's conundrum: stop the brutalising but don't start the boats
Michael Gordon Malcolm Turnbull is confronting two ugly realities as he responds to his own instinct and the pressure of others to end the suffering of asylum seekers in limbo on Manus Island and Nauru.
Generosity to refugees does not extend to those in limbo on Manus and Nauru
![Michael Gordon](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131174150im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/04/13/6438569/Thumbnail9836105811siiximage.related.thumbnail.320x214.1mk7vm.png1428960386189.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Michael Gordon Refugees have become a vote-enhancing issue, but the government's response is no comfort for our longest-serving asylum seekers.
Two years on, it's all about Tony
![Prime Minister Tony Abbott](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131174150im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/09/04/6821766/Thumbnail1000079042gjch6uimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.gjf5xe.png1441516384262.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Michael Gordon The federal government's problems with voters start at the top.
Have we turned the corner on Indigenous disadvantage?
Michael Gordon Tony Abbott is confident that Australia is on track to achieve reconciliation and close the gap on Indigenous disadvantage.
Time running out for the Prime Minister for Indigenous affairs
![Michael Gordon](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131174150im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/02/09/6243310/Thumbnail6597264511siiximage.related.thumbnail.320x214.13a0th.png1423511171369.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Michael Gordon No prime minister came to the job with more exposure to Indigenous Australia, or promised more, than Tony Abbott.
Tony Abbott's nightmare week: You can't make this stuff up
![Michael Gordon dinkus.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131174150im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2013/09/13/4746443/Michael%20Gordon%20dinkus-90x60.jpg)
Michael Gordon Bronwyn Bishop, Dyson Heydon. Is there no end to the "distractions" for this accident-prone government?
Adam Goodes' booing ordeal a test of who we are
![Michael Gordon.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131174150im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/06/19/6628234/Thumbnail997335008ggza8rimage.related.thumbnail.320x214.ghscm8.png1434758499255.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Michael Gordon Suddenly, perversely, Australian Rules Football is no longer a showcase for reconciliation. How did it come to this?
Shorten gets a lifeline on boat turnback policy
![Opposition Leader Bill Shorten during the ALP National Conference at the Melbourne Convention Centre on Saturday.](http://web.archive.org./web/20160131174150im_/http://images.theage.com.au/2015/07/26/6715714/Thumbnail998661261gikn83image.related.thumbnail.320x214.gikryl.png1437969147571.jpg-90x60.jpg)
Michael Gordon There is much to like about the policy but there are also many unanswered questions.