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How Dutton made things worse on Manus
The Immigration Minister effectively put three refugees, and the entire population of detainees, in the dock.
Michael Gordon is the political editor of The Age.
The Immigration Minister effectively put three refugees, and the entire population of detainees, in the dock.
There is an important discussion to be had about the penalty rates decision, but our politicians appear incapable of engaging in it, much less leading it.
Malcolm Turnbull's verbal blitzkrieg against Bill Shorten produced two diametrically opposed, yet predictable, responses from those who witnessed it at close quarters in the national parliament this week.
"Endless bouts of introspection and navel gazing are unhealthy," John Howard declared 21 years ago. "Mostly they arise out of attempts to rewrite our past or reposition our history by people with axes to grind who aren't all that interested in the truth."
It's time to end our dirty little secret
Malcolm Turnbull will play the lead role in his own re-make of Mission Impossible in 2017, complete with a cast of villains and traitors and no end of unpredictable subplots.
The picture this week was of a leader prepared to lose battles without even fighting them.
Peter Dutton found himself in unfamiliar territory this week, cast as the victim of the "tricky language" of Bill Shorten.
The people are driving America's malaise. The same can't be said in Australia.
The biggest concern about the plebiscite is the huge emotional toll it could take on young people seeing the legitimacy of their identity debated on the national stage.
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