The Julia Banks eligibility flurry may not be the last such panic
If it weren't for the extraordinary circus in the Trump White House, Australian politics would strain credulity right now.
Mark Kenny is the national affairs editor for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based at Parliament House
If it weren't for the extraordinary circus in the Trump White House, Australian politics would strain credulity right now.
When Labor officials eyed one of Sydney's most dedicated medicos for a marginal seat, they faced a curious hurdle.
Fears are growing that the dual citizenship crisis could take down other MPs, threatening the government's majority.
Confusion over section 44 of the constitution threatens to obliterate confidence in the finely balanced 45th Parliament.
Had it been a lower house MP, the outcome might well be catastrophic.
Australia is caught between a government unable to conjure the "jobs and growth" it promised, and an opposition proposing a fast-fix via wealth redistribution.
It is conceivable that within a decade, neither the ALP nor the Liberal-Nationals coalition will exist as dominant electoral forces .
If Coalition marginal seat MPs were beef cows, they'd be smelling the abattoirs about now.
Partisans on both the left and right would welcome Malcolm Turnbull's fall at pretty much any cost. And that's the point – the price would be exorbitant.
Atop Capital Hill, the giant flag hung motionless amid a crystal winter's day.
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