Of marriage, football, ethnicity, and progress
Wednesday November 15, 2017 was a good day for Australia. Even great. Two joyous things happened.
Wednesday November 15, 2017 was a good day for Australia. Even great. Two joyous things happened.
On paper, Dean Smith is not the most likely champion of same-sex marriage in Parliament.Â
Australia has rejoined the rights revolution. That's the first of five key lessons to emerge from the outcome of the same-sex marriage vote.
The law on this is very clear, and tested up to the High Court.
It was a far more resounding result than any political party achieves to govern, and represents a strong mandate.
This is a win for bigness of the heart. A win for justice. A win for courage. A win for modernity. A win for social cohesion. A win for same-sex couples and the entire LGBTI community. And, it's a faith-restoring win for Australian democracy. It is also, by virtue of that, a win for Malcolm Turnbull.
Both leaders will struggle with difficult decisions for the rest of the year.
The same sex marriage survey had a higher turnout than for practically any voluntary ballot measure undertaken in a Western democracy in modern history.
John Alexander must feel like the player returning from injury who draws Roger Federer in the first round.
Having bombed in the public survey they so loudly demanded, Coalition reactionaries have hit upon a play that shows contempt for their leader and looms as the most brazen betrayal of voter sentiment in a century.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is dead. In its place, maybe, we'll have something lesser, with a longer title: the Progressive Comprehensive Trans-Pacific Partnership, or PCTPP.
Technically, the Korean War is ongoing. Technically, the July 2, 2016 Australian election has become similarly open-ended.
The government is hailing the free trade agreement with Peru as the fastest Australia has ever negotiated. There's a reason for that.
It is easy to overlook, amid our volatile politics, that the nation has not seen anything like this before.
The Prime Minister 's usual, dreadful form has been embarrassing to watch.
The Paradise papers show that the privileged are escaping their responsibility to the society that enriched them.
It's time to give Malcolm Turnbull, George Brandis, and yes, even Peter Dutton, their due credit.
"While it would be desirable to have the matter resolved by Christmas, it is an artificial deadline in relation to this matter."
Malcolm Turnbull is asking people to place their trust in his new citizenship system. Tell him he's dreaming.
Direct negotiations between the Prime Minister and the alternative prime minister are relatively rare.
Australians should have a much more positive view of dual citizenship.
Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten will meet on Wednesday to nut out a solution to the dual citizenship "circus" but how willing are they really?
The military industry may want certainty, but good policy needs to be honed by debate.
This is progress - the beginning of the end of this citizenship controversy
If we stopped domestic violence, there's a chance we'd halve the suicide rate.
When these men talk national security, tune out. Their words are utter rubbish.
A week is a long time in politics. But in the case of the Australia-New Zealand relationship, is two and a half months enough time to overcome major awkwardness?
The constitutional requirements to sit in Parliament were always simple, as was the High Court's view of them.
People can be vicious and deceptive. But highlighting this doesn't disprove their arguments.
The Coalition's attempts to buy Medicare while publicly praising it are now hurting the private health system, too.
The hurly-burly of the 2016 election campaign, as seen through the eyes of Fairfax reporters and photographers.