Former Australian Democrats leader Andrew Bartlett is standing as a Greens candidate in the seat of Brisbane at the next federal election. Why is he diving back into politics? Well, climate change and affordable housing for a start.
Politics / Australia
After the NT intervention: violence up, malnutrition up, truancy up
The latest, and arguably most comprehensive findings, on progress in the Northern Territory intervention are damning of its effectiveness and extremely disappointing, says Jon Altman.
Rudd and the rentseekers: climate for sale
If the Prime Minister is so angry about the efforts of denialists to derail action on climate change, here’s a suggestion: stop giving them taxpayers’ money.
Mungo MacCallum: Saint Kevin’s halo has finally slipped
If last week’s polling switch is really a result of the boat people kerfuffle, Rudd won’t be able to bluster and twitter his way out of it. So what does he have to do to win the voters back?
Newspoll and The Oz: a predictability problem
Last week’s negative Newspoll results in The Oz about Rudd’s leadership demonstrates how it’s not merely politicians who try to sell us narratives.
The real costs of Rudd’s CPRS are just starting to surface
The Government’s climate change policy is incoherent and becoming ever more expensive, writes Sinclair Davidson. No amount of name-calling is going to change the fact that this policy is a lemon and needs to be radically reconsidered.
Cage match: Rudd on climate sceptics — a step forward or pure politics?
Rudd’s a speech about climate change sceptics was clever politics, and statesmanlike to boot, writes Tony Kevin. But Tim Hollo doesn’t agree — in fact, he says Rudd might be the worst kind of climate sceptic.
University of Melbourne spinning themselves a lie on VCA
Management and spin doctors are in denial over the unpopular changes to the Victorian College of the Arts, writes Scott Dawkins.
Asylum seeker polling: Nielsen, Newspoll and Essential
Possum Comitatus combines today’s Newspoll and Nielsen polls on asylum seeker issues with last week’s Essential Report. Voters do think Rudd’s policies are too soft, but it’s not the killer issue for the Coalition that it once was.
Rudd’s goldfish-in-a-bowl approach: the three-second voter memory
Rather than implementing policy, Rudd is constantly maintaining a political campaign. Stay on message, make the Opposition the issue, win the day. But the big test for this government is if it can actually realise an ETS, says Trevor Cook.
Bartlett: A call to stop mandatory detention for people smugglers
Anyone caught assisting with the unlawful entrance of asylum seekers to Australia is brandished a people smuggler and receives mandatory detention. Is Indonesia’s unhappiness at Australia imprisoning some of their poorest damaging our diplomatic relations? asks Andrew Bartlett.
graph pr0n Where Australia’s arts funding goes
Following up from his great piece on the Australia Council’s failure to adapt to the digital era, Marcus Westbury charts exactly where our country’s arts funding is — and isn’t — going. In a word: orchestras.
Are CSIRO scientists being gagged?
Three years ago, the CSIRO found itself in hot water for gagging scientists from commenting on climate change. Today, it looks like the organisation may still be trying to censor scientists’ public comments.
Getting help from Indonesia was a tactical mistake
Lengthy mandatory detention isn’t the biggest deterrent for asylum seekers, governments turning back boats is, says Peter Mares. The most humane thing Rudd can do is stop the boats coming, because otherwise deaths will simply increase.
Taylor: How four people run our whole government
How controlling is Rudd and how does he compare to prior Australian PMs? Micro-manager, control freak Rudd keeps his leadership group small and lets his power loom. Is it time for more voices to be heard? asks Lenore Taylor.
Grattan: Acting tough is what the voters want
There’s two lessons to learn from the latest Nielsen poll. One, Kevin Rudd needs to maintain his tough asylum seeker stance because the voters love it. Two, the Opposition need to get their act together, writes Michelle Grattan.
We are all polling experts now
The most plausible conclusion from recent polling is that last week’s Newspoll is an outlier, says Tobias Ziegler — but that hasn’t gotten in the way of a media narrative that says Rudd took a hit in the polls, most likely over asylum seekers.
Possum: Rudd’s honeymoon restored
This month’s Nielsen results have polling back to normal after last week’s Newspoll surprise: Rudd has taken a slight clip in the approval ratings and preferred PM, but it’s just more ebbs and flows of they type he’s experienced over the last six months.
The blockage in our skilled migration pipeline
Tens of thousands of highly skilled would-be migrants are living in Australia, unable to contribute their skills to the country’s labour force due to bureaucracy and bad policy. The government happily accepts their application fees, but offers little in return.
Memo Rudd: an asylum solution
Bernard Keane offers the Prime Minister a few thoughts on how to resolve the Oceanic Viking stand-off.
Guy Rundle: The long, plodding March of Patriots
Guy Rundle reviews Paul Kelly’s new book, The March of Patriots: the literary equivalent of cleaning out the garage on a grey Saturday afternoon.
Youth still to be seen but not heard
Joshua Smith explains how much youth “consultation” is really occurring in Parliament, thanks to his experiences at last week’s body image launch. Were students being used as a nice crowd backdrop for the media, rather than listening to any of their ideas?
How Bligh blew the QLD premiership
Just eight months after Anna Bligh was elected QLD premier, voter satisfaction has dropped to just 30%, thanks to privatisation of state assets, broken election promises and scrapping petrol subsides. Is her decline terminal? asks Cosima Marriner.
New York Times: Australia fears boat people from Asia
How does the world view Australians following to our treatment of refugees? Here’s the New York Times’s take: “Australia Puts Its Refugee Problem on a Remote Island, Behind Razor Wire”. Super.
