Vaile of Arabia isn’t going anywhere, but what about the rest of the Government-in-exile? asks Bernard Keane.
Alexander Downer
Crikey Says: Crikey Says
It’s difficult not to feel at least a skerrick of sympathy for Brendan Nelson.
The Media Monitors’ Top 20
Popularity is probably no-comopensation for NSW premier Morris Iemma, who has leapt up the charts this week on the back of various unravellings.
Brendan Nelson’s poor polling continues
The latest Morgan poll will make for dispiriting but not unexpected reading for Brendan Nelson, writes Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane.
Tips and rumours
The Alexander Downer-Ian Smith “boutique” consultancy is unlikely to find too many open doors in the Labor-dominated corridors of power around the country. Which may be why former Senator and successful Crikey litigant Nick Bolkus is being mentioned as a third member. Apparently, the Iemma government isn’t too keen on Public Servants attending the Rally […]
Crikey Says: Crikey Says
Alexander Downer dined al fresco at a Manuka restaurant yesterday (try the veal!). Meanwhile, in a Parliament not so far away, Question Time was in full swing.
Parliament Question Time — a highlights package
Each Friday, Crikey will endeavour to bring you the fun-filled entertainment that currently is Parliamentary Question Time. Giggle as new speaker Harry Jenkins tries to make Wilson Tuckey toe the line.
The Media Monitors Tuesday Top 20
Wayne Swan up to number two in these inflationary times, while the vast Brendan Nelson media machine has finally cranked into gear as he leaps into the Top Five.
Tips and rumours
Mark Paterson survived under the Rudd amnesty for political appointees among departmental secretaries in Canberra. He’s been busy since, shoring up the industry portfolio and outfoxing foreign affairs and trade by retaining investment promotion, protecting his industry welfare empire and avoiding efficiency cuts by jettisoning the Global Opportunities program he’d nicked from DFAT under the […]
Flint: Rudd should embrace the Anglosphere
There is one international organisation with standards – the Commonwealth. But that is not one of Mr. Rudd’s foreign policy pillars – the US alliance, Asia, and the UN.
People’s Choice: The 20 most appalling people of 2007
Votes % John Howard 100 8.75% Tony Abbott 70 6.12% Kevin Andrews 64 5.60% Philip Ruddock 52 4.55% George W Bush 43 3.76% Alexander Downer 38 3.32% Peter Costello 31 2.71% Jackie Kelly 31 2.71% Janette Howard 26 2.27% Richard Pratt 20 1.75% Bill Heffernan 19 1.66% Marcus Einfeld 18 1.57% Ben Cousins 17 […]
Time for Noel Pearson to tone down the rhetoric
Noel Pearson is one of Australia’s most intelligent, articulate and thoughtful Aboriginal leaders but surely it’s time he started to reflect on what he’s been saying and doing lately, writes Alex Mitchell.
The Liberals, leaders and philosophies
The Liberal Party stands for nothing, according to a report by Victorian Legislative Council leader Philip Davis obtained by the Melbourne Age. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed, it may have been the secret behind many of the party’s successes in the past, writes Christian Kerr.
Alston not the answer to Libs organisational woes
The Liberals when in opposition have always had a Messiah complex. Now they are looking for an organisational Messiah, and if the answer is Richard Alston, it must have been a very silly question indeed, writes Norman Abjorensen.
Liberal crisis continues; party offers more of the same
The Liberal Party’s federal executive meets in Canberra today, and the shadow ministry has its first meeting. Questions over the leadership and Federal pressident positions remain. There is no doubt that the Liberal Party is in denial, writes Christian Kerr.
Liberal presidential power plays
Federal Liberal Party president Chris McDiven is under threat, stories that appear to be coming out of NSW say today. Now that the Liberals need to make themselves electable, they face significant challenges, writes Christian Kerr.
The quest for Brendan’s earring
Paul Keating says he liked the Liberal leader Brendan Nelson better when “he had the ring in his ear”. Tim Fischer disagrees. “I prefer him without the earring,” the one-time deputy PM said last week. But what is the story of the earring? Christian Kerr finds out.
The Tuesday Top 20 returns
It’s back – the Crikey/Media Monitors Tuesday Top 20, covering the period from 27 November to 3 December. The Age of Change. Just look down the list. It’s all a little confused. Who’s the government? Who isn’t? Coalition pollies outnumber those from the ALP in the Top 20.
Brendan Nelson, the Alexander Downer for a new century
For what has been, on the whole, a very successful political party, the Liberal Party has a decidedly mixed record on leadership, writes Charles Richardson.
What Alexander Downer really thinks of Penny Wong
A rumour has been doing the rounds since election weekend that Alexander Downer made some disparaging comments about Labor Senator Penny Wong into an open mike when he was waiting for his Insiders interview last Sunday.
Perhaps all the Nationals should become family men now
It is a wonderful sight to behold how politicians become so concerned for family life when they lose access to their white cars and all the other lurks and perks of ministerial office, writes Richard Farmer.
The NT intervention is unravelling: Altman
Fortunately, the full intervention fiasco has only been rolled out to a handful of communities. This was because of incompetence resulting from lack of adequate consultation and reluctance to collaborate with effective community-based Indigenous organizations. So calling an immediate moratorium on the intervention and urgently reviewing its workability and sustainability would make good policy sense, writes Jon Altman.
Politicians honour Year of the Family
2007 has truly been the Year of the Family Man in Australian politics. In many cases, a loss to the party has resulted in a big win for working families, writes Jane Nethercote.
Abjorensen: The Liberals fail to understand and fail to learn
As usual, the Liberal Party is in disarray after losing an election, writes Norman Abjorensen.
