Rudd’s appeal to voters has collapsed as spectacularly as Labor’s vote. Part one of Bernard Keane’s special report into what’s really behind Labor’s plummeting poll numbers.
Australian political history
The 10 funniest moments in Australian political history
Jack the Insider picks his top 10 moments of hilarity in Aussie politics, from Kim Beazley on Rove to Mark Latham’s horrible home hair cut.
In a long history of invertebrate PMs, Rudd still looks like a slug
Rudd is a big wuss, says Peter Brent, but take the rose-tinted glasses off: Hawke, Keating and Howard were often pretty spineless, too.
Come in Spinner: Rudd, Abbott searching for PR’s holy grail
While there are many big policy things going wrong for Kevin Rudd and Tony Abbott, one of their current elementary mistakes is not “framing” them properly, writes Noel Turnbull.
Crikey‘s reform report card: how does Rudd stack up?
So we’re convinced the Rudd Government is a bunch of wimps when it comes to hard reform. Let’s try to make some objective assessments of just how tough previous governments have found reform.
Political snippets: A victory for style over substance in the ALP
A Peek Frean has triumphed and holds the top political job in the nation, save the Department of Climate Change, and why Gordon Brown needs Mark Plunkett.
A history of the ALP’s hatred of the Greens in Tasmania
The latest animosity between Tasmanian Labor Premier David Bartlett and Greens leader Nick McKim is nothing new: the ALP has been loudly and proudly hating on the Greens in the Apple Isle for decades. Sue Neales explains the full bitchy backstory.
Have our politicians forgotten how to reform?
Reforming governments are the exception, not the rule in Australian politics. The current generation of politicians has yet to prove it can match the efforts of the Hawke-Keating-Howard years — despite facing major policy challenges.
David Smith: Malcolm Fraser is lying about the Whitlam dismissal
Malcolm Fraser’s account of what then Governor General John Kerr said to him on the morning of 11 November, 1975, is not true, says Kerr’s former secretary David Smith.
You say you want a referendum?
Kevin Rudd is threatening the states with a constitutional referendum on health, but history doesn’t bode well for his chances, explains Peter Brent.
Australia’s grand history of Ministers not taking responsibility
If a minister had to resign every time somebody under their charge screwed up, the Cabinet would be bare, says Barrie Cassidy, with a great historical primer on when Ministerial Responsibility has and hasn’t be enforced wisely.
Henderson: Pilger pontificates a history that didn’t happen
Gerard Henderson fights John Pilger’s damning speech about Australian society and our silence on big issues, accusing Pilger of rehashing conspiracies with no facts. “Most Australians do not share his left-wing interpretation of Australian history”.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: A fair and just society?
Crikey readers weigh in on whether Australia is a fair and just society and the continued storm of controversy around our dusty East Coast.
Rundle: Howard wants reconciliation … with Bennelong
Howard’s new reconciliation isn’t aimed at Australia - it’s aimed at Bennelong. He doesn’t want the ultimate shame of a double lay-down misere. Holding a slice of Sydney and then resigning from it will count as a victory, writes Guy Rundle.
