Labor’s exploitation of the 457 visa issues is just part of an attempt by all three parties to exploit immigration fears. Politicians are accusing each other of being soft, as the immigration debate plumbs new depths.
READ MORE116 Results
Essential: voters wondering about Greens, Coalition vote drops
Voters are becoming less hostile to the Greens, today’s Essential report shows — but they just don’t know what to make of Christine Milne.
READ MOREGreens again fail to match rhetoric with results
While the Greens’ federal vote remains solid, they have again underperformed at the state level as results come in from NSW and the NT.
READ MOREEssential: Labor voters torn about Greens, Assange support falls
Labor and Julia Gillard’s low support is stuck fast. And support for Julian Assange has fallen since he sought asylum with Ecuador.
READ MOREMelbourne by-election: five days to go
The upcoming Melbourne state by-election campaign has been sucked into the vortex of national politics, with journalists comparing the ALP vs Green state battle with their federal counterparts, says William Bowe.
READ MOREWhy the Labor Right is off-beam on the Greens
The Labor Right’s attack on the Greens misses the point that disgruntled ex-Labor voters are only a part of the Greens’ electoral support. Labor can look to the Democrats for that.
READ MORETime to call the asylum seeker ‘impasse’ what it really is
There is no “impasse” on asylum seekers, there is only bloodyminded evil from the Coalition.
READ MOREPoliticians should focus on post-diversity challenges in media
Attempts to regulate media diversity miss the point that there may be little diversity left to regulate.
READ MOREMilne reprises key themes in budget reply
Christine Milne has reiterated her commitment to moving the economic focus to households and quality of life in her budget reply.
READ MOREThe Greens, business and the art of fiscal discipline
The Greens are apparently fiscally irresponsible and yet too disciplined, depending on which business group you ask.
READ MOREGreens will survive the Brown-out
There’s something cruelly ironic about the departure of Bob Brown.
READ MOREBrown: our most successful third-party pollie
Bob Brown ends his long and successful parliamentary career with the Greens at the peak of their power. Christine Milne has been handed awesome responsibility.
READ MOREBehind the seams: Lock the Gate unites cockies, blockies, croppers and greenies
The Lock the Gate movement is an alliance between progressives and conservatives, left and right, city and country, farmers and environmentalists. Activist Drew Hutton explains why.
READ MOREOurSay: euthanasia — and get rid of Dixers, Bandt says
Greens MP Adam Bandt will ask a parliamentary question on euthanasia next week, the outcome of the Our Say People’s Question project.
READ MOREKeane: major parties squib lobbying reforms
A Senate committee has quietly omitted the public interest from its consideration of how lobbying is currently regulated.
READ MOREElectoral funding figures show Labor’s donations collapse
Labor’s donations advantage vanished at the 2010 election, new data from the Australian Electoral Commission shows.
READ MOREAustralian political parties are dying, and fast
Australian political parties are cossetted by compulsory voting, public funding and exemptions in areas such as privacy. But despite those protections, they are dying, and quickly.
READ MOREIt’s the Greens’ day, anyway you look at it
The passage of the government’s carbon pricing package is a major victory for the Greens. Even if it’s so weak it needs to be bolstered by an extensive array of taxpayer spending
READ MOREGuarding the Left flank: gay unions and Labor’s primary vote
A new poll shows supporting same-sex marriage would boost Labor’s vote — but mainly at the expense of the Greens.
READ MOREKisses all round as clean energy bills pass the House
When the last vote finally came to adopt the 18 clean energy bills as complete package, former Slater & Gordon lawyer Adam Bandt broke into a broad grin, his election night pronouncements 14 months ago having born fruit.
READ MOREGhosts of climate policy past haunt our Clean Energy Future
It’s an old refrain, but the closer we get to the Clean Energy Future legislation ducking and weaving its way through parliament, the more we are reminded of the ghosts of the current proposal’s stepmother, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, writes Giles Parkinson of Climate Spectator.
READ MORECarbon tax: key changes reflect the Greens, Garnaut
There are some key changes from Rudd’s CPRS that reflect both the influence of the Greens and Ross Garnaut in its development.
READ MORE$3.2b later, Ferguson loses in the ARENA of renewables
Martin Ferguson’s department has been stripped of responsibility for billions in renewables programs as the Greens demand greater certainty for the sector.
READ MOREASIO gets its new powers — and no one will tell us why
Labor and the Coalition combined to give ASIO new powers last night. We still don’t know why.
READ MOREJericho: Egad! The Green goblins have arrived
The Greens, who received 13% of the vote in the Senate, now hold 11% of the seats in the Senate. Amazing! Controversial! Their evil plan has begun and, god luv ‘em, they’ve seriously screwed with the minds of the Press Gallery, writes Greg Jericho.
READ MORE












