News Ltd and the Coalition have previously backed far more draconian regulation of newspaper operations than that proposed by the Gillard government. How times change.
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HELEN COONAN
Millions for a tiny record label with powerful players
The story of Melba Recordings’ special deal with the Australian government shows that when it comes to arts funding, friends in high places can still deliver the goods.
READ MOREThe conflicts of interest muddying the anti-pokies campaign
As with any public debate, the challenge in the pokies reform will be getting participants to put all their cards on the table and declare these conflicts as they arise. Stephen Mayne declares their interests on the public’s behalf.
READ MOREPower Shots: four legends of political fixing
They may not punch with the same force of the past, they may no longer punch at all, but any round-up of Australian Political Fixers would be incomplete without mentioning the men who made fixing an art form.
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Helen Coonan’s valedictory speech
Liberal Senator and former Health minister Helen Coonan delivered her valedictory speech yesterday to the Senate. Crikey’s politics and public life blog The Stump has the complete transcript.
READ MOREFrom gatekeeper to gridlock — a brief history of Labor obstructionism
Quit the high horse act on Senate obstructionism, Labor. As the record of the Howard Government shows, what goes around comes around.
READ MOREWhen minimal accountability and mind-numbing tedium reign in Canberra
This week, Senators are conducting Supplementary Budget Estimates for the whole week, rather than sitting. For the most part it’s a colossal waste of time and money.
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Who cares what the Opposition say?
The Coalition is finally learning that since they’re not in government, media focus is on personalities not politics. But what is their latest debt reduction strategy and is it a good plan?
READ MORETurnbull’s debt plan to cut $12b a year
Malcolm Turnbull tried to get some of the spotlight off his leadership by launching a “debt reduction strategy”, representing a major shift back toward the Coalition’s traditional rhetoric of small government.
READ MOREMalcolm and Joe, shoulder to shoulder in the thick of it
Andrew Crook attended this morning’s “united front” press conference at Melbourne’s Treasury Place. What was it like? Who asked the hard questions about blackface?
READ MOREHockey’s economic bombast will hurt him
Joe Hockey yesterday committed a Coalition Government to slashing spending by more than $40 billion. Then he tweeted through Question Time, before insulting several world leaders.
READ MORETurnbull’s front bench: clash of the chihuahuas
When it comes to female ministerial representation, the conservative side has lifted its game. 7 of Labor’s 30 ministers are women, compared to 7 of 32 on the Coalition side, writes Bernard Keane.
READ MOREThe ABC gets off lightly at Senate Estimates
ABC Managing Director Mark Scott and the ABC had their easiest appearance at Senate Estimates for years, writes Glenn Dyer.
READ MOREHoward and Coonan: Friends of the ABC?
With the election slipping away, Howard and Coonan have slithered up to the ABC audience and dangled $80 million for a new children’s digital channel, writes Glenn Dyer.
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