The Better Access program, introduced by the Howard government in 2006 to improve access to treatments for common mental disorders, was controversial before it even began.
Howard government
Kevin Andrews rides again in Malaysian solution
The new Labor government, to its credit, never adopted the original Howard anti-refugee rhetoric.
Howard was right on COAG — lips move but nothing sensible comes out
Yesterday’s COAG meeting was more of the same — low farce from a useless collection of politicians.
Inspector Fahey and the politics of competence
John Fahey knows a thing or two about waste and mismanagement. But that’s not why Julia Gillard put him in charge of the “Reconstruction Inspectorate”.
Mubarak’s new vice-president: the Habib connection
The man who might replace Hosni Mubarak is a torturer and murderer. He is also valued by the US Government, having played a key role in the White House’s illegal rendition program.
Kohler: the Gillard regime is faceless no more
The men and women who work behind the scenes advising ministers and devising their policies, etc, definitely prefer to remain behind the scenes.
The magical productivity of the construction
industry
When it comes to building industry productivity, there’s economic modeling, and then there’s Econtech modeling…
Howard attacks multi-culturalism, apologises for nothing
Former prime minister John Howard has dumped on “multi-cultural” continental Europe, “irrelevant” UN veto nations and the Islamic world while lauding the moral superiority of the English speakers in a speech in Washington. Harley Dennett reports from Washington.
Lessons in competence, Part 2: the need for speed
When it came to competence, things didn’t improve much in the Howard Government’s final term. But while the Public Service was slowly improving its administration, the biggest problems were caused by ministers.
The myth of governmental
competence
Contrary to its claims of administrative competence, the Coalition had a series of costly blunders when in Government.
NT intervention three years on: government’s progress report is disturbing
Today we are halfway through the Howard government’s original normalisation phase for the NT intervention and the latest six-monthly report is both serious and disturbing, writes Professor Jon Altman.
Rudd-bashing is just a little too easy
In many ways the government is a disappointment for progressives, but it’s not all bad news: Rudd’s apology to the stolen generation, signing Kyoto. Let’s not forget the Howard years so easily, says Dennis Glover.
Singer: Abbott will fail as Howard 2.0
There’s no way that Tony Abbott can be a PM possibility until he recognises the stuff ups of the Howard government and distances himself from them, says Jill Singer.
Tanner: I was wrong
Lindsay Tanner takes a leaf out of Kevin Rudd’s book of self-flagellation, admitting that as a young opposition transport spokesman he was wrong to attack the Howard government’s rail reform strategy.
From Howard to Rudd: what’s changed?
The Howard years are a stain on Australian human rights history, writes Tony Kevin. Kevin Rudd disappoints us in other ways, most importantly through his lack of climate change action.
Where did all the Howard faithful go?
Malcolm Turnbull is just the latest in a long list of key John Howard era figures to bow out of politics since the 2007 election loss. Is a political cleanout this big normal? asks John Quiggin
From 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.
How to site a nuclear waste dump
Labor’s opposition to an NT waste dump before the last election will return to haunt it as Martin Ferguson unveils a permanent waste facility this week. Where was the consent and consultation?
Grattan: Can Abbott tame the WorkChoices beast?
Other disposed Lib leaders wouldn’t touch industrial relations with a ten foot pole, but Tony Abbott says “WorkChoices wasn’t all bad” and is pushing his own, more tightly reigned in version. Will it work for Abbott? asks Michelle Grattan.
Abbott buggered by his own baggage
Tony Abbott is being comprehensively done over in the Australian media, but he has only himself (and the Howard Government) to blame.
Does Australia need its own Iraq War inquiry?
The Chilcot inquiry into the UK’s role in the Iraq War is heating up in Britain, with Blair and co coming under heavy scrutiny. Should the Howard government face the same treatment?
C’mon, Kev, show some guts: tell us where we’re weak
We need more than just idle talk from a Prime Minister and a Treasury that knows what’s needed and should have the guts to issue a report pointing out our weak areas and suggesting what needs to be done.
The Liberals head back to the future
The Abbott-Minchin putsch will take the Liberal Party backwards -– back beyond Turnbull, back beyond Nelson, and back, even, beyond John Howard, says Bernard Keane.
Nobody said changing the Libs was meant to be easy
The core of the Liberals has always been illiberal, hostile to free thought and free trade. Remaking it as an even moderately liberal party, and breaking the conservative hegemony that John Howard established, was always going to be incredibly messy and against the odds.
Costello: Publishing protectionism is bad — just as Farnsie
The Howard government’s decision to lift parallel import restrictions on CDs didn’t kill the Australian music industry, says Peter Costello, and the local public industry could survive just as well without protectionism.
