Peter Costello’s economic legacy will live on, but it’s his thwarted leadership ambitions, trapped by John Howard, that will stay around forever, writes Shaun Carney.
John Howard 
John Howard transforming NRL: there goes the black fan base
Rugby league has been a dying game for many, many years — is John Howard really the man to revamp it? It makes even less sense when you consider a large percentage of the hard-core league fan-base is black.
Can John Howard save the NRL?
The Tele, owned by News Ltd who also co-own the NRL, is reporting that former PM John Howard is a likely contender to head up a new independent NRL commission.
Coorey: Coalition conveniently forgets their ETS
It’s internal revolt time in the Coalition, with assertions that an Emissions Trading Scheme has never been Coalition policy, but was a slick deal between Malcolm Turnbull and John Howard prior to the last election, writes Phillip Coorey.
Timor history gets a Howard washing: spin and deny
Ex PM John Howard rewrote history with the claims of his and Downer’s secret support of East Timor’s independence, says Bruce Haigh. What about public opinion and the actions of the US?
We’d rather win a gold medal than let a doctor in
The famed citizenship pop quiz — with questions on Don Bradman and Cathy Freeman — has been scrapped for a test focusing on democracy and Australian law. But don’t fret sports nutes, athletes will get citizenship preferences. Ahem.
True: Gillard is twice the talker Howard was
As it turns out, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard really DO take longer to answer questions than their predecessors.
Howard govt: mad taxers or lazy and rich?
It’s standard fare for governments to come into power and deride their predecessors. Except PM Kevin Rudd seems to be unsure of exactly which Howard government history he’s pushing.
Nelson: high on rhetoric, low on policy
Brendan Nelson’s speech failed to explain his justification for the war on Iraq and highlights how the Opposition just wants to stand for something, writes Gary Sauer-Thompson.
Nelson’s final speech expresses no regrets
Brendan Nelson’s farewell speech, praising both the Howard and Rudd governments, restored some much needed decency to the chamber, writes Dennis Shanahan.
Crabb: Nelson’s piercing and emotional goodbye
Brendan Nelson is known for his tear jerking speeches and his final one to Parliament was no different, writes Annabel Crabb.
Full text of Nelson’s farewell speech: the earring saga explained
Brendan Nelson’s final speech to Parliament yesterday, discussing his earring, the misunderstood George W. Bush and giving a parting shot to the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Parliamentary sisters are doing it for themselves
The feminisation of the Rudd government “seems to be the end of tokenism, with women pollies no longer a novelty”, writes Dr Paul Williams. Will Julia Gillard and Nicola Roxon be battling it out for first female PM?
Mungo MacCallum: We deserve better than legacy wars
Here we are, nearly two years out of the Howard years and happily consigning them to well-deserved oblivion. Then Paul Kelly released his book, and they all came lurching out of the political cemetery.
What if it’s not the economy, stupid?
Kevin Rudd claimed that neo-liberalism was no longer the dominant paradigm for governments and he was right. But can he extend his critique to those left-over policies that have not been appropriately looked at?
Rudd: Howard wasted his boom time wealth
In PM Kevin Rudd’s latest op-ed, he reaffirms his idea that the Howard Government “squandered” their chance to reform, but assures us his government won’t do the same.
Rudd’s record not a patch on Howard’s
In John Howard’s view, he is the true hero of the great economic reforms of the last 30 years. It’s a stretch. But one thing’s certain, he comes a damn sight closer than Kevin Rudd (for now).
Crikey Says: Rudd can’t claim reform credit yet
There are three men truly entitled to reflect on responsibility for Australia’s economic reforms of the 1980s and 1990s: Hawke, Keating and Howard.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Paul Kelly, John Howard and East Timor
Crikey readers weigh in on John Howard’s involvement in East Timor’s independence, the lobbyist to MP ratio and Senator Steve Fielding’s spelling.
Howard and Kelly rewrite history on East Timor
Damien Kingsbury wonders why former PM John Howard finds it necessary to create a palpable fiction over his commitment to East Timor’s independence.
Is that all you’ve got Paul Kelly?
Howard didn’t like Costello? They lied about kids overboard? Noel Pearson helping the conservatives? They neglected to check whether the attack on Iraq was legal? Paul Kelly’s new book isn’t exactly shocking.
Howard hits the headlines again
Former PM John Howard is back in the media again, thanks to Paul Kelly’s new book. So what have we learnt? Crikey takes a look at the revelations from Children Overboard to Hating Peter Costello.
Downer’s historical imaginings of East Timor
The Australian’s editor-at-large Paul Kelly is claiming in his new book that the Howard government made covert plans to work for East Timor’s independence in 1999. But this ignores some key historical facts, writes Peter Brent.
