Daily media wrap: The Henry Tax Review, and the government’s long-awaited response to it, are in. Does it live up to the hype or did Rudd and Swan wimp out at the finish line?
John Howard
Sheridan: Stop the boats!
The old Howard classic “We will decide who comes to this country and the circumstances in which they come” is still the best refugee policy for this country and Kevin Rudd is slowly realising it, writes Greg Sheridan.
Kohler: Bugger health, this is all about Howard’s GST stuff-up
The debate about national control over health and hospitals is just Rudd’s Trojan tax horse, writes Alan Kohler. Kevin Rudd wants to wrestle back the GST from the states who’ve just wasted all the cash John Howard recklessly gave them.
Asylum seekers: is it a vote changer?
Political party strategists — perhaps due to Tampa and the 2001 election — consider asylum seekers to be a vote-changer issue for “middle Australia”. But is it? asks Peter Brent.
Kohler: Don’t bust the boom!
Australia is suddenly dealing with a massive economic boom, taking the federal budget planning from protective mode to prosperity planning. Here’s our chance for long term economic reform, pleads Alan Kohler.
Megalogenis: More people equals more money
Think that the best thing for society is to strictly control immigration? Well NSW has been doing it for a decade, and its economy slowed dramatically and its population fled to Victoria and Queensland, writes George Megalogenis.
Irvine: Climate change won’t just disappear
Yep, we’re all over debating the ETS and the best climate policy. But jeez, even Howard would have implemented a carbon emissions plan by now. Rudd needs to do something, now, writes Jessica Irvine.
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
No progress for Abbott on the economy
Yesterday’s economic speech was a major missed opportunity for Tony Abbott. The coalition needs to start providing some substance to its increasingly threadbare economic rhetoric.
Savva: Abracadabra, it’s Howard’s magic disappearing health policy!
It’s obvious that Tony Abbott is in desperate need of a health policy. Could John Howard’s never-fully-announced 2007 policy help lift the Liberals’ curse on health? asks Nikka Savva.
Would you trust the Immigration Department with your life?
Rimi Khan reflects on a disturbing interview she witnessed between an asylum seeker and the Immigration Department in 2002. How much has changed for asylum seekers since John Howard days?
Stott Despoja: Winning Senate friends and influencing cross-bench people
Publicly attacking Senators who block government plans is a fairly novel way of winning their support, when all they need is a bit of charming, explains former senator Natasha Stott Despoja.
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.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Where’s the critical analysis?
Crikey readers weigh in on America’s economic health, federalism for Australia, John Howard the big new cricket boss and the most dangerous Australian workplaces.
Howard, the diplomat, may prevail as ICC president
The appointment of John Howard as International Cricket Council president from 2012 is more due to his diplomatic nous and less because of his awful bowling technique.
Did Australia actually save East Timor?
Australia loves to cling to a belief that we ‘saved’ East Timor twice in the 20th century. But it’s a myth of Australian history, constantly perpetuated by our governments, writes Clinton Fernandes.
Malcolm Fraser: I was the reformer, not Howard
The idea of John Howard the reformer and Malcolm Fraser as the rigid conservative is a myth, writes Malcolm Fraser and Margaret Simons in an extract from Fraser’s upcoming memoirs.
Possum: Suggestions of Rudd’s demise are polls apart
It’s the question on the tips of the lips of political commentators everywhere: How popular is Kevin Rudd?
Turnbull invokes a Menzies manoeuvre by crossing the floor
Malcolm Turnbull’s decision to cross the floor of the House of Representatives is no big deal, particularly when his party is in Opposition, writes Rob Chalmers.
Great myths in Australian politics: GST almost cost Howard ’98 election
The GST didn’t nearly lose John Howard the election in 1998, instead it’s the only reason he stayed in office. Just check out the Newspoll ratings before the GST announcement, says Stephen Spencer.
We will decide how our climate changes and the circumstances in which it changes
There’s no compromising with climate denialists because they want the one thing no one can ever give them — control.
Abbott heads back to the future on climate action
Tony Abbott has never been John Howard’s heir more clearly than in his Howard-era climate action proposals. Abbott’s climate change policy is excellent. Excellent, that is, for 2000. It’s ten years too late.
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?
