The republic debate has fallen off the national agenda not because of the GFC, but because our nation’s leaders — most of them republicans — don’t want to admit the only preference that would pass involves a president elected by the people not the parliament, says Ray Cassin.
Malcolm Turnbull 
Grattan: Is this the end of the Coalition?
The Coalition is straining to stay together, as the Nationals — lead symbolically by Barnaby Joyce — try to forge their own identity separate to the Libs. But the Coalition would be better off staying together to fight Rudd, writes Michelle Grattan.
Finally, the Opposition stop looking like idiots
It’s taken the Federal Opposition quite a while, but it’s now making the government the issue, not itself, writes Lenore Taylor. Now Turnbull just has to make sure Coalition members keep their heads down and mouths shut until the next election. Good luck with that.
Guy Rundle: Politicians try to patch up a leaky boat of their own making
The government’s current problems with the Oceanic Viking stem entirely from its being too-clever-by-half – it’s of a piece with Ruddism, the idea that a series of brilliant technical decisions can serve as policy.
Crabb: How will we cope with leaky boats? Don’t worry, the sea levels are rising
Yesterday’s QT focused on each party’s respective Achilles heel, says Annabel Crabb. The government talked about climate change. The Opposition ignored them and asked about asylum seekers. The government ignored them. And repeat.
Coalition defends allowances to the death
The Coalition joint party room today rebelled against the Government’s restrictions on MPs’ printing allowances for “electoral purposes”, with Malcolm Turnbull labelling it “an assault on democracy”, writes Bernard Keane.
Do the Coalition shuffle!
Whatever happened to the Coalition reshuffle? Remember that? But reshuffles create losers and Malcolm Turnbull, who is one major brain explosion away from losing the leadership, has enough enemies as things stand.
Not clean, not dirty … Turnbull masters inactivity
This Opposition is good at neither the high road nor the low road politics. The scandal over Malcolm Turnbull’s office proposing tactics for getting media attention just demonstrates this further.
Henderson: Labor has always been tough on refugees
Kevin Rudd’s Indonesia Solution may turn out to be even tougher than John Howard’s Pacific Solution, writes Gerard Henderson. Rudd is just continuing the Labor tradition of being tough on immigration.
Atkins: Salesman Rudd sells “tough but fair”
Kevin Rudd knows that repetition is the way into the minds of voters, which is why he is reaffirming his “hardline but humane” line as often as possible, writes Dennis Atkins.
leaked Turnbull digs dirt for headlines
The Oz has its hands on a leaked email from Malcolm Turnbull’s office, urging press secretaries to attack “fat cat public servants not caring about taxpayers, pollies with snouts in the trough, special interest groups getting undeserved handouts” to garner more attention in the press.
The real Battlelines: putting the small ‘l’ back in Liberals
Liberal Senator George Brandis has let fly at his party, saying that for John Howard, the Libs were more conservative than liberal. Glenn Milne reports on the battle of ideas plaguing the Liberal Party.
Boat people have had the Rudd government lost for words
The Government is clearly rattled. Oddly, though, it hasn’t been rattled by the Coalition, which has its own problems on asylum seekers. It seems more scared by what might happen on the issue rather than what has happened.
Crabb: How Rudd’s buttocks fear the wedgie of ‘01
Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull are just play fighting. In essence, they agree on asylum seekers. Except, its just easier for Turnbull to talk about leaky boats than farting climate change cows, says Annabel Crabb.
Shanahan: Coalition misses the boat
Kevin Rudd has his hands on the wheel of the boat people issue and he’s aptly steering it to his political power, writes Dennis Shanahan. Will immigration become the new economic management upper hand of Labor?
Rundle: The last grouper lost at sea
Greg Sheridan’s attacking piece in today’s Oz mentions treacherous leftie Stephen Smith. What, members of the government have differing opinions? gasps Guy Rundle.
Put down the dog-whistle
Our government is treating asylum seekers as just the latest ugly political game. But, writes Shakira Hussein, refugees are desperate people who’ve had to abandon their homes, not people in search of flat screen TVs.
Sarah Hanson-Young: ‘Rudd, how does it feel to look in the mirror and see Howard?’
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young blasts the outdated Christmas Island detention centre, the insulting language pollies use for refugees and the fact that John Howard’s ghost still haunts immigration.
Crikey Says: The parallel universe of Canberra
Malcolm Turnbull’s finally got the green light from the Coalition to negotiate on the ETS. Too bad all the party politics means the key issue gets ignored.
Turnbull’s execution was all in the mind
Yesterday’s special coalition party room meeting about whether or not Malcolm Turnbull could get the Coalition to agree to make ETS amendments wasn’t so much a damp squib as sopping wet.
