Bob Brown ends his long and successful parliamentary career with the Greens at the peak of their power. Christine Milne has been handed awesome responsibility.
Senate
Sideshow Alley: Barnaby Joyce on wind chimes and Angelina Jolie
Bye bye Australia, bye bye Newcastle, every time you turn a power point on, you’ll all be eaten alive by zombie carbon monsters springing from dishwashers across the nation…
It’s the Greens’ day, anyway you look at it
The passage of the government’s carbon pricing package is a major victory for the Greens. Even if it’s so weak it needs to be bolstered by an extensive array of taxpayer spending
Govt moves to repair the cybercrime bill — but not improve it
The government’s amendments to the controversial cybercrime Bill are in, but they do little to repair it.
Shift to AFP powers on proceeds of crime leaves prosecutors unhappy
A shift in power on proceeds of crime legislation from the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to the AFP has prompted concerns from lawyers.
ASIO gets its new powers — and no one will tell us why
Labor and the Coalition combined to give ASIO new powers last night. We still don’t know why.
Jericho: Egad! The Green goblins have arrived
The Greens, who received 13% of the vote in the Senate, now hold 11% of the seats in the Senate. Amazing! Controversial! Their evil plan has begun and, god luv ‘em, they’ve seriously screwed with the minds of the Press Gallery, writes Greg Jericho.
Expect the unexpected from a Greener Senate
It has taken the best part of a year, but the full consequences of last August’s election have now played out. History tells us to expect the unexpected.
A Greener senate prepares to greet the day
Today is the last day in office for retiring senators who were elected in October 2004. And that means that the nine Greens senators — up from five in the old senate — will hold the balance of power in their own right.
Parting shots: Fielding’s teary Senate farewell, plus Hutchins, Hurley
It’s that time of the six-year electoral Senate cycle again, where departing senators give their valedictory speeches outlining what they’ve accomplished and how their political dreams were crushed, delivered with a hefty dose of nostalgia, wisdom and a dig at their foes. We’ve been covering these speeches as they come out and in the current […]
Parting shots: Liberal senators bid their political careers farewell
It’s that time of the six-year electoral Senate cycle again, where departing senators give their valedictory speeches outlining what they’ve accomplished and how their political dreams were crushed. Crikey documents the farewells.
Plebiscite a key to making Abbott’s life easier
The words of the NZ PM on emissions trading hinted at why Tony Abbott ran with a poorly-devised plebiscite stunt.
The Unhinging, in interpretive dance
South Australian Liberal Senator Mary Jo Fisher yesterday cast caution, sense and dignity to the wind with an extraordinary performance in the Senate, busting out the Hokey Pokey and The Time Warp to complain about a carbon price. Dear god, why? asks Jeremy Sear.
Clash of the senatorial egos spells trouble for Telstra’s shareholders
The spat over the NBN business plan will harm Telstra shareholders more than anyone else.
The Coalition’s hypocritical line on transparency
Coalition demands that the government release the NBN business plan are pretty funny coming from the mob who wouldn’t even release documents when their own senators demanded it.
The class of ’10: the outsourcing of politics continues
The professionalisation of federal politics continues apace with more than half of the new MPs and senators elected on August 21 being former staffers, party operators or former or serving politicians.
Hartcher: The Greens are as red as ripe tomatoes
Lack of climate change policy from both major parties has made the Greens’ prospect of winning the balance of power in the Senate a virtual cert. But given their penchant for wealth redistribution, red is a much more appropriate colour to describe them, writes Peter Hartcher
Minor parties wheel and deal for Senate ticket preferences
Three significant political milestones have occurred this week. First, the ballot paper draws and publication of full candidate lists; second, the publication of group ticket votes for above-the-line votes in the Senate; and last but not least, the launch of Crikey’s electorate form guide.
Devine: Bob Brown, the green-eyed monster
With voters disillusioned by both major parties, the Greens may end up holding the balance of power in the Senate. Be careful of these “unaccountable, job-killing ideologues”, warns Miranda Devine.
rumour 
The new Liberal Senate deputy leader is…
Eric Abetz has the Liberal Senate leadership sewn up, but it’s a three way race for the deputy position. Jim Richardson has the inside goss that George Brandis will beat out Mathias Cormann and Ian McDonald.
Inside the Liberal Senators infighting
Eric Abetz is expected to be named as Nick Minchin’s replacement as Senate leader, but fighting has broken out over the deputy position. Will the conservative Mathias Cormann beat the moderate George Brandis? asks Latika Bourke.
Taylor: How the Greens went mainstream
The Greens don’t want to be a demonstration dressed up as a political party, they want to be the best bet for keeping the balance of the power in the Senate. Their policies haven’t changed, just the way they pitch themselves, writes Lenore Taylor.
Antony Green: Rudd will play the double dissolution card
To stop the blockage in the Senate, Rudd will probably call a double dissolution election for August or early September, argues Antony Green as he explains the historical reasons for Rudd’s timing issues.
