If the independent and minor party Senators who hold the balance of power reject the Rudd Government’s tax on ready-to-drink pre-mixed spirits (RTDs), they will reward the alcohol industry for misleading the Senate Inquiry into RTDs, writes Geoff Munro.
Senate 
Parliament greenlights dodgy tax office settlements
After a two and a half year inquiry into tax office administration that spanned two Parliaments, the Joint Committee Of Public Accounts and Audit have concluded…wait for it…drum role please…A simpler tax system is needed in Australia, writes Chris Seage.
The Australian Democrats: the last of the honest bastards
The Australian Democrats have left the Senate chamber. Don’s Party is over, writes Nahum Ayliffe.
Errington: Unity and policy the challenge for Howard’s successor
The fact that opposition leaders who take the party leadership from a defeated prime minister never make it to the top job won’t stop some ambitious Liberals putting up their hand this week. And whoever ends up in the leadership will have a difficult time, writes Wayne Errington.
The story so far … in numbers
Did those last minute polls rattle you? Did you detect a whiff of Major/Kinnock ’92 in the air? Relax. Compulsory preferential voting tends to smooth down those last minute anomalies.
Graham: Indigenous Australians will be rooting for Rudd
The head says that this election - for Indigenous Australia at least - is not about who wins government, rather it’s about who wins control of the Senate, writes the editor of the National Indigenous Times, Chris Graham.
ALP eyes the challenges of Senate realpolitik
There is a major Senate preference debate raging in the ALP. What would be best for a Rudd government?
Heffernan owes Mt Theo an apology
Bill Heffernan knows a fair bit about the program at MT Theo, writes Bob Gosford.
Coppers back blackfellas while federal Labor sells out
Given the history of sometimes strained relations between Aboriginal people and coppers in the Northern Territory, there has been a remarkable confluence of interest between the two groups in recent weeks.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Crikey Says – 14 August, 2007
This is the way we make law.
Libs and Nats in Queensland: there’s more to the story
A revelation that the joint ticket could be in part a solution to internal Liberal problems will hardly endear it to already sceptical Nats. writes Mark Bahnisch.
