Charles Richardson
Psephologist and writer
Charles Richardson has contributed to Crikey since 2002, and was a ministerial adviser in the Kennett government and a former editorial manager at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney.
Brandis' attacks on Julia Gillard has it exactly the wrong way around. The perspective of the chidless is exactly what's needed when talking about children and young people.
If more Tamils had voted in the last Sri Lankan election, there might have been no renewal of the war, no large-scale human rights abuses, and even no boatloads of refugees off the Australian coast, says Charles Richardson.
In the old days, Australia Day meant something: the end of the summer holiday period, celebrated with a long weekend. Would it really be contrary to our national character to try to return it to that?
Not all countries shut down for January. Australia's politicians may be still on holiday, but the world's 2010 elections are already under way.
There are major potholes ahead for the Democratic Party; no-one could dispute that. The Left are complaining, the Right are mobilising and the middle class independents are seeing confusion where they expect results.
Outrage over government-funded political advertising has been going on for years, yet all governments -- state and federal, Labor and Coalition alike -- keep doing it, and voters rarely make them pay any price for it.
While SA and Victoria swelters with high temperatures, north-Western Europe are suffering with a cold winter snap, with the media reporting the freeze along with a discussion of how it has given heart to greenhouse denialists.
As causes go, the right to chop down native trees is not a particularly inspiring one but there is an important issue behind Peter Spencer's protest, writes Charles Richardson.
Commentators love turmoil, excitement and controversy, but the electoral story of 2009 is quite different: democracy working in its unobtrusive way, and voters mostly expressing confidence in the system, writes Charles Richardson.
We have got ourselves politicians who seem determined to pander to fundamentalism: either because they share its values, or because their party machines are captive to its lobbying power.
