Some judges, among others, are known to grit their teeth. But it is a rare occasion when a member of the judiciary announces a decision “regrettably and with gritted teeth”. Yet these words were used at the conclusion of Chief Justice Lucy McCallum’s judgment in R v Lehrmann (No 3) in the ACT Supreme Court [...]
Elections come and go, but the Australian left continues to regard the ABC as its property and is of the view that no one should interfere with ABC journalists who run the organisation like a staff collective. Take the recent controversy concerning the ABC board’s intention to establish an ombudsman position to improve the taxpayer-funded public [...]
The important political news of the week is that Anthony Albanese has led Labor to a majority in the House of Representatives. A narrow majority of 77 out of 151 seats, but a majority nevertheless. It’s equivalent to the result attained by the Coalition in 2019 and one better than its margin in 2016. Primarily [...]
Without question, last Saturday’s election represented the greatest change in the Australian political system since the emergence of the two-party system in the years after Federation in 1901. It so happens that this could go hand-in-hand with one of the greatest challenges the Australian economy has faced in recent times. Namely, the possibility of a [...]
Most Australian elections at the federal level are close-run affairs and it is likely this will be the case again on Saturday. But this election could have significant outcomes beyond whether Scott Morrison or Anthony Albanese lead their respective party to victory. First up, the Liberal Party is facing challenges in what used to be [...]
Many journalists identify as commentators without an agenda. But this can be a manifestation of self-delusion. Take influential ABC presenter Virginia Trioli, for example. On April 26 during her Melbourne Radio 774 program she interviewed Stephen Charles QC, the co-author of Keeping Them Honest: The Case for a Genuine National Integrity Commission and Other Vital [...]
“Et tu, Brute?” to borrow from Shakespeare’s account of Julius Caesar’s reaction when he learnt that the previously loyal Brutus had joined his enemies. On Wednesday, the Nine newspapers ran an opinion piece by Fred Chaney, who served as a minister in Malcolm Fraser’s Coalition government and was deputy Liberal Party leader from 1989 to [...]
Most ABC viewers, listeners and readers surely would be aware of Monique Ryan, the so-called teal independent who is attempting to defeat Liberal Party deputy leader Josh Frydenberg in the seat of Kooyong in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs in next month’s election. But few, if any, of those who get their news from the taxpayer-funded public [...]
On the morning after Sky News’ people’s forum on Wednesday, ABC Radio National presenter Patricia Karvelas expressed concern that the first leaders’ debate in this year’s federal election campaign had not been shown on free-to-air television. She had in mind, in particular, the ABC. Karvelas made it clear that she spoke on behalf of some [...]
In the fog of political warfare that prevailed during the first week of the 2022 election campaign, two voices spoke with utmost clarity. Namely, film producer Jo Dyer and former Liberal Party prime minister John Howard. Dyer is running as an independent for the Adelaide-based seat of Boothby, currently held by the Liberal Party. She [...]