The good people of the Sydney northern beaches electorate of Pittwater have sent the Liberal Party – and not just its NSW Division – a resounding message.
And it is message those it is meant for seem to have difficulty hearing.
The rampant right-wing, extreme factionalism now overwhelmingly evident in the […] Continue Reading…

The Pittwater byelection result carries the same lesson for a diverse range of politicians. Peter Costello, Kim Beazley, the Queensland Liberals et al take note – don’t assume that political parties are for ever.
The incidence of Independents has been on the rise for some time. As of yesterday there […] Continue Reading…

In my previous post I reported comments by Vaughan Johnson about the federal IR changes and said I would invite him to make a post on the issue on this blog. Here is his response.
Dear Graham,
Thank you for your email of today 24th November. While I may have given […] Continue Reading…

Barnaby Joyce is threatening to veto John Howard’s IR legislation because of pressure from his state National Party colleagues. The Courier Mail quotes National Party State Leader Lawrence Springborg saying “The Nationals remain unconvinced that the legislation, in its current form, should be supported.” Opposition is apparently broadspread – […] Continue Reading…

When I reported that joint preselections between the Liberal and National Parties were a face-saving device and a deal had been done to carve-up the seats which would be rubber-stamped by the preselections I didn’t expect that this would be confirmed by the highest authority.
That is exactly what Lawrence […] Continue Reading…

The reason that Jim Nicholls was vetted out of the Broadwater preselection is supposed to have something to do with the accuracy of his application form. Nicholls says he is a “consultant”, the party says he is “unemployed” (well, what else does “consultant” mean?). Nicholls claims to be an […] Continue Reading…

The extent to which the mainstream media can be totally out of touch with community attitudes is well evidenced by the saturation, and broadly favourable, coverage it is giving to the “model” Michelle Leslie.
The hero like status she is being accorded sits very uneasily with mainstream Australia if the […] Continue Reading…

He’s advised British Governments and Virgin Airlines as well as Lockheed Martin. He’s 41, married with kids, isn’t an axe-murderer, and has never been investigated for anything more than perhaps a parking ticket. What’s more, a little over 12 months ago he ran for Liberal Party president as a […] Continue Reading…

Next Wednesday the Honourable Sir (Dennis) James Killen will celebrate his 80th birthday, and last night his many friends from across the political and community divide gathered at the Irish Club to mark the occasion.
It is fortunate that Jim Killen served in the Parliament of the nation in an […] Continue Reading…

When my newsagent told me that they had been served with a resumption notice to allow for a new busway I assumed it was for a road widening and might involve some of their carpark. They are on Old Cleveland Road at Coorparoo, which is one of Brisbane’s major […] Continue Reading…