Australian Politics and Culture

"I do not come to the leadership of the Liberal Party from a lifetime of privilege. I know what it is like to be very short of money..." "I know what it is like to live in rented flats. For a time daddy and I had to rent a dingy penthouse in Double Bay..." "Daddy even had to drive the Rolls Royce himself for a time when we couldn't get a chauffeur; good help can be hard to find..." "The other boys at Sydney Grammar laughed at me when I drove my new MG to school; they all drove Porsches and Maseratis..." Ok, this ... Read Full Story

Former prime minister John Howard believes he would have been seen as "a coward" if he had stepped down voluntarily for Peter Costello but would have quit had a delegation of senior ministers demanded him to. Mr Howard's views and those of other key figures are contained in a recent essay by Sydney Institute executive director Gerard Henderson . John Howard has been described by some as “Australia’s greatest Prime Minister”. History might well see him in a different light. Despite almost equaling Sir Robert Menzies record as the longest serving Prime Minister, the Howard years have left a string of bad memories. Among ... Read Full Story

It’s difficult not to feel a little sorry for Malcolm Turnbull at the moment.  Pity might be the most positive response Turnbull can expect from the electorate but it’s hardly the response any politician would hope for.  Turnbull’s leadership of the federal opposition has been in a terminal downward spiral ever since the farcical Utegate affair and shows no sign of changing for the better.  The current disputes over the government ’s proposed emmissions trading scheme say more about the real nature of the Liberal Party than they do about Turnbull and his leadership. Turnbull has been accused of having a ‘crash through or ... Read Full Story

When the Australian Liberal Party elected John Howard leader in 1995, they chanced upon a formula which would guarantee them electoral success: Howard bears a striking resenblence to television personality Brian Henderson .  The former election winning visage, the craggy look with highly exaggerated eyebrows, had served a string of former prime ministers very well, from Menzies to Whitlam to Hawke .  But the Australian electorate of the 90s were ready for a new persona; a man with all the assured presence of an accountant, with thinning mousy hair and gold rimmed spectacles to match. Your position on immigration, the environment, fiscal policy (or ... Read Full Story

First, the revelation that Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has rejected a request to meet the Dalai Lama during his Australian visit later this year. Now the US State Department has said that President Obama will not meet with the Tibetan leader during his US visit and would see the Dalai Lama “at a mutually agreeable time”. Both Rudd and Obama have sought broader ties with China , a major trade partner and biggest holder of the soaring US debt. China has increased pressure in recent months on other nations to shun the Dalai Lama. It comes as no great surprise that the Mandarin ... Read Full Story