Nick Feik

Even John Howard thinks bringing back knights and dames is anachronistic. Even John Howard.  Phillip Coorey in the AFR reports that Howard would not accept a knighthood should one ever be offered. He didn't try to revive …

The prime minister's surprise announcement to bring back knights and dames was met with hilarity and ridicule around the nation.  But in some parts it was met with a note of caution: "The whole thing is actually the first wave of the PM's …

Craig Thomson has been sentenced to 12 months' jail with nine months suspended for misusing union funds. Magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg said Thomson had shown "blatant dishonesty", and his misappropriation of funds for personal benefit, …

Last week the PNG government won a legal stay against the human rights investigation of Manus initiated by PNG supreme court judge David Cannings. So he set up a snap inquiry on Friday, sending a small team into the detention centre to take evidence from …

Who knew what and when? Political scandals, if they go anywhere, almost always arrive at this question. As the Sinodinos allegations emerge, the pressure on his colleagues will build. The Opposition didn't have much luck getting answers in parliament …

"It was no surprise whatsoever that Arthur Sinodinos stood aside on Wednesday," said Phil Coorey. "As a former chief of staff to John Howard, (Sinodinos) helped write the script on how to cauterise such problems." It is true that …

Assistant treasurer Arthur Sinodinos hasn't been found guilty of anything, and it's entirely possible that it will remain that way. But the judgement of the law and that of the public doesn't need to be in line to cause political damage. …

"Corruption," said counsel assisting Geoffrey Watson, "acquaints a man with strange bedfellows." Kicking off another sensational episode of the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption, Watson alleged that federal assistant treasurer …

There are no simple messages to take from the weekend's election results and new national polling. In Tasmania, the Liberal Party won a handsome victory, sweeping Labor out of power after 16 years in government. The Greens had a bad night, suffering …

Barring something unexpected, the last remaining Labor state governments will fall tomorrow. This will leave only the ACT with a Labor government. In Tasmania, the latest Newspoll gives the Liberal Party 53% of the primary vote, meaning it could easily …

Normally, when a media interviewee responds by saying "Let me answer the question this way", the rest of the answer bears little relationship to the original question. This was not the case with Ken Henry on ABC 730 last night. His openness …

Bernie Fraser has decided to speak out. The organisation he heads, the Climate Change Authority, is set to be abolished when the new Senate sits. It was set up to provide independent expert advice to the government on climate change mitigation initiatives, …

After the Manus Island riots, Scott Morrison announced an independent review. He used this, at the time, as a justification for not providing any detailed information to the public about the riots. We would need to wait until the review was completed …

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has indicated the Coalition is looking to ease media ownership restrictions. Turnbull is "sympathetic" to calls for less regulation and believes many of the rules are outdated in the internet age. The …

The Qantas debate is set to go nowhere for several weeks yet, as the Qantas Sale Act legislation languishes in the Senate. It has instead become a vehicle for broader political arguments. The federal government is again intent on pinning a portion …