By this author
THEY KNOW NOTHING
politicoz
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 …
MURKY WATERS
politicoz
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. …
TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM
politicoz
"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 …
STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
politicoz
"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 …
GENERAL DISSATISFACTION
politicoz
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 …
COAST TO COAST
politicoz
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 …
STRAIGHT SHOOTER
politicoz
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 …
THE GOOD GUYS HAVE LOST
politicoz
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, …
UNACCOUNTABLE GOVERNMENT
politicoz
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 …
FREE BIG MEDIA
politicoz
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 …
QANTAS AND THE DREADED CARBON TAX
politicoz
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 …
APPLE: MORAL HAZARD
politicoz
Every so often, an individual piece of journalism provides a perspective, hitherto unseen or unacknowledged, that makes a mockery of whole swathes of public debate. Just such a piece appeared in today's Australian Financial Review. Neil …
FREE THE FORESTS
politicoz
Tony Abbott has re-affirmed his commitment to delisting 74,000 hectares of World Heritage forest in Tasmania, explaining his position in these terms: "We have quite enough national parks. We have quite enough locked up forests already. In fact, in …
