By this author
IT’S PAYBACK TIME
politicoz
''You would like the national broadcaster to have a rigorous commitment to truth and at least some basic affection for the home team,'' Tony Abbott told 2GB's Ray Hadley yesterday. Abbott cited the Snowden leaks about Australian spying …
A POX ON THEIR HOUSES
politicoz
Prominent unionist Paul Howes last year stated that unions were facing a crisis of legitimacy and that another major scandal could wipe Australia's union movement off the map. A joint investigation by ABC's 7.30 program and Fairfax …
ESTABLISHMENT MAN
politicoz
Welfare cuts and new work-for-the-dole proposals, thinly veiled threats to unions and the ABC, climate change denialism, 'traditional values' curriculum overhauls, anti-tax rhetoric and warnings about wage explosions – there is no doubting …
Australia’s climate plan: are you serious?
politicoz
"The Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF), the central pillar of Australia’s Direct Action climate policy, continues to attract a fair bit of derision with its credibility said to be “hanging by a thread”. Is it really that bad? Probably. …
Indigenous referendum will test Abbott’s ability to manage his conservative base
politicoz
"Abbott’s belief in constitutional recognition is admirable. Achieving it would stand – together with the 1967 referendum giving the federal government power to legislate for Aboriginal people in the states, and the 2008 Apology - as …
Operation Sovereign Borders: flak flies, even when facts are so elusive
politicoz
"In any normal environment, the allegations aired by the ABC would prompt an orderly process where the claims could be put and answered. But having thrown out this most basic of public interest transactions in the quest to keep everything deemed …
JAWBONING DAVOS
politicoz
Prime Minister Tony Abbott delivered his keynote address to the leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos overnight. It would surprise few that he urged nations to abolish protectionism and said competitiveness, free trade and encouraging business …
RED-HANDED
politicoz
There have been several allegations made against Australian naval personnel by asylum seekers in recent weeks, but today's are the most dramatic. According to the ABC's George Roberts, "Asylum seekers have accused the Australian Navy of …
A ’SIMPLE, FAIR’ WELFARE CRACKDOWN
politicoz
The government's announcement that it will be reviewing all welfare spending must be an early contender for least surprising political news of 2014. Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews has hit the airwaves armed with a battery of statistics about …
BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE NAURU
politicoz
Hello readers, and welcome back to PoliticOz. Those not paying close attention to Australian politics over the past weeks (you would be forgiven) may not be surprised to learn that the collateral damage from Australia's hardline asylum seeker …
SIGNING OFF
politicoz
It's the end of the political year, and this is our last 2013 dispatch. We'll leave it to others to make sense of the dramas of the year – and wish them luck, for theirs is no simple task. Instead we'll present some final, forward-looking …
LIBERATED
politicoz
The aim of Joe Hockey's MYEFO (Mid-year Economic and Fiscal Outlook) statement on Tuesday was to set the scene, and government statements since then have given a fair indication of how the Coalition will proceed. Tony Abbott yesterday declared …
WHAT SORT OF MEDICINE, JOE?
politicoz
It is time to "draw a line in the sand," said Hockey. He was revealing "the true state of the books." Future growth and revenue have been forecast down, employment and debt up, and spending is blowing out. It's a new economic paradigm. Yesterday's …
