Last night’s budget does little but put problems off for another year

When the Monthly’s publisher, Morry Schwartz, launched the magazine in 2005, he insisted that its success would rest on the quality of its writing. The Monthly isn’t pitted against other politics and current affairs magazines any …

When Julie Bishop rolled her eyes while seated behind Treasurer Joe Hockey in parliament last Monday, she was expressing several things at once. The first was that she was not at all impressed by the Expenditure Review Committee, which Hockey slyly mentioned …

The Moss review into allegations of the sexual abuse of asylum seekers on Nauru was released, in redacted form, within hours of the announcement of the death of former prime minister Malcolm Fraser. Immigration Minister Peter Dutton bridled at the insinuation …

While the nation remains captivated by the inordinate dysfunction of the Coalition, it is perhaps unsurprising that Labor has avoided scrutiny. An attacking Opposition is barely necessary at times like this: the government is doing a perfectly good job …

The nation’s politicians are back at work, but they don’t look very refreshed. Tony Abbott seems to have left his brain on holiday, his government looks mired in the same policy disaster zones as last year, and the rest of the parliament appears in …

Tony Abbott and the Coalition government face a tough 2015

What senior government “sources” really think of each other

We hardly need to be reminded of it, but the ABC funding cut demonstrates the utter political ineptitude of the Abbott government. It’s not just that it’s an obvious broken promise (one that Coalition members compound foolishly by denying). Nor …

Summer is upon us, and for many it heralds a hard-earnt break. For some, like those in our federal government, this will come as sweet relief after a torrid year. The Coalition leaders probably feel a little like the figure in the beautiful Brett Whiteley …

The prime minister thinks we should have a mature debate about tax reform, the treasurer says we need to crack down on corporate tax evasion, and Rupert Murdoch has warned Western governments that their policies that benefit the super-rich have caused …

It’s no simple task to mount a survey of the arts in Australia. By what criteria do we judge success and worth? Increasingly, the critical and popular response to artistic works is governed by financial considerations and other basic metrics. What was …

The Abbott government has achieved only chaos in its first year

In September, the Abbott government will celebrate its first birthday. Perhaps “celebrate” isn’t the right word. Most government MPs would give quiet thanks that the year is over, and concede it hasn’t been the one they expected. Voters are more …

Malcolm Knox’s essay this month explores an issue that affects almost every Australian: the unchecked power of the country’s two biggest supermarket chains.  Coles and Woolworths together have become an unstoppable retail juggernaut. Their behaviour …