Economy

Already, the Liberals appear not to see Abbott as a plus. He doesn’t feature in their campaign material for the seat of canning. Julie Bishop is the big attraction there.

This week I went searching for speeches by Australian politicians that take account of the pace of change, and talk about preparing for it. They were few and far between.

This ability to deny reality or redefine it to suit your convenience is, for some, the art of politics. For most sane people, it is simply incredible.

Establishing a royal commission into governance would be a way for the prime minister and the opposition leader to show some dedication to the public interest.

Dragging the Labor leader through this expensive demolition exercise could be Abbott’s last throw of the dice.

Both major parties should be acting to ensure Australia plays by the rules and lets the international umpire have the final say on our maritime boundary disputes.

Asylum seekers must always be seen as threats, queue jumpers and illegals, and never as desperate human beings, men, women and children.

Sounding like a politician who wants to win an election rather than fix his budget, Hockey said: ‘It’s only Labor that wants to increase taxes on superannuation.’

According to the polls, when it comes to one of the Coalition’s favourite mantras of ‘returning the budget to surplus’, the electorate is of little faith.

Peter Costello’s ‘look at me’ moment had invited closer scrutiny of his contribution. Labor couldn't believe its luck.