Politics

Do you know what the meaning of hopeless and helpless is? Do you know what is the meaning of I got tired of being alive?

The prime minister seems to acknowledge his play for domestic plaudits in this instance was at best inelegant, at worst demeaning.

No greater respect for democracy could be shown than by initiating a broad and independent examination of the influence of donations on decision-making.

Voters can smell a political witch-hunt. The fact that John Howard expressed negative views about going after defeated political opponents also feeds into this sentiment.

There is one general rule about weak and struggling right-wing governments: the formula that served them well for decades no longer works.

The ABC asked Hockey if he was about to beat a budget retreat. ‘No, the story is wrong,’ Hockey replied. ‘The bottom line is: if you can win a battle, you take that victory, but you never give up on the war.’

The government has not yet made a detailed case for why the ADF needs to be fighting in the Middle East, nor what national interests our military is fighting to protect.

Shrouding the prime minister from any humiliation over climate change is the fog of war. Australia is now in anti-terrorism overdrive. The nation is panicked.

Abbott seems to be listening. He wants the recognition referendum to succeed. He’s burying the habit of a lifetime to be a national, inclusive leader.

While Australia is busily seeking to expand the horizons of data retention, in Europe and the US there have been processes working in the opposite direction.