Comment

Coalition strategists have tended to assume that an ageing population is to their advantage, electorally. It is obviously a factor behind their support for Peter Dutton and his strategy to drag the Coalition to extremely conservative policy settings, as their best chance of winning the next election.

There’s a new party game in Canberra, sparked by the arrival of the National Anti-Corruption Commission. The game has a simple enough name: Who’s for the NACCery?

When former independent member for Indi Cathy McGowan introduced her bill in November 2018 to create a national integrity commission, then prime minister Scott Morrison dismissed it as a ‘fringe issue’. Less than three weeks later, he would unveil his model for what he called the Commonwealth integrity commission.

It is telling that Peter Dutton’s letter on the Voice was sent only to his electorate. Partly, this is about printing allowances. His convictions always have a budget. Partly, it is a reminder that Dutton’s concern is not about the Voice but the people who vote for him. He sees this as a winner.

As in politics, truth – or a lack of it – in advertising has been a much-debated topic. It seems that the chasm between truth and marketing gimmickry has never been so wide.

The byelection in Stuart Robert’s old seat of Fadden is becoming a proxy battleground for the fortunes not only of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton but also for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

As a climate scientist, it’s becoming increasingly hard to know what to say to the public as horrifying evidence of a worsening crisis continues to mount.

Australia’s growth outlook is more uncertain than ever, with recession drawing closer. The economy expanded just 0.2 per cent in the first three months of this year, and this week New Zealand declared that its economy is officially contracting.

Anthony Albanese is furious the ‘Greens political party’ – as he insists on always calling them – is blocking his signature Housing Australia Future Fund in the senate and he is now raising the prospect of using it as a trigger for an early election.

With the fearmongering tactics from sections of the ‘No’ campaign intensifying, the referendum later this year is becoming a question of courage.