The Treasurers’ debate
Today, we have Wayne Swan and Joe Hockey going head to head at the National Press Club at lunch time. I won’t be watching it, because I have a full time job and I’m at work. That’s the problem with [...]
Abbott harsher on the public sector than Howard
There’ll be oodles of commentary tomorrow about Tony Abbott’s Budget Reply speech, and I’ve already added some of my own [see also Bernard Keane for a potted summary, and the full text of the address in reply here]. But I’d [...]
The reforming conservative – sports edition
Lindy Edwards neatly encapsulates some of the current conventional wisdom about Kevin Rudd and his government: Repeatedly over the past two years, Rudd has demonstrated that he aspires to be a great reformer who will leave a mark on history. [...]
Budget reply predictions
Thankfully, this ridiculous beat-up about Kevin Rudd’s supposed “firing-up” (watch the interview here – it’s a forceful defence of the government’s record, nothing more, nothing less) will almost certainly disappear when Tony Abbott delivers his budget reply tonight. Anybody like [...]
Budget 2010 preview and open thread
This is a thread for commentary, links and analysis for tonight’s Federal Budget. It’s being billed as an opportunity for Wayne Swan to save Kevin Rudd, which I think is pretty hyperbolic (and it’s always interesting to contrast the journosphere’s [...]
The Coalition on economic management
Whether or not it’s a coincidence that the first of Tony Abbott’s ‘headland speeches’ was on economic policy and was delivered the day after Newspoll showed the Coalition falling behind Labor on economic management, I don’t know. But, given that [...]
What's with Anna Bligh?
In the wake of the unnecessary firesale of state assets, the Bligh government has continued down its merry path of trashing Labor policy. Last week we had the refusal to take any action over the charges laid against a 19 [...]
Was there something on tonight?
I understand that there was some kind of budgetty thing on tonight. If you’ve got a lot of time on your hands, here’s the Budget papers. So what goodies from Unkie Wayne did I miss while I was out enjoying [...]
Turnbull's turn
I’m not sure if the anniversary has been celebrated, but it’s just over six months since Malcolm Turnbull became Leader of the Opposition. At the time, I suggested that he needed to junk the obsession with the Howard legacy, and [...]
Taxes vs. public goods Round 6737
John Quiggin wrote an interesting op/ed in the Fin Review today, which I imagine will eventually surface on his blog. Quiggin picked up on recent remarks by Lindsay Tanner about discipline in the budget process. “Efficiency dividends” are much in [...]
An August election?
By Mark Bahnisch on June 16, 2010
Rumours persist that an early August election will be called early in July. Parliament is only sitting for two weeks, and then won’t return until September. The delivery of valedictory speeches in the budget sitting shows that this term is [...]
Posted in Elections, Federal Elections, Media, Politics, Polls | Tagged august election, budget, campaign, campaign strategy, commentariat, Dennis Atkins, election, election date, election speculation, Federal Election 2010, Kevin Rudd, leadership, leadership speculation, Liberal Party, Media, parliament, party of no, Policy, Polls, sittings, Tony Abbott | 144 Responses