Barack Obama recently forced through congress an extension of the Bush tax cuts for another two years, in spite of heated opposition from many Democrats. The tax cuts repudiate the … Read More

BOB Katter wants a return of tariffs, Rob Oakeshott wants to overturn the party system. And Tony Windsor increasingly sounds as if he’d like another election. After seven decades, Australians … Read More

With Julia Gillard’s ascension last week, Australians witnessed momentous history. More than six decades ago, a very different woman became Australia’s first female member of the House of Representatives. As … Read More

OPPOSITION Leader Malcolm Turnbull and his deputy Julie Bishop have offered bipartisan co-operation with the Rudd Government in the face of a global credit crisis and looming recession. As Bishop … Read More

ELECTED in a landslide, the new Howard government quickly set in place an administration that would define its character for over a decade. The message was direct and strong; Labor … Read More

Photos of the Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, meeting the United States Vice-President, Dick Cheney, at the White House said it all. Back home, the cabinet ministers Nicola Roxon, Jenny … Read More

Political power couples are suddenly all the rage – Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack and Michelle Obama, while Down Under there is Malcolm and Lucy Turnbull. While Kevin Rudd’s wife … Read More

Call it the result of our obsession with the famous or a new era for wives and ex-wives (even soccer WAGS have web pages during the World Cup), today’s sidekicks … Read More

IN these secular times, celebrity-styled and self-appointed moral guardians have long replaced church leaders as the average person’s guide to the higher moral ground. Al Gore and his message on … Read More

“A HALF-CENTURY can make a difference. And, with each royal visit down under by the Queen, contrasts are made of the crowds that flocked to her first visit and the … Read More

“The unique contribution from Australia to relief of those hit by the tsunami disaster says a lot about our consciousness as a nation and of our ties and responsibilities in … Read More

“BELIEVE it or not, God is back in fashion. As Australians get ready for Christmas Day, there is a stoush going on in Sydney about whether Lord Mayor Clover Moore … Read More

“IT’S FINALLY happened. The Federal Government will now allow some 9500 temporary protection visa holders to apply for permanent residence in Australia. This marks a major softening on asylum-seekers for … Read More

“VICTIMISATION fatigue has become widespread. Not least with the affluent voices of the feminist movement. Naomi Wolf’s belated revelation that her former Yale tutor Harold Bloom groped her is a … Read More

“The latest figures for attendance at non- government (private) schools are just one important illustration of the success of the Howard Government’s user-pay policies among Australian families. More than 40 … Read More