Conventional wisdom suggests there are two types of Budgets: one that's in surplus, and one that's in deficit. But there's also the Budget type that is totally political, and we've got a feeling Josh Frydenberg's first (and probably final) Budget is in the realm of smoke and mirrors. Anyway, we'll let you know in September 2020 if it was truly a surplus Budget – that's when we'll actually find out. The 45th Parliament was action-packed – two different Prime Ministers, mass resignations due to th...
Apr 08, 2019•35 min
The NSW Election is all over, and the Coalition Government has been returned for a third term. But is it the landslide victory the mainstream media is claiming? No, of course not: they only just scraped in by one seat, and the National Party lost seats to the Shooters Fishers and Farmers Party. Labor also fared poorly, crashing in the final week with a bit of casual racism, and they will commence their search for answers, and a new leader, very soon. But, there's casual racism and in-your-face r...
Mar 26, 2019•37 min
There is so much corruption and unethical behaviour by this federal Government that it's hard to know where to begin: Helloworld, Paladin, Parakeelia, Ministers refusing to provide evidence to the Australian Federal Police… it's not a good look. But there's more: government Ministers are resigning and retiring, with rumours of more to follow. It's hard to shake the perception that the ship is sinking and MPs are bailing out. The polls certainly suggest that, with 164 losing polls for the LNP sin...
Mar 12, 2019•36 min
January is usually a quiet time in politics but not this year: there are two big elections to be won (NSW and federal elections) and all sides of politics are vying for poll position. Every year is different but this year has been more different than most – it started off with an almost biblical fish kill in the Murray-Darling Basin; and there have been floods in the north and fires in the south. Just like it was predicted in the book of Leviticus. Climate change was a big factor in the 2018 by-...
Feb 10, 2019•44 min
Another wipeout for the Liberal Party in the southern state of Victoria means their federal counterparts need to watch out, with their election due by May 2019. Was Victoria a win of the good over the bad? No, it shows winning election campaigns can be run on a positive agenda and the big message is: say what you do, and do what you say. But are you listening, Scott Morrison? Leaders are being changed at the drop of a hat or, in the case of the NSW Labor leader, Luke Foley, the dropping of pants...
Dec 05, 2018•38 min
We had history in the making in the seat of Wentworth, a by-election thrashing of the Liberals following the resignation of Malcolm Turnbull, and we now have another independent on the crossbenches – come on down, Kerryn Phelps. The LNP has slipped into minority government territory and it's going to be difficult for them to hang on to office at the next general election. The LNP is floundering, although they'll keep beating the drum of their old favourite – asylum seekers and boat arrivals. Aft...
Nov 06, 2018•33 min
The Liberal Party is facing challenges in three big elections – Victoria, NSW and federal – with a few other challenges in the Wentworth by-election. But the biggest issue is money – they haven't got enough to run these elections and, with their biggest fundraisers now out of the spotlight (Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop), where will the money be coming from? The Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, has been in the job for one month and, while he has started from a low base, could this period now ...
Sep 28, 2018•36 min
It's been dubbed the week of madness in Canberra, but it was also a week of gross incompetence and a fine example of the poor political management that has encompassed the Liberal National Party since it formed government in 2013. Why turn up to a leadership spill without an abacus? Malcolm Turnbull is no longer the Prime Minister. It was the forces led by Tony Abbott and the extreme right wing of the Liberal Party that created the momentum to install their Manchurian Candidate, Peter Dutton. Bu...
Aug 30, 2018•48 min
Super Saturday: it sounds so American, but we had it all in our own backyard – Perth, Fremantle, Mayo, Braddon and Longman. A campaign that started with all the pressure on Bill Shorten completely swung around and returned all the pressure onto Malcolm Turnbull. How did this happen? How did the media get it all wrong? They have form, and have constantly sided with the conservative forces in recent times. We discuss in fine detail, the Super Saturday byelections and outline how and why Malcolm Tu...
Aug 02, 2018•34 min
Five federal byelections, and we think the more things change, the more they will stay the same. We suggest there will be no change in the numbers on the floor, but politics is so unpredictable in this day and age, so who knows? The Institute of Public Affairs: an insidious influence on politics, or part of the broad church of parliament? No, we think it's insidious and ruining democracy in Australia. It's the IPA and others, such as the Ramsey Centre of Western Civilisation, that are causing tr...
Jun 21, 2018•39 min
The 2018 Budget was a classic ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ Budget. Who remembers any of the key points, aside from ‘personal tax cut’, and ‘surplus’? (** Read the fine print: tax cuts in seven years). Perhaps that was the main and only message. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, scores of Palestinians have been killed and injured by the Israeli army at the border of the Gaza Strip, and the UN Human Rights Council voted to hold an investigation into the incident – we do need to find out. B...
May 28, 2018•42 min
