political
2012
2012-751 18Dec12 Tony Abbott popularity low tide.
Despite support for the Liberal Party in general Tony Abbott's popularity continues to fall.
2012-736 12Dec12 Another Ginger Meggs.
Red headed PM Julia Gillard and the recent poor ranking that the Australian education system received in the global education tests report. Ginger Meggs is an iconic Australian comic book character who was a poor scholar.
2012-727 10Dec12 Extracting a budget surplus.
Attempts to get a budget surplus at all costs causing a lot of pain with little result.
2012-698 27Nov12 Politics is just like cricket.
Musing that politics is played with similar tactics to cricket but with much more deadly intent.
2012-694 23Nov12 Asylum seekers' punch and Judy show.
Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott both getting much tougher on asylum seekers.
2012-686 20Nov12 Political leaders popularity race.
Rudd and Turnbull are the voters' preferred leaders over Prime Minister Gillard and opposition leader Abbott.
2012-674 15Nov12 Keating's view of Australia's future.
A Speech by Paul Keating advocating that Australia's future lies with Asia.
2012-627 26Oct12 Mining policies back in 2010.
Revelations that Julia Gillard took an active role in the demise of Kevin Rudd back in 2010.
2012-606 10Oct12 Political cannonballs.
Misogyny and feminism used as weapons in the Peter Slipper debate.
2012-601 8Oct12 The family man politician.
A look behind the mask of the 'family man' politician.
2012-587 1Oct12 Alan Jones forced to eat his words.
Fiery talk back commentator Alan Jones forced to back peddle after inappropriate comments about Julia Gillard's father.
2012-568 24Sept12 Falling commodity prices.
Loss of government revenue due to falling commodity prices threatening Wayne Swan's budget surplus plans.
2012-549 14Sept12 Australia's endless campaigns.
A look at the endless rejigging of Australia's refugee policy.
2012-524 4Sept12 Education revolutions.
Julia Gillard's education revolution and the revolt by Victorian teachers over wages and conditions. Ted Baillieu is the Premier of Victoria.
2012-515 29Aug12 Lowering the carbon floor price.
Gillard's announcement of a flexible carbon floor price.
2012-510P 27Aug12 Education doors today.
Funding cuts reducing opportunities for people to enrol in TAFE courses.
2012-502 24Aug12 National park signs.
Victorian State Government allowing mining and commercial tourist development in national parks.
2012-481 15July12 Asylum seekers monopoly board.
The reintroduction of offshore processing for asylum seekers
2012-477 14July12 Gillard's asylum seekers policy shadow.
Julia Gillard adopting much of John Howard's original policy of processing asylum seekers offshore.
2012-472 10Aug12 The light on the hill electricity bill.
Rapidly rising cost of electricity damaging Labor's core constituency.
2012-460 6Aug12 The political impact of the carbon tax.
The political impact of the carbon tax stronger than its actual impact.
2012-449 1Aug12 Songs that inspire Australians.
Wayne Swan's declaration that he is inspired by the singer Bruce Springsteen sparking a succession of comments about inspirational music.
2012-434 26July12 Disability insurance scheme just around the corner.
Dispute over funding for the disability insurance scheme holding up the implementation of the scheme.
2012-403 11July12 Aussies towing boats.
Abbott's expressed intention of having boats coming to Australia with asylum seekers on board towed back to Indonesia.
2012-396 9July12 The impact of the carbon tax.
Exaggerations from both sides of politics about the impact of the carbon tax.
2012-388 28June12 Asylum seekers lifeguard.
Politics hindering the implementation of an effective asylum seekers policy capable of curbing the number of asylum seekers who drown at sea trying to reach Australia.
2012-366P 19June12 The apple isle.
Went with article about Tasmanian State government's economic woes.
2012-352 13June12 Performance pay for politicians.
Calls for performance pays for teachers by some politicians.
2012-343 your retirement scheme is too generous.
Response to a comment by a politician that the pension age needs to be raised because it is too genersous.
2012-342 8June12 Interpreting economic statistics.
The jaundiced way politicians look on economic statistics and the actual impact of those statistics on ordinary people.
2012-339P 7May12 The dirt not on Craig Thomson.
Went with article on the conflicting Craig Thomson prostitute stories that channels Seven and Nine put to air and the fight that has ensued between them.
2012-307 25May12 Crag Thomson stretched to the limit.
Gillard and Rudd both guilty of using Craig Thomson for their political aims.
2012-299P 21May12 Where Craig Thomson stands.
Went with article about Craig Thomson's speech in parliament refuting misconduct allegations made against him.
2012-297 21May12 Craig Thomson explaining his conduct.
Craig Thomson's somewhat lame defence of his conduct in the face of the misconduct allegations made against him.
2012-277 11May12 Tony Abbott's policy swimwear.
Abbott steadfastly refusing to reveal any major policies to the voters.
2012-273 10May12 The Budget carrot.
Gillard making good use of the mining resource tax.
2012-272 9May12 Steps towards balancing the budget.
A crack at Craig Thomson and his misuse of his credit card when he was National Secretary of the Health Services Union.
2012-268 8May12 Sandcastle budget.
Wayne Swans plan to put the budget into surplus may be swamped by the global economic conditions.
2012-249P 30April12 Full steam ahead.
Went with article about mining magnate Clive Palmer's announcement that he intends to run for parliament.
2012-247 30April12 Distancing herself from Craig Thomson.
Prime Minister Gillard attempting to distance herself from disgraced ALP politician Craig Thomson amidst disastrous opinion polls.
2012-236 26April12 Political standards sign.
The standard of Australian political debate has hit rock bottom and they the politicians have proceeded to dig.
2012-227 19April12 Putting pressure on the reserve bank.
Prime minister Gillard's statement that she will put pressure on the Reserve Bank to lower the official interest rate.
2012-226 19April12 Why Joe Hockey wants to cut welfare.
Joe Hockey's calls for cuts to welfare claiming Australia's level of spending on welfare is too high.
2012-221 17April12 The Afghan minister for defence.
Questions about whether the Afghan government will be able withstand the attacks of the Taliban after the Australian and the other foreign forces leave Afghanistan.
2012-208 3April12 The war on drugs thus far.
The failure to control illegal drugs in our society.
2012-216 16April12 Bob Brown, missed by all.
A reflection on Bob Brown's popularity when he was parliamentary leader of the Greens.
2012-213 4April12 The thing that scares Julia Gillard.
The threat that Craig Thomson poses to the Gillard Government.
2012-205 2April12 Choices for voters.
Using the recent limited election in Burma to highlight the low standard of Australian politics.
2012-202P 30March12 I would never let it all hang out.
Went with article about Tony Abbott's comments on Julia Gillard's attire.
2012-200 30March Budget surplus piggybank.
Wayne Swan's predicted budget surplus melting away.
2012-196 29March A public servant who won't lose his job.
Musing that those politicians wanting the cut the size of the public service are unlikely to cut the parts that directly benefit them.
2012-193P 27March12 Hitting the carbon emissions target.
The Baillieu government's scrapping of the carbon emissions reduction target.
2012-190 27March12 Implementing environmental policy today.
Ted Baillieu's scrapping of the 20% carbon reduction target.
2012-184 26March12 The map of Queensland today.
Massive loss in the Queensland election bodes ill for Federal Labor.
2012-172 20March12 Where Gillard and Abbott stand on the mining tax.
Abbott's opposition to the mining tax in sync with the powerful mining industry.
2012-163P 14March12 Big rise in emissions.
Planned High Court challenge to the carbon tax.
2012-142 2March03 Kevin 007.
Julia Gillard's dumping of Kevin Rudd from the front bench.
2012-131 28Feb12 why politicians step down.
Politicians that say they are voluntarily stepping down in reality have often been forced to step down via backroom machinations.
2012-130P 27Feb12 Parliamentary recycle bins.
The metaphorical knifing in the back that is endemic to federal politics.
2012-129 27Feb12 Victory!
The destabilisation of the Federal ALP as a result of Rudd's leadership challenge has significantly damaged Labor.
2012-126P 24Feb12 Kevin 05 minutes to midnight.
Kevin Rudd's high stakes leadership challenge.
2012-124 24Feb12 Bringing democracy to Afghanistan.
Using the Afghanistan conflict as a springboard to highlight the disgraceful state of Australian politics.
2012-123P 23Feb12 Rudd humpty dumpty.
Rudd's challenge to Gillard's leadership after his ousting by her when he was PM.
2012-121 23Feb12 Australia's blood sport.
The media frenzy that accompanies all political leadership battles.
2012-119 22Feb12 Quelling rioters.
The violent Bali prison riot and the ALP leadership unrest.
2012-116 21Feb12 Mutiny on the Bligh bounty.
The federal ALP leadership battle having a negative impact on Anna Bligh's election campaign.
2012-114 20Feb12 Media leaks fire hose.
Numerous leaks from within the ALP over Kevin Rudd's possible leadership challenge.
2012-098P 13Feb12 Two Bills.
Pocket toon that went with article on two gay marriage bills before parliament at the same time.
2012-079 6Feb12 Politicians at the beach.
Labor backbenchers feeding speculation that Julia Gillard will be replaced as PM..
2012-049P 23Jan12 Julia's pokies policy.
Julia Gillard's watering down of Nick Xenophon's pokies reform proposal effectively is a poke in the eye for him.
2012-047 23Jan12 Doing the hokey pokie.
The complex manoeuvrings surrounding the introduction of poker machine industry reforms have greatly watered down the effectiveness of these reforms.
2012-022 11Jan12 Smelly foreigners
Drawn in response to Liberal MP Teresa Gambaro's statement that foreign workers smell and need to us deodorant.