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Pet shop productivity
Michelle Grattan | June 13, 2025Former prime minister Paul Keating used to say the resident galah in any pet shop was talking about micro-economic policy. These days, if you encounter a pet shop with a galah, she’ll be chattering about productivity, but will the Government’s new roundtable allow progress to be made?
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Restoring faith in democracy
Michelle Grattan | June 10, 2025Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his second term government is “focused on delivery” to improve Australians’ faith in democracy as well as the strength of the economy.
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Gluing the bench back together
Michelle Grattan | May 25, 2025The fall-out from the Liberals-Nationals split and potential reconciliation continues as David Littleproud and Sussan Ley jockey for supremacy and policy control.
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The Liberals turn to Ley
Michelle Grattan | May 14, 2025Sussan Ley added an “s” to her name as a joke when she was young, and has now added the leadership of the Liberal party to her list of accomplishments.
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Sweeter the second time around
Michelle Grattan | May 5, 2025Albanese must use the political capital of his overwhelming election win to tackle the fundamental budget, economic and social issues facing Australia, while the Liberals have a long way to climb out of the electoral pit they’ve dug for themselves.
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Labor landslide
Michelle Grattan | May 4, 2025Far from being forced into minority government, as most observers had been expecting, Labor has increased its majority, with a substantial swing towards it, in a triumph for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
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Tell-tale signs on the road to polling day
Michelle Grattan | May 3, 2025The importance of certain points in this campaign were obvious, while the significance of others became clear in retrospect. Here is a recap of 10 of the twists and turns on the hustings that decided the battle for votes.
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Understanding Dutton
Michelle Grattan | April 30, 2025Like his mentor John Howard, Peter Dutton is a man of strong political instincts rather than ideology, but will that be enough to propel him into office?
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Fumbling the ball
Michelle Grattan | April 27, 2025The Coalition went into the election campaign neck and neck with Labor, but some campaign fumbles have seen Labor stretch ahead, so what’s gone wrong for Peter Dutton?
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Succession
Michelle Grattan | April 20, 2025There’s everything still to play for in the 2025 election campaign, but a host of ambitious politicians are eyeing their chances of progression should their own leaders falter in May.
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Fear and loathing on the campaign trail
Michelle Grattan | April 19, 2025The current Australian campaign may be dull but political campaigns were once the stuff of passion and high drama so the Conversation asked 10 experts to nominate their favourite book about the hustings.
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Tweedle dum v tweedle dee
Michelle Grattan | March 29, 2025Uninspiring leaders, stressed voters and the shadow of Trump could make for an uncertain election campaign.