• Women in politics

    Intifar Chowdhury     |      March 13, 2024

    Despite Australia’s claim to egalitarianism, achieving equal political participation and representation remains a formidable challenge for women.

  • Listen to the people

    Ross Carroll     |      March 3, 2024

    Although he once quipped that “You can never plan the future by the past” could the work of 18th-century political theorist Edmund Burke, famed for his cautionary take on the French Revolution, help modern democracies escape their current malaise?

  • Ranking Scott Morrison

    Paul Strangio     |      February 27, 2024

    Scott Morrison, Australia’s 30th prime minister, will soon deliver his valedictory speech to the House of Representatives. As Morrison leaves parliament, it’s timely to ask where he is placed in the pantheon of Australia’s national leaders.

  • Corruption watch

    Michelle Grattan     |      February 24, 2024

    The National Anti-Corruption Commission will provide guidance on “corruption vulnerabilities” ahead of next year’s federal election, given increasing public concern on the issue.

  • The death of kings

    Paul Strangio     |      February 15, 2024

    ‘A blood sport feigning as government’: what the ABC’s “Nemesis” documentary about the leadership battles in the Liberal Party taught us about a decade of Coalition rule.

  • Women in politics

    Andrea Carson     |      February 14, 2024

    Women bring unique strengths to politics and decades of research shows that everyone benefits from greater female participation, so what more can be done to encourage women to enter the political sphere?

  • McKinnon Prize shortlist reflects the changing face of Australian politics

    Open Forum     |      February 9, 2024

    The McKinnon Prize, an independent and non-partisan award for outstanding political leadership, has announced the shortlist for its annual awards, with a diverse range of political figures put forward for the award.

  • Australia calling

    Melanie Brand     |      February 6, 2024

    As a middle power in an increasingly volatile and contested region, Geoff Heriot argues that Australian Governments need to be more strategic about their approach to international broadcasting. This is if they are to effectively tackle contemporary diplomatic and security challenges.

  • Toss another bribe on the barbie

    Adam Graycar     |      February 3, 2024

    The latest Corruption Perceptions Index – an annual survey from Transparency International that tracks how corrupt governments are perceived to be – shows Australia still has a way to go on this front.

  • Farewell Scotty from marketing

    Frank Bongiorno     |      January 24, 2024

    Australia has churned through 6 Prime Ministers since John Howard left office in 2007 in a bipartisan melee of bitter back-stabbing but no-one was less qualified for the job than Scott Morrison, a man whose messianic belief in his own infallibility saw him secretly assume personal control of vast swathes of government during the pandemic.

  • Why populists are popular

    Dorje Brody     |      January 21, 2024

    Simplistic, divisive and bombastic demagogues like Donald Trump succeed because of those traits, rather than despite them.

  • Defeating the dictators

    Binoy Kampmark     |      January 19, 2024

    A new book by Charles Dunst, a foreign policy advisor to Colorado Democratic Senator Michael F. Bennet, outlines a number of ways by which democracies can combat the threat of rising authoritarianism.