Looking beyond the referendum

Australians tend not to spend time contemplating their own navels, and despite vociferous advocates on both sides of the debate, the Voice referendum has failed to grab the attention of the Australian public. Whatever the result on Saturday, the media and the political class should shoulder their fair share of blame for this widespread lack of engagement.

The horror of dealing with Trump

Former Australian defence minister Christoper Pyne has compared the experience of dealing with US President Donald Trump’s administration to watching the supernatural horror film The Conjuring.

After October

Prime Minister Albanese was confident of success when the Referendum campaign was launched, but Labor strategists will soon have to spin what appears to be an inevitable defeat in the poll on October 14.

Rights and wrongs

The ‘yes’ campaign now appears to be about avoiding the consequences of failure for the PM and the nation. Should the referendum fail, it will severely embarrass the government. Far worse, it will bring shame, division and national disgrace onto Australia.

Deciphering Dan

Dan Andrews insisted on control over his party, the machinery of government, the media and the issues, and retained that control up to and including his own surprise resignation from power.

A cacophony of voices

Misinformation and disinformation have come to curse the debate around all national issues in recent times, and the Voice Referendum is no exception.

Plain speaking for the public service

The ways public servant policy advisers articulate arguments, communicate ideas and influence decision-makers are in urgent need of reform.

Yes can’t spend its way to success

The Voice referendum has been fought out on social media as much as traditional channels, but despite outspending the No campaign 10 or 20 to 1, the Yes campaign’s advertising blitz has failed to arrest its steady decline in support to less than 40% of Australian voters.

A lot of hot air?

Summit season is in full swing, with a host of global issues discussed at the East Asia, BRICS and G20 leaders’ gatherings over the last month and APEC summit scheduled for November in San Francisco.

The referendum game

Referendums are rare and tend to fail in Australia, and the beleaguered Voice campaign lacks at least three of the characteristics which have propelled others to success over the years.

The Yes campaign goes down in flames

A barnstorming speech by Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, the leading Indigenous woman of the “no” campaign, at the National Press Club capped another disastrous week for the Yes campaign, which now seems unlikely to carry a single state in October’s referendum.

The magnificent seven

As support for the Voice to Parliament continues to plummet in the run-up to October’s referendum, the intensity of the campaign on both sides is bound to increase, so here are seven guidelines to bear in mind to ensure a healthy and positive debate on both sides of this divisive issue.