100 years of compulsory voting

Australia is one of the few democracies which insists on every voter turning up at the polls – does this keep our democracy healthy or breed complacency among the political class?

Ranking Scott Morrison

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.

The death of kings

‘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.

Remembering Bill Hayden

Opposition Leader, Foreign Minister, Governor-General, and perhaps the best Prime Minister Australia never had, the late Bill Hayden enjoyed a significant public career in service of his country.

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.

Why Scott hangs on

Dethroned Australian Prime Ministers have tended to beat a hasty retreat from Parliament in recent decades, but Scott Morrison, like Tony Abbot before him, seems determined to keep a toehold on power.

A change of style at the top

Anthony Albanese promises a more collegiate style of leadership than the increasingly autocratic Scott Morrison, but the big issues facing Labor will demand some decisive action.

Who is Anthony Albanese?

Anthony Albanese has spent a lifetime in politics without making an impression on the public, and if Labor wins the election, it will be despite his gaffes, rather than because of his low-profile leadership.

What now for Federal Labor?

Anthony Albanese is more popular than some of his predecessors, but voters also don’t have a clear sense of who he is and what he offers.

The good, the bad and the ugly

While there are many lists of Australia’s greatest sportsmen, there are fewer attempts to rank our Prime Ministers in terms of their effectiveness in office.

Cain was able

Remembering the life of John Cain, a willing and able premier, and long-term servant of the state of Victoria.

Will Labor’s ‘drover’s dog’ have his day?

If the polls are right, Bill Shorten will become the next prime minister, so what kind of national leader would he be?