John Bannon with Alexander Downer and his mother, Lady Mary Downer, at the launch of Sir John Downer's biography Founding father
Christian Kerr | 10:30am JULIA Gillard is praising crossbench senators while accusing the Liberal Party of "spitting in the face'' of voters over IR laws.
Baillieu to face poll result grilling
Rick Wallace | 10:20am TED Baillieu will step into the spotlight today amid dire poll numbers that put the Opposition 20 points behind.
Reagan tried to convert Gorbachev
Caroline Overington FORMER US president Ronald Reagan tried to convert Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to Christianity in an effort to end the Cold War.
Attacks on Turnbull are a bit rich
HOUSE RULES: Christian Kerr FIRST we had those nasty neo-liberals. Now we have the nasty personal attack on the Prime Minister's wife.
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Baillieu to face poll result grilling
Rick Wallace | 10:20am TED Baillieu will step into the spotlight today amid dire poll numbers that put the Opposition 20 points behind.
Turnbull pursues PM over 'hypocrisy'
Christian Kerr | 10:00am MALCOLM Turnbull is standing by his accusation that the Prime Minister is a hypocrite for criticising policies that enriched him.
Costello helps keep out new Liberal blood
Rick Wallace, Victorian political reporter THE endorsement of Peter Costello helped Nationals defector Julian McGauran see off a challenge to his spot on the Liberals' Senate tick...
Labor slams Turnbull for Rein 'attack'
COMMENT: Christian Kerr | 6:46pm FIRST we had those nasty neo-liberals. Now we have the nasty personal attack on the Prime Minister's wife.
Turnbull slammed for Rein attack
11:47am Malcolm Turnbull has crossed the line in attacking the Prime Minister's wife over her wealth, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says.
Swan says Pacific Brands jobs lost
WAYNE Swan says the government can do nothing to stop taxpayer-subsidised companies such as Pacific Brands from laying off their staff.
Overpopulation environment threat
Adam Cresswell, Health editor HALTING the world's rocketing population growth is the key to solving global warming -- a solution that has been ignored or overlooked b...
New candidate by osmosis
Dennis Shanahan, Political Editor THE dynamics within the Liberal Party have shifted again and Liberal MPs are convinced they will face another choice for leader before t...
Snub UN gabfest, argues Bishop
Greg Sheridan, Foreign editor THE Opposition has urged the Rudd Government to boycott the forthcoming UN conference on racism, commonly known as Durban II.
There's a hole in our suburb
Matthew Clayfield AT the end of Nola Road in Roseville, on Sydney's north shore, a building sits untouched and unfinished, a five-storey mess of concrete ...
Kimberley leaders demand action
Nicolas Perpitch ABORIGINES in the Kimberley have accused the Rudd Government of doing nothing in their region to close the disadvantage gap between blac...
Extension helping us: Mundine
Patricia Karvelas, Political correspondent INDIGENOUS leaders have praised the Rudd Government for extending the Northern Territory Aboriginal intervention, but the program's arch...
Costello wants top job: Liberal MPs
Patricia Karvelas, Political correspondent MOST Liberal MPs are now convinced former treasurer Peter Costello is using his time on the back bench to position himself to take the C...
Top brass bid for UN seat
Patrick Walters IT'S a quest that already stretches to the farthest corners of the globe. It will test the full range of skills of our diplomatic servic...
Too ready to play the fear card
PAULINE Hanson's decision to run for a seat at the forthcoming Queensland election has revived memories of the political populism that d...
Now a dust bowl where once was a lake
Verity Edwards and Michael Owen THIS is what they're fighting over: the dustbowl that is overtaking Lake Albert at the bottom end of the Murray River.
Liberal MPs betting on Costello return
Patricia Karvelas, Political Correspondent MOST Liberal MPs are convinced that Peter Costello is using his time on the backbench to position himself to succeed Malcolm Turnbull.
Emerson summons business and banks
Nicola Berkovic CRAIG Emerson, the Rudd Government's small business minister, finds himself fighting another raging torrent this afternoon.
Rudd trying to retrieve PacBrands cash
THE Government will try to reclaim taxpayers' money given to Pacific Brands in view of the company's decision to slash 1850 jobs, Kevin ...
Murray row heads upstream
Michael Owen, SA political reporter WATER continues to dominate state politics as upstream states react to Premier Mike Rann's threatened High Court action to force the rel...
Costello destabilising party: Lib MP
Christian Kerr PETER Costello is destabilising his party, outspoken Liberal backbencher Mal Washer says.
Brumby fired up by Newspoll
Rick Wallace, Victorian political reporter A RESURGENT John Brumby will launch new building guidelines for bushfire prone areas today following Newspoll figures that show his popu...
Hockey backs Keating on stimulus plans
Christian Kerr THE Opposition has leapt on Paul Keating's claim that government stimulus packages around the world have had minimal impact.
ACTU happy to suit economic hard times
Brad Norington THE nation's peak union council insists the pay and conditions of its officials are modest as they call for limits on "excessive" execut...
Poll sparks O'Farrell to muscle up
Imre Salusinszky, NSW political reporter IT is likely no coincidence that, after a Newspoll earlier this week showed him slipping behind Nathan Rees as NSW's preferred premier, ...
ABC's diplomatic note in row with Sky
Jane Schulze, Media editor TENSIONS have ignited between the ABC and Sky News, with ABC managing director Mark Scott suggesting pay-TV's push to operate Australia'...
Workers' plea: no boycott
Lex Hall and Ewin Hannan PACIFIC Brands workers have urged the public to reject a boycott of the company's products, saying it would threaten the livelihood of e...
No delay on ETS and IR reforms
Matthew Franklin and Patricia Karvelas KEVIN Rudd has rejected Opposition demands he protect the economy by postponing the introduction of his promised carbon emissions scheme...
Costello leadership certain: PM
Matthew Franklin, Chief political correspondent KEVIN Rudd has declared it inevitable that Peter Costello will seize the leadership of the Liberal Party after the former treasurer gave...
Incumbent with nothing fresh
Michael McKenna, Analysis INCUMBENCY is a double-edged sword for a political leader in an election campaign.
Stimulus best has gone: Keating
Michael Stutchbury, Economics editor PAUL Keating has downplayed the benefits of budget stimulus packages, suggesting they have not provided the confidence boost needed to t...
Pay up or no deal, Springborg tells PM
Natasha Bita INFRASTRUCTURE projects worth billions of dollars are at stake in the Queensland election after the Liberal National Party picked a fund...
Telling folks what they want to hear
Natasha Bita, Analysis "IF the LNP's elected, we'll have perfect weather all the time." Lawrence Springborg's election pledge of "weather on tap" was made i...
Let credit flow, small business urges
Nicola Berkovic SMALL-BUSINESS owners will today urge the banks to ease access to credit, rethink their risk margins and adjust their attitudes to small...
