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Griffin set to take a back seat
Michelle Grattan and Nick O'Malley Veterans Affairs Minister Alan Griffin is stepping down to the backbench, leaving Prime Minister Julia Gillard with another vacancy as she reshuffles her frontbench over the next days.
Gillard minister steps down
Phillip Coorey Julia Gillard has been given greater flexibility to reshuffle her ministry with the decision by the Veterans Affairs Minister, Alan Griffin, to move to the backbench.
Support on the streets of Tamworth for Windsor's right to choose
David Humphries MUCH will be said about Tony Windsor siding with Labor and helping Julia Gillard remain prime minister.
After two hectic weeks Gillard can at last draw breath
A regional package and broadband got Labor over the line, writes Lenore Taylor.
Gillard urged to appoint Malcolm Turnbull to cabinet
Darren Goodsir Former NSW premier Bob Carr reckons Julia Gillard should make Malcolm Turnbull a cabinet minister.
Independents speak up for a better parliament
Jessica Wright Question time will be dramatically transformed and the rambling questions and answers of MPs curbed under parliamentary reforms negotiated by the three independent MPs who hold the key to a Labor or...
Cavorting with carriers of the keys to the kingdom
Michelle Grattan How can three men talk so much and reveal so little? No one can be sure who the country independent trio will install in power next week.
Another day, another deliberation: decision time, perchance?
Katharine Murphy Tony Windsor is home up north. Bob Katter is far from home, cloistered away in Canberra, where saturnine winter duels with a reluctant spring.
Pressure on Abbott to deliver
Michelle Grattan and Tim Colebatch Tony Abbott faces pressure to promise a better deal for regional Australia as he tries to overcome competition between the Nationals and the independents he needs to win over.
Cleaning up the House
Michelle Grattan The small players who are the giants of the moment - Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott and Bob Katter - are determined to get sweeping parliamentary reform out of the hung result.
Howard's men and Hawker to advise
Phillip Coorey AFTER a bout of confusion yesterday, the Liberal Party agreed that two of John Howard's former advisers will advise the three independents on behalf of the Coalition about possible reforms to...
Gurus of choice emerge
Katharine Murphy They have been ultra-competitive backroom operators for their political parties for much of their lives.
Howard's former advisers help independents
Phillip Coorey John Howard's former chief of staff, Grahame Morris, and another key confidante, will advise the three country independents about reforming parliament, including options for a unity cabinet.
Slim hope for Labor to form government
Dan Harrison The outcome of two Liberal-held seats was thrown into doubt last night, raising for Labor the slim but tantalising possibility of forming government in its own right.
Party takes heart that 'going postal' means ticking its box
Peter Ker A quirk in postal voting patterns could help Labor in the battle for the ultra-marginal WA seat of Hasluck, which remained too close to call last night although the Liberal candidate, Ken Wyatt, is...
Independent trio reveals seven-point plan
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she has responded ‘‘positively’’ to a seven-point plan presented to her by three independent MPs.
Election counting enters the home stretch
Tim Colebatch More than 2 million votes are yet to be counted, and the result of Saturday's election is little clearer.
Abbott refuses key demand
Michelle Grattan Tony Abbott has baulked at one of the key demands of the regional independent MPs who are expected to select the next prime minister.
Tallying glitch gives Labor hope
David Rood, Maris Beck and Paul Austin A mistake in vote counting has made the tussle for the Victorian Liberal seat of Dunkley much tighter.
Best-case scenario gives the Coalition 74 seats
Tim Colebatch Liberal candidate Sarah Henderson has clawed back half her deficit in the closely fought seat of Corangamite, raising the Coalition's hopes that it could finish with more seats than Labor.
