Chris Johnson
Chris Johnson is the National Political Correspondent for The Sunday Age and The Sun-Herald
Political instability unnerves public servants
Chris Johnson Labor's leadership spill has done nothing to provide certainty to the public sector, which has been left in a state of flux over the government's inability to instil confidence in the people who work...
Asian Century stillborn as activity stalls
Chris Johnson Rumblings within the public service suggest the much-publicised Asian Century white paper has stalled in its implementation stage, with the government taking too long to appoint an advisory board and...
PM goes on attack in AWU episode
Chris Johnson Prime Minister Julia Gillard blunted the opposition's attack over the Australian Workers Union scandal on Monday, savaging her chief accuser - union official Ralph Blewitt - in the process.
PM more at ease when she is abroad
Chris Johnson Prime Minister Julia Gillard has confessed she now enjoys representing Australia on the world stage.
PM denies Abbott his day as grand inquisitor
Chris Johnson Prime Minister Julia Gillard used the Parliament's last sitting day of the year on Thursday to demand Opposition Leader Tony Abbott put up or shut up over accusations she had broken the law through...
Abbott: I won't use gender and class to divide nation
Chris Johnson Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has accused Prime Minister Julia Gillard of trying to divide Australia with gender and class wars.
Public service told to prepare for March poll
Chris Johnson The Canberra bureaucracy is being primed for a federal election to be possibly held early next year.
PM to be focus of fiery final session
Chris Johnson Federal politicians return to Canberra on Monday for what looks set to be a fiery week before Parliament rises for the Christmas break.
'Sympathetic' Abbott calls for Thomson resignation
Chris Johnson Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has confessed a ''great deal of sympathy'' for Craig Thomson, even as the Coalition continues its call for the suspended Labor MP to leave Parliament.
Women congregate to celebrate ordination
Chris Johnson There are only three female bishops in the Anglican Church of Australia and this week they are in Canberra celebrating what they and other women priests have achieved over the past 20 years.
Parliament overlooked cyclone Tracy hero Stretton
Chris Johnson The recent death of the man who led the recovery effort after cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin in 1974 was not noted in Federal Parliament, even though a condolence motion or ministerial statement was...
Big picture: Australia in Asia in 2025
Chris Johnson The white paper says that one third of board members of Australia's top 200 publicly listed companies and Commonwealth bodies will have "deep experience in and knowledge of Asia".
PM silent on McKew's claims of disloyalty
Chris Johnson Prime Minister Julia Gillard is refusing to buy into the debate about the removal of her predecessor but Kevin Rudd wants those involved in the 2010 coup against him to come clean about the roles...
Abbott shifts attack to surplus forecast
Chris Johnson Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has turned his focus away from the carbon tax and is attacking the government over its forecast budget surplus.
Slipper exits as tempers flare
Chris Johnson The Government is in damage control following dramatic scenes in Parliament yesterday that resulted in Speaker Peter Slipper's resignation and the Prime Minister mounting an extraordinary defence in...
Slipper takes his revenge on opposition
Chris Johnson Former Speaker Peter Slipper has already exercised his newfound power as an independent MP by voting with Labor to change standing orders against the wishes of the Coalition.
Sexism 'on rise' since Gillard PM
Chris Johnson Parliament's new Speaker, Anna Burke, believes the arrival of Australia's first female Prime Minister has given rise to an ugly and sexist element in society.
It's time to move past sexism talk, MPs say
Chris Johnson Government ministers have urged all MPs to get back to discussing policy instead of the name-calling that has dominated parliamentary debate in recent months.
Fair Work Australia's civil case threat to Thomson's career
Chris Johnson Suspended Labor MP Craig Thomson hopes civil charges brought against him by Fair Work Australia will be thrown out of court but if they are not, bankruptcy could force the independent out of...
Rudd tells world he's still here and he's backing Gillard as the leader
Chris Johnson Kevin Rudd has publicly declared his support for Prime Minister Julia Gillard and has vowed to do all he can to help return Labor to office in next year's election.
