Amanda Vanstone
Amanda Vanstone is a former Howard government minister, and regular columnist.
Amanda Vanstone
Take it from 'Aunty Jack': colourful language enriches politics
Amanda Vanstone The recent murder of the American ambassador to Libya and some of his diplomatic staff has yet again brought free speech into public discussion. We don't know all the details.
Amanda Vanstone
Abbott's big problem is not his unpopularity, but his team
Amanda Vanstone Neither our Prime Minister nor our Opposition Leader is popular. That shouldn't worry us at all. Governing a country and taking it to a better place is not a popularity contest.
Amanda Vanstone
A solution in name only
Amanda Vanstone 'No advantage' to boat people may turn out to be hollow for those languishing in refugee camps.
Amanda Vanstone
It's too easy being Green
Amanda Vanstone How do you brown off the Greens? Put them last on the ballot paper.
Amanda Vanstone
We need to be a little cruel to some to be kind to the rest
Amanda Vanstone In an odd kind of way my heart goes out almost daily to Chris Bowen in his role as Immigration Minister. Immigration is a difficult job at the best of times.
Amanda Vanstone
Gillard sets new political target for young and restless
Amanda Vanstone Every cloud has a silver lining is one of those homilies that can grate. I have never warmed to people who say they are always happy. It is just not normal.
Amanda Vanstone
That 'come on down' sign is costing lives
Amanda Vanstone Howard's strong policies meant more refugees but fewer boats.
Amanda Vanstone
ALP stumbles in defining its core strategy
Amanda Vanstone Political party rooms can be frustrating places. They are where all the different views from around the nation get an airing.
Amanda Vanstone
Sadly, this lady is for turning
Amanda Vanstone Julia Gillard bungled her moment to stand as steely as Margaret Thatcher.
Amanda Vanstone
Forget the farcical surplus, it's debt we have to worry about
Amanda Vanstone The next government will have an awful financial mess to clean up.
Amanda Vanstone
Gillard took the sleazy way out
Amanda Vanstone If Peter Slipper has rorted the system then none of us should have any sympathy.
Amanda Vanstone
Parents should have a say about who cares for their children
Amanda Vanstone Abbott's proposal may have sounded elitist but the idea itself is worthy.
Amanda Vanstone
From slip of the tongue to feeding frenzy
Amanda Vanstone Journalists love to treat offhand comments like significant news events.
Amanda Vanstone
Be careful what you wish for
Amanda Vanstone You can peak too early in politics. That is the danger Tony Abbott faces even as he calls insistently for an election.
Amanda Vanstone
Conspirators reap the whirlwind
Amanda Vanstone The seeds of the unfolding disaster within the federal government were sown by Julia Gillard and the faceless men when they garrotted Kevin Rudd behind closed doors in 2010.
Amanda Vanstone
PM's unchecked privilege should be challenged
Amanda Vanstone REMEMBER that terrible line run by the monarchists during the 1999 republic referendum? Which one, I hear you ask - there were so many. Well, the worst one, namely: ''You can't trust the politicians.
Amanda Vanstone
Abbott's stance on gay marriage looks like strong-arm tactics
Amanda Vanstone The leader should know MPs can feel aggrieved if they can't air their views.
Amanda Vanstone
Obsession with winners and losers costs us dearly
Amanda Vanstone Australian television seems to be obsessed with humiliating people. And if If we keep watching, the media will keep serving it up.
Amanda Vanstone
Labor's easy path led us to this mess
Amanda Vanstone The asylum seeker issue is entirely of the government's making.
