Katharine Murphy

Katharine Murphy is national affairs correspondent at The Age. She has been reporting on federal politics for more than a decade, starting at The Australian Financial Review, where she was Canberra chief of staff from 2001 to 2004, and moving to The Australian as a specialist writer from 2004 to 2006. She joined The Age in 2006. In 2008, she won the Paul Lyneham Award for Excellence in Press Gallery Journalism.

Katharine Murphy

Zen president enjoys getting an ear bashing

Katharine Murphy Bob Katter sang along with the American national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. Loudly.

Katharine Murphy

Nuclear energy back from the dead after Fukushima

Katharine Murphy Yellowcake always rends the Labor Party in two.

Katharine Murphy

A policy jackpot for wily leaders

Katharine Murphy Tony Abbott is perched daily on the edge of his seat, a heartbeat away from stealing The Lodge.

Katharine Murphy

Abbott singing a song of a different timbre

Katharine Murphy While Julia Gillard prepared for yesterday's cabinet meeting, Tony Abbott was warbling 'Rhinestone Cowboy'.

Katharine Murphy

The hard-fought battle sealed with a kiss

Katharine Murphy The kiss, we know, has mythical qualities. Biblical figures have been consigned to dreadful fates. More happily, princesses have been roused from slumbers to belt out Disney anthems.

Katharine Murphy

Jurists' prudence sets a lonely Bowen before court of public opinion

Katharine Murphy Chris Bowen was alone in Canberra when the High Court fired a wrecking ball through his asylum policy on Wednesday afternoon, snapping a significant lifeline for a government already in diabolical...

Katherine Murphy

Cattle folk left to shiver as carbon tax rules the day

Katharine Murphy One of those days: portents outside, nuttiness inside.

Katharine Murphy

Brown's shattering words make glass jaws quiver

Katharine Murphy IT BEGAN with the humble koala, but soon moved to what Mark Latham once termed the dancing bears.

Katharine Murphy

Super Ted strikes heroic pose, but his new-boy quiver breaks the spell

Katharine Murphy There was a touch of the superhero about Ted Baillieu as he made his entrance through federal Parliament for his first significant national political outing.

Katharine Murphy

After a year like a Greek tragedy, is hope in the wings?

Katharine Murphy Julia Gillard should take stock and return, ready to rebuild and consolidate - perhaps taking a leaf from Paul Keating.

Katharine Murphy

Time for Julia to tell a story

Katharine Murphy If Julia Gillard thinks she's got problems with her comrades, then looking to the United States may provide welcome perspective.

How to take the fun out of Glee: do a soft-porn photo shoot

Katharine Murphy The beauty of the US show lies in its insistence that conformity is for drones. So why have cast members now been so predictable?

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Katharine Murphy

Packer quest for a Homer run

Katharine Murphy Possibly James Packer's raid on the Ten Network has nothing to do with controlling lucrative sports broadcasting rights - possibly he is just a fan of The Simpsons.

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Katharine Murphy

Cajoling, strategising paid dividends for ALP

Katharine Murphy Strategist Bruce Hawker was an effective behind-the-scenes hub for camp Labor.

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Katharine Murphy

Same old conflicts, different players

Katharine Murphy The three rural independents who will determine the next Prime Minister of Australia have made much of a new consensus model for politics.

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Katharine Murphy

Ignored in the campaign, the bush now rules

Katharine Murphy Ironic isn't it? A five-week election campaign largely fought in western Sydney and metropolitan Brisbane - yet the prime ministership will ultimately be decided in the country.

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Katharine Murphy

A final confrontation - with the man in the mirror

Katharine Murphy Tony Abbott's biggest battle is always the fight deep within himself: he was always going to approach the election witching hour fighting his own frailties.

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