Phillip Coorey

Phillip Coorey joined the Sydney Morning Herald in 2005 and is the paper's Chief Political Correspondent, based in Canberra. Previously he was the Political Editor for Adelaide's The Advertiser. He has been in the Canberrra Press Gallery since 1998, except for 2003 and 2004 when he was the New York correspondent for News Ltd.

Protection of Confession under heavy fire

Phillip Coorey POLITICIANS of all persuasions, from Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott down, say Catholic priests must not be exempt from having to report child abuse to police should they hear it in the confession of a...

Party lines no barrier for PM

Phillip Coorey WHEN the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, walked into cabinet at 4pm on Monday, she had already decided to hold a broad-ranging royal commission into the sexual abuse of children.

Abbott should leave attacks to deputies, say Liberals

Phillip Coorey TONY ABBOTT has attributed his latest popularity plunge to ''nasty, personal'' attacks by Labor, as Liberal MPs confided their leader needed to cut down his media appearances to soften his own...

ALP gains wouldn't help it win early poll

Phillip Coorey LABOR'S modest recovery in the polls is not being translated into the seats that matter for the government, making an early election unlikely.

Gillard acts on sex abuse claims

Phillip Coorey, Josephine Tovey JULIA GILLARD has launched the most comprehensive inquiry into child sexual abuse in Australia's history with a nationwide royal commission to investigate churches, charities, state governments,...

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Don't confine child abuse inquiry to Catholic Church: Abbott

Phillip Coorey, Jessica Wright and Judith Ireland Tony Abbott says the Coalition would support a government-backed royal commission into child sexual abuse, providing it inquires beyond the Catholic Church.

Phillip Coorey

Rushing back to the polls fraught with danger for Abbott

Phillip Coorey Ask the Queensland Premier, Campbell Newman, whether he would like another election any time soon and the answer would have to be ''no''.

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Now it's Obama's turn to raise Gillard speech

Phillip Coorey THE newly-minted US President, Barack Obama, has become the latest world leader to raise with Julia Gillard her misogyny speech during a private conversation.

Opposition welcomes dumping of Labor's internet filter scheme

Phillip Coorey THE abolition of plans to filter the internet has met little resistance, with the opposition and Greens wishing the policy good riddance and the industry rejoicing.

Turnbull uses US poll to warn against giving in to political fringes

Phillip Coorey THE former opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull says the Republican failure at this week's US election was a lesson to all political parties against pandering towards extremist views.

Rudd denies link to Ming dynasty

Phillip Coorey KEVIN RUDD and Robert Menzies are the only prime ministers to have been removed by their own parties after winning their first election.

US stalemate could harm Australia, warns Swan

Phillip Coorey The Treasurer, Wayne Swan, has emerged from talks with senior officials in the United States warning it will be several weeks before it is known whether the US will avoid a financial disaster with...

Oakeshott wants Treasury brief on mining tax

Phillip Coorey THE NSW independent, Rob Oakeshott, insists the government was ''done over'' in renegotiating the mining tax and has demanded a Treasury briefing to gauge the full impact of deductions granted to...

Treasury boss slams Hockey on bias claim

Phillip Coorey THE Treasury secretary, Martin Parkinson, has repudiated suggestions by the shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey, that his department displayed political bias by conducting unsolicited costings of Coalition...

Phillip Coorey

As the Coalition knows, there is a long history of costing opposition policies

Phillip Coorey The opposition and some sections of the media are in high dudgeon because information has been released. However, it's not the first time a government has costed opposition policies.

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Throsby's factional friction invites federal intervention

Phillip Coorey LABOR Party members in the southern NSW seat of Throsby face the threat of federal intervention if they do not vote to preselect the sitting member, Stephen Jones.

High Court gives Fortescue nod to challenge mining tax

Phillip Coorey THE federal government faces a fresh threat to its plan to return the budget to surplus after the High Court agreed on Monday to hear a challenge to the mining tax by the minerals boss Andrew Forrest.