Michelle Grattan
Michelle Grattan is the political editor of The Age. In 2008, she shared the Melbourne Press Club Lifetime Achievement Award with Laurie Oakes. She edited the books 'Reconciliation' and 'Australian Prime Ministers' (2000), and wrote 'Back on the Wool Track' (2004).
Michelle Grattan
Fair Work's hospital handball leaves a mess for the DPP
Michelle Grattan What a total farce! Fair Work Australia, after its investigation of allegations of rorting by Craig Thomson and others has now presented the DPP with a load of unusable material.
Michelle Grattan
Hospital reform should not be sacrificed to the election cycle
Michelle Grattan Instead of putting its whole health package on the table, Canberra has dribbled out the various sweeteners.
Michelle Grattan
Gillard looks to political gain after Peris pain
Michelle Grattan The Prime Minister has got her way, but what are the likely consequences?
Michelle Grattan
Second best, but it's not worthless
Michelle Grattan Julia Gillard put in a strong and feisty performance in announcing her health deal, pushing back when questions were critical.
Michelle Grattan
Rudd may yet have ticker but Labor has lost love
Michelle Grattan WHEN Kevin Rudd announced last week that his aortic valve needed to be replaced again, it was a classic performance.
Michelle Grattan
A strange sense of entitlement
Michelle Grattan Joe Hockey's politically dangerous contribution to the welfare debate is a gift to the struggling Gillard government.
Michelle Grattan
Chilly Victorian winds could cause shivers in Canberra
Michelle Grattan There are messages for Julia Gillard as well as Greens, independents.
Michelle Grattan
Tyranny of tiny numbers
Michelle Grattan Far from letting in sunshine, it's letting in pork barrelling dressed up with a new name.
Michelle Grattan
Abbott digs himself a hole
Michelle Grattan It was Tony Abbott's very bad day. The belated costings of his election policies came back to bite him.
Michelle Grattan
Day 20
Michelle Grattan In the 2007 election Tony Abbott was health minister. He describes in his book, Battlelines, one of his campaigning days from hell.
Michelle Grattan
The special glow of power
Michelle Grattan Julia Gillard's transformation is a metaphor for how she's trying to change the government.
Michelle Grattan
Watch out, pollies about as grassroots campaigners come to a mall near you
Michelle Grattan IN ELECTION year, maybe there should be warning signs at shopping centres, hospitals, schools and construction sites: "Beware, Politicians at Large".
Michelle Grattan
Lots of spin, but no control
Michelle Grattan The government famous for its spin has found things spinning out of its control.
Michelle Grattan
Spoils to the patient party
Michelle Grattan Tony Abbott is best advised to turn his attention to matters other than health.
Michelle Grattan
PM gets his reform, but at what cost?
Michelle Grattan Kevin Rudd finally got a hospitals deal but the cost, in dollars and compromises, has been extremely high.
Michelle Grattan
Reality mugs Rudd goals
Michelle Grattan It looked easy from opposition, but the PM is finding it tough to convert rhetoric into action.
Michelle Grattan
Rudd and Gillard in top gear as fix-it funds flow
Michelle Grattan The election season looms and the government is in top gear.
Michelle Grattan
PM faces a woo or whack health dilemma
Michelle Grattan Kevin Rudd doesn't seem clear whether he wants to woo or whack the premiers into agreeing with his plan for Canberra to take the major responsibility for hospital funding.
Michell Grattan
Abbott needs to watch his bedside manner in health debate
Michelle Grattan Kevin Rudd is taking a risk by giving his political opponent a high-profile forum in which to tackle him on a major issue.
Michelle Grattan
Cautionary tale of two policies
Michelle Grattan The political battle is currently raging over two huge reform plans: Kevin Rudd's proposal for Canberra to become the major funder of the nation's hospitals, and Tony Abbott's $2.
