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
Swan avoids risking too much with juggling act
Michelle Grattan The government has done what it had to do. It has kept its budget numbers in the black, in a fiscal exercise driven by the imperative of preserving its political credibility rather than by economic...
Michelle Grattan
PM's juggling act
Michelle Grattan Kevin Rudd has made Australia Day policy speeches around the nation on each of the past five days, with two to come.
Michelle Grattan
Playing cat and mouse on inquiry
Michelle Grattan Investigations into the Slipper and AWU affairs would be bad for both sides of politics and a complete waste of money.
Abbott's plan puts politics over good policy
Michelle Grattan Oppositions have a standard tool in their kitbag: it’s the call for an inquiry. Any sniff of scandal triggers a demand for a judicial investigation, or even the full monty, a royal commission.
It's time now to track the money
Michelle Grattan AT THE time of year when we look back and gaze forward, let's just cast an eye over one success and one failure (so far) of this remarkable Parliament, which still has time to do a few more things.
Michelle Grattan
US poll gives Labor audacity of hope
Michelle Grattan Good heavens - now Barack Obama is getting in on the misogyny act.
Michelle Grattan
Political necessity minimises the pain
Michelle Grattan The government has done what it had to do. It has kept its budget numbers in the black.
Michelle Grattan
Abbott finds that a taut Coalition is not that easily taught
Michelle Grattan In his Quarterly Essay, David Marr writes that Tony Abbott is in a contest with his own body.
Michelle Grattan
Timing rarely right for referendum
Michelle Grattan At last, something the government, Coalition and Greens can agree on! Pity it's just saying ''not now''.
Michelle Grattan
The musings of Malcolm
Michelle Grattan Malcolm Turnbull's lament on the degradation of our politics is justified, but prescribing a solution is more difficult.
Michelle Grattan
Shorten versus Abbott: it's not just about industrial relations
Michelle Grattan Consider their upcoming battle on IR reform as a mere preliminary bout.
Michelle Grattan
Subtle is not Abbott's style, home or away
Michelle Grattan If you are an Australian leader, you have to watch your words in delivering major speeches.
Michelle Grattan
Disability scheming trips up premiers who should know better
Michelle Grattan Who would think - who would believe - that politicians could make a handful of disabled people the object of such shameless power play? Last week's behaviour by Liberal premiers over the plan to get...
Michelle Grattan
The tricky business of rights and risk
Michelle Grattan Refugee lawyer David Manne is on the legal hunt again.
Michelle Grattan
Another day, another crisis ... or two
Michelle Grattan The Prime Minister has a set of new crises that will make for a tense and testing week.
Michelle Grattan
Vindicated after the agony of a lifetime
Michelle Grattan Tim Flannery did a gutsy and honourable thing when he wrote his mea culpa over the Azaria Chamberlain case, which appeared in Friday's Sydney Morning Herald.
It's time Abbott agrees to Labor's deal on asylum seekers
Michelle Grattan Tony Abbott's intransigence over asylum seeker policy looks more indefensible and irresponsible after the latest boat disaster.
Michelle Grattan
A flawed Malaysia deal would surely be a lesser evil than losing more lives
Michelle Grattan I strongly opposed the Pacific Solution, and aspects of the Malaysia swap plan are also abhorrent, but so many people are dying we have to act now.
Michelle Grattan
Labor playing with fire in its rush to burn the Green witch
Michelle Grattan Suddenly Labor, or at least many in it, have decided they must burn the Green witch. Prominent players have been stoking the fire all week, tossing the vitriol like kindling onto the pyre.
Michelle Grattan
A byelection defeat for Labor will cause shock waves in Canberra
Michelle Grattan When a government is in trouble, there is nothing like a byelection to send shivers up its spine and a frisson of excitement through the political system.
