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.
Faulkner's reform calls unlikely to go anywhere fast
Phillip Coorey Until now, Faulkner had been railing against the corrosive effects of factionalism on the ALP's structure and membership.
Pressure piles on Slipper - and Gillard
Phillip Coorey Until now, the question of whether Peter Slipper would return to the Speaker's chair in the House of Representatives rested on the findings of two parallel legal processes.
Phillip Coorey
Thomson, Labor and the race against time
Phillip Coorey Given the glacial pace at which the legal system moves, it is possible that the civil charges against Craig Thomson could be unresolved by the time of the next federal election.
Phillip Coorey
Playing doctor sets a dangerous and bizarre precedent
Phillip Coorey Bob Katter was not in Parliament at all last week. He will miss all this week as well. In total, that's nine days of federal Parliament for which he could not be bothered attending.
Charges or not, the Thomson nightmare continues for Labor
Phillip Coorey From a political perspective, all that matters in the Craig Thomson saga is whether the MP is eligible to remain in Parliament.
Phillip Coorey
Thomson saga travels slowly in a cul-de-sac
Phillip Coorey What is being overlooked amid all the huff and puff of the Craig Thomson saga is that the investigation by Fair Work Australia was never supposed to be a precursor to the laying of criminal charges.
HSU warned to clean up or clear out
Phillip Coorey FAIR Work Australia will release its findings against Craig Thomson next month, while his old union, the Health Services Union, faces threats of deregistration or being placed in the hands of...
Abbott's own act to blame for the lack of criminal charges
Phillip Coorey TONY ABBOTT'S frustration that the Fair Work Australia investigation into the Health Services Union has not paved the way explicitly for criminal charges in part stems from legislation he introduced...
Phillip Coorey
Still no checkmate in minority government chess game
Phillip Coorey It was only last week that Andrew Wilkie, trying to deal himself back into relevance, warned the government it may need him yet.
Phillip Coorey
Gillard can rearrange the backdrop but the outlook remains the same
Phillip Coorey Last Thursday, before flying from Istanbul to Ankara, and then home, Julia Gillard held the final press conference of her trip abroad.
Phillip Coorey
Gillard's grace under pressure may not be enough
Phillip Coorey Gillard's strength and toughness has got her this far and those who once thought she would be the kind to tap the mat should she realise she could not lead Labor to victory, are rethinking.
Phillip Coorey
Thomson has no words to lance boil that will ache until election day
Phillip Coorey The question that will be left hanging after Craig Thomson makes his statement to Parliament today is how did the whole saga get this far?
Phillip Coorey
No end to the relentless pursuit
Phillip Coorey The Craig Thomson saga is like a bushfire sucking all the oxygen out of the air. When Anthony Albanese despaired this morning that in the current climate, ''there is nothing that is not about...
Phillip Coorey
PM returns to disorder in the House and trouble over Rinehart deal
Phillip Coorey When Julia Gillard arrived home from Chicago on Wednesday morning and saw Anthony Albanese, she made an immediate observation: ''You look tired.''
