Lenore Taylor on Peter Slipper - National Times

Lenore Taylor

Lenore Taylor is chief political correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald. She is a Walkley Award winner, a winner of the Paul Lyneham Award for excellence in press gallery journalism and a former foreign correspondent, based in London. She co-authored a book, "Shitstorm" on the Rudd government's response to the global economic crisis. She has covered federal politics for more than 20 years.

Peter Slipper and the high price of rushed judgment

Lenore Taylor Surely now it's time to take stock of how politics is being conducted.

Let's remember what Peter Slipper is charged with, and what he is not

Lenore Taylor If every MP who has ever had an affair, or ever tried to have an affair, was forced to resign, there would be some empty seats on both sides of federal parliament.

Lenore Taylor

Once again, scandal diverts from substance

Lenore Taylor Day one of Julia Gillard's "turn the torch on Tony" election year strategy was derailed by Labor's continued Health Services Union trauma.

Lenore Taylor

No one wins in abuse of the law, media and politics

Lenore Taylor This should be the time to pause for thought. After a year of scandal, sometimes substantive, sometimes driven by the Coalition's determination to claw down the minority government, this...

Lenore Taylor

Question so difficult Coalition can't hear

Lenore Taylor IT'S a classic way to avoid answering a question - pretend you've been asked a different one.

Lenore Taylor

It may not be Watergate but more explanation is needed

Lenore Taylor Within about 16 hours of James Ashby lodging his sexual harassment claim against Peter Slipper in April, Tony Abbott was dead certain of its implications for the Speaker and also for the government.

Dogged Abbott caught in slips

Lenore Taylor The real problem is not that Tony Abbott hasn't read the judgment in which the Federal Court threw out the sexual harassment case against Peter Slipper.

Comments 263

Lenore Taylor

Silly, but Tony stands by his man

Lenore Taylor TONY ABBOTT looked silly saying he has been doing too many ''important things'' to read the Federal Court judgment that threw out the sexual harassment case against Peter Slipper.

Labor's tricky deal became a Slipper-y slope

Lenore Taylor The danger for Labor is that this minority government will also be filed under ‘‘seemed like a good idea at the time’’ by the voters.

Lenore Taylor

PM's speech did stir hearts, but remember the context

Lenore Taylor Most women watching Julia Gillard's speech to Parliament last Tuesday would have felt that silent cheer.

Wounded Abbott may need to revisit strategy

Lenore Taylor LABOR'S Speaker surprise is another sign that Tony Abbott's strategy to bludgeon the minority government into an election is falling just short.

Lenore Taylor

Taking a Slipper to the mob at question time

Lenore Taylor I've endured many grievous challenges to my powers of concentration over the years. There was double maths on a Friday afternoon in a Brisbane classroom with a fine view of the Cloudland Ballroom,...

Unspeakable dilemma for a stumbling Labor

Lenore Taylor A farmer in western NSW told me last week he was a Nationals voter and his daughter ''used to'' vote Labor. ''I don't know what she's going to do now,'' he said. I asked him what he meant.

Lenore Taylor

Robin Hood budget will give Abbott no merriment

Lenore Taylor Trained observer that I am, I reckon the Gillard government wants this to be seen as a ''Robin Hood'' budget - designed to make a ''Labor values'' political virtue of the deep cuts necessary to...

Lenore Taylor

Policy the first casualty in pollies' phoney war

Lenore Taylor Tony Abbott's budget reply was entirely rhetorical - when Julia Gillard told the Coalition leader he should leave the north shore and get out into the real world he thundered she was deliberately and...