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.
Phillip Coorey
Big dreams not just the hat talking
Phillip Coorey Last Wednesday, as the government and the opposition were busy tearing out each other's throats over events 20 years ago, Bob Katter provided the relief.
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.
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''.
Phillip Coorey
Soaring rates bill will be on Canberrans' minds when they go to the polls
Phillip Coorey To those outside the national capital, the ACT election held every four years is about as compelling as boils.
Phillip Coorey
States give Abbott a nasty headache
Phillip Coorey In one week, the NSW and Queensland governments effectively neutered two of Tony Abbott's attack lines against the Gillard government - school funding and the mining tax.
Phillip Coorey
Saga of the PM's job at Slater Gordon: how serious is it?
Phillip Coorey The statement issued on Sunday by Julia Gillard's old law firm says essentially that it found she did nothing wrong when she was interviewed 17 years ago over the alleged rorting of union funds by...
Phillip Coorey
Audacious spending plans aimed at drawing out opposition
Phillip Coorey A signature difference between government and opposition is that the former must account publicly for its promised spending every six months.
Phillip Coorey
Eleven years on from Tampa and little has changed
Phillip Coorey Eight days shy of the 11th anniversary of the standoff aboard the MV Tampa, the Parliament is on the cusp of reintroducing the Pacific Solution and a new row has erupted about what to do with a group...
Phillip Coorey
For Labor, largesse may be last chance
Phillip Coorey Kevin Rudd looked a little lost last week when wandering the Senate corridors looking for Bob Brown.
Phillip Coorey
PM to bask in overseas glow as the knives sharpen at home
Phillip Coorey Sunday week, June 24, will mark the second anniversary of Julia Gillard's leadership coup over Kevin Rudd.
Loss of life convinces some members to change their course
Phillip Coorey THE asylum seeker debate yesterday was punctuated by people once opposed to offshore processing explaining why a steady stream of deaths at sea had led them to change their minds.
Phillip Coorey
D-day for the government as carbon pricing put to the test
Phillip Coorey In those mad days in February as Kevin Rudd geared up to challenge Julia Gillard for the leadership, Rudd, in an appeal to Labor MPs fearing July 1, promised to take the edge off the carbon tax.
Phillip Coorey
Messy mining tax deal sealed in the early hours
Phillip Coorey Unsurprisingly, the government was able to find $100 million last night to soothe the concerns of the Greens and usher the mining tax through the House of Representatives at 2.42am.
Phillip Coorey
Bets off for Abbott after a Rudd change
Phillip Coorey As opposition leader between 1998 and 2001, Kim Beazley was the last person to lead federal Labor for a full term.
Phillip Coorey
Means test may not be such a bitter pill this time around
Phillip Coorey When dozens of private hospital staff gathered outside Rob Oakeshott's Port Macquarie electorate office on Saturday to urge him to reject means testing of health insurance, they risked provoking the...
Phillip Coorey
If Rudd is not the messiah, then it's just a very desperate ploy
Phillip Coorey The Labor MP Darren Cheeseman was downcast on Thursday as he walked the corridor to his Parliament House office.
Phillip Coorey
PM ends her week as she began - with a win
Phillip Coorey JULIA Gillard has turned disaster into a stunning victory and, in doing so, has reasserted the authority the party only renewed in her on Monday.
Phillip Coorey
Liberals can walk policy tightrope while Labor circus is in town
Phillip Coorey As a follower of Irish politics, the Liberal Party's federal director, Brian Loughnane, is a fan of the acronym GUBU.
Phillip Coorey
Carr to go after the one that got away
Phillip Coorey A week ago, Bob Carr called on his new federal Labor colleagues to put aside the ill-feeling caused by the leadership dispute and to ''dwell a bit more on the horror of an Abbott-led government''.
Phillip Coorey
Greens held cards on mining tax but chose protest over action
Phillip Coorey Later today, if all goes to plan, the Senate will pass the legislation for the minerals resources rent tax, enabling it to start on July 1.
