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
Absent Hockey will be front and centre if Abbott falters
Phillip Coorey There was a brief period of unrest in the Coalition last week when MPs were wondering why the shadow treasurer, Joe Hockey, was not among the speakers at an economic summit in Melbourne.
Phillip Coorey
Rudd deserves the most credit for UN win
Phillip Coorey IF there is any scope for magnanimity to exist between Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, then Australia's successful bid for a seat in the United Nations Security Council should provide it.
Punching on with a popular perception
Phillip Coorey One reason the Coalition does not like the recollection of a former university student contained in David Marr's Quarterly Essay is because it reinforces the perception, be it true or otherwise, that...
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.
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
Green dilemma has Labor in a spin
Phillip Coorey The whole political establishment will be watching this Saturday's byelection for the state seat of Melbourne.
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
Politics looks a little topsy-turvy
Phillip Coorey This political year ends with Labor behaving as though it is in opposition and the Coalition humming along as though it were in government.
Phillip Coorey
Labor's state losses are Gillard's gains
Phillip Coorey The Victorian government may have been a bit long in the tooth but it was still doing a decent job.
Phillip Coorey
Turnbull adds spice as leaders languish
Phillip Coorey One of the daftest statements this column has made came one year ago, with the call not even Tony Abbott was ''crazy enough'' to believe he would ever lead the Liberal Party.
Phillip Coorey
The overlooked truth: states cannot afford soaring health costs
Phillip Coorey When he was the opposition leader, Kevin Rudd once observed the two state Labor governments he rated the highest were those of Victoria and South Australia.
Phillip Coorey
How the West was lost: a lack of faith in civilisation
Phillip Coorey There is a growing belief among Australia's most formidable conservative thinkers that the foundations of Western civilisation in this country are being eroded.
