John Cantwell

If we say they are ready …

John Cantwell Deciding when to leave Afghanistan involves Australia embracing a different set of standards.

George Williams

No one should be allowed to double park, not even Clover Moore

George Williams However, Moore's personal success cannot justify retaining a system that permits dual roles, if other general principles are of greater importance.

Comments 82

Russell Ross

Spending on capital works should be seen and not inferred

Russell Ross When the Carr government took office in 1995 there was widespread discontent across NSW about inadequate public infrastructure, particularly in health and transport.

Liberals 'viciously anti-union'

Australian construction workers will today be warned to brace for a ''viciously anti-union'' federal government under Tony Abbott.

Chemical storage review

The ACT Government will examine whether chemicals should be stored near homes, and has raised concerns about compliance at the Energy Services Inviornmental factory.

Misuse of public funds discovered by accident

The Canberra Liberals were producing invitations to a $950-a-head party fundraiser when they were caught misusing public printing resources last month.

Pragmatic Milne to usher in new era

Andrew Darby IN A carefully handwritten statement addressed to the ''Ladies and Gentlemen of the press'', Christine Milne launched her first tilt at elected office 23 years ago.

Tim Colebatch

Construction costs are a bridge too far

Tim Colebatch Without some sanity in wages, we will not be able to build for the future.

Comments 46

Lenore Taylor

Abbott sweats on ALP loss to repeal carbon tax

Lenore Taylor Sometimes it's the biggest things that politicians don't want to talk about.

Kevin Donnelly

Bonus scheme degrades teachers' sense of team spirit

Kevin Donnelly Rewarding a privileged few will lead to ill feeling and distrust.

Nick Minchin

They tried to change my mind but I'm still a climate sceptic

Nick Minchin Scaremongering about global warming is backfiring on warmists.

Katherine Murphy

A peek at the best and worst of Gillard

Katherine Murphy When I first arrived in the parliamentary press gallery as a cub reporter in 1996, my then bureau chief gave me a tip.

PM must find a way to deal with the politics of carbon tax

Ross Peake The expected cut in interest rates by the Reserve Bank today will do nothing to save Julia Gillard.

The price of political fear

John Faulkner Today we find ourselves in the midst of a political climate increasingly dominated by fear. Not fear of an external enemy, but a fear felt by many in our political class of an open contest of ideas.

Steve Howard

No reason why we can't become a global food superpower

Steve Howard Australia can play a key part in feeding the world as Asia booms.

Paul Sheehan

Swan's song of praise to be lost amid all the clucking

Paul Sheehan The sound I'm hearing now is the sound of chickens coming home to roost. They are starting to drown out the sound coming from Wayne's World.

Comments 96

Eve Mahlab

Both sexes are to blame for misogynist vitriol against Gillard

Eve Mahlab Vicious attacks against the PM say more about our society than about her.

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Elizabeth Farrelly

Bold, frank criticism can only nourish architecture

Elizabeth Farrelly Oh to be so powerful. Ellsworth Monckton Toohey, the villainous, pin-striped architecture critic in Ayn Rand's appalling novel The Fountainhead, makes and breaks careers.

Comments 21

Jessica Irvine

Treasury does some digging to offer a mine of useful myth-busting

Jessica Irvine This week's budget contains some important myth-busting about Australia's mining boom, the biggest since the gold rush days. It contains some extraordinary numbers.