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.
Phillip Coorey
Boats policy comes full circle
Phillip Coorey There is now barely a difference between Labor and Coalition policy on asylum seekers.
Phillip Coorey
Gillard has Howard's view on juggling US and China
Phillip Coorey Blessed with the thickest of political hides, John Howard has never been one to react to every criticism made of him.
Phillip Coorey
As the Coalition knows, there is a long history of costing opposition policies
Phillip Coorey The opposition and some sections of the media are in high dudgeon because information has been released. However, it's not the first time a government has costed opposition policies.
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
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.
Phillip Coorey
Churlish Coalition shows little generosity
Phillip Coorey TRY as he might, Tony Abbott was unable to look pleased yesterday when Australia awoke to the news it had secured a seat on the United Nations Security Council for the next two years.
Phillip Coorey
Softly, softly, a slide into the red comes into view
Phillip Coorey Revelations today that not a single cent of mining tax was paid in the first three months of this financial year indicate the $1.1 billion surplus forecast on Monday may be gone already.
Phillip Coorey
Rudd camp stirs the surplus soup
Phillip Coorey Some weeks ago, Kevin Rudd accepted an invitation to join Bob Hawke and Bob Carr at Darling Harbour yesterday to celebrate 40 years of diplomatic ties between China and Australia.
Phillip Coorey
Slowdown a rich lode for politicians
Phillip Coorey Last week, when the Reserve Bank cut interest rates and downgraded its forecast for the economy, Tony Abbott became the latest politician to declare the mining boom over.
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
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
Security Council bid long overdue
Phillip Coorey When Julia Gillard touches down in New York this morning, she will be on a mission from Rudd. It was on a Saturday afternoon, 4 1/2 years ago, during his first major overseas odyssey as prime...
Phillip Coorey
PM picks a winner, but is more cautious about contest at the UN
Phillip Coorey Just before leaving New York, Julia Gillard made one successful prediction - that the Swans would win the AFL grand final.
Phillip Coorey
Boycott threats are just hot air
Phillip Coorey One morning during the 2010 election campaign, a federal minister awoke to hear Alan Jones's latest sermon on why listeners should not vote Labor.
A plague on both sides of the House
Phillip Coorey In his lecture delivered last night, Malcolm Turnbull does not single out Tony Abbott for criticism.
Phillip Coorey
Team players get top jobs but mavericks make a difference
Phillip Coorey About three years ago, Barnaby Joyce had a half-hearted crack at replacing Warren Truss as the leader of the Nationals.
Phillip Coorey
Rudd's special status makes every move suspect
Phillip Coorey According to Kevin Rudd's numbers men, the former prime minister is about 10 votes shy of Julia Gillard.
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
Gillard on the front foot, lurches to right, but team Rudd not beaten
Phillip Coorey Kevin Rudd's dying words as prime minister were that he would never lurch to the right on asylum seekers, as was demanded of him as a condition of keeping his job.
