By the time the first edition of the Australian hit the streets almost fifty years ago, a vital part of Rupert Murdoch’s strategy had already run into trouble. David Bowman’s first inkling of the tidal wave about to strike Canberra was a chance encounter at Parliament House in late February 1964. Bowman, editor of the...

What explains Victoria’s stubborn tendency to vote Labor in state and federal elections? The prolific psephologist Peter Brent recently asked why, in electoral terms, Victoria is different from the other states. He cited Labor’s dominance of the state’s two-party-preferred vote in every federal election since 1990 – even in the comprehensive defeat of 2013 –...

Babies born in detention are taking the federal government to court. Meanwhile, being locked up is making their parents dangerously ill. When Sister Brigid Arthur first encountered “Ana” she was “sparky,” despite being in detention. She appeared physically and mentally well, and was as excited as “the brightest young mother-to-be” about the imminent birth of...

Thailand has been changing in unexpected ways, according to this analysis of a country in continuing political crisis To understand the crisis in Thai politics, it’s important to examine the momentous changes Thai society has undergone in recent decades. If certain key institutions, such as the monarchy, have not yet been transformed, then they are...

There’s a worrying thread running through decisionmaking in Canberra Political attention over the past few weeks has been fixed on the drama of the Abbott government’s first budget – the winners and losers, the problem of broken promises, the prospects in the Senate. Beyond that, though, the budget reinforces another trend of potentially great significance...