In politics, you sign up to a struggle on behalf of those you claim to represent. You owe them everything you can manage to stitch together to achieve victory. If you want to be a grand failure, better to pick religion, philosophy or art. Not politics. So says Nicholas Gruen in this reposting of his 2008 article on Bob Hawke. Read More
Something strange happens when politicians leave the political stage. The other side suddenly becomes much more civil – even affectionate. There is an outbreak of bipartisanship or non-partisanship. It is as though, after years of fighting across the chamber, the political opponents shove babel fish into their ears and hear each other for the first time. Read More
The APS's diminished ability is such that Terry Moran wouldn't trust the Commonwealth "with organising a collection of funds to build the local church". But he thinks the new Treasury boss should be given a chance. Read More
“Apart from anything else, you ought to be found and sacked," says former head of the Australian Public Service Terry Moran, to whoever is responsible for selling off a secure cabinet full of papers from the actual cabinet. Read More
Nicholas Gruen reviews a book review by Clive James and ponders the decline of serious debate. He says James joined the culture wars and attacked weaker, dumbed-down versions of opposing views, as expressed by ideological fringe-dwellers. Read More
We know what Tony Abbott and Kevin Rudd ate on the government jet, but Malcolm Turnbull's preferences have been censored. It's a strange FOI ruling. Read More
