Tag Archive for: "politics"
The birth of the Canberra Minder

The Canberra ministerial adviser—the Minder—was born on 5 December 1972, when Gough Whitlam became Prime Minister. Like much that Whitlam did, the birth was attended by high purpose, low politics and scrambling. The short, tumultuous …

The Canberra Minder

The Canberra ministerial adviser—the Minder—is 43 years young. The Minder is the strongest new creation of Oz politics, often more important than the public service in the way policy and politics gets done. The idea …

President Trump and the ANZUS alliance

This year will see the end of the seemingly interminable process that decides who’ll become America’s next president. The conventional wisdom is that despite being the most popular candidate, Donald Trump won’t be the Republican …

Martin Parkinson’s policy dilemmas

Dr Martin Parkinson will soon begin his role as the new Secretary of Prime Minister and Cabinet, succeeding Michael Thawley. Both are highly capable individuals and both have suffered from the lottery of Australian Public …

Arthur Tange, the CIA and the Dismissal

This year saw the 40th anniversary of the dismissal of the Whitlam government on 11 November 1975 by the governor-general, Sir John Kerr. It also marks the 40th anniversary of an enduring conspiracy theory—that Kerr’s …