Tag Archive for: "Prime Minister"
Codifying conventions on Australia going to war

Australia has codified government responsibilities to parliament when going to war. The code is set out in a memorandum issued by the Prime Minister’s Department at the end of November. The conventions cover decisions to …

Malcolm Turnbull the fixer

Politicians can be divided into ‘straights’, ‘fixers’ and ‘maddies,’ and Malcolm Turnbull must quickly find his inner fixer. The transformation isn’t impossible because Turnbull has already tried the other two categories. In his first stint …

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 …

Canberra’s caucus coup carnival

Australia’s coup culture isn’t about generals rolling over politicians and tanks rolling through the streets. The Oz coup culture is concerned with what political party rooms do to unpopular leaders. The willingness of parties to …