Author Archives: David Solomon

The Palace letters provided two crucial elements of the dismissal by Governor-General Sir John Kerr of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam on 11 November 1975. The first was to stiffen Kerr’s resolve – to give him the backbone – to sack … Continue reading →

There is a serious split in the national cabinet manifest in the current border wars. It has been apparent for a few weeks now but the decisions by a number of states to deny Victorians (or some of them) access … Continue reading →

It was both fortunate and fortuitous. The scheming of the Queen and Sir John Kerr to keep their correspondence secret was defeated not on the merits but by accident and thanks to legislation that came into being long after their … Continue reading →

One of the worst aspects of the sports rorts affair is the way elements of the public service turned a deliberate blind eye to what was known, or assumed, to be a failure by the Minister to be bound by … Continue reading →

How good is federalism – Australian style? Until the coronavirus crisis struck, the verdict would have been: pretty ordinary, at best. But at the moment it is flourishing. Can this outbreak of good health last?

Its time to think about – and plan for – what will be on the other side of this coronavirus bridge the Prime Minister keeps talking about. It may be 12, 18 or 24 months away, but the thinking and … Continue reading →

There’s a simple way for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to assert some real leadership and focus the attention of the nation on how the corona virus pandemic should be confronted: he should sack the two Ministers who have demonstrated most … Continue reading →

The economy is in good shape. Got that?

Illegal, unconstitutional and shonky. The sports rorts affair, like climate change, is not fading away. Both raise major political challenges for the government, but in somewhat different ways.

Almost all the arguments against constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders went out the window on Tuesday, courtesy of a decision by the High Court (Love v The Commonwealth).

Trust is a crucial element of government, in two different but related ways.

Although you can no longer believe everything Scott Morrison says, its necessary to take everything he says seriously and examine his utterances carefully – just in case in a particular instance he will follow through on what he has said.

Since Scott Morrison declared, back in November, that this was not the time to be talking about climate change, people have been talking about nothing else but the fires, and climate change, and Scott Morrison’s attempts to pretend (or pray) … Continue reading →

When should a minister ‘stand aside’ (that is, be stood aside); when should a minister resign (be sacked)? Prime Minister Morrison has provided his answer in the case of Angus Taylor, his Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction. Not now. … Continue reading →

The political consensus on climate change is changing – has already changed. Prime Minister Scott Morrison knows it, but is in an awful, strangling bind. He knows he has to adopt policies that recognise climate change and will help alleviate … Continue reading →

Labor’s post-election post-mortem demonstrates conclusively that Scott Morrison’s victory was no miracle. It also shows why so many people thought it was.

Let us be clear about this nonsense ban on lobbying contained in the Prime Ministers ministerial guidelines. Its pretty meaningless. The fact is, as the Code of Conduct for lobbyists explains, the only people who are considered to be lobbyists, … Continue reading →

Am I missing something? Voting early is becoming increasingly popular, yet the politicians are thinking of cutting it back, and/or making it more difficult. I thought politicians were in the business of picking up, or at least reflecting, the public … Continue reading →

Extract from notes for a victory speech by Prime Minister Morrison to the Coalition party room: I want to make special mention of the contribution to our victory by my Cabinet colleagues. Now Josh, you had a special role. As … Continue reading →

A golfing friend told me this week that he had been door-knocked during the campaign – ‘by Peter Dutton himself’. He wondered why the sitting MP would visit him, but quickly worked it out. He had filled in a form … Continue reading →

I find it difficult to believe that there were people nominating for this election who had not made absolutely certain that they would not fall foul of the disqualification provisions of section 44 of the Constitution. It is even more … Continue reading →

This is the weirdest starting point for a federal election that I can recall. Here in Queensland there are nine seats held by the LNP with a two-party preferred margin of 6 per cent or less. Depending on which betting … Continue reading →