FEBRUARY 23, 2019

GIVE THE GIFT OF CRIKEY | TIP OFF | VIEW IN BROWSER

With one sitting week left, there’s still plenty of parliamentary action before we launch into an election.

Even with that buffer, you wouldn’t want to be in Scott Morrison’s shoes after the week we’ve just had.

Union fights, travel scandals and Senate estimates have left a greasy film on this government. Catch up on the chaos, and, as ever, let us know what you think by emailing boss@crikey.com.au.

Have a great weekend,

Bhakthi Puvanenthiran
Managing Editor

People aren’t just angry at this government. They are disgusted by it.

GUY RUNDLE 4 minute read

The sheer volume of waste, shonk and grift has left Australian voters with a sense of utter repulsion toward the Morrison government.

Scandals abound

High hopes for a Coalition comeback bogged down in scandals

BERNARD KEANE 4 minute read

Labor may be stumbling on the latest asylum seeker issue but it had Coalition scandals handed to it on a silver platter throughout the week.

Who is Joe Hockey’s mate at the heart of the Helloworld scandal?

KISHOR NAPIER-RAMAN 4 minute read

Helloworld CEO and Liberal Party treasurer Andrew Burnes was relatively unknown a few days ago. Now, not so much...

Home Affairs thrashes about in the quicksand of Paladin

BERNARD KEANE 4 minute read

Despite bureaucrats' attempts to justify the appointment of the mysterious Paladin company to provide offshore processing services, plenty of questions remain about the scandal.

If they’re lucky, Liberal women might achieve equity in 2044

MEREDITH BURGMANN 3 minute read

Even with quotas, the pace of change in Labor was deadly slow. The Libs must get moving now.

Expanding calls for ‘digital gangster’ Facebook to be regulated

EMILY WATKINS 3 minute read

Attempts to regulate Facebook are growing around the world, and are getting bolder in their demands.

Is The Australian right about solar rebates causing higher electricity prices?

KISHOR NAPIER-RAMAN 4 minute read

In attacking solar panel rebate schemes, The Australian shows a lack of understanding of how the energy industry even works — or a complete contempt for the facts.

No, this isn’t Morrison’s ‘Tampa moment’

“

The contours of the culture wars were sharply in evidence last week in commentary on the government’s parliamentary defeat on asylum seekers — not just in terms of the issue’s moral dimensions, but also in its electoral impact.

For much of the Murdoch empire, the parliamentary vote and the government offensive that followed have amounted to a “Tampa moment” for Scott Morrison, who now finds a seemingly improbable election victory within his grasp. — William Bowe

It’s going to take a lot more than the goings-on of the “Canberra bubble” to transform the medivac loss to the Coalition’s advantage come election time.

Cash, Keenan, the DPP face serious questions over the AWU scandal

BERNARD KEANE 3 minute read

Two ministers refused to properly cooperate with an Australian Federal Police investigation, with indications that evidence was destroyed in the case. Where's the media outrage?

Having a yarn: a short history of Aussie journos’ favourite word

REBECCA VARCOE 5 minute read

Australian Twitter is full of journalists from Bondi to Fitzroy telling everyone to read their latest "yarn". What's the story here?

Either Michaelia Cash or the Australian Federal Police are lying. Which is it?

BERNARD KEANE 4 minute read

Someone has lied to the Senate's legal and constitutional affairs estimates committee this week: either the most senior police officers in the country, or Michaelia Cash.

Dog days for Australian kids’ television

CAMERON WILLIAMS 5 minute read

Bluey is now the most popular show in ABC iView history. So why do industry insiders say children’s content creators are fighting over the scraps?

‘How good is mining?’: Scott Morrison’s fawning address to the Minerals Council

KISHOR NAPIER-RAMAN 3 minute read

Scott Morrison's adulation for mining bordered on melodrama last week. Of course, it's not exactly out of character.

Michaelia Cash: a portrait of a politician under oath

CHARLIE LEWIS 4 minute read

While giving testimony on 2017's AWU raid scandal, Cash seemed to have one brief: "don't give them a headline".

Morrison’s Christmas Island plan will be a costly disaster

“	The contempt shown by Australian governments when it comes to asylum seekers makes you wonder what moral authority politicians have to fulminate about the need for obedience to the law of the land. — Greg Barns

Australia is set for years of costly legal battles — with the possibility of punitive damages — if plans to transfer sick asylum seekers to Christmas Island go ahead.

Could high-speed rail be on the agenda this election?

JASON MURPHY 4 minute read

High-speed rail is a tantalising pre-election option, but does it make any sense? Crikey does the maths.

Corbyn’s Labour facing trouble on all fronts after seven MPs defect

GUY RUNDLE 4 minute read

The breakaway "Independent Group" of Labor MPs have joined the crossbench to protest Jeremy Corbyn's Brexit stance. But apart from some lofty words, do they stand for anything?