Friday January 2, 2009
The truth on perving: women are better than men at controlling their lust
Fred Nile's call to ban topless bathing may have been overwhelmingly rejected by the state's politicians, but plenty of women I know think he has a point, writes Emily Maguire.
Friday December 19, 2008
Rudd's busy bees still need to do better
When Julia Gillard needs to read documents or to consider decisions, she closes her office door and declares herself to be "in the cone", writes Peter Hartcher.
Friday December 12, 2008
America's next top model: us
Although I was in Washington to write about the US election last month, I learnt something interesting about my own country on America's election day, Peter Hartcher.
Friday December 5, 2008
Rudd dobbed himself into dilemma
The Rudd Government is aiming to make one of its most difficult decisions in the next three days - setting the target for cutting Australia's carbon emissions over the next 12 years, writes Peter Hartcher.
Friday November 28, 2008
Central banker who goosed us all
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is quite wrong in his labelling of the cause of the global financial crisis. And Malcolm Turnbull is quite wrong in his core prescription of what to do about it, writes Peter Hartcher.
Friday November 21, 2008
Japan's fading appetite for a fight
Tomohiko Taniguchi, the official voice of Japan for the last three years, now says Japan has nil national interest in the whaling industry, writes Peter Hartcher.
Friday November 14, 2008
In sensible grown-ups we trust
What does a country want in a crisis? Above all, it wants a grown-up in charge. Someone who can calmly deal with the problem and reassure the public on the way through, writes Peter Hartcher.
Friday November 7, 2008
Spin fantasies eventually crash
Barack Obama did not materialise from a vacuum. He is America's response to the dramatic failures of George Bush. It was Bush who created the craving for change. Obama has now met that need, writes Peter Hartcher.
Friday October 31, 2008
Asian focus, no matter the victor
For the first time in America's history, both the main presidential candidates have lived in Asia. Barack Obama spent four carefree years of his childhood in Indonesia. Less happily, John McCain spent 5 1/2years in captivity in Vietnam, writes Peter Hartcher.
Friday October 24, 2008
Confidence is a wise investment
Next time you open your wallet or purse and take out a $20 note, pause to ask yourself what it's worth. The answer is not $20. The value of the polymer it's printed on is a few cents. What supports the notion that it's worth anything more, asks Peter Hartcher.
Friday October 17, 2008
And by the way, we're going broke
Kevin Rudd was high above the earth when he first broached the question of how far things could fall, writes Peter Hartcher.
Wednesday October 15, 2008
Economy given a reality cheque
KEVIN RUDD is spending $10.4 billion to promote economic activity, but his larger goal is something that can't be bought at any price - confidence.
Friday October 3, 2008
A game of American roulette
The world economy is on edge as it awaits the next round of American roulette. The US Senate has voted to create a $US700 billion ($880 billion) rescue vehicle for distressed debt, writes Peter Hartcher.
Friday September 26, 2008
Our man in the last chance saloon
Even among the cowboy firms of Wall Street, Salomon Brothers was reputed to be one of the wildest. Its risk-relishing chief, John Gutfreund, was crowned on the cover of Business Week "The King of Wall Street" in the 1980s, writes Peter Hartcher.
Tuesday September 23, 2008
That's rich coming from him
ON the same day that Malcolm Turnbull staked his leadership on his economic credibility, the basis for much of his reputation on the subject was swept away.
Saturday September 20, 2008
Banks battered but unbowed
AUSTRALIA'S banks have exposures of about $800 million to the failed American insurance giant AIG, according to informed sources.
Friday September 19, 2008
Calm leaders for a financial crisis
Only a couple of hours before calling a leadership ballot on Monday, Brendan Nelson's chief of staff, Peter Hendy, and Nelson's chief supporter, Nick Minchin, sat in a meeting of the Liberal Party's policy review committee, writes Peter Hartcher.
Friday September 12, 2008
A long conversation about no one
It was one of the main topics of Australia's national conversation for almost half the post-Cold War era: would John Howard hand the prime ministership to Peter Costello? Or would Costello challenge him for it, writes Peter Hartcher.
Friday September 5, 2008
Palin's pro-life code, loud and clear
A snapshot of the scene just after Sarah Palin had finished her big address to the Republican National Convention was worth more votes than anything she had just said, writes Peter Hartcher.
Saturday August 23, 2008
This goose is cracking the golden egg
As a one-time medical practitioner, Brendan Nelson knows that the first injunction of the Hippocratic oath is that a doctor must "do no harm", writes Peter Hartcher.
Saturday August 16, 2008
China heading for a fork in the road
The West made a huge strategic bet in deciding to engage China rather than contain it. The punt? That the world would change China faster than China could change the world, writes Peter Hartcher.
Friday August 8, 2008
Costello haunts Labor hardheads
In the last couple of years of the Howard government, the Labor Party was troubled by the prospect it could be blindsided if John Howard abruptly stood down and Peter Costello took the leadership. It would have planned a campaign against one prime minister only to find that it suddenly needed to defeat another, writes Peter Hartcher.
Friday August 1, 2008
Hostile climate for the craven
Brendan Nelson's utter isolation within his shadow cabinet on Tuesday was sealed the day before. Most of his senior colleagues were at the meeting of the Coalition's policy review committee, but the leader was not, writes Peter Hartcher.
Friday July 25, 2008
Prices could cost Rudd dearly
If you thought the consumer price index this week was bad, you should know that the Kevin price index is worse, writes Peter Hartcher.
Friday July 18, 2008
Time to deliver an earthly miracle
This week we have the Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, telling us "there is a crisis in the Western world" because "no Western country is producing enough babies to keep the population stable", writes Peter Hartcher.
