Cory Bernardi leaves politics, with his mission largely fulfilled. The Australian right has been remade, if not exactly in his image, at least in something uncomfortably like it.
Category: Australia
The impossibility of media balance
No-one is surprised to find that politicians lie. But how should the media respond when a particular side of politics inhabits an entire ecosystem of lies?
More thoughts about judicial review
The decision about prorogation is not the only controversy Britain's supreme court has engaged in recently. An attempt to rein in the intelligence services raised some similar issues.
The Senate faces its enemies, again
Plans are again afoot within the Australian government to try to cripple the democratic nature of the Senate. But there is an alternative direction that reform could take.
On changing a constitution
Australia's constitution is difficult to amend, and that's not a bad thing. But resistance to change is far from uniform.
Oh no, not 1975 again!
Britain could be headed for a constitutional crisis that can be likened to that of 1975 in Australia. But the differences are more revealing than the similarities.
Oh dear, it’s free speech again
Once again, the right of a "controversial" speaker to enter Australia is up for debate. His supporters seem oblivious to the contradictions in their position.
Who counts for representation? – part II
Australia and the US both apportion seats on the basis of population, but use different approaches to drawing boundaries. It could become a political issue.
Who counts for representation? – part I
Donald Trump's attempt to politicise the census has failed for now, but it raises interesting issues about how representation is supposed to work.
How to appoint a prime minister
Malcolm Turnbull may have had a hypothetical constitutional manoeuvre to block Peter Dutton, but would the same trick work against Boris Johnson?
