Jack Waterford

John Waterford AM, better known as Jack Waterford, is an Australian journalist and commentator.

Jack's articles (474 total)

Pope trumps Hegseth and his doomed crusade
Jack Waterford

Pope trumps Hegseth and his doomed crusade

Clashes between church leaders and Trump highlight tensions over religion, power and the justification of war.

Mickey J: an Australian always, quietly, making a big difference
Jack Waterford

Mickey J: an Australian always, quietly, making a big difference

At a time of diminished political leadership, the legacy of Fred Hollows and Michael Johnson shows what practical, principled internationalism can achieve.

Albanese risks losing the voters who put him there
Jack Waterford

Albanese risks losing the voters who put him there

From foreign policy to domestic reform, Labor risks alienating key supporters and wasting a moment of political opportunity in a volatile landscape.

Freedom at last for the Robodebt Six, thanks to the NACC
Jack Waterford

Freedom at last for the Robodebt Six, thanks to the NACC

New findings from the anti-corruption commission clear several figures of corruption over Robodebt, but the affair still exposes profound failures in public administration.

Cowardice and kowtowing risk Australia becoming the fall guy in Trump’s wars and deals
Jack Waterford

Cowardice and kowtowing risk Australia becoming the fall guy in Trump’s wars and deals

As the US–Israeli war on Iran unfolds, Australia faces the danger of being drawn into American power politics while sacrificing its independence and credibility in the region.

Albanese’s decision will follow him into the history books – and define us too
Jack Waterford

Albanese’s decision will follow him into the history books – and define us too

Anthony Albanese’s refusal to assist Australian women and children in Syrian detention camps may prove to be the defining act of his prime ministership – not for its prudence, but for what it reveals about leadership, moral courage and the limits of political calculation.

Albanese’s decision will follow him into the history books – and define us too
Jack Waterford

Albanese’s decision will follow him into the history books – and define us too

Anthony Albanese’s refusal to assist Australian women and children in Syrian detention camps may prove to be the defining act of his prime ministership – not for its prudence, but for what it reveals about leadership, moral courage and the limits of political calculation.

Albanese’s real opponent is not Angus Taylor
Jack Waterford

Albanese’s real opponent is not Angus Taylor

Coalition turmoil has handed Anthony Albanese political space few prime ministers enjoy. Whether he uses it to govern with purpose – or continues to drift – is now the central question.

A government without an effective opposition is a danger to democracy
Jack Waterford

A government without an effective opposition is a danger to democracy

The Coalition’s internal decay has left Australia without an effective opposition at a time when scrutiny, debate and accountability are more necessary than ever. The result is not just a party in trouble, but a democratic failure.

Cruelty as policy only works until the public recoils
Jack Waterford

Cruelty as policy only works until the public recoils

Trump’s immigration crackdown reveals how governments test public tolerance for cruelty exercised in the name of order – a lesson with clear echoes in Australia’s own recent history.

Trump’s tariffs and threats are pushing the world to look elsewhere
Jack Waterford

Trump’s tariffs and threats are pushing the world to look elsewhere

The EU–India trade deal marks more than a commercial agreement. It signals a growing willingness among major economies to reduce their exposure to US coercion and to build new trade frameworks beyond Washington’s reach.

Trump fills the great Albo silence
Jack Waterford

Trump fills the great Albo silence

Australia’s leaders are trying to avoid becoming a target in a harsher, more coercive world. But silence and caution can’t substitute for strategy – or for honest leadership that levels with the public.

Gory sausage making at the Labor knackery
Jack Waterford

Gory sausage making at the Labor knackery

“Social coherence” is being invoked everywhere, but public trust is fraying. Political panic, rushed laws and weak leadership are deepening division, not repairing it.

Best of 2025 - Richo’s grave should be extra deep
Jack Waterford

Best of 2025

Best of 2025 - Richo’s grave should be extra deep

Graham Richardson was a very successful operator of the Labor Party from the late 1970s who was distinctly short on redeeming virtues.

There must be an accounting when the music stops
Jack Waterford

There must be an accounting when the music stops

After Bondi, public anxiety, political pressure and rising criticism of Israel have collided. As definitions of antisemitism are contested, government judgement, media influence and social cohesion are under strain.

This one’s on Netanyahu, not Albanese
Jack Waterford

This one’s on Netanyahu, not Albanese

The Bondi massacre sits within a wider international context that has reshaped public attitudes to Israel, antisemitism and protest, complicating how grief, fear and responsibility are understood in Australia.

How Sofronoff became a foot soldier in a war against woke
Jack Waterford

How Sofronoff became a foot soldier in a war against woke

Judicial findings have significantly undermined the credibility of Walter Sofronoff’s inquiry into the Lehrmann trial, raising serious questions about bias, process and the influence of media on judicial conduct.

Patronage over principle: why Katy Gallagher’s ‘flexibility’ betrays good government
Jack Waterford

Patronage over principle: why Katy Gallagher’s ‘flexibility’ betrays good government

Labor once promised to end cronyism in public appointments. The government’s rejection of enforceable rules instead entrenches discretionary power, weakens accountability and undermines confidence in good governance.

Why our government protects gambling apps but bans TikTok
Jack Waterford

Why our government protects gambling apps but bans TikTok

Australia’s social media restrictions on children were sold as decisive action on harm. But the policy risks becoming symbolic, unenforceable, and ultimately counterproductive.

Will there be Liberals around to take power in 2034?
Jack Waterford

Will there be Liberals around to take power in 2034?

The Liberal Party’s rejection of net-zero and its lack of compelling leadership or clear policy vision has left it floundering with key voter groups. Without a coherent plan to make a difference, it risks a long spell in opposition.

Richo’s grave should be extra deep
Jack Waterford

Richo’s grave should be extra deep

Graham Richardson was a very successful operator of the Labor Party from the late 1970s who was distinctly short on redeeming virtues.

It’s Ley, or virtually certain Liberal self-immolation
Jack Waterford

It’s Ley, or virtually certain Liberal self-immolation

People closer to the action than I are suggesting that the end is nigh for Sussan Ley. They may be right; momentum is often all in these matters.

AFP set to fight the devil among our children
Jack Waterford

AFP set to fight the devil among our children

The new AFP Commissioner, Krissy Barrett, would not be the first AFP Commissioner or statutory head to think that she can reinvent her job and its functions with the help of a savvy media unit.

Albo brings peace in our time
Jack Waterford

Albo brings peace in our time

The prospect of a military confrontation between the US and China is receding, as is the prospect of a conflict over Taiwan, according to a relaxed Donald Trump talking to Australian journalists and politicians during Anthony Albanese’s visit to Washington. But even if conflict were to occur, America might not be calling on Australia, or Britain, to fight alongside it.

Australia’s political parties are moving to their use-by date
Jack Waterford

Australia’s political parties are moving to their use-by date

Sooner or later Anthony Albanese or his successor will lead the Labor Government to defeat.

How Israel lost a war by not deserving to win
Jack Waterford

How Israel lost a war by not deserving to win

It is ultimately futile and probably wicked to calculate winners and losers in a war against civilians, least of all on any sort of balance sheet weighing and measuring the value of dead bodies.

Steerage for the Australian-PNG navy?
Jack Waterford

Steerage for the Australian-PNG navy?

The mutual defence treaty between Australia and Papua New Guinea could be a masterstroke for both countries, if our defence boffins could think laterally. I bet they won’t.

Will Hastie face his manifest destiny?
Jack Waterford

Will Hastie face his manifest destiny?

Assuming that Andrew Hastie is not taken from us by the apparently imminent Rapture, he may soon come up for judgment. It is very hard to imagine him leading the Liberal Party anywhere other than over a cliff.

The stars suggest Albo should stay at home
Jack Waterford

The stars suggest Albo should stay at home

If I were drafting astrology advice for Anthony Albanese over the next few weeks, I would be hinting that it was the worst possible time for international travel, and that a serious bout of diplomatic flu might be the best way to secure his (and Australia’s) long-term interests.

AFP won’t look in the mirror of a murder of one of their own
Jack Waterford

AFP won’t look in the mirror of a murder of one of their own

It is nearly 37 years since assistant commissioner Col Winchester, head of the ACT arm of the Australian Federal Police, was shot twice in the head soon after he drove his car into the driveway alongside his Deakin home.

Albo is breaking the moral contract with voters
Jack Waterford

Albo is breaking the moral contract with voters

It seems impossible that the Coalition could hope to win government with policies more popular than Labor’s over the next two terms of parliament.

When spying is subcontracted to gangsters
Jack Waterford

When spying is subcontracted to gangsters

ASIO deserves a good deal of credit for the cool and professional way in which it gathered and collected information to demonstrate to ministers its belief that members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had been behind at least two terrorist incidents in Melbourne and Sydney this year. Diplomats not alleged to have known of this have been tossed out as a result.

Peace in Gaza needs a full accounting by both sides
Jack Waterford

Peace in Gaza needs a full accounting by both sides

Suppose that one day the states of Europe wearied of the prolonged slaughter, genocide and war crimes in Gaza and resolved to intervene to end the fighting and to bring about a settlement.

Finance’s bleeding hearts think PwC has suffered enough
Jack Waterford

Finance’s bleeding hearts think PwC has suffered enough

Has the Department of Finance entirely lost the plot? Has its thinking about the PriceWaterhouseCooper scandal — that the matter can now be swept under the carpet and PwC brought in from the cold — infected a police force itself compromised by its relationships with PwC?

The long hand of your country of origin
Jack Waterford

The long hand of your country of origin

When the Soviet communist agent Vladimir Petrov was sent to Australia by a predecessor of the KGB in 1951, he was not tasked with stealing Australian and Western defence and diplomatic secrets.

The time has come for a Palestinian nation
Jack Waterford

The time has come for a Palestinian nation

The political leaders of Israel have long spoken of an existential threat. Critics, and many of its well-meaning friends have offered suggestions about the reasonable or fair thing to do. But its enemies and many of its neighbours, Israel says, want the annihilation of the very idea of the Jewish state.

Ley must be saved from drowning over net zero
Jack Waterford

Ley must be saved from drowning over net zero

When Napoleon remarked that one should never interrupt an enemy when it was making a mistake, he was referring to the way the enemy was disposing of his troops, not about the policies and programs with which he proposed to govern. Like all the countries arrayed against him, (even, effectively, England) Napoleon didn’t do elections.

Trump’s negotiation position diminishes as Albo sits him out
Jack Waterford

Trump’s negotiation position diminishes as Albo sits him out

Anthony Albanese’s visit to China has exceeded everyone’s expectations, including mine, and arms him with extra weapons and arguments for when he meets President Donald Trump and United States officials, whenever that is to be. One can expect that Americans, and the advocates on The Australian will accuse him of weakening perceptions that Australia is firmly in the western camp. But he studiously said and did nothing that he has not said and done before, and one would have to parse each statement carefully to see evidence of any shift away from America, let alone movement towards the Chinese camp.

The politics of a police criminal organisation
Jack Waterford

The politics of a police criminal organisation

In 1972, police at an Aboriginal settlement at Papunya, several hundred kilometres west of Alice Springs, closed down a travelling Slim Dusty concert after some of the young men somehow got access to alcohol and became drunk.

Engulfed in a moral panic about childcare assaults
Jack Waterford

Engulfed in a moral panic about childcare assaults

The moral panic enveloping Australia and the ABC over the existence of child molesters in the childcare system will do this nation no good.

Bunker busters shook us all
Jack Waterford

Bunker busters shook us all

Iran’s grievance, moral or legal, against Israel and the United States over the bombing of nuclear sites is not assisted by the fact that Israel itself is an outlaw with nuclear bombs produced outside the system.

Is Albo reverting to compulsive secrecy?
Jack Waterford

Is Albo reverting to compulsive secrecy?

Anthony Albanese is falling back into the sort of bad habits that could bring him down as Labor leader.

Nuclear subs taking on water
Jack Waterford

Nuclear subs taking on water

There is every reason for Australia to jump on board the idea of having a review of its AUKUS defence policy.

Political parties are failing to attract new members. Not only women
Jack Waterford

Political parties are failing to attract new members. Not only women

Government is getting more difficult. Many voters have turned off. They are scathing of politicians and deeply cynical about their honesty and motives.

Time again for stewards to do a moral health check-up
Jack Waterford

Time again for stewards to do a moral health check-up

Was there ever anything more predictable, and more shameful than the detached and independent — and, of course, apolitical — decision by federal Environment Minister Murray Watt that damage caused to Aboriginal Australian heritage values could not weigh as heavily as the economic interest of Woodside’s Northwest Shelf project, worth billions of dollars, potentially trillions?

Not many splashed in the short-lived teacup revolt
Jack Waterford

Not many splashed in the short-lived teacup revolt

The squall in the great teacup of the Liberal and National Parties, and the (almost certainly temporary) suspension of the Coalition has been very diverting but will probably not matter much as the political year, or term of parliament progresses. A scrap between a badly beaten pair of parties may seem damaging in the short term, but is unlikely to change any immediate outcomes.

The US Supremes, not its critics, are trashing the rule of law
Jack Waterford

The US Supremes, not its critics, are trashing the rule of law

The American Chief Justice, John Roberts, has complained that judges are being trashed, and has warned that the rule of law is being endangered.

Labor stops apologising for its social commitments
Jack Waterford

Labor stops apologising for its social commitments

Some of the most memorable political speeches made in Australia have been made by politicians who are leaving office.

Dutton defeated in unexciting and uninspiring battlefield scrap
Jack Waterford

Dutton defeated in unexciting and uninspiring battlefield scrap

As a journalist, I have watched 21 federal elections and several more with a keen personal interest given that they closely affected my status, future or present, as a draft dodger.

Aussie cardinals in short supply at papal conclave
Jack Waterford

Aussie cardinals in short supply at papal conclave

The election to take place in the Vatican from next week is probably a lot more consequential than the one now taking place in Australia, even if there is a good chance that white smoke will be coming from the chimneys at the Australian Electoral Office earlier than those from the Vatican Apartments.

Earlier Articles (424 more)

Date Title Categories
2025-04-23 Crossbench pressure will lift and improve Albo’s game politics
2025-04-15 Federal election: A different type of beauty contest politics
2025-04-08 We should walk away — quickly — from Trump’s America politics, world
2025-04-01 Will things fall apart? Can the centre hold? politics, topfive
2025-03-25 We can’t unscramble the AUKUS and ANZUS eggs politics, world
2025-03-18 ANZUS and NATO are kaput and Trump doesn’t care defence, politics, topfive, usa
2025-03-11 Are America’s values our values anymore? politics, topfive, usa, world
2025-03-04 The public is slow to believe the best of politicians politics, topfive
2025-02-25 Silence is golden for a smart independent politics
2025-02-18 Teals should hammer unfinished integrity agenda politics
2025-02-11 Yes, let’s have an inquiry into the smelly Dural caravan affair politics
2025-02-04 Who’s tough enough not to pull the AUKUS trigger? politics
2025-01-28 Will public servants become agents of the party rather than the state? politics
2025-01-21 Laurel-less Biden limps for the exit. Will Albanese be next? israel-palestine, politics
2025-01-14 A clear and present danger to the peace of the world politics, usa
2025-01-07 Steering without a compass or a map politics
2024-12-31 Whipping up Aboriginal enthusiasm politics
2024-12-24 Few voters think they have benefitted much from Labor in government politics, topfive
2024-12-17 To defeat Dutton, Labor needs inspiration and leadership from its ‘mortal enemy’ … media, politics
2024-12-10 Albo’s pre-emptive kowtow to an imagined Westminster politics
2024-12-03 Does Albo even deserve to win? politics, topfive
2024-11-26 Distorting elections: Australia’s professional politicians feather their own … politics, topfive
2024-11-19 Labor, party of the comfortably housed, needs the Greens politics
2024-11-12 Like Kamala, Albanese doesn’t seem to get it politics, world
2024-11-05 Albanese’s limp self-defence aggravated the damage of Qantas allegations politics
2024-10-29 Keeping the public in the dark: Is it time to scrap the NACC and start again? politics
2024-10-22 ACT Labor holds on, but are wheels coming off the Albanese re-election campaign? politics
2024-10-15 ACT’s Barr will struggle to overcome belief he has been in power too long politics
2024-10-08 Australia poised to enter another US-led Middle East war politics, usa, world
2024-10-01 If we can’t have vision, let’s have boldness and strength of purpose economy, politics
2024-09-24 Public Service Commission is an enemy of the public and the public interest politics
2024-09-17 Kamala still facing electoral college hurdles politics, usa
2024-09-10 It’s now too late for Labor to fix its re-election problems politics
2024-09-03 Stewards should have an early look at this roughie racehorse economy, politics
2024-08-27 Labor on the AUKUS battleground defence, politics, topfive
2024-08-20 Labor makes industry by embracing its gambling mates politics
2024-08-13 Albo may struggle to enthuse his followers politics
2024-08-06 Slogans masquerading as policies - the Dutton playbook? politics, usa, world
2024-07-30 Kamala is still the underdog politics, usa
2024-07-23 Martyrdom transforms Trump politics, usa, world
2024-07-17 Albo’s envoys will entrench religious and political divisions for generations israel-palestine, politics
2024-07-16 Trump is the old man most likely to win the US election politics, usa
2024-07-10 APS reform bus runs out of solar power politics
2024-07-09 Payman becomes symbol for discontent with Labor israel-palestine, politics, topfive
2024-07-02 Beware: corrupt conduct is not always criminal politics
2024-06-25 Nuclear vibrations pose more threat to Albo than Dutton politics
2024-06-18 Only shame can make integrity guardians do their duty politics
2024-06-11 Corruption commission has yet to prove its worth politics, topfive
2024-06-04 Canberra bureaucrats commissioning NT houses unfit for purpose indigenous-affairs
2024-05-28 Our quality of life under threat from the meanness of politicians economy, politics
2024-05-21 Courts protect crimes by agents of the state, punish whistleblowers media, politics
2024-05-14 To his adversaries, Albo is a pushover economy, media
2024-05-07 The hospital at the bottom of the DV cliff politics
2024-04-30 Is Albo’s big new idea too late? politics
2024-04-23 The Anti-China War Book: Pezzullo hears the call again politics
2024-04-16 Over Dutton now looms the spectre of a quick trip to Government House politics
2024-04-09 Crossbench is Labor’s real opposition politics
2024-04-02 Clare O’Neil dances to Dutton’s tune politics, topfive
2024-03-26 We now need, it seems, a Voice for bigots education, politics, religion
2024-03-19 How our tax system is making the rich richer. And the poor poorer economy, politics, topfive
2024-03-12 No slowing the ACT rape merry-go-round politics
2024-03-05 ASIO needs a boss who can stand above the tumult politics, topfive
2024-02-27 Australia's First Nations still looking over the 1788 chasm indigenous-affairs, politics
2024-02-20 Israel’s propaganda has ceased to convince or persuade even its friends media
2024-02-13 When open justice is an optional ingredient politics
2024-02-06 Opportunity for real tax reform goes wanting economy, politics
2024-01-30 Australia’s biggest handicap: believing our own bullshit about our military defence, politics
2024-01-23 Tide turning on boat people bastardry immigration, politics, topfive
2024-01-16 Oppressive secrecy needs more dashes of cold water yet politics
2024-01-10 Release the full report on Mike Pezzullo’s misdeeds politics
2024-01-02 Plodding Labor will rue its missed opportunities politics
2023-12-27 Holding Justice in contempt: Janet Albrechtsen and a new weapon for rape … politics
2023-12-19 Biden unable to slow the Israeli slaughter politics
2023-12-12 Shiver runs up and breaks the Labor spine politics
2023-11-29 Was Pezzullo recording leak from a federal agency monitoring his communications? politics
2023-11-28 The Attorney who chooses his battles, too rarely politics
2023-11-21 Gutless leaders without faith, hope or charity politics, world
2023-11-14 Judicial activism overturns years of inhumane cruelty on immigration detention immigration, politics
2023-11-07 Israel’s moral power ebbing away in a human rights catastrophe israel-palestine, politics
2023-10-31 Hamas has set a trap. It depends on Israel’s brutal response defence, israel-palestine, politics
2023-10-24 Israel will never be safe until Palestine is free israel-palestine, politics, religion, world
2023-10-17 The Voice has been silenced, but now we must listen indigenous-affairs
2023-10-10 Will referendum defeat foretell doom for Albanese? indigenous-affairs, politics
2023-10-04 PwC: $1 Billion in penalties would be a fair settlement politics
2023-10-03 Did unlamented Pezzullo dream of taking the Chinese surrender in Beijing? politics
2023-09-26 Let’s avoid more Covid disasters. The public already knows who to blame economy, health, politics
2023-09-19 Australia’s secretive defence establishment: the real enemies of truth and … defence, media, politics, topfive, world
2023-09-12 Dutton has made himself the Voice target politics
2023-09-05 Labor’s weakness for little rorts politics
2023-08-29 Climate and housing left on the 2063 agenda economy, education, health, politics
2023-08-22 Anthony Albanese is paralysed and failing to grasp the moment politics
2023-08-15 Sofronoff endorses the status quo on rape cases politics, topfive
2023-08-08 Shane Drumgold, despite his alleged sins, is an unlikely master villain politics, topfive
2023-08-01 Flesh and bones on the corruption menu politics
2023-07-25 Integrity is what they do, not what they pretend politics
2023-07-18 Don’t count on much post-Robodebt ‘reform’ politics
2023-07-11 Making Voice a referendum on the Labor government indigenous-affairs, politics
2023-07-04 NSW ICAC findings sound warning to federal ministers politics
2023-06-27 Voice needs a serious rattle of spears indigenous-affairs, politics, topfive
2023-06-20 Our law and order violate women media, politics
2023-06-13 An inquiry of self-limited curiosity politics
2023-06-06 Catholics should go where the government isn’t politics, religion
2023-05-30 Sending the cops into PwC is the tamest possible response to fraud on the … politics
2023-05-23 How PwC monetises its insider secrets economy, politics
2023-05-16 Can Labor remain a winner simply by being less worse? economy, politics
2023-05-09 Ex-politicians who go over to the enemy defence, politics
2023-05-02 Budget must show what we are invested in economy, politics
2023-04-25 Dutton gives voice to Jacinta Price indigenous-affairs, politics
2023-04-18 Home Affairs' culture of getting things wrong politics
2023-04-11 Albanese should take the Voice to the people indigenous-affairs, politics
2023-04-04 Public servants contemplating abolition of the people politics
2023-03-28 The shame of missing a national mood indigenous-affairs, politics
2023-03-21 Albanese a pale shadow of Keating, even on subs defence, politics, world
2023-03-14 We don’t need subs or war with China defence, economy, media, politics
2023-03-07 It’s the bureaucracy that enabled the Robodebt shame economy, politics
2023-02-28 Be alert but not very alarmed as ASIO rediscovers bad, as opposed to friendly, … politics
2023-02-21 Fighting to the last Ukrainian defence, politics, world
2023-02-15 Pearls and Irritations has never been more necessary media
2023-02-14 Not every liberal wants Dutton to win in Aston politics
2023-02-07 Perrottet best throw of the dice is gambling reform politics
2023-01-31 Voice vote may demand blood in the water indigenous-affairs, politics, topfive
2023-01-24 Jacinda Ardern, the ultimate accolade, and Jim Molan media, politics, topfive
2023-01-17 George Pell leaves a diminished church, to successors hardly better religion, topfive
2023-01-12 MPs shilling for private interests politics
2023-01-10 How 20 ratbag Republicans could Trump 200 party loyalists politics
2023-01-03 Decaying Liberals oblivious to the abyss politics, topfive
2022-12-27 Please don’t mention guilt or innocence while asking if there was a case to … politics
2022-12-20 Labor lets its moral mandate wither away politics
2022-12-13 Alleged police sabotage of the Bruce Lehrmann rape prosecution demands proper … politics, topfive
2022-11-30 Dutton will find sudden enthusiasm for the NACC when Labor is questioned politics
2022-11-29 Will the Dreyfus-Dutton NACC blow up in Labor’s face? politics
2022-11-22 Albanese’s China reset leaves national security establishment in the cold china, politics
2022-11-15 Why is Albo so set on clipping Teal wings? politics
2022-11-08 Australia on the losing side again: "We see you as an easy lay” defence, politics, world
2022-11-02 Voters need collateral on the new Labor social contract economy, politics
2022-11-01 A plan for Australia worthy of our wartime heroes history, politics
2022-10-25 Shergold Review: Opinions of the great and the good have no special weight politics
2022-10-18 Is Albanese up to the job of public service reform? politics
2022-10-11 No place for AFP in anti-corruption teams politics
2022-10-06 Non-believers, the timid and party rorters have got at corruption bill politics
2022-09-28 Time to get fair dinkum, or the Voice proposal will lose momentum and support indigenous-affairs, politics
2022-09-27 No guts, no glory in deposing the King politics
2022-09-21 Republican Albanese imprisoned by royal protocol politics, world
2022-09-14 Labor must pro-actively manage potential conflicts of interest politics
2022-09-13 Albanese won’t rescue the Governor General from his impossible position politics
2022-09-07 Marketing an economic plan must appeal to the heart as much as the head economy, politics
2022-09-06 Albanese can afford to seem firm about tax cuts economy, politics
2022-08-30 Super Scott and the coup vaccine politics
2022-08-23 The stench of Morrison’s dormant constitutional coup politics
2022-08-16 The voice implies a change of heart indigenous-affairs, politics
2022-08-09 Does the US know what it is doing, and mean what it says, over Taiwan? china
2022-08-02 Wardens of secrecy discredit their own system politics
2022-07-26 It's the teals who are the most representative on integrity issues politics
2022-07-19 Abbott chickens come home to roost politics
2022-07-06 The unlimited, and unaccountable powers we’ve given police politics
2022-07-05 Governments losing their way politics
2022-06-29 Liberals have ICAC on their conscience politics
2022-06-28 Public servants judge and jury over next-up political bosses politics
2022-06-22 Attorney-General’s has not been a recent friend of real law reform politics
2022-06-21 Can Albanese maintain the honeymoon mood? politics
2022-06-15 Sooner or later, the integrity commission will take out a Labor minister politics
2022-06-08 The whole idea of Home Affairs and its constituent parts needs revisiting politics, topfive
2022-06-07 Public service chiefs need trials before executions politics
2022-06-01 Albanese should share the map and the driving with the teals politics
2022-05-18 Has Labor timidity hobbled its right to exercise power? politics
2022-05-10 Can Morrison cash any pandemic, or economic recovery cheques? politics
2022-05-03 Teals assault the thin blue line politics
2022-04-17 Campaign needs a touch of the spiritual politics
2022-04-13 Labor will never appease Murdoch, and should stop trying media, politics
2022-04-12 Labor scared of the shadow of a Murdoch paper tiger media, politics
2022-04-05 Concetta tips bucket over Morrison, a leader she despises politics, topfive
2022-03-30 Some urgent tasks for a new government politics
2022-03-29 This is now one for Albo to lose politics
2022-03-23 Governments, labor or liberal should get the boot after two or three terms politics
2022-03-22 A noose fashioned from one's own words politics
2022-03-16 ADF deserves better leadership in disasters, especially from politicians defence, politics
2022-03-15 Morrison awaits his miracle politics
2022-03-08 Defeat of Ukraine may leave Australia like a shag on a rock politics
2022-03-01 Russia should shrink from Morrison's dressing down!! politics
2022-02-23 Why won’t Australia promote its own interests, not America’s politics
2022-02-22 The Chinese dead cat in the ring politics, topfive
2022-02-16 Albanese leaves supporters wondering: is there a line he won't cross? politics
2022-02-15 Morrison left empty-handed by botched attempt to appease bigots politics
2022-02-09 Losing control: Morrison out on his own on campaign trail politics
2022-02-08 PM bogged and vulnerable in the face of the enemy’s guns politics
2022-02-02 Out of touch, and out of time? Another 2019 looks impossible for Morrison politics, topfive
2022-02-01 Turning away: will Australians render Grace Tame's judgment on Morrison? politics, topfive
2022-01-26 Slow and steady Albanese may not outdistance that wily hare Morrison politics
2022-01-25 Is unsure, cautious Albanese wily enough to outwit Morrison? politics
2022-01-19 A sense of mission required for the (eventual) post-Covid nation health, politics
2022-01-18 Our post-pandemic healthcare system will need massive investment health, politics
2022-01-12 Health officials' timidity to politicians has hampered pandemic response politics
2022-01-11 Co-opted under Covid: health experts set up for blame they may deserve politics, topfive
2022-01-05 A continuing pandemic puts more than economic recovery at risk politics
2022-01-04 Slow learner: ill-advised Morrison set to repeat end-of-year pratfalls politics, topfive
2021-12-22 Minister, it's a minefield: is Dutton playing chicken in the Taiwan Strait? politics
2021-12-21 War without winners: Taiwan presents a trap for both China and US politics
2021-12-15 States can supplant outsource-happy Canberra as ideas engine room politics
2021-12-14 Perrottet prognosticates: imaginative premiers will revitalise federal system politics, topfive
2021-12-08 Morrison's mistakes may be the making of a better system of governance politics
2021-12-07 It's time for Morrison to consider his legacy as electoral wilderness looms politics, topfive
2021-12-01 For the prime minister, self-delusion now an ingrained tic politics
2021-11-30 How Scott Morrison is trashing the Liberal brand politics, topfive
2021-11-24 Steady on ranters, Victoria is not descending into totalitarianism politics
2021-11-23 Derring-do Dan: Victoria's decent 'dictator' should take back the initiative politics
2021-11-17 Labor must be more spirited for voters to know what it stands for politics
2021-11-16 Labor could lose the election — and it just might deserve to politics, topfive
2021-11-10 Clown but not out: foreign policy failures won't wing Morrison politics
2021-11-09 Move on, mate: Morrison’s performance demeaned us all politics, topfive
2021-11-03 Three years after Hayne, the robber barons are back in charge politics, topfive
2021-11-02 A bitter bet: Crown reigns supreme, safe from effective oversight politics
2021-10-27 Time is running out for Labor to show it deserves to win government politics, topfive
2021-10-26 Are Albanese and Labor really ready to govern? politics
2021-10-20 Failure to stand up to the Nationals makes Liberal leaders the real villains politics
2021-10-19 National Party is extorting the government for money and favours on climate … climate, politics, topfive
2021-10-13 Partisan political favouritism on trial in Berejiklian's ICAC case politics
2021-10-05 In 50 years, Australia has never bought the best submarine for its needs defence, politics
2021-09-15 To protect its interests, Australia should be a better neighbour rather than a … politics
2021-09-14 Coalition's game of chicken with China for political advantage defence, politics
2021-09-08 A premature victory over Covid could be ruinous politics
2021-09-07 Vaccines: poor design, poor execution and Morrison failure politics
2021-09-01 It is not obvious that Morrison would win a public relations battle with the … politics
2021-08-31 Can Morrison sell his risky plan as a ‘contract with the Australian people’? politics
2021-08-25 History, or a royal commission, will not be kind to Morrison politics, topfive
2021-08-24 Morrison has the smell of political death about him. politics, topfive
2021-08-18 One could always rent the Nationals. A generation ago the process was called … politics
2021-08-17 The National Party in the service of the mining lobby. politics
2021-08-11 Morrison worries real conservatives even as he pleases business politics, topfive
2021-08-10 The Morrison ship of state might be better scuttled politics
2021-08-04 Commonwealth timidity on the big issues. politics
2021-08-03 Premiers, not Albanese, are throwing Morrison out the window politics, topfive
2021-07-28 PM’s focus on short-term fixes and politicisation of every conflict politics
2021-07-27 Did we all over-estimate what Scott Morrison had to offer? politics, topfive
2021-07-21 Let’s re-imagine Anzac Day and phase out ADF and RSL’s ownership politics
2021-07-20 Patriotism needs more active, more suspicious citizenship politics
2021-07-14 It’s time for Labor to capitalise on Morrison’s inadequacies politics, topfive
2021-07-13 We have seen Morrison’s best, and it wasn’t much politics, topfive
2021-07-07 Rot starts from the top politics
2021-07-06 National Party greed was once restrained by Liberals politics, topfive
2021-06-30 After the pandemic war, no political point in refighting the battles politics
2021-06-29 What has Australia gained from the crisis the pandemic represented? politics
2021-06-23 Housing politics dominated by the interests of the already-housed politics
2021-06-22 Old Canberra a model of cheap land and government housing politics
2021-06-08 Government rorting is now the Australian way of doing business politics, topfive
2021-06-02 Public servants as courtiers rather than stewards politics, topfive
2021-06-01 The probity standards public servants walk past are the ones they accept politics, topfive
2021-05-26 Advice being tailored for political, not medical, need politics, topfive
2021-05-24 All too convenient to blame the Health bureaucrats health, politics
2021-05-19 The path to petty tyranny and public poverty politics
2021-05-18 The way, the truth and the life of Reilly politics
2021-05-12 No room for the poor at the Pentecostal table politics
2021-05-11 The devil in the detail of identity politics politics
2021-05-05 Morrison’s miracle appointment politics
2021-05-04 Morrison’s day of reckoning may bring down his temples politics, topfive
2021-04-28 What have our governments done to tackle rates of Indigenous custody? indigenous-affairs
2021-04-27 America needs to re-invent its police politics
2021-04-21 Will secrecy trump justice for murdered Afghans? defence
2021-04-20 Our MPs and Generals hope we forget the foolish Afghanistan war and the wounds … defence
2021-04-14 Morrison’s minders at the heart of his doldrums politics
2021-04-13 Ministerial staff can’t be strangled but they can be leashed politics, topfive
2021-04-07 Morrison’s over-hyping of vaccine delivery politics
2021-04-06 The usual suspects and mates, making a killing from vaccinations politics
2021-03-31 Sexual assault policies fit pattern of abuse of power politics
2021-03-30 Women’s passion and anger isn’t enough to force lasting change politics
2021-03-24 The AFP clearing-house: more political than useful topfive
2021-03-23 Sexual violence makes a farce of the rule of law politics
2021-03-17 Canberra: the nation's capital in progress politics
2021-03-10 Is Christian Porter fit to hold public office? politics
2021-03-09 Does Morrison need Porter more than the votes of 50% of the population? politics
2021-03-03 The AFP is a political tool of government. politics
2021-03-02 The abuse culture comes from entitled boys from almost all the most expensive … politics, topfive
2021-02-24 The Morrison method - if you don’t ask, you can’t tell politics
2021-02-23 I have never seen, over 50 years, a more slippery customer than Morrison politics
2021-02-17 A grubby and corrupting traffic in misery politics
2021-02-16 Boyos banished when Barangaroo boomerangs back politics
2021-02-10 Unaccountable leaders set the tone for all in public service politics, topfive
2021-02-09 The Morrison government: increasingly an ethical vacuum politics
2021-02-03 Polls will narrow, especially as Morrison is open to attack on issues of probity politics
2021-02-02 Labor's dissembling and ducking won’t win climate votes politics
2021-01-27 'Australians all let us forget that we are not all free' indigenous-affairs
2021-01-26 Patriotic ins and outs at the Australian unity jamboree politics
2021-01-20 Forget the insurrection as ‘a teaching opportunity’ politics
2021-01-19 Trump, and Trumpism, at no disadvantage in the senate trial politics
2021-01-13 After Georgia, Biden has no excuses but it's a long road ahead politics
2021-01-12 With a booby-trapped White House, many Americans will want the nightmare to end politics
2020-12-23 Morrison, the man with no abiding beliefs, also lacks agenda, map or destination politics
2020-12-22 Labor could beat Morrison with a bit more mongrel politics
2020-12-16 How Morrison repeatedly baulks at the vision thing and the moral thing politics
2020-12-15 Fire and viruses did not cleanse bad government politics
2020-12-09 Morrison pitching babies into hot bathwater politics
2020-12-08 Playing to the local gallery on crimes in Afghanistan politics, topfive
2020-12-02 Australia no longer an apostle, or exemplar, of good government politics
2020-12-01 A bridge too far for Cormann? politics
2020-11-25 Investigating ADF murder is not an AFP core competency politics
2020-11-24 SAS officers failed their men and Australia defence
2020-11-18 A mad King twitters from his fortress politics
2020-11-17 Will the toughest Trumpites be willing to bear arms? politics
2020-11-11 Bringing the Trumps, and Trumpism, to a fair accounting politics
2020-11-10 More drainage for a more polluted Washington swamp politics
2020-11-04 Virus a political vaccine for the incumbent premiers? politics
2020-11-03 Unaccountable national cabinet not a natural model for economic recovery politics
2020-10-28 We, and ASIO, should fear our own agents of influence politics
2020-10-27 Corruption undermines national security far more than spying politics
2020-10-21 Will our Glad have a chair when the music stops? politics, topfive
2020-10-20 The Gladys and Daryl Show. Having to squirm in open hearings acts as a … politics
2020-10-13 ACT Election: Tired and complacent versus hidebound and headstrong politics
2020-10-07 We need jobs which improve the Australian quality of life politics
2020-10-06 See if budget creates a future, and beware of dirty tricks! politics
2020-09-30 Porter - the political law officer who will not protect the public interest politics
2020-09-29 Corporate Covid giveaways wide-open for mega-rorting politics
2020-09-23 ADF and government stage-managing release of war crimes report politics
2020-09-22 Soon we must admit defeat in Afghanistan, and war crimes defence
2020-09-16 ASIO is a Mickey Mouse outfit compromising 50 years of diplomacy with China defence, politics
2020-09-15 Secrecy covers up abuse of power and poor performance by security services politics
2020-09-09 Federal and State blame game won't shift the burden of economic revival politics
2020-09-08 How governments made economic medicine less potent, more insipid politics
2020-09-01 Cowardly Labor won't fight Morrison over China policy politics
2020-08-26 Who's repelling boarders at our internal borders? politics
2020-08-25 War defined the scope of emergency powers, but now we may discriminate politics
2020-08-19 Bad habits must be unlearned before they bring down governments and society politics
2020-08-18 Morrison's government has tried ditch the rules... to no avail politics, topfive
2020-08-12 Child sex victims being bent to national security agenda politics
2020-08-11 Cyber-war: building more empires than it destroys politics
2020-08-05 The courage deficit: Will Albanese die wondering? politics
2020-08-04 Forget the trench battles. There's a war to be won politics
2020-07-29 Liberals throw out their Doctrines and Dogma economy, politics
2020-07-28 Corona-crisis calls for imagination, not panic, parsimony and punishment. politics
2020-07-22 Are we but twiddling thumbs while waiting for a vaccine? politics
2020-07-21 Deliberately missing the opportunities politics
2020-07-15 Australia's courts and senators are not of an accountability mind politics
2020-07-14 One cannot say that the law is above our politicians politics
2020-07-08 China won't care what we think or do about Hong Kong china
2020-07-07 Our lapdogs yap from a safe distance china
2020-07-01 Dirty Dyson demolishes his own reputation politics
2020-06-30 Judge Dyson, moving in the lower circles of hell politics
2020-06-24 Law can't hide hypocrisy, lying and double dealing defence, politics
2020-06-23 Justice impossible with secret trials politics
2020-06-10 JACK WATERFORD. Punishing the ‘undeserving’ - the robo-debt fiasco economy, politics
2020-06-09 No public interest, it seems, in watching public money burn politics
2020-06-03 JACK WATERFORD. Morrison has all of the flexibility in the world politics
2020-06-02 JACK WATERFORD. The size of the COVID deficit is a political, not an economic … economy, politics
2020-05-27 JACK WATERFORD. Trump: the man who made America little again politics
2020-05-26 JACK WATERFORD. Shooting ourselves in the boot again politics
2020-05-20 JACK WATERFORD. Dutton fights from the flank politics
2020-05-19 JACK WATERFORD. Good policy comes from loud debate, not good manners politics
2020-05-13 JACK WATERFORD. Digesting the cases being missed health, politics
2020-05-12 JACK WATERFORD. Asymptomatic Covid cases will give us our next waves health, politics
2020-05-06 JACK WATERFORD. We intended Covid inquest idea as an insult - for no good reason politics
2020-05-05 JACK WATERFORD. Spies and non-combatants rehearsing war dances politics
2020-04-29 JACK WATERFORD. The snares of proclaiming victory against the virus politics
2020-04-28 JACK WATERFORD. Still fighting with one hand tied behind our back politics
2020-04-22 JACK WATERFORD. A matter of clout, and of egos politics
2020-04-21 JACK WATERFORD. Has Gladys got Peter, or Scott in the cross-hairs? politics
2020-04-15 JACK WATERFORD. Prosecution as an obstacle race religion
2020-04-14 JACK WATERORD. A free and innocent Pell, but not a martyr to any cause religion
2020-04-11 JACK WATERFORD supports Pearls and Irritations commendations, politics
2020-04-08 JACK WATERFORD. Failing to mass test condemns us to repeated epidemics health
2020-04-07 JACK WATERFORD. The young not the old are the key to beating COVID-19 politics
2020-04-01 JACK WATERFORD.- The not-so-dirty secret the COVID-19 panel wants to hide Part … politics
2020-03-31 The not-so-dirty secret the Covid-19 panel wants to hide Part 1 politics
2020-03-25 JACK WATERFORD.- China's formidable achievement health
2020-03-24 JACK WATERFORD.-COVID-19 mapping must go beyond the sick to the well health, politics
2020-03-18 JACK WATERFORD.- Covid-19. The risks to us as it spreads to our region and … politics
2020-03-17 JACK WATERFORD.-Covid-19 and the economic hospital politics
2020-03-11 JACK WATERFORD. The Life and Legacy of Len Hewitt politics
2020-03-10 JACK WATERFORD. Morrison needs new roadmap and more humility politics
2020-03-04 JACK WATERFORD. Covid-19 no need to panic yet. health, politics
2020-03-03 JACK WATERFORD.The big risk is this flu taking root in our neighbourhood, such … health, politics
2020-02-27 JACK WATERFORD. Most sex abuse occurs in the home politics
2020-02-26 JACK WATERFORD. Sherlocks lost the plot on child sex abuse years ago. politics
2020-02-18 JACK WATERFORD. Morrison closes the books on black disadvantage gap indigenous-affairs
2020-02-11 JACK WATERFORD. The sports rorts will taint the Canberra air for a long time. politics
2020-02-05 JACK WATERFORD. TRUMP, Congress and the Australian Parliament politics
2020-02-04 JACK WATERFORD. PM is never assailed by doubt,or an urge to explain politics
2020-01-28 JACK WATERFORD. Are our leaders morally fit for purpose? politics
2020-01-21 JACK WATERFORD. How rorting sporting grants became a bipartisan game. politics
2020-01-14 JACK WATERFORD.-Pot shots prove poor policy politics
2020-01-07 JACK WATERFORD.- Coalition burning up its electoral credit. politics
2019-12-31 JACK WATERFORD.-Is Morrison really on the bridge? politics
2019-12-24 JACK WATERFORD.-Even a PM needs time to chill – and think politics
2019-12-17 JACK WATERFORD.  Morrison resists the salvation temptation climate
2019-12-10 JACK WATERFORD. Chinese checkers in the great game politics
2019-12-03 JACK WATERFORD. Sexing up the charges for PR purposes politics
2019-11-26 Porter’s selective concern for fairness and justice politics
2019-11-19 JACK WATERFORD. Now is not the time for keeping mum about Scott climate
2019-11-12 JACK WATERFORD. Labor could fall further yet politics
2019-11-05 JACK WATERFORD. Do harrowing inquiries deliver bang for the bucks? politics
2019-10-29 JACK WATERFORD. Soon we won’t recognise the face of Australia. politics
2019-10-22 JACK WATERFORD. ACT closes the books on how cops and lawyers failed David … politics
2019-10-15 JACK WATERFORD. If you break it, you own it. politics
2019-10-08 JACK WATERFORD. Thin pickings from big bikkies politics
2019-10-01 JACK WATERFORD. The judiciary is a part of government too (Canberra Times … politics
2019-09-24 JACK WATERFORD. Albanese’s race against time (Canberra Times 20-9-19) politics
2019-09-17 JACK WATERFORD. Politics and the rustle of folding money (Canberra Times … politics
2019-09-10 JACK WATERFORD. Bullshit and hypocrisy cannot hide behind a Secret stamp … politics
2019-09-03 JACK WATERFORD. Labor’s turn with the brown paper bag.  Integrity bodies should … politics
2019-08-27 High Court should leave Pell alone. There’s no unresolved point of law, and no … politics, religion
2019-08-20 Can Knut Morrison hold back the tides? politics
2019-08-13 Broken government: it’s the engine as well as the drivers politics
2019-08-06 JACK WATERFORD. Half-hearted inquiries into casino crime politics
2019-07-30 JACK WATERFORD. When loyalty and duty are in conflict politics
2019-07-23 JACK WATERFORD. AFP needs a leader who is a character with character, not a … politics
2019-07-16 JACK WATERFORD. Have Australians the heart for the Uluru statement? Losing the … indigenous-affairs
2019-07-09 JACK WATERFORD. Not quite Custer’s last stand, yet politics
2019-07-01 JACK WATERFORD. Pyne turning public role to private profit (Canberra Times … politics
2019-06-25 JACK WATERFORD. Morrison should move before his enemies organise( Canberra Times … politics
2019-06-24 JACK WATERFORD. Morrison faces the climate storm( Canberra Times 15 June 2019) politics
2019-06-21 JACK WATERFORD.  The leaking tap: cherchez le Pezzullo-haters (7 June 2019) politics
2019-05-17 JACK WATERFORD. Bob Hawke: A larrikin, chairman and nation builder (Canberra … politics
2019-04-16 JACK WATERFORD. Are management and trustworthiness Morrison's strong points? … politics
2019-04-01 JACK WATERFORD. Can Thodey, or Shorten, stop bleeding in the public service? … politics
2019-03-25 JACK WATERFORD. Prime Minister's ever-diminishing credibility. (Canberra Times … politics
2019-03-04 JACK WATERFORD. Murdoch becomes a paper tiger (Canberra Times 2.2.2019) media, politics
2019-02-25 JACK WATERFORD. Soft cops are soft-soaping us (Canberra Times 23.2.2019) politics
2019-02-18 JACK WATERFORD. The silence of public service lambs used by a panicking … politics
2018-12-11 JACK WATERFORD. Why do crime-busters need ASIO-type powers? defence, politics
2018-11-19 JACK WATERFORD. Frydenberg will pick up the election bill (Canberra Times … economy, politics
2018-11-13 JACK WATERFORD. Let's hope independents take lead on corruption. (Canberra … politics
2018-11-06 Time to pull the curtain on memorial industry (Canberra Times 3.11.2018) defence, politics
2018-10-22 JACK WATERFORD. Morrison lacks whatever it takes. politics
2018-09-29 JACK WATERFORD. Turnbull's ABC chickens home to roost (Canberra Times … media, politics
2018-06-13 JACK WATERFORD. Trust Labor on national security? Sure can't. (Canberra … defence, politics
2017-03-02 JACK WATERFORD. We need a Catholic Yom Kippur, and a serious sacrifice. religion
2015-12-31 Jack Waterford. It's time: The Dismissal gave us knockout punch politics, now we … media, politics