The Policy Post

  Can liberal democracy survive? Yes, actually. The fear and angst in western democracies is palpable. The threat from populists of the right is serious. But the reasons driving all this aren’t the ones you’ve been told.

  Assassination: the political strategy nobody admits to. Political assassination has always been an element of statecraft. But is it ever ethically justified? And does it work?

  The meandering mess of Tasmania’s politics. Tasmania’s three Lambie-ist MPs, now propping up an unpopular and inept state government, are getting cold feet. When will the plug be finally pulled?

  The time-bomb under every state budget. Australia’s public hospitals cost too much and achieve too little. Soaring costs threaten to drown state finances while abandoning patients. But it doesn’t have to be like this.

  A bill of rights is now tantalisingly close. Australia is the only western liberal democracy without a mandated charter of human rights. It’s now closer than at any time in 40 years.

  The budget that forgot health. Every element of Australia’s health system is in trouble. But you’d never know it from looking at this year’s budget.

  Want to save public hospitals? First, stop being stupid. Under-funding is not the main reason for the crisis in Australia’s public hospitals. A far bigger problem is systemic stupidity.

  Australia as an industrial superpower? Well, yes … The Albanese government’s Future Made in Australia project is one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented policies of recent times. It may also be the most important.

  Jacqui Lambie’s imperial ambitions take a tumble. She tried to turn her idiosyncratic brand into a sort-of party. But, as with so many of those arrangements before, it’s quickly falling apart.

  In their last redoubt, the Liberals lurch further to the right – and oblivion. The Tasmanian election was a disaster for both major parties, but only Labor has a path back.