Grog’s great anonymity gamble

29/09/2010 | Comments { 2 } |

f you only learn one useful thing from this article – which would be well above average for my posts – then learn this: there is no such thing as a high-profile, anonymous blogger. That’s the lesson that @GrogsGamut, the blogger, tweeter and sometime Drum contributor has learned after the Australian‘s James Massola outed him late last night as arts bureaucrat Greg Jericho. Which is a name so secret-agent cool that I might well use it as my own pseudonym someday. Continue Reading →

The luxury of independence

18/09/2010 | Comments { 0 } |

When I was a kid, my local State MP was Ted Mack, who was so independent that he even lived in Neutral St, North Sydney. He was Mayor of North Sydney too, and during his time, spearheaded major building projects in places I regularly visited, like Stanton Library and North Sydney Oval, where I used to watch rugby league before the Super League war destroyed the Bears. I looked on with schoolboy awe as our whole suburb was transformed under the watch of this architect-turned-politician. He was a white-haired, groovy-vintage-car-driving political superhero, able to renovate municipal buildings in a single bound. Continue Reading →

Comrades giveaway

15/09/2010 | Comments { 35 } |

I’m going to post a signed copy of Comrades to the person who leaves the most amusing excuse for why they haven’t read it yet. Please leave yours below and don’t forget to include your email address! (Update: it’s now closed.)

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For real reform, let’s make Parliament more like cricket

09/09/2010 | Comments { 0 } |
Although the independents have now kept the nation waiting for 17 infuriating days, we’ve now seen the method behind their media appearances. By constantly projecting indecision, they’ve been able to convince both sides that they’re in with a chance. And that, not the pretence of a new atmosphere of amity that saw Anthony Albanese and Chris Pyne hugging yesterday, is why both parties have been willing to sign up for genuine Parliamentary reform.

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Australia voted, and now the independents should too

02/09/2010 | Comments { 0 } |

Let’s get this election over with. It’s already gone on for about a week too long, and instead of being obliged to exhaustively rebut the myth that Labor’s losing the two-party preferred vote, Antony Green needs a holiday. The only counting the ABC’s election analyst should be doing is of the olives in his poolside martini.

Saying no to negativity

26/08/2010 | Comments { 0 } |

As we wait for somebody, anybody, to form a government, Australia is riven by uncertainty. Canberra is on tenterhooks, stock markets are jittery, and I’m not sure who I’m supposed to be making fun of anymore. Continue Reading →

How to vote in Election 2010

21/08/2010 | Comments { 0 } |

After Yes We Canberra! concluded on its pre-election episode on Wednesday with a song which suggested that every single candidate in this election was f**ked, some have accused The Chaser of negativity. While this is, of course, outrageous, I thought I’d attempt to redress the balance by provide a few good reasons to vote for each of our major parties. Continue Reading →

Our major parties’ gay abandon

20/08/2010 | Comments { 0 } |

Why, pray tell, is there a bipartisan consensus against same-sex marriage? A Galaxy poll last year found that 60% were in favour of it – more than enough to legalise something socially progressive, since when it finally happens, and gay marriages are proven to have absolutely no impact on anyone else’s except making functions venues slightly harder to book, even more people will come on board. Continue Reading →

The joy of cross-promotion

16/08/2010 | Comments { 0 } |

It was very considerate, I thought, of Julia Gillard to time her election to coincide with the launch of my book about a student election. And given its theme of political ruthlessness, it was even more considerate of her to depose the elected Prime Minister in a palace coup a mere month before its release date. There’s nothing like a bit of cross-promotion to really give your product a boost. Sales of Comrades should receive a substantial boost, I reckon, and also of knives. Continue Reading →

Stopping the boats, but not the migrants

14/08/2010 | Comments { 0 } |

Although John Howard strode off the Australian political stage in November 2007, we are still reaping the benefits of his legacy today.  Thanks to John Howard, Peter Costello will never be Prime Minister. Thanks to John Howard, One Nation was destroyed as a political force, because the Coalition assimilated its major policies. And thanks to John Howard, I still can’t look at a Wallabies tracksuit without sniggering.
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