2007 Federal Election: Brave Predictions

This is a collection of media commentary during 2007 in which the writers make predictions about the federal election.

Judge for yourself how well they did…

Recycled, Rejected And Right Off The Rails

Yesterday, in the nation’s Parliament, with hardly a politician to be seen anywhere, we got some election realism. Three rows of recycling bins, whacking big green ones with yellow lids. More than 300 of them. Where? In the basement corridor of the ministerial wing. The bins seemed a more apt commentary than all the desperate, last-minute Coalition windbaggery going on around the nation on what is about to descend on the Prime Minister after 33 years in public life and almost 12 years remaking Australia in his own miserable, disfigured image. They arrived two days ago and whoever they’re for, 48 hours before a single vote is cast today, you felt [Read more…]


Liberals Quick To Ridicule Beazley

The Liberal Party has been quick to react to the re-election of Kim Beazley as Labor leader.

Following Beazley’s re-election press conference, the Liberal Party circulated a statement, attributed to Gough Whitlam by Phillip Adams, to subscribers to the party’s email newsletter.

The remark has Whitlam referring to Beazley’s extensive experience in government and asking: “Tell me one thing he did in any of them!”

The email is headed: [Read more…]


Quotes From The 2001 Federal Election

This page provides a collection of extended quotations gathered during the 2001 Federal Election campaign.

The quotes cover the campaign period and the election’s aftermath.


How A Single-Issue Party Held Onto Power

We shall never know for certain that the Tampa would have been, by itself, sufficient to ensure the Howard Government a third term or whether it was the combination of the Tampa “crisis” and September 11 that the Howard Government required. What we do know, however, is that when the now retired Defence Minister, Peter Reith, suggested that al-Qaeda terrorists might be found among the Afghan and Iraqi asylum seekers on the leaky vessels travelling to Australia, a politically decisive connection between border control and the terrorist threat to Australia was conjured in the public’s mind. [Read more…]


Phillip Adams And John Singleton On Political Advertising In 1980

This is a video of Phillip Adams and John Singleton discussing political advertising during the 1980 federal election campaign.

The segment was part of the ABC’s Nationwide program, hosted by Richard Carleton. It was broadcast on September 29, 1980. [Read more…]