Ben Eltham

1 month ago | crikey.com.au | Ben Eltham

In a sense, Murray Watt is the very model of a modern Labor politician. School captain of his high school. President of the University of Queensland student union. President of Young Labor in Queensland. Chief of staff to a Labor premier, Anna Bligh. A stint at Maurice Blackburn, doing refugee advocacy. One term as a state member in the Brisbane suburbs. All the while, Watt was building.

1 month ago | crikey.com.au | Ben Eltham

I spent Saturday night at an election party in the seat of Wannon, in Victoria’s west. The host served a lovely roast lamb and some excellent Victorian Shiraz. The largely conservative attendees veered from anticipation to bewilderment as the results rolled in. But they were very happy with one consolation of the evening: the convincing reelection of local member, Liberal Dan Tehan. As we noted last week, Tehan faced a serious challenge from independent Alex Dyson.

1 month ago | killyourdarlings.com.au | Ben Eltham

On stage at a rally this March in Colorado, American senator Bernie Sanders made a point that drew applause from the large audience: ‘I’m not a mathematician, but I do know that 99 per cent is a hell of a lot bigger number than one per cent. I do know that if we stand together, we are the vast majority of people.’Sanders’ argument drew from a popular discourse about the state of society: a discourse about inequality.

1 month ago | crikey.com.au | Ben Eltham

On a crisp April evening last week, most candidates for the federal seat of Wannon gathered for an election forum in Warrnambool. Held at Deakin University’s western campus, the event was sponsored by the “SouthWest Victoria Alliance” — a kind of local progress association comprising six local councils along the southern coast — and hosted by former ABC presenter and rural podcaster Kirsten Diprose. Wannon has been conservative for generations.

2 months ago | crikey.com.au | Ben Eltham

It’s no secret that the Coalition wants to reduce the public service. Peter Dutton and the opposition have variously said that they plan to cut 36,000 or perhaps 41,000 positions from the Australian Public Service (APS) should they win the election. The aim is to return the APS to the employment levels of 2022, when the Morrison government left office.