Peter Brent

2 weeks ago | insidestory.org.au | Peter Brent

As we approach the two-week mark since Anthony Albanese visited Government House, the opinion polls are favouring the Labor leader and his government in two-party-preferred terms, averaging around 52 per cent, their best numbers since around this time last year.

1 month ago | insidestory.org.au | Peter Brent

Things are getting complicated on the environment front. Late last year the prime minister withdrew plans to create a federal environmental protection agency (promised before the 2022 election), partly at the behest of Western Australia’s Labor premier. Motivations also included Anthony Albanese’s determination — some might say obsession — with propping up his own government’s support in that state, and difficulties getting the legislation through the Senate.

2 months ago | insidestory.org.au | Peter Brent

When another Newspoll dropped this week (51–49 in the Coalition’s favour, again) the Australian mentioned a change in how its pollsters will be estimating two-party-preferred figures between now and the federal election. No longer will they simply slot in the flows from One Nation recorded at the 2022 election; they’ve decided those numbers, 64.3 per cent to the Coalition and 35.7 to Labor, are not quite pro-Coalition enough to be accurate. Why?

2 months ago | insidestory.org.au | Peter Brent

How popular or unpopular was the Palaszczuk government in early to mid 2022? Was it a drag on federal Labor’s Queensland vote at the 21 May election? And how will premier David Crisafulli and team, in office since late October, be travelling when Queenslanders cast their 2025 federal votes? These questions, not easily answered, are important because the Albanese government needs to make gains in the northeast state if it is to survive this year’s federal election.

Jan 16, 2025 | insidestory.org.au | Peter Brent

Some election results are widely anticipated. Some arrive as a big surprise. Others lie somewhere in between. Scott Morrison’s 2019 “miracle” is the most recent example clearly falling in the second category. Before that, federally, you have to go back to when Paul Keating defeated John Hewson in the first “GST election.”In the final week of that 1993 campaign, Hewson opted out of the traditional National Press Club appearance.