Malcolm Farr
Malcolm Farr has lived in Canberra for nearly 19 years and is News.com.au’s National Political Editor.
Articles by Malcolm Farr
Thomson didn’t answer the question everyone is asking
Like a good movie director, Craig Thomson knew the scene which would get the most viewers should be kept until…... Read more
A big day for Thomson, who thus far is guilty of nothing…
Craig Thomson’s address to Parliament at noon today will be unprecedented, but don’t expect much that is new to come…... Read more
Meet the anti-Craig Thomson
He turned up on the stage of the Sydney Convention Centre yesterday looking like he was outfitted by a tailor…... Read more
The festival of Kevin is not over yet
It was organised as a celebration of Australian car makers but the 250 people in the Great Hall of Parliament…... Read more
My name’s Tony from the ‘burbs and I’m here to help
Tony Abbott delivered a speech in which he portrayed himself - one of the most radical MPs of his era…... Read more
Even the pollies are sick of the Craig Thomson saga
Parliament is growing weary of Craig Thomson riding the “presumption of innocence’’ principle for all he is worth. In fact,…... Read more
This Federal Budget is all about the next election
How long would the Government have lingered over this question: Do we try and probably fail to give companies $4.7…... Read more
Tonight is about the surplus, not leadership speculation
Australian wage earners fear an economic winter during the northern hemisphere summer and are saving to protect themselves from what…... Read more
Union movement trying to fight off HSU disease
There are just 1.83 million members of trade unions in Australia, roughly 18.4 per cent of the national workforce. Take…... Read more
Gillard unlikely to be forced into a Swan dive
There is only one minister with the trust and clout to tap Julia Gillard on the shoulder and with regret…... Read more
Gillard may need to consider the “get stuffed” option
Over the weekend, Prime Minister Julia Gillard moved to disperse the “dark cloud” over Parliament by further distancing Labor from…... Read more
Thomson slips away from Labor. What next?
Julia Gillard has jettisoned one of the burdens she has been lugging around in the minority government cart - Craig…... Read more
Slip sliding away from the Speaker’s chair
Peter Slipper attempted to enhance the reputation of Parliament by wearing the robes of an 18th century English parson and…... Read more
It’s no longer about the majority, it’s about integrity
The public view of the Gillard Government is it’s shielding a man who took union money to pay for prostitutes…... Read more
Delinquents give peace-loving bikies a bad name
It is an appropriate time to point out that the overwhelming majority of motorcycle owners do not get involved in…... Read more
Finally, some certainty for our diggers in Afghanistan
Australia marched into Afghanistan on the khaki coat-tails of the Americans in 2001 and it now seems we will be…... Read more
You’re not meant to be comfortable on the dole
There was a chilling line in a Daily Telegraph piece on girl gangs back in 2008. Reporter Lauren Williams had…... Read more
Maverick Bob passes baton to Christine the negotiator
“Fellow Earthians,” said Bob Brown on March 23 delivering the annual Green Oration, and with just those two words a…... Read more
The blame game monster returns. Now he’s ANGRY!
The blame game monster is back and it has been munching steroids in its brief absence. Tomorrow’s Council of Australian…... Read more
Sydney’s second airport is a national issue
As political leaders scramble for fresh excuses to maintain 40 years of flinching from a decision on a second Sydney…... Read more
Keep recommendations secret, said Tony Abbott
Fair Work Australia may as well make public its massive, three-year report on the Health Services Union now that it…... Read more
Thomson’s lynch mob left frustrated for another day
It’s been so long coming that release of the report into credit card use within the Health Services Union is…... Read more
Action Abbott limbers up on the Pollie Pedal
“Good on you Tony, you’ll be in the big house soon won’t you?” said a Tony Abbott fan, slightly confusing…... Read more
A festival that doesn’t worry about being cool
I was taking a short cut through the tent pegs when I came upon one of the most charming musical…... Read more
Bligh just the first victim of anti-Labor sentiment
Jessica Rudd, daughter of Kevin, gets the award for clever political gallows humour: “I’ve never voted for a minor party…... Read more
When it comes to parly, slipper cramps the boot
Speaker Peter Slipper and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott had a minor but telling test of wills on Monday, and the…... Read more
You’d think the mining tax was all about billionaires
The massive sums and the wealthy characters in the bitter debate over the mining profits tax have swamped discussion of…... Read more
CIA conspiracy undermines Clive Palmer’s credibility
It looks like Wayne Swan was onto something after all when he started his bad-tempered battering of mining billionaires. Maybe…... Read more
A moment of decorum before the rock fight resumed
The contrast between past and present arrived quickly and starkly in Parliament yesterday. Just before Question Time there were moving…... Read more
The taxing business of the politics of tax
If you are confused by debate over company tax cuts don’t feel alone. The chap miffed he won’t be guardian-in-chief…... Read more
Excess excise excites bean counters, incites motorists
The everyday driver, stranded by a lack of functional alternatives, is being forced to pay over the odds for the…... Read more
For Bob Carr all the world’s a stage, including the Senate
When Bob Carr prepared for a recent television appearance he stood in the middle of a room and loudly declaimed…... Read more
Brrrm! Brrrm! Both sides rev up the Budget chainsaw
Former NSW premiers seem back in fashion this week which might inspire Tony Abbott to announce that Nick Greiner would…... Read more
Classy targets cop it hardest in phony class wars
I can’t find one Coalition MP or fellow traveller who came to the defence of Cate Blanchett when last May…... Read more
Carr wants to hit the brakes on our ballooning population
There has been much fun for many going through Bob Carr’s writings to embarrass the incoming Foreign Minister by highlighting…... Read more
At last, government goes into bat for small business
Late last year Canberra bookseller Peter Strong received a surprise telephone call from Treasurer Wayne Swan. Soon after he heard…... Read more
Gillard blows a Carrs-berry at her critics
Julia Gillard says her Government colleagues will be delighted to learn Bob Carr is Foreign Minister, presumably after they get…... Read more
The ALP still so tender the lightest touch causes agony
The Gillard prime ministership is like a badly scalded arm. The mildest touch can cause pain way out of proportion…... Read more
A win too late to save the Prime Minister
The result of today’s ballot was set by last Friday evening but the Labor Party was put through a further…... Read more
Today’s winner: Tony Abbott
The night Kevin Rudd dramatically resigned in Washington, Tony Abbott dined in Brisbane where he was asked how he could…... Read more
Welcome to the Rudd show: It’s the Kevin Caravan
Stand by for the Kevin Caravan, that cavalcade of bad jokes and cheesy lines we saw used so effectively in…... Read more
A sneak preview of PM Kevin Rudd Mark II
After modest carousing following his second elevation to Prime Minister - no more than half an hour - Kevin Rudd…... Read more
Sweet-talking Rudd has forced Gillard to be a bad guy
Julia Gillard’s painful leadership bind will force her to demote and further humiliate the man she abruptly ousted - and…... Read more
Classroom commodification means all-out war
The Opposition’s fights with Government bills to wind back health insurance subsidies and family payments have been friendly skirmishes compared…... Read more
Leaking of Rudd outburst does Gillard no favours
Conspiracy theorists should adjust their tin-foil hats if they think Julia Gillard was personally involved in the release of the…... Read more
Is mining saving us from jobs doom? Depends who you ask
There is a real case for optimism in the way our economy is performing, but as usual you will have…... Read more
Odds rapidly Shorten on a different leader
Labor MPs now feel condemned to an unhappy routine of Gillard Government advances crashing into the roadblock of the leadership…... Read more
Questioning her judgment over facing questions
Julia Gillard today said she never dodges questioning but there are some, including Labor backers, who wish she had last…... Read more
The Liberal Party is offering opposition but no alternative
The Opposition’s constant nagging of Julia Gillard about her personal integrity was hugely successful over the past 12 months but…... Read more
New speaker’s slack clobber, old speaker clobbers slackers
Peter Slipper, draped in black in a manner most young voters will not see outside Hogwarts, has dramatically altered the…... Read more
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