Mark Kenny
Mark Kenny has been Political Editor of The Advertiser since 2006 after several years at the ABC having worked in both radio and television. He is a director of the National Press Club, a member of the Federal Press Gallery committee, and a member of the House Howlers - the satirical press gallery choir. He regularly appears as a political commentator on Sky’s Agenda program, Ten’s Meet the Press, Insiders, and numerous radio programs around the country.
Articles by Mark Kenny
A little mud sticks, even if the PM is squeaky clean
Julia Gillard had two big goals for the second half of 2012 and was on track to achieve both of…... Read more
The politics of asylum seekers and our fiscal cliff
In an episode of the 1970s comedy series The Goodies, Graeme Garden is so taken by the power of his…... Read more
Keeping it in the family: The ruling families of the US
It is a startling yet oft-forgotten fact that had the favourite for the Democratic Party presidential nomination succeeded in 2008,…... Read more
It’s about time we had some faceless women
The term ‘faceless men’ is thrown about pretty freely by Tony Abbott. This week for example he got it into…... Read more
Kevin’s there to lend a hand when Julia stumbles
Surprise, surprise. Just as the Prime Minister is winding up a highly successful India visit, up pops the headline magnet,…... Read more
Slipper meets a predictable end, despite the fireworks
When Tony Abbott’s parliamentary tactics team met at 8.30 on Tuesday morning, the line of attack for the first day…... Read more
Slipper is not the only wild card in Parliament
Peter Slipper’s disgraced return to the floor of parliament has altered the numbers by one vote but its impact on…... Read more
Pollies and interest rates: how low can they go?
The Australian Dream - the family home on a quarter acre block - has long been a political battleground. Yet…... Read more
You don’t have the right to not be offended
Two important lessons are discernible from the disgrace of radio bullyboy Alan Jones. Neither is particularly attractive. One is the…... Read more
Roll up, roll up, for a peek inside the Labor circus
It is no secret that former Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner and current Prime Minister Julia Gillard are not close. Tanner…... Read more
How the Bernardi backlash could affect the carbon tax
Tony Abbott’s slim hopes of scrapping Julia Gillard’s carbon tax without having to call another election have been undermined by…... Read more
How Team Abbott is shaping up post-Bernardi
Tony Abbott’s initial explanation for dumping his parliamentary secretary Cory Bernardi was revealing for how far it did not go.…... Read more
One good poll doesn’t mean you’re getting re-elected
Political leaders rarely comment on opinion polls unless that is, they need to. Plainly, Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan have…... Read more
Perilous life inside the great teetering mirage of the East
Eighteen trillion dollars. Yes, “trillion” dollars. That is the broadly accepted working estimate of the amount needed for vital economic…... Read more
The day Vladimir put in a surprise appearance
When I told the ABC’s political correspondent Louise Yaxley that President Vladimir Putin was approaching our table, she steadfastly refused…... Read more
Gillard’s political narrative match fit for Vladivostok
Two years ago, the freshly minted Julia Gillard PM declared from Europe’s bureaucratic capital that she was a home girl…... Read more
Abbott won on points, but didn’t deliver a knock-out
AN insight to Tony Abbott’s thinking emerged from the Coalition joint party-room on Tuesday where he told colleagues that of…... Read more
Labor all at sea on eve of asylum seeker report
The biggest single boatload of asylum seekers since Labor came to power has intensified the pressure on Julia Gillard to…... Read more
How Julia Gillard is trying to win over Labor
A popular line in the Prime Minister’s office goes: “`If we had ham we could have ham and eggs ...…... Read more
Both our leaders are completely on the nose
Gillard is a giant “turn-off’’ for voters but the alternative prime minister in Tony Abbott comes across like some kind…... Read more
Why Tony Abbott is tanking on the Fair Work review
Badminton is not the only game where the putative contestants might indulge in a spot of tanking - throwing a…... Read more
Born to run for office, but is Swan dancing in the dark?
Forget Kevin Rudd’s high-brow inspiration, the courageous if obscure German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and don’t even mention Paul Keating’s beloved…... Read more
Gillard may win the carbon battle but still lose the war
Julia Gillard is taking a short break this week while the Olympics dominates the news cycle, but the return of…... Read more
Parliament is broken. Time for an election.
With each desperate claim about who said what to whom in the unproductive asylum seeker stand-off this week, the case…... Read more
A rickety, busted-up vessel called political compromise
A workable border security policy for responding to irregular maritime arrivals should not be this hard - but it has…... Read more
Full steam ahead on Tony’s anti-carbon tax tour
Canberra just recorded its coldest June night in three years with the mercury dipping south of minus five. For MPs…... Read more
The Opposition wants you to be afraid. Be very afraid.
Fear can be a powerful motivator but it eventually wanes, unless you can find a new bogeyman. Take Australia’s retail…... Read more
It’s not the economy, it’s the politics, stupid!
It may not be a case of “it’s the economy, stupid” after all. Monday saw a Nielsen poll charting Labor’s…... Read more
Wanted: A leader with ticker… but not too much
When Kim Beazley resumed the Labor leadership in early 2005 he faced the freshly re-elected John Howard - by then…... Read more
This concern for Thomson won’t change the script
Under pressure himself over his crusade against Craig Thomson, Tony Abbott has moved to present a softer side, suggesting that…... Read more
The world puzzles over Australia’s Prime Minister
Even in Chicago, they are puzzling over Labor’s long march to oblivion. In 1987, prior to becoming chief of staff…... Read more
Wise words for all politicians: the truth will normally do
Bill Kelty’s awkward syntax and mumbled diction have always been a bit of a paradox. For 17 years to 2000,…... Read more
They just are… dumb politics
Wayne Swan’s 2012-13 blueprint was well crafted and immediately drew errors from the Opposition. Tony Abbott’s one-speed approach to political…... Read more
Surplus circus serves a purpose, on the surface.
Labor’s recovery plan is simple and unexciting: delivering an unlikely Budget surplus. Yet with a primary vote languishing in the…... Read more
No comfort for Gillard even if Slipper dons robes again
Last Friday, Minister for Mental Health and the Ageing Mark Butler gave Canberra correspondents a pre-announcement briefing on his aged…... Read more
Middle-class welfare will test Australia’s means
When Tony Abbott went to London last year, he talked up the Australian economy against that of Britain, other European…... Read more
A Herculean effort in Afghanistan
Among the multiple emergency exits built into the mighty C130 Hercules is one in the forward half of the aeroplane…... Read more
A bunch of insiders risk pushing Labor outside
“I can see clearly now, my job is gone,” to paraphrase the 1972 hit song. Suddenly seeing clearly is what…... Read more
Why we actually are the economic envy of the world
Consider this. Twenty-three per cent of home owners in the United States currently have underwater mortgages. That’s close to one…... Read more
Tony Abbott is losing faith
John Howard notched up his final election victory in 2004 by pointedly asking voters “who do you trust?’‘ Years of…... Read more
The big, fat tax on mining is crucial to the budget surplus
At some point late in 2011, Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan decided to firm-up their language on delivering the small…... Read more
Defence goes on the attack as Smith hangs tough
Rising proudly from the rich green lawns between the main Defence Department buildings at one end of Canberra’s Kings Avenue…... Read more
Gillard needs her reshuffle to be a high-kicking can-can
Julia Gillard is preparing to unveil her new ministerial line-up today. It should be a triumph, the crowning moment when…... Read more
Why is Labor’s favourite son backing the pretender?
The existential threat to Julia Gillard’s prime ministership has now passed but the price in political terms will be colossal.…... Read more
Why is this man so popular, and how long can it last?
There are several theories about Kevin Rudd’s alleged popularity. One is that it is simple nostalgia - made possible because…... Read more
From the moment of victory Gillard headed for defeat
When a victorious Julia Gillard walked in to a packed press conference on the morning of June 24 2010, she…... Read more
Wrap of the week: It’s the economy, stupid
There is a touch of Lleyton Hewitt about Julia Gillard. It is not merely that both are redheads or that…... Read more
Kevin 2.0 could be better. Or it could be even KRuddier.
As key moments go, it ranked with Gough Whitlam’s dramatic dismissal speech branding Malcolm Fraser “Kerr’s cur’’ or the latter’s…... Read more
Julia Gillard is on the highway to the danger zone
Typically, leadership contests have that nagging chicken-or-egg feel about them. They usually involve a period of intense public speculation with…... Read more
The saying goes, politics is showbusiness for ugly people
AND, action! A senior cabinet minister generally regarded as among the more effective, uses a major speech on Australia Day-eve…... Read more
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The Punch is moving house
Good morning Punchers. After four years of excellent fun and great conversation, this is the final post…
Will Pope Francis have the vision to tackle this?
I have had some close calls, one that involved what looked to me like an AK47 pointed my way, followed…
Advocating risk management is not “victim blaming”
In a world in which there are still people who subscribe to the vile notion that certain victims of sexual…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: Hasbro, go straight to gaol, do not pass go
Tim says:
They should update other things in the game too. Instead of a get out of jail free card, they should have a Dodgy Lawyer card that not only gets you out of jail straight away but also gives you a fat payout in compensation for daring to arrest you in the first place. Instead of getting a hotel when you… [read more]From: A guide to summer festivals especially if you wouldn’t go
Kel says:
If you want a festival for older people or for families alike, get amongst the respectable punters at Bluesfest. A truly amazing festival experience to be had of ALL AGES. And all the young "festivalgoers" usually write themselves off on the first night, only to never hear from them again the rest of… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
Superman needs saving
Can somebody please save Superman? He seems to be going through a bit of a crisis. Eighteen months ago,… Read more
