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
Headache of government beats not governing at all
Update 2pm: Julia Gillard has named her new ministerial team. It includes Kevin Rudd as PM, Stephen Smith in Defence…... Read more
Dawn of a new democracy? More like a siege
During election campaigns, Canberra is to national politics what a hole is to a doughnut - defining, but of no…... Read more
Rudd’s fate hangs in the balance today too
Veteran Labor heavyweight, Graham Richardson was asked several weeks back what Kevin Rudd would really think about a Labor defeat.…... Read more
Labor creates its own Shakespearean drama
A week on the campaign trail takes forever to get through, yet once passed it fades quickly as if it…... Read more
Julia’s leadership struggles for legitimacy
Paul Keating reckoned you got a certain legitimacy by ``taking’’ the leadership from your opponent in an open contest rather…... Read more
This horn-swagglin’ election has almost got me a drinkin’
This election brings to mind a bad western where the main street is merely two facades facing each other. The…... Read more
Labor snatching defeat from gaping jaws of victory
NEWSFLASH: Either side could win this election. At face value this may seem unremarkable. That is what elections are for…... Read more
Rank sexism behind the persecution of Gillard
There is a new dog whistle in Australian politics and it is being blown in sections of the media, in…... Read more
The election about nothing
IT’S been dubbed “the Seinfeld election” - a show about nothing - but perhaps that’s harsh. Seinfeld was entertaining. In…... Read more
Tony Abbott still has his work (choices) cut out
On the basis of his first two days, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Tony Abbott is up…... Read more
The two-speed election: the battle for two sets of voters
We hear a lot about the so-called two-speed economy these days but Julia Gillard is grappling with a more immediate…... Read more
No time to think in the political news cycle
First it was Finance Minister, Lindsay Tanner and now Defence Minister, John Faulkner. The two highly respected figures will leave…... Read more
Leaders aim right to stop the boats that leak votes
Two things are crystal clear from yesterday’s policy shoot-out at the OK Corrale over asylum seekers. One, that an election…... Read more
Now for the hard part, Julia
Julia Gillard might be excused for thinking this leadership business is pretty straightforward after swapping a few ministers around and…... Read more
Early poll shows Gillard is Libs nightmare scenario
Two weeks ago an edict went out from the Opposition Leader’s office to Coalition frontbenchers: don’t say Rudd Government, say…... Read more
Rudd’s nervous weekend awaiting poll position
In the current mineral-fuelled political debate, there is a certain irony that a Government known for its steely discipline and…... Read more
Loyalty isn’t always the most honourable route for an MP
The Liberal leadership was his for the taking but Peter Costello thought better of it judging he would spend two…... Read more
Quick equaliser needed for Libs to change run of play
IN the round-ball game, they call it getting one back - a quick reply to a goal scored by your…... Read more
All’s not fair in politics
Several years ago, when senior Labor strategists were considering how to market a major new policy initiative, they commissioned market…... Read more
Rudd eyes an August election
Kevin Rudd is seriously re-considering an August election after previously dismissing the idea when polls showed he was on the…... Read more
Own goals from both teams on the political pitch
TONY Abbott’s bizarre 7.30 Report admission that he sometimes gilds the lily to win arguments led off a pretty dismal…... Read more
Rudd digs a hole for himself, but Abbott still runs on aggro
Kevin Rudd’s proposed Resource Super Profits Tax on mining companies would raise $12 billion over the next four years, most…... Read more
The question everyone’s asking after the shift in mood
N August last year, this column asked “how much trouble do you think the Liberal Party is in right now?’’…... Read more
Awaiting the bill for the NBN
Update 2:20 PM: Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has announced today the NBN will be able to be completed for $5…... Read more
You don’t need an appointment for a good idea
One Hundred years ago, the German-Italian sociologist, Robert Michels outlined his ``iron law of oligarchy’’ arguing that there inevitably develops…... Read more
All the world’s a stage, politics is just weird
It has been said that politics is show business for ugly people. Now it seems the ``ugly people’’ are getting…... Read more
Rudd becomes the “clever politician” he once mocked
Remember not so long ago when an aspiring prime minister, one K Rudd, adopted the practice of referring to John…... Read more
Abbott’s maternity madness smashes economic credibility
Imagine you and I own houses and they both burn down in separate incidents. The government generously steps in offering…... Read more
Abbott slams Rudd team’s robotic lipservice
FORMAL acknowledgement of the first Australians as the original owners of the land is now de rigueur for Rudd Government…... Read more
How the health overhaul became a big stink over tax
IT’S not just that Health Minister, Nicola Roxon has acknowledged that taxes may need to increase to fund Labor’s health…... Read more
Espionage and terrorism give Rudd some insulation
“That’s not insulation, THIS is insulation,” a Canberra insider quipped in mock Paul Hogan at news of Australian involvement in…... Read more
10 things Rudd can do to get his mojo back
IT may have been more advertising genius than substance but Kevin 07 was a political juggernaut and it rolled right…... Read more
Red head to blue rinse, Gillard’s evolution
WHEN calls came in the lead-up to Australia Day to remove the British ensign from our flag, the idea was…... Read more
Three in 100 Aussies can destroy Kevin Rudd
Kevin Rudd says it would take only two or three out of every hundred voters to change their minds for…... Read more
The end of Kevin 747
Summer’s not over yet but those of us lucky enough to have secured a decent break over Christmas/New Year are…... Read more
Abbott’s leg spin to Rudd’s middle of the road
LOVERS of test cricket know the best thing about the five day game is its potential to ebb and flow.…... Read more
The parallel universe that was Canberra this week
In the wash-up from a tumultuous couple of weeks in Canberra, a lot of things have been turned on their…... Read more
Labor’s plan to let Abbott sweat it out over summer
Kevin Rudd will give Tony Abbott one last chance to vote for an emissions trading scheme or face a possible…... Read more
Abbott vs Rudd, now this is what I call a choice
The emergence of Tony Abbott as Opposition leader is a major surprise. Many will assume it means a lurch to…... Read more
Libs adrift in a hostile galaxy
THERE is a hilarious moment in the Hitchhikers’s Guide to the Galaxy when it is explained to one of the…... Read more
Turnbull experiment is over - are the Libs over too?
THE so-called “Turnbull experiment”, which many Liberals entered into only reluctantly when Brendan Nelson imploded, is over. The party that…... Read more
Holding our breath to see if Malcolm survives
UNLESS Malcolm Turnbull is Harry Houdini, he is about to join the likes of John Hewson as another `almost was’…... Read more
The mounting evidence of Rudd’s style over substance
The evidence that the Rudd Government is more concerned with presentation than substance is building daily. This week, it had…... Read more
Fickle voters are starting to channel surf
Seventy-two channels, and still nothing on, wise-cracked the US entertainer, Bob Hope back in the 1970s. Decades later, in this…... Read more
Clean coal doesn’t exist, but nuclear power does
Clean coal is in essence, an oxymoron. Much like ``friendly fire’’ or Kevin Rudd’s ``tough and hardline but humane’’ asylum…... Read more
Dejected opposition all at sea over border protection
IF you squinted in a particular way, it was just possible to see last Sunday’s extraordinary meeting of the Coalition…... Read more
My name is Kevin Rudd, and I’m just like John Howard
Many a battle has been lost because generals were caught fighting the last war in the new one. Perhaps this…... Read more
The bitter irony for Turnbull’s leadership
The reason the job of federal opposition leader is the toughest gig in politics, is not simply that it’s a…... Read more
The art of the AFL Grand Final party
Football parties can be enormous fun but they can also see people at cross purposes. In my case, I usually…... Read more
The score: Brendan Nelson, 1, Malcolm Turnbull, 0
One of the more infuriating moments in sport is when your opponent invites you to “look at the scoreboard’‘. This…... Read more
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Abbott’s crass logic: trash the Parliament in order save it
An email was sent to almost every politician in Australia this week saying that someone should cut off…
Our special forces don’t always need special treatment
We admire them, but we’re not entirely sure why. We allow them to operate in the shadows; we rarely…
A good holiday is about unrest, not rest
Like a fat full-stop, it lay in my hand. A small orange – not exactly fresh, but purchased anyway…
Gentle jabs to the ribs
They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more
