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
Groundhog Day in Australian politics
Australian politics took on a Groundhog Day feel today as an old debate returned over human-induced climate change, nuclear power,…... Read more
Gillard is still struggling to clip Rudd’s wings
One step forward, one step back. Elation, tempered by frustration. These are the yin and yang senses in the Gillard…... Read more
Spoke brilliantly, looked great, channelled Howard
Julia Gillard has teared up while heaping praise on America as the beacon of hope for humanity and the nation…... Read more
Obama delivers Gillard a handball in the Oval Office
A pair of sixty-oners they may be but two things Julia Gillard and US President, Barack Obama definitely do not…... Read more
The Turnbull longshot that could stop the nasty rhetoric
Tony Abbott is playing hard in his bid for power, but Malcolm Turnbull might offer his colleagues a more elegant…... Read more
Everyone wants Keneally to go down…
When voters hit the polling booths in NSW on March 26, many will have no memory of a time before…... Read more
Last man standing will be winner on carbon tax
Julia Gillard has staked the future of her Government on a costly, complex, and probably unpopular climate change policy. And…... Read more
Keep voters close, and your political allies even closer
Political leaders, be they premiers or prime ministers, need protection - especially during the tough times when the polls look…... Read more
Hospital reform: Your questions answered
The Federal Government has branded it “historic” and “a major achievement”, but big questions hang over Julia Gillard’s multi-billion dollar…... Read more
When the weather can change the political climate
``Everywhere you go, always take the weather with you,’’ goes the much loved Crowded House song. But if you’re in…... Read more
Abbott’s s**t-gate may yet hit a target
Senior Liberals rallied around embattled Opposition Leader Tony Abbott yesterday in the wake of the ``shit-gate’’ controversy, ensuring his position…... Read more
Abbott’s clever shift from Dr No to Mr Yes
Amid the furore of Cyclone Yasi, it largely escaped comment that Tony Abbott had begun a slow crab-walk away from…... Read more
The Government’s goodwill bank is in deficit
Julia Gillard can’t be too happy with the way her flood reconstruction package has been received. But then, who welcomes…... Read more
Labor’s moral and political failure on boats
Julia Gillard certainly got it right by returning from holidays to take charge, but things tailed away after that. First,…... Read more
There’s not really a lot Wayne Swan can do about banks
Wayne Swan is aggrieved. The hard-working treasurer is disappointed at the way his long-heralded bank reform package has gone over.…... Read more
Julia’s Year of Living Rigorously
The sudden resignation of Murray-Darling Basin Authority chair, Mike Taylor, was a reminder that with complex national reforms, there’s many…... Read more
The big headaches are just starting for Julia
The shock defeat of the Brumby state government last weekend has unleashed the usual muttering within the ALP about how…... Read more
Gillard’s long-term bid to overcome a damaged brand
Julia Gillard says she for one was not surprised by the closeness of the August federal election result, maintaining with…... Read more
Siddle’s hat-trick signalled the end of the political year
Like a distant fog-horn through the acrid smoke of political battle, an early English wicket in the first Ashes Test…... Read more
Gillard’s got a lot riding on Saturday’s Victorian election
Prime Minister Julia Gillard will be among the more nervous onlookers at Saturday night’s Victorian election count. While not in…... Read more
For Gillard it will all be about the tough decisions
With Parliament set to wind up in the coming week and the ructions of an explosive year beginning to fade,…... Read more
Did someone say Canberra is full of blow-hards?
Leaf-blowers are often thought of as the bane of the suburbs but harried voters can take some comfort from the…... Read more
Time is running out for Julia to find her mojo
Julia Gillard may be running out of time to stamp her authority on the government as the first murmurings of…... Read more
Obama copped it for too much, Gillard for too little
It is tempting to see parallels between federal Labor’s flat-lining election result and the drubbing Barack Obama’s Democratic Party received…... Read more
Sometimes only a hard decision will do
Labor hard man Graham Richardson noted yesterday that courage was a defining quality in a leader. He was speaking about…... Read more
The odd couple: PM Julia meets Ambassador Brendan
They both attended universities in Adelaide, were members of the ALP, and both wanted desperately to become prime minister of…... Read more
Saddling up for the smiley new politics
As suspenseful as a Hitchcock movie, the twists and turns along the path to the nation’s 43rd Parliament remain a…... Read more
Tony Abbott might look safe but for how long?
Labor was in the box seat as it prepared for the 1983 election but leader Bill Hayden was extra nervous.…... Read more
The old switcheroo: Tony and Mal’s cunning plan
Tony Abbott wants to pressure the independents into making him prime minister in coming months without recourse to the people…... Read more
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
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