http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/natasha-stott-despoja/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillard-reshuffles-the-deck-chairs-without-conscience/ Prime Minister Gillard’s reshuffle tops off her year of living dangerously. She went out on a limb with carbon pricing, pokie reform, plain tobacco packaging and increased superannuation in spite of spirited opposition and has won the battle, if not hearts and minds, on most of them. Poker machine reform is outstanding and continues to bite the ALP hard, especially in the eastern states and in communities dependent on local pubs and clubs. Ms Gillard’s decision to sacrifice the Speaker role is her way of gearing up for the pokies fight by mitigating the influence of Andrew Wilkie. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Natasha Stott Despoja) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillard-reshuffles-the-deck-chairs-without-conscience/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/gillard-reshuffles-the-deck-chairs-without-conscience/#item7357 Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:00:29 +0000 Natasha Stott Despoja | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dust-off-your-cucumber-sandwiches-its-time-for-a-republic/ It wasn’t hard to get into the pageantry and fun of the royal nuptials. We even made cupcakes with crowns for our token wedding celebration. Our westie mates turned up, resplendent in top hats, medals, even a wedding dress. Food was anything English: Yorkshire pudding, trifle, cucumber sandwiches and a steak and kidney pie. My husband rejoiced in his English connections, while I quoted our Constitution which grants the monarch certain governing powers, even above other governing levels. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Natasha Stott Despoja) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dust-off-your-cucumber-sandwiches-its-time-for-a-republic/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dust-off-your-cucumber-sandwiches-its-time-for-a-republic/#item5744 Mon, 02 May 2011 19:40:02 +0000 Natasha Stott Despoja | Author bios | The Punch http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-belated-qualified-victory-for-working-mothers/ One positive feature of the dying days of the Howard Government was the cross party work among female MPs. Sisters were doing it for ourselves - uniting on issues ranging from stem cell research to the removal of the restrictions on RU486; from changing the foreign aid funding criteria to seeking to ensure transparent advertising of pregnancy counselling. We co-sponsored bills and held meetings, did the numbers and organised media.It was a rare but enjoyable and mostly successful example of networking among women of different parties, all driven by a commitment to issues affecting women. However, we were unable to attract overt cross-party support on the issue of Paid Maternity Leave (PML). feedback@thepunch.com.au (Natasha Stott Despoja) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-belated-qualified-victory-for-working-mothers/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-belated-qualified-victory-for-working-mothers/#item98 Tue, 12 May 2009 11:18:45 +0000 Natasha Stott Despoja | Author bios | The Punch