Joseph Poprzeczny

In an unprecedented move, a local lobby group has written to the Pope urging him to reconsider his stance on climate change.

China’s expansionist intentions in the South China Sea are becoming more apparent, much to the concern of Asean nations and their allies.

Provocative comments by the premier and his treasurer are playing well at home, but have found few allies elsewhere.

The government should be preparing the ground for a tough budget, not shying away from the heavy lifting.

Bill Shorten is coming under greater scrutiny and growing pressure due to his underwhelming performance since becoming opposition leader.

Although not alone in doing so, Malcolm Fraser’s failure to acknowledge the crimes against the Chinese people by the tyrannical Mao Tse-tung diminish his legacy.

Continuing Western interference in a 1,300-plus year sectarian conflict in the Middle East only fans the flames of hatred.

Two very different sets of policies – one Australian, one Chinese – are disrupting what has been a very lucrative part of the property investment market.

Neither the premier nor his minister ever provided evidence to support their council amalgamation plan.

Australia needs a submarine fleet of 24 to cover the nation’s future needs.

Tony Abbott and his team appear to have no ability to deal with the mire they have sunk into.

The government lost the argument on council amalgamations because it was unable to prosecute the case for their alleged benefits.

A remarkable similarity is evident in the leadership styles of Australia’s past three prime ministers.

With US and Australian investigators’ enthusiastic assistance, China is tracking down corrupt officials’ ill-gotten gains; but the playbook calls for a familiar ending.

As often happens when politicians try to legislate lobbyists, it’s what’s not included that’s most compelling.

Voter sentiment has turned against the Abbott government because of its inability to make tough decisions.

The Egyptian president made an important speech addressing radical Islam earlier this month, but it was largely ignored in the West.

Borrowing off the books may minimise the damage to official state debt but the money has to come from somewhere – taxpayers.

Tony Abbott may believe 2014 has been a year of achievement for his government, but its legislative shortcomings are all-too apparent.

The slump in iron ore royalties is going to hurt the state’s already parlous budget position.

A lobby group argues WA’s central position in the increasingly important Pacific and Indian regions must be key to defence planning.

The Abbott government certainly had no honeymoon period, and things are no rosier more than 12 months after it took power.

Politicians on both sides of the fence tread cautiously on the issue of CO2 emissions … well, most of them.

Politicians rarely voluntarily seek to lower the tax take or reduce the size of government, so what’s behind Tony Abbott’s call for a ‘mature’ debate over the federation?

The Whitlam legacy lives on, on both sides of the political fence, in the push for ever-greater concentration of power in Canberra.

Colin Barnett’s tough talk on iron ore has all the hallmarks of a government fearful of losing control of the narrative.

The lack of a political plan to confront emerging terrorist threats is a grave concern for Australia.

Julia Gillard’s autobiography has poured salt into a few old wounds.

Debate is hotting up over longer-term climate trends, historical temperature statistics and a recent expansion of the Antarctic sea ice.

It is difficult not to sympathise, if not agree, with Pope Francis I’s claim that the spate of conflicts around the globe today effectively form a “piecemeal” World War III.

An upcoming Senate inquiry is a sign Australia’s precarious liquid fuel security situation may finally be getting the attention it deserves.

There may be some disquiet about the performance of the government (and Tony Abbott) in the first year in the coalition party room, but the PM isn’t likely to give ground in the leadership stakes.