Troy Bramston
The Australian
Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Past articles by Troy:
Libs give Menzies a makeover
Senior Liberals, including Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott, have written a series of essays that refresh party values espoused by Robert Menzies in his landmark The Forgotten People publication 75 years ago. → Read More
Paul Keating backs Labor over dividend imputation credits
Paul Keating, the architect of the dividend imputation system, has backed Labors proposed reforms to abolish cash refunds for excess imputation credits and labelled the provision introduced during the Howard government as unnecessary largesse. → Read More
Political convulsions exacerbate ‘age of anxiety’, says Gillard
Julia Gillard believes we are living in an age of anxiety that affects not just individuals but entire communities and nations, and is partly fuelled by political convulsions such as Brexit, the election of Donald Trump and fake news. → Read More
NSW Labor the target of Carl Scully’s political memoir
In 2009 an embattled Nathan Rees warned that, should he not be NSW premier by the end of that day, his successor would be nothing but a puppet of Eddie Obeid and Joe Tripodi. This marked a decisive moment in the disintegration and degeneration of NSW Labor. → Read More
John Curtin’s house a prime place to lodge
It is not difficult to imagine Labor prime minister John Curtin at this modest Cottesloe home, walking the wrap-around verandas, smoking a cigarette and reading aloud a speech he is preparing to broadcast to an anxious nation at war. → Read More
Disposable leaders: search for a Messiah so often ends in tears
The other day I watched an interview with PJ ORourke on a US talk show. He was asked to make sense of the global revolt against the political establishment, most notably manifest in Brexit and Donald Trumps election. → Read More
Obama: hit and miss man of dignity who history will applaud
Barack Obama is an important and consequential president whose legacy of achievements will not be appreciated fully until long after he leaves the White House. But he was not able to bridge the gap between hope and history that his unique personal story and soaring rhetoric promised. → Read More
Kennedy memoir eschews tragedy to recall a golden childhood
At 6.30pm at the home of Joe and Rose Kennedy on the beachfront at Hyannis Port on Cape Cod, their nine children would promptly file down the stairs to the living room dressed in their finest clothes. After listening to the piano, talking about the day’s events and being introduced to guests, dinner would be served at 7.15pm sharp. → Read More
Cabinet Papers 1992 -1993: documents released from Paul Keating’s Labor cabinet
The first two years of Paul Keating’s prime ministership were the political equivalent of a rollercoaster that plunged the government to the depths of despair but saw it climb back to claim a stunning election victory only to then see its support tumble again followed by another lift in the polls. → Read More
US elections steeped in vitriolic mud-slinging
On the eve of every US presidential election we are told the stakes are higher than ever. This election, more than any other, apparently will determine the fate of a great nation and could see the world spiral into chaos. And US politics has become filthier and ghastlier than ever. → Read More
Paul Kelly’s book Triumph and Demise dissects Labor and national crisis
PAUL Kelly’s seminal work of Australian political history and analysis, <i>The End of Certainty: The Story of the 1980s</i> (1992), chronicled the reforming Hawke-Keating governments. The transformation of Australia, manifest in the dismantling of the Australian settlement policy framework, reflected the author’s optimistic view of the country’s future at the end of the 20th century. → Read More
Lessons for all as John Howard book examines era of Robert Menzies
JOHN Howard remembers December 10, 1949, as if it were yesterday. That was the day the Liberals were swept to power, beginning what was to be the record-breaking prime ministerial term of Robert Menzies. → Read More
Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd in no rush for official portraits
ALTHOUGH Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd both vacated the prime ministership more than a year ago, the former Labor leaders are yet to agree on an artist to paint their official portraits to hang in Parliament House. → Read More
Distinguished fellow Rudd adds another string to bow
KEVIN Rudd has secured another high-level appointment in the US as a distinguished fellow at the Paulson Institute at the University of Chicago. → Read More
Bill Shorten’s submarine speech plumbs the depths
WHEN Bill Shorten stood on a flatbed truck to address a union rally at the gates of the Australian Submarine Corp in Adelaide on Tuesday, he seized on the worst instincts of old Australia and made a pitch to workers that stank with racist and protectionist rhetoric. → Read More
Masters and apprentice keep the flag flying
TONY Abbott was in his element yesterday, surrounded by his political heroes and defending the cherished symbols of conservative Australia. → Read More
Howard’s way: the legacy
IN May 1982, the minister for administrative services, Kevin Newman, wrote to treasurer John Howard, asking him to identify “the most significant achievements” of his portfolio. Howard carefully considered his response. → Read More
Bill Shorten can’t win despite Abbott’s low popularity, says Rod Cameron
FORMER Labor pollster Rod Cameron, a veteran of more than 50 election campaigns, says Tony Abbott’s low popularity will not stop him winning re-election and Bill Shorten will never be prime minister. → Read More
John Howard years get longer shelf life
THE first tranche of 500 shelf metres of John Howard’s personal records will be available to researchers in a new reading room at the University of NSW Canberra to be opened by businessman Kerry Stokes today. → Read More
Lessons from Labor’s history
TWO books released this week provide insights into the challenges that beset modern politics. Tomorrow, Tony Abbott launches Paul Kelly’s <i>Triumph and Demise: The Broken Promise of a Labor Generation</i> (MUP). On Wednesday, Paul Keating launches Gareth Evans’ <i>Inside the Hawke-Keating Government: A Cabinet Diary</i> (MUP). → Read More