Gerard Henderson
Gerard Henderson is executive director of The Sydney Institute, a forum for debate and discussion. His books include Menzies Child: The Liberal Party of Australia and he publishes the Media Watch Dog e-newsletter each Friday.
Abbott proves he really does have people skills
Gerard Henderson Not long ago, the words ''people skills'' were used about Tony Abbott mockingly, especially among journalists and political commentators.
Abbott picks wrong target in battle for hearts and minds
Gerard Henderson At this stage in the election cycle, opinion polls cannot tell us which party will win the coming election.
Labor's loose cannons allow friendships to turn frosty
Gerard Henderson How has it come to this? Australia has strained relationships with, in modern parlance, two of its ''besties'' in Asia, India and Japan. Both are democracies with independent judiciaries.
Rudd must dump dead ducks and tackle what really matters
Gerard Henderson There is something noble about the advocacy of lost causes. Provided it is recognised they are lost. The alternative is self-delusion.
Fair Work laws are not helping the young and other unemployed
Gerard Henderson Last Friday, Kevin Rudd made an uncharacteristic error. The Prime Minister claimed he had not said, before the 2007 election, that no worker would be worse off under his Fair Work Australia...
Australia's 'racist' tag is myth heavily hyped
Gerard Henderson There are two pragmatic tests to ascertain the real level of racism in a country. Namely, the level of ethnic-motivated crime and the amount of inter-marriage between ethnic groups.
Man who would be king, but not governor-general ... yet
Gerard Henderson There was little excitement when Prince William flew into New Zealand at the weekend to open the new Supreme Court building in Wellington on behalf of the Queen.
Human rights act slips down the list
Gerard Henderson The first big Australian political story of the year has raised surprisingly little attention. This is likely to change when the civil liberties lobby realises that the Rudd Government appears to...
Student assaults teach some harsh lessons about racism
Gerard Henderson The brutal killing in Melbourne of Nitin Garg, a young Indian man with permanent residence in Australia, has put added stress on what is a difficult relationship between political leaders in New...
Little room to change tack on matters of national security
Gerard Henderson Gerard Henderson Barack Obama has been in the White House for almost a year. During this time he has substantially increased troop numbers in Afghanistan, sustained support for the government led by...
Did they say that? Traps for the sages and soothsayers
Gerard Henderson This year witnessed the demise of the George Bush/Tony Blair/John Howard axis of annoyance which had so dominated the first decade of the new century.
Labor's good intentions fail to guarantee jobs for youth
Gerard Henderson This festive season has witnessed the return of the once cyclical Christmas strike, with disruptions in the postal and transport sectors. Pre-Christmas strikes
Courageous MacKillop was not beholden to boundaries
Gerard Henderson When the Catholic Church in Rome is determining who will be canonised, it is the number of miracles that matter.
Rudd changed the world order, says Rudd - and compliant media
Gerard Henderson It is important that Australian prime ministers travel internationally. And it is understandable that they tend to regard their contributions to international developments as somewhat more...
Rudd avoids jobs for mates
Gerard Henderson Kevin Rudd's decision to appoint Kim Beazley as ambassador to the United States and Brendan Nelson as ambassador to the European Communities was smart politics.
Nazi remarks go way over the top
Gerard Henderson The outrage against Kyle Sandilands's comment that Magda Szubanski would lose more weight if "you put her in a concentration camp" is understandable.
Given the climate, Turnbull's the right man for the job
Gerard Henderson Any international visitor who flew into Sydney last week, and has followed the domestic news since then, could well have got the impression that Malcolm Turnbull is the most important politician in...
Rudd's attitude to China gets the balance just about right
Gerard Henderson According to Queensland mining executive Clive Palmer, a long-time supporter of the National Party, Kevin Rudd and his colleagues are too tough on China.
Wielding the whip on asylum seekers: both sides have done it
Gerard Henderson The task facing Kevin Rudd over asylum seekers is not an easy one. Yet Rudd Labor has demonstrated its ability to run a consistent political line.
Judges and juries called it as they saw it
Gerard Henderson Last week the ABC 702 radio presenter Deborah Cameron referred to the "so-called terror trial in Parramatta".
