Tony Wright
Tony Wright is the National Affairs Editor of The Age. He has been based in the Canberra Press Gallery for 20 years, working for The Canberra Times, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Bulletin before joining The Age in 2007. He has written two plays and two best-selling books, was named Magazine Feature Writer of the Year twice, has won several UN Media Peace Prizes and has been a Walkley Awards finalist five times.
Hospital sting leaves Coalition nursing wounds
Tony Wright As Andrew Wilkie stood in a parliamentary courtyard declaring he was a Julia man, it was very nearly possible to hear Tony Abbott banging his head on the wall of his office.
Judges absent as Gillard bids for Miss Australia crown
Tony Wright Relevance, Julia Gillard offered, is like beauty - it's ''in the eye of the beholder''. This seemed quite a revelation from a trained lawyer.
Wilkie's wish-list overlooks a bridge across Bass Strait
Tony Wright The new independent from Tasmania, Andrew Wilkie, wants 'adequate staffing and office space to deal with the workload of an independent member of parliament'.
Put down that blunderbuss
Tony Wright It's an unpleasant prospect, but traipsing back to the polling booths may be better for us than letting Gillard and Abbott keep kowtowing to Katter and co.
Bush trio crack the whip in Canberra
Tony Wright Who do these three guys think they are? Kevin Rudd?
10-gallon Bob storms Canberra
Tony Wright We can't be sure whether an exotic cactus from Mexico might be growing in the Queensland outback, but if Bob Katter was a scrub bull, you'd be wary of him, fearing he'd been grazing on mescaline.
Mavericks saddle up for some old-time wrangling
Tony Wright It is far too simplistic to assume the three former National Party members will automatically support the Coalition.
Don't call us, we'll call you
Tony Wright It's a fair bet, however, that there are plenty of Australians who would happily have sought sanctuary in a place like the Lakeside Tavern over the past few weeks, beyond the intrusion of the...
Volume down on the dogs at Alfie's Bar
Tony Wright The biggest TV screens in Alfie's Bar at Brisbane's Broncos Leagues Club sit side by side, and it seems likely the volume was turned up for the very first time on the one screening the Sky Channel...
PM gains frequent flyer kilometres but wants votes not points
Tony Wright Julia Gillard hurtled thousands of kilometres across north Queensland yesterday, frantically hunting for last-minute votes as she jetted from staged event to staged event.
Did we get to see the real Julia? Perhaps we did
Tony Wright Ben Chifley, Julia Gillard reminded us, had his light on the hill and US President Barack Obama surged to victory on the mantra 'Yes we can'.
Sins of the state system
Tony Wright Don't live in New South Wales or Queensland? Then don't expect any love and attention from our leaders.
Latham dodges Digger daggers but Abbott cannot dodge him
Tony Wright 'PISS off, Latham,' cried an old Digger. 'This is about veterans, not you.'
The club that launched a thousand jokes ... and one PM?
Tony Wright Rooty Hill RSL Club has launched a thousand jokes and propped up another thousand showbiz careers.
This time asylum seekers float Tony's boat
Tony Wright Tony Abbott was already halfway out of the room at Sydney's sumptuous Intercontinental Hotel when a reporter received a message informing her of the arrival of 59 asylum seekers.
Leader not biting as policy gets a lick and a promise
Tony Wright With the Coalition's policy-free campaign launch behind him, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott set out on a policy-free trek in Brisbane yesterday.
Labor Trussed-up by gag orders
Tony Wright The Labor Party has reason to be terrified. The Liberal Party are now so relaxed and confident they are prepared to perform comedy routines to a packed theatre.
Flashbacks and resurrections
Tony Wright The Labor campaign is taking on the air of a postmodern crime novel, where nothing that has gone before is meant to have any bearing on the future.
Faltering campaign takes stab at turning ex-PM who won't go away into an asset
Tony Wright She hurtled up and down Australia's eastern seaboard, but Prime Minister Julia Gillard couldn't rid herself of the monkey on her back.
Gillard beset by friendly fire as Rudd marches in
Tony Wright Sometimes, you need a man with a gun on the campaign trail. A hundred or so tough chaps in camouflage and toting assault rifles are even better if you happen to be Julia Gillard.
