Heading into an election year

Editor's note

Rarely has there been a dull moment in Australian politics this year – we’ve had scandals, party defections, state elections in Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria, and yet another prime minister has been toppled by his own party. Can 2019 top that? Well, we hate to tempt fate, but given there’s a federal election due in May, anything is possible.

In the meantime, we’ve assembled some of our best reads from the year that was that are still highly relevant to the year ahead. First among those is Michelle Grattan’s examination of the high cost of Australia’s recent coup culture, which has infected both major parties.

The Morrison Coalition government will be hoping that 2019 is more harmonious and productive than 2018. Rob Manwaring looks at the kind of prime minister Scott Morrison is likely to be (we’ll leave it to you to judge how he’s measuring up so far), while Chris Wallace turns an unflinching eye on the Liberals’ so-called “woman problem” (turns out it’s actually a “man problem”). Meanwhile, eminent historian Judith Brett makes the case that the Coalition’s biggest economic problem is actually climate change denial.

Not that it’s all smooth sailing for Labor leader Bill Shorten, either. One of this key challenges, argues Michelle Grattan, will be managing his party’s relationship with unions, and then how they sell that relationship to the broader public.

And with Australian elections becoming increasingly presidential, you can expect more of the “I’m-just-like-you-but-not-really-like-you” schtick recent leaders seem to have embraced. As Frank Bongiorno writes, it’s not always as successful as they might imagine. But it’s unlikely we can avoid it, so let’s brace ourselves for a lot more tweets of politicians doing “everyday” activities with their families and giving two thumbs up at barbecues. It’s going to be a great year.

Amanda Dunn

Section Editor: Politics + Society

All this Australian politics

Well, anyone who bullied or was fine with such conduct should do this: go to your local high school and explain to the kids why bullying shouldn’t be in their tool kit but is needed in yours. Joel Carrett/AAP

Grattan on Friday: The high costs of our destructive coup culture

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

While a particular coup may have its justifications, when you look at a clutch of them, they're bad for the country and for the political system.

Wes Mountain/The Conversation

Just a regular Joe (or Bill or ScoMo): how our leaders work hard at being ‘ordinary’

Frank Bongiorno, Australian National University

Australian prime ministers have long been interested in the names they go by, and how others should address them. But will the "ordinary Joe" approach pay off for ScoMo and Bill?

The area of greater uncertainty under Labor is a very different one – that is, how much of the unions’ agenda a Shorten government would be willing to embrace. Daniel Pockett/AAP

Grattan on Friday: Unions likely to be more challenging for a Shorten government than boats

Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra

In the lead up to next week's ALP national conference, which Shorten needs to run smoothly, the government has been trying to exploit what it sees as a Labor weak point – border protection.

The government’s stubborn commitment to coal is alienating it from its natural supporters in the business community. Wes Mountain/The Conversation

The Morrison government’s biggest economic problem? Climate change denial

Judith Brett, La Trobe University

The federal government's the stubborn commitment to coal is pulling the government’s economic policy towards the sort of state socialism it is supposed to abhor.

Morrison has shown a deft hand at balancing politics with his own ambition. AAP/The Conversation

What kind of prime minister will Scott Morrison be?

Rob Manwaring, Flinders University

Morrison has proved to be conservative on social policy, but wedded to a neo-liberal economic agenda.

The Liberal Party room is dominated – and increasingly so over the past generation – by male MPs who anoint leaders in their own image. AAP/Lukas Coch

A ‘woman problem’? No, the Liberals have a ‘man problem’, and they need to fix it

Chris Wallace, Australian National University

Other conservatives parties in the Western world have done better on female representation than the Liberals - the party needs a gender quota and to rid itself of its right-wing thugs.