Bruce Hawker is a leading campaign manager with 30 years experience advising leaders in business and politics. As MD of Campaigns & Communications, Bruce manages crises and plans and executes communications campaigns.
Here we go again. As if on cue, the Liberal Party, smelling victory, has launched an assault on the way our history is presented in the new national curriculum.
Julia Gillard: bureaucratic language plus polly-slogans ends in a failure to connect
My blog back in February about the dearth of great political speeches in Australia struck a chord with former ABC correspondent, David Hardaker. David began his professional career as a speechwriter in NSW and then Canberra in the early 80s before crossing into journalism. He has penned a guest blog in which he analyses the style of PM, Julia Gillard, and zeroes in on [...]
One of my favourite films is Cool Hand Luke. In it Paul Newman plays a prisoner who refuses to submit to the brutal regime imposed by the prison's governor.
In one scene Luke is in a chain gang. His guard tells him that [...]
In recent days there has been a discernible rise in aggressive anti-Rudd rhetoric by those most concerned about a return to the Labor leadership by the former prime minister.
This is despite the fact that Kevin Rudd has made it clear there will be no [...]
Men and Women of Australia: The Decline of Great Speech Making
The first time I voted in an election was 1974. Gough Whitlam was about to be re-elected just 18 months after his historic 1972 victory. Like most of my friends, I was keen to see Labor returned and was caught up in a suitably watered down Australian version of a personality cult as we pulled behind the Whitlam Government. When I heard that he was going to address a midweek evening rally on Brisbane's north side, I had no hesitation in heading off to see the helmsman speak.
Yesterday, NSW Labor Leader John Robertson made an important speech entitled "A New Standard" where he announced important reforms to the way Labor organises itself in that State.
In it, he outlined plans to:
1. Require all MPs to disclose full details of their taxable income so that the public knows precisely the source of any income from business and other interests. Nor will they be able to hide money from public scrutiny by putting investments in the name [...]
To Win, Labor Must Make Good Use of Its Best Weapon: Tony Abbott
This op-ed originally appeared in today's Daily Telegraph.
Australia's longest ever election campaign has kicked off and frankly, day two could not have been worse for Julia Gillard. The arrest of Central Coast MP, Craig Thomson, has only gone to reinforce Labor's bad image in NSW where the ICAC inquiry into Eddie Obeid and his family dominates daily news bulletins. The added problem for federal Labor is that the election will be won and lost in NSW - particularly [...]
Gillard Announces Election Date for 14 September. Much Ado About Nothing?
Julia Gillard's early announcement of the election date - 14 September - is unprecedented in Australia. Because of this fact it has excited huge media interest. It certainly took me by surprise because the biggest tactical advantage incumbents have in elections is in not disclosing the date until the last minute. Now the Opposition can plan every aspect of its campaign right down to the political advertising placements in 7 months time. Usually oppositions are forced to plan for various [...]
The Australian Labor Party has survived two World Wars, three splits and the Great Depression. Over its 121 years the influence of unions on the ALP has ebbed and flowed. In recent times, the influence of union officials and faction leaders has been asserted as never before. [...]
The Australian Institute of Company Directors ("Bring business into cabinet", The Australian, December 27) has made a welcome entry into the debate about how cabinets should be formed in Australia. Their call for constitutional changes to allow a broader representation in [...]
