The Turnbull government minister in charge of scrapping generous travel entitlements for former MPs was himself a major beneficiary of the scheme, racking up almost $90,000 in taxpayer-funded flights.

An international expert on planning healthy cities has warned Sydney against following the Asian model of concentrating high rise around train stations to house a booming population.

Yesterday, 5 November 2015, Andrew Bolt told us a few fantasies but then what's new?... Without flinching, he reports on a CSIRO poll about global warming: "It's a miracle." he blurts without exclamation marks because Bolt is quite reserved in his appreciation of "facts". "most Australians are now global warming sceptics, despite years of being misled by the media." No exclamation marks here either. Humbly reserved.

Bolt continues: "a CSIRO survey of more than 5000 people has confirmed it, even though warmist reporters tried to spin it.

On Tuesday, in a press conference with Malcolm Turnbull to announce his appointment, the new chief scientist of Australia, Alan Finkel, said something very interesting.

Attorney-General George Brandis has hit out at criticism of Tony Abbott's religious beliefs, describing the "ridicule" to which the former prime minister was subjected as "bigotry at its most shameless".

The incessant sneering and ridiculing...[Tony] Abbott on account of his religious faith was bigotry at its most shameless. 

Senator Brandis, who last year defended people's "right to be bigots" amid debate over proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act, has told a roundtable meeting of religious and non-religious representatives that "religious freedom is every bit as important as political freedom".

If everything is on the table, rather than raising the GST to 15% and further increasing inequality, Malcolm Turnbull has a range of other options to help resolve Australia's current fiscal imbalance, writes John Passant.

‘Special intelligence operations’ grant ASIO officers immunity from prosecution if they break the law; they are also protected by an impenetrable wall of secrecy.

Not since 1977 – almost 40 years ago – has a governor-general performed so poorly at the Melbourne Cup.

In 1977 Sir John Kerr got a bit plastered and was out of control.

Not so in 2015. Sir Peter Cosgrove was in total control. So much in control that he was utterly controlled by what seemed to be a pre-prepared speech.

Just fill in the blanks with the name of the jockey, trainer and owner.

He completely missed the point of history.

Why didn't he just chuck away his prop – his prepared speech – and seize the moment of history. For the first time in the 155 years of its running, a female jockey won the Melbourne Cup.

Yay.

Some people have wondered why Europe did not close its borders before the recent incursion by known incendiarist Tony Abbott. A more pertinent question for us is why we would let him return to Australia.