Free Republic

IN January, Tony Abbott seemed finished as Prime Minister. But how things have changed. Now the leader under pressure is Labor’s Bill Shorten. Just ask his smiling deputy, Tanya Plibersek. The mischief began last week, with Shorten away and Plibersek acting leader. First, Plibersek declared Labor should now force its politicians to vote for gay marriage, rather than allow a conscience vote. Many Labor MPs were outraged. MPs — including devout Christians — who would feel morally obliged to vote against party policy could be expelled under Labor’s rules. Labor could split. Shorten, on his return, quickly rejected Plibersek’s bullying...

The Australian foreign minister has privately warned Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney that foreign leaders see "America in decline." That's according to Romney, who says he met with Foreign Minister Bob Carr in a San Francisco hotel Sunday evening shortly before a Republican fundraiser. Romney says Carr suggested that America could improve that international perception "with one budget deal" that helps balance the budget. A Romney spokesman says the foreign minister requested the private meeting. The campaign would not say whether the two discussed foreign policy.