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Tim Fischer

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Planes have played a central role in the fortunes of politicians in the sprawling seat of Farrer, which is about to be vacated by Sussan Ley – herself a trained pilot.

The race for Farrer, and a strange saga that left the Liberals in shock

Political contests often produce unexpected consequences, but there’s something in the air in Sussan Ley’s sprawling electorate that could lead to feathers flying.

  • Tony Wright

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A catafalque party guards the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Solider at the Australian War Memorial.

Rare is the state funeral that lifts a nation’s spirit

State funerals are variously celebratory, solemn and even quirky, and sometimes disappointing. But at least once, for a man with no name, such an event soared.

  • Tony Wright
Scott Morrison as head of Tourism Australia, in 2004.

‘I was gobsmacked when he became prime minister’

Former Howard government tourism minister Fran Bailey, who forced out Scott Morrison as head of Tourism Australia, said his prime ministership was “a tragedy for our nation”.

  • Jon Faine
Testing times for the Liberal and Nationals Coalition ... Premier Gladys Berejiklian with her deputy John Barilaro in the NSW Parliament.

Why the Nats aren't road kill, yet

There is a constituency that's quite fond of John Barilaro and his antics. They're the ones he's playing to - and the ones who keep him awake at night.

  • Pru Goward
Tim Fischer on the train from Armidale to Sydney in 2011.

Riding the rails and dreaming with Tim

A steel wheel on a steel track, Tim Fischer would lecture anyone, has one-seventh the friction of a rubber wheel on a bitumen surface. So why don't we go by rail?

  • Tony Wright
The coffin of former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer arrives at the Albury railway station.

Tim Fischer's last train ride

"All the way, people stood along the track and in paddocks and on the platforms of the little towns, waving Akubras and Australian flags."

  • Tony Wright
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Tim Fischer was loved but he was no cuddly bear.

Tim Fischer pranked me - and it changed my life

I owe the former Nationals leader a debt of gratitude.

  • Claire Kimball
The NSW Department of Education is the only government department in the world that hosts a Confucius Institute.

Is closing the Confucius program a xenophobic reaction?

Despite finding no evidence of "actual political influence", the NSW Department of Education will remove the Confucius program from public schools.

The impounded Iranian crude oil tanker, Grace 1, is silhouetted as it sits anchored off the coast of Gibraltar. Australia will join a US-led coalition to protect shipping in the Straits of Hormuz.

US snaps its fingers and Australia comes running

The current problems in the Strait of Hormuz result entirely from the US's abrogation of the Iran Nuclear deal which was destroyed by President Donald Trump.

Former deputy prime minister Tim Fischer.

A man prepared to stare down a gun and go to the ends of the earth to keep a promise

Tim Fischer was a bloke from another age, who believed it was worth at least trying to do the right thing.

  • Tony Wright