Education
Oakes was educated at Lithgow High School and graduated in 1964 from the University of Sydney while working part-time with the Sydney Daily Mirror.
Oakes was educated at Lithgow High School and graduated in 1964 from the University of Sydney while working part-time with the Sydney Daily Mirror.
Since 1966, he has worked in the Canberra Press Gallery, covering the Parliament of Australia and federal elections. At the age of 25 he was the Melbourne Sun"s Canberra Bureau Chief and while working for that paper he began providing political commentaries for the television program, Willesee at Seven. In 1978 he began The Laurie Oakes Report, a televised political journal.
In 1979 he joined Network Ten and worked there for five years.
He has since written about politics for The Age in Melbourne and the Sunday Telegraph in Sydney. He commentates for several radio stations.
In 1980 he obtained a draft copy of the Australian federal budget, before it was tabled in Parliament. In 1997, Oakes used leaked documents to report on abuse of parliamentary travel expenses, which ended the careers of three ministers, several other politicians and some of their staff
More recently he used leaked documents showing the Rudd Government ignored warnings from four key departments about its Fuelwatch scheme.
Oakes has been a weekly contributor to various Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL) owned media outlets, including the former Channel 9 television program, Sunday. He has also been a regular reporter for Nine News. He wrote a weekly column for The Bulletin magazine until it ceased publication in January, 2008.
Oakes now writes for Sydney"s The Saturday Daily Telegraph.
He now presents politics for Weekend Today with hosts Cameron Williams and Leila McKinnon. I"ve voted both ways at various times.
Keating used to boycott the program every now and again. Not because he thought I was a Liberal but because he thought I wouldn"t toe the line.
Paul believed in rewards and punishment."
In his book The Latham Diaries, former ALP leader Mark Latham said that Oakes"s nickname in political circles was "Jabba the Hutt".
Oakes has also been nicknamed the "Sphere of Influence" by Crikey.
In a 2004 interview, Oakes said: "My personal politics are pretty much in the middle, I would think. I don"t know if perceptions about my politics influence whether people will be interviewed.
Quotations:
"My personal politics are pretty much in the middle, I would think. I"ve voted both ways at various times. I don"t know if perceptions about my politics influence whether people will be interviewed.
Keating used to boycott the program every now and again.
Not because he thought I was a Liberal but because he thought I wouldn"t toe the line. Paul believed in rewards and punishment." In his book The Latham Diaries, former ALP leader Mark Latham said that Oakes"s nickname in political circles was "Jabba the Hutt".