MoAD and the Courtyard Cafe are open. Some exhibitions and rooms will be closed from September 2025 for essential building works. Learn more

Behind the Lines

Matt Golding

Matt Golding is a Melbourne-based cartoonist, currently drawing political cartoons for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. A two-time winner of MoAD Political Cartoonist of the Year, he is also a Walkley Award winner and has received multiple Stanley Awards from his peers at the Australian Cartoonists Association. In 2009 Golding published a collection of his gag cartoons, Three-Second Thoughts.

threefingers.com.au

Various world leaders skip over the top of a giant film projector. At the front, PM Anthony Albanese hops into the projector light.

Are We Rolling?

Matt Golding, Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House,

Cavemen gather around rocks, one of which is carved like a wheel. They hold up signs, 'Slow the transition to the wheel,' 'We love our rocks,' 'Wheels… but at what cost?'

Rocks in Their Heads

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

In an office text reads, 'Are we getting smarter?' A glass box sits over the top of a desk, where a man at a laptop says, 'Yes, Max… I know it's your legislated right to work from home twice a week, but do you have to insist we Zoom inside the cone of silence?'

Working from Home... and Loving It

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

An Aboriginal man walks sadly away from rock art which reads 'Yoorook Justice Commission'. A quote above reads, 'For communities who have lived these truths, the findings offer not shock, but relief. The violence is no longer just remembered; it has been recorded. Marcus Stewart, former co-chair of the First Peoples' Assembly.'

History - Markings

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

Scissors cut through a row of pink paper people. The handles are labelled 'Loopholes for predators,' and the blades, 'Child safety and wellbeing not a priority in this country.'

Child Safety Not Being a Priority in Childcare

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

Text reads, ' Inflatable balloon housing policy artists. ' PM Anthony Albanese and former Liberal leader Peter Dutton make balloon animal houses. Economists say, 'It's a dog; a dodo; no… a donkey!; A turkey; a fiscal maugean skate.'

Performance Artists Inflating the Problem

Matt Golding, Instagram,

A collage of images makes up the American flag. Top left is President Donald Trump's profile in red matchbox texture. The horizontal stripes are made from matches; the bottom one is on fire and the third from the top has just been lit.

Inflammation of a Nation

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

A mock Ikea instruction manual shows Peter Dutton crossed out, with a man and a woman building a chair. The instructions have names in the style of Ikea furniture names. The final panel shows 'Kooyong' out of stock, and 'Goldstein' in stock.

The Liberals' Post-Election Complete Rebuild

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

A painting in the style of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks shows former Australian prime ministers at a bar, with someone tapping on the window.

Nighthawks at the Sky After Dark Diner

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

The Earth lies in bed hitting snooze on its alarm, which says, 'This is your climate emergency wake-up call, beep beep.' When the clock gets to 2025, the Earth gets up and dresses.

Responding to Our Wake-up Calls

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

One Catholic cardinal says to another, 'Pope Francis has asked for his funeral rites to be down to earth and simplified.' They stand in an ornate papal building.

A Pope's Humble and Final Gesture

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

A meteorite hurtles towards two dinosaurs. One asks, 'What's your number one issue?' The other says, 'Cost of living.'

The Cost-of-Not-Living Crisis

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

An artist carves a stone cube face with sharp lines. A person says, 'The coalition social media team have asked if we could soften Dutton's image?' The artist climbs down and says, 'My work here is done,' leaving it with minute alterations.

Softening Dutton's Image

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

Text reads, 'Airport slots.' A large Qantas plane whistles and holds up a hand at a small Rex plane, which veers off to the side.

Slot Hoarding

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

A plane in the shape of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton's head spits exploding nuclear symbols onto a field of solar panels.

Dutton's Distract, Delay, and Destruct

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

Text reads, 'Gina Rinehart inspects her rebate for $300.' Mining magnate Rinehart leans over a microscope.

Gina's Bill Relief

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

In a large gallery, Ken Done's colourful paintings adorn a wall. The last work is grey, and reads, '4th coral bleaching event.' A person says, 'I prefer his earlier work.'

I Don’t Know Much about Climate Art, But I Know What I Like

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

A truck labelled 'Bipartisan coal and gas rental', with Opposition leader Peter Dutton and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese atop, is blocking the road for many solar panels, wind towers and batteries, which are saying things like, 'Honk!' and 'My child has an appointment with the future!'

Renewable Energy Transition Rebellion

Matt Golding, Nine Papers,

Entitled, 'One Biden short of a conga line,' Anthony Albanese wears a red, white and blue party hat, somebody's hands are on his shoulders, and his arms reach forward.

The Quad Conga

Matt Golding, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Across a space background similar to the opening scene of each 'Star Wars' movie, words in yellow begin: 'King Charles III, The Irrelevant Empire Strikes Back...'

The Irrelevant Empire Strikes Back

Matt Golding, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Four colourful logos: Blockbuster, Kodak, Brashs and Liberal.

Obsolete Brands

Matt Golding, The Age,

Two people watch TV, one says, 'I wouldn't want to be one of those 80,000 people affected'. The other replies, 'I would.' On the screen: 'Those with $3M+ super hit with tax rise'.

Survival of the Richest

Matt Golding, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Earth is surrounded by a variety of space satellites. An red inflatable tube with a face and long arms looms over North America. Text reads: 'An escalation in the inflatable spying arms race'.

The Spying Arms Race

Matt Golding, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Two photos of space. The first says, 'Seeing where we came from'. The second, Earth on fire, says, '...and where we're going'.

A Glimpse

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,

A man looks over the edge of the ship 'Cost of Living'. He is looking at an iceberg lettuce.

The Cost of Living Iceberg

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Champagne bottle with Boris Johnson's head as the cork is being popped. It says, 'Boris Partygate' and 'No Confidence' on the bottle.

A Toast to Partygate

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Scott Morrison with the text 'Last act' and a picture of a boat on the sea. Anthony Albanese with the text 'First act' and the Aboriginal flag.

Last Act, First Act

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Text at the top: 'A possible coalition of vegetables and minerals'. Peter Dutton is on the left, as a potato. Barnaby Joyce is on the right, as a radish, holding a black substance.

A Union of Vegetables and Minerals

Matt Golding, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Scott Morrison and Barnaby Joyce at a press conference. A banner in the first panel says 'Net-zero commitment'. The second panel, Joyce has covered the 'net' with his hat.

Australia's Climate Action

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,

A man sits in an armchair. A woman stands. A dog is on the floor. The man says, 'I'm moving my armchair expertise from epidemiology to nuclear powered naval submarines.'

Armchair Experts

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Scott Morrison says to Josh Frydenberg from inside a small house, 'Just look at them, Josh... locked down in their cave'. They are on the east side of Australia while Western Australia has people running around freely outside.

Cave Dwellers

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Two panels. First panel Michael McCormack walks away from Barnaby Joyce who is in a 'NATS' recycling bin. The second slide the roles are reversed. Parliament House is in the background.

Bin Night

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Josh Frydenberg walks past Anthony Albanese saying 'You're toast!' Parliament House is in the background. A tub of butter is on a billboard with the text: 'Spreadable money' and 'I can't believe it's not a Labor budget!'

Budget Butter

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg walk away from a group of children saying, 'We'll leave you generations of debt and climate change. Don't grow up too soon!'

Inheritance

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Two panels. First panel: Daniel Andrews says to three people, 'You need to change your behaviour to what you were doing before'. Second panel: same people hoard supermarket supplies. Andrews thinks, 'Damn'.

The Second Wave of Hoarding

Matt Golding, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Scott Morrison is an ostrich. His head in buried in sand. He says, 'There was no slavery in Australia'. Text beneath reads: 'Dark emu versus white ostrich'.

A Historical Perspective

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Two panels. First panel, shadowy figures watch a robot chase two people. The robot says, 'You owe us'. Second panel, the robot explodes, the two people say, 'An apology!!'

Owing Something to Someone

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Coronavirus and Vegemite at a bar. Coronavirus says, 'Internationally, all people want to do is stop my spread.' Vegemite responds, 'I'm hearing you, buddy!'

Stopping the Australian Spread

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Scott Morrison is on horseback. Beneath are members of the Nationals as cats. In the background is Parliament House.

Herding Nats

Matt Golding, The Sydney Morning Herald,

In the style of the 'Life. Be in it' ad which featured a man called 'Norm'. 'The New Norm' is sitting on an armchair with a mask on, text reads: 'Life. Be inside.'

The New Norm

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,

Angus Taylor, Michael McCormack, Matt Canavan, Barnaby Joyce and Scott Morrison sidestep questions about having a plan and the cost.

Our Plan

Matt Golding, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,

You may also be interested in...

Behind the lines

Behind the lines

Explore political cartoons in Behind the Lines exhibitions online.

Stories

Stories

Deep dive into stories about Old Parliament House, Australian history and democracy.

What is the difference between misinformation and disinformation?

What is the difference between misinformation and disinformation?

Common terms explained.

Could the 1975 dismissal happen elsewhere?

Could the 1975 dismissal happen elsewhere?

Is the dismissal of an elected government an event that could happen in countries other than Australia?

1975 election

1975 election

Everything you need to know about the 1975 double dissolution election.

How to vote in Australia

How to vote in Australia

Your guide to voting in Australian elections.