Category Archives: Australian politics

Malcolm Turnbull accuses ‘stupid’ Nationals of ‘holding a gun’ to Liberal party’s head with Coalition split

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MPs pushing behind the scenes for parties to mend the rift acknowledge ‘really messy’ week as regional areas battle floods and drought

The former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has accused the Nationals of “holding a gun to the Liberal party’s head” over the threat to split the Coalition this week, claiming the rural party been “stupid” in its actions.

The Nationals MP Darren Chester, who was among a band of MPs pushing behind the scenes for the Coalition to mend its rift, acknowledged it was “frustrating” for the opposition to be bickering among themselves as regional and rural areas battled floods and droughts, and urged colleagues to get on with the job.

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Littleproud says discussions about reuniting Coalition a ‘positive move’ – as it happened

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Liberals will attend a virtual party room meeting this afternoon after Ley and Littleproud attempt to broker agreement two days after dramatic split. Follow today’s news live

Minns says community ‘no doubt bracing’ for more bad news after flooding death

The NSW premier is “bracing for more tough news” following news of a death in the state’s inundated mid-north coast.

It’s devastating for that man and his family and his friends. [It’s] a tight-knit community on the mid-north coast, and to lose anyone in these natural disasters is obviously horrifying. So I’m very sorry for that man’s passing.

We should be bracing for more tough news over the next 24 hours. We’re very grateful we got enormous amount of expertise, emergency service personnel and thousands of volunteers who are on site, but when you have major natural disasters, obviously, you get terrible news as a result, and that community no doubt will be bracing in the next 24 hours.

I’m sorry about that. That would be incredibly anxious period, waiting that period of time for a rescue.

I can assure the public that we have got a massive emergency service contingent on the Mid North Coast. There’s 2,500 emergency service workers including 2,200 SES volunteers and professionals that are on site. Over 500 vehicles and boasts, 13 helicopters, hundreds of drones, so this is a major operation.

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Australia news live: Nationals’ decision to break up Coalition not unanimous; ‘treacherous’ weather hampering chopper NSW flood rescues

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Nationals leader hints there might still be a possibility of joint tickets in 2028 if state officials from the two parties can come to agreement. Follow today’s news live

People trapped by flooding as river rise breaks record

Intense falls and major flooding have hit Australia’s most populous state as a slow-moving system dumps rain, causing a major river to rise to the highest level in almost 100 years.

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Australia demands Israel allow aid into Gaza, stating ‘the population faces starvation’ in joint statement

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‘Palestinian territory must not be reduced nor subjected to any demographic change,’ joint statement declares after Israel announces military expansion

Australia has joined 22 other nations in condemning Israel over its decision to allow limited aid into Gaza while announcing a military expansion to “take control” of the besieged strip.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said his troops were “making progress” on taking control of Gaza after Israel’s military had earlier declared a central city a combat zone and killed more than 60 people in airstrikes, while a senior minister said Israel’s army would “wipe out” what remains of Palestinian Gaza.

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Passengers freed from stranded train – as it happened

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Liberals question role of advocacy group Advance

We have an exclusive story this morning about the bitter aftermath within the Liberal party after its election defeat with some senior Liberal sources questioning the impact of Advance Australia, the rightwing advocacy that campaigned for the party.

We are absolutely deeply and gravely concerned about the situation in Gaza. For anyone who is watching the images or reading about what is happening there, we have been calling to ensure that aid is getting through and this is something that the Australian government keeps a watching brief on.

I will leave it to the foreign minister to make any further updates, but we … certainly … are seeking support for the people of Gaza and for Israel to allow that support to be provided.

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Australia news live: Bradfield goes to automatic recount after independent defeats Liberal candidate by 40 votes

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Nicolette Boele declared provisional winner over Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian. Follow today’s news live

Flood watches in place for rivers in Hunter and mid-north coast

Due to the prolonged period of wet weather for New South Wales – with rain expected to fall across the same regions for several days in a row – flood watches are in place for many rivers through the Hunter and the mid-north coast districts, where minor to moderate flooding is anticipated throughout the week, Hines says.

… and we can’t rule out the chance that one or two of them could see major flooding in the coming days.

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Albanese to meet von der Leyen in Rome amid hopes EU free-trade deal can be revived – as it happened

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Liberals must ‘build from the bottom up’ after election disaster – Ruston

Asked why the Liberals were now reviewing their embrace of the Paris climate agreement under the former government of Scott Morrison, Ruston says the walloping voters handed the party meant “absolutely everything” was up for review.

To be quite frank, we have to build from the bottom up again because that election result was quite disastrous for the Liberal party and we need to be open and honest with ourselves about what we need to take forward so that we are meeting Australia where they are and not talking about where we are.

Clearly we need to be doing something different. I think, you know, keeping an open mind, making sure we’re honest and open with that analysis of what went wrong, and actually come out with a policy proposal and a modern Liberal party, still maintaining all of the values that we hold so dearly.

Oh God, no, no, anything but, please. We have been there before many times over the past 20 years or so and to reopen the climate wars, as you aptly describe them, is like reopening an old wound.

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Surge in refusals for freedom of information undermines trust in Australian government, watchdog warns

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Refusal rate at its highest in a decade, prompting concern among transparency advocates

The Australian government is refusing freedom of information requests at a rate not seen for a decade, data shows, prompting concerns for transparency and accountability.

Data held by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, the watchdog overseeing the FoI system, revealed the proportion of FoI requests being completely refused has shot up to 27% in the December 2024 quarter.

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Bradfield counting paused until Monday – as it happened

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After a marathon legal battle spanning seven years, disgraced special forces veteran Ben Roberts-Smith will learn this morning whether he has cleared his name of war crime allegations, Australian Associated Press reports.

The Victoria Cross recipient sued Nine newspapers and journalists Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters for defamation over their reports in 2018 which claimed he had committed war crimes.

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Bradfield and Goldstein face nervous weekend wait for election result but Tim Wilson ‘very relaxed’

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AEC considers sending staff to airport ‘at late hours’ to collect final postal and overseas votes before midnight deadline

Liberal Tim Wilson has said he is “very relaxed” despite his lead over Zoe Daniel in the Melbourne seat of Goldstein slipping to 206 votes with late postal and overseas ballots from as far away as Nairobi still to be counted.

Candidates in the Sydney seat of Bradfield also face an anxious weekend, with no more counting to take place until Monday. On Friday afternoon, Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian led the independent candidate, Nicolette Boele, by just 43 votes.

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Larissa Waters urges Labor to be bold while Liberals in ‘electoral wilderness’ and says Greens hurt by ‘Trump effect’

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New federal Greens leader says current political climate an opportunity for ‘real reform’ on environmental protections

Larissa Waters has urged Labor to be bold on environmental protections, saying the Liberal party being left in the “electoral wilderness” means now is the time for the Albanese government to go against its “timidity”.

The new federal Greens leader – who was elected unopposed on Thursday – has also acknowledged her party was a casualty of the Trump effect, sending voters “into the arms of Labor”.

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Lidia Thorpe says she would not rejoin Greens ‘even if my daughter became leader’ – as it happened

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The Reserve Bank is watching closely as the last data domino falls before a pivotal rates meeting.

The RBA’s preferred measure of inflation – the trimmed mean – fell back into target at 2.9% in April, but tightness in the labour market remains a concern for the central bank.

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Australian property bounce after Labor wins second term, early data shows

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More buyers enter the market as auction clearance rates rose to 70% in the week following the election, figures show

Australia’s housing market has surged in the immediate aftermath of Labor’s emphatic election victory, preliminary data shows, while analysts say an anticipated string of rate cuts may see the trend continue.

Auction clearance rates rose to 70% in the week following the election, according to preliminary Cotality data, from 60% in the middle of last month. An auction clearance rate of 70% or above typically indicates sellers are in control of the market.

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Guardian Essential poll: PM’s approval rating surges amid calls to hurry upd housing and health reform

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More than 40% of voters say Labor’s large majority should encourage Anthony Albanese to get more ambitious with policies in key areas

Anthony Albanese’s personal approval rating has spiked off the back of his election win, as an overwhelming majority of Australians call on Labor to rapidly initiate health, housing and energy reform.

More than 40% of voters say Labor’s large parliamentary majority should encourage Albanese to set out an even more ambitious schedule of reform, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll. The prime minister’s popularity has risen to its highest level for a year, the poll showed.

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Australia news live: Anthony Albanese says Tanya Plibersek ‘very positive’ about new role after being shifted from environment portfolio

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Labor’s Tanya Plibersek has avoided comment about her ministerial desires or expectations, offering little other than general remarks when pressed this morning on the issue of the forthcoming cabinet announcement from Anthony Albanese.

Plibersek, who previously held the environment portfolio, told Sunrise this morning that cabinet decisions were “completely a matter for the prime minister” and that she was just “very grateful” to be on the front bench, and to have won the election, and to get to do “a good job for the government and for the people of Australia” again … and, well, you get the idea.

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Anthony Albanese reveals new cabinet with Tanya Plibersek named as minister for social services

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PM has named his new frontbench, including Michelle Rowland as the new attorney-general, after a factional brawl over positions

Tanya Plibersek has been named the minister for social services as the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, revealed his new frontbench after Labor’s emphatic election victory.

The biggest changes in the new cabinet include Michelle Rowland, as the new attorney-general; health minister Mark Butler getting the NDIS added to his portfolio; Amanda Rishworth being named the new employment and workplace relations minister; Anika Wells being promoted to the communications portfolio; and Murray Watt taking on the environment portfolio.

Richard Marles – deputy prime minister, minister for defence

Penny Wong – minister for foreign affairs

Jim Chalmers – treasurer

Katy Gallagher – minister for finance, minister for the public service, minister for women, minister for government services

Don Farrell – minister for trade and tourism, special minister of state

Tony Burke – minister for home affairs, minister for immigration and citizenship, minister for cybersecurity, minister for the arts

Mark Butler – minister for health and ageing, minister for disability and the national disability insurance scheme

Chris Bowen – minister for climate change and energy

Catherine King – minister for infrastructure, transport, regional development and local government

Amanda Rishworth – minister for employment and workplace relations.

Jason Clare – minister for education

Michelle Rowland - attorney general.

Tanya Plibersek – minister for social services.

Julie Collins – minister for agriculture, fisheries and forestry

Clare O’Neil – minister for housing, minister for homelessness and minister for cities

Madeleine King – minister for resources, minister for northern Australia

Murray Watt – minister for the environment and water

Malarndirri McCarthy – minister for Indigenous Australians

Anika Wells – minister for communications, minister for sport

Pat Conroy – minister for defence industry, minister for Pacific Island affairs

Anne Aly – minister for small business, minister for international development, minister for multicultural affairs

Tim Ayres – minister for industry and innovation, minister for science

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Federal election results: Monique Ryan wins Kooyong while Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian takes Bradfield

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Amelia Hamer could only secure small primary vote swing towards Liberals in Kooyong, while Greens MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown holds inner-Brisbane seat of Ryan

The independent MP Monique Ryan has won Kooyong in Melbourne, holding off her Liberal challenger, but Nicolette Boele, another Climate 200-backed candidate, is expected to fall short on Sydney’s north shore.

The ABC’s election analyst, Antony Green, on Monday projected that Ryan would maintain her slim lead in the Melbourne seat, where she led by about 700 votes with a few thousand left to count.

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Australia news live: Littleproud says Canavan leadership challenge ‘healthy’; teen caught with knife and fake gun outside AFL match

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Nationals leader applauds his colleague for having the courage to put up his hand. Follow today’s news live

Nationals leader David Littleproud is backing his record to hold on to the party’s top job as he faces a challenge from a fellow Queenslander.

The minor Coalition party faces a leadership tussle after Queensland senator Matt Canavan threw his hat in the ring.

We shouldn’t get upset about democracy taking place.

This is healthy for our democracy.

From my perspective, I still think I have a contribution to make and I want to do so. Someone once said that success isn’t final, failure isn’t fatal and the courage to continue is what matters. Here I am, a Labor MP quoting Churchill on Insiders. That’s where we’ve got to.

Indeed. Can I say, the party has given me great opportunities. Its faith in me, particularly with my faith, allowed me in part to make and break records, I’ve challenged the status quo and conservativism. It provides hope and aspiration for others. I want to be part of that.

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Australia news live: Erin Patterson’s daughter says her mother was a ‘very good cook’; PM’s department boss quits

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Erin Patterson’s daughter’s pre-recorded video evidence is being played to the jury in Patterson’s triple murder trial. Follow today’s news live

‘I want to harness all the talent in my team’

“We do need to reflect a modern Liberal party,” Sussan Ley says. She is speaking on Sunrise before the Liberals’ party room meeting on Tuesday, when they will select a new leader:

It’s about making sure that I am listening to my colleagues and … demonstrate to them we want a strong approach that includes everyone. I want to harness all of the talent in my team, take it forward under my leadership and meet the Australian people where they are because, clearly we didn’t do that at the last election. But we do need to reflect a modern Liberal party, meeting modern Australians in every single walk of life across the country.

On the weekend, we suffered a significant election defeat and since then, I have been having many conversations with my colleagues, members of the community, with members of the party, indeed the Coalition, with everyday Australians. I have listened. We got it wrong. We need to do things differently, going forward, and we do need a fresh approach. So, on Tuesday morning when the Liberal party room meets in Canberra, I will be putting myself forward for the position of leader of the federal party.

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Sarah Witty v Adam Bandt: how an unlikely Labor champion took down a Greens giant

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Melbourne was barely on the ALP’s radar as a seat it could win – but a sparsely funded campaign proved powerful

Labor could hardly be considered a metaphorical David in most federal election contests. But in the progressive seat of Melbourne, where the now-beaten Greens leader Adam Bandt had reigned for 15 years, there are similarities to the oft-told biblical story.

On 28 March, when Anthony Albanese called an election date for May, Melbourne appeared on no one’s list as a battle to watch.

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