Category Archives: Australian politics

Russian embassy spokesperson suggests Australian government unwilling to support espionage-proof building

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Teal independents to attend national EV summit today

Many of the newly elected independents who campaigned on a platform of stronger climate action are set today’s electric vehicle summit in Canberra.

Our support will be delivered through UN agencies to provide food, health and nutrition services, access to safe water and essential support for those at risk, including women and children.

Australia’s continued assistance to Sri Lanka supports our mutual interest in a secure and resilient Indian Ocean and reinforces our 75 year-strong relationship built on cooperation and community connection.

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Morrison ‘amused’ by afternoon of ministry meme merriment but Albanese says it’s no joke

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Shortly after apologising to Karen Andrews for secretly shadowing her ministry, Scott Morrison takes to social media to share jokey posts

Former prime minister Scott Morrison spent much of Thursday night making his own memes or commenting on Facebook jokes about his five secret ministry positions – but his successor as prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says his actions “aren’t a laughing matter”.

Morrison, who has resisted calls for his resignation after being accused of misleading his colleagues and the parliament, began interacting with Facebook jokes about his extra portfolio areas on Thursday afternoon, shortly after making a belated apology to his colleague Karen Andrews for not informing her he had been sworn in to administer her home affairs portfolio.

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Scott Morrison had a penchant for secrecy and centralising power – here are four examples

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Even before we learned the former PM was appointed to five extra ministries without telling anyone, there were warning signs of his need for control

This week we learned Scott Morrison was appointed to five extra ministries without his colleagues’ knowledge – but there were signs earlier in his prime ministership that he wanted to keep information secret and centralise power.

Morrison in 2019 arranged it so that he could hold meetings with anyone and treat them as cabinet-in-confidence. During the pandemic, the National Covid-19 Coordination Commission was set up essentially as a shadow public service.

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Australia news live: John Howard criticises lack of detail on voice to parliament as Anthony Albanese arrives in Torres Strait

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The former prime minister has spoken at a National Press Club event at the Canberra Writers Festival

‘Cringeworthy’: energy minister says Morrison’s media conference was embarrassing

Circling back to Chris Bowen’s interview on ABC Radio, where the discussion on climate policy was followed by questions on the biggest story in Canberra – Scott Morrison’s secret appointment to five additional ministries.

I think to be fair that the governor general was in a difficult position, he has to accept the advice of the government or the PM of the day.

It was pretty pathetic, embarrassing and cringeworthy to be honest.

He should call Andrews.

The right thing to do would be to call all ministers concerned.

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Scott Morrison apologises to Karen Andrews over secret portfolios following Coalition pressure

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Peter Dutton says former PM’s decision to have himself secretly sworn in to five ministries was the ‘wrong call’

Scott Morrison has apologised to the former home affairs minister Karen Andrews for secretly swearing himself in to her portfolio, after she revealed he hadn’t previously reached out to her in the wake of the growing scandal.

The apology came after the opposition leader Peter Dutton said Morrison made “the wrong call” by secretly taking on five ministerial portfolios, with the Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie claiming Morrison’s actions may have breached the Coalition agreement.

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Russia considering legal action after Canberra lease on new Australian embassy site terminated

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Lease terminated under ‘use it or lose it’ policy after Russian government failed to complete building within three years

The Russian government says it is considering legal action against a federal authority after it was ordered off the site of its new embassy in Canberra.

On Wednesday, the National Capital Authority said it had terminated the Russian embassy’s lease over a block of land in Yarralumla, a wealthy lakeside suburb in Canberra, and ordered it to clear the site within 20 days.

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Indonesian boys wrongly imprisoned by Australia ask attorney general for new appeal

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Exclusive: Lawyers for two Indonesian children wrongly jailed for people smuggling ask Mark Dreyfus to refer case for appeal, calling Christian Porter’s ruling on the case a ‘mockery of justice’

Two Indonesian children who were imprisoned as adult people smugglers using deeply flawed evidence have asked attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, to use his mercy powers and resolve the “mockery of justice” overseen by his predecessor Christian Porter.

Earlier this year, Guardian Australia used a trove of internal documents to reveal how federal police had placed fictitious dates of birth on sworn legal documents to prosecute eight Indonesian children as adult people smugglers, relying on a wrist X-ray age assessment technique they knew at the time to be questionable.

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Defiant Morrison resists pressure to resign as governor general says he thought powers would be made public

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David Hurley says not his job to publicise former PM’s extra appointments and he had ‘no reason to believe’ they would remain secret

Scott Morrison says he will not resign from federal parliament after his five secret ministry self-appointments were revealed, defending his decision to keep those ministries concealed because he says he never exercised the powers he had.

Morrison, at a press conference in Sydney on Wednesday afternoon, struck a defiant tone and said he would remain as the member for Cook, despite growing calls from some even inside his own party for him to quit.

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Dungowan Dam likely dead in the water after Infrastructure Australia deems proposal low priority

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Costs of dam project championed by Barnaby Joyce to secure water for Tamworth ‘far outweigh the benefits’, assessment says

The proposal to build a new Dungowan Dam in Barnaby Joyce’s seat of New England at a cost of $1.27bn appears to be dead after Infrastructure Australia delivered a scathing assessment.

The project, which was promoted by the former National party leader as a way to secure the water supply for Tamworth, in New South Wales, had originally been costed at $433m, with the Morrison government promising to contribute $242m.

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Ten glaring inconsistencies in Scott Morrison’s bamboozling press conference

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While attempting to explain why he appointed himself to five ministries in secret, the former PM raised more questions than answers

In Scott Morrison’s mind, he did nothing wrong by awarding himself the powers of the health, finance, treasury, home affairs and resources portfolios like some sort of ghostly understudy. He did what he had to do, and he saved Australia. That was the gist of his hour-long Wednesday press conference. But as always there are inconsistencies, half answers and questions which remain, despite the bluster. Here are the most glaring.

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Hurley says he had ‘no reason to believe’ extra ministries would be kept secret – as it happened

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Victoria’s opposition has pledged to scrap the suburban rail loop, described as the biggest transport project in the state’s history, with “every cent” of the $34.5bn saved to be invested in the health system if elected in November.

The commitment, made 101 days before voters go to the polls, sets the stage for another election turned referendum on infrastructure.

This November, Victorians face a clear choice. A choice between immediately rebuilding Victoria’s broken health system, or a train line in 13 years’ time.

As premier, my first priority will be to fix the health crisis.

So I think he himself, in reflecting on it, he has to come to the opinion that it probably wasn’t a good move. And, and on that issue, I agree with him.

If he did do something illegal, if he received some form of pecuniary benefit, if someone closely related to you get some for of pecuniary benefit, they failed to disclose, then yeah, you can pack up your bongos and get out of there.

But if something is legal, and you complied with the law even though people might not agree with that mightn’t be basically customary, or, as you would say, something you’ve done it in a way that’s annoying, you’ve done it in a way that has got people off side, but it’s not illegal. It’s not illegal.

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Push for parliament’s privileges committee to probe Scott Morrison over ministerial appointments

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Greens senator David Shoebridge and independent MP Sophie Scamps among those calling for investigation of former PM

There is a growing push for Scott Morrison to be investigated by parliament’s powerful privileges committee over his decision to secretly appoint himself to five additional ministerial portfolios.

The Greens’ legal affairs spokesperson, Senator David Shoebridge, and the independent MP Sophie Scamps have both said the privileges committee should investigate Morrison. Fellow independents Zali Steggall and Kate Chaney think a referral should be considered.

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Canstruct loses lucrative Nauru offshore processing contract to US prisons operator with controversial record

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Management and Training Corporation is set to take over running Australia’s immigration regime on the island

Canstruct has lost the lucrative contract to run Australia’s offshore immigration regime on Nauru with the Brisbane firm to be replaced by a US-headquartered private prisons operator that has a controversial past.

Sources have told the Guardian that Canstruct’s current contract, set to end on 30 September, will not be renewed and from 1 October “facilities, garrison, transferee arrivals and reception services” will be run by Management and Training Corporation (MTC) Australia.

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Australia news live: Karen Andrews leads calls for Scott Morrison to resign over secret ministries as former PM defends ‘belts and braces’ approach

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Morrison issued a lengthy apology on Facebook after the former home affairs minister called his secret swearing-in to her portfolio ‘unacceptable’

The former prime minister Scott Morrison is appearing on 2GB after revelations he appointed himself to several ministries in secret while in government.

Morrison says his appointments to three cabinet roles were “safeguards” during “unprecedented” times.

All ministers know their direct powers are matter between the prime minister and them not the cabinet.

These were not issues that were subject to cabinet.

It is the secrecy that is astonishing and we must get an explanation from the former prime minister about his actions.

One could understand how the prime minister may have wished to ensure that there was a safety net, particularly around the role of the health minister. We had no vaccines for Covid at the time.

But the fact that he chose not to tell anyone about this, the fact that his cabinet – many members of his cabinet – didn’t know about this – the prime minister has a responsibility to inform the parliament, the public and to inform his cabinet. It is a most extraordinary and alarming set of circumstances, I believe.

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Scott Morrison secretly appointed to five ministries, including Treasury and home affairs, says PM

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Anthony Albanese says former prime minister oversaw ‘unprecedented trashing of our democracy’ as Morrison’s colleagues Ken Wyatt and Karen Andrews call for him to be held accountable

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says Scott Morrison was appointed to five additional ministries, including Treasury and home affairs, labelling his predecessor’s actions an “unprecedented trashing of our democracy”.

The previous home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, has called for Morrison to resign from parliament following the revelations, but the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is standing by his former leader.

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Outrage as Australians discover former prime minister secretly gave himself five additional ministries

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Incumbent prime minister says he ‘cannot conceive of the mindset’ that enabled Scott Morrison to appoint himself to additional positions while PM

Scott Morrison secretly appointed himself to five additional ministries while Australia’s prime minister, in what his successor has labelled an “unprecedented trashing of the Westminster system”.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said on Tuesday he was waiting on legal advice over any possible ramifications of the secret appointments and was “open to reforms and suggestions” so the situation did not reoccur.

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Scott Morrison used self-appointed powers to override minister on unpopular Pep11 gas-drilling permit

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Government sources say Morrison took control of Keith Pitt’s portfolio to reject exploration licence in lead-up to election

Scott Morrison used his extraordinary ministerial powers to overrule the resources minister, Keith Pitt, on the controversial Pep11 gas project, without revealing he had appointed himself responsible for the portfolio.

As details emerge about the former prime minister’s takeover of at least three additional portfolios, government sources say Morrison took control of the resources portfolio to reject the offshore gas exploration permit in the lead-up to the election.

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Dutton says he was not aware of Morrison’s secret ministries – as it happened

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Ed Husic pushes for ‘brain regain’

Industry minister Ed Husic will this week host a series of five roundtable meetings with science and technology leaders in the lead-up to the federal government’s jobs summit, in a bid to kickstart what he called “brain regain” – attracting Australia’s bright minds working overseas to return home, to combat the so-called “brain drain”.

These discussions will also include ways to increase the representation of women and people of diverse backgrounds in skilled occupations. One of my priorities is on “brain regain” – encouraging Australian researchers and innovators to return home. I am interested to hear ideas on how this can be best achieved.

I can’t emphasise strongly enough that this is the start of engagement with these industry sectors. After the jobs and skills summit I will continue the work with industry leaders to ensure we apply practical solutions to accelerate Australia’s pathway to high-skilled, high-value economy.

He’s applied for a job and that’s coming with a significant degree of scrutiny, as it should do. That’s part of the territory if you’re going to put yourself forward for those roles.

If he felt the need to protect the environment from offshore drilling for gas off Sydney’s northern beaches and he felt he needed to swear himself in as minister, that’s something I support.

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Anthony Albanese seeks legal advice over reports Scott Morrison secretly swore himself into ministry roles

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Reports claim former prime minister’s senior cabinet colleagues were unaware he allegedly swore himself into three ministry positions

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is seeking legal advice over reports his predecessor Scott Morrison secretly swore himself into three ministry positions while in government, a fact that was allegedly concealed even from senior cabinet colleagues.

Morrison’s deputy PM Barnaby Joyce described the reportedly secretive arrangements, allegedly made without the input of the governor general, as “very bad practice”, while Labor minister Bill Shorten questioned whether the former leader had a “messianic complex”.

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Labor vows to prioritise Australian jobs as it eyes migration boost

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Annual intake could potentially rise from 160,000 to up to 200,000 places as businesses cry out for skilled workers

The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, has vowed Labor “will always prioritise jobs for Australians” as the government eyes increasing the migration cap potentially to 200,000 places per year.

A boost from the current annual migration intake of 160,000 will be on the table at the federal government’s jobs and skills summit next month.

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