Category Archives: Australian politics

Governor general proclaims King Charles III as Australia’s head of state – As it happened

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Anthony Albanese has set 22 September as National Memorial Service Day for Queen Elizabeth II. This blog is now closed

Howard says the popularity of the Queen was the key reason behind the republican movement failing, but that the monarchy offers stability.

I think there’s also a keener appreciation of the value of the institution and its strength. People look around the world at the moment and the alternative governance systems on offer, everyone in democracies, don’t look all that flash on occasions. I think the strength and durability and flexibility of the constitutional monarchy is something that more people appreciate than is imagined.

That is fair enough. It’s a democracy. People can argue for change. My observation is the strength of the monarchy in Australia was immeasurably increased by the personal popularity of the Queen.

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‘Collector’s item’: Australians utilise quirk that entitles citizens to free portrait of the Queen

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Under little-known nationhood obligation, MPs supply patriotic objects including flags, national anthem recordings and portraits of the monarch

When Helen Browne woke to the news of the Queen’s death, she rang her federal MP.

Browne was hoping to secure one of the last complimentary portraits of Elizabeth II on offer in Australia, part of a little-known entitlement to citizens under a nationhood obligation.

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Australian travel industry braces for ‘influx’ as royalists plan to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

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Guardian Australia understands the few remaining Qantas seats from Australian capital cities to London have been quickly booked since the news of monarch’s death

Australia’s travel industry says it is bracing for an “influx” of Australians deciding to travel to London to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

Guardian Australia understands the very few remaining Qantas seats from Australian capital cities to London have been quickly booked since the news of the Queen’s death. Peter Hosper, the commercial director of Travel Authority Group, said his agency was preparing for more inquiries on Monday.

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PM hails monarch as ‘absolute inspiration’ as leaders lay wreaths at Parliament House – as it happened

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Prime minister, opposition leader and governor general take part in ceremony. This blog is now closed

Prime minister Anthony Albanese and the governor general, David Hurley, are now walking towards the statue of the Queen, together with speaker of the house Milton Dick.

A crowd of parliamentarians and dignitaries are gathering at the Queen’s Terrace area of Canberra’s Parliament House, where a wreath-laying ceremony will take place at a statue of Queen Elizabeth.

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Australians in ‘acute crisis’ urge PM to ease welfare penalties for working more hours

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People on disability pensions say they should be able to work more without having their financial support reduced

For Angela Finch, prime minister Anthony Albanese’s retelling of his story about growing up as the son of a single mother in Sydney’s public housing is wearing thin.

“His mum could not do what she did today, like she just couldn’t,” Finch told Guardian Australia, adding that soaring costs and restrictions on how much she can work before losing her welfare funding were terrifying her.

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Australia reacts to monarch’s passing – as it happened

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The prime minister Anthony Albanese is addressing the nation about the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

He said it is a loss that is “felt deeply in Australia”. The Queen was a rare and reassuring constant in a period of massive change, he said, and was the only monarch to visit Australia, which she did 16 separate times.

There is comfort to be found in Her Majesty’s own words. “Grief is the price we pay for love.”

This is a loss we feel deeply in Australia. Queen Elizabeth II is the only reigning monarch most of us have known, and the only one to ever visit Australia. Over the course of a remarkable seven decades, Her Majesty was a rare and reassuring constant amidst rapid change. Through the noise and turbulence of the years, she embodies and exhibited a timeless decency and enduring calm. Her

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Guardian Essential poll: 64% of young voters would consider backing independents in NSW and Victorian elections

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After success of federal ‘teals’, about half of all respondents are thinking about a shift away from major parties

About half of voters – and more than two-thirds of young people – are considering backing independents at the upcoming Victorian and New South Wales state elections, in a trend described as the “Uberisation” of politics.

The latest Guardian Essential poll shows 48% of 1,100 respondents in Victoria and NSW are considering voting for an independent if one were to run in their electorate.

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Labor concerned about apparent national security committee ‘leak’ in book on Morrison government

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Plagued, which revealed Scott Morrison’s multiple ministries, also details secret discussions on China, defence and border closures

The government’s new chair of the intelligence and security committee, Peter Khalil, says he is “absolutely concerned” about what appear to be leaks from the national security committee of cabinet contained in a recently published book.

Plagued, which was written by Simon Benson and Geoff Chambers and revealed how Scott Morrison appointed himself to multiple ministries in his government, also contained details of previously secret deliberations of Australia’s national security committee (NSC) of cabinet.

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Coalition calls for Albanese to ‘enforce’ ministerial code as more details of frontbencher investments emerge

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Mark Dreyfus says he has complied with code of conduct but Peter Dutton says attorney general should have known he had investments linked to legal firm


Attorney general Mark Dreyfus is the latest government member to become embroiled in a widening furore over investments held by ministers, with the Coalition claiming the financial arrangements of several frontbenchers breach Anthony Albanese’s ministerial standards.

The attorney general denied any wrongdoing but said he will “examine the matter”, after the opposition raised concerns over a potential conflict of interest, with deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley calling for the prime minister’s office to investigate the financial arrangements of the government frontbench.

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Australia politics live: David Pocock withdraws comment after criticising ‘bullshit’ climate scepticism in Senate

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Labor is due to pass its climate bill through the Senate today. Follow the day’s news live

Looks like you can expect more questions for Kristy McBain in QT today.

Paul Fletcher dropped by doors as the opposition still try to make fetch happen:

We need to see the prime minister and his ministers demonstrate that they are taking compliance with the ministerial code seriously. The prime minister talked a great deal about integrity and accountability and he needs to explain how his code operates, how he’s satisfied that his ministers are in compliance with it. His ministers need to explain how that satisfied themselves that they are in compliance with the code.

We heard a lot from Mr Albanese … about new standards of integrity and accountability. This is now the first test, with a significant number of questions being asked about compliance with the ministerial code.

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RBA governor says at least two more interest rate rises needed to combat ‘scourge’ of inflation

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Philip Lowe has admitted ‘the magnitude of the pickup in inflation has come as a surprise to everyone’

The Reserve Bank will need to lift the official interest rate at least twice more to ensure the “scourge” of inflation is contained, with the pace and size of increases determined in part by how fast wages pick up, the bank’s governor, Philip Lowe, has warned.

In a speech on Thursday, Lowe admitted the pace of inflation had caught the RBA and other central banks flatfooted. They had no choice but to lift the cost of borrowing to stop an “inflation psychology” from taking hold.

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Climate statements take centre stage at Midwinter Ball in protest over oil and gas sponsorship

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Greens leader Adam Bandt’s wife, Claudia Perkins, and Senator Sarah Hanson-Young wear dresses with slogans calling for end of fossil fuels

Parliament House’s Midwinter Ball was punctuated by climate change demonstrations as protesters outside and Greens politicians inside called on the government to phase out fossil fuels.

Senator Sarah Hanson-Young wore a dress bearing the phrase “end gas and coal”, while the wife of Greens leader Adam Bandt, Claudia Perkins, arrived in a gown emblazoned with the slogans “coal kills” and “gas kills”. The fashion statements came after criticisms raised by Senator David Pocock and climate groups about fossil fuel companies Woodside and Shell sponsoring the annual press gallery ball.

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Labor cancels $18m grant to controversial foundation backed by governor general

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David Hurley had discussions with Scott Morrison about leadership program that later received one-off funding before it was operational

The Albanese government has axed a controversial $18m grant to a leadership foundation that the governor general, David Hurley, personally lobbied the Morrison government to back.

The decision late on Wednesday follows senior government officials suggesting the Australian Future Leaders Program was under review as part of the October budget process.

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Federal Icac legislation to be introduced to parliament next week – as it happened

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Gallagher says Labor has not changed position on tax cuts

And on the stage three tax cuts, Katy Gallagher echoed the line the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, started last week and continued yesterday – which is effectively Labor playing dead on the $243bn cuts:

I have been asked this a number of times. You know, we haven’t changed our view on stage three. They don’t come in until 2024.

My sole focus at the moment is putting a budget together for October and what we can do in the short-term to relieve pressure on families. That is what I’m focused on everyday.

Well, the budget we inherited was heaving with a trillion dollars of Liberal party debt. We got deficits as far as the eye can see.

We got some programs that weren’t funded in an ongoing sense that clearly are programs that need ongoing funding.

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NT Labor members at odds with government after call to ban fracking in Beetaloo Basin

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Northern Territory party conference passes string of motions urging a ban on fracking and an end to gas industry subsidies

Grassroots Northern Territory Labor members passed a string of motions on the weekend calling for a ban on fracking in the Beetaloo Basin and an end to gas industry subsidies, putting themselves at odds with both the territory and federal Labor governments.

The previous federal Coalition government helped speed up gas exploration in the resource-rich Beetaloo Basin, about 500km south-east of Darwin, by handing tens of millions of dollars to fracking companies to incentivise exploration.

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Labor welcomes AFL deal with Seven and Foxtel but says it will scrutinise anti-siphoning sports laws

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Fans upset after Foxtel and Kayo awarded exclusive rights to Saturday games for first eight rounds in Melbourne

The Albanese government has welcomed the AFL’s historic broadcast deal with Seven and Foxtel and noted it won’t reduce the number of free-to-air games, while still reiterating concerns about popular sports being locked behind paywalls.

In a statement on Wednesday, the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, noted fans’ concerns about changes to free-to-air coverage of AFL games under the deal.

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Australia hails ‘new chapter’ in Timor-Leste relationship as leaders sign defence pact

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Albanese government looks forward to military cooperation as Jose Ramos-Horta calls for help to develop Greater Sunrise gas fields

Australia has signed a new defence agreement with Timor-Leste, one of its closest neighbours in the Indo-Pacific, allowing increased military cooperation, particularly in the waters between the two nations.

The deal was announced as the Timor-Leste president, Jose Ramos-Horta, prepared to address the National Press Club on Wednesday, where he called on Australia to do more to help Timor-Leste’s economy develop.

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Chinese ambassador would ‘love’ to see Anthony Albanese meet Xi Jinping without preconditions

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Xiao Qian says Canberra and Beijing have ‘good momentum but we need to keep the momentum’

China’s ambassador to Australia has suggested the leaders of the two countries might meet without “preconditions” in remarks that could help further thaw relations.

Xiao Qian on Tuesday night also offered to help detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei contact her family.

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Australia politics live: RBA interest rates decision due; climate bill to pass Senate with Pocock amendments

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Labor’s signature climate change legislation will pass the Senate with some minor changes

Delayed rate pain

While the interest rate increases are hitting those already on variable rates, those who are on fixed rates which are about to expire are going to feel a lot of pain, when their repayments jump to include the cumulative increase all at once.

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Guardian Essential poll: about half say Scott Morrison should resign over secret ministries

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Poll finds 51% of respondents say the former PM should go, including a third of Coalition voters

About half of voters think Scott Morrison should resign from parliament over his decision to secretly appoint himself to five additional portfolios while prime minister, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll, which also finds trust in government in steady decline.

As the former prime minister continues to defend his decision to take on the additional portfolios without informing his colleagues or the public, the survey of 1,070 people found that about half (51%) agreed with the statement that he “should resign from parliament”, including a third of Coalition voters.

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