Category Archives: Australian politics

Australian politicians respond to US abortion decision – as it happened

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Sussan Ley and Jason Clare react to US supreme court decision on abortion rights; Australia to send $1m earthquake relief to Afghanistan; nation records 26 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Sussan Ley: Roe v Wade overturning ‘a backward step for women’

Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley says the US supreme court’s decision to overturn a constitutional right to abortion is a “backward step for women in the US”.

This has been a step backwards for women in the US. I’m very discomforted by anything that puts a personal and sensitive issue that a woman has to grapple with in many instances, or a family has to grapple with, in the same sentence as criminal.

Thank God we are a country here in Australia where abortion is not an issue that divides the Labor party and Liberal party.

I’m thinking at the moment for the women who live in some of these states that are basically being told today that if you want to have an abortion then get on a bus and travel a couple of hundred kilometres.

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Peter Dutton says NSW Liberal party preselection delays were ‘completely unacceptable’

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Nine candidates were preselected just days before the 2022 federal election amid bitter recriminations in the NSW branch

Peter Dutton has warned the New South Wales Liberal party it is “completely unacceptable” to preselect candidates on the eve of an election.

The opposition leader gave that message to the NSW branch executive at a meeting on Friday evening, urging it to avoid a repeat of divisions before the 2022 poll, when nine candidates were preselected just days before the election was called.

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Education system ‘run by Marxists’: Jason Clare takes aim at Liberal senator over comments on teachers

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Hollie Hughes told a Sydney Institute forum parents need to ‘turn the internet off’ as she gave reasons for the party’s election defeat

The education minister has blasted Senator Hollie Hughes for “crazy” comments blaming the Liberals’ low youth vote on “Marxist” teachers.

On Sunday Labor’s Jason Clare responded to the remarks, made by the New South Wales senator at a Sydney Institute federal election postmortem on Tuesday.

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‘Things aren’t going back’: Australia braces for step-up in China’s Pacific push

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Despite initial relief over island nations’ rejection of security and economic pact, senior government figure says reprieve could be only temporary

The Australian government is bracing for China to step up its push to expand influence in the Pacific, with a senior figure privately conceding Canberra has a lot of work to do to regain lost trust and strengthen regional unity.

Despite initial relief at a decision by Pacific island countries to defer a sweeping 10-country security and economic pact proposed by China, the Australian government now believes this may be only a temporary reprieve.

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Daniel Andrews names Jacinta Allan as Victoria’s deputy premier after senior ministers resign

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Allan was endorsed unanimously by the Victorian Labor caucus to replace James Merlino ahead of the November state election

The Victorian government has unveiled the frontbench it expects to take to the November state election and crowned a new deputy premier.

Transport infrastructure minister Jacinta Allan will replace James Merlino as deputy premier, after he was one of four senior Labor ministers to announce their retirement and step down from cabinet on Friday.

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Victoria names new ministers; Penny Wong to travel to south-east Asia – as it happened

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Jacinta Allan appointed Victoria’s new deputy premier; Australia records at least 56 Covid deaths and Penny Wong to travel to Vietnam and Malaysia. This blog is now closed

There have been 21 Covid deaths in NSW. 1,453 people have been hospitalised, and 45 are in intensive care:

US president Joe Biden is calling on Americans to vote for officials who will restore abortion rights. This is how he described the overturning of Roe v Wade earlier:

So extreme that women could be punished for protecting their health.

So extreme that women and girls who are forced to bear their rapist’s child – of the child of consequence.

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Factions, new blood and Jeff Kennett: Daniel Andrews’ dilemma after losing four ministers

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Analysis: Victorian premier has five months to introduce a new leadership group to voters

A lot of comparisons can made between Victorian premiers Daniel Andrews and Jeff Kennett, though, being from opposite sides of politics, neither of them will likely admit it.

Both are considered crash-through leaders, either loved or loathed. Both have shaped their state, either for better or worse – depending on whom you ask.

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Calls to expand access to Covid antivirals in Australia splits experts and doctors

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Health minister encourages Paxlovid and Lagevrio use, but peak GP body cautions drugs can have side-effects if taken with some other drugs

Doctors and experts are split over calls to expand the eligibility for leading Covid antiviral drugs Paxlovid and Lagevrio, with some saying access should be widened while others warn the medication isn’t right for everyone.

The federal health minister, Mark Butler, is encouraging doctors and patients to consider the drugs, which can be effective at lessening the virus’s symptoms if taken soon after contracting Covid.

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‘Slap in the face’: independents furious at PM’s decision to cut advisory staff from four to one

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Anthony Albanese’s move to reduce crossbench staffers to pre-Coalition levels met with outrage

Furious independent MPs and senators have accused the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, of an “attack on democracy” after he decided to slash their staff allocation in one of his first dealings with the newly expanded crossbench.

One Nation has threatened to reject all government legislation as their “default position”, while crucial Senate vote David Pocock called the decision “extremely damaging” to the relationship with the crossbench. The Greens also claimed they have been given an effective staff cut, allocated the same number of staff as the last parliament despite their representatives growing from 10 to 16.

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PRGuy unmasks himself in video with Friendlyjordies after legal threat by Avi Yemini

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Jeremy Maluta reveals he is behind pro-Labor Twitter account PRGuy17 but says he has no media experience or connection to Daniel Andrews

The man behind the formerly anonymous pro-Labor Twitter account PRGuy17 has unmasked himself, after far-right figure Avi Yemini attempted to use the courts to reveal whether the account had ties to the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews.

Jeremy Maluta told YouTuber Friendlyjordies in a video released on Friday that he has no PR or social media experience, works in an industry completely unrelated to politics or the media, and has no connections to Andrews.

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Queenslanders embraced Greens because they saw politics was broken, says Adam Bandt

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Flush from winning three seats in Brisbane, Bandt debunked the myth that sunshine state residents are conservative

Far from being “inherently conservative”, as the political class assumed them to be, Queenslanders in fact went into the federal election with a “better understanding that politics was broken”, according to Greens leader Adam Bandt.

Bandt made the comments on Friday as he became the first Australian Green to address the Queensland Media Club in its 17-year history, but not before he had to deal with an elephant in the room when thanking the event’s sponsors, among whom was the Brisbane Airport Corporation.

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China ambassador tells Australian protesters ‘no such thing as absolute freedom’

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Xiao Qian says there is no reason for China and Australia to be enemies as his address is interrupted by protests

China’s ambassador to Australia has declared there is “no such thing as absolute freedom” as he defended his country’s human rights record during a speech in Sydney.

Facing repeated interruptions from protesters, Xiao Qian said on Friday there was no reason the two countries should be enemies but they should respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity – phrasing that indicates Australia should moderate its comments about Taiwan and Hong Kong.

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‘Considerable strain’: how Australian officials saw the China rift

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Officials kept in ‘regular contact’ with Chinese embassy even as Morrison government ministers frozen out, FoI documents shows

Australian officials stayed in “regular contact” with the Chinese embassy in Canberra to “explain our decisions” even when Australian ministers were subjected to a two-year diplomatic freeze, newly released documents show.

The former Morrison government had been “willing to engage with China in dialogue at any time”, according to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade briefing notes, which also described the relationship as being under “considerable strain”.

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Australia live news updates: Anthony Albanese to meet EU president; NSW Greens criticise police ‘overreach’ against climate activists

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NSW Greens criticise ‘overreach’ of police operation against climate activists; Anthony Albanese leaving Sunday for Europe visit; protester interrupts Chinese ambassador’s Sydney address; Chris Bowen says energy market has returned to ‘normal market conditions’; report of aged care providers operating at a loss; nation records at least 46 Covid deaths. Follow the day’s news

Qantas is forecasting a loss of up to $550m this year, despite strong demand for domestic and international flights allowing it to reduce its net debt to $4bn by the end of this financial year.

That’s a $1.5bn improvement in the past six months.

We don’t want a circumstance whereby there’s risk to Australian personnel by undertaking such a visit, but we’ll take that advice and we’ll act accordingly.

We’ve formed a special bond with Ukraine. President Zelenskiy is one of the century’s great heroes, and he’s provided inspiration not only to his people but to the rest of the world as well.

I hope that we can visit in due course and if the prime minister is able to visit, if that’s the security advice he’s received, that it’s safe for him and for his delegation to visit, then I think it’s entirely appropriate that he would.

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Sussan Ley backs Peter Dutton’s decision to oppose emissions legislation but signals future room for change

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Deputy opposition leader criticises government’s 43% reduction target but says Liberal party’s climate position is not fixed

The deputy opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has backed Peter Dutton’s decision to oppose government legislation to cut emissions by 43% by 2030, but signalled the Coalition’s climate policy could shift before the next federal election.

In an interview with Guardian Australia, the new deputy Liberal leader said it was “sensible” for the opposition not to jettison policies it took to the May election.

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Senior ministers to retire before Victoria’s election – as it happened

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Housing market posts first monthly decline since September 2020; at least 52 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Australian scientists celebrate world first

AAP is reporting that in a world first, Australian scientists have developed a device with “exquisite precision” that they say is a huge step towards a commercial quantum computer.

This is a remarkable piece of engineering. This experiment paves the way for larger and more complex quantum systems to be emulated in future.

It won’t be long before we can start to realise new materials that have never existed before.

All of this is just a fantasy because they don’t understand what actually happens at the bargaining table.

I think the Reserve Bank governor has weirdly changed his tune, he was the one who said so long as wages keep up with inflation and productivity, they are not inflationary.

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Recruiter told to halt search for New York trade role a day before John Barilaro’s resignation

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Exclusive: Email from head of Investment NSW said New York position would now be handled as an ‘internal matter’

The public servant responsible for handing John Barilaro a plum $500,000-a-year trade job in New York City told the recruitment firm searching for an appropriate candidate that it would be handled as an “internal matter”.

On 3 October, the day before Barilaro announced he would resign from parliament, Amy Brown, the chief executive officer of Investment NSW, told a representative of recruiter NGS Global the job would now be a “ministerial appointment” and that her services were no longer required.

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Coalition government spent $6m prosecuting Bernard Collaery and three other whistleblowers

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Exclusive: Figures provided to the Guardian reveal exorbitant legal bill for pursuing cases against Collaery, Witness K, Richard Boyle and David McBride

The former Coalition government spent almost $6m prosecuting Bernard Collaery, Witness K, Richard Boyle and David McBride over their actions in exposing wrongdoing and misconduct, new data shows.

Figures provided to the Guardian show the costs of the prosecutions has almost doubled in two years, leaving taxpayers with an exorbitant legal bill well before the cases have reached trial.

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Public service shake-up continues with four new secretaries for government departments – as it happened

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Dominic Perrottet called on to halt Barilaro appointment pending inquiry; at least 63 Covid deaths recorded nationwide. This blog is now closed

NSW teacher strike ‘about politics, not pay’, Kean says

Matt Kean has hit out at plans by public and Catholic school teachers to strike next Friday after receiving a 3% pay rise offer, well below the rate of inflation.

Our 3% pay increase is far more than the Labor government’s 1.5% pay increase for public servants down in Victoria.

So the same unions complaining about our generous pay rise up here in NSW and protesting aren’t marching in the streets down in Victoria.

A senior woman, a senior public servant with knowledge of financial markets and trade particularly with the United States was offered the job, it was rescinded by the New South Wales government.

We don’t know by whom. And then John Barilaro mysteriously was given it just last week.

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Fake Twitter accounts for new senator suspended – as it happened

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Twitter suspends two fake accounts pretending to be Fatima Payman; nation records at least 59 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Victoria is reporting a spike in Covid related deaths, after 28 people lost their lives overnight:

Rally outside NSW parliament to protest government’s wages policy

We are losing skilled teachers, nurses, cleaners – and we’re going to have more pressure in NSW for services to be provided that we can’t retain.

It’s not much to ask and the government needs to act.

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