Category Archives: Australian politics

Liberal candidate apologises for Anzac Day booklet that contained campaign message and linked to how-to-vote card

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Exclusive: Former navy officer Grange Chung, candidate for the Sydney seat of Reid, uses images of himself in military uniform

The Liberal candidate for Reid, Grange Chung, has apologised for distributing a four-page booklet commemorating Anzac Day that also encouraged people to vote for him and linked to a how-to-vote card.

The Anzac Day booklet, authorised by the NSW Liberal party, contained images of Chung, a former navy officer, dressed in military uniform. The defence department has repeatedly urged veterans to refrain from using pictures of themselves in uniform, to avoid any suggestion the military is politically partisan.

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Third-party groups targeting teals in key seats swarm pre-poll areas in NSW and Victoria

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Third-party group Better Australia has posters and representatives wearing yellow ‘community adviser vests’ at multiple locations in Sydney.

Third-party groups targeting the teal independents are flooding pre-poll locations in Victoria and New South Wales, and include campaigners with links to the Jewish community such as Repeal the Teal.

In Goldstein, where the independent Zoe Daniel is hoping to hold off Liberal candidate Tim Wilson, Repeal the Teal has made its presence known this week with posters, T-shirts and pamphlets. The group is also campaigning in Kooyong.

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EVs to cost more under a Coalition government, after Dutton’s apparent backflip on popular tax break

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Polestar says Dutton’s move shows ‘a complete lack of understanding of the significant cost-of-living, climate and health benefits of EVs’

Electric vehicles would cost more under a Coalition government, after Peter Dutton confirmed he would scrap a popular tax break for EV drivers in an apparent backflip that has caused confusion and anger among clean car advocates.

The initiative, which was introduced by the Albanese government in 2022, has meant if a person buys an EV priced under $91,387 through a novated lease program via their employer (when a lease is paid off through pre-taxed salary deductions) they do not have to pay fringe benefits tax (FBT) – even if the car is only for personal use.

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Albanese condemns Dutton’s pledge for mass public service cuts ‘only in Canberra’

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Opposition leader’s comments suggest close to two-thirds of capital’s public service roles – which include many key agencies – would be slashed

Peter Dutton has pledged to cut almost two-thirds of Canberra’s federal public servants if elected, in a move Anthony Albanese has criticised as “outrageous”.

In a testy press conference in Tasmania on Thursday morning, the opposition leader batted away questions about not visiting a single proposed nuclear power station site, as well as confusion over shifting positions on migration targets, tax breaks for electric vehicles and Coalition support for recognising West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

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Exclusion zones: is Peter Dutton’s campaign avoiding proposed nuclear power sites?

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The opposition leader says he ‘won’t be able to get to all’ of the seven locations earmarked for flagship nuclear policy, while Labor says he has not been within 50km of any during election campaign

Peter Dutton is avoiding visiting any of the seven sites for his proposed nuclear reactors, Anthony Albanese and the Labor party claim, arguing the issue has become “radioactive” for the Coalition.

The Liberal leader says he is still committed to nuclear power, even as he concedes it may not be “politically popular”.

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Indonesian ambassador met senior Australian diplomats on same day Albanese accused Dutton of ‘damaging relationship’

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Exclusive: Meeting with Dfat deputy secretary not specifically about reported Russian military request, diplomatic sources say, but may have been canvassed

Indonesia’s ambassador met with senior Australian diplomats on Tuesday as the nation was thrust into an election campaign debate about a potential Russian military presence in the region – and on the same day Anthony Albanese accused Peter Dutton of damaging the bilateral relationship.

Indonesia’s ambassador to Australia, Dr Siswo Pramono, met with the department of foreign affairs and trade’s deputy secretary, Michelle Chan, who leads its south-east Asian policy division. One diplomatic source said Indonesia requested the meeting.

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Dutton refuses to specify what Coalition’s $21bn of pledged defence spending would be used on

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Opposition leader insists costings will be released prior to the election as Andrew Hastie says ‘America-first’ US means Australia’s defence must be prioritised

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has refused to specify where an additional $21bn in pledged defence spending would be allocated, nor where the money would come from, committing only to releasing the Coalition’s costings before the 3 May election.

After announcing the Coalition’s policy to spend an additional $21bn over five years, lifting defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, Dutton was questioned over where the money would come from and what specific capabilities it would be directed to.

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Trade unionists, conservationists and church groups unite against Dutton’s nuclear plan

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Seven Regions Nuclear Free alliance launches campaign representing groups who oppose the Coalition’s proposed nuclear reactors in their communities across Queensland, NSW, SA, Victoria and WA

Trade unions, conservationists, First Nations groups, church congregations and community organisations have launched a coordinated campaign against opposition leader Peter Dutton’s plan for nuclear reactors across Australia.

The Coalition has pledged, if elected, to build seven nuclear reactors to replace retiring or retired coal sites naming Tarong and Callide in Queensland, Liddell and Mount Piper in New South Wales, Port Augusta in South Australia, Loy Yang in Victoria, and Muja in Western Australia.

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Vets exposing shocking animal welfare breaches at Australian export abattoirs face ‘enormous risk’

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Lawyers urge government to protect veterinarian whistleblowers who monitor animal welfare and food safety for trading partners such as the US and EU

Lawyers and animal welfare advocates have urged the government to protect veterinarian whistleblowers who revealed shocking animal welfare breaches and oversight failures at Australia’s export abattoirs.

The Australian government relies on a workforce of veterinarians placed inside export abattoirs to monitor animal welfare and food safety, largely to satisfy the requirements of major trading partners such as the US and EU.

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‘Misleading and offensive’: Allegra Spender denounces unauthorised pamphlet as AEC launches investigation

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More than 47,000 anonymous pamphlets distributed in Wentworth area, which includes Bondi Beach, Darling Point, Double Bay and Rose Bay

Allegra Spender has denounced “anonymous and misleading” pamphlets that the Australian Electoral Commission says had been distributed in her electorate of Wentworth without authorisation.

At a press conference on Monday afternoon, the independent member for the eastern Sydney seat welcomed an announcement by the AEC that it would be investigating the election material.

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Coalition promises crackdown on ‘drugs and thugs’ as polls continue to favour Labor

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Opposition expected to use final two weeks of the campaign to focus on the traditionally safe grounds of national security, crime and defence

The Coalition would crack down on “drugs and thugs” with a new policy pledge including tougher narcotics laws and a new disclosure scheme to help parents “unmask” sex offenders who may be in contact with their children.

Peter Dutton said an elected Coalition government would spend $750m on its so-called Operation Safer Communities plan, to include tightened border security and safety laws, extra funding for police and investigators, and detection of illicit drugs.

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‘Propaganda’: Albanese mocks Russia’s ‘you have no cards’ warning to Australia

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Incendiary letter by Moscow’s envoy says Australians should be more concerned about US bases on their soil than a Russian base in Indonesia

Russian warnings to Australia that “you have no cards” to stop Russian military activity in the Indo-Pacific have been mocked by Anthony Albanese, who has dismissed an incendiary letter from an ambassador as authoritarian “propaganda”.

The unsubstantiated spectre of a proposed Russian military airbase on Indonesian territory has loomed over the past week of Australia’s federal election campaign, with the opposition accusing the government of obfuscating and dodging questions, and the government responding that the opposition had misrepresented the Indonesian government and actively fanned Russian propaganda.

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Labor vows to consider strengthening Australia’s animal welfare body after shocking abattoir revelations

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Exclusive: Guardian Australia investigation into export abattoirs brings ‘necessary and commonsense’ commitment back to the spotlight

Labor will consider strengthening Australia’s independent animal welfare body following shocking revelations of welfare breaches and oversight failings in the nation’s export abattoirs.

A Guardian Australia investigation revealed on Saturday that government-employed veterinarians working inside the nation’s export abattoirs had repeatedly blown the whistle on “profound problems” with the system.

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‘Bordering on incredible’: Coalition under fire for planning to scrap Labor climate policies and offering none of its own

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With Peter Dutton’s views on climate change in the spotlight, the focus has turned onto whether there will be any policies to reduce emissions in the next decade

The Coalition is refusing to say if it will introduce any policies to cut Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions in the next decade as it pledges to unwind most climate measures introduced under Labor.

Peter Dutton’s position on the climate crisis came under scrutiny last week after he gave contradictory answers on whether he accepted mainstream climate science. Asked during a leaders’ debate on the ABC whether extreme weather events were worsening, the opposition leader said: “I don’t know because I’m not a scientist”.

Dropping a Labor goal of 82% of electricity coming from renewable generation by 2030 and slowing the roll out of solar and wind farms, in part by scrapping a “rewiring the nation” fund to build new transmission connections. Instead, it says the country would rely on more fossil fuels – coal and gas-fired power – until it could lift a ban on nuclear energy and build taxpayer-owned nuclear generators, mostly after 2040.

Abolishing fines for car companies that do not meet targets to cut the average emissions from the new cars they sell.

Not supporting Labor’s 2030 emissions reduction target. Former diplomats say lowering the target would put Australia in breach of commitments made in the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

Opposing a joint Australia-Pacific bid to host a major UN climate summit in Adelaide next year.

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As Dutton faces a last-minute policy inquisition, Albanese seems to be on top – and he knows it

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An increasingly confident prime minister has bounced back from his campaign missteps while a nervous-looking opposition leader is running out of time to make a comeback

Two weeks until the 3 May election day, and Anthony Albanese is cracking jokes about Star Wars.

Every profile and sketch of the prime minister during this campaign – which is now past its halfway – speaks of the confidence and even swagger Albanese projects as he travels the country. It is one of the starkest differences to his 2022 campaign, which was dominated by missteps: forgetting key economic figures, then his untimely Covid diagnosis and images of being chased out of a press conference by journalists.

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Trumpet of Patriots faithful told Australia needs ‘many’ Trump-like policies as Clive Palmer launches campaign

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Billionaire tells crowd of 400 that ‘uni-party’ of Labor and Coalition are ‘dumb and dumber’ as hats with ‘Make Australia Great Again’ slogan given out

Billionaire Clive Palmer has made his pitch to party faithfuls after launching the Trumpet of Patriots campaign at his own resort.

Palmer hopes his Trumpet of Patriots can bring “common sense” back to Australian politics after launching the party’s campaign in front of a strong crowd at his resort.

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Albanese claims victory in Vegemite fight as Canada concedes spread poses ‘low’ risk to humans

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Prime minister said his government had lobbied Canada to reconsider ruling that cafe could not import Vegemite

Anthony Albanese has claimed victory in Australia’s “Vegemite-gate” trade stoush with Canada, which has relented and allowed a Toronto-based cafe owner to sell the spread after initially ruling it did not comply with local food laws.

Speaking at a press conference in Sydney on Saturday morning, holding up a jar of Vegemite, the prime minister declared he had achieved a “win for Australian industry” after his government’s discussions with the Canadian government.

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Dutton pledges tax breaks for business startups and meets alpaca who sneezed on King Charles

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Opposition leader also says his migration plan would prioritise tradies and not yoga teachers

The Coalition says it will introduce tax offsets to help an extra 350,000 small businesses get going if it is elected.

On Saturday morning, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, announced an “entrepreneurship accelerator” which would see new businesses receive tapered tax offsets and tax deductions for tech upgrades.

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Coalition’s claim that fuel efficiency standard would raise prices based on car no longer on sale

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Questions arise over election proposal to axe penalties for high-emitting cars after revelations Toyota RAV4 model used in analysis has been discontinued

The Coalition’s claim cars will be more expensive as a result of the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) has come under scrutiny because at least one of the opposition’s headline figures is based on a car no longer on sale.

The revelation casts doubt on a key Coalition election proposal to eliminate penalties for cars that emit CO2 beyond regulated limits, to ensure “Australians save thousands when buying a new car”.

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Zoe Daniel says team had nothing to do with Climate 200-backed robocall criticised by Coalition

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Liberal senator says voters in teal seats receiving aggressive ‘push polling’ calls, but company behind poll says it complied with guidelines

The independent MP Zoe Daniel has said her campaign team had nothing to do with a phone survey the Coalition has criticised as “push polling”, a criticism rejected by the company responsible for launching it on behalf of Climate 200.

Nine Newspapers has published the audio of a robocall authorised by the polling company uComms, which provides a favourable overview of Daniel’s record in parliament before asking how a person would vote on 3 May.

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