Category Archives: Liberal party

NSW building commissioner’s resignation letter sent to Icac, Dominic Perrottet says

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Letter has been the subject of intense speculation, amid reports it refers to a stop-work order

The resignation letter sent by former New South Wales building commissioner David Chandler when he abruptly quit last month has been sent to the state’s anti-corruption watchdog.

On Wednesday the NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, revealed the letter, which he had previously said he had not read, had been forwarded to the Independent Commission Against Corruption “out of an abundance of caution”.

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Victorian opposition leader loses second senior staff member in eight days

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Matthew Guy’s director of communications resigns after reported disagreement with incoming chief of staff

Victoria’s opposition leader, Matthew Guy, has lost a second senior staff member in eight days, less than four months out from the state election, following the abrupt resignation of his director of communications.

Lee Anderson, who had held the position for 12 months, quit on Wednesday morning after what sources say was a disagreement with Guy’s new chief of staff, Nick McGowan.

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John Barilaro-linked developer met with then NSW minister Eleni Petinos weeks before work ban lifted

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Barilaro was not present at 2 June meeting and Petinos says she ‘did not take any action in relation to the matters’ raised by company

Sacked New South Wales minister Eleni Petinos held two meetings with a property developer linked to the former deputy premier John Barilaro weeks prior to the lifting of a stop-work order at a $500m development in Sydney’s west.

New ministerial diaries published on Tuesday show Petinos held two meetings with Coronation Property in June relating to “fair trading building related matters”.

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SES and Resilience NSW ‘failed’ to lead flood response, inquiry finds – as it happened

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New threatened species listings include south-eastern glossy black-cockatoo

Two Australian species that were badly affected by the 2019-20 black summer bushfires have been officially listed as threatened.

The damage caused by the black summer bushfires is still being felt today and can be seen reflected in these listings today.

The fires had an immense impact on our environment, from a small reptile found in the mountains to a bird that is at home on the coast. There is still a lot of work to do.

It seems as though these positions are being offered around almost like lolly bags to senior members of the New South Wales government rather than what they’re intended to be, which is senior positions funded by the taxpayer. We shouldn’t operate like that in New South Wales. We’re slowly but surely finding out the contours of what is an absolute scandal.

There’s many questions to be asked. At the end of the day we’re expected to believe of the 8 million people who live in New South Wales, John Barilaro was independently chosen to represent our interests. I think that ... stretches credibility.

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‘Shitshow’ over John Barilaro’s NYC appointment keeps sucking the NSW government in

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Analysis: Former deputy premier’s appearance at inquiry was always going to generate plenty of headlines

About 55m light years from Earth, a colossal black hole about 1,000 times larger than the sun known as M87 is slowly consuming the universe.

In New South Wales, there is John Barilaro, whose appointment to a New York trade role appears to be getting the job done much faster.

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Australia news live: no colleagues raised concerns about job application, John Barilaro tells inquiry

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The former NSW deputy premier is appearing this morning at a parliamentary inquiry into his appointment to a US trade job

Queensland commits $22m for livestock biosecurity taskforce

Queensland will set up a taskforce to help protect the state’s livestock from “unprecedented biosecurity risks” amid the threat of foot and mouth disease on Australia’s doorstep, AAP reports.

David Elliott was never promised a job outside of politics. That is deeply offensive and wrong. People will always say from time to time, discussions will be had in relation to when someone retires what they would like to do, that is normal.

From time to time, members of parliament – when they’re seeking to leave politics – will talk to colleagues in relation to what they might want to do next.

At that time, minister Elliott did not want to recontest the next election, but was interested in being part of the team going forward.

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NSW Liberals pass preselection reforms to prevent repeat of election fiasco

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Senator Andrew Bragg praises party for ‘modernising its mechanics’ after the state branch adopted his motion

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Senator Andrew Bragg has heralded the passage of reforms by the New South Wales Liberal party as important to avoid a repeat of its preselection fiasco before the 2022 election.

The state party’s annual general meeting on Saturday adopted the NSW senator’s proposed reforms requiring the party to publish and follow a timetable for preselections within 12 months of an election.

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Penny Wong walks out on Russian speech; nation records 82 Covid deaths – as it happened

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The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says he will be “taking a break” next week, with his deputy, Richard Marles, to act in the top job in his stead.

Speaking on ABC Melbourne radio, Albanese said he would take a short period of leave and travel somewhere in Australia. He will be on leave from August 6-14.

Taking a break with security issues is more complex, I have found.

Three people remain in custody. We believe one of those persons is responsible for this matter.

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Australia politics live: leaders trade question time barbs over climate and power prices; CMO ‘confident’ Covid wave has peaked as 85 deaths recorded

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The parliament will sit at 9am – once the morning proceedings are done, it will be into the climate bill – people are getting ready to head to the galleries to watch it pass the house.

It has been a very, very long decade. There are a lot of people who need to see this, even if there is still a very, very long way for us to go to actually start acting.

The inclusion of an Objects clause that addresses targets, accountability, expert advice and the need for climate action in line with the science makes it clear that this is the beginning of a new era in Australia,” Chaney said in a statement.

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Liberal MP Bridget Archer to cross the floor on climate bill – as it happened

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Defence review to be announced

The government is announcing a defence force review today, which it wants completed in about six months. Is this in response to China?

It’s because we need an ADF that is well-positioned to meet our security challenges over the next decade and beyond.

And we have inherited, as you all know, some real capability issues, some of which have been well publicised in the media. It is important that we look at how we ensure the Australian defence force can meet our security challenges, not just now, but in the years ahead. So, you know, I welcomed this and the prime minister and the defence minister will be having – we’ll have more details about this later today.

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London trade rep said he would ‘go to’ Dominic Perrottet over contract negotiations, NSW inquiry hears

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Inquiry also hears Amy Brown reveal Stuart Ayres’ praise for John Barilaro before New York appointment

The New South Wales government’s senior trade commissioner in London was recruited after being “added to the process late” and believed he had an “elevated status” that saw him threaten to “go to” the premier, Dominic Perrottet, during contract negotiations, an inquiry has heard.

In a day of explosive evidence to the inquiry investigating John Barilaro’s controversial appointment to a New York trade commissioner job, the chief executive of Investment NSW, Amy Brown, also revealed newly resigned deputy Liberal party leader, Stuart Ayres, told her the former deputy premier’s appointment was “good to go” after a meeting of senior ministers.

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The John Barilaro affair has stripped the shine off NSW’s hardman premier Dominic Perrottet | Anne Davies

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His handling of this crisis, which led to the resignation of his deputy Stuart Ayres, has colleagues questioning whether he has the right stuff under pressure

The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, looked stressed as he fronted the media on Wednesday to announce that his deputy Liberal leader and trade minister, Stuart Ayres had agreed to resign from the ministry.

The scandal over the appointment of the former Nationals leader, John Barilaro, to a $500,000-per-year trade job in New York (that he created before leaving parliament) has festered for six weeks and stripped the shine off a premier who is yet to celebrate 12 months in office.

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From celebrity wrangler to political staffer: how Mitch Catlin’s career change came unstuck

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Analysis: Liberals were always sceptical of Matthew Guy’s plan to use a marketing maestro to improve the party’s chances in Victoria

Eyebrows were raised among Victorian Liberals when returning opposition leader Matthew Guy announced last September that his new chief of staff would be marketing expert and celebrity wrangler Mitch Catlin.

Catlin, known for his Birdcage antics at Flemington and rehabilitating the image of Today show host Karl Stefanovic after his divorce, had little political experience, several Liberal MPs demurred.

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Politics live: ‘difficult day for Australians with a mortgage’, Chalmers says; east coast gas shortages in spotlight

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The resources minister, Madeleine King, has taken the first step in reining in the big three LNG exporters by ‘triggering the trigger’

Labor unlikely to extend the fuel excise cut

Asked about the fuel excise in that same interview, Jim Chalmers said:

I’ve been really upfront with people, Charles, for some time now – before the election, during the election and after the election – and pointed out that extending that would cost some billions of dollars and the budget can’t afford that. We’ve inherited a budget which is absolutely heaving with a trillion dollars in Liberal party debt. And when interest rates are rising, it actually costs more and more to service that debt.

The fastest-growing area of government spending in the budget is actually servicing the debt that we’ve inherited because, as interest rates rise, it becomes more expensive to pay that back. So every dollar borrowed, whether it’s by our predecessors or by the new government costs more to pay back and we need to be conscious about that. We need to be responsible about that and upfront about that. And that’s what we’re being.

This isn’t about any one individual. This is about a difficult day for Australians with a mortgage, another difficult day I think everybody is bracing for the interest rate rise that the governor and the Reserve Bank board has flagged.

These decisions are taken independently by the Reserve Bank, by its board and by its governor. People are expecting this outcome today. But it won’t make it any easier.

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Warren Entsch may support Labor’s climate target if he can be shown it’s not a ‘brain fart’

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Liberal MP says he is open-minded on bill but doesn’t want it to become an ‘impost on the community’ amid high inflation

The veteran Liberal MP Warren Entsch says he is open-minded about Labor’s bill to enshrine a 43% emissions reduction target if he can be convinced the Albanese government has a concrete plan to achieve the cut without driving up power prices.

Ahead of the first substantive Coalition party room meeting of the 47th parliament on Tuesday, Entsch told Guardian Australia he was seeking advice on the bill and might lend support if there was evidence to suggest the number wasn’t a “brain fart”.

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Australia politics live: Monique Ryan tells Coalition ‘put your masks on’ in question time; Greens say RBA interest rate hikes won’t solve inflation

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The housing minister, Julie Collins, says Australia’s rate of homelessness is “unacceptable”, as she promises a greater leadership role from the federal government in the sector.

Australia today marks the beginning of Homelessness Week, with social agencies calling on governments nationwide to do more to address housing and rental affordability, as well as the underlying factors contributing to homelessness.

Our reforms aim to ensure every Australian has access to safe and affordable housing to improve social and economic outcomes for all Australians, including those at risk of, or experiencing, homelessness,” she said on Monday.

According to the 2016 Census, in Australia there are over 116,000 people experiencing homelessness, and this figure is unacceptable.”

We all need to be heading in the same direction.

We need to be ambitious ... we all need to be working together to solve the housing affordability issues we have.

What’s happened is the states and territories have been doing their own thing and I don’t think there’s been enough national leadership.

In its gas inquiry 2017-2025 interim report released on Monday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the east coast gas market is facing a gas shortfall of 56 petajoules in 2023.

This gap is about 10% of annual domestic demand, ‘signifying a substantial risk to Australia’s energy security’, the report says.

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Karen Andrews links June asylum seeker boat arrivals to Labor policy – as it happened

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Business Council calls Albanese government the most engaged she’s seen

Westacott, the council’s chief executive, told ABC Radio:

I can’t remember a more engaged government than this. I have had call after call after call from ministers.

When you add up all those little things it makes a big difference.

We need to rebrand Australia as a place we want people to come to work.

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Independents, diversity and climate: highlights of new MPs’ first speeches to Australian parliament

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As Australia’s most diverse federal parliament opened, new members introduced themselves and set out priorities

The 47th parliament is the most diverse ever, including a record number of women, 11 First Nations representatives and a lower house crossbench of 16 independent or minor party MPs.

But before any of the new MPs can speak on important bills or other parliamentary business, the first order of business is a speech to introduce yourself and set out priorities.

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NSW public servants waited on ‘ministerial feedback’ on New York trade role later given to John Barilaro

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Newly released documents raise new questions about ministerial involvement in recruitment process

Officials inside Investment New South Wales were waiting for “ministerial feedback” on the lucrative New York trade job – which eventually went to former deputy premier John Barilaro – in late April, documents show.

On the same day the deputy Liberal party leader, Stuart Ayres, held a media conference in Mumbai denying he influenced the decision to hire Barilaro, a trove of files released under a parliamentary order raised new questions about the government’s insistence that the recruitment process had been handled at arm’s length from ministers.

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‘Out of step’: Victoria’s first openly gay MP slams Liberal party leadership over Moira Deeming preselection

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Former Liberal MP Andrew Olexander says he is ‘angered’ and ‘disappointed’ with party

Victoria’s first openly gay state MP has slammed the leader of his former party, Matthew Guy, for failing to condemn a newly preselected Liberal candidate who has a history of attacking transgender rights.

Moira Deeming, a teacher and Melton councillor, was preselected at the weekend to replace the outspoken upper house MP Bernie Finn ahead of the November state election.

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