Category Archives: Liberal party

Treasury sounds warning over NSW credit rating ahead of big spending budget

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While Moodys have forecast a stable outlook, spending measures spark warning over triple A rating

Treasury officials have warned the New South Wales government its triple A credit rating could be at risk as it prepares to hand down its final budget before the state election next year.

The Guardian understands that in the lead-up to the next budget on 21 June, Treasury told the government that a series of big spending announcements coupled with pressure on the state’s finances could lead to a downgrade in its prized triple A credit rating.

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The challenge for the Victorians party, born from lockdown anger

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New party hopes to win up to 10 seats in November’s state election, but political insiders and observers have doubts

A new party born out of frustration with Covid lockdowns and a dislike for the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is eyeing as many as 10 seats at the upcoming state election, though political insiders have cast doubt on their chances.

The Victorians party was launched a year out from the 26 November state election and has since received sustained media coverage, helping it to attract about 5,000 members.

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Labor says Dutton ‘desperate’ to distract from defence failures – as it happened

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Nadesalingam family arrive back home to Biloela; New Zealand ‘heartened’ by Albanese government’s climate stance; Australia records at least 40 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Jacinda Ardern will be raising Australia’s controversial deportation policy in today’s meeting. Asked if she has knowledge of whether the government is prepared to “water it down a little bit”, she replies:

Just to be clear, the issue we have is not with deportation. We deport as well. If a New Zealander comes to Australia and commits a crime, send them home ... but when someone comes here and essentially, hasn’t even really had any connection with New Zealand at all ... have all their connections in Australia and are essentially Australian, sending them back to New Zealand, that’s where we’ve had the grievance.

I’ve heard the prime minister prior to winning the election speak to his acknowledgement that that is the part of the policy that we’ve taken issue with. Even that acknowledgement says to me he’s hearing us, he knows it’s a problem.

It’s been a bugbear for us for a long time so I would like to see movement on it.

We talked about music on occasion but I’m not sure I would’ve picked necessarily the right music if I think I was given that task.

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PM says prospect of Chinese naval base in Cambodia ‘concerning’ – as it happened

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Prime minister responds to reports of Chinese naval base in Cambodia; nation records 29 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

There’s no magic fix for inflation, Jason Clare says

Education minister Jason Clare appeared on the Today show this morning alongside Scott Emerson.

Inflation is through the roof. Wages are through the floor. We have got interest rates knocking at the door. The Reserve Bank ... have made it clear there will be a number of interest rate rises, which makes it harder for people with big rate rises already. Especially for people who are ahead in their mortgage, but if you have just signed up and the bank says you have to pay more, it will make it harder and harder.

There is no simple magic fix to this.

The market expects them to increase interest rates because we have an inflation problem in the economy and rising interest rates were something that the Reserve Bank governor flagged before the election and that is the trajectory we are on, but just because these interest rate rises are expected, it won’t make them any less difficult for a lot of people who are already confronting cost-of- living pressures.

That is the unfortunate reality. There is no point mincing words about that. Our job is the government is to make sure that after some of this near-term cost-of-living relief runs out that it is replaced by responsible long-term sustainable cost-of-living relief in areas like medicines and childcare, getting power bills down over time and getting real wages moving again.

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PM calls Putin’s actions ‘abhorrent’ after confirming he’ll attend G20 – as it happened

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Prime minister speaks in Jakarta after sharing bike ride with Indonesian president; Richard Marles says finding successor to Collins-class submarines is ‘No 1’ defence priority; Australia records at least 19 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed.

Similarly, on the Indigenous voice to parliament, Dutton said the Coalition is “very open to the discussion and what the government has to say”.

In principle, do we support anything that’s going to improve the situation of Indigenous Australians? Absolutely.

In Ted O’Brien we have someone with an exceptional background, a very considered person, a great communicator. And he did a report ... when he was on the backbench in the last parliament on nuclear energy. He had a particular focus on the latest generation, the small modular nuclear generation which can power up to 100,000 houses. So I’m not afraid to have a discussion on nuclear. If we want to have a legitimate emissions reduction, if we want to lower emissions reduction, that’s exactly the path president Macron has embarked on in France, it’s what prime minister Johnson is talking about in the United Kingdom ... I don’t think we should be afraid to talk about any technology that’s going to have the ability to reduce emissions and electricity prices. That’s something we can consider in time. I don’t think we should rule things out simply because it’s unfashionable to talk about them.

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Peter Dutton sidelines Scott Morrison allies in shadow cabinet as Nationals take six spots

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Angus Taylor becomes shadow treasurer, but Alex Hawke gets no position in a shadow cabinet with 10 women

Allies of Scott Morrison have been dumped from the shadow cabinet and senior conservatives promoted in a reshuffle stamping Peter Dutton’s mark on the Liberal party.

Dutton and the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, announced the shadow ministry in Brisbane on Sunday, revealing it will include 10 women, with six Nationals in cabinet.

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Disgruntled NSW Liberals lay blame for federal election rout

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After preselection chaos, party is pointing fingers at the state executive, Alex Hawke, Scott Morrison – and Covid restrictions

A wave of recriminations is sweeping through the NSW Liberal party over the division’s performance and the delays in preselecting candidates for NSW federal seats that resulted in most being chosen only weeks before last month’s federal election.

Blame is being levelled at the unwieldy, faction-riven state executive, at the former prime minister Scott Morrison and his “captain’s picks”, and at his delegate on the state executive, Alex Hawke, who had been widely blamed for holding up preselections by failing to make himself available for months to vet candidates.

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PM says ministry has more women than any other in history – as it happened

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Guide Dogs Victoria CEO Karen Hayes resigns; at least 56 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Quotas ‘might be’ something for Liberals to consider, Sussan Ley says

Deputy leader of the Liberal party Sussan Ley followed David Littleproud.

It doesn’t need to be legislated, however those policy discussions will happen through our party room and our shadow cabinet ... Demonstrating you’re serious about climate change doesn’t just include a conversation about targets.

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Labor secures majority government despite record non-major party vote and crossbench

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Melbourne seat of Macnamara called for ALP guaranteeing it at least 76 seats in the House of Representatives

Labor under Anthony Albanese will govern in majority with at least 76 seats in the House of Representatives despite a record non-major party vote and crossbench.

The ABC’s election analyst Antony Green on Monday night called the south Melbourne seat of Macnamara for Labor, with the returning MP, Josh Burns, guaranteeing an ALP majority in the 151-member lower house.

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Australia news live updates: Pacific countries reject China’s proposed security deal; vote counting continues with Labor one seat from majority

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China confirms Pacific-wide deal with 10 nations shelved; David Littleproud elected new National party leader with Peter Dutton to lead Liberals; seats of Gilmore, Deakin and Macnamara remain in the balance; Covid booster eligibility expanded as nation records 10 Covid deaths. Follow all the day’s developments

Anthony Albanese has wasted no time attending the theatre as prime minister.

He’s also been taking the C1 plated car for a spin through Sydney’s inner west.

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Peter Dutton elected unopposed as Liberal party leader with Sussan Ley as deputy

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The pair will lead a much-depleted party, with the Liberal-National Coalition likely to hold just 58 or 59 seats in the House of Representatives

Peter Dutton has vowed to lead a Liberal Party that will not be “Labor lite”, aiming to win back government by appealing to suburban voters’ aspirations and blaming Labor’s climate policies for power price rises.

After winning the Liberal leadership unopposed at a party room meeting on Monday, Dutton attempted to soften his image by conceding he “made a mistake” by boycotting the apology to the Stolen Generations.

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Gladys Berejiklian could be a ‘great federal MP’, says NSW premier Dominic Perrottet

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NSW Liberals reportedly working on plan to have Berejiklian run for a federal seat in 2025

New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, says his predecessor would make a great federal member of parliament, amid reports about Gladys Berejiklian’s potential return to politics.

Referring to a News Corp report that the NSW Liberals were working on a plan to have Berejiklian run for a federal seat – possibly North Sydney – at the 2025 election, Perrottet said her abilities would translate well at the federal level.

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Pacific nations ‘very positive’ on re-engagement, PM says – as it happened

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Bushmaster reportedly destroyed in fighting in Ukraine; nation records 30 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Finance minister Katy Gallagher is speaking now to ABC Insiders host David Speers. She says Labor faces “a very serious set of economic and budget challenges, and we don’t want to pretend it is anything but that”.

Q: Are you saying that the figures that were produced showing deficits totalling $224bn over the next four years – were they accurate or not?

Well, they are certainly the numbers that the finance department and the Treasury signed off on in the election campaign, but I think the point we are making is that there is a range of spending that we are having a look at in the budget and there is also clearly some huge budget pressures coming.

I guess in those areas – health, aged care, the NDIS, defence, national security – where there are all of them growing faster than GDP and going to play significant pressure on the budget going forward …

I haven’t had many moments to reflect, I’ve got to say ... it’s been a busy time. But I do understand the great responsibility that I have – I’m humbled by it. It says a lot about our great country that the son of a single mum, who was an invalid pensioner living in council housing, can rise to lead the country as prime minister and I’ll never take it for granted. I’ll honour it every day and I’ll do my best. That’s not to say I’ll be perfect, because none of us are, but I’ll try to keep it real on the way through and continue to keep my feet on the ground, because I think that is really important as well.

Australians are generous people and I think that they’ll give us a go. I get the sense out there that they want us to succeed. And I had people who didn’t vote for us as well, who said to me, we really want you to succeed for the sake of the country. So we’ll do our best.

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Australia news live update: Australian man dies in Ukraine; Coalition ‘dropped the ball’ on Pacific engagement, Albanese says as Samoa signs China agreement

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Prime minister says Labor ‘won’t drop the ball’ as Samoa signs agreement with China; the Greens’ Stephen Bates claims victory in seat of Brisbane. Follow all the day’s news

Nationals MP Darren Chester reportedly told Barnaby Joyce of his intention to challenge him for the leadership in the party’s group chat.

May we all strive to have such chaotic group chat energy.

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Labor one seat from claiming majority as Liberals launch review of election defeat – as it happened

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New foreign minister tells Fiji ‘I hope I will be here often’; Jane Hume and Brian Loughnane to review Liberal party’s election campaign; Labor retains Tasmanian seat of Lyons; nation records 71 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

The PM is asked what he thought of Tanya Plibersek saying Peter Dutton looks like Voldemort, and reiterates that he wants to “change the way politics operates”:

It was a mistake. It shouldn’t have been said. We all make mistakes from time to time.

What we need to do is to move on from them and it is how we respond to them. Tanya Plibersek responded appropriately. I want to change the way that politics operates.

Quite clearly, one of the issues that came up, we might have discussed it in previous weeks on this program, is we couldn’t tell from opposition where all the pots of money had been stored by this government.

They abused the process of the contingency reserve to create funds for use during the election campaign. We will go through those line by line because it is taxpayers’ money, not Liberal party or National party money that was being allocated in the billions, frankly, during this campaign.

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Election 2022 live: Dai Le dismisses eligibility concerns; doctors welcome Covid booster expansion as 41 deaths recorded

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Eligibility for fourth dose of Covid vaccine extended; ‘don’t think we’ve got a better choice’ for Liberal leader, Dave Sharma says of Peter Dutton; at least 41 coronavirus deaths recorded. Follow all the day’s developments

The SMH has some interesting lines from the Liberal candidate in Gilmore, Andrew Constance, who says his party were punished for being “too focused on themselves”.

While Gilmore remains on a knife-edge, the former state government minister said he was not surprised by the outcome of the election, warning the Liberal party that it needed to refocus on community concerns:

The party has been too introverted and too focused on itself.

It has to recognise its broad-based appeal is not sectional interest. The party exists for the community … there’s no such thing as a “heartland” in Australian politics.

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Election day press release about asylum seeker boats ‘a disgrace’, Richard Marles says

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Acting prime minister says information released by Liberal party about Sri Lankan boats being intercepted should not have been made public

The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, says the issuing of an election day press release about the interception of an asylum seeker boat was a “disgrace” and has demanded an explanation from public servants.

The media release paved the way for a last-minute scare campaign run by the New South Wales Liberals, which pushed texts to voters across key electorates, warning them the only way they could maintain secure borders was by voting Liberal.

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Nationals could dump Barnaby Joyce over net zero stance with Peter Dutton set to lead Liberals

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Sussan Ley or Jane Hume likely to be deputy Liberal leader as Coalition continues to grapple with election fallout

The National party will spill its leadership positions next Monday as the Liberals debate whether Peter Dutton’s deputy should be Jane Hume or Sussan Ley.

As the Coalition continues to grapple with the fallout from Saturday’s election rout amid conflicting views about how to reposition in response, Anthony Albanese was sworn in as Australia’s 31st prime minister before leaving for Tokyo and his first meeting with Joe Biden and key regional allies.

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Pollsters breathe sigh of relief after accurately predicting Labor’s election victory

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Major polling companies changed methods after 2019 failure but two-party preferred measure misses Greens and independents

Australia’s major opinion polls all accurately predicted Saturday’s Labor election victory, in a boost to pollsters’ reputations after the industry-wide failure at the 2019 election.

Surveys measuring voter sentiment throughout the campaign pointed to a Labor win, with the polls tightening in the final week before Saturday’s election.

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PM has ‘frank and very positive’ call with Johnson – as it happend

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Anthony Albanese has spoken to the British prime minister on his flight to the Quad meeting in Tokyo after being sworn in, along with four senior ministers; Monique Ryan says ‘work begins anew’ after Josh Frydenberg concedes; Dave Sharma concedes Wentworth; nation records at least 11 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

And lastly, Ryan is asked what her view will be if Peter Dutton wins leadership of the Liberal party:

From my point of view, I’m a sort of centrist politician and I have been elected in that way by the people of Kooyong.

Taking the Liberal party further to the right I don’t think would resonate well in Kooyong. And I think members of other electorates around Australia would have that concern as well.

I think that the population of Australia expects better from its government.

This is a government that hasn’t held women safe in its own workplace. It’s a government that has seen an increase in homelessness from women over 50.

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