Anthony Albanese says Labor the underdog and prime minister treating the election as a ‘game’
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has taken the credit for saving the lives of 40,000 Australians from Covid-19 in a social media pitch for re-election.
Morrison on Saturday released an atmospheric video titled “Scott Morrison: Why I love Australia”, attempting to cast himself as a safe pair of hands in uncertain times. He is expected to call the federal election on on Sunday.
Continue reading...PM expected to visit governor general this weekend to trigger mid-May election after court refused to hear appeal against ‘captain’s picks’
The high court has cleared the decks for Scott Morrison to call the federal election by refusing to hear a last-ditch appeal against the prime minister’s contentious captain’s picks in key New South Wales seats.
The court on Friday refused businessman Matthew Camenzuli’s application for special leave to appeal against the NSW court of appeal’s decision upholding the controversial preselections. Chief justice Susan Kiefel said the appeal had “insufficient prospects of success”.
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Continue reading...Towke claims minister messaged ‘do what you feel you need to do’ after he alleged Morrison in 2007 suggested he couldn’t be trusted because he was Lebanese
Michael Towke, the man who Scott Morrison beat to become the MP for the Sydney seat of Cook 15 years ago, claims a serving federal cabinet minister has encouraged him to speak out about his alleged bad experiences with the now prime minister.
Towke intitially won preselection for Cook in 2007 before it was overturned, paving the way for Morrison’s elevation to parliament.
Continue reading...Matthew Camenzuli expelled from Liberal party after seeking leave to appeal preselections ruling in high court; Scott Morrison says he has been ‘upfront with Australian people’ about running full term; Albanese calls Berejiklian a ‘straight talker’ after second round of leaked texts; at least 23 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed
New text messages from former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian have emerged, building on former leaks and labelling Scott Morrison “obsessed with petty political pointscoring.”
News.com.au has reported it has received a second screenshot of text messages between Berejiklian and a mystery cabinet minister, in which she says she is “so, so disappointed,” in Morrison:
Thx. I’m just so so disappointed. Lives are at stake today and he is just obsessed with petty political pointscoring. So disappointed and gutted.
We’ve seen unprecedented collaboration with both the local government and state government, with support being delivered in record time … we were able to get $3bn of recovery support out, in just over the first three weeks – that’s a record number of people supported.
The PM has written to Premier Perrottet to say we’re very happy to share in costs of that program ... but the PM has made clear that it’s for the one-in-500-year flood event.
Continue reading...Police say current anti-corruption regime is unequal and holds law enforcement to a higher standard than politicians
Thousands of Australian Federal Police (AFP) members are demanding the next commonwealth government establish a strong anti-corruption commission that equally investigates politicians and law enforcement, saying police are being unfairly blamed for gaps in the nation’s integrity system.
The Australian Federal Police Association, which represents 4,000 AFP members, has placed the establishment of a “far-reaching anti-corruption body” among its highest priorities ahead of the federal election, alongside improved support for officers suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, greater resourcing, and stronger firearms regulations.
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Continue reading...Foreign and defence ministers label Putin a ‘war criminal’; major Optus mobile network outage; ministers respond to criticism of Scott Morrison; NSW records 12 Covid deaths and 19,183 new infections; Victoria records eight deaths and 12,007 new infections. Follow all the latest updates live
Another senior Liberal has taken aim at Scott Morrison, accusing him of “self-serving ruthless bullying” and claiming he has “ruined” the Liberal party.
Catherine Cusack, a NSW Liberal who announced two weeks ago she would resign from the Legislative Council over her anger about flood relief, adds her voice to a growing chorus of critics of Morrison from within his own party in an opinion piece for Guardian Australia.
The concerns over the prime minister’s character are now well established, and they’re well established not by the Labor party, but the people who know him best.
I mean his own deputy prime minister called him a liar and a hypocrite*. These people know him best, they’ve served in cabinet with him, in the Liberal party with him over a period of many years ...
Continue reading...Daniel Andrews and Matthew Guy are stuck at home – but that hasn’t made Victorian politics that much quieter
Both of Victoria’s political leaders were stuck at home this week – Daniel Andrews having tested positive for Covid-19 and Matthew Guy as a close contact of his nine-year-old son.
But it probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference if they weren’t.
Continue reading...It is the second ruling of its type this week after the prime minister’s office also ordered a search for text messages from QAnon supporter Tim Stewart
The prime minister’s office has been ordered to search for text messages from Barnaby Joyce to Scott Morrison reporting on his work as drought envoy, in the second ruling this week on freedom of information battles involving Morrison’s phone.
On Wednesday, the information watchdog ordered the PMO search Morrison’s phone for text messages from his friend – the prominent QAnon supporter Tim Stewart – after the PMO refused a request made by Guardian Australia.
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Continue reading...Court ruling could unwind Morrison’s ‘captain’s picks’ forcing Liberals to hold rushed votes to select candidates ahead of May election
The federal Liberal party’s ability to appoint candidates for key NSW seats including two ministers and a sitting MP hangs in the balance, with the state’s court of appeal reserving its decision in a long-running preselection dispute.
Sydney businessman Matthew Camenzuli, a member of the Liberal state executive, is seeking to overturn the preselections of the immigration minister, Alex Hawke, in Mitchell, the environment minister, Sussan Ley, in Farrer, and North Sydney MP, Trent Zimmerman.
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Continue reading...Both Daniel Andrews and the opposition leader are now in isolation as Covid cases rise across the state
A quick summary of all the Victorian news you need to know on Tuesday 29 March.
Continue reading...Liberals Marise Payne and Jim Molan take first and third spots with the Nationals’ Ross Cadell second
The foreign minister, Marise Payne, and Jim Molan have been chosen to fill the first and third spots on the Coalition’s New South Wales Senate ticket for the coming election.
The decision by the Liberals on Saturday means the veteran Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, who also contested the preselection, will not get a winnable spot on the ticket.
Continue reading...Analysis: Dominic Perrottet looks to the crossbench to help his minority government
It was purely coincidence that on Friday morning two ministers in the New South Wales government appeared at the opening of a new $341m hospital in Concord alongside the Drummoyne MP John Sidoti.
But the timing was fascinating.
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Continue reading...Analysis: the Coalition’s week began with swagger and ended in a whimper after series of stumbles
A week ago, the Victorian opposition was quietly confident.
After struggling to gain any political momentum amid the pandemic, the opposition leader, Matthew Guy’s consistent and disciplined messaging on the triple-zero call response crisis appeared to be cutting through.
Continue reading...McKinsey partner who provided advice on jobkeeper replaces John Alexander in Sydney north shore seat
The Liberals have selected Simon Kennedy, a partner at consulting firm McKinsey, for the federal seat of Bennelong on Sydney’s north shore, in a branch plebiscite which again saw the right-aligned candidate trump the moderates’ preferred pick.
Kennedy, who is a relative newcomer to the party, won the ballot against Gisele Kapterian, a former ministerial staffer, 148 votes to 95. He replaces the former tennis star, John Alexander, who is retiring.
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Continue reading...Rex Patrick to reveal political intentions tomorrow after Nick Xenophon announces run for Senate; Japanese encephalitis declared disease of national significance; Liberals select candidate for Bennelong; fifth arrest this week over climate crisis protest; Morrison says having Putin at G20 ‘a step too far’; at least 35 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed
Here’s the latest on that rain to come, which is already hitting Sydney.
Australia is risking its economic security in a future crisis by being too dependent on foreign-flagged commercial ships, a former navy chief, Tim Barrett, has warned.
When push comes to shove, the place where the ship is registered is king. They can tell their ships where to go, what to do and what to carry. We don’t have an ability to do that except for the handful we have left.
To be entirely dependent on others is very concerning.
Continue reading...Tanya Davies says her government needs to end vaccine mandates, sparking criticism from Labor
The New South Wales Liberal MP Tanya Davies has hit out at her government over its Covid vaccination mandates for the public sector, claiming she has been working with the premier, Dominic Perrottet, to end them and get people back into jobs.
Speaking at an anti-vaccination rally outside parliament on Tuesday, the former minister said she was “dismayed” when her government introduced the measure and called for a return to “freedom”.
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Continue reading...NSW MP Gareth Ward denies historic sexual abuse allegations; South Australian hospital system ‘under extraordinary strain’ new premier says, as at least 23 Covid deaths recorded nationally; Anthony Albanese proposes award in late Victorian senator Kimberley Kitching’s honour. This blog is now closed
Peter Malinauskas has promised to keep his shirt on from now on, after a photo of his muscled torso made quite a stir in the world of Australian politics.
ABC radio host Patricia Karvelas:
During the campaign, you were photographed shirtless in swimming shorts, and it caused a bit of a stir. I have to ask you ... the Australian’s Greg Sheridan said jokingly on [ABC] Insiders that you’re “far too good looking”. Which I thought was quite a statement. What have you made of the reaction to that picture?
Do you have any idea how much grief I’ve copped around the place as a result of that?
Have they told you just to buff to be premier?
They’ve piled it on, let me tell you. I haven’t stopped copping it, and I deserve every bit of it.
We were announcing a big investment at our major aquatics centre here in South Australia and a whole bunch of us jumped in for a swim in our boardies with our kids there. And, yeah, it got a bit more attention than I anticipated, fair to say.
So you’re going to keep your shirt on from now on?
Damn straight!
I think we’re about to see a federal election where a cost of living is a front and centre issue. And I think Australians get the price of petrol, but they can’t control the price of groceries.
The way we address cost of living as a nation is to start having an incomes policy focus on how we improve working in small businesses to improve the productivity of their labour, so they can earn a higher income. And that’s why education, training and skills is so important.
Continue reading...At last election, just one of 71 Coalition promises worth $100m or more based on approved business case, says Grattan Institute
The government’s controversial urban congestion fund is pumping tens of millions of dollars more into marginal and safe Coalition seats than strong Labor electorates, a new report has found.
The Grattan Institute on Sunday released a damning report examining the way successive governments have used transport spending promises to further their political interests.
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Continue reading...Scott Morrison dismissed state and federal comparisons, saying ‘Anthony Albanese is not Peter Malinauskas’
The South Australian election result should have Scott Morrison’s Coalition “trembling” ahead of the federal poll, Labor says, after Peter Malinauskas became the first opposition leader to defeat an incumbent government since the start of the pandemic.
The outgoing premier, Steven Marshall, announced on Sunday he would step down as Liberal leader after the landslide loss to Labor, saying he “takes full responsibility for the result” and accepts “the will of the people”.
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Continue reading...The NSW government knows the more it is held up against the Coalition in Canberra, the better it looks despite its own shortcomings
It’s hard to imagine many inside the New South Wales government were particularly upset with veteran Nationals backbencher Geoff Provest when he aimed both barrels at the prime minister over his response to the state’s flood disaster this week.
Hardly the state government’s most prominent attack dog, Provest did not miss in his assessment of Scott Morrison after his north coast electorate of Tweed was inexplicably excluded from extra disaster funding announced by the prime minister last week.
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