Category Archives: Liberal party

Australia news live updates: protests as prime minister grilled at National Press Club; 77 Covid deaths nationally; RBA ends bond buying

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Scott Morrison announces packages for aged care and NDIS as anti-vaccine protesters mass outside the National Press Club; 77 Covid deaths recorded across NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Follow updates live

O’Neil:

A pay rise that lasts up until the next election is a cynical political ploy, because we know this plan ... will not do anything more than hold this thing together by a thread.

The truth is that the aged-care sector – the average experience of a person in aged care today is one of neglect.

The truth is that we have a crisis in aged care that has been eight years in the making.

Scott Morrison has cut aged-care funding personally as treasurer twice. One of the first actions of the incoming government was to cut the wages of aged-care staff and now we are expected to believe that this is going to make a difference?

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NSW Liberals fail to resolve preselection impasse raising prospect of federal intervention

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Vote on proposed peace deal to placate warring factions pushed to an electronic ballot next week after Friday night meeting of state executive

The New South Wales Liberal party has failed to resolve its preselection impasse for federal candidates and has delayed the issue until next week, dramatically raising the prospects that a federal intervention will be required.

The 27-member state executive met on Friday night for less than two hours, but did not consider a controversial deal which was designed to placate the warring factions and settle a number of key seats by bypassing branch votes.

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Australia news live update: nation records 76 Covid deaths; Anthony Albanese announces Labor election priorities

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Labor leader outlines election priorities; nation records 76 Covid deaths; Peter Dutton warns against Russia invasion of Ukraine; giant ram survives 4.7 magnitude earthquake in WA. Follow all the latest news

The benchmark ASX200 is set to fall 1.7% this morning, according to futures data, following further losses on overseas markets overnight.

In the US, the S&P500 fell 0.72% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index dropped 0.43%, while London’s FTSE100 shed a whopping 2.63%.

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Australia news live update: NSW and Victoria each record 21 Covid deaths; cases in hospital top 3,700; $1,000 fines in NSW for not reporting positive RATs

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NSW records 34,759 Covid cases and 2,242 hospitalisations on state’s deadliest day; Victoria reports 40,127 cases with 946 in hospital as more than 6,600 health workers furloughed, Queensland 22,069 cases and 525 in hospital, Tasmania 1,583 cases and 22 in hospital; $1,000 fines for not reporting positive rapid antigen tests in NSW. Follow all the day’s news

In New South Wales, four people have been rescued after a ute was swept into a flooded creek in the Hunter Valley last night.

Emergency services were called to Wells Gully Road at McCulleys Gap late last night, after the ute was swept off the spillway into Sandy Creek. A 49-year-old man, a 16-year-old boy, and two girls aged 14 were forced to climb on to the roof of the car after it began to sink in strongly flowing flood waters.

He has his own philosophy if he thinks like that ... he’s the most healthiest guy, he takes care of his life ... he’s playing tennis and he wants to stay. And I know that he’s doing everything to stay healthy to take care of his body, so ... if he’s not, he doesn’t want to, that’s his choice.

So, what’s the problem? You know, the vaccination – the vaccination, it’s not that I’m against it of course I’m not ... it’s not the point. If he’s healthy, his PCR is negative, why he cannot play?

I cannot say the ... all issues I don’t know exactly I’m reading in the newspapers. I didn’t talk to Novak about that. So I really cannot say anything. What I can say, that Judge Kelly [has] decided that Novak is free. So for me, this is closed book.

He didn’t know. Probably he didn’t know it, because when he realised [about] isolation, then he go to isolate ... because he didn’t know anything about that, He ... I really cannot say but it’s maybe the best is to ask him.

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Novak Djokovic wins interim injunction against deportation; more than 72,000 new cases nationwide – As it happened

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Karen Andrews, home affairs minister, did give a hint of how things might play out.

AAP reports that, before Novak Djokovic’s arrival, she said that while the Victorian government and Tennis Australia may allow a non-vaccinated player to compete in the Australian Open, it was the federal government that dealt with border entry requirements.

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Australia news live update: NSW Covid hospitalisations rise to 1,204; record high new cases in Victoria and Qld; Coalition rules out free RATs

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NSW records 20,794 new Covid cases and Victoria 8,577, with seven deaths across both states; Queensland reports 4,249 cases, ACT 514 and Tasmania 466; Scott Morrison says health systems well equipped as Covid hospitalisations across the country rise; Greg Hunt says more RATs on the way as double-dose vaccination rate hits 91.5%; Josh Frydenberg grilled over rapid antigen tests. Follow all the day’s news

Researchers in Antarctica are dealing with an outbreak of coronavirus despite being based in one of the world’s most remote regions.

Since 16 December at least 16 of the 25 polar researchers based at Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth Polar Station are now infected with the virus.

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Covid live news update: Australia Covid live news update: national cabinet to meet as testing centres overwhelmed; NSW records 3,763 new cases, Victoria 1,503 cases

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PM says mask guidelines up to states; NSW records 3,763 new cases and two deaths; Victoria records 1,503 cases and six deaths; ACT records 58 cases; Tasmania records 12 cases; national cabinet to meet as confidence in interstate travel plummets. Follow all the day’s news

More than 300 doctors around the world have written to deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce today urging him to seek Julian Assange’s immediate release from prison in the UK on medical grounds.

The letter cites concern over Assange’s apparent mini stroke, warning it may be “the tip of a medical iceberg”:

Indeed his symptoms suggest as much. It is therefore imperative that Mr Assange be released from prison, where his health will otherwise continue to deteriorate and where his complex medical needs cannot be met.

Perhaps our concerns were previously dismissed by your colleagues as hyperbolic. They are not. On the issue of cardiovascular pathology, we have been proven right. We do not wish to be proven right on the issue of Mr Assange’s survival.

We implore you, as Deputy Prime Minister, to intervene with the UK Government to seek Mr Assange’s immediate release on urgent medical grounds. We reiterate that he is an Australian citizen innocent in the eyes of the law, and guilty of and charged with nothing in the UK.

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Australia politics live update: parliament sitting for final day of the year; Coles accused by FWO of underpaying staff

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Fair Work Ombudsman accuses Coles of underpaying 7,800 staff; Victoria records 10 Covid deaths and 1,419 new cases, NSW 271 cases and zero deaths – follow all the day’s news

If you want to really wrap your noggin around those mitochondrial donation laws and why they’re so important, here’s Full Story for you. Laura Murphy-Oates speaks to reporter Rafqa Touma about her family’s experience:

Two incredible women who have had an enormous influence on 2021 – Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins – have joined Fran Kelly on ABC radio.

It remains to be seen if there’s any actual change. That’s my opinion.

We know there are structural needs that need to be addressed. None of this is new information.”

It wasn’t about me, it was about maintaining power … I don’t think fundamentally anything has changed internally within the building policy-wise that would stop this happening to another woman.

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Coalition’s proposed parliamentary calendar has just 10 sitting days in first half of 2022

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Labor dubs schedule – which suggests a May election – ‘more of a slouch than a sitting calendar’ as government runs out of time to establish federal integrity commission

Labor has criticised the Coalition for proposing a parliamentary sitting calendar for next year that includes just 10 sitting days before August if an election is called immediately after the budget.

The release of the sparse sitting calendar comes as the government runs out of time to fulfil an election promise to establish a federal integrity commission, amid ongoing divisions within the party about the best model for a new anti-corruption body.

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Australia politics live update: national cabinet to discuss Omicron response as Covid variant detected in NSW; ABC announces new RN Breakfast host

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National cabinet meeting brought forward to discuss Omicron response; Patricia Karvelas announced as Fran Kelly’s replacement for RN Breakfast; radical plan to rehome racehorses; last sitting week of 2021. Follow all the news live

Over on Sydney radio 2GB NSW police minister David Elliott said he met with with premier Dominic Perrottet and health minister Brad Hazzard on Sunday about what NSW would do:

I’m not panicking at the moment because it appears that this is going to be the new normal.

We need to prepare and ... make sure that we’re flexible and agile when it comes to variations and we need to be defensive and that defensive mechanism of course, is the vaccination.

So, we’re taking a risk-balanced approach at the moment and concentrating on those nine southern African countries.

We have increased our surveillance at the border, and after the border, we’re working very closely with our colleagues in New South Wales and Victoria, particularly, because they’re the ones that have had quarantine-free travel, as well as in the ACT, as to what is the best approach.

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Australia politics live update: Scott Morrison to introduce religious discrimination bill to parliament

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Legislation which contains a controversial statement of belief clause is expected to pass the lower house before being examined by a Senate committee. Follow live updates

AAP has a bit more on the Byron Bay hostel lockdown:

More than 80 backpackers at a Byron Bay hostel on the NSW north coast have been placed into a week-long lockdown after a guest tested positive to COVID-19.

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Australia politics live news: Coalition and Labor test new Speaker’s limits in question time; NT records 11 new Covid cases

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Lorraine Finlay also says she doesn’t believe her past political aspirations with the Liberal party will impact her job.

Certainly my past political involvement doesn’t qualify me for the role, but it also isn’t a disqualification from the role.

Now the human rights commission is an independent, apolitical statutory agency. And as the human rights commissioner, let me be very clear, I am not a politician. It is not a political role. And I fully intend to operate within the established framework of the commission.

What I can say is my personal views, haven’t changed, but my role has, and I’m very aware that as human rights commissioner I do need to take a broader perspective and there are a variety of views and opinions that need to be taken into account.

So again, I don’t see this role as my personal soapbox. I’m not a politician by default, I am here to do a very specific job. And I intend to operate very squarely within the framework of the commission to perform these duties.

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Backed by Climate 200’s $2m war chest, independent challengers circle Coalition seats

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‘Lapsed Liberals’ and grassroots community groups are fielding high-profile candidates. Their target: the balance of power in Australia’s 2022 election

At the last federal election, the Coalition faced challenges from a string of hopeful independents in rural and city seats, largely running on climate issues. With two exceptions – Zali Steggall in Warringah and Helen Haines in Indi – they came up short.

Next year the independents will be back for another shot, focusing on heartland Coalition seats in New South Wales and Victoria. The difference this time is there is a road-tested model of how to mobilise the local community and run a campaign, and a $2m war chest on offer from Climate 200, a group established by the climate activist Simon Holmes à Court.

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Australia politics live news: government faces net zero ‘plan’ fallout; Covid vaccine booster shots approved; overseas travel for fully vaccinated

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Question time tackles climate policy as PM faces mounting criticism over roadmap for reducing emissions by 2050; vaccine booster program to begin from 8 November; 16 Covid deaths in Victoria and NSW; international travel exemption scrapped for vaccinated Australians; national child abuse prevention strategy announced. Follow all the day’s news

The UN Environment Programme’s latest emissions gap report is out and it makes for sobering reading. The accompanying statement includes this:

Alok Sharma, incoming COP26 President, said the report underlined why countries need to show ambitious climate action at COP26:

“As this report makes clear, if countries deliver on their 2030 NDCs and net zero commitments which have been announced by the end of September, we will be heading towards average global temperature rises of just above 2C.

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Australia news live update: Scott Morrison unveils details of 2050 net zero plan; Victoria premier outlines new pandemic laws

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Prime minister gives press conference on Australia’s commitments to climate action; Daniel Andrews explains new measures; Victoria confirms four Covid deaths overnight, NSW one death – follow all the day’s news

The estimates hearings today cover off the same committees as yesterday:

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Australia politics live: Scott Morrison in last-ditch talks with Nationals on net zero

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Prime minister expected to push Liberals and Nationals to find agreement on emissions roadmap in meeting on Tuesday. Follow the latest updates live

And also worth keeping in mind – the Liberals don’t actually need the Nationals to move ahead with the climate commitments. Nothing is going to parliament (at least at this stage – because we are talking a 2050 plan) which means there is no danger of people crossing the floor.

Scott Morrison told the Liberal party room yesterday he planned on taking Australia’s commitment to net zero by 2050 to Glasgow as an NDC – a a nationally determined contribution – which doesn’t need the parliament either. It’s essentially a pledge which says ‘we intend to do this’, and makes it a little more official, rather than just a speech. He doesn’t need the Nationals for that either.

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Australia Covid news live update: TGA grants provisional determination of Pfizer vaccine for ages 5-11; Victoria records 1,571 cases, 13 deaths

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So there has been a bit of drama in the South Australian parliament, with a Liberal party defector somehow taking the Speaker of the House role in a late-night upset.

Dan Cregan, who left the Liberal party to sit on the crossbench last week, managed to take the job in a secret ballot.

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Australia Covid live update: Victoria records 1,890 cases, five deaths; NSW 477 cases, six deaths; 10,000 vaccinated people to attend Melbourne Cup

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Victoria records 1,890 new cases and five deaths; NSW records 477 cases and six deaths; 30 new cases in ACT; 10,000 vaccinated people to attend Melbourne Cup; Perrottet says NSW wants ‘to open international borders as quickly as possible’, as lockdown for those fully vaccinated set to lift at midnight. Follow updates live

Speers pivoted from asking communications minister Paul Fletcher about holding social media companies to account to holding the federal government to account.

There was a lot of back and forth and at one point Fletcher referenced the resignation of Gladys Berejiklian as NSW premier as evidence of the failings of an anti-corruption authority.

The government’s proposed federal integrity commission wouldn’t be allowed to hold any public hearings. Why not? What’s there to hide?

David, the proposed federal integrity commission would have the powers of a royal commission to deal with criminal corrupt conduct at a commonwealth level. And of course ...

No public hearings, which is my question. Why not?

It will go through an investigation process.And then, if appropriate, it will refer material to the director of public prosecutions, and then you go through an open-court process.

This commission wouldn’t have public hearings. I mean, don’t you think voters, taxpayers, deserve to see what’s going on? I mean, we wouldn’t know about Daryl Maguire’s business dealings from his parliamentary office and kickbacks he was receiving. Don’t we need to see this stuff?

I think the outcomes last week where a very popular and highly competent premier stood down highlights some of the flaws in the model. So we don’t support a model where you are presumed guilty unless you can prove your innocence.

Your government, of course, tried to scrap Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. You were worried about protecting free speech. Now it sounds like you want to go in the other direction and make it harder to say things that can be considered racist.

The test, David, will be the impact on the individual. If a reasonable person would consider that it was intended to harm and if it’s menacing, harassing or offensive – those words, by the way, taken from an existing provision in the criminal code dealing with online content. So what we’re doing is leaning in on this issue and all of the issues that arise in relation to online safety. Our government’s taken a leadership position on this since we came to government. The Australian eSafety Commissioner, set up in 2015, is world-leading ...

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Over 50% of Australians over 16 are fully vaccinated; Berejiklian reopening plans coming ‘next week’ – as it happened

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All the day’s news, as it happened. This blog has now closed

Enjoy your evening, all, and thanks for having me! Here’s just a taste of what we learned today:

In case you missed this earlier (I did) please enjoy this piece by Arwa Mahdawi on cancel culture, critical race theory and ... sexy seahorses.

It’s very easy to laugh at a bunch of rightwing moms clutching their pearls over sexy seahorses – but there’s nothing funny about the systemic, organised way in which conservatives are trying to rewrite history and restrict freedom of speech.

Related: Laugh at the outrage over ‘sexy seahorses’ – but there’s nothing funny about conservatives trying to rewrite history | Arwa Mahdawi

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Australia Covid live news update: NSW records 1,405 new cases; Berejiklian unveils roadmap out of lockdown; Victoria records 324 cases; ACT records 15

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NSW freedoms come into effect the Monday after 70% over-16 vaccination is achieved; state confirms five more deaths; new case in Qld quarantine; 107 of Victoria’s new cases linked to known outbreaks – follow the latest updates live

An update on another story I did this week regarding those Craig Kelly text messages everyone has been getting.

We know that under the current legislative situation, there’s nothing preventing political parties like the United Australia Party from sending out those text messages, and people cannot unsubscribe from them.

The carriage of messages is generally a commercial matter for telecommunications providers, except in circumstances where there may be offences against the laws of the commonwealth or states or territories.

Both the Telecommunications Act 1997 and Spam Act 2003 contain provisions about implied freedom of political communications. These provisions set out that the acts or parts of them do not apply to the extent they would infringe on any constitutional doctrine of implied freedom of political communication.

There’s a press conference with the PM at 1.40pm AEST.

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