Category Archives: Liberal party

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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Australia Covid live update: NSW hospitals brace for cases surge, Scott Morrison faces questions over Father’s Day travel exemption

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Gladys Berejiklian under pressure over modelling showing state’s health system to be ‘overwhelmed’ by Covid cases; rapid antigen tests approved for use at home. Follow the latest updates live

The New South Wales government has set a target of zero extinctions of native wildlife in the state’s national parks estate, the first time an Australian government has set the goal.

The environment minister, Matt Kean, said the target, which will apply to all parklands in NSW, was a response to the continued decline of threatened plants and animals and Australia’s status as the country with the highest rate of mammal extinctions.

Related: Zero extinction target for NSW national parks welcomed by environment groups

And the Victorian Liberal’s deputy position is filled, with member for Caufield, David Southwick, scoring the gig.

New VICLib team: Guy and deputy David Southwick. #springst

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Australia politics live: Victoria to reveal roadmap out of Covid lockdown as regional NSW under pressure

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Daniel Andrews due to unveil ‘modest’ changes to the state’s current lockdown a day after two women died from Covid. Follow the latest updates live

Anthony Albanese had a chat to Triple M Newcastle where he continued to hone Labor’s national plan message when it comes to the premiers:

Well, they all signed up for the national plan. The national plan, of course, provides for various protections to be continued to be available at 70% and 80%. No one wants restrictions. Restrictions affect people’s way of life and their capacity to get around and it hurts the economy. But to be fair to Queensland at the moment, South Australia also, I noticed Scott Morrison never talks about the Liberal states, South Australia and Tasmania and Queensland and Western Australia all have their borders closed to New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT at the moment. That’s a decision that is perfectly understandable. WA is getting the Grand Final in the AFL. Brisbane will get the Grand Final in the Rugby League. And it’s tough times, but these decisions have been made to keep their citizens safe.

If you are thinking that the Victorian numbers are usually out by now, you would be right.

There is a delay this morning (we usually get them around 8.30am) but in the past, when there has been more complicated data to reconcile, it has taken a little longer.

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Australia Covid live news update: NSW confirms 919 cases, two deaths; ACT reports nine new cases, Victoria 45; Qld pauses hotel quarantine

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New record for NSW with 919 new Covid cases, two deaths; Queensland to pause hotel quarantine from noon; ACT reports nine new cases; Victoria reports 17 of new cases in quarantine for entire infectious period. Follow all today’s news

It’s another dixer on sticking to the national plan – this time for Josh Frydenberg.

Bob Katter, from his electorate, has the independent’s question, but the videolink seems to be having trouble with his question.

So it’s not that different from having him in the chamber.

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Voters in Sydney’s Liberal ‘heartland’ more worried about climate than Covid, polling suggests

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Delta may be gripping the city and dominating headlines but global warming is still the number one issue for many

Voters in three Liberal-held federal seats in metropolitan Sydney remain worried about climate change despite the pressing frustrations and uncertainties associated with the Delta outbreak, according to new electorate-level polling commissioned by an activist group.

New seat polls commissioned by Climate 200, an organisation supporting independent political candidates committed to achieving a science-based response to climate change, suggest global heating is the number one issue of concern for voters in the electorates of Wentworth and North Sydney.

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The Covid crisis suits rightwing media personalities as they monetise fear | Jeff Sparrow

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Their success depends not on providing solutions but on ginning up, by any means necessary, the conservative base

The pandemic has upended all our lives, leaving many of us frightened and confused. But if the weekend’s angry anti-lockdown protests reflected genuine pain in the community, they also showed how, in a complicated international emergency, rightwing grifters have seized an opportunity.

If you look for Covid truth on Telegram and Gab, you’ll uncover the online equivalent of a crowded outdoor market, dominated by shouting stall holders.

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Australia Covid live update: some children aged 12 to 15 eligible for vaccine; NSW confirms 207 cases and 15th death; Qld records 13 cases and extends lockdown

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NSW records 15th death; Queensland announces business support package as it extends lockdown in 11 LGAs until Sunday; South Australia restrictions eased; Victoria records two local cases; 300 ADF troops start patrolling in Sydney. Follow latest updates

David Gillespie has been seen in the parliament – so Christian Porter has been chosen to be the acting leader of the house, ahead of Gillespie who is the deputy leader of the house.

Barnaby Joyce will be holding a press conference in 15 minutes to talk extended support for the aviation industry.

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Australia coronavirus live news: 136 new cases announced in NSW Covid update; Victoria records 14 cases; Pfizer vaccine approved for 12-15 year olds

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Premier Gladys Berejiklian says 53 of the new cases were infectious in the community; northern NSW on alert after Covid fragments found in Byron Bay sewage; national cabinet to meet to discuss vaccine rollout. Follow live

NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant is back after a few days, and she is speaking to the tighter restrictions she has recommended.

Chant said:

I have advised the government today that this is a national emergency and requires additional measures to reduce the case numbers. What we are seeing is that the actions we have taken to date have averted many cases.

But what we are not seeing is the turnaround that we would have liked to see at this stage. And I’m concerned that we need to put in place urgent additional measures, what I’m recommending strongly is that our vaccination efforts are refocused on those affected LGAs. Every day, people from those LGAs have to go out to work to keep our city going.

We also know that, as I indicated that the group of workers that keep the society going is this group of workers in the 20 to 49 year old age group in south-western Sydney. Under 40s would not have been routinely eligible for vaccination, in terms of Pfizer. And what I’ve recommended to government is we urgently do mass vaccination of those workers to stem the transmission risk. We know the vaccines do that because they reduce the risk. If you’re vaccinated, even one dose, it reduces your risk of onward transmission.

Gladys Berejiklian has announced a new Covid death in her state, a 89-year-old male.

Details of the death are brief as the death is recent (it happened after 8pm last night) and authorities want to make sure family members have been notified.

I also want to say that tragically, as we see more cases, develop, we will also see more hospitalisations and more people in intensive care and regrettably, we did have an additional death overnight, which I’ve only just learned about.

I just want to foreshadow that unfortunately, we’re going to see more of this as the case numbers increase.

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