Zaki’s renunciation of her Afghan citizenship may be incomplete and Morrow faces claims she posted anti-asylum seeker posts online
The Liberal candidate for Canberra, Mina Zaki, may be ineligible to sit in parliament because the renunciation of her Afghan citizenship appears to be incomplete.
And the Labor party is facing some pressure to disendorse its candidate for the Western Australia seat of Durack, Sharyn Morrow, over alleged anti-asylum seeker posts on social media.
Continue reading...The second debate of the campaign produced more sparks than the first, with the Labor leader branding the PM ‘a classic space invader’
Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten have clashed over their tax and climate policies in the second debate of the election campaign.
In a wide-ranging discussion between the two leaders in Brisbane on Friday night, undecided voters put questions to the leaders ranging from support for veterans to climate change.
Continue reading...Jessica Whelan, the Liberal candidate for Lyons, says comments posted under her name not made by her and were doctored
The major parties are standing by the two latest candidates in hot water for offensive social media posts attributed to them after a flurry of resignations overshadowed the third week of campaigning.
Speaking in Tasmania on Thursday, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, said he would stand by the Liberal candidate for the seat of Lyons, Jessica Whelan, who has denied making derogatory online comments about Muslims.
Continue reading...Minister grilled about Lyons candidate Jessica Whelan, who claims her Facebook page was doctored. Meanwhile, the climate policy debate heats up. Follow all the updates, live
Pre-poll is happening in droves.
About 375,000 people have cast a pre-poll vote after three days of early voting, running at approx 125,000 votes per day so far. This compares to a total of 225,000 votes at the same stage of the 2016 federal election. #ausvotes #auspol
Asked about preference deals, and whether the Coalition, being a coalition, had to accept blowback for their partner’s choices, David Littleproud had this to say:
I hardly see it’s disingenuous where we have a democracy, where the Australian people decide. They walk into the ballot box, not me, and they get to determine where they put each number on that ballot paper. And that’s the way it should be. This is merely a way that parties have come to an agreement around where they believe they should go, the least worst possibility, if you don’t want to vote for us. But the reality is, it is and always will be the gift of the Australian people. And it’s something we should always fiercely protect.”
Related: At the mercy of minors: Labor and LNP wrestle for hyper-marginal Herbert
Continue reading...Several candidates quit ahead of election after deluge of offensive behaviour exposed
In a whirlwind 48 hours, the Australian election has lost a host of its most controversial candidates.
From homophobic comments about sitting MPs to secret strip-club footage, to Facebook posts about naked centaurs, a deluge of racist, sexist and bizarre behaviour has claimed the careers of four candidates in only two days.
Continue reading...Opposition leader stresses Labor unity as Victorian Libs dump candidate over anti-Islam comments. All the day’s events, live
Not politics, but because we all need some light relief from time to time – Chris Kenny has quit twitter for about the third time.
It really, really is just the day for it.
The Sydney Morning Herald has a breaking story on another Victorian Liberal candidate facing the sack – this time for comments he made about his would-be party room colleague Tim Wilson because he had the temerity to be born gay.
The candidate’s comments came in response to a post by another commentator, Michael Taouk, who said he was not in the Liberal party, calling for the “Liberal grassroots” to “remove preselection from that notorious homosexual Tim Wilson”.
Mr Taouk wrote: “No true Christian can fight on the same side of that man.”
Continue reading...Michael McCormack raises eyebrows saying his party is ‘aligned with One Nation’ more than Labor or Greens
The Nationals leader, Michael McCormack, has unveiled a new statutory authority for water infrastructure in an effort to contain a bush boilover at the election – and has declared his party is happy to enter preference deals with One Nation because their policies align.
McCormack used a speech to the National Press Club on Tuesday to unveil a new Northern Australian Infrastructure Facility-style body for dams, with the new body charged with using “the best available science” to examine how large-scale water diversion projects could be established to deliver reliable and cost-effective water to farmers and regional communities.
Continue reading...Did you listen to Barnaby Joyce’s laboured interview – or Turnbull turning up on a reality TV show? Test your knowledge here
According to Captain GetUp – the confusing, supposedly-satirical parody of GetUp, founded by rightwing group Advance Australia – who is Captain GetUp’s biological father?
Richard Di Natale
Adam Bandt
Bill Shorten
Kevin Rudd
What did a voter in Strathfield say to Scott Morrison when he greeted her with “Ni hao” on the first weekend of the campaign?
“Goodbye!”
“Sorry, I don't understand what you mean."
“And a Ni Hao to you too mate”
“I’m Korean”
What is Scott Morrison doing in this picture?
Cheering at a Cronulla Sharks supporters event
Singing in church
Singing the national anthem
Announcing the date of the election
How many times did Barnaby Joyce say "Labor" in his 30 minute interview on water buybacks with Patricia Karvelas?
22
47
65
80
What is between Scott Morrison’s teeth in this picture?
Spinach
A bit of meat pie
A fly
Raw onion skin
What is Jenny Morrison reacting to in this picture?
The full audio of Barnaby Joyce’s Patricia Karvelas interview
Scott Morrison describing his tips for maintaining a healthy marriage
A candidate describing Labor's franking credits policy
A voter who just told her he wants an electric car
Which newspaper columnist was photographed in a Tony Abbott campaign shirt, and uploaded to Abbot's own Instagram and Twitter, on the first weekend of the campaign?
Andrew Bolt
Piers Akerman
Peter Fitzsimons (with matching bandana)
Gerard Henderson
Sydney barrister Bridie Nolan made news when she gave a 300 word statement to the Daily Telegraph criticising Warringah candidate Zali Steggal – who is the former wife of Nolan’s husband. On her website, what did Nolan describe herself as?
"Ruthlessly accomplished"
“Lethally competent”
“Devastatingly experienced”
“Extremely experienced and incredibly devastating”
What baffling question did Bill Shorten ask of an adult man in an Adelaide shopping centre during week 2?
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“Hope you’re having an OK school holidays”
“What was your ATAR?”
“Do you like Bluey?”
Just before the close of nominations on 23 April, the prospective Nationals candidate for the seat of Whitlam had to withdraw because he was a British dual citizen. What was his incredibly British-sounding name?
Stephen Walker-Jones
John Buckingham-Peters
James Harker-Mortlock
David Mountbatten-Maguire
What Channel 10 reality TV show did former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull turn up on – for some reason – in week 2 of the campaign?
Bondi Rescue
Bachelor in Paradise
Gogglebox
I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here
The day the election was called, Tasmanian Labor senator Helen Polley posted a baffling homemade video where she:
Wore a large sombrero, then waved it in the air saying “Adios amigo!”
Put a banana on her head and said “The Liberal government has to split!”
Started playing a small snare drum, saying Tasmanians were going to "drum the Liberals out of town."
Rode past the camera on a skateboard and said "Cowabunga!
In week 3, John Howard took to the streets to campaign for Liberal candidate Fiona Martin in the seat of Reid. When asked, he admitted he hadn't met her before, but had "heard" good things. What positive thing did he say?
“I heard that she won every vote in the pre-selection in her local branch."
“I heard that every business owner on this street loves her and knows her name."
“I heard that she attended Santa Sabina school in Strathfield, which I know quite well."
“I heard that she was a captain of the Strathfield Strikers, a local football club."
13 and above.
12 and above.
11 and above.
10 and above.
9 and above.
8 and above.
7 and above.
6 and above.
4 and above.
3 and above.
2 and above.
1 and above.
5 and above.
0 and above.
Continue reading...Scott Morrison also defends deal as Coalition attacks Labor’s childcare plan as ‘communist’. All the day’s events, live
Both campaigns are now in debate prep mode, so we are going to power down for the moment.
But it’s just a break, not goodbye. We’ll be back just before 7pm eastern time to bring you the blow-by-blow of the first leaders’ debate.
On what he would do in terms of climate policies (given his history on the subject with the Gillard government):
It was Tony Windsor and I who forced the changes. Both sides have the ability to get on with embedding climate change into the processes of government. At the time we did have world-leading legislation.
I concede we lost control of the politics and that Tony Abbott, as the alternate prime minister, came in on a wave of, you know, that carbon tax message, which even his chief of staff, you know, after the event, has admitted was more about the politics than anything to do with policy.
Continue reading...Home affairs minister previously said he will stay in parliament if Labor wins the election but he retains his seat of Dickson
Peter Dutton has sold his Canberra apartment, raising doubts about his plans to stay in parliament if the government loses next month’s election.
Dutton, who is fighting to hang on to his marginal seat of Dickson in Brisbane’s outer northern suburbs, has previously said he would stay on as an MP even if the Coalition lost government.
Continue reading...Scott Morrison says spending on wellbeing centres and jobs assistance is ‘about backing veterans and their families’
The Coalition has promised to spend $63m on veterans’ initiatives, including wellbeing centres and employment assistance.
Scott Morrison and the veterans affairs minister, Darren Chester, will announce the funding on Wednesday ahead of a campaign hiatus on Thursday for Anzac Day.
Continue reading...Analysis from Grattan Institute says government ‘probably’ on right trajectory for next year but deficit likely later. All the day’s events, live
Does Scott Morrison think he is popular in Victoria, given he has spent two days campaigning there?
There will be two choices after May 18 - there’s myself and Bill Shorten. Both of our parties have changed our rules. Not before time, but we both have. And those rules mean that whoever you elect as prime minister on May 18 - they will be your prime minister for the next three years. So if you vote for Bill Shorten, you’ll get Bill Shorten.
And if you vote for me, and the Liberal and National parties, you will get me to serve you as your prime minister for the next three years, and to pursue the stronger economy that guarantees rely on for essential services.”
On whether Sam Dastyari has any connection to Labor’s pathology announcement:
Well, this would seem to be the suggestion today - that Sam Dastyari was on Bill Shorten’s campaign bus at the last election and the suggestion now is he’s on Bill Shorten’s gravy train when it comes to this latest announcement. Let’s just see what happens there, I suppose. I mean, I have no knowledge of that. But it’s something for Bill Shorten to explain - from the campaign bus to the gravy train - that’s quite a passage for Sam Dastyari. But, you know, if anyone was gonna be able to do it, I suspect it was him.”
Continue reading...Guardian stands by report after the candidate for Chisholm, Gladys Liu, said the report was ‘fake’ and ‘wrong’ and she had been ‘misrepresented’
The audio of an 2016 interview with Gladys Liu, now the Liberal candidate for the Melbourne seat of Chisholm, has been released after she questioned the accuracy of comments she made to the writer of a Guardian article.
Liu ran an anti-Labor campaign on WeChat, the most popular Chinese-language social media network, ahead of the 2016 election and in the July 2016 report claimed credit for helping to get then Liberal MP Julia Banks elected to parliament.
Continue reading...National party politicians struggle to get attention during election campaigns, but Canavan reckons eating an onion with the skin on might take off
It’s enough to bring tears to voters’ eyes.
Four years after Tony Abbott munched on a raw onion, resources minister Matthew Canavan has followed suit.
Continue reading...The day started with Scott Morrison talking about a $387bn Labor tax slug and ended with Bill Shorten calling a Peter Dutton jibe ‘disgusting’
Scott Morrison’s ambition to make day two of the election campaign all about a $387bn Labor tax slug has been disrupted by Treasury disavowing the number and Peter Dutton accusing his Labor opponent in Dickson of using her disability “as an excuse’’ for not moving into the electorate.
Morrison hit the hustings on Friday armed with what the government said was new Treasury numbers revealing Labor’s “tax hit on the economy” would be $387bn but, later in the day, the Treasury head Phil Gaetjens confirmed officials had costed Labor measures at the government’s request but had not provided a total, making it clear the calculation was the government’s number.
Continue reading...Liberal candidates under pressure from Greens and Independents have dropped Liberal logo for ‘modern Liberal’ tag
They’re billing themselves as the Modern Liberals. Which begs the question who are the old-school Liberals?
Dave Sharma, the Liberals’ candidate for Wentworth in Sydney’s east, and Tim Wilson, the member for Goldstein, covering Melbourne’s bayside suburbs, have both begun postering their electorates with corflutes that carry the tagline, “modern Liberal”.
Continue reading...The ads use Facebook functionality to target users with an interest in particular car brands, including Toyota Hilux utes
Toyota has said that it was not consulted on a Liberal party campaign that uses targeted Facebook ads to falsely claim Bill Shorten wants to tax popular car brands including the Toyota Hilux and other utility vehicles.
“Toyota Australia were not consulted on the use of the HiLux in government materials.”
Continue reading...Scott Morrison hints Coalition may try to match Bill Shorten’s $2.3bn cancer package
Labor has promised to spend $500m to cut public hospital wait times for cancer treatment.
The policy, released on Tuesday, is part of the $2.3bn cancer package unveiled by Bill Shorten in his budget reply.
Continue reading...We cannot have another pointless, rudderless, parliament like the one that has just limped to an end
There was a moment or two on Wednesday, during Josh Frydenberg’s traditional post-budget address to the National Press Club, where the room felt so depressurised it seemed like oxygen masks could tumble from the ceiling.
This bit of whimsy gripped me so profoundly, at one point I caught myself looking up at the ceiling, before shaking myself and looking back at the podium.
Continue reading...The Labor leader will give his party’s 2019 budget reply tonight, with bigger tax cuts for workers among the promises. All the day’s events, live
We are in the downhill slide for the final question time for the final time of the 45th parliament.
Cathy McGowan managed to bring everyone together for her farewell
Cathy McGowan and her Indi army of supporters in the entrance hall of Parliament House after she delivered her valedictory @AmyRemeikis @murpharoo @GuardianAus #PoliticsLive #auspol @Indigocathy pic.twitter.com/JFBXyn53ol
Continue reading...