Category Archives: Coalition

Peter Dutton’s plan to move to Sydney instead of Canberra if elected ‘arrogant’, Labor says

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Opposition leader confirms he would move into Kirribilli House if elected PM – a statement Anthony Albanese says shows ‘a fair bit of hubris’

Labor frontbencher Katy Gallagher has accused Peter Dutton of “arrogantly measuring the curtains at Kirribilli House” and disrespecting the national capital.

Peter Dutton has confirmed he and his family would move into Sydney’s Kirribilli House – a harbourside mansion overlooking the Opera House – rather than the Lodge in Canberra if elected on 3 May.

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Dutton flip-flops on proposals for three separate referendums if Coalition wins election

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Opposition leader floats – then walks back – polls on Indigenous recognition, four-year parliamentary terms and stripping citizenship of dual nationals

Peter Dutton has floated – then quickly walked back – proposals for three separate referendums if he wins office, shutting down ideas he had raised to change the constitution for Indigenous recognition, four-year parliamentary terms and stripping citizenship of dual nationals.

The opposition leader had told The Australian newspaper in an interview published on Saturday that he was open to referendums on the three issues if there could be bipartisanship found with the Labor party. “I hope at some stage there will be common ground,” Dutton told the newspaper.

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Protesters turn up at Dutton’s events despite secret travel plans – as it happened

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We are currently waiting on the PM, who is due to hold a press conference in … Dickson, which of course is Peter Dutton’s electorate.

Dutton claims comparisons to Trump show PM doesn’t have a plan

If the PM has that attack, know that they don’t have a plan.

If the PM had done a better job over the past three years, if the country was better off, the economy was better off, the PM will be telling a different story.

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Coalition may rethink rules that push car markers to create cheaper EVs and hybrids for Australians

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Opposition says Labor’s national vehicle emission standard is ‘poorly designed’, despite data showing uptick in green vehicle sales

Australia’s love-hate relationship with fuel-guzzling utes and SUVs is now a looming election issue, after the Coalition indicated it may rethink Labor’s vehicle emission standard.

On Tuesday the shadow transport minister, Bridget McKenzie, called Labor’s vehicle emission standard “poorly designed” and said the Coalition will have “more to say” about it when the opposition releases its own transport policy before the election.

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What a $5,000 ticket will and won’t get you at one of Canberra’s budget night fundraising soirees

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As you decipher how the budget may alter your life on Tuesday night, your politicians will be raking in the cash by wining and dining donors and lobbyists

As you decipher how the federal budget may alter your life on Tuesday night, your politicians will be raking in the cash by wining and dining donors and lobbyists in Canberra.

This year’s budget night fundraisers – often concealed from the general public – could be something of a final hoorah. New laws capping campaign spending will soon make these budget night soirees less important, at least financially.

Tickets will have to be publicly disclosed as gifts, meaning there will be a record of those who sipped champagne with politicians and filled the party coffers. But these changes won’t apply until 2026. For now, the show goes on.

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Dutton calling Albanese ‘limp-wristed’ over Chinese ships ‘unsurprising’, Wong says

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Opposition leader criticised for using historical slur against gay men, with a spokesperson for Dutton saying ‘no offence was intended’

Penny Wong says it’s “unsurprising” Peter Dutton would use an historical slur to attack the prime minister’s response to China, noting the opposition leader had opposed marriage equality.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Dutton said: “It was a phrase that shouldn’t have been used, and no offence was intended from Mr Dutton.”

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Pocock says politicians using encrypted messaging apps damages ‘health of our democracy’

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Kevin Rudd once lobbied the Turnbull government for a UN position using encrypted app Wickr – and the messages could not be found

Independent senator David Pocock says the use of encrypted messaging platforms by politicians to avoid scrutiny is damaging to Australian democracy, urging the government to act on recommendations from the information commissioner and the National Archives that such messages should be retained.

In a report on Wednesday from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) and the National Archives, a survey of 22 government agencies found 16 allowed use of messaging apps, three did not allow their use, and three did not have a policy.

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Guardian Essential poll: Albanese scores highest approval rating in almost 18 months as support for Dutton slips

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PM’s approval rating increases to 46%, up four percentage points since the last poll, as Labor and Coalition run neck-and-neck on a two-party preferred basis

More Australians approve of Anthony Albanese as the country’s leader than disapprove of him for the first time in almost 18 months since the referendum on the proposed Indigenous voice to parliament.

Albanese’s approval rating has increased to 46%, up four percentage points from earlier in March, the latest Guardian Essential poll shows, while his disapproval rating fell to 45%.

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Peter Dutton defends attending Hemmes fundraiser as Cyclone Alfred approached Queensland

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Opposition leader says critics seeking ‘political advantage’ after Murray Watt says Dutton ‘sold out his constituents’ by attending Sydney soiree

Peter Dutton has defended his decision to attend a lavish fundraiser in Sydney as then Tropical Cyclone Alfred approached Queensland last week, claiming those criticising his decision were seeking “political advantage”.

The opposition leader’s Monday morning interview on Sky News came after Queensland Labor senator Murray Watt claimed Dutton had “sold out his constituents” by not staying in his Dickson electorate.

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Communities warned to prepare as weather system takes right turn – as it happened

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Why should Australia trust president Donald Trump, given how he’s treated Ukraine’s president at the Oval Office? Richard Marles said the government’s focus was on supporting Ukraine:

That’s where Australia lies. That’s the decision that we have to make. And Ukraine can absolutely rely on Australia’s ongoing support in their defence, and we will work with international partners.

We’ve obviously worked with the United States over the last three years, and we’ll continue to do that, but we’ve worked with the United Kingdom, and we’ll continue to do that as well, and with European partners, and look at the best way in which we can provide support.

We have established a timeline with [the] Ukrainian government about the delivery of those tanks to Ukraine. Now, for operational reasons, won’t go into the detail of that timeline.

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Australia news live: Woodside doubles profits thanks to record production of oil; funnel-web spider shortage threatens antivenom program

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Australia’s largest oil and gas producer has doubled its profits to $5.6bn. Follow today’s news live

Senate estimates will be back under way today, and AAP has flagged a little of what we can expect:

Creative Australia bosses, including the chief executive, Adrian Collette, will front an estimates hearing and it’s expected they’ll be questioned about the selection body’s shock decision to ditch the Venice Biennale team.

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Dutton says Coalition will pay to match Labor’s $8.5bn Medicare boost by cutting thousands of public service jobs

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Opposition leader claims plan to reduce workforce by nearly all jobs added under Labor would save $6bn annually

Peter Dutton claims the Coalition would pay for a $8.5bn boost to Medicare by cutting thousands of public servant jobs, providing yet another different answer on the Coalition’s as-yet-undefined plans for the public service.

After weeks of contradictory statements from senior shadow ministers about how many positions the Coalition would cull if it wins government, Dutton has now stipulated his plan could save $6bn annually – potentially representing nearly all of the new positions created under Labor.

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Coalition to match ‘dollar for dollar’ Labor’s plan to make GP visits cheaper in $8.5bn Medicare boost

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Less than half of Australians were always bulk billed when they saw a GP in 2023-24, government data says

The Coalition says it will match “dollar for dollar” Labor’s landmark $8.5bn proposal to dramatically increase Medicare bulk-billing rates for GP visits, pledging to meet Anthony Albanese’s commitment to make nearly all doctors’ appointments free.

Doctor’s groups have welcomed Labor’s pledge to fund 18m extra bulk-billed GP visits annually, but have warned some patients will still miss out because government rebates are sometimes still too low to cover the cost of all appointments. The health minister, Mark Butler, says nine out of 10 GP visits will be covered by 2030 under Labor’s plan, and has accused the Coalition of “cooking the books” on bulk-billing statistics during their time in office.

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Albanese’s appearance on Abbie Chatfield’s podcast was a calculated move in a tight ‘influencer election’

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The real clincher in a tight election may be a few votes shifted here and there through chat about wedding plans and favourite TV shows

“I understand people have issues with Anthony Albanese and the Labor government,” podcast host and influencer Abbie Chatfield tells her hundreds of thousands of listeners at the top of a 90-minute interview with the prime minister.

One of the most popular podcasters in the country, the Sydney-based media personality and former Bachelor reality TV star is a gateway to the eardrums and Instagram feeds of young Australian women.

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Australia news live: NSW health system ‘catastrophically let down’ toddler’s family, minister admits

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Two-year-old waited in emergency department for three hours before suffering a cardiac arrest and dying. Follow today’s news headlines live

Victoria to offer contactless public transport tickets from next year

Victorians will be able to use their phones, bank cards or smartwatches to pay for public transport travel from “early next year in a staged approach”, according to reports.

Following a successful start of a ticketless bus trial in Wangaratta, the Allan Labor Government will begin switching on tap-and-go technology across Victoria’s public transport network from early next year in a staged approach – meaning some passengers will soon be able to use their bank cards, phones and smart watches to travel on full fare tickets.

The new ticketing system will continue to be underpinned by extensive technical testing and will be carefully rolled out starting with rail from the beginning early next year – allowing full fare passengers more ways to pay for their travel.

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Labor to ban foreign investors from buying existing homes for at least two years, replicating Coalition policy

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Critics cast doubt on effectiveness of policy, citing low volume of purchases by overseas buyers, as Labor seeks to improve housing affordability

Prospective home buyers will face less competition from overseas, with Labor promising to ban foreign investors from purchasing existing homes for at least two years.

But the restriction – which replicates a policy announced by the Coalition last year – will capture less than 0.4% of the housing market, casting doubts over its efficacy.

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NSW Labor accused of trying to ‘redesign’ a mental health system with no psychiatrists

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Patient care compromised by closing beds and shifting workload to less qualified staff, motion claims

The New South Wales Labor government is seeking to “redesign” the state’s mental health system without psychiatrists, despite the risks to patient care, its political rivals claim.

In a NSW legislative council meeting on Wednesday, the shadow assistant minister Susan Carter and the Greens’ health spokesperson, Dr Amanda Cohn, lambasted the Minns government’s handling of psychiatrists’ mass resignations, with Carter accusing the responsible ministers of having “sought to redesign our mental health system to work without specialist psychiatrists”.

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Brad Battin says Liberals ousted Greens in Prahran by ‘listening to locals’ – as it happened

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Coalition backs healthcare package

Gallagher welcomed the opposition backing Labor’s package for women’s health this morning. She said on ABC Insiders:

We know Peter Dutton wanders around saying he’s going to cut a whole range of things. He’s clear he sees a lot of our investments in Medicare as wasteful spending. But these are really good investments into women’s health. And it will make a difference for millions of people across the country including women who are going through men who really have felt left behind by the health system and hopefully these new measures will address all of those issues.

It’s come down quite obviously for women across the country, the use of contraception, going through different stages of your life, including menopause, that these are areas that either haven’t been addressed for decades, or haven’t been met appropriately through the Medicare system. So, you know, we have landed the hospital deal, keep investing in the public health system, we have got a lot of initiatives about strengthening Medicare and this builds on that.

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Peter Dutton coy on what public servant jobs he will slash if he wins election

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Public service minister Katy Gallagher says opposition leader’s words are ‘reckless’ and would bring back ‘expensive consultants’ and robodebt

Peter Dutton has yet to reveal any detail about his plan to slash public servant jobs in Canberra under a government he leads, as Labor warns his plan will cut crucial government services and risks another robodebt.

In a rare press conference at Parliament House on Thursday, the opposition leader provided little information on his plans to get the “economy back on track” through slashing government jobs and other “wasteful spending”.

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PM labels Coalition’s tax-free lunch plan ‘worst, sloppiest policy’ as Treasury puts cost in the billions

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Costings commissioned by Jim Chalmers suggest policy at risk of being ‘rorted’ could cost up to $10bn a year


The Coalition’s policy for tax-deductible business lunches would cost between $1.6bn and $10bn a year, the Labor government claims, according to costings Jim Chalmers commissioned from his Treasury department.

The treasurer claimed the policy was at risk of being “rorted” by businesses claiming personal food expenses, adding further to confusion about the Coalition’s contentious meals and entertainment policy.

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