Category Archives: Coalition

‘Malicious’: Shorten and business groups defy Coalition’s assault on climate policy

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High-quality international offsets should be part of any credible policy, industry says

Business groups are defying the Morrison government’s political assault on the use of international permits, arguing a credible climate policy should include access to high-quality international offsets, because they are a key mechanism to help Australia meet its Paris target.

With climate change persisting as a significant campaign flashpoint, the chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, James Pearson, told Guardian Australia international permits were part of the toolkit for mitigating climate change in a cost-effective way.

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Liberal candidate’s claim of ‘fake’ report prompts release of audio interview

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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.

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Matthew Canavan emulates Tony Abbott with raw onion munch

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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.

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Peter Dutton apologises to Ali France as Kristina Keneally calls minister a ‘thug’

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Labor senator launches scathing attack on home affairs minister, saying he’s the most toxic man in the Liberal party

Peter Dutton has apologised for accusing his Labor challenger, Ali France, of “using her disability as an excuse” not to move to the electorate during the campaign.

The apology came a little over an hour after a blistering attack by Labor senator Kristina Keneally, who called Dutton “mean and despicable”, a “thug”, and the “most toxic man in the Liberal party”.

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Australian election 2019: Coalition’s tax attack on Labor blunted as Dutton makes gaffe on disability

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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.

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Tony Abbott: ‘So-called’ climate science isn’t settled’ – politics live

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Day two of the 2019 Australian election campaign is under way, with an opening salvo from the government. All the day’s events, live

The AEC has laid out its plan for counting the 16 million or so votes the federal election should bring in:

Following years of planning, fine tuning and improvements to AEC systems – plus the experience gained from running nine by-elections since 2017 – the AEC expects to:

Bill Shorten and the former AMA president, Brian Owler, the Labor candidate for Bennelong, is announcing Labor’s key policy for today: $125m for cancer research.

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‘Modern Liberals’: Dave Sharma and Tim Wilson rebrand over climate change

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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”.

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Labor promises $500m to cut public hospital waiting times for cancer treatment

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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.

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Coalition’s proposed anti-corruption body flawed and weak, police veteran warns

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Chris Douglas calls for federal integrity commission to be handed wide-ranging powers

A long-serving former senior federal police officer has warned that the Coalition’s proposed integrity commission is flawed, weak and would “not be capable of responding to current corruption threats”.

Chris Douglas, a 31-year veteran of the Australian federal police, has called for the integrity commission to be handed wide-ranging powers, including the ability to recruit informants, use undercover operatives, make arrests and deploy wire taps.

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Parliament has been enslaved by its fetishes – and it’s time to end the downward spiral | Katharine Murphy

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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.

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Post-Christchurch social media laws are ‘world-first’, says Christian Porter – politics live

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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

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Australia budget 2019: Newstart backflip disrupts government’s big sell

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Coalition’s about face on one-off payment prompts Labor to declare the budget is already ‘falling apart’

The Morrison government’s big post-budget sell has been disrupted by its own late-night decision to backflip on providing a one-off payment to recipients of Newstart.

The government used Tuesday night’s budget to provide supplements to welfare recipients, with $75 for singles and $125 for couples going to 2.4 million pensioners, 744,000 disability pensioners, 280,000 carers, 242,000 single parents and 225,000 veterans and their dependents – but not to people on unemployment benefits.

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Australia budget 2019: Fraser Anning censured as Coalition extends energy payment – politics live

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The federal budget is done and the (unofficial) election campaign begins. All the day’s events, live

Penny Wong’s speech on Fraser Anning censure motion

Labor senator and Yawuru man Pat Dodson spoke powerfully about the “Killing times”, Australia’s massacre history, as part of today’s censure motion against Fraser Anning.

Our First Nations people have carried the consequence of murderous prejudice throughout our entwined history.

First Nations peoples in Australia know what it is like to be powerless in the face of hateful prejudice, fanned by the illusion of superiority; and the false courage created by a weapon in their hand and their victims are defenceless.

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Australia federal budget 2019: reaction to Josh Frydenberg’s first budget – as it happened

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Australia’s treasurer says the budget is ‘back in the black’. This blog is now closed

And that is where we are going to end tonight, before we all turn into pumpkins.

But don’t worry, we’ll be back early tomorrow morning for all the fallout. Plus, you know, parliament.

Mike Bowers has been out and about:

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Penny Wong warns racism and hate speech in parliament threaten democracy

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Labor senator says those who ‘see political or commercial advantage in heightening cynicism’ are diminishing civic life

Penny Wong will say that “racism is a threat to our democracy” in a speech taking aim at those who see “political or commercial advantage” in increased cynicism towards public institutions.

The Labor senator is set to warn that hate speech and extremist views in parliament and a “lack of unity in response to these” have harmed democracy, pointing the finger in part at the Coalition for its tardy response to condemn One Nation in the 45th parliament.

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One Nation’s James Ashby filmed seeking $20m from NRA to weaken Australia’s gun laws

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Al-Jazeera journalist posing as gun campaigner films senior party figures in Washington DC soliciting financial support to help One Nation seize the balance of power

Senior One Nation figures James Ashby and Steve Dickson have been caught seeking millions of dollars of political donations from US gun rights group the National Rifle Association in a bid to seize the balance of power and weaken Australia’s gun laws.

The revelations are contained in an al-Jazeera investigation which used hidden cameras and a journalist posing as a grassroots gun campaigner to expose the far-right party’s extraordinary efforts to secure funding in Washington DC in September.

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NSW election: Gladys Berejiklian confident Coalition will win a majority

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Government clings to power despite big gains from minor parties and independents

Gladys Berejiklian has said she is confident the Coalition will return to government in New South Wales with a razor-thin majority as counting continues after Saturday’s state election.

The premier, who is the daughter of Armenian migrants, reiterated her objection to comments by the Labor leader, Michael Daley, about young Sydneysiders leaving the city and being replaced by “Asians”, which surfaced in the final week of the campaign, suggesting her background had helped her connect with voters.

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Gladys Berejiklian leads Coalition to third term in government in NSW

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Premier says she will work closely with minor parties as prospect of minority government remains

Gladys Berejiklian has led the Coalition to a third term in government in New South Wales despite a rising tide of minor parties and independents, and has become the first woman elected premier of the state at a general election.

Many seats were still too close to call on Saturday evening but one thing was certain – the night had been a huge disappointment for Labor, with no chance of forming government and no major improvement in their statewide primary vote compared with the election four years earlier.

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Bangers and ballots: everything you need to know about the NSW election

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There’s a good chance Saturday’s poll will produce a hung parliament. Here’s how to make your vote count – and where to buy your democracy sausage

Almost 5.3 million people are enrolled to vote at more than 8,000 voting stations in Saturday’s state election. New South Wales has fixed terms, with elections held on the fourth Saturday in March every four years since 1995. About a quarter of voters cast their ballot before election day in 2015, and this is expected to rise in 2019. Almost 850,000 people had voted by Thursday morning.

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Cost of x-rays and ultrasounds to drop under Coalition pledge to increase Medicare rebates

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All ultrasound and diagnostic radiology services to be cheaper under plan

Patients who need x-rays and ultrasounds will end up paying less under a new Morrison government pledge to reduce out-of-pocket expenses for the services.

The health minister, Greg Hunt, announced on Sunday the government would expand indexation of Medicare payments to all ultrasound and diagnostic radiology services over three years from 1 July 2020 – for the first time in 20 years.

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