Category Archives: Peter Dutton

Australia news live: Peter Dutton confirms Liberals will campaign against Indigenous voice to parliament

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Opposition leader continues his narrative of calling the proposal a ‘divisive Canberra voice’. Follow the day’s news

Birmingham calls for end to culture wars on ‘fringe issues’

So Simon Birmigham wants the party to modernise, but keep its Liberal values. So essentially ditch the culture wars and get back to Liberal basics – small government, small business, families (although Birmingham argues for inclusive family support now).

Well, it is, in that it concerns only a relatively small numbers of people, frankly, on either side of the debate. And so having, in the lead-up to the Aston byelection, debate ensuing in the Victorian division of the Liberal party around trans rights, Nazis, all of those sorts of things that were being thrown around, was clearly very, very counterproductive.

And I think that’s acknowledged right across the leadership of the Liberal party. And so trying to make sure that, whilst there has to be space to deal with issues where international sporting organisations are making rules and laws, but we shouldn’t take that into into a realm where suddenly there are public protests supported by Liberal MPs or anything that suggests there is a sense of disrespect other than careful, thoughtful policy consideration.

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Former NSW deputy Liberal leader says party has ‘moved too far to the right’ – as it happened

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Prime minister pays tribute to Yunupingu

Prime minister Anthony Albanese has paid tribute to the Yolŋu man Yunupingu, one of the most significant Indigenous figures in history and a former Australian of the year, as “an extraordinary leader”.

He was one of the greatest of Australians.

An extraordinary leader of his people, respected right across Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia.

I said to him that I was serious, that we would do it.

Today we mourn with deep love and great sadness the passing of our dearly loved father Yunupiŋu.

The holder of our sacred fire, the leader of our clan and the path-maker to our future.

The loss to our family and community is profound. We are hurting, but we honour him and remember with love everything he has done for us.

We remember him for his fierce leadership, and total strength for Yolŋu and for Aboriginal people throughout Australia. He lived by our laws always.

Yunupiŋu lived his entire life on his land, surrounded by the sound of bilma (clapsticks), yidaki (didgeridoo) and the manikay (sacred song) and dhulang (sacred designs) of our people. He was born on our land, he lived all his life on our land and he died on our land secure in the knowledge that his life’s work was secure.

He had friendship and loyalty to so many people, at all levels, from all places.

Our father was driven by a vision for the future of this nation, his people’s place in the nation and the rightful place for Aboriginal people everywhere.

In leaving us, we know that Dad’s loss will be felt in many hearts and minds. We ask you to mourn his passing in your own way, but we as a family encourage you to rejoice in the gift of his life and leadership.

There will never be another like him.

In time we will announce the dates for bäpurru (ceremonies) that will see him returned to his land and to his fathers. These ceremonies will be held in North Eastern Arnhem Land.

We ask the media to respect our grieving space over the coming weeks as we put together ceremonial arrangements to honour Dad.

Instead of flowers, we invite those of you who were touched by Dad’s fire to share with us your personal recollections and memories of his life. This will lift our spirits.

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Dutton’s leadership safe for now, Liberals say, despite calls for change of direction after historic loss in Aston

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Malcolm Turnbull says the party’s future rests on its ability to move back to the centre

Peter Dutton’s leadership is safe for now as the Liberals have nowhere else to turn, party insiders claim, despite their third major loss since the federal election.

With the loss of the outer east Melbourne electorate of Aston in Saturday’s byelection, the Liberal party now holds just 14 of 79 federal urban seats. It has led to renewed calls for a major overhaul of strategy, and raised questions about Dutton’s leadership.

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Peter Dutton accepts responsibility for historic Aston loss but insists he should stay on as leader

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Federal Liberal leader says ‘we have to learn the lessons and rebuild’ after losing Victorian byelection

Peter Dutton has accepted responsibility for the party’s historic loss in the Aston byelection, but says he has no plans to step down as leader of the Liberal party.

Last month Dutton told ABC radio he was happy for the byelection to be a “verdict” on himself and Anthony Albanese, as well as the campaigns both parties were running.

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Zali Steggall condemns ‘scaremongering’ over voice detail – as it happened

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Dutton is asked a second time whether he failed his own test for the Liberal party leadership. He says that he “accepts responsibility” as leader of the party for the loss.

I was there last night to do that. I agreed to come on to the show this morning knowing that if you win, lose or draw, you need to front up.

Again, by not winning the election, we’ve failed that test, have been set for us by the Victorian people. That’s the reality. Now, the question is how we rebuild from here, the policies that we have, the brand rebuilding that we need to do in Victoria and it is a very significant issue for us.

Obviously the difficulties for us in Victoria haven’t been germinated in Aston over the course of the last five weeks. Even back to 2013, with all of my predecessors, Victoria is the one state that we have never held a majority of seats in and there are huge issues at a state level at well. For almost a quarter of a century, this has been a Labor government here in Victoria. So many lessons, including for me and my party.

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Labor claims Aston win, throwing Dutton’s Liberal leadership into question – as it happened

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Labor’s Mary Doyle has two-party preferred swing of at least 6% in the count on Saturday evening. This blog is now closed

Dutton says Labor’s road funding cuts in Aston ‘a disaster’

Out of hiding and into the open, opposition leader Peter Dutton has been seen on the campaign trail in Aston today.

[Labor] haven’t explained to the people of Aston why it is that they cut road funding as the first act in government, and it’s quite remarkable.

It’s a disaster for locals and people realise that the first act of the Albanese government was to cut road funding here in Aston … They’ve never apologised for it, they never explained why.

There are a lot of Australian families who have heard Anthony Albanese promise before the last election on 97 occasions that he would reduce your power to $275. That was a promise he made before the election, he’s never mentioned it since, not once.

So cost of living pressures are real for families and the opportunity in the election today is to send a very clear message to Labor that they shouldn’t be cutting local road funding, and they shouldn’t be abandoning this community.

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Laura Tingle becomes ABC staff-elected director – as it happened

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The 7.30 political correspondent will sit on the broadcaster’s board alongside chair Ita Buttrose. This blog is now closed

Report of new gas tax for Australia

The Australian Financial Review is this morning reporting that a new gas tax looms as the government tries to raise revenue to begin budget repair.

Major companies such as Woodside Energy, Santos and Shell and their tax advisers have signed confidentiality agreements with Treasury on the PRRT consultation.

Since Treasury resumed the stalled work for Labor late last year, it has cast the net wider to probe other PRRT areas, such as deductions, in an attempt to raise revenue sooner for the government from the profits-based tax.

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Albanese hits hustings ahead of NSW election day – as it happened

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Burney says the solicitor general’s advice supports the ultimate wording of the referendum question which the government released yesterday.

Patricia Karvelas:

I know you’ve said that on the solicitor general’s advice – which the opposition leader is demanding is released publicly – that it’s up to the prime minister.

… But you know about the advice. Does the advice of the solicitor general support the ultimate wording you’ve landed on?

Yes it does.

I am absolutely confident that we have got the words and the amendments correct. They are simple. They are understandable for the Australian public.

I think that the Liberals are looking for excuses, and I think they’ve almost run out.

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Australia politics live: Lidia Thorpe knocked to ground in struggle with police at anti-trans rights speaker’s Canberra event

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Independent senator attempts to step up to podium after Pauline Hanson speaks in support of Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull. Follow the day’s news

Mark Butler says part of the issue is that vaping was allowed to “explode” so it’s a case of putting the genie back in the bottle – but he says the government is determined to do it, so the tobacco industry doesn’t win.

A parent told us last week that they found in their very young child’s pencil case, not a 16/17-year-old but a very young child’s pencil case, a vape that was deliberately designed to look like a highlighter pen. I mean, these things are insidious.

They are causing very real damage not just to the health of very young children but to behavioural issues at schools as well.

This is now the biggest behavioural issue in primary schools. I mean, this is this is an industry shamelessly marketing, not just to teenagers but to young children. When you look at these things, with pink unicorns on them and bubblegum flavors, these aren’t marketed to adults.

This is an industry that is trying to create a new generation of nicotine addicts so they get around all of the hard work. Our country and other countries have done over recent decades to stamp out smoking.

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Australia politics live: government and opposition strike agreement over voice referendum machinery changes

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Bipartisan approach likely as Senate addresses changes to the rules governing referendums. Follow the day’s news live

Voice negotiations

The referendum machinery legislation will set up how the voice referendum will run – the machinery surruounding the vote, if you will.

We’re negotiating in good faith in the Senate that’s being led by Jane Hume who is doing an outstanding job. What we said to the government in the beginning is what we’re saying to them now and that is that we are not prepared to trash decades of referendum precedent, and not do this in a way that Australians expect us to, in their interests, for their information.

We’re asking for a pamphlet to outline the yes and no case, and we’ve talked about that. We’re asking for equal funding of the yes or no case, not the millions of dollars that may go into a public campaign on either side of this debate, but just the administration funding.

Fifty-seven per cent of the population does not want to open new coal and gas mines and I think there’s a very clear message coming through there. Secondly, no, I have got a lot of time for Jacqui Lambie, but we had an emissions trading scheme in this country and she was part of a party that voted to repeal it so let’s let’s not get too carried away with the spin here.

We’re in a climate crisis, as the UN secretary general has made clear. The decisions that we make now will reverberate for generations to come and the big decisions that we’ve got to make, do we open new coal and gas mines or not?

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Guardian Essential poll: support for Aukus and Indigenous voice declines

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Anthony Albanese improves in personal measures, including honesty and vision, despite waning support for major policies

Public support for the Aukus nuclear submarine acquisition and the Indigenous voice to parliament have both declined, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.

The poll of 1,124 voters, released on Tuesday, suggests Australians are at odds with the Aukus deal, with just one in five voters labelling China a “threat to be confronted” and only one quarter happy to pay the price tag of up to $368bn to acquire nuclear submarines.

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Star pleads guilty to new charges of breaching Queensland casino law – as it happened

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Half of all school principals at risk of serious mental health issues

One in two principals risk serious mental health concerns amid escalating threats, violence and staff shortages in the sector, new research shows.

Our research shows abuse and intimidation towards principals and the associated health risks suffered by school leaders continues to grow and it must stop. Such a significant shift in red flag warnings in a short space of time suggests the situation is more serious than first thought. For the past 12 years we have looked at trends and this year they are stark – the scale and the rate has intensified, and we are seeing a severe escalation in stress levels.

There is an urgency in our call for action as the time to redress these concerns diminishes. We may see a mass exodus from the profession, and the implication for Australian education would be devastating.”

My amendments will require all new, expanded, or extended fossil fuel facilities to have net zero carbon emissions at commencement, and for the life of the facility. In this scenario:

A new gas project would be required to enter the safeguard mechanism at net zero, and stay there for its operational life.

A coalmine seeking to expand the area of its mining operations would need to ensure the expanded area operates carbon neutrally and remain that way for its operational life.

A company seeking to extend the life of a coal seam gas project would need to ensure the project is net zero from the day of the project’s extension and stay there for its operational life.

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Matt Kean exploring a move to federal politics if Coalition loses NSW election, sources say

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Figures close to Kean said the Liberal treasurer, a high-profile moderate, has floated the idea

The New South Wales treasurer, Liberal Matt Kean, is said to be considering a move to Canberra if the Perrottet government suffers a defeat on Saturday week in the state election.

Figures close to Kean told the Guardian he has floated the idea and is exploring possible avenues into federal parliament, but his decision would depend on whether the Coalition lost in NSW on 25 March and by what margin, as this would determine how long they would be out of office in NSW.

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ABC staff to walk off job next week – as it happened

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Acting prime minister and defence minister Richard Marles has spoken to ABC News Breakfast this morning after the $368bn announcement of the Aukus deal yesterday.

In response to the reaction from China accusing Australia, the US and Britain of embarking on a “path of error and danger”, Marles defends making a decision that is in Australia’s national interest:

We are seeking to acquire this capability to make our contribution to the collective security of the region and the maintenance of the global rules-based order.

And one of the issues within our region we are witnessing the largest conventional military build-up that the world has seen since the end of the second world war. And it’s not Australia who is doing that, but that shapes the world in which we live.

We’re completely confident these are in complete compliance with non proliferation.

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Peter Dutton says Coalition would support NDIS cuts to pay for Aukus submarines

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Liberal leader offers bipartisan backing for ‘sustainable’ savings for the next generation defence scheme

Peter Dutton has suggested the Coalition would offer bipartisan support for cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme to keep it “sustainable” and pay for the Aukus nuclear submarine acquisition.

The former defence minister and opposition leader offered bipartisanship on budget savings ahead of Anthony Albanese announcing the submarine plan on Tuesday morning AEDT, with the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and the US president, Joe Biden.

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Sydney trains delayed due to ‘communication issue’ – as it happened

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Facing up to financial distress

It is not just academic though – there have been increased reports of people feeling distressed because of financial pressures.

When people are under extreme financial pressure, that has implications for their wellbeing more broadly. I mean, I think that is understood. And I’m sure that the governor in accepting that meeting understands that.

What we want to do as government is make life a little bit easier for people where we can, whether it’s with energy bills, whether it’s with cheaper early childhood education, cheaper medicines, trying to get wages moving again, financial security is a big part of what we’re focused on, particularly when these cost-of-living pressures are so acute.

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Peter Dutton says Bridget Archer ‘an important part of our team’ after claim Liberals could dump her

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Opposition leader acknowledges ‘divergence of views’ but says the Liberal moderate represents the constituents in her marginal seat

Peter Dutton has declared the outspoken Liberal moderate Bridget Archer is “an important part of our team” in response to a suggestion from a veteran party insider that the Liberal party could dump her ahead of the next federal election.

The federal opposition leader told journalists on Wednesday that Archer worked hard and represented the views of her constituents in the marginal electorate of Bass in Tasmania.

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Ukraine urges Australia to reopen embassy; Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras returns to Oxford Street – as it happened

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Sydney Opera House among buildings lit up with Ukraine’s national colours amid vigils to mark year since Russia’s invasion. This blog is now closed

Asked about what the government is doing to make this an inclusive debate, especially for, as Lidia Thorpe mentioned, the progressive no side, Burney says:

The work towards a positive referendum, of course, has been guided by our First Nations working group and engagement group. But I want to reach out across the parliament, which is [why it is] so fabulous to be here with Zoe this morning in Goldstein, to make sure everyone is involved and clear on what we are really talking about.

What we are asking people to do later this year is vote yes or no in a referendum that will create a First Nations or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice to the parliament. It will have two jobs. It will make sure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have an involvement in the things that the parliament decides, and it will also recognise the extraordinary history of this country, 65,000 years in our nation’s birth certificate. It is no more complicated than that.

I think by and large it’s a really positive mood, and Linda saw this morning we had 40 or 50 volunteers, people who worked on my campaign and people who really believe in participatory democracy, coming along at 7.30am in the morning to talk to the minister about the voice and the referendum process.

I held an event in the electorate earlier this week, we only gave people a couple of days’ notice and we had 200 people come to hear Marcus Stewart, who is on the referendum working group, talking about the voice as well.

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Guardian Essential poll: most think RBA rate hikes an overreaction as shine comes off Albanese

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Majority believe government at least partially to blame for rises but don’t assume Coalition would manage them better

A majority of voters believe the Reserve Bank of Australia has overreacted in jacking up interest rates to tame inflation, and people worry economic conditions will get worse over the next 12 months, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.

The latest survey of 1,044 voters demonstrates cost-of-living pressure is starting to bite in the community after nine consecutive cash rate hikes.

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Dutton’s views on Indigenous voice ‘not that far apart’ from referendum working group, key member says

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Thomas Mayo says the opposition leader’s public statements at odds with views expressed to the working group at Thursday meeting

Conflicting accounts have emerged about a meeting between Peter Dutton and the Indigenous voice referendum working group after a key member of the group said the opposition leader’s personal views showed they were “not that far apart” on the voice.

Dutton said on Friday the Indigenous voice referendum is on track to fail, blaming the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, for a “conscious decision” to withhold detail. Labor has said the detail is still being developed.

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