Election 2022 live: Scott Morrison rallies, as Anthony Albanese ‘knocked around by Covid’
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese is feeling “knocked around” by Covid, as PM Scott Morrison rallies the party faithful on the NSW central coast.
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Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is feeling “knocked around” by Covid-19 but is “broadly okay” Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers has said, conceding having a leader forced into isolation has been “hard”.
Mr Chalmers, launching his re-election campaign for the safe seat of Rankin, told a roomful of Labor Party faithful that the last two years of the pandemic had “conditioned” them for Mr Albanese’s stint with the virus.
“I spoke to Anthony last night, I spoke with him this morning as well and he wanted me to convey to all of you his gratitude for all of the work you’re doing here,” he said.
“He wanted you to know that he’s feeling okay he’s a little bit knocked around but is feeling broadly okay.”
Deputy Leader Richard Marles and Labor campaign spokeswoman Katy Gallagher were also on hand at the Diggers’ RSL in Logan as part of Mr Chalmer’s re-election launch.
Labor elder Wayne Swan as well as two-thirds of federal Labor’s Queensland parliamentarians and a handful of state MPs were also in attendance.
Just minutes after Mr Chalmers’ speech, Mr Albanese tweeted a photo of him and his dog Toto — dressed in Albo 2022 merchandise — isolating at their Marrickville home.
“Working on my campaign launch speech with my iso companion, Toto,” he wrote.
The campaign launch will take place in Western Australia on May 1.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Liberal voters have turned out to hear the Prime Minister’s pitch to hold on to the key central coast seat of Robertson, and to win its neighbour – Dobell – back from the Labor Party.
In a speech dominated by the economy, with a brief mention of national security Scott Morrison spent 30 minutes talking to blue voters.
“Vote Liberal, get lucky,” he said – which was met with chuckles.
“I’m talking about the economy!” he exclaimed.
Many of those in the crowd held signs saying “unemployment is four per cent”.
Mr Morrison used the signs to springboard off Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese’s gaffe regarding the unemployment rate to promote himself as the better Prime Minister.
“If you want to be Prime Minister, you have got to know the facts,” Mr Morrison told the crowd.
“Those facts matter, because they inform what you have to do and the very important decisions that you have to make.
“People might forget figures and that does happen, but if you don’t know what’s happening with unemployment in this country, then that is one of the most fundamental things.”
Mr Morrison failed to front up to questions from the travelling media pack on Saturday.
HOWARD SLAMS ‘ANTI-LIBERAL GROUPIES’
Former prime minister John Howard has unloaded on the Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese's inexperience and the "teal independents" whom he labelled as "anti-Liberal groupies".
Stating that Prime Minister Scott Morrison had "mastered the art of governing", Mr Howard used the opportunity to take a swipe at Mr Albanese's inexperience.
"You can't make it up on the spot," Mr Howard said.
"You've got to understand what's involved … you've got to know what the unemployment rate is".
Mr Howard’s criticism of Mr Albanese has been slammed by Labor as a “tired old attack” on the party and an “embrace of the past”.
A Labor spokesperson said it was “telling that the Liberals felt they had to roll out John Howard to mount a tired old attack on Labor’s plan”.
“John Howard’s endorsement today of three more years of Morrison mistakes was an embrace of the past and a vote for holding Australians back,” they said.
Mr Howard was in his former seat of Bennelong to launch the campaign for candidate Simon Kennedy, Mr Howard also questioned the independence of the Climate-200-backed Independents labelling them "anti-Liberal groupies".
"Their aim is to hurt the Liberal Party, not to represent the middle ground of the electorate".
Mr Howard, who left the top job 15 years ago after losing to Kevin Rudd, said at a campaign address on Saturday morning in his former seat of Bennelong that while he wasn't there "to make any personal attacks", he felt the Labor leader wasn't up to being PM.
"It all boils down to who do you want to lead the country for the next three years … being in charge of a government is not easy," Mr Howard said.
He drew upon Mr Albanese's early slip on the campaign trail, adding: "Can I say the reason why that mistake by the opposition leader attracted so much attention was that it symbolised weakness."
"You've got to know at least roughly what the unemployment rate is, you've got to have an understanding of where the interest rates are."
Mr Howard went on to say former political figureheads Paul Keating and Peter Costello would never have "missed a beat" like the current Labor leader.
"They saw mistakes as symbolising inadequacy for the job, and my experience in the campaign so far is … simply (Australians) don't regard (Mr Albanese) as being up to the job," Mr Howard said.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg earlier revealed that Mr Howard would be part of events on the Liberal Party election campaign trail.
"You can't hold John Howard back. He loves hopping on the campaign trail," Mr Frydenberg told Channel 9's Today Show.
"He's very effective when he does so. As you know, the Australian people have great affinity for him as being Australia's second-longest serving Prime Minister.
"Both Scott Morrison and I talk regularly to John Howard. He is a source of wise counsel. And he's a great Liberal and great Australian."
Mr Howard was later seen out campaigning with Mr Kennedy in his former seat of Bennelong. Both Liberal and Labor expect a close result on election night after the retirement of popular local MP John Alexander.
LABOR DEPUTY IN ROW OVER CHINA SPEECH
The Coalition is stepping up its attack on deputy Labor leader Richard Marles after revelations he shared the contents of a speech with the Chinese embassy in Canberra before delivering it in Beijing.
In the speech, Mr Marles said Chinese investment in the Pacific was a ‘good thing’ and called for closer military ties between Australia and China.
The Weekend Australian reported Mr Marles, who was then Labor’s defence spokesman, arrived in Beijing on his own several days before the start of a study tour that was organised by a controversial think-tank, China Matters.
Mr Marles was accompanied by Chinese government officials and delivered the speech at the Beijing Foreign Studies University in 2019 and also met a senior Communist Party figure, Guo Yezhou.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Saturday described the revelations in the Australian as ‘very disturbing’.
He rejected suggestions the government should have done more to stop the China-Solomon Islands security pact.
He said the government would invest more into national security in response to an “unstable” and “changing” landscape in the Australian region.
Mr Frydenberg criticised Mr Marles’ speech for welcoming China’s involvement in the Pacific. “We won’t take a lecture from the Labor Party about national security and defence,” he told Sky News Australia.
“We recognise we need to invest more in Australia’s national security because our region is changing.”
Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek and Sunshine Coast-based Liberal MP Ted O’Brien were also on the China study tour.
Asked what he recalled of the speech, Mr O’Brien said he had not personally heard it but he did recall a discussion about it among some members of the tour group on the trip.
“Richard said he’d consulted with others about the contents of the speech before giving it, including with Chinese officials,” Mr O’Brien said.
“While I thought it was odd at the time, the comment really stuck with me after returning home and reading the speech for myself.”
Mr Marles on Saturday defended sharing the speech with the Chinese before it was delivered.
“I made a speech in China, where I criticised China, and I wanted to make sure that the Chinese government we're not at all surprised by the fact of what I was going to say in China,” he said.
Labor has also refused to state what its policy on the foreign aid budget will be, with Mr Chalmers saying that information would be revealed over the coming weeks.
This despite Labor’s national policy stating the goal is to “achieve a funding target for the international development program of at least 0.5 per cent of Gross National Income”.
On day two of Mr Albanese’s absence due to Covid-19, Mr Marles, Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers, and Senator Katy Gallagher were rolled out to keep Labor’s election campaign going.
Mr Marles, dealing with consecutive damning front pages and media reports based on his record on China, shrugged off concerns that Mr Albanese’s absence left him wide open to attacks.
The Deputy Leader said while the campaign was going through “a very unusual circumstance”, Labor were going to be “business as usual as much as we can achieve that”
For the sixth time in a fortnight the campaign was flown to Queensland, specifically into the electorate of Rankin — which is Mr Chalmers’ seat.
Asked about Labor’s carbon emissions policy and what will happen to coal mines within its wider climate plan, Mr Chalmers was quick to assert Labor was on the side of the mining industry.
“And what we have said to coal communities and to coal miners, and people who work in this industry, is that our climate change policy is designed to leverage and maximise our traditional strengths, not abandon them,” he said.
PM TAKING NO QUESTIONS
Prime minister Scott Morrison has refused to answer questions from journalists while out and about on the central coast on Saturday.
Journalists were told shortly before arriving at BCF Gosford in the marginal liberal held seat of Robertson – where the prime minister announced a $20m election sweetener to reel in boating and camping fans – that he would not stand up and answer questions.
While addressing staff, alongside his wife Jenny and Assistant Fisheries Minister Jonno Duniam, reporters asked if voters would “take the bait”, to which Mr Morrison responded that investing in local community infrastructure was “very important”.
Reporters attempted to confront Mr Morrison on his way out of the store, asking if the announcement was indeed pork barrelling.
He failed to answer that question, as he did questions about national security given ongoing uncertainty about the security deal signed between the Solomon Islands and China.
He told reporters he “looked forward” to seeing them later at a Liberal Party campaign launch, where he is not expected to answer questions either.
DUMPING OF LNP POSTAL VOTE MAILERS ‘UNACCEPTABLE’
A democracy scandal involving an Australia Post postie dumping hundreds of postal vote mailers in a suburban Queensland wheelie bin is “completely unacceptable” and “deeply concerning” Labor’s Jim Chalmers said.
But the federal opposition has not yet followed the Coalition in writing to Australia Post demanding answers as to what had occurred.
And Labor also hasn’t stated if it will carry the torch and ban political parties sending out mail of that nature — used partly to harvest voter information — should they take government.
It is alleged, based on video footage, that a postie in the Ipswich suburb of Redbank Plains dumped at least 500 LNP branded postal vote mailers into a household wheelie bin.
The postie, later confronted by homeowner Annette Weller, denied his involvement but then attempted to bribe her $10 after being caught out by video footage.
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher on Friday night wrote to Australia Post seeking answers over the “new dimension of misconduct” amid fear the issue may be more widespread than just one rogue postie.
Mr Chalmers, speaking in his seat of Rankin as part of Labor’s Anthony Albanese-less campaign, said he was not aware of any union involvement in the postie’s actions.
“But I will say this what happened there was completely unacceptable, completely and utterly unacceptable,” he said.
“We need to know what's happened here, we need to know that it won't happen again.
“And we need to know that Australia Post is adequately resourced to deal with the extra pressure that comes at election time.”
The Australian Federal Police on Friday confirmed it was investigating the matter.
As of Saturday afternoon police had not yet laid any charges. Australia Post, in a statement, confirmed the postie in question had been suspended effective immediately amid an internal investigation.
Australia Post chief executive Paul Graham apologised “unreservedly” for the incident.
‘TRAIN EVERY STUDENT ON RIFLE USE’
Veteran MP Bob Katter stepped up his comments, saying calling for every high school student to be trained on how to use a rifle.
The Queensland MP slammed the federal government for leaving Australia ill-equipped to defend itself, saying it had failed to develop arms, sovereign fuel security and missiles to protect itself from the perceived threat.
“Look at Ukraine holding off Russia; one of the biggest armies in the world. It should be an inspiration to all of us.
“Every boy and girl in high school should be trained how to use a rifle, and those rifles should be stored in school armouries,” the firebrand independent said.
MARLES DEFENDS LABOR ON CHINA
Mr Marles has been forced to defend Labor’s position on China, as recriminations over Beijing establishing a base in the Pacific dominated the election campaign.
Australia and its allies including the US have been rattled by a security pact signed by Solomon Islands and China which they fear will give Beijing a vital military toehold in the region.
Mr Marles’ comments from a book published last year – Tides That Bind: Australia in the Pacific – prompted the Coalition to accuse Labor of being weak on China.
In the book, Mr Marles – widely tipped to be defence minister should Labor win the election – warned that “basing our actions in the Pacific on an attempt to strategically deny China would be a historic mistake’’.
“Rather than worrying about the prospect of foreign military bases in the region, our real call to arms must be the Pacific’s performance against MDGs (Millennium Development Goals), and the associated and real risk that it will become entrenched as the least developed part of the world,” he wrote.
Mr Morrison on Friday accused Mr Marles of “advocating’’ for China to sign a security pact in the Pacific as he sought to deflect criticism of the Solomons deal.
“I find it outrageous that Labor would criticise us when their own Deputy Leader was actually advocating what the Chinese Government has been seeking to do in our region,’’ Mr Morrison said.
Labor hit back by pointing to an economic speech Mr Morrison gave as Treasurer in Beijing in 2017, where he expressed enthusiasm for China’s ‘Belt and Road’ infrastructure program, and noted “China provides a real stability to the regional and frankly the world economic and stable growth from China is good news for Australia and the global economy.’’
‘DEAL DONE ON MORRISON’S WATCH’
Labor’s Jason Clare and Penny Wong both savaged the Coalition over the China/Solomons deal being done “on Scott Morrison’s watch’.
Mr Clare the new deal was an “epic fail’’ on foreign policy and he fully expected Mr Morrison to try to find someone else to blame for it.
Mr Marles said if Labor came to power “we would completely stand up to China and we would do the work to make sure that’s reflected not just in words but in actions.’’
He noted Labor had opposed the Coalitions’ efforts to strike an extradition treaty with Beijing – a move abandoned when Liberal MPs also expressed concern. Labor had also opposed to sale of the Port of Darwin to a Chinese-government backed company.
The United States on Friday sent a delegation led by Indo-Pacific senior adviser Kirk Campbell to Honiara.
AFP reported the White House delegation headed into the capital to meet Government representatives while nearby, China’s Ambassador attended a ceremony with Solomon Islands PM Manasseh Sogavare to hand over a running track, part of a China-funded national stadium complex worth an estimated $72 million.
“I’ve said consistently that China is seeking to shape the world around it in a way that we have never seen before, and that represents huge challenges to Australia,’’ Mr Marles said.
He said Australia needed to “get our hard power right’’ and the most important thing the country could do “in terms of standing up to China’’ was ensure we had a “highly-capable, long-range submarine as a successor to the Collins Class as soon as possible.’’
ALBO FACES TRANSGENDER FIGHT
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese is abandoning transgender people because it’s “politically convenient”, a leading LGBTI group says.
Labor is refusing to outline its views on transgender issues after a week of debate sparked by gold medal swimmer Emma McKeon and Liberal candidate Katherine Deves.
Just. Equal Australia wants Labor to outline its plans on equality if it wins the May election.
“Labor was all over the LGBTI community when marriage equality was debated, they were running around waving rainbow flags. Where are they now?”, spokesman Brian Greig said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has backed in Ms Deves, despite her now deleted social media posts that were offensive to transgender people.
McKeon, who won seven medals at the Tokyo Olympics, said this week that it would be unfair for female athletes to swim against a “biological male”.
Gold medallists Emily Seebohm and Dawn Fraser echoed her views.
But Mr Greig, who represented the Democrats in the Australian Senate between 1999 and 2005, said Labor could not duck the matter.
“Anthony Albanese needs to address the issue. This issue is not just about transgender women in elite sport, it’s about the growing awareness of transgender people and their expectation of equality,” Mr Greig said.
“It’s not enough for Anthony Albanese to bat away questions about transgender people saying boys should play with boys and girls should play with girls.
“He needs to outline his commitments to the LBGTI community if they are elected.”
Mr Greig, who was the first MP to publicly acknowledge he was gay, also previously worked for the Labor Party.
Now based in regional Western Australia, Mr Greig said Labor was being held hostage to swinging seats in Western Sydney with a higher than average number of religious voters.
“Suddenly they vacate the field because it’s not politically convenient,” he said.
“Most of the key groups opposing transgender people are from the No Campaign.”
Mr Greig said that the arguments being used against transgender people now were the same used against homosexuals in the 1980s.
“Albanese should look to the US where the Biden administration proactively dealt with the issue,” he said.
He added that marginal western Sydney seats were among the postcodes that voted no to marriage equality.
Mr Greig said Labor was prioritising those voters above the LGBTI community.
Labor has previously been under fire for stripping out references to the gay rights in its policy documents.
Labor did not respond to questions about Mr Greig’s comments.
However, it said earlier this week: “In Australia, women and girls already have the right to play single-sex sport, through the application of the competitive sport exemption in the Sex Discrimination Act 1984.”
AFP RUSH TO PROTECT JOYCE IN ROADSIDE DRAMA
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce’s security detail was forced to jump in front of a car and stop a man from verbally attacking the Nationals leader in a menacing incident near Tamworth on Friday.
Mr Joyce and his staff were driving along the New England Highway to his electorate office from Armidale with three Australian Federal Police officers following in a separate car when he pulled over to take a phone call.
As Mr Joyce made the call, a man with a woman in the passenger seat were seen making a U-turn before the car approached Mr Joyce. As it neared the Nationals leader, an AFP officer jumped in front of the vehicle.
A source said the car stopped about “30 to 40 metres” from the leader’s car after the AFP officer walked in front of it.
Footage of the incident, which took place between 2.15 and 2.30pm on Friday, shows the man hurling insults at Mr Joyce, calling him “a f**king piece of shit”.
DEVES TOLD LIBS OF ‘CONTROVERSIAL VIEWS’
Biological sex campaigner Katherine Deves explicitly declared to Liberal Party officials how she had been involved in “controversial issues” that could become a part of the federal election campaign ahead of her selection as a Warringah candidate.
Ms Deves also disclosed in her party nomination form her user names for social media accounts that she had held along with her membership of the Coalition for Biological Reality, the Feminist Legal Clinic and women and girls sex-based rights group IWD Brisbane-Meanjin.
However, in response to a question on the form about social media posts, Ms Deves, who states she was a Liberal Party member in 2011, 2017 and “applied on September 21, 2021”, denied making any “extreme or offensive” comments.
The application form, obtained by The Saturday Telegraph, has triggered questions among moderate Liberals over whether selectors had missed what might have been seen as the red flags in Ms Deves’ application in their haste to lock in a smart and photogenic candidate, or whether they were aware and supportive.
Overnight, Ms Deves refused to enter a “politics in the pub” event in Sydney’s north until all media was evicted.
Just days after abruptly pulling out of a scheduled community forum in Manly to debate sitting independent Zali Steggall and Greens candidate Kristyn Glanville in the seat of Warringah, Ms Deves made a short statement to assembled media on arriving at Forestville RSL Club.
She was then rushed inside to speak with party supporters upstairs. Ms Deves, the Prime Minister’s pick as Liberal candidate for the seat won by Ms Steggall when she defeated Tony Abbott at the 2019 election, is resisting internal party calls to step aside after making strident comments opposed to transgender people competing in women’s sport.
But the Liberal candidate is keeping a low profile, almost invisible publicly since facing pressure to quit
After arriving in a SUV at the RSL on Friday night, Ms Deves posed for a photo outside and made a brief statement — but only after media inside agreed to leave the building, The Australian reported.
Ms Deves refused to answer any questions. “I have fought for women and children and now I am fighting for Warringah,” she said at the club’s entrance.
HANSON WANTS BAN ON FOREIGN OWNERSHIP
One Nation founder Pauline Hanson wants to ban foreign ownership of residential property in Australia to help younger Australians get into their first home.
Senator Hanson appeared on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, where she said she would use a ban on foreign ownership of residential property as a bargaining chip with the government.
“I’ve travelled quite extensively now and people right across the country are very concerned that the future generations or their kids can’t afford to buy houses,” she said.
She said One Nation would use that issue as a bargaining chip if she had to do a deal with either the Morrison or Albanese government.
Earlier, Senator Hanson stayed back at a shopping centre to have a tense conversation with a local about transgender issues.
Transgender woman Rebecca Hammond approached the One Nation leader outside a Woolworths while she was campaigning in the seat of Spence, north of Adelaide, on Thursday.
ARE YOU AUSTRALIA’S SUPERVOTER?
It’s not an election day without a democracy sausage. And now one lucky punter not only has the chance to be crowned Australia’s SuperVoter but the winner of the inaugural SuperVoter Golden Sausage trophy.
From Saturday, tipsters will get to pit their political knowledge against each other by playing SuperVoter by picking the winner of each of the 151 seats contested in the May 21 election.
The SuperVoter website which is live from Saturday will include the results of the 2019 election and the margins by which the seats are held. This will allow players to whittle down the seats to the 30 or so electorates in play.
Entries will be time-stamped and the first person to pick all 151 winning seats, or the highest number of correct seats, will be declared the winner. More details here
HIGH-RANKING POLLIES STEP IN AS ALBO ISOLATES
A rolling roster of high-ranking Labor politicians will step in for Anthony Albanese as he recovers from Covid-19, with the Opposition Leader attempting to minimise the impact of his absence through news blitzes on day one of isolation.
But campaign activities scheduled for high priority seats in Western Australia have been put on hold, with Mr Albanese expected out of isolation on Thursday in time for Labor’s campaign launch.
It’s understood Deputy Leader Richard Marles, Treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers, and campaign spokespeople Senator Katy Gallagher and shadow minister Jason Clare will be the main characters appearing on the trail.
How prominent Mr Albanese is during his week in isolation will depend on the impact of Covid-19, with the Opposition Leader – sounding raspy – -blitzing television news appearances on Friday afternoon.
He confirmed Mr Marles would travel up to Darwin on the weekend to represent him at Anzac Day commemorations, and signalled getting infected now was better than getting it later in the campaign when voters are more attuned.
“I’ve had better days, but a lot of people have had it a lot worse,” Mr Albanese said.
“I’m one of the many millions of Australians who have gone through this and I’m just taking the health advice.
The deployment of Mr Clare – who has been touted as future leader material in the past – proved successful on Friday, with the Western Sydney MP fronting the media in a calm and considered outing in stark juxtaposition to Mr Albanese’s stumble-prone performances in the past week.
“Well the boss has got the bug so you’ve got me,” Mr Clare said.
“It means that Albo will be in isolation for the next week, and it means some changes to the campaign. It means that you’re going to see more of Albo’s team, right across the country, talking about our positive plans for a better future for Australia.”
Labor has opted not to promote a “de facto” leader in Mr Albanese’s absence, with insiders saying the silver lining of an unfortunate situation was the ability to push other personalities to the front.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison wished Mr Albanese well but said he was unphased by Labor’s plans to roll out senior shadow ministers in the wake of the opposition leader’s Covid-19 diagnosis.
Internally, those in the Coalition camp say Labor’s campaign pivot will be a double-edged sword – with the potential to frame other MPs as being better than Mr Albanese while also forcing more scrutiny on to the Prime Minister.
Mr Albanese’s Covid-19 diagnosis came on the same day he had visited an aged care home, mingling – though masked up – with a number of residents.
Mr Clare, describing the Opposition Leader’s infection as “almost inevitable”, defended Labor’s campaign strategy saying all proper precautions were taken, including Mr Albanese getting daily rapid antigen tests.
“This is a long campaign. He’ll be back at the halfway mark. He’ll be back when the second half starts in a week’s time,” he said.
“(But) We are not a one-man band. We are a strong, united team and we’ll show that over the next few days.”
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Originally published as Election 2022 live: Scott Morrison rallies, as Anthony Albanese ‘knocked around by Covid’
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