A woman has been taken to hospital after being hit by a car while waiting in line to cast her vote at a pre-polling centre in Melbourne.
The Maroondah Leader reports the incident occurred at around 1pm in Ringwood East, when an 89-year-old woman was attempting to park and accidentally hit the accelerator while in reverse, ploughing into a 43-year-old woman and 38-year-old man standing in the queue.
The car also narrowly missed Deakin federal Liberal MP Michael Sukkar, according to the newspaper.
Mr Sukkar along with Labor candidate Matt Gregg and other bystanders helped lift the car off the woman trapped underneath. She was taken to the The Royal Melbourne Hospital with minor injuries, while the man didn't require treatment.
There were a couple of notable interjections. One gentlemen could be heard admonishing volunteers from the United Australia Party by mocking their slogan.
“Give us our freedom back? We live in the freest country in the world, ya fools,” he said.
“Are you going to sign a pandemic treaty?” asked someone waving a One Nation placard.
She was referring to the idea that Australia would join a World Health Organisation accord, granting the WHO powers. Scott Morrison spoke about that on 2GB earlier, calling it “complete rubbish”.
“You know what happens before an election. People put all sorts of rubbish out there to try to confuse people,” Mr Morrison said.
Mr Albanese wasn’t as firm when it came up during a press conference earlier this week.
There was a mildly awkward moment at the end of his brief pre-poll visit as the group of Labor volunteers (and media) surrounding Mr Albanese found itself blocking a car attempting to leave. That hastened his retreat from the venue.
And then the Labor leader didn’t realise where his own car was parked. Having crossed the road only to realise he shouldn’t have, he and his entourage then had to wait for the lights so they could return from whence they’d come.
One interesting wrinkle: the sitting Liberal MP, Bridget Archer, was at the pre-poll venue too. And after Mr Albanese left, she stood up for a press conference alongside the Tasmanian Premier.
Asked whether she’d prefer a more moderate Liberal leader than Scott Morrison, she said the Prime Minister had, ahem, “reflected” on his “leadership style”. A ringing endorsement.
Asked whether Mr Morrison should stay leader regardless of the election result, she merely said “those will be decisions that will be had into the future, as they always are”.
Ms Archer has spent much of this campaign subtly advertising her independent streak without explicitly criticising Mr Morrison.
Before leaving the pre-poll site, Mr Albanese noted that the Liberal signs and placards urging voters to support Ms Archer did not feature Mr Morrison’s name or face. It was indeed a telling detail.
The Prime Minister's BBQ skills were put on display at Wanneroo Rugby Union Club in Perth's north today but not everyone was impressed.
Mr Morrison donned disposable blue gloves as he cooked sausages for members of the club.
One local who dropped in to see what was going on said the sausage she got from Mr Morrison "wasn't very nice" and suggested it may have been overcooked.
"It was a bit chewy," her husband agreed.
Mr Morrison announced $4 million in funding for the redevelopment of their facility and to cater for the rise of female participation in the code.
We had to dash to the plane fairly quickly after that last event at an Adelaide high school, and there is of course no reception in the air, so apologies for the delay posting this little titbit. Worry not, it’s not earth-shattering.
When Mr Albanese first arrived at the school, he met a couple of model students, Olivia and Michael. Asked to identify his favourite thing about the school, Michael delivered an answer so smooth it could have come from a politician, and therefore belongs in this politics blog.
“The environment, the vibe here … it feels kind of like your second home,” he said.
Perfect answer. The school principal couldn’t have put it better. Give Michael a spot on the frontbench and he’ll be PM within two years.
“And the canteen’s pretty awesome,” Olivia, whose priorities were clearly in order, chimed in.
Julia Gillard asked Olivia what she was planning to pursue as a career. Like most teenagers, she had “no idea”.
Mr Albanese said his son, who is 21 years old, was still in the exact same boat.
“Julia and I have known each other since we were just a little bit older than you. And neither of us sat around when we were both students at university and said, ‘You’re going to be prime minister, and I’m going to run for prime minister,’” he told her.
“And none of us are in our original courses. So you know, plenty of options,” Ms Gillard added.
The politicians then moved into the throng of students on recess, and the madness described in a previous post began.
'Get off my lawn': Frosty reception for PM's entourage
Moments after the Prime Minister wrapped up his press conference at a newly built housing estate in Perth's far north there was a bizarre moment when one of his candidates was yelled at via a doorbell.
Linda Aitken, the Liberal candidate for Pearce (which is the former seat of Christian Porter), appeared alongside Scott Morrison during a press conference at a display home in the estate.
When she walked out onto the street and across the road, a voice could be heard telling her to "get off my lawn".
The woman, who lives across from the display home, was at work and had a doorbell she could communicate through from afar.
She told the media shortly after that she would be voting Labor.
During today's press conference, Mr Albanese was asked to identify what he has “that Scott Morrison doesn’t” – the key point of difference between them, essentially.
“I have integrity, and the capacity to take responsibility,” he argued.
The two definitely have one thing in common though, that being the unfortunate habit of talking their way past the substance of a question.
The very first question to Mr Albanese concerned the NDIS.
“Do you concede that you face a long-term funding (problem) there? You’ve ruled out increasing the Medicare Levy. Given you’re not doing that, how are you actually going to address that?” the reporter asked him.
She also had a question for Ms Gillard: “As the prime minister who introduced the NDIS, what do you make of those who say that the funding is spiralling out of control?”
Mr Albanese said he “might leave questions to Julia until the end”. He would later end the press conference without Ms Gillard addressing the question.
As for the question to him, Mr Albanese delivered an answer that was heavy on platitudes and light on specifics.
Picture: Sam Ruttyn
“What we will have at the heart of it is that it’s about the people who receive that support,” said the Labor leader.
“And then one of the things about the NDIS as well, is that all the economic analysis shows that if you allow people to fully participate in society, it produces an economic return to the investment in dignity, to the investment in inclusiveness. It's an investment in our nation. And that's what we're committed to doing.
“The sort of cuts that we've seen, and the waste, are really undermining the system. And that's why we will have extra staff as well.”
Mr Albanese was also asked what his late mother would think, were she alive to see him in the final days of the campaign.
“She would be proud as punch,” he said.
“The fact that (her) young kid is now running for prime minister says a lot about her and her courage, but also says a lot about this country, that someone from those beginnings (could be prime minister).
“And I pay tribute to my mum, but also pay tribute to others who've helped me out along the way. No one gets to this spot by themselves.”
The Prime Minister was grilled by several reporters about the Biloela family – after he said yesterday they were owed “no protection”.
Priya and Nades Murugappan, two Tamil migrants who came to Australia separately from Sri Lanka a decade ago to seek asylum, are currently living with their two Australian-born daughters in Perth after being held in long-term detention on Christmas Island.
“You said yesterday the Murugappan family isn’t owed protection,” a reporter asked the Prime Minister today at a press conference in Perth.
“But your government can use its discretionary powers to allow them to return to Biloela. You said you want to be more empathetic. Will you start by using those powers to allow them to return to Biloela?”
The Biloela family. Picture: Colin Murty/The Australian
Mr Morrison said the family were found not to be refugees through the courts before giving a long answer about stopping boats and people smugglers.
“There’s two tracks here. There’s the track in the courts and those courts have not found that a protection obligation is owed under that convention,” he said.
“They have not been afforded the status of refugees. So they’re not refugees. That is what the courts have found. And you know what the government policy is. If you grant visas to people who have illegally entered Australia, you may as well start writing the prospectus for people smugglers.
He continued by claiming that people smugglers were gearing up for business again in the event of a Labor win at the election.
However, reporters accused him of going off topic and wanted him to talk about the Murugappan family and whether he would advise Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to allow the family to stay.
Mr Morrison again began speaking about people smugglers.
“It's just one family, Prime Minister,” a reporter interjected.
“You said you would be more empathetic, this is one family you can change the lives of,” she added after Mr Morrison spoke about deaths caused by people smugglers.
Mr Morrison said the decision was for Mr Hawke.
“The most empathetic thing when it comes to border protection, keep our borders secure. I have been lectured by people over my entire political career about this issue,” Mr Morrison said.
“What I know is, what I did in 2013, with Tony Abbott, put an end to the carnage. The people smugglers went out of business. Right now in Indonesia, those people smugglers are getting ready if a Labor government is elected.”
'Don't even know who he is': Albo's school visit descends into madness
Madness unfolded at a school in Adelaide this morning as Anthony Albanese and his entourage were mobbed by students.
Mr Albanese was joined by former prime minister Julia Gillard, the South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, and Senator Penny Wong.
Their visit to Cabra Dominican College was timed to coincide with the start of recess, meaning there were hundreds of kids swirling around the group to ask for selfies – even if they weren’t necessarily sure who the famous people posing in the photos for them were.
“I got a photo with him! I don’t even know who he is!” one boy declared triumphantly.
“None of us can vote,” pointed out another, who seemed a little more politically engaged.
“Oh, it’s all the Labor goons,” said a more jaded future voter.
Picture: Wendell Teodoro/AFP
There was also the occasional outburst of what I might describe as primal, unbridled energy. My personal favourite example of this was a young gentleman who screamed “IT’S SO F***IN!!” at the top of his lungs, and left it at that.
One observation of note: while all politicians involved got their fair share of attention, the most excitement was reserved not for Mr Albanese, but for Mr Malinauskas.
A number of students positively screeched “It’s Peter! It’s Peter! It’s Peter!”, completely ignoring the man who could be prime minister within days.
When the bell rang to signal the end of recess and most of the kids had gone to class, Mr Albanese held a press conference in one of the school’s courtyards.
Half a dozen students stood and watched from the surrounding buildings, looking down from above.
“HI SEVEN NEWS!” one of them shouted. There was no such love for news.com.au I’m afraid.
“This is so exciting,” another said as Mr Albanese strode to the lectern. It was unclear whether he was being sarcastic.
Mr Albanese’s press conference passed without any heckling, which suggests the Labor team chose the right school.
Scott Morrison has shared a tense exchange with a reporter, with the Prime Minister branding the journalist a "bulldozer" as they attempted to get him to answer their question directly.
Paul Karp, political reporter for The Guardian, asked how people can trust Mr Morrison to change his approach going forward when he has now come out and said being a "bulldozer" can actually help get things done.
"How can Australians trust this last minute conversion when you have reneged on it in less than a week and there's been no changes of policy or substance?" Karp asked.
Mr Morrison said he doesn't agree with his assertion. This then resulted in a fiery exchange between the two, which ending in Mr Morrison using the "bulldozer" line against the reporter.
Picture: ABC News
Karp: "What have you changed, then?"
Morrison: "I don't agree with how you have conceived the whole point I've been making."
Karp: "What have you changed in substance? What policy?"
Morrison: "You have sought to repackage it for your own purposes. So I just don't accept your argument."
As the journalist continued to press the PM for an answer, Mr Morrison claimed "you had your question" and attempted to move on.
Karp claimed that Mr Morrison didn't answer his question, before once again asking whether he had changed a single policy or substance since promising to change moving forward.
"That is the answer you are getting," Mr Morrison said.
"You're sounding like a bit of a bulldozer," he added, prompting a round of laughter.
Morrison took my question about his incoherent bulldozer analogy, described it as an "assertion" and "commentary" then moved on.
When I tried to follow up he said I AM THE BULLDOZER which yesterday on 2SM he said "helps get things done".#auspol
A shock new poll has revealed Labor and the Coalition are neck and neck for the first time in two years – with one Coalition leader making a bold call.
