Australian politics live: Tuesday November 27
Parliament descended into uproar over a “disgusting” joke, with senators shouting at each other across the chamber.
- ‘He’s a pig’: Blow-up over crude joke
- Bombshell as Julia Banks quits Liberals
- Crucial clue hints at election date
- Julie Bishop reacts to Julia Banks’ decision
Welcome to news.com.au’s live politics blog.
A bombshell has rocked the government, with Liberal MP Julia Banks quitting and joining the crossbench. Meanwhile a crucial clue has hinted at the date of the next election.
Follow all of today’s developments in politics with our live blog.
6:15pm
We’re drawing towards the end of the day, so let’s do a quick wrap of its many dramatic events.
• Liberal MP Julia Banks quit the government to sit on the crossbench, further reducing Scott Morrison’s numbers in parliament;
• Mr Morrison announced next year’s Budget will be delivered on April 2, which means we should expect the election in May;
• A crude joke about Sarah Hanson-Young sparked a blow-up in the Senate, which ended with Greens leader Richard Di Natale being suspended for the rest of the day;
• Labor MP Emma Husar revealed she will consider recontesting her seat as an independent if the party does not endorse her as its candidate;
• Julie Bishop urged the government to work with Labor on the National Energy Guarantee;
It’s been fun.
5:25pm
Greens leader Richard Di Natale has gone on Sky News to defend his comments about Barry O’Sullivan.
“This is our workplace,” he said of the environment in parliament.
“It would be unacceptable in a schoolroom. It would be unacceptable in any other workplace.
There’s just no excuse.”
He also spoke in the corridors of parliament earlier.
“For months my colleagues have had to endure what is clearly a pattern of behaviour,” Mr Di Natale said.
“My female colleagues have had to sit there while sexist filth was thrown in their direction.
“I made it very clear today that I was going to make a stand on behalf of them, and on behalf of all the women in parliament who have endured sexist and misogynistic language.”
My comments following today's suspension from the Senate. #auspol #greens pic.twitter.com/Jb5zg9R9qr
— Richard Di Natale (@RichardDiNatale) November 27, 2018
5:20pm
Pauline Hanson’s motion asking the Senate to acknowledge “the terrible impact immigration would have” on a remote tribe called the Sentinelese was promptly shut down.
“The case of the isolated people of the North Sentinel Island has highlighted a fact that many people in this place are reluctant to admit - that immigration can have a devastating effect on a people’s culture and way of life,” Ms Hanson said.
“I for one will not be condemning the Sentinelese as racist for keeping their borders closed. Nor will I condemn them for their lack of diversity.
“All peoples should have a right to decide their own fate and I’m disappointed the Senate refused to join me in acknowledging this.”
In response, Greens Senator Nick McKim said it was “rankly hypocritical for Senator Hanson to pretend to be sticking up for people like the North Sentinelese people.” He said her motion was in fact an attempt “to exploit the North Sentinelese people for her own base political purposes”.
5:10pm
Julie Bishop is currently speaking at the Future Realised Conference in Sydney.
“I’m saddened that Julia Banks had reached a point where she felt she could no longer continue in the Liberal Party. She will be missed. She was a strong, sensible centre female politician,” Ms Bishop says.
“This does highlight the fact the Liberal Party need and should have more female representation.”
Ms Bishop also addresses the seemingly constant knifing of prime ministers in Australian politics.
“This churn of prime minsiters began with Kevin Rudd in 2010. He’d been very popular, and yet his colleagues removed him because they didn’t like him. That set a very low bar for the removal of a leader.”
4:45pm
Chris Pyne was just on Sky News talking about Julia Banks. He said he was “disappointed” with her decision to leave the Liberal Party.
“She has to take the opprobrium for doing so. No doubt she will feel that she’s made the right decision. It’s not a matter for me, it’s a matter for her,” he said.
“I hope that she might decide to return to the Liberal Party and the government in the fullness of time.”
Mr Pyne rejected the idea that the party was being pulled too far to the right.
“We're both conservatives and liberals,” he said.
“We have a balanced approach.”
3:55pm
There’s just been quite a dramatic blow-up in the Senate.
LNP Senator Barry O’Sullivan made a crude joke while berating Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young for failing to attend an inquiry.
“She didn’t turn up. There’s a bit of Nick Xenophon in her, and I don’t mean that to be a double reference, but there’s a bit of Xenophon in her,” he said.
Greens leader Richard Di Natale shouted across the chamber in response, calling Mr O’Sullivan “a grub” and “an absolute pig”.
“He’s a disgrace,” a furious Mr Di Natale yelled.
Mr O’Sullivan promptly withdrew his comment. Mr Di Natale refused to withdraw his own.
“We have endured on this side, days of sexist filth coming from that man,” he said.
“He is a pig and he should consider and reflect on the standards he is adopting in this chamber.”
The chamber voted to suspend Mr Di Natale from the Senate for the rest of the day for refusing to withdraw his “unparliamentary language”. Labor joined with the government to kick him out. It’s the first time that has happened to a senator since the Howard government.
Senator Penny Wong stressed that Labor’s decision was not intended as support of Mr O’Sullivan’s “reprehensible” joke, but as support for the rules of the Senate.
After the vote, Ms Hanson-Young spoke in defence of her leader and slammed Mr O’Sullivan’s “reprehensible and disgusting comments”.
“I am thankful for Senator Di Natale standing up and calling them out. That is what real mean do. Real men don’t insult and threaten women, they don’t slut-shame them and they don’t attack them and make them feel bullied in their workplace,” she said.
“I have sat in this chamber for weeks and weeks, months, and heard the disgusting slurs and attacks coming from a particular group in this place, and I for one am sick of it.
“You are not fit to be in this chamber, you’re not fit to represent your constituents, you’re not fit to call yourselves men.”
Ms Hanson-Young named Mr O’Sullivan, Fraser Anning, Cory Bernardi and David Leyonhjelm as the group in question.
“Expect to be named and shamed, or lift the standards,” she warned them.
Pauline Hanson chimed in after Ms Hanson-Young, accusing her of using theatrical “crocodile tears” to “get sympathy”.
“Using the sexist tag doesn’t wash with me or the people because she’s a female,” she said.
3:15pm
And that's the end of Question Time. At least one person seemed to enjoy it.
You can see some more images of Julia Banks loving her new life below.
3:05pm
Shadow Immigration Minsiter Shayne Neumann asks whether the government will refer Peter Dutton’s eligibility to the High Court.
The short answer is no.
With Julia Banks and Kerryn Phelps now on the crossbench, Labor might try to force another vote on the matter anyway.
3:00pm
Mr Shorten latches onto Julie Bishop's comments about energy, asking why Mr Morrison won’t work with Labor on the National Energy Guarantee.
The Prime Minister implies Labor wants to reintroduce a carbon tax, citing comments from Mark Dreyfus on Sky News earlier today.
“Will you have some form of carbon tax?” Mr Dreyfus was asked.
“Well, obviously not. That’s not part of the policy,” he said.
“Are you ruling it out though?”
“I’m not going to rule it in or I’m not going to rule it out.”
Mr Morrison proceeds to accuse Mr Shorten of getting cocky.
“The leader of the Labor Party is the most swaggering, arrogant sort of leader at the moment. He thinks it’s all done. The hubris that is coming from the other side of the chamber is quite extraordinary,” he says.
2:50pm
Ms Plibersek asks Minister for Women Kelly O’Dwyer about the comment she’s been quoted as making at yesterday’s crisis meeting with Victorian MPs.
“Does the Minister agree with herself that this Liberal government is widely seen as, and I quote, ‘Homophic, anti-women climate change deniers,’ and does she also agree with the independent member for Chisolm, who told the House earlier today, ‘Equal representation of men and women in this parliament is an urgent imperative which will create cultural change?’” Ms Plibersek asks.
Ms O’Dwyer responds by talking about the Women’s Economic Security Statement.
“They are all talk but very short on delivery. Under our government, as I said, we have been able to see more women in work than ever before,” she says.
“We want so much more for Australian women. We want them to have an equal stake in our economy and our society.”
2:40pm
Julia Banks appears to be having fun on the crossbench, while her old Liberal colleagues look rather miserable.
Here are some photos of Ms Banks settling in with her new buddies Kerryn Phelps, Cathy McGowan and Rebekha Sharkie.
2:30pm
Deputy Labor Leader Tanya Plibersek quotes from Ms Banks’ statement - specifically the part when she said the coup against Malcolm Turnbull was led by members of the “reactionary right wing”.
The government tries to get the question ruled out of order, and fails. Then one of the many sledges flying across the room sparks a lecture from Speaker Tony Smith.
“I’ll give members a tip. If it’s quiet, it’s probably a bad idea to interject. Probably the moment’s passed.”
Mr Morrison eventually has to answer the question. He claims Ms Banks “would be very proud” of the government’s policies, “particularly the recent release of the Women’s Economic Security Statement”.
2:20pm
After a lovely dixer about the importance of a good economy, Mr Shorten tries again.
“When Malcolm Turnbull was prime minister, the government had a majority in the parliament. The members for Wentworth and Chisolm were government members. The government was backing the National Energy Guarantee and was considering Labor’s National Integrity Commission. So I repeat, why isn’t Malcolm Turnbull still the Prime Minister of Australia?”
“The former prime minister lost the support of the Liberal partyroom. That's what happened. And I was elected to lead the Liberal Party. That’s why I’m here. There you go. It’s a pretty simple answer,” Mr Morrison responds.
2:10pm
Bill Shorten starts with a surprise question about agriculture policy.
Nah just kidding. It’s about Julia Banks.
“Given that his minority government is consumed by division, dysfunction and chaos, was it a mistake for the current prime minister to replace Malcolm Turnbull?” he asks.
“Our government is getting on with the job,” Mr Morrison replies, before reeling off a list of his policies.
2:05pm
Before Question Time starts, the leaders are making statements about the death of Bonita Mabo.
“Bonita Mabo was a remarkable woman who possessed a deep, quiet strength,” Scott Morrison says.
Bill Shorten describes her as "a person who gave hope and heart to so many for so long”.
2:00pm
Obviously, Julia Banks will no longer be sitting next to Julie Bishop on the government benches. Her new spot is behind fellow independents - and apparent kindred spirits - Kerryn Phelps and Cathy McGowan.
1:45pm
It’s almost Question Time, which I’m sure will be understated and respectful, as always.
1:35pm
Julia Banks’ website has recovered from the sudden surge of people trying to access it, and yes, she has already erased any hint of a connection to the Liberal Party.
Except for that big photo of her alongside Malcolm Turnbull.
1:25pm
The Minister for Human Services, Michael Keenan, seems pretty chill about his party’s latest troubles.
“Obviously it’s disappointing, but every member of parliament is entitled to make these decisions,” Mr Keenan told Sky.
“This is part of the colour and movement that you sometimes get in politics.”
A government MP quitting to sit on the crossbench? No biggie. Happens all the time.
Mr Keenan said it would be a mistake for the government to be “distracted by a discussion about internal party politics”.
1:15pm
So, what happens next?
With Ms Banks on the crossbench and no longer bound by party discipline, a handful of contentious issues could return to haunt the government.
It might face another push to refer Peter Dutton’s eligibility to sit in parliament to the High Court.
Ms Banks could also join with Labor and the rest of the crossbench to support action on asylum seekers and a national integrity commission.
Every vote in the House just got harder for Scott Morrison.
1:05pm
Chris Kenny has written a scathing reaction to Julia Banks’ decision for The Australian.
“Banks is the latest to choose settling scores ahead of good governance. Her treachery, which she characterises as a response to brutal politicking and treacherous behaviour, will fuel anger and recriminations among others,” Kenny writes.
“This is the trouble with the Coalition at the moment - too many MPs with too many grievances and too little loyalty who are too willing to push their own personal agendas and too loathe to get on with representing the people who elected them.
“It is a shambles.”
12:50pm
Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen just spoke to reporters. He seemed to be in a good mood.
“Before Scott Morrison could get back to his office, he’d lost another member of parliament. Why is Malcolm Turnbull no longer prime minister? Why is this man here? There’s only one way to end the chaos - a Shorten Labor government,” Mr Bowen said.
12:40pm
It’s all happening here. Senator Jim Molan just went on 2GB to break his silence about being bumped down to the practically unwinnable third spot on the Liberal Party’s ticket for the next election.
“I’m a big boy. I’ve failed at much bigger things than this in my life,” Mr Molan told host Chris Smith.
“I’m not going to be patronised. I decide what I do from now on.”
He all but ruled out moving to another party or trying to win a seat in the House.
“I have the ability to offer the Senate something quite unique, that we don’t have in the Senate,” he said.
“If the party doesn’t want it, or if the party machine doesn't want it, that’s for them to decide.”
Liberal MP Fiona Scott has publicly claimed the snub of Mr Molan happened under a preselection system he himself supported. He disputes that.
“It’s an absolute lie, I’m afraid. And I rang Fiona up and politely offered her that fact, and then she said it again,” he said.
“Fiona’s just making it up.”
Smith was clearly on Mr Molan’s side. He unleashed a scathing spray, calling the snub “a total betrayal” by Mr Molan’s own party.
“This is a man who deserves to be in our parliament more than anyone else,” the host said.
“Those behind the move should hang their pathetic heads in shame.”
Mr Molan also spoke briefly about Julia Banks’ decision to quit the Liberal Party.
“She has every right, god bless her, to do what she has done,” he said.
12:30pm
Luke Howarth is the poor sod who had to go on TV immediately after Ms Banks’ announcement and spin it for the government.
“The government is united behind Scott Morrison,” he told a Sky News panel.
“I would call this a stable government.”
He said he wasn’t angry with Ms Banks for quitting the Liberals.
“No I’m not. I think that Julia Banks is a good, decent person. She’s obviously been upset since the change.
“That’s the right decision for her and I respect her decision.”
Mr Howarth said he believed the knifing of Malcolm Turnbull, rather than any significant policy differences, was behind Ms Banks’ choice.
“I sat right next to her for two-and-a-half years and there were no policy differences then.
I think the leadership change has played an integral part in her decision,” he said.
He also denied the party had a problem with women, as Ms Banks has repeatedly argued.
“Women are treated very well, from what I can see, in the parliamentary Liberal Party in Canberra,” Mr Howarth said.
The coalition government has lost another seat in federal parliament, with Julia Banks announcing she will immediately move to the crossbench.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 27, 2018
Liberal MP @LukeHowarthMP: I would call this a stable government.
We’ve got 74 seats, Labor have 69.
MORE: https://t.co/9DtdPoiyi4 pic.twitter.com/8MuAOHyWtN
12:15pm
I’m hearing Julia Banks has already removed any sign of the Liberal Party from her personal website. I can’t confirm that for you though, because the site appears to have crashed.
12:00pm
While Scott Morrison was holding that press conference in the Prime Minsiter’s courtyard, Liberal MP Julia Banks dropped an absolute bombshell in the House.
Ms Banks announced she was quitting the government to sit on the crossbench, cutting its number of MPs to 74.
She will guarantee confidence and supply, so there is no risk of the government falling, but it makes Mr Morrison’s job leading a minority government even harder.
It also raises the possibility of Ms Banks recontesting her seat, Chisolm, as an independent next year. She had previously indicated she would quit at the election.
Ms Banks has been an outspoken critic of the Liberal Party’s treatment of women since the week of leadership turmoil that led to Malcolm Turnbull’s downfall.
“The gift of time and reflection has provided some clarity regarding the brutal blow against the leadership,” Ms Banks said in her speech to the House a few moments ago.
“Led by members of the reactionary right wing, the coup was aided by many MPs trading their vote for a leadership change in exchange for their individual promotion, preselection endorsements or silence.
“Their actions were undeniably for themselves. For their position in the party. Their power. Their personal ambition. Not for the Australian people who we represent.”
Ms Banks said equal representation for men and women in parliament was “an urgent imperative which will create cultural change”.
“There’s the blinkered rejection of quotas and support of the merit myth, but this is more than a numbers game. Across both major parties, the level of regard and respect for women in politics is years behind the business world,” she said.
“Often when good women call out or are subjected to bad behaviour, the reprisals, backlash and commentary portrays them as the bad ones - the liar, the troublemaker, emotionally unstable or weak, or someone who should be silenced.
“To those who say politics is not for the faint hearted and that women have to ‘toughen up’, I say this. The hallmark characteristics of the Australian woman - and I’ve met thousands of them, be they in my local community, in politics, business, the media and sport – are resilience and a strong authentic independent spirit.”
Ms Banks described herself as a “sensible centrist”, echoing the words of new independent MP Kerryn Phelps yesterday.
“My sensible centrist values, belief in economic responsibility and focus on always putting the people first and acting in the nation’s interest have not changed. The Liberal Party has changed,” she said.
“Largely due to the actions of the reactionary and regressive right wing who talk to themselves rather than listening to the people.”
Ms Banks indicated she would make a decision about her future career in the new year.
11:50pm
Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg have just announced next year’s Budget will be delivered on April 2, about a month earlier than usual.
That strongly suggests the election will be held in May.
Oh, and MYEFO will be on December 17. Mark that one in your calendar.
At a press conference in the Prime Minister’s courtyard, the pair promised they would deliver a surplus before the election.
11:25am
Sky News has just aired an explosive interview with Labor MP Emma Husar.
Ms Husar hit out at “bad seeds in the party” who have been undermining her, and indicated she will consider recontesting her marginal Sydney seat, Lindsay, as an independent if Labor doesn’t select her as its candidate at the next election.
It’s a backflip from Ms Husar, who announced she would not run again earlier this year as she faced allegations of workplace bullying and sexual harassment. A Labor Party investigation later found the accusations were not supported by evidence.
“What happened to me was the work of a few people in the Labor Party, just a few bad seeds trying to wield their power,” Ms Husar told Sky.
“There was a whole bunch of pressure being applied. (Resigning) was seen as the only way to make it stop. And of course it didn’t stop.
“Once these allegations were bathed in sunlight, which is the best medicine for this sort of garbage, it was like, ‘Why am I resigning?’”
Ms Husar has told Labor she now wants to recontest the seat, though there are reports the party wants to replace her with former NSW state politician Diane Beamer.
“My understanding is that I am still the endorsed candidate,” Ms Husar said.
“I am here and I’m saying that I’m willing to put my hand up and to do the job.”
Ms Husar believes elements of the party have opposed and undermined her from the beginning.
“I came literally off the street as an advocate for my community. I never joined politics to play the game, I don’t enjoy that part of it,” she said.
“I didn’t come through the machine. I wasn’t born in the Labor Party stable.”
Host Laura Jayes asked whether Ms Husar would consider running as an independent if Labor endorsed someone else.
“I love my job, so I would consider doing whatever I needed to do to stay there,” she replied.
She said the interests of the community had to come before those of the party.
This could get very messy.
11:00am
Julie Bishop’s call for the government to reach an agreement with Labor on the National Energy Guarantee has provoked quite a reaction.
Sky News hosts Laura Jayes and Kieran Gilbert discussed it at some length this morning. Jayes said the former foreign minister’s comments would “reignite this ideological” inside the Liberal Party.
“The timing of these comments from Julie Bishop will not be regarded as helpful by some in her party,” she said.
“It is bizarre that the comments of Julie Bishop are seen as extraordinary today. They are, because they go against what the argument has been internally,” Gilbert added.
“But if you look at what she’s saying, it’s just common sense. It’s common sense for anyone with a pro-business perspective. And any Liberal Party worth its soul would be saying there needs to be certainty for business.”
.@Kieran_Gilbert: If you look at what @JulieBishopMP is saying – it is just common sense.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 26, 2018
This government has been so torn by the idea of differentiating itself, what about governing the nation?
MORE: https://t.co/11LxJwwFNa #amagenda pic.twitter.com/IVOKDcsY1k
10:40am
Anthony Albanese has accused the Prime Minister of “showing contempt for the voters of Wentworth”, along with a general lack of manners, by walking out of the House just before new independent MP Kerryn Phelps delivered her maiden speech yesterday.
Mr Albanese also leapt on Kelly O’Dwyer’s reported comment that the Liberals are widely seen as “homophobic, anti-women, climate change deniers”.
“A modern Liberal Party that is out of touch with women, a modern Liberal Party that is out of touch with people who care about social justice, a modern Liberal Party that is dominated by the hard right, and where everyone else has to fall into line,” he said.
10:15am
The Liberal Party’s Victorian President Michael Kroger is the unlikely star of a new video spruiking the achievements of the state’s Labor government.
Labor has released a video featuring Mr Kroger’s comments on Sky News yesterday, where he tried to explain his party’s whopping defeat in the Victorian election.
“This Premier, Daniel Andrews, has embarked on the biggest infrastructure spend Australia has ever seen,” Mr Kroger says in the clip.
“He has removed level crossings in big numbers, it’s a very visual sign of a government doing something.
“He’s promised schools, hospitals. He’s building a big underground train network. He’s promised another underground train network. He’s building a massive road link in the northeast.
“The guy took a huge risk in putting this agenda out and he’s been rewarded for it.
“We were beaten on policy, and Labor outdid us, and I congratulate them.”
Essentially, Mr Kroger’s argument was that Mr Andrews promised all sorts of extravagant public spending to win voters’ support. Labor has turned that into a pretty compelling political ad.
Much watch Labor video featuring Liberal President Michael Kroger explaining why they won on Saturday.... pic.twitter.com/Dqn4VZjyEn
— James Campbell (@J_C_Campbell) November 26, 2018
Mr Kroger is under immense pressure in the wake of Saturday’s rather disastrous result. On election night, former premier Jeff Kennett publicly urged him to resign over his “appalling” leadership.
On 7.30 last night, another former Liberal premier, Ted Baillieu, backed that call.
“He has to carry some of the responsibility,” Mr Baillieu said.
“The campaign didn’t work. The policies didn’t work. The organisation, the administration didn’t work, the leadership didn’t work. We didn’t have any cut through. Across the board it didn’t work.”
Mr Kroger does not intend to step down.
“For goodness’ sake,” he said yesterday.
“You get all this petty point scoring after elections. We’re too sophisticated down here for that kind of petty nonsense.”
10:00am
Pauline Hanson is going to move a motion asking the Senate to acknowledge “the terrible impact immigration would have” on a remote tribe called the Sentinelese.
Bit random.
9:30am
Most of yesterday’s debate in parliament focused on the creation of a national integrity commission to police corruption in federal politics.
The government kind of, sort of supported the idea in principle, but voiced serious concerns about the legislation put forward by independent MP Cathy McGowan, suggesting it would lead to normal workplace misdemeanours being classified as corruption.
Fairfax reports the government was actually developing its own proposal for a corruption watchdog earlier in the year, but it was derailed by all the leadership drama when Malcolm Turnbull was toppled.
So basically, the government’s biggest political headache this week should have been dealt with, with minimal fuss, months ago.
9:15am
Labor has accused Scott Morrison of walking away from his pledge, made before the Wentworth by-election, to legislate to protect LGBTQI students at religious schools from discrimination.
“He said there was no room in a modern Australia for this exemption in relation to students at religious schools. He said that this would be legislated, to remove the exemption, in the next sitting fortnight. That didn’t happen,” Shadow Attorney Mark Dreyfus told ABC TV.
“We need to get on with it. I think that the people of Australia expect the Prime Minister to keep his promise.”
A Senate committee report into the exemptions granted to religious schools was tabled last night. Mr Dreyfus said Labor would move a private member’s bill today to implement the report’s recommendations.
9:00am
MP Stuart Robert has reacted to Kelly O’Dwyer’s rather striking comments about the Liberal Party. Ms O’Dwyer reportedly told her colleagues they were widely seen as “homophobic, anti-women, climate change deniers” during a crisis meeting yesterday.
Asked whether those elements were indeed present in the party, the Assistant Treasurer was fairly blunt.
“Not that I’ve seen in any way, shape or form. I think those who know the Liberal Party and particularly the National Party will attest to that quite strongly,” he said.
Mr Robert specifically disputed the idea that the party needed to strengthen its credentials on climate change.
“We have a very firm energy target, we have a very firm commitment in terms of our climate change reduction.”
.@stuartrobertmp says he has seen no evidence that the Liberal Party is homophobic, anti-woman and climate-change deniers following @KellyODwyer’s comments.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 26, 2018
‘I think those who know the Liberal Party will attest to that.’
MORE: https://t.co/w68mOf2tsH #amagenda pic.twitter.com/7gwqLpjLt3
8:45am
Scott Morrison has a simple message for Labor leader Bill Shorten — it’s just you and me.
Our political editor Malcolm Farr says the contest between Mr Morrison and Mr Shorten is becoming “increasingly personal in a way former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull could not have engaged in”.
Mr Morrison feels he has the opposition leader’s measure in a one-on-one contest.
During Question Time yesterday, he mocked Labor for getting “cocky” about the Victorian election result.
“Premier Andrews won the election, not you,” he said.
“There will be a choice at the next election and it will not be involving any premier of any state.
“It will be between you and me.”
You can read Mal’s full analysis here.
8:30am
Former foreign minister Julie Bishop has called on the government to reach an agreement with Labor on its dumped energy policy, the National Energy Guarantee.
Speaking to the Financial Review, Ms Bishop said the NEG was essential for securing private sector investment in the energy sector.
“The government needs to consider energy policy through the prism of securing bipartisan agreement with Labor, to establish a long-term, stable regulatory framework that will support private sector investment in generating capacity,” she said.
“The generators need long-term certainty to give them confidence to make large-scale capital investments that will provide affordable and reliable energy, and with an appropriate level of return.”
The NEG was scrapped in September, and played a key role in the downfall of Malcolm Turnbull.
Ms Bishop’s comments are exquisitely timed. Energy policy has been a touchy subject this week in the wake of the Liberals’ heavy defeat in the Victorian election on Saturday, with some MPs publicly arguing the party needs to do more on issues like climate change.
Labor’s Mark Butler quickly leapt on the new development, saying he, Bill Shorten and Chris Bowen had made an offer “in good faith” to return to the table and deliver the NEG.
“Over the past 48 hours since the Victorian state election, we’ve seen a bevy of Coalition MPs, particularly Liberal Party MPs, say that this government needs to take a more reasonable position on climate change,” Mr Butler said.
8:15am
Industrial Relations Minister Kelly O’Dwyer has told her Liberal colleagues the party is widely regarded as “homophobic, anti-women, climate change deniers”, the Herald Sun reports.
Ms O’Dwyer made the comment during yesterday’s crisis meeting between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Liberals’ federal MPs from Victoria.
She reportedly said the “crusades” of some ideological warriors within the party had tainted its brand.
Ms O’Dwyer is sitting on a fairly comfortable margin in her own seat, Higgins, but if the state election swing is replicated at next year’s federal election, she will be one of the few Liberals left standing in the state.
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