Federal Election 2016 live: Shorten, Turnbull campaign ahead of debate
Bill Shorten has won the leaders’ first TV debate tonight after a day of fallout from Peta Credlin’s dig at the PM | WATCH
- Chris Kenny’s wrap of week
- Tony’s ‘Abbott-Turnbull government’
- Gillard has her say
- ‘Malcolm must explain Panama’
- PM responds to Credlin dig
Election 2016 live: Welcome to day six of the election campaign. Only 50 days to go! Both leaders will end today in Sydney, where they will tonight face off in the first debate of the campaign, the Sky News People’s Forum. We’ll bring you live coverage from 6pm.
10.07pm:But not a winner yet
We’ll leave the live blog here with David Crowe’s analysis of the leaders’ forum.
You can read his article here, and if you really want to keep watching the forum over and over, it will stay live on our website until midday on Saturday.
9.05pm:Anyone spare a fiver?
Government spokesman Mathias Cormann has also sent an email to supporters arguing Malcolm Turnbull gave a clearer plan for the future and is asking for a $5 donation.
“Tonight, during the People’s Forum, we heard two starkly different visions for Australia’s future.
“Malcolm Turnbull presented our team’s plan for Australia’s strong new economy.
“Bill Shorten offered us the same old Labor: more debt, higher taxes, and no plan.
Click here to make a donation of $5 right now if you agree that we can’t afford the same old Labor.”
9.02pm:“So how did I do?”
Bill Shorten has just sent this email to supporters after the debate, asking “how do you think I went?’ and requesting a $10 donation.
“I just finished the first debate. The team tells me we’ve had fantastic support online, thanks so much!
‘The main thing I take out of tonight is that every chance we get to talk about our positive policies, we win the argument. That’s where you come in.
“We really need your contributions to help us get the message out in key marginal electorates. “Can I count on you to chip in $10 and help power our campaign?
https://australianlaborparty.nationbuilder.com/lets_put_people_first
“Every dollar counts, so thanks for your help.”
8.45pm:Shorten wins the night 42 - 29
The punters have voted: 100 in total voted, declaring Bill Shorten the winner 42 to 29, with 29 percent undecided.
8.31pm:Where were the hot-button issues?
It’s also worth noting that a lot of the hot-button issues that fire up the political extremes weren’t raised by our cadre of undecided voters in this battleground outer-suburban seat.
Think about issues like asylum-seekers, terrorism or broadband.
8.28pm: Shorten’s applause v Turnbull’s silent fans
The attendees are casting their ballots as to who convinced them. We should have a winner soon.
On the voices, Bill Shorten definitely received more applause, more frequently with his rhetoric targeting the big end of town. That said, Turnbull may have wooed the silent types.
8.27pm:Now for the attacks
Political operatives are already poring over their opponents’ comments for ammunition as the battle continues.
“Worth noting that Mr Turnbull’s statement that Abbott’s GP tax isn’t part of his budget is a lie,” says a Labor source. “He extended it in the budget two weeks ago.”
8.22pm:Leaders’ final statements
Malcolm Turnbull says the government needs to provide for schools and hospitals without spending more than is necessary - “living within our means”.
“We have a clear national economic plan that will grow our economy,” he said.
“Without that plan it will just be same old Labor - spend, tax, deficit, and a mountain of debt.”
Mr Shorten’s turn.
“It has been a good discussion and certainly your questions put the acid on us,” he says.
“It’s not about whether or not we want a better Australia - of course we both do - but it’s how we get there.
“You can either decide to look after the very top of society ... or you can look after the middle and working class.”
The Opposition Leader concluded by again committing to meet with the audience.
He says Liberal National coalition always pays off Labor's debt. Says govt has a "clear economic plan" to bring budget back into balance.
— Sarah Martin (@msmarto) May 13, 2016
8.17pm:Government debt
Q on government debt popular. Crowd watching big screen gave it a round of applause & are tut-tutting @billshortenmp answer.
— Sarah Martin (@msmarto) May 13, 2016
The final question is about the national government debt and deficit. The questioner says he hasn’t seen either party commit to “get their hands out of our pockets” and pay down the debt.
.@billshortenmp says he is deeply conscious of obligation to reduce deficit and will do so by not giving tax breaks to rich. #ausvotes
— Sarah Martin (@msmarto) May 13, 2016
Bill Shorten rails off his examples of budget retrains -- direct action, capping of private vocational education loans, maintaining current levels of tax, and curbing high-end superannuation.
The Labor leader says he’s waiting to see the pre-election economic and fiscal outlook before saying when he expected a return to surplus.
Malcolm Turnbull says the Howard government left Labor with “cash in the bank” and the Labor opposition had opposed saving cuts.
He says there’s a “black hole”in the ALP’s coatings and the budget will return to surplus early next decade.
“Believe me, you’re younger than me, you’ve got teenage daughters, I have grandchildren, I want to make sure they do not inherit a mountain of debt,” he says.
“Once you stop the debt growing, then as your surplus is increased and the deficit grows.”
Mr Shorten says the opposition is providing “more budget repair” than the Coalition.
“I will reduce the deficit by not giving multinationals a big tax cut,” he says, rather than shifting the burden onto the needy. Cue applause.
8.10pm:“Money matters in education”
A question about which party will provide the best education.
Malcolm Turnbull says voters shouldn’t focus on which leader will put the most money into schools, but who will drive the best outcomes.
“We would spend extra dollars if we believed it would get the impact,” he says.
“I believe we can get the outcomes we need ... by insisting on higher standards and ensuring the best teachers are rewarded and encouraged.”
Bill Shorten says he won’t stand by and say “money doesn’t matter”, noting some parents pay $30,000 or $40,000 extra to ensure their kids get more resources.
“Anyone who tells you money doesn’t matter in education is selling you a pig in a poke,” he says.
8.08pm:Bring out the grandkids
Just saying "little grandchildren" seems to be crowd-pleasing #ausvotes
— Sarah Martin (@msmarto) May 13, 2016
8.02pm:Making childcare more affordable
Q on childcare and returning to work and how to make it more affordable for mothers #ausvotes
— Sarah Martin (@msmarto) May 13, 2016
A questioner says she works for an effective $2-an-hour after tax and childcare costs.
Bill Shorten says costs of childcare are going up all the time and it’s a “massive handbrake” on putting parents back to work.
He says the ALP would target benefits for those who earn low and middle-incomes.
Mr Turnbull says his childcare plan will target low-income women and forms part of his overall plan to boost economic growth.
He stresses the importance of female participation in the workforce.
Mr Shorten notes the Coalition has delayed its plan for a year while pressing ahead with tax cuts for high-income earners who “don’t need big tax cuts”.
8.00pm:Regional health
A questioner, Ray, wants to know what the government is doing for regional hospitals where many older Australians are retiring.
Mr Turnbull says public hospitals are administered by the states and federal funding is growing at 6 per cent a year.
He says patients deserve the “best service and best value”.
“My side of politics represent almost all of the regional Australian seats,” he says, adding they therefore keep those voters’ interests in mind.
Mr Shorten uses this opportunity to say where the government is cutting, noting plans to scrap the direct-action Emissions Reduction Fund, same-sex marriage plebiscite, and proposed tax cuts.
7.57pm:Arts funding
Bill Shorten says it was bad politics to take money from the Australia Council, as the Abbott government did, and give it to then arts minister George Brandis to distribute as he pleased.
The ALP leader says Australia would have a “deeper and richer” appreciation for the arts through his school funding policy, helping kids to fall in love with the arts by learning instruments and partaking in drama.
Mr Turnbull defends his schools policy, and says the government’s changes benefit regional arts organizations that aren’t as well connected as those favored by the Australia Council.
.@billshortenmp says he won't make George Brandis arts minister. Links it to school funding #ausvotes
— Sarah Martin (@msmarto) May 13, 2016
7.56pm:ABCC to be reestablished
Malcolm Turnbull says he’ll re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission - the purported point of the double-dissolution poll. There’s not much reaction.
7.53pm:“Be careful what you wish for”
Mr Turnbull says Bill Shorten wants to “line the banks up as if they’re all criminals” which elicits applause from the crowd.
The PM stresses: “We need to be very careful what we wish for here. We have a strong economy, but it needs clear, disciplined economic leadership.”
Mr Shorten insists he doesn’t believe they’re crooks.
“I’m sure they just went home and changed their practices after a lecture from you,” he says.
7.50pm:Time for a Royal Commission into banks
Questioner Brian wants to know why banks are able to raise interest rates independent of the official cash rate set by the RBA.
Malcolm Turnbull says that’s a compelling case for competition between banks and the government keeps a “very close eye” on the industry.
“We are very,very focused on ensuring our banks remain strong, they are highly regulated, and they provide a good service to Australia,” he says.
Bill Shorten denies the banking system is “humming along just fine”.
“It is long overdue to have a Royal Commission into Australia’s banks,” he says.
Mr Shorten says ATM withdrawal fees “drive me crazy” and says high credit card interest rates show competition alone is not working.
Mr Turnbull says he gave the banks “a bit of a lecture” at Westpac’s recent birthday bash “and they’ve taken that on board”.
7.47pm: A better deal from banks
.@TurnbullMalcolm says competition is the key for getting better deal from banks #ausvotes
— Sarah Martin (@msmarto) May 13, 2016
7.43pm:Super and housing deposits
.@billshortenmp says labor has no plans to allow access to super for housing deposits #ausvotes
— Sarah Martin (@msmarto) May 13, 2016
A question on an old chestnut -- why can’t people access their super early to buy a house?
Mr Turnbull says there are 69,000 families renting within 30 minutes of their home, and every one of them will see their rents go up under the ALP’s negative gearing policy.
Dragged back to the topic, he says super is designed to provide “greater dignity and comfort” in retirement and early access would undermine that system.
The questioner is unimpressed. She stresses her point that young people need a home, and it’s a good investment for their futures.
He repeats: “The purpose of superannuation is to provide for people in retirement... The whole purpose of it.”
Mr Shorten says the ALP has no plans to allow super to be used for housing deposits.
“The nature of leadership is you can’t always (tell people what they want to hear),” he says.
He concedes real estate agents are “not happy” about his plan to curb negative gearing from next year. Tough, he says in a nutshell.
“Why wouldn’t the big real estate agents oppose what they’re doing? Their business model relies on taxpayer subsidies,” he says.
He says the Reserve Bank, Jeff Kennett and Joe Hockey are all on Labor’s side on negative gearing.
Mr Shorten says a crocodile wouldn’t swallow Mr Turnbull’s claim of that negative gearing is a “Robin Hood scheme”.
Mr Turnbull says everyone’s entitled to his opinion, but real estates know better about property values than politicians.
“What Bill is talking about here is a massive, reckless experiment with the biggest asset class in Australia.”
7.36pm:Rights for war crimes charges?
A question about foreign affairs and the extradition of people in Australia to the former Yugoslavia to face war crimes charges. She says they deserve government protection.
Mr Turnbull says those people have access to the courts, so the premise of her question is wrong.
Mr Shorten acknowledges courts in Bosnia have been aggressively pursuing suspects, and these people need to be made aware of these rights.
For the second time this evening, the Opposition Leader commits to a sit-down with the questioner after the event. He could be here all night.
7.33pm:Shorten gets first round of applause
The first round of applause of the night, and it’s for Bill Shorten.
The crowd is really responding to his rhetoric around privatisation, which they seem to accept will result in poorer services for the less well off.
7.31pm:“Privatisation gone too far”
Next question is about privatisation of the electrical system in NSW. The questioner, a sparky, is no fan.
Bill Shorten says privatisation pendulum has swung too far. #ausvotes
— Sarah Martin (@msmarto) May 13, 2016
Mr Shorten says: “The privatisation tide has probably gone too far.”
He criticises the sale of Medibank Private and moves to outsource the back office functions of Medicare.
Mr Shorten says the fundamental question of the election is whether Australia should give out $50 billion in tax cuts, or instead fund schools and hospitals.
Mr Turnbull says governments of both persuasion have embarked on privatisation, including Qantas and the Commonwealth Bank under Labor.
“It is really an issue for state governments,” he said.
Asked about Australia Post, Mr Turnbull says the company is in transition and couldn’t be sold if he wanted to.
“If you look at the accounts of Australia Post is it is a long way away from being able to be sold,” he says.
“We have no plans to privatize Australia Post. I see no prospect whatsoever of Australia Post being privatized ... In the next term of government.”
Bill Shorten says the ALP wouldn’t privatize Australia Post and pleads to keep Australian Hearing in public hands.
Mr Turnbull, asked to rule out selling Australian Hearing, says voters will “get fantastic service and get the right service”.
“We are not going to get caught in an ideological battle,” he said.
7.27pm: Labor fighting health cuts
.@billshortenmp says Labor is fighting new round of govt health cuts. Says very concerned about freeze on MBS payments #ausvotes
— Sarah Martin (@msmarto) May 13, 2016
7.25pm:“No return to Medicare co-payment”
The next question is about bulk-billing and fears of being charged $25 to see a doctor.
Mr Turnbull acknowledges concerns about bulk billing and says Medicare strikes a “good balance”.
He commits to never return to Tony Abbott’s plan for a Medicare co-payment.
“Never ever?” Asks moderator David Speers.
“That’s right,” he says.
Bill Shorten accuses the government of putting pressure on the system by cutting Medicare benefits, driving up gap payments.
He calls it a “backdoor GP tax” that keeps people sick and drives up health costs.
“We don’t want a two-class health system,” he said.
“We will do better than the Liberals at funding the Medicare system because Labor believes in Medicare, full stop.
Mr Turnbull says today Health Minister Sussan Ley reached an agreement with pathologists to continue bulk-billing.
“That concern is gone. The pathologists have agreed to continue bulk-billing,” he says.
He says bulk-billing has increased, with doctors absorbing higher costs.
Some eyes are starting to glaze over at the jargon.
7.20pm:“Treated like mugs on tax”
Next question is on tax avoidance and evasion. The questioner says tax laws need to be simplified with companies’ incomes deemed to check they’re paying their fair share.
Bill Shorten says the ALP has championed the issue throughout the last term of parliament, dragging the Coalition to the party.
He says Australians are “being treated like mugs” and would analyse the questioner Bob’s idea.
Mr Turnbull says Mr Shorten is “audacious” for taking credit for the government’s naval shipbuilding plan, and says the Coalition’s budget will already deem companies’ income through a diverted profits tax.
“Bill should have read (the budget) more carefully,” he says
7.12pm: First question: offshore businesses
Mr Turnbull says Aus taxes too high, and Govt doing all it can to create jobs #ausvotes
— Sarah Martin (@msmarto) May 13, 2016
Businesses seem to be moving everything offshore. Do you have anything to support local jobs and arrest the trend of offshoring?
Mr Turnbull says it’s a “great” question, arguing his tax cuts would drive employment and investment in Australia.
He concedes Australia’s taxes may never be as competitive as Singapore’s, for instance, but says the government is determined to lure greater foreign investment.
Mr Shorten says the Liberals have killed the car industry, and outsourced the construction of supply ships.
A Labor government would maximise local content and prevent the back-office functions of Medicare going overseas.
“We want Australia to be one of the renewable energy superpowers,” he says.
7.10pm:Put people first: Shorten
Mr Shorten thanks the attendees for surrendering their Friday night to share their views and hear his “positive plans” to promote jobs, health and education, renewable energy.
“When all said and done ... our view of the future is centered on the proposition that if our government puts people first, nothing will hold us back.”
He says he’s eager to listen.
7.05pm:Plan to seize opportunities: Turnbull
Malcolm Turnbull is making his opening pitch. He pays tribute to Australia’s servicemen and women, noting the venue is an RSL.
He turns to economics, saying Australia needs a tax system that supports businesses to capitalise on the booming economies of Asia.
“There are big opportunities for us but we need a plan to be able to seize those opportunities,” he says.
“All of our investment is fully funded.”
7.00pm:Leaders’ Debate Live
The first leaders’ forum of the election campaign is about to get underway with 100 undecided voters, vetted by Daily Telegraph pollster Galaxy Research, set to quiz Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten.
The venue is Windsor RSL, in Sydney’s northwest, within the marginal Liberal-held seat of Macquarie, which encompasses much of the city’s urban fringe and Blue Mountains.
6.15pm:Turnbull to make first address
Malcolm Turnbull has also arrived. He won the coin toss and will deliver his opening address first.
There's a large group of anti western Sydney airport protesters waiting at the Windsor RSL #ausvotes pic.twitter.com/UJafQPt8lk
— Sarah Martin (@msmarto) May 13, 2016
6.00pm: Shorten arrives for debate
Bill Shorten has arrived at a western Sydney RSL club to face off against Malcolm Turnbull in the first debate of the election campaign.
The pair will field questions from undecided voters at a “people’s forum” in the marginal seat of Macquarie held by Liberal MP Louise Markus.
Protesters have gathered outside the Windsor RSL club rallying against the proposed second Sydney airport and supporting climate change action and Gonski school funding.
The debate starts at 7pm, and we will be blogging and live streaming from the RSL.
5.00pm:“Just keep running”
More words of wisdom from Julia Gillard, this time on being Prime Minister. Just stay in front of the tsunami, she advises.
“I used to joke about being prime minister that it’s a lot like running in front of a tsunami: It’s OK as long as you don’t lose your footing and you don’t look back,” Ms Gillard said.
“You’ve just got to keep out in front before it swamps you.”
4.55pm:Chris Kenny’s wrap of week one
Watch here for Chris Kenny’s take on the first week of the campaign.
4.10pm:‘Ban government advertising’
Millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded advertising campaigns could still go ahead despite the government going into caretaker mode.
The Turnbull government is consulting with Labor - under the caretaker conventions - on which advertisements should continue during the election campaign or be deferred until after the July 2 election.
Under the conventions, the departments of finance and prime minister and cabinet must review all advertising campaigns once the parliament is dissolved ahead of an election.
The departments then recommend to the government whether those campaigns should continue or be deferred.
Campaigns that highlight the role of particular ministers or “address issues that are a matter of contention between the parties” are normally discontinued, the guidelines say.
This avoids the use of commonwealth resources in a manner that could advantage a particular party.
“Campaigns that are of an operational nature, such as defence force recruiting campaigns or public health campaigns, usually continue,” the guidelines say.
AAP understands consultation with the opposition has begun.
Labor has been critical of a $28 million ad campaign for the government’s innovation strategy and a promotional campaign highlighting spending on infrastructure.
The government spent just over $107 million on advertising in 2014/15.
Greens spokeswoman Lee Rhiannon said the rules should be changed to ban government advertising during election campaigns, unless it was required to address an emergency such as a natural disaster. She said advertising campaigns promoting innovation and infrastructure did not constitute an emergency.
“It’s important in terms of public spending, as well as creating a level playing field coming into an election,” Senator Rhiannon told AAP on Friday.
It is understood Labor has asked the government not to proceed with any campaigns that involve promotion of policies which had yet to be legislated.
AAP
3.30pm:The kiss you may have missed
In case you missed it earlier, Malcolm Turnbull has planted his first kiss of the election campaign, during a visit to a shopping centre in Adelaide.
The lucky receiver was 84-year-old Audrey Pratt who admits she didn’t need a kiss to win her over.
“It felt very, very special,” she told AAP, because he has her vote locked up for July 2.
A prime ministerial kiss in slo-mo #TenNews #ausvotes pic.twitter.com/ncVpbNKLdc
— Adam Todd (@_AdamTodd) May 13, 2016
The shopping centre sits in Hindmarsh, the coalition’s most marginal seat in South Australia, won by Matt Williams in 2013 with an eight per cent swing.
To stay in parliament he needs to head off a challenge from Labor’s Steve Georganas - the MP he beat three years ago.
Despite her age and a bad knee, Ms Pratt said she wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to meet the PM, even if it meant barging through the sizeable media scrum.
“You’ve got to be out there. It’s no good sitting back and thinking I’m 84 and I’m old and I can’t do anything.”
Ms Pratt reckons the best thing about Labor leader Bill Shorten is his beautiful wife Chloe.
- AAP
2.57pm:Quotes of the day
• “I’m not going to run a commentary on a commentary.”
- Tony Abbottdeclines to respond to the “Mr Harbourside Mansion” label his former chief of staff Peta Credlin has pinned on his successor
• “Well, everyone is entitled to their commentary.”
- Malcolm Turnbull’s response to Credlin
• “Vested interests will always scream in defence of their particular taxpayer subsidy.”
- Bill Shorten
• “I’m no oil painting, and as much as I love Anthony Albanese I don’t think he should be taking pot shots at people’s appearance either.”
- Cabinet minister Christopher Pyne
• “Malcolm Turnbull and the real estate industry have chosen Friday the 13th to launch their not-very-scary scare campaign.”
- Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen
• “I don’t think that people across Australia are going to make decisions at this election on the basis of diary arrangements.”
- Finance Minister Mathias Cormann responds to criticism about the PM’s abandoned street walk in western Sydney on Wednesday
• “Now, in this more enlightened era, Shorten has a chance to win some key marginal seats with a man boobs-led recovery.”
- One-time Labor leader Mark Latham.
AAP
1.36pm:Tony talks ‘Abbott-Turnbull government’
Tony Abbott has talked up the merits of the “Abbott-Turnbull government” on the hustings in north Queensland.
The former prime minister campaigned in the Liberal National Party-held seat of Dawson on Friday ahead of the July 2 election. Speaking at the property of Michael Deguara, which he first visited in 2012, Mr Abbott said it was “lovely to be back here at Mick’s farm to remind people of the strong record that the government has, the Abbott-Turnbull government has, when it comes to this area”.
Dawson MP George Christensen has been campaigning on the issue of stopping Syrian refugees from being resettled in his community, which has been hit hard by the mining industry downturn.
The MP argues an influx of people will detract from jobs for locals.
Asked about the issue, Mr Abbott said the placement of the 12,000 Syrians was a “matter for the government”.
“The important thing is for people to come and be placed where they can make the most of their new country and we can make the most of them,” he told Seven News.
Mr Abbott said the best thing that could be done for jobs in the region would be for the Adani mine to be approved and for environmental activists to stop engaging in “lawfare”.
Having led his party to victory in 2013, the former Liberal leader said the 2016 campaign, in which he is a humble backbencher, was a “change of pace” for him.
Mr Abbott declined to comment on his former chief of staff Peta Credlin’s description of his successor Malcolm Turnbull as “Mr Harbourside Mansion”.
“I’m not going to run a commentary on a commentary,” he said.
- AAP
1.21pm:Unions target undecided voters
Unions will step up their election campaigning this weekend, making 20,000 telephone calls to swinging voters in marginal seats.
The two-day telethon will involve 600 ACTU volunteers asking voters about their issues of concern and urging them to put the Liberals last on July 2.
“We want to see Australians elect a government that will put their interests first, create jobs, and fund health and education with revenue from a fair and equitable tax system,” ACTU secretary Dave Oliver said in a statement.
- AAP
1.12pm: Gillard has her say
Australians have a choice to make about education in the federal election, former prime minister Julia Gillard says.
“Without wanting to get too political, there is a key choice that Australians must make soon and the difference in education outcomes for our children is very embedded in that key choice,” Ms Gillard told a Layne Beachley Foundation women’s leadership forum in Melbourne on Friday.
“We want to make sure every child has a chance.”
- AAP
Julia Gillard on being a golden child - 'the problem being on a pedestal, it's a hell of a long way to fall' #AFTS pic.twitter.com/F7cgBfi1Jc
— Kiarne Treacy (@KiarneT) May 13, 2016
1.11pm:Labor leading on Twitter
If Twitter mentions were votes, Labor would be looking at a landslide, leading the 140 character conversations so far.
According to statistics released by Twitter on Thursday, the Liberal handle was trailing Labor mentions by 14 per cent over the past four days.
But Malcolm Turnbull was winning the war of words on Twitter, receiving nearly double the amount of attention that Opposition Leader Bill Shorten enjoyed.
- AAP
1.08pm:Lunchtime wrap
• Malcolm Turnbull has spent the morning in the South Australian seats of Boothby and Hindmarsh. He announced $43 million to extend the Tonsley Park rail line, before pressing the flesh with voters in Glenelg. He’s been talking up the Coalition’s jobs plan, in the state where the government hopes its submarines deal will help those losing jobs in the manufacturing sector.
• Bill Shorten has spent the morning talking up Labor’s education policy at Domremy College at Five Dock, in the marginal seat of Reid in Sydney’s inner west which is held by Liberal Craig Laundy by 4.2 per cent. He’s been talking about Labor’s $400 million plan to offer teaching scholarships to recent graduates with science, technology, engineering and maths degrees to continue their study and become STEM teachers.
• The main story of the morning has been Peta Credlin’s description of Malcolm Turnbull as “Mr Harbourside Mansion”. Appearing as a commentator on Sky News last night, Tony Abbott’s former chief of staff criticised the Prime Minister for cancelling a walk through of a western Sydney shopping centre earlier in the week. She qualified her scathing assessment slightly this morning, telling 2GB’s Alan Jones the Prime Minister shouldn’t be ashamed of promoting his wealth, because he should be proud of haven worked hard and done well. Treasurer Scott Morrison defended the PM in a similar vein, highlighting his single parent upbringing with his father and attempting to paint a rags-to-riches picture. Ms Credlin’s comments were manna from heaven for Labor, who are seeking to portray Turnbull as wealthy and out of touch.
• Labor have been fending off as a “Friday the 13th scare campaign” a push by real estate agents to suggest their negative gearing changes will have a detrimental affect on 18 million Australians.
• Meanwhile, the High Court has handed down an unsurprising verdict on the government’s senate reforms, quashing Family First Senator Bob Day’s attempt to have them deemed unconstitutional on the basis that they disenfranchise voters.
12.24pm:Cash, Jones meet truckies
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash is campaigning with Ewen Jones in the north Queensland seat of Herbert, which he holds by 6.2 per cent.
They’ve been meeting with truck drivers near Townsville and highlighting the government’s abolition of the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal, which had made rulings owner-driver truckies feared would put them out of business.
The TWU confirmed a deal with Labor to bring back Bill Shorten's #RSRT this would devastate owner drivers pic.twitter.com/2TpyMg0SUn
— Michaelia Cash (@SenatorCash) May 13, 2016
Senator Cash, who is also Minister for Women, has also discussed domestic violence, free trade and small business with locals in the town, where hundreds of workers at Clive Palmer’s Queensland Nickel refinery are facing redundancy.
She gave an update on the Department of Employment’s progress in ensuring workers receive their entitlements, saying that to date 720 claims had been lodged, with $40 million dollars handed to liquidator FTI to be paid out to claimants.
The government will also be applying to the Supreme Court to appoint a special purpose liquidator on May 18 so that the taxpayer, who is currently liable for $68 million in entitlements that QNI has not paid, is protected.
Senator Cash said money had already begun flowing to workers who had made claims.
She was also grilled on domestic violence funding, amid claims only 7 out of 8 Townsville calls to a family violence hotline go unanswered.
“I am always concerned when I hear those types of statistics,” Senator Cash said.
She said the government had announced $100 million of new money to reduce violence against women and their children, including $30 million for legal services.
“It needs to also be remembered, though, it is the state governments that provide the services on the ground,” Senator Cash said.
12.16pm:‘PM must explain Panama tonight’
Malcolm Turnbull should use tonight’s debate to offer a “full explanation” of his dealings with controversial Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, Bill Shorten says.
The Opposition Leader said the Prime Minister’s explanations were “not satisfactory”.
“Mr Turnbull would love to just casually brush off any of the Panama Paper issues,” he said.
“The Panama Paper issues have revealed how extreme the lengths that some individuals and some corporations will go to avoid transparency and to avoid paying tax.
“Mr Turnbull’s answers yesterday were not satisfactory; he has to make a full explanation.
“He has an opportunity tonight at the debate to make a full explanation.”
12.11pm:‘Sky the limit’ for teachers
Bill Shorten has committed to ensure all secondary schoolteachers leading science, technology, engineering and mathematics classes are qualified to teach in those subjects from 2020.
The policy is twinned with his commitment to provide 25,000 scholarships for graduates of STEM subjects to take a teaching degree.
“If you show confidence in the kids, if you provide the teachers with the sort of support and training they require, then the sky is literally the limit,” the Opposition Leader said at Donremy College at Sydney’s Five Dock.
“We are determined to make Australia a leader in educational outcomes not just in the region but throughout the world.
“A smart educated Australia will be a prosperous, successful Australia - and I think that is beyond doubt.”
12.01pm:Shorten quiet on aviation noise
Bill Shorten has failed to provide a policy prescription to manage aircraft noise in Sydney’s inner-west, after his 28-minute press conference was interrupted eight times by overhead traffic.
Speaking in Five Dock - where local candidates routinely run for local and state office opposing aircraft emanating from Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport - Mr Shorten instead talked about the proposed night-time, no-fly zone for Badgerys Creek Creek airport.
“Labor’s committed to Badgerys Creek Airport. We see that will create jobs, we will see that provided that of course it has the proper public transport links,” the Opposition Leader said.
“Cities need airports in the 21st century, just like cities in the 19th century needed railway stations, but we need to make sure ... that we make sure we’ve got good public transport too.
“I appreciate that you’ve let me speak about planes, trains and automobiles.”
Badgerys Creek Creek is unlikely to substantially reduce activity at Kingsford-Smith, with passenger journeys to Sydney expected to double to 87 million in the 20 years to 2032, and double again by 2060.
Labor’s candidate, long-serving mayor Angelo Tsireikas, declined to comment on whether he was satisfied by Mr Shorten’s response.
The Sydney inner-west seat of Reid was snared from Labor by Liberal moderate Craig Laundy, now the Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs, last election.
11.57am:PM quizzed on toilet habits
Malcolm Turnbull prefers not to reveal whether he scrunches or folds his toilet paper.
The prime minister broke his radio silence earlier today, giving an impromptu interview to a local Adelaide station while taking the train.
And he got pressed with the hard questions.
“Do you scrunch or fold your toilet paper?” a local dance music radio station reporter asked him.
The prime minister - perhaps wisely - didn’t answer.
- AAP
11.56am:Malcolm mobbed in shopping centre
The PM has just done a walk through the Bayside shopping centre in the Adelaide suburbs.
It was fairly chaotic, but most of the locals seemed happy to see him and wished him good luck.
Economic growth = more fruit eating #ausvotes pic.twitter.com/dhBudbBTJN
— Sarah Martin (@msmarto) May 13, 2016
11.44am:Man boobs? What man boobs?
Bill Shorten has dismissed Mark Latham’s bizarre comments about his “man boobs”.
The former Labor leader - who was trounced by John Howard in 2004 - today wrote in The Daily Telegraph that his latest successor, Mr Shorten, should “frock up, putting his man boobs to good political advantage”.
“He needs to start appearing on the campaign trail as a woman, pushing up his boobies in a lovely, low-cut designer dress,” Latham wrote.
“Transgender Billie would be a voting sensation down Balmain way. Labor would lock up the trendy inner-city vote for generations.”
Mr Shorten, asked about the article, said: “I think I’d put Mark Latham’s fashion advice in the same box that I put Scott Morrison’s.”
“Seriously though, what I’m focused on is the issues. I said at the start of this election it’s not just about personalities.”
Mr Morrison earlier this year accused Mr Shorten of wearing an “ill-fitting suit”.
11.36am:Ballarat candidate steps up
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield is campaigning in the Labor seat of Ballarat, where the National Party is also running, having fielded a candidate for the first time since 1987.
The Victorian senator will this afternoon update locals on the government’s mobile black spot program.
Shadow Health Minister Catherine King has held Ballarat since 2001, and currently holds it by a margin of 4.9 per cent.
Former state Liberal staffer, lawyer and small businesswoman Sarah Wade is running for the Liberals, while the Nationals have preselected Moorabool Shire Council deputy mayor Paul Tatchell.
With Liberal candidate for Ballarat Sarah Wade checking out the new fibre-to-the-node #nbn soon to go live in Ballan pic.twitter.com/nZi5tD5Whd
— Mitch Fifield (@SenatorFifield) May 13, 2016
11.34am:‘Looking forward’ to fronting voters
Bill Shorten says he’s “looking forward” to fronting voters at tonight’s “people’s forum” in Richmond, in Sydney’s outer-northwest.
“What I’m interested in is listening to people. I’ve been doing these town hall meetings all over Australia and I always come away with more insights, more lessons and more experiences of people than I had before I started them,” Mr Shorten said.
“I’m very interested to explain our policies and I feel very fortunate and indeed just a bit pleased that we can put forward an extra $500 million in schools in western Sydney which Mr Turnbull says he’s not going to do.”
11.28am:Rail project was Labor’s
Labor says the government’s announcement today of $43 million to extend the Tonsley Park rail link in Adelaide is simply a re-announcement of a Labor project.
Shadow Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said the Rudd-Gillard government had allocated $31.5 million to the project which had been a casualty of a $4 billion funding cut by the coalition.
“This money go-round is a sleight of hand on the eve of an election that adds nothing to federal support for South Australia,” Mr Albanese said.
SA Labor Transport Minister Stephen Mullighan told Adelaide ABC radio the state would foot the bill for the rest of the rail extension, “which we’re entirely comfortable with”.
“This is money that we already have within our infrastructure project budget,” he said.
Mr Albanese said the money came from the Goodwood to Torrens Junction freight line upgrade, which was recommended by Infrastructure Australia, and from the Tonsley Park public transport upgrade which was funded by Labor’s with $31.5 million.
He said the Coalition announcement was simply a reallocation of existing funding and not new money.
11.22am:‘I choose the RBA’
Bill Shorten has lashed “vested interests” in the property industry for after they threatened a mining tax-style war against his negative gearing policy.
“When it comes to a choice between believing the RBA - the Reserve Bank of Australia - and major corporate real estate agents worried about losing some of the taxpayer subsidies that undermine their business model, I choose the RBA,” the Opposition Leader said at Five Dock, in Sydney’s inner-west.
“In the great suburbs of Melbourne and Sydney and elsewhere, we say at every Saturday at auctions, first homebuyers - people who just want to get that fundamental Australian dream of having a mortgage, having a house - we see them constantly being competed against unfairly by
property speculators going for their fifth or tenth property.”
The Opposition Leader says the High Court’s striking down of Senator Bob Day’s bid to overturn the government’s electoral reforms was wholly expected.
“The outcome there is about as surprising as real estate agents complaining about losing their negative gearing, taxpayer-funded subsidies,” Bill Shorten said.
The Coalition, in partnership with the Greens, has introduced above-the-line optional preferential voting ahead of this election in an attempt to clear the upper-house of unrepresentative crossbench senators who stymied Tony Abbott’s political agenda in the last parliament.
11.18am:Morrison deflects Credlin dig
Celebrating his 48th birthday as he campaigns in Melbourne (he’s a year and a day younger than Bill Shorten), Scott Morrison has tried to deflect Peta Credlin’s “Mr Harbourside Mansion” comments by highlighting Malcolm Turnbull’s single-parent childhood.
“The thing about Malcolm Turnbull is that he’s someone who started out in a flat with his single parent dad, and over the course of his life he’s been a great success,” Mr Morrison told 774 ABC Melbourne’s Jon Faine.
“He’s worked hard for the success that he’s had, like so many Australians do, and I think his story is one that frankly, I find inspirational, and I think many Australians do, that he’s put the effort in and he’s made investments, he’s taken risks over his life, he’s employed a lot of people, he’s started a lot of businesses, and that’s a pretty good set of credentials.”
11.15am:Shorten seeks embassy attack briefing
Bill Shorten will seek a briefing on the reported militant attack on Australia’s Baghdad Embassy, reaffirming bipartisanship on the Coalition’s military actions in the Middle East.
“It is really important, especially in this heated election environment, the men and women of our defence forces know that where they serve Australia - and that their families back here in Australia also know on behalf of the ones they love overseas - Labor and the Coalition are shoulder-to-shoulder with the Australian people in defeating the sort of terrorism which is destroying literally millions of lives in that part of the Middle East,” the Opposition Leader said in Five Dock, inner-western Sydney.
11.14am:‘Royal Commission into Islam’
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has called for a Royal Commission into Islam to determine whether it’s really a religion or just a “political ideology”.
The controversial former MP set to contest a Queensland Senate seat in the upcoming election made the statement while appearing on The Bolt Report.
Host Andrew Bolt seemed shocked at the proposition and said he believed the Australian people should be allowed to make up their own minds on the matter.
- AAP
11.00am: WA ‘in transition’
Responding to a question on GST carve up for Western Australia, Mr Turnbull said the state was in transition.
“Western Australia is a good case, an example of a state where the economy is transitioning,” he said. “We have seen in Western Australia massive investment in the mining construction boom and that has eased off and that is why it’s vitally important that we have a clear national economic plan that ensures that our economic growth is stronger and more diverse.”
10.55am:Voting changes valid
More on the High Court’s decision to throw out Family First Senator Bob Day’s challenge to the government’s new senate voting rules. The court found the voting changes are valid.
Under the new process, voters who wish to vote above the line are required to number at least six squares on the ballot paper. If they wish to vote below the line, they must number at least 12 candidates in order of preference.
The court ruled voters were not disenfranchised by the new process, and there was no infringement of the implied freedom of political communication or the system of representative government.
Asked about the finding as he campaigned in Adelaide Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said it was not a surprise. “The High Court’s decision is entirely as expected,” he said.
You can read the full story HERE.
10.40am:PM responds to Credlin dig
In response to comments from Peta Credlin about him being “Mr Harbourside Mansion”, Mr Turnbull said Australians did not want him to focus on commentary.
“Everyone is entitled to their own commentary, I’m focused on jobs and growth for all Australians”.
10.30am:Have we been here before?
Jared Owens is on the campaign trail with Bill Shorten, visiting a sixth school in five days. He tweets that he is feeling a little like this robot ...
.@billshortenmp's sixth school in five days. I feel a bit like this robot. #ausvotes https://t.co/rFPBdVQXAh pic.twitter.com/tliv847sAx
— Jared Owens (@jaredowens) May 13, 2016
10.25am:City plan key for PM
The PM has unveiled a statue of explorer Matthew Flinders and has just started his press conference. He says the government’s cities plan is critical to unlocking economic growth. He said the strategic rail investment will trigger the building of new dwellings.
“That increases the supply of housing and makes housing more affordable,” he said. “Everything we are doing is driving jobs and growth.” Mr Turnbull is now talking about the Labor Party’s “reckless” negative gearing policy.
10.10am:High Court rejects vote appeal
The High Court has thrown out a challenge to the way Australians will elect senators on July 2.
10.05am:The #ausvotes emoji
Twitter has this morning unveiled a special #ausvotes ballot box emoji to be used in tweets about the election. Twitter says tweets using the #auspol hashtag have already been viewed 136 million times since the campaign started. It says #auspol was the third most frequently used political hashtag in the world in 2015.
So far 58.6 per cent of #auspol tweets have mentioned Malcolm Turnbull, compared with 31.1 per cent mentioning Bill Shorten and 10.3 per cent mentioning Richard Di Natale.
Conversely, the ALP is the most mentioned of the two major parties, on 57 per cent, compared with the Liberal Party on 43 per cent.
9.50am:Briggs hopes for Turnbull visit
One seat Malcolm Turnbull isn’t visiting on his current trip to South Australia is Jamie Briggs’ Adelaide Hills seat of Mayo.
Briggs is under attack in the once blue ribbon seat from his former staffer Rebecca Sharkey, who is running for the Nick Xenophon Team.
Briggs told ABC radio this morning he hoped Turnbull would visit during the campaign.
“He’d be received incredibly well if he had the time to come up into the Adelaide Hills but I understand he’s only got limited time on this visit, but I’m sure we’ll see more of him,” he said.
Asked whether he was certain the Prime Minister would visit, Briggs, who was forced to resign as Cities minister in December over a late night incident in a Hong Kong bar, said: “I hope so”.
“We’ve certainly asked and I’m sure at some point we’ll get an opportunity to have Malcolm in my electorate,” he said.
Education Minister and South Australian senator Simon Birmingham said he expected Mr Turnbull would visit Mayo.
9.40am:Learning lessons
Domremy College, Five Dock, kids locked down for extra lessons during @billshortenmp visit. https://t.co/rFPBdVQXAh pic.twitter.com/O7YBazr5sG
— Jared Owens (@jaredowens) May 12, 2016
9.30am:Labor schools vow
As Mr Turnbull makes his light rail announcement in the South Australian seat of Boothby, Labor’s campaign spokeswoman Penny Wong will be campaigning in the neighbouring seat of Hindmarsh with Labor’s Hindmarsh candidate Steve Georganas and Boothby candidate Mark Ward. They’ll be visiting Henley High School to discuss a Labor proposal which will attempt to ensure every Australian student will study a Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths subject to Year 12. Labor has promised to provide $393 million for 25,000 places to encourage graduates to become teachers of STEM subjects if it is elected.
9.15am:Pyne: ‘save Albo’
Industry Minister Christopher Pyne and Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese have had an amusing exchange during their regular Today show appearance, with Pyne even suggesting voters in Albo’s seat should back him over the Greens.
Even @cpyne wants to save @AlboMP lol! #9Today https://t.co/xQ6oR0k8c4
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) May 12, 2016
Asked whether former Labor leader Mark Latham was correct that the Daily Telegraph’s “Save our Albo” front page earlier this week would cost 25 per cent of his primary vote, Mr Albanese said: “That shows I’m not taking advice off Mark Latham about anything.”
He said he’d had a boost in donations from people who were concerned after footage of Mr Albanese’s Green opponent Jim Casey saying he preferred an Abbott government because it strengthened the protest movement.
“He is into people being oppressed, so they rise up. I’m in to lifting people up in my electorate and around the country,” Mr Albanese said.
Mr Pyne then weighed in, saying only the major parties could deliver.
“Only the Liberal Party and the Labor Party can form government. So people who want to vote for independents or minor parties have to understand that those minor parties and independents can knock from the sidelines, they can whinge about issues, but they can’t actually make things happen,” he said.
9.05am:Labor preferences disputed
More from Senator Xenophon, who has disputed suggestions his Nick Xenophon Team has been negotiating a preference deal with Labor over Liberal Jamie Briggs’ Adelaide Hills seat of Mayo.
“No preference deals have been done. I don’t want to do preference deals, and I think the most likely scenario, as a number of candidates have indicated, including in the seat of Mayo, Rebecca Sharkey, that there will be open tickets,” he said. Senator Xenophon suggested that in fact Labor and the Coalition may be negotiating a deal in Mayo, to squeeze out his party. “That would be extraordinary if the Labor Party would want to preference Mr Briggs, given his track record just on economic policy, on manufacturing and a whole range of issues,” he said. “So if Labor wants to do that, I think they’ll find that their vote, their primary vote, will collapse in Mayo.”
Senator Xenophon said he would consult further with candidates on preferences, but open tickets were his preferred option. “I would feel more comfortable having an open ticket for this reason: we, unashamedly are a party of the political centre,” he said. “We are not ideological. We want to find solutions to the nation’s problems, and that I think by extension means that if we’re neither to the left or right philosophically, an open ticket is the preferred outcome.” He said he was running his campaign, not on a shoestring, but on a piece of dental floss, to the point where he has taken out a mortgage on a flat he owns to fund his campaign.
8.55am:Bill back on the run
8.45am:Xenophon hits back at reports
Independent South Australian senator and leader of his namesake party Nick Xenophon has hit back at today’s report that taxpayers will face a log of claims worth more than $100 billion over a decade if Xenophon wins the balance of power.
Senator Xenophon has told RN Breakfast that he makes no apology about arguing for Australian jobs. “We’ve lost 122,000 manufacturing jobs since the GFC. There are still hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk,” he said. “We have a situation where our procurement rules look at what is the cheapest option not what is the best value option, and that relates to the social and economic benefits of buying Australian, and that’s something our steel industry is suffering from.
“So I pose the question another way: what would the cost be of having hundreds of thousands of people out of work? What would the cost be to Centrelink payments? What would the cost be to reduced tax receipts?”
8.40am: Greens campaign on neg gearing
The Greens are in Brisbane campaigning on negative gearing. Their co-deputy leaders, WA senator Scott Ludlam and Queensland senator Larissa Waters will visit young renters in Brisbane with the party’s candidate for the seat of Griffith later this morning.
8.30am:Funding for Adelaide rail
Mr Turnbull is beginning the day campaigning in Adelaide, where he will announce funding for a new infrastructure project. The PM is expected to visit the seat of Boothby to make the announcement of an $85 million extension of the Tonsley rail line from the city to the Flinders Medical Centre and Flinders University in Adelaide’s southern suburbs.
Boothby is held by retiring Liberal backbencher Andrew Southcott on a 7.12 per cent margin.
The rail announcement, which will be co-funded by the state government, is the first major spending commitment made by the PM this week.
8.10am:Negative gearing battle
The real estate industry is gearing up for a campaign attacking Labor’s plans to curb negative gearing, claiming 18 million people will be affected by the plan. But Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese says he’s unconcerned. He told Nine’s Today show Labor expected vested interests to campaigning in their own interests. “They will be seen for what it is if they do that,” Mr Albanese said.
7.55am:Libs attack Labor boats unity
The Liberal Party continues to try to capitalise on divisions within Labor over asylum seekers, yesterday launching a video showing another candidate speaking out against party policy.
The attack ad shows Labor’s candidate in the Tasmanian seat of Braddon Justine Keay admitting she would rather turnbacks weren’t used.
Yesterday it was revealed Labor’s candidate in Solomon Luke Gosling attended a protest against the offshore processing in February.
7.40am:Today’s top stories
• The fallout from Duncan Storrar’s Monday Q&A appearance continues. As Caroline Overington reports, the man the ABC presented as a “new national hero” has a long criminal history, including making threats to kill, unlawful assault, and multiple counts of breaching intervention orders taken out byex-partners.
• Bill Shorten has been forced to retreat on his claim that Labor’s $37.4 billion schools policy will give the nation a 2.8 per cent “growth dividend”, with international experts, including an author of OECD research Shorten cited to back up his argument, dismissing it. David Crowe reports.
• One of the key challenges facing the government in South Australia, where Malcolm Turnbull is campaigning today, is that presented by independent senator Nick Xenophon and his new party. As Joe Kelly reports, taxpayers face a log of claims worth more than $100 billion over a decade if Xenophon wins the balance of power.
• As the Coalition feels the heat from its base over superannuation changes, it is shifting the focus to one of “fairness and equity”, writes Dennis Shanahan.
Big lies and awkward facts. My column today: https://t.co/EOqVxCW3cx @australian #ausvotes
— David Crowe (@CroweDM) May 12, 2016
7.25am:Shorten focus on schools
Bill Shorten has issued his daily morning media comment, and he continues to hammer education:
“The jobs of the future require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills,” he says. “A Shorten Labor Government will make sure all of our kids have the skills they need to thrive in the future. This is an investment in our economy and in productivity but more importantly, it is an investment in our kids. In contrast, Mr Turnbull’s $29 billion cut from schools shows that he doesn’t understand you can’t have innovation without education.
He’s also talking up Labor’s proposed changes to negative gearing: “Labor’s housing affordability plan will level the playing field so first home buyers can compete with property speculators, boost housing supply, while creating tens of thousands of new construction jobs,” Mr Shorten says.
7.15am:Credlin blasts Turnbull
Tony Abbott’s former Chief of Staff Peta Credlin has attacked Malcolm Turnbull for appearing out-of-touch in cancelling a walk through a Western Sydney shopping centre on Wednesday.”
“I wouldn’t have cancelled. If it’s known you are going to do a street walk in Penrith, the last thing you want to do, Mr Harbourside Mansion is look like you don’t know and you’re not welcome in Western Sydney,” she told Sky News last night.
Ms Credlin described Turnbull as elitist and the campaign as “flat-footed”, rather than “agile” or “nimble”.
7.10am:Leaders ready for debate
Tonight’s debate will be held at the Windsor RSL club in the marginal western Sydney seat of Macquarie, which is held by Liberal Louise Markus on a margin of 4.5 per cent. The leaders will take questions from 100 undecided voters and Sky News Political reporter David Speers will moderate.
Malcolm Turnbull begins today in Adelaide, where he is expected to announce $43 million in funding to extend a rail line to Flinders University. Bill Shorten continues his tour of the nation’s schools, beginning the day in Sydney where he will visit Domremy College at Five Dock, in the inner west, first up.
7am:Who won day five?
Political Correspondent David Crowe awarded yesterday narrowly to Malcolm Turnbull, arguing that although television footage of Shorten touring schools on his birthday with wife Chloe looked better than Turnbull being forced to answer questions about the Panama papers and being challenged by a mother on schools funding, Turnbull won on policy. Crowe says Shorten lost ground in having to admit he’d got it wrong with his promise of a “growth dividend” from a big increase in schools funding. In contrast, Turnbull had a win when Tony Abbott backed the Coalition’s super tax increases. You can read more about Crowe’s verdict here.
Julie Bishop is also expected to campaign in western Sydney ahead of tonight’s debate, while Chris Bowen is in Melbourne. Scott Morrison is also in Melbourne, where he is attending a Higgins 200 fundraising breakfast with Higgins MP Kelly O’Dwyer. Howard government Treasurer and former Member for Higgins Peter Costello will also be there.
Meanwhile, the High Court is due to hand down its decision on Family First Senator Bob Day’s challenge to Senate voting changes this morning. Day has argued the changes are unconstitutional. The government, backed by the Greens and independent Senator Nick Xenophon, pushed the changes through the Senate in March to reduce the chances of micro-party candidates being elected with minuscule numbers of first preference votes. Should the decision go against the government, Senate voting will revert to the same rules which applied at the 2013 election which resulted in the election of eight crossbench Senators.
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