Federal election 2019, Campaign Day 19: leaders trade barbs in first debate
Scott Morrison sent a warning to voters in the first leaders debate as Bill Shorten argued the country “can’t go on the path” it’s on.
- Labor ‘bad losers’: Palmer
- ‘No spend-a-thon’: Morrison
- ‘Childcare workers first for wage rise’
- ‘I’m worth $4000 million’
- Candidate ‘sent out fake poll’
Hello and welcome to PoliticsNow, The Australian’s live reporting and commentary on Day 19 of the federal election campaign.
Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten have faced off in the first leaders’ debate of the campaign in Perth.
Greg Brown 8.58pm: What audience members had to say
As the audience members left the debate, they were not shy in voicing their verdicts.
Builder David Lockhart typically votes Labor but thinks Scott Morrison won the night.
“I think Scott Morrison put forward a better argument,” Mr Lockhart said after the debate.
“He didn’t seem as flustered in the time he was asked questions or when he was challenged about something.”
But he liked it when Mr Shorten raised Mr Morrison’s commitment to mental health, a policy he is passionate about.
French-born Nelly Reffet, who will probably vote Labor, thought Mr Shorten came home stronger.
“He was much livelier and more engaged,” Ms Reffet said.
“Not at the beginning. At first he was way too weak, not charismatic, quite robotic. And I felt he got more engaged with the audience as soon as it become a bit more lively between the two.”
She said the most important policy for her was education.
“Not only because I have children but because I think if you invest in people you get the rewards,” she said.
But Jason Martelli thought they were both underwhelming and is considering lodging a donkey vote.
He thinks both Labor and Liberal have gone to fringes and are not trying to win over the centre.
“I feel this is arguably the most desperate debate and the most hopeless political campaign in Australian history,” he said.
“My faith in the Australian political system was shattered some time ago by both political parties and tonight has not restored any of my confidence.
“They are going to have to work a lot harder to restore trust.”
8.43pm: Leaders’ debate: the verdict
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten got the audience vote in the leaders’ debate, but what do our experts have to say?
Paul Kelly, Simon Benson, Troy Bramston, Dennis Shanahan and Caroline Overington weigh in here.
8.21pm: Bill Shorten wins leaders’ debate
The crowd verdict has come in as an emphatic win for Bill Shorten, gaining more than double the votes than Scott Morrison.
Out of the 48 undecided voters, 25 thought Opposition Leader won the debate, while 12 thought the Prime Minister did. Eleven voters were undecided.
Mr Shorten looked confident after debate, after telling Network Seven host Mark Riley he enjoyed the contest.
“I enjoyed that more than usual,” he said when cameras stopped rolling.
8.05pm: Experts’ verdict
So then, who won the debate? Our experts, including Paul Kelly, Dennis Shanahan, Caroline Overington and Troy Bramston will have their say shortly.
Joe Kelly 8.03pm: Cost of change still unknown: PM
Both leaders have finished the debate by telling voters what they should know about one another.
Mr Morrison warned voters that Labor had not been clear about the cost of change.
“He (Mr Shorten) is not telling you what the cost of change is,” Mr Morrison said.
He said that the fundamental details about the impact of Labor’s emission reduction policy and its plan to scrap franking credit refunds had not been properly outlined.
“Voting has started. People deserve to know what the cost of change is,” he said. “Now is not the time to turn back.”
Mr Shorten offered a contrary message, declaring: “This country can’t afford to just go on the path that we’re on.”
He argued that Australia was slipping behind comparable countries on a range of benchmarks including waiting lists for surgery, educational outcomes, wages growth and broadband speeds.
Mr Shorten said a failure to change the government would also lead to poorer environmental outcomes and inaction on the closure of unsustainable tax loop holes.
Ben Packham 7.56pm: ‘There is a clear choice’
In his final statement, Mr Morrison said Australians faced a very important choice: about the economy they would live in over the next decade. Hammering home the Coalition’s number one issue, the PM said the choice before voters was between a government that had proved its economic credentials, which were vital to deliver essential services like hospitals and schools.
He said the Coalition would deliver surpluses, pay down debt, and lower taxes.
“You can’t run an economy if you can’t manage money,” he said.
“There is a clear choice - higher taxes or lower taxes; strong management of finances or weaker management; a strong economy or a weak economy.”
Joe Kelly 7.53pm: Palmer not part of campaign: PM
Pressed on his preference deal with Clive Palmer, Mr Morrison said that the mining magnate was “not part of our campaign.”
“There’s an election on … You’ve got to decide where you should put your preferences.”
Mr Morrison also accused Labor of trying to seek its own preference deal with Mr Palmer’s United Australia Party, but argued that Labor was rejected by the Queensland businessman.
“He said ‘No’ to you because he thinks you’ll be a danger to the economy,” Mr Morrison said.
Mr Morrison also claimed that Bill Shorten and the Greens would be a greater threat to the economy than the UAP.
Mr Shorten said that he believed the UAP was playing a “really chaotic role”. He said it was “downright cheeky” of Mr Palmer to have spent millions on saturation advertising to further his political ambitious despite not giving unpaid entitlements to Queensland Nickel workers.
“It’s not on,” Mr Shorten argued.
He also said that Mr Morrison and the government had been taken “hostage by Clive Palmer and Pauline Hanson”, arguing that a re-elected Coalition government would be beholden to the UAP.
He asked “what debt” Mr Palmer would call-in if Mr Morrison was re-elected.
Greg Brown 7.51pm: Biggest applause of the night
The biggest clap of the night comes when Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten are forced to say nice things about each other.
The Prime Minister says he respects Shorten because he decided to serve in the parliament.
Shorten goes further, saying Morrison has a strong record on mental health and is a man of conviction and sincerity.
Ben Packham 7.50pm: What do leaders admire about each other?
Asked what they admire about each other, Mr Morrison says he respects anyone who serves in the Australian parliament. Mr Shorten says he respects Mr Morrison for his stance on mental health, and his “deep conviction” on policy issues.
Greg Brown 7.45pm: Audience shock
There are a few gasps from audience members when Scott Morrison says Labor and the Greens are a bigger danger to Australia than Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party.
Shorten, on the other hand, gets claps when he jokes about Clive Palmer’s “make Australia great again” moto.
And more claps when he calls Palmer the “unicorn of Liberal politics”.
Ben Packham 7.43pm: Shorten concedes pensioner hit
An audience member has raised the issue of Labor’s franking credit policy. Bill Shorten says Labor’s policy won’t hit pensioners. He says Labor’s policy is aimed at closing a loophole that gives people a tax refund when they don’t pay tax.
He says Labor is helping pensioners by giving them $1000 in free dental care.
Under pressure from Scott Morrison, Mr Shorten admits pensioners who choose to go in an SMSF in the future could be affected.
Greg Brown 7.41pm: Audience question starts with franking credits
The audience have started asking questions, with Ron Ryan asking about Labor’s dividend imputation crackdown.
There is a mix of young and old which should ensure a wide range of issues.
Scott Morrison gets his first laugh when he accuses Shorten of “slinking away” from questions.
Joe Kelly 7.38pm: Coalition, Labor border policy not the same: PM
Mr Morrison said it was not true that Labor had the same policy as the government on border protection, arguing that it had opposed a suite of government policies including temporary protection visas.
“Bill is saying that we have the same policies on border protection and it’s not true,” he said. “The Labor Party will abolish temporary protection visas if they are elected to government. That is their policy.”
He warned the decision of the previous Labor government to abolish temporary protection visas was the key factor that had restarted the boats.
“They got rid of them. They said there wouldn’t be any impact and then the boats started to come.”
Mr Morrison also claimed a Shorten government was divided on boat turnbacks and would be unable to implement the policy, arguing it was “just not in their DNA.”
But Mr Shorten rejected the claims, saying Labor was “completely committed to stopping the people smugglers from coming back.”
“I accept the lessons of the past. And I accept that the Liberal Party has an idea — or parts of an idea — which I think work. I’ll adopt it.”
Joe Kelly 7.36pm: ‘I don’t want to see boats start again’
Mr Morrison is challenged on his claim the people smuggling trade could restart following the passage of the Labor-backed medivac bill, saying it was the advice of the Department of Home Affairs.
He argued the re-opening of Christmas Island acted as a deterrent to prevent further boat arrivals. “It’s worked,” he said.
He argued that 1200 people died at sea under the former Labor government’s policies.
“I fashioned a policy to deal with that and we fixed it. And we haven’t had a boat arrival successfully in Australia for years. And I don’t want to see that start again,” he said.
Mr Shorten said he agreed with key aspects of the government’s boarder protection policy.
“I actually accept that boat turn-backs work. And I’ve convinced my party to accept that,” Mr Shorten said.
“We will not change that policy. We believe in boat turnbacks where it is safe to do so … We will also not allow people who come by boat through people smugglers to resettle in Australia.”
He said the major point of difference was that, where there was a “very sick person”, Labor would allow a refugee to come to Australia for medical treatment.
Greg Brown 7.33pm: Shorten the debate’s funnyman
Bill Shorten’s jokes are going down well with the undecided voters.
There were laughs, and a couple of claps, when Shorten made a joke about Scott Morrison supporting penalty rates.
The Prime Minister is yet to win laughs from the audience.
Ben Packham 7.32pm: PM pressed on wages
The PM is asked what he will do to increase wages.
The PM says wages are rising by 2.3 per cent up from 1.9 per cent.
He says you don’t lift wages by putting on taxes or expensive climate change policies.
Bill Shorten says people deserve a wage rise, and “you name it, everything is going up”.
He goes through Labor’s policies to reintroduce penalty rates and lift wages for 457-style visas.
Scott Morrison goes on the attack, raising the Clean Event case, in which Mr Shorten’s union bargained away conditions for members.
Mr Shorten said he was proud of his record as a union official, and taunted Mr Morrison over his preference deal with Clive Palmer’s UAP, saying he would not reward bosses who failed to pa their workers by handing them a senate seat.
Mr Morrison says Labor is representing penalty rate cuts as a decision of the government is a misrepresentation, arguing it was a decision of Fair Work Australia.
Joe Kelly 7.24pm: Shorten dodges price question
Mr Shorten was asked for the price of a new Nissan electric vehicle, but explained he had not bought a new car for a while.
Mr Morrison intervened, saying that it cost $28,000 to purchase a new electric vehicle.
The comment prompted a sharp put down from Mr Shorten who accused the Prime Minister of spending his time looking at the “motor pages.”
Mr Shorten said that Australia did not have a proper market for electric vehicles and that there were a lack of charging stations, attacking the government for being “stuck in the past.”
Greg Brown 7.22pm: Shorten gets audience laughing
Bill Shorten delivers his first zinger and the audience approve.
“We have a Prime Minister who spends his time in the motor pages,” he says, after Morrison brags about knowing the price of a car model when Shorten doesn’t.
The undecided voters laugh.
The response is after Mr Shorten is asked how much a Nissan Leaf — a popular electric car — costs. Mr Morrison tries to play the everyman and says Australians do read the motor pages and watch the football.
Ben Packham 7.21pm: ‘Not possible’ to give climate action cost: Shorten
Bill Shorten is asked to rule to whether there would be a negative impact on the economy or job losses from his climate change policy.
He says it was “not possible” to give a number on the impact of the policy, but argued if Australia did not take real action on climate change it would be a “disaster” for the economy.
Mr Shorten said the government wanted to scare people about policy, but said no one now argued against asbestos bans or water pollution.
He said cleaner power could bring down energy prices, and argued business wanted certainty that could be provided by the National Energy Guarantee, which Labor would adopt.
Joe Kelly 7.20pm: Climate targets the issue: PM
Mr Morrison said that climate change was a threat to Australia’s future and required “urgent action” but said the issue was about what the appropriate targets should be.
The government has a plan to reduce emissions by 26-28 per cent by 2030 on 2005 levels.
Mr Morrison said the government had met its previous Kyoto targets and “turned a climate deficit into a climate surplus”.
Greg Brown 7.19pm: Debates’ awkward moment
It becomes a tad awkward when Bill Shorten is invited to look at Scott Morrison when he responds to a question from the Prime Minister.
“I though I was supposed to look at the camera,” he said.
The leaders briefly look at each other, laugh and then look back at the cameras.
The audience laughs as well.
Shorten is taking notes throughout Morrison’s answers. The Prime Minister is just going from the top of his head.
Joe Kelly 7.18pm: Opposing views on early voter turnout
Asked about the large numbers of Australians voting early, Mr Morrison said it was imperative for Mr Shorten to better explain his policy agenda.
“That’s why today’s debate is important,” he said. “Today is the day we should know. What is the total tax bill that Bill is going to put on people?
“What is the cost of his emissions reductions policies?” Mr Morrison asked. “During the course of this campaign Bill we are still waiting to find the answers to these questions.”
Mr Shorten said that people were voting early because they wanted a change of government.
“This economy is not working in the interests of everyday people,” he said. “I think there is a mood for change in Australia.”
Mr Shorten said there was a desire for “real action on climate change” and that it was “wrong in this country that pensioners and older people get discouraged form going to see the dentist.”
Ben Packham 7.14pm: Trust at an all-time low: Shorten
Bill Shorten says trust in politicians is at an all time low, and commits to rebuilding trust by establishing a national anti-corruption commission. He says Labor has also been upfront about what it will do and how it will pay for it.
He says his party is united, and questions the Coalition’s preference deals with UAP and PHON.
Ben Packham 7.13pm: ‘Who do you trust?’
Mark Riley asks about trust — why should voters trust you to do what you say, and how will you restore faith in the political system?
Scott Morrison says the Liberal Party and Labor had changed their rules, and the PM elected will serve for three years.
"For the first time in a long time, the Prime Minister Australians elect at this election will be the Prime Minister that will serve over the next three years" - @ScottMorrisonMP #LeadersDebate #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/HmhrKZeHuS
— 7NEWS Perth (@7NewsPerth) April 29, 2019
He then turns to who Australians should trust on the economy.
“Trust is about demonstration of performance,” he says, noting he had stopped the boats and fixed the GST for WA.
Joe Kelly 7.11pm: Shorten’s positive vision for change
Mr Shorten used his opening to statement to outline a positive vision for change, arguing that action on climate change, as well as better health and education services and child care would require a change of government.
“None of this can happen if we keep the same government in power,” Mr Shorten said.
He argued that Australians were doing it tough as he framed Labor as a better choice for delivering wage outcomes. “They are spending their household savings and going backwards,” he said.
Mr Shorten also noted the government’s instability and leadership turmoil over the last three and-a-half years since the toppling of Tony Abbott in September 2015.
“This is a government that has had three prime ministers. A lot of chaos and turmoil,” he said.
Mr Shorten said that Labor believed it was “time for change”.
“We understand this country works best when everyone gets a fair go.”
Joe Kelly 7.09pm: ‘If you can’t manage money, you can’t run the economy’
Mr Morrison said the election was a choice between the Coalition which he said had “been able to keep our economy strong” and the Labor party which he warned would weaken the economy.
He argued that Labor wanted to increase taxes by $387 billion and repeated his warning: “If you can’t manage money you can’t run the country.”
Joe Kelly 7.08pm: Morrison’s economic focus
Mr Morrison started by outlining his economic credentials, arguing that over the last five and half years the government had delivered a strong economy and brought down unemployment.
He said the government had created 100,000 new jobs for young Australians and that the budget was coming back into surplus for the first time in 12 years.
Seeking to combat Labor’s campaign on education and health, Mr Morrison said the government had provided record funding in public hospitals.
Greg Brown 7.07pm: Tough audience to win over?
An audience member whispers “yeah right” when he says Australia is the best county in the world.
Maybe this audience will be tough to win over.
Bill Shorten scribbles on his notepad as Morrison talks.
Joe Kelly 7.03pm: PM wins toss, opens debate
The first debate of the campaign hosted by Seven News and the West Australian newspaper has begun.
Each leader will make a three minute opening address, then seven key questions will be asked. Both Mr Morrison and Mr Shorten will get one minute to express their view in response to the questions.
Scott Morrison has won the coin toss allowing him to give his opening statement first.
Greg Brown 7.01pm: Leaders’ support
Bill Shorten has his wife Chloe in the studio for moral support.
Scott Morrison’s support comes from Finance Minister Mathias Cormann and Liberal MP and numbers man Ben Morton.
Greg Brown 6.59pm: Shorten enters the studio
Bill Shorten arrives in the studio — a good five minutes after Scott Morrison.
The leaders laugh awkwardly as they look right into each other’s eyes for a photo.
They are seated and await the coin toss for who receives first question.
Greg Brown 6.56pm: PM arrives
Scott Morrison is the first leader to arrive in the studio.
“Ladies and gentleman the Prime Minister of Australia,” Basil Zempilas says as he introduces Mr Morrison and the audience claps.
The Prime Minister talks to panel members as he waits for the Opposition Leader.
Greg Brown 6.52pm: Perth poised for debate
Forty-eight swing voters are packing into the Seven West Media studio in Perth, ahead of the first leaders’ debate of the 2019 campaign.
The audience members of undecided voters will be asked to pick whether Scott Morrison or Bill Shorten performed better.
Host Basil Zempilas has addressed the audience and told them not to approach the leaders before the broadcast.
Audience members will ask the odd question, along with panel members Seven Network’s Mark Riley and the West Australian’s Lanai Scarr.
6.30pm: Debate throwback
Australia's first ever political debate live on television took place in November 1958 with Harold Holt and Billy McMahon representing the Coalition government, Doc Evatt and Arthur Calwell representing the Labor opposition and Angus Maude moderating #auspol #ausvotes pic.twitter.com/7Cai5WIRXy
— Troy Bramston (@TroyBramston) April 29, 2019
Primrose Riordan 5.22pm: Leeser defends English push
Liberal MP Julian Leeser has defended the government’s previous push to demand a university level English language test from citizenship applicants at a forum for Chinese Australians.
The Senate blocked the changes to citizenship laws, which would have required new citizens to pass a Level 6 or university-level, English test and a Coalition-dominated Senate committee suggested the proposed strengthening of the English language requirements were too tough.
The policy was unpopular with some migrant communities and Labor are using the policy to attack the Liberal Party in some seats.
Mr Leeser said he previously worked in the university sector and said that employers were increasingly expecting a high level of English from graduates and their employees.
“It’s not that high a bar to pass,” he said. He also suggested a harder test could help with social isolation in migrant communities.
The Chinese Australian Forum event was held at Fuli Palace Restaurant in Sydney on Friday and involved a debate between Mr Leeser and Linda Burney.
Ms Burney said there needed to be “truth telling” about past racism against Chinese Australians including during the gold rush.
Luke Griffiths 4.00pm: Hanson-Young’s fight for Senate survival
Sarah Hanson-Young is facing an uphill battle in her bid to be re-elected to the Senate, with a new poll showing support for the Greens on the slide.
A YouGov Galaxy poll, conducted last week and released today by The Advertiser, found primary support for the Greens in the South Australian seat of Sturt at 6 per cent — a drop of 1.1 per cent since the 2016 election.
Of further concern to Senator Hanson-Young is that Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party polled 9 per cent.
If a similar result occurred in the South Australian Senate vote, the UAP, aided by being preferenced second by the Liberals, would likely claim the fifth of six senate spots up for grabs.
Read more here.
Rachel Baxendale 3.37pm: Yates’ each-way bet
Kooyong independent Oliver Yates is having an each-way bet on his how-to-vote card, recommending voters either give Green Julian Burnside their second preference or alternatively preference the Labor Party second.
The former Liberal Party member has recommended voters preference Treasurer Josh Frydenberg last in both how-to-vote alternatives in the leafy inner eastern Melbourne seat — behind Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party, the Animal Justice Party, and two other independents.
Mr Yates recommends to “Vote 1 Yates then number every box in order of YOUR preference”, but then also offers voters a choose your own adventure, where they can either “Vote 1 Yates then Julian Burnside” or “For traditional Labor voters, Vote 1 Yates then Labor Party”.
While Mr Yates uses Mr Burnside’s name, rather than referring to him as a Green, he does the opposite with Labor’s Jana Stewart.
Mr Burnside has preferenced Yates second on his how-to-vote card.
Mr Frydenberg has preferenced Clive Palmer candidate Steven D’Elia second, with Mr Yates sixth, Ms Stewart seventh and Mr Burnside last.
Richard Ferguson 3.10pm: PM ‘hypocrite’: Keneally
Labor senator and devout Catholic Kristina Keneally has taken aim at Scott Morrison’s faith.
The Prime Minister was photographed on Easter Sunday praying at his local church, but Senator Keneally tweeted today that he was a “hypocrite”, referencing the Gospel according to Matthew.
I’m just wondering if @ScottMorrisonMP, who criticises @billshortenmp for running in public view, has read Matthew 6:5-6: “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites. They love to stand in the synagogues and on the street corners and pray so people will see them.†#auspol pic.twitter.com/ZISj5VwRq5
— Kristina Keneally (@KKeneally) April 29, 2019
“When you pray, you should go into your room and close the door and pray to your Father who cannot be seen. Your Father can see what is done in secret, and he will reward you.†- From the Gospel according to Matthew, Chap 6, verses 5 &6
— Kristina Keneally (@KKeneally) April 29, 2019
Richard Ferguson 2.49pm: Chisholm denies Palmer offer
Labor senator Anthony Chisholm has denied he ever offered or negotiated ALP preferences to Clive Palmer.
The mining billionaire today laid in out in detail claims that the ALP Queensland senator tried to win him over, before he decided to throw his United Australia Party’s preferences to the Liberals.
But Senator Chisholm said Mr Palmer was “dishonest” and that he never tried to negotiate on preferences has he did not have the authority to do so, and Bill Shorten wanted assurances over the payment of workers at Mr Palmer’s collapsed Queensland Nickel.
“In regards to the 2019 Federal election, I attempted to do due diligence on what the Palmer Party’s intentions were, as I have done in previous elections,” Senator Chisholm said today in a statement.
“In recent weeks I had two very brief phone conversations in an attempt to discover what role Mr Palmer would play in the Federal election.
“At no stage did I negotiate or offer Mr Palmer anything in regard to preferences.
“I was not authorised to offer anything and I didn’t.
“Bill Shorten has made it clear that no arrangements with Mr Palmer could be entertained while Queensland Nickel workers remained out of pocket, and I agree with Mr Shorten’s principled position.
“There is only one party that has a deal in place with Mr Palmer and it is the Liberal National Party.”
Mr Palmer said today he was due to discuss preferences with Senator Chisholm but decided to abandon talks after the Opposition Leader criticised him on television.
Charlie Peel 2.22pm: Labor ‘bad losers’: Palmer
Clive Palmer has launched a blistering attack on Labor, accusing the party of criticising the Coalition about its preference deal with the United Australia Party “only after they realised they missed out”.
Speaking to the media in Brisbane today, Mr Palmer, who has been dogged by his refusal to cover workers’ entitlements at his collapsed nickel refinery in Townsville, refused to answer questions from journalists after making a prepared speech.
Liberal Party how-to-vote cards list the UAP second on the Senate voting option and above the ALP for the House of Representatives, while UAP cards will put Liberal candidates second in both houses.
The mining magnate accused Labor leader Bill Shorten of being a serial liar unfit to be Prime Minister of Australia, and slammed the party’s proposed changes to negative gearing and taxes.
Mr Palmer said he been approached on several occasions by Labor Senator Anthony Chisholm to discuss preferences but he ultimately decided against it because “Bill Shorten was saying a lot of things about (Mr Palmer) which were untrue”.
“Shorten’s repeated lies about preferences confirm my judgment he is not morally fit to be Prime Minister of Australia,” Mr Palmer said.
“Shorten’s attack against the Liberal Party highlights the double standards which is a fatal flaw of his character.
“He will say anything to reach his objective, he is just desperate.
“The Labor Party and Shorten were happy to deal on preferences with UAP when they wanted them but were bad losers.”
Mr Palmer said he had spoken recently with CFMEU National Secretary Michael O’Connor in recent weeks but had not talked about Labor preferences.
Mr Palmer has denied having any discussions with One Nation over preferences following revelations that Pauline Hanson and her staffers met with representatives of the United States gun lobby and discussed campaign donations.
“I was disappointed when it was revealed that One Nation was prepared to sell the influence of One Nation to a foreign association for $20 million,” MR Palmer said.
“I regard this as a sellout of Australia.”
Richard Ferguson 1.20pm: Shorten ‘unfit to be PM’: Palmer
Clive Palmer says he shut down conversations about preference swaps with the Labor Party because Bill Shorten attacked him in a press conference.
“I knew all voters were required by law to put a preference number in all squares on the ballot and it was for the United Australia Party to determine which number it would place for the Australian Labor Party. Its recommendation to voters and vice versa,” he said in Brisbane today.
“I did not see this as a very controversial matter because we were dealing and discussing preferences with all political parties.
“However, I then turned on the television and Bill Shorten was saying a lot of things about me which were untrue. He was lying to the Australian people. And I then decided I want nothing further to do with him or his party because they were two-faced liars.
“The language he used was not fit for consumption by our children and I realised he was unfit to be Prime Minister of Australia. Australians should be entitled to expect honesty from their political leaders.”
Luke Griffiths 1.11pm: Libs poised to retain Sturt
The Liberal Party is favourite to retain Christopher Pyne’s South Australian seat of Sturt, with a new opinion poll finding the party six points clear of Labor.
The YouGov Galaxy poll, conducted last Wednesday and released this afternoon by The Advertiser, found primary support for the Liberals at 42 per cent, ahead of Labor’s 35 per cent.
Support for Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party and its candidate, Hedley Harding, was a significant 9 per cent, while the Greens attracted 6 per cent of the primary vote.
Other minor parties received 8 per cent of the vote.
After preferences were distributed, the poll had the Liberals six points ahead of Labor, 53 to 47 per cent.
Eight candidates have nominated in Sturt, which takes in Adelaide’s leafy eastern suburbs.
Mr Pyne, who has held Sturt since 1993, announced two months ago that he would not recontest the seat.
James Stevens, aligned to Mr Pyne’s moderate faction, comfortably won Liberal preselection.
The 35-year-old previously worked in Mr Pyne’s office and has overseen his past four campaigns.
He is viewed by senior Liberals as a future minister and was most recently chief of staff to South Australian Premier Steven Marshall.
Mr Stevens is positioned at number two on the ballot, while Labor’s Cressida O’Hanlon is just below him in third spot.
A boundary redraw, brought about by the number of South Australian seats being cut from 11 to 10, has slightly reduced the Liberals’ margin in Sturt to 5.4 per cent.
The Nick Xenophon Team received 21.1 per cent of the vote at the last election, but the party does not have a candidate this time around.
Mr Stevens said a key focus of his was to bring former Liberal voters back into the fold.
Labor’s Mia Handshin almost defeated Mr Pyne in 2007, when she received 49.1 per cent of the two-party vote.
Since it was formed in 1949, Labor has only held Sturt on two occasions, totalling less than five years.
Matthew Denholm 1.07pm: Garland in running for Senate berth
Colourful Tasmanian calamari fisherman Craig Garland has had his hopes of securing a Senate spot boosted by preferences from Labor and the Greens.
How-to-vote cards released for pre-polling earlier today show the outspoken independent is placed second for above-line group votes by both Labor and the Greens.
This is likely to assist Mr Garland, who gave the major parties a run for their money at last year’s Braddon by-election, in a fight for a final senate spot, also coveted by Jacqui Lambie, One Nation, the Nationals’ Steve Martin and the Greens’ Nick McKim.
“It’s got to be of great benefit … definitely,” Mr Garland told The Australian. “I don’t think anyone is putting any preferences towards Jacqui that I’m aware of. One Nation and the Nationals seem to be having a few dramas here, there and everywhere.
“I feel a bit like Steve Bradbury at the moment. I’m just in the background doing me bit, putting a few signs here and there and no one is really attacking me.”
Richard Ferguson 12.55pm: ‘Hungry Caterpillar Shorten coming for your wallet’
Scott Morrison has leapt on Bill Shorten’s reading of a children’s classic today and turned it into an attack on Labor’s big spending agenda.
“I hear he is a reading a book to children today,” the Prime Minister said in Fremantle today.
“It wasn’t The Cranky Bear disappointingly. It was The Hungry Caterpillar.
“He will be hungry champing into your wallet, champing into your wallet, to pay for his spend-a-thon.
“You tax the economy too high and you slow it down. It’s not just a few million Australians who are impacted, but 25 million Australians who are impacted because is you tax the economy too hard, you slow it down. Bill doesn’t understand that.”
Richard Ferguson 12.54pm: CFMEU ‘bribe’ for Labor preferences: Morrison
Scott Morrison has accused the CFMEU of trying to “bribe” Clive Palmer for Labor preferences.
“Bill Shorten begged for Clive Palmer’s preferences,” he said in Fremantle today.
“And his mates over at the CFMEU on the reports today, it would seem were even seeking to bribe him for the preferences by trying to stitch up deals with the state government to give him access to ports in Townsville.
“That certainly hasn’t been part of any discussions that the Coalition has had.”
Mr Palmer has claimed that a senior union boss and member of Labor’s national executive, Michael O’Connor, offered to help him regain access to Townsville Port in order to reopen a nickel refinery that once employed almost 1000 workers at the same time Labor officials were lobbying him for a preference deal.
But the Prime Minister refused to answer questions on whether he sought assurances from the mining billionaire about paying $7 million worth of outstanding workers’ entitlements before they set up a preference swap between the Liberals and the United Australia Party.
“He’s put that money aside as I understand and the other matters are being pursued through the courts. Those matters are going through the court.”
Richard Ferguson 12.40pm: Questions over ALP childcare plan: Morrison
Scott Morrison has blasted Bill Shorten’s taxpayer-funded pay rises for childcare workers and asked which sectors will be next.
“Bill Shorten still hasn’t explained how he’s going to increase the wages of these workers. I mean, is he going to provide them a direct payment from the government to subsidise their wages?” he said in Fremantle today.
“The other question is, what about construction workers that are being paid the same, men and women? What about people in the retail industry? What about people who are hairdressers? Is he going to subsidise their wages too?
“Is this how Bill Shorten is going to run the economy? Is he going to set everybody’s wages and if he doesn’t like what they are getting paid, is he going to tax people more to send the money to them?”
Richard Ferguson 12.37pm: No ‘spend-a-thon’: Morrison
Scott Morrison says he will not engage in a “spend-a-thon” competition on childcare after Labor’s childcare subsidy plan.
“I am not going to engage in Bill Shorten’s spend-a-thon … he spent $230 million a minute yesterday,” he said in Fremantle today.
“The way that you keep your economy strong and your budget under control is your keep your spending responsibly. You keep your taxes under control. That is how we have brought the budget back into balance.
“This is economics 101 for Bill Shorten. Put a big subsidy in, it pushes the prices up.”
Matthew Denholm 12.25pm: Labor ‘hypocrisy’ in Tasmania
Labor is accused of “hypocrisy” for preferencing Clive Palmer’s United Australian Party in some Tasmanian seats despite lambasting the Liberals for doing the same elsewhere.
With pre-polling opening today, parties’ how-to-vote cards become public knowledge and Labor is under attack for preferencing UAP third in the Hobart-based seat of Clark.
The Liberals also claimed Labor was preferencing UAP second in Franklin, southern Tasmania.
This is despite Labor campaign spokesman Jim Chalmers only hours earlier accusing the Liberals of poor judgment in preferencing UAP elsewhere.
In Clark, The Australian has confirmed Labor is urging a vote for UAP candidate Jim Starkey third, behind its own candidate and the Greens.
“This makes a lie of the Labor Party’s rhetoric in recent days about the evils of preferencing Clive Palmer,” said independent MP for Clark, Andrew Wilkie.
“Turns out the Labor Party are every bit as bad as the Liberal Party and will be party to the grubbiest of deals in the pursuit of their political self-interest.
“For my part I’ve done no preference deals and am preferencing no one. I simply ask voters to vote for me and to remember to number the ballot paper in the order of their preference.”
The Liberals claimed Labor was giving UAP second billing on its Franklin how-to-vote card, behind sitting Labor MP Julie Collins.
“Despite all their confected outrage, Labor’s most senior Federal representative in Tasmania, Julie Collins, is preferencing Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party second, ahead even of the Greens,” said Liberal Senator Jonno Duniam.
The ALP denied this but is yet to provide a detailed response. Earlier today, Mr Chalmers accused the Prime Minister of “legitimising” Mr Palmer via preference deals.
“What Scott Morrison has done by siding with him is he has legitimised a guy who can find $50 million to spend on ads, but not $70 million that he owes the workers of Townsville,” Mr Chalmers said.
“And the result of that, of Morrison’s dirty deal with extreme right-wing parties in this country (to) … cling to power, is that we would have a Morrison-Palmer-Hanson three-ringed circus of cuts and chaos, and the Australian people should think very carefully before they endorse that.”
Labor has denied doing deals to preference Mr Palmer’s party in Tasmania.
“Labor has not done deals in Tasmania with Clive Palmer,” a Labor spokesman said. “The only person that has done a deal with Clive Palmer is Scott Morrison.
“The House of Representatives how-to-vote cards in Tasmania have been ordered sequentially and based on the ballot draw and we do it this way for simplicity. We also want to make sure as many votes as possible are recorded as formal and this approach helps to minimise accidental informality by the voter.
“In every case in the House of Representatives in Tasmania it is a two-horse race that Labor is contesting including Clark.”
Richard Ferguson 12.18pm: Labor senate candidate axed
Bill Shorten has confirmed Northern Territory Labor senate candidate Wayne Kurnoth has been dumped for posting anti-Semitic conspiracy theories on his Facebook page.
“I am not sure the people who preselected knew of all of these posts. I don’t think he should be our candidate,” Mr Shorten said in Perth.
The Australian revealed Mr Kurnoth shared an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory online that claims the world is being run by a secret society of Jewish shapeshifting lizards.
Labor sources told The Australian last night that Mr Kurnoth acknowledges that what he did was unacceptable.
After being counselled by senior Labor figures, he said he didn’t want to be a distraction to the party and would stand down.
Richard Ferguson 12.12pm: Wage plan not ‘economy-wide’
Bill Shorten later said he did not see his childcare plan as an “economy-wide” approach to wages.
“No, I don’t see this as economy-wide, this approach at all,” he said.
“I do accept in certain sectors of the economy we have a wages problem. Don’t we?”
Richard Ferguson 12.03pm: Childcare workers just first for pay rise: Shorten
Bill Shorten has opened the door to providing more taxpayer-funded wage increases to other female-dominated government-subsidised sectors, declaring childcare workers were “going first” for a pay rise.
“Wages are stagnating, that’s a fact. This government has broken records no government wants to break in terms of wages. That’s a problem,” he said in Perth today.
“We have picked childcare workers to go first. I think this is a strategically important industry.
“We talk about the national interest but what is more than the quality and care of education of our zero to five-year-olds? That is pretty important.”
Richard Ferguson 11.57am: Shorten defends childcare pay rise
Bill Shorten has defended singling out childcare workers for a taxpayer-subsidised pay rise, saying they do not have the power to bargain due to tight government funding for the sector.
“Early childhood educators are in a system where it is not working. If you’re in the media or mining or say, manufacturing, you can go and bargain with your boss to try to get a wage rise,” he said in Perth today.
“But the fact is childcare has a lot of government funding so when the government funding is tight there is no money for wage rises.
“Workers are caught in a catch 22. If we don’t put more money into the industry then you can never get a wage rise, if you never get a wage rise we keep churning the good workers.”
Primrose Riordan 11.20am: PM outside Civmac shipyards
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will speak outside the Civmec shipyards at Henderson in the seat of Fremantle with Senator Linda Reynolds who would be the Coalition’s defence minister if elected.
The seat is currently held by Labor’s Josh Wilson on a 7.5 per cent margin and the Liberal candidate is Nicole Robins.
Primrose Riordan 11.10am: Shorten ‘throwing money around’
Scott Morrison has dismissed Bill Shorten’s childcare spend as “throwing money around” in a slot on Perth’s Nova radio this morning.
“Now is not the time to be throwing money around,” he said.
The radio hosts brought up the issue of childcare after Labor’s announcement yesterday, saying some people with small children were almost paying to be at work because of the high cost of childcare.
Mr Morrison said he expected the issue of the GST to come up at tonight’s debate on Channel 7.
The hosts said if he was shearing a sheep, cooking a curry and eating an onion instead the ratings might be better.
Mr Morrison said Australians are not obsessed with politics so might only engage with the campaign closer to the election.
Richard Ferguson 10.50am: Yes, Clive is really rich
Is Clive Palmer worth $4000 million? The Australian’s The List says yes.
According to The List , published exclusively in The Australian, Clive Palmer is the nation’s 13th richest person and his wealth accumulates to $4.51 billion. “Clive Palmer has been on a spending spree since a crucial court win early last year over CITIC Pacific that unlocked a large amount of royalties due to the controversial Queenslander from the huge Sino Iron project in Western Australia’s Pilbara,” The Australian’s List Editor John Stensholt wrote last month.
Well Clive is close...$4.51 billion actually: https://t.co/xa9zSG7DMb https://t.co/BsDU4ZYguy
— John Stensholt (@JohnStensholt) April 29, 2019
“Palmer got about $350 million upfront after winning the case and is now receiving $US66 million cheques from CITIC each quarter, even if the financial viability of the project is in question.
“That income is the reason Palmer can splash out millions chasing a political comeback with his United Australia Party, which has advertised heavily in the media this year ahead of the next federal election.” Check out our list of the richest 250 Australians.
Judith Sloan 10.20am: Labor’s dodgy plan for chaos
It was always odds-on that Labor would commit more to childcare subsidies as well as directly fund higher wages for childcare workers.
Actually, there was an attempt by Labor’s former hapless childcare minister, Kate Ellis, in the dying days of the previous Labor government, to boost the wages of some childcare workers, but it was so badly executed it’s not clear what happened to the money.
There is no reason to think Labor’s extra $4 billion in childcare subsidies over four years will result in a different outcome, given the history of the commonwealth government’s involvement in childcare.
To read this commentary in full, click here.
Richard Ferguson 9.45am: ‘I’m worth $4000m’
Clive Palmer claims he is worth “$4000 million” and that he is polling much higher than Newspoll says today.
“My wealth is $4,000 million. Do you think I give a stuff about you what personally think or anyone else thinks, I care about this country,” he told the Nine Network in a bizarre rant.
“My members of my family have died in the First World War. Served at Tobruk and Kokoda, my nephew, Squadron Leader Martin Brewster led a logistics team in Timor. They have done more for this country than you or I can do. We are not going to let them down, the Anzacs down, who fought for this country. I’m happy to invest $50 million in Australia, a $50 million in your children’s future. God bless Australia.”
Humble brag.
— Laura Jayes (@ljayes) April 28, 2019
Exactly what you want in a balance of power politician https://t.co/88WSFJba8o
Mr Palmer also claimed today’s Newspoll figures were wrong and that his United Australia Party is on track to claim government.
“We’re not polling 5 per cent. That is what they have got in the Newspoll,” he said.
“That is just fake news of course. We are polling much higher than that.
“Do you think there would be all this fuss if we were polling 5%. Of course we are not. We are polling much higher than that. And there is 28 per cent of Australians that have yet to make their decision.”
Seriously? Newspoll is a conspiracy? The “real†support for the UAP will see it elected to govern? Now this really is unhinged. We’re told money can’t buy happiness but it seems an ability to make obscene amounts of it does not even require a loose grip on reality. https://t.co/kwS1g5zrDY
— Mark Kenny (@markgkenny) April 28, 2019
Ross Fitzgerald 8.50am: Abbott carries the torch
The battle for Warringah, normally a safe seat in northern Sydney, has become a struggle for the soul of the Liberal Party and a test of whether conservative politics can survive in modern Australia.
As anyone visiting Manly Beach on a Sunday morning or driving through Spit Road in the morning peak would know, GetUp, unions and former Labor operatives have blitzed the electorate, with hundreds of activists. The question is whether former Liberal voters will support a quasi-Green candidate masquerading as a centrist in order to purge the Liberal Party of a conservative former PM.
Although Tony Abbott’s foes cite climate change policy and same-sex marriage as reasons to be rid of him, it’s a very nasty personal campaign they’re waging, as shown by last week’s withdrawn ad depicting Abbott as the lifesaver who wouldn’t save a drowning man. To his opponents, he’s not just mistaken on some policies: he’s a bad person who should be eliminated.
To read the article in full, click here.
Greg Brown 8.35am: Shorten to talk up childcare
Bill Shorten will this morning talk up his childcare plans in the Perth electorate of Stirling, ahead of the first leaders debate of the campaign.
The Opposition Leader will visit a childcare centre in the seat previously held by outgoing cabinet minister Michael Keenan on a margin of 6.12 per cent.
Mr Shorten will need to campaign with vigour given the tightening of Newspoll, with the Coalition picking up a point in the two-party preferred contest, trailing Labor by 49 per cent to 51 per cent.
Labor will also promote a $75 million package to help explore new mining sources such as lithium, which is used in the batteries of electric cars and to store renewable energy.
“Western Australia has proved to be home to globally significant deposits of lithium and other minerals and is perfectly positioned to benefit from this funding boost,” Mr Shorten said in a statement this morning.
Richard Ferguson 8.32am: Candidate accused of fake poll
The race for Julie Bishop’s blue-ribbon seat of Curtin has been up-ended by claims an independent candidate put out a fake poll showing a 20 per cent swing to her.
Independent candidate Louise Stewart released a poll last week, which she claimed was from polling companies UComms and ReachTEl, showing she had eaten into the Liberal Party’s margin in Perth’s high-end western suburbs and posed a real threat to government candidate Celia Hammond.
But ReachTEL founder and UComms co-owner James Stewart told The West Australian today that it has no records of such a poll being conducted.
To read the story in full, click here.
Richard Ferguson 8.30am: Childcare ‘bribe to unions’
Education Minister Dan Tehan has labelled Bill Shorten’s plan to subsidise 20 per cent wage increases for childcare workers a “bribe to the unions.”
“It’s an incredibly unusual arrangement. It is basically an arrangement where they are bribing the union to go stand at childcare centres and tell them to vote for Labor,” he told ABC radio this morning.
“You don’t it (increase childcare workers’ wages) the way the Labor Party are doing it. What you do is you say to the providers of childcare services we have to make sure we see sustainable pay increases in the sector.
“The Labor Party cannot explain how they will do this. What other sectors will they do this in? This is just a pure and utter bribe to the union to stand at the front of childcare centres. I’ve never seen the like of it.”
Richard Ferguson 8.05am: Wong defends child care pay rise
Labor senate leader Penny Wong has defended the opposition’s plan to subsidise 20 per cent wage rises for childcare workers as the best way to tackle the gender pay gap, despite warnings from business and industry groups.
“The reality is the sector hasn’t being paying it and they may well argue they can’t afford it, you’d have to ask them,” she told ABC radio.
“But there’s a broader public policy issue here which is pay equity … the vast majority of early childhood educators, I think 96 per cent, are women. I think the average wage is around $45,000.”
Leading business figures and economists have suggested the move represented an undermining by Labor of Australia’s industrial relations structure and a challenge to the role of the independent Fair Work Commission, which last year rejected a long-running union equal-pay claim for childcare workers.
Richard Ferguson 7.55am: Wong blames ‘dirty campaign’
Labor Senate leader Penny Wong has blamed a “dirty campaign” for a tightening Newspoll result.
“I always anticipated, we always anticipated, this election would be tight,” she told ABC radio this morning.
“We always anticipated we’d see a dirty campaign from the Liberals, and we have.
“We always anticipated it would be tough. Labor has won from opposition three times since World War Two.”
Richard Ferguson 7.30am: ‘Aussies asking more questions’
Trade Minister and Coalition Campaign Spokesman Simon Birmingham has welcomed today’s tightening Newspoll result, even though it still suggests the government will lose next month.
“What we’re seeing is that as the campaign goes on, Australians are asking more questions and are understanding the very stark choices at play in this election campaign,” he told ABC News this morning.
“And you know, many Australians start to vote today, and they’ll go to the polls in a situation where Bill Shorten continues to refuse to detail the cost of his tax policies.”
The two-party preferred result now stands at Labor 51 per cent to the Coalition’s 49 per cent after a rough campaign start for Bill Shorten.
But the government’s primary vote of 38 per cent (down one point from the last Newspoll) shows how difficult it will still be for Scott Morrison to retain power.
Richard Ferguson 7.20am: Mystic Medusa’s debate advice
Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten are getting ready for their big Perth debate. So what advice do the stars have for them as these two Taurus bulls finally face off?
Here is The Weekend Australian’s Mystic Medusa and her read on how the leaders are going:
“Promethean Uranus in Taurus is sparking new concepts and ingenuity, but it’s not the week to move on them. Saturn turning retro (especially strong on April 29-30) is fab for redefining long-term objectives and identifying weak elements in your planning and foundation. Mars-Neptune bring out the con artists. Ignore. Block. Delete.”
Looks like the cosmos is telling the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader to stay steady even with Newspoll tightening further.
Richard Ferguson 7.10am: $156m to fight cyber crime
Scott Morrison has promised to spend $156 million to protect Australians from cyber-criminals.
The Prime Minister will try to stem the rise of cyber attacks by investing $50 million into growing the cyber workforce, $40m to bolster the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s fight against foreign cyber criminals, and $26m to expand the ACSC’s ability to help the community.
“As the risk of cyber-attack increases we need to ensure Australians are protected and our defence forces and capabilities continue to get the backing they need,” he said today.
“We will continue to take a proactive approach against cyber criminals at home and overseas, including scammers, fraudsters and those involved in child exploitation.”
The Coalition would also expand a 24/7 helpline for people affected by cyber-attacks and provide training for small businesses and older Australians under siege online.
What’s making news:
The federal election race is tightening as the Coalition continues to close the gap on Labor, with minor-party preferences now poised to play a critical role in the outcome.
Clive Palmer has claimed that a senior union boss and member of Labor’s national executive, Michael O’Connor, offered to help him regain access to Townsville Port in order to reopen a nickel refinery that once employed almost 1000 workers at the same time Labor officials were lobbying him for a preference deal.
Business and industry groups are warning Bill Shorten that his plan to directly fund a 20 per cent wage rise for childcare workers will trigger more union claims for pay rises to be financed from government revenues and higher taxes.
Josh Frydenberg has promised to pump $260 million into a rail upgrade that could prove crucial to the fortunes of the Liberal Party in the besieged seats of Higgins and Kooyong.
Voters living in Australia’s most exclusive suburbs face a “double whammy” tax clampdown under a Labor government, with Bill Shorten’s plan to cap deductions for managing tax affairs at $3000 aimed at the same people most vulnerable to his franking credit ban.
Labor leader Bill Shorten has offered $1000 in dental subsidies to pensioners and seniors, under a proposed $2.4 billion extension of Medicare, and vowed to negotiate a much larger federal-funded oral health program with the states if elected.
Labor Northern Territory Senate candidate Wayne Kurnoth is expected to stand aside this morning after it was revealed by The Australian that he shared an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that claims the world is being run by a secret society of Jewish shapeshifting lizards.
Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten will face off in Perth today during the first leaders’ debate of the election campaign, as negotiations for a third debate heat up.
Many voters in Western Australia believe small businesses would be forced to lay off staff, reduce workers’ hours or delay hiring new staff if a 5 per cent wage increase is introduced, according to a statewide poll.
John Howard has accused Bill Shorten of fuelling a new class war, saying his tax rises are “economic madness” and accusing him of fostering “envy and division” as the government announced a temporary freeze on Australia’s refugee intake.
The election may have been called more than a fortnight ago but it wasn’t until yesterday that Bill Shorten truly launched the campaign agenda he hopes will deliver the keys to The Lodge.
Dennis Shanahan writes: With these numbers, Scott Morrison is in with a chance.
Graham Richardson writes: Palmer deal betrays PM’s whatever-it-takes desperation.
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