Scott Morrison tells Bill Shorten next election is between them, likens himself to Daniel Andrews
PoliticsNow | The PM targets Bill Shorten’s lack of appeal with voters, saying he can’t ride the coat-tails of popular Premiers.
- Federal ICAC ‘being considered’
- Voters aren’t clinging to coal
- Tim Wilson’s truth serum
- Shorten’s ‘no Dan Andrews’
Hello and welcome to PoliticsNow, The Australian’s live blog on the happenings at Parliament House in Canberra.
Scott Morrison is set to come under pressure in the final sitting fortnight of the year after the disastrous result for the Liberal Party in the Victorian election.
Here’s how today played out:
Rosie Lewis 6.24pm: Labor pokes fun at Kroger’s analysis
Labor has apparently tried to have a bit of fun with Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger’s analysis of the weekend’s election result with this video montage.
Much watch Labor video featuring Liberal President Michael Kroger explaining why they won on Saturday.... pic.twitter.com/Dqn4VZjyEn
— James Campbell (@J_C_Campbell) November 26, 2018
James Jeffrey 4.15pm: ‘This is a place of war’
Given her brutal booting of MPs, it was fitting that Bronwyn Bishop guided guests to their seats at the unveiling of her official portrait. Read more here
Greg Brown 3.15pm: Senators drop by
Crossbench senators Sarah Hanson-Young, Derryn Hinch and Tim Storer come into the house to watch the end of question time.
They have arrived to watch Kerryn Phelps’s maiden speech.
Richard Ferguson 3.10pm: ‘This is between me and you’
Opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King asks Scott Morrison why the Liberals’ landslide loss in Victoria was “such a ringing endorsement of his government’s policies”. The Prime Minister says Labor is suffering from hubris and that first-term governments are rarely voted out of office.
“Premier Andrews won the election of Victoria, not you. That is who won the election in Victoria. Premier Andrews won the election in Victoria,” he says.
“There will be a choice at the next election and it will not be involving any Premier of any of the states, it will be between me and you.”
Richard Ferguson 3.05pm: ‘What have you learned from landslide?’
Opposition defence spokesman Richard Marles asks Scott Morrison what lessons he has learnt from Labor’s landslide win on Saturday’s Victorian election.
The Prime Minister says he congratulated Daniel Andrews via text. It is the first time Mr Morrison has publicly congratulated the Premier since his win.
Mr Morrison compares the successful Andrews government to his own. Labor MPs jeer.
“An incumbent government running a strong economy with a preferred Premier and delivering services and infrastructure for the people they intend to serve,” he says.
“Who does that sound like?”
Mr Morrison leads Mr Shorten by twelve points as preferred prime minister in today’s Newspoll.
The Coalition lags Labor by 10 points on the two-party-preferred race, which would indicate a loss of 21 seats in a federal election if the swing was uniform.
Richard Ferguson 2.55pm: Albo accused of ‘smear’
Opposition infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese asks Scott Morrison why he was removed from his position as director of Tourism Australia in the early 2000s.
Speaker Tony Smith rules out the question as it was not relevant to the Prime Minister’s current duties.
Leader of the House Christopher Pyne says Mr Albanese’s query was a “smear, rather than a question.”
Richard Ferguson 2.50pm: ‘I won’t be lectured by Labor’
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus asks Scott Morrison if he is committed to a National Integrity Commission or “if he’s just pretending.”
The Prime Minister responds by saying he will “not be lectured” by Labor on anti-corruption and brings up past corruption scandals involving Labor figures.
“I’m not going to be lectured on integrity by the Labor Party,” he says. “The party of Craig Thomson, the party of Sam Dastyari, the party of Joe Tripodi, the party of WA Inc.
“Whether it was Rex Jackson all those years going all the way through to Eddie Obeid ... The Labor Party, when it comes to integrity, give me a break.”
Richard Ferguson 2.45pm: No longer a ‘fringe issue’
Bill Shorten again asks why the government backed a National Integrity Commission motion in the house after Scott Morrison once called a federal ICAC “a fringe issue”.
“This is a government that is able to deal with many, many issues,” the Prime Minister responds.
Greg Brown 2.40pm: PM quizzed on climate change
Greens MP Adam Bandt asks Scott Morrison about the government’s “failure” to combat climate change.
Mr Bandt asks if the Prime Minister will support a group of school students who will go on “strike” to protest the government’s climate change policy.
The Prime Minister says climate change is a “very real and serious issue” as he outlines the government’s policies in the area, including the Renewable Energy Target and Snowy 2.0.
But he says kids should go to school.
“We don’t support the idea of kids not going to school,” Mr Morrison says. “What we want is more learning in schools and less activism in schools.”
Richard Ferguson 2.35pm: Federal ICAC or not?
Bill Shorten asks why the government backed a motion in the house earlier in the day to support a federal ICAC, if the government says it has not decided whether it wants to create one.
Scott Morrison responds that the government is “not closed” to a federal ICAC.
“We are not opposed to measures which add and lift the integrity of the way that government is administered in the country,” he tells the house.
“And so we do not remain closed to those options and will be considering a range of options about what is the best way to go forward.”
The Prime Minister then says the Opposition Leader is not focusing on the economy by pursuing questions about a federal anti-corruption watching.
Richard Ferguson 2.30pm: Shorten attack continues
Bill Shorten asks if the government supports a National Integrity Commission.
“Yes or no?” he asks.
The Prime Minister says that Attorney General Christian Porter has been considering a future anti-corruption framework for several months.
“He’s already been working on these matters is several months and we are following our process through the Cabinet process and that’s how things be done,” he says.
“We have a cabinet process to address it in a way that is prudent, responsible and works to all the unintended consequences and makes sure we have a process that doesn’t go around and vilify people who work the public sector, whether they be journalists or public officials anyone else.”
Greg Brown 2.28pm: Seating arrangements
Kerryn Phelps is seated next to fellow crossbencher Cathy McGowan for her first question time.
Meanwhile, former speaker Bronwyn Bishop does not get a good reception from Labor MPs when called out in the parliament.
“Speaking of entitlements ...” one Labor MP yells.
Rosie Lewis 2.25pm: Senator fumes over leaks
Deputy chair of the privileges committee, Liberal senator Ian Macdonald, said he was “outraged” aspects of the au pair saga report were leaked to the media yesterday and had always found the AFP to be “very thorough, very professional and beyond reproach” in previous inquiries.
“I believe it’s the first time in living history of parliament that a privileges committee has been leaked to the press. That could only have come from someone who’d seen the report. I expect the committee will conduct a full investigation into the leak – what confidence can anyone have in giving evidence to the privileges committee if it’s reports are being released?” Senator Macdonald said.
“In all of my long association with the AFP through estimates, through the old crime commission and through previous Senate privileges inquiries I’ve found them to be very thorough, very professional and beyond reproach in the way they’ve conducted previous investigations that have later been referred to the privileges committee.”
Richard Ferguson 2.20pm: ICAC being considered
Bill Shorten opens up questions and asks about the government’s “support” for a federal anti-corruption watchdog and what they will do to make one a reality.
Attorney General Christian Porter says the government is “considering” whether to create a federal ICAC or keep the multi-agency approach to combating corruption.
“We acknowledge there’s a question as to how to improve on that system and whether scrapping it for a completely singular model of an integrity commissioner is the best way to go or whether there should be consolidation in the creation of a new umbrella model,” he tells the house.
“We are considering that and doing it in a dutiful and cautious way.”
He noted that Labor’s opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus has not always supported a federal ICAC.
Richard Ferguson 2.16pm: ’We must fight terrorism’
Bill Shorten tells the house that the Bourke St terrorist attack was “horrific and confronting and appalling.”
“We do not have to change and we are or how we live simply to accommodate terrorism. Instead, we must stand together to eliminate it,” he says.
Mr Shorten tells the house about his friendship with Mr Malaspina over nearly three decades, and the last time he saw him days before he was murdered.
“I wish I could tell the parliament and wish I could recall something profound from when we shook hands and we farewelled each other that day,” he says.
“But it was a casual goodbye, it was a friendly see you soon. Because of course you couldn’t imagine what was about to happen.”
Greg Brown 2.10pm: Terror victim honoured
Scott Morrison opens QT by speaking about the Bourke Street terror attack, which killed cafe owner Sisto Malaspina.
“A man who in every way covers a lot of what we love about this country, a man who came to this country as a young man and brought with him his Italian joy and an unquenchable openness of heart and we think with his family and we grieve with his family,” the Prime Minister says.
He tells the house the government is responding to the terror threat through tougher laws.
Mr Morrison says he met with members of the Islamic community last week to talk with them about how they can together tackle extremism.
Richard Ferguson 2.02pm: Blasts from the past
Former speakers are watching on for the first Question Time of the week. Former Liberal speaker Bronywn Bishop is in the public gallery after her official parliamentary portrait was unveiled today.
And former Labor speaker Harry Jenkins is also in the House to watch proceedings.
Greg Brown 1.50pm: Porter always open to NIG
Labor is claiming the government has backflipped in its support for a national anti-corruption commission but Attorney General Christian Porter has previously said he was open to the idea.
Mr Porter said last week: “As I have said repeatedly, I am not closed-minded as to options for a future integrity framework. The government continues to carefully consider the best way to further strengthen and improve the national integrity framework and I am open to discussing all policy options.
“It is important that changes in this area improve upon the current system, rather than adding complexity and confusion. The experience at the state and territory level shows this is the worst area to engage in policy on the run, as Labor has done.”
Greg Brown 1.20pm: They’ve rolled over: Dreyfus
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus says the government has “rolled over” in its opposition to a National Integrity Commission.
But he accused the government of only supporting a motion in the House of Representatives to avoid an losing a vote.
“After nearly a year of opposition, the government has rolled over and will now support a National Integrity Commission. A welcome decision — but one entirely driven by the prospect of losing a vote on the floor of the House,” Mr Dreyfus tweeted.
“Nevertheless we call on the government cooperate with us and the crossbench to get this done properly, and as soon as possible.”
After nearly a year of opposition, the government has rolled over and will now support a National Integrity Commission. A welcome decision - but one entirely driven by the prospect of losing a vote on the floor of the House. (1/2)
— Mark Dreyfus (@markdreyfusQCMP) November 26, 2018
Richard Ferguson 1.15pm: Anti-corruption backflip
The House of Representatives has backed a motion calling for the creation of a federal anti-corruption watchdog. The motion calls only on the government to establish one, and does not in any way create a federal ICAC.
The government supported the motion which is a backflip from its previous opposition to a federal ICAC. However, it opposes a bill tabled in the house to establish. Attorney-General Christian Porter said the bill sponsored by crossbench MP Cathy McGowan was flawed was flawed.
Greg Brown 12.10pm: Anti-corruption debate opens
The government has allowed a debate in the House of Representatives on establishing a National Integrity Commission.
Bill Shorten has spoken in the House talking up the need for a national corruption watchdog. The motion being debated calls on the parliament to establish a NIC. The motion was sponsored by the Greens and passed the Senate. There is a separate bill to be tabled before the house sponsored by independent MP Cathy McGowan and has the support of Labor and the crossbench.
Attorney-General Christian Porter is using the debate to reiterate the government’s opposition to the NIC.
Mr Porter said, under Ms McGowan’s bill, ABC journalist Andrew Probyn would have been found “corrupt” because he was found to be not impartial in a news report when he called Tony Abbott “destructive”.
Mr Porter said the most “astonishing” part of the bill is that it would be applied retrospectively.
Attorney-General Christian Porter claims ABC journalist Andrew Probyn would be found corrupt under the national integrity commission model which has been put forward.@cporterwa: Read the bill. That's what would occur under the terms of this bill.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 26, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/DUaTPwLGou pic.twitter.com/OrztOF2WRf
Greg Brown 12.01pm: Abbott plays down loss
Tony Abbott has played down the Liberal Party’s loss in the Victorian election despite conceding it was a “very disappointing result”.
The former prime minister said it was hard for the Coalition to win the state election because it had been behind in the polls for five years.
“That said I was very disappointed because I thought that Matthew Guy had good, solid, sensible policies,” Mr Abbott told 2GB radio.
“I thought that he did his best. But unfortunately there wasn’t a lot of cut through and it is always hard to knock off a first term incumbent.”
Richard Ferguson 11.44am: Julie’s red shoes march to museum
Julie Bishop will donate her “resignation red shoes” to the Museum of Australian Democracy, which the museum call a “symbol of solidarity and empowerment.”
Ms Bishop resigned as Foreign Minister after she failed to win the Liberal Party leadership in August. She was the first female foreign minister and first female deputy leader of the Liberals.
At Ms Bishop’s resignation conference, journalists and photographers took a particular interest in her bright red heels.
“The shoes were seen as a bold statement and a symbol of solidarity and empowerment among Australian women,” a Museum of Australian Democracy spokeswoman said.
The red heels will be presented to the Museum, at Old Parliament House, on Wednesday.
Ben Packham 11.25am: Frydenberg’s crisis meeting
Victorian MPs have given an “honest” assessment to Scott Morrison of the reasons behind weekend’s state election rout and its implications for the federal government.
Josh Frydenberg, who called the crisis meeting following Labor’s landslide defeat of the Coalition in Victoria, said the talks had been productive.
“We had a good, honest discussion about lessons to be learned from the State campaign,” the Treasurer said.
“As a group we will continue to be focused on delivering for our local communities.”
Richard Ferguson 11.10am: Voters don’t hate renewables
Voters are not “hugging something like coal” and want a clear agenda on the environment, Coalition MP Tim Wilson says.
Mr Wilson has been outspoken this morning about the Coalition’s need to learn lessons from their landslide defeat from the weekend’s Victorian state election.
The Victorian federal MP said the government needs a clear agenda on the environment to win back small-l Liberal voters in places like Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.
“There is no left or right views on this issue,” Mr Wilson told Sky News.
“I believe in environmental stewardship and handing the next generation an environment as healthy as the one that I inherited. And what we have to do is drive a very clear agenda about how we’re going to do that.
“If anybody thinks that there’s this great public sentiment out there that people really deep down hate renewables and they're hugging something like coal, I say again — get real.”
.@TimWilsonMP on energy and climate change policy: There is no left and right view on these issues. If anyone thinks there is this great public sentiment out there that people hate renewables and they’re hugging coal - I say get real.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 25, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/nCa56qqjCY #amagenda pic.twitter.com/bL8wNtz4d9
Richard Ferguson 10.40am: Watchdog bill unveiled
Independent MP Cathy McGowan is unveiling her bill for a federal anti-corruption watchdog in the House of Representatives.
Ms McGowan has spent months constructing the framework for a federal ICAC but the government has made clear it will be opposing the bill.
The Independent MP for Indi told the House that a National Integrity Commission would have “Royal Commission” powers to investigate corruption in the Commonwealth.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said this morning that the government would oppose the bill over concerns it goes too far, and could see ABC and SBS journalists forced to reveal sources.
Ms McGowan needs Labor, all six crossbenchers, and a rogue Coalition MP to bring on debate, in a major test of Scott Morrison’s control of the House floor.
Richard Ferguson 10.10am: New member for House of Reps
Kerryn Phelps has been sworn in as the federal Member for Wentworth, a month after she won Malcolm Turnbull’s blue-ribbon Sydney seat and wiped out Scott Morrison’s majority.
Dr Phelps was led into the House of Representatives by fellow cross bench MPs Cathy McGowan and Rebekha Sharkie to a round of applause.
The Wentworth independent beat Liberal candidate Dave Sharma in October, ending the Liberal Party’s ownership of the seat since 1944.
She took the seat after Mr Turnbull resigned from parliament following his ousting from the Prime Ministership in August.
As a result of Dr Phelps’ victory, the Prime Minister now leads a minority government but he has secured a deal with cross bench MP Bob Katter to provide confidence and supply.
Richard Ferguson 9.25am: Injured Dutton out
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton will miss parliament this week after injuring his arm, just as he was due to prosecute the case for tougher encryption laws.
Mr Dutton had surgery on the weekend and will Attorney General Christian Porter will take charge of getting through new anti-terror laws.
“Last Friday afternoon, I suffered an injury to my arm which required surgery over the weekend,” he said on Twitter this morning.
“I have taken medical leave from parliament this week. The AG (Christian Porter) will act for me in my absence and will continue progressing the important national security legislation which I hope Labor will support and be dealt with this sitting fortnight.”
Mr Dutton has spent the past weeks since the Bourke St terrorist attack calling for more access for security services to the encrypted messages of terrorists and pedophiles.
He also faces a test in parliament with Labor putting pressure on the House of Representatives to refer Mr Dutton to the High Court over his eligibility to sit in parliament.
Labor has confirmed they will provide Mr Dutton with a parliamentary pair this week.
— Peter Dutton (@PeterDutton_MP) November 25, 2018
Greg Brown 8.55am: Tim Wilson’s truth serum
Victorian Liberal MP Tim Wilson says it is “not true” the weekend’s election result does not have federal implications.
Mr Wilson said the party had lost its heartland in the state election, arguing many Liberal voters want action on climate change.
“I sat there on polling booths and every second person either gave me deadly silence, a very cold deadly silence,” Mr Wilson told Sky News.
“Or there was people mentioning energy, climate or the deposing of the (former) prime minister. I think we can get past that, but I know the people who vote for me, I know them very well, and I can tell you they are not rusted on conservatives and out there on the battle gates.
“They are a forward-looking, modern, liberal community and they sent us a message very clearly.”
.@TimWilsonMP on the Victorian election: You saw a heartland and a voter base who turned around and said to us ‘we’ve had enough’.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 25, 2018
You can go on saying this has got no Federal implications, but sorry, not true.
MORE: https://t.co/nCa56qqjCY #amagenda pic.twitter.com/iRWewbxs3c
Richard Ferguson 8.45am: No Shorten landslide: Rowland
The next federal election will be very close and Bill Shorten will not replicate Victorian Labor’s landslide weekend win, opposition communications spokesman Michelle Rowland says.
“The next election is going to be very close. There is not going to be some replicated landslide victory purely on the numbers,” she told Sky News.
Ms Rowland also said the growth of an originally unpopular Daniel Andrews into a two-term premier showed that voters are more focused on policy, rather than personality.
Labor leads in Newspoll today by 55 per cent to the Coalition’s 45 per cent on the two-party preferred vote. That would result in a loss of 21 Coalition seats if replicated in a national election on a uniform swing.
Richard Ferguson 8.30am: Federal ICAC bill “problematic”
The government will not back Cathy McGowan’s federal ICAC bill because it could force ABC and SBS journalists to give up their sources, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says.
“On our reading of that bill, journalists in the ABC and SBS, in their status of public servants, could be summoned to that National Integrity Commission to provide and to reveal their sources,” he told ABC Radio.
“That is something we see as problematic … we are not of the mind to support the legislation that is in front of the parliament.”
The independent MP for Indi will introduce her bill for the creation of a federal anti-corruption watchdog later today in a major test of Scott Morrison’s control of the House of Representatives now he is in minority government.
Coalition MP Llew O’Brien told The New Daily today that he thinks a federal ICAC is a “no-brainer”, but Katter Australia Party leader Bob Katter told The Australian he is still unsure about the bill.
Ms McGowan will need Labor, all six crossbenchers, and a rogue Coalition MP to bring on debate on the bill.
Richard Ferguson 8.20am: Libs “rammed views down people’s throats”
Senate President Scott Ryan says the Victorian Liberals partly lost this weekend’s state election because the party’s hard right was ramming their views “down people’s throats.”
The Victorian Liberals suffered huge swings in Melbourne’s leafy eastern suburbs, considered Liberal heartland since the party was created by Sir Robert Menzies.
Senator Ryan, a leading figure in the Victorian Liberal moderates, said Liberal voters did not want “litmus tests” to see how conservative they are.
“They (voters) don’t want litmus tests for what it means to be a real Liberal,” he told ABC radio.
“A lot of Liberal voters, they’re fairly conservative in their own lives. They raise kids, they work hard, they run small businesses … but they’re pretty (small-l) liberal in their political outlook.
“They don’t want views rammed down their throats. And they don’t want to ram their views down other people’s throats.”
Michael Kroger says he’s not feeling pressure to move on as Victorian Liberal Party President following the state election loss.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 25, 2018
‘The Federal party President Nick Greiner didn’t move on after the Wentworth by-election.’
MORE: https://t.co/nCa56qqjCY #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/I66aMehUtr
Greg Brown 8.15am: Broad support for terror laws
Bill Shorten says he will consider the advice on security agencies before deciding on whether he would support the fast tracking of the encryption bill.
The Opposition Leader said the government “could be right” in demanding the legislation be passed before Christmas,
Security agencies are today meeting the 11 members of the parliamentary joint committee of intelligence and security and are expected to ask for the legislation to be passed before Christmas, which the government is also demanding.
Senior Labor MPs believe splitting the bill and passing the encryption section of the five part legislation could be the best way to gain bipartisan support for expediting the assessment of the bill, which remains stuck before the committee.
“I will be guided by the best evidence when it comes to national security, I’ve got a crack team on the joint parliamentary committee on intelligence and security, I will wait to hear what they tell us,” Mr Shorten said.
“The government has certainly said there is a major rush to resolve these matters, they could be right I will wait for the detail.
“What I want to say to Australians who hear the government talk about national security and the look at the division and chaos of parliament, I want to to reassure them, when it comes to national security, Labor and Liberal are in this together.
“I worked very effectively with Tony Abbott, I worked very effectively with Malcolm Turnbull, I will work very effectively with the new fella, no problems.”
Richard Ferguson 8.10am: It’s not a ‘retiree tax’
Bill Shorten has defended his franking credits policy, despite revelations it will hit more than 300,000 voters in Labor-held seats.
The Australian reports today that ATO data has found in NSW alone, there were 310,000 people who would be affected, with 120,000 in Labor-held seats. The average amount people stood to lose was about $2200 a year.
Mr Shorten said this morning that he was not pursuing a “retiree tax.”
“It’s not that tough to counter … if you don’t pay someone a payment, if you withdraw a government subsidy, it is not a new tax,” he said.
“The idea that this nation can afford to hand out billions of dollars to people merely because they own shares is not a sustainable idea.”
Richard Ferguson 7.45am: Bring on a surplus: Shorten
Bill Shorten says he would welcome Josh Frydenberg delivering a pre-election budget surplus.
There is speculation the Treasurer and Scott Morrison may move the Budget to April, before a May election, to spruik the nation’s improved economic position before voting commences.
The Opposition Leader said any budget surplus would be due to continuing high rates of company tax, rather than the Coalition’s fiscal policies.
“If they have a surplus, we think this is a good thing, but this is because of increased taxation on companies,” he told Sky News.
The Prime Minister, then the treasurer, dropped proposed company tax cuts for big businesses in August due to difficulties passing them in the Senate.
Greg Brown 7.35am: Embrace ‘a broad church’
Josh Frydenberg says Sir Robert Menzies established the Liberal Party to be a progressive party and not a reactionary one.
With Victorian MPs to hold a crisis meeting with Scott Morrison this morning, the Treasurer said the party should embrace a “broad church”.
“The Liberal Party is at its best when it is a broad church representing those who have small-l liberal views as well as those who have conservative views,” Mr Frydenberg told ABC radio.
“When Sir Robert Menzies established the Liberal party he made it very clear we were a progressive party, not a reactionary party.
“We believed in the individual and in enterprise and his or her rights. We also rejected the (socialist) panacea. They were Menzies’ words, they still guide us today as they did back then.”
Richard Ferguson 7.30pm: The difference is unity
Bill Shorten says his “united team” will be key to winning the next federal election.
It comes as Newspoll shows Labor ahead on the primary vote and two-party preferred stakes, but Mr Shorten behind Scott Morrison in the preferred prime minister race.
“One difference between me and the current government — we are united,” he told the Nine Network this morning.
“I can promise Australians that we are a united team, we have been united for over five years. We are not consumed by infighting. That is one thing the other team cannot offer.”
Richard Ferguson 7.20am: Federal election ‘different’: Tehan
Education Minister Dan Tehan says the Coalition will fight to keep hold in Victoria and that they could even pick up seats in Melbourne at the next election.
Labor are now looking at picking up as many as five Liberal seats in Victoria if state election swings are replicated at the next election.
But the Education Minister says the federal election will be fought on different issues, and the party is looking at picking up the metropolitan seat of Macnamara, currently held by retiring Labor MP Michael Danby.
“We think we can pick up that seat in Melbourne which is something we will work towards,” he told ABC News Breakfast.
“And Sarah Henderson, who has had a marginal seat in Corangamite, she has had a marginal seat ever since she has been in parliament and she will fight and fight.
“Obviously, all my Victorian colleagues will be meeting this morning. We want to get information from all parts of the state as to what we all thought the issues were, what is relevant to the federal government, so we can act quickly to address that.”
.@billshortenmp: If the Federal Liberal Party believes there is no message for the Liberal brand in Australia, well that’s up to them. But what I saw on Saturday was that better schools and better hospitals trump chaos and division.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 25, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/nCa56qqjCY #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/nbQB4endZ0
Richard Ferguson 7.10am: It’s not ‘in the bag’
Bill Shorten says he does not have the next federal election “in the bag” despite Labor’s landslide win in Victoria.
“Some people say Labor has it in the bag, I don’t think that at all,” he told The Project last night.
“How the Liberal Party interpret this loss is up to them. I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking about the government or the Prime Minister.
“What people want from me and what people want from politics is focus on policy.”
Federal Labor leads 55 per cent to the Coalition’s 45 per cent in the two-party-preferred race in today’s Newspoll.
But Mr Shorten lags Scott Morrison in the preferred prime minister stakes by 12 points
We spoke to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and asked him... Are the Libs screwed? #TheProjectTV pic.twitter.com/xmUUFaEasX
— The Project (@theprojecttv) November 25, 2018
Greg Brown 7.05am: Shorten ‘no Dan Andrews’
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has denied there were federal implications from the Liberal Party’s loss in the Victorian election, despite Labor using Scott Morrison in a lot of the party’s campaign ads.
Mr Frydenberg played down Bill Shorten’s ability to win an election, declaring he was “no Dan Andrews”.
“As Matthew Guy himself has said, it was a state election fought on state issues and that is really important to understand,” Mr Frydenberg told Sky News.
“We know from the poll today about preferred PM that Scott Morrison is well ahead of Bill Shorten and we know that Bill Shorten is no Dan Andrews.
“That being said we are very much aware of the scale of the challenge that is ahead of us both in Victoria and across the country.”
Mr Frydenberg said the party had to do better in Victoria given the state was growing at a fast pace and its national electoral significance was increasing.
Greg Brown 7.00am: What’s making news
Senior Liberals are warning that the Morrison government is on track for a “hammering” in Victoria at the 2019 election, with up to seven federal seats in danger following a disastrous state poll result.
Scott Morrison is struggling to win back Coalition voters, with Bill Shorten’s Labor holding a 10-point lead in the two-party-preferred vote, despite a recovery in the Prime Minister’s personal popularity.
The Victorian Liberal Party is facing a historic overhaul of its campaigning, with a heavier focus on young people, infrastructure and internal polling — and the organisation could go to the federal election with a new president.
National Cyber Security Adviser Alastair MacGibbon has attacked technology companies for their “absurd” opposition to new encryption laws aimed at neutralising terrorists, paedophiles and organised crime gangs.
Bill Shorten’s plans to axe refunds for imputation dividends will largely target people in Coalition seats but will also hit more than 300,000 voters in Labor electorates, according to government analysis of the ALP tax grab worth more than $45 billion.
Powerbroker and federal Liberal minister Alex Hawke has secured two significant preselection victories at the expense of the Right faction inhabited by former prime minister Tony Abbott — drawing concerns about reignited warfare in the Liberal Party.
Scott Morrison will be under pressure to resist a pre-election cash splash after Deloitte Access Economics predicted the federal budget would narrowly miss booking a surplus this financial year.
The chances of parliament backing a federal anti-corruption watchdog are declining as crossbench MP Bob Katter wavers on his support and the search for a rogue Coalition MP to back a federal ICAC bill continues.
The Australian’s Simon Benson writes that voters are more keen on Scott Morrison than the Liberal Party.
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