PoliticsNow: Daisy Turnbull weighs in on Wentworth
Malcolm Turnbull’s daughter is the latest of his family members to use social media to have their say on the by-election.
- Labor labelled ‘anti-Semitic’
- ‘Sharma is the future’
- Turnbull intervenes in Wentworth
- Forgive ‘naughty’ Barnaby
- ‘Nats are behind me’
Hello and welcome to PoliticsNow, The Australian’s live blog on the happenings at Parliament House in Canberra.
MPs are making their way out of Canberra after another tempestuous week under the Scott Morrison prime ministership.
TOP STORY: Daisy Turnbull weighs in on Wentworth
Greg Brown 3.30pm: Parliamentry good sports
Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten finish QT speaking on indulgence on the Invictus Games.
The Opposition Leader proposes the government revive the Australian Sports Medal which was given out in 2000 to recognise achievements in Australian sport.
He says it could be given to people who were involved with the Invictus Games.
The Prime Minister says he will be happy to adopt Mr Shorten’s proposal.
“The government would be very happy to accept the proposal put forward by the Leader of the Opposition,” Mr Morrison says.
Greg Brown 3.25pm: Bill is ‘bubble-obsessed’
Bill Shorten goes into a litany of problems facing the government this week.
“If this is what a Morrison government really looks like, why isn’t Malcolm Turnbull still the prime minister of Australia?”
Scott Morrison lists off all the things he has done since becoming leader, including tackling the drought and announcing an aged-care royal commission.
The Prime Minister’s backbench try and sound excited yelling “hear, hear” after every achievement is listed.
“That’s what I’ve been up to,” Morrison says.
“I’ve got no idea what this bubble-obsessed Leader of the Opposition is interested in.”
Greg Brown 3.20pm: ‘Unfit, unstable Coalition government’
Labor Chris Bowen goes into the revolving-door leadership of the government.
“How could it claim a vote for the Liberals on Saturday is a vote for stability when this unfit and unstable government has already fallen to pieces?”
Scott Morrison points to the more than one million jobs created since the government was elected under Tony Abbott’s leadership in 2013.
“So on the weekend there is a choice. There is a choice, whether the government can continue to be able to govern with its majority and continue to deliver the important economic leadership,” Mr Morrison says.
Greg Brown 3.15pm: Barnaby bored on the backbench
Labor’s Tony Smith uses a technicality to ask a rare question to a backbencher: Barnaby Joyce.
He asks about a stalled motion on the notice paper about rural Australia needing “strong leadership”.
“I ask the member, when will the motion finally be put to a vote?”
Leader of the House Christopher Pyne appeals the question’s legitimacy but it is ruled in order by Speaker Tony Smith.
So Mr Joyce stands up and lauds the government’s efforts in delivering for rural Australia. He also invites Labor to ask him another question, noting he has time on his hands.
“I’m sure we’ll get to the motion and when we do I’ll get back to you personally,” Mr Joyce says.
“Ask me another question, God knows I’ve got a bit of spare time up here.”
Greg Brown 3.10pm: Reef grant debate won’t die
Labor MP Cathy O’Toole asks Environment Minister Melissa Price about her claim in QT yesterday that administration fees on the government’s $440 million grant to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation were capped at 5 per cent.
“Can the minister confirm that under the agreement between the government and the small private Brisbane-based foundation in fact allows more than $80m to be spent on administration?”
Price says she misunderstood yesterday’s question.
“The total amount of the grant that may be spent on the foundation’s administration work, which I thought was the question associated with the grant is $22.5 million or 5 per cent,” she says.
“The foundation may use an amount of interest that it earns on the grant towards administration costs.”
She admits the foundation could also earn money through subcontracting work from the grant.
“But I wasn’t asked that, so let’s be specific,” she says.
Alana Calvert 3.00pm: Daisy weighs in on Wentworth
The daughter of the former Prime Minister has weighed in on the Wentworth by-election, retweeting a post from the Liberal candidate vying for her father’s old seat.
Daisy Turnbull Brown accompanied her tweet with an apparently good-natured “great sentiment, Dave” in response to Mr Sharma’s tweet that wished good luck to students sitting their HSC exams from today.
A great sentiment, Dave! https://t.co/h99vXvOhgE
— Daisy Turnbull Brown (@MrsDzTB) October 18, 2018
Last week, Malcolm Turnbull’s son, Alex gave an explosive interview to the ABC in which he accused the Liberal Party of “dog whistling to Nazis”. He went on to list his top five “crazy” Liberal politicians, with Tony Abbott topping his list as “a singularly destructive human being”.
Alex Turnbull has previously shown support on social media for the Labor Party.
Mr Turnbull’s daughter’s endorsement of Mr Sharma came just hours after the former Prime Minsiter ‘liked’ then quickly ‘unliked’ a tweet endorsing Independent candidate for Wentworth Keryn Phelps.
Greg Brown 2.45pm: Price apologises for ‘cash’ comment
Opposition energy spokesman Mark Butler asks about claims Environment Minister Melissa Price told a senior Pacific leader and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, former Kiribati president Anote Tong, that he was visiting Australia “for the cash”.
Mr Butler accuses Ms Price of misleading the House of Representatives when she yesterday denied using the phrase.
“Will the minister now comply with the ministerial standards and correct the record?”
Ms Price says she does not recall saying what is accused by a witness, Labor senator Pat Dodson.
She says she called Mr Tong after QT yesterday.
“What I said to him is I don’t agree with the words that were reflected in the letter but if I have caused any concern then I’m very sorry about that,” Ms Price says.
“And he accepted my apology.”
Greg Brown 2.30pm: PM labels NSW Labor Party ‘anti-Semitic’
Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek asks who Scott Morrison blames for the leak between the Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.
The Prime Minister says he has “no such suspicions”.
“What I can tell the house, that Minister Payne and her Indonesian counterpart had a constructive discussion on October 16 regarding Australia’s announcement,” he says.
He then creates furore by labelling the NSW Labor Party “anti-Semitic”.
“And they want to pretend to the Australian people that they’re supporters of Israel,” he says.
Speaker Tony Smith does not sanction him, despite complaints from Manager of Opposition Business Tony Burke.
“I’m just going to say I want the standard of language to improve,” Mr Smith says.
Greg Brown 2.20pm: ‘Will AFP investigate this leak?’
Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek asks about a leaked WhatsApp message between Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Indonesia’s Foreign Minister.
“Will the Australian Federal Police be asked to investigate this leak?”
Scott Morrison says there is no evidence the leak came from anyone within the Australian government.
Greg Brown 2.15pm: ‘Embassy move will create violence’
Bill Shorten asks Scott Morrison about an ASIO leak showing advice that moving Australia’s embassy in Israel could create violence in the West Bank.
“Why did the Prime Minister fail to initiate a full cabinet process to fully consider the serious implications of his proposal?”
The Prime Minister says he has been advised there is no evidence of planned violence because of the government’s announcement.
“I want to repeat and reassure Australians that ASIO has no evidence at this time of any planned violence in response to the government’s announcement on October 16,” Morrison says.
“And the matter was fully discussed by cabinet.”
Greg Brown 2.10pm: Question Time tribute for couple
Scott Morrison opens Question Time paying tribute to South Australian Ronald and Esther Collings, who tomorrow will celebrate their 80th wedding anniversary.
“When Mr and Mrs Collings got married Joe Lyons was the prime minister … so they’ve seen a few since then,” the Prime Minister says, prompting jokes from Labor MPs about the churn of Liberal prime ministers in the last six years.
Morrison hits back: “And they saw a few on your side, too, I can tell you”.
Mr Collings is aged 102 and Mrs Collings is aged 103.
Bill Shorten and the couple’s local member, Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie, also paid tribute.
Greg Brown 1.45pm: ‘No mention of spill’
Nationals MP Keith Pitt has dismissed claims Michael McCormack’s leadership is under threat.
“No one has spoken to me about a challenge or a spill,” Mr Pitt told Sky News.
“No one has raised the issue with me directly asking me to take any action or anything about candidates.
“There is a very old saying which says: believe none of what you hear, half of what you see and a third of what you read and you will go a long way.
“I think that is something that should be applied here.”
Greg Brown 1.30pm: KAP plebiscite push ‘outrageous’
Immigration Minister David Coleman has labelled a push by Katter’s Australian Party to force a plebiscite on non-European migration as “outrageous”.
“To suggest that we should have an immigration policy which excludes people based on their religion is appalling and disgraceful,” Mr Coleman told Sky News.
“And to suggest that we should return to anything resembling the White Australia Policy is absolutely outrageous.
“So we condemn it in the strongest terms, we are the greatest multicultural nation in the world, there are millions of Australians from non-European backgrounds who are doing fantastic things in our community every day.”
Rosie Lewis 1.15pm: ‘No change’ on lifetime ban
Immigration Minister David Coleman has rejected a suggestion from Senate crossbenchers to limit the so-called lifetime ban on resettled refugees to those who move to New Zealand, saying it must capture all detainees who move from offshore camps.
.@DavidColemanMP: In 2016 we put the legislation that would say unlawful maritime arrivals could not re-enter Australia. Labor voted against that. They created this issue through their appalling issue of lack of border security.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) October 18, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/7YnBb8hpuh #newsday pic.twitter.com/X4BBl8bwGc
Asked if he would consider the crossbench proposal, Mr Coleman told The Australian: “The PM’s made our position clear, that has been our position for the last two years and continues to be our position.”
The bill as it stands has been stuck in the Senate since late 2016 and would permanently ban refugees on Nauru and Manus Island who resettled in other countries from ever gaining visas to Australia.
Earlier on Sky News Mr Coleman said the “best advice” from security agencies was measures like stopping any resettled asylum-seekers coming to Australia were “very important because we cannot give people smugglers a marketing message”.
“With respect to New Zealand the advice we have very clearly is that New Zealand is an attractive destination, it’s close to Australia and so on and if we were to take a step of enabling that ticket to go down that path, (it) is absolutely critical we cut off all of these issues,” he said.
Greg Brown 12.50pm: Unemployment falls
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Small Business Minister Michaelia Cash are out talking up today’s jobs figures, with unemployment dropping to 5 per cent in the month of September.
“It is a positive endorsement of the policies we have put in place as a Liberal and National government,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“In terms of full-time employment it is up by 20,000 (in the month of September).
“These numbers are consistent with the momentum we’ve seen across the economy as people feel confident in the government and people feel confident in the economy.”
.@JoshFrydenberg says the drop in the unemployment rate to 5.0 per cent is ‘something to celebrate.’
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) October 18, 2018
‘Let’s not forget when the Labor Party was last in government, unemployment was at 5.7 per cent.’
MORE: https://t.co/j9G5VujrUk #newsday pic.twitter.com/83LhqO864w
Greg Brown 12.25pm: Anning anti-migrant motion defeated
Senator Fraser Anning’s motion demanding an end to non-white immigration has been dramatically defeated in the Senate. He did not receive support from any other senator.
Greg Brown 12.15pm: ‘Sharma is the future’
John Howard says the Liberal Party’s Wentworth candidate “can go a long way” in politics as he urges the people of Wentworth against launching a protest vote that could put Bill Shorten within an inch of the prime ministership.
The former prime minister urged “grumpy” Liberal voters in the eastern Sydney electorate against backing independent candidate Kerryn Phelps against the Liberal Party’s Dave Sharma.
He said he could understand why some people in Wentworth would be angry Malcolm Turnbull was rolled but a vote against the Liberal Party would create more instability.
“I want to say to any normal Liberal voters in Wentworth who may be a bit grumpy at the present time, who may feel a little bit disillusioned, you cannot risk a protest vote in the comfort that no matter if you vote against the Liberal Party, enough other people will vote for the Liberal Party (that) it won’t matter,” Mr Howard said.
“If enough people do that, if enough people decide to register a protest vote, then the seat could go to an independent and that will rob the Morrison government of its working majority. It will make the remaining months of this term of office very difficult and it will feed the view in the community that a Labor Government is more likely at the next election.”
Mr Howard said Mr Sharma had the ability to go a long way in politics, in line with other Liberal representatives of the blue ribbon seat.
“Whatever our feelings about the past may be, we have to throw forward. And Dave Sharma represents the future for the people of Wentworth. He’s a talented man who’s achieved a lot at a relatively young age,” Mr Howard said.
“He can have a long tenure as the member for Wentworth. He can go a long way in politics and he can represent the values of this electorate very effectively.”
Dennis Shanahan 11.30am: Howard to the rescue
John Howard’s intervention in Wentworth is a measure of the seriousness of the threat to the Coalition, a confirmation of Scott Morrison’s desperation to win and a condemnation of Malcolm Turnbull’s attitude towards the party that made him prime minister.
That the appeal, respect and regard Liberal voters have for Howard is being put on the line in a by-election for a Liberal seat held by 17 per cent shows the threat the Liberals see in Saturday’s vote.
The threat is not just losing a safe Liberal seat it is also about turning the Coalition into a precarious minority government and destroying the political momentum the Prime Minister built in recent weeks.
Greg Brown 11.20am: Turnbull intervenes in Wentworth
Malcolm Turnbull has intervened in the Wentworth by-election, as his Twitter account “liked” a post from a campaigner for independent Wentworth candidate Kerryn Phelps.
The former prime minister;’s account has liked a tweet from Professor Phelps campaigner Robert Fairhead, who is handing out how-to-vote cards in Sydney’s Waverley next to a cardboard cut out of Mr Turnbull.
“No longer wondering Where’s Malcolm? Just hoping for strong independent win on Saturday,” Mr Fairhead’s tweet said.
Back handing out policy info & how-to-vote cards for #KerrynPhelps at #WaverleyOval pre-polling station. No longer wondering Where’s Malcolm? Just hoping for strong independent win on Saturday. 🤞#auspol #wentworthvotes #wentworthbyelection @drkerrynphelps @kerrynwentworth pic.twitter.com/83T4yJ2xl0
— Robert Fairhead 📚🤔 (@tallandtrue) October 17, 2018
Mr Turnbull has since unliked the tweet.
Greg Brown 11.17am: Howard walks Wentworth
Meanwhile in Sydney, John Howard is walking the streets of Wentworth with Liberal Party candidate Dave Sharma.
Rosie Lewis 11.15am: Crossbenchers deal for refugees
A key bloc of Senate crossbenchers say they will support a temporary ban on the legacy caseload of refugees still on Nauru from coming to Australia if they are resettled in New Zealand, after meeting with Immigration Minister David Coleman.
Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff, who with colleague Rex Patrick represent two crucial upper house votes, said his party had laid their cards on the table at a meeting with Mr Coleman this morning but it was unclear if the Morrison government was willing to negotiate.
Scott Morrison has attempted to revive a 2016 bill this week following increasing pressure from within his own ranks and ahead of Saturday’s crucial Wentworth by-election, which would permanently ban refugees from offshore detention centres from ever gaining visas to Australia.
Centre Alliance and Victorian independent senator Derryn Hinch are opposed to the existing bill but open to negotiating with the government if it limited the ban to those refugees resettled in New Zealand.
“We made it very clear the existing bill is non-negotiable with us. We’d never accept a lifetime ban as a blanket ban which would capture the US transferees and everyone else,” Senator Griff told The Australian after his meeting with the Minister.
“But we’re most certainly open to an arrangement which deals with the legacy caseload on Nauru, although it must ensure there are no family separations. We had quite a cordial discussion on that.”
Senator Griff suggested a “time frame” be set so those refugees resettled on Nauru could at some point in the future be able to come to Australia.
Mr Coleman has not responded to The Australian about whether the government would be open to amending the bill so the lifetime ban only applied to refugees resettled on New Zealand.
“You would have to have a set time frame of some particular time in New Zealand, so eventually you’d be able to make it to Australia. It would achieve what the government wants to achieve and at least it means the people that are there now are given a chance to recover their lives,” Senator Griff said.
Greg Brown 11.12am Embassy move part of ‘desperate’ Wentworth strategy
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong has slammed the Morrison government after leaked WhatsApp messages showed the Indonesian government was furious Scott Morrison was reconsidering the location of the embassy in Israel.
The revelations overnight of the WhatsApp messages between the Foreign Minister of Indonesia and Senator Payne tell us the price Australia is paying for the reckless, ill-considered, rushed decision that Scott Morrison made when it comes to moving Australia’s embassy in Israel,” Senator Wong said at Parliament House this morning.
“I don’t think anybody looking at this decision, and what happened this week, would believe it was anything other than a strategy to try to desperately hold on to the seat of Wentworth.”
Greg Brown 11.10am: Dutton denies Turnbull won’t support Sharma
Peter Dutton has played down the significance of Malcolm Turnbull refusing to publicly endorse Dave Sharma ahead of Saturday’s Wentworth by-election.
The Home Affairs Minister said it was “clear” the former prime minister — who has been critical of Mr Dutton’s roll in is downfall — supported the Liberal candidate.
“It is clear that Malcolm supports Dave Sharma, he understands that this is an important by-election for us, we don’t want a hung parliament, we don’t want to be in the hands of independents, it is not good for stability and Dave Sharma is an exceptional candidate,” Mr Dutton told 2GB radio.
“But it is a tough fight as the polls are indicating, this is not a time to experiment with hung parliaments, we have seen that in the past, it doesn’t provide for a stable environment.
“I’m sure that Malcolm supports that view as well, he has expressed support for Dave Sharma before. “
Rosie Lewis 11.00am: Forgive ‘naughty boy’ Barnaby
Maverick independent MP Bob Katter, formerly a Nationals MP, says it would be better for Australia if Barnaby Joyce was forgiven for his “misdemeanours” and predicted the ex-deputy prime minister would be returned to the role in coming weeks.
“There are forces at work and I think it would be better for Australia that Joyce is forgiven,” Mr Katter told The Australian.
“He’s been a naughty boy and I’m not advocating his misdemeanour be forgotten but I am advocating it be forgiven. I don’t want to indulge leadership squabbles in other parties but I think there should be a general attitude that we are a Christian nation and forgiveness is paramount.
“It seems to me a bit more than murmurs in the corridors,” he said of the growing Nationals leadership speculation.
Mr Joyce lost the National Party leadership earlier this year after he had an affair with a former staffer, Vikki Campion, who has since given birth to his first son.
Greg Brown 10.10am: KAP want ban on non-Europeans
Bob Katter’s Australian Party will introduce legislation in the Senate for a plebiscite on winding back Australia’s non-discriminatory immigration policy.
Mr Katter and senator Fraser Anning will this morning announce their intention to get the parliament to vote on whether non-European immigration should be banned.
In August, Senator Anning was widely condemned for praising the White Australia Policy and calling a plebiscite on immigration the “final solution”.
Greg Brown 9.35am: ‘Joyce wants to come back’
Nationals MP Michelle Landry says she is “sure” Barnaby Joyce will become the party’s leader again but has hosed down talk of a leadership challenge against Michael McCormack.
“I’m sure at some stage in his career Barnaby will be leader again but Michael is our leader now, he has the support of the party room,” Ms Landry told Sky News.
“Now is Michael’s time and I think that Michael is doing a great job.”
.@mlandryMP: @Barnaby_Joyce is keen down the track to take over the leadership. If it was offered to him, he would be prepared to put in his hat in the ring for that. But he certainly hasn’t been going around doing the numbers.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) October 17, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/AoRKeYO3ZW #amagenda pic.twitter.com/2h60HyGT5c
Ms Landry, the member of the marginal Queensland electorate of Capricornia, claimed none of her colleagues were interested in rolling Mr McCormack.
“I have spoken to a number of my colleagues, no one is interested in a change of leadership, leadership challenges, we are happy with Michael to remain as our leader,” Ms Landry said.,
“Barnaby is my friend, he has been my mentor and I have been very supportive of him. Michael is the leader now and we just don’t go changing leaders at the drop of a hat.”
Greg Brown 9.00am: ‘Dave is Malcolm’s candidate’
Scott Morrison has defended Malcolm Turnbull for refusing to come out and endorse Liberal candidate Dave Sharma ahead of Saturday’s Wentworth by-election, as he attacked fake allegations levelled at Kerryn Phelps as “disgraceful”.
The Prime Minister said Mr Turnbull decided to leave public life when he was rolled as the nation’s leader.
“Dave Sharma was Malcolm’s hand-picked candidate as everybody knows,” Mr Morrison said this morning.
“I think he was the best candidate in the field and the preselectors endorsed that position.
“Malcolm decided that he was leaving public life, he tweeted in favour of Dave, I know he supports Dave, but he decided to no longer be playing a role in national politics here in Australia and I respect that decision.”
The Australian Financial Review reported this morning Mr Turnbull left the United States this week to come back to Sydney. The publication reported he will come home via Singapore and visit his son Alex, who has been urging residents of Wentworth to vote against the Liberal Party.
Mr Morrison said he was appalled by emails sent to Wentworth constituents claiming Professor Phelps was HIV positive.
“I think it is disgraceful, I think it is outrageous,” Mr Morrison said.
“As Kerryn has said, she doesn’t believe it had anything to do, and I’d be horrified if it did — and it didn’t — with the Liberal Party.
“That is the ugly side of Australian politics and it has no place in any such contest.”
.@ScottMorrisonMP on the Wentworth by-election: @TurnbullMalcolm made it pretty clear and @DaveSharma was his handpicked candidate.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) October 17, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/KorrqHJfvU #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/1R0H37lvXD
Greg Brown 8.40am: Leadership ‘matter for Nats’
Scott Morrison has heaped praise on Michael McCormack but declared the future of the under-siege Deputy Prime Minister was “a matter for the National Party”.
.@ScottMorrisonMP: We are a strong Coalition … the Canberra bubble is always the Canberra bubble and I’m not distracted by it. I know the gallery gets distracted by these things, but I don’t.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) October 17, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/AoRKeYO3ZW #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/DzhkjMMNth
The Prime Minister said he was not interested in speculation from the “Canberra bubble” after his government was hit with further instability ahead of the critical Wentworth by-election.
“What I do know is that the coalition between the Nationals and the Liberals has never been stronger. Michael McCormack, I continue to work with him enthusiastically, passionately,” Mr Morrison said this morning.
“You know, politics, others can go and bang on about, I’m not interested in that. I’m not distracted by it. I think people are starting to work that out by now.
“I don’t get distracted by what goes on here in Canberra. I keep 100 per cent focused on what you need me to be focused on out in the rest of the country.”
Greg Brown 8.10am: ‘Party’s behind me’
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has dismissed claims his leadership is under threat, declaring no Nationals MP had raised concerns about the direction of the party under his watch. Mr McCormack said he had the support of the Nationals party room, despite speculation a challenge against his leadership could be made as early as next week.
“Not one member has come to me and said they are dissatisfied with anything. I know I have got the support of the party room. I know that as these stories have arisen, particularly in the last 24 hours, the number of colleagues who have texted me, who phoned me, who visited my office and said, ‘look, you’re doing a great job, just continue what you’re doing’,” Mr McCormack said at Parliament House this morning.
.@M_McCormackMP says he still has the support of @The_Nationals party room.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) October 17, 2018
‘The National party is right behind me. I have spoken to my colleagues and I have the support.’
MORE: https://t.co/g5HdRYBCRP #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/l0k4e4T8kH
He said only “one or two” of his colleagues were briefing against him to the media.
“One or two doesn’t make a majority,” Mr McCormack said. Mr McCormack said he believed that Barnaby Joyce was not canvassing the numbers for the Nationals leadership.
“Barnaby Joyce has said that he’s not canvassing it, and I believe him. Whether or not others are, well, that’s a matter for them,” he said.
Mr McCormack said he has “said g’day” to Mr Joyce in the last 24 hours.
Sascha O’Sullivan 7.45am: ‘Shows HIV stigma still there’
Kerryn Phelps has brushed aside “hurtful emails” sent yesterday, that claimed she was dropping out of the Wentworth by-election after being diagnosed with HIV.
Dr Phelps took the high ground this morning on the 9 Network’s Today Show, and said the anonymous email that was sent to voters last night “highlights the fact while we think that the stigma around HIV has gone, it clearly hasn’t.”
The Wentworth by-election has reached "fake news week" with an email circulating incorrect claims. #9Newshttps://t.co/zELpJJBAkg
— Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) October 17, 2018
She took the opportunity to acknowledge ACON Health’s pride, health and wellbeing program, of which she said she is a proud patron.
The independent candidate said she will press on with her campaign, and her policy agenda.
“I’m talking to the people of Wentworth about what we can achieve for the future of Australia, and that’s the really important thing.”
Dave Sharma, the Liberal party candidate, called the emails “vile and despicable,” and said he was shocked by them. A spokesperson for the Liberal party said yesterday that its campaign had “absolutely no involvement with the sending of this email.”
Mr Sharma was also grilled on whether Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s consideration of moving the Australian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was a pitch to the Jewish population of Wentworth.
“Voters in Wentworth are not single issue voters,” Mr Sharma said, “They’re worried about strengthening the economy, they’re worried about the small business sector.”
“The Prime Minister has a government to run,” Mr Sharma said, maintaining the possibility of an embassy move has nothing to do with the Wentworth by-election.
Greg Brown 7.40am: ‘Desperate’ government
The government is showing “desperation” for referencing the quotes of deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek when she called Israel a “rogue state”, according to Labor frontbencher Tony Burke.
Mr Burke said Ms Plibersek made the comments when she was a backbencher and she no longer held those views.
“To pull out a speech that someone made as a backbencher years ago, who is our deputy leader, who was our foreign affairs spokeswoman for 3 years, is desperation,” Mr Burke told Sky News.
Greg Brown 7.25am: ‘No concerns over Joyce’
Opposition environment spokesman Tony Burke says Labor has no concerns about the prospects of Barnaby Joyce returning to the deputy prime ministership, declaring the government was proving it could not provide internal stability.
Manager of Opposition Business @Tony_Burke says @The_Nationals have ‘thrown stability out the window’ amid speculation the party will move to replace its Leader, @M_McCormackMP. https://t.co/BZPA10v99J
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) October 17, 2018
Mr Burke said it would not hamper Labor’s electoral prospects if Mr Joyce returned to the Nationals leadership, despite his cut through with regional voters.
“We are in a situation now when the first thing a government needs to be able to offer is stability and a Shorten Labor team is going to be the only group offering stability at the next election,” Mr Burke told Sky News.
“The Liberals have proven that they can’t deliver stability, the Nats are proving they can’t.
“It used to be the case that the National Party, their whole image was meant to be that they were stable, they were reliable, they have just sort of thrown that out the window.”
What’s making news:
John Howard will intervene in the Wentworth by-election campaign today in a last-ditch attempt to win over “grumpy Liberal voters”, warning that a significant protest vote could inflict “enormous damage” on the Morrison government.
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack has sounded a warning to potential rivals after Barnaby Joyce signalled he was open to being drafted back to the Nationals leadership before the next election.
A controversial bill to ban resettled refugees from coming to Australia could gain Senate support if it applied only to those sent to New Zealand, paving the way for getting detainees off Nauru.
The Liberal Party is sending personally addressed postcards to Wentworth voters mocked up as a newspaper called The Uncertain Times — saying “Phelps’ Wentworth win delivers hung parliament” — in a desperate bid to claw back some votes for Saturday’s by-election.
Furious messages apparently sent from Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi to Marise Payne warning that relocating Australia’s Israeli embassy to Jerusalem would “slap Indonesia’s face” and “affect bilateral relations” has exposed the depth of anger in Jakarta over the potential policy shift and the risks to Australia’s most important regional relationship.
About $80 million of the government’s $443.3m grant to the Great Barrier Reef Foundation could be lost in management costs, despite claims by Environment Minister Melissa Price that only 5 per cent of the grant would be spent on administration.
Environment Minister Melissa Price has expressed regret, but failed to apologise, after telling a senior Pacific leader and Nobel Peace Prize nominee that he was visiting Australia “for the cash”.
James Jeffrey’s Sketch: Cash never on menu, if unplugged Price is right
Miners change tune on climate change
Peak mining industry body The Minerals Council of Australia has joined the fight on climate.
Labor to turn up heat on Taylor
Labor will use the final two weeks of parliament to heap pressure on Energy Minister Angus Taylor.