Your morning Briefing: NEG rebels try to force walkouts

Welcome to your 2-minute briefing on the day’s top stories and must-reads.

Welcome to your 2-minute update on the day’s top stories and must-reads.

Tony Abbott and Barnaby Joyce leave together after Question Time in the House of Representatives Chamber at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Kym Smith

NEG rebels apply pressure

Federal government ministers are coming under pressure from ­colleagues to resign over the nat­ional energy guarantee in a ­counter-campaign by rebel backbenchers that risks further eroding Malcolm Turnbull’s authority as his attempts to win the support of wavering Coalition MPs ­appeared to be failing. As the Prime Minister held a second round of crisis talks late yesterday with four of the 10 MPs who have reserved their right to cross the floor, senior government sources told The Australian that Keith Pitt — Assistant Minister to Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack — was considering resigning from the frontbench over his opposition to the NEG.

Dennis Shanahan believes the internal Coalition conflict over the national energy guarantee is developing dangerous leadership overtones, while Judith Sloan writes that by pointing out there are no guarantees in relation to electricity prices, Barnaby Joyce is really on to something. Keep up with all the latest from Canberra in our live blog, PoliticsNow.

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3/07/16 New Lindsay MP, Labor's Emma Husar on the Nepean River/ Penrith. Labor's Emma Husar beat incumbent Liberal Fiona Scott in the marginal seat of Lindsay. Adam Yip/The Daily Telegraph

Husar looks for leaker

Federal Labor MP Emma Husar has made a formal complaint to the NSW ALP, demanding an investigation into how a confidential letter including “the most ­malicious and damaging of alle­gations” related to her dealings with former staff was leaked. Ms Husar has asked the NSW party’s ombudsman to find out who else, besides herself, might have received copies of a letter sent to her by barrister John ­Whelan on May 16 that set out 44 allegations of staff bullying and other misconduct.

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Speechwriter Richard Howard (far right) watches Senator Fraser Anning deliver his first speech to the Senate in Canberra on 14 August 2018.

Speechwriter ‘fascinated with Nazis’

A speechwriter criticised for ­Fraser ­Anning’s incendiary first speech to parliament is a former One ­Nation staffer said to be “fascinated with Nazi Germany”. Parliamentarians yesterday vented outrage at the speech on Tuesday by the Queensland senator — elected with just 19 primary votes — which called for a “final solution” referendum on reinstating the White Australia policy.

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Rod Clement Margin Call Cartoon for 16-08-2018. Version: Business Cartoon (1280x720 - Aspect ratio preserved, Canvas added)COPYRIGHT: The Australian's artists each have different copyright agreements in place regarding re-use of their work in other publications.Please seek advice from the artists themselves or the Managing Editor of The Australian regarding re-use.

MLC ‘not so super’

Over five long days, Kenneth Hayne’s royal commission applied the blowtorch to NAB’s superannuation business. And the pain continues. Margin Call has found a damning 30-page report in the mountain of documents handed over to the Hayne Show that reveal the board and executive team overseeing Andrew Thorburn’s pinstriped superannuation business MLC were well aware of its many governance problems.

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England's Ben Stokes, left, is congratulated by teammate Jos Buttler for dismissing India's Lokesh Rahul during the third day of the first test cricket match between England and India at Edgbaston in Birmingham, England, Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira)

Stokes should play

It would be impossible to exaggerate the sense of gloom that descended on the ECB a little under a year ago when The Sun published a video of Ben Stokes in a drunken brawl in Bristol during the middle of a one-day series, writes Mike Atherton. Stokes was arguably England’s best player and their most marketable; the governing body was pushing the game as an attractive alternative to football for children and families and the Ashes was around the corner.

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Kudelka’s view

Jon Kudelka Letters Cartoon for 16-08-2018. Version: Letters Cartoon (1280x720 - Aspect ratio preserved, Canvas added)COPYRIGHT: The Australian's artists each have different copyright agreements in place regarding re-use of their work in other publications.Please seek advice from the artists themselves or the Managing Editor of The Australian regarding re-use.