Your morning Briefing

Welcome to your morning roundup of what’s making news and the must-reads for today.

Good morning readers. Here is your two-minute digest of what’s making news today.

18/12/2017 SA politician Nick Xenophon Kelly Barnes/The Australia

Xenophon set to stun

Nick Xenophon’s new party, SA Best, is on track to outpoll Labor and the Liberals if it runs candidates in most seats in the South Australian election next March, in a stunning vindication of his decision to quit the Senate and return to state politics. Mr Xenophon is more than twice as popular as South Australian Labor Premier Jay Weatherill and ­Liberal Opposition Leader Steven Marshall, with a preferred premier rating of 46 per cent support, according to a Newspoll, taken exclusively for The Australian just three months before the next South Australian election.

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Minister for Social Services Christian Porter launching a $30million national campaign to help break the cycle of violence against women and their children, at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture Kym Smith

Conservatives in winner’s circle

Rising conservative stars Christian Porter and Dan Tehan have emerged as the big winners in Malcolm Turnbull’s cabinet reshuffle, as the Prime Minister moves to renew his frontbench. Mr Turnbull is expected to announce today the make-up of his new ministry, which will leave the majority of his senior leadership team unchanged. Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce will, as revealed by The Australian, take over the critical transport and infrastructure portfolios from Victorian Nationals MP Darren Chester in an attempt to boost the government’s stocks in regional Australia.

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Lord Mayor Robert Doyle unveils his election team for October council poll. Doyle's team, Sue Stanley, Kevin Louey, Beverley Pinder-Mortimer, Hope Wei, Susan Riley, Arron Wood, Mayor Robert Doyle, Tessa Sullivan and Nicholas Reece in Swanston Street. Picture: David Caird

Goodbye boozy Tuesdays

Chip Le Grand and Simone Fox Koob have the Inside Story on how an appetite for alcohol, long lunches and post-council meeting Tuesday sessions that dragged on into the night have landed Melbourne’s Lord Mayor in a pickle, forcing him to stand aside as claims of sexual harassment are investigated by a leading silk.

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A bucketwheel coal reclaimer stands ready near a pile of coal at the Newcastle port in NSW Apr 01, 2004. picMichael/Caronna /Bloomberg /News exports industry mining machinery

Old king coal

Worldwide coal demand has suffered its biggest-ever fall over the past two years as the global revolution under way in energy eats into the market for Australia’s second-biggest export. A detailed annual analysis released last night by the International Energy Agency found that coal demand fell by 1.9 per cent to 5.3 billion tonnes last year, taking the total drop in demand since 2014 to 4.2 per cent. That fall in demand is the largest in absolute terms ever recorded over a two-year period, and the equal-largest in percentage terms since 1990-92.

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PERTH, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 18: Shaun Marsh, Steve Smith and Mitch Marsh of Australia celebrate in the changerooms after Australia regained the Ashes during day five of the Third Test match during the 2017/18 Ashes Series between Australia and England at WACA on December 18, 2017 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Nasty, brutish and short

Cricket is getting shorter, and not just in the ways intended, writes Gideon Haigh. It has taken Australia 15 days to regain the Ashes that they lost in 14 days just over two years ago. “Dead Tests” may not be an inappropriate designation in the context of a trophy with funerary associations. But it sits oddly with “live sport”.

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James Jeffrey and Mike Bowers lose their stride(s) on the set of Talking Pictures at federal Parliament House.

Brandis and the budgie smugglers

Court jester James Jeffrey serves up the most disturbing Strewth! of the year.

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Clement’s view

Rod Clement Letters Cartoon for 19-12-17Version: (650x366)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.