Politics Now: ALP Right faction angles for seat for Kristina Keneally

Labor NSW Right is angling for an extra frontbench seat for Senator Kristina Keneally.

Labor Senator Kristina Keneally seeks one of the NSW Right frontbench seats.

That concludes PoliticsNow, The Australian’s live blog on the fallout of Scott Morrison’s miracle election win.

With Anthony Albanese all but certain to lead a shattered Labor Party, eyes now turn to who will get a spot on the frontbench teams.

Top story: Opposition immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann is facing a struggle to stay on the Labor frontbench, as the NSW Right angles for an extra seat for NSW senator Kristina Keneally.

Greg Brown 3.20pm: WA wants a say

Labor MP Patrick Gorman has called for more West Australians to be included on Anthony Albanese’s frontbench, after Labor’s disappointing campaign in the state where it failed to pick up a seat.

Mr Gorman, a former staffer to Kevin Rudd who entered parliament last year, said there should be as much focus on improving Labor’s vote in WA as there was in Queensland.

He said there was no WA MP in Bill Shorten’s shadow cabinet which contributed to Labor’s poor result, with only Madeleine King on the frontbench as consumer affairs spokeswoman.

“If we are going to be serious about forming government we need to look like we are taking Western Australia seriously,’ Mr Gorman told The Australian.

“We are coming from further behind (than Queensland) in terms of having a voice in the decision making forums.”

Labor was targeting at least three seats in WA but instead had a swing against it and had a primary vote of 30 per cent.

Labor holds five out of 16 seats in Western Australia.

Mr Gorman said WA had a “number of” MPs who entered parliament in 2016 or later and frontbench elevation could be part of a much-needed generational change in Labor.

Western Australian Labor MP Matt Keogh said it was important Labor had a “strong economic portfolio” based in his home state.

“We do need to have a Western Australian in cabinet and we need to expand the Western Australian shadow ministry representation,” he said.

Richard Ferguson 2.10pm: Making way for Keneally

Opposition immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann is facing a struggle to stay on the Labor frontbench, as the NSW Right angles for an extra seat for NSW senator Kristina Keneally.

Under the faction quota system, the post-election parliamentary numbers have left the NSW Right seeking six frontbench positions and the Queensland Right only assured to have Jim Chalmers.

The Australian understands Mr Neumann would be the one to lose out if Senator Keneally takes a sixth NSW Right spot. He intends to put his name forward for the shadow ministry either way.

Labor sources said losing Mr Neumann, the only regional Queensland MP in shadow cabinet, would be a backwards step for a party desperate to win back support in North and Central Queensland.

A senior state Labor government MP said it was “baffling’’ that federal Labor would be considering reducing its frontbench representation when it needed to pay “special attention” to the state.

“Queensland is the State that delivers Government for Labor. When Labor doesn’t listen to Queenslanders, we fall short,” Mr Neumann said in a statement today on his re-election.

“Unless Labor does better in Queensland, we will not form government.

“Labor must listen to and speak with the hard-working and honourable people of Queensland about what is best for their families and their communities. We need to better reconnect with working class and middle Australia.”

Richard Ferguson 12.55pm: Qld Labor gets a blast

Scott Morrison says the Queensland Labor Government should “get on with” making a decision on the Adani mine, and linked the project to Australia’s future relationship with India.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk revealed today that May 31 and June 13 would be the deadlines for the mine’s black throated finch protection and groundwater management plans respectively.

The Prime Minister in Queensland today said: “Get on with it.”

“Regardless of who’s proposing a mine, or what the mine is, it just should comply with the relevant regulation and legislation, like any other project, and people should have the certainty about those processes being followed, and them not being delayed.

“And so that’s what should happen. They have a decision to make. They’re the authority on these

questions, and they should make those decisions.

“India will be an enormously big trading partner for Australia in the future. And what does concern me has been the commentary, particularly that came from the Labor Party on this, about the concerns that it was an Indian company. I mean, what on earth has that got to do with it?

“They’re a company that’s investing in creating jobs, and they should be subject to the same rules as everybody else and treated with the same respect as everybody else.”

Richard Ferguson 12.40pm: Shorten in a different shirt

Scott Morrison has labelled his new opponent Anthony Albanese “Bill Shorten in a different shirt” for suggesting the government’s tax cuts package be split.

“Labor haven’t learned the lessons of last Saturday. I mean, Bill Shorten did exactly the same thing. This is just Bill Shorten in a different shirt,” the Prime Minister said.

“I mean, did he not get the message from the Australians that they want a government that backs aspiration and legislation that backs aspiration?

“Our tax relief package, we took to the Australian people, sets out a plan over the next seven years.

“And that’s what Australians voted for on the weekend. It seems that Anthony Albanese is no different to Bill Shorten.”

Mr Albanese, the presumptive Labor leader, said this morning he would consider passing the government’s full tax cuts package but wanted to focus on cuts which would come into effect in this term of parliament.

Richard Ferguson 12.30pm: Kim Carr’s step back

Labor frontbencher and powerbroker Kim Carr will step down from the opposition frontbench, but the 63-year-old will stay in the Senate.

The ALP’s industry spokesman has been in shadow cabinet since Labor lost power in 2013, and served as a minister under Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard.

“I have spoken to Anthony Albanese and told him that I wish him well and the new leadership team every success,” he said in a statement today.

“I intend to continue to serve in the Senate ... The new Labor team has my full support, and I look forward to serving in any capacity which my experience and abilities can advance the cause of the Labour movement.”

Senator Carr has been one of Victorian Labor’s leading faction warlords, along with former senator Stephen Conroy, for decades but factional realignments have seen him isolated in recent years. He has resisted a previous attempt to force him off the frontbench.

Richard Ferguson 11.45am: Chalmers won’t run

Opposition finance spokesman Jim Chalmers will not run for the deputy leadership of the Labor Party.

The Australian understands Dr Chalmers has told opposition colleagues that he is not interested in the deputy’s position, despite support for him to run.

Dr Chalmers yesterday decided not to run for the leadership itself, paving the way for Anthony Albanese to succeed Bill Shorten.

It leaves the deputy’s race between Victorian Right MPs Richard Marles and Clare O’Neil.

Richard Ferguson 11.30am: Plea to Labor women

Labor feminist group EMILY’s List has called on ALP women MPs to put their hands up for leadership roles, as the Victorian Right’s Clare O’Neil mulls a bid to be Anthony Albanese’s deputy.

Ms O’Neil, the opposition justice spokeswoman, is still considering a bid for the deputy leadership but is still in meetings this morning.

If she nominates, she is expected to face off with fellow Victorian Right MP Richard Marles.

EMILY’s List national co-convener Tanja Kovac today said women must be represented in the post-election leadership team.

Let’s not go backwards @AustralianLabor #genderequality #50/50 #auspol pic.twitter.com/LnESBJhGij

— EMILY's List Aus (@EMILYsListAus) May 24, 2019

“We have an extraordinary talent pool of women in the federal parliamentary caucus. And we have multiple leadership positions — Leader, Deputy Leader and Treasurer in the House of Representatives and Leader and Deputy Leader in the Senate,” she said.

“It’s essential that women — who have delivered for Labor in key seats — are also represented in the new leadership team.”

Apart from three months in 2013 when Kevin Rudd and Mr Albanese held the top spots, Labor has had either a female leader or deputy leader since 2001.

It is expected that Labor senate leader Penny Wong will remain in her position and may have either Kristina Keneally or Jenny McAllister as a deputy if the lower house second-in-command’s spot is taken by a man.

10.30am: PM makes emotional Qld return

Scott Morrison has visited an outback Queensland cattle farm that is still reeling from devastating floods. AAP reports.

In his first trip since being returned as prime minister, Mr Morrison choked back tears while visiting Jacqueline and Robert Curley at their Cloncurry stud in the state’s north-west.

“This is emotional coming back,” he told the couple over breakfast this morning. “It’s quite overwhelming, to come back and just see the spirit, that’s what I love.

“The spirit and the life here, and how, despite everything that happened, the fact that we’re all working together to rebuild.”

Mr Morrison first visited the north-west Queensland property in the direct aftermath of the February floods, which killed more than 2500 of its cattle. Another 1500 calves also died from frost or exposure, wiping out one-third of the Gipsy Plains herd.

The Prime Minister said the smell of dead cattle stayed with him. “That’s the thing that just completely overwhelmed me,” he said.

Mr Curley said the deathly stench still hung in the air. “It’s still there Scott — it’s not as prevalent as it was — but you can pick it up all the way along.”

Scott Morrison visits Gipsy Plains, near Cloncurry, in Queensland. Picture: Adam Taylor/PMO

Mr Morrison and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack walked through the property at first light, before heading into a holding yarn to feed a few dozen calves.

The pair then sat in the lounge room to watch a 10-minute homemade film of the floods.

The cattle breeding family has received a $75,000 special disaster recovery grant, and are now leveraging concessional farming loans.

Mrs Curley said it would take more than 10 years to rebuild their stocks.

Many of the surviving cows are struggling with trauma, slashing their chances of producing calves.

The floods also washed away top soils and stripped nutrients from the grass. “We could be back in drought by the end of the year,” Mrs Curley said. The Prime Minister will later head to the Burke & Wills Camp draft, an annual rodeo attended by hundreds of farmers and primary producers.

Arriving into Cloncurry overnight, Mr Morrison paid tribute to the resilience of Queenslanders recovering from the natural disaster, which is thought to have killed half-a-million head of livestock.

More than $3.3 billion has been paid or committed to help farmers respond and recover.

— AAP

Richard Ferguson 9.15am: Cormann rebuffs Labor pitch

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says the government’s tax cuts will not be split, as presumptive Labor leader Anthony Albanese signals he is still unwilling to pass parts two and three.

“No, we will not split the bill. It is a holistic plan,” he told Sky News. “It can’t be taken apart. It can’t be dealt with in bits and pieces. It will be put to the parliament as a whole. We will resist splitting it.

“The Australian people voted on it. The Australian people rejected the class warfare approach that was prosecuted by Bill Shorten.

“Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party should now support what was clearly endorsed by the Australian people.”

Senator Cormann has been Finance Minister since the Coalition returned to power in 2013. He told Sky News he was happy to continue in the role, but that it was ultimately Scott Morrison’s decision as to which portfolio he takes.

Richard Ferguson 7.35am: Labor will back tax cuts: Albo

Anthony Albanese is still holding out on passing the second and third parts of Scott Morrison’s personal income tax cuts package, but denies he is waging “class warfare.”

“Not at all, not at all,” the presumptive Opposition Leader told the Nine Network.

“It is a triumph of hope over experience and reality that the government knows what the economic circumstances are in 2025 or 2023, in the middle of the next decade.

“It is a matter we will give consideration to. That is a matter for our proper processes.”

Mr Albanese is expected to be named leader of the Labor Party unopposed next week.

He told the Nine Network he wanted parliament to come back quickly so he can make a deal to pass the first section of the tax cuts for lower and middle-income tax payers.

“I have said very clearly, we could, in my view, the government should return Parliament, which it (the government) said it would do,” he said.

“It said it would pass the tax cuts by July 1 that come in. We will back them in.

Hand out there to you, Simon (Birmingham), get on board, get the House of Reps and the Senate back.

“Only needs to happen for a couple of hours. We will do a deal. There you go. I can do that, one speaker a side and Bob’s your uncle, tax cuts delivered, July 1.”

7am: What’s making news:

Labor’s leader in waiting Anthony Albanese will be forced to jettison the hard-left policies he has espoused for more than three decades, with former party heavyweights questioning his passionate stances on asylum-seekers, boat turnbacks and energy policy.

Victorian Labor frontbencher Richard Marles is firming as the frontrunner to become deputy to an incoming Anthony Albanese, triggering concerns among party figures in Queensland over the pair’s ability to reach out to the state’s pro-coal constituency.

Labor is considering rejecting Scott Morrison’s mandate to deliver his full $158 billion in personal income tax cuts while flagging a dramatic shift on climate change policy and adopting a Tony Abbott-style “direct action” plan to cut carbon emissions.

Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce has conceded he has “zero prospects” of picking up a cabinet seat and may not remain special drought envoy, as Scott Morrison prepares to announce a reshuffle as early as Sunday.

Labor and the Greens are considering joining legal action being pursued by independent Kooyong candidate Oliver Yates, in a case that could have implications for the Liberals’ narrow win in the Victorian seat of Chisholm.

A new look Nationals party has significantly bolstered its female representation, with a record six women preparing to enter federal parliament in a result Bridget McKenzie said “exploded” myths about the blokey junior Coalition partner.