Former Liberal MP Gladys Liu might be launching her comeback tour.
Defeated federal Liberal MP Gladys Liu is eyeing a move to Victorian politics and is set to challenge for a seat in the upper house. “When one door shuts, another door opens,” she says. Nominations for preselection opened on Friday and close on June 20. #springst #auspol
— Shannon Deery (@s_deery) May 30, 2022
Scott Morrison may not serve a full term, Peter Dutton suggests
Interesting. Speaking on the Today show earlier, Peter Dutton, who was introduced with, “Buckle up, because there’s a new sheriff in town,” floated the idea Scott Morrison may not hang around for a full term.
Peter Dutton on Scott Morrison’s future: “I think he intends to sit on the backbench and reassess where he is in 6 or 12 months. “So, potentially a by-election down the track?” Potentially” #auspol @9NewsAUS
— Fiona Willan (@Fi_Willan) May 30, 2022
Updated at 18.07 EDT
Quotas might be something for Liberals to consider, Sussan Ley says
Deputy leader of the Liberal party Sussan Ley followed David Littleproud.
Asked about why a large section of women was broadly turned off by what the Liberals were selling this election, she said quotas “might be” something the party should look at moving forward.
Women didn’t hear much of what we were saying, says Sussan Ley…
— Gabrielle Chan (@gabriellechan) May 30, 2022
She also pushed against legislating a net zero by 2050 target, suggesting there are many other ways to tackle the issue:
It doesn’t need to be legislated. However, those policy discussions will happen through our party room and shadow cabinet … Demonstrating you’re serious about climate change doesn’t just include a conversation about targets.
Updated at 18.03 EDT
‘We’re great mates,’ David Littleproud says of PM.
Nationals leader David Littleproud has been up on Radio National. He told Patricia Karvelas he had been on the blower to the prime minister.
“We’re great mates,” he said, but that doesn’t mean he thinks Anthony Albanese will be a great prime minister.
What will be different about your leadership?
“My leadership is about making sure the primacy of the party room is at front and center.. and it’s done us well in the past; you look at where we got to as a party room on net zero.”
– @D_LittleproudMP , Nationals Leader
— RN Breakfast (@RNBreakfast) May 30, 2022
Some Liberals blame Barnaby Joyce for losing blue ribbon seats to Teals and Greens. What’s your view?
“I don’t think it’s wise for anyone in an emotive state to be laying blame.. when we do get that data back, understand and learn from it.”
– @D_LittleproudMP
— RN Breakfast (@RNBreakfast) May 30, 2022
Updated at 17.58 EDT
Peter Dutton says the election ‘wasn’t a great night’ for Anthony Albanese
A record one in three Australians didn’t vote for major parties this election. What went wrong?
Peter Dutton says Labor also saw its primary vote going backward and lost a seat to the Greens.
It wasn’t a great night out for Anthony Albanese because people thought he wasn’t quite up for it.
Asked if the teal seats can be won back, Dutton says: No heart won’t be a target for us … about 200,000 Australians voted for teal candidates. At the other end of the spectrum, about 700,000 people left the Coalition to vote for parties on the right …
The Liberal party is not the conservative party; it is not the moderate party, it’s not the moderate conservative party – it is the Liberal party. We’re a party that will stand up for our country on many issues, including national security, the economy, including sensible climate change policy. And we’ll sustainably do that.
Updated at 17.56 EDT
‘I’ve made some poor-taste jokes like any person over the years and apologizedd.’
Peter Dutton is asked about decisions he made that may have influenced public perception in the past, including joking about water lapping at the doors of Pacific countries, his tough stance on the Biloela family, and boycotting the apology to the stolen generations:
I’ve been in public life for 20 years. I’ve had tough jobs. But I’ve also been able to make decisions in the immigration space, for example—in hundreds of cases where I acted compassionately on the facts. I looked at particular family circumstances, and I was able to grant those people visas … the Syrians that we brought in. The people that we lifted out of Afghanistan – over 4,000 people.
And in some cases, you have to make tough calls. You’ll see that in this government as well. The people smugglers … they’re evil people. They trade in sex slaves … illicit drugs, and human beings. And I didn’t want to see people drowning at sea and made tough decisions about that.
I’ve made some poor-taste jokes like anyone over the year and apologized for that. I’m as human and as frail as anybody else. There are decisions I’ve made that have been tough about you in our country’s best interest. And that’s the job of being a minister.
Peter Dutton talked to the media yesterday. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Pushed on whether, if he had his time again, he would show compassion for the Biloela family, he said:
The government has to take the experts’ advice… you’re dealing with organized criminal syndicates. These people couldn’t care less whether the Biloela family made it to Australia or drowned at sea.
Updated at 17.54 EDT
‘I want people to make judgments on what they see,’ Peter Dutton says
Opposition leader Peter Dutton is up on ABC Breakfast. Asked whether his opening speech yesterday demonstrated he’s “up for a fight”, he replied:
Well, it’s a contest of ideas, and we believe very passionately, both sides of politics, right across the board, in our fundamental values, our beliefs, and what we see as the future of this country. The opportunities and the risk, and the threats. So you would expect it to be a contest of ideas,s and we’ll argue that passionately.
What about his softer side? Where is the warm and fuzzy Dutton we keep hearing about?
Look, I’ve had tough jobs in government. I was the home affairs minister. We deported 6,000 people who had committed sexual offenses against women and children—murderers and people who had committed serious crimes otherwise. As defense minister, I made tough decisions, and when you’re up talking about those decisions, it’s pretty hard to crack into a smile, joke, or whatever.
In this portfolio, in this job now, I have the opportunity to talk more broadly about issues important to our country. I want to do a lot for families. I want to do much for small businesses, micro-companies, and people hurting by Covid. I want to grow Australian jobs and manufacturing … I want people to make judgments based on what they see, not what they believe from some of the media interpretations or online trolling and commentary.
Updated at 17.43 EDT
Lord Howe Island records strong winds
Whopping 148km/h winds were recorded over Lord Howe Island overnight.
Hold your umbrellas close, friends.
Low in Tasman brought significant wind to Lord Howe Island overnight, with a gust of 80KT (148km/hr) recorded. Windy over NSW today, with possibly damaging wind gusts in the east. Snow today is down to 900m. Warnings at https://t.co/a7nmsNkc0l pic.twitter.com/xYOVW28yU8
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) May 30, 2022
Updated at 17.41 EDT
‘The Australian people have voted for climate action. n’
Josh Burns was also confident the strong gains by independents gave the Labor party a mandate to enact impactful climate legislation: There ares two houses of parliament, and nobody has a majority in the Senat,e and that willo require negotiations … driving that agenda will be a good, decent, hardworking government.
Clearly, this election demanded climate action, and we now have an opportunity to shape that agenda … the Australian people have voted for climate action [and] the Labor government is going to deliver it.
Macnamara MP Josh Burns. Photograph: James Ross/AAP
Updated at 17.40 EDT
Australians want to see unity, Macnamara MP Josh Burns says
Labor MP Josh Burns appeared on Radio National this morning, hopeful he had retained his seat in Macnamara after a close contest between the Greens and the Liberal party.
Asked how he felt about being “M.r Majority”, he said:
Antony Green has called me,t and there ares still a few more votes to be counted,d but I’m feeling hopeful and thinking about all the work that needs to be done.
Burns said Anthony Albanese had shown he was “ready for the job” in his first week of parliament. At the same time, Labor had also demonstrated it was willing to work with crossbenchers on issues including climate change, a voice in parliament, and cost of living issues:
Australians have put in a group of people into parliament [and] want to see them working together across party lines and want to see unity. It’s not good enough not to have a positive agenda for the future; Australians want to collaborate… legislation that won’t wedge but will improve people’s lives.
Updated at 17.37 EDT
Labor is settling into its second week of government and the first day of a majority. As the dust settles, Anthony Albanese is poised to announce his full ministry today, including the highly speculated role of Speaker.
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie’s name has been frequently mentioned, while Zali Steggall has called for the role to be filled by a woman.
You have Caitlin Cassidy here to guide you through it all, with Labor likely to be in good spirits.
Antony Green called the seat of Macnamara for Labor MP Josh Burns yesterday, securing the party its crucial 76th seat.
Burns told Patricia Karvelas this morning that while there were a few more votes still to be counted, he was “feeling hopeful” and “thinking about all the work that needs to be done”.
Two more seats, Gilmore on the south coast of New South Wales and Deakin in Melbourne’s eastern suburb are still to be called in tight contests between Labor and the Liberal party.
NSW is again battered by seemingly endless wild weather outside of federal politics. The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds stretching from Lismore in the north to Cooma in the south, including Sydney, Newcastle, and Canberra, this morning, with gusts reaching up to 100km/h.
The deep low-pressure system will persist until the afternoon, with saturated soils increasing the risk of toppling trees and powerlines.
