ONE MAN, ONE VOTE
It’s going to be Australia’s biggest, most expensive and most complex election ever — and it’s officially on for May 21, ABC reports. The AEC has hired 100,000 more staff to keep polling day sanitised and efficient, though there are lots of reasons why one can pre-poll — like if you’re more than 8km from a booth, ill, pregnant, travelling, unable to leave work, overseas, or afraid for your safety which does include a reasonable fear of catching COVID.
So here’s where we stand right now: of 151 seats in the House of Representatives, 76 are Coalition-held while Labor has 69 — the Coalition must hold onto this number to confidently form another government. There are several high-profile independents and smaller parties running, which means if neither major party gets a majority, deals will be made to get to that magic number. According to the Herald Sun ($), the Coalition must stem losses in WA, hang onto marginal seats in Queensland, and pick up a couple in NSW, while Labor must win marginals in Victoria and Tasmania, win big in WA, and defend coal seats in NSW. If you’re interested, the SMH has a good visual rundown of key seats.
This morning’s Newspoll shows Prime Minister Scott Morrison is now the preferred PM over Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, though between the parties Labor’s ahead of the Coalition with 37%-36% (while minor parties and independents make up the other 27%), The Australian ($) says. Incredibly, Morrison is the first Prime Minister since John Howard in 2007 to last a full term, Crikey reports. The PM said yesterday he would be announcing the replacement for retiring Health Minister Greg Hunt should the Coalition get up, and also confirmed Education Minister Alan Tudge — who faced allegations of abuse from a former partner — remains part of the cabinet, even though he stood aside in December amid the saga (he hasn’t been paid since). Albanese says he finds it “extraordinary” that Tudge’s job remains intact, Guardian Australia writes.
INDIGENOUS VOICE TO PARLIAMENT
In what was the most significant gathering of cultural leaders since the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart, Indigenous leaders yesterday called for a referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament in either May 27, 2023 or January 27, 2024, The Australian ($) reports. May next year is the 56th anniversary of the 1967 referendum that counted Indigenous Australians as part of our population, while January 2024 will mark 236 years (and one day) from that fateful arrival in Sydney Cove. So what is a Voice to Parliament? It would determine the legal status of the Indigenous voice — either constitutionally enshrined (the aim of the Uluru Statement) or legislated only.
Labor Leader Anthony Albanese already promised a referendum in the first term, while PM Scott Morrison’s team seems more inclined to legislate (you may recall the proposal for the Indigenous “advisory body”, as The Canberra Times reported). The Coalition has not committed to a referendum — could the reason be the polls? In January, Nine Newspapers asked readers what they thought: 28% wanted it bolted down into the constitution, while 24% wanted the voice “road-tested” — the poll’s words, not mine — in legislation. The rest didn’t know.
RUSSIA V UKRAINE
A quick rundown of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, courtesy of The Guardian’s live blog: Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed a new war commander following Russia’s failure to take the capital of Kyiv; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that all of Europe, not just Ukraine, is Putin’s target in a late-night address; Pope Francis is calling for an Easter ceasefire between the two nations, slamming the war as a “folly” that was leading to “heinous massacres” and “atrocious cruelty” against the defenceless; and Russian retired personnel are being pulled into joining the forces again according to British military intelligence.
The ABC has an interesting story this morning about how the conflict is dividing our Chinese community — the broadcaster spoke to WhatsApp group host Susie Su who says some of her community are now pro-Russia, having been influenced by articles on Chinese social media and Beijing’s rhetoric. So far China has touted its “neutrality” and refused to admit that Russia’s actions were an invasion. Meanwhile SBS spoke to Ukrainian Australian man Nick Janiw, who was living in Melbourne but packed his bags and went to Lviv, Ukraine to share insights into the war on social media and volunteer for the Ukrainian World Congress — helping administer aid and transporting refugees over the border.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE
George, Dillion, Luke, Mitchell, and Doug are just five guys shooting the breeze on a road trip throughout Western Australia. The first four are old mates from way back; Doug is a goat. About an hour north of Kalbarri following a particularly nasty storm, the friends heard sad little cries emanating from a bush and found the little guy, sodden and alone. They took Doug straight to a local vet who gave him a stiff shot of vitamins — the vet said he was a baby, and would’ve almost certainly died had they not helped him. With no parents in sight, the boys were like, I guess you’re riding with us now, popping a fetching blue collar around Doug’s neck and tucking him into a dog bed on the back seat.
Ever since, Doug — who is two weeks old — has been experiencing rites of passage on hyperspeed. First, an outback pub to rub shoulders (or, should I say, get head rubs) among the locals, then his very first trip to the ocean for a swim. Doug is tiny — about the size of a house cat — and everywhere he goes people have been offering to buy him. But George tells the ABC he couldn’t put a price on him. And Doug’s hardly been an encumbrance — other than frequent toilet breaks, the guys say everyone’s enjoying the ride. They even started an Instagram for Doug (it already has more than 500 followers). Once the road trip comes to an end, George says Doug will have a new home on the family farm.
Wishing you a little wanderlust this morning, too.
SAY WHAT?
The reason it is a bin fire and the reason the Liberals are in this position at the moment is the prime minister lies. Every time he stands up, he lies. He lied last week about Labor not listing drugs on the PBS when we were last in power — that is a lie. He has been called out as a liar by world leaders, by his own team. The record shows he is a liar and the Australian people know he is a liar and for all of that, it is so corrosive in the national interest to have someone like that leading.
Richard Marles
Hearing word the PM could be a liar. The deputy Labor leader used the word no fewer than seven times (in some form) on ABC’s Insiders yesterday.
CRIKEY RECAP
Inside the online campaign, where parties woo voters and frustrate and confuse opponents
“…It was revealed that the Liberal Party had registered albanese.com.au and directed it towards their own party website. It didn’t take long for Australia’s web domain industry body .au Domain Administration (auDA) to cancel the registration as the domain did not match the registrant’s details (i.e. the Liberal Party had no legitimate reason to claim albanese.com.au as its own).
“It was an uncommon move by auDA. There’s a long tradition of political parties cybersquatting on their opponent’s names and very rarely does auDA step in … Albanese also said the registration of albanese.com.au was a “test of integrity for Scott Morrison and the Liberal Party”. It’s not clear if he knows that his own party is the owner of domains including NSWLiberals.com.au and MatthewGuy.net.au.”
Welcome to Australia, a thrilling experiment in carbon capture
“Previously a democracy, Australia was acquired by fossil fuel investors in the early 21st century after they purchased the conservative Liberal and National parties and took a strategic stake in the Labor Party; executives who were regarded as having performed particularly well were rewarded with director positions on a variety of fossil fuel boards, while key regulatory institutions — especially climate and environment bodies — were converted to agencies of fossil fuel interests through the appointment of energy and resources executives to key positions.
“… In-house media arm News Corp is also proactive in supporting information-sharing efforts on behalf of fossil fuel interests to counter alarmist anti-carbon hysteria from extremists.”
Hey, big Spender: Sydney’s elite turn out for Dave Sharma’s would-be nemesis
“Wentworth is only one of two electorates that have never been held by the ALP in NSW (North Sydney is the other). If you look at the census statistics, the residents work disproportionately long hours and earn very high salaries in their jobs in legal and banking services. These voters are not so concerned about petrol prices.
“But the key to understanding the seat is in its educational attainments — almost half the residents have a bachelor’s degree or above, twice the national average of 22%. This now correlates closely with concern about the environment. As the cliffs of Vaucluse cascaded with waterfalls in this week’s ‘once-in-a-century’ deluge, the residents of Wentworth have been demanding action on their number-one priority: climate change.”
READ ALL ABOUT IT
At least 2 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank (Al Jazeera)
Elon Musk unveils vision for Twitter after joining board (The Guardian)
Gambian president’s party narrowly wins legislative polls (Al Jazeera)
Canada pledges additional $100m in humanitarian aid to Ukraine (CBC)
[NZ] PM Jacinda Ardern to lead trade delegation to Singapore and Japan as NZ border reopens (Stuff)
Thousands in Sri Lanka insist Rajapaksa family quit politics (Al Jazeera)
France’s presidential election race is tighter than expected. Here’s what you need to know (CNN)
Shanghai has recorded more than 130,000 COVID cases — and no deaths (The Wall Street Journal) ($)
THE COMMENTARIAT
Disillusioned with politics? Hope can be found in local activism — Moya Lothian-McLean (The Guardian): “What I have realised is, if you spend too much time zooming out, your vision blurs. The necessary optimism that keeps the political self moving feels almost impossible if you are painfully, obsessively aware of every social ill that needs amending. You cannot care “too much”, but you can be rendered immobile by the sheer scale of the work that lies ahead. The journalist and ardent campaigner Sarah Woolley once gave me some advice that I have been turning over in my head ever since: ‘Find three causes you care about,’ she said, ‘and focus on those.’
“Amid the muck of our current circumstances, I am noticing some green shoots sprouting, in the form of increased non-party political activity from the people around me. My 68-year-old mother, retired and living in rural Herefordshire, has recently joined an extremely dynamic local women’s equality group. Their current fight, she tells me, is addressing the dire lack of local sexual violence services, with providers forced to turn survivors away due to lack of resources. Someone messaged me the other day to report they’d joined a tenants’ union …”
Character will be the main game on May 21 — Phillip Coorey (The AFR): “Strap in for what promises to be one of the more nasty election campaigns, in which the characters of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Opposition leader Anthony Albanese will be the main game. At the previous two elections, in 2016 and 2019, the campaigns were fought predominantly over issues of policy. In 2019 for example, the government launched the campaign on a budget that was brought forward and contained tax cuts and promises of a return to surplus.
“Labor entered the fray with a raft of tax policies — too many, as it turned out — focused on negative gearing, trusts, capital gains tax and franking credits, with the ultimate aim of outspending the government on health and education while balancing the budget. In 2016 and 2019 climate change was a big subject of debate, as were the superannuation tax changes the government took to the 2016 election. This time, there will be little of this substance. While the economy will feature large as it always does, fiscal discipline has diminished thanks to the pandemic, to the extent that Labor believes its stated right to spend more than the government on ‘quality’ measures is now a virtue.”
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
WHAT’S ON TODAY
Online
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Australians for Constitutional Monarchy convener David Flint will speak to columnist Piers Akerman in a webinar entitled “The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee — What is the Future of the Monarchy” and held by Family Voice Australia.
Yuggera Country (also known as Brisbane)
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Author Emma Viskic will discuss her new novel Those Who Perish at Avid Reader bookshop. You can also catch this one online.
Kulin Nation Country (also known as Melbourne)
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Five emerging writers will speak about their work in an event called “The Next Big Thing: Known Unknowns Edition” at The Moat.
Kaurna Country (also known as Adelaide)
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Flinders University is holding a conference about Australia’s place in global environmental governance since the 1972 Stockholm Conference.
