What we learned today, Saturday 14 May
We’re going to wrap things up for the evening. Here’s a recap of the day’s main events:
- Scott Morrison reiterated his new pitch to voters, promising a “gear change” if re-elected next weekend.
- Anthony Albanese accused Morrison of breaking “faith and trust” with the US following a report in Nine Newspapers that the prime minister delayed consulting Labor about the Aukus deal for fourth-and-a-half months.
- The Coalition announced $20m to expand its high school sports program Sporting Schools and $4.8m for surf life saving clubs.
- The Labor party pledged $970m for Medicare.
- Rain eased in Queensland but moderate to major flood warnings remained in place for part’s of the state’s south-east.
Thanks again for joining us. We will see you tomorrow as we enter the final week of the 2022 federal election campaign.
Updated
At the Hindu Council of Australia event, Scott and Jenny Morrison, ministers Alex Hawke and Ben Morton and various candidates including for Parramatta, Maria Kovacic, were presented with orange scarves.
As eagle-eyed readers in my Twitter feed have noted, these are symbols of the Hindu nationalist organisation Vishva Hindu Parishad.
Anthony Albanese and Kristina Keneally did the same when they visited the Hindu Council on Friday, prompting controversy because of the VHP’s connection to rightwing Hindu organisations blamed for violence against other religious minorites in India:
These are Australian MPs @AlboMP (left) & @KKeneally (right). They are both wearing the scarf of the VHP.
— Pieter Friedrich (@FriedrichPieter) May 9, 2022
The VHP is the religious wing of the RSS. RSS is a Nazi-inspired paramilitary dedicated to eradicating minorities from India. Why are Australian MPs endorsing it? pic.twitter.com/WrBt5PxRLg
Nevertheless, as the pictures show, neither Liberal nor Labor leaders saw any problem donning the scarves.
Updated
Scott Morrison was asked one final set of questions about defusion of tensions within the Indian community in Australia.
He delivered a monologue about “why Australia works” because “when people come from other parts of the world, they enjoy the freedoms and protections of our laws, of democracy and the rule of law”.
Everyone wass “treated the same way” whatever the colour of their skin, ethnicity, religion, or political views.
He said:
Whatever conflicts they have in their home countries have no place in Australia ... We don’t have transfer of hatreds. They can stay away, they have no part in the Australia I lead.
Morrison mobbed on way out of Hindu Council event. pic.twitter.com/MkJOWd95Ef
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) May 14, 2022
Updated
At the Hindu council, Scott Morrison was asked whether the religious discrimination bill would allow workplace discrimination and discrimination in the provision of services to Hindus.
Morrison replied: “No.” He explained that the bill would add religion as an attribute that is protected in the same way that race, sex and other attributes are protected.
Morrison did not address the issue about whether Christian institutions could preference their own adherents in hiring, and thereby discriminate against minority religions. Still, he got a round of applause after the answer, so it seems some concerns were addressed.
Morrison was also asked about culturally appropriate Hindu-specific aged care. He answered about the $19bn invested to implement recommendations of the aged care royal commission, and a program to gather data about aged care demand that he says will benefit the Hindu community.
Morrison implicitly criticised Labor promises in aged care:
It’s one thing to say you’re going to do something. You hear a lot of that in elections. But the real test is: Do you know how to do it? Can you implement it? Can you fund it? Is it costed properly? Will you consult with the community?
Morrison also spoke about the $22bn invested to achieve the net zero by 2050 target, and the clean energy aspects of the trade partnership with India.
He said:
If we can solve climate change for India, we solve it for the world. It’s not enough to solve it in Australia. We could reduce our emissions to zero. They’ve said the same in the US. They could reduce to zero. But if in many other countries emissions continue to rise, we’ll make no progress.
Earlier, Morrison announced if re-elected the government would provide the Hindu council with $250,000 for upgrades to their kitchen and dining hall, which would help to expand their Karma Kitchen program. That went down well with the hosts. As did the immigration minister, Alex Hawke, talking about expanding access to parent visas.
The Liberal candidate Maria Kovacic took to the stage to say what the government would do for Parramatta. She mentioned the Karma Kitchen again, then promised to act in line with Narendra Modi’s dictum “the world is a family”.
Updated
Scott Morrison hails close ties with India at Hindu council event
Scott Morrison has spoken at length about Australia’s free trade agreement with India, and his personal friendship with the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.
Morrison described Modi as a “great leader” and was exceptionally chummy, claiming Modi refers to him as “Scomo” and together they are “Scomodi” – the crowd is lapping it up, and one interjected a comment about “scomosas”.
Morrison said:
We share a view about a free and open Indo-Pacific, and the rules-based order. Together with free people in India and Japan and elsewhere we need to ensure that freedom prevails. We’re strong about it. We’re working closely – economic, Covid, humanitarian support and on security issues. We want to see the Australian and Indian economies become very successful and more entrenched with one and other. That presents enormous opportunities.
Morrison also addressed the controversy about the swastika, which is a Hindu cultural symbol but has been banned in Victoria as a hate symbol because of its Nazi connotations.
Morrison said he “understands how hurtful it is to see cultural symbols used by extremists as symbols of hate”.
“We know some state governments have taken actions to ban the use of hate symbols, we support that, however it must be sensible,” he said, noting that the Victorian ban has “appropriate exemptions” for Hindus and other cultural groups that use the symbol.
Updated
meaaaaanwhile in Kooyong pic.twitter.com/xna1s0H0NP
— Kate Ashton (@ktshtn) May 14, 2022
Liberal party to seek electoral commission investigation into Labor's Andrew Charlton
Following revelations today about the Labor candidate in Parramatta Andrew Charlton’s alleged failure to update his address, a Coalition campaign spokesman says: “This afternoon, the Liberal party will write to the AEC, requesting an investigation into potential electoral law breaches by Mr Charlton.”
Scott Morrison has just arrived at the Hindu Council of Australia event in Parramatta, his sixth visit to the electorate so far this campaign.
Updated
Peter Dutton hits back at Labor over Aukus briefing claims
The defence minister, Peter Dutton, has attacked the Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, amid reports the federal government delayed briefing the opposition on the US submarine deal, AAP reports:
Senior members of the Biden administration told the Morrison government four-and-a-half months before the announcement it would only pursue the Aukus project if it had bipartisan support, Nine Newspapers reported on Saturday.
Federal Labor were only briefed on the deal the day before the 16 September announcement, Albanese said, which was “extraordinary”.
“The fact the United States had made a request to Australia that was ignored for four-and-a-half months shows that this is a prime minister who always plays short-term politics (and) isn’t interested in the national interest,” Albanese told reporters on Saturday.
Dutton hit back, saying it was the Labor leader who was playing politics.
“If Mr Albanese had a problem with the way in which the briefings were conducted and the way in which the information was provided to him, he’s had ample opportunity ... to raise it publicly,” Dutton told reporters on Saturday.
“I think his comments today are quite reckless. If the United States had conditioned the Aukus agreement on there being a briefing for the Australian Labor party, then clearly the deal would not have gone ahead. So the United States didn’t condition that.
“I think Mr Albanese frankly owes the Australian public an apology because he’s misled the public today.”
Updated
China has urged Australian politicians to stop being alarmist after the defence minister, Peter Dutton, said a Chinese warship sighted off the Western Australian coast was an “act of aggression”, AAP reports:
Dutton on Friday claimed the ship, which had intelligence-gathering capabilities, crossed into Australia’s exclusive economic zone in an “aggressive act” from China.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, later clarified the ship was only sighted about 250 nautical miles off the WA coastline and it did not enter Australian waters.
But Morrison reiterated the incident was unusual and Australia was “keeping a close eye” on China.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, responded to the claims, telling Reuters news agency China always followed international law and Australian politicians should “refrain from alarmism”.
Updated
The nephew of slain gangland figure Mahmoud “Brownie” Ahmad has been shot dead at his Sydney home in what police are calling a “war” around drug supply and organised crime in the city’s south-west.
It is the third fatal shooting in recent weeks, and the second this week, in what police have dubbed a spate of “tit-for-tat” incidents, starting with the murder of Ahmad in late April.
Read more here:
Updated
This piece, by my colleague Luke Henriques-Gomes, on the case for a royal commission into robodebt is well worth a read.
Updated
The federal and Queensland governments say disaster assistance is now available for the 12 local government areas affected by the latest rainfall and flood event in south-east Queensland.
Assistance is being provided through the jointly funded commonwealth-state Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA).
The two governments said hardship disaster assistance was available for flood-affected residents in the Lockyer Valley and Southern Downs to cover the costs of immediate essential needs.
Assistance is also available for the Brisbane, Fraser Coast, Gladstone, Gold Coast, Gympie, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Moreton Bay, North Burnett, South Burnett, Southern Downs and Toowoomba LGAs to cover the costs of the immediate clean-up efforts.
Queensland’s minister for fire and emergency services, Mark Ryan, said it had been yet another far-reaching weather system.
These grants of up to $180 per person, to a maximum of $900 for a family of five or more, are available to those eligible who are still experiencing financial hardship because of the unfolding severe weather.
Updated
Wounds Australia has welcomed Labor’s almost $1bn Medicare pledge, saying the policy could dramatically reduce the physical and financial suffering of more than 420,000 chronic wound patients – but only if wound prevention and treatment is specifically factored into its implementation.
The organisation’s chief executive, Helen Jentz, said the peak body had been calling on all parties and candidates to commit to delivering real solutions for Australia’s “hidden epidemic” of chronic wounds.
She said more than 420,000 Australians develop chronic wounds each year that affected their quality of life and mental health.
Over $3bn from health and aged care budgets is spent on chronic wounds, and average out-of-pocket costs are around $4,000 – but it doesn’t have to be this way.
She said wound care needed to be a cornerstone of health and aged care qualifications.
Wounds Australia supports Labor’s announcement to focus on chronic conditions in their Strengthening Medicare Fund, but it will only be a meaningful policy if it includes the diagnosis, treatment and healing of wounds.
Updated
Our wildlife is suffering. Australia needs a comprehensive plan to protect our environment and look after our native species.
— 💚🌏 Sarah Hanson-Young (@sarahinthesen8) May 14, 2022
Today @SenatorSurfer and I pledged to fight for the Tassie Devil.
Our Green Australia plan will restore habitat and save our wildlife from extinction. pic.twitter.com/dzdlmsuYPl
And with that, I will now hand over the blog for the rest of the day to the always brilliant Lisa Cox. Thanks for reading.
The Greens have been at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary outside Hobart today to spruik their environmental policies.
The party has promised a $24.4bn fund over a decade for habitat restoration and urban green space and is the first party federally to set a zero extinction target.
The Tasmanian senator Peter Whish-Wilson described a Coalition proposal to scrap a recovery plan for Tasmanian devils, and nearly 200 other species and habitats, as “frighteningly shortsighted”.
Australia is in an extinction crisis and recovery plans are one of the key instruments that we have to help threatened species recover.
Abandoning the Tasmanian devil now, after so much time and money and love has been poured into keeping the treasured species alive and healthy, is a cruel death sentence.
The Greens environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, said the party would push for independent environmental oversight – which was a key recommendation of the review of national environmental laws – in the form of an independent environment regulator.
In balance of power, we will push the next government to adopt a zero extinction by 2030 target, create thousands of jobs to restore habitat and put in place an environmental watchdog to hold governments and corporations to account.
Updated
Over 300,000 people cast their ballots on the first day of pre-polling this year, almost three times the number of people who voted on the first day of pre-poll in 2019. By Friday, over 1.2 million voters had already cast their ballot.
Caitlin Cassidy and I spoke to some voters about why they are choosing pre-polling this year:
Updated
And now here is some commentary from Katharine Murphy on the PM’s earlier comments on change:
🧵After being the devil you know for five weeks, the PM pivots to I was the devil circumstances demanded, and in the future, I’m a self-aware devil. He’s back to appealing to patient women, a la the @tracygrimshaw interview at the height of APH #MeToo #auspol pic.twitter.com/UExMB7UZPO
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) May 14, 2022
At the beginning of that cultural reckoning, polls showed the PM lost standing with female voters, but in time he clawed back some support by appealing to patient women who eye-roll their husband’s foibles. Here he is again. Same pitch.
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) May 14, 2022
Polls indicate some of the women Morrison lost last year didn’t come back (there’s a distinct gender gap in approval of the two leaders). But don’t assume this flip won’t get traction. He’s bowled his mea culpa ahead of the launch and will get at least 72 hours of headlines.
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) May 14, 2022
And better than headlines - he’ll get a rolling brawl about whether he’s fixed or protean and all the options in between. Better than headlines saying he favours a real wage cut. This PM knows how to change an unhelpful conversation.
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) May 14, 2022
They’re not superstitious but Warwick SES volunteers had a feeling Friday, 13 May was going to be a challenge. As the Condamine River & other local creeks began to rise, many were left isolated. With 73 people to rescue and nightfall their deadline, the SES jumped into action. pic.twitter.com/x5lBOBVFLj
— Qld Fire & Emergency (@QldFES) May 14, 2022
A mobile billboard of the exchange where Liberal MP Fiona Martin confused her Labor opponent, Sally Sitou, with another Asian Australian woman, Tu Le, is doing the rounds today #ReidVotes #ausvotes #auspol pic.twitter.com/6BbCoKrFtO
— Osmond Chiu (赵明佑) (@redrabbleroz) May 14, 2022
An alleged drug importer linked to the discovery of a dead diver and a cocaine haul at Newcastle port has been formally refused bail, AAP reports:
An alleged drug importer tied to the discovery of a dead diver near a $20m cocaine haul in Newcastle has been formally refused bail on drugs charges.
James Lake Blee appeared at Parramatta local court via video link on Saturday morning after being extradited from Queensland overnight.
He was arrested on Wednesday allegedly trying to leave Australia for Singapore.
Blee’s lawyers made no application for bail and his case has been adjourned for Friday. He was formally refused bail.
Police said the 62-year-old was charged with importing a large commercial quantity of a border controlled drug and large commercial drug supply.
It comes as NSW police released CCTV images of two people wanted in relation to the death of the diver found near bricks of cocaine at Newcastle port.
Updated
Australia’s farmers are on high alert for another mouse plague.
Last year’s record invasion devastated rural areas and this year’s bumper harvest is seeing mouse numbers increasing again, writes my colleague Caitlin Cassidy.
Read the full story here:
And with that, I will hand the blog over to Lisa Cox for a short while.
Postal application have passed 2.5 million or 14.6% of enrolment, returned postal now past 1 mill. or 5.8%, and pre-polls have passed 1.6 million or 9.5% of enrolment. Growth from here will be the final week surge in pre-polls. Details at https://t.co/tjV43DMg04 #ausvotes #auspol
— Antony Green - elections (@AntonyGreenElec) May 14, 2022
And in case you missed it, the New Zealand PM, Jacinda Ardern, has tested positive for Covid.
It comes at an inopportune moment for the PM, who will need to isolate while her government introduces an emissions reduction plan and a budget next week.
You can read more here:
Updated
Western Australia reports 13,162 new cases
Western Australia has recorded 13,162 new cases overnight, with 292 people in hospital, and 10 in ICU.
Updated
And not to be out-press-conferenced, the defence minister, Peter Dutton, has announced a press conference for 1.15pm.
Updated
Well, after a week in which Labor’s Sally Sitou was mixed up with Tu Le, they have come together on the campaign trail in Reid in Sydney’s inner west:
Thanks to my friend @TuLe_2166 for supporting me at prepoll today.
— Sally Sitou 陈莎莉 - Labor for Reid (@SallySitou) May 14, 2022
Let's win Reid and win government for Labor! pic.twitter.com/Aij4jc3gpM
Updated
Queensland authorities provide flood update
And we jump straight from Albanese to Queensland authorities who are providing a flood update.
Shane Chelepy, the acting Queensland disaster coordinator, says there are still 87 buildings affected in Warwick, with 49 people in shelter in Condamine:
The district disaster group and local group are meeting today and as the river drops further they will be moving in towards those recovery efforts there.
At Gympie, as we indicated, we are still seeing rises in the Mary River at Gympie. Planning is well under way there and we are predicting a moderate flood level in Gympie. It is expected that the town bridge may divide the town again to the south. We have pre-positioned our emergency services and disaster management capability to both sides of the town.
We are expecting minor impacts but not expecting with the predicted peaks any significant impacts particularly to dwellings in the Gympie area, but obviously the disaster management group there will continue to monitor that and we will keep the residents informed.
Updated
A final question about Andrew Charlton in Parramatta again, first referring to a previous statement the Labor leader made on a Liberal candidate found living at a different address to the one listed.
At the time, Anthony Albanese said it was a “very serious” issue for the PM. Does the same standard apply to Charlton?
The electoral commission took action on that and referred the candidate for Lilley to the AFP. I expect the rules to always be upheld. Thanks.
Updated
We have a question about change! Anthony Albanese is asked if he will change if he wins the election:
Scott Morrison got asked a question the other night to say something nice for a minute. He couldn’t quite get there, but he did try. But one of the things he said about me was that I have never forgotten where I came from, and I haven’t. What you see is what you get. The values that I was raised with are the values that I hold dear and they are the values that I will take into government.
With two key themes to that: No one left behind, because I believe we should look after the disadvantaged and aim to lift people up, but also no one held back, that Labor is the party of aspiration and opportunity, that we should look for ways in which people can be the best they can be, and that will be my driving force. I don’t believe this prime minister can change. It is a desperate statement that he made.
Updated
Will Anthony Albanese be reaching out to the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, if he wins the election?
I am not getting ahead of myself and the relationship with China will remain complex and will remain challenging, regardless of who wins the election. I tell you who I will be reaching out to.
I will be, if we are successful, I will be reaching out to the United States and the Biden administration, and what the Biden administration will get from me, as our most important ally, is straight answers. What is very clear from today’s revelations is that they didn’t get straight answers from the Morrison government.
Updated
Anthony Albanese is then asked about implementing the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and what he’s made of Scott Morrison’s rejection of a voice to parliament:
The only voice that Scott Morrison wants to hear is his own. It is not surprising that he has ruled out a voice to parliament because the only voice that Scott Morrison ever wants to hear is his own.
That’s why even in the parliament he shuts down other voices. So it is not surprising, given he won’t have any debates in the parliament, that he doesn’t want a voice to parliament. This is a generous offer from First Nations people. First Nations people are just asking to be consulted on issues that affect their lives, on health, on education, on housing, on those issues.
It is a generous handout from First Nations people, and what they are asking for is a partner, is just a joining of hands in our common interests. This is the same political party that said if we apologise to the stolen generations it would be divisive. Peter Dutton walked out of that apology. What we need to do is bring this country together.
Updated
We return to discussions of foreign policy once again, this time on whether Anthony Albanese would be talking to state premiers about China, after the Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan, waded into the discussion yesterday:
Well, I do note that Peter Dutton’s rhetoric is very different from his own government’s rhetoric. It is very different from Marise Payne, who is in charge of foreign policy in the government. She is the foreign minister. Her rhetoric is very different from Peter Dutton.
What we see going on here – we’ve seen it for some period of time – you notice the really subtle things, that you can’t be leader if you haven’t been treasurer, when Josh Frydenberg is sitting behind the prime minister. There is tension within the Liberal party. It is being played out day after day.
There is tension within the National party whereby people are doing the numbers, where they win or not, over who is either deputy prime minister or leader of the National party, depending upon the seats and the outcomes. And the Liberals and Nationals don’t like each other.
The Australian government is in charge of our national policy, but I will be engaging in a constructive way with business, with state premiers, with civil society about our relationships. Mark McGowan is doing a great job as the WA premier. I stand with Mark McGowan. Scott Morrison stands with Clive Palmer.
Updated
Next up is a question on a report that the Parramatta Labor candidate, Andrew Charlton, had allegedly admitted to an “oversight” regarding the listing of a Woollahra rental property owned by his wife as his place of residence and whether Charlton should be referred to police.
Anthony Albanese replies:
I’m not aware of the issues which you raise, so I can’t comment.
Updated
Mark Butler is also at the presser, and is asked when some of the money announced today will actually be made available:
The GP grants flow immediately. They will start flowing this year and next year to strengthen GP practices. The Medicare Fund will start to flow from 1 July next year. Now there are a range of improvements in our general practice system, some of which Emma talked about earlier, they were identified in the 10-year plan, and what the taskforce’s job will be to do between now and the end of the year is to pull out the key priorities. AMA and the college have talked about priorities of strengthening the relationship between a general practice and particularly patients with complex and chronic disease.
As I said, the taskforce will report by the end of the year, identify the key priorities out of this long-term 10-year plan that should be addressed immediately. That report will flow into 2023 and funding will start flowing on 1 July 2023.
Updated
Anthony Albanese continues, saying Scott Morrison has used national security issues for short-term political gain, and is followed up with a question on whether he thought Morrison was again thinking in the short term when announcing the ships yesterday:
I’m not suggesting that. I am suggesting that it is an issue of concern that this ship was off the coast of Western Australia. It is appropriate that we get proper security briefings on those issues. Brendan O’Connor has made it clear that he has requested that issue. It is not an issue that was raised with me in any of the briefings ...
Updated
Anthony Albanese says PM ‘broke trust’ with US by delaying briefing Labor on Aukus
OK, we are into questions, and the first is if the government had an “ulterior motive” in announcing yesterday that Australia had spotted a Chinese warship off the coast of Western Australia.
Anthony Albanese, though, switches to discuss a report on the Aukus deal:
Look, Labor shares concerns about the presence of an intelligence ship off the coast of Western Australia from the Chinese government. We have asked for a fuller briefing, but I make this point about national security issues: There is a report today in Nine Newspapers – it is a serious report.
What it indicates is that for four-and-a-half months in the lead-up to the announcement about Aukus, the United States government was saying to the Australian government very clearly and repeatedly that they wanted the opposition, Labor, to be briefed and that they wanted to have the confidence that this would be a bipartisan issue in terms of support.
And the Biden administration sought reassurance from the Australian government that Australian Labor had been consulted on these issues. It is extraordinary that the prime minister broke that faith and trust with our most important ally by not briefing Australian Labor on these issues. We were briefed on the afternoon of the Wednesday before the 7am announcement. I was contacted by Scott Morrison only the day before and asked to fly to Canberra, which I did, with Richard Marles and Penny Wong and Brendan O’Connor was also there, remotely, to be briefed on the Aukus proposals. It was a good, comprehensive briefing by officials.
But the fact that the United States had made a request to Australia that was ignored for four-and-a-half months shows that this is a prime minister who always plays short-term politics, is not interested in the national interest.
Updated
We need to provide [GPs] with more support, which is why our $220m fund of strengthening Medicare GP grants is an important contribution, with grants from $25,000 to $50,000 to make sure that our GP practices can continue to thrive. In many areas, it is getting harder to see a doctor, not easier, and what we need to do is to make sure that people can get that care when they need it.
It’s one of the reasons why we announced our urgent care clinics to take pressure off emergency departments to work with existing GP services and community health clinics. It’s one of the reasons why we are announcing this funding today of almost $1bn to make a difference to the health sector.
It’s important that we do it here in the Northern Territory. It adds to the specific announcements that we’ve had – $111m First Nation’s health package that Penny Wong gave on my behalf when I was out of action due
to a health concern, she went to Alice Springs to make that announcement on the First Nations health package – 500 additional health workers in Aboriginal communities, making a difference to people’s lives.
Updated
Anthony Albanese pledges $970m investment in Medicare
Anthony Albanese calls Labor’s investment in health a “significant” one:
I have said that Labor wants to strengthen Medicare. We understand that Medicare is at the heart of our health system. Universal healthcare is something that is a Labor creation, and Labor will always defend it and Labor will always strengthen it.
Today’s announcement is aimed at just that – strengthening Medicare taskforce and fund, $750m – $250m each year between, starting from next year, 2023 financial year, will make an enormous difference. It has been supported by the AMA and we have worked with the health sector to make sure that we do strengthen Medicare, which is why this funding will be available.
Updated
And Anthony Albanese has finally stepped up for today’s press conference, and begins by acknowledging retiring NT Chief Minister Michael Gunnar, welcoming his replacement, Natasha Fyles.
Updated
It’s Natasha Fyles’ first full day as NT Chief Minister and she’s meeting Anthony Albanese, Jim Chalmers and Katy Gallagher. Albanese is talking up “big plans” if he wins next Saturday pic.twitter.com/kqwir3Kyiz
— Tom McIlroy (@TomMcIlroy) May 13, 2022
And now for some requisite pics of the PM playing footy in Melbourne:
Good stuff.
Updated
Labor holds comfortable lead in Newspoll
Before we head to the NT, I just wanted to bring up some Newspoll numbers this morning, which shows Labor is still in a comfortable lead over the Coalition, with Anthony Albanese’s approval dipping slightly.
Labor leads on a two-party-preferred basis of 54 to 46, with the Coalition’s primary vote still at 35%. Labor’s primary vote fell back a point, to 38%.
Albanese’s approval rating dropped by three points to 38%, while Scott Morrison’s approval rating rose by three points, and is now level with Albanese on minus 11 points on approval. Morrison leads Albanese by one point on preferred prime minister, 43% to 42%.
Updated
Anthony Albanese is in the Northern Territory to spruik his announcement on health spending, and we will bring you that as soon as it begins.
Three dogs and their two owners rescued from Queensland floods
Two men and their dogs have been dramatically rescued from rising floodwaters in Morwincha, Queensland.
Police footage showed officers from Ipswich rushing to aid the dogs and the men, who were trapped in their van, wedged between a tree, with one man clinging to the passenger door.
Two men and their dogs have been saved after being trapped in rapidly rising floodwater in #Queensland.
— 9News Australia (@9NewsAUS) May 13, 2022
Police footage shows the car quickly becoming submerged after being swept off the road as officers from Ipswich rush to their aid. #9News
MORE: https://t.co/oq3UNKDTDP pic.twitter.com/Q187SEeARZ
Victoria records 22 deaths and 12,160 new cases
Victoria is reporting 22 deaths overnight, as well as 12,160 new cases:
We thank everyone who got vaccinated and tested yesterday. Vaccination data percentages are from yesterday's data.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) May 13, 2022
Our thoughts are with those in hospital, and the families of people who have lost their lives.
More data soon: https://t.co/OCCFTAtS1P#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/0pz2qwPrTY
And with that the PM wraps up his press conference.
So, why has the PM decided to change gears in the last week of the campaign?
I have been listening to people. I have been listening carefully to people. And over the course of this campaign, it has been the opportunity to do that which, frankly, over the course of the last two years, we have all been locked up in Canberra. Most of you are from Canberra. We were all locked up there. The opportunity to get out and be with people in the community has been one bout we have not had, and it has been a very unusual time, an unusual time, where each and every day, we were dealing as a government with, often, quite existential crises.
It is not perfect and I think Australians need to know that I know that, as we gear-change into this next phase than the policies we have diligently put in place, our understanding of the economy and how it works, people know I’m not loose with the economy. People know that I’m not a loose unit when it comes to the economy. People know, even if they don’t like me, they know that I understand the economy.
So changing gears from fixing things into also fixing things, but now it’s different.
Back to questions about changing gears, a clear theme today. So, can we epxect a change beyonf economic recovery and oppoprtunity, as the PM has been rattling on about today?
I have told the story a few times, so forgive me if I tell it again. Jenny refers to it as the Morrison men. My father, my brother and I, we go in and fix things. And sometimes when we go in and fix things, people can get the impression that perhaps we are not as aware of many of the sensitivities that can be around these issues. We see a crisis, we see a problem, we see a need. My brother is a paramedic. He turns up on the scene and sees a child in great danger. He just gets to work. I must admit I am a bit the same. I go in and I seek to solve the problem.
I get it about the job of seeking to fix. I know that sometimes that makes it look like I am just pressing on, but has a prime minister, you’ve got to get the stuff done. You’ve got to get the stuff done. I will seek to be and to explain my motives and my concerns and empathise a lot more, but I tell you what, at the end of the day, what matters most is that I get the job done.
Updated
The PM is now asked about his “red line” comment on China, and whether yesterday’s so-called “act of aggression” (Peter Dutton’s words) was a crossing of said red line:
I thought I was very clear yesterday. Of course freedom of navigation is permitted all around the world. As nobody has made any suggestions that any rules were breached in relation to the international law of the sea.
But what yesterday highlighted, particularly when you take it in the context of economic coercion, foreign interference, pushing into our region, and asserting Chinese government seeking to impose its will across the region, this highlights the challenges that we face. This is why I did Aukus.
He then says he is “very clear eyed about the threats” three times in a row.
We are discussing change extensively today, the PM is next asked if Australians can honestly believe he will change after the election:
What you have seen from me, especially over the last few years, is what Australians have needed. And I think Australians would agree with that stop the strength to get us through the pandemic and where we are today, obviously our government has played a significant role in that, but can I tell you, the thing that is always guided me as a politician, as a political leader, as a minister, is a treasurer and as a Prime Minister, is my fundamental belief in the resilience and strength and character of Australians.
We have had enough of government interfering in every aspect of our life, particularly here in Victoria. I think they have had a gutful of it here in Victoria, it is fair to say. I am hearing a few “hear hears”. They have had a
gutful. What they want now is governments not telling them what to do, they want to buy a house.They want governments which enable you to go out there and succeed. That is what the liberals are Nationals have always been about, fuelling a people’s ambitions, getting government out of the way, so that they can go and secure the opportunities ahead of us.
Asked for what mistakes he has made that he would take back, Morrison falls back onto an oldie but a goodie:
Now, in hindsight, bringing in Lieutenant-General Frewen was something I would have done earlier, because when I put him in charge, we fixed the problem and we ended up ensuring the highest vaccination rates in the world and we met our target, ensuring that every single person in Australia who wanted a vaccine could get one, and we originally set that goal in late 2020 as being by October of 2021.
Of note there is the minor shift in discourse from the PM, mentioning again that he needs to “shift gears”.
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OK and we are in questions. First question is a solid “how will your leadership change after the election” question:
The first one is, as we have been effectively dealing with a global crisis for the last two years, that was a time for me as prime minister in my government to be in the year of pushing through. And that was
necessary to ensure that Australia was able to not just come through this pandemic and make many decisions and make many decisions quickly, and that frankly has not been the time during that period of crisis to undergo the broad-scale consultation and engagement which is my preference, but in these times, that has not been the opportunity for that. I have had to act quickly with Josh Frydenberg.I have had to take decisions not all of which were popular and not all of which people would agree with and not on every occasion were right, because we were dealing with a global pandemic and we had to move fast and we had to get things as right as we possibly could. Now, the result of that is where we are at in terms of the strength of our economy and where we go to next.
The next stage is very different to where we have been. We are coming out of this pandemic, just like those kids understand. We are coming out of it and does a government, I’m looking forward to changing gears of our government to secure those opportunities that I had of us, and that means being able to engage more with local communities. We’ve been locked up in Canberra just as people were locked up here in Victoria. And that has all changed.
That means that my team and I in particular can do more of what we’ve been doing lately over the course of this campaign and indeed before, when we have had the opportunity, I have revelled in the opportunity to be back out and connecting with Australians, because while there were great fears during the pandemic, and that strength was necessary, where we are going next is a gear change, where we are securing opportunities and realising the ambitions and aspirations Australians have their future. I said at the last election, how good is Australia? Well, are about to find out just how much better it is going to be because of the work we have done together and we move into this optimistic mode where we are able to seize the opportunities ahead of us.
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Now the PM is saying he is looking forward to a “golden decade” of sport in Australia:
Whether it is the Fifa women’s World Cup in 2023, the women’s basketball World Cup happening this year, the cycling road World Championships, also happening this year, we have just won both the women’s under the men’s Rugby World Cup, with the government directly providing that sport, with the assistance needed to insular that they can bring that bid home.
We have the Commonwealth Games here in Victoria, we have the world transplant games here in 2023, the world cross-country championships in 2023, we have got the UCI BMX World Championships, and those of you who were able to join me at the BMX track over in Western Australia will know that we’ve got some great young champions emerging there, and of course the biggest of them all, we’ve got the T20 World Cup in 2028 and in 2022, but the Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games, which I can tell you, wouldn’t have happened where it’s not for the first mover in the Federal Government in making sure that we went forward without bed, working closely with the government
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Morrison has unfurled his famous boomer dad vibes, snorting at young people using “devices”:
I still remember the mates are used to play with when I was a kid, when I used to go play sport, I used to look forward to it every Saturday and be there with mum and dad, come and be on the sidelines, it is those great
experiences of family life which creates strong families and strong communities.And by investing in a healthy lifestyles of our children, and doing that with the highly successful sporting schools program, this means we can get more and more about into healthy lifestyles, we need to get them off those phones and get them on the field. I hear some noise from parents who know exactly what I am talking about. And sure, they can have fun with their devices, that has to be on the timing at all the rest of it, you guys struggle without as much as I am sure we all do, but we want them out there running around, we want them living healthy lifestyles.
The PM continues, saying the country has also faced tough times, and that we are now heading into “better days”:
We have had to come through and toughed it out and push through as hard as we possibly can, and as a Prime Minister and as a government we have had to do that as well.
But as we go into this time of opportunity, and that is exactly what it is, and the kids reminded me of that again this morning, as we go into that time of opportunity, as a government, we change gears, as a Prime Minister, I change gears, and we go and secure those opportunities ahead.
This seems to be a continuation of yesterday’s “changing approach” discourse from Morrison.
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PM announcing $20.2m for Sporting Schools
The prime minister is in the Melbourne electorate of Deakin, and is announcing $20.2m in funding to expand the sporting schools program, along with local MP Michael Sukkar.
Morrison begins by saying there is nothing “more uplifting” than spending time with kids on a Saturday morning, saying nobody did it “tougher” during the pandemic than kids, particuarly kids in Melbourne.
But he says they are putting it behind them, its “exciting” the PM says.
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NSW reports 10,954 new cases and 19 deaths
NSW is reporting 19 Covid deaths overnight, and 10,954 new cases:
COVID-19 update – Saturday 14 May 2022
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) May 13, 2022
In the 24-hour reporting period to 4pm yesterday:
- 96.3% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
- 94.8% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/IriwAZT5bB
RACGP welcome's opposition GP plan
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has released a statement backing Labor’s $970m investment in GPs, saying it was important to enshrine “continuity of care.”
RACGP president Adj Prof Karen Price said that while details were a little light, the RACGP would work with the opposition to implement the plan:
Whilst we need to see further details of the scheme, the RACGP will work with the Opposition should they form government. We need to ensure all investments will work in practice for clinicians and achieve high-quality patient care.
Ask any GP and they will tell you that they regularly see some patients with multiple chronic conditions as different problems arise week to week over a long period of time. Enshrining continuity of care and drawing on the best available evidence base to help achieve long-term patient health outcomes are vital components of achieving necessary health system reform.
It is vital that the taskforce chaired by Shadow Health Minister Butler is led by GPs and consumers. This will help avoid unintended consequences by making sure there is a vital feedback loop back to government. It is great news that GPs and general practice teams will have a seat at the table because we will be the ones making sure that this model is functioning effectively and reaping beneficial outcomes for the patients who need it most.
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Next, Zimmerman is asked about Katherine Deves, and in particular about earlier comments he’s made, where he has said he was “angry” and “disappointed” at her previous comments.
Asked if her comments have put his re-election in doubt, here is what Zimmerman had to say:
I don’t think so. I obviously condemn the language she has used and I think it is inappropriate, but voters in my electorate know where I stand on these issues. It is one of the reasons I crossed the floor on the religious discrimination act, to protect gay and trans students and also teachers. I have no regrets about that and I would exactly same thing again if I were re-elected.
… I think it also points to why electorates like mine wants to have a moderate voice in parliament.
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Sticking with Zimmerman, he’s asked if Morrison isn’t a liability, would Trent have him campaign in his seat of North Sydney?
I have said I would be happy for the prime minister to join me. Of course, he puts his head down on a bed in my electorate every night that he is in Sydney. But my campaign has really been a grassroots campaign, and I am focused on talking to voters about what we are going to offer them in the next parliamentary term and also what I am offering them locally.
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First out of the blocks this morning Liberal MP Trent Zimmerman, appearing on ABC News, and was asked to what extent Scott Morrison’s unpopularity was affecting the Coalition (this being after the PM promised to change his approach yesterday).
This is what Zimmerman had to say:
Well, I think what is more important is the performance of the government and how we keep the economy strong, how we provide the services that our communities need.
And over the last two years we have seen circumstances that no government has faced in our lifetime, and that has meant that has been crisis decision-making, so there have been decisions which have happened in those circumstances like closing our international borders, like investing the money into jobkeeper, the largest economic support program run by I think any government in the world, so that has required a very firm and strong leadership by the prime minister.
In a process that you would normally expect to see happen in the normal run of affairs, and I think the point the prime minister was making was that the next term of parliament, we will be going back to the normal decision-making process so long as we are out of the woods with the pandemic.
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The Greens have referred three Labor campaign ads to the Australian Electoral Commission over alleged “misleading and deceptive” conduct, in the latest escalation of election hostilities in a trio of three-cornered contests in Brisbane.
Greens senator Larissa Waters has written to the AEC to complain about Labor communications in the seats of Brisbane, Ryan and Griffith, which claim the “only way” to remove the Coalition from government is to vote for the ALP. Waters claims this is incorrect, and accused Labor of misleading voters about how to fill in their ballot papers.
“The Greens are concerned that this misleading and deceptive information confuses voters about the consequences of giving their first preference to a minor party,” she wrote in a letter to the AEC on Thursday.
The Greens have explicitly ruled out supporting the Coalition in the event of a hung parliament.
It is clearly incorrect that the “only” way to change the government is to mark the ballot paper with a 1 for Labor … I believe that Labor’s messaging goes beyond encouraging people to vote Labor and seeks to directly mislead electors about how to mark their ballot paper to achieve a change of government.
Labor’s campaign headquarters has declined to comment.
An AEC spokesman confirmed the commission had received the complaint, and would “look at it and respond as required”.
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Good morning
Good morning, Mostafa Rachwani with you for the last Saturday blog before the election. With only seven days to go, the finish line is within view, and both leaders are gearing up to finish with a flourish.
We begin with Labor, who will enter the final week of campaigning with a new $970m investment in primary health and a boost for infrastructure upgrades in GP practices. Labor leader Anthony Albanese is promising greater access to GPs under the plan.
Meanwhile, prime minister Scott Morrison is preparing for his campaign launch, and is expected to announce financial support for 700,000 children to play sports, part of a $20m plan to expand sporting programs.
Elsewhere, we’ll keep our eyes on Covid numbers, especially as the flu season begins to pick up, with many people questioning what is making them ill if they keep testing negative to Covid.
There is still much going, so let’s dive in.
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