What we learned today, Friday 6 May
Where to start, summarising today? I didn’t even get to tell you about the mystery box jellyfish. Here are just some of the headlines:
- Prime minister Scott Morrison suggested Labor leader Anthony Albanese was using Covid as an excuse for brain fog. On a related matter, Malcolm Farr dissected “rudeness journalism”.
- Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said disgruntled Liberal voters were “voting with their feet” for independents.
- And Morrison has refused to say if he’ll resign in the case of a hung parliament.
- Labor, meanwhile, has confirmed that it has dropped plans for superannuation on paid parental leave.
- The Australian Electoral Commission will investigate fake election signs suggesting independents are Greens.
- And Satanists have failed in their bid to be part of religious education in schools.
I am off for a nanna nap before getting up in the wee hours to (hopefully) spot the Eta Aquariids meteor shower, but I’ll be back for Sunday night’s leaders’ debate – and the team will keep you up to date all weekend. Have a cracker!
Updated
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has been in Parramatta this evening – the candidate there is Andrew Charlton, and Labor has been accused of parachuting him in to the seat. Here’s the background to the story.
AAP reports that Charlton, who recently moved from a $16m mansion into the seat, has defended himself against that claim.
He said:
Lots of these communities have an aspiration for hard work, to support their families, to build a better life for their kids and in many cases to build a business.
That’s what I’ve spent my whole life doing.
I understand what it takes to build a business and create jobs. And so those aspirations that many people in this community have fit well with my experience.
He said cost of living pressures were front of mind in the seat:
I’ve knocked on hundreds and hundreds of doors, I’ve been in every single train station, meeting as many people as I possibly can.
I can tell you what those concerns are, the cost of living. They’re talking about how hard it is to make the family budget work, they’re talking about small businesses.
At the Hindu community gathering, Albanese said:
You’re a growing community that’s respected for your diligence, for your hard work, for your commitment to Australian values.
We need to continue to provide opportunity. To make sure we go forward (and) as we go forward, we remain a country of aspiration and a land of opportunity.
