Good afternoon. Three Nationals frontbenchers have resigned from shadow cabinet after they crossed the floor to vote against Labor’s hate speech bill. Bridget McKenzie, Ross Cadell and Susan McDonald will all move to the backbench, the latest in a series of high-profile Coalition departures.
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, confirmed she had accepted each of their resignations on Wednesday afternoon, saying she had “asked each to continue serving in our Coalition team”.
“Maintaining a strong and functioning Coalition is in the national interest,” Ley said.
“The Coalition exists to serve the Australian people. But shadow cabinet solidarity is not optional. It is the foundation of serious opposition and credible government.”
Meanwhile, the prime minister confirmed earlier today that Labor had no plans to introduce any further legal protections for religious groups, people with a disability and LGBTQ+ Australians after a lengthy fight in parliament this week over those laws.
“It’s a matter of maths,” he said, “and there is not support for it.”
Top news
Family of 12-year-old Sydney Harbour shark attack victim prepare for ‘worst possible outcome’
‘Shattered’ parents of Canadian backpacker found dead on K’gari island mourn adventurous daughter
Commuter train near Barcelona hits collapsed wall killing driver and injuring nearly 40
Nearly 400 millionaires and billionaires call for higher taxes on super-rich
In pictures
New poo balls – or “sewage debris balls”, to call them by their formal name – have washed up on Sydney beaches after a weekend of heavy rain, and the revelation of a huge fatberg stuck at a Malabar treatment plant.
What they said …
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“You’ll find out.” – Donald Trump
The US president ratcheted up uncertainty over how far he would be willing to go to acquire Greenland with his terse reply at a Tuesday White House press briefing.
Full Story
Bridget Cama on Invasion Day and the political silence on First Nations rights
In the lead-up to 26 January, co-chair of the Uluru Youth Dialogue Bridget Cama says the same divisive debate is playing out around the country, and the silence from political leaders has been demoralising.
But she says those who want to see constitutional recognition are regrouping after the voice to parliament defeat and she hopes to see another referendum in a decade. She speaks to Nour Haydar.
Before bed read
“Sir David and Victoria cornered the market in selling their family’s privacy for money – but there was a price to pay, and Brooklyn Peltz Beckham has just sent them the bill,” writes columnist Marina Hyde, who links this week’s explosive feud to the Beckham parents’ vanguard role in celebrity culture.
“Before I go on, I should say I find this family rift desperately sad,” she writes.
“I can’t imagine the agony of being cut off by a child, and hope I never have to. All parents make mistakes, and all children do too. I believe the Beckhams truly and deeply love their children – but, to adapt Logan Roy, they have made it hard for them to be serious people.”
(If you’re still catching up on who said what, you can find a rundown here.)
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: HAE. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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