The week’s federal election preselection developments:
• Facing the apparent certainty of preselection defeat, Craig Kelly announced his resignation from the Liberal Party at a party room meeting Wednesday. Kelly says he will sit as an “independent Liberal” and then run in his Sydney seat of Hughes again at the election, which I believe leaves open the possibility that that may be as the candidate of another party. He appeared to rule out running for the Nationals, as some in the party hoped he might, saying he was “not sure whether a pair of RM Williams and a big Akubra and a Driza-Bone will necessarily work in Sutherland”.
• It had generally been assumed the Liberal preselection in Hughes would prove third time lucky for Kent Johns, Sutherland Shire councillor and factional moderate, from whom Kelly had to be saved by prime ministerial intervention before the 2016 and 2019 elections. However, The Australian reported on Tuesday that moderates were cooking up a deal with conservatives in which Hughes would go to Dallas McInerney, chief executive of Catholic Schools NSW, in exchange for a free hand in the preselections for Warringah and Gilmore. Reports that the Hughes preselection might be contested by police commissioner Mick Fuller were dismissed as a “furphy” by a source quoted in the St George Shire Standard. Those who may run were said in the report to include Carmelo Pesce, a cafe owner and former Sutherland Shire mayor; Ned Mannoun, a former Liverpool mayor; Bree Till, a veterans service adviser whose husband was killed on service in Afghanistan in 2009; and Naji Najjar, a former Bankstown councillor and staffer to Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells.
• Nicolle Flint, two-term Liberal member for the marginal Adelaide seat of Boothby, announced on Friday she would not contest the next election. Flint said she had soured on politics after personal attacks against her during the 2019 election campaign, which the Liberals have cited in support of proposed electoral law changes that would clip the wings of the GetUp! organisation, and the recent rape allegation by former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins.
• Labor has announced that Ali France, a motivational speaker and former television producer who lost a leg in a car accident in 2011, will again be the party’s candidate in Peter Dutton’s northern Brisbane seat of Dickson. Dutton won the seat by 4.6% in 2019 after a favourable swing of 2.9%, a fairly typical result for Brisbane.
Lynchpin says:
Sunday, February 28, 2021 at 9:36 am
I don’t watch Insiders.
Isn’t it a pity that David Speers isn’t as forensic and dogged in his interrogation of government Ministers as he is with Anthony Albanese?
Shorter Insiders panel: a man’s career is more important than a woman’s life.
Buce, you have to concede that Morrison is in a very difficult position. While the alleged rapist remains in his cabinet, a pall falls over the entire government.
Assuming there is no outcome from a Police investigation – ie no determination either way – what should Morrison do, if you were advising his?
C@t
Actually Speers has been totally ineffective interviewing Albo.
Coorey said Reynolds ‘had a bad ticker’…
sprocket_
A “dodgy ticker” were his words.
Albo’s ambition to have equal representation from women and men in the Parliamentary Labor Party is admirable. Great to hear.
The Greens have already achieved exactly 50/50 representation (5 female Senators, 4 male Senators, male Member for Melbourne), so it’s wonderful to see other parties following their lead. Labor should get there after the next election hopefully.
The Liberals on the other hand… disgraceful.
OMG seriously! According to this Rosie person we need to be clear as to what Albo would do if confronted with an alleged rapist in his cabinet before we can expect the PM to respond.
Just drivel.
BK
Indeed. Like JWH saying Beazley ‘didn’t have the ticker’ to be PM
Phil Coorey, what a complete dunce.
Haven’t watched Insiders since Barrie Cassidy left, in fact very little since the 2019 election. Judging by second-hand reports here, that seems to have been a good choice.
dunno why I’m watching Insiders, it is an echochamber with no challenging/opposing point of view.
Have had to turn it off, full of newsltd hacks
Today’s Insiders panel be like…:
Fess
Agreed. It’s not Albo’s responsibility. In a Cabinet with decent moral standards, Morrison wouldn’t have to wait for a police decision. The Minister would stand aside himself.
Murdoch Hackettes demanding Albanese go to the election with a specific value for the Unemployment benefit level.
Confessions @ #114 Sunday, February 28th, 2021 – 9:45 am
That’s too left wing for the Insiders panel today.
Lynchpin says:
Sunday, February 28, 2021 at 9:40 am
“Buce, you have to concede that Morrison is in a very difficult position. While the alleged rapist remains in his cabinet, a pall falls over the entire government.”
No, I don’t. The ALP set the standard by doing nothing about Shorten and I didn’t have a problem with that. If every politician had to stand down over allegations of events decades ago with no verifiable proof there’d be a queue down the street outside every politician’s office of accusers. It’s like the attempt to smear Justice Kavanaugh with unsubstantiated allegations.
Now onto safer ground of JobDobber, and welfare bashing in general
BK @ #105 Sunday, February 28th, 2021 – 9:40 am
Just wheeling around, again and again, trying to get a gotcha. 🙄
Insiders well worth watching today to see Albanese in excellent form. And a slight aside – looking very well presented, and trivial or not, the light clothes, nice jacket and shirt, well suit him.
Someone tell that orange woman about franking credits.
No, I don’t. The ALP set the standard by doing nothing about Shorten
Just fuck off will you!?! The ALP ‘did nothing about Bill Shorten’ because the Police found there was NOTHING to do anything about!
BK says:
Sunday, February 28, 2021 at 9:42 am
sprocket_
“A “dodgy ticker” were his words.”
Many of us do and with the correct medical care can lead full lives. Aren’t Ministers allowed Sick Leave?
Itza
Albo also sporting a nice tan..
Watched the first bit of Insiders but then had better things to do.
The discussion seemed to me to be like the nervous talk that goes on when people really don’t know what’ going to happen next. Some mumbling, some trying to show fake confidence, etc.
The establishment have lost control of the “narrative’.
Having said that, wouldn’t it be interesting if an aspiring successor to he current PM gets it in the neck and another one gets shunted off to a ministry that is a traditional dead end, although nominally very significant.
Of course, the current PM wouldn’t have any prior knowledge or agency in all this happening, would he?
C@tmomma says:
Sunday, February 28, 2021 at 9:50 am
There was an investigation before that finding – just like the current issue.
Rosie Lewis.
So unimpressive. She’ll have a very long career in the CPG then. Obviously.
Apologists R Us for the Morrison government on Insiders today.
lizzie says:
Sunday, February 28, 2021 at 9:45 am
“Fess
Agreed. It’s not Albo’s responsibility. In a Cabinet with decent moral standards, Morrison wouldn’t have to wait for a police decision. The Minister would stand aside himself.”
Why didn’t you call for Shorten to stand down as Opposition Leader when he was under police investigation for an allegation of rape from decades ago?
Spears must be so disappointed, Albo didn’t give him a chance to run down the same/same rabbit burrow.
Reform will be hard while News limited wheel out their female hacks to defend the Liberals.
Christian Porter didn’t seem to find the silly undies episode very funny; looked a bit preoccupied.
Bue
I’m not calling for anything. I’m suggesting Morriosn’s Cabinet might act decently for once.
wasn’t shortens allegation made on Facebook, and the Vic police decided to investigate? Is that right? This allegation was made directly to police. Does that makes some difference?
It is a concerning precedent to stand down someone based on an allegation. However, it comes amid numerous other allegations so one would hope the ABC and its invited journos would show a little more interest in the cultural problem that besets politics (and the Liberal/National party in particular) and for the women who have been harmed and who’s careers curtailed by that culture rather than running a protection racket for The LNP.
This wasn’t journalism. It was political spin by people whose job it is to cut through it.
lizzie says:
Sunday, February 28, 2021 at 9:56 am
Ok then, why didn’t Shorten and the ALP act decently when Shorten was under investigation by the Police for the alleged rape?
Don’t tell me you think the ALP aren’t decent?
Good Morning
A good interview by Albanese. Except one thing. Like the Greens he should have affirmed the independence of investigations from politicians.
That’s insisting that politics stays out of decisions surrounding women.
It’s the only problem I have with an otherwise good position to take.
Independence from the politicians goes to the whole trust issue.
I think that was worth affirming for the public especially women that independence.
Bucephalus
Blocked. You’re just pretending to be a top debater.
Bucephalus
Any fool can see where the Liberals want to take this, a big dose of look over their. Shorten admitted he was under investigation and was not charged.
Have we heard from the cabinet minster yet?
Perhaps it is time the Liberals to face up to where they are at.
The critical point Albo made, Labor are almost at 50%women, the Liberals are going the other way, almost an exclusive boys club.
Instead of treating it as a short term political problem requiring a bit of look over their, how about the Liberals actually do something about it .
Buce, why didn’t the WA Liberals suspend Troy Buswell?
@PaulBongiorno tweets
Can’t help thinking the current much needed discussion on the toxic misogyny in politics shows what an amazingly strong woman Julia Gillard was.
Her political opponents threw everything at her and now cry crocodile tears for their own.
guytaur says:
Sunday, February 28, 2021 at 10:00 am
Good Morning
A good interview by Albanese. Except one thing. Like the Greens he should have affirmed the independence of investigations from politicians.
…
He did.
But reality is not a strong point for the greens is it. The want confusion and the Liberals in power.
Bucephalus @ #127 Sunday, February 28th, 2021 – 9:51 am
So you believe that Scott Morrison should name the senior Cabinet Minister then and get him to stand aside until the rape allegation has been fully investigated?
I’m talking about now. And the Liberal Party and the Morrison government. Put your money where your fat mouth is. I dare you.
guytaur @ #140 Sunday, February 28th, 2021 – 10:02 am
The way she dealt with the greatest misogynist of them all is the stuff of legend. Just type Gillard into youtube and up it comes, for all women, of all ages, for all times.
Guytaur have to agree re need for independent body, Albo could have been clearer but Speers was trying to ping him on specifics.
sprocket_ @ #139 Sunday, February 28th, 2021 – 10:02 am
Good point. Apologist for Liberal rapists, Buce, will probably find some procedural point to hang his hat on in order to worm his way out of directly answering though.
Simon Katich says:
Sunday, February 28, 2021 at 9:57 am
“wasn’t shortens allegation made on Facebook, and the Vic police decided to investigate? Is that right? This allegation was made directly to police. Does that makes some difference?”
I doubt the alleged victim can see a difference.
Peter Faris QC has a strong opinion on the allegation. I disagree with him.
lizzie @ #137 Sunday, February 28th, 2021 – 10:01 am
Ditto. It’s just disgusting how he has been fronting up here every day since the anal rape allegations about a Senior Morrison Government Minister have become public and spent all day, every day day inserting poor, innocent Bill Shorten’s name into the conversation. Trying to distract from the heinous nature of the latest allegation.
sprocket_ says:
Sunday, February 28, 2021 at 10:02 am
“Buce, why didn’t the WA Liberals suspend Troy Buswell?”
Was there a rape allegation against him?
I haven’t refreshed my memory but pretty sure his career ended because of him doing stupid things – what else was the LNP meant to do? Drag him through the streets?
And he’s gone. Thank god. Let him come here and attempt to poison the well against Labor. I don’t care. What it will do is simply and clearly show how despicable and how deep in the sewer Liberals dwell.
The investigation is mythological. If those best equipped and able, the NSW police, won’t investigate (their current stance) then who else will or can.
The so-called non police investigator will no doubt say what materials do I have and what compulsive powers do I have. Answer not much and none.