A federal intervention into the New South Wales branch of the Liberal Party is set to end a long-standing preselection impasse and ensure the re-endorsement of three sitting members who would otherwise have faced strong opposition in rank-and-file ballots: Mitchell MP Alex Hawke, whose machinations as a leader in the centre right faction have been widely blamed for the deadlock; Farrer MP and Environment Minister Sussan Ley; and factional moderate Trent Zimmerman in North Sydney.
The New South Wales branch has also been directed to “rectify the circumstances that candidates have not been selected and endorsed in other House of Representatives seats” by March 25. According to Max Maddison of The Australian, the upshot of this is that the following candidates will be rubber-stamped without a rank-and-file ballot: Alex Dore in Hughes, where he will run against party renegade and United Australia Party member Craig Kelly in the face of fierce opposition from the local membership; cardiologist Michael Feneley in Dobell, held for Labor by Emma McBride on a margin of 1.5%; disability campaigner David Brady in Warringah, where he will run against independent Zali Steggall; Franchise Council of Australia director Maria Kovacic in Parramatta, held by retiring Labor member Julie Owens on a margin of 3.5%; banker Pradeep Pathi in Greenway, held for Labor by Michelle Rowland on a margin of 2.8%; and Jerry Nockles, former chief-of-staff to Senator Jim Molan, in Eden-Monaro, which Kristy McBain retained for Labor at a by-election held in July 2020 by 0.4%.
Further preselection news:
• Labor’s Victorian Senate preselection is moving towards resolution after the failure of legal action by Right faction unions associated with Bill Shorten to overturn the takeover of the process by the party’s national executive. Sarah Martin of The Guardian cites multiple sources within the party saying this is likely to result in the defeat of factional powerbroker Kim Carr, who has served in the Senate since 1993. Possible challengers for a position that is reserved to the Left include Linda White, the former national secretary of the Australian Services Union; Ryan Batchelor, a former staffer to Julia Gillard and the executive director of the McKell Institute; and Josh Bornstein, an industrial relations lawyer and Maurice Blackburn partner who appears to have reconsidered his earlier decision to withdraw over past social media posts criticising figures within the party and union movement.
• Anthony Byrne, member for the safe Labor seat of Holt in south-eastern Melbourne, announced on Thursday that he will retire at the election. According to The Age, there are two candidates for the preselection linked with the Right faction Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association, which has traditionally controlled the seat: its national assistant secretary, Julia Fox, and Stephen Parnis, an emergency physician. Other Right faction contenders cited by Greg Brown of The Australian include Helen Cooney, director of Rest Super, and Liberty Sanger, director of Maurice Blackburn and wife of former MP David Feeney, along with Jo Briskey, political co-ordinator of the Left faction United Workers Union.
• The Age reports Ross Lyman, head of supply and operations at McWilliam’s Wines and a former army commando who served in Afghanistan, will run against independent Helen Haines as the Liberal candidate for Indi.
• James O’Doherty of the Daily Telegraph reports the mayor and deputy mayor of Fairfield, Frank Carbone and Dai Le, are considering running as independents against Kristina Keneally in the western Sydney seat of Fowler, either individually and directing preferences to each other or with one supported by the other. Carbone polled nearly three-quarters of the vote in a two-horse race against a Labor candidate at the mayoral election in December, and Le polled 25.9% of the vote as an independent state candidate in Cabramatta in 2019, and 42.4% as the Liberal candidate in 2011.
Poll latest:
• Roy Morgan released its second set of federal voting intention numbers in a week on Thursday, having conducted a fresh poll to ascertain any effect from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the previous poll having been conducted entirely before then. All we are provided with is a two-party result of 56.5-43.5 for Labor, no different from the previous poll, with no primary votes or state breakdowns.
• Market research firm Momentum Intelligence has published a report gauging voting intention and political views of professionals in specific industry sectors, which finds Labor strongly favoured among those in the legal services sector, but the Coalition preferred in, ascendingly, aviation, accounting services, defence and national security, financial advice and wealth management, real estate services and mortgage lending, from sample of mostly around 300. The full report can be downloaded here.
Speers is getting under Dutton’s skin. He’s getting louder and louder in answering the questions.
Big talk, little stick – subs coming in 2040 will protect us
Come on Speers. Ask THOSE domestic questions of Dutton!
Confessions @ #51 Sunday, March 6th, 2022 – 9:29 am
I get the impression he’s turning himself on. Language alert – ‘hard on’ comes to mind.
What price Nuclear Deterrence? The loss of Ukraine?
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Is Putin acting irrational to make the West think he is nuts enough to press buttons on almost any pretext?
Oh fucking no! Not another submarine purchase decision announced for an election!
With respect to Dutton’s talking points, the world has changed A LOT ‘since Labor were last in power’.
Investing in space and cyber, but subs?
Dutton has just quietly resiled from an earlier declaration that, wtte, if the US goes to war over Taiwan Australia would go to war over Taiwan.
THAT decision is now to be made at the time.
Weird. A couple of loud aftershocks here but no or v little shaking. The one that shook was loud too.
Dutton says the subs idea is ‘a complete folly’
Simon Katich @ #55 Sunday, March 6th, 2022 – 9:31 am
Attacks on nuclear power plants in Ukraine tend to suggest, yes. I also heard someone, Tom Nicholls I think it was, say that when Putin says something, believe him.
To be fair, Dutton is the one who’s been talking up war with China, accusing Opposition politicians of being traitors, and generally playing tough guy on the block, but I do wish Speers could resist trying for a gotcha on whether we would be arming Taiwan if things got nasty.
One war at a time Speersie.
Dutton must have had ferocious polling feedback on his China baiting because he just praised the Australian Chinese community.
Doesn’t want to bespoke capability
Now onto the floods – limiting his responsibility to Defence assistance
The question is broader Dutton
In relation to Australia’s war aim in Ukraine, and as was consistent over 20 years in Afghanistan, Dutton was unable to articulate what objective we had in sending military assistance to Ukraine.
He could hardly state the real reason: to allow Morrison to grandstand.
Dutton’s bullshit is hard to listen to.
Dutton on Insiders claims they will have selected a boat for the Submarine project in a “couple of months” ???
That cant be good news. 🙁 The man is a complete idiot and the Fiberals are complete fwark ups as regards defense procurement. They will want an announcement and to try and lock the ALP into their plan and wedge them. 🙁
This is bizzare, Dutton is meant to be showing leadership across all arms of the government, Federal and State to help disasters fueled and turbocharged by Climate Change..
Narrow answer by a narrow man
So Dutton wants nuclear submarines with vertical launch tubes as a deterrent. Is that code for nuclear weapons?
It certainly represents a major shift away from the primary mission of our submarine capability: Sea Denial.
There will be a big announcement in a couple of months. Ie. at the start of the election campaign, without any opportunity to scrutinise the ‘details’, with the LNP and MSM both saying ‘this is a test for Labor’ and hence as a likely outcome Labor being forced to promise a blank cheque once it gets into government.
No Sea Denial Capability.
Likely vapourware for 20-30 years.
No detail costings. Opaqueness. In other words take the $90 billion Attack class contract, the $5 billion Hunter class contract and multiply massively. Unleashing a regional nuclear arms race in the process.
Ain’t it all grand?
Sadly, no time for Speersie to ask about FriendlyJordies
Insiders has been a complete waste of time so far.
So another subs announceable before an election..
Deja vu all over again?
ItzaDream @ #54 Sunday, March 6th, 2022 – 9:31 am
Ugh what a thought!!
Dutton seemed to have no empathy for the people affected by the floods – just cheerleading the ADF contribution
So we are about to have the Liberals waste another billion dollars on a submarine announcement. Third time lucky? They couldn’t even organize the chook for the chook raffle.
I don’t think the know know that the subs aren’t that motivating for people outside of defence
They could have used some mini-subs to evacuate the stranded people with their houses under water
Good point made by the bald dude on Insiders. Libs have announced and cancelled this sort of thing before. Japanese on Subs, French on Subs. They can announce but have to “build back” support on this issue.
Morrison announces, reaction is yeah, what, its all political bullshit. Which leads to questions on their other “announcables” that never happened. Bushfire Relief $ anyone??
ALP can cut them to pieces on this issue. A bit depends on where the Collins LOTE fits in? That’s jobs in SA over a much more near term time frame than any new build of anything.
And if they go announce a Brit Astute Class then it can be spun as going with the Brits, again, after the Hunter Class project looks like going tits up.
The Federal issue the panel is not (yet) addressing the complete breakdown in communications. People could not even call OOO. Let alone get a response.
Itza at 9.21am
It’s clear: the running stream background was designed to limit the interview time by making Dutton want to go to the toilet.
On matters relating to the coming federal election.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-06/federal-election-2022-wa-could-liberals-lose-pearce-swan-curtin/100874808
“ Oh fucking no! Not another submarine purchase decision announced for an election!”
I predicted this months ago. Except I suggested the Astute, however a close look at where the Brits are with their submarine building program (not to mention the huge problems they face in actually disposing of all their old decommissioned nuclear subs) leads me to believe that we are getting Aussie Virginia subs. Oi. Oi. Oi.
The reference to vertical launch capabilities by Dutton is a giveaway: of the 3 SSN possibilities, only the Virginia class presently has a vertical launch capability to be acquired ‘off the shelf’.
I wonder whether Biden has agreed for the Americans to squeeze in a build for say 2 Aussie Virginia’s this decade and maybe even another 1 or 2 next decade as we spend the necessary 20 years to get Osborne, Adelaide and more generally Australia as a whole ‘up to speed’ with the necessary Nuclear industries capabilities. If so, it could be a comparable outcome to my suggestion of getting the French to build 2 Aussie Suffrens this decade and next. It’s a big ask of the Americans, given their own pressing shipbuilding demands, but if they are prepared to assist then it could actually work.
Cost of living is the sleeper – and wages stagnation
spr
Exactemundo. Every time I fill the tank I think, ‘There goes Morrison!’
PVO has skin in the game
Tudge has dodgy texts – surely the good burghers of Aston will show him the door
‘Andrew_Earlwood says:
Sunday, March 6, 2022 at 9:38 am
So Dutton wants nuclear submarines with vertical launch tubes as a deterrent. Is that code for nuclear weapons?….’
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I had rather guessed that the reason for going french with big fat conventional submarines was that we would have vertical launch capability therein.
PVO ‘looks like the dying days of the government..’
“The final days of a dying government”. PvO
We fell for that one last time.
Re the ‘Subs!’ attempt to wedge Labor pre-election…
Weren’t we told in September last year there was to be an 18 month ‘process?’
No explanation about why a sub type can be announced less than half-way through that alleged ‘process,’ and no grilling from the alleged panel of journalists about this?
Some insights into what the Prayer Group prays for – getting away with impropriety, deception, and whatever-it-takes.
‘sprocket_ says:
Sunday, March 6, 2022 at 9:52 am
‘
Tudge has dodgy texts – surely the good burghers of Aston will show him the door’
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I have no idea of the facts of the matter but if Tudge has tried to discourage Miller from filling in her security clearance documents properly then at the very least the ASIO should be investigating. If there is any fire under all the smoke, Tudge should resign immediately as a threat to national security.
Why? A standing threat to national security is material that may be used for blackmail purposes.
Fantastic final observations!
Indeed BW, I recall a wise old hand telling me the process was looking for 2 things – loyalty to Australia, and truthfulness.
They don’t care who you are rooting or what your sexuality is, just be truthful.
RAF Epstein pumping up the tyres of the Teals with his focus group anecdotes
This mob are just chicken feeders. That’s all they have. Hollow men with hollow announcements to move the cycle from one donothing to the next. Australian voting public vs Hamster?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LrRFYn4JsmA
Indeed BW, I recall a wise old hand telling me the process was looking for 2 things – loyalty to Australia, and truthfulness.
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I recall being told the same when filling them out to work on defence sites. OMG they wanted a LOT of info tho.
People have left a packet of smokes, a can of VB, a pie, and yes, a can of baked beans, at the base of his statue in Melbourne. 🙁