There are now three by-elections in the pipeline, one federal and two state:
• The Gold Coast Bulletin reports a Liberal National Party preselection vote for the July 25 Fadden by-election this weekend has attracted five candidates: the reputed front-runner, Cameron Caldwell; two widely noted rivals with strong support in Dinesh Palipana and Fran Ward; and apparent dark horses in Owen Caterer, who boasts “a long career in wealth management” including a decade working in China, and Craig Hobart. Labor is now committed to fielding a candidate, after earlier reports that Anthony Albanese would prefer to forfeit, with David Crowe of the Age/Herald reporting that the candidate from 2022, Letitia Del Fabbro, was “seen as the leading contender”.
• In Victoria, Liberal MP Ryan Smith announced his resignation on Wednesday, initiating a by-election in his eastern suburbs seat of Warrandyte, which he retained at the November election by 4.2% with a slight favourable swing. This has yielded the stimulating possibility of a return to politics for Tim Smith, who tested over double the legal blood alcohol limit in 2021 after crashing his car into the side of a house in Hawthorn, and abandoned his seat of Kew at the election. Smith had won favour with conservatives for the vehemence of his attacks on Daniel Andrews during the Melbourne lockdowns, and has presumably continued to do so as a regular on Sky News. His comments professing an interest in the seat were implicitly critical of party leader John Pesutto, who says he would “very much like to see a woman in amongst the candidates”. Between reports in The Age and The Guardian, five such are mentioned: Caroline Inge, one of the party’s federal vice-presidents and a “former staffer and political ally” of Smith; Sarah Overton, a director at KPMG; Michelle Kleinert, a Manningham councillor; Nicole Werner, a former Pentecostal pastor who ran at the election in Box Hill; and Ranjana Srivastava, an oncologist who was recently fortunate to be overlooked for the Aston preselection. The Guardian reports the by-election is “expected to be held between 5 August and 30 September”.
• The West Australian reports three Labor preselection candidates have emerged as potential successors to Mark McGowan in his surely unloseable southern Perth seat of Rockingham. These are Matt Dixon, who was the party’s state secretary in 2018 and 2019, and has more recently been a staffer to Stephen Dawson, Emergency Services Minister and a prominent figure in the AMWU sub-faction of the Left; Clem Chan, state president of the United Professional Firefighters Union; and Magenta Marshall, a locally based party official. However, there is said to be concern that Dixon’s candidacy would be “a distraction” due to the circumstances of his departure as state secretary, which followed controversy over the use of funds raised by state parliamentarians on the 2019 federal campaign, and Marshall is quoted saying she is “not sure it’s my time”. Electoral commissioner Robert Kennedy tells The West Australian the by-election is likely to be in late June or July.
Also of note:
• Maria Kovacic, who stood aside as the party’s state president to contest the preselection, won a Liberal Party ballot on the weekend to fill the late Jim Molan’s New South Wales Senate vacancy. Kovacic prevailed in the final round over Andrew Constance, former state government minister and unsuccessful candidate for Gilmore at last year’s election, by 287 votes to 243. Kovacic’s win means a seat formerly held by a factional conservative now goes to a moderate. Constance, who is also a moderate, gained some support from conservatives by promising to abandon the seat at the next federal election for another run in Gilmore, which is still considered likely to do. Anthony Galloway of the Sydney Morning Herald reports the seat would likely have stayed with the right if Dallas McInerney, chief executive of Catholic Schools NSW, had nominated, but in the event the only right nominee was Jess Collins, who narrowly failed to make the final round. Earlier exclusions were Space Industry Association chief executive James Brown, former Lindsay MP Fiona Scott and Shepherd Centre executive David Brady.
• An analysis by former Labor Senator John Black of Australian Development Strategies in the Financial Review identifies Labor’s targets to regain lost primary votes as working families on $100,000 to $150,000 a year, “digitally disrupted families” on $50,000 to $100,000, parents with children at state schools, and Christians who have supported Labor only under the leadership of Kevin Rudd; and the Coalition’s as white migrants, defectors in the teal seats, professional women on more than $150,000 a year, and professionals and the 35-to-50 age cohort.
• Rhianna Down of The Australian reports Anthony Albanese told colleagues on Tuesday that Labor’s target Liberal-held seats for the next election are Canning, Moore, Bass, Braddon, Banks, Menzies and Sturt, though presumably hopes for the first two have taken a knock with Mark McGowan’s resignation.
• Charlotte Varcoe of Border Watch reports Liberal MP Tony Pasin won a preselection ballot for his South Australian seat of Barker with 284 votes against 58 for Katherine McBride, who owns grazing property with husband Nick McBride, the state member for MacKillop.
”
Catprogsays:
Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 12:58 pm
Reading the discussion here it seems people have changed what they think the Greens should do:
-Instead of giving up everything they wanted and pass Labor’s housing bill they are now saying the Greens should not of giving up a thing.
-They also seem to be calling forconstruction to be done in areas that flood.
-And buying existing houses to handle the shortage of workers to build new homes seems to be ignored as well
”
Why should I sell my”existing house ” as you call it for social housing. What is in it for me? Will you do that? Will Greens Senators and HORs sell their “existing houses ” for social housing?
”
Lars Von Triersays:
Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 1:12 pm
why the hostility to the RBA?
Presumably if the RBA was a partisan outfit – they wouldn’t have raised rates prior to the 2022 election?
All central banks (incl RBA) are dealing with the legacy of cheap money (ie low rates).
”
Cheap money is in circulation since 2001 especially after GFC when interest rates hit rock bottom. So nothing new about cheap money.
Next!
So then logically there’s nothing stopping Labor from putting the $1B incentive on the table …unless they’re worried the states will accept it.
Ven 1:01pm
“ At last from horse’s mouth (not that you are a horse. You know what I mean). I banged on about this point for a long time. Recently I was even called anti-US Military.”
———————————-
Having lived and worked with the US military on a couple of occasions for significant periods I’m well versed in their military culture, their strengths and weaknesses and in what they do well and what they do poorly.
There is much to be admired and much of which to be concerned and the same could be said of many militaries including our own. Imo, like ours, their moral codes and standards aim high but often fall short and sometimes we’ll short. I’m reminded of the saying, “People who live in glass houses……”.
Now for the long and arduous process of following through with the recommendations of the Brereton Report and others as well as the legal process where required. The culture must change.
When you have high inflation – you raise rates and have contractionary fiscal policy.
Labor has had 1-100 yr terms of trade and has had fiscal policy that is barely neutral. Hence the RBA has had to do more on rates. The forward estimates show there is a revenue problem , ie we aren’t paying enough tax.
Presumably if the RBA raises rates on Tuesday – the Labor appointees to the Board would object?
a r @ #421 Sunday, June 4th, 2023 – 1:24 pm
Not to mention Lowe’s promise, before the election, that rates wouldn’t rise before 2024. Hmm, now who would that have benefited I wonder?
A central bank is an agency of a national government. It runs the payments system. It sets an official interest rate. Its functions are defined by statutes and regulations. It is not a non-government actor.
Max C-M is a good brainstormer but his ideas don’t amount to a coherent economic plan. Some of his thought bubbles may well be worth a look, though.
Oh yes the RBA conspiracy theorists – what next Hurley is going to do a Kerr?
Ven says:
Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 1:34 pm
>Why should I sell my”existing house ” as you call it for social housing. What is in it for me? Will you do that? Will Greens Senators and HORs sell their “existing houses ” for social housing?
Because you want the money more then you want the house.
This is basic economics.
If I go onto a real estate website their are plenty of people who would take the money.
I don’t think Lowe is politically biased. I think he’s stuck in extremely blinkered economic thinking where because in the past you pushed button A to reduce inflation, he’s bashing that button practically on autopilot, after previously being slow to recognise any need for action because of similar devotion to economic orthodoxy.
But this inflation isn’t caused by a wage-price spiral.
This inflation isn’t caused by the average household spending.
One of the things that IS contributing to inflation is rent increases driven by interest rate increases.
Yet Lowe based on ever-shifting criteria keeps bashing the button.
It’s OK to say “this button will do nothing to this inflation, it will actually do harm, and it is up to government to take steps to reduce inflation with other levers”.
People keep saying “it’s the only tool the RBA has” as if that means it is compulsory for them to use it. That’s very poor thinking.
Lars, we all know the spending on submarines hasn’t started, the Housing Fund hasn’t passed etc etc and the government did enough saving in the budget that it is actually in surplus. I am doing my one reply to trolls on this for the week just in case someone was actually influenced by your misinformation. Now go back under your bridge and let the grown-ups talk.
Nicholas
A central bank is an agency of a national government.
The RBA is independent of government. It can be both independent of government, and not be a private corporation.
I do not understand your point. I am not convinced you do either.
Arky – I don’t normally do explainers but I am going to make an exception in this case (notwithstanding ur hurtful personal attacks)
spending is about 3% higher as a proportion of gdp than the long term average. You either cut spending or you raise tax to cover it.
Hopefully you can follow that?
I was fully expecting Max C-M to bust a pooter valve this morning on Insiders! He was going 20 to the dozen! 😆
The world has inflation because Russia and China went rogue.
All these years cheaper oil and cheaper goods from Russia and China kept inflation under control.
Governments thought swollen muscle as strengthened muscle.
Arky,
Just a response to your comment from late Thursday night on the last thread re the suggestion school should stay open till 6pm …
The kids at the school down the road from me all get dropped off and picked up pretty successfully by mums, dads and grandparents, or get home with their older siblings on the bus. I have noticed, especially since Covid, that there seems to be a lot more dads who must work from home because they drop their kids off and pick them up as well every day (and it’s not cheap to live around here). Also, most Tradies finish work at 3pm and a large number of women who work in the Care industry have shifts that end at 3pm.
Also, between the hours of 3pm and 6pm (usual dinnertime) is when kids go to their after school music, dance, gym or sport classes, just run around with their friends and let off steam, or they do their homework. It’s also when the teachers do their marking and lesson prep.
So I can just imagine that making them all stay at school would lead to untold problems, actually. 3pm was decided on as the end of the school day for a very good reason, even if it was long ago. Not that much has changed about giving kids the right balance in life to alter things, I reckon. Just make the Before and After School Care, if needed, subsidised.
The RBA is a central bank like most other central banks. In the board sense, it is a part of the government like the courts are part of the government system. But it is not part of the executive government like the Public service or ministers.
Lars Von Trier says:
Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 2:30 pm
Oh yes the RBA conspiracy theorists – what next Hurley is going to do a Kerr?
________
On election night 2022, both Hurley and Lowe were seen muttering ‘we lost’.
Phil Coorey and Leigh Sales were heard murmuring.
Number of people who go bankrupt every year because of medical bills:
Russia – 0
Cuba – 0
China – 0
Vietnam – 0
DPRK – 0
UK – 0
France – 0
Spain – 0
Denmark – 0
Australia – 0
Italy – 0
Ireland – 0
Germany – 0
Netherlands – 0
Sweden – 0
Japan – 0
Canada – 0
America – 643,000
____________
Yeah! Let’s get on board the US system.
Arguing ‘the federal government can’t do a rental freeze they can only incentivise the states to do one’ is missing the point.
Federal government only has constitutional authority for defense, foreign affairs, borders and quarantine and taxation.
Bribing the states is like 90% of what the feds do
Australia was headed towards the American health system by stealth. As the Coalition had decided to do with every public service, dismantle it, privatise the bits, impose costs onto the people and if they couldn’t afford to pay, in this case for their medical treatment, they didn’t get it, or became a burden on an overstressed Public Hospital system. Which was also starved of funds, staff and beds, thus enabling another covert methodology for forcing people into the Private system.
Voice Endeavour,
If the States refuse to do The Greens’ cockamamie Rental Freeze (and we all remember how the Prices Freeze turned out-it just built up steam in the system which was let out with big price rises after the freeze came off), then it won’t happen. Whether the federal government tries to ‘bribe’ them, or not. Which is what the Coalition would do but it’s not an automatic go to. Shame on a Green for suggesting it too!
A (probably biased) article looking at how the rent freeze is playing out in Scotland —
https://www.woodproperty.com.au/rent-freeze-in-red-hot-rental-market/
Basically, because it only applies to existing renters, renters are reluctant to leave their present properties, as that will mean paying a higher rent – so there’s been no freeing up of properties.
Rentals which are vacant are going up astronomically, to make up for the lack of profits elsewhere.
Landlords are selling properties due to the lack of return on investment.
@Voice Endeavour:
“Federal government only has constitutional authority for defense, foreign affairs, borders and quarantine and taxation.”
Look up s.51 of the Constitution sometime. It enumerates 39 separate areas in which the Commonwealth Parliament has primacy.
While many of them are marginal or obsolete in modern times, I would argue that substantial ones you have missed would be: Management of the postal service (sub-section (v)), insurance issuing and management (sub-section (xiv)), intellectual property laws (sub-section (xviii)) and industrial relations (sub-section (xxxv)).
It is true that Canberra’s reach has grown substantially beyond what it was in 1901 (at least partly because Canberra didn’t exist at the time!), and that this is due at least as much to “bullying” as to a judiciary favouring the expansion of central power. But the Constitution did lay out fairly expansive reach for the authority of the new Federal Government.
June 2023 may be a bad month for T****.
This may be what Palmer is referring to.
It’s “per people familiar”, so needs corroborating, but it’s just too interesting to ignore.
Cry me a river.
A 2 yr rent freeze then a cap on increases.
But again, this right wing Labor Govt and its partisan supporters want to prioritise the interests of rich property landlords. Negative gearing and S3 as well.
”
nathsays:
Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 3:54 pm
Lars Von Trier says:
Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 2:30 pm
Oh yes the RBA conspiracy theorists – what next Hurley is going to do a Kerr?
________
On election night 2022, both Hurley and Lowe were seen muttering ‘we lost’.
”
Whether they said that or not I wouldn’t know but it is quite possible that they lost in the sense that if Morrison won last election, their terms could have been extended. Who knows? Both were appointed by Morrison.
@Late Riser: While I personally have little doubt as to T****’s guilt re this matter (or several others), the U.S. saying should be remembered, that a decent prosecutor can obtain an indictment against a ham sandwich. The conviction is the hard part, since it only takes two MAGAts on the jury to ensure an acquittal.
Rex
And thus there are no longer houses for people to rent. So it makes the problem worse.
Late Riser,
Hugo Lowell has also let it be known that, as you say, Jack Smith has just about wrapped up the documents case and he is now turning his attention to the January 6 case, which is a sprawling behemoth of a case and he is determined to leave no stone unturned.
@Matt. No doubt. Which is why as much as it pains me, I’m OK with Smith taking his time to get all his ducks lined up nice and neat.
Hmm, I seem to remember there was a member of The Greens who lived in Public Housing in Canberra and was paying a peppercorn rent, refusing to move out even though she was a high income earner and was keeping more deserving families from obtaining accommodation even though she could afford it.
”
Mattsays:
Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 5:14 pm
@Voice Endeavour:
“Federal government only has constitutional authority for defense, foreign affairs, borders and quarantine and taxation.”
Look up s.51 of the Constitution sometime. It enumerates 39 separate areas in which the Commonwealth Parliament has primacy.
”
Constitution is getting bit of a work out on PB in last few days.
zoomster @ #630 Sunday, June 4th, 2023 – 5:28 pm
They’re moving out and living in the car with bubs now because the rent is too high.
Freeze, then cap.
If not yet posted, the best breakdown on The Voice I’ve come across –
What is the Indigenous Voice to Parliament? Here’s how it would work and who’s for and against it
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-15/what-is-the-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-referendum-australia/102317242
etc ….
A little while ago on TV I saw an advert from the Minerals Council. It was obviously about the same job, same pay issue.
It basically characterised the workers under traditional awards or agreements as “hardly working at all” and those employed in the labour hire scam as “working hard to get ahead”.
That is both wrong and incredibly insulting to those in the more traditional employment arrangements. In fact it is the companies that “hardly want to pay anyone properly at all” who are the villains of the piece.
It got me rather more enraged than such things do becasue it was so blatantly wrong and self interested on behalf of the mining companies. I wonder if anything can be done to stop this.
If someone says they don’t know the detail of The Voice, they are lying to you.
Entertainment tonight – for those so inclined.
60 Minutes will apparently pour another bucket on BR-S.
Ch 7 at 19:00 will interview Lehrmann “first time he has publicly spoken”.
“Hmm, I seem to remember there was a member of The Greens who lived in Public Housing in Canberra and was paying a peppercorn rent, refusing to move out even though she was a high income earner and was keeping more deserving families from obtaining accommodation even though she could afford it.”
Are you sure, C@tmomma? That sounds weird given that public housing in the ACT is basically means tested. Do you have any info on how this person managed to get around the criteria, one of which is “your income must not exceed income barriers applying to rental housing assistance.” If she was a “high income earner” then she wouldn’t be eligible. Rent is also set at commercial rates less any rental assistance – again limited by income so not “peppercorn”.
citizen @ #639 Sunday, June 4th, 2023 – 5:49 pm
I’d rather stick pins in my eyes. Ch9, 7 & 10 are dead to me.
Cobra on SBS on demand for me.
>C@tmomma says:
>Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 5:34 pm
>Hmm, I seem to remember there was a member of The Greens who lived in Public Housing in Canberra and was paying a peppercorn rent, refusing to move out even though she was a high income earner and was keeping more deserving families from obtaining accommodation even though she could afford it.
I heard she was paying a percentage of her income. Being a high income earner meant she was paying a lot more then normal
C@tmomma says:
Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 5:34 pm
Hmm, I seem to remember there was a member of The Greens who lived in Public Housing in Canberra and was paying a peppercorn rent, refusing to move out even though she was a high income earner and was keeping more deserving families from obtaining accommodation even though she could afford it.
_________
I happen to know that at least five Labor members of the Federal Parliament are practicing cannibals.
This right wing Albanese Govt is obsessed with Wall Street policy.
Tanya’s Green Wall Street plan and Julie Collins’ Social Housing Wall Street plan.
”
C@tmommasays:
Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 5:34 pm
Hmm, I seem to remember there was a member of The Greens who lived in Public Housing in Canberra and was paying a peppercorn rent, refusing to move out even though she was a high income earner and was keeping more deserving families from obtaining accommodation even though she could afford it.
”
“Hmm, I seem to remember there was a member of The Greens who lived in Public Housing in Canberra and was paying a peppercorn rent,”
You mean
“Hmm, I seem to remember there was a member of The Greens political party who lived in Public Housing in Canberra and was paying a peppercorn rent,”
@C@t: I thought I ended my post about the before and after school thing with saying I thought Before and After School subsidies (not school hour changes) was the way to go, I completely agree.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2006-03-01/foskey-moves-out-of-public-housing/808998
.
Some info on that Green in ACT public housing
Albo, Tanya and Julie Collins, formerly of the left, now firmly in on right wing ‘Wall Street’ policy.
The Labor left is dead, buried and cremated.
Albanese true to form.
“Looby Lou@loobylouwales
When my 13 year old child wrote to @AlboMP
asking him why he was letting a level 3 biohazard run rampant through the community- jeopardising vulnerable people including her family members – he wrote back this shit.
I’m made physically ill by this level of gaslighting of our kids”
And, as was further commented:
“There’s no missing the contempt they hold us mortals in, nor the radiance and self-adoration of @AlboMP ’s origin story told over and over again.”