Liberals and Nationals reach deal to reunite the Coalition
Dan Jervis-Bardy
The Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, will unveil her shadow cabinet on Wednesday after clinching a deal to reunite the Coalition.
Liberal sources have confirmed Ley has started contacting MPs to inform them of their roles in her new frontbench.
It comes after the Nationals met early on Wednesday morning to endorse a deal to rejoin the Liberals a week after the dramatic split.
As reported in the Guardian, the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, sought party room approval for several safeguards the Liberals wanted attached to the country party’s policy priorities.
There’s more to come – stay with us.
Key events
Krishani Dhanji
Labor secures three Senate seats in Victoria
Labor has won three Senate spots in Victoria for the first time since 2007, with the Australian Electoral Commission declaring the senate results for the state this morning.
Raff Ciccone and Jess Walsh were re-elected for Labor, James Paterson and Jane Hume were re-elected for the Liberals, and Steph Hodgins-May was reelected for the Greens.
The sixth spot, which was previously held by Liberal turned independent David Van, was taken by Michelle Ananda-Rajah.
Ananda-Rajah was the MP for Higgins in the last parliament but that seat was abolished by the AEC in a redistribution.
Final charges laid over youth gangs’ machete brawl
All seven people, including four teenagers, allegedly involved in a wild machete brawl at a busy shopping centre have now been charged, AAP reports.
The final arrest was made on Tuesday night when a man, 18, was charged with affray and weapons offences over the melee at Northland Shopping Centre in Melbourne’s north.
Shoppers and workers ran for their lives when a wild fight broke out between rival gangs on a quiet Sunday afternoon.
The incident has raised questions about the effectiveness of Victoria’s bail laws, after it was revealed that at least four persons charged over the incident were already out on bail.
The Thornhill Park man arrested on Tuesday night has been remanded to appear in Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
The other arrests made by police this week include an 18-year-old man from Derrimut and a 21-year-old man from Kew, who suffered head injuries during the clash.
Police have also arrested and charged two boys, aged 15 and 16, from Darebin and Melton, and two men, aged 20, and 21, from Thornbury and Bundoora. All were already on bail.
Police at first believed there were eight people involved in the fight, which lasted about two minutes, before narrowing it down to seven. Victoria Police said in a statement:
Police will allege this was a planned fight between two rival youth gangs. Those arrested were all known gang members and known to police.
Police have also seized three edged weapons. The violence prompted the state government to announce an immediate ban on the sale of machetes longer than 20 centimetres in Victoria from noon on Wednesday.
Victoria Police Superintendent Kelly Lawson said the brawl did not happen at random, telling reporters rival gangs had arranged a meeting at the centre’s food court before the fight erupted.
Hospital locked down and schools asked to close after gunshots
Police locked down access to a hospital in regional Queensland after shots were fired this morning.
Gunshots were fired in Kingaroy at a property about one kilometre from the town’s hospital early this morning, police said.
A 25-year-old man, believed to be armed, was still at large and believed to be travelling in a black Suzuki Swift, with allegedly false number plates displaying 551 GE9. The man was described as about 175cm tall, slim build, Caucasian with brown hair and brown eyes.
Police restricted access to the Kingaroy Hospital by 6.15am and advised schools, businesses and other facilities in the area to close due to the incident.
Other businesses and facilities in the area, including some schools, have been advised to close as police respond to the incident.
Police are appealing to the public for information and urging them not to approach the man or his vehicle and instead to call police.
Liberals and Nationals reach deal to reunite the Coalition
Dan Jervis-Bardy
The Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, will unveil her shadow cabinet on Wednesday after clinching a deal to reunite the Coalition.
Liberal sources have confirmed Ley has started contacting MPs to inform them of their roles in her new frontbench.
It comes after the Nationals met early on Wednesday morning to endorse a deal to rejoin the Liberals a week after the dramatic split.
As reported in the Guardian, the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, sought party room approval for several safeguards the Liberals wanted attached to the country party’s policy priorities.
There’s more to come – stay with us.
WA premier says expert criticism over potential for North West Shelf to damage ancient rock art is a ‘political frolic’
The Western Australian premier has scorned as a “political frolic” expert warnings over the potential for North West Shelf gas project to damage Indigenous heritage sites.
Critics including Indigenous leaders and archaeologists have said the government has potentially underplayed the damage the gas project could cause to the Murujuga area, home to as many as 1m rock carvings and art, some of which could be nearly 50,000 years old.
Roger Cook has stood by his government’s report, which he said was the “the science,” and dismissed expert intervention:
If some scientists want to go on a political frolic as part of that process, we have to strip away the background noise and rely upon the reports to make good decisions on behalf of the people of Western Australia …
What we often find, particularly when it comes to environmental issues, is that … the scientists tend to unhitch themselves from some of … the rigor of science.
Cook also hit back at a question about concerns raised from traditional owners of the land surrounding the sites and project:
I will challenge the comment that you made earlier, that this is opposed by traditional owners. That’s the sort of sweeping claims we get from commentators, which distorts the importance and complexity of this debate.
The Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation, made up of members from five traditional language groups, coreleased a summary of the report last week, suggesting there was little to worry about.
But Aboriginal advocates were among the hundreds of people who have appealed against the North West Shelf extension.
As Adam Morton writes, a decision is soon expected from the federal environment minister, Murray Watt, on the application by Woodside Energy to extend the life of the gas export processing facility in Western Australia’s Pilbara region:
Tesla factory passes Adelaide suburban council’s vote hurdle despite overwhelming community opposition
Tory Shepherd
Elon Musk’s Tesla is one step closer to opening a factory in an Adelaide suburb despite overwhelming community opposition from “anti-Tesla and anti-Elon Musk sentiment”.
Environmental concerns and worries the site would draw protestors were also cited.
Overall, about 95% of people who made submissions to the City of Marion were opposed to the plan to allow a battery factory to be built. Many of them voiced their opposition with words that were apparently unfit to print in the city’s records, such as:
Elon Musk and Tesla are a [redacted] on humanity.
Tesla sales have slumped amid a backlash against Musk for his work with the Trump administration, such as slashing funding for government departments through his department of government efficiency, as well as his ideology and actions such as what some saw as an apparent fascist salute.
But Marion’s mayor, Kris Hanna, said blocking the sale of the site would have no impact on Musk and would have cost 100 local jobs.
On Tuesday night the council voted to seek state government approval to sell the site to a developer who will build the factory. Hanna said the soil on the site was contaminated and not safe for recreation, so “it makes sense to have it sealed over with a renewable technology facility”. He said:
If we didn’t proceed, it would have cost 100 jobs to local residents, but it would have had no impact on Elon Musk. Tesla would almost certainly find somewhere else in Australia to build their factory.
Read more about the Adelaide backlash here:
Nationals meet over revised Coalition negotiations
Dan Jervis-Bardy
The Nationals are holding a party room meeting on Wednesday morning to decide whether to reunite the Coalition a week after the dramatic split.
As reported in the Guardian, the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, is asking colleagues to accept some tweaks to the country party’s policy demands as part of a new coalition agreement.
If the agreement is endorsed, the Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, is expected to unveil her shadow cabinet later today.
The shadow cabinet would be made up of 14 Liberals and six Nationals.
Crisafulli says he has ‘faith’ that nurses deal will happen despite strike vote
The day after Queensland nurses overwhelmingly voted to strike, the state premier, David Crisafulli, remains optimistic a deal is not far off.
It’s the first enterprise agreement negotiated by the Liberal National Party government since it won power last October and negotiations are stuck on pay, guarantees on parental leave arrangements, flexible working arrangements and consultation rights among others. Crisafulli told Channel Seven’s Sunrise:
My commitment is to make sure that they do have nation-leading wages and conditions. They do an amazing job and I do believe they need to be well paid and their pay does need to increase. …
Whilst there is a disagreement at the back end of these negotiations, I do have faith that we will be able to do a deal and I want them to know we’re deeply thankful for what they do and they deserve every penny they get/
The government had previously threatened to strip nurses and midwives of back pay should they enact their legal right to strike:
Canavan throws support behind Littleproud for Nationals leadership weeks after failed run
Nationals senator Matt Canavan has ruled himself out of challenging for his party’s leadership, throwing his weight behind David Littleproud.
Politicians from both ex-Coalition parties have criticised the Nationals leader but Littleproud has delivered results for his party, Canavan said. The Queensland senator unsuccessfully ran against Littleproud for the party’s leadership two weeks ago. He told Channel Nine’s Today:
I think David’s done a great job over the past week. He’s delivered results for the Nationals party and the people we represent. … I’m happy with the leadership.
Pressed on whether he would take another tilt at the top job or back an anti-Littleproud candidate, Canavan said no and repeatedly said Littleproud had done a “great job”:
No, I’m very happy doing what I’m doing … I think David’s doing a good job, so I wish him all the best right now. …
There’s no way in hell I’m going to let Liberal MPs decide the leadership of the Nationals party. That’s a matter for us.
Bridget McKenzie says Victorian machete ban will not make people safer
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has said Victoria’s ban on machete sales, starting today, will not make people safer. The ban on sales of knives with blades longer than 20cm was fast-tracked after an alleged clash involving the weapon forced Northland shopping centre into lockdown at the weekend.
McKenzie said her fellow Victorians were not feeling safe and the ban would not make a difference. She told Channel Seven’s Sunrise :
I don’t think the Labor government’s retail ban here in Victoria will actually make it safer. … You can purchase [knives] online. It does nothing about the existing stock that’s already here. And [it’s] a government’s job is to keep their citizens safe.
Tim Ayres, a Labor minister, said it would be an overreach for the federal government to take the ban nationwide but the Albanese government supported the state government’s move. He said on the same program:
There’s never a good reason for a young person to have a knife or a tool that can be a weapon like a machete … Cutting down on the availability of these weapons for young people is an important step, and I’m glad that the Victorian government has taken it and we’ll keep watching closely.
