Tag: Bill Shorten

The former Labor deputy prime minister Wayne Swan has used his final speech to parliament to warn against a resurgence of what he termed “American race-based, dog-whistle politics”, arguing democracies work best when they exhibit moral force. Referring to the resurgence of a partisan debate about border protection, Swan told parliament on Tuesday night he wanted to use his valedictory speech to “reach out” to government MPs about “the divisive tone that’s pervaded this place in the past week”, although he noted the overture was probably pointless. Before then, covert appeals to racism and xenophobia were regarded as unworthy of our country’s elected representatives. Wayne Swan urges Labor to muscle up against rightwing thinktanks Read more “When the [Tampa] was turned back, something else floated into our harbours in its wake: American race-based dog-whistle politics. It’s likely as old as politics itself. We all thought it had died before 2001. But we were wrong.” Swan said this approach had been deployed during the 1988 US presidential election – “a determined strategy to link the black community with violent crime”. Swan’s strident parting shot at his political foes came as Bill Shorten signalled Labor was sanguine about asylum seekers being given medical treatment on Christmas Island if it “makes people well”. The Labor leader also declined to criticise a decision by the government of Nauru to pass laws banning overseas medical transfers based on telehealth referrals. “On Nauru, listen I haven’t seen what the Nauruans have passed, they are a sovereign country.

A motion supporting a royal commission into the mistreatment of people with disabilities has passed federal parliament, with the prime minister vowing to seek further advice from the states and territories on the issue. The coalition government backed the motion in the House of Representatives on Monday, four days after it passed the Senate without their support. "I take the issue of abuse and neglect of people with disability very seriously and so does the government I lead," Scott Morrison told parliament on Monday. Despite backing the motion, Mr Morrison stressed that the states and territories have previously rejected a call for a royal commission. Labor has accused the government of dragging the chain on setting up an inquiry, considering it voted against it last week. But Opposition Leader Bill Shorten welcomed the motion's success on Monday and called for a decision on the inquiry's timeline. Your opinion is powerful. Share your thoughts with news.com.au and you could WIN $10,000! Mr Morrison earlier told parliament it's vital there is bipartisanship on the issue of caring for people with disabilities. He tweeted Mr Morrison "well done" on Monday, after which he asked for a timeline and Mr Morrison told him: "I've said what I said."

In international terms, Australia is a beacon, a country with a thriving economy and a political system that has not yet turned entirely on itself and succumbed to the populist forces roiling democracies elsewhere. Still, 2018 was a brutal year in national affairs. The defenestration was a panicked response to poor results for the ruling Coalition in byelection contests, and it has damaged the government’s political standing. But Turnbull’s replacement, Scott Morrison, has spent the opening months of his prime ministership in overdrive, trying to build a legacy to campaign on when voters go the polls in the first half of 2019. His objective is to hold an election in May, after first delivering an economic statement projecting a return to surplus, which would be the first positive bottom line delivered by an Australian government since the global financial crisis. Public opinion polls suggest an electoral rout looms for the Coalition. The government has not won a poll since the 2015 election. The major parties have undermined their own stability premium, which has helped fuel the rise of insurgents But the political story in 2019 is more complex and dynamic than a traditional major party contest that will play out in the first six months of the year. Voters are showing interest in political disruptors – mainly non-aligned independents now contesting elections, both state and federal, in growing numbers, and with increasing professionalism. While election cycles can be polarising, particularly at times when there is a national mood to change the government, one of the more fascinating stories of 2019 will be the extent to which political independents continue to disrupt the status quo, and the implications of that for the character of the parliaments that are eventually formed.

Mr Mundine is reportedly considering a tilt at the marginal NSW seat of Gilmore, which will not be recontested by Liberal Ann Sudmalis at the federal election. "When he couldn't get a seat in the Labor Party, he's looking elsewhere. I guess that's his democratic right," Mr Shorten told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday. Mr Mundine was Labor's national president between 2006 and 2007 but has been a strident critic of the party in recent years. Pressed on why he turned his back on Labor, he said "loyalty cuts both ways". "I gave my life to the Labor Party, I worked very hard for the Labor Party, and I've stood up for the Labor Party for many years," Mr Mundine said. "The issue here is if you want to contribute to society and want to contribute to the political space and a political party says 'no' to you on several occasions, then loyalty goes both ways." Mr Shorten said Labor's candidate for Gilmore Fiona Phillips would fight on local issues, rather than personalities. "She doesn't want a seat in parliament because she thinks that's her right, that she's owed a seat," the opposition leader said. Ms Sudmalis announced her decision to quit in September, launching an extraordinary spray at NSW state MP Gareth Ward for running a campaign against her, an accusation he denied.

That’s right, it is budget reply day, where Bill Shorten will lay out Labor’s economic plan. We’ll be back with that, and everything else that happens tomorrow bright and early, so make sure you get your rest. For anyone who missed it, we are heading to a super Saturday of byelections, probably on 16 June, where Labor will fight to keep Perth, Fremantle (where the Greens may pose a threat) Braddon and Longman (which will be the big contest) and the Liberals will attempt to wrestle Mayo from Centre Alliance. The campaigning has begun. The budget seems like it was delivered a lifetime ago. No doubt we will be back on it tomorrow though. Won’t that be exciting? I know I can’t wait. A big thank you to Mike Bowers, for dragging my carcass through the day, and to the Guardian brains trust. As always, a big thank you to you for reading, and for sticking through our technical difficulties.