Tag: Scott Morrison

The vote handed the job to Scott Morrison. The upheaval also ended her 11-year tenure as Liberal Party deputy leader. She said it had been an "immense honour" to serve as the Liberal Party's first female deputy leader, as well as her Perth electorate of Curtin for two decades. "I am also proud of the fact that I am the first woman to contest a leadership ballot of the Liberal Party in its 75-year history," she told the parliament on Thursday. High-profile diplomacy As foreign minister for five years, Ms Bishop took a leading role in many prominent matters. AdChoices AdChoices Notably, she was lauded for her handling of Australia's response to the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, and for calling on Russia to take responsibility over the downing of MH17. She relinquished her ministerial role in August, after the party turmoil and ouster of Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister. Thank you @JulieBishopMP for your service to our nation and our Party and, above all, your friendship over so many years. Australia MP condemns sexist 'bullying' Last year, Ms Bishop accused parliamentary colleagues of "appalling behaviour" and said political parties had "a problem" with keeping women MPs.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. "It has been an immense honour to be the longest-serving Member for Curtin and also to be the deputy leader of the Liberal Party, the first female to hold the role, [and] for 11 years, over half my entire political career," she told the Parliament. She served in that role in opposition under Brendan Nelson, Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott. After the party won the 2013 election, she became foreign minister and remained in the job until Mr Turnbull lost the Liberal leadership last year. Ms Bishop ran in the ballot to replace Mr Turnbull against Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton but was eliminated in the first round of voting. Mr Morrison, who won the leadership ballot and became the Prime Minister, paid tribute to Ms Bishop and her "tremendous service to her country". "She is an incredibly classy individual. "Her successor will have big shoes to fill, and we know that Julie has the best shoes in Parliament." Opposition Leader Bill Shorten described her as a "trailblazer", even if they had not shared much in common when it came to politics. Ms Bishop had little to say as she left Parliament House for the week after making her announcement.

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said the country's major political parties were hacked earlier this month alongside the federal parliament by a "sophisticated state actor". The announcement on Monday came 10 days after the launch of a probe into the cybersecurity breach of the parliament's computer network. "Our cyber experts believe that a sophisticated state actor is responsible for this malicious activity," he said. At the time, the Australian Signals Directorate had confirmed it was working with parliament in response to the breach, a move that indicated the possible involvement of sophisticated actors. May polls Australia is expected to hold elections in mid-May, raising concerns that hackers could be trying to influence the outcome of the vote or change the tenor of the debate. Along with Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States, Australia is part of the Five Eyes intelligence network, which gives it access to a host of signals and human intelligence to back up any suspicions of state hacking. "Our political institutions represent high-value targets. But we have resilient systems in place to detect compromises and remediate them," said Alastair MacGibbon, head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre. He said it was unclear whether the attackers gained access to sensitive data or emails. "We genuinely do not know."

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."

A man, barely in his 30s, left catatonic, unable to speak, unable to eat, wasting away in a bed. The medical and humanitarian crisis in Australia’s offshore detention camps in Nauru and Manus Island keeps escalating, with the bearers of our government’s harsh policies being the bodies of the people who have been held captive for nearly six years. As a lawyer, I’ve seen people literally crushed by these policies to the point where they urgently require medical evacuation to Australia in order to save their life. Death is not a hypothetical in this situation Rather than leaving medical transfers in the hands of lawyers, bureaucrats and judges, the bill compels the minister to promptly evacuate a person on the recommendation of two qualified medical practitioners. The minister still has the power to deem the transfer unnecessary and can veto any transfer on national security grounds. It’s not humane, it’s not dignified and it’s not safe. Kerryn Phelps' offshore detention bill could pass with simple majority, academic says Read more Death is not a hypothetical in this situation. There is an urgent medical crisis on Nauru and Manus, and it needs an urgent medical solution, not a political one. Morrison played every trick in the book to delay passing this bill last year. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.

Yes, the Morrison government has said meekly, to everything the banking royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne has recommended. Banking royal commission final report released – politics live Read more So it’s yes to more than 24 potential prosecutions (only Westpac escapes), earmarked carefully by Hayne but ultimately left to the discretion of the regulators – which will be a relief to the government, rather than particular bankers being named and shamed; yes to ending conflicted remuneration; yes to an overhaul of mortgage broking; yes to a regulator to watch the corporate and banking regulators (and a possible new independent prosecutorial body if they fail to get their act together); yes to Asic becoming a regulator that actually likes going to court; yes to an industry-funded compensation scheme of last resort. There is one maybe in the government response and that relates to remuneration for mortgage brokers. The commissioner says the time has come to do more than say sorry for the past, and make reparations. With a big mop-up job to implement, the treasurer Josh Frydenberg, as well as trying to neutralise a dangerous political fight, has taken the opportunity to project some emotional intelligence with the government response. “My message to the financial sector is that misconduct must end and the interests of consumers must now come first. From today the sector must change, and change forever.” All very well to say in the world of the soundbite. The National Australia Bank comes in for a particular kicking. Hayne says the delightfully apt “twin peaks” structure of Apra and Asic – where prudential regulation is separate from conduct regulation – should remain. But a big yes to Hayne makes it harder for Labor to prosecute a “government cosying up to the banks” narrative.

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.

In Liberal-facing circles, the transformation has been widely hailed as a storming success, offering the party its chance of recapturing a lead from Labor. Voters everywhere have had it with the established political class, spills and endless squabbles in party rooms In all the hullabaloo, we are in danger of missing something really vital. Voters everywhere have had it with the established political class, spills and endless squabbles in party rooms. Whatever you think the future holds, Australia has an opportunity to make the most of the breathing space it enjoys. Given relative prosperity, the absence of a powerful populist challenge and no urgent foreign policy dilemmas, all of the parties have a chance to shape proposals for far-reaching change; the kind of change that could reconnect the lives and experiences of everyday Australians with those of the class that governs them. Scott Morrison’s daggy dad act is a sign of our times | Brigid Delaney Read more Such change could start with opening up the formal processes of politics. For trust to be restored, the secrecy of the party room will have to be gone forever. But change will need to go beyond the parties if the gulf is to be narrowed between the powerful and the people whose lives that power actually affects. It is a more demanding politics, requiring millions more citizens to take responsibility for day-to-day decisions in a way that many haven’t for generations. If the parties looked to the horizon, then a new democratic experiment could offer a way for Australia to lead the world.

Image SYDNEY, Australia — At a regular Sunday morning service, before the praise songs and a sermon on resilience, a pastor at one of Sydney’s largest Pentecostal churches mentioned a congregant who was usually among those worshiping there. But he was not with them this past Sunday. On Friday, he became Australia’s newest prime minister. “I’m incredibly hopeful — hopeful for the future of our generation,” said Alison Bonhomme, a senior pastor at Horizon Church, reflecting on the political tumult that led Scott Morrison to become the country’s leader. He is the first prime minister to come from one of the country’s growing evangelical Christian movements, leading many experts and voters to wonder how his Christianity might affect various issues, from foreign policy to social policy. “The question is whether Morrison will choose to make his faith part of his political persona or to what extent he will,” said Hugh White, a professor of strategic studies at the Australian National University. Sign up for your local Morning Briefing to get the news you need, Monday through Friday.] For a decade, Mr. Morrison and his family have been part of the congregation at Horizon Church in a middle-class southern suburb of Sydney, where his wife volunteers and his daughters are involved in the children’s ministry. “I think that people of faith around the nation are very much filled with hope that someone of Christian faith and principle is holding such a role in public life,” said Kristy Mills, the executive pastor. Mr. Morrison is the latest politician to become prime minister after a messy leadership “spill,” in which a leader was ousted by party rivals — in this case, Malcolm Turnbull, a moderate pushed out by conservatives.

It is remarkable for a Coalition government to cut skilled migration during an upswing in the economy. The John Howard government significantly increased the skilled intake when the Australian economy surged from around 2001. Increased use of system alerts to identify visa applications and issues that require additional investigation has been a long-standing priority for Australia’s immigration authorities. But from one year to the next, these lead to a tiny increase in the visa refusal rate, hardly 20,000. How much further is he suggesting visa processing times will increase to explain a cut of 20,000 visas? Australian immigration authorities are more than capable of delivering the program on target without any additional risk to visa integrity or national security. And he could not use Morrison’s explanation that the program would only be delivered below the ceiling if there is a lack of demand. No state/territory premier or chief minister is calling for a cut, and as usual the business community is supportive of maintaining the current program. Could Hanson argue the government has cut immigration as part of her negotiations on the corporate tax cuts (but that the government has not gone far enough so she has withdrawn her support)? But how will he secure credit for something his own department says will be a negative for the economy and the budget?