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The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
Young Liberals urge Coalition to distance itself from Sky News and blame Maga ‘mirage' for Dutton loss
The Young Liberals want the Coalition to distance itself from Sky News and appeal to voters through a wider variety of media outlets, blaming Donald Trump-style culture wars for Peter Dutton's historic election rout. In a submission to the party's election postmortem, obtained by Guardian Australia, the New South Wales Young Liberals division said the 'fringe right' of the Liberal membership had too much influence over policy and campaign media, causing 'a mirage of the Maga movement' which turned off women and multicultural voters. The 31-page assessment, handed to the review being led by Liberal elders Pru Goward and Nick Minchin, is scathing of the campaign run by Dutton and his frontbench team, describing them as badly outplayed by Labor and out of touch with traditional Liberal constituencies. The document has not been released publicly and was provided to Guardian on the condition of anonymity. 'The 2025 election proved that being one of the loudest media voices in the room does not mean voters are listening to you,' it said. 'Viewership data shows that most Australians do not engage with overtly political commentary on traditional media, such as evening commentators on Sky News. Yet much of our party's policy agenda and media appearances during the campaign were stuck in a conservative echo-chamber.' Sign up: AU Breaking News email Labor won 94 seats, its biggest victory in decades, while the Coalition was reduced to 43 seats in the lower house. Pointing to Dutton directly, the submission said the parliamentary leader must 'front up' to a range of media outlets, including those not considered 'traditionally friendly' to the Liberal and Nationals parties. Ahead of his 3 May defeat, Dutton did the opposite. He was criticised for not regularly fronting the Canberra press gallery in the lead-up to the campaign and dubbed the ABC and Guardian 'hate media' in the final days before the poll. The Young Liberals called out senior figures for demonising Chinese-Australians and exacerbating division related to war in the Middle East. Frontbencher Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was criticised for declaring a Dutton government would 'make Australia great again,' echoing Trump's slogan just as the Coalition was trying to distance itself from the unpopular US president's policies and rhetoric. 'The Coalition must refrain from pursuing culture war issues and respect the intelligence of the Australian people by formulating nuanced, meaningful policy,' it said. On promises to voters, the submission was equally downcast. It said major policies should be announced with more lead time and accompanied by sufficient costings detail. It criticised Dutton's signature plan for development of nuclear power in Australia, and the decision to oppose Labor's tax cuts. 'Coalition policies such as the promise to cut 40,000 public service jobs, Peter Dutton's refusal to stand before the Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander flags, and a crackdown on 'woke' culture in schools all reinforced the perception of a party more interested in symbolic battles than addressing serious domestic and international issues,' it said. The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, has commissioned Minchin and Goward to assess the loss, and ordered a second review into the Liberal party's structure. One question being considered is how to boost female representation in Coalition ranks. The Young Liberals have called for a 2015 party review to be implemented, including an aspirational national target for 50-50 gender parity in parliament, but suggested Labor-style quotas could be required. 'Ultimately, the Liberal Party doesn't look like modern Australia. Australians notice, and it matters,' the submission said. Submissions to the review were due by Friday, with a report expected by the end of the year.
The Guardian
28-07-2025
- The Guardian
Jason Clare vows to use new childcare centre powers as soon as possible with list already in sights
The use of CCTV in childcare centres, a national register of teachers and mandatory child safety training are top of the agenda for a meeting of state and federal education ministers, as governments race to respond to abuse in the early childhood sector. The Albanese government will seek to rush its bill through parliament this week to strip funding from below-standard childcare centres, with the education minister, Jason Clare, promising to use his new powers as soon as he is legally able to – with some centres already in his sights. 'My department is working right now with states and territories on a priority list of providers to bring action against,' Clare told Guardian Australia. 'We are determined to do what needs to be done to rebuild confidence in a system that parents need to have confidence in.' He confirmed a special meeting of state and territory education ministers would be held on 22 August to focus on child safety in early education. Sign up: AU Breaking News email There were three main topics for the meeting, dealing with key areas identified by providers: efforts to accelerate a national register of early education and care workers, discussing mandatory child safety training for early education and care workers, and investigating the role of CCTV in responding to safety concerns. Large providers spoken to by Guardian Australia said they were strongly supportive of a national register and more funding for training, but some have reservations about CCTV, with concerns about cost, resources to operate and monitor feeds, and the potential for footage to fall into the wrong hands. A separate meeting of the standing council of attorneys general , also to be held in August, would discuss reforming the working with children check system. The federal attorney general, Michelle Rowland, told parliament on Monday that the system needed 'long overdue improvements'. 'Different states and territories have inconsistent schemes covering eligibility and reportable conduct. They do not talk to each other and there is no system of national oversight or real-time monitoring,' she said. 'We need meaningful change and we need it urgently. It's time to stop predators exploiting cracks in the hodgepodge of separate systems around the country.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The education ministers and AGs meetings would advance reforms which must be agreed to by states and territories, in a bid to unify systems run by separate governments. They come in addition to the federal government's early childhood education and care (strengthening regulation of early education) bill 2025, introduced by Clare into parliament last week, which gives the education department the power to take action against providers not meeting national quality standards on safety. The department would be empowered to undertake unannounced raids, publish the findings of its inspections, and potentially suspend or cancel a provider's ability to access the childcare subsidy. This legislation would give the commonwealth government power to cut off funding to childcare centres that do not meet the national quality standard when it comes to safety and quality, where there is a breach of the law, or where centres are acting in a way that puts the safety of children at risk. Labor hopes to pass the bill this week. Once the legislation is in force, approximately two weeks after it passes parliament, Clare said the federal education department would begin preparing to issue the first 'show cause' notices to underperforming providers – the first step toward potentially cancelling or suspending funding. 'As soon as these new powers come into force, we will use them to strengthen safety in childcare,' Clare said, noting state regulators already have such powers to respond to imminent safety threats. 'This legislation gives the federal government additional powers to lift safety in childcare. This is about making sure the safety and quality in childcare centres is what parents expect and children deserve.
The Guardian
28-07-2025
- The Guardian
Labor and Coalition want convicted rapist Gareth Ward expelled from NSW parliament
Moves are afoot to expel the MP for Kiama, Gareth Ward, from the New South Wales parliament after he was convicted of serious sexual offences involving two young men. State parliament sits next week and Ward has not yet said whether he intends to appeal Friday's convictions. The MP has also not indicated whether he might resign from parliament and did not respond to questions from Guardian Australia. Ward was granted bail ahead of a hearing on Wednesday, when the prosecution will seek to have him taken into custody ahead of his sentencing. A date for that is due to be set on Wednesday. The 44-year-old stood trial in the NSW district court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault charges. Several politicians have been convicted of 'an infamous crime' or a crime that carries a sentence of five years or more – which is the threshold that disqualifies a person from sitting in the NSW parliament. Most have chosen to resign when they have been charged and were well out of parliament by the time they were convicted. So the question of how lodging an appeal – or winning an appeal – might affect an MPs right to sit in the parliament has rarely arisen. Both major parties are hoping that Ward will choose to resign from parliament and the matter is resolved quickly. But Ward has, to date, shown little inclination to end his own political career. In 2021, Ward left the Liberal party and moved to the crossbench after identifying himself as the state MP under investigation by the child abuse and sex crimes squad of the NSW police force. When charges were laid in March 2022, then NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet called for his resignation. On 24 March 2022, Ward was suspended after a motion unanimously passed the Legislative Assembly. In mid-August 2022, Ward was committed to stand trial. But Ward's voters in the south coast state seat of Kiama re-elected him in March 2023 and he returned to Macquarie Street. The Minns government believes Ward should not sit in parliament now he is convicted of serious crimes and that seniment is echoed by the opposition. The premier, Chris Minns, said on Monday that Ward should resign or he would move a motion to expel him. Minns stressed Ward was convicted of 'incredibly serious charges' relating to 'multiple accusers.' 'He should resign,' the premier told reporters. 'It is completely ridiculous to be in a situation where someone has been, not just accused, not just charged, but convicted of incredibly serious sexual assault convictions and stay as a member of parliament. 'You name me one workplace in the whole world where that person would continue as an employee, facing that kind of jail time.' Minns said he had sought legal advice from the NSW cabinet office and believed expulsion was an option. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion But it's not straightforward. The expulsion cannot be 'punitive' but must be founded on protecting the integrity of the NSW parliament. That will mean establishing that Ward's conduct brings the house into disrepute and that he cannot adequately perform his duties – which would be easier to argue if he was incarcerated. 'It seems ridiculous that he could stay as a member of parliament. Steps need to be taken,' Minns said. He said it was 'untenable' for Ward to remain the MP for Kiama. Minns does not have a majority in the Legislative Assembly so would need the opposition or crossbenchers to gain the bare majority needed to pass an expulsion motion. The opposition leader, Mark Speakman, has said he would support an expulsion motion, subject to seeing the government's legal advice. 'The jury finding is about behaviour that is sickening,' Speakman told reporters on Monday. 'He should not be in parliament; his position is untenable. There is no way he can effectively represent his constituents. He should resign, and if he doesn't, parliament must take all the steps it can to protect its integrity.' Ward could alternatively be suspended or granted leave but both options would result in the convicted rapist continuing to receive his parliamentary salary and entitlements until he resigned, the next election was held in March 2027 or all appeals were finalised. These alternatives would prevent a by-election from being held. An expulsion or suspension could be challenged in the courts. There have been only a handful of cases challenging orders of parliament but, as constitutional expert Anne Twomey has said, courts have expressed wariness when it comes to expelling MPs. The situation would be complicated further if Ward appeals. Ward has 28 days to lodge any appeal. The appeal process itself would likely be lengthy, and if Ward was expelled, he would challenge that decision in the courts. Of course, there will be practical problems for Ward continuing in parliament if he is jailed pending any appeal. He couldn't attend parliament or effectively represent his constituents.
