NSW Liberals lobby party to implement US-style primary system to choose candidates as re-build continues
The NSW Liberals were all but decimated at the recent federal election which has led to internal debate about how to bolster the party's appeal and revitalise aging local branches.
Gender quotas have become a point of contention within the party, with proponents and critics engaging in a bitter public dispute including in a leaked group chat titled 'quotas v merit' where senior Libs debated the policies validity.
However, top NSW Liberals have touted a separate route, urging the party to revamp its pre-selection process through the use of US-style open primary elections.
Shadow attorney general and federal member for Berowra Julian Leeser has said opening up pre-selection to non-members and the wider public would expand the Liberal Party's scope and bring in a new wave of members.
'The best way to ensure that our members reflect the communities that they represent is to have the largest number of members of the general community choose them,' Mr Leeser told the Telegraph.
Mr Leeser, who is one of the last Liberal members occupying an outer-metropolitan seat nationwide said the plan would increase 'diversity' and 'overcome the challenge of a declining membership an supporter base.'
Liberal Party pre-selection, which currently involves local party members and state delegates voting to choose a candidate, would be scrapped, with all eligible voters in the relevant electorate given the chance to have their say under the proposed model.
Mr Leeser, who narrowly fended of a challenge from local publisher turned Teal candidate Tina Brown said holding US-primary style elections would bring ideological vigour to local branches and allow the community to actively immerse themselves in the inner workings of the Party.
He insisted it would 'demonstrate to the general public that we are a broad, open welcoming party that is seeking the best talent available.'
Mr Leeser has been a long-time advocate of parachuting the concept of US primary elections down under, with the move also receiving the support of numerous party elders including former NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet.
The method was previously considered a fringe idea in Liberal ranks.
Shadow defence minister and former Liberal leadership contender Angus Taylor backed Mr Leeser's proposal and said open primaries could aid in rebuilding the party's 'grassroots movement.'
'One pathway to do that would be by bringing in primaries,' Mr Taylor told The Daily Telegraph.
'The objective here has to be to rebuild the grassroots political movement that stands for our values, and to do that we're going to have to involve and engage people in ways we haven't before.'
Mr Taylor's staunch NSW Right factional ally Anthony Roberts also endorsed primary elections and said it would prevent powerbrokers from hand selecting their candidate of choice in a given electorate.
'The days of captain's picks have got to be over, they are proven not to work,' Mr Roberts said.
Mr Leeser said the party should work to commence a trial to gauge the efficacy of primary elections, and that the method should be piloted in a Teal, regional and western Sydney seat.
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The Advertiser
38 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Big girls do cry - and macho men, too
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to Last week, the British treasurer was spotted bleary-eyed in the House of Commons, wiping away a tear (as well she might because the media onslaught against her had been ferocious), but it then sparked a debate about whether weeping was a sign of political weakness. It is not. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is allowed to cry - and, heartwarmingly, the markets fell on the thought that she might be pushed out by the lynch mob. Financial markets know what side their bread is buttered on, and they weren't having any of this crying denotes weakness nonsense. Even big men cry. They do. Even Peter Dutton (Google him). "Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has choked back tears after the father of one-punch victim Cole Miller called in to his 2GB radio interview to thank him for deporting a man involved in his son's death," Nine News reported in 2018. If ex-cop and ex-leader of the Liberals Peter Dutton can cry, we all can. Other macho-men politicians have also cried. Bob Hawke shed tears after the Tiananmen Square massacre: "His voice breaking with emotion, the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, yesterday wept along with hundreds of Chinese students and other mourners at a memorial service at Parliament House for the slain of China," the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The same paper revealed that ex-Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull blubbed: "Our tough-talking Prime Minister - buster of unions, lover of negative gearing, occasional shooter - is, by his own admission, a cry baby. Asked on morning radio whether he often shed a tear, Malcolm Turnbull acknowledged: 'Yes, I do, I do'." And yet, and yet. In our cynical times, the thought immediately pops up that macho politicians shedding a tear might just be good for the image - tough but sensitive, as it were. Moist eyes: good for the image; wailing out loud, not so good. But war leader Churchill was a weeper (though you might think he had a lot to cry about with the blitz and what once appeared like the imminent invasion of Britain - though he was also known to cry about a noble dog struggling through the snow to his master). And Churchill had seen friends killed in action. The historian Andrew Roberts wrote: "On 30 September 1897, after his great friend Lieutenant William Browne-Clayton was killed close to him on an expedition along India's Northwest Frontier, Churchill wrote to his mother, 'I rarely detect genuine emotion in myself,' and 'I must rank it as a rare instance the fact that I cried when I saw poor Browne-Clayton literally cut to pieces on a stretcher'." In 1940, Churchill wept in the House of Commons when MPs rose and applauded him for several minutes. "Sitting on the Treasury bench, the tension draining from his body, Churchill lowered his head and the tears ran down his cheeks," the Soviet ambassador to Britain wrote. "At last we have a real leader!" was the cry echoing through the lobbies. Real leaders cry. If Churchill can weep openly, so can the rest of us. HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you hide your tears, perhaps leaving the room? How do you react when you spot a weepy colleague? Are you embarrassed when a leader cries? Send your thoughts to echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep the rate of interest on which other rates of interest (like mortgage rates) depend unchanged. Many economists and the four major banks had predicted a cut to the cash rate. The RBA decision, which was not unanimous, indicated that it still wasn't sure that inflation had been squeezed out of the economy. It cited a strong labour market and a need to see confirmation in upcoming data that inflation was easing. - Aldi is trialling a new home delivery service for its groceries, and the supermarket chain. The German-based supermarket has partnered with delivery service DoorDash. Canberra is the first area for the trial from Tuesday this week. THEY SAID IT: "Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before -- more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle." Charles Dickens YOU SAID IT: I ranted - sorry, argued persuasively - against big inequalities of wealth. Murray didn't agree but disagreed thoughtfully: "One can envy the uber-rich, even despise them a little, but they are often huge employers with annual payrolls running into billions. I never despised my employer so much that I wasn't grateful for my pay packet. If the rich get richer, their lifestyles may be offensive, but they are the ones generating the wealth for governments to tax and the ones paying the wages." Helen (in her late 80s) said: "The answer is obviously taxing the rich at a much tougher rate. It will never happen, at least not in my lifetime." Neil urged us to the barricades: "The People, United Shall Never Be Defeated! Pitchforks and tumbrils peeps! Not tomorrow... NOW!!" Graham was not far behind him: "History saw four revolutions - the first two failed, but the French Revolution succeeded in the 18th century, followed by the Bolsheviks in 1917. Can I hear the scrape of whetstones on pitchforks and billhooks?" "Depressed Echidna reader, Sandra" wrote: "It really boils down to money, I believe that Australia is heading for a fall along with the environment." Chas said (and I'll keep his first sentence): "Good article Steve, and right on the money. History is littered with examples of societal collapse brought about by the excesses of the affluent exercised in the face of the vast majority of the underprivileged. In relatively later millennia, the Roman Empire comes to mind (think Nero and Caligula), the French Revolution, and in some measure, the USSR. In the historical mix, one can include the British Empire and the Spanish pillaging of foreign wealth." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to Last week, the British treasurer was spotted bleary-eyed in the House of Commons, wiping away a tear (as well she might because the media onslaught against her had been ferocious), but it then sparked a debate about whether weeping was a sign of political weakness. It is not. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is allowed to cry - and, heartwarmingly, the markets fell on the thought that she might be pushed out by the lynch mob. Financial markets know what side their bread is buttered on, and they weren't having any of this crying denotes weakness nonsense. Even big men cry. They do. Even Peter Dutton (Google him). "Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has choked back tears after the father of one-punch victim Cole Miller called in to his 2GB radio interview to thank him for deporting a man involved in his son's death," Nine News reported in 2018. If ex-cop and ex-leader of the Liberals Peter Dutton can cry, we all can. Other macho-men politicians have also cried. Bob Hawke shed tears after the Tiananmen Square massacre: "His voice breaking with emotion, the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, yesterday wept along with hundreds of Chinese students and other mourners at a memorial service at Parliament House for the slain of China," the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The same paper revealed that ex-Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull blubbed: "Our tough-talking Prime Minister - buster of unions, lover of negative gearing, occasional shooter - is, by his own admission, a cry baby. Asked on morning radio whether he often shed a tear, Malcolm Turnbull acknowledged: 'Yes, I do, I do'." And yet, and yet. In our cynical times, the thought immediately pops up that macho politicians shedding a tear might just be good for the image - tough but sensitive, as it were. Moist eyes: good for the image; wailing out loud, not so good. But war leader Churchill was a weeper (though you might think he had a lot to cry about with the blitz and what once appeared like the imminent invasion of Britain - though he was also known to cry about a noble dog struggling through the snow to his master). And Churchill had seen friends killed in action. The historian Andrew Roberts wrote: "On 30 September 1897, after his great friend Lieutenant William Browne-Clayton was killed close to him on an expedition along India's Northwest Frontier, Churchill wrote to his mother, 'I rarely detect genuine emotion in myself,' and 'I must rank it as a rare instance the fact that I cried when I saw poor Browne-Clayton literally cut to pieces on a stretcher'." In 1940, Churchill wept in the House of Commons when MPs rose and applauded him for several minutes. "Sitting on the Treasury bench, the tension draining from his body, Churchill lowered his head and the tears ran down his cheeks," the Soviet ambassador to Britain wrote. "At last we have a real leader!" was the cry echoing through the lobbies. Real leaders cry. If Churchill can weep openly, so can the rest of us. HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you hide your tears, perhaps leaving the room? How do you react when you spot a weepy colleague? Are you embarrassed when a leader cries? Send your thoughts to echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep the rate of interest on which other rates of interest (like mortgage rates) depend unchanged. Many economists and the four major banks had predicted a cut to the cash rate. The RBA decision, which was not unanimous, indicated that it still wasn't sure that inflation had been squeezed out of the economy. It cited a strong labour market and a need to see confirmation in upcoming data that inflation was easing. - Aldi is trialling a new home delivery service for its groceries, and the supermarket chain. The German-based supermarket has partnered with delivery service DoorDash. Canberra is the first area for the trial from Tuesday this week. THEY SAID IT: "Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before -- more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle." Charles Dickens YOU SAID IT: I ranted - sorry, argued persuasively - against big inequalities of wealth. Murray didn't agree but disagreed thoughtfully: "One can envy the uber-rich, even despise them a little, but they are often huge employers with annual payrolls running into billions. I never despised my employer so much that I wasn't grateful for my pay packet. If the rich get richer, their lifestyles may be offensive, but they are the ones generating the wealth for governments to tax and the ones paying the wages." Helen (in her late 80s) said: "The answer is obviously taxing the rich at a much tougher rate. It will never happen, at least not in my lifetime." Neil urged us to the barricades: "The People, United Shall Never Be Defeated! Pitchforks and tumbrils peeps! Not tomorrow... NOW!!" Graham was not far behind him: "History saw four revolutions - the first two failed, but the French Revolution succeeded in the 18th century, followed by the Bolsheviks in 1917. Can I hear the scrape of whetstones on pitchforks and billhooks?" "Depressed Echidna reader, Sandra" wrote: "It really boils down to money, I believe that Australia is heading for a fall along with the environment." Chas said (and I'll keep his first sentence): "Good article Steve, and right on the money. History is littered with examples of societal collapse brought about by the excesses of the affluent exercised in the face of the vast majority of the underprivileged. In relatively later millennia, the Roman Empire comes to mind (think Nero and Caligula), the French Revolution, and in some measure, the USSR. In the historical mix, one can include the British Empire and the Spanish pillaging of foreign wealth." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to Last week, the British treasurer was spotted bleary-eyed in the House of Commons, wiping away a tear (as well she might because the media onslaught against her had been ferocious), but it then sparked a debate about whether weeping was a sign of political weakness. It is not. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is allowed to cry - and, heartwarmingly, the markets fell on the thought that she might be pushed out by the lynch mob. Financial markets know what side their bread is buttered on, and they weren't having any of this crying denotes weakness nonsense. Even big men cry. They do. Even Peter Dutton (Google him). "Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has choked back tears after the father of one-punch victim Cole Miller called in to his 2GB radio interview to thank him for deporting a man involved in his son's death," Nine News reported in 2018. If ex-cop and ex-leader of the Liberals Peter Dutton can cry, we all can. Other macho-men politicians have also cried. Bob Hawke shed tears after the Tiananmen Square massacre: "His voice breaking with emotion, the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, yesterday wept along with hundreds of Chinese students and other mourners at a memorial service at Parliament House for the slain of China," the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The same paper revealed that ex-Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull blubbed: "Our tough-talking Prime Minister - buster of unions, lover of negative gearing, occasional shooter - is, by his own admission, a cry baby. Asked on morning radio whether he often shed a tear, Malcolm Turnbull acknowledged: 'Yes, I do, I do'." And yet, and yet. In our cynical times, the thought immediately pops up that macho politicians shedding a tear might just be good for the image - tough but sensitive, as it were. Moist eyes: good for the image; wailing out loud, not so good. But war leader Churchill was a weeper (though you might think he had a lot to cry about with the blitz and what once appeared like the imminent invasion of Britain - though he was also known to cry about a noble dog struggling through the snow to his master). And Churchill had seen friends killed in action. The historian Andrew Roberts wrote: "On 30 September 1897, after his great friend Lieutenant William Browne-Clayton was killed close to him on an expedition along India's Northwest Frontier, Churchill wrote to his mother, 'I rarely detect genuine emotion in myself,' and 'I must rank it as a rare instance the fact that I cried when I saw poor Browne-Clayton literally cut to pieces on a stretcher'." In 1940, Churchill wept in the House of Commons when MPs rose and applauded him for several minutes. "Sitting on the Treasury bench, the tension draining from his body, Churchill lowered his head and the tears ran down his cheeks," the Soviet ambassador to Britain wrote. "At last we have a real leader!" was the cry echoing through the lobbies. Real leaders cry. If Churchill can weep openly, so can the rest of us. HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you hide your tears, perhaps leaving the room? How do you react when you spot a weepy colleague? Are you embarrassed when a leader cries? Send your thoughts to echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep the rate of interest on which other rates of interest (like mortgage rates) depend unchanged. Many economists and the four major banks had predicted a cut to the cash rate. The RBA decision, which was not unanimous, indicated that it still wasn't sure that inflation had been squeezed out of the economy. It cited a strong labour market and a need to see confirmation in upcoming data that inflation was easing. - Aldi is trialling a new home delivery service for its groceries, and the supermarket chain. The German-based supermarket has partnered with delivery service DoorDash. Canberra is the first area for the trial from Tuesday this week. THEY SAID IT: "Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before -- more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle." Charles Dickens YOU SAID IT: I ranted - sorry, argued persuasively - against big inequalities of wealth. Murray didn't agree but disagreed thoughtfully: "One can envy the uber-rich, even despise them a little, but they are often huge employers with annual payrolls running into billions. I never despised my employer so much that I wasn't grateful for my pay packet. If the rich get richer, their lifestyles may be offensive, but they are the ones generating the wealth for governments to tax and the ones paying the wages." Helen (in her late 80s) said: "The answer is obviously taxing the rich at a much tougher rate. It will never happen, at least not in my lifetime." Neil urged us to the barricades: "The People, United Shall Never Be Defeated! Pitchforks and tumbrils peeps! Not tomorrow... NOW!!" Graham was not far behind him: "History saw four revolutions - the first two failed, but the French Revolution succeeded in the 18th century, followed by the Bolsheviks in 1917. Can I hear the scrape of whetstones on pitchforks and billhooks?" "Depressed Echidna reader, Sandra" wrote: "It really boils down to money, I believe that Australia is heading for a fall along with the environment." Chas said (and I'll keep his first sentence): "Good article Steve, and right on the money. History is littered with examples of societal collapse brought about by the excesses of the affluent exercised in the face of the vast majority of the underprivileged. In relatively later millennia, the Roman Empire comes to mind (think Nero and Caligula), the French Revolution, and in some measure, the USSR. In the historical mix, one can include the British Empire and the Spanish pillaging of foreign wealth." This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to Last week, the British treasurer was spotted bleary-eyed in the House of Commons, wiping away a tear (as well she might because the media onslaught against her had been ferocious), but it then sparked a debate about whether weeping was a sign of political weakness. It is not. The Chancellor of the Exchequer is allowed to cry - and, heartwarmingly, the markets fell on the thought that she might be pushed out by the lynch mob. Financial markets know what side their bread is buttered on, and they weren't having any of this crying denotes weakness nonsense. Even big men cry. They do. Even Peter Dutton (Google him). "Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has choked back tears after the father of one-punch victim Cole Miller called in to his 2GB radio interview to thank him for deporting a man involved in his son's death," Nine News reported in 2018. If ex-cop and ex-leader of the Liberals Peter Dutton can cry, we all can. Other macho-men politicians have also cried. Bob Hawke shed tears after the Tiananmen Square massacre: "His voice breaking with emotion, the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, yesterday wept along with hundreds of Chinese students and other mourners at a memorial service at Parliament House for the slain of China," the Sydney Morning Herald reported. The same paper revealed that ex-Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull blubbed: "Our tough-talking Prime Minister - buster of unions, lover of negative gearing, occasional shooter - is, by his own admission, a cry baby. Asked on morning radio whether he often shed a tear, Malcolm Turnbull acknowledged: 'Yes, I do, I do'." And yet, and yet. In our cynical times, the thought immediately pops up that macho politicians shedding a tear might just be good for the image - tough but sensitive, as it were. Moist eyes: good for the image; wailing out loud, not so good. But war leader Churchill was a weeper (though you might think he had a lot to cry about with the blitz and what once appeared like the imminent invasion of Britain - though he was also known to cry about a noble dog struggling through the snow to his master). And Churchill had seen friends killed in action. The historian Andrew Roberts wrote: "On 30 September 1897, after his great friend Lieutenant William Browne-Clayton was killed close to him on an expedition along India's Northwest Frontier, Churchill wrote to his mother, 'I rarely detect genuine emotion in myself,' and 'I must rank it as a rare instance the fact that I cried when I saw poor Browne-Clayton literally cut to pieces on a stretcher'." In 1940, Churchill wept in the House of Commons when MPs rose and applauded him for several minutes. "Sitting on the Treasury bench, the tension draining from his body, Churchill lowered his head and the tears ran down his cheeks," the Soviet ambassador to Britain wrote. "At last we have a real leader!" was the cry echoing through the lobbies. Real leaders cry. If Churchill can weep openly, so can the rest of us. HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you hide your tears, perhaps leaving the room? How do you react when you spot a weepy colleague? Are you embarrassed when a leader cries? Send your thoughts to echidna@ SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: - The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep the rate of interest on which other rates of interest (like mortgage rates) depend unchanged. Many economists and the four major banks had predicted a cut to the cash rate. The RBA decision, which was not unanimous, indicated that it still wasn't sure that inflation had been squeezed out of the economy. It cited a strong labour market and a need to see confirmation in upcoming data that inflation was easing. - Aldi is trialling a new home delivery service for its groceries, and the supermarket chain. The German-based supermarket has partnered with delivery service DoorDash. Canberra is the first area for the trial from Tuesday this week. THEY SAID IT: "Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before -- more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle." Charles Dickens YOU SAID IT: I ranted - sorry, argued persuasively - against big inequalities of wealth. Murray didn't agree but disagreed thoughtfully: "One can envy the uber-rich, even despise them a little, but they are often huge employers with annual payrolls running into billions. I never despised my employer so much that I wasn't grateful for my pay packet. If the rich get richer, their lifestyles may be offensive, but they are the ones generating the wealth for governments to tax and the ones paying the wages." Helen (in her late 80s) said: "The answer is obviously taxing the rich at a much tougher rate. It will never happen, at least not in my lifetime." Neil urged us to the barricades: "The People, United Shall Never Be Defeated! Pitchforks and tumbrils peeps! Not tomorrow... NOW!!" Graham was not far behind him: "History saw four revolutions - the first two failed, but the French Revolution succeeded in the 18th century, followed by the Bolsheviks in 1917. Can I hear the scrape of whetstones on pitchforks and billhooks?" "Depressed Echidna reader, Sandra" wrote: "It really boils down to money, I believe that Australia is heading for a fall along with the environment." Chas said (and I'll keep his first sentence): "Good article Steve, and right on the money. History is littered with examples of societal collapse brought about by the excesses of the affluent exercised in the face of the vast majority of the underprivileged. In relatively later millennia, the Roman Empire comes to mind (think Nero and Caligula), the French Revolution, and in some measure, the USSR. In the historical mix, one can include the British Empire and the Spanish pillaging of foreign wealth."
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Donald Trump flags tariffs of 200pc on pharmaceuticals, 50pc on copper
Donald Trump has flagged a possible 200 per cent tariff on pharmaceuticals — one of Australia's biggest exports to the US — but says manufacturers will be given time to move to America to dodge the tax. The US president also said copper was likely to be hit with a 50 per cent tariff. To date, pharmaceuticals and copper have both been exempt from the US's ever-evolving tariffs regime, pending two separate investigations by the Department of Commerce. But Mr Trump has long railed against American dependence on foreign producers of the products, given the lifesaving nature of many imported medicines and copper's importance to the industrial sector and technological innovation. Speaking to the media before a cabinet meeting, Mr Trump said pharmaceutical producers would get a grace period to move production to the US. "We're going to give [drug manufacturers] about a year, a year and a half to come in, and after that, they're going to be tariffed," he said. "They're going to be tariffed at a very, very high rate, like 200 per cent. We'll give them a certain period of time to get their act together." Pharmaceutical tariffs could be particularly punishing for Australia. Last year, Australia exported $US1.4 billion ($2.2 billion) in pharmaceutical products to the US, according to the UN's Comtrade database. That was more than 40 per cent of its total pharmaceutical export value of $US3.2 billion ($4.9 billion). Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick later suggested a final decision on pharmaceutical tariffs had not been made. His department's investigation into pharmaceutical imports would be completed at the end of the month, he said. "And so the president will then set his policies," Mr Lutnick told business network CNBC. "And I'm going to let him wait to decide how he's going to do it. "He said, if you don't build in America, they're going to be a high rate. But he may consider that if you're building in America, to give you the time to build … and then the tariff will be much higher." Copper is also a significant export product for Australia, but sales to the US last year were valued at just $US36 million ($55 million) — less than 1 per cent of Australia's total copper exports, which were valued at $US4.4 billion ($6.7 billion). "Today, we're doing copper," Mr Trump said after speaking through some of his past tariff announcements. "I believe the tariff on copper, we're going to make it 50 per cent." Mr Lutnick said the copper tariff would probably take effect at the end of July or start of August. Aluminium and steel are already subject to 50 per cent tariffs. The announcements come a day after Mr Trump released letters he had sent to foreign leaders, which outlined new country-specific tariffs to take effect on August 1. Australia, however, is not expecting an increase in the 10 per cent tariff already imposed on its exports. On Monday, the Productivity Commission released modelling that projected Australia could enjoy a small economic benefit from Mr Trump's tariffs. But the commission also warned that an escalating global trade war would be "very bad for Australia".
The Advertiser
4 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Gaza ceasefire may take more time, says Israeli
Israeli officials say that gaps can be bridged between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas at peace talks in Qatar, though it may take more than a few days to reach a deal to free hostages and halt fighting. Delegations from Israel and Hamas have been in Qatar since Sunday in a renewed push for an agreement, after US President Donald Trump said last week he had hope that a new US-backed proposal could lead to a deal. Trump met on Monday evening with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who floated plans - vehemently opposed by all major Palestinian groups - for some of Gaza's residents to be relocated abroad. The Israeli leader also presented Trump with a letter nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. A Qatari spokesperson, Majed Al Ansari, said on Tuesday that Qatari and Egyptian mediators were not yet discussing a final ceasefire deal, but still seeking agreement on a framework of principles that would lead to more detailed talks. "Talks have not begun as of yet, but we are talking to both sides over that framework," Al Ansari said. "Both parties are still in Doha. So that's always a good sign." Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who played a major role in crafting the latest ceasefire proposal, will travel to Doha this week to join discussions there, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday. The proposal envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the war entirely. There was no immediate fresh readout on the talks from Hamas or Palestinian sources on Tuesday. Palestinian sources had said on Monday that progress had been held up by Israel's limits on allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israeli minister Zeev Elkin, who sits in Netanyahu's security cabinet, said that there was "a substantial chance" a ceasefire would be agreed. "Hamas wants to change a few central matters, it's not simple, but there is progress," he told Israel's public broadcaster Kan on Tuesday. Senior Israeli officials briefing journalists in Washington said it may take more than a few days to finalise agreements in Doha. Another Israeli official said progress had been made. In Gaza City, children walked through debris, where residents said an Israeli airstrike had hit overnight, with children among the casualties. The Israeli military did not immediately provide details on the target of the strike. "We hope that a ceasefire will be reached and that the massacres against the Palestinian people will stop," said Mohammed Joundiya, standing in the rubble left in the aftermath of the attack. At Israel's parliament in Jerusalem, former hostage Keith Siegel, who was released in February in a previous ceasefire, described the anguish of those held incommunicado for hundreds of days in Hamas captivity. "We have a window of opportunity to save lives," he said, "every minute is critical." Hamas has long demanded an end to the war before it would free remaining hostages; Israel has insisted it would not agree to end the fighting until all hostages are released and Hamas dismantled. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are believed to still be alive. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing around 1200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza. Israel's subsequent campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, displaced almost the entire population of more than two million people, sparked a humanitarian crisis in the enclave and left much of the territory in ruins. Israeli officials say that gaps can be bridged between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas at peace talks in Qatar, though it may take more than a few days to reach a deal to free hostages and halt fighting. Delegations from Israel and Hamas have been in Qatar since Sunday in a renewed push for an agreement, after US President Donald Trump said last week he had hope that a new US-backed proposal could lead to a deal. Trump met on Monday evening with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who floated plans - vehemently opposed by all major Palestinian groups - for some of Gaza's residents to be relocated abroad. The Israeli leader also presented Trump with a letter nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. A Qatari spokesperson, Majed Al Ansari, said on Tuesday that Qatari and Egyptian mediators were not yet discussing a final ceasefire deal, but still seeking agreement on a framework of principles that would lead to more detailed talks. "Talks have not begun as of yet, but we are talking to both sides over that framework," Al Ansari said. "Both parties are still in Doha. So that's always a good sign." Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who played a major role in crafting the latest ceasefire proposal, will travel to Doha this week to join discussions there, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday. The proposal envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the war entirely. There was no immediate fresh readout on the talks from Hamas or Palestinian sources on Tuesday. Palestinian sources had said on Monday that progress had been held up by Israel's limits on allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israeli minister Zeev Elkin, who sits in Netanyahu's security cabinet, said that there was "a substantial chance" a ceasefire would be agreed. "Hamas wants to change a few central matters, it's not simple, but there is progress," he told Israel's public broadcaster Kan on Tuesday. Senior Israeli officials briefing journalists in Washington said it may take more than a few days to finalise agreements in Doha. Another Israeli official said progress had been made. In Gaza City, children walked through debris, where residents said an Israeli airstrike had hit overnight, with children among the casualties. The Israeli military did not immediately provide details on the target of the strike. "We hope that a ceasefire will be reached and that the massacres against the Palestinian people will stop," said Mohammed Joundiya, standing in the rubble left in the aftermath of the attack. At Israel's parliament in Jerusalem, former hostage Keith Siegel, who was released in February in a previous ceasefire, described the anguish of those held incommunicado for hundreds of days in Hamas captivity. "We have a window of opportunity to save lives," he said, "every minute is critical." Hamas has long demanded an end to the war before it would free remaining hostages; Israel has insisted it would not agree to end the fighting until all hostages are released and Hamas dismantled. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are believed to still be alive. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing around 1200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza. Israel's subsequent campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, displaced almost the entire population of more than two million people, sparked a humanitarian crisis in the enclave and left much of the territory in ruins. Israeli officials say that gaps can be bridged between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas at peace talks in Qatar, though it may take more than a few days to reach a deal to free hostages and halt fighting. Delegations from Israel and Hamas have been in Qatar since Sunday in a renewed push for an agreement, after US President Donald Trump said last week he had hope that a new US-backed proposal could lead to a deal. Trump met on Monday evening with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who floated plans - vehemently opposed by all major Palestinian groups - for some of Gaza's residents to be relocated abroad. The Israeli leader also presented Trump with a letter nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. A Qatari spokesperson, Majed Al Ansari, said on Tuesday that Qatari and Egyptian mediators were not yet discussing a final ceasefire deal, but still seeking agreement on a framework of principles that would lead to more detailed talks. "Talks have not begun as of yet, but we are talking to both sides over that framework," Al Ansari said. "Both parties are still in Doha. So that's always a good sign." Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who played a major role in crafting the latest ceasefire proposal, will travel to Doha this week to join discussions there, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday. The proposal envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the war entirely. There was no immediate fresh readout on the talks from Hamas or Palestinian sources on Tuesday. Palestinian sources had said on Monday that progress had been held up by Israel's limits on allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israeli minister Zeev Elkin, who sits in Netanyahu's security cabinet, said that there was "a substantial chance" a ceasefire would be agreed. "Hamas wants to change a few central matters, it's not simple, but there is progress," he told Israel's public broadcaster Kan on Tuesday. Senior Israeli officials briefing journalists in Washington said it may take more than a few days to finalise agreements in Doha. Another Israeli official said progress had been made. In Gaza City, children walked through debris, where residents said an Israeli airstrike had hit overnight, with children among the casualties. The Israeli military did not immediately provide details on the target of the strike. "We hope that a ceasefire will be reached and that the massacres against the Palestinian people will stop," said Mohammed Joundiya, standing in the rubble left in the aftermath of the attack. At Israel's parliament in Jerusalem, former hostage Keith Siegel, who was released in February in a previous ceasefire, described the anguish of those held incommunicado for hundreds of days in Hamas captivity. "We have a window of opportunity to save lives," he said, "every minute is critical." Hamas has long demanded an end to the war before it would free remaining hostages; Israel has insisted it would not agree to end the fighting until all hostages are released and Hamas dismantled. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are believed to still be alive. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing around 1200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza. Israel's subsequent campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, displaced almost the entire population of more than two million people, sparked a humanitarian crisis in the enclave and left much of the territory in ruins. Israeli officials say that gaps can be bridged between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas at peace talks in Qatar, though it may take more than a few days to reach a deal to free hostages and halt fighting. Delegations from Israel and Hamas have been in Qatar since Sunday in a renewed push for an agreement, after US President Donald Trump said last week he had hope that a new US-backed proposal could lead to a deal. Trump met on Monday evening with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who floated plans - vehemently opposed by all major Palestinian groups - for some of Gaza's residents to be relocated abroad. The Israeli leader also presented Trump with a letter nominating him for the Nobel Peace Prize. A Qatari spokesperson, Majed Al Ansari, said on Tuesday that Qatari and Egyptian mediators were not yet discussing a final ceasefire deal, but still seeking agreement on a framework of principles that would lead to more detailed talks. "Talks have not begun as of yet, but we are talking to both sides over that framework," Al Ansari said. "Both parties are still in Doha. So that's always a good sign." Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff, who played a major role in crafting the latest ceasefire proposal, will travel to Doha this week to join discussions there, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Monday. The proposal envisages a phased release of hostages, Israeli troop withdrawals from parts of Gaza and discussions on ending the war entirely. There was no immediate fresh readout on the talks from Hamas or Palestinian sources on Tuesday. Palestinian sources had said on Monday that progress had been held up by Israel's limits on allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza. Israeli minister Zeev Elkin, who sits in Netanyahu's security cabinet, said that there was "a substantial chance" a ceasefire would be agreed. "Hamas wants to change a few central matters, it's not simple, but there is progress," he told Israel's public broadcaster Kan on Tuesday. Senior Israeli officials briefing journalists in Washington said it may take more than a few days to finalise agreements in Doha. Another Israeli official said progress had been made. In Gaza City, children walked through debris, where residents said an Israeli airstrike had hit overnight, with children among the casualties. The Israeli military did not immediately provide details on the target of the strike. "We hope that a ceasefire will be reached and that the massacres against the Palestinian people will stop," said Mohammed Joundiya, standing in the rubble left in the aftermath of the attack. At Israel's parliament in Jerusalem, former hostage Keith Siegel, who was released in February in a previous ceasefire, described the anguish of those held incommunicado for hundreds of days in Hamas captivity. "We have a window of opportunity to save lives," he said, "every minute is critical." Hamas has long demanded an end to the war before it would free remaining hostages; Israel has insisted it would not agree to end the fighting until all hostages are released and Hamas dismantled. At least 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are believed to still be alive. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing around 1200 people and taking 251 hostages into Gaza. Israel's subsequent campaign against Hamas in Gaza has since killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, displaced almost the entire population of more than two million people, sparked a humanitarian crisis in the enclave and left much of the territory in ruins.
