Latest news with #AdamBandt
SBS Australia
20 hours ago
- Business
- SBS Australia
Parliament is back. Here's what the parties have on their agenda
Labor's honeymoon period continues this week as a large cohort of new politicians joins the 48th parliament, ready to implement the mandate Australians voted for. Tuesday will largely be ceremonial before parliament resumes on Wednesday, and with it, a marathon of first speeches across several days, with 40 new senators and MPs to be sworn in. With an increased majority, holding 94 of 150 lower house seats, Labor will have 24 new MPs deliver their opening addresses. Newly elected federal MPs will be sworn in this week after a training session learning about their new roles. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch First up will be "leader slayers" Ali France and Sarah Witty, who ousted former Liberal leader Peter Dutton and former Greens leader Adam Bandt, respectively. Amid the formalities, the re-elected government now faces pressure to deliver the priorities it set out during the election. All eyes will also be on Question Time as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese adjusts to a new opponent in the House of Representatives chamber, with Liberal leader Sussan Ley taking her place across from him. So what can we expect from the major parties? LABOR The Albanese government has made its first sitting fortnight agenda clear: wiping student debt, increasing safety measures for children in childcare and protecting penalty rates. Labor will introduce a bill cutting student debt by 20 per cent retrospectively from 1 June, slashing roughly $16 billion from balances, amid wider reforms to the repayment system. The legislation should be passed quickly, breezing through the lower house where Labor holds a majority, and the upper house, where the Greens are expected to vote for the changes. Speaking to Labor Party caucus on Monday, Albanese said he hopes to "restore confidence in a system in which we should be confident caring for our vulnerable little ones". The Albanese government has vowed to strengthen protections, increase fines for poor quality operators and establish an independent regulator as part of the childcare centre reforms. THE COALITION After a short-lived split in May, the Liberal and National parties are adamant that they are back together, united and ready to hold Labor accountable with a strong opposition. New Liberal leader Sussan Ley sought to boost morale on Monday after May's election loss, firing up the Opposition caucus with vows not to "get out" of Labor's way. "Mr Albanese is giving interviews and suggesting we should just get out of the way. We will not," Ley said. Liberal leader Sussan Ley says the Coalition is ready to work hard for the millions of Australians that voted for them. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas She singled out cost-of-living relief as a key issue to prosecute, as well as fighting against raising taxes , after ABC reported leaked documents show Treasury advised the government to raise taxes and cut spending after the election. "I have not met a single Australian who wants to pay more tax, who thinks they are paying not enough tax," she said. "What I do know is that every single Australian expects this government to minimise their tax bill, to work hard for them and to make sure that they run a responsible budget with responsible economic management across the country." While the Opposition's policies are still under review following the election, education spokesperson Jonathan Duniam conceded the pitch to cut international student numbers by 80,000 "wasn't as constructive as it could have otherwise been". "I think we need to have a proper and open discussion with both the university sector and the community more broadly about how we can approach this," he told ABC's Insiders program on Sunday. THE GREENS With the balance of power in the Senate, the Greens will be crucial to Labor passing its agenda. Senator Jordon Steele John has indicated the party may use the power to pressure Labor to review policies, like adding dental to Medicare. While points of contention remain unclear, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young stressed the party will be "constructive" as it scrutinises the bills introduced to parliament. "They don't have the numbers in the Senate, and that is because the Australian people want to make sure the Senate is a backstop for them, an insurance for them," she told reporters on Monday. "And the Greens take that responsibility very, very seriously."
Sydney Morning Herald
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Former Greens leader Adam Bandt's new gig revealed
Former Greens leader Adam Bandt is not resting on his laurels. Persistent speculation says Bandt is heading to the Australian Conservation Foundation, which sounds like a great fit. But so far, it is back to the future for the ex-Greens leader, who led the party to unprecedented lower house success in 2022 before it lost three seats – including his own – at the federal election on May 3. CBD hears Bandt is working for the United Firefighters Union (UFU), a Labor-aligned union, where an old mate and client, Peter Marshall, presides as secretary. Bandt has been spotted attending the office from time to time in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, in his old federal seat of Melbourne. Pre-parliament, Bandt was an industrial relations and public interest barrister and solicitor and worked protecting the rights of coal miners in the La Trobe Valley after power station privatisation. He has represented the UFU before, which often clashes with Labor governments, something Bandt definitely vibes with. Loading The firebrand union last put its head above the parapet when it challenged the Victorian state government's plan to increase its fire services levy and convert it into an Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund. Marshall also attacked the federal government's demerger plans for the CFMEU after this masthead's Building Bad series revealed corruption and links with bikies. Bandt also attacked the legislation. The association is longstanding. The UFU backed Bandt in the 2010 election for Melbourne when he took the seat off Labor, and several times since. Bandt was elected five times before losing his seat to Labor this year in a shock turn of events the ALP didn't see coming. And neither did Bandt.
Daily Telegraph
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Telegraph
Abbie Chatfield addresses federal election controversy and Anthony Albanese posts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Celebrity Life. Followed categories will be added to My News. Abbie Chatfield has addressed the controversies that erupted following her decision to speak out ahead of this year's federal election — and how she is 'often a scapegoat' to the 'demeaning' and 'deeply damaging' effects of being targeted by fellow feminists and far-right trolls. Chatfield used her platform to speak out about politics and the recent federal election in May. An Australian Electoral Commission inquiry was raised after collaborative social media posts between Chatfield and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, as well as former Greens leader Adam Bandt, were queried by Liberal Senator Jane Hume. The AEC ultimately concluded that Chatfield's posts did not require authorisation under electoral law. Listen to the full interview with Abbie Chatfield on Something To Talk About: Speaking to the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About, Chatfield said: 'The AEC stuff was a whole other level of, I believe, discrediting smaller voices, but also discrediting outspoken young women'. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar Abbie Chatfield is on the cover of today's Stellar. Picture: Steven Chee for Stellar 'It seems that when women do more than one thing, they're deemed as inept at all the things they do,' Chatfield told Something To Talk About, in a new episode released today. 'But when men do more than one thing it's like, wow, he's a footy player and he can read an autocue. 'The AEC thing made me feel really targeted. I feel I'm often a scapegoat because of how the media portrays me as being the spokesperson on things, and they go, 'Oh, she's talking again…'' Chatfield also addressed recent criticisms lobbed at her by prominent writer and feminist Clementine Ford, who accused her of 'profiting from the performance of being politically engaged' following an interview that Chatfield conducted with Albanese on her podcast. Abbie Chatfield has addressed her recent controversies in a new interview with Stellar. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Clark 'I feel like I'm in the middle of stories like that all the time. So it's kind of, unfortunately, my norm,' Chatfield told Something To Talk About. 'But it's never enjoyable or pleasant. This idea that because I'm not doing things perfectly, that I'm an idiotic narcissist, I don't know anything, I'm brain dead, I'm a deeply basic thinker – they're just insults. 'It's not actually critiquing my work. For more from Abbie Chatfield, listen to the full interview on Something To Talk About: 'It was really hurtful because then after that, the right-wing comments came in saying, 'Nothing better than a cat fight. Two feminists fighting. You can't even agree with each other!' 'And it's very demeaning. And that isn't Clementine's fault, but it is something that she should have considered, and that I have considered when I haven't called her out for things that I would say are deeply damaging.' In the Stellar cover story and podcast episode released today, Chatfield also opens up about her personal life and relationship with boyfriend Adam Hyde, and why she is in a better place when it comes to her life outside of work She issues a warning to women, saying they 'shouldn't date Trump supporters'. Listen to the full interview with Abbie Chatfield on Something To Talk About now, and watch it here. See the cover shoot with Abbie Chatfield in today's Stellar via The Sunday Telegraph (NSW), Sunday Herald Sun (VIC), The Sunday Mail (QLD) and Sunday Mail (SA). For more from Stellar, click here. Originally published as 'Beyond sick of it': Abbie Chatfield fires back at critics
News.com.au
07-06-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
‘Beyond sick of it': Abbie Chatfield fires back at critics
Abbie Chatfield has addressed the controversies that erupted following her decision to speak out ahead of this year's federal election — and how she is 'often a scapegoat' to the 'demeaning' and 'deeply damaging' effects of being targeted by fellow feminists and far-right trolls. Chatfield used her platform to speak out about politics and the recent federal election in May. An Australian Electoral Commission inquiry was raised after collaborative social media posts between Chatfield and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, as well as former Greens leader Adam Bandt, were queried by Liberal Senator Jane Hume. The AEC ultimately concluded that Chatfield's posts did not require authorisation under electoral law. Listen to the full interview with Abbie Chatfield on Something To Talk About: Speaking to the Stellar podcast, Something To Talk About, Chatfield said: 'The AEC stuff was a whole other level of, I believe, discrediting smaller voices, but also discrediting outspoken young women'. 'It seems that when women do more than one thing, they're deemed as inept at all the things they do,' Chatfield told Something To Talk About, in a new episode released today. 'But when men do more than one thing it's like, wow, he's a footy player and he can read an autocue. 'The AEC thing made me feel really targeted. I feel I'm often a scapegoat because of how the media portrays me as being the spokesperson on things, and they go, 'Oh, she's talking again…'' Chatfield also addressed recent criticisms lobbed at her by prominent writer and feminist Clementine Ford, who accused her of 'profiting from the performance of being politically engaged' following an interview that Chatfield conducted with Albanese on her podcast. 'I feel like I'm in the middle of stories like that all the time. So it's kind of, unfortunately, my norm,' Chatfield told Something To Talk About. 'But it's never enjoyable or pleasant. This idea that because I'm not doing things perfectly, that I'm an idiotic narcissist, I don't know anything, I'm brain dead, I'm a deeply basic thinker – they're just insults. 'It's not actually critiquing my work. For more from Abbie Chatfield, listen to the full interview on Something To Talk About: 'It was really hurtful because then after that, the right-wing comments came in saying, 'Nothing better than a cat fight. Two feminists fighting. You can't even agree with each other!' 'And it's very demeaning. And that isn't Clementine's fault, but it is something that she should have considered, and that I have considered when I haven't called her out for things that I would say are deeply damaging.' In the Stellar cover story and podcast episode released today, Chatfield also opens up about her personal life and relationship with boyfriend Adam Hyde, and why she is in a better place when it comes to her life outside of work She issues a warning to women, saying they 'shouldn't date Trump supporters'.
The Guardian
03-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Dorinda Cox's switch to Labor shows how Albanese has reshaped Australian politics
Not content with turfing rising star Greens out of their Queensland stronghold, and unseating party leader Adam Bandt for good measure, Anthony Albanese is now thinning the numbers of his political rival just by picking up the phone. Dorinda Cox's defection to Labor is the latest extraordinary shockwave emanating from Albanese's crushing election win 31 days ago. Albanese, who has always said his door is open to anyone willing to cooperate, now has proof sitting in his own caucus room: a prominent and substantial senator, in Labor's strongest state, who left their bitter rival to work with the government instead. Cox's surprise switch on Monday rattled former Greens colleagues. Some are livid she waited until after the North-West Shelf gas project was provisionally approved by the environment minister (and now Cox's colleague), Murray Watt. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Some in Labor called Fatima Payman a 'rat' for quitting their party to sit on the crossbench, and demanded she return her seat to the party; some Greens sources are privately just as scathing of Cox's move, but are unlikely at this stage to publicly call for her seat back. Labor, who have just added one extra number to their upper house total, are suddenly fine with senators switching allegiances. Cox said she'd realised her values meshed better with Labor, having recently 'lost some confidence' in the Greens. 'What you can't do from the crossbench is make change. And being in the government and alongside the wonderful team that the prime minister has, you are able to make change,' Cox said, standing alongside Albanese in Perth. What went unsaid by Cox, but was shared by Greens sources, was that Cox had lost some support inside the WA Greens, and may have struggled to win preselection for the 2028 election. Labor and Greens sources say she was disappointed at being unsuccessful in a party leadership ballot; Sky News reported Cox was unhappy with the direction of the Greens. And while Albanese said Cox had 'approached us recently' and they'd only spoken at length 'in recent days', Guardian Australia understands the seeds for the move had been planted potentially months – or more – ago. That's a timeline more in line with Cox saying she'd given 'deep and careful reflection' to switching. Cox's long-running disagreement with members of the 'Blak Greens', the party's internal Indigenous advisory body which opposed her holding the First Nations portfolio, have been well ventilated. Her strong support for the Indigenous voice referendum contrasted with the lukewarm campaign efforts of some others inside the Greens. Some in Labor said they weren't surprised at the move, and warmly welcomed Cox. Several sources gave Albanese all the credit for pulling off the unexpected switch, but said Cox had long enjoyed strong working relationships and friendships with some in the Labor caucus, and that her approach – more pragmatic and practical than some in the Greens – would be at home and supported inside the government. One senior Indigenous leader said Cox would be an asset to Labor's First Nations caucus. Senator Jana Stewart had notably given Cox public support in 2023 during the former Green's disagreements with Lidia Thorpe. But there are many reasons Cox may have wanted to leave the Greens, it's interesting that Albanese welcomed her in when he didn't have to. Cox's history in parliament around her alleged mistreatment of staff, and her comments critical of the government, invite some tricky questions that Albanese's team never otherwise would have had to answer. But with the prime minister's political authority and momentum at an all-time high, grabbing another Senate seat can't hurt. There's also a symbolic value for Labor: with record numbers of Australians voting for independent or minor parties, here's an example of a prominent parliamentarian going the other way, saying she wants to affect change by joining the party of government and leaving behind a protest movement. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion While Cox boosting Labor's Senate numbers from 28 to 29 in the 76-seat chamber doesn't massively change the government's pathway to passing legislation – with convincing the Greens or the Coalition their most likely ways forward – it does throw up two interesting parliamentary situations. With the Greens and Coalition combined now at 37, it means Labor's main opposition – who Albanese derisively calls the 'No-alition' – can't block legislation on their own, which requires 38 votes. Cox's vote also makes slightly easier a very unlikely scenario where Labor could nickel-and-dime their way to winning over most of the diverse crossbench to pass bills if the Coalition and Greens won't play ball. That fantasy football scenario of convincing most of David Pocock, Jacqui Lambie, the four One Nation votes, Tammy Tyrrell, Thorpe, Fatima Payman and Ralph Babet to agree on a Labor bill is somewhat unlikely – but Cox's extra number makes that option just a little simpler. Exactly a month on from the 3 May election, it's important to reflect on how massively Labor's election win reshaped the battle lines of Australian politics. Albanese's huge parliamentary majority, the biggest caucus in Labor history, is the most obvious; then there's the ejection of party leaders Bandt and Peter Dutton; the consigning of the Coalition to bit players in this term, now essentially a regional rump all-but banished from the cities, not much bigger than the motley crossbench. There's the internal chaos it caused inside the Coalition, the short-lived Liberal-National divorce and the leadership questions about Sussan Ley and David Littleproud. And now the Greens, a partyroom which has now lost four seats to Labor (Bandt, Max Chandler-Mather and Stephen Bates via the ballot box, and Cox via defection). But despite a crushing majority in the lower house, Albanese has downplayed prospects of setting out a more bold or progressive agenda than they took to the election. The addition of Cox to the government partyroom, a senator who has publicly urged the government to set a more environmentally friendly direction on fossil fuels and be bolder on Indigenous reconciliation after the voice referendum, raises interesting questions about where Labor may go on those key questions which are totemic to their progressive base – but not exactly vote winners in mainstream Australia. While Albanese had downplayed the prospect of a Makarrata commission as envisaged in the Uluru statement from the heart, Indigenous Australians minister Malarndirri McCarthy last week signalled openness to truth and treaty processes in this term, telling the ABC: 'I am very much open to listening to what people have to say.' Interestingly, Cox still has a private senator's bill in the parliament for a Greens-backed truth and justice commission. 'At its core, the commission is intended to facilitate the kind of truth-telling that will advance the human rights of First Nations people,' the bill's explanatory memorandum reads. Whether Cox will continue that advocacy inside the tent, and whether Labor entertains those pathways forward, will be the next interesting chapter in this story.
