Latest news with #EdHusic
AU Financial Review
2 days ago
- Politics
- AU Financial Review
Parliament Day 1 was touching and funny. Enjoy it while it lasts
The pomp and ceremony of the opening of the 48th Parliament on Tuesday was full of contrasting moments. Some were symbolically important, like Victorian Labor MP Josh Burns and NSW Labor MP Ed Husic being sworn in together, the first on the Torah and the second on the Koran.
AU Financial Review
11-07-2025
- Politics
- AU Financial Review
Husic urges digital crackdown on hate speech
The former industry minister Ed Husic has urged the Albanese government to crack down on digital platforms by increasing penalties for failing to fact-check posts and remove hate speech. After the release of antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal's report on Thursday, the Labor MP for Chifley urged a greater focus on the role of social media in hate speech including antisemitism and Islamophobia.
Daily Telegraph
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Telegraph
17 new Labor MPs prepare to enter Canberra next month. Here's who stood out
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News. As parliament prepares to return at the end of July, 17 enthusiastic new MPs will arrive in Canberra as the face of Labor's historic 94-seat victory at the federal election. The party is energised with the batch of new, younger talent with the hope of future prime ministers sitting among them. But Labor MPs recognise the influx of new blood comes with its own challenges: barefaced ambition that will demand the old guard move over and make room. 'We have won 94 seats, all roads lead to the Labor Party at this time,' one Labor MP said. 'But that has its own difficulties, they are all ambitious and want to have a go.' That ambition has already started bubbling away and was palpable when, just days on from Labor's historic win, long-term Labor figures Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and Industry Minister Ed Husic were dumped to make room for Sam Rae, elected in 2022, and Daniel Mulino, elected in 2019. 'I think it's time for that … when you look at the front bench, many of them have been there for a long time,' the MP adds. Sam Rae. Picture: Newswire/Nicki Connolly Dr Daniel Mulino. Picture: David Clark Already party insiders are singling out members of the class of 2025 as those with cabinet minister – or even treasurer and prime ministerial – potential over those who would be excellent local MPs but have a 'ceiling'. Among the names that did stand out was former Tasmanian Labor leader Rebecca White, who retained the seat of Lyons after sitting Labor MP Brian Mitchell retired. White, a seasoned political operative who led the Tasmanian Labor Party from 2017 to 2024, was described by multiple sources as the likely future successor for Agriculture Minister Julie Collins. Collins also hails from Tasmania. Rebecca White, a seasoned political operative, stands out among the ALP's ministerial hopefuls. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones 'Given where we have come from in Tasmania, she would be well placed to be the lead Labor person out of Tasmania in the longer term,' another Labor MP said of White. 'I assume she will take over from Julie in the longer term.' The source points out that the party has had 'good people' from the island state but 'not people who are on the trajectory to become cabinet ministers' besides Collins. Confidence in White is high, with the MP predicting 'out of that group that got in 2025, she'd be the first to make cabinet.' A second source agreed Ms White was being primed as a future minister and that was evident in Anthony Albanese's decision to award her an assistant ministry in health and aged care, Indigenous health and women. Multiple Labor sources said Matt Smith had charisma that helped him stand out. Picture: Elodie Jakes The other name repeatedly raised was Leichhardt MP and former professional basketballer Matt Smith, who multiple sources said had charisma that helped him stand out. 'Matt Smith seems really great – he is a real potential minister,' one Labor MP said of the candidate who won the Queensland seat off retiring Liberal Warren Entsch. Queensland emerged as the state with the most promising talent, with eight new MPs, including Renee Coffey, Kara Cook and Julie-Ann Campbell. Cook had been Labor's only female Brisbane councillor and the party's deputy leader before winning the federal seat of Bonner. 'Kara is not new to politics so she'll start a little bit ahead of others,' one of her parliamentary colleagues said. Campbell would be a future Labor minister straight from central casting with her trade unionist and Queensland Labor Secretary history. 'Julie-Ann has had institutional experience, which does lead to you getting a pretty good sense of how everything works and managing large organisations,' a Labor colleague said. Potential stars, clockwise from top left, Renee Coffey, Kara Cook, Julie-Ann Campbell and Ali France. Unlike the other names, Coffey's CV is heavier on real-world experience as the chief executive of a mental health charity, but colleagues credit her with ministerial potential after she won the seat of Griffith from popular Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather. The same MP said: 'Her result was not an accident She is very, very smart.' A senior Labor source agreed the three MPs were standouts describing Campbell as a 'strong political campaigner' whose links to the Chinese community as a Chinese-Australia would help Labor's standing with multicultural voters. The source also pointed out Ali France, who has already made history by toppling Peter Dutton, as an 'obvious' standout. 'Ali France's dad was an MP so there are some strong political roots and smarts there. I would definitely rate her as a future minister,' they said. Victorian MP Gabriel Ng, who took Menzies from rising Liberal star Keith Wolahan in one of the biggest election shocks, was given an honourable mention as a strong performer. But the 2025 batch of minister hopefuls will have to wait their turn with class of 2022 MP Andrew Charlton and Mulino both being groomed for future leadership potential. Mulino is considered whip-smart, with a solid economic background and years behind him as a state MP, and has recently been elevated to assistant treasurer. One source predicted his next role will not be treasurer but he's certainly on the trajectory. Gabriel Ng. Picture: NewsWire/Martin Ollman Andrew Charlton. Picture: Supplied Charlton, who has been elevated to the role of cabinet secretary after just one term, has been given front-row access to seeing how leadership works. 'Charlton is a Rhodes scholar. He's one of the smartest people in the building and he's also really likeable,' a Labor MP said of the Parramatta MP and Kevin Rudd staffer. The new role exposes him to how the expenditure review committee works and how ministers fight it out for cash – compulsory learning for any ministerial aspirant. Do you have a story for The Telegraph? Message 0481 056 618 or email tips@
ABC News
03-06-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Labor's freedom in numbers is a double-edged sword on Gaza and Israel
In politics, it's not always those who sit opposite that you need to worry about. It's also those who sit behind you. As the Albanese government prepares to return to Parliament next month, it will sit across from a demoralised Coalition, which has spent the past couple of weeks breaking up and making up with all the drama of a high school couple. But perhaps posing more of a problem for Labor is a politician scorned. Dumped cabinet minister Ed Husic blamed Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles for his removal from cabinet, calling him a "factional assassin". But assassins are paid to kill and Husic's still kicking. The long-serving Labor MP wasted no time in saying the way power was wielded would repel people from the party, declaring former attorney-general Mark Dreyfus — a fellow victim of factional fighting — was denied dignity in the process. In dumping Husic from the ministry, the party has also liberated him from the shackles of cabinet solidarity that have seen him tread more carefully when speaking about the war in Gaza. No longer. Husic has been highly critical of the government for not doing enough to condemn Israel for withholding aid from Gaza. He said Australia "can and should be doing more" — from calling in the Israeli ambassador, to ramping up its contribution to the international humanitarian effort and imposing sanctions on Israel, beyond what's already been imposed on settlers in the West Bank. And while he noted Australia had signed a statement alongside several countries calling for the reinstatement of aid, he questioned why the government didn't "proudly" join the UK, Canada and France, saying they would take concrete actions if Israel didn't cease its renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid. There is also pressure within Labor's grassroots membership for the government to impose sanctions on Israeli individuals and groups, while former foreign ministers Gareth Evans and Bob Carr have also endorsed sanctions. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously said Australia is not a major player in the Middle East. But the impact of the war in Gaza is being felt acutely by people in Australia. Incidents of antisemitism and Islamophobia have risen, and Australians have also watched in horror as family members have been displaced or killed in the conflict. In trying to hold the middle ground on the Middle East, the government has often found itself disappointing all sides at home - those in support of Israel and those with anti-Zionist views, who feel let down by the government. And while Labor had a sweeping election victory, if you look under the hood of the results in western Sydney seats like Blaxland and Watson — where there are high concentrations of Arab-Australians — Labor's primary vote was down. Free from the constraints of an election campaign — and as images of burned, maimed and starving children, some crying and some simply too weak to — continue to be broadcast on people's screens, Albanese has toughened his rhetoric. Trying to allay the concerns of international allies, Israel has argued it would let a "basic amount of food" in for the Palestinian population. But Albanese said it was "outrageous" Israel was blocking food and supplies to people in need, while shrugging off calls for sanctions, saying the government would follow its own path. Australia will attend a United Nations-backed summit in New York this month, although at this stage it hasn't landed on who will go. The federal government's prevailing narrative is that Australia no longer sees recognition of a Palestinian state as occurring at the end of negotiations — but rather as a way of building momentum in the peace process. However, Labor has also been adamant there can be no role for Hamas in a future Palestinian state. Until the party lands on its next moves, they will have people within pushing for more to be done. As the prime minister fends off criticism from those now sitting much further back on the benches, the Greens have also had a blow from within. Having lost three seats in the lower house at the last election — including that of former leader Adam Bandt — it's now also lost a Senate seat. But this time, it had nothing to do with the voting public. Greens senator Dorinda Cox has defected to sit with the Labor party, saying her values align more closely with them. It's a curious statement, given just days ago she criticised Labor's approval of Woodside's expansion of the North West Shelf gas project out to 2070. But the senator had run unsuccessfully for the Greens deputy leadership in the wake of the election, and was facing the prospect of losing the number one spot on the Greens' WA senate ticket. Like many relationship break-ups, this split comes with baggage. Labor is taking on a senator who has also been accused of bullying a number of office staff, allegations she has denied and criticised as "missing context". But in turn the party gains a senator and punishes a party which the prime minister has declared has "lost their way." The last parliament saw numerous defections: Liberals and Nationals quit to sit as independents. Lidia Thorpe quit the Greens over the Voice, and Fatima Payman resigned from the Labor party over the party's position on the Gaza conflict. When Payman quit the party to sit as an independent, the prime minister suggested she should end her six-year term — "gifted" under Labor — and recontest the next federal election as an independent. However, presented with the opportunity to gain a number rather than lose one, Anthony Albanese said Cox would serve out the remainder of her term with Labor, noting she will have to be pre-selected through ALP processes to run for the next election. Nationals Senator Matt Canavan has described the Senate as a "political merry-go-round". And especially given the election was mere weeks ago — it begs the question: is it democratic for politicians, having been elected as a member of one party, to leave for another? There's currently no federal legislation in Australia that specifically addresses defections — only deaths and resignations — and experts have suggested punishing defectors could raise constitutional issues, and reduce stability and accountability in the Parliament. So while defections frustrate the public, they're a feature of the Australian parliament that isn't likely to go away. With an additional number in their ranks, the change is undoubtedly a morale boost for Labor, but practically it doesn't change the composition of the upper house dramatically. Labor still needs the Greens or the Coalition to pass legislation there, although this shift means that if the pair want to join forces to block government legislation, they'll need another number from the crossbench. Albanese will enter the first parliamentary sitting of the new government with calls to use his increased majority in the House to tackle more ambitious agenda items. Before the election, most in Labor were willing to swallow their concerns because of fears disunity would mean political death. But in the wake of a victory few saw coming, the enormous majority also comes with a downside for the PM. It means there are now more backbenchers to get on board, and more Labor MPs who could speak out if Albanese isn't able to land on a position everyone in the backbench is satisfied with.
AU Financial Review
03-06-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
Minimum wage to rise; ‘Fix Swiss cheese AI rules'; TACO trade danger
Want to get this in your inbox at lunchtime every weekday? Financial Review subscribers can sign up for The Brief newsletter here. Plus start your day with our Before the Bell newsletter and read a full wrap of the day's news in Market Wrap. In today's news, the minimum wage will rise 3.5 per cent, Ed Husic tells the AFR AI Summit that 'Swiss cheese' rules must be fixed, and Donald Trump could still make markets choke on TACO trades.
