Latest news with #MaxChandler-Mather
Perth Now
14 hours ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Political leaders return to parliamentary battlefield
Pomp and ceremony out of the way, federal politicians will get back to work as parliamentary business resumes. The 48th parliament officially opened with a day of pageantry, which included a traditional church service and smoking ceremony before politicians were sworn in. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley will square off in parliament as rival party leaders for the first time on Wednesday. Education Minister Jason Clare will deliver on Labor's election promise by introducing legislation to the lower house to slash university debt for three million Australians by 20 per cent. The coalition is expected to support the move which will wipe $16 billion off student debt but is waiting to see the fine print. People with an average HELP debt of $27,600 will have $5520 wiped from their loans. The government has also said it will this week introduce childcare reform aimed at improving safety measures. Labor returns to parliament with a lion's share of 94 seats, to the coalition's 43 in the lower house. Melbourne MP Sarah Witty, who defeated former Greens leader Adam Bandt at the election, gave a heartfelt first speech to parliament on Tuesday evening. She tearfully spoke of enduring "heartache after heartache" for more than a decade after experiencing pregnancy loss. "We grieve deeply," she said. "I opened myself to a new path. I stepped into the world of foster care, not out of ease, but out of a deep need to turn my pain into something positive." Ms Witty said her experience taking care of children in need would shape her approach as an elected parliamentarian. Griffith MP Renee Coffey, who wrested back Kevin Rudd's old seat for Labor from the Greens, spoke of the kindness former rival Max Chandler-Mather had shown her following a confronting interaction with a voter. "On election day, I was stunned when a voter told me he couldn't possibly vote for me because I have MS and he couldn't be represented in parliament by someone who could be in a wheelchair," she said. "It knocked the wind out of me. In a strange turn of fate, it was the then-member for Griffith, Max Chandler-Mather, who saw me step away from that interaction. "And the kind words of support he offered me, I will never forget."
Sydney Morning Herald
01-07-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Mehreen Faruqi keeping mum after offloading landholding in Lahore
Much to the delight of Labor hacks, the Greens party room contains more than a few landlords, with their number only strengthened after voters purged the rabid renter Max Chandler-Mather from parliament. Now comes the news that NSW senator and deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi, once owner of four properties, appears to be whittling down her portfolio. CBD brought word last year that Faruqi had sold a four bedder in Port Macquarie for $920,000, taking home a tidy profit after nixing plans to bulldoze native trees and build two townhouses on the land. Now, according to parliamentary disclosures, Faruqi appears to be parting with a parcel of land in her home city of Lahore, Pakistan, where she grew up before migrating to Australia in the 1990s. The senator has held the 500-square-metre land holding since before she entered federal parliament back in 2018, after a five-year stint in the NSW upper house. And the reason for the sale? The good senator and her team didn't enlighten us. But Faruqi's Pakistani roots have long made her a target for all manner of nasty commentary. Last year, the Federal Court ruled that One Nation leader Pauline Hanson had racially vilified Faruqi in a tweet telling her senate colleague to 'go back to Pakistan'. No doubt such nastiness would've escalated had Faruqi replaced Adam Bandt as Greens leader. Instead, Larissa Waters ran unopposed, and in the race to be deputy, Faruqi beat Dorinda Cox, who promptly defected to Labor. Waters, for what it's worth, owns just one residential property in Brisbane. What Zoe did next As the political flotsam and jetsam continues to wash up following federal election '25, and long-standing staffers bail out of Canberra, the nation's former MPs have been contemplating their futures.
Sky News AU
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Unseated Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather rips into Prime Minister Anthony Albanese after scathing ‘attack'
Max Chandler-Mather has hit back at Anthony Albanese in an ongoing war of words, after the Prime Minister hit out at the unseated Greens MP's 'offensive' behaviour in parliament. Unseated Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather has hit back at Anthony Albanese after the Prime Minister's scathing remarks about his behaviour in parliament. Mr Chandler-Mather lost his inner-city Brisbane seat of Griffith to Labor's Renee Coffey at the federal election on Saturday, with Sky News also calling Greens leader Adam Bandt's loss in his seat of Melbourne. In a sit-down interview with ABC's 7:30 on Wednesday, Mr Albanese commented on remarks made by Mr Chandler-Mather, who had deemed Parliament a 'sick' and 'miserable' place, declaring he was happy to not be working there anymore. — Max Chandler-Mather (@MChandlerMather) May 7, 2025 The Prime Minister said the outgoing Greens MP needed a 'mirror and a reflection on why he's no longer in parliament', stating the remarks were 'a bit rich of him' after being ousted by his electorate after just one term. Following the Prime Minister's 'attack', Mr Chandler-Mather hit back on social media, arguing the Prime Minister's words were a reflection of a larger issue. 'I feel like the PM launching into another attack on someone who isn't even in parliament, rather than celebrating a historic win proves my point,' he posted to X. 'Which is this is how the political class treats ppl who fight for renters & real change.' He then urged his supporters to 'compare this to (Mr Albanese's) kind words for (Peter) Dutton'. In his original comments to Triple J's Hack after conceding, Mr Chandler-Mather had claimed the minor party was prone to getting 'attacked' because of proposed reforms for public housing and renters. "There were times when I was sitting in parliament and you'd watch both sides of politics team up to defend the stage three tax cuts,' he said. "Then we were getting attacked because we said we should spend a bit more on public housing and give something for renters.' Mr Albanese told ABC host Sarah Ferguson Mr Chandler-Mather should examine the way he conducted himself in Question Time, after directing questions at him that the Prime Minister had 'found pretty offensive'. The Prime Minister also hit out at Greens leader Adam Bandt, claiming his former seat of Melbourne was "very much under a cloud", and stated it was "very difficult to see a pathway in which he will resume his seat in Parliament". While the Greens are on track to lose three of their four seats in this election, including the electorate of Brisbane - which was also picked up by Labor - Sky News projected on Thursday morning the minor party would keep the seat of Ryan. Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi declared that despite projections, the party was still hopeful of Mr Bandt retaining the seat of Melbourne. "As many as 15,000 absentee and declaration votes that have yet to be sorted and counted," she told ABC's Radio National on Thursday morning. "And often those votes have a swing towards the Greens, so we are waiting for all those votes to be counted, to declare the result."
Sydney Morning Herald
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Bandt clings to Melbourne seat as members internally clash on party direction
The Greens are blaming the loss of at least two lower house seats on inconsistent and confusing messaging during the campaign, and members are debating whether the party should double down on its emphasis on the war in Gaza. The party's leader, Adam Bandt, looks set to maintain his position despite a 5.4 per cent swing to Labor in his seat, as the party reckons with the 'devastating' losses of firebrand Griffith MP Max Chandler-Mather and his Brisbane colleague Stephen Bates. The Greens still hope to retain the Queensland seat of Ryan, held by Elizabeth Watson-Brown who is in a complex three-horse race with the Liberals and Labor. Melbourne's progressive inner-north seat of Wills, where former state Greens leader Samantha Ratnam is attempting to unseat Labor's Peter Khalil, is still too close to call, disappointing party strategists who hoped an advantageous redistribution would hand them a seat they have been trying to win for over a decade. One source told this masthead that the possibility of winning at least three to five extra Senate seats was proof the minor party just needs to better define itself and advocate more on climate, Israel-Palestine and housing. 'There was inconsistent and confused messaging from within the party and it stemmed from a disagreement between those who wanted a more moderate approach and those who wanted to be bolder,' they said. 'We need to be bolder, we need to be seen as an alternative.' However, another source argued the opposite. '[We got] sucked into the culture wars, and when you do that, you don't win – you have to help people at the local level. You saw it in Brisbane and Griffiths in 2022,' they said.
The Age
04-05-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Bandt clings to Melbourne seat as members internally clash on party direction
The Greens are blaming the loss of at least two lower house seats on inconsistent and confusing messaging during the campaign, and members are debating whether the party should double down on its emphasis on the war in Gaza. The party's leader, Adam Bandt, looks set to maintain his position despite a 5.4 per cent swing to Labor in his seat, as the party reckons with the 'devastating' losses of firebrand Griffith MP Max Chandler-Mather and his Brisbane colleague Stephen Bates. The Greens still hope to retain the Queensland seat of Ryan, held by Elizabeth Watson-Brown who is in a complex three-horse race with the Liberals and Labor. Melbourne's progressive inner-north seat of Wills, where former state Greens leader Samantha Ratnam is attempting to unseat Labor's Peter Khalil, is still too close to call, disappointing party strategists who hoped an advantageous redistribution would hand them a seat they have been trying to win for over a decade. One source told this masthead that the possibility of winning at least three to five extra Senate seats was proof the minor party just needs to better define itself and advocate more on climate, Israel-Palestine and housing. 'There was inconsistent and confused messaging from within the party and it stemmed from a disagreement between those who wanted a more moderate approach and those who wanted to be bolder,' they said. 'We need to be bolder, we need to be seen as an alternative.' However, another source argued the opposite. '[We got] sucked into the culture wars, and when you do that, you don't win – you have to help people at the local level. You saw it in Brisbane and Griffiths in 2022,' they said.
