Latest news with #McCormack
Perth Now
19 hours ago
- Business
- Perth Now
‘Fiery': Excuse for comments dividing Nats
Nationals senator Ross Cadell says his party wasn't consulted before Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack publicly undermined party leader David Littleproud. Mr Littleproud has faced mounting leadership pressure from within his party since he briefly divorced the Nationals from their long-time Liberal partners back in May over four demands that newly elected Opposition Leader Sussan ley could not promise would be met. Coalition leaders David Littleproud and Sussan Ley have trodden along rocky ground over the past three months. Supplied Credit: NewsWire Mr Littleproud demanded the Libs maintain their support for nuclear energy and a $20bn regional future fund, force the divestiture of supermarkets, and ensure mobile phone coverage was reliable across regional Australia. The Nationals and Libs eventually made up just seven days later in a move that was internally described at the time by a party source as a 'train wreck'. Since then, the Nationals have been battling to maintain an image that resembles party solidarity – but comments by once-bitter rivals Mr Joyce and Mr McCormack in The Australian have reopened the party's barely healed wounds just in time for parliament's first sitting week. David Littleproud is facing a crisis of confidence from his backbenchers as parliament resumes. NewsWire / Gary Ramage Credit: News Corp Australia Mr McCormack and Mr Joyce directed most of their frustration towards Mr Littleproud over his choice to relegate them to the backbench – a move they feel gives them less sway in conversations around energy policy. The member for New England said it was not uncommon for him to 'lose his sh*t' over wind farm developments, and Mr McCormack believes renewables companies are 'dividing families' by trying to attract local support for large-scale wind and solar projects. Mr Joyce also drummed up support for Mr McCormack to replace Mr Littleproud as leader after the Coalition's election disaster. Mr McCormack has not ruled out running for the job in future. According to The Australian, Mr McCormack said Mr Littleproud was 'the leader, and I'm ambitious for him' – a line that was infamously deployed by Scott Morrison barely 24 hours before he usurped Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister in 2018 and one that Mr McCormack has directed towards his embattled party leader once before. Senator Ross Cadell was asked whether Mr McCormack and Mr Joyce were 'throwing a bucket' on Mr Littleproud's leadership while speaking from Canberra on Wednesday 'Ah, we're Nats, we're a bit fiery, it all happens. I'd prefer it didn't happen, but that's the way they want to do it,' he said. Michael McCormack believes the week-long Coalition split was 'madness'. NewsWire / Gary Ramage Credit: News Corp Australia 'If they want to go out and (say) those things publicly, they can. Internally, we've had a party room, it didn't come up there. I think it was more a public facing thing than an internal problem.' Despite the apparent chaos, Senator Cadell was still enthusiastic about 'going through the process' of figuring out the best path forward for net zero – a commitment that Mr Joyce and Mr McCormack both wish to abandon. Barnaby Joyce said 'could understand why' he was booted to the backbench. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia 'We're going to take a slower process, get through it … there's a lot of people out there who want to grab headlines (and) there's people out there who want to do the work; each to their own,' he told ABC News Breakfast. 'I want to go through the process, I am open to looking at the evidence.' Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said Mr Joyce and Mr McCormack were 'good at speaking up for themselves,' and she would 'let them do that'. 'Nobody is getting under my skin … all my colleagues are valued. I have friendships across the aisle,' she said. 'We know that between the aisle we can form that strong opposition that holds the government to account, and that's the most important thing for all of us.'
Global News
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Global News
Report on Medicine Hat city council finds dysfunction, rancour, culture of fear
A new report commissioned by the Alberta government says the City of Medicine Hat has been hobbled for years by a hostile dysfunctional city hall and something must be done. 'The governance function of the city is ineffective and is characterized by rancour, suspicion and accusations,' stated the report, authored by Ian McCormack and released by the Alberta government on Monday. McCormack said the southern Alberta city of just under 65,500 people has been managed in an 'irregular, improper and improvident manner' but said residents are still 'by and large' getting the services they need. McCormack issued close to 70 recommendations to put council back on course. The report came at the request of councillors in the city and was presented to them by McCormack at a meeting Monday. Story continues below advertisement The report says council and city staff have been operating under an 'increasingly turbulent and suspicion-filled' work environment since tensions boiled over in a public debate between the mayor and city manager two years ago. He said that tensions among the city manager, the mayor and some members of council have created an 'untenable working environment.' The report is more than 200 pages based on interviews with about two dozen councillors and staff, along with document gathering and research. It documents allegations of information leaks, complaints of councillors overstepping their roles, disagreements over whether or not they should dine together at public events, and in some cases, a 'culture of fear' at city hall. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The inspection recommends updating procedures, clarifying roles and responsibilities, and boosting governance training for councillors. It cautions that the 'adversarial' relationship among councillors and between council and staff could have a long-term effect on the city. That may make problems recruiting and retaining good staff even worse, it says. View image in full screen Medicine Hat Mayor Linnsie Clark shakes hands with supporters following an announcement saying she will be pursuing legal action following council voting to strip her of her powers of mayor. It also singles out Mayor Linnsie Clark with several of its recommendations, calling on her to refrain from 'debate that calls the professionalism of city staff into question,' and urges that she 'avail herself of training' to learn how to show up for meetings on time. Story continues below advertisement Last year, code of conduct allegations led to Clark being stripped of certain duties and part of her salary. Later, a court decision restored her pay and most of the powers she had lost. In the meeting Monday discussing the report, several councillors welcomed it as thorough and constructive. However, Clark pushed back, saying the report relied on cherry-picked information and too many anonymous testimonials. That, she said, didn't give her an appropriate opportunity to respond to defamatory innuendo. 'I feel a lack of procedural fairness,' said Clark. 'I will have further written comments, but overall, I'm not super stoked about the content.' 1:31 Medicine Hat mayor pursues legal action following council's decision to strip her powers McCormack told council he didn't see the benefit in attributing every individual comment. 'We were looking for something that was thematic,' he said. Story continues below advertisement Municipalities across the province are set to hold elections on Oct. 20, and none of the current members of Medicine Hat's council are registered to run as candidates, according to the city's website as of Tuesday. Alberta's Municipal Affairs Minister Dan Williams has ordered Medicine Hat city council to report back to him by Oct. 1 on how it plans to respond to the recommendations. In a ministerial order, Williams also directed council and staff at the city to undergo a respectful workplace training program approved by him. In a statement, Williams said the directions 'will lead to improved collaboration at the municipal level and a stronger future for everyone in Medicine Hat.'
Sky News AU
a day ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Michael McCormack to back Barnaby Joyce's bill to dump emission reduction targets and won't rule out leadership challenge
Michael McCormack has revealed he will back Barnaby Joyce's bill to axe emission reduction targets and denied ruling out a leadership tilt against David Littleproud. The issue of emission reduction targets has become a contentious sticking point within the Coalition, with policy disagreements on the matter spurring the Nationals to briefly depart its decade-long political partnership with the Liberals in late May. Liberal leader Sussan Ley in an attempt to modernise the party's brand has hailed 'reducing emissions' as a crucial policy aim despite her country counterparts repeatedly speaking out against the policy. The issue once again ignited on Monday, with veteran Nationals MP and former party leader Barnaby Joyce insisting the Coalition needed to scrap it's position on clean energy targets. Michael McCormack has declared he will support Barnaby Joyce's private member's bill to dump net zero. Picture: NCA/Martin Ollman However, in a major development, Mr McCormack, who convinced the Nationals to support then-prime minister Scott Morrison's clean energy targets in 2021, declared that he would be officially supporting Mr Joyce's private members bill to overhaul Australia's net zero commitments. Mr Joyce has been a long-time critic of renewable energy targets and has vowed to table legislation in the new parliamentary term to abolish the government's net zero deadlines. The move would serve as a significant blow to Ms Ley's leadership. In an interview with The Australian, Mr McCormack said the policy was resoundingly opposed by the Nationals and that the Albanese government's renewables push was disproportionately damaging regional communities and 'dividing families'. 'They are creating acrimony among people who have been friends for not just years, but for generations. They divide and conquer,' Mr McCormack, said referring to renewable energy companies. Mr Joyce rubbished Mr Littleproud's decision to break with the Coalition after the catastrophic May 3 election, and said the move did deep damage to the party's reputation and image. CANBERRA, Australia - NewsWire Photos - November 5, 2024: Michael McCormack during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman Mr Joyce said that he drummed up support for Mr McCormack in the Nationals post-election leadership contest and proclaimed he would vote for his former rival if he ever ran again for the top job. 'Was I making calls on Michael's behalf? Yes, I was,' Mr Joyce told The Australian. 'If someone said 'would you back Michael for leader? Yeah, I would. But am I going to move to create a change? No, I'm not.' He also said his relationship with Mr Littleproud had 'broken down'. When asked if he was vying for leadership, Mr McCormack said he was 'ambitious' for Mr Littleproud yet did not explicitly rule out running for the position. 'When a journo says, 'will you ever rule yourself out of ever (becoming leader)', of course you are not going to agree to that,' Mr McCormack said. Both former leaders also lashed out at the decision to dump them from the shadow ministry in a recent reshuffle and said they only found out about the call through the media. They said Mr Littleproud's justification of 'generational change' was both misleading and cover to force the two firebrands to retire from politics. The Member for New England further revealed that ex Liberal leader Peter Dutton had asked him to quit politics ahead of the election, and that the request prompted a furious reaction over the phone where Mr Joyce 'lost his mind'.
The 42
5 days ago
- Sport
- The 42
Tipperary U20 hero named on bench for All-Ireland final
UNDER-20 STAR PADDY McCormack has made the Tipperary matchday panel for the first time for Sunday's All-Ireland SHC final against Cork (throw-in 3.30pm). Liam Cahill has named an unchanged starting 15, with Conor Stakelum, who came in as a late change against Kilkenny, down to start. The only switch is on the bench where McCormack, who scored 2-1 in their All-Ireland U20 success last May, is promoted. He was called up to the senior squad by Cahill after that victory. McCormack's older brother, Dan, was on the last Tipp team to bring home Liam MacCarthy in 2019. Seán Kenneally, who appeared as a late substitute in the semi-final, is marked absent. Four of the team who started the 2019 All-Ireland triumph remain – Michael Breen, Ronan Maher, Jason Forde, and John McGrath – while Séamus Kennedy and Noel McGrath could feature off the bench. Willie Connors and Jake Morris, who came on as subs in 2019, start this time around. Advertisement Tipperary 1. Rhys Shelly (Moycarkey-Borris) 2. Robert Doyle (Clonoulty-Rossmore), 3. Eoghan Connolly (Cashel King Cormacs), 4. Michael Breen (Ballina) 5. Craig Morgan (Kilruane MacDonaghs), 6. Ronan Maher (Thurles Sarsfields, captain), 7. Bryan O'Mara (Holycross-Ballycahill) 8. Willie Connors (Kiladangan), 9. Conor Stakelum (Thurles Sarsfields) 10. Jake Morris (Nenagh Éire Óg), 11. Andrew Ormond (JK Brackens), 12. Sam O'Farrell (Nenagh Éire Óg) 13. Darragh McCarthy (Toomevara), 14. John McGrath (Loughmore-Castleiney), 15. Jason Forde (Silvermines) Subs: 16. Barry Hogan (Kiladangan) 17. Joe Caesar (Holycross-Ballycahill) 18. Séamus Kennedy (St Mary's) 19. Paddy McCormack (Borris-Ileigh) 20. Brian McGrath (Loughmore Castleiney) 21. Noel McGrath (Loughmore Castleiney) 22. Peter McGarry (St Mary's) 23. Oisín O'Donoghue (Cashel King Cormacs) 24. Johnny Ryan (Arravale Rovers) 25. Darragh Stakelum (Thurles Sarsfields) 26. Alan Tynan (Roscrea) Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here.
Sky News AU
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘Too strategic': Australia must regain ownership of the Port of Darwin
Nationals MP for Riverina Michael McCormack says the Port of Darwin is 'too strategic' for China to own. Mr McCormack said 'the bottom line' is that Australia must regain ownership of the port. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have held their highly anticipated meeting.
