Australia politics live: Liberals wait for leadership spill after Angus Taylor’s resignation | Australia news
Good morning
Krishani Dhanji
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji We’re here with you in the last session of the week – and maybe Susan LeyLast day of session as opposition leader.
After weeks (if not months) of speculation, Angus Taylor He finally pulled the trigger last night, announcing his resignation from the front row. Some of his close allies on the conservative side will likely follow him today.
Senate predictions are underway and although the pressure is on the opposition rather than the government this week, we’ll bring you everything you need to know here.
And as Martin has already noted, the prime minister will deliver his Closing the Gap speech later this morning.
It’s going to be another busy day, stay with us!
important events
Claire Chandler resigns from front team
Guardian Australia understands Claire ChandlerThe Shadow Secretary for Science and Cyber Security has resigned from his front-line role.
Conservative Senator was the first to follow Angus Taylor We moved to the bench before the leadership leak.
We expect more Taylor allies to resign today as well.
McCarthy threatens to pull funding levers on states over Closing the Gap results
Malarndirri McCarthy Closing the Gaps says there are funding tools the government can use to put more pressure on states to improve their outcomes.
McCarthy has spoken of his desire to do so in recent months, adding that states and territories should consider improving laws to reduce Indigenous incarceration.
We have levers to pull and I know through the Northern Territory Remote Area Investment (NTRA) that this is certainly an agreement between the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory where I have been pressing for those levers to be examined.
Presenter Isabella Higgins asks why many of the Closing the Gap targets are going backwards when governments have been working on this issue for 18 years.
The Closing the Gap agreement was re-signed in 2020 and has five more years left to expire, McCarthy says.
So we’re halfway through that and we see that ending in 2031. So we’ve got another five years to really get to the end of this and close that gap. This is our aim.
‘So many moments of frustration’ on NT incarcerations, McCarthy says
Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy He is speaking to the media this morning before the Prime Minister makes his annual Closing the Gap statement.
Speaking to ABC AM radio, he was asked whether the Northern Territory, which he represents, was disturbed by the reversal of royal commission recommendations into youth incarceration of indigenous children.
McCarthy said there had been “many moments of frustration” and that he had spoken to the Prime Minister about incarceration and death rates in custody.
There are definitely many, many moments of disappointment. There is no doubt about it. It’s not just the Northern Territory, there are other jurisdictions that we need to work with on an ongoing basis.
But particularly in the Northern Territory, I have reached out directly to the Prime Minister, directly raising concerns about incarceration rates, but also the deaths in custody over the last 12 months, particularly in the Northern Territory.
Wong appoints special envoy after two Australians die from methanol poisoning in Laos
Penny Wong Australia appoints special envoy to track deaths of its citizens Holly Bowles And Bianca Jones From methanol poisoning in Laos.
This week, it was revealed that 10 people connected to the hostel where two young people were poisoned were fined $185.
Pablo KangThe new special envoy will travel to Laos this week to “explore all avenues to advance the cause.” He previously served as ambassador to Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates and as high commissioner in Vanuatu.
Wong said the government had been clear to officials “about the need for transparency and accountability.”
Wong said:
We have consistently communicated our expectations that the charges should reflect the seriousness of the tragedy that led to the deaths of Holly, Bianca and four other foreign nationals.
We sympathize with Holly and Bianca’s families’ heartbreaking pain, which has been exacerbated by the delays and lack of transparency in legal processes in Laos.
‘Change of leadership won’t fix them’: Treasurer
Jim Chalmers He also stopped by the doors of the House of Representatives – and you know he’s very keen to do that because there’s actually a separate ministry entrance he would normally go through.
The treasurer sounds a little out of breath, but tells reporters the Liberal party is “in shambles”.
We may hear a little more of that sentence during question time this afternoon.
I focused on the numbers in the budget, not the focus or the numbers in the party room. Frankly, they are a mess from top to bottom, and a leadership change will not fix them.
Hogan says ‘I love Angus, I have no problems with Ley’
The doors are back, my friends! Let me briefly tell you about the wonderful tradition of journalists monitoring the entrances to the Senate and the House of Representatives, where we try to stop polls and ask them questions as they enter.
Of course, some will walk through the doors knowing exactly what they want to say to reporters (and eagerly awaiting the microphone in their face), while others try to avoid the whole thing altogether and either scurry in with their heads down or find another entrance.
This morning the deputy national leader, Kevin HoganWhile he’s making a decision about the Liberal leadership race, he’s also saying he won’t do so.
It starts like this:
I do not think it is appropriate for me as citizens to comment on the division in the Liberal party or the leadership in the Liberal party.
But then, when asked if he liked it Angus TaylorHe seems to be making a bit of a decision as to who he personally prefers between the two.
I know Angus. I respect Angus. He has a great mind and I love Angus. Having said that, I have no personal problems Susan Ley any.
Leadership challenge ‘undercooked, ill-prepared’: Wallace
Andrew Wallace came out to bat Susan Ley again this morning (what would have been a pretty solid interview comeback after appearing on Sky News late last night).
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast this morning, Wallace says Ley was not given the chance he needed to succeed as leader. Other allies yesterday said it would be right to allow Ley, as leader, to give his budget response at least in May.
As Ley told colleagues at Tuesday’s party room meeting, Wallace says “separation is death”, adding that stabbing the first female leader at a time when the Liberal party is trying to chase female voters is probably not a good look.
I think this, this leadership struggle, if this is the outcome, rare. I think he was unprepared or poorly prepared. I think Susan has the numbers. I think the majority of the party believes Susan wasn’t given a fair chance.
I honestly believe Sussan does not have a reasonable opportunity to succeed and I want to support her and make sure she does so so we can continue to fight our way to Labor.
Susan is, of course, our first female leader. I think this sends a bad message to Australians.
Good morning
Krishani Dhanji
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji We’re here with you in the last session of the week – and maybe Susan LeyLast day of session as opposition leader.
After weeks (if not months) of speculation, Angus Taylor He finally pulled the trigger last night, announcing his resignation from the front row. Some of his close allies on the conservative side will likely follow him today.
Senate predictions are underway and although the pressure is on the opposition rather than the government this week, we’ll bring you everything you need to know here.
And as Martin has already noted, the prime minister will deliver his Closing the Gap speech later this morning.
It’s going to be another busy day, stay with us!
Andrew Wallace says abandoning Ley would be ‘unacceptable’
shadow attorney general, Andrew Wallacewas sticking Susan Ley and argued that it would be a mistake to remove the party’s first female leader after only nine months in office.
“To effectively stab the first female leader of the Liberal party in less than a year is unacceptable in my view,” she told Sky New’s Sharri program on Wednesday night.
Unsurprisingly, the Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price took the opposite view and went straight for Team Taylor. He told Sky News:
If we don’t make this change we will be wiped out in the next federal election. We are in a very difficult situation.
Read our news here:
Liberals focus on leadership expansion
Television studios had a revolving door of speeches from the Liberal party last night. Angus Taylor resignation and expected leadership leak.
The outgoing shadow defense secretary stopped short of announcing a challenge. Susan Ley But that election is likely to come today or tomorrow, according to observers as he tallies the votes to make sure he wins.
Because he is making his attack from the right, he will have to take with him some of the more centrist MPs who voted against him when he ran against Ley after his 2025 election defeat.
Medium MP TimWilson He said last night he continued to support Ley’s leadership but left him room to manoeuvre.
“I have consistently said that I expect leadership, and I expect leadership to create a vision for the future of the country. I expect leadership to define who we are as a political movement,” he said in a speech on ABC’s 7.30 programme.
“I have seen him consistently demonstrate steely determination despite national party divisions, terrorist attacks, and the relentless onslaught of Anthony Albanese and his front-row bullies trying to bring him down at every turn.”
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I Martin Farrer with the best night stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji to pick up the slack.
Angus Taylor Resignation from the shadow cabinet is expected last night Susan Ley We face a leadership leak today or tomorrow. We will have all the news as soon as it happens.
Anthony Albanese He will deliver his annual Closing the Gap speech in parliament today, in which he will call out the “white supremacy ideology” behind the alleged bombing attempt at the Perth Invasion Day rally. More details will follow and we will cover the speech later when the Prime Minister stands up.
Another important event will be the Israeli president Isaac Herzog I will visit Melbourne today. He will meet senior politicians and community leaders and a protest against his visit is expected in Flinders Street in the afternoon.
