Dutton won’t rule out cutting ABC
Staying on Dutton’s interview with ABC radio Melbourne, Raf Epstein asks whether Dutton’s cuts to the public service include the ABC.
He won’t rule it out, and says where there is waste or ineffective spending, “we don’t support that”.
I think where we find waste and we find ineffective spending, then we don’t support that
I think there’s a lot of very good work that the ABC does, and if it’s being run efficiently, then you would keep the funding in place.
If it’s not being run efficiently and there is waste, then I think taxpayers, who pay for it, and who are working harder than ever just to get ahead, would expect us to, you know, to not support the waste.
Key events
NSW doctors to defy strike ban and go ahead with industrial action – union
Doctors fed up with alleged staffing shortages in hospitals, low pay and excessive workloads plan to take industrial action despite the threat of fines, AAP reports.
The Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation on Wednesday said it would continue three days of planned industrial action beginning next week, in the face of an industrial court’s orders to halt.
The rare walk-out is expected to impact hospital care across NSW, with doctors in major Sydney hospitals and regional areas including Tweed Heads and Wollongong voting to strike from next Tuesday.
In a post to social media, the union said the action was needed in response to unsatisfactory pay offers that don’t compete with other states.
Excessive workloads, staffing shortages and a lack of engagement in negotiations are also claimed.
It is likely that the union will face fines in relation to this order.
Your council has considered this possibility and is prepared to continue regardless.
It told doctors they will not be personally liable for penalties and directed them to press on in a bid to force further bargaining with the state government.
The union is expected to provide further details of its plans on Wednesday morning.
PM says school students should join in marking Anzac Day
Off the back of his press conference, Albanese is talking to 2GB radio, starting on his beloved NRL Rabbitohs team (I won’t delve in, I don’t know enough about footy…)
More seriously, Albanese is asked about a story in the Daily Telegraph about a Sydney public school allowing students to opt out of an Anzac Day service.
The PM was asked the question during his press conference too and said he supports Anzac Day and he’ll be at the War Memorial to mark the day.
He says the same on 2GB but after being pushed further he puts forward a position:
They should be participating, each and every Australian, it is a solemn day in our calendar, I’ll be there at the Australian War Memorial, and I’ll be so proud to be there as the Australian prime minister. And I said that Peter Dutton should be joining me at what is a national event.
He adds that under the previous government, 42,000 veterans were waiting for support payments, and the current government has paid an additional $13bn to support those who have served in uniform.
Lisa Cox
Dutton gas plan has ‘reckless’ lack of detail, King says
The resources minister, Madeleine King, has told a gas industry conference in Sydney that opposition leader Peter Dutton’s gas plan “is not much of a plan” and contains a “reckless” lack of detail.
In a pre-recorded speech, King said:
There is a distinct lack of detail, and there is certainly nothing new in it, and nothing the government hasn’t already done.
All Peter Dutton’s gas reservation scheme has to offer is a slogan. [The] lack of detail in his plan is reckless…
King said in the recent parliamentary term, the opposition had voted against government legislation, such as a temporary $12 a gigajoule price cap designed to bring domestic gas prices down, only to announce its own plans last week for a gas reservation scheme for the east coast aimed at lowering prices.
So they voted against bringing prices down, security supply, applying penalties to exporters, and now they want to pursue and each and every one of those policies, it is staggering and proves everything we all thought about the Coalition is right.
They just don’t do the work.
Benita Kolovos
Continuing from our last post…
The Victorian opposition’s spokesperson for police, David Southwick, has described acting police commissioner Rick Nugent’s decision to walk away from the job after just 41 days as “yet another sign of the chaos within Victoria police under the Allan Labor government”.
Southwick said Victorians had been “left in the dark” about Nugent’s decision and what led to it, and placed the blame on the premier Jacinta Allan and her police minister, Anthony Carbines.
But Allan told reporters on Wednesday that Carbines was made aware this week that Nugent was reconsidering applying for the role this week.
She said:
[Nugent] has been very upfront about his reasons for reconsidering and deciding not to apply for the role. And I think that demonstrates that behind every police uniform is a person and we should respect that.
Allan denied the police force was in “crisis”.
Victorian acting police chief says he won’t apply for permanent role
Benita Kolovos
Ducking off the election trail for a moment…
The Victoria police acting chief commissioner, Rick Nugent, says he will not apply to stay in the role permanently.
In a statement released this morning, Nugent said he made the difficult decision after realising he could not commit to the demanding 24/7 nature of the role for five years and that he wanted to pursue other opportunities. He said:
After almost four decades at Victoria police, plus 18 months as emergency management commissioner, I cannot say, hand on heart, that I have it in me to fulfil the duties of this office for the full five years. It is simple yet unavoidably true, life is short and there are other passions and opportunities that I wish to pursue.
Nugent denied reports in the Herald Sun on Wednesday that suggested he was quitting the position due to a conflict of interest related to his previous tenure as commissioner, which had been referred to Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog.
He said:
I want to be completely clear about media reporting this morning about complaints that have been made to Ibac. These allegations are entirely wrong and I look forward to meeting with Ibac to resolve these issues as quickly as possible. I will work with government as to how long I remain in the role of acting chief commissioner. As always, I remain in absolute gratitude for the incredible work of everyone at Victoria police in keeping our community safe.
Coalition would designate gas a critical mineral to boost industry funding – senator
Lisa Cox
Coalition senator Susan McDonald has told a gas industry conference in Sydney that a Coalition government would designate gas as a critical mineral to allow the industry to access a $4bn export finance fund that was set up to support the transition to net zero.
McDonald said:
I can announce today that to boost investment, a Coalition government will elevate gas to the same status as a critical mineral. This will ensure gas projects are able to apply for funding from the $4 billion critical minerals facility.
This will ensure gas projects so critical to our national and international security are able to access specialised teams within the department of resources to support their projects.
The facility is a fund managed by Export Finance Australia. It was established to support projects that are in line with the goals of the government’s critical minerals strategy, which aims to boost the critical minerals sector as energy systems transition to clean energy.
PM steers around labelling Dutton ‘Temu Trump’
Earlier during Albanese’s press conference he was asked if he’s calling Peter Dutton a “Temu Trump”.
“No,” he replied.
But it’s a mark of how much the Labor party is trying to shape up that comparison, particularly when Dutton talks about cutting the public service and changing the school curriculum to avoid the “woke” agenda.
You might remember just last week Greens MP Stephen Bates called Dutton “Temu Trump” (an unflattering social media term) during question time (which was quickly determined unparliamentary).
Allan says parliament timetable to blame for no show with PM
Benita Kolovos
Jacinta Allan was also asked why she hasn’t appeared with Albanese while he’s been in Victoria. Similarly, she blamed parliament sitting:
I’m determined to go back to parliament today and be on the floor of the legislative assembly, to be part of that historic moment where we pass the anti-vilification social cohesion bill.
She denied the Victorian government, which under her leadership has experienced a slump in the polls, is a drag on their federal counterparts:
If you look at my priorities, if you look at the prime minister’s priorities, they are the same.
Allan said both state and federal Labor were focused on supporting working people, funding hospitals, schools and infrastructure.
Dutton repeats Albanese a ‘weak leader’
On tariffs, Dutton is digging in to his criticism that Albanese is a “weak” leader and that he would take a stronger stance against the Trump administration.
He also says under the previous Liberal government, his party drove a “very hard deal” with Joe Biden for the Aukus agreement with the US and UK.
I don’t care whether it is President Trump or any other … leader, my job is to up for Australians and I have the strength and experience to be able to do that. The prime minister is seen as a weak leader here in Australia and is a weak leader in our international partners as well. That is just the reality of it, the way he conducts himself.
Earlier on Sky News, Dutton said he had no concerns about Aukus, and that there was enough support from Republicans and Democrats to sustain the agreement.
Dutton says ‘ballooning the public service is not an efficient way of helping families’
Dutton’s being pushed again on what sort of cuts he would make to the public service and where.
The Coalition has promised to cut it by 41,000 staff – the same number that have been employed by the government over the last three years – but has said this won’t impact frontline services. Dutton also this morning wouldn’t rule out cutting the ABC.
The government has created an environment and an economy where they are increasing the public service by 41,000 people, three times the rate of the right Gillard Government… Increasing the bureaucracy in Canberra is not a way to deliver efficient services to families in the suburbs.
He adds, “I think it is important for us to live within our means”, a reference to the Abbott 2014 budget, when cuts were made to key services like health and the ABC.
Our own Josh Butler asks whether it’s fair Dutton won’t say exactly where those 41,000 public servant job losses will come from?
I think you want to get back to reality and reality is in the suburbs, here across the country where families cannot afford to pay that bill and ballooning the public service by 41,000 is not an efficient way of helping families.
Dutton blames Labor for sending wages ‘backwards’
Peter Dutton is also in Melbourne and is speaking off the back of Albanese, and is asked what submission a Coalition government would make to the Fair Work Commission.
Earlier this morning, two Coalition frontbenchers said they support wage rises, but stopped short of supporting a push for the commission to lift the minimum wage above the rate on inflation.
Dutton says the same, that he supports wage increases, but blames the government for sending wages backwards.
Families have gone backwards under this government. There’s been 7 quarters where families have been in recession. Mr Albanese can talk up about putting up wages. Real wages have gone down under this government.
The last part of that is not quite true… real wages according to the ABS wage price index have gone up (though a very modest 0.7% in the latest quarter.)
PM says Port of Darwin shouldn’t have been ‘flogged off’ to Chinese company
Albanese has flagged he will have “more to say” over the campaign on the future of the Port of Darwin.
Under the former government, the Northern Territory signed a 99-year lease with Chinese-owned Landbridge for the port in 2015.
Albanese says he wouldn’t have “flogged it off” in the first place.
We opposed it at the time, we thought that was unwise… not only did the Northern Territory government get income from the People’s Republic of China for flogging off the port, they got a top-up payment from Australian taxpayers for selling the port of Darwin to a company that is closely connected with the People’s Republic of China government. I will have more to say when – over the course of this campaign.
Back to the tariffs, Albanese says there are daily discussions taking place between the Australian and US administrations ahead of the next round of tariffs.
We are certainly prepared tomorrow for whatever outcome is determined. And you’ll see that tomorrow.
Why isn’t Jacinta Allan with PM in Melbourne?
There’s been speculation as to why Victorian premier Jacinta Allan isn’t with Albanese, Wong and Murray Watt at today’s press conference in Melbourne. (Note: the very popular Peter Malinauskas was right by Albanese’s side when he was in Adelaide yesterday, and Roger Cook was with the PM earlier during his visit to Perth).
Allan isn’t as popular in Victoria, and Liberal insiders believe her lack of popularity will help turn voters towards the Coalition in the state.
But Albanese says:
Parliament is sitting. It’s this little thing called Parliament.
He adds he works closely and has a good relationship with every premier and chief minister.
Albanese rejects Dutton barb over Trump
Albanese refutes the criticism from Dutton during that earlier interview, that Trump is walking all over him.
Albanese says Dutton “says different things every day”, between praising President Trump and standing up for Australia. (You might remember Dutton had called Trump “shrewd”, “reasonable”, and a “big thinker”).
I stood up for Australia when they put on aluminium and steel tariffs. I continue to stand up for Australia and have said very clearly we won’t compromise and negotiate on our PBS, our on biosecurity, on our media bargaining code. I will stand up for Australia.
Peter Dutton will always dial things up to 11. He thinks this is a contest of who can say the most aggro things. It’s not.
Wong says Labor working to diversity trade in face of Trump tariffs
To Trump (no surprises here – we’ll be seeing questions on this for days to come), foreign minister Penny Wong takes a question on whether Australia should team up with China to counter the US’s tariffs.
Earlier on ABC RN Breakfast, Wong said Australia needed to be “realistic” about the potential outcomes on trade.
Wong reiterates the point, adding that the government has been working to diversify trade and will continue to do so.
What we have to do is to recognise the reality and make good decisions for Australia. And they include making sure we diversify our trade, and you’ve seen over the three years of this government our work to diversify our trading markets, not only to remove $20 billion of trade impediments on the Chinese market, but to do more to exploit the economic opportunities, to take the economic opportunities of South-East Asia, of India, of [a] free trade agreement with the UAE.
We just heard earlier from Peter Dutton talking to Sky, saying that he’d take a more aggressive approach to the US administration.
