Labor dumps tradition to knock Coalition MPs from key parliamentary posts
The move opens the deputy chair position on three key committees – climate change, the environment and energy; healthcare, aged care and disability; and economics – to crossbench MPs, reflecting the Coalition's diminished numbers in parliament after the May election.
But manager for opposition business Alex Hawke accused the government of introducing the change without notice and using it to avoid scrutiny. 'The Albanese Labor government has the worst track record for blocking freedom of information requests and orders for the production of documents,' Hawke said.
'Now, the prime minister has barred Coalition MPs from being deputy chairs on three important committees. Labor's plan to stop Coalition MPs from being deputy chairs was kept secret and sprung on the opposition at the moment.'
Traditionally, the government of the day picks who chairs lower house committees and the deputy chair positions are automatically designated to the opposition, which decides internally who gets the roles. However, the government used its numbers in parliament to change the rules last week, meaning a committee vote will decide who gets to be deputy chair.
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Former deputy chair of the standing committee on economics, Liberal MP Garth Hamilton, said he would be unlikely to get the role again because he will not have as many backers as some independents.
'The clear alignment of voting behaviour between the teals and Labor will render these committees mere echo chambers under these changes,' he said.
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The Advertiser
5 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Labor running out of time to get Green light to govern
The Greens are calling for Dean Winter to shake his "majority mentality" as the Labor leader and Liberals court support to lead Tasmania. Jeremy Rockliff has been reinstalled as state premier after the governor granted his request to form a minority government. But a planned motion expressing no confidence in the Liberals and confidence in Labor is set to be moved when state parliament returns on August 19. Neither the Liberals with 14 seats nor Labor with 10 won the required 18 to control the lower house in their own right after a snap poll produced a hung parliament. Mr Rockliff and Mr Winter have no formal agreements of support with the 11 minor party MPs and independents. The Liberals pitched a multi-partisan budget panel on Friday as part of draft stability agreement talks with crossbenchers. Immense backlash to the 2025/26 state budget was partially responsible for the original no-confidence motion against Mr Rockliff in early June. Incoming treasurer Eric Abetz, who will be sworn in with the rest of Mr Rockliff's cabinet on Monday, said there was an "appetite" for budget repair among crossbenchers. The former senator refused to "pontificate on budgets past" and wouldn't reveal how his approach would differ to Deputy Premier Guy Barnett, who has been removed as treasurer. Mr Barnett's most recent budget forecast Tasmania heading for $13 billion worth of net debt by 2028. Mr Abetz described debt as "intergenerational theft" and hailed the national budget being whipped into shape as the biggest achievements of the Howard/Costello government that he served in. "That's the challenge here in Tasmania as well now, to get the budget back into shape," he told reporters. His instinct was not to raise the tax burden of Tasmanians to balance the books, but Mr Abetz acknowledged the panel would be open to "all possibilities". "I hope that my place in Tasmanian history is not cemented by being the shortest-lived treasurer in Tasmania," Mr Abetz said. Mr Winter met with all five independent crossbenchers on Thursday to outline his vision for a stable and lasting parliament. Shadow attorney-general Ella Haddad said Mr Winter shared Labor's draft collaboration framework and spruiked plans to shake-up oversight bodies. Labor would work across the chamber, including with the Greens, to win support for the motion, Ms Haddad said. The Clark MP argued the crossbench had a choice between an "energetic, ready, progressive Labor party" or a "tired 11-year-old Liberal government who offers more of the same". Tasmanian Greens Leader Rosalie Woodruff said her party was yet to have a "proper conversation" with Mr Winter and had been "basically blanked". She said the Labor leader remained stuck in a "majority mentality" despite the party's primary vote slumping to 25.9 per cent, 3.1 per cent lower than the 2024 state election. "It doesn't give us a lot of confidence about how he'd operate as premier," Ms Woodruff said. Labor needs the Greens' five lower-house MPs and another three crossbenchers to back the motion for it to pass. The Greens have not set a deadline for the "proper conversations" to be had to earn their support. Compromising on major issues does not mean compromising on values, independent MP Peter George said. "Until now Liberal and Labor seem to think that promising to treat the crossbench better in parliament is just about all they need to do to win support. It is not," he said. The Greens are calling for Dean Winter to shake his "majority mentality" as the Labor leader and Liberals court support to lead Tasmania. Jeremy Rockliff has been reinstalled as state premier after the governor granted his request to form a minority government. But a planned motion expressing no confidence in the Liberals and confidence in Labor is set to be moved when state parliament returns on August 19. Neither the Liberals with 14 seats nor Labor with 10 won the required 18 to control the lower house in their own right after a snap poll produced a hung parliament. Mr Rockliff and Mr Winter have no formal agreements of support with the 11 minor party MPs and independents. The Liberals pitched a multi-partisan budget panel on Friday as part of draft stability agreement talks with crossbenchers. Immense backlash to the 2025/26 state budget was partially responsible for the original no-confidence motion against Mr Rockliff in early June. Incoming treasurer Eric Abetz, who will be sworn in with the rest of Mr Rockliff's cabinet on Monday, said there was an "appetite" for budget repair among crossbenchers. The former senator refused to "pontificate on budgets past" and wouldn't reveal how his approach would differ to Deputy Premier Guy Barnett, who has been removed as treasurer. Mr Barnett's most recent budget forecast Tasmania heading for $13 billion worth of net debt by 2028. Mr Abetz described debt as "intergenerational theft" and hailed the national budget being whipped into shape as the biggest achievements of the Howard/Costello government that he served in. "That's the challenge here in Tasmania as well now, to get the budget back into shape," he told reporters. His instinct was not to raise the tax burden of Tasmanians to balance the books, but Mr Abetz acknowledged the panel would be open to "all possibilities". "I hope that my place in Tasmanian history is not cemented by being the shortest-lived treasurer in Tasmania," Mr Abetz said. Mr Winter met with all five independent crossbenchers on Thursday to outline his vision for a stable and lasting parliament. Shadow attorney-general Ella Haddad said Mr Winter shared Labor's draft collaboration framework and spruiked plans to shake-up oversight bodies. Labor would work across the chamber, including with the Greens, to win support for the motion, Ms Haddad said. The Clark MP argued the crossbench had a choice between an "energetic, ready, progressive Labor party" or a "tired 11-year-old Liberal government who offers more of the same". Tasmanian Greens Leader Rosalie Woodruff said her party was yet to have a "proper conversation" with Mr Winter and had been "basically blanked". She said the Labor leader remained stuck in a "majority mentality" despite the party's primary vote slumping to 25.9 per cent, 3.1 per cent lower than the 2024 state election. "It doesn't give us a lot of confidence about how he'd operate as premier," Ms Woodruff said. Labor needs the Greens' five lower-house MPs and another three crossbenchers to back the motion for it to pass. The Greens have not set a deadline for the "proper conversations" to be had to earn their support. Compromising on major issues does not mean compromising on values, independent MP Peter George said. "Until now Liberal and Labor seem to think that promising to treat the crossbench better in parliament is just about all they need to do to win support. It is not," he said. The Greens are calling for Dean Winter to shake his "majority mentality" as the Labor leader and Liberals court support to lead Tasmania. Jeremy Rockliff has been reinstalled as state premier after the governor granted his request to form a minority government. But a planned motion expressing no confidence in the Liberals and confidence in Labor is set to be moved when state parliament returns on August 19. Neither the Liberals with 14 seats nor Labor with 10 won the required 18 to control the lower house in their own right after a snap poll produced a hung parliament. Mr Rockliff and Mr Winter have no formal agreements of support with the 11 minor party MPs and independents. The Liberals pitched a multi-partisan budget panel on Friday as part of draft stability agreement talks with crossbenchers. Immense backlash to the 2025/26 state budget was partially responsible for the original no-confidence motion against Mr Rockliff in early June. Incoming treasurer Eric Abetz, who will be sworn in with the rest of Mr Rockliff's cabinet on Monday, said there was an "appetite" for budget repair among crossbenchers. The former senator refused to "pontificate on budgets past" and wouldn't reveal how his approach would differ to Deputy Premier Guy Barnett, who has been removed as treasurer. Mr Barnett's most recent budget forecast Tasmania heading for $13 billion worth of net debt by 2028. Mr Abetz described debt as "intergenerational theft" and hailed the national budget being whipped into shape as the biggest achievements of the Howard/Costello government that he served in. "That's the challenge here in Tasmania as well now, to get the budget back into shape," he told reporters. His instinct was not to raise the tax burden of Tasmanians to balance the books, but Mr Abetz acknowledged the panel would be open to "all possibilities". "I hope that my place in Tasmanian history is not cemented by being the shortest-lived treasurer in Tasmania," Mr Abetz said. Mr Winter met with all five independent crossbenchers on Thursday to outline his vision for a stable and lasting parliament. Shadow attorney-general Ella Haddad said Mr Winter shared Labor's draft collaboration framework and spruiked plans to shake-up oversight bodies. Labor would work across the chamber, including with the Greens, to win support for the motion, Ms Haddad said. The Clark MP argued the crossbench had a choice between an "energetic, ready, progressive Labor party" or a "tired 11-year-old Liberal government who offers more of the same". Tasmanian Greens Leader Rosalie Woodruff said her party was yet to have a "proper conversation" with Mr Winter and had been "basically blanked". She said the Labor leader remained stuck in a "majority mentality" despite the party's primary vote slumping to 25.9 per cent, 3.1 per cent lower than the 2024 state election. "It doesn't give us a lot of confidence about how he'd operate as premier," Ms Woodruff said. Labor needs the Greens' five lower-house MPs and another three crossbenchers to back the motion for it to pass. The Greens have not set a deadline for the "proper conversations" to be had to earn their support. Compromising on major issues does not mean compromising on values, independent MP Peter George said. "Until now Liberal and Labor seem to think that promising to treat the crossbench better in parliament is just about all they need to do to win support. It is not," he said. The Greens are calling for Dean Winter to shake his "majority mentality" as the Labor leader and Liberals court support to lead Tasmania. Jeremy Rockliff has been reinstalled as state premier after the governor granted his request to form a minority government. But a planned motion expressing no confidence in the Liberals and confidence in Labor is set to be moved when state parliament returns on August 19. Neither the Liberals with 14 seats nor Labor with 10 won the required 18 to control the lower house in their own right after a snap poll produced a hung parliament. Mr Rockliff and Mr Winter have no formal agreements of support with the 11 minor party MPs and independents. The Liberals pitched a multi-partisan budget panel on Friday as part of draft stability agreement talks with crossbenchers. Immense backlash to the 2025/26 state budget was partially responsible for the original no-confidence motion against Mr Rockliff in early June. Incoming treasurer Eric Abetz, who will be sworn in with the rest of Mr Rockliff's cabinet on Monday, said there was an "appetite" for budget repair among crossbenchers. The former senator refused to "pontificate on budgets past" and wouldn't reveal how his approach would differ to Deputy Premier Guy Barnett, who has been removed as treasurer. Mr Barnett's most recent budget forecast Tasmania heading for $13 billion worth of net debt by 2028. Mr Abetz described debt as "intergenerational theft" and hailed the national budget being whipped into shape as the biggest achievements of the Howard/Costello government that he served in. "That's the challenge here in Tasmania as well now, to get the budget back into shape," he told reporters. His instinct was not to raise the tax burden of Tasmanians to balance the books, but Mr Abetz acknowledged the panel would be open to "all possibilities". "I hope that my place in Tasmanian history is not cemented by being the shortest-lived treasurer in Tasmania," Mr Abetz said. Mr Winter met with all five independent crossbenchers on Thursday to outline his vision for a stable and lasting parliament. Shadow attorney-general Ella Haddad said Mr Winter shared Labor's draft collaboration framework and spruiked plans to shake-up oversight bodies. Labor would work across the chamber, including with the Greens, to win support for the motion, Ms Haddad said. The Clark MP argued the crossbench had a choice between an "energetic, ready, progressive Labor party" or a "tired 11-year-old Liberal government who offers more of the same". Tasmanian Greens Leader Rosalie Woodruff said her party was yet to have a "proper conversation" with Mr Winter and had been "basically blanked". She said the Labor leader remained stuck in a "majority mentality" despite the party's primary vote slumping to 25.9 per cent, 3.1 per cent lower than the 2024 state election. "It doesn't give us a lot of confidence about how he'd operate as premier," Ms Woodruff said. Labor needs the Greens' five lower-house MPs and another three crossbenchers to back the motion for it to pass. The Greens have not set a deadline for the "proper conversations" to be had to earn their support. Compromising on major issues does not mean compromising on values, independent MP Peter George said. "Until now Liberal and Labor seem to think that promising to treat the crossbench better in parliament is just about all they need to do to win support. It is not," he said.
The Australian
6 hours ago
- The Australian
Nuclear power: Expert reveals hidden cost of Australia's energy path
A leading British nuclear scientist has issued a warning to Australia that 'there are consequences' in rejecting nuclear energy as an energy source. Former chief scientific adviser to the UK Ministry of Defence Sir Robin Grimes said such a stance would likely put Australia in a weaker position to take advantage of the AI boom and invest in data centres. Sir Robin said the issue of nuclear energy was something Australia needed to 'debate', with the Coalition vowing to pursue it as part of its energy policy. 'Yes, you don't have to go nuclear, but there are consequences of deciding to use it and not use it,' he told NewsWire. 'It means that Australia will not be in as strong a position to do certain types of industrial processes. As a consequence, data centres, (AI and robotics) are much more difficult to have if you don't have that base-load capacity available to you.' A leading British nuclear scientist said there would be consequences if Australia chose to reject the use of nuclear energy in its grid. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Sir Robin said while Australia was 'blessed with fantastic sunshine', nuclear should be considered as an alternative to costly batteries. In comparison, the UK generates about 15 per cent of its electricity from nuclear sources, with wind and gas also key players in its grid, accounting for 30 per cent of energy input. 'If you want energy security, and if you want a really robust system, then you're going to have to invest in phenomenal amounts of storage if you don't go nuclear,' Sir Robin said. 'Batteries don't generate energy. They're a tax on the energy that you're produced because you've having to store it … and the more energy you produce from intermittent renewables, the more storage you need and the greater the cost.' Australia's abundant supplies of uranium, which make up about 8 per cent of global production and are estimated to be about one-third of the world's uranium supply, could also be refined onshore, leading to new job markets, Sir Robin added. This could involve processing the uranium ore, refining it into yellowcake and converting it to uranium hexafluoride, steps that come before the compounds are enriched to create nuclear fuel. 'The question is, do you just dig the ore out the ground and shove it on a train and export it to somewhere that's going to do something with it, or do you go through some of the processes and retain more of the jobs associated with that in Australia,' Sir Robin said. Earlier this year, the Dutton-led Coalition took a nuclear policy to build seven reactors by 2050 to the federal election. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Sir Robin's comments follow an Australia-first conference on nuclear energy hosted by the University of NSW in Sydney this week. The event featured talks from world-leading nuclear scientists, including Nuclear Energy Agency director-general William Magwood, US Department of Energy deputy assistant secretary Aleshia Duncan and Sir Robin. It follows the launch of Australia's first undergraduate honours degree in nuclear engineering, slated to start in 2026. UNSW's Nuclear Innovation Centre director Ed Obbard said he believed the nuclear debate would likely grow as Australia developed a domestic nuclear engineering workforce and through existing initiatives like the AUKUS submarine program and Sydney's OPAL reactor, which produces radioisotopes for medical imaging, cancer treatment and research. 'As the nuclear sector grows, both in Australia and worldwide, discussions on civilian nuclear energy will become increasingly realistic,' Dr Obbard said. 'Assuming that we still care about decarbonisation, nuclear is never going to go away.' However, Dr Obbard said Australia having a nuclear workforce was welcomed by both sides of politics. 'It doesn't matter whether you're Liberal and you think we need a workforce for a future nuclear workforce, or if you're Labor and you're desperate to find a workforce to show the Americans that we're doing OK with AUKUS,' he said. 'Or if you're a university where you have international students coming from around the world to study engineering at UNSW. 'You've got this tripling of capacity happening everywhere, and there's a huge nuclear skills shortage wherever you go, and everyone agrees on that.' The Coalition's energy spokesman Dan Tehan welcomed the conference and said 'having a conversation about zero emissions nuclear energy continues to be incredibly important for Australia and the world'. 'More and more countries are adopting nuclear energy as they seek energy abundance and to reduce their emissions, and this is something that should be on the agenda for discussion here in Australia,' he said. 'We've committed to the removal of the moratorium (on nuclear energy) and further policy is under review.' Jessica Wang NewsWire Federal Politics Reporter Jessica Wang is a federal politics reporter for NewsWire based in the Canberra Press Gallery. She previously covered NSW state politics for the Wire and has also worked at and Mamamia covering breaking news, entertainment, and lifestyle. @imjesswang_ Jessica Wang
The Australian
6 hours ago
- The Australian
Big update in battle for coveted Sydney seat
Around 150 disputed ballot papers will be the focus of a trial to decide if Liberal challenger Gisele Kapterian can overturn an election result against her Teal independent challenger. Nicolette Boele was awarded the seat of Bradfield in north Sydney by 26 votes, or 50.01 per cent of the two candidate preferred, at May's federal election. Ms Kapterian's legal challenge in the Court of Disputed Returns began on Friday, with Chief Justice Stephen Gageler referring the trial to the Federal Court in NSW. 'The trial will primarily be concerned with the formality of in excess of 150 disputed ballot papers,' he said. The ballot papers will now be re-examined to ensure all numbers were legible. While Ms Kapterian is challenging the Australian Electoral Commission's decision to award Ms Boele the seat, Ms Boele will remain the representative for Bradfield. Liberal Candidate Gisele Kapterian has challenged the results posed in 150 disputed ballot papers. Picture: NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard Ms Boele has been sworn into parliament, and delivered her maiden speech in the House of Representatives. Ahead of the Friday's hearing she vowed to continue to serve her electorate. 'This is the next step in Australia's strong and trusted democratic process,' she said. 'I have every confidence in the court, the AEC, and the integrity of their work. 'While the court challenge proceeds, I'm focused on delivering the genuine representation Bradfield voted for.' She has also sought donations from her community to cover the legal costs of the court case, while vowing to either return the money or donate the funds to a nominated cause if the Liberal Party is ordered to pay her costs. The battle for Bradfield comes after a whirlwind count, which initially awarded the electorate in Ms Kapterian's favour on a margin of eight votes. However the ultra-slim margin, under 100 votes, triggered an automatic recount, which declared Ms Boele the winner. Independent MP for Bradfield, Nicolette Boele will retain the seat until the court makes its decision. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman The result was then challenged by Ms Kapterian about 10 weeks following the election on July 15, largely on the premise of the conflicting counts. The Liberal hopeful said her court bid was not about challenging the 'integrity of our electoral system' but was done to ensure 'the intentions of the voters of Bradfield are accurately reflected in the final count'. Ms Kapterian's legal team has not asked for the election result to be made void, which would trigger a by-election. 'Pursuing this final step will provide collective confidence that the final result reflects the true wishes of the voters in Bradfield and remove any remaining doubt created by the two conflicting counts,' she said previously. 'Every vote counts'. This year's May 3 election was the first time the blue-ribbon electorate has been held by a non-Liberal MP. It was previously held by former minister Paul Fletcher who retired ahead of the 2025 poll. Jessica Wang NewsWire Federal Politics Reporter Jessica Wang is a federal politics reporter for NewsWire based in the Canberra Press Gallery. She previously covered NSW state politics for the Wire and has also worked at and Mamamia covering breaking news, entertainment, and lifestyle. @imjesswang_ Jessica Wang
