Liberal Party admits they haven't connected with multicultural Australia

SBS Australia

06-05-2025

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TRANSCRIPT
The Labor Party caucus will meet at Parliament House on Friday [[9/05]] for talks over ministerial positions in the new Labor government.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he will not make any decisions on his next cabinet while some seats are still undecided.
New Tasmanian M-P and former state opposition leader Rebecca White is among those touted for elevation.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has confirmed that she will stay on in her post, as will Defence Minister Richard Marles, Treasurer Jim Chalmers, Finance Minister Katy Gallagher and Trade Minister Don Farrell.
Speaking to Nine's Today Show, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth says she's looking forward to whatever the Prime Minister decides.
"It has been an absolute privilege to serve as the Minister for Social Service and the NDIS, but there's a process underway, and it's absolutely the prerogative of the Prime Minister to choose those portfolios and I am happy to serve in in whatever he chooses for me."
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A top Liberal Party official says the party's failure to connect to multicultural Australia contributed to it's major loss at the federal election.
The Coalition has secured 39 seats in the parliament while the Labor Party has won 85.
With several seats still undecided [[Tuesday lunchtime]], the coalition could still see wins against Labor in Bullwinkel in Western Australia, and Bendigo in regional Victoria.
Liberal Party Federal Vice President Fiona Scott told Sky News her party had moved away from its core principles, and the results show they need to work harder to reach multicultural Australia.
"How we are inclusive of people of all faiths of all cultures. Yet we weren't able in many ways to connect with the Muslim vote in outer Western Sydney, we weren't able to connect with some of the Chinese vote, some of the Indian vote, some of the Sikh vote. We are a multi country now and we need to make sure that our party is reflective of all Australians. I think this election says that we are not."
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Australia's sovereign wealth fund has beaten its mandated 10-year target and grown its total funds under management to $307 billion.
The Future Fund itself reached a record value of more than $240 billion by March 31, after securing 7.9 per cent returns for the year.
By comparison, the S&P/A-S-X-200 rose just over two per cent in the 12 months to April, or almost nine per cent in the 2024 calendar year, when the Future Fund improved by 12.2 per cent.
The Future Fund was established in 2006 by former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello after the sale of Telstra to strengthen the Commonwealth's financial position and cover the costs of increasing public sector pension payments.
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Following the death of Pope Francis, 133 cardinals are now moving into the Vatican accommodation where they will stay during the conclave.
The cardinals will gather in the Sistine Chapel for a secretive election, that could last hours, days or even months, to elect the new pope.
With representatives from 70 countries across five continents, this conclave is the largest, and the most international, ever.
Dr Joel Hodge is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Theology and Philosophy at the Australian Catholic University.
He says Pope Francis made an effort to globalise the representation of cardinal electors.
"Pope Francis increased the representative from countries that never had cardinals before for example from East Timor, in our own region - it has its first cardinal. For the first time we'll be participating in a papal conclave. So representation from Asia and Africa has proportionately increased amongst the cardinal electors and the European representation over the last 50-70 years has gradually been declining."
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New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Luxon has proposed an Australian-style legislative ban on social media for under-16s.
In a post on social media, National party leader and P-M Chris Luxon announced his party is backing a private member's bill which will require social media companies to verify users age.
Centre-left opposition Labour is warming to the idea but it's not over the line, with leader Chris Hipkins saying it is a debate they need to have.
The bill is to be introduced by backbench M-P Catherine Wedd, who says that as a mother herself, she feels very strongly about online safety.
"This this bill is about protecting children from online harm including bullying, addiction and exposure to inappropriate content by restricting social media access for under 16 year olds. It puts the onus on social media companies to verify that someone is over the age of 16 before they access social media platforms and it mirrors the approach taken in Australia."
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A former actress and equestrian star is set to take centre stage for the Brisbane 2032 Games after landing a major International Olympic Committee role.
Mikaela Cojuangco Jaworski will oversee the Brisbane Games' delivery after being unveiled as the new 2032 Olympics co-ordination commission chair.
She will replace Kirsty Coventry, who was recently elected as the next IOC president.