Inside Anthony Albanese's historic meeting with Pope Leo
Pope Leo XIV has met with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a private audience at the Apostolic Palace inside Vatican City, with Albanese using the opportunity to invite the pontiff to Sydney in 2028.
It is 16 years since an Australian PM had a private audience with a pope, the pair discussing shared concerns around global conflicts and the resulting humanitarian impacts.
The prime minister reflected on the Holy See's important role in promoting dialogue as part of international efforts to achieve just and lasting peace and to alleviate suffering.
Albanese formally invited the Pope to Australia for the 54th International Eucharistic Congress, which Sydney is hosting in 2028, presenting His Holiness with a formal letter of invitation.
Pope Benedict XVI was the last pontiff to visit Australia back in 2008 for World Youth Day.
There was a gift exchange as part of the occasion. Albanese presented His Holiness with Australian red wine and artwork by indigenous artist Amanda Westley, who is part of the Ngarrindjeri tribe in South Australia.
The artwork is called Raukkan, meaning meeting place, and is named after a Ngarrindjeri community located 80km southeast of Adelaide.
Albanese also had his mum Maryanne's rosary beads blessed by the Pope.
The Prime Minister congratulated Leo on his election and thanked him for the invitation to attend the mass, which marks the start of his pontificate.
Albanese is now flying home from Rome and will stop over in Singapore, where will meet re-elected Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
The Vatican detailed the Pope's meeting with Albanese in a statement, stating that 'warm appreciation was expressed' for the relations between the pontiff and Australia, specifically the Catholic Church's contribution to society and education.
'An exchange of views then took place on the socio-political situation of the country, focusing in particular on themes of mutual interest, including environmental protection, integral human development and the freedom of religion,' the statement concluded.
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Chaos: 'Part-time' pollies, super unliked tax, Trump's beef and the Wiggles!
A month on from the federal election and it has been chaos as usual on the Australian political scene despite a truce declared on the main post-plebiscite entertainment in the Coalition's civil war and spill talk surrounding Nationals leader David Littleproud dying down. Meanwhile, Labor has hit the ground running by approving Woodside's massive North West Shelf gas project for the next 70 years, putting a big question mark internationally over Australia's climate stripes and stewardship of ancient rock art, and then recruiting a rogue Greens senator who had fought tooth and nail to stop the approval. In fact, Dorinda Cox really let the Albanese government know what she thought about the decision just days before jumping aboard the Albo train because, as all parties involved suggested, including Greens leader Larissa Waters, their "shared values" make the new pairing a good fit. After Senator Cox left the Greens shrinking parliamentary army, bullying allegations against her emerged, including a complaint lodged by former Green and now Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe. The prime minister thought had been resolved, but maybe not, awks. A highly unsavoury text message that Senator Cox allegedly wrote was then leaked regarding her thoughts about Senate colleague Pauline Hanson. Her defection also now makes it four seats the Greens have lost to Labor in recent weeks after former leader Adam Bandt, Max Chandler-Mather and Stephen Bates were waved bye-bye by voters at the ballot box, a perk of the landslide election win that will provide Albo with joy long after he leaves office. Also waving goodbye for now is Liberal candidate for Bradfield Gisele Kapterian, who won the seat by eight votes after preferences were tallied a couple of weeks ago. However, the slender margin demanded a recount, the result of which saw Independent Nicolette Boele handed the seat this week by just 26 votes. She joins Zali Stegall, Allegra Spender and Sophie Scamps as the fourth Independent woman who has taken a formerly safe Sydney seat from the Liberal Party By the by, at least six MPs suspect their devices were hacked over the past year, according to the Department of Parliamentary Services via The Canberra Times, in what an expert says is likely just the tip of the iceberg. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has released the parliamentary schedule for the rest of 2025, and it is a little light on for sitting days. In fact, people who know these things suggest the schedule is the lightest attendance requirement for parliamentarians to travel to Canberra for about 20 years. A very senior MP was so taken aback by the situation that they labelled the workplace a "part-time" Parliament. "I must Google this, obviously in election years we will have fewer sitting weeks than normal, but I'd love to know the last year we only had eight sitting weeks in Parliament," the MP told ACM. "It's really part-time, isn't it? Especially now with the whole not sitting for almost eight weeks after the election." There are always four sides to every story. The ABC quoted a government source on Friday morning to say that US-slaughtered beef was being positioned as a bargaining chip to help reset trade ties in the face of US President Donald Trump's tariff regime that has slapped a 50 per cent impost on steel and aluminium, along with the 10 per cent universal duty. US beef producers have been able to access Australian markets since 2019 if they can ensure that the animals are born, raised and slaughtered in the US, while restrictions remain on Canadian and Mexican cattle slaughtered in America. Australia has been undertaking a review of those biosecurity rules, after the Trump administration requested they be lifted. The media report said pork would stay off-limits due to swine flu and other risks, but the beef bit prompted Nationals leader David Littleproud to urge Labor not to compromise Australia's biosecurity credentials in negotiations with the US. "The United States uses cattle from Mexico and Canada in their supply chain that poses a potential risk to our industry and ignoring those risks would be dangerous," he said. Meanwhile, the PM said in a radio interview that compromising on biosecurity was not on the table. "We'll never loosen any rules regarding our biosecurity," he said. "If things can be sorted out in a way that protects our biosecurity, of course we don't just say no ... but our first priority is biosecurity.. When ABC host Raf Epstein prodded Albo a bit more in asking whether beef slaughtered in the US that was raised in Mexico or Canada would be allowed into Australia, the PM said: "Full stop. Exclamation mark. It's simply not worth it.". Agriculture Minister Julie Collins backed that up in a statement, saying any decision to allow expanded access for US beef to Australia would be based on science and evidence and that "all products entering Australia have to meet rigorous biosecurity standards". Cattle Australia chief executive Chris Parker said the key issue that must be solved before any move can be considered relates to the traceability of cattle born across the US southern or northern borders. Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune is reporting that US agriculture officials are warning that ground beef sold at Whole Foods markets nationwide may be contaminated with potentially dangerous E. coli bacteria. Why did the Greens entourage cross Adelaide's Hindmarsh Square? Because they didn't see any television cameras. On Monday, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young scheduled a media conference to talk about "South Australia's drought and the Prime Minister's visit to SA". But when print journalists rocked up to hear what the Senator had to say, they found the square was bare. A quick phone call solved the mystery. The senatorial entourage bailed when none of the local television news crews turned up - must of all been up north following Mr Albanese around a drought-stricken sheep property. Nationals' deputy leader Kevin Hogan has slammed Labor's new super tax as "verging on the immoral", while the first policy position agreed by the Coalition's new shadow cabinet is to officially oppose the proposal. Labor's contentious plan to double taxes on superannuation balances above $3 million will be one of the first bills up for discussion when Parliament resumes next month, with a clear pathway to pass the legislation into law opened by the Greens which offered the government in-principle support earlier this week but will push for the policy to go further and drop the threshold to $2m. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked in a media conference whether it was fair that some farmers may have to pay the tax, and may end up having to sell their farms, as some of their farms are self-managed super funds? "Well, there's not anything new here. This has been before the Parliament for about two years," Mr Albanese said. "What we need to do is to make sure that our superannuation system is fair. That is what we are setting about to do." Treasurer Jim Chalmers' proposal, panned by economists, academics, ALP luminaries and business leaders since it was introduced in 2023, is to increase taxation on super balances over the high-value threshold from 15 to 30 per cent, including on unrealised capital gains. As it stands, the revenue-raising measure will not be indexed to inflation or wage growth. The situation perfectly illustrates why the words Canberra and chaos sit together so snugly. Around the grounds this week and the South Australian branch of the Liberal Party voted to walk back its support of net-zero, we suspect Alex Antic was somehow involved. The good people of Tasmania may be heading for a by-election after the upper house blew up the leadership of Premier Jeremy Rockliff. And a silly sexist quip made during a debate about gender quotas from the bloke appointed to run the NSW branch of the Liberal Party, Alan Stockdale, was a step back in time, or revealed he had never caught up with it. The lead balloon went down on Tuesday when Mr Stockdale told the NSW Liberal Women's Council that "women are sufficiently assertive now" and that the Libs "should be giving some thought to whether we need to protect men's involvement". The 80-year-old's joke was as popular as a few of the budgets the former Victorian state treasurer delivered for Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett. Stockdale apologised, however, party honchos were forced to spend a chunk of the week dousing the chaos the comments created, with federal leader Sussan Ley saying she "encourages assertive women to join the Liberal Party". Australia's fresh produce industry has formed a very healthy new relationship with The Wiggles for a national campaign to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables. The International Fresh Produce Association Australia campaign was launched at Hort Connections in Brisbane and comes as new research shows less than half of Aussie parents say that fruit and veg actually make up most of their children's snacks. The Wiggles have rolled out a jingle by rewording their classic banger 'Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy' to 'Fruit and Veggies Yummy Yummy'. Blue Wiggle Anthony Field said the collaboration was a natural fit. "We are so excited to be part of this campaign," he said. "With more than 30 years of singing songs like 'Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy' and 'Hot Potato', this partnership takes our commitment even further, really showing children just how fun and delicious healthy eating can be." Shire councillor Sherryl Chilcott sent ACM a video capturing the soothing sounds of large hailstones hitting a tin roof after being dumped from a thunderstorm that washed over Wagin, in Western Australia's wheatbelt, earlier this week. A month on from the federal election and it has been chaos as usual on the Australian political scene despite a truce declared on the main post-plebiscite entertainment in the Coalition's civil war and spill talk surrounding Nationals leader David Littleproud dying down. Meanwhile, Labor has hit the ground running by approving Woodside's massive North West Shelf gas project for the next 70 years, putting a big question mark internationally over Australia's climate stripes and stewardship of ancient rock art, and then recruiting a rogue Greens senator who had fought tooth and nail to stop the approval. In fact, Dorinda Cox really let the Albanese government know what she thought about the decision just days before jumping aboard the Albo train because, as all parties involved suggested, including Greens leader Larissa Waters, their "shared values" make the new pairing a good fit. After Senator Cox left the Greens shrinking parliamentary army, bullying allegations against her emerged, including a complaint lodged by former Green and now Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe. The prime minister thought had been resolved, but maybe not, awks. A highly unsavoury text message that Senator Cox allegedly wrote was then leaked regarding her thoughts about Senate colleague Pauline Hanson. Her defection also now makes it four seats the Greens have lost to Labor in recent weeks after former leader Adam Bandt, Max Chandler-Mather and Stephen Bates were waved bye-bye by voters at the ballot box, a perk of the landslide election win that will provide Albo with joy long after he leaves office. Also waving goodbye for now is Liberal candidate for Bradfield Gisele Kapterian, who won the seat by eight votes after preferences were tallied a couple of weeks ago. However, the slender margin demanded a recount, the result of which saw Independent Nicolette Boele handed the seat this week by just 26 votes. She joins Zali Stegall, Allegra Spender and Sophie Scamps as the fourth Independent woman who has taken a formerly safe Sydney seat from the Liberal Party By the by, at least six MPs suspect their devices were hacked over the past year, according to the Department of Parliamentary Services via The Canberra Times, in what an expert says is likely just the tip of the iceberg. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has released the parliamentary schedule for the rest of 2025, and it is a little light on for sitting days. In fact, people who know these things suggest the schedule is the lightest attendance requirement for parliamentarians to travel to Canberra for about 20 years. A very senior MP was so taken aback by the situation that they labelled the workplace a "part-time" Parliament. "I must Google this, obviously in election years we will have fewer sitting weeks than normal, but I'd love to know the last year we only had eight sitting weeks in Parliament," the MP told ACM. "It's really part-time, isn't it? Especially now with the whole not sitting for almost eight weeks after the election." There are always four sides to every story. The ABC quoted a government source on Friday morning to say that US-slaughtered beef was being positioned as a bargaining chip to help reset trade ties in the face of US President Donald Trump's tariff regime that has slapped a 50 per cent impost on steel and aluminium, along with the 10 per cent universal duty. US beef producers have been able to access Australian markets since 2019 if they can ensure that the animals are born, raised and slaughtered in the US, while restrictions remain on Canadian and Mexican cattle slaughtered in America. Australia has been undertaking a review of those biosecurity rules, after the Trump administration requested they be lifted. The media report said pork would stay off-limits due to swine flu and other risks, but the beef bit prompted Nationals leader David Littleproud to urge Labor not to compromise Australia's biosecurity credentials in negotiations with the US. "The United States uses cattle from Mexico and Canada in their supply chain that poses a potential risk to our industry and ignoring those risks would be dangerous," he said. Meanwhile, the PM said in a radio interview that compromising on biosecurity was not on the table. "We'll never loosen any rules regarding our biosecurity," he said. "If things can be sorted out in a way that protects our biosecurity, of course we don't just say no ... but our first priority is biosecurity.. When ABC host Raf Epstein prodded Albo a bit more in asking whether beef slaughtered in the US that was raised in Mexico or Canada would be allowed into Australia, the PM said: "Full stop. Exclamation mark. It's simply not worth it.". Agriculture Minister Julie Collins backed that up in a statement, saying any decision to allow expanded access for US beef to Australia would be based on science and evidence and that "all products entering Australia have to meet rigorous biosecurity standards". Cattle Australia chief executive Chris Parker said the key issue that must be solved before any move can be considered relates to the traceability of cattle born across the US southern or northern borders. Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune is reporting that US agriculture officials are warning that ground beef sold at Whole Foods markets nationwide may be contaminated with potentially dangerous E. coli bacteria. Why did the Greens entourage cross Adelaide's Hindmarsh Square? Because they didn't see any television cameras. On Monday, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young scheduled a media conference to talk about "South Australia's drought and the Prime Minister's visit to SA". But when print journalists rocked up to hear what the Senator had to say, they found the square was bare. A quick phone call solved the mystery. The senatorial entourage bailed when none of the local television news crews turned up - must of all been up north following Mr Albanese around a drought-stricken sheep property. Nationals' deputy leader Kevin Hogan has slammed Labor's new super tax as "verging on the immoral", while the first policy position agreed by the Coalition's new shadow cabinet is to officially oppose the proposal. Labor's contentious plan to double taxes on superannuation balances above $3 million will be one of the first bills up for discussion when Parliament resumes next month, with a clear pathway to pass the legislation into law opened by the Greens which offered the government in-principle support earlier this week but will push for the policy to go further and drop the threshold to $2m. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked in a media conference whether it was fair that some farmers may have to pay the tax, and may end up having to sell their farms, as some of their farms are self-managed super funds? "Well, there's not anything new here. This has been before the Parliament for about two years," Mr Albanese said. "What we need to do is to make sure that our superannuation system is fair. That is what we are setting about to do." Treasurer Jim Chalmers' proposal, panned by economists, academics, ALP luminaries and business leaders since it was introduced in 2023, is to increase taxation on super balances over the high-value threshold from 15 to 30 per cent, including on unrealised capital gains. As it stands, the revenue-raising measure will not be indexed to inflation or wage growth. The situation perfectly illustrates why the words Canberra and chaos sit together so snugly. Around the grounds this week and the South Australian branch of the Liberal Party voted to walk back its support of net-zero, we suspect Alex Antic was somehow involved. The good people of Tasmania may be heading for a by-election after the upper house blew up the leadership of Premier Jeremy Rockliff. And a silly sexist quip made during a debate about gender quotas from the bloke appointed to run the NSW branch of the Liberal Party, Alan Stockdale, was a step back in time, or revealed he had never caught up with it. The lead balloon went down on Tuesday when Mr Stockdale told the NSW Liberal Women's Council that "women are sufficiently assertive now" and that the Libs "should be giving some thought to whether we need to protect men's involvement". The 80-year-old's joke was as popular as a few of the budgets the former Victorian state treasurer delivered for Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett. Stockdale apologised, however, party honchos were forced to spend a chunk of the week dousing the chaos the comments created, with federal leader Sussan Ley saying she "encourages assertive women to join the Liberal Party". Australia's fresh produce industry has formed a very healthy new relationship with The Wiggles for a national campaign to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables. The International Fresh Produce Association Australia campaign was launched at Hort Connections in Brisbane and comes as new research shows less than half of Aussie parents say that fruit and veg actually make up most of their children's snacks. The Wiggles have rolled out a jingle by rewording their classic banger 'Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy' to 'Fruit and Veggies Yummy Yummy'. Blue Wiggle Anthony Field said the collaboration was a natural fit. "We are so excited to be part of this campaign," he said. "With more than 30 years of singing songs like 'Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy' and 'Hot Potato', this partnership takes our commitment even further, really showing children just how fun and delicious healthy eating can be." Shire councillor Sherryl Chilcott sent ACM a video capturing the soothing sounds of large hailstones hitting a tin roof after being dumped from a thunderstorm that washed over Wagin, in Western Australia's wheatbelt, earlier this week. A month on from the federal election and it has been chaos as usual on the Australian political scene despite a truce declared on the main post-plebiscite entertainment in the Coalition's civil war and spill talk surrounding Nationals leader David Littleproud dying down. Meanwhile, Labor has hit the ground running by approving Woodside's massive North West Shelf gas project for the next 70 years, putting a big question mark internationally over Australia's climate stripes and stewardship of ancient rock art, and then recruiting a rogue Greens senator who had fought tooth and nail to stop the approval. In fact, Dorinda Cox really let the Albanese government know what she thought about the decision just days before jumping aboard the Albo train because, as all parties involved suggested, including Greens leader Larissa Waters, their "shared values" make the new pairing a good fit. After Senator Cox left the Greens shrinking parliamentary army, bullying allegations against her emerged, including a complaint lodged by former Green and now Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe. The prime minister thought had been resolved, but maybe not, awks. A highly unsavoury text message that Senator Cox allegedly wrote was then leaked regarding her thoughts about Senate colleague Pauline Hanson. Her defection also now makes it four seats the Greens have lost to Labor in recent weeks after former leader Adam Bandt, Max Chandler-Mather and Stephen Bates were waved bye-bye by voters at the ballot box, a perk of the landslide election win that will provide Albo with joy long after he leaves office. Also waving goodbye for now is Liberal candidate for Bradfield Gisele Kapterian, who won the seat by eight votes after preferences were tallied a couple of weeks ago. However, the slender margin demanded a recount, the result of which saw Independent Nicolette Boele handed the seat this week by just 26 votes. She joins Zali Stegall, Allegra Spender and Sophie Scamps as the fourth Independent woman who has taken a formerly safe Sydney seat from the Liberal Party By the by, at least six MPs suspect their devices were hacked over the past year, according to the Department of Parliamentary Services via The Canberra Times, in what an expert says is likely just the tip of the iceberg. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has released the parliamentary schedule for the rest of 2025, and it is a little light on for sitting days. In fact, people who know these things suggest the schedule is the lightest attendance requirement for parliamentarians to travel to Canberra for about 20 years. A very senior MP was so taken aback by the situation that they labelled the workplace a "part-time" Parliament. "I must Google this, obviously in election years we will have fewer sitting weeks than normal, but I'd love to know the last year we only had eight sitting weeks in Parliament," the MP told ACM. "It's really part-time, isn't it? Especially now with the whole not sitting for almost eight weeks after the election." There are always four sides to every story. The ABC quoted a government source on Friday morning to say that US-slaughtered beef was being positioned as a bargaining chip to help reset trade ties in the face of US President Donald Trump's tariff regime that has slapped a 50 per cent impost on steel and aluminium, along with the 10 per cent universal duty. US beef producers have been able to access Australian markets since 2019 if they can ensure that the animals are born, raised and slaughtered in the US, while restrictions remain on Canadian and Mexican cattle slaughtered in America. Australia has been undertaking a review of those biosecurity rules, after the Trump administration requested they be lifted. The media report said pork would stay off-limits due to swine flu and other risks, but the beef bit prompted Nationals leader David Littleproud to urge Labor not to compromise Australia's biosecurity credentials in negotiations with the US. "The United States uses cattle from Mexico and Canada in their supply chain that poses a potential risk to our industry and ignoring those risks would be dangerous," he said. Meanwhile, the PM said in a radio interview that compromising on biosecurity was not on the table. "We'll never loosen any rules regarding our biosecurity," he said. "If things can be sorted out in a way that protects our biosecurity, of course we don't just say no ... but our first priority is biosecurity.. When ABC host Raf Epstein prodded Albo a bit more in asking whether beef slaughtered in the US that was raised in Mexico or Canada would be allowed into Australia, the PM said: "Full stop. Exclamation mark. It's simply not worth it.". Agriculture Minister Julie Collins backed that up in a statement, saying any decision to allow expanded access for US beef to Australia would be based on science and evidence and that "all products entering Australia have to meet rigorous biosecurity standards". Cattle Australia chief executive Chris Parker said the key issue that must be solved before any move can be considered relates to the traceability of cattle born across the US southern or northern borders. Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune is reporting that US agriculture officials are warning that ground beef sold at Whole Foods markets nationwide may be contaminated with potentially dangerous E. coli bacteria. Why did the Greens entourage cross Adelaide's Hindmarsh Square? Because they didn't see any television cameras. On Monday, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young scheduled a media conference to talk about "South Australia's drought and the Prime Minister's visit to SA". But when print journalists rocked up to hear what the Senator had to say, they found the square was bare. A quick phone call solved the mystery. The senatorial entourage bailed when none of the local television news crews turned up - must of all been up north following Mr Albanese around a drought-stricken sheep property. Nationals' deputy leader Kevin Hogan has slammed Labor's new super tax as "verging on the immoral", while the first policy position agreed by the Coalition's new shadow cabinet is to officially oppose the proposal. Labor's contentious plan to double taxes on superannuation balances above $3 million will be one of the first bills up for discussion when Parliament resumes next month, with a clear pathway to pass the legislation into law opened by the Greens which offered the government in-principle support earlier this week but will push for the policy to go further and drop the threshold to $2m. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked in a media conference whether it was fair that some farmers may have to pay the tax, and may end up having to sell their farms, as some of their farms are self-managed super funds? "Well, there's not anything new here. This has been before the Parliament for about two years," Mr Albanese said. "What we need to do is to make sure that our superannuation system is fair. That is what we are setting about to do." Treasurer Jim Chalmers' proposal, panned by economists, academics, ALP luminaries and business leaders since it was introduced in 2023, is to increase taxation on super balances over the high-value threshold from 15 to 30 per cent, including on unrealised capital gains. As it stands, the revenue-raising measure will not be indexed to inflation or wage growth. The situation perfectly illustrates why the words Canberra and chaos sit together so snugly. Around the grounds this week and the South Australian branch of the Liberal Party voted to walk back its support of net-zero, we suspect Alex Antic was somehow involved. The good people of Tasmania may be heading for a by-election after the upper house blew up the leadership of Premier Jeremy Rockliff. And a silly sexist quip made during a debate about gender quotas from the bloke appointed to run the NSW branch of the Liberal Party, Alan Stockdale, was a step back in time, or revealed he had never caught up with it. The lead balloon went down on Tuesday when Mr Stockdale told the NSW Liberal Women's Council that "women are sufficiently assertive now" and that the Libs "should be giving some thought to whether we need to protect men's involvement". The 80-year-old's joke was as popular as a few of the budgets the former Victorian state treasurer delivered for Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett. Stockdale apologised, however, party honchos were forced to spend a chunk of the week dousing the chaos the comments created, with federal leader Sussan Ley saying she "encourages assertive women to join the Liberal Party". Australia's fresh produce industry has formed a very healthy new relationship with The Wiggles for a national campaign to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables. The International Fresh Produce Association Australia campaign was launched at Hort Connections in Brisbane and comes as new research shows less than half of Aussie parents say that fruit and veg actually make up most of their children's snacks. The Wiggles have rolled out a jingle by rewording their classic banger 'Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy' to 'Fruit and Veggies Yummy Yummy'. Blue Wiggle Anthony Field said the collaboration was a natural fit. "We are so excited to be part of this campaign," he said. "With more than 30 years of singing songs like 'Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy' and 'Hot Potato', this partnership takes our commitment even further, really showing children just how fun and delicious healthy eating can be." Shire councillor Sherryl Chilcott sent ACM a video capturing the soothing sounds of large hailstones hitting a tin roof after being dumped from a thunderstorm that washed over Wagin, in Western Australia's wheatbelt, earlier this week. A month on from the federal election and it has been chaos as usual on the Australian political scene despite a truce declared on the main post-plebiscite entertainment in the Coalition's civil war and spill talk surrounding Nationals leader David Littleproud dying down. Meanwhile, Labor has hit the ground running by approving Woodside's massive North West Shelf gas project for the next 70 years, putting a big question mark internationally over Australia's climate stripes and stewardship of ancient rock art, and then recruiting a rogue Greens senator who had fought tooth and nail to stop the approval. In fact, Dorinda Cox really let the Albanese government know what she thought about the decision just days before jumping aboard the Albo train because, as all parties involved suggested, including Greens leader Larissa Waters, their "shared values" make the new pairing a good fit. After Senator Cox left the Greens shrinking parliamentary army, bullying allegations against her emerged, including a complaint lodged by former Green and now Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe. The prime minister thought had been resolved, but maybe not, awks. A highly unsavoury text message that Senator Cox allegedly wrote was then leaked regarding her thoughts about Senate colleague Pauline Hanson. Her defection also now makes it four seats the Greens have lost to Labor in recent weeks after former leader Adam Bandt, Max Chandler-Mather and Stephen Bates were waved bye-bye by voters at the ballot box, a perk of the landslide election win that will provide Albo with joy long after he leaves office. Also waving goodbye for now is Liberal candidate for Bradfield Gisele Kapterian, who won the seat by eight votes after preferences were tallied a couple of weeks ago. However, the slender margin demanded a recount, the result of which saw Independent Nicolette Boele handed the seat this week by just 26 votes. She joins Zali Stegall, Allegra Spender and Sophie Scamps as the fourth Independent woman who has taken a formerly safe Sydney seat from the Liberal Party By the by, at least six MPs suspect their devices were hacked over the past year, according to the Department of Parliamentary Services via The Canberra Times, in what an expert says is likely just the tip of the iceberg. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has released the parliamentary schedule for the rest of 2025, and it is a little light on for sitting days. In fact, people who know these things suggest the schedule is the lightest attendance requirement for parliamentarians to travel to Canberra for about 20 years. A very senior MP was so taken aback by the situation that they labelled the workplace a "part-time" Parliament. "I must Google this, obviously in election years we will have fewer sitting weeks than normal, but I'd love to know the last year we only had eight sitting weeks in Parliament," the MP told ACM. "It's really part-time, isn't it? Especially now with the whole not sitting for almost eight weeks after the election." There are always four sides to every story. The ABC quoted a government source on Friday morning to say that US-slaughtered beef was being positioned as a bargaining chip to help reset trade ties in the face of US President Donald Trump's tariff regime that has slapped a 50 per cent impost on steel and aluminium, along with the 10 per cent universal duty. US beef producers have been able to access Australian markets since 2019 if they can ensure that the animals are born, raised and slaughtered in the US, while restrictions remain on Canadian and Mexican cattle slaughtered in America. Australia has been undertaking a review of those biosecurity rules, after the Trump administration requested they be lifted. The media report said pork would stay off-limits due to swine flu and other risks, but the beef bit prompted Nationals leader David Littleproud to urge Labor not to compromise Australia's biosecurity credentials in negotiations with the US. "The United States uses cattle from Mexico and Canada in their supply chain that poses a potential risk to our industry and ignoring those risks would be dangerous," he said. Meanwhile, the PM said in a radio interview that compromising on biosecurity was not on the table. "We'll never loosen any rules regarding our biosecurity," he said. "If things can be sorted out in a way that protects our biosecurity, of course we don't just say no ... but our first priority is biosecurity.. When ABC host Raf Epstein prodded Albo a bit more in asking whether beef slaughtered in the US that was raised in Mexico or Canada would be allowed into Australia, the PM said: "Full stop. Exclamation mark. It's simply not worth it.". Agriculture Minister Julie Collins backed that up in a statement, saying any decision to allow expanded access for US beef to Australia would be based on science and evidence and that "all products entering Australia have to meet rigorous biosecurity standards". Cattle Australia chief executive Chris Parker said the key issue that must be solved before any move can be considered relates to the traceability of cattle born across the US southern or northern borders. Meanwhile, the Chicago Tribune is reporting that US agriculture officials are warning that ground beef sold at Whole Foods markets nationwide may be contaminated with potentially dangerous E. coli bacteria. Why did the Greens entourage cross Adelaide's Hindmarsh Square? Because they didn't see any television cameras. On Monday, Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young scheduled a media conference to talk about "South Australia's drought and the Prime Minister's visit to SA". But when print journalists rocked up to hear what the Senator had to say, they found the square was bare. A quick phone call solved the mystery. The senatorial entourage bailed when none of the local television news crews turned up - must of all been up north following Mr Albanese around a drought-stricken sheep property. Nationals' deputy leader Kevin Hogan has slammed Labor's new super tax as "verging on the immoral", while the first policy position agreed by the Coalition's new shadow cabinet is to officially oppose the proposal. Labor's contentious plan to double taxes on superannuation balances above $3 million will be one of the first bills up for discussion when Parliament resumes next month, with a clear pathway to pass the legislation into law opened by the Greens which offered the government in-principle support earlier this week but will push for the policy to go further and drop the threshold to $2m. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked in a media conference whether it was fair that some farmers may have to pay the tax, and may end up having to sell their farms, as some of their farms are self-managed super funds? "Well, there's not anything new here. This has been before the Parliament for about two years," Mr Albanese said. "What we need to do is to make sure that our superannuation system is fair. That is what we are setting about to do." Treasurer Jim Chalmers' proposal, panned by economists, academics, ALP luminaries and business leaders since it was introduced in 2023, is to increase taxation on super balances over the high-value threshold from 15 to 30 per cent, including on unrealised capital gains. As it stands, the revenue-raising measure will not be indexed to inflation or wage growth. The situation perfectly illustrates why the words Canberra and chaos sit together so snugly. Around the grounds this week and the South Australian branch of the Liberal Party voted to walk back its support of net-zero, we suspect Alex Antic was somehow involved. The good people of Tasmania may be heading for a by-election after the upper house blew up the leadership of Premier Jeremy Rockliff. And a silly sexist quip made during a debate about gender quotas from the bloke appointed to run the NSW branch of the Liberal Party, Alan Stockdale, was a step back in time, or revealed he had never caught up with it. The lead balloon went down on Tuesday when Mr Stockdale told the NSW Liberal Women's Council that "women are sufficiently assertive now" and that the Libs "should be giving some thought to whether we need to protect men's involvement". The 80-year-old's joke was as popular as a few of the budgets the former Victorian state treasurer delivered for Liberal Premier Jeff Kennett. Stockdale apologised, however, party honchos were forced to spend a chunk of the week dousing the chaos the comments created, with federal leader Sussan Ley saying she "encourages assertive women to join the Liberal Party". Australia's fresh produce industry has formed a very healthy new relationship with The Wiggles for a national campaign to encourage children to eat more fruit and vegetables. The International Fresh Produce Association Australia campaign was launched at Hort Connections in Brisbane and comes as new research shows less than half of Aussie parents say that fruit and veg actually make up most of their children's snacks. The Wiggles have rolled out a jingle by rewording their classic banger 'Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy' to 'Fruit and Veggies Yummy Yummy'. Blue Wiggle Anthony Field said the collaboration was a natural fit. "We are so excited to be part of this campaign," he said. "With more than 30 years of singing songs like 'Fruit Salad Yummy Yummy' and 'Hot Potato', this partnership takes our commitment even further, really showing children just how fun and delicious healthy eating can be." Shire councillor Sherryl Chilcott sent ACM a video capturing the soothing sounds of large hailstones hitting a tin roof after being dumped from a thunderstorm that washed over Wagin, in Western Australia's wheatbelt, earlier this week.
The Advertiser
an hour ago
- The Advertiser
Albanese will need some nuance in facing a female opposition leader
Anthony Albanese loves a trophy, especially a human one. He prides himself on his various "captain's pick" candidates - good campaigners he has steered into seats. Way back in the Gillard days, he was key in persuading discontented Liberal Peter Slipper to defect. Slipper became an independent and Labor's speaker. The exercise helped the government's numbers, but the bold play didn't end well for Labor or for Slipper. The government was tarnished, and Slipper, relentlessly pursued by the Coalition and mired in controversy, eventually had to quit the speakership. The affair did produce Julia Gillard's famous misogyny speech, however. Now Albanese has another gee-whiz prize - Western Australian senator Dorinda Cox, who has defected from the Greens. Cox, after being defeated in a bid for Greens deputy leader, approached Labor and the PM drove her course to being accepted into the party. The manoeuvre makes a marginal but insignificant difference to Senate numbers - Labor will still need the Greens to pass legislation opposed by the Coalition. Taking in Cox is a risk, and some in Labor are looking at it askance. The prime minister's embrace of Cox contradicts Labor's argument when its Western Australian senator Fatima Payman defected to become an independent. It said then hers was a Labor seat and she should therefore resign. But this wouldn't be the first time expediency trumped consistency in politics. Cox, who is Indigenous and was spokeswoman for First Nations and resources in the last parliament, has been a fierce critic of extending the North West Shelf gas project, which the government has just announced. Albanese says he is confident she "understands that being a member of the Labor Party means that she will support positions that are made by the Labor Party". She has also faced allegations of treating staff badly. Labor discounts the claims against her, saying they are overblown and a product of Greens factionalism and toxicity. Certainly, she was given a tough time by the hard-left faction represented by deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi. Labor would be wise to ensure Cox feels supported in her new party home. Albanese perhaps calculates that the worst that can happen is there's a blow up and she defects to the crossbench. Labor could shrug and say, she was never really one of us. Snatching a senator from the Greens is particularly satisfying to Albanese because he hates the party so much. Last term, lower house Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather (defeated at the election) really got under his skin. More generally, the Greens held up important legislation, most notably on housing. In the new Senate, Labor will need only the Greens to pass legislation opposed by the Coalition. How new Greens leader Larissa Waters - who replaced Adam Bandt after he lost his seat - handles the party's relationship with the government will be crucial for the more contentious parts of Labor's legislative program. The usually low-key Waters will be under a lot of pressure. The Greens had a bad election, losing three lower house seats. Now they have lost a senator at the start of Waters' watch. Waters conceded on the Serious Danger podcast in late May that Labor had successfully run the narrative of the Greens as blockers. "So I do think we're going to need to be quite deft in how we handle balance of power in this term, [...] People want us to be constructive. They don't just want us to roll over and tick off on any old shit. They want meaningful reforms." Waters will want to pick her fights carefully, and also find ways of pursuing the Greens' agenda where the party co-operates. The first deal is likely to be on the government's legislation to increase the tax on those with large superannuation balances, which contains the controversial provision to tax unrealised capital gains. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and her team will confront some of the same problems as the Greens - when to oppose and when to seek to negotiate with the government. For his part, Albanese will have a novel challenge with Ley - what stance to adopt against the first female opposition leader, especially but not only in parliamentary clashes. After facing two alpha male Liberal leaders, Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton, a new approach will obviously be necessary. As one Labor man succinctly puts it, "Labor can't monster a woman". There can be no repeat of Albanese, a frontbencher a decade ago in the Shorten opposition, interjecting to urge a female colleague engaged in a stoush with Ley to "smash her". For Ley, trying to deal with the Liberals' multiple difficulties in attracting women voters and candidates must be high on her agenda. Former Liberal federal president Alan Stockdale, one of the three-person group currently running the NSW division of the party, showed himself part of the problem when this week he told the NSW Liberal Women's Council, "The women in this party are so assertive now that we may need some special rules for men to get them pre-selected". READ MORE: Stockdale said later he was being "light-hearted". Tone deaf might be a better term. Ley jumped on him. "There is nothing wrong with being an assertive woman. In fact I encourage assertive women to join the Liberal Party." The jury is out on whether Ley will be able to make any sort of fist of her near-impossible job. But in the short time she's been leader, she has shown she is willing to be assertive. She emerged from the brief split in the Coalition looking much steadier than Nationals leader David Littleproud, even though she had to persuade her party room to accept the minor party's policy demands. In her frontbench reshuffle, she was willing to wear the inevitable criticism that came with dropping a couple of senior women who had under-performed. As deputy leader, Ley adjusted her style a while before the election, toning down the aggression and sometimes wild attacks, that had characterised her performance earlier in the term. A Liberal source said she found her "line and length". As leader, she will have others, notably deputy Ted O'Brien, to do the head-kicking, giving her room to attempt to develop a positive political persona. Labor leaned into attacking Dutton - never afraid to name him. With Ley, Albanese might adopt the Bob Carr approach of avoiding using his opponent's name. At least until he finds his line and length in dealing with her. Anthony Albanese loves a trophy, especially a human one. He prides himself on his various "captain's pick" candidates - good campaigners he has steered into seats. Way back in the Gillard days, he was key in persuading discontented Liberal Peter Slipper to defect. Slipper became an independent and Labor's speaker. The exercise helped the government's numbers, but the bold play didn't end well for Labor or for Slipper. The government was tarnished, and Slipper, relentlessly pursued by the Coalition and mired in controversy, eventually had to quit the speakership. The affair did produce Julia Gillard's famous misogyny speech, however. Now Albanese has another gee-whiz prize - Western Australian senator Dorinda Cox, who has defected from the Greens. Cox, after being defeated in a bid for Greens deputy leader, approached Labor and the PM drove her course to being accepted into the party. The manoeuvre makes a marginal but insignificant difference to Senate numbers - Labor will still need the Greens to pass legislation opposed by the Coalition. Taking in Cox is a risk, and some in Labor are looking at it askance. The prime minister's embrace of Cox contradicts Labor's argument when its Western Australian senator Fatima Payman defected to become an independent. It said then hers was a Labor seat and she should therefore resign. But this wouldn't be the first time expediency trumped consistency in politics. Cox, who is Indigenous and was spokeswoman for First Nations and resources in the last parliament, has been a fierce critic of extending the North West Shelf gas project, which the government has just announced. Albanese says he is confident she "understands that being a member of the Labor Party means that she will support positions that are made by the Labor Party". She has also faced allegations of treating staff badly. Labor discounts the claims against her, saying they are overblown and a product of Greens factionalism and toxicity. Certainly, she was given a tough time by the hard-left faction represented by deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi. Labor would be wise to ensure Cox feels supported in her new party home. Albanese perhaps calculates that the worst that can happen is there's a blow up and she defects to the crossbench. Labor could shrug and say, she was never really one of us. Snatching a senator from the Greens is particularly satisfying to Albanese because he hates the party so much. Last term, lower house Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather (defeated at the election) really got under his skin. More generally, the Greens held up important legislation, most notably on housing. In the new Senate, Labor will need only the Greens to pass legislation opposed by the Coalition. How new Greens leader Larissa Waters - who replaced Adam Bandt after he lost his seat - handles the party's relationship with the government will be crucial for the more contentious parts of Labor's legislative program. The usually low-key Waters will be under a lot of pressure. The Greens had a bad election, losing three lower house seats. Now they have lost a senator at the start of Waters' watch. Waters conceded on the Serious Danger podcast in late May that Labor had successfully run the narrative of the Greens as blockers. "So I do think we're going to need to be quite deft in how we handle balance of power in this term, [...] People want us to be constructive. They don't just want us to roll over and tick off on any old shit. They want meaningful reforms." Waters will want to pick her fights carefully, and also find ways of pursuing the Greens' agenda where the party co-operates. The first deal is likely to be on the government's legislation to increase the tax on those with large superannuation balances, which contains the controversial provision to tax unrealised capital gains. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and her team will confront some of the same problems as the Greens - when to oppose and when to seek to negotiate with the government. For his part, Albanese will have a novel challenge with Ley - what stance to adopt against the first female opposition leader, especially but not only in parliamentary clashes. After facing two alpha male Liberal leaders, Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton, a new approach will obviously be necessary. As one Labor man succinctly puts it, "Labor can't monster a woman". There can be no repeat of Albanese, a frontbencher a decade ago in the Shorten opposition, interjecting to urge a female colleague engaged in a stoush with Ley to "smash her". For Ley, trying to deal with the Liberals' multiple difficulties in attracting women voters and candidates must be high on her agenda. Former Liberal federal president Alan Stockdale, one of the three-person group currently running the NSW division of the party, showed himself part of the problem when this week he told the NSW Liberal Women's Council, "The women in this party are so assertive now that we may need some special rules for men to get them pre-selected". READ MORE: Stockdale said later he was being "light-hearted". Tone deaf might be a better term. Ley jumped on him. "There is nothing wrong with being an assertive woman. In fact I encourage assertive women to join the Liberal Party." The jury is out on whether Ley will be able to make any sort of fist of her near-impossible job. But in the short time she's been leader, she has shown she is willing to be assertive. She emerged from the brief split in the Coalition looking much steadier than Nationals leader David Littleproud, even though she had to persuade her party room to accept the minor party's policy demands. In her frontbench reshuffle, she was willing to wear the inevitable criticism that came with dropping a couple of senior women who had under-performed. As deputy leader, Ley adjusted her style a while before the election, toning down the aggression and sometimes wild attacks, that had characterised her performance earlier in the term. A Liberal source said she found her "line and length". As leader, she will have others, notably deputy Ted O'Brien, to do the head-kicking, giving her room to attempt to develop a positive political persona. Labor leaned into attacking Dutton - never afraid to name him. With Ley, Albanese might adopt the Bob Carr approach of avoiding using his opponent's name. At least until he finds his line and length in dealing with her. Anthony Albanese loves a trophy, especially a human one. He prides himself on his various "captain's pick" candidates - good campaigners he has steered into seats. Way back in the Gillard days, he was key in persuading discontented Liberal Peter Slipper to defect. Slipper became an independent and Labor's speaker. The exercise helped the government's numbers, but the bold play didn't end well for Labor or for Slipper. The government was tarnished, and Slipper, relentlessly pursued by the Coalition and mired in controversy, eventually had to quit the speakership. The affair did produce Julia Gillard's famous misogyny speech, however. Now Albanese has another gee-whiz prize - Western Australian senator Dorinda Cox, who has defected from the Greens. Cox, after being defeated in a bid for Greens deputy leader, approached Labor and the PM drove her course to being accepted into the party. The manoeuvre makes a marginal but insignificant difference to Senate numbers - Labor will still need the Greens to pass legislation opposed by the Coalition. Taking in Cox is a risk, and some in Labor are looking at it askance. The prime minister's embrace of Cox contradicts Labor's argument when its Western Australian senator Fatima Payman defected to become an independent. It said then hers was a Labor seat and she should therefore resign. But this wouldn't be the first time expediency trumped consistency in politics. Cox, who is Indigenous and was spokeswoman for First Nations and resources in the last parliament, has been a fierce critic of extending the North West Shelf gas project, which the government has just announced. Albanese says he is confident she "understands that being a member of the Labor Party means that she will support positions that are made by the Labor Party". She has also faced allegations of treating staff badly. Labor discounts the claims against her, saying they are overblown and a product of Greens factionalism and toxicity. Certainly, she was given a tough time by the hard-left faction represented by deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi. Labor would be wise to ensure Cox feels supported in her new party home. Albanese perhaps calculates that the worst that can happen is there's a blow up and she defects to the crossbench. Labor could shrug and say, she was never really one of us. Snatching a senator from the Greens is particularly satisfying to Albanese because he hates the party so much. Last term, lower house Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather (defeated at the election) really got under his skin. More generally, the Greens held up important legislation, most notably on housing. In the new Senate, Labor will need only the Greens to pass legislation opposed by the Coalition. How new Greens leader Larissa Waters - who replaced Adam Bandt after he lost his seat - handles the party's relationship with the government will be crucial for the more contentious parts of Labor's legislative program. The usually low-key Waters will be under a lot of pressure. The Greens had a bad election, losing three lower house seats. Now they have lost a senator at the start of Waters' watch. Waters conceded on the Serious Danger podcast in late May that Labor had successfully run the narrative of the Greens as blockers. "So I do think we're going to need to be quite deft in how we handle balance of power in this term, [...] People want us to be constructive. They don't just want us to roll over and tick off on any old shit. They want meaningful reforms." Waters will want to pick her fights carefully, and also find ways of pursuing the Greens' agenda where the party co-operates. The first deal is likely to be on the government's legislation to increase the tax on those with large superannuation balances, which contains the controversial provision to tax unrealised capital gains. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and her team will confront some of the same problems as the Greens - when to oppose and when to seek to negotiate with the government. For his part, Albanese will have a novel challenge with Ley - what stance to adopt against the first female opposition leader, especially but not only in parliamentary clashes. After facing two alpha male Liberal leaders, Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton, a new approach will obviously be necessary. As one Labor man succinctly puts it, "Labor can't monster a woman". There can be no repeat of Albanese, a frontbencher a decade ago in the Shorten opposition, interjecting to urge a female colleague engaged in a stoush with Ley to "smash her". For Ley, trying to deal with the Liberals' multiple difficulties in attracting women voters and candidates must be high on her agenda. Former Liberal federal president Alan Stockdale, one of the three-person group currently running the NSW division of the party, showed himself part of the problem when this week he told the NSW Liberal Women's Council, "The women in this party are so assertive now that we may need some special rules for men to get them pre-selected". READ MORE: Stockdale said later he was being "light-hearted". Tone deaf might be a better term. Ley jumped on him. "There is nothing wrong with being an assertive woman. In fact I encourage assertive women to join the Liberal Party." The jury is out on whether Ley will be able to make any sort of fist of her near-impossible job. But in the short time she's been leader, she has shown she is willing to be assertive. She emerged from the brief split in the Coalition looking much steadier than Nationals leader David Littleproud, even though she had to persuade her party room to accept the minor party's policy demands. In her frontbench reshuffle, she was willing to wear the inevitable criticism that came with dropping a couple of senior women who had under-performed. As deputy leader, Ley adjusted her style a while before the election, toning down the aggression and sometimes wild attacks, that had characterised her performance earlier in the term. A Liberal source said she found her "line and length". As leader, she will have others, notably deputy Ted O'Brien, to do the head-kicking, giving her room to attempt to develop a positive political persona. Labor leaned into attacking Dutton - never afraid to name him. With Ley, Albanese might adopt the Bob Carr approach of avoiding using his opponent's name. At least until he finds his line and length in dealing with her. Anthony Albanese loves a trophy, especially a human one. He prides himself on his various "captain's pick" candidates - good campaigners he has steered into seats. Way back in the Gillard days, he was key in persuading discontented Liberal Peter Slipper to defect. Slipper became an independent and Labor's speaker. The exercise helped the government's numbers, but the bold play didn't end well for Labor or for Slipper. The government was tarnished, and Slipper, relentlessly pursued by the Coalition and mired in controversy, eventually had to quit the speakership. The affair did produce Julia Gillard's famous misogyny speech, however. Now Albanese has another gee-whiz prize - Western Australian senator Dorinda Cox, who has defected from the Greens. Cox, after being defeated in a bid for Greens deputy leader, approached Labor and the PM drove her course to being accepted into the party. The manoeuvre makes a marginal but insignificant difference to Senate numbers - Labor will still need the Greens to pass legislation opposed by the Coalition. Taking in Cox is a risk, and some in Labor are looking at it askance. The prime minister's embrace of Cox contradicts Labor's argument when its Western Australian senator Fatima Payman defected to become an independent. It said then hers was a Labor seat and she should therefore resign. But this wouldn't be the first time expediency trumped consistency in politics. Cox, who is Indigenous and was spokeswoman for First Nations and resources in the last parliament, has been a fierce critic of extending the North West Shelf gas project, which the government has just announced. Albanese says he is confident she "understands that being a member of the Labor Party means that she will support positions that are made by the Labor Party". She has also faced allegations of treating staff badly. Labor discounts the claims against her, saying they are overblown and a product of Greens factionalism and toxicity. Certainly, she was given a tough time by the hard-left faction represented by deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi. Labor would be wise to ensure Cox feels supported in her new party home. Albanese perhaps calculates that the worst that can happen is there's a blow up and she defects to the crossbench. Labor could shrug and say, she was never really one of us. Snatching a senator from the Greens is particularly satisfying to Albanese because he hates the party so much. Last term, lower house Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather (defeated at the election) really got under his skin. More generally, the Greens held up important legislation, most notably on housing. In the new Senate, Labor will need only the Greens to pass legislation opposed by the Coalition. How new Greens leader Larissa Waters - who replaced Adam Bandt after he lost his seat - handles the party's relationship with the government will be crucial for the more contentious parts of Labor's legislative program. The usually low-key Waters will be under a lot of pressure. The Greens had a bad election, losing three lower house seats. Now they have lost a senator at the start of Waters' watch. Waters conceded on the Serious Danger podcast in late May that Labor had successfully run the narrative of the Greens as blockers. "So I do think we're going to need to be quite deft in how we handle balance of power in this term, [...] People want us to be constructive. They don't just want us to roll over and tick off on any old shit. They want meaningful reforms." Waters will want to pick her fights carefully, and also find ways of pursuing the Greens' agenda where the party co-operates. The first deal is likely to be on the government's legislation to increase the tax on those with large superannuation balances, which contains the controversial provision to tax unrealised capital gains. Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and her team will confront some of the same problems as the Greens - when to oppose and when to seek to negotiate with the government. For his part, Albanese will have a novel challenge with Ley - what stance to adopt against the first female opposition leader, especially but not only in parliamentary clashes. After facing two alpha male Liberal leaders, Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton, a new approach will obviously be necessary. As one Labor man succinctly puts it, "Labor can't monster a woman". There can be no repeat of Albanese, a frontbencher a decade ago in the Shorten opposition, interjecting to urge a female colleague engaged in a stoush with Ley to "smash her". For Ley, trying to deal with the Liberals' multiple difficulties in attracting women voters and candidates must be high on her agenda. Former Liberal federal president Alan Stockdale, one of the three-person group currently running the NSW division of the party, showed himself part of the problem when this week he told the NSW Liberal Women's Council, "The women in this party are so assertive now that we may need some special rules for men to get them pre-selected". READ MORE: Stockdale said later he was being "light-hearted". Tone deaf might be a better term. Ley jumped on him. "There is nothing wrong with being an assertive woman. In fact I encourage assertive women to join the Liberal Party." The jury is out on whether Ley will be able to make any sort of fist of her near-impossible job. But in the short time she's been leader, she has shown she is willing to be assertive. She emerged from the brief split in the Coalition looking much steadier than Nationals leader David Littleproud, even though she had to persuade her party room to accept the minor party's policy demands. In her frontbench reshuffle, she was willing to wear the inevitable criticism that came with dropping a couple of senior women who had under-performed. As deputy leader, Ley adjusted her style a while before the election, toning down the aggression and sometimes wild attacks, that had characterised her performance earlier in the term. A Liberal source said she found her "line and length". As leader, she will have others, notably deputy Ted O'Brien, to do the head-kicking, giving her room to attempt to develop a positive political persona. Labor leaned into attacking Dutton - never afraid to name him. With Ley, Albanese might adopt the Bob Carr approach of avoiding using his opponent's name. At least until he finds his line and length in dealing with her.
9 News
an hour ago
- 9 News
Australian father released from Iraqi prison on bail after four years
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Australian father Robert Pether has been released on bail from an Iraqi prison after more than four years of arbitrary detention. Pether and his colleague were arrested on fraud charges in Baghdad on April 7, 2021, after a contractual dispute between their employer CME Consulting and the Central Bank of Iraq. The engineer was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and a $16 million fine later that year. Australian engineer Robert Pether and his family. (Nine) A United Nations working group ruled he had been arbitrarily detained and did not receive his right to a fair trial and due process. Pether, who has maintained his innocence, claimed he had been forced to sign a pre-written incriminating confession in Arabic. Pether has now been released on bail. He is still subject to legal proceedings in Iraq. Foreign Minister Penny Wong welcomed his release after helping raise his matter with Iraqi authorities more than 200 times. "I know the personal toll Mr Pether's detention has taken on him and his family and hope this news brings a measure of relief after years of distress," she said. "While Mr Pether remains subject to legal proceedings in Iraq, this is a positive development and follows persistent Australian Government advocacy over many years. "I want to thank Australian officials for their tireless work on Mr Pether's case, including Australia's special envoy who travelled to Iraq in recent weeks to negotiate for this outcome." Pether has now been released on bail. He is still subject to legal proceedings in Iraq. (Getty) Pether and his family had been living in Roscommon, Ireland, before his arrest in Iraq. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris said he received a call from Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein informing him of the development in the "long and distressing" saga. "I was informed that Robert has been released on bail and for the moment he remains in Iraq, but I welcomed this as a first step to his being allowed to return to his family in Roscommon," he said. "I also spoke this evening with Robert's wife, Desree Pether, about this positive development." Pether will remain in Iraq while he is on bail. The Australian and Irish governments will continue to advocate for Pether throughout his ongoing legal proceedings. "We will continue to support Mr Pether and his family and to advocate for Mr Pether's interests and wellbeing," Wong said. "We remain concerned about Robert's health and outstanding charges, but I am hopeful now of a positive resolution in this case," Harris said. Pether has shared his distress in an emotional letter penned from behind bars last year, writing about missing crucial moments with his wife Desree and their four children Dylan, Flynn, Oscar and Nala. "I've missed so many milestones," he wrote. "Our oldest sons 30th, our other sons 18th and soon 21st and our youngest son's 16th and 18th. Our youngest two boys have finished school and are now young men. Our daughter was eight when I was arrested and is now 11. "I've missed three Christmases and four Easters, multiple birthdays, three wedding anniversaries, and so much more. "I want to go home. I want to go back to Australia and hear the birds, swim at the beach, sit and watch the harbour while the ferries come and go and feel the sun on my skin." Australia national Iraq World prison crime courts United Nations CONTACT US
