Latest news with #ChristopherPyne
Telegraph
11-08-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Frenemy: why Australia can't live without China
Australia holds a unique position in global geopolitics - on the other side of the world but still very much a 'Western' country. To that end, Roland Oliphant speaks with former Australian Defence Minister Christopher Pyne about the delicate balancing act his country faces in dealing with an increasingly sharp-elbowed China; and whether President Trump will stand by the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact with Australia. Also in this episode, Roland looks at developments in Gaza. Nearly 200 journalists have been killed while reporting in the strip, but for the first time, Israel has publicly stated that the death of one on Sunday - Al Jazeera's Anas al-Sharif - was an assassination by its own forces... The Telegraph's Jerusalem correspondent Henry Bodkin discusses why the strike happened now and what it means for journalists either already in Gaza and those still trying to enter. battlelines@ @venetiarainey
The Age
07-05-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Memo Liberals, follow these three steps
To submit a letter to The Age, email letters@ Please include your home address and telephone number. No attachments, please include your letter in the body of the email. See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. The Liberal Party needs to take three steps to gain the confidence of the electorate. First, bite the bullet on climate change and develop a consistent policy – and maybe even a bipartisan policy on energy to give the investment community a clear roadmap for investment in renewables. Second, forget the culture wars. They have no place in government. Third, introduce quotas for women in parliament and cabinet. Past practices have not delivered. Miranda Milne, Armadale A party without relevance Christopher Pyne offers a reasoned and sensible explanation for the Coalition wipeout (Comment, 7/5). He points to a small, ageing, gendered membership base, campaigning on the politics of division, polling errors and the presumption of traditional Liberal appeal. Pyne believes that Liberal values, particularly 'sensible government', lower taxes, and national security are still ' fit for purpose'. However, incoherent and offensive scattergun policy proposals, including the almost complete denial of climate change, ignorance and disrespect of First Nation's people, an abject failure to appreciate the needs of working women, naivety regarding the role, capacity and possibilities of government and governing, all point to the party's complete lack of relevance, empathy and vision for the nation. Election 2025 is the Liberal Party death knell. Kate Driscoll, Aireys Inlet Labor should see the Greens as an ally A Labor voter before this election, I have been dismayed at the party's now apparently standard self-congratulatory response to any suggestion that they might be doing less than an adequate job in a particular area. I'm especially concerned at their unfair assessment of the Greens. The Greens have generally not been obstructionist except to inadequate policies, whether LNP's or Labor's. It is not good enough for a party to take refuge in purportedly effective policies – whether on housing or climate change – that in reality stop short of the more far-reaching policies needed to meet people's needs. The Greens' policies have generally reflected a realistic appraisal of people's and the planet's needs and it has been the party in power whose policies have not been realistic enough. Labor should view the Greens as the ally in caring that they are – a critical friend generally wanting what's best for people and the planet. Labor does itself no favours rejecting the Greens for sometimes being more realistic than themselves. David Anderson, Point Lonsdale Ignoring problems isn't a strategy As usual, Ross Gittins is spot on (' Women hold key to the Libs' future ', 7/5). The Liberal Party has a woman problem and a climate problem. In the 2022 election, every seat they lost went to a woman – many of whom championed climate action. That result should have been a wake-up call. Instead, however, just 32 per cent of their 2025 candidates were female and their only climate policy was the fake nuclear fix. Not only does the contemporary Liberal Party need to establish what it stands for (Letters, 7/5), but it will remain unelectable until it preselects centrist female candidates and puts forward science-based, costed climate policies that will genuinely reduce pollution. Turns out, ignoring half the population and the biggest issue of our time isn't a winning strategy. Amy Hiller, Kew Coalition parties need to go their own way There is a huge disconnect in the Coalition. They have their National Party representatives (winning in country seats) who gain popularity by being anti-establishment, particularly on climate change. But this bravado loses seats for the Liberal Party in the cities and suburbs. They are not on a merry-go-round they are on a see-saw. It would be best for the Liberal side to split from their Nationals side. The Coalition is no longer a solution, it is a problem. John Rome, Mt Lawley THE FORUM Remember the humanities Higher education scarcely figured in the election campaign, aside from Coalition barbs at the ″woke″ values of universities. Those who believe in the importance of the humanities look forward to the implementation of the Labor government's commitment to implement all the recommendations of the Australian Universities Accord Report, especially to establish an Australian Tertiary Education Commission and to review the Job Ready Graduates (JRG) package. The JRG fee structure, introduced by the Morrison government in 2020-21, actively sought to discourage students from enrolling in arts degrees, increasing fees for history, philosophy, literature and communications subjects by 117per cent. A clear signal was given that humanities, including the study of Australian history, should be regarded by students as an expensive indulgence. The Accord Report recommended that student contributions for students studying humanities and communications should be reduced as a priority and be based on the actual cost of delivering humanities programs and the projected potential lifetime earnings of graduates. Peter McPhee, Chair,
ABC News
04-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Liberals left with no Adelaide seats as SA party elder laments 'diabolical' result
The federal Liberals' last bastion in metropolitan Adelaide has toppled, It's a seat that by many measures should be Liberal heartland, sitting in Adelaide's leafy eastern suburbs. But less than three hours after polls closed, at the Robin Hood Hotel — "I am obviously very bitterly disappointed that I am the custodian of losing the seat of Sturt," he said. "This regrettably is not the only seat tonight that we are losing for the first time in a long time." James Stevens has lost the seat of Sturt after representing it since 2019. ( ABC News: Rachael Merritt ) Victim of a national swing or failure of a local campaign? In some respects a loss is a loss, but the Sturt loss is looking worse than others, with the swing against Mr Stevens outstripping the national trend. That may narrow as postal votes are counted, but there's no denying Labor's Claire Clutterham will head to Canberra when parliament sits again. Ahead of election day, Ms Clutterham was repeating the phrase she would be "a stronger and more visible voice for Sturt". A campaign slogan that suggests her opponent hadn't been strong or visible. Claire Clutterham is set to become Labor's first member for Sturt since 1972. ( ABC News: Sophie Landau ) Perceptions that Mr Stevens hasn't been visible enough in Sturt have possibly been made worse by the long shadow of his predecessor, Christopher Pyne. Mr Pyne was a cabinet minister, but was also seen as an effective local member and campaigner. He needed those campaign skills — there were times in his 26 years in Sturt that he was fighting for his political life, like in 2007 when the Rudd landslide left his margin at just 1 per cent. A moderate Liberal seat lost during a conservative campaign James Stevens, and Christopher Pyne before him, are both moderate Liberals. In 2022, Mr Stevens lost a significant amount of ground to the Greens, something his party could have read as a desire from the electorate for a more progressive stance on environmental issues. Voters in the seat of Sturt cast their ballots yesterday. ( ABC News: Brant Cumming ) It's unlikely a party led by conservative Peter Dutton did him any favours. Notably, in his final visit to SA, Mr Dutton didn't join the Sturt MP on the hustings, instead holding a rally for the party faithful. Watching his former seat fall from a panel on Channel 9's election broadcast, Mr Pyne issued a warning to the conservatives. "We have to learn that you cannot win elections from the right of the political spectrum, any more than you can win them from the left of the political spectrum, that elections are won either from the centre left or the centre right," he said. "John Howard learnt that lesson after his first term as the leader of the party. In his second term, he brought everyone together." Liberal Party elder and moderate Christopher Pyne has delivered a warning to his conservative colleagues. ( ABC News: Matt Roberts ) Boothby now a safe Labor seat In more recent elections, Boothby has been South Australia's battleground seat, with the Liberals holding it on an ever decreasing margin. That changed in 2022, when Labor's Louise Miller-Frost managed to win it. It attracted early interest this time around with the return of former MP Nicolle Flint, who had been campaigning in the seat for months before the election was called. Louise Miller-Frost claims victory on election night. ( ABC News: Sophie Holder ) While Ms Flint has strong name recognition in Boothby, the result may show being well-known doesn't necessarily mean well-liked. By current counting, Nicolle Flint embraces a supporter on election night. ( ABC News: Sophie Holder ) The Malinauskas factor At a pre-election function in Adelaide where the Prime Minister, Opposition Leader and Premier were all giving addresses, Peter Dutton described Peter Malinauskas as "the smoothest premier in the country." High praise from a political adversary, but a sign even Mr Dutton could see the SA leader's wide appeal. At every prime ministerial visit to South Australia, Mr Malinauskas has been by Anthony Albanese's side. Some may have even thought they were voting for SA's premier on election day — the state leader featuring prominently on Labor corflutes at polling booths. In a poster promoting the ALP for the senate, SA Premier Peter Malinauskas is flanked by senators Marielle Smith and Karen Grogan. ( ABC News: Brant Cumming ) Contrast that with the state opposition. Leader Vincent Tarzia was absent from Peter Dutton's local media events, with Labor jibes in question time suggesting if Mr Tarzia wanted the party leader's phone number, the premier would be happy to give it to him. Crushing defeat before a state election The federal election result lays bare the almost impossible task Vincent Tarzia is facing. As James Stevens gave his concession speech at the Robin Hood Hotel, it was hard not to reflect on March 2022, when Since that crushing loss, the state Liberal Party has taken more blows, losing Mr Marshall's seat of Dunstan in a by-election, followed by the loss of erstwhile opposition leader David Speirs's seat of Black. With every metropolitan federal seat now in Labor's hands, the state party will be looking at which electorates they'll target, and which they may have to sandbag. Commiserating with his fellow Liberals at the Robin Hood, Mr Tarzia tried to distance his state team from the result. Vincent Tarzia tried to distance his state team from the federal result. ( ABC News: Che Chorley ) "The federal election has been fought on federal issues and I think people can distinguish between federal issues and state issues," he said. "We are just working hard every day now to hold the Labor party to account and continue to put our alternative vision forward for the people of South Australia for March 2026." A 'diabolical result' Christopher Pyne held on to Sturt in 2007, and despite swings across the country the party also managed to hold onto Boothby and Mayo. Now the party's only strongholds in South Australia are its two regional electorates — Grey and Barker. It's a result party elder Simon Birmingham described as "diabolical". "Well, if this isn't rock bottom, then in not too long there won't be much of a party," he said. "So, it's critical that people see this as a chance to turn the corner and to look at how they better identify the Liberal ideology in a way that is relevant to modern audiences." The chances of the Liberals winning Sturt back, and gaining other metropolitan seats, may depend on whether the conservatives in the party take that lesson from their moderate colleagues. Read more about the federal election: Want even more? Here's where you can find all our 2025 Catch the latest interviews and in-depth coverage on
9 News
03-05-2025
- Politics
- 9 News
Liberals need a new leader and a new direction, path forward unclear
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Analysis: As triumphant a night this was for Anthony Albanese and Labor, the Liberal party will be left to sift through the wreckage for years to come. At the end of the night Labor is creeping towards the 90-seat mark. Christopher Pyne, who served alongside Dutton in the cabinet, said the damage to the Liberal party will be felt for years. "One of my concerns is that because the Coalition has gone backwards we could well be two elections away from being seriously competitive," he said. Nine chief political editor Charles Croucher was more damning. "This is a huge loss," he said. "It should be a huge lesson to the Liberal Party. You cannot continue in the same direction. "A new leader needs a new direction because the country needs a good opposition." "It's a remarkable win," said Croucher. "A majority is a good thing. Let's hope that the difficulties everyone's been through in Australia these last five years are now over, and we can all move to a happier place together." Federal Election 2025 Peter Dutton Anthony Albanese CONTACT US
