Latest news with #Climate200
Epoch Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Electoral Commission Orders Partial Recount in Goldstein, Rejects Full Review
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has announced it will conduct a partial recount in the Victorian seat of Goldstein, after Liberal candidate Tim Wilson emerged 260 votes ahead of incumbent independent MP Zoe Daniel. Daniel had formally requested a full recount, but the AEC declined, citing the rigour and scrutiny already applied during the distribution of preferences. 'The AEC is not undertaking a full recount, which would include repeating the just completed distribution of preferences. We are satisfied that there was a very high degree of rigour throughout the distribution of preferences process,' the commission said in a statement. However, it acknowledged that some corrections were made in the final stages of preference distribution. As a result, the AEC deemed it 'reasonable and appropriate' to re-examine first-preference ballots for Daniel and Wilson, as well as all informal votes. The recount will begin on May 28 and is expected to take up to four days. Daniel Responds to AEC Decision Daniel acknowledged the AEC's decision in a brief statement. Related Stories 5/24/2025 5/7/2025 'I'd like to thank my scrutineers and AEC staff for their diligence and dedication to the democratic process. I will be making no further comment until the process is complete,' she said. The result is a blow to Daniel, who had celebrated an apparent victory on election night to the sound of Sia's 'Titanium,' only for the tide to turn days later. Daniel's early lead evaporated as thousands of postal votes heavily favoured Wilson, pushing him into a winning position. Goldstein Marks a High-Profile Setback for Climate 200 The contest for Goldstein has been one of the most watched races of the 2025 election, given its significance in the rise of the Climate 200-backed 'Teal' independents. Daniel's 2022 victory over Wilson was a landmark moment for the movement, as she flipped the once-safe Liberal seat. Climate 200 invested over $500,000 in Daniel's re-election bid, underscoring the importance of Goldstein to the group's campaign. Wilson's apparent return to parliament now marks the first time a Liberal candidate has reclaimed a seat from a Climate 200-backed independent. While the final result in Goldstein remains pending, AEC is carrying out a full recount in Sydney's closely contested Bradfield seat. The race is extremely tight, with Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian leading independent Nicolette Boele by just eight votes after the final distribution of preferences. Under AEC rules, any margin under 100 votes triggers a full recount. Boele was provisionally declared the winner by 40 votes.
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Election bombshell as AEC orders recount of Goldstein - as Teal refuses to concede
The seat of Goldstein is heading for a partial recount as former Teal MP Zoe Daniel refuses to concede to Liberal Tim Wilson. The inner south-east Melbourne seat has been one of the most closely fought of the federal election campaign. Daniel, a Climate200-backed independent, originally claimed victory on election night, before having to walk back her premature celebrations just days later. The seat was then called for Tim Wilson by almost all new organisations, including Daily Mail Australia, before it appeared to be in doubt again. Wilson, who was ousted by Daniel in 2022, was declared the winner by 260 votes, but the Teal requested a full recount. The Australian Electoral Commission has now partly agreed to that, meaning there will be a recount of first preference votes for both candidates, in addition to a recount of all informal votes.
The Australian
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Australian
Peter Dutton's allies speak out on election loss and polling disaster
You can now listen to The Australian's articles. Give us your feedback. You can now listen to The Australian's articles. Peter Dutton's Liberal campaign was so shocked by its historic defeat that the party president demanded the federal director explain its fatally flawed polling in the middle of their own election party, while one of Mr Dutton's top allies kept thousands in the bank after the then-opposition leader told him his seat was safe. As Sussan Ley works over the weekend to patch up a splintered Coalition and find a strategy to deal with a Labor win so large it could guarantee Anthony Albanese two more terms in office, the Liberal Party has finally laid bare the mistakes that led Mr Dutton to lose his own seat and more than a dozen of his colleagues' on May 3. Defeated Liberal National Party opposition assistant minister Luke Howarth has revealed Mr Dutton reassured him his outer-Brisbane seat of Petrie was safe, before asking for part of his campaign war chest to be spent trying to win a Labor-held longshot seat and defend Coalition strongholds from the threat of Climate 200-backed Teal candidates. Mr Howarth has also conceded he regrets putting his longtime friend Mr Dutton's face on joint billboards and how-to-vote cards, after he underestimated the then leader's unpopularity in their adjoining electorates. Another senior Liberal source said the internal polling by Freshwater Strategy was 'way out' and had given Mr Dutton's team, strategists and MPs flawed information throughout the campaign. 'The polling was a huge problem … it was way out,' the senior Liberal told The Australian. 'If we'd have known (the truth) we would have changed course overnight.' The senior Liberal source also criticised the strength of negative ads produced by Coalition campaign headquarters and director Andrew Hirst, and suggested it was not official opposition policy when Senator Jane Hume announced Canberra-based public servants would be forced to work full-time from the office. Senator Hume's office rejected that claim and said her speech and the policy announcement had been put through the proper channels, including Mr Dutton's office. Peter Dutton, centre, Angus Taylor, left, and Jane Hume at Parliament House before the election. Picture: Martin Ollman / NewsWire But the senior Liberal source said rather than kill Senator Hume's announcement straight away and stoke talk there was a policy split, it was decided it was a 'benign' issue. According to sources who saw the final Freshwater tracking poll conducted on the Wednesday night before the election, the research showed a swing to the Liberals in some NSW and Victorian marginal seats of about 5 per cent. Emboldened by that result, Mr Dutton told close allies and MPs, including Mr Howarth, that he could win 10 seats off Labor and force Anthony Albanese into minority government. Liberal Party president John Olsen. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones Liberal Party federal director Andrew Hirst. Picture: Kym Smith Liberal Party president John Olsen confirmed the flawed polling would be a major target of the 'full and transparent' review of the federal campaign. On election night in the Liberal Party's campaign war room at Brisbane's the W Hotel, when it became obvious the Freshwater polling failed to predict the scale of Labor's victory, Mr Olsen challenged Coalition campaign director Andrew Hirst to explain what had gone wrong. Mr Olsen denied the confrontation was 'heated' but said 'we certainly had a conversation on polling, you wouldn't have to be Einstein to work that out'. Mr Howarth said Mr Dutton was let down by his own office, polling, poor policy development and an inability to counter Labor's devastating personal attacks. Mr Dutton was reassured by Freshwater twice during the campaign that he was ahead in his own seat of Dickson, which he went on to lose after three-time Labor candidate Ali France secured a 7.76 per cent swing to her. Mr Howarth said he did not poll his own seat of Petrie, partly because Labor had not announced a candidate until the eve of the campaign but mostly because he was reassured he was safe. He said Mr Dutton told him to help in neighbouring Lilley, held by Labor Sport Minister Anika Wells, so he raised $1.7m and spent $634,000 in his own seat of Petrie, before tipping $350,000 into Lilley and $400,000 into other seats. Mr Howarth has hundreds of thousands of dollars left in his campaign war chest but said he did not regret helping his colleagues. Defeated Queensland LNP MP Bert van Manen. Picture: Jerad Williams 'But the whole polling was wrong … I don't think the leader or his office had any idea what was coming – clearly – because they didn't think he'd lose his own seat. They didn't think I'd lose my seat.' Freshwater Strategy declined to comment and director Mike Turner is legally prevented from talking because he's still under contract with the party. It is understood the company did not decide which seats to poll, and that the pollster believes its research consistently and increasingly showed that Labor was the favourite to form government. Another defeated Queensland LNP MP, Bert van Manen, said there was no indication he would lose his seat of Forde, which he held on just over 4 per cent, but the working-from-home policy hurt his chances. 'Certainly I got no indication from anywhere that there were any risks (to my seat),' Mr van Manen said. 'It's an unusual situation for me because in every campaign I'm in the top five or 10 (marginal) seats in the country and nobody was discussing my seat or Luke (Howarth's) seat this time.' 'Not you guys (in the media), not pollsters, not Labor. From that perspective, it was strange that we got the result that we did. We need to have a good hard look at what went wrong.' Mr van Manen said the Coalition's policy to cancel working from home arrangements for public servants – which was later reversed – and plans to cut 41,000 Canberra bureaucrats hurt him. 'One hundred per cent I had that feedback directly. Women at the polling booths were concerned … and there's a general view in Queensland … that given what happened during Campbell Newman's tenure, that still resonates when you're talking about public servants.' Mr Newman's LNP government was defeated after just one term in power, following the sacking of about 14,000 state public servants. Read related topics: Peter Dutton Sarah Elks Senior Reporter Sarah Elks is a senior reporter for The Australian in its Brisbane bureau, focusing on investigations into politics, business and industry. Sarah has worked for the paper for 15 years, primarily in Brisbane, but also in Sydney, and in Cairns as north Queensland correspondent. She has covered election campaigns, high-profile murder trials, and natural disasters, and was named Queensland Journalist of the Year in 2016 for a series of exclusive stories exposing the failure of Clive Palmer's Queensland Nickel business. Sarah has been nominated for four Walkley awards. Got a tip? elkss@ GPO Box 2145 Brisbane QLD 4001 @sarahelks Sarah Elks
AU Financial Review
21-05-2025
- Politics
- AU Financial Review
Labor's campaign mastermind reveals how he beat the Liberals
The mastermind of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's thumping re-election victory says Labor's next challenge is to develop campaign strategies to combat teal independents, after candidates backed by the Climate 200 funding juggernaut almost defeated government MPs in two safe seats. Labor national secretary Paul Erickson downplayed concerns over the party achieving just 35.6 per cent of the primary vote, suggesting this figure was artificially low because Labor supporters engaged in tactical voting to help defeat Coalition candidates in contests against the teals. He justified this claim by pointing to some teal seats where Labor's Senate vote was ten percentage points higher than for the House of Representatives.
The Advertiser
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Controversial gas project hinges on 11th-hour talks
Federal and state politicians have started talks on the possible extension of a massive gas project which faces fierce opposition from conservationists. Environment Minister Murray Watt arrived in Perth on Tuesday, ahead of a meeting with Western Australia's Labor government, along with industry, conservation and Indigenous groups, about Woodside's North West Shelf gas project. The energy company's proposal to extend the operating life of its gas project from 2030 to 2070 has been under assessment for six years, and a decision has been delayed twice. Senator Watt has said he intends to approve or reject it by the May 31 deadline. WA Premier Roger Cook's government has approved Woodside's plan, with the final tick of approval needed from the federal government. "We'll be urging him to make a decision in relation to the North West Shelf gas extensions as soon as possible, but in a manner which provides for a safe and legally sound decision," the premier told reporters. Philanthropist Janet Holmes a Court weighed in on the debate, zeroing in on the potential impact of the extension on Indigenous rock art near the Karratha Gas Plant in operation since 1984, labelling it vandalism. "I really urge the minister to visit the site and to consider the consequences of permitting Woodside to extend ... the pollution that will destroy this ancient, important and significant site," she said. Ms Holmes a Court, whose son is Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court, expects court challenges if the extension is granted. Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Piper Rollins said the extension decision was a climate test for the Albanese government. "Woodside is proposing to drill, extract and export gas until 2070, which is wildly inconsistent with Australia's net-zero by 2050 commitment, and is deeply inconsistent with Labor's own mediocre climate ambition," she said. The foundation will meet with the Senator Watt during the week. Greenpeace campaigner Geoff Bice called on the minister to reject the application. "We know from Woodside's plans that the main reason they want that extension to go on is to allow drilling for gas from underneath the Scott Reef," he said. "We're confident that when the minister looks at the full evidence that he will be able to make that decision to knock back North West Shelf." Australian Marine Conservation Society chief executive Paul Gamblin warned approving the extension could "haunt us forever". Woodside's project is on and offshore the Burrup peninsula in northwest WA, known as Murujuga, which is nominated for UNESCO World Heritage listing as it contains the world's largest collection of Aboriginal rock art. WA Greens MP Sophie McNeill called on the state government to release a report about the rock art. "We know that they've been sitting on it since December last year, and it is critical that before the decision on the North West Shelf extension is made, they release it," she said Federal and state politicians have started talks on the possible extension of a massive gas project which faces fierce opposition from conservationists. Environment Minister Murray Watt arrived in Perth on Tuesday, ahead of a meeting with Western Australia's Labor government, along with industry, conservation and Indigenous groups, about Woodside's North West Shelf gas project. The energy company's proposal to extend the operating life of its gas project from 2030 to 2070 has been under assessment for six years, and a decision has been delayed twice. Senator Watt has said he intends to approve or reject it by the May 31 deadline. WA Premier Roger Cook's government has approved Woodside's plan, with the final tick of approval needed from the federal government. "We'll be urging him to make a decision in relation to the North West Shelf gas extensions as soon as possible, but in a manner which provides for a safe and legally sound decision," the premier told reporters. Philanthropist Janet Holmes a Court weighed in on the debate, zeroing in on the potential impact of the extension on Indigenous rock art near the Karratha Gas Plant in operation since 1984, labelling it vandalism. "I really urge the minister to visit the site and to consider the consequences of permitting Woodside to extend ... the pollution that will destroy this ancient, important and significant site," she said. Ms Holmes a Court, whose son is Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court, expects court challenges if the extension is granted. Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Piper Rollins said the extension decision was a climate test for the Albanese government. "Woodside is proposing to drill, extract and export gas until 2070, which is wildly inconsistent with Australia's net-zero by 2050 commitment, and is deeply inconsistent with Labor's own mediocre climate ambition," she said. The foundation will meet with the Senator Watt during the week. Greenpeace campaigner Geoff Bice called on the minister to reject the application. "We know from Woodside's plans that the main reason they want that extension to go on is to allow drilling for gas from underneath the Scott Reef," he said. "We're confident that when the minister looks at the full evidence that he will be able to make that decision to knock back North West Shelf." Australian Marine Conservation Society chief executive Paul Gamblin warned approving the extension could "haunt us forever". Woodside's project is on and offshore the Burrup peninsula in northwest WA, known as Murujuga, which is nominated for UNESCO World Heritage listing as it contains the world's largest collection of Aboriginal rock art. WA Greens MP Sophie McNeill called on the state government to release a report about the rock art. "We know that they've been sitting on it since December last year, and it is critical that before the decision on the North West Shelf extension is made, they release it," she said Federal and state politicians have started talks on the possible extension of a massive gas project which faces fierce opposition from conservationists. Environment Minister Murray Watt arrived in Perth on Tuesday, ahead of a meeting with Western Australia's Labor government, along with industry, conservation and Indigenous groups, about Woodside's North West Shelf gas project. The energy company's proposal to extend the operating life of its gas project from 2030 to 2070 has been under assessment for six years, and a decision has been delayed twice. Senator Watt has said he intends to approve or reject it by the May 31 deadline. WA Premier Roger Cook's government has approved Woodside's plan, with the final tick of approval needed from the federal government. "We'll be urging him to make a decision in relation to the North West Shelf gas extensions as soon as possible, but in a manner which provides for a safe and legally sound decision," the premier told reporters. Philanthropist Janet Holmes a Court weighed in on the debate, zeroing in on the potential impact of the extension on Indigenous rock art near the Karratha Gas Plant in operation since 1984, labelling it vandalism. "I really urge the minister to visit the site and to consider the consequences of permitting Woodside to extend ... the pollution that will destroy this ancient, important and significant site," she said. Ms Holmes a Court, whose son is Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court, expects court challenges if the extension is granted. Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Piper Rollins said the extension decision was a climate test for the Albanese government. "Woodside is proposing to drill, extract and export gas until 2070, which is wildly inconsistent with Australia's net-zero by 2050 commitment, and is deeply inconsistent with Labor's own mediocre climate ambition," she said. The foundation will meet with the Senator Watt during the week. Greenpeace campaigner Geoff Bice called on the minister to reject the application. "We know from Woodside's plans that the main reason they want that extension to go on is to allow drilling for gas from underneath the Scott Reef," he said. "We're confident that when the minister looks at the full evidence that he will be able to make that decision to knock back North West Shelf." Australian Marine Conservation Society chief executive Paul Gamblin warned approving the extension could "haunt us forever". Woodside's project is on and offshore the Burrup peninsula in northwest WA, known as Murujuga, which is nominated for UNESCO World Heritage listing as it contains the world's largest collection of Aboriginal rock art. WA Greens MP Sophie McNeill called on the state government to release a report about the rock art. "We know that they've been sitting on it since December last year, and it is critical that before the decision on the North West Shelf extension is made, they release it," she said Federal and state politicians have started talks on the possible extension of a massive gas project which faces fierce opposition from conservationists. Environment Minister Murray Watt arrived in Perth on Tuesday, ahead of a meeting with Western Australia's Labor government, along with industry, conservation and Indigenous groups, about Woodside's North West Shelf gas project. The energy company's proposal to extend the operating life of its gas project from 2030 to 2070 has been under assessment for six years, and a decision has been delayed twice. Senator Watt has said he intends to approve or reject it by the May 31 deadline. WA Premier Roger Cook's government has approved Woodside's plan, with the final tick of approval needed from the federal government. "We'll be urging him to make a decision in relation to the North West Shelf gas extensions as soon as possible, but in a manner which provides for a safe and legally sound decision," the premier told reporters. Philanthropist Janet Holmes a Court weighed in on the debate, zeroing in on the potential impact of the extension on Indigenous rock art near the Karratha Gas Plant in operation since 1984, labelling it vandalism. "I really urge the minister to visit the site and to consider the consequences of permitting Woodside to extend ... the pollution that will destroy this ancient, important and significant site," she said. Ms Holmes a Court, whose son is Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court, expects court challenges if the extension is granted. Australian Conservation Foundation campaigner Piper Rollins said the extension decision was a climate test for the Albanese government. "Woodside is proposing to drill, extract and export gas until 2070, which is wildly inconsistent with Australia's net-zero by 2050 commitment, and is deeply inconsistent with Labor's own mediocre climate ambition," she said. The foundation will meet with the Senator Watt during the week. Greenpeace campaigner Geoff Bice called on the minister to reject the application. "We know from Woodside's plans that the main reason they want that extension to go on is to allow drilling for gas from underneath the Scott Reef," he said. "We're confident that when the minister looks at the full evidence that he will be able to make that decision to knock back North West Shelf." Australian Marine Conservation Society chief executive Paul Gamblin warned approving the extension could "haunt us forever". Woodside's project is on and offshore the Burrup peninsula in northwest WA, known as Murujuga, which is nominated for UNESCO World Heritage listing as it contains the world's largest collection of Aboriginal rock art. WA Greens MP Sophie McNeill called on the state government to release a report about the rock art. "We know that they've been sitting on it since December last year, and it is critical that before the decision on the North West Shelf extension is made, they release it," she said
