Latest news with #Frydenberg
Daily Mail
04-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
PETER VAN ONSELEN: The Liberals have an uphill battle to win back the favour of Aussies after Dutton led them straight to rock bottom... but one politician could help them reach the summit
The Liberal Party have never been very good at orchestrating outcomes but now is the time they need to. The party's best chance of electoral recovery from the mess it is now in is to parachute former Treasurer and Deputy Liberal leader Josh Frydenberg back into the parliament. But my suggestion for doing so is not to attempt to find him a lower house seat. That would require a re-elected Liberal MP to stand aside for Frydenberg to run at an ensuing by-election. The likely result would be more carnage. Frydenberg losing either to an independent or Labor. The electorate angry and being forced back to the polls so soon. Frydenberg would need to run somewhere he doesn't live or know. And where even would that be? Liberals have been decimated in the cities. What would the former Treasurer do? Don an akubra and pretend the regions have always been his home? Because he's spent time at hobby farms with the kids or at a family rural retreat? It's ridiculous He also can't run for a vacated outer metropolitan seat because he would be seen as an interloper there too. The only pathway to get Frydenberg back in the parliament is to put him in the senate and lead from there. It's not constitutionally impossible and the Liberals could pledge that he will run for the lower house at the next election, if not before. PM's must reside in the House of Representatives. So a senator would need to step aside, ideally and probably necessarily in Frydenberg's home state of Victoria. I won't name names here, but they know who they are. It's their duty to their party at this low ebb. The benefit of replacing a senator rather than a lower house MP is that no by-election is required. No vote. A casual senate vacancy when a senator retires means the party that senator represented gets to pick the replacement. This also means Frydenberg wouldn't need to go through a preselection, because the central party can impose senators at a time like this. Sussan Ley as the current deputy leader can preside until the deal gets done. Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor should announce he wants Frydenberg back because the party needs him. So should next generation future leaders like Andrew Hastie and Julian Leeser, who represent the opposite conservative and moderate ends of the party respectively. Liberals aren't likely to do what I suggest. More likely personal ambition will rein alongside a lament that the above battle plan is 'too hard to make happen'. It's hard, but it's also necessary and the best way forward. Frydenberg is no political messiah, but he is the Liberal Party's best option: for a fight back and to help ensure unity going forward.
The Age
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Harassment has no place at the polling booth
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. When men, at least one of whom is identified as a neo-Nazi ('Frydenberg condemns antisemitic stunt at appearance with Hamer', 1/5) dress up as orthodox Jews and spew antisemitic rants at a polling booth, the police should immediately intervene. The safety of our election process is a precious part of Australian life. Not only would most people be upset, offended and intimidated by such antisemitic tropes and harassment at the polling booth, this would be even more likely for elderly Jewish people, who in other countries have seen such mockery and antisemitism turn to organised lethal violence. Who would doubt that some voters would be frightened to go and vote, knowing such antisemitism was waiting for them at the polling booth? Even more so if it was known the perpetrators were indeed neo-Nazis. Not only is there no place for such antisemitic or any racial harassment at polling booths, history surely teaches us that the failure to confront shocking public political conduct only gives voice and momentum to the dangerous clowns doing it. Julian McMahon, Melbourne [Police said yesterday they were investigating the incident.] Democracy is a rare privilege With the election campaign winding down, the cynics in this country who don't know how good they've got it might revert to some positive thoughts about just that. On Saturday, we Australians can cast our vote in a truly democratic election. A privilege not shared by millions of people on the planet. John Rawson, Mernda Impressed by the experience On Wednesday, I voted at a polling centre in Oakleigh. Apart from the wait, I was quite impressed by the experience. The queue was orderly and the volunteers handing out how-to-vote cards had amicable exchanges with each other and the people in the queue. Their commitment and passion has to be admired regardless of who you vote for. You could have a civilised conversation with another person in the line waiting to vote regardless of them informing you (unsolicited ) that they were not voting the same way as yourself. You were confident that your vote would be counted properly and that you could vote without fear or favour. Also you know that you are not going to face violence when you vote. So although our voting system is not flawless, I think that overall Australians should mostly be proud of it. Susan Nisbet, Caulfield North The phoney election war I despair when I read that the Kooyong corflute war looks set to head to court. I think most voters will vote with their brains and heart on what is in the best interest of our country and each of us. To see yet more waste of resources being devoted to election signage only serves to show politics at its worst. If only politicians and candidates can be as emphatic and passionate when it comes to real issues in their electorate. Sandy Morris, Mont Albert Strength in difference This week I voted at a polling booth in Kooyong. It was very crowded, but I found the atmosphere to be congenial and respectful. It was good to see a range of different political parties and interest groups being represented. I appreciated the opportunity to hear their views, particularly those different from mine. A strong sign that we live in a democracy. Leigh Ackland, Deepdene Flute plays two tunes A word that's appearing more and more in our vocabulary prompted me to look it up – corflute – an industrial name for a laminated plastic sheeting suitable for political placards, not only does it advertise the politician it also advertises the product name. Clever.
Sydney Morning Herald
30-04-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Dutton campaign not going as party wanted, but miracles can happen: Frydenberg
Josh Frydenberg has admitted the Coalition's campaign has not gone as the party had wanted, leaving the door open to his own political comeback as MPs ponder who the next opposition leader could be if Peter Dutton fails badly at Saturday's election. The former treasurer, touted as the next party leader before being voted out of his own seat of Kooyong in 2022, suggested Dutton needed a Scott Morrison-style 'miracle' to avoid making Anthony Albanese only the second leader since John Howard to win successive elections. 'Ask any senior Liberal official and none would say that the campaign has unfolded as we would have wanted,' Frydenberg said at the Sorrento Writers Festival on Saturday. 'But after 2019, we still believe in miracles.' Frydenberg answered a question about the Coalition's campaign performance to an audience of about 300 people who were barred from recording the event. Frydenberg confirmed the accuracy of his comments to this masthead. The comments reflect the private views of Coalition MPs and party officials who have seen their primary vote collapse from 39 per cent in late February to 35 per cent this week, according to the Resolve Political Monitor, amid policy backflips and the negative impact of Donald Trump. Frydenberg – who has previously flirted with running again in Kooyong – on Tuesday said he would not rule out a return to politics. 'I don't think ambition's a crime. I'm not rushing back. Life is good on the other side ... Never say never,' the Goldman Sachs executive said at a West Australian newspaper conference on Tuesday.
The Age
30-04-2025
- Business
- The Age
Dutton campaign not going as party wanted, but miracles can happen: Frydenberg
Josh Frydenberg has admitted the Coalition's campaign has not gone as the party had wanted, leaving the door open to his own political comeback as MPs ponder who the next opposition leader could be if Peter Dutton fails badly at Saturday's election. The former treasurer, touted as the next party leader before being voted out of his own seat of Kooyong in 2022, suggested Dutton needed a Scott Morrison-style 'miracle' to avoid making Anthony Albanese only the second leader since John Howard to win successive elections. 'Ask any senior Liberal official and none would say that the campaign has unfolded as we would have wanted,' Frydenberg said at the Sorrento Writers Festival on Saturday. 'But after 2019, we still believe in miracles.' Frydenberg answered a question about the Coalition's campaign performance to an audience of about 300 people who were barred from recording the event. Frydenberg confirmed the accuracy of his comments to this masthead. The comments reflect the private views of Coalition MPs and party officials who have seen their primary vote collapse from 39 per cent in late February to 35 per cent this week, according to the Resolve Political Monitor, amid policy backflips and the negative impact of Donald Trump. Frydenberg – who has previously flirted with running again in Kooyong – on Tuesday said he would not rule out a return to politics. 'I don't think ambition's a crime. I'm not rushing back. Life is good on the other side ... Never say never,' the Goldman Sachs executive said at a West Australian newspaper conference on Tuesday.
West Australian
29-04-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Political comeback on the cards for former Liberal treasurer - 'never say never'
Josh Frydenberg hasn't ruled out a future political comeback, while praising Peter Dutton as a 'principled, decent, strong leader' who should be Australia's next Prime Minister. After an ad-libbed speech rallying Perth's Jewish community against anti-Semitism, the former Morrison Government Treasurer weighed into the Federal election campaign. Asked when he will launch a political comeback, he didn't rule it out. 'Not in a hurry,' he laughed. Mr Frydenberg said his priority right now is his young family and 'life is good' but 'never say never' and 'I still see myself as youngish'. When pressed on whether he still wants to be Prime Minister, he said: 'I don't think ambition is a crime'. 'Bt During a rapid-fire round of word association with The West Australian's editor-in-chief Chris Dore, Mr Frydenberg described current Treasurer Jim Chalmers as 'determined' but struggled to describe the Teal MP who ousted him in the seat of Kooyong, eventually calling her simply 'teal'. He didn't hold back when asked to describe Climate 200 founder Simon Holmes a Court, calling the Teal fundraiser 'sad'. Mr Frydenberg wouldn't tip a winner on May 3, describing the Federal election as 'up in the air' and warned that both major parties are in a world of pain due to slumping primary votes. He recalled the 2004 election result that saw 89 of 150 seats decided by first preferences, compared to the 2022 election when the primary vote decided only 15 contests. 'Massive change and, for the Coalition, we don't have the feeder parties like the Greens and some of the teals that are making their way to the Labor party voting pile,' Mr Frydenberg said. 'It's going to create a real challenge for us going forward and a challenge for the country, because if we have hung parliaments and minority governments, I think that's inherently challenging and can bring more instability.'
