Latest news with #GladysBerejiklian
News.com.au
7 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
Bradfield recount: Liberals poised to lose blue ribbon Sydney seat to teal independent Nicolette Boele
The Liberals are poised to lose the blue ribbon seat of Bradfield to teal independent Nicolette Boele following a closely watched recount. Gladys Berejiklian-backed candidate Gisele Kapterian is currently trailing Ms Boele by 27 votes, despite winning the first count by eight votes, triggering an automatic recount. Sky News called the electorate for the Climate-200 backed independent, and the Australian Electoral Commission is set to officially announce the winner later today. An AEC spokesman said about 99.9 per cent of the vote had been counted with Ms Boele ahead by 27 votes. The seat was previously held by former Morrison-era minister Paul Fletcher who retired at the last election. Ms Kapterian, who had been given an assistant shadow cabinet portfolio contingent on her win, now has the option to contest the result at the Court of Disputed Returns, which would most likely result in a by-election.
The Guardian
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Gladys: A Musical Affair review – Berejiklian parody show is too flimsy to be funny
Five years ago, locked in our homes and isolated from our loved ones, we invented new rituals to keep ourselves sane. We baked bread. We played trivia with friends on Zoom. We replaced going to the theatre with binge-watching 237 episodes of medical drama Grey's Anatomy – twice. (Or was that just me?) And for many of us in New South Wales, the daily 11am coronavirus press conferences led by then-premier Gladys Berejiklian became sacred appointment television. Maybe it was the sense of intimacy lockdown fostered that sent so many into emotional upheaval when, in 2021, Berejiklian was found to have engaged in 'serious corrupt conduct', breaching public trust by failing to disclose a personal relationship with politician Daryl Maguire while overseeing funding to his electorate. The memes were vicious, funny and funereal. And now there's Gladys: A Musical Affair. Currently playing in multiple Sydney venues for the Sydney comedy festival ahead of a longer tour (yes, it will stop in Wagga Wagga, Maguire's onetime electorate), this is a lean one hour that features some great composing, paired with a script that doesn't even go Wikipedia-deep into its subject. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Created by Nick Rheinberger and Tia Wilson, who first introduced their Gladys – played by Wilson – in Watch and Act, a rock musical about the black summer bushfires (that number is reused for this show), this musical is framed as an investigation into the former premier. 'Truth or lie? Truth or lie?' they sing at the top of the show, promising to get to the heart of the Icac scandal. Was Gladys a calculating politician pulling a fast one? Or was she led astray by 'dodgy Daryl'? Gladys is positioned as a 'good girl' and a 'swot', rising through the ranks of power from her local Girl Guides to the Young Liberals in a song that takes us on a whistle-stop tour through her early life. 'Good morning everybody' – her lockdown press conference catchphrase – is said so many times in this number and subsequent numbers that it ceases to be funny. But once she gets into politics, Gladys fumbles. She needs staffers mumbling facts into her ear; she starts her black summer presser claiming it's going to be a great day in NSW; she moons over Maguire. The songs are smartly shaped, mixing Oz-inflected rock, folk and zydeco (Wilson's Gladys plays the accordion, and at one point Kerry Chant, played by Mel Wishart, even wears and plays a frottoir), moving with pleasant ease and pace. Rheinberger, who plays Maguire and onetime health minister Brad Hazzard, brings in a little banjo for Maguire and the bouzouki to nod to Gladys's Armenian heritage. Rob Laurie, who plays Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons, among others, rounds out the sound with drums and keys. But the musical structure around them is not as strong. There are only a couple of numbers that let us into Gladys's inner life, but they sit awkwardly – not emotional revelation, but punctuation, after the events referenced in the songs have already occurred. We hear from Maguire directly in song before Gladys even gets a solo number, which places her, in musical terms, as a secondary character in her own story. We whiz past coronavirus and the discovery of corruption, relying on audience memories and audio grabs from news reports to fill in the gaps – which means the script doesn't tell the story strongly enough to stand on its own. Apart from the songs themselves, it's all very flimsy. Maybe it's not fair to judge a parody musical in a comedy festival for its strength as musical theatre, but its musical element is its strongest. As a vehicle for jokes, well, it's crowd-pleasing if you don't want your crowd to think. The musical's comic choices are broad and not particularly sophisticated. Physical tics are over-exaggerated; there are an exhausting number of colourful blazers; a lot of comic weight is placed on Gladys's apparent social and emotional naivete, which is low-hanging fruit for a woman in politics. The jokes, for the most part, choose convenience over cleverness, aiming for references that score knowing laughs of recognition over comic surprise. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion So Gladys: A Musical Affair is not a good musical, and it's not a good comedy show. But it probably could be, if there was more dramaturgical rigour applied to both its narrative and comic structures. As it stands right now, though, it's disposable: a slightly-too-late political parody that sings but doesn't zing. Gladys: A Musical Affair is on at Concourse Chatswood on 18 May, Darling Quarter Theatre on 21 June and Laycock Street Community Theatre, Wyoming on 16 August.
News.com.au
10-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
‘Done differently': Sussan Ley makes official pitch for Liberal leadership
Sussan Ley has thrown her hat into the ring for the Liberal Party leadership by officially pitching herself as the ideal candidate to succeed Peter Dutton. Running against treasury spokesman Angus Taylor for the top position in the Liberal Party, which will be decided at a vote on Tuesday. In a statement released on Friday, Ms Ley said it was 'clear' the Liberal Party 'got it wrong' and required a 'fresh approach' for the future. 'We need to build a new economic narrative, we need new policy offerings to show everyday Australians that we have a plan to help them and their families get ahead,' she said. 'We need to rebuild trust with all sections of Australian society, and my election as leader of the Liberal Party would send a very strong signal that we understand that things must be done differently.' 'We have enormous depth of talent in our party room, and I want to draw on all of it over the next three years,' she said. 'We will develop strong policy offerings through robust party room processes so we can demonstrate we will deliver better outcomes for all Australians.' Ms Ley has received backing from Liberal heavyweights including former premiers Barry O'Farrell, Nick Greiner, and Jeff Kennett, who declared Ms Ley as the 'obvious choice'. On Friday, she also received support from former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who told Sky News she could 'bring the party back to the centre'. Ms Ley's leadership run was bolstered by retiring senator Linda Reynolds, who told ABC Perth radio the Liberal Party needed to have 'hard conversations' about becoming 'more gender-balanced', and said Ms Ley would be a 'great and a very healing and receptive leader'. In the videos, Ms Ley said she was 'humbled' by the 'overwhelming support' she has received and was 'greatly encouraged by the faith and trust placed in me by so many parliamentary colleagues'. 'We need to change, the Liberal Party must respect modern Australia, reflect modern Australia and represent modern Australia,' she said. 'Many Australians, including women and younger Australians, feel neglected by the Liberal Party.' She will fight for the top role against Mr Taylor, who has received backing from Liberal who told the Liberal Party was 'at a crossroads' and needed to 'regroup, rebuild, and get back in the fight'. 'None of this will be easy,' he said. 'Reform never is. But the road to government begins with doing the hard things now, not later.' Mr Taylor is expected to ask Country Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price Price to stand as deputy, days after she announced she was defecting from the Nationals to the Liberals.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sussan Ley's huge announcement
Sussan Ley has thrown her hat into the ring for the Liberal Party leadership by officially pitching herself as the ideal candidate to succeed Peter Dutton. Running against treasury spokesman Angus Taylor for the top position in the Liberal Party, which will be decided at a vote on Tuesday. In a statement released on Friday, Ms Ley said it was 'clear' the Liberal Party 'got it wrong' and required a 'fresh approach' for the future. 'We need to build a new economic narrative, we need new policy offerings to show everyday Australians that we have a plan to help them and their families get ahead,' she said. 'We need to rebuild trust with all sections of Australian society, and my election as leader of the Liberal Party would send a very strong signal that we understand that things must be done differently.' 'We have enormous depth of talent in our party room, and I want to draw on all of it over the next three years,' she said. 'We will develop strong policy offerings through robust party room processes so we can demonstrate we will deliver better outcomes for all Australians.' Ms Ley has received backing from Liberal heavyweights including former premiers Barry O'Farrell, Nick Greiner, and Jeff Kennett, who declared Ms Ley as the 'obvious choice'. On Friday, she also received support from former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who told Sky News she could 'bring the party back to the centre'. Ms Ley's leadership run was bolstered by retiring senator Linda Reynolds, who told ABC Perth radio the Liberal Party needed to have 'hard conversations' about becoming 'more gender-balanced', and said Ms Ley would be a 'great and a very healing and receptive leader'. In the videos, Ms Ley said she was 'humbled' by the 'overwhelming support' she has received and was 'greatly encouraged by the faith and trust placed in me by so many parliamentary colleagues'. 'We need to change, the Liberal Party must respect modern Australia, reflect modern Australia and represent modern Australia,' she said. 'Many Australians, including women and younger Australians, feel neglected by the Liberal Party.' She will fight for the top role against Mr Taylor, who has received backing from Liberal who told the Liberal Party was 'at a crossroads' and needed to 'regroup, rebuild, and get back in the fight'. 'None of this will be easy,' he said. 'Reform never is. But the road to government begins with doing the hard things now, not later.' Mr Taylor is expected to ask Country Liberal Party Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price Price to stand as deputy, days after she announced she was defecting from the Nationals to the Liberals.
