Latest news with #senate
SBS Australia
a day ago
- General
- SBS Australia
One Nation pick up two additional senate seats
One Nation pick up two additional senate seats Published 30 May 2025, 9:10 am Minor party One Nation has doubled its representation in the new parliament winning two surprise senate seats. Results in the upper house have now been finalised across all states and territories.
Free Malaysia Today
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Philippine senate to convene impeachment court next month
Philippine vice-president Sara Duterte's hearings will begin in late July, after incoming senators take their seats. (AP pic) MANILA : The Philippine senate will convene the impeachment court that will decide the future of vice-president Sara Duterte on June 3, according to a document seen by AFP on Friday. Duterte was impeached by the house of representatives in February for 'high crimes' including corruption and an alleged assassination plot against former ally and running mate president Ferdinand Marcos. Senate president Francis Escudero has said hearings would begin in late July after incoming senators take their seats. The impeachment trial was a key talking point in this month's mid-term elections, which decided half the upper body's 24 senators who will serve as her jury. Escudero informed house speaker Martin Romualdez that the upper house would be ready to hear charges on June 2 before convening the court, according to a photo of the letter forwarded to AFP. 'As stated in our letter dated Feb 24, 2025, the Senate shall expect the prosecution to read the seven charges under the articles of impeachment in open session,' Escudero said in the letter dated May 19, 2025. 'Thereafter, the senate shall be convened as an impeachment court at 9am on June 3, 2025 for the purpose of issuing the summons and such other relevant orders,' it continues. The vice-president needs nine votes from the full 24-seat senate for an acquittal. Losing would mean her removal and a permanent ban from public office. Analysts told AFP last week that the outcome of the May 12 election appeared positive for Duterte, who saw an ally snare an unexpected seat while the president's ticket scored one fewer than predicted. Duterte swept to power in 2022 in an alliance with Marcos that began crumbling almost immediately. The feud exploded into open warfare this year with her impeachment and the subsequent arrest and transfer of her father, ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, to face charges at the international criminal court at the Hague tied to his deadly drug war. Marcos said in a podcast interview after the elections he was willing to reconcile with the Duterte clan but maintained that he had no involvement in the impeachment process. 'Let's leave that to the senate, which has its own processes for it,' Marcos said. The vice-president's office did not respond immediately to AFP's request for comment.
ABC News
21-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Union organiser Josh Dolega the front runner to replace Anne Urquhart in the Senate
A union organiser and fitness instructor is the frontrunner to be selected as a new Tasmanian Labor senator at a meeting of the party's national executive on Friday. Labor sources say Community and Public Sector Union work health and safety lead organiser Josh Dolega has the backing of the Australian Manufacturing Worker's Union (AMWU) to fill the casual vacancy left by former senator Anne Urquhart, who is now the MP for the north-west Tasmanian seat of Braddon. Ms Urquhart, a former AMWU official, is also understood to back Mr Dolega winning the vacancy. Who Ms Urquhart nominates is seen as particularly important by the national executive after she quit her position in the Senate following a request from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to contest Braddon. She achieved a whopping 15.3 per cent swing in the federal government's landslide victory. It means Mr Dolega is tipped by a number of party sources as the candidate to beat, in a field including Unions Tasmania secretary Jessica Munday and Meander Valley Councillor Ben Dudman, backed by the United Workers Union. Former state secretary Stuart Benson was also raised as a potential candidate to join the Senate, but it's not clear if he officially nominated for the position, which will go to a member of the party's Left faction. If endorsed by the national executive, Mr Dolega will be a senator until the next federal election in 2028. The winner will receive a guaranteed salary of just over $700,000, given senators earn a base annual salary of $233,660. Mr Dolega is understood to have told the party he was happy to relocate from Hobart to the north-west coast, where Ms Urquhart had been based while a senator. He worked as a tax officer for the Australian Tax Office based in Burnie for more than a decade, and worked as a group fitness instructor at the Devonport aquatic centre. He does not have a high profile social media presence, but in a submission to a review of local government in Tasmania, said that the state's 29 councils should be reduced to three, one each in Devonport, Launceston and Hobart. Mr Dolega was contacted for comment. A member of Labor's left-faction, who had been lobbying for Ms Munday to be awarded the casual vacancy, speaking to the ABC on the condition of anonymity, said they were disappointed she was set to be overlooked. "We have a candidate here with deep expertise in policy, governance and leadership. "These decisions need to be based on merit but this doesn't seem to be happening." The new senator's selection will be made official next Tuesday, when it's confirmed by the Tasmanian parliament. Labor sources say Ms Munday's unwillingness to move to the north-west has been cited as the reason for overlooking her. But her supporters argue senators do not need to live in the same location their office is based in, and point to examples in other states where a majority of senators are based out of capital cities. Labor senator Helen Polley is based in Launceston, while Richard Dowling and Carol Brown are both based out of the state's south. The Tasmanian Labor Party was placed into administration in mid-2022 following a period of internal infighting. The administration was ended last year, but a new state administrative committee has not yet been appointed. It was stated a committee of six party members would remain in charge of internal decisions until that happened, but party sources say the party has effectively remained in administration, with all pre-selection decisions, including the casual senate vacancy, made by the national executive. Ms Urquhart and Ms Munday were contacted for comment.
Free Malaysia Today
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Philippines' Marcos says he's open to reconciling with Dutertes
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr today said he needs friends rather than enemies in a podcast. (AP pic) MANILA : Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said he was open to reconciling with the Duterte family, one week after allies of his estranged vice-president, Sara Duterte, outperformed expectations in a fiercely contested and pivotal senate race. In a podcast shared on his Facebook page today, Marcos said he needed friends rather than enemies as he seeks to use the remaining three years of his term to deliver on his agenda. Philippine presidents are limited to a single six-year term. 'Yes,' Marcos said when asked if he would be open to mending fences, after a bitter and very public falling-out between Marcos and the Duterte camps, which has fractured the once-powerful alliance that swept both to victory in 2022. 'As much as possible, what I am after is stability… so that we can do our jobs. That is why I am always open to things like that,' he told the podcast. Duterte's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Marcos' remarks. Sara Duterte is facing a senate impeachment trial that could see her removed from office and permanently barred from holding public office again, denying her a presidential run in 2028. Her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, was elected mayor of Davao last week, even as he is detained at the International Criminal Court on charges of murder as a crime against humanity. Despite surveys predicting a senate sweep by the president's allies in the May 12 midterm polls, some victories by Duterte-aligned candidates have given Sara Duterte an important foothold in the senate that could prove pivotal in an impeachment trial. All 24 senators will serve as jurors in the trial, with two-thirds required to vote for the impeachment for it to succeed. Marcos has distanced himself from the impeachment process, and on Monday said it was in the hands of the senate. 'There's a process for that, let's allow the process to take its course,' he said.
The Independent
09-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Manny Pacquiao set to end retirement for WBC title shot against Mario Barrios
Manny Pacquiao will end his nearly four-year retirement to face WBC welterweight champion Maria Barrios on 19 July in Las Vegas, according to ESPN. Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs), is an icon of boxing. Across a 26-year career, he became the only man to win world championships in eight different divisions, from flyweight to welterweight. Pacquiao, now 46, is also set to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in June. The former champion has not had a sanctioned bout since 2021, losing a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas for the WBA welterweight title, having not previously fought since 2019. After the loss, Pacquiao announced his retirement on social media to pursue a career as a politician full-time in his native Philippines. He served a six-year term as a member of the senate between 2016 and 2022, before unsuccessfully running for president in 2022. He is now campaigning to reclaim a seat in the senate. The 46-year-old has stepped through ropes since retiring from the professional ranks, having exhibition bouts against DK Yoo in December 2022 and kickboxer Rukiya Anpo in July 2024. And returning to the pro game, Pacquiao is invoking his right to have an immediate title shot as a former champion. The WBC rules state that all title holders must defend their belts against a 'Qualified Challenger', and this includes any former WBC champion. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman officially revealed to Boxing King Media at the Canelo vs William Scull fight last week that the plan was for Barrios to defend his title against Pacquiao in the summer. Sulaiman said: 'At this time, Mario Barrios is going to face Manny Pacquiao in July. That's a tremendous fight.' Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs) claimed the interim title in 2023 by outpointing Ugas and was elevated to full-champion status in June 2024 after Terence Crawford fought Israil Madrimov for the 154lb title. He last fought on the Jake Paul vs Mike Tyson undercard in a split decision draw with Abel Ramos in November 2024. Pacquiao's return fight will co-headline a card that will also feature a rematch between the unified welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora and Tim Tszyu.
