| Government, Coalition both claim underdog status heading into Dunkley by-election Sitting weeks are always politically volatile weeks, as issues are weaponised and politicised during fiery Question Time sessions. But this week in Parliament, with a looming by-election, was particularly high pressure for the Albanese Government. Catch up on the week’s major stories your Parliament Wrap. Dunkley by-election Tomorrow, voters in the south-east of Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula will head to the polls to elect a new federal representative. This by-election is unique as it comes because of the tragic death of much-loved Labor MP Peta Murphy. Ms Murphy sadly lost her battle with cancer late last year, however she was a tireless advocate right up until the end. May she rest in peace. Labor won the seat with a 6.3 percent margin at the 2022 federal election, but the latest polling now has the Liberals in front. In saying that, any good politician will tell you not to put too much stock in the polls as the only one that counts is the one on election day. Although by-elections historically result in a swing away from the government of the day, it’s a tough ask for an opposition to claw back that much of margin. While the by-election is just one seat, it is an important test for the Prime Minister and his government. Cost-of-living has dominated the election campaign so the Prime Minister will be hoping that his changes to the stage three tax cuts will be enough to help Labor over the line. However, the opposition and conservative campaigners have been trying to highlight the PMs “broken promise” and “border security failures”. Our prediction is that Labor will retain the seat but will suffer a 4-5 per cent swing against them. The Prime Minister has already acknowledged that we are now in an ‘election year’ so if we are correct and the swing is between 4 and five per cent, it will be enough to sound alarm bells for the government. They will need to review and reset their strategy as they move into the campaign part of their term. As political tragics, we will be watching the coverage on Saturday night and will bring you a full wrap-up next week. Detainee drama plagues government When news broke yesterday one of the detainees released last year as a result of the landmark High Court decision on indefinite detention had re-offended, the opposition seized on the revelations. Citing serious concern for Australians’ safety, they used Question Time to grill the Immigration Minister Andrew Giles over his knowledge of the incident, and the government’s handling of the saga. With the incident having occurred in Victoria, it had potentially significant ramifications on the Dunkley by-election, especially in light of a dedicated campaign by conservative campaign group Advance on the issue of the released detainees. But in an extraordinary turn of events, Victoria Police on Thursday night admitted the detainee was not responsible for the alleged offending and had released him. Tracking data from a monitoring device had placed him at the scene of the crimes, but later examination of CCTV revealed the involvement of another third party. The opposition has faced questions this morning over whether they capitalised on the issue too quickly, but leader of the opposition Peter Dutton maintains the government has questions to answer over why it has not applied to the courts to re-detain any of the 149 criminals released. ASIO boss says former pollie compromised by spies ASIO head Mike Burgess sent the Canberra rumour mill into overdrive this week when he used his Annual Threat Assessment address to announce that a former politician had been successfully recruited by a foreign spy group. While qualifying the bombshell remark by saying the group’s plot had been unsuccessful and the former politician was no longer deemed a risk to national security, there were immediate calls from current and former politicians to name the so-called traitor. Former Treasurer and Ambassador to the United States Joe Hockey said it was incumbent on the ASIO boss to name the former politician, so as to not besmirch the name of all former politicians. Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson said while he had a fair idea of who Director-General was referring to, he wouldn’t publicly speculate because of a risk of defamation proceedings. He said the more pressing issue identified by Mike Burgess was the fact 14,000 current government officials publicly list on their LinkedIn pages that they hold a security clearance. The ASIO boss said if the agency were to rate the likelihood of serious espionage attacks from foreign nations it would be rated at ‘certain’. Gender pay gap For almost a decade, companies with more than 100 employees have been required to submit their remuneration data to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA). Up until this week, the data remained confidential and WGEA simply released anonymised industry-by-industry reports and told companies where they sat in their sector. However, under new laws from the federal government, WGEA has this week published the annual data which shows the difference between what men and women are paid by some of the biggest companies in Australia. The data showed that the pay gap between men and women sits at 19 per cent and the median Australian female worker is earning $18,461 less than their male counterpart. Interestingly, the report shows that some of Australia’s most popular brands targeted at women had significant gender pay gaps. Companies highlighted in the media this week for having a significant gap include activewear brand Lorna Jane, swimwear retailer Seafolly, and jeweller Pandora. Australian airlines also got a noticeable mention for their gender pay gap data. Jetstar revealed a median gender pay gap of 53.5 percent, meaning that women earn, on average, 46.5 cents for every dollar earned by male workers. Virgin was slightly behind them at 41.7 percent, followed closely by Qantas on 39.3 percent. When contacted for comment on the concerning data, many companies were quick to point out that the data is impacted by the levels within the company that men and women currently work at. For example, fashion retailer Forever New pointed out that they have a 1,436-strong workforce where the vast majority were women working in retail stores, many in entry-level positions. They have 65 male employees in the organisation, but 62 of them work in the head office which has larger salaries. The newly released data was a key talking point in Parliament this week with politicians taking varying views on the data and process. The most controversial commentary came from Queensland Senator Matt Canavan who labelled the report as “useless” and an “annual Andrew Tate recruitment drive”. He went onto say, “People, young men in particular, feel like they are now being discriminated against and that’s why they’re coming to watch the likes of Andrew Tate in droves”. ScoMo bows out of Parliament Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Tuesday delivered his valedictory speech, ending a 17-year career in Parliament. His departure will trigger a by-election in the Sydney seat of Cook. Morrison’s prime ministership began in 2018, succeeding Malcolm Turnbull after a tumultuous leadership challenge by Peter Dutton. His unexpected election win of 2019 would see him lead Australia through a global pandemic – an unprecedented time for political leaders in this country. His leadership style was controversial, but Australia’s response to the pandemic was world-leading and there is no doubt the decisions taken by Morrison as PM saved lives and businesses. He leaves behind an enormous legacy in the AUKUS security pact, a strategic alliance which will define our foreign policy and national security decisions for decades to come. Leaving Parliament, he warned the global rules-based order is being challenged by a new ‘arc of autocracy’ and urged a return to Judeo-Christian values that built a modern, successful Australia. The former PM has announced he will act as a consultant to a US-based venture capital firm focused on AUKUS-related technologies, and advisory business American Global Strategies. Local Liberal Party members in Morrison’s former seat of Cook will preselect his replacement on Monday. Outside the bubble Our mighty Matilda’s have done it again. Their 10-nil thrashing of Uzbekistan sees them secure their spot for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. In other positive Matilda news, fans of outstanding goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold can now cheer her on wearing her iconic purple jersey. Nike came under first during the World Cup for failing to manufacture the jersey for fans to purchase, however they have now rectified the issue and jerseys went on sale this week. Sticking with sport, the NRL will kick-off round one of the regular season this week in Sin City. The mighty Roosters take on the Broncos, while South Sydney play Manly at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The NRL are hoping to reach a new audience and build an international fan-base for the sport. Go the Roosters. Back to politics. It’s been a big week in the Republican primary race in the US, with former President Donald Trump picking up another two major victories over his last remaining opponent, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley. Trump won Michigan, after defeating Haley in her home state of South Carolina earlier in the week. This Tuesday, March 5, is Super Tuesday – when 15 states will hold presidential primaries. Pressure is building on Haley to bow out of the race as she continues to lose major financial backers. ————————– We enjoy keeping you up-to-date with the important issues and encourage you to please reach out if there is any particular topic you’d like us to cover. |