| The Prime Minister was on leave this week, but he interrupted his break on Monday to wish Joe Biden well after the US President announced he would not recontest the October election, paving the way for his VP Kamala Harris to head the Democrats’ ticket. Elsewhere, Miles Government ministers were grilled at estimates hearings and the retirement of two federal ministers has sparked a ministerial reshuffle, to be announced on Sunday. Let’s start with a look at what made headlines this week: 1. Kimberly Cheatle resigns as head of the Secret Service after attempted Trump assassination. 2. NSW government considering more glass screens at train stations after a father and his daughter were killed in a tragic accident in Sydney. 3. Beer hike warning for Aussie pubgoers as prices set to rise again. 4. Australian Federal Police union threatens to disrupt parliament over pay claim. 5. The Matildas lose to Germany in opening Olympics match. 6. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu addresses US Congress in Washington. 7. US intercepts Russian and Chinese bombers on first joint mission off Alaska. 8. Airline chaos looms as refuellers prepare to strike. 9. Former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian loses the case to overturn ICAC’s findings against her. 10. The immigration detainee saga continues with NZYQ cases sent to High Court Politics ABCC wouldn’t have stopped the rot: PM The fallout of last week’s CFMEU allegations has continued this week, with Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King ordering her department to review major construction projects the Commonwealth has a direct role in, including the Western Sydney Airport and Inland Rail projects. The Minister has asked her department to assure her there has been no issues with EBAs on those projects. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who last week announced the government would appoint external administrators to investigate the alleged criminal behaviour in the union, pushed back on calls this week to reinstate the Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC). The PM pointed to the fact former CFMEU official John Setka’s alleged corrupt behaviour was allowed to flourish during the time the ABCC was in operation as proof it was not effective. Opposition leader Peter Dutton has sought to capitalise on the scandal, blaming the CFMEU and Labor governments for driving up the cost of construction, which is fanning inflation at a time when the government is struggling to reign it in. Sensing a political opportunity if quarterly inflation data to be released next week is poor, Dutton said this week the CFMEU ‘premium’ – which Master Builders puts at as much as 30 per cent – “has a contagion effect across the economy”. It comes as business groups this week warned the government about entrenching favourable union policies in it’s signature Future Made in Australia policy, through which billions of dollars will flow to the government’s handpicked projects. New polls and a coincidental reshuffle New polls released at the start of the week show support for the government is declining. The Australian’s Newspoll has Labor just a head of the Coalition on 51-49 on a two-party-preferred basis, while the AFR’s Freshwater poll has the Coalition in front. A poll result of 51-49 either way is never good for the incumbent, especially eight or nine months out from an election. Yesterday, two senior cabinet ministers announced they are retiring at the next election and vacating their ministerial roles immediately to make way for new faces and talent. As such, the Prime Minister has announced he will be reshuffling the ministry and announcing the new line-up on Sunday. With Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney announcing her retirement, it is widely believed she will be replaced by NT Senator Malarndirri McCarthy. The retirement of longtime Victorian MP Brendan O’Connor leaves the Skills and Training portfolio vacant and likely to be filled by a member of the Labor left faction. The Government’s handling of the immigration detainee saga has certainly impacted these concerning poll results and now the Prime Minister has a chance to “clear the decks” in the Home Affairs portfolio. The reshuffle is expected to be minor, mainly to avoid upsetting anyone, however the Prime Minister needs to address the issues in Home Affairs, and this is the best opportunity he will have to make the necessary changes. P.S. During my time working in parliament, I had the pleasure of working with Minister O’Connor from across the political aisle and then from the private sector. He is one of the most committed representatives I have ever engaged with and always across the detail. His 23 years of service is to be congratulated and we thank him and Linda Burney for their service to the country. Aged care industry warns government reforms must progress Aged care lobby groups are urging the Albanese Government to progress overdue reforms, with some members of the government’s own taskforce warning the Minister delays risk crippling the sector. Minister for Aged Care and Sport Anika Wells, who has spent the week in Paris ahead of the Olympics Opening Ceremony this weekend, has been unable to reach agreement with the opposition – who have offered bipartisan support for the reforms on the condition that they don’t result in new taxes. The government promised to deliver a new Aged Care Act in this term of parliament, which advocates say won’t be achieved unless legislation is tabled next month when sittings resume. The opposition says the government hasn’t provided enough detail on the impact of proposed measures such as boosting or abolishing lifetime contribution caps. It wants the proposals to be made public, which would put the government under pressure to reveal more details. Queensland It’s never a good look for government MPs to jump ship in the months before an election, but that’s exactly what one of Steven Miles’ assistant ministers did this week. As widely speculated, Mackay MP and Assistant Minister for State Development, Infrastructure, Industrial Relations and Racing, Julieanne Gilbert, announced yesterday she would not be contesting the election due barely three months from now. Already one of the LNP’s target seats, it opens up the contest, with Mackay deputy mayor Belinda Hassan tipped to replace her as Labor’s candidate. The LNP is running local police officer Nigel Dalton. Back in Brisbane, the government has spent the week attempting to avoid any major dramas at Estimates. In a true Utopia moment, the head of the Premier’s department confirmed early in the week under questioning that the initial $1 billion price tag for the Gabba rebuild was quite literally made up. Mike Kaiser, who must surely be running his own countdown to the election given he’ll be first out the door should the LNP get over the line in October, told Estimates hearings the figure – which was subsequently revised upwards to $2.7bn – “was not based on any analysis at all”. The Premier effectively blamed his former boss Palaszczuk given it happened on her watch (despite the fact he was Deputy Premier and the responsible minister at the time). Health Minister Shannon Fentiman dropped some shiny figures yesterday as she was due to appear before Estimates that showed Queensland’s health system was “outperforming despite record demand” but the LNP was having none of it. Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli and Shadow Health Minister Ros Bates accused the government of cherry-picking statistics. To be fair, the government was claiming a win that one per cent more patients were transferred off stretcher within 30 mins compared to this time last year, so there’s not much to cherry pick from. The LNP did manage to drum up some media on the fact the Premier refused to release the cost of chartering two private jets for a tour of regional seats earlier this year with newly appointed Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski. The Premier defended the use of two jets, saying it couldn’t be avoided due the late notice of the Commissioner’s attendance. Global What is going on in the US now? There is an old saying that a week in politics is a long time and that statement certainly rang true this week. Last week we brought you an overview of Biden and his problem-filled campaign for re-election, but this week he is no longer the Democratic Presidential candidate. Australians woke on Monday morning to the breaking news that President Biden was no longer accepting the Democratic nomination for President and was stepping down at the November election. The announcement caught some by surprise but having just spent a week in Washington and talking to political commentators and insiders, Biden was never going to make it to the ballot paper. Those of us who have been through leadership spills before know that once the door has been opened and the momentum is there, it is almost impossible to stop. Vice President Kamala Harris wasted no time securing Party support and boosting her fundraising efforts to secure the official Presidential nomination at the upcoming Democratic National Conference. There was a flood of support for Harris from leading Democrats including the Clintons and former Speaker Nacy Pelosi, as well as two of the most senior sitting Democrats, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. In a surprising move, Obama has yet to publicly endorse Harris, however insiders say he is likely to publicly endorse her within days. Harris has also managed to smash fundraising records and is said to have raised $81 million in the first 24 hours after the announcement. Since then, the total is reported to be over $100 million and growing. On Tuesday (US time), Harris held her the first rally of her 2023 presidential campaign in Wisconsin where she spoke about unity and highlighting her credentials. Although Biden issued his statement about stepping down on Sunday US time, he waited another few days before addressing the nation. In his address he acknowledged the importance of “saving our democracy” and said “the best way forward is to pass the torch to the new generation”. The latest Trump v. Harris poll has the former President slightly ahead of the current Vice President 48-47 percent. This is a vast improvement for the Democrats as the last Biden poll had him trailing Trump by six points. Other polls show the two are tied and some even have Harris in front. This is all good news for the Democrats and exactly what they were hoping for. Harris will still need to go through the formal endorsement process at the Democrats conference however her race to the Whitehouse has already begun. Sport and Pop Culture Piastri gets first race F1 win Aussie Formula One driver Oscar Piastri secured his maiden Grand Prix win on Sunday (early Monday morning Australian time), becoming just the fifth Australian driver to become an F1 race winner. The Melbourne local overtook his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, at the first corner to take the lead early. His flawless race was interrupted when team strategists made the call to pit Norris first, giving him the undercut and track position when both drivers had made their stops. An awkwardly long period then passed until Norris, after many requests from his engineer, handed P1 back to Piastri on lap 68 of 70. Daniel Ricciardo was the last Aussie to score a race win in 2021 with McLaren. Paris Olympics kicks off It will be an early morning tomorrow if you’re interested in watching the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics – the festivities kick off at 4:24am AEST. It will be the first time in Summer Olympics history that the Opening Ceremony will be held outside of the athletics stadium, with athletes expected to float down the River Seine on boats before arriving at the Eiffel Tower. One of the few final torch bearers will be US rapper Snoop Dogg. Why, you ask? No idea, but he’ll also be serving as a prime-time Games correspondent for the NBC. Meanwhile, social media is busy speculating about who will be performing at the Opening Ceremony, with both Lady Gaga and Celine Dion spotted in the French capital over the last few days. ————————– 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. |