POLITICAL PARTIES – AUSTRALIA

Greens are gambling their future on violent activists

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Original article by John Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 5 : 13-Sep-24

The Greens are being accused of supporting the actions of violent pro-Palestinian activists at demonstrations in Melbourne in a cynical attempt to secure the pro-Palestinian vote in Labor seats like Wills and Calwell at the next federal election. However, while there may some short-term gain in supporting the protestors, the repulsive nature of the demonstrations, which saw protesters going after police horses with plastic bread crates and deliberately trying to scare them, could damage the Greens’ brand over the longer term.

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AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Coalition eyes Labor’s IR laws to woo the west

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 13-Aug-24

The Coalition is developing a specific set of policies for Western Australia, where it lost four seats at the last federal election. They include winding back some of the federal government’s industrial relations laws that mining companies contend are hurting productivity, along with rethinking its initial opposition to the federal government’s proposal to provide production tax credits for extracting and processing critical minerals. The Coalition had dubbed the proposal as "tax cuts for billionaires", but that did not go down well with smaller mining companies who are trying to compete with cheaper Chinese-backed ventures overseas

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Not Labor they elected as people reel from Gaza war

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Original article by
The New Daily – Page: Online : 9-Jul-24

Fatima Payman says people who voted for a Labor government have told her that it is now not serving their interests, when being asked why the now independent senator was not quitting her seat. Payman quit the Labor Party last week after crossing the floor on the issue of Palestinian statehood, claiming the government was not moving quickly enough on the matter. She claims that it is not just Australia’s Muslim and Palestinian communities that are being affected by the war in Gaza, saying it has "been impacting each and every person with a conscience and a heart out there".

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Exiled Payman defiant after PM tells her to consider her position as senator

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Original article by Paul Sakkal, James Massola
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: Online : 2-Jul-24

Senator Fatima Payman claims she has been "exiled" by her federal Labor colleagues as a result of her defying party convention and crossing the floor over the conflict in Gaza, and that their actions appear to be aimed at intimidating her into resigning from the Senate. Her comments come a day after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese summoned Payman to The Lodge to advise that she was suspended indefinitely from the Labor caucus, while it has been confirmed that Albanese told Payman that she should consider her position as a parliamentarian.

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Labor working tails off to lift primary vote

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 26-Mar-24

Labor won the 2022 federal election with a primary vote of just 32.6 per cent. The combined vote for the major political parties fell to a record low of 68.3 per cent; in contrast, the vote for minor parties and independents reached a record high of 31.7 per cent. There was a similar trend against the major parties in Saturday’s state election in Tasmania. However, Labor believes that its low primary vote is not permanent but reflects voters concerns about issues such as the cost of living crisis and migrant numbers. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says Labor is working hard to give people the government they "need and deserve". He adds that the next election will be "close and hard fought".

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AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Independents move to ban mega donations in far-reaching political transparency overhaul

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Original article by Paul Karp
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 19-Mar-24

Political donations of more than $1.5 million would be banned under the fair and transparent elections bill, which is being tabled by crossbench and independent MPs in both houses of federal parliament. The bill also calls for a ban on donations from socially harmful industries such as the fossil fuel sector and for ‘truth-in-political advertising’. It further calls for the donation disclosure threshold to be lowered to $1,000, but it does not support a recommendation from the electoral matters committee to cap spending on elections, due to concerns that this could effectively entrench the two major parties.

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Work to do on female candidates, says Liberal Party MP

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Original article by Jason Whittaker
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 5-Mar-24

Liberal MP Keith Wolahan has conceded that the party is falling short of its target on female representation in federal parliament. Speaking on the ABC’s Q+A program on Monday night, Wolahan said the Liberals are ready to preselect women but must do more to ensure that this occurs. He has also stressed that the preselection process must be democratic, and that Liberal candidates must be chosen by the party’s members. The Liberals may come under further scrutiny after McKinsey consultant Simon Kennedy was chosen as its candidate in the seat of Cook, which was recently vacated by Scott Morrison. There had been a push within the party to select Gwen Cherne to contest the seat at the upcoming by-election.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Leading Liberal figures endorse an Indigenous governor-general

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Original article by Joe Kelly, Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 3 : 23-Jan-24

Former NSW Liberal premier Barry Ó’Farrell has backed calls for Australia’s next governor-general to be either an Aboriginal or a Torres Strait Islander, with the Coalition’s Indigenous Australians spokesman Julian Leeser also endorsing the idea. Leeser says Anthony Albanese should consult with Peter Dutton to ensure bipartisanship over a suitable Indigenous appointment, and while Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Price said that race should not be a consideration when choosing the next governor-general, Ó’Farrell noted there has always been an element of symbolism in federal and state vice-regal appointments.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Liberals accused of dirty tactics over Indigenous voice pamphlet leading voters to site that harvests information

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Original article by Tory Shepherd
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 6-Sep-23

The Coalition is under scrutiny over a pamphlet delivered to thousands of homes that directs electors to a website that harvests their personal information. The pamphlet advocating the ‘No’ case in the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to parliament includes a QR code with a link to the postal.vote website, which was also used by the Liberal and National parties during the 2022 election. It invites voters to apply for a postal vote by entering their name and contact details, and states that this will be forwarded to the Liberal and National parties. The site then informs electors that applications for postal votes are not yet available. The Australian Electoral Commission says people should always apply for a postal vote directly through it.

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LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA,NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA,AUSTRALIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION

Calls to ban political donations from Australia’s big four consultancies after PwC scandal

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Original article by Henry Belot
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 5-Jul-23

Analysis by the Centre for Public Integrity shows that the four consultancy firms have donated $4.3m to Labor and the Coalition over the last decade. The value of government contracts held by these firms has increased by 400 per cent over the same period. James Guthrie of Macquarie University says major political parties should not accept donations from the "big four" firms in the wake of PwC’s tax leaks scandal, particularly if they have previously received large payments for public contracts. Greens senator Barbara Pocock has also called for large consultancy firms to be banned from making political donations.

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CENTRE FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN GREENS