PRIME MINISTERS – AUSTRALIA

PM rejects election drive as Labor clears deck for early poll

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Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 4 : 6-Jan-21

A recent newspaper article has claimed that most Coalition MPs are expecting a federal election to be held between August and November. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on 5 January that his view on the government going full term had not changed, with Morrison noting the election is not due until 2022. He said he had enough to do in 2021 in dealing with the pandemic and helping the economy to recover to think about an election. Having recently shelved former leader Bill Shorten’s controversial franking credit policies, Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has arguably put Labor on an "early election footing"

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Julian Assange’s lawyers fear offer to return to Australia would result in extradition

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Original article by Samantha Maiden
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 6-Jan-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange could return to Australia if a US appeal against a UK judge’s decision not to extradite him to the US fails. However, lawyers for Assange claim the US could simply seek to have him extradited from Australia if he chose to return to the country of his birth, and they have called on Australia to ask the US to drop its case against him entirely. Were Assange to be extradited to the US at some point, he would be facing charges that carry a maximum penalty of up to 175 years in prison.

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WIKILEAKS

PM powerless on border closures, defends slow rollout

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 6-Jan-21

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he hopes lower numbers of COVID-19 cases in Sydney in recent days could see border restrictions between Victoria and New South Wales "eased as soon as possible". However, he has conceded he does not have the power to stop premiers and chief ministers closing their borders for health reasons. Morrison rejected criticisms that the federal government was taking too long to rollout a COVID-19 vaccine, saying that the Therapeutic Goods Administration needs to rigorously examine vaccine testing data, while vaccine batches in Australia will also need further testing.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

PM tells Google and Facebook: You’re bluffing

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 8-Sep-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has told Facebook and Google that he does not give into coercion. The two technology companies are unhappy about federal government plans to make them pay news publishers for their content; Facebook has threatened to pull Australian and international content from its Facebook and Instagram platforms in response to the code, while Google has stated it will have to cull news content from search results. Morrison said he is happy to call their bluff on the issue.

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GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Maurice Newman demands ABC apologise over Tex Perkins obscene gesture at NY Eve performance

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Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: Online : 2-Jan-20

Former ABC chairman Maurice Newman has accused the public broadcaster of breaching its charter during its New Year’s Eve coverage. The ABC aired footage of singer Tex Perkins making an obscene gesture towards Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Newman said the ABC should apologise for the incident, while Liberal senator Eric Abetz said both Perkins and the ABC should apologise for what occurred. A spokesperson for the ABC said it had no prior knowledge that Perkins was going to make such a gesture, while it noted its New Year’s Eve coverage had help to raise more than $2 million to help communities affected by the bushfires.

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AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Bushfire toll tops 1000 homes; PM rejects reckless response

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Original article by Bo Seo
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 24-Dec-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison toured bushfire-affected areas of New South Wales on 23 December, as the Rural Fire Service advised that 829 homes in the state have been destroyed and another 333 have been damaged since the current bushfire season began. The RFS has warned that more homes are likely to be lost. The RFS adds that some 3.41 million hectares across the state have been burnt so far in the bushfire season. At least 86 homes have also been lost in South Australia’s Adelaide Hills. Morrison contends that stricter carbon emissions reduction targets would not have prevented the bushfires.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES RURAL FIRE SERVICE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Morrison: ANZUS Libs’ greatest move

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Original article by Troy Bramston
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Oct-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has attributed the Liberal Party’s electoral success and longevity in government to the fact that it is a ‘common sense’ and ‘pragmatic’ party that has broad appeal. Morrison has identified the ANZUS Treaty, which was signed in 1951, as the Liberal Party’s most important achievement in government. Morrison adds that he has always wanted to serve his country, but never had any ambitions of becoming Liberal leader or prime minister.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Real power, not just position

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 4-Oct-19

The Coalition’s unexpected federal election win has seen Prime Minister Scott Morrison retain top ranking in AFR Magazine’s 2019 Power List. Morrison had been ranked first in 2018 by virtue of the fact that he succeeded Malcolm Turnbull shortly before the list was finalised. Labor leader Anthony Albanese is ranked fifth in the 2019 Power List, behind Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

PM slap for UN in new world order

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 4-Oct-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has spoken of his concern regarding a new order that seeks to give global institutions authority over individual countries in terms of dictating their national policies. Morrison was speaking at the Lowy Institute on 3 October, saying that he needs to focus more on international forces that are shaping Australia’s future. Morrison also said he will visit Indonesia in November for the inauguration of President Joko Widodo, and that he will visit India and Japan in early 2020.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LOWY INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY, UNITED NATIONS

Pollution at top of PM’s ocean plan

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan, Graham Lloyd
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 26-Sep-19

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has told the United Nations’ General Assembly that problems such as plastics pollution and illegal fishing are a more "immediate threat" to the world’s oceans than climate change. Morrison argued that industry must take a leadership role in developing commercially sustainable ways of ensuring that plastics are recycled. His address to the UN has coincided with the release of a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change on global warming’s impact on sea levels.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED NATIONS. GENERAL ASSEMBLY, INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATION FOUNDATION INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE AUSTRALIA, PRATT INDUSTRIES (USA) INCORPORATED, MINDEROO FOUNDATION