VICTORIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Defeated Lib urged to take Kroger role

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 8 : 6-Dec-18

Robert Clark and Marcia Coleman are tipped to be contenders to succeed Michael Kroger as president of the Liberal Party of Victoria. There is also support within the party for John Pesutto to nominate for the presidency, after he lost the seat of Hawthorn at the state election. The former shadow attorney-general has indicated that he may also be open to taking up a seat in the upper house. Meanwhile, Michael O’Brien is widely expected to be elected as Liberal leader at a partyroom meeting on 6 December.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Full cost to party laid bare as counting ends

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 8 : 6-Dec-18

The Liberal and National parties will have just 28 seats in Victoria’s lower house in the state’s new parliament, compared with 37 prior to the election. Labor will have 56 seats in the Legislative Assembly after gaining 10 seats in the election rout, while the Greens will have three seats. Meanwhile, Labor is expected to have 18 seats in the upper house, with the Liberal Party set to have nine and crossbenchers to have up to 10 seats.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, JUSTICE PARTY, REASON PARTY, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, SUSTAINABLE AUSTRALIA PARTY, ANIMAL JUSTICE PARTY, AUSSIE BATTLER PARTY

Lawyer X scandal: jailed gangsters could go free

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Original article by John Ferguson, Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 4-Dec-18

Premier Daniel Andrews has launched a royal commission into Victoria Police’s use of a defence barrister as a registered informant. The High Court was scathing on 3 December in its attack on Victoria Police’s actions, accusing it of "reprehensible conduct" and of potentially corrupt behaviour. Well-known criminals and underworld figures may have to be released as a result of Victoria Police’s actions, while having to compensate criminals is not out of the question.

CORPORATES
HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA POLICE, VICTORIA. INDEPENDENT BROAD-BASED ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION

Leaked email: how Libs marched off cliff

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Original article by John Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 30-Nov-18

The fallout from the Liberals’ rout in the Victorian election is continuing, with the party’s federal vice-president Karina Okotel criticising the ill-fated campaign in an email to some party members. Amongst other things, Okotel has described the Liberals’ advertising campaign as "hopeless" and said the party had failed to respond to internal polling which showed that the election campaign was not resonating with voters. Okotel also said senior Victorian Liberals such as president Michael Kroger and former leader Matthew Guy should accept responsibility for the election loss.

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

Aspiring Liberal leader Pesutto may lose seat

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 29-Nov-18

Michael O’Brien and John Pesutto have declared that they will contest the Liberal Party of Victoria’s leadership following the resignation of Opposition leader Matthew Guy in the wake of the election rout. However, Pesutto may be ousted from the seat of Hawthorn, with Labor candidate John Kennedy taking a narrow lead in the latest vote counting. Labor is now expected to have about 55 seats in the new parliament, compared with around 28 for the Liberal-National coalition.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Law and Order is major issue for tomorrow’s Victorian State Election

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Original article by Gary Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Nov-18

Over the closing days of the Victorian State election both major parties have campaigned on Law and Order. However a major difference was highlighted in Wednesday night’s Frankston Leaders’ debate on how to treat those given bail who then break a bail condition. Liberal Leader Matthew Guy would immediately put them in jail whereas Premier Daniel Andrews would not, as doing so would mean Victoria would need to build so many more jails it would be at the expense of more schools and more hospitals. A large 82% of Victorian electors agree with Matthew Guy – break bail, go to jail – according to a special SMS Morgan Poll conducted yesterday (Thursday). The Morgan Poll showed the ALP and L-NP support improving over the last week to about 35% with the Greens, Other parties and Independents comprising the remaining 30%. The high vote for Greens, Other parties and Independents means the Victorian State election is set to be decided on their preferences.

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Debt to double to $60 billion as Labor drops cap

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 23-Nov-18

The Victorian Government’s election costings show that the state’s debt ceiling will blow out to 12 per cent of gross state product as a result of its infrastructure spending program, which will be partially funded via debt. Treasurer Tim Pallas had previously sought to cap state debt at around $30bn, or less than six per cent of gross state product. Labor has also advised that the state’s Budget surplus for 2019-20 is projected to be $1.7bn, compared with expectations of a $2.3bn surplus in 2018-19. The Coalition intends to retain the existing debt ceiling and will seek to reduce the state’s debt by $1.1bn over four years if it wins the state election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, VICTORIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE, MELBOURNE WATER CORPORATION

Victorians give their views on the next State Government – Whether that is an ALP or L-NP Government

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Morgan Poll Update – Page: Online : 19-Nov-18

Victorians have given their views on the next State Government in a special snap SMS Morgan Poll ahead of this week’s election. ALP supporters mostly felt great about Premier Daniel Andrews and the job he is doing. Their concerns, if any, were related to the potential for the Government to engage in excessive spending and running up the debt. ALP supporters also mentioned the handling of the dispute between the Country Fire Authority and Metropolitan Fire Brigade and the closeness of the Andrews Government to unions including the United Firefighters’ Union. There were also concerns expressed about the Government’s commitment to rural infrastructure, increasing crime and the recently revealed deal with China. L-NP supporters’ concerns about Liberal Leader Matthew Guy leading a Liberal-National Government encompassed his low profile and lack of experience, as well as his apparent lack of vision and whether he is up to the job. Many L-NP supporters also mentioned whether the Liberals could be trusted to follow through on the promises they were making as well as concern about potential cuts to health, education and other services. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says that although Victorian electors have plenty of questions surrounding the conduct of the Andrews Government on a number of issues, including a perception from many of excessive spending and their closeness to the unions, the strong performance of the Victorian economy this year is likely to prove decisive in re-electing Premier Daniel Andrews to another term.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Minister flip-flops over Sky News ban

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson, David King
The Australian – Page: 3 : 14-Aug-18

The Victorian Government continues to attract scrutiny over its decision to ban Sky News content from metropolitan train station platforms. Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan says a controversial interview with right-wing extremist Blair Cottrell prompted a surge in complaints from commuters, although Sky News maintains that the interview was not broadcast on train platforms. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Allan says Sky News programming was removed as part of the government’s review of all content that is shown on the rail network.

CORPORATES
SKY NEWS, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, JOBS, TRANSPORT AND RESOURCES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ANTI-DEFAMATION COMMISSION

Sky News ban exposed in train wreck interview

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Original article by Stephen Brook, Olivia Caisley
The Australian – Page: 2 : 10-Aug-18

The Victorian Government has banned Sky News broadcasts on Melbourne train station platforms in the wake of the channel’s controversial interview with right-wing extremist Blair Cottrell. Transport Minister Jacinta Allan sought to defend the ban during an interview on Sky News, but she was informed that the Cottrell interview had not been broadcast on the rail network. Sky News content has been broadcast at train stations since 2015, but it is limited to news stories, sports highlights and weather reports.

CORPORATES
SKY NEWS, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, JOBS, TRANSPORT AND RESOURCES, APN OUTDOOR GROUP LIMITED – ASX APO, AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY, KIMBERLY-CLARK AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SPECSAVERS OPTICAL GROUP LIMITED