Senator Linda Reynolds, a Liberal from Western Australia, has delivered her first speech to the Senate.
Reynolds was first elected at the federal election last year.
The W.A. Senate election was declared void after the Australian Electoral Commission lost around 1300 votes during a recount. Reynolds, number three on the Liberal Party ticket, was again successful in the re-run election on April 5. [Read more…]
The Liberal Party has released a new advertisement attacking Bill Shorten.
The ad was unveiled at the end of the Liberal Party’s Federal Council meeting in Melbourne.
The ad is titled: “Bill Shorten – No Solutions, No Plan, No Idea”.
The Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, has addressed the Liberal Party’s Federal Council meeting in Melbourne.
In its 70th anniversary year, Abbott described the Liberal Party as “the party of Menzies and Fraser and Howard”, a rare reference to Fraser, who no longer belongs to the party and is a persistent critic of its drift to the political right.
But Abbott’s real message was to the crossbench senators who assume office on Tuesday. The government will require 6 of the 8 crossbenchers to support its legislation, if the ALP and the Greens are opposed. Abbott said: “I say to the new senators — we won’t hector you and we won’t lecture you. We respect your election as we ask you to respect ours. We simply ask that you acknowledge the trust placed in us by the Australian people to be their government.”
The Council elected former Howard government minister Richard Alston as the party’s new Federal President, replacing Alan Stockdale, the former Treasurer in the Victorian Kennett government in the 1990s.
The second day of the Council meeting was notable for a dispute between two Abbott ministers. The Minister for Education, Christopher Pyne, and the Attorney-General, Senator George Brandis, clashed on proposed changes to the party’s Constitution. Pyne argued that Brandis should not speak on the issue because of his role in framing the proposals. Critics argued that adequate notice of the proposals had not been given and that the changes gave the Federal party too much power over State divisions. [Read more…]
With the South Australian state election just one week away, Prime Minister Tony Abbott has introduced Liberal leader Steven Marshall at the official campaign launch in Adelaide.
The former Howard government Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, introduced Abbott to the crowd at the Norwood Town Hall.
The centrepiece of Marshall’s policy speech is a proposal to increase concession payments for energy and water bills. Marshall also said he would abolish the Save the River Murray Levy.
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Text of Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s speech at the South Australian Liberal Party campaign launch.
It’s lovely to be in Adelaide and it’s lovely to have such a wonderful South Australian welcome.
It’s great to be in the presence of my friend and former colleague, and mentor, Alexander Downer, who has been such a lion of this state and such a lion of our Party for so long.
It’s great to see so many of my federal colleagues here today, led by the Leader of the House of Representatives, the Honourable Christopher Pyne, and of course, somewhere in this audience is my favourite South Australian Liberal, the new member for Hindmarsh, Matt Williams. [Read more…]
Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he is satisfied with the job his government has done in the 100 days since the September 7 election.
Abbott told a press conference in Sydney this afternoon that the carbon tax repeal legislation was through the House of Representatives. Legislation to repeal the mining tax is in progress, as is legislation to restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission. He said the boats are slowing, if not yet totally stopped. Foreign policy has a Jakarta, not a Geneva, focus.
Acknowledging the government’s difficulties in the Senate, Abbott looked ahead to the new Senate that takes office on July 1 next year. Whilst that is six months away, it will eventually look like a “blink”.
“I am confident that we are doing precisely what we said we would do,” Abbott said. “We are a government that will keep its commitments in full.” [Read more…]
