Barnaby Joyce rolled by party leadership spill, while Peter Dutton pledges to lead the Liberals with “policies squarely aimed at the forgotten Australians in the suburbs”.
Anthony Albanese had expected the election might be a week earlier than it was, because last Saturday would bump up against Tuesday’s Quad meeting in Tokyo.
Elections where a national security threat have been a major talking point have historically played well for incumbent governments. But this time is different.
In his second big defence announcement in under a week, Scott Morrison on Thursday will outline plans for a major expansion of Australia’s defence workforce to more than 101,000 by 2040.
The Morrison government has gone hard on accusing Labor of being China’s “pick” at the federal election, and in doing so is leading the country down a dangerous path.
Stretching back to the second world war, the term was used to encompass the well-being and safety of Australians, rather than the crude, vague threat from outsiders it implies today.
Tensions between Australia and China have increased further, after the Chinese shone a laser at a RAAF surveillance aircraft that was observing Chinese naval activity in Australia’s exclusive economic zone.
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Trent Zimmerman has no regrets on Religious Discrimination rebellion
Michelle Grattan speaks with Trent Zimmerman, one of the five Liberal moderates who crossed the floor to vote to amend the religious discrimination package to protect trans children
The backbench Liberal revolt that pushed a protection for transgender kids through the House of Representatives, and thereby inadvertently doomed Scott Morrison’s religious discrimination legislation, has bitten deeply with the PM and senior ministers.