Another poor showing in the polls for the government, with analysis showing the Coalition most likely to lose support at the next election among the well-educated, the young and in Victoria.
On Saturday, five federal seats will have a byelection, with particular attention being paid to tight races in Longman and Braddon. And all have implications for the major parties and their leaders.
Incoming ALP President Wayne Swan has lashed out at Mark Latham as “someone who ratted on battlers” after the former Labor leader’s robo message to Longman voters, authorised by Pauline Hanson".
Albanese’s speech comes against a background of speculation that Bill Shorten’s leadership could be under pressure if the party performs badly at the Super Saturday byelections.
It was a busy week in politics, with the federal government passing its income tax package, more squabbling over the ABC, and all parties gearing up for the July 28 byelections.
Shorten has moved to make the ABC an election issue promising to reverse the Turnbull government’s $83.7 million budget cut and to guarantee funding certainty over the broadcaster’s next budget cycle.
Malcolm Turnbull may have lost 31 consecutive Newspolls, but the latest result shows a narrowing between the two major parties, and the Coalition’s best performance since September 2016.
Senior Lecturer in Political Science: Research Fellow at the Cairns Institute; Research Associate for Centre for Policy Futures, University of Queensland, James Cook University