LNP attack ads target Dutton’s independent rival in Dickson
Henry Belot
The Liberal National party has paid for billboard ads attacking the independent candidate for Dickson, Ellie Smith, whose campaign spokesperson said more than $1m has been raised in an attempt to beat Peter Dutton.
The billboards, authorised by the Liberal National party, accused Smith of being “a Greenie at heart”. Smith’s campaign said the billboard previously promoted the Coalition’s campaign slogan: “Let’s get Australia back on track”.
An email from the Smith campaign to supporters has pushed for an additional $160,000 in donations to help the campaign match the advertising spend of major parties in Dickson. The spokesperson said donations had come from more than 1000 people.
Earlier this month, Labor’s national secretary, Paul Erickson, told supporters he had approved an extra $130,000 for campaign advertising in Dickson. Dutton has held Dickson since 2001. It has a margin of 1.7%.
Smith is running an open ballot and not telling supporters where to allocate their preferences. A source within the Smith campaign, who declined to be named so they could speak freely, said Labor had approached Smith for preferences:
They were literally texting as the balls were dropping in the ballot draw. It was always a no. Ellie was never going to trade away her independence.
Labor how-to-vote cards in Dickson tell supporters to put the Greens second, Smith fifth and Dutton sixth.
Key events
Marles says there is nothing to ‘smooth over’ with Indonesia
Continuing to take questions on the matter, Richard Marles said he was “really comfortable with the way in which in we have interacted with Indonesia in respect of this.”
He also rejected the notion there was “anything to smooth over” with Indonesia.
We have a really close relationship with Indonesia. I literally had a conversation with my counterpart less than 24 hours ago. That was exactly the assurance I would want to have in respect of where Indonesia is at with this.
At a press conference earlier today, Peter Dutton said the “prospect of having Russia with the greatest presence in our region is very real and there are a lot of questions the government still has to answer.”
Marles responded, saying “I don’t accept that,” and labelled this a “very dangerous comment on the part of Peter Dutton.”
We are aware of Russia’s presence, which has been around for a long time. And we are very aware of it, very mindful of it, we manage it … What matters though is that we build the strongest possible relationship that we can with our neighbours.
Marles says Dutton ‘doesn’t have the temperament’ to be PM
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, is speaking with ABC Afternoon Briefing about reports Russia asked Indonesia to station planes in the country – a request Indonesia assured Australia it did not accept.
Asked if the Australian government knew about the Russian request for an Indonesian airbase, Marles did not answer directly:
I’m not about to go into what we do and don’t know in respect of what is happening in the region, because so much of that exists in the classified space. What is important here is I was able to talk to my counterpart, the defence minister of Indonesia yesterday, and he made unequivocally clear there’s no prospect of Russian aircraft operating from Indonesia.
Marles said it matters that “we handle these things in a sober and calm way” and took aim at Peter Dutton for “recklessness” in his commentary yesterday.
He draws inspiration from one president, he seeks to put words in the mouth of another. He was shooting from the hip. I cannot overstate how dangerous that is in terms of managing our bilateral relations.
In a time when the world is in a volatile and uncertain situation, we need people who can govern our country in a calm and sober way and manage our relationships. What this demonstrates is that Peter Dutton frankly does not have the temperament to be fit to be the prime minister of our nation.
Coalition’s super policy will ‘significantly disadvantage women’, O’Neil says
Labor’s housing minister Clare O’Neil has criticised the Coalition’s “super for housing” policy for entrenching gender inequality and raising house prices.
In case you missed her debate with the shadow housing minister, Michael Sukkar, earlier on today, you can watch some of what she said below:
Teal MP weighs in on what Dutton is offering women
Teal independent Zoe Daniel has taken aim at Peter Dutton for the comments he made earlier today, when asked that the Coalition was offering women in this election.
In case you missed it: the opposition leader said the “25 cent fuel excise reduction is targeted at women driving kids around or delivery truck drivers who are trying to make ends meet.”
And on the Coalition’s super for housing policy, Dutton said this would help “women who have had a messy relationship breakup, who haven’t had a home before or have no roof over the head with their kids”.
In a video to social media, Daniel said:
Interesting – my husband drives my kids around more than I do, just saying. But also, what about funding for family, domestic and sexual violence? What about universal early childhood education, for the benefit of women, children and families – which would also reduce the cost of living? What about empowering women into the workforce? Seriously – vote independent, because independence works for women.
LNP attack ads target Dutton’s independent rival in Dickson
Henry Belot
The Liberal National party has paid for billboard ads attacking the independent candidate for Dickson, Ellie Smith, whose campaign spokesperson said more than $1m has been raised in an attempt to beat Peter Dutton.
The billboards, authorised by the Liberal National party, accused Smith of being “a Greenie at heart”. Smith’s campaign said the billboard previously promoted the Coalition’s campaign slogan: “Let’s get Australia back on track”.
An email from the Smith campaign to supporters has pushed for an additional $160,000 in donations to help the campaign match the advertising spend of major parties in Dickson. The spokesperson said donations had come from more than 1000 people.
Earlier this month, Labor’s national secretary, Paul Erickson, told supporters he had approved an extra $130,000 for campaign advertising in Dickson. Dutton has held Dickson since 2001. It has a margin of 1.7%.
Smith is running an open ballot and not telling supporters where to allocate their preferences. A source within the Smith campaign, who declined to be named so they could speak freely, said Labor had approached Smith for preferences:
They were literally texting as the balls were dropping in the ballot draw. It was always a no. Ellie was never going to trade away her independence.
Labor how-to-vote cards in Dickson tell supporters to put the Greens second, Smith fifth and Dutton sixth.
Australian defence industry grows by 12.4%
Moving away from the campaign trail for a moment, and new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the nation’s defence industry grew by 12.4% – or $1.3bn – in the 2023-24 financial year.
The Australian defence industry contributed $11.9bn in gross value added (GVA) to the national economy in 2023-24, accounting for 0.47% of total GVA.
Employment in the Australian defence industry also grew by 9.1% in the 2023-24 financial year. Luisa Ryan, the ABS’s head of satellite accounts, said:
South Australia drove the national defence industry growth. The state’s defence industry grew by $425m, and 1,300 more defence industry employees were added.
NSW and Victoria continued to have the largest defence industries of the states and territories, the ABS said, with the defence industry contributing $3.5bn in NSW and $2.5bn in Victoria.
Professional, scientific and technical services ($5.4bn) and manufacturing ($2bn) made the largest contributions.
Emily Wind
Good afternoon! Emily Wind here, I’ll bring you all the highlights over the next few hours ahead of tonight’s leaders’ debate. Make sure to stick around for that at 8pm AEST, too.
Krishani Dhanji
Thank you all for joining me on the blog today.
I’ll leave you in the very capable hands of Emily Wind for the afternoon, and I’ll catch you back here early tomorrow morning!
Henry Belot
Hazara community calls on Liberal candidate to apologise over parliamentary submission suggesting ethnic group not persecuted
The Australian Hazara Advocacy Network has called on the Liberal candidate for Bruce to apologise for the contents of a parliamentary submission he co-authored in 2021, which suggested the Hazara community in Afghanistan was not persecuted on the basis of its ethnicity.
A petition calling for Zahid Safi to be disendorsed by the Liberal party, launched by the network on Monday – now has more than 8,300 signatures. It is not known how many of these signatures are from the electorate of Bruce, which has a significant Afghan diaspora.
The submission co-signed by Safi said, in reference to conflict in Afghanistan, “that victims of war are not based on ethnicity”.
The allegations led members of the Hazara community, which has a significant presence in the electorate of Bruce, to lodge their own dissenting submissions to the inquiry, alleging the claims sought to erase the “well-documented persecution of an entire ethnic group”.
Safi stood by the submission when contacted by Guardian Australia and said “a full and fair reading of my submission makes clear that I advocated for every single living individual at risk from the national atrocity and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan under the Taliban.”
Coalition’s plan to end fee-free Tafe would put whole system at risk, education union says
The Australian Education Union (AEU) has responded to the Coalition’s signals that it will end fee-free Tafe places.
On ABC TV this morning, the shadow finance minister, Jane Hume, said: “We don’t believe that fee-free Tafe is delivering on its promise … why would you continue it?”
The Coalition has instead proposed more apprenticeship places through funds for businesses.
The AEU federal president, Correna Haythorpe, said in a statement that cutting free Tafe puts hundreds of thousands of students, and the whole TAFE system, at risk.
Free TAFE changes lives. The Coalition’s plan would destroy that chance for so many …
Free TAFE has been transformative for students, teachers, and the TAFE sector. We’ve seen 600,000 students enrolling since its introduction, particularly in areas of extreme skill shortage, many of whom would not have been able to afford to access vocational education.
Benita Kolovos
Victoria misses its 2024 home building target
Away from the campaign trail for a moment:
The Victorian government has fallen 20,000 new homes short of a target it set to build 80,000 new homes each year.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics today released its quarterly data on dwelling commencements and completions for October to December, which showed 13,955 homes were built in Victoria, an 8.8% decrease from the previous quarter.
According to the Victorian branch of the Property Council of Australia, it is the lowest number of dwelling completions since early 2023 and marks a downward trend with two consecutive quarters of decline.
It also brings the total number of homes built in 2024 to just over 60,000 – still short of the Victorian government’s target of 80,000 home completions each year until 2034.
The council’s executive director, Cath Evans, says the property industry’s confidence in the Victorian government’s ability to plan and manage growth is “at an all-time low”. She urged the government to reduce taxes on the industry in its upcoming budget on 20 May.
Evans said:
Today’s data reveals that Victoria’s dwelling completions are now going backwards – a clear sign that reinforces the industry’s lack of confidence and feasibility to invest here. For as long as Victoria’s cumulative tax burden remains, developers will move to more feasible markets interstate, and our housing targets will continue to slip further away.
Emily Wind
Bandt proposes drinking game for tonight’s leaders’ debate
The Greens’ leader, Adam Bandt, has proposed a drinking game for tonight’s leaders’ debate, writing in a post on social media:
It’s not a leaders debate, it’s a group hug as they take us further into housing hell. Here’s a drinking game: have a shot every time they mention negative gearing reform, dental, stopping coal [and] gas or taxing big corporations. You’ll stay sober as a judge.
Greens candidate withdraws due to dual citizenship
Henry Belot
The Greens candidate for Franklin, Owen Fitzgerald, has withdrawn from the federal election due his dual citizenship.
The 19-year-old was unaware he held New Zealand citizenship, according to the Tasmanian Greens, which has accepted responsibility for an administrative error in its vetting process.
Fitzgerald’s grandparents and father were born in Hamilton, New Zealand. According to disclosure forms, his grandparents are NZ citizens while his father is a dual Australian and NZ citizen. All three acquired NZ citizenship by birth.
Section 7 of the New Zealand Citizenship Act 1977 states:
Every person born outside New Zealand on or after 1 January 1978 is a New Zealand citizen by descent if, at the time of the person’s birth his or her mother or father was a New Zealand citizen.
In 2017, the high court ruled former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce was ineligible to sit in federal parliament due to his father being born in New Zealand. At the time, New Zealand’s prime minister Bill English confirmed that “unwittingly or not”, Joyce was a citizen due to his father being born there.
Fitzgerald’s disclosure form states he is not a citizen of any country other than Australia.
The Greens made inquiries after being contacted by Guardian Australia yesterday, with his decision to withdraw confirmed at a press conference earlier today.
Sukkar touts ‘firepower’ of Coalition policy for first home buyers
Emily Wind
Michael Sukkar said this was “a sliding door moment for our country,” arguing that Labor is offering “three more years of the same”.
He said Labor’s criticism of the Coalition is that “our ambitions for home ownership are too high”.
Our first home buyer mortgage deductibility scheme is going to finally give first home buyers the firepower they need to purchase a home. We’re going to, through our housing infrastructure program, deliver more homes for those first home buyers.
So if you think the status quo is OK, that’s really what Labor is offering. The Coalition believes that home ownership is something that every generation of Australians deserve, and that’s precisely what we’ll deliver, if we’re given the great honour of being elected
‘Melange of weird things’: O’Neil on Coalition housing policy
Emily Wind
Giving her closing remarks, Clare O’Neil argued that under a Peter Dutton government, there would be “more of the same” from the Coalition on housing.
This is a policy melange of weird things that were written on the back of a napkin that will do two things – they will build no new homes around the country from viable analysis that I have seen, and they will make homes more expensive through the ridiculous and dud super for housing policy. These things together are a recipe for making the housing crisis worse.
She said Labor is “genuinely serious about taking a running crack at the underlying problems that have led us where we are today”.
It will require some big things and for the government to do something different, but I hope you see in our first term we have made real progress here and we have a lot more work to do on this in a second term of an Albanese government.
Emily Wind
Will Labor and the Coalition release the modelling of their housing policies?
David Crowe from the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age asked about the housing claims put forward by each major party, saying:
The maths on the Labor side says that you’ll put forward $10bn [to] build 100,000 homes – that’s basically $100,000 per home. On the Coalition side, the claim is that you’ll put $5bn into infrastructure, that magically unlocks 500,000 homes, which is $10,000 per home.
I’ll leave it to voters to decide whether $100,000 per home or $10,000 per home is more convincing. But the key question is … will you put forward and tell us who told you the number of homes that you will build under each policy? And will you release the information – whether its treasury or PBO or somebody else – so we can verify that you’ll build the homes that you claim?
Michael Sukkar argued that “a rough figure of civil works of about $10,000 to unlock that is a pretty well accepted industry number.” On the question of modelling, he said it was “not modelling” but “costed projects.”
Clare O’Neil said the Coalition’s figures were “totally fanciful, absolutely ridiculous” and that there is “no way these numbers will stack up.” On Labor’s numbers, she said the figures came from Treasury officials:
We are not paying for the entire cost of building a new home. What we are doing is assisting state development agencies, and in some in instances private developers, making projects that do not stack up today, stack up.
O’Neil said she would release the Treasury modelling “as it ordinarily occurs.”
