| No images? Click here Quote to note“People who bowl vote. Bowlers are not the cultural elite.” Said former US Vice President Dan Quayle at a bowling alley in Las Vegas back in June 1992. Veep Quayle was known for the odd gaffe or 5 when he served under President George HW Bush from 1988-92. You can pick your own favourite from his greatest hits – there are some doozies. Making news this morning1. PM Scott Morrison would sign a statutory declaration denying racial vilification claims against Cook preselection rival Michael Towke from 2007. 2. And representatives of the Lebanese community in Sydney have publicly supported Morrison. Dr Jamal Rifi – who was recently named “the most influential person in Western Sydney” by the Daily Telegraph (PW) – is one who has backed the PM. 3. It’s raining polls… Newspoll in The Australian (PW) and Ipsos in the Financial Review (PW) are double trouble for the Morrison Government. 4. A top adviser to PM Morrison has been accused of inappropriate behaviour (PW) towards a Liberal hopeful/now independent candidate in the Sydney seat of Reid. Natalie Baini made the claims about Morrison’s principal private secretary Yaron Finkelstein in a witness statement tendered to the Fair Work Commission. 5. A non-political inquiry into Australia’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic will be launched by Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation, the Paul Ramsay Foundation and the John and Myriam Wylie Foundation. It will be led by former top public servant Peter Shergold. Going deeper: The Cook preselection ghost returnsThe last week has been character assessment central for PM Scott Morrison. On Budget night, soon-to-be outgoing Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells said Morrison was an autocrat and a bully. The next day, One Nation leader Senator Pauline Hanson backed her up. Senator Jacqui Lambie added that Morrison is “one of the most unpleasant men I’ve ever had to sit in front of.” And on the weekend, a new/old front opened up. ● Morrison is accused of racially vilifying Michael Towke – the man the Liberals originally picked to represent Cook back in 2007 when the seat was up for grabs after Liberal Bruce Baird retired. Towke well and truly won the preselection battle against Morrison and Communications Minister Paul Fletcher, but he pulled out after damaging/false claims were made against him. Morrison went on to win the party’s endorsement and he retains their support. ● In statutory declarations from 2016, Towke said Morrison told party members they should not vote for him because he was from a Lebanese family and because of rumours he was a Muslim – he is a Catholic. Why that’s red hot: the ugly Cronulla riots took place almost 2 years before within the electorate’s boundaries. ● Towke stands by the claims. As for Morrison, he says he would sign a stat dec denying the claims. "It’s just simply untrue – these are quite malicious and bitter slurs which are deeply offensive and I reject them," he said yesterday. Thing to know: Towke worked for Senator Fierravanti-Wells in the past. She also supported his preselection bid in Cook back in 2007. And it was her statement in the Senate last week that she knew of Towke’s stat decs that the media fired up to locate them. What does it mean: Trustworthiness is set to be an issue in this election – and Labor is lovin’ how it’s going so far… Yesterday, Anthony Albanese told Nine’s political editor Chris Uhlmann that it’s not him going after Morrison’s character – it’s people from the PM’s own side. A race against the clock for NSW Liberal preselectionsGiven how regularly elections roll around in Australia you’d be forgiven for thinking the big parties would have candidates sorted with time to spare. Well, not exactly… The Liberal Party is battling a messy internal brawl in NSW which means it’s only just announced candidates for 9 seats across the state, including a couple like Parramatta and Eden Monaro which they’d like to win back from Labor. ● But not so fast – it’s still messy… IT millionaire/Liberal Party member Matthew Camenzuli has a challenge underway before the NSW Court of Appeal, which could decide as early as today if these pre-selections are valid. ● He’s arguing that the federal Libs don’t have the right to take over the state branch and make these decisions. That’s what PM Scott Morrison, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and former federal party president Chris McDiven did when they pre-selected the candidates on Saturday and endorsed 3 sitting members who were facing challenges in early March. What it means: The long delay on these preselections has made it particularly tough for Liberal candidates in marginal seats where name and face recognition with voters are extremely important. And to have a chance at giving these candidates a shot, the party will have to spend on advertising, and spend up big. What’s next: If the Court upholds Camenzuli’s challenge, the Libs are in all sorts of strife because it’s back to square one and an election campaign beckons… Whatever the decision, there’s the possibility both sides could appeal to the High Court, which last week said it could do its thing tomorrow. Poll pain for Team Morrison Both are taken after the Budget was delivered last Tuesday night, and both deliver a similar result. The Australian’s Newspoll (PW) says Labor is ahead of the Coalition 54:46 on a 2-party preferred basis, which is a one-point dip in support for Labor. And the Financial Review’s Ipsos poll (PW) shows a 55:45 result in Labor’s favour. ● On primary votes, it’s really bad news for the Coalition with Ipsos recording 31% – which is a 10-point collapse on the 2019 election result. Newspoll is a little more optimistic recording 36%. If the Coalition isn’t in the 40s on primary votes, it’s near-on impossible for them to win. ● If replicated at the May election, it would see the Coalition lose 17-ish seats. Thing to know: Ahead of the 2019 federal election, Ipsos, Newspoll, Essential, YouGov-Galaxy, and Roy Morgan all pointed to a similar result – and they were wrong. We know that because Bill Shorten isn’t the prime minister and Labor isn’t in power… What experts said after that election was that the samples of voters used in those polls were unrepresentative and inadequately adjusted. The polling companies say they’ve fixed those issues. What’s next: Get ready for some stiff-upper-lip action from Coalition pollies fronting the media today… Quick shotsAustralia’s top 2 defence officials have COVID. The Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell tested positive on the weekend and Departmental Secretary Greg Moriarty got his positive result on Thursday. Both have mild symptoms. Also on the COVID bandwagon is the LNP’s Member for Dawson George Christensen. He’s unvaccinated and is taking the anti-parasitic drug Ivermectin, which is banned in Australia as a treatment for coronavirus. Labor’s wargaming what it would do if leader Anthony Albanese catches COVID during the election campaign. PM Scott Morrison’s recently had the virus, so it’s not a big factor in the Liberals’ planning. Master Builders Australia will launch an advertising campaign today (PW) urging Labor to keep the Australian Building and Construction Commission. Chief executive Denita Wawn says it’s a key test of Anthony Albanese’s pro-business credentials. Dave Sharma has to remove a prominent billboard. The Liberal MP for the ritzy Sydney electorate of Wentworth is under pressure from independent candidate Allegra Spender, and has his face on a prominent building in Edgecliff, but no advertising is allowed there, the council says. Australia is set to benefit from the global energy crunch that’s been created as the world comes out of COVID and deals with the implications of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Oz’s resources export earnings are heading towards a record $425 billion this financial year (PW). And One Nation is making hay from Labor’s ‘mean girls’. Things are certainly getting sticky… Post of the day Tweeted 5AA/News Corp journo David Penberthy after PM Scott Morrison made nice with a lobster in northern Tassie on Saturday. The PM was spruiking the Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement that was signed on Saturday. Morrison says it "opens a big door into the world’s fastest-growing major economy for Australian farmers, manufacturers, producers and so many more” – including lobster farmers. And hey, pics like that didn’t do newly-minted South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas any harm… What’s on today9.00am – Labor leader Anthony Albanese is in Queensland and will hold an event with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk – Brisbane 9.00am – The NSW gaming authority’s inquiry into The Star to determine whether it is fit to keep its casino licence continues – Sydney 9.30am – The Queensland Tourism and Conservation Alliance is set to be launched. Bringing together tourism and conservation organisations, they are calling for more funding and more protected areas – Brisbane 9.30am – Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud is set to make an announcement about wine industry funding – Clonakilla Winery, Murrumbateman 10.00am – Public hearings of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide continue – Canberra 11.30am (9.30am local time) – WA Nationals MP James Hayward is in court – he’s charged with multiple child sexual abuse offences – Perth 7.00pm – The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will launch its next big report, this time focused on mitigation The NSW Court of Appeal’s decision on whether PM Scott Morrison and Co’s pushing through of a number of preselections in the state is legal is expected today ABS Data Release – Retail Sales, February. It’s additional information on last week’s release with more detail on state, industry and sub-industry data Going back in time: it’s the anniversary of the signing of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) treaty in Washington DC (1949) *All times in AEST unless noted |
