[ad_1]
Key events
Filters BETA
Penny Wong vows to keep advocating for Yang Hengjun and Cheng Lei
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has vowed to keep advocating for the detained Australians Yang Hengjun and Cheng Lei in talks with China.
In an interview with Katharine Murphy on today’s Australian Politics podcast, Wong speaks at length about the government’s efforts to stabilise the relationship with China, which included a meeting between Anthony Albanese and China’s president, Xi Jinping, in Bali. Wong has spoken with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, several times.
In the podcast interview, Wong says she has “consistently raised” the cases of Yang, the writer, and Cheng, the journalist. Wong says Australia is maintaining its position on issues like Aukus and human rights – and she makes the following observation about how the government’s push for dialogue with Beijing should not be seen as a “reset”.
I don’t use the word ‘reset’, because I think it implies that we are changing position on certain key fundamental [issues] … I use the word ‘stabilise’ deliberately, because a reset to me suggests that Australia’s sort of shifting from some of the positions we’ve [had], and we’re not, we’re not shifting on national security settings, our national interest, those issues, but we are much more willing to engage and have a dialogue.
And I think both parties went into these discussions looking to try and stabilise the relationship, recognising that there are things we both will want to say to each other. And one of the things we want to say to each other from Australia’s perspective is to advocate on behalf of Dr Yang and Ms Cheng Lei.
Asked whether she is hopeful the advocacy could yield a breakthrough, Wong says:
I don’t think someone in my position can speculate about that. But what I can say is I will keep advocating, I will keep saying what I am saying publicly and privately.
You can hear the full podcast interview here:
– Guardian staff
A snap of Team Richmond on our last day in office – all smiles!
After 23 years as the Member for Richmond, it’s time to say goodbye.
To our local community – it’s been an honour to represent you in the Victorian Parliament.
Thank you for your support. pic.twitter.com/gmlkM8aMzi
— Richard Wynne (@rwynnemp) November 25, 2022
Matthew Guy says election polling has been ‘all over the place’
Sticking with Matthew Guy for a moment, he elaborated on his position in Templestowe after casting his vote, saying that polling has been “all over the place.”
Polling published this morning has show Labor is on track to hold onto power, although Guy wasn’t buying it:
The polling has been all over the place … particularly the published polling, and I think we’ve seen that at a number of other elections – in South Australia as well as the federal election.
We prefer to look at the targeted [polling] and our own material and own research, rather than just running off broad samples across the whole state.
It’s going to be a longer count – you’ll get booth results in earlier which may be very different to the final result, because what happens on the day is maybe not reflected in what’s come during waves of pre-poll [votes].
Matthew Guy says he is ‘confident’ of upset victory
Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy has spoken to reporters ahead of voting in Bulleen, saying is confident of a boilover victory.
Guy said that while polls showed he would lose, there had been upset victories in the past:
These things have been done before in recent times and I’m confident we will do that tonight.
I know it’s very different (to 2018), I can tell it’s very different. Victorians are looking for that fresh start.
I know Victorians are looking for that answer and hopefully we get a majority tonight.
The Victorian Greens leader, Samantha Ratnam, has declared she is “hopeful” of a positive result tonight, with Richmond, Northcote and Albert Park in Melbourne’s inner suburbs the party’s biggest chances of adding to its lower house seats.
Ratnam told reporters ahead that voters were sick and tired of the major parties:
We’ve been talking to thousands of voters over this campaign who want politics done differently, and who are sick and tired of the major parties taking them for granted.
Voters are saying that they feeling like the major parties are ignoring some of the biggest issues bearing down upon them. [They want] stronger action on climate change … and housing affordability.
We’re really hopeful of picking up seats like Richmond and Northcote.
Australia makes its first Davis Cup final in 19 years
In some great news this morning, Australia has made it into the Davis Cup final for the first time in 19 years, after a nerve-racking win in Malaga.
After more heroics from Alex de Minaur had pulled Lleyton Hewitt’s team back from the brink with his consummate tie-levelling singles win over Marin Cilic, Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell beat the Olympic doubles champions to seal the exhilarating 2-1 semi-final win.
It was a spirited performance, in keeping with the many classic performances in the famous gold and green.
You can read more on the triumph at the link below:
Victorian Greens say people ‘voting with their values’
The Victorian Greens candidate for Richmond, Gabrielle de Vietri, says people are “voting with their values like never before,” before declaring she believed she could prise the seat out of Labor hands.
Labor has held the seat for over a century, but de Vietri is confident people are “ready for a change” she told Sky News:
I’m feeling very optimistic. We can feel that people are voting with their values like never before.
We’ve run a huge people power campaign with hundreds of volunteers. We’ve knocked on 16,000 doors, that’s almost every single knockable door in the electorate.
We are hearing that people are ready for change. They want to see meaningful action on climate – they want us to get out of gas and coal as quickly as possible. They want us to tackle housing affordability. They’re sick of politicians that don’t represent them, they want integrity in politics.
They’re really excited about the possibility of a strong, progressive crossbench.
If the vibe is anything to go by, we feel like we’ve made some real headway here.
Matthew Guy says he would redivert $2bn allocated to the Suburban Rail Loop
Returning to Victoria again, opposition leader Matthew Guy has appeared on Weekend Sunrise to say he hopes he’s convinced voters of his “positive and focused” plan.
Guy added that the first thing he’d do if he won would be to ask the prime minister to “reprioritise” the $2bn allocated to the Suburban Rail Loop, instead investing in into the state’s health service.
Everywhere I have been on pre-polling booths … this week, people are pretty clear they want the fresh start.
We want a reboot in this state, we want to come out of Covid-19 and put aside all the dark memories of the past, like the government that put us there.
Alleged Islamic State fighter Neil Prakash reportedly to be returned to Australia
AAP is reporting that alleged Australian Islamic State fighter Neil Prakash will reportedly be returned home to face court on charges that could see him jailed for life.
The Melbourne-born man, aged in his early 30s, was jailed in Turkey after being caught fighting for Isis in Syria.
He has since moved to immigration detention and a decision has been made by the government to return him, News Corp reported on Saturday.
His return date is unknown.
Home affairs minister Clare O’Neil’s predecessor, Peter Dutton, revoked Prakash’s citizenship in 2018 over his Isis participation and on the grounds he was Fijian.
But Fijian immigration officials were adamant Prakash – who was born in Melbourne to a Fijian father – has never held or sought citizenship of their country.
Thousands converge on Bondi for nude installation
Before we continue with more from Daniel Andrews, I thought a nice sidestep would be fitting.
For the first time in history, Bondi Beach has been declared a nude beach, as reported by Caitlin Cassidy.
Earlier this morning, thousands of bodies huddled together on the beach as part of artist Spencer Tunick’s latest installation.
You can read more in Caitlin’s story, linked below:
Daniel Andrews says health system ‘knocked around’ by Covid pandemic
I wanted to just go back to the Andrews interview earlier this morning on ABC News, where he was asked why he hadn’t done more to support or address Victoria’s struggling health system:
Every health system across our country, whether it be in New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, it has been knocked around by a one in 100-year pandemic event.
The answer is not cuts, the answer is more nurses, more ambulances and funding health properly … here is real pressure there, that is why we simply can’t afford Liberal cutbacks.
Record number of early voters in Victorian election
A record number of voters have cast their ballots early during this Victorian election, with about 1.9 million people casting their votes early.
With more than 270,000 postal votes received up to Friday, almost half of all Victorians who registered to vote (4.39 million) got it done early:
Drum rollllll… The final early voting figures are here! 274,032 Victorians voted early today on day 11 of early voting. This gives us a grand total of 1,908,400 early votes. Well done! Download the summary here https://t.co/2DKgtvNMm5 #VicVotes
— VEC (@electionsvic) November 25, 2022
Victorian premier says campaign about ‘moving forward’ after Covid
Andrews was also asked in that interview why Covid had not been a prominent part of his campaigning, despite his marathon press conferences for 120 days straight, imprinting his mannerisms on the country.
Andrews said it was about moving forward, before saying he didn’t feel like he had reduced his media appearances during the campaign:
I have been out every day speaking with my friends in the media, talking about our positive plan, many events every day. I’m pleased to be talking to you today about a positive and optimistic plan for free [kindergarten], the government-owned renewable energy, to make sure that Victorians don’t have a Liberal government that cuts the services we need and cancels the projects that we simply have to build.
I have spoken on many occasions of the amazing unity, that absence of care and connection, of kindness, that Victorians show to each other in a one in 100-year event. We smashed through 70%, 80%, 90% vaccinated, and we worked so hard, every single Victorian family, to keep each other say. Tens of thousands of people are alive today because of the amazing sacrifices Victorians made. Now is the time, and leadership is about moving forward.
Daniel Andrews urges Victorians to avoid minority government
Good morning, Mostafa Rachwani with you on an important day in Victoria, with the state election underway and a result expected later this evening.
We begin with premier Daniel Andrews appearing on ABC News this morning, where he was asked if he would work with the Greens or independents to form a minority government, to which Andrews balked:
I am urging Victorians to vote for a strong, stable, majority Labor government so we can keep building the schools, hospitals, the roads, the rail, to recruit those nurses and ambos I spoke of, make kindergarten free, and bring back the SEC, government-owned renewable energy for people, not profit. The election results will be no later this evening.
I am not going to try to predict those. We will be working very hard throughout the day to make sure Victorians know and understand our positive plan, and the cuts and closures and cancellations that are the Liberal Party alternative.
My position has been clear on these matters are more than a decade. No deal will be offered and no deal will be done.
Labor will win Victoria election by five points, says Newspoll
A Newspoll in the Australian this morning says that Labor and Daniel Andrews are five points ahead going into today’s Victoria state election.
It predicts a two-party-preferred result of 54.5-45.5% in what would be a 2.8% swing to the Liberals compared with the result in 2018. Three weeks ago, the paper reports, the split was 54-46.
It adds that such a vote would give Andrews between 45 to 50 of its 55 seats in the 88-seat parliament, and would mean that Andrews would overtake John Cain Jr as Victoria’s longest-serving Labor premier.
Australians complacent about Covid
We report this morning that Australia’s fourth Covid wave is likely to peak before Christmas as the rate of hospitalisations and infections begin to slow.
Cases have continued to increase nationwide for the sixth consecutive week, however at a slower rate. This suggests a plateau in cases would arrive by the first week of December, in line with pandemic modelling, if it has not already.
It comes as research from Pfizer suggests that almost two-thirds of Australians believe the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic is behind them despite the recent rise in infections and different variants of the virus emerging.
Australian Associated Press reports that one in three people is less likely to get tested when they have symptoms now compared with a year ago.
The findings have prompted stark warnings from health professionals, AAP says.
University of Sydney infectious diseases specialist Prof Robert Booy said the apparent decline in testing was a major concern and urged Australians to keep up to date with their vaccinations.
“Recent federal government data has shown Covid-19 still poses a very real risk to the health of our communities as we move into a new wave of infections, specifically to those at higher risk of serious illness,” Booy said.
“Testing earlier means people can seek medical advice sooner and can access anti-viral medicines faster if they are eligible.”
Almost two-thirds of Australians are also less concerned about how Covid-19 is affecting their community, while about half aren’t as worried about their own risk of serious illness.
One in five people who are at higher risk, such as those over 70 or with health conditions including heart disease, are less likely to get tested or see a doctor if they experience symptoms.
The research findings are based on a November survey of 1,000 Australian adults by Pfizer Australia.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live blog. Mostafa Rachwani will be with you soon but in the meantime here are the main stories making the news today.
The Victorian election will be the main event. Voting has already started – in-person voting, that is, because pre-voting has been under way for a while – and the Labor premier, Daniel Andrews, is expected to win a third term despite the controversy over the state’s long Covid lockdowns and assorted scandals. We have heaps of content to ensure that you are right up to date with what’s happening, including this analysis piece by Benita Kolovos who says that both parties, win or lose, have made this the “Daniel Andrews election”. You can also check out what to expect as the results come in with our explainer here.
If politics is your thing, look no further than Katharine Murphy’s essay about the making of Anthony Albanese – “From lone wolf to leader”. It appears in the Quarterly Essay but we have an excerpt today of how the man who became something of an outsider under Bill Shorten’s leadership ended up as the resident of The Lodge.
There’s good news for commuters in Sydney and the rest of NSW this morning after the state government announced a deal with the rail unions to end the long series of rail strikes. The parties had been at odds over whether or not to make safety modifications to a multibillion-dollar Korean-built fleet of intercity trains, which have been in storage since 2019. The state premier, Dominic Perrottet, said last night that the government reached the deal with the union, after months of stymied talks and accusations of bad faith from both parties. Catch the full story here.
[ad_2]
Source link
