Where could Labor win its 76th seat?
Here’s a nifty little breakdown of where Labor could nab that 76th seat, which would secure them a majority government.
In two of those seats, Labor is up against the Greens: Brisbane, currently held by the Liberal party, and Macnamara, covering Melbourne’s port and bayside suburbs and previously held by Labor with a margin of 4.9%.
There’s also Deakin in Melbourne’s east, previously held by the Liberals where they are currently leading by a few hundred votes, and Gilmore, a marginal seat on the NSW south coast where Labor’s Fiona Phillips is fighting to retain her seat against Andrew Constance, who gained popularity during the bushfires and was formerly the treasurer of NSW.
Again, Labor only need to win one of these seats to secure a majority government.
Labor now has 75 seats in the 47th parliament, with 4 seats in doubt:
* Macnamara (ALP vs Green, ALP ahead)
* Brisbane (ALP vs Green, Green ahead)
* Deakin (ALP vs Lib, Lib ahead)
* Gilmore (ALP vs Lib, Lib ahead)2 of those races are complex and depend on who comes 3rd
— casey briggs (@CaseyBriggs) May 26, 2022
Have a deep dive:
Wong says government will ‘end climate wars’
Wong continues her speech in Fiji.
That is why I have travelled here this week – to make clear on behalf of the new Australian government – and in particular on behalf of the new prime minister Anthony Albanese – our commitment to you: we will work with you to make our Pacific Family even stronger.
We will listen. We will hear you – your ideas for how we can face our shared challenges and achieve our shared aspirations together.
Wong moves on to climate. She says:
I understand that climate change is not an abstract threat – it’s a present and an existential one …
I understand that – under past governments – Australia has neglected its responsibility to act on climate change. Ignoring the calls of our Pacific family to act. Disrespecting Pacific nations in their struggle to adapt to what is an existential threat.
But whether it manifests in rising sea levels in Pacific Island countries, or in disastrous bushfires and catastrophic flooding back at home in Australia, climate change is happening across the Pacific family.
So I assure you: we have heard.
As our election last weekend showed – Australians understand the imperative of acting on climate change. The climate crisis loomed as one of the key concerns to the Australian people.
And there is huge groundswell of support for taking real action on the climate crisis in Australia…and the new government is firmly committed to making it happen.
We were elected on a platform of reducing carbon emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050. We’re not going to say this – we will enshrine it in law and submit a new Nationally Determined Contribution to the UNFCCC very soon.
Wong adds:
We will end the climate wars in Australia. This is a different Australian government, and a different Australia. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with our Pacific family in response to this crisis.
Penny Wong speaks in Fiji
Daniel Hurst
Henry Puna, the secretary general of the Pacific Islands Forum, is introducing the Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, in Suva, Fiji.
Puna said he was particularly heartened to learn of Wong’s commitment to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart and to wave the voice of Indigenous people into Australia’s foreign policy. He said this was a “special move”:
Our respect for culture and indigenous identity here in the Pacific is what sets us apart from the rest of the world.
Puna also welcomed Australia’s recognition of the “ongoing climate crisis”.
He said the issue was “so critical to our survival” and the region cannot settle for anything less than “urgent climate action now”.
Wong thanks him for the introduction:
This is my fourth day as foreign minister … I hope I will be here often and I hope that we can work well together as we deal with the challenges and opportunities this world presents us with.
Burney says she “isn’t putting any firm timelines” on the process towards referendum, but the prime minister has indicated he would like to see it in the first term of government.
Burney is then asked about Youpla, the funeral fund that’s left thousands of people out of pocket. Burney says Stephen Jones will be minister responsible in government.
We have agreed collectively that there needs to be a proper inquiry into this deceitful, deceptive and disgusting company that has basically preyed on the vulnerabilities of Aboriginal communities and have actually abused the cultural practices of Aboriginal people. From there we will make firm decisions. I am clear thousands of people have been ripped off.
The position of the Labor party at the moment … is to have a very deep inquiry into what happened. Obviously the issue of compensation is going to be something that will come up. And I will obviously talk with the prime minister, talk with the people that are responsible for the financial undertakings within our government, and come to a view.
But please be assured that I completely understand just how difficult and just how wrong this situation is.
Linda Burney wants to build consensus with public as well as parliament on Uluru Statement of the Heart
Linda Burney, the first Aboriginal woman to serve as federal Aboriginal affairs minister, is up on ABC afternoon briefing.
“It feels exciting, a little bit daunting,” she says of her new role, but life experiences have primed her for the position.
Asked how confident she is to negotiate a referendum on the Uluru Statement from the Heart and a constitutional voice to parliament with the Greens, who want treaty and truth telling first, Burney replies:
The important thing is to build a consensus within the Australian public as much as building a consensus within the parliament. Obviously the Greens are [in] support of Uluru. The question I have is whether or not the Liberal-National party will come onboard. I have a role as a consensus builder. That’s how I see it. It’s going to be the Australian people that will have the ultimate decision about whether our referendum is successful or not.
Speaking of Pocock:
Zed Seselja is yet to concede defeat, but leaked email shows the Canberra Liberals are fast losing hope.
Branch president claims the “left” have waged ‘unprecedented’, $12m+ campaign over past decade to pinch Libs’ seat https://t.co/lRuMTj5dH2 via @canberratimes
— Dan Jervis-Bardy (@D_JervisBardy) May 26, 2022
David Pocock to prioritise climate policy and voluntary assisted dying in ACT
Pocock says he would make it his priority to introduce a private senators’ bill to bring the rights of territories in line with the states, which would advance the path towards voluntary assisted dying in the ACT.
It’s not going to cost the government anything. This is about equality and providing people who live in the territories with the same dignity and choice at the end of their life.
He also reiterates “more ambition” is needed on climate policy.
The majority of Australians want more ambition. The Business Council of Australia has a 50% target of 2030 which is ahead of both of the major parties which to me shows just how much the economics around climate action have changed. This is an economic opportunity. We can’t afford to miss this.
As we’re seeing now, with rising energy prices, we’re paying the price for a lost decade, a lack of leadership, a lack of big policy settings to unlock investment in this area. We know now renewables are the cheapest and most reliable form of energy. So we’ve got to get on with it.
Probably incoming senator for the ACT David Pocock is up on the ABC’s afternoon briefing, discussing what platform he will push for with his likely win.
Asked whether he can be called a senator yet, Pocock replies, “not yet … it’s looking really good”.
He says his policy platform was based on what feedback Canberrans were giving him.
Clearly, the housing crisis is real here in the ACT. The most expensive city to rent and second-most expensive to buy. We have to take that seriously in the next parliament. Then there’s other issues like integrity, territory rights was something that was big during the election campaign. And climate. Finding a pragmatic way forward on climate.
The prime minister has released his statement on National Sorry Day, marking the 25th anniversary of the Bringing Them Home report.
He says as we more “fully acknowledge” our nation’s history we begin to “unburden ourselves of its unspoken weight”, and reiterates the government’s commitment to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full.
Vic inquiry wants petrol car sales cut-off
Victoria should commit to an end date for new sales of petrol, diesel and gas-fuelled vehicles, an inquiry into the state’s renewable energy transition says.
AAP reports the upper house committee report, tabled in parliament on Thursday, found Victoria’s electricity demands are set to double by 2050 and made 32 recommendations.
It calls on the Victorian government to adopt a cut-off date for sales of new internal combustion engine vehicles, coupled with an education campaign about electric models.
In July 2021, Victoria became the first Australian state to start charging electric vehicle owners for every kilometre they drove. The 2.5 cents a kilometre tax was designed to ensure motorists pay towards infrastructure and fund the Zero Emissions Vehicle Subsidy, an alternative to the fuel excise.
In a submission to the inquiry, the Tesla Owners Club of Australia argued the levy is a disincentive to electric vehicles.
Victoria’s current 2030 renewable energy target is 50% and the inquiry found gas use for cooking, heating and industrial processes is a major source of carbon emissions.
It suggests the government consider reviewing and removing regulations that require gas connections for new buildings and potentially enact a moratorium on new residential gas connections.
More from Wilson:
Wilson says he does not think climate policy was the biggest factor in his loss.
— Richard Willingham (@rwillingham) May 26, 2022
Meanwhile, outgoing Liberal MP Tim Wilson is addressing an energy efficiency conference in Melbourne.
Tim Wilson tells the National Energy Efficency Conference he’s feeling “great” after losing the seat of Goldstein at the weekend. “I just feel this incredible sense of gratitude,” he says.
— Benita Kolovos (@benitakolovos) May 26, 2022
Changing the curtains.
Greens eye three seats as count continues
Speaking of election results, AAP has more on the Greens fight to secure at least three lower house seats.
Julian Simmonds has become the latest Liberal MP to concede defeat after the federal election.
The MP for the Brisbane seat of Ryan made the concession on his Facebook page, with the winner expected to be confirmed as Greens candidate Elizabeth Watson-Brown. He said the Liberal party was “crying out for more good people in politics”:
This team of young, passionate professionals give me the greatest hope that our country’s best days lie ahead.
Greens leader Adam Bandt says the minor party will not yet be conceding or declaring victory in Brisbane or the Victorian seat of Macnamara, where the margin is slim. He said anyone already allocating those seats to one party or another was wrong.
I’m still very hopeful that [Macnamara candidate] Steph Hodgins-May is in with a chance of getting over the line and we will be looking at every last vote.
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has not yet provided a two-candidate preferred count in Macnamara, while the primary vote race between Labor, the Liberals and Greens remains very close.
In Brisbane, Labor’s Madonna Jarrett is holding on to her primary-vote lead over the Greens, which will put her in a strong position to take the seat from Liberal MP Trevor Evans. She is 672 votes ahead of the Greens’ Stephen Bates.
In the Senate, the Coalition is on track to hold 31 seats, with 26 for Labor in the 76-seat chamber. The Greens are expected to hold 12 Senate spots, with One Nation likely to hold two seats.
