That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today. But before we put it to bed, a recap of what made the headlines:
After returning to politics at the state level, Eric Abetz “categorically” denied eyeing premier Jeremy Rockliff’s leadership as the Liberals struggled to hold power after Saturday’s election.
The federal government announced a new taskforce cracking down on providers for the national disability insurance scheme illegally overcharging participants.
As another 300 individuals joined the New South Wales social housing waitlist in February, there were calls from advocates for the state government to confront an “escalating crisis”.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, said there was “no reason” to think a second Trump administration would renege on Aukus.
The Liberal party selectedAmelia Hamer to contest independent candidate Monique Ryan for the seat of Kooyong at the next federal election.
Protesters marched around the country calling for an end to native forest logging.
Rockliff said he had “reached out” to independents and the Jacqui Lambie Network as he attempts to form a minority government.
The Tasmanian Labor leader, Rebecca White,conceded the Liberals should have the first opportunity to try for minority government.
The Bob Brown Foundation says thousands turned out to the marches across the country today calling for an end to native forest logging.
They took place in eight locations from NSW’s forest towns of Bellingen, Lismore and Bega to Victoria’s Kyneton and to the cities of Sydney, Adelaide, Canberra and Newcastle.
Bob Brown said:
Right now when we need forests the most, federal and state governments are still destroying them.
Native forest logging is destroying critical carbon stocks and razing wildlife habitat to the ground across Australia at a time when leaving forests in the ground will mitigate global heating and protect wildlife from the brink of extinction. Logging in native forests is killing endangered wildlife like the koalas, Greater Gliders, Swift parrots, Gang-gang Cockatoos and owls, quolls and countless other species.
Jenny Weber, the campaigns manager for the foundation said:
Australia is calling on Prime Minister Albanese and his government to end native forest logging. When native forests are saved from destruction, essential ecosystems and wildlife are saved in this time of climate breakdown and extinction crisis. Australia has more than enough plantations to meet its wood needs.
Secure forest protection of Australia’s precious native forest estate will benefit wildlife and the climate. We are ramping up our national campaign and will continue to mobilise the Australian public to take action in support of ending native forest logging with nationwide actions until the logging of wildlife-rich native forests that happens every day is stopped.
Some more pictures of the NSW premier, Chris Minns, minister for transport, Jo Haylen, and member for Parramatta, Donna Davis, checking out the new Parramatta River-class ferry:
The first of seven new ferries has arrived in Sydney after undertaking a 630 nautical mile journey to cross Bass Strait, with the NSW premier stepping aboard as one of her first passengers, AAP reports.
The Parramatta River-class ferries were designed by Sydney’s Incat Crowthers and the tender was awarded to Richardson Devine marine shipbuilders in Hobart, with construction beginning last July.
The Australian-built vessels will replace RiverCats slated to be retired when they reach the end of their lifespan after 30 years of service.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, welcomes the new Australian-built Parramatta River class ferry into Sydney. Photograph: Steven Siewert/AAP
Named after botanist and D’harawal elder Frances Bodkin, the fleet’s first ferry arrived in Sydney on Sunday after stopping at Flinders Island and Eden during its trip north.
The Frances Bodkin will now be thoroughly cleaned and undergo further sea trials to ensure it is in peak shape before the first passengers hop on board in the next few weeks.
The ferry will predominantly run in calm river conditions on the F3 route, between Parramatta and Circular Quay.
The premier, Chris Minns, and transport minister, Jo Haylen, were on deck to welcome the Frances Bodkin to Sydney.
Liberal members gathering to select Goldstein candidate
Liberal party members in Melbourne’s bayside suburbs have gathered to preselect a candidate to run in the seat of Goldstein, which they lost to “teal” independent Zoe Daniel at the 2022 federal election.
Former MP Tim Wilson, who held the seat between 2016 and 2022, has put his hand up to run again but he faces competition from Stephanie Hunt, a lawyer and former staffer to ministers Julie Bishop and Marise Payne.
The seat is currently held by Daniel, a former ABC journalist, on a margin of 2.9%. She was one of six ‘teals’ to wrestle formerly blue-ribbon Liberal seats from the party at the 2022 election.
If Wilson is successful, he’ll be the first of the former Liberal MPs to contest the next poll, due by the middle of 2025.
Labor on track to claim former premier Steven Marshall’s seat in Dunstan byelection
Meanwhile in South Australia, Labor is poised to take the seat of Dunstan from the Liberals after a byelection was triggered by former premier Steven Marshall’s resignation.
The state government’s electoral website states the candidate currently leading in the count is Labor’s Cressida O’Hanlon.
Although Liberal candidate Anna Finizio currently has a higher first preference percentage (40%) compared to O’Hanlon (32.3%), in the two-candidate preferred result O’Hanlon is leading with 53.8% compared to Finizio’s 46.2%. Both parties have lost ground to the Greens.
The Advertiser is reporting it is the first time an SA government has taken a seat from an opposition at a byelection in 116 years. The newspaper also writes:
Senior Labor figures said the party was on track to claim victory in the seat, but it was “too soon to do so publicly”.
There are still about a quarter of the votes left to be counted because, under the South Australian electoral system, pre-poll and postal votes are not counted until next week.
Over $6m worth of illicit tobacco products seized by Queensland health officials
Queensland health laws targeting illegal tobacco and vaping products have netted almost five million illicit cigarettes since their introduction last year, AAP reports.
Greater enforcement powers for health authorities have also resulted in the seizure of more than 42,000 vapes and 2.1 tonnes of loose tobacco.
The Queensland health minister, Shannon Fentiman, says the more than $6.6m worth of contraband is in addition to the results of multi-agency operations, also involving her department.
Separately, Queensland police and other agencies have confiscated over 10 million illicit cigarettes, 106,000 vapes and four tonnes of loose tobacco worth more than $20.3m over the past 12 months.
Fentiman today said the “decision to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to illicit tobacco is paying off.”
Often those behind the importation and sales of these products are part of well-organised criminal gangs and only with a combined effort between state and federal authorities will we continue to make a difference.
Health authorities issued almost 500 infringement notices to retailers supplying illicit products since changes to smoking laws, compared to 174 issued between 2019 and 2022.
The results coincide with Queensland Health seizing more than 1670 bongs and 375 pipes in 2023-24.
Read the latest on the tobacco industry’s lobbying attempts from our medical editor Melissa Davey:
Tasmanian Labor leader concedes Liberals should have first opportunity to try for minority government
Adam Morton
Despite an earlier report suggesting she would declare Labor had lost the Tasmanian election, the party’s leader, Rebecca White, has offered a more nuanced position at a media conference in Richmond, outside Hobart.
She said it was clear that the Liberal party had won the most seats at the election and should be given the first opportunity to form a government.
I think this result demonstrates that it’s very hard for Labor to win government and Jeremy Rockliff will be given the first opportunity under conventions to test his numbers and seek support from the parliament.
Ultimately it will be up to him to make it work.
White did not explicitly rule out Labor forming a government if the Liberals failed to win support, but made clear that was unlikely.
Asked if the Labor leadership had been declared vacant, she said:
I am currently the leader and I’m doing the job that I’m elected to do.
Update on that last post about the Tasmanian election – Adam Morton, our reporter on the ground at Rebecca White’s press conference, says the story may be more nuanced than what the ABC first reported. Stand by and we’ll bring you the latest.
The ABC is reporting that Tasmanian Labor has declared it has lost the state election and will not attempt to form a minority government. The national broadcaster says:
Party sources have told the ABC that the decision was made at a state administrative committee meeting today.
The decision also makes the party leader position, which has been held by Rebecca White, vacant.
We are expecting Whiteto be standing up to make the announcement shortly.
