The Liberals are looking at a further two terms in opposition, with Premier Mark McGowan’s deft handling of the pandemic firming up as a factor in elections.
Liberal MP Dr Katie Allen cried on Q+A describing her father s final years of life
She recalled how Bill Stephens, who was also a doctor, had battled dementia
The MP s father died in January 2014 less than a month after he had turned 80
Dr Allen supports voluntary euthanasia and back Victoria s assisted dying laws
Liberal colleague Kevin Andrews moved to end Northern Territory euthanasia
Prime Minister Scott Morrison s new political crisis could see Australia s international travel ban scrapped sooner as crossbench MPs pressure the government to change its strict policy.
The Coalition barely commands a majority in the House of Representatives, after renegade southern Sydney MP Craig Kelly on Monday quit the Liberal Party.
Should there be another defection, the government will lose its majority and be forced to rely on crossbench MPs, including two who are openly opposed to the ban on Australians travelling overseas for a holiday.
Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie, who holds the Adelaide Hills seat of Mayo, wants the restriction relaxed to allow a travel bubble with the Pacific islands.
The former Australian prime minister John Howard has reignited the religious freedom debate, arguing schools should be able to hire teachers based on whether they accept the beliefs the school is based on in the same way political parties favour staff who believe in a party’s ideals. In a presentation to Christian organisation Family Voice Australia on Tuesday evening, Howard also called for “people in authority” to more actively oppose “woke.
Liberal MP Kevin Andrews says we are “in danger” of losing democratic Australia when we see actions and practices the likes of which Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is putting in place.
Mr Andrews said the Victorian premier “ignored the normal processes of cabinet” and had a “hand selected group of people”.
“(Andrews) has put in place dictates to the people of Victoria which are not precise, they’re not consistent, and they’re not proportionate to the risks involved,” he told Sky News host Alan Jones.
“Look at the situation now. You’ve got some outbreaks in certain suburbs of Melbourne, why should the people hundreds of kilometres away in Mildura or Portland … be subject to the same restrictions as people in the very areas where these infections are occurring?
“It’s not proportionate.”