âTreacherousâ Turnbull gives to independent Malcolm Turnbull has donated the maximum amount allowable to the independent at the Upper Hunter by-election, sparking accusations of treachery.
Politics by Anna Caldwell
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Subscriber only Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has donated financially to the campaign of independent Kirsty O Connell as she battles to take on the major parties in the Upper Hunter by-election. Ms O Connell said she had a $60,000 campaign budget - well below the major parties - and that Mr Turnbull had donated within the rules which allow just $3000. He has made a donation within the cap, Ms O Connell said.
Just days before a critical by-election in NSW a new poll shows Premier Gladys Berejiklian is the preferred premier among 57 per cent of voters, with just 17 per cent choosing Labor leader Jodi McKay.
The Resolve Political Monitor poll published on Wednesday in the Sydney Morning Herald found that even Labor voters prefer Ms Berejiklian, with NSW Labor s primary vote slumping to 28 per cent.
Despite a string of scandals that have left the Berejiklian government in minority, the poll found the opposition s vote has dropped five percentage points since the 2019 state election.
Last week a fourth government MP - Kiama MP Gareth Ward - moved to the crossbench amid allegations of sexual violence, which he denies.
Last modified on Fri 14 May 2021 16.02 EDT
Standing on a hill overlooking the sprawling maze of paddocks heâs worked all his 71 years, Ian Moore rattles off the names of Nationals MPs heâs supported in the Upper Hunter during his 50 years as a member of the party.
Col Fisher, the local MP for 18 years from 1970, lived just over the hill from Mooreâs farm in Jerrys Plains, a tiny village west of Singleton. Fisher was âan honourableâ man, he remembers. So too George Souris, who held the seat from 1988 until his retirement in 2015. âA gentleman,â Moore says.
More recently though? Of Michael Johnsen â who resigned in March in the wake of accusations he raped a sex worker in the Blue Mountains in 2019 â accusations he strenuously denies â the less said the better. And Dave Layzell, the candidate preselected to replace Johnsen at next Saturdayâs byelection? Well, heâs just not sure.
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On the fence of a hilltop home in the Upper Hunter, a local construction manager and father of four is smiling down reassuringly on the traffic below.
Itâs the cardboard face of Dave Layzell, the Nationals party candidate plucked to save the regional state electorate â and help manage the woes of Berejiklian minority government â in next weekâs make or break byelection.
Former Nationals candidate George Souris stands outside his home with poster for current candidate David Layzell.
Credit:Kate Geraghty
The fence line is prime real estate for Layzellâs campaign poster in the 13-horse race, bordering the federation home of the man who once held the seat for 27 years: George Souris.
Coal puts obscure NSW byelection in spotlight
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One of the most unexpected and entertaining cameos â in a tough field â in what would normally be an obscure state byelection was by the daughter of Liz Jackson, the late ABC
Four Corners journalist.
Rose Jackson, a Labor representative in the NSW Parliament, ignored her partyâs convention of ignoring former federal leader Mark Latham, who has somehow recruited a star candidate for his new party, One Nation, to run in Upper Hunter.
Rose Jackson, a Labor representative in the NSW Parliament.Â
Dominic Lorrimer
The May 22 byelection, which could cost the state Liberal government its parliamentary majority, has become a high-stakes microcosm of national politicsâ most intractable and bitter debate: Australiaâs dependence on climate-damaging coal.