Canavan says he’s standing for Nationals leadership to be ‘agent of change’
Matt Canavan hopes to be an “agent of change” for Nationals, he has told media this morning, ahead of the party’s leadership ballot today.
Canavan told the ABC he decided to take a shot at the leadership on Wednesday last week. He said:
I think we need a shake-up. I think the party deserves a choice, think the people of Australia deserve a choice. I don’t think we gave them enough of a real choice at the last election. So I’m standing to try and be an agent of change, if you like … you can’t ask other people to do something you’re not prepared to do yourself. So I put my hand up.
Canavan said he has been arguing for some time that Australia is “losing our income, losing our wealth, losing our jobs, losing our industries, losing our … laidback culture”.
He would not withdraw if he didn’t have the numbers, he said, but would “give it a crack”.
Key events
New Albanese cabinet to be announced later today
As noted earlier, we’re expecting Anthony Albanese to announce the line-up of his new cabinet today, but it is going to come a little later than expected.
We were anticipating a 9am announcement but the latest indication is that it will come mid-late morning, and may even be early afternoon. As always, though, we’ll update you as soon as we know more.
Drought conditions worsen in SA and Victoria
The last meaningful rain at Truro, on the eastern side of the Barossa Ranges in South Australia, was recorded in November 2022, and the tally for the first four months of this year is a paltry 33.5mm.
It’s a similar story across South Australia and Victoria, where farmers are braced for drought conditions to worsen.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s latest climate outlook warns below-average rainfall is likely from May to July in those regions, while day and nighttime temperatures are expected to be warmer than average across most of Australia.
That’s not good news for sheep, cattle and dairy producers in regions which have experienced their driest 14-month period on record.
Read more about how rural communities are trying to cope with worsening drought conditions here:
Krishani Dhanji
Pat Conroy expected to retain defence industry and Pacific portfolios
NSW MP Pat Conroy is expected to remain in his portfolio of defence industry and minister for the Pacific in the cabinet, when Anthony Albanese unveils his new ministry within the next hour.
Conroy also held the portfolio for international development in the last government, but that will be carved out and given to another minister. It’s understood Conroy will occupy a more senior position in the cabinet.
Speculation has been rife over the past week on who will get what, with some of the government’s most senior members to retain their portfolios – including Wong, Marles and treasurer Jim Chalmers – while others are facing new responsibilities.
Ed Husic and Mark Dreyfus – who were ousted from the cabinet last week – will need to have their cabinet positions filled, and that means two new ministers will likely enter the cabinet.
Dave Sharma urges Liberals not to ‘break apart into warring camps’ over leadership
Sussan Ley and Angus Taylor are both “honest about the scale of the challenge” faced by the Liberal party, Liberal MP Dave Sharma has said.
Sharma told Sunrise this morning it was “important to make a collegiate approach” and for the party not to “break apart into warring camps”.
Of the rumoured Tim Wilson leadership tilt, Sharma said:
I haven’t heard from him.
He had, however, read the Falinski article in the Australian Financial Review.
Canavan: ‘no credible evidence that droughts or floods are getting worse’
Matt Canavan has claimed he has “always” accepted the link between carbon dioxide emissions and temperature rises but appeared to doubt that natural disasters are getting worse as a consequence of climate crisis.
He told the ABC:
There’s just not credible evidence that droughts or floods are getting worse in this country … is that the science? What is the science then? Is it the IPCC reports? That’s what’s in their report.
Following that, there was what I can only describe as a very confused passage of discussion in which he appeared to suggest that it was an issue of terminology rather than science, and that heatwaves were getting worse but not other kinds of environmental crisis … except sea temperatures:
I don’t know what happened. It’s about 10 years ago. It seemed like global warming wasn’t really working. So it changed to climate change, and started talking about floods and cyclones and these things. And when you actually read the signs, there’s very little evidence that most of those natural disasters are getting any worse. Heatwaves is different.
Well, the temperature is rising, as noted about that. It’s happening in the oceans as well. But the question is calibrating our response to what the risks are.
The problem with natural disasters, Canavan claimed, is that they are “an infrequent event”, and therefore the statistics are not robust. The problem ultimately, he said, is that a “binding net zero target” subjugates all other industries to the environment.
Canavan says he’s standing for Nationals leadership to be ‘agent of change’
Matt Canavan hopes to be an “agent of change” for Nationals, he has told media this morning, ahead of the party’s leadership ballot today.
Canavan told the ABC he decided to take a shot at the leadership on Wednesday last week. He said:
I think we need a shake-up. I think the party deserves a choice, think the people of Australia deserve a choice. I don’t think we gave them enough of a real choice at the last election. So I’m standing to try and be an agent of change, if you like … you can’t ask other people to do something you’re not prepared to do yourself. So I put my hand up.
Canavan said he has been arguing for some time that Australia is “losing our income, losing our wealth, losing our jobs, losing our industries, losing our … laidback culture”.
He would not withdraw if he didn’t have the numbers, he said, but would “give it a crack”.
Former Liberal makes case for Tim Wilson as party leader: ‘someone who’s going to fight’
Since Liberal Tim Wilson claimed back the seat of Goldstein from independent Zoe Daniel this election, there have been rumours bubbling that he has also been considering a surprise tilt at the party leadership.
Former Liberal MP Jason Falinski has been out and about today making the case that he ought to. Writing in the AFR yesterday, Falinksi said the party needed someone who would not “[flinch] in the face of vibe-led hatred” and would “[take on] holy shibboleths with facts, logic and reason”.
Wilson, he believes, is the man to do this. Speaking to ABC RN this morning, Falinski said:
I think that Tim is a fighter, and I think that our supporters, any supporters of any political party after the loss that we’ve just had, want someone who’s going to fight, who’s actually going to stand there and say I believe in these things and I will fight for these things.
I think Tim embodies those characteristics, more so than anyone else in the parliamentary party. But it’s not really a paean to Tim Wilson. It’s about whoever the next leader is has to embody that fighting spirit, if we’re going to get ahead.
Welcome
Good morning.
It’s a new week in news and politics, with a new cabinet for the Albanese government and a new leader for the Nationals both on the cards for today.
The Nationals are gathering in Canberra today for a party room leadership vote as leader David Littleproud faces a challenge from Matt Canavan.
We’re also expecting Anthony Albanese to announce his new cabinet today, ready for swearing in tomorrow, after factional jostling last week post-election win.
Stick with us, as we’ll bring you the details on all these issues and much more as the day goes on.
