Up for debate

ARGY-BARGY

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has admitted the vaccine rollout was a race, and he shouldn’t have said it wasn’t. The PM actually taking responsibility for something wasn’t the only headline from the fiery second debate between him and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese last night — indeed they may be hoarse from what was, at times, a full-blown yelling match as the spectacle-clad pair came to blows over electricity prices, national security, and the corruption watchdog, ending the night in a 50-50 tie.

Albanese landed a blow when he pointed out to Morrison that, under Albo’s tenure as a minister Darwin had US Marines, and under Morrison, the port was sold to a company linked to the Chinese Communist Party, as ABC reports. Yikes. Morrison also argued that gig economy workers — like Uber delivery drivers, for example — don’t earn minimum wage because “they are working for themselves, that’s why they do it”, and that can be the reality of small business. Dismal. Morrison also bizarrely claimed he had not seen any corruption in the Liberal Party over the past three years, as Guardian Australia reports — the incredulous moderator was like, “No wrongdoing? Never?” and Morrison replied, “no, I haven’t seen that, no”. Sports rorts, car park rorts, regional rorts, road rorts, pool rorts — AFR says “let me count the ways”. Albo’s closing words were a promise you’d never hear him say “that’s not my job”, as the SMH reports, but Morrison’s were an ominous warning to stick with what we know during uncertain times.

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POLL POSITION

If we went to the polls right now, Labor would win and a hung Parliament would be very unlikely, The Australian’s ($) latest Newspoll says. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has fallen in approval ratings after the cash rate increased, while Labor Leader Anthony Albanese has climbed two points — Morrison is still the preferred PM, but only by 2%. The AFR’s Ipsos poll shows much the same — the Reserve Bank rate rise hurt the Coalition. Pre-polling starts today — here we go.

One to watch in the West is the battle for the seat of Swan — WA Today call it Australia’s most diverse seat with multicultural melting pots, trendy cafes, the ‘burbs, and affluent river homes. Labor’s Zaneta Mascarenhas and Liberal Kristy McSweeney are facing off as the Liberal incumbent Steve Irons calls time. Both Labor and the Coalition are throwing cash at the seat — more than $37 million so far. McSweeney is a PR pro and a Sky News regular, whereas Mascarenhas is a chemical engineer — she says government desperately needs those with a science, technology, and maths background at the moment.

Also this morning, Labor wants to give top school students $12,000 to go into teaching, The Daily Telegraph ($) reports this morning. It’s a new policy from the opposition designed to bolster teaching standards in the country — last week teachers walked off the job in protest of widespread staff shortages and capped wages. So here’s how the $146.5 million plan works — 1000 students a year who obtain an ATAR of 80 or above will get $10,000 to study an education degree, and an extra $2000 to go regional. Only 3.3% of students who achieve an ATAR over 80 become teachers.

PORT OF CALL

China may build wharves, shipyards, and submarine cables in the Solomon Islands according to a draft agreement, The Australian ($) reports. It shows plans for “deep sea fishing bases” and oil, gas, and undersea mining as China hopes to cash in on the region’s fisheries and mineral wealth. The document promises mutual benefits for both nations, but alongside the pair’s recent security pact, it seems the bonds that tie are getting stronger.

With the uncertainly swirling around the CCP’s influence in the Pacific, Labor has launched a corflute campaign to remind voters of the Darwin Port sale, the NT News reports. In 2015, the Giles Country Liberal Party government — which is the territory’s branch of the Liberal Party — sold the port to CCP-affiliated Landbridge for 99 years as ABC explains, but critics point out that it now knows all the civilian and military movement and has access to all the logs too. The corflute signs are urging people to “Vote Morrison Out” because of the privatisation.

Speaking of defence — 10 NT personnel have been sacked in the last three years after testing positive for illicit drugs — mostly meth, but also steroids, cannabis, and cocaine. The NT News FOI’d the data, and found 17 ADF personnel in total had failed the drug test, but four stayed in the force.

ON A LIGHTER NOTE

A painting traded for a toasted cheese sandwich in Canada is expected to sell for nearly $40,000 at auction. In the 1970s, Irene Demas was cooking in a small restaurant she owned with her partner Tony, but people didn’t go hungry if they didn’t have two bob to rub together. “Everyone supported everyone back then,” Irene tells The Guardian — she says she’d take a soup and sandwich to the florist next door, and bring back a bunch of freshly cut flowers. One day, the couple struck up a deal with a local artist — he would bring paintings by him and his friends in exchange for his favourite dish: cheese toasties. The toasties were pretty extravagant, Irene adds — five-year-old cheddar and lots of butter on freshly baked bread.

One day the artist brought in a new work painted by a woman he’d met — a struggling artist, she sometimes couldn’t even afford art supplies and had resorted to painting on scrap wood with the local fishermen’s paint. So he had gifted her some art supplies, and she’d sent him back the simple, colourful landscape as thanks. That woman was Maud Lewis, whose coveted paintings soared in popularity in the years since, now regularly fetching tens of thousands of dollars under the hammer. Irene and Tony, now in their twilight years, have held onto the work for years, but have decided to put it under the hammer to “travel and just enjoy life”.

Wishing you a little good karma this morning too.

SAY WHAT?

The cost of living measures that [Morrison] spoke about are all temporary, they have all the sincerity of a fake tan, they disappear once people have cast their vote and people are then back on their own again.

Anthony Albanese

The Labor leader quipped that Morrison’s offerings to drive down inflation were no better than a streaky spray tan — a bit patchy, a bit off-colour, and gone after a week.

CRIKEY RECAP

The Ernies have been watching Scott Morrison make a dick of himself for years — here’s what they’ve found

Meredith Burgmann

May 06, 2022

11

“In 2015, Morrison burst onto the Ernies scene when he and Joe Hockey accused new mothers — on Mother’s Day! — of ‘double dipping’ and committing ‘a fraud’ on the Paid Parental Leave Scheme if they also legally accessed employer schemes …

“In 2019, he was once again in trouble for his smirking reference to Baywatch star Pamela Anderson’s complaints about Julian Assange’s treatment in the UK: ‘I’ve had plenty of mates who’ve asked me if they can be my special envoy to sort out the issue with Pamela Anderson.’”

 

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Josh Frydenberg’s next job — premier of Victoria?

Stephen Mayne

May 06, 2022

36

“So, what will Frydenberg do if he loses? Unlike Tim Wilson in Goldstein, the treasurer’s political career is clearly worth saving. But how would he get back in the federal Parliament if Kooyong fell? Melbourne’s outer east is safer Liberal territory than the progressive leafy inner city, so someone like Alan Tudge in Aston or Michael Sukkar in Deakin could resign from Parliament to cause a byelection with a view to facilitating Josh’s return to the fray as opposition leader.

“If that doesn’t fly, however, an arguably better alternative awaits later in the year. It’s called the ‘Campbell Newman option’. If thrown out of the federal Parliament, Victorian Liberals could elect Josh Frydenberg to be their leader from outside the Parliament with a view to toppling Dan Andrews and becoming Victorian premier after the November state election.”

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Reserve Bank kills off Frydenberg’s Pollyanna inflation forecasts, as Turnbull intervenes

Bernard Keane

May 06, 2022

13

“This means big real wage falls for workers. The RBA says it now expects wages growth ‘to pick up to around 3% by the end of 2022. Wages growth is then forecast to strengthen further as the unemployment rate declines, to be 3¾% by mid-2024.’ But that means workers will only begin seeing real wages growth in 2024 — and will have lost at least 1-2% a year in real wages each year until then.

“Workers in professions with poorer wages growth — construction, retail, the gig economy — will go backwards even further. The Statement came on another difficult day for Scott Morrison, campaigning in Perth, where the Liberals are trying to prevent the loss of at least two seats.”

READ ALL ABOUT IT

Philippines heads to the polls in ‘good v evil’ election (Al Jazeera)

Eid under the Taliban shows a changed Afghanistan (The New York Times)

NI election results 2022: Sinn Féin wins most seats in historic election (BBC)

Half-price public transport fares in NZ could become permanent at Budget (NZ Herald)

Israeli police arrest two Palestinians over independence day attack (The Guardian)

Trudeau makes surprise visit to Ukraine, meets with Zelenskyy (CBC)

Syria’s Assad meets top Iranian leaders in surprise Tehran visit (Al Jazeera)

‘It’s total terror’: Colombian cartel retaliates over kingpin’s arrest (The Guardian)

Beijing’s man in Hong Kong inherits a tamed city (The New York Times)

Ncuti Gatwa: BBC names actor as next Doctor Who star (BBC)

THE COMMENTARIAT

Libs’ biggest threat: conservative flight to UAP, One Nation — Nick Cater (The Australian) ($): “At this election, the Liberal Party has found itself stretching to reach both sides of the same cultural divide that afflicts Labor. Woke, the generic descriptor that denotes a certain viewpoint on almost everything from masks to electric cars, polarises opinion in both parties. The weirder it has become in the eyes of less sophisticated folk, the harder it will be to build a church broad enough to accommodate everyone who identifies as Liberal.

“If Scott Morrison wants to remain prime minister beyond next Saturday week, he must strike a chord that resonates in both the Hunter and Hunters Hill. It was never going to be easy since the quiet Australians he successfully recruited last time have turned grumpy after more than two years of COVID-19 restrictions. They are expecting more hard times with rising mortgages and inflation. Counterintuitively the Liberals hope the worsening economic outlook may work in their favour, highlighting the risk of handing over the Treasury benches to Labor.”

Teal party’s banal slogans would worsen inflation — Alexander Downer (The AFR): “So, that brings me to the election. Labor and their Greens and teal coalition partners think we should do two things: first, we should increase government spending and, second, we should cut back on fossil fuel production. These would have to be the two daftest ideas I’ve heard of at this perilous time. Still more government spending will pump more money into the domestic economy, pushing up prices and forcing further interest rate increases. It’s all very well to run around the country claiming to be compassionate and committing more money to worthy causes, but when prices go up, real wages fall and unemployment returns, what then? How compassionate is it to be irresponsible?

“As for fossil fuels, just stop and think about it. Gas and petrol prices are going through the roof partly because the Ukraine war has reduced energy supplies from Russia and partly because of disinvestment in hydrocarbons over the past few years. Well, you won’t welcome the Ukraine war, but you might be pleased that we’re reducing investment in oil, gas and coal. You will be if you’re rich and aren’t affected by soaring energy costs and couldn’t care less about inflation and rising interest rates. But think about the average punter. Your fellow countryman or woman who can’t afford to live in Double Bay or South Yarra.”

HOLD THE FRONT PAGE

WHAT’S ON TODAY

Kaurna Country (also known as Adelaide)

• Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud will speak at an Adelaide business luncheon held by the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce SA.

Yuggera Country (also known as Brisbane)

• Researcher Carissa Klein will speak about the sustainability of seafood in a lecture at the State Library of Queensland.

• Media personality Kate Langbroek will speak about her memoir Ciao Bella! Six Take Italy, at Avid Reader bookshop.