Liberals to vote on leadership spill on Friday morning
Tom McIlroy
The Liberal party will resolve the leadership in a vote at 9am on Friday.
Guardian Australia has confirmed the meeting will take place at the direction of the party’s whips, Aaron Violi and Wendy Askew, as well as the embattled leader, Sussan Ley.
So far the only candidate declared to contest the leadership is Angus Taylor.
If a spill motion is supported by a majority of Liberal MPs, he could oust the first female opposition leader tomorrow morning.
Key events
Caitlin Cassidy
Universities urge the government to pass education commission legislation this week
A coalition of 12 universities have penned a joint statement urging the federal parliament to back the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (Atec) as the legislation is considered this week.
The statement, endorsed by Federation University, James Cook University, Murdoch University, Griffith University, La Trobe University, CQUniversity, University of New England, University of Southern Queensland, Edith Cowan University, University of Canberra, Flinders University and Western Sydney University said the Atec was “in the best interest of students and communities across the country”.
The independent body was a recommendation of the Universities Accord to act as a steward for the tertiary sector to design future reforms, including fixing the widely-canned Jobs-Ready-Graduate Scheme.
The statement read:
We want the bill to pass and will engage proactively to ensure that the legislation is as strong as possible. Decisions made over the next five years will determine our ability to meet the ambitious 2050 goals of the Universities Accord. We support the focus on students and on breaking down the barriers that lead to persistent under-representation of particular student cohorts and communities.
The Liberal party has indicated it has issue with the legislation, meaning its passing would require the support of the Greens and minor parties.
In pictures: Liberals on the move
All eyes (and lenses) have been focused on the Liberals today.
Here’s a few more pics of some of them walking around the big House.
Natasha May
Following on from the last post … the health minister’s legislation will outlaw “product phoenixing”, where private health insurers close a product and reopen an identical one at a higher price, or reduce the value of a product.
The bill requires insurers seek the minister’s approval for premiums for new products and if making some changes that reduce the cover or value of existing products.
Butler said:
Specialists and private health funds have been given the opportunity to be upfront about patient costs and out of pocket expenses, but frankly have failed to do so.
I also warned insurers that product phoenixing had to stop and yet insurers continued to do so.
This bill legislates wider scrutiny of premiums so consumers can be more confident in the value of private health insurance.
Natasha May
Government introduces legislation to publish specialist doctors’ fees
The health minister has introduced legislation to allow the government to publish the fees that individual specialist doctors charge, to help Australians shop around amid skyrocketing out-of-pocket costs.
This was the aim of the Morrison government’s Medical Costs Finder launched in 2019 – but the website failed to help patients as only a laughable minority of doctors chose to voluntarily disclose their fees despite the $24m investment.
By the end of 2022, out of 6,300 eligible specialists registered to practise in the 11 specialties included on the website, just six doctors had chosen to voluntarily display their fee information.
Even in 2025, only about 88 doctors had chosen to voluntarily display their fee information.
The new bill would allow for that billing data already collected by the government to be published on the Medical Costs Finder website.
The health minister, Mark Butlersaid:
We know an increasing number of Australians are not taking up referrals from their GP to see a specialist due to concern about cost, but this legislation will give hard working Australians the clarity they deserve about costs and more choice in their healthcare.
Caitlin Cassidy
NSW education department sanctions teachers for pro-Palestine lesson plans
Everyone’s favourite dog, Bluey, has been raised in education estimates – but probably not for the reason you’d expect.
The Liberal senator Maria Kovacic just questioned the Department of Education over her concerns that the “beloved cartoon character Bluey has been co-opted into propaganda”.
She raised an article in News Corp which alleged members of Teachers for Palestine in New South Wales had distributed unauthorised pro-Palestine lesson plans which included Bluey wearing a keffiyeh by a banner reading “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.
Kovacic said these are “small children, and it’s a classroom”.
We’ve seen the events in December last year … which were horrific. The teachers effectively were attempting to indoctrinate … children who were not their own children.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said they had spoken to their NSW counterparts who had confirmed the materials “are not endorsed by the department and must not be used in classes”.
The NSW education department have been very clear that they reject all forms of racism and religious discrimination in their schools.
‘No room for complacency’ on targets, says Ley
After Albanese, the opposition leader, Sussan Leyaddresses the parliament.
Ley says that the anniversary of the apology to the Stolen Generations shows “how far our nation has come but also the distance we still have to travel together”.
She says the Closing the Gap targets are a “national mission and a moral imperative” and acknowledges the ongoing racism against First Nations Australians.
As we see results, we draw encouragement from every single reminder that difficult does not mean impossible. However, we cannot close our eyes to the reality that there are areas where progress has stalled. It is starkly clear that we have no room for complacency.
As the recent alleged terrorist attack in Perth reminded us, the forces of racism remain a real and present danger. I repeat to you – and to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – the message I have been delivering in parliament: We see you. We stand with you.
Liberals to vote on leadership spill on Friday morning
Tom McIlroy
The Liberal party will resolve the leadership in a vote at 9am on Friday.
Guardian Australia has confirmed the meeting will take place at the direction of the party’s whips, Aaron Violi and Wendy Askew, as well as the embattled leader, Sussan Ley.
So far the only candidate declared to contest the leadership is Angus Taylor.
If a spill motion is supported by a majority of Liberal MPs, he could oust the first female opposition leader tomorrow morning.
‘Together we will succeed’, Albanese says
Anthony Albanese ends his address to the House of Representatives remembering the day Kevin Rudd made an apology from the government to the Stolen Generations in 2008.
Albanese was the leader of the house at the time.
He says Australia must work to “break down barriers of racism and disadvantage” and become stronger and more united for it.
Tomorrow morning we will gather to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the national apology to the Stolen Generations. Sitting behind Prime Minister Rudd that day, as the leader of the house, I remember looking up to the gallery, seeing the tears and quiet pride on the faces of those who had fought so bravely and so long to hear those words – the survivors who honoured us with their grace by accepting our apology in the spirit it was offered.
The apology was an honest reckoning with our history, a call to action for our future and a profound act of patriotism, true to the best of our values. Our nation is better and more united for it. That is the determination and the optimism we bring to this partnership. And together, we will succeed.
Albanese says ‘our government is not contemplating failure’
There are five years left of the current Closing the Gap targets, but just four of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track in 2026, according to the annual report, while four – including a plan to reduce rates of suicide in Indigenous communities – are either stalled or going backwards.
Albanese tells parliament that he is not “contemplating failure” and that real progress is being made. He says six targets are improving.
Our government is not contemplating failure. We are determined to succeed … Closing the Gap is a national test, a generational task, a moral imperative. But it is what we measure in these tangible outcome that is why we listen to communities, why we investing co-design.
There are four areas where progress is stalled or going backwards. We simply need to do better. The most urgent of those is suicide … Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are 2.5 times more likely to die by suicide. As a matter of priority, our government will deliver $13.9m to boost the national support line 13YARN.
Last year, the prime minister committed to reducing the cost of 30 essential items like flour, cereal, pasta and nappies, and tying them to city prices.
Albanese says last year he committed to doing that in 76 stores, and promises this year to expand the guarantee to “all 225 remote stores right around Australia”.
We all know what it means to be able to put healthy food on the table – the difference to the mother expecting a baby, a child’s health and growth, even for their ability to concentrate at school.
Anthony Albanese delivers Closing the Gap speech in parliament
In the House of Representatives, the prime minister is delivering the annual Closing the Gap speech, welcoming the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders and members of the Stolen Generations in the chamber.
He quickly turns to the alleged terror attack in Perth at the Invasion Day rally on 26 January, which he says was motivated by a white supremacist ideology.
To the chamber he says:
We see you, we stand with you, the danger of that attack was real. And so was the racism and hatred behind it, motivated by a white supremacist ideology. Aboriginal and Strait Islander people have the right to gather and express their views, without fear of violence. More than that, they have the right to a full and equal place in our nation and our future, unburdened by discrimination or disadvantage.
While he speaks, the opposition benches are about half empty.
‘We are not entitled to anyone’s support,’ Paterson says
Asked whether he will carry a burden for helping topple the Liberal party’s first female leader, Paterson says that argument was “not successful for [former prime minister] Julia Gillard in the Labor party, I don’t believe successful for Sussan Ley”.
Paterson says the verdict on Ley’s leadership is “clear”, with a -39 approval rating, according to Newspoll, the “worst performance of an opposition leader in 23 years”.
Paterson says that Ley has been “sniped”, but despite that, argues that there should be a change in the leadership.
Sometimes prime ministers can recover from bad opinion polls, but it is very difficult for an opposition leader to do so, and I don’t believe she’ll do so.
Yes there has been [sniping]it’s been a great source of frustration and disappointment to me. I don’t think that is a good way for us to conduct ourselves. I’ve tried very diligently and sincerely, despite not voting for Sussan nine months ago, to make her leadership a success. It is with great regret that it hasn’t been.
Asked whether there’s a risk that the Liberals could go further backwards under Taylor’s leadership, Paterson say it is a “risk”.
I think there is a risk that given what has happened there will be continued harsh judgment by the Australian people and we will have to work very hard to earn back their trust and support. We are not entitled to anyone’s support, we’re not entitled to anyone’s vote, the Liberal party is not entitled to continue to exist as a centre-right force in this country for evermore. We have to earn and I’m determined to do that.
Paterson struggles to articulate how policy will be different under Taylor
Asked by several journalists how, exactly, Liberal policy will change under Angus TaylorPaterson says he’s “not Angus’ spokesman”.
He says that Taylor is focused on Australians’ standards of living, and defending the “way of life” that is under attack.
A reporter points out that doesn’t sound particularly different to what Ley has also been pushing for.
Paterson says:
This will not be easy, nor will it be very quick in restoring the Liberal Party’s vote. But now third of voters have left us. It very clear the only way we can earn their support back is to [tell] them we have changed. The best way is to change [is to change] leaders.
Paterson also concedes that it’s not “solely” on Sussan Ley for how poorly the party has done in the polls.
Every member of parliament must take responsibility. This is collective responsibility and I believe we need to make a move in a direction under a different leader but whether we succeed after this will not be down to whether we have a new leader or who that is, it will be down to all of us, the work we and the collegiality.
Liberals losing ‘more than 7,000 votes a day’: Paterson
Liberal senator, and senior conservative, James Patersonis addressing the media after also tendering his resignation this morning.
Paterson says the party has been haemorrhaging votes since the election, and declares that if a spill goes ahead, he will vote for Angus Taylor.
Over the months according to the most recent opinion polls, 2.1 million of those people have since deserted Coalition. That is more than 200,000 votes a month. It 50,000 votes a week. More than 7000 votes a day. This cannot go on.
Angus is the smartest policy brain in the shadow cabinet, a man of and courage and values. And most importantly, Angus understands this is a change or die moment for the Liberal Party.
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