The Coalition leadership continues to exercise Liberal MPs, with half a dozen using this morning’s Coalition Joint Party Room meeting to demand that the leadership group stay focussed on the Government rather than on internal divisions, and complain about MPs failing to keep leadership speculation to themselves.
The discussion dominated the meeting, in which Brendan Nelson also warned of the possibility of a 2009 election and flagged opposition to the Government’s Fuelwatch scheme, which he claimed would “screw” the most price-sensitive of motorists. This echoes criticisms made by Resources and Energy Minister Martin Ferguson in internal Government correspondence leaked to The Australian. However, the Coalition is yet to decide whether to block the legislation implementing Fuelwatch.
Significantly, the Coalition has also decided to oppose John Faulkner’s reforms to the Commonwealth Electoral Act which will reduce disclosure thresholds for political donations, ban foreign donations and prevent candidates from harvesting taxpayer funding for election campaigns.
In Labor Caucus, Kevin Rudd indicated the Government would be continuing its ongoing attack on the Coalition’s economic credibility, which he claimed was being trashed “page-by-page” by the Opposition. Rather hopefully, he also declared that the community “understood” inflationary pressures and appreciated that he had delivered on Labor’s election promises. He was also keen to switch focus to the long-term, boasting of the “huge program” Labor had ahead in the remaining two and a half years of government.
Martin Ferguson has since fallen into line on the Fuelwatch scheme, today declaring his support for it, but the issue will provide fodder for an emboldened Opposition in question time. The leak of the Ferguson letter also explains the curious sight yesterday of Rudd declaring in question time that he understood evidence for the benefits of Fuelwatch was mixed, but that the Government had decided to give it a go anyway. Presumably the Government was already aware of the leak and ensuring it had its story straight.
One issue the Coalition won’t go near, however, is the growing divide between the States and the Commonwealth over the possibility of removing GST from fuel, with Anna Bligh now being joined by Michael Costa in demanding compensation. Brendan Nelson has already stumbled into difficulty on the issue when his team forgot that reducing fuel excise would have an indirect effect on GST revenue as well. However, Nelson today confirmed the policy would be “fully costed” when – more likely if – the Coalition takes it to the next election.
No bias, Steve – Crikey only has one Canberra correspondent (and not a very good one at that) and, when Parliament, and things like Caucus briefings, and Estimates are on, it gets a bit difficult to cover everything by the deadline. Will try harder.
I hope it wasn’t a giant squid like the one they found in Victoria…
(sorry)
Crikey ran Malcolm Turnball’s leak with much more prominence last week – a bit of bias there!
Up to 3 pm on tv Q time was fairly stock standard I thought, then couldn’t handshake the website for a good 15 minutes for whatever reason (bloody server) but got back to see the censure motion and actually Nelson was getting quite a bit of action in his method. My overall feeling though as each accuses the other of ‘giving rabble a bad name’ and ‘make a decision today, not a summit, not a committee, not a review’ etc etc, take out is that both major parties are stuck in their 20C political economy and they both look like fools with hardly an ounce of leadership between any of them. Ecological dunces all of them. Dishonest about daily contractions in sustainable future, playing to an ignorant/dishonest electorate, in a dishonest world about to get one hell of a hiding. Chasing their tails in frustration and flapping their gums. None of them with the guts to say we stuffed it and the Greens essentially got it right. And in their hearts … they know it.
Rudd was accurate to mean (?!) to say his govt couldn’t load anymore largesse into the federal budget, not least petrol prices, with all the election promises he made against the weight of economic expert advice (and even anger and alarm of such as Gittins and Hartcher in Fairfax) on inflation, still seriously less than PM Howard in profligate pork barrel mode. Watching Nelson in his hyperbolic mode on 7.30 just now is sort of funny really. He really adds the eggs doesn’t he. And there is another thing – Rudd over works every one has noticed in the gallery etc. Frankly it doesn’t bother me too much he can’t do it all. Frankly I find it a bit of a relief. They guy will kill himself if he works any harder. And then we will have what? Better?