Key events
Malcolm Turnbull is now speaking to ABC Radio about the Liberal party’s direction after the Aston byelection loss.
[In Victoria] the party has gone backwards dramatically since I was overthrown as leader of the Liberal party.
The problem is the party is now in a position where what had hither-to been the crown jewels, the safer seats, most of them are now in the hands of Teals and now they’re lose mortgage belt seats.
Which is where we’re told by the right wing press is where the Liberal Party is going to be more valued if they swing to the right.
Turnbull is sceptical of what one of the two Liberals left representing metropolitan Melbourne, Jason Wood, earlier told the program. Wood believes the party just needs to sell its leader Peter Dutton better.
Turnbull highlighted that Dutton is being marketed, but by Labor:
The idea of putting Peter Dutton on posters everywhere… Peter is on posters everywhere, but they’re Labor posters.
Malcolm Turnbull and Bridget Archer are both calling for the Liberals to return to centrist values after the weekend’s historic by-election loss. The Albanese government became the first to win of an opposition seat in a byelection for more than a century.
Malcolm Turnbull has told my colleague Amy Remeikis the party’s future rested on its ability to change course, and leader.
The problem is that they have to move back to the centre.
It is hard to see how that can be done with a leader who is so indelibly associated with the right of the party and whose support base in the Murdoch media is calling for the Liberal party to move further to the right.
One of the leading moderates in the party, backbencher Bridget Archer made similar calls for a return to the centre, telling the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday:
I think the party needs to stop ideological dog whistling and return to centrist Liberal values.
You’ve got ideological culture warriors who would rather we lose than make space for a diversity of views and that’s a problem … the party is at a crossroads and needs to decide – it’s a choice between ideology and electability.
Archer told the paper there was a strong case for fresh blood on the opposition frontbench because “we have to have a commitment to change and renewal”.
Record-breaking rower to reach home soil
Australian endurance rower Michelle Lee will arrive in Cairns this morning after 235 days at sea, AAP reports.
The solo seafarer has traversed more than 14,000km on her journey to Queensland’s far north, rowing from the coast of Ensenada in Mexico.
The months-long expedition has taken Lee through the paths of five hurricanes and four cyclones, including the devastating Cyclone Gabrielle. She said:
My patience has been tried and tested, I’m ready to land. I’m just dreaming of stepping on land. I expect it will take me a week to become a socially acceptable human again.
The mammoth feat is not the first for Lee, a 50-year-old massage therapist from Sydney’s north-west. In 2018 she became the first Australian woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean.
The achievement led to her being named the 2019 National Geographic adventurer of the year.
Throughout her journey, Lee has shared regular dispatches from her 7.7-metre carbon-fibre vessel, the Australian Maid. Updates detail the awe of rowing alongside schools of fish approaching the Great Barrier Reef, finding a handbag and wattle branch lost at sea, and a craving for a Devonshire tea with all the trimmings.
Scones, fresh cream and a hot cup of tea are not far away for Lee, who is already planning her first few meals on land. She said:
A stack of pancakes is going to be so amazing, as is a bunch of celery, some chopped capsicum and cucumber.
The Australian Maid will carry Lee to the Cairns marina, where crowds are expected to welcome her home about 9am AEST.
Good morning!
The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, will meet state and territory police ministers today to discuss the creation of a national firearms register.
National cabinet ordered police ministers to report back after the Wieambilla shooting that left two police officers and a civilian dead last December.
This morning in Cairns, Australian endurance rower Michelle Lee will set foot on land for the first time after 235 days at sea. She hass traversed more than 14,000km on her solo journey from the coast of Ensenada in Mexico.
Home prices nationally have gone up for the first time in 10 months, with high rents and migration helping turn values around.
A report shows the rental crisis is only due to get worse because of a shortage in supply of new houses and units caused by costs and ongoing constraints in construction.
The National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation said banks increasing their interest rates relative to the Reserve Bank of Australia guidance had reduced the supply of dwellings.
The Liberals continue to face the fallout of their unexpected loss in the weekend’s byelection in Aston. Opposition leader Peter Dutton yesterday accepted responsibility for the loss but said he had no plans to step down.
Jason Wood, one of the two MPs left in metropolitan Melbourne, told ABC Radio this morning the party doesn’t need a change in leadership, just to sell Dutton better.
The other, Keith Wolahan, the member for Menzies, told ABC Radio he believed the party was not offering solutions to the next generation and needed to do a better job of listening.
Let’s get into it!
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