Hello and welcome to PoliticsNow, The Australian’s live coverage of Day 12 of the federal election campaign trail. Scott Morrison starts today in Melbourne after giving voters a rare glimpse inside his Pentecostal church on Easter Sunday.
Bill Shorten’s team spent the night in Townsville in the ultra marginal seat of Herbert, which Labor won by just 37 votes last election.
Michael Roddan 11.40am: Shorten ‘throwing mud’ over water buyback
Labor has ramped up pressure over the Coalition over a controversial $80 million water purchase and has pledged to tackle tax havens by introducing a publicly accessible register for ultimate ownership of companies and to bring transparency to offshore firms bidding for government tenders.
Scott Morrison today said the price that was negotiated for the water was done “at arm’s length from ministers” and that previous Labor governments have dealt with the company at the centre of the claims.
To read the story in full, click here.
Joyce Moullakis 11.15am: PM’s pitch to mortgage brokers
The Morrison government is making a direct election pitch to mortgage brokers, telling them Labor will hit their industry and “accelerate the slowdown” in the housing market.
The letter sent to mortgage brokers, and obtained by The Australian, was signed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.
“Labor will end trail commissions and hit the mortgage broker industry,” the letter sent earlier this month says.
To read the story in full, click here.
Rick Morton 10.55am: ‘Love conquers hate’
Scott Morrison has offered an emotional tribute to the human spirit at a Buddhist temple in Melbourne’s southeast, mourning the loss of hundreds of lives in Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday terror attacks.
Visiting the temple in Berwick this morning - which was planned well before the attacks - the Prime Minister told the community there that “love conquers hate.”
.@ScottMorrisonMP on the attack in Sri Lanka: This attack was an assault on the innocence of human life. It's an incredibly sad day
MORE: https://t.co/bhNF8IXwUo pic.twitter.com/dtxGMXjEsp
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) April 22, 2019
“On a day like this, it’s a great opportunity to reflect on the beauty of the human spirit because of the terrible events that took place in your motherland,” Mr Morrison said.
“And while we do not yet know who is responsible for these attacks, what we do know is that hate and evil are what sits behind any such attacks.
“They are the enemies of peace, they are the enemies of the innocence we saw in the
beautiful young girls dancing before us today.
“And so we stand here together and we look at these young people and we are full of hope, and we are full of love because love conquers fear, love conquers hate. Love is the basis of peace and it is what binds is together.”
Mr Morrison and his wife Jenny signed a condolence book at the temple after providing an offering of flowers to Buddha and speaking with monks.
La Trobe MP Jason Wood said he knew many in the local Sri Lankan community have been affected by the terror attacks in their homeland, where more than 400 people in addition to those who died were injured.
Today during a visit to the Berwick Buddhist Temple, we paused to remember the victims of the terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka yesterday and offered our condolences to the beautiful people of Sri Lanka. pic.twitter.com/Vtv5vV5KDN
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) April 22, 2019
In a small way, he said, the ceremony today helped “bring light into a dark place.”
One of the temple’s Sunday school teachers, Champika Yatawara, told the audience “a cloud of immense sadness is over our hearts.”
“To the injured, to those who were traumatised by this terror, even though the sorrow of death is unimaginable we all shed tears for your loss,” he said.
Alice Workman 10.50am: DFAT confirms wounded Aussie
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed one Australian was wounded in the Sri Lanka suicide blasts. DFAT said in a statment this morning: “Following multiple bomb blasts in Sri Lanka, the Australian High Commission in Colombo continues to make urgent enquiries with local authorities to determine the welfare of any Australians affected.
At this stage, DFAT has not received any reports of Australian fatalities. DFAT has offered consular assistance to one Australian injured in the attacks. Owing to our privacy obligations we will not provide further comment.
Australians concerned for the welfare of family and friends in the area should attempt to contact them directly. If you cannot contact them and have fears for their safety, DFAT’s Consular Emergency Centre can be contacted on 1300 555 135 (within Australia) or +61 2 6261 3305 (from overseas).
Australia stands in solidarity with the Government and the people of Sri Lanka against these barbaric acts, and is ready to offer whatever assistance is required.”
Ben Packham 10.00am: ALP pitch for migrant vote
Labor will today unveil a big pitch for the migrant vote in key marginal seats, promising a new uncapped long-stay parents visa that would be a quarter the cost of the Coalition’s proposed visa.
The opposition has been campaigning hard in NSW seats like Reid, Banks and Bennelong, and Chisholm in Victoria — all of which are Liberal-held and have high proportions of overseas-born voters — over the government’s slowness in delivering a new sponsored parents visa.
To read the story in full, click here.
Rick Morton 9.30am: PM’s offering to Buddha
Scott Morrison is starting his day in the seat of La Trobe in Melbourne’s southeast, visiting a Buddhist temple where he will join others in an offering to Buddha and a minute’s silence for those killed in the attacks in Sri Lanka.
La Trobe is a marginal Coalition seat, held by Jason Wood, who welcomed the Prime Minister who arrived with his wife Jenny this morning.
Students will perform a dance for the PM before he and Jenny present flowers to Buddha.
He is expected to make an announcement about funding for a language school while in the area and will also provide $15m to help new migrants start businesses and access aged care.
Alice Workman 9.10am: ‘Inquiry needed for answers on watergate’
Independent Dr Kerryn Phelps said she would “absolutely” support a royal commission into the Murray Darling Basin water buybacks.
“I would absolutely support a royal commission into the water buybacks. We need to understand how it is that $80 million of taxpayers money ends up in a tax haven in the Cayman Islands with no apparently water to show for it,” Ms Phelps told Sky News.
.@drkerrynphelps on Murray-Darling Basin: I would absolutely support a royal commission into the water buybacks.
MORE: https://t.co/eD5rJs4rFu #amagenda pic.twitter.com/d3jc99ownU
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) April 21, 2019
“There are also other questions to be answered about water management in Australia and drought stricken farmers will need answers, the Australian taxpayer needs answers and I believe that we are in a situation now where the only way that we will get the answers that we’re looking for is with a royal commission.”
Dave Sharma, Phelps’ Liberal opponent in the seat of Wentworth, thinks a royal commission would be a waste of time.
“I think the Australian National Audit Office is looking into this and I think that’s the right first point of call,” Mr Sharma told Sky News.
Alice Workman 9.01am: Aussie may be injured in bombings
Trade minister Simon Birmingham says an Australian may have been injured in the Sri Lanka bombings on Easter Sunday.
Co-ordinated suicide blasts ripped through eight sites including three churches and three high-end hotels in the nation’s capital and provincial cities, killing at least 207 people - including 35 foreigners - and injuring at least 500.
“We are not aware of any Australians loss of life,” Senator Birmingham told the ABC on Monday morning.
“I understand there may be an Australian injured but I am waiting further details on that.”
Senator Birmingham said the Australian High Commission in Sri Lanka has been working closely to monitor circumstances and to ascertain the whereabouts and safety of all Australians.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned the “horrific terrorist attack” on Sunday night.
“At this time, as Easter Sunday draws to a conclusion here in Australia, our heart goes out to those Christians and all the other innocents who have been slaughtered today in this horrific terrorist attack,’’ Mr Morrison said.
Bill Shorten and Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong condemned the “despicable targeted attacks”, which they described as an “assault on our common humanity”.
Colombo International Airport is in lockdown this morning after a pipe bomb was reportedly detonated in a controlled explosion.
A curfew has been put in place across Sri Lanka “until further notice” and social media networks have been temporarily blocked.
Greg Brown 8.54am: Scrapping reef deal and tourism cash splash
Bill Shorten is flying from Townsville to Cairns and will spend the day talking up Labor’s extra funds for jobs in regional tourism, as well as spruiking his promise to tear up the $444 million contract with the Great Barrier Reed Foundation.
The Opposition Leader will talk industrial relations and jobs outside the mining sector to distract from his party’s division over the Adani coal mine.
Cairns is located in the seat of Leichahardt, which is held by maverick LNP MP Warren Entsch on a margin of 3.95 per cent
Alice Workman 8.00am: ‘I’ll work with Shorten’
Greens leader Richard Di Natale says he’s already approached Bill Shorten about working together on energy policy if Labor wins the May 18 election.
Speaking from Coolangatta where he is participating in a protest against the Adani mine, Senator Di Natale said he’s ready to work collaboratively with Mr Shorten, as he did with Julia Gillard when she was Prime Minister.
“We worked with Julia Gillard to get the world’s best climate laws up and running and I’ve already approached Bill Shorten and offered to work collaboratively and constructively with him in the same way we worked with Julia Gillard,” Senator Di Natale told the ABC.
“And if we did that we’d actually have an energy policy that would bring down pollution and bring down prices that’s what we need to see, not something to appease the climate deniers in the Coalition.”
When pushed on whether the Greens would be prepared to put politics aside and support an emissions scheme such as the NEG, Senator Di Natale said it would depend on the detail in the legislation.
I’ve written to Bill Shorten today, urging Labor to work with Greens to establish a Royal Commission into the Murray Darling Basin. So much shonky stuff around Barnaby Joyce, water purchases & cash handouts to big irrigators. It’s time for an independent investigation. #watergate pic.twitter.com/ARE4a8LB1e
— Sarah Hanson-Youngđź’š (@sarahinthesen8) April 20, 2019
Senator Di Natale also has repeated his party’s calls for a royal commission into the management of the Murray Darling Basin, over growing concerns about the government’s $80 million water buyback.
In August 2017, the Department of Agriculture bought 28.7 gigalitres of overland flow water from two Eastern Australia Agriculture properties. Energy minister Angus Taylor was a co-founder and director of Eastern Australia Irrigation, which was EEA’s ultimate holding company, years before the government purchase.
“It’s more than wasteful, this verges on corruption, and that’s why we do need to see a full investigation” Senator Di Natale said. “We should have an immediate audit, but we should also have a royal commission.”
“Every single hard working farmer whose livelihood depends on what’s happening here should be appalled.”
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young wrote Labor leader Bill Shorten yesterday, asking him to establish a royal commission if he wins the federal election next month.
Greg Brown 7.30am: O’Toole attacks Queensland ALP over Adani
Labor MP Cathy O’Toole has preempted Bill Shorten’s visit to her electorate by attacking state Queensland Labor MPs for failing to get behind the Adani coalmine.
The Herbert MP, whose electorate takes in Townsville, called on Queensland Labor MPs in the region to sign a pledge of support for the project, which was circulated by business groups last week.
“I demand that the state members and all candidates show their commitment to the community by signing the pledge,” Ms O’Toole told the Townsville Bulletin.
“I think it’s really important for people in Townsville to know that their local members are a strong voice and will stand up for their community.
“The statistics are there; we are almost double the national unemployment average, our youth unemployment is over 17 per cent, one in five young people in this city doesn’t have a job; when is it enough?”
However, Ms O’Toole could also face a fight with the Opposition Leader, after Labor headquarters yesterday left the door open to reviewing the federal environmental approvals for the project. Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek dodged questions on the weekend over whether a future Shorten government would review the approvals.
Labor candidates in the Coalition-held regional seats of Dawson, Flynn and Capricornia have all promised to sign a separate CFMEU pledge of support for the project by next week.
Capricornia candidate Russell Robertson was the first to sign the pledge, revealed in The Australian this month, while Dawson candidate Belinda Hassan signed last Thursday. Flynn candidate Zac Beers is due to sign the CFMEU pledge tomorrow.
Alice Workman 7.23am: Palmer splashes $31.7m on ads
Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party has splashed out $31.7m on ads in prime time TV and radio and newspapers over the seven months to April 14, according to data and analytics group Nielsen.
Over the same time, the Liberal, Labor and Greens have spent just $12m combined.
Peter Bosilkovski, chief executive of ad agency VMLY & R, said Mr Palmer’s spending “has been complete utter madness” and had already eclipsed the nearly $16m that was spent by the four major political parties in the previous 2016 federal election.
“He seems to be keeping free-to-air media afloat,” Mr Bosilkovski told The Australian.
“Some radio stations, like 2GB, have hit the jackpot with his record level of spending.
“Palmer knows he’ll outspend and outshout the major parties on free-to-air channels and he has been very strategic, with his media channels using very expensive peak timeslots to get his messages across. He isn’t using off-peak, late night timeslots.”
Mr Bosilkovski said Mr Palmer had repeatedly said “there is no limit to the spending”, and “firmly believes he can buy his way” into federal parliament. UAP’s advertising spend is expected to hit $50m by the end of the campaign.
The UAP leader announced last week he will contest the federal election in the Senate, not the Townsville-based house seat of Herbert.
What’s making news
Scott Morrison gives voters a rare glimpse inside his Pentecostal church on Easter Sunday.
Bill Shorten today heads to Cairns today to make a tourism announcement including his plan to tear up a controversial $444 million contract with the Great Barrier Reef Foundation.
Business leaders have moved to thwart Labor’s plans to restore workers’ penalty rates in the first 100 days of a Shorten government.
Bill Shorten has been airbrushed from campaign material in at least 27 federal seats, about half of them hotly contested marginals, as Labor works to counter the Opposition Leader’s poor personal rating among voters.
A One Nation candidate has been caught sharing fake news that claims the Notre Dame cathedral fire is linked to jihadi terrorism and that, if elected, Labor will introduce Islamic law.
Labor’s No 3 Senate candidate in NSW, Britain-born GP Mary Ross, has withdrawn her candidacy just days ahead of the close of nominations amid fears she risked falling foul of Section 44 of the Constitution.
The heat of the federal election campaign has claimed one of Julia Banks’s longest political friendships, with the newly branded independent blocking former colleague and mentor Liberal senator Jane Hume on social media after a late night spat.
The mining union has warned Bill Shorten against taking any action that could jeopardise the Adani coalmine ahead of a campaign stop today in north Queensland where the issue threatens to cost Labor the Townsville-based seat of Herbert.
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