Michaelia Cash resigns from Liberal frontbench
Tom McIlroy
Sussan Ley’s embattled leadership is weakening by the hour, with the opposition’s Senate leader, Michaelia Cash, resigning from the frontbench.
Cash, the shadow foreign affairs minister, is expected to vote for Angus Taylor in Friday’s spill motion. She is the eighth major resignation on Thursday.
Cash was a key player in Malcolm Turnbull’s downfall in 2018, despite serving as part of his cabinet.
Taylor’s supporters are growing increasingly confident the former shadow defence minister will win the ballot, set down for 9am at Parliament House tomorrow.
Key events
Cait Kelly
Crowds gather at Melbourne CBD protest
In Melbourne’s CBD a large crowd has started to gather outside Flinders Street station, in protest at the visit of Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog today.
It stretches across the intersection and down towards Swanston St. The vibe has been relaxed, with drumming and chanting before it begun.
There is a strong police presence with members of the evidence gathering team filming protestors.
MC Basil el-Ghattis says:
If you’re disturbed by our presence on this intersection … we are disturbed by the killing of innocent civilians.
We have matched for two and a half years for the rights of the Palestinians. We will continue to March. Because at this very moment Palestinians are being murdered.
Graham Readfearn
Heavy rainfall warning issued for south east Queensland
South east Queensland residents are being warned to prepare for major downpours from Thursday night with potentially dangerous flash flooding and riverine flooding.
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned that six-hourly rainfall totals of between 50 to 90mm are likely, but some places could see up to 150mm.
A heavy rainfall warning area includes Brisbane, the Gold Coast and southern parts of the Sunshine Coast, and extends into the eastern parts of the Darling Downs and Granite Belt region. Areas further west could also see large downpours.
The warning runs until midday Friday but the bureau said that could be extended, with forecasts for continuing rain in some areas for Saturday and Sunday.
Wong says people ‘have a right to pray in peace’ after ‘confronting’ scenes at Sydney Herzog protest
Ben Doherty
“People have a right to pray in peace,” the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has told Senate estimates, asked about footage of NSW police officers grabbing and throwing Muslim men to the ground as they knelt in prayer outside Sydney town hall during a protest against the visit by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog.
“I think Australians believe people have a right to pray in peace,” Wong told estimates, responding to a question from Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi.
I believe many Australians would have found those scenes confronting, and I think it would have been particularly confronting for Muslim Australians. I found them confronting.
I would say that freedom of religion and the peaceful expression of different views is a core part of who we are.
Video shot at a protest in Sydney on Monday night showed about a dozen men, led by sheikh Wesam Charkawi, kneeling in prayer in two straight lines in the forecourt of Sydney town hall. The men did not appear to be blocking a road or marching, which is effectively banned in designated areas under a NSW law passed after the Bondi terror attack.
Nick Visser
Peak body calls for independent review after teen allegedly injured during Sydney rally
Youth Action NSW, a peak body representing young people and youth services, says it is deeply concerned after the mother of a 16-year-old alleged her son was assaulted by police at Monday’s rally at Sydney Town Hall.
On Wednesday, Kefah Maradweh told ABC Radio Sydney she planned to press charges after her son, Nedal, alleged police pushed him to the ground, kicked him and restrained him before he was released without charge during a protest.
Nedal said yesterday:
They grabbed me by my keffiyeh, my scarf, and just dragged me, pulled me, kicked me on the floor, knee to my head, knee to my neck, and then put me in handcuffs.
Youth Action says any action where a young person is allegedly harmed in a public space should prompt “serious reflection about how we protect the safety and rights of children and young people in our community”, calling for an independent review.
The group’s CEO, Lauren Stracey, said in a statement:
Young people have the right to participate in civic life, express their views and be heard. They also have the right to safety. These rights are not conditional, and one does not cancel out the other.
All institutions, including the NSW Police, have responsibility to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of children and young people in every interaction. The use of force against a young person raises serious concerns about how that responsibility is being upheld.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, has refused to apologise to the Muslim community after police disrupted a group of men praying during the protest.
Cash to remain opposition leader in Senate
Here’s Michaelia Cash’s statement about resigning from the frontbench of the Liberals.
Cash says she will remain leader of the opposition in the Senate.
I have today tended my resignation as the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Following the events of recent days I believe the matter of the Liberal Party Leadership needs to be brought to a head.
Therefore, I will be voting for a spill of the leadership when the party room next meets. This makes it impossible for me to remain in Shadow Cabinet.
I am not resigning as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, a role bestowed upon me by the Senate party room.
I thank Sussan Ley for the opportunity she gave me to serve as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Cait Kelly
Victorian opposition leader addresses Jewish community
The Victorian opposition leader, Jess Wilson, has just taken the stage. Both Wilson and the premier added in a Hebrew phrase to their speeches, to cheers in the room.
Wilson calls out the protesters against Isaac Herzog.
I know that, President Herzog, your visit sends a message of solidarity to Jewish Victorians that you are seen, you are connected and you are not alone. President Herzog, thank you for being here.
It (frustrates) me greatly that your visit to our country has been marred by the actions of a small number of detractors who seem to sow division at a time when social cohesion so desperately needed.
For my part, I will do everything I can to honour the Jewish community here and the people of Israel, and I will work to combat antisemitism and rebuild the security and sense of belonging that Jewish Australians need and deserve, so that Zionism becomes not a slur but a proud reflection of the Jewish you.
Michaelia Cash resigns from Liberal frontbench
Tom McIlroy
Sussan Ley’s embattled leadership is weakening by the hour, with the opposition’s Senate leader, Michaelia Cash, resigning from the frontbench.
Cash, the shadow foreign affairs minister, is expected to vote for Angus Taylor in Friday’s spill motion. She is the eighth major resignation on Thursday.
Cash was a key player in Malcolm Turnbull’s downfall in 2018, despite serving as part of his cabinet.
Taylor’s supporters are growing increasingly confident the former shadow defence minister will win the ballot, set down for 9am at Parliament House tomorrow.
Victorian premier addresses Jewish community
In Melbourne at the Jewish community event with the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, the premier, Jacinta Allan, has taken the stage. She says Jewish Australians have consistently warned about rising antisemitism.
She says:
As leaders and governments, we take responsibility. Your warnings were clear.
And in parliament last week, I said something I believe deeply, the anger that Jewish Australians feel is not a sign of division. It is a sign of love, because it comes from the conviction that our country must be safe for one another.
Antisemitism shatters that conviction because it makes safety conditional. And when it is conditional for one, it is conditional for all.
She says she commits Victoria to protect its Jewish communities.
The freedom to light the menorah openly and proudly … and the right to live safely and peacefully in our synagogues, on our beaches and beneath our gum trees. Mr president, first lady, thank you for standing with Jewish Victorians.
Cait Kelly
Herzog ‘uplifted’ by Australia visit
Finishing up, Herzog says he and his wife leave “uplifted”.
We were coming to console the Jewish community on behalf of the State of Israel and the entire Jewish world. We came to salute the many heroes of Bondi and to reinvigorate the relations between Australia and Israel.
I can now say that while we came to give strength to all of you, we leave more strengthened than before. We came to offer inspiration, and we depart for Jerusalem inspired and energised.
Herzog finishes by talking about how the last hostage was returned home two weeks ago.
All our sons and daughters are home, so we know without a shadow of doubt that there is hope for our future.
So friends, with all the pain and agony of so many bereaved families in Israel and here, let us carry on and grow … together from strength to strength.
Cait Kelly
Herzog addresses Jewish community in Melbourne
The Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, has taken the stage to address the Jewish community in Melbourne.
The special event has been billed as the “pivotal public event” of his tour.
The security is exceptionally tight, the location a secret. Both the Victorian police and the Jewish CSG community security are here.
Hundreds of schoolchildren, members of Melbourne’s Jewish community and politicians including the premier, Jacinta Allan, and opposition leader, Jess Wilson, are present.
There are strictly no questions from media allowed.
Herzog says:
This week, I held meetings with the governor general of Australia, the prime minister of Australia, ministers, opposition leaders, governors and premiers and many opinion shapers. And I can tell you that all discussions with the Australian leadership were conducted with candour, open-mindedness and a great deal of mutual respect.
I found serious partners who are willing to hold serious conversations and address the vile rhetoric, the misinformation, the shameful antisemitism head on.
Herzog says it is “obscure and odd” how many police are needed to protect this event, and calls for “all protesters” to protest outside the Iranian embassy instead.
Krishani Dhanji
Thank you all for following along on the blog with me today. I’ll leave you now with the wonderful Josh Taylor for the afternoon.
I’ll see you back here bright and early tomorrow as we get ready for the Liberal leadership spill. Bring your popcorn!
Tl;dr here’s what happened in question time
Labor didn’t hold back in their criticism of the Liberal party’s leadership battle, taking some pretty personal jabs at Angus Taylor.
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The Liberals tested the government on a CFMEU report and the cost of living, pointing to some hefty expenses racked up by a couple of government departments.
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Taylor Swift got another entry into the Hansard, with Chris Bowen joking about the number of questions the Nationals have asked him on the government’s $275 energy bill election promise. The Nationals are still trying to hold Bowen to account on the promise.
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The independent MP Kate Chaney asked the government about what more it will do to increase safety in online spaces.
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And the independent MP Zali Steggall asked Labor about whether it will use a defence estate for affordable housing as part of its sell-off.
Protesters on hand as Herzog arrives in Melbourne
Nino Bucci
The Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s arrival in Melbourne was marked by a small group of protesters but no violence, ahead of a larger rally in the city later on Thursday afternoon.
Herzog arrived for a lunch at Government House about 1pm with the Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, and governor, Margaret Gardner.
About 20 protesters lined the road to Government House, flanked by dozens of police. There were no scuffles between the groups, though police did search the bags of several protesters.
A protest is scheduled for 5pm outside Flinders Street station, with police saying on Wednesday that a crowd of about 5,000 was expected.
James McGrath resigns from Liberal frontbench
A seventh Liberal has announced he will resign from the frontbench.
In a statement, the Queensland senator James McGrath said he understands the decision “won’t please everyone”, but believes it’s in the best interests of Queensland.
While I realise this news won’t please everyone, it is important that Australia has a strong and effective Opposition.
I want to acknowledge the service of Sussan Ley as Leader of the Opposition, and I want to thank her for the privilege of serving in Shadow Cabinet.
After a final dixer to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese calls time on QT for the fortnight.
Before he gets up, Alex Hawke jokingly asks for no further questions.
Albanese laughs and says, “he’s not going to be leader of the house, let alone leader of government, Mr Speaker”.
Liberal party are the ‘experts’ on waste, Albanese says
The Liberal MP Melissa McIntosh is up next with another cost-of-living comparison, saying a Sydney mum Kate says she has to rely on a community pantry to make ends meet, while the department of foreign affairs “spent $17,930 on a Kylie Minogue impersonator at a Wellington food festival”.
Anthony Albanese says he understands the cost-of-living concerns, and lists a few government supports like urgent care clinics.
He then gets a bit louder as he shouts about the Liberal party’s record on “waste”.
I hope … she tells Kate about the $31bn blowouts associated with Inland Rail, the $39bn in cost blowouts for the NBN … That we actually paid the French $4bn to not build the submarines. We paid $1.8bn to victims of robodebt …
When it comes to waste, the Liberal party are the experts.
