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Bronwyn Bishop Defeated In Liberal Party Mackellar Preselection; Jason Falinski Ends 29-Year Parliamentary Career

Apr 16, 2016

After 29 years in Parliament, Bronwyn Bishop has lost her preselection to Jason Falinski, following a Liberal Party ballot in her Mackellar electorate tonight.

FalinskiBishop faced three opponents, Jason Falinski, Walter Villatora and Bill Calcraft. Falinski was seen as the candidate of the moderate wing who control the NSW Division of the Liberal Party, whilst Villatora has connections to the right-wing and Tony Abbott.

There were three ballots. The first ballot results were: Bishop 37, Falinski 40, Villatora 12 and Calcraft 2. Falinski defeated Bishop 51-39. It appears that the hard right votes for Villatora ended up with Falinski, not Bishop. [Read more…]

Filed Under: 2016 Federal Election, Abbott, Liberal Party, Members, Turnbull Tagged With: , ,

Condolence Motions Make For Heartfelt Start To Parliament

Feb 11, 2014

Proceedings in the House of Representatives got off to a prickly start today with the government goading the ALP during condolence motions for Arthur Gietzelt and Ariel Sharon.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott set the tone when he moved a motion of condolence for the former Senator Gietzelt who died on January 5 at the age of 93.

Abbott

During his speech, Abbott said: “He was a lion of the Labor Party—or at least he always asserted that he was a lion of the Labor Party and of no other party.” The Labor benches bristled at the comment and as Opposition Leader Bill Shorten rose to speak a voice could be heard describing Abbott as a “low dog”.

Abbott’s comment was a reference to allegations in documents released by the Australian Security Intelligence Service (ASIO) that claimed Gietzelt had communist connections during his time as a member of the ALP. Gietzelt served as a minister in the Hawke government from 1983 to 1987.

Following the Gietzelt condolence, Abbott moved a second condolence motion for former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon who died on January 11 after spending eight years in a permanent vegetative state following a stroke in 2006. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop spoke to the motion, as did Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and his deputy, Tanya Plibersek.

After the speeches, the Manager of Government Business, Christopher Pyne, associated himself with what he called “the genuine and heartfelt remarks” by Abbott, Bishop and Shorten, “and the remarks made by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition”.

The Opposition benches bristled again, with the comment assumed to refer to a statement made by Tanya Plibersek in the House on September 17, 2002, in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq. She said: “…I can think of a rogue state which consistently ignores UN resolutions, whose ruler is a war criminal responsible for the massacres of civilians in refugee camps outside its borders. The US supports and funds this country. This year it gave it a blank cheque to continue its repression of its enemies. It uses US military hardware to bulldoze homes and kill civilians. It is called Israel, and the war criminal is Ariel Sharon.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: A.L.P., Abbott, Audio, House of Reps Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Griffith By-Election Set For February 8

Jan 06, 2014

The Griffith by-election will be held on February 8, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bronwyn Bishop, has announced.

The by-election has been caused by the resignation of former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd who had held the seat since 1998.

Under Section 33 of the Constitution, the Speaker is responsible for the issue of writs for vacancies. The writ will be issued today, with the rolls closing next Monday. Nominations close on January 16.

The by-election will be held the weekend before Parliament resumes for 2014.

The ALP holds the seat with a margin of 3.01%. There was a 5.45% swing against Rudd at last year’s federal election. In 2010, there was a 3.86% swing against Rudd. When Rudd led the ALP into government in 2007 he received 62.32% of the two-party-preferred vote in Griffith. [Read more…]

Filed Under: A.L.P., Abbott, By-Elections, Liberal National Party, Rudd Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Government Appoints Sophie Mirabella To Submarine Corporation

Dec 17, 2013

The federal government has appointed the defeated member for Indi, Sophie Mirabella, to the board of ASC Pty Ltd, formerly known as the Australian Submarine Corporation.

MirabellaThe Minister for Finance, Senator Mathias Cormann, announced the appointment today. Mirabella is one of three appointments to the government-owned body.

On its website, ASC says it “has evolved into Australia’s largest specialised defence shipbuilding organisation, with naval design and engineering resources unparalleled within Australia’s defence industry”.

ASC says it employs “over 2,400 permanent personnel across our three facilities in South Australia and Western Australia”.

Mirabella, 45, was the Liberal member for Indi from 2001 until 2013. She was defeated at this year’s election by an independent candidate, Cathy McGowan, who waged an insurgent grassroots campaign to win the formerly safe Liberal seat by 439 votes. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Abbott, Appointments, Liberal Party Tagged With: , , , , ,
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