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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Amy Remeikis

Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten face each other in second leaders' debate – as it happened

Bill Shorten and Scott Morrison meet in the second leaders’ debate in Brisbane on Friday night.
Bill Shorten and Scott Morrison meet in the second leaders’ debate in Brisbane on Friday night. Photograph: Gary Ramage/AAP

And with that, we are going to call it a night.

But we won’t be apart for long. We’ll be back on Sunday, to bring you the day’s events, including Labor’s campaign launch in Brisbane.

That will be repeated next Sunday, when the Liberals are (most likely) to hold their campaign launch. No word on where that one will be as yet.

So no rest for the wicked.

Thank you to everyone who followed along with the absolute madness of today/week/month/year/decade – pick your timeframe.

One thing is for sure – It. Has. Been. A. Day.

I’ll see you in just over 24 hours. In the mean time – take care of you.

David Speers points out that Bill Shorten won. But acknowledges that neither won a majority.

Which is where we are at with the polls at the moment.

RESULTS

109 in the audience

Bill Shorten 43%

Scott Morrison 41%

16% of the room is undecided.

Paul Murray thinks no one won.

Annnnnnnnnd I’m done.

Bill Shorten was a big fan of the hand on chin move – that was 100% for the pictures tomorrow.

But I think the defining image is going to be that shot of Scott Morrison crowding Shorten.

Shorten absolutely set him up for that – you could see him walking around the stage, which forced Morrison to follow him. And eventually, he did.

Both leaders are now in the crowd talking to people, getting details from questioners they spoke to and others they didn’t.

I think they are going to thank all 100 people.

I think Bill Shorten started off quite shaky, but warmed up and won that one.

Scott Morrison was bogged down a bit there.

But let’s see what the crowd thinks.

Also – well done Brisbane. GREAT questions.

Updated

We have hit closing statements.

I officially have RSI in my fingers. Worse than when I played the clarinet. AND THAT IS SAYING SOMETHING

Shorten is again asked about cost of Labor’s climate change.

He says the cost to the taxpayer will be almost nil.

When asked about the cost to business, Shorten says it is impossible to say just now, because not all businesses will pay the same.

He says it would be like asking the fire brigade to have a committee meeting, to work out the cost of water in the hose, while the bush is on fire.

David Speers asks Morrison to explain why the Neg, which he told us was great under Malcolm Turnbull, was dumped.

Morrison says the Neg is one of many options.

Updated

Morrison has to admit that emissions are going up, but says the government is exceeding meeting its Kyoto target.

“It’s like that old surgeon’s joke, the operation was a success, the patient died,” Shorten says.

Updated

Bill Shorten says carbon emissions are going up, not down

Shorten also brings up that emissions are not going down, they are going up.

Which they are.

That is, to invoke a hopefully-never-again-senator, an empirical fact.

Updated

The last questioner says it’s great that they are both passionate about the budget, but what is happening on climate change, given how important that is.

You know what they are both going to say here.

Morrison talks about the 26% emissions reduction target, and that the government can meet its target.

Shorten is going to talk about Labor’s 45% emissions reduction target and how it is more important to meet a higher target and its plan for that, including international carbon permits.

Updated

Could we all take a moment to appreciate David Speers’ sighs.

Updated

The next questioner says he is happy to pay tax, whatever the rate, but he never gets a say on what that tax is spent on. So how can we decide where taxes are spent?

Morrison says if you know how to manage money, you know how to spend money.

Shorten says it is about priorities and he would rather spend money on things people care about.

Updated

Shorten asks the woman what she thinks, and if she has any ideas. She says that her friends and family have to fight with DVA every single day and are constantly road-blocked.

Speers asks for an example, and she says her ex-husband was “damaged” in the military and still hasn’t received a payout. Shorten says he would like to help her with that.

Morrison says he will too.

Shorten says he wants to hear more from people about what they think the problems are and what they think can be done to fix them.

Updated

The next questioner is a woman who comes from a defence family, who has a lot of friends and loved ones who have served and wants to know what the parties will do to support returning service men and women, because she doesn’t want to look at Facebook and see “another friend has died”.

Morrison says when he was in Herbert, his candidate Phil Thompson (a returned serviceman) received a message that another of his friends had suicided and he is very aware of the issues. He says the government is investing in mental health for returned service people, and investing in the department of veterans’ affairs, as well as return to work programs.

In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or emailjo@samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.

Updated

Morrison brings up the Gladstone worker who earned over $250,000, and that Shorten told him that Labor would look at income tax reductions for higher workers, when it is against the tax cuts for the higher income workers the government has put forward.

Shorten says that Labor will look at it.

Updated

Morrison asked about the government's tax cuts for high income earners

The argument spills into the government’s income tax cuts.

Morrison says he disagrees that the bulk of its plan will go to the highest income earners. David Speers asks how much they will get.

They then get into an argument about that and Shorten wanders back to his notepad and writes down “$77 billion” in big letters.

He shows it to the camera as a “spoiler”.

The crowd laughs. The debate continues, and Shorten wanders to the back of the stage. Morrison follows him, to talk to him and starts pointing his finger. Shorten stands there and let’s him crowd him, but makes it known that he’s being crowded, before saying “you’re a classic space invader aren’t you”. The crowd, and even Speers, laughs.

Updated

A question about whether or not Labor will have a budget surplus over ten years, or next year.

Shorten says Labor plans on having a surplus every year it is government and says again (third time today) that Labor will release its costings next week.

Morrison interjects that the government also plans on having surpluses, and it won’t raise taxes to do so.

That starts an argument over whether the franking credits policy is a tax or not (spoiler: it’s not).

Morrison says he can talk about other taxes.

“Don’t get agitated,” Shorten says.

Updated

Morrison says under Labor the state governments will pay less and the federal will pay more, but the amount will stay the same.

“I am not talking about building school halls, I am talking about spending money on teachers for kids with special needs,” Shorten says, saying his mother, who was a teacher, was the smartest woman he knew.

Shorten also talks about education funding, and the apprenticeship and tertiary policy plans.

Morrison says the government is going to work to get more take-up of the four-year-old kindy plan.

He also talks about Gonski and the increased in funding.

“Spending money on schools is obviously important, but what you’re spending money on in schools is [crucial].

He says he’ll take a great teacher over a school hall any time.

Updated

On the religious freedom debate, here is some more of what Shorten had to say

Next question: what are the parties doing to support gifted kids/ students in general?

Shorten starts off with Labor’s universal kindy program for three-year-olds.

Updated

The next questioner wants to know what each party will do to stop local post offices from closing (this is a particular issue for regional and small communities).

Morrison says they are small businesses and the government has done a lot to support small businesses and will do more to help them “continue being the champions” of the economy.

Shorten agrees on the lower tax, and mentions Labor’s asset write-off plan, and then says that he believes that having an Australia Post in a country town is a sign of that town’s health.

He says that he would like to see Australia Post to be able to compete with the banks. He acknowledges that Labor doesn’t have a policy on this, but he has thought “long and hard” that there has to be a way to use their networks to let them compete with the banks.

Updated

The next questioner asks why both parties keep funding HeadSpace when the “experts say it doesn’t work” and why other services, like Kids Helpline, aren’t funded as much.

Morrison says this is an issue he is very passionate about, and while HeadSpace isn’t perfect, he knows it works, using the example of Grafton – there was a suicide cluster there, and after a HeadSpace was put in, they stopped. He says addressing youth mental health is one of his biggest priorities.

Shorten says Labor has also pledged to fund HeadSpace, but will take the questioner’s point on board about Kids Helpline.

He asks the audience to raise their hands if they have been touched by suicide – almost the whole crowd puts up their hands.

He says it is one of the reasons addressing mental health is so important.

In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or emailjo@samaritans.org. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international suicide helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.

Updated

Shorten says that he has always believed in freedom of religion, but he also doesn’t believe that women who have an abortion should have to walk through a crowd of protesters to get their medical care.

Shorten says that social media platforms “need to be a lot more accountable for what they share”.

Morrison says he understands that a lot of Christians feel as this woman does, and that they need to find a way to address that.

Leaders questioned about the freedom to air religious views

The next questioner wants to know what Labor’s view is when people of faith (she mentions Christians specifically) speak about their views, as centred on their faith.

Both Shorten and Morrison say they believe in freedom of religion.

The questioner says she doesn’t think that Shorten answered her question.

She brings up that she can’t say something like “abortion is wrong, because abortion is killing a baby” and if a celebrity says something like that, they get attack. She uses Israel Folau as an example of someone speaking their religious beliefs “being thrown to the lions”.

She doesn’t want a law, but she doesn’t want politicians to wade in on these issues.

I’m not sure what she actually wants here.

Morrison says that freedom of religion should include freedom from discrimination.

Updated

Now we are back onto multinational tax.

Morrison says the government also thinks it can do more, and the government will do more.

But he fails to mention that the government has completely backed away from its commitment to set up a transparency register.

Updated

'When you don’t pay income tax and you get a tax rebate, it’s a gift,' Shorten says

The debate over franking credits is still going on.

“When you don’t pay income tax and you get a tax rebate, it’s a gift.”

“A gift?!” says Scott Morrison.

“Yes, it’s a gift,” Shorten says, repeating that not paying income tax and getting an income tax rebate is a gift.

“They’ve worked hard all their life,” Morrison says.

“Everyone works hard, mate,” Shorten answers.

“Well, I think self-funded retirees have worked pretty hard myself,” Morrison returns.

Updated

For those not watching:

Second laugh goes to Scott Morrison:

“I am happy for him to talk longer, because he has a lot more taxes to explain than I do, a lot more.”

Morrison says Shorten didn’t explain why Labor voted against the multinational tax avoidance laws.

They begin talking over each other and Shorten gets a laugh when he tells Morrison to “hold his horses”.

Shorten says Labor wanted stronger laws, but unfortunately “you had the numbers”.

Scott Morrison says the government released a budget before the election, with “700 individual measures”.

He is now talking the differences in tax policy.

Morrison also brings up Labor voting against the multinational tax avoidance plan the government put through the parliament.

Shorten comes in at the end to say that multinationals still don’t pay enough tax in Australia.

He’s asked by David Speers if Labor would make Facebook and other big companies pay tax, but Shorten finishes his answer “correcting” Morrison’s criticisms of Labor’s tax policy.

Updated

Second question is what do Labor’s policies cost?

Bill Shorten, who is taking notes as the questioners ask, says for Labor it is about priorities, not only cost.

He says Labor will be the first opposition to release its costings ahead of the last week – with the plan to release them at the end of next week (the second-last week).

He asks to get the questioner’s details, so he can send it to him, when Labor “hits go”.

The rest of the answer is on Labor’s policies.

Updated

Bill Shorten agrees with what Scott Morrison says, but says Labor would also add to it.

He mentions Labor’s policy to have 10 days’ paid domestic violence leave (the government legislated to allow for leave, but not paid) and also to tackle the attitudes which lead to violence against women.

Updated

The first question of the night is on how the leaders plan to address sexual assault.

Scott Morrison says as the father of daughters, it’s one of his worst nightmares and being the son of a police officer, he thinks resources need to go there.

He brings up the Malcolm Turnbull line of not all disrespect of women leads to violence against women, but all violence against women starts there.

He says that there is a bipartisan approach to tackling the issue.

Updated

First laugh of the night to Bill Shorten:

“You voted for Tony Abbott, you got Malcolm Turnbull, you voted Malcolm Turnbull you got Scott Morrison, you vote for Scott Morrison you might get Clive Palmer, who knows.”

Bill Shorten is obviously up next.

“Australia needs change, after six years of Coalition government this country needs change.”

The debate starts

Scott Morrison won the toss – so he is speaking first.

The room at the Gabba has them both standing in front of a crowd of undecided voters, who are sitting down.

“Australia is the best country in the world and I have a plan to keep it that way,” Morrison says, of his theme for the night.

Peter Dutton also doesn’t think that people are worried about the candidate chaos we have seen in the last few days, despite three Liberal candidates being dumped:

Dutton:Look I just don’t think people are raising it. People are more interested in whether their small business is going to be able to put apprentices on, they’re worried about what it means if negative gearing is abolished, they worried about their kids at school….

David Speers:…..let me try again here. As somebody who knows how the Federal Police works, they have better things to do than worry about whether a political candidate posted something on social media?

Dutton: Look the Federal Police will have a look at matters that are referred to them. They’ll make decisions. They’re independent. They deal with all sorts of matters…..

Speers:…..you’re a former police officer, what would you think of about these political parties referring stuff like this?

Dutton: If the Federal Police believe there’s not substance in a referral they’ll dismiss it pretty quickly. So, that’s an issue for them.

Speers: On the Labor side though we’ve seen Luke Creasey the Labor candidate in Melbourne run into trouble he posted a joke about rape. Kristina Keneally was just making the point, what about John Alexander? So Scott Morrison said Luke Creasey had to go, what about John Alexander?

Dutton: Well look again David, I think people are concentrating on issues that are relevant to them. So I just don’t think – and given that I’ve literally spoken to hundreds of people over the course of the last couple of weeks – not a single person raises these issues.

While I was staring at a wall, Peter Dutton had a chat to David Speers on Sky News.

He thinks the momentum is with him in Dickson:

My sense is that there is a pretty good mood on the ground. I think there’s a lot of angst now around what Labor is proposing with taxes, suspicion as to why costings haven’t been announced and a lot of reluctance in relation to Bill Shorten. So you hear that on the pre-poll, you hear that as you move around the community. But two weeks to go, it’s a long time, but I think the momentum is with us and I think we’ve got good opportunities around the country, but we’ve got a long road ahead of us and Labor will pour all sorts of scare campaigns and resources into the last two weeks so we brace for that.

And just in case it is not clear, all the candidates who have resigned/were disendorsed after the nomination cut off date, are all on the ballot paper and can still be elected.

They are no longer the party candidate. But they are still a candidate, whether they campaign or not. If you are on the ballot, you can be elected.

We saw a pretty high profile example of that. Pauline Hanson in 1996.

Anyways, all your remaining questions should be answered in this:

The AFP have now received a referral to look into Jessica Whelan’s allegation of a doctored social media post – despite Whelan saying in an interview this afternoon she had no evidence it had been altered.

Anti-Adani activists found Scott Morrison today

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison walks past anti-Adani protesters during a press event at Studley Park in Kew, Melbourne, Australia,
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison walks past anti-Adani protesters during a press event at Studley Park in Kew, Melbourne, Australia, Photograph: Mick Tsikas/EPA

Not political, but still – the ABC has made acting managing director David Anderson’s role, permanent.

Anderson has a five-year-term.

In case you missed it, you might want to check out this story:

Far-right ringleader Neil Erikson was one of three extremists who attended a “conservative recruitment event” for the Liberal National party at a private residence on the Gold Coast last year.

Erikson, who claims someone else paid for his flights from Melbourne to attend the event, is one of the founders of the anti-Islam United Patriots Front and has been convicted for inciting contempt against Muslims after he staged a mock beheading of a mannequin.

An email seen by Guardian Australia describes the event as an “conservative recruitment event” for the Queensland-based Liberal National party, which was held in early June 2018.

Erikson flew from Melbourne to Brisbane for the function, which was also attended by fellow members of the far-right Scott Moerland and Ricky Turner. Moerland is now running as a Queensland candidate for Fraser Anning’s Conservative National party.

You can read the whole thing, here

And we’re back

The next leaders’ debate is in just over two hours.

Both campaigns are in debate-prep mode.

It’s being held at The Gabba, in Brisbane (a switch up from the Broncos Leagues Club, which I understand was not available because of upgrades or something) from 6.30pm on Sky News.

I’ll be blogging it, because I honestly can’t think of a single better way to spend my Friday night.

I am going to put the blog in hiatus for a little bit though, given the campaigns are down for a moment, just to help quell my excitement.

We’ll be back just before 6pm (unless something major happens)

See you soon

The School Strike 4 Climate peeps have released their statement on the latest day of action.

From their statement:

In Melbourne over 1,000 students sat down in front of the Liberal Party HQ chanting loudly and holding signs with slogans such as “Scott, 3 strikes and you’re out”, prompting a shut-down of headquarters office. Hundreds of students will head to Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s Office for a colourful rally and march this evening. A dozen strikes are taking place across Melbourne today.

In Sydney, students covered all quarters of the city with 500 students rallying outside Tony Abbott’s electorate office in Manly, over 100 at Scott Morrison’s in the South and 500 made a racket with kazoos at Labor MP Anthony Albanese’s in the Inner-West. After the Manly rally, Warringah students confronted Abbott who told them that climate change is not man-made. A dozen strikes are taking place across Sydney today.

In Brisbane, 500 students are expected to rally at Liberal MP Trevor Evans’ office this afternoon after 100 students rocked up at Peter Dutton’s office. A dozen strikes are taking place across Brisbane.

Thousands turned out across the other capital cities and regional towns.In Perth, 1000 students rallied in the city, 1000 on Parliament Lawns in Hobart, 700 in Adelaide and 500 in Canberra. Over 30 strikes across regional Australia made sure that politicians everywhere know that young people demand climate leadership.

Updated

Remember the video of George Christensen singing “I got us our share, man” to the tune of “I’ve been everywhere” (which was lol-worthy, given how often he was away from his electorate on holiday).

Well, what has been seen cannot be unseen. But, as Buzzfeed reports, it won’t be seen again.

While most videos on Christensen’s YouTube page have been viewed by fewer than 100 people, his remake of “I’ve Been Everywhere” had hit more than 5,000 views before it was removed and replaced with a black screen and white writing: “This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by APRA_CS.”

APRA-AMCOS represents the interests of singers, bands and songwriters, collecting fees from businesses that use copyrighted music to promote their products or create an ambience in a venue such as a bar or gym.

Sony/ATV publishing’s Damian Trotter is on the board of APRA-AMCOS, and told BuzzFeed News that Christensen had been issued a cease and desist letter.

“He hasn’t sought permission to use the song or make changes to the lyrics,” Trotter said. “Irrespective of how a song is used, whether for a commercial or TV or a politician, you need the approval of the songwriter or their heirs. No approvals have been sought.”

So I guess Sony/ATV just wanted its share, man.

Updated

PJK continues:

It is a lie because there is and has not been any wages growth for five years, let alone $20 billion in wages Grattan postulates is coming. One has only to refer to the Reserve Bank Governor’s many recent statements on wages to cast that slippery claim aside.

So if the working men and women of Australia don’t get the extra 2.5% superannuation under the Commonwealth legislation – they get nothing.

No wages growth and no extra super. Yet this is what Grattan is pushing on them.

John Daley and his dodgy institute want to push people back onto the Age Pension - $400 a week, whereas now, with $2.8trillion in national superannuation assets, the pro-rated savings of our 12 million workers, is just on $240,000 each. And that is likely to double in eight years.

It is hard to believe that any so-called economic policy institute would see Australians pushed away from arguably the best retirement system in the world, to return to and be happy with, solely, the Age Pension – but that is what Grattan is arguing for.

Updated

You may have seen some modelling from the Grattan Institute on the plan to increase compulsory superannuation contributions (from 9.5% to 12% by 2025) costing (by the institute’s analysis) about $20bn in workers’ pay, or just under 1% of GDP.

The Conversation wrote on it here.

Well, that Grattan Institute analysis has sparked a response from none other than Paul J Keating.

His statement:

The Grattan Institute persists in its wilful misrepresentation of the wages system, ignoring the fact that wage growth has been frozen for five years.

Grattan argues that an increase in the Superannuation Guarantee Charge from 9.5% to 12% will come at the expense of wages.

But the Grattan Institute knows full well there is and for five years, has not been, any wages growth for an increase in the Superannuation Guarantee to be paid from. Grattan’s argument is completely fallacious.

Yet, despite the fact that wages growth has been frozen, labour productivity has actually continued to expand – by roughly 10% over the past five years. But none of that labour productivity has been paid to wages – it has all been retained in the balance sheets of companies.

This is why the corporate sector can easily afford to pay an extra 2.5% superannuation under an expanded SGC, from the 10% of labour productivity companies are already sitting on. Grattan knows this but ignores this central fact in its dodgy analysis.

The key point is that, if Australian employees don’t get the extra 2.5% under the SGC, they get nothing. There are no cash wage increases on offer.

Therefore, it stands to reason that if employees’ wages growth is frozen, they can only gain by having 2.5% of labour productivity delivered to them by the Commonwealth under an expanded Superannuation Guarantee.

Grattan said today ‘by 2025-26 a 12% Super Guarantee will strip up to $20 billion from workers’ wages each year’.

That claim is both a distortion and a lie.

Updated

Oh – I had forgotten this – Bill Shorten is the guest on the Bad Show on Monday.

He’ll be the solo guest.

And yes, we will cover it.

Updated

In between all of that, Bill Shorten held his community forum on the NDIS.

Here’s some of what he said:

The government says aspiration, that Labor doesn’t like aspiration. Well, I am in a room full of people who have aspiration. Chris has an aspiration that living in the bush shouldn’t mean second-class health. Other people here have an aspiration that being in the NDIS shouldn’t be a bureaucratic maze. People have an aspiration their kids get a quality education. People have an aspiration that their children can grow old knowing that there is a comfort and support and love. People have an aspiration that their houses should be accessible. People have an aspiration they shouldn’t be the victim of bullying because of their disability. People who work in the sector should have an aspiration to get a fair wage. People who work in disability have an aspiration that they just get a fair go.

Labor has an absolute commitment to getting the NDIS back on track. We’ve got our plans. We’ve got Linda Burney. We’ve got all of you. But this election isn’t going to be won by meetings like this, although this is a very powerful gathering. It makes me inspired. You inspire me. What’s going to change this election will be talking to everyone else. I learned a very long time ago that disability is not a marginal issue. It’s not a niche issue. Every Australian either knows someone with a disability, has an impairment, or one day could have an impairment. When you fight and when we fight for you we fight for every Australian. If you want a better deal on disability, if you want a fairer country, vote Labor on May the 18th.

Updated

Adam Bandt has responded to Luke Creasey’s resignation (Creasey was challenging him):

Violence against women and sexual violence is unacceptable, in any circumstances. The decision of the Labor candidate to resign is the right one.

Melbourne is now a contest between the Greens and the conservatives, so if voters want to change the government and get real action on climate change, they need to vote Greens.

I won’t take this seat for granted. I will continue to campaign hard, talking to voters and seeking their support for my re-election right up to 6pm on election day.

Updated

So who has been disendorsed/resigned since this election was called?

I could have missed some people here, but by my count:

Jeremy Hearn –Liberal – Islamophobia

Steve Dickson – One Nation – being Steve Dickson in a strip club

Peter Killin – Liberal – homophobic comments, including comments about colleague Tim Wilson

Melissa Parke – Labor – comments that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians was “worse than the South African system of apartheid”

Wayne Kurnoth – Labor – antisemitic comments

Jessica Whelan – Liberal – Islamophobia

Murray Angus – Liberal – officially “breaking party rules”, for saying he had no bad things to say about the candidate he was challenging, Richard Marles. So, unofficially, for being too nice

Luke Creasey – Labor – lewd comments on social media, made in 2012

And then there were a bunch of section 44ers, including:

Kate Oski - Liberal

Courtney Nguyen – Liberal

Sam Kayal – Labor

Mary Ross – Labor

James Harker-Mortlock – Nationals

Vaishali Ghosh – Liberal

Helen Jackson – Liberal

I am sure I have missed one or two. It’s been a big few weeks.

Updated

Now, the problem with so many candidates having been dis-endorsed/resigned after the candidate nomination cut-off, is that they are still on the ballots.

And on the how-to-vote cards.

Which means a bunch of reprinting.

There are reports how-to-vote cards for Jeremy Hearn, who was disendorsed for Islamaphobic comments he made, are still being handed out, and I doubt he will be the last.

Updated

And I am back. Big thank you to Gabrielle Chan for filling in for me for a momento.

Updated

There have been climate protests outside MPs’ offices today. Here is the crowd outside the PM’s office.

A protester dressed as Prime Minister Scott Morrison seen during a rally on climate inaction outside Morrison’s office.
A protester dressed as Prime Minister Scott Morrison seen during a rally on climate inaction outside Morrison’s office. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Hello good blog people. Gabrielle Chan standing in for Amy for a short while. Given the bookend resignations of the Liberals’ Jessica Whelan in the morning and Labor’s Luke Creasey in the afternoon, I think we can safely say that *inappropriate sh*t* has been the keyword of the day. It’s also safe to say that that is the evening news bulletins taken care of, which wastes another opportunity for both parties.

Updated

Luke Creasey resigns

His full statement:

Today, I have called the ALP National Secretary and advised that I will be withdrawing as Labor’s candidate.

While I made those awful comments many years ago and they in no way reflect the views I hold today, I understand, especially as a member of the LGBTIQ community, that we need to be careful about what we share or like on social media.

I think this is a really important lesson for young people that your social media footprint will follow you.

I stood for Labor because we are a progressive party that believes in making our society fairer and better for everyone from pensioners to working people. It is clear the right thing for me to do is stand down.

I would like to thank everyone that has helped me, both within the party and across the community. I am sorry if I have let you down.

I wish Bill and the team all the very best for the election.

Updated

Our Indigenous affairs editor Lorena Allam has published this story:

Clive Palmer’s $100m foundation to benefit Aboriginal people launched 10 years ago only has $109 in it, despite never having disbursed a grant or allocation, according to financial records published by the Australian charity commission.

The Western Australian government said it intends to investigate the situation.

‘We are currently investigating any avenues which might be available to compel Mr Palmer to make good on his promise,’ WA’s Aboriginal affairs minister, Ben Wyatt, told Guardian Australia.

‘Any candidates standing for Mr Palmer’s reheated political party should explain how they themselves reconcile standing for a party whose central figure has behaved in such a disgraceful and untrustworthy manner towards Aboriginal people.

‘Clive Palmer has proven himself time and time again to be no friend of West Australians and certainly no friend of Aboriginal West Australians. I would encourage all West Australians to look at his record when he last appeared in our nation’s parliament and judge him accordingly when they are at the ballot box on election day.’

You can read the rest here.

Updated

More readers’ thoughts on whether or not we should draw a line under social media posts:

I am OK with people changing their ways and turning over a new leaf, fair enough, but –

  • If someone wants us to believe they made a mistake and things are different now, we can only believe them if there are some actions that support that, for example, telling us you made the mistake before we found out, having done some community service or action that clearly demonstrates changed beliefs
  • If the only action between you and your potty-mouthed 22-year-old self is embarking on a political career then – yes I think the past social media post is relevant and yes I think its fair to pay a political price for it. For what its worth my father or brother would never had said things like that about women – social media, 22 or not. It’s disgusting and I don’t think we should normalise it by saying “boys will be boys” – YUK
  • I am actively supporting Labor but I think they are wrong on this and it hurts everything else they have done in policy for women – totally sucks

Updated

This seems helpful, given some previous Liberal politician’s input on this area (Peter Dutton, Melissa Price) .

Peter Hannam at the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age has published a story on John Alexander’s comments to a recent forum:

Mr Alexander told a forum at the Epping Uniting Church on Monday Fiji’s Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama recently asked Australia, “please stop burning coal, you know the water level’s just coming up and it’s threatening our communities”, according to audio obtained by the Herald and The Age.

Australia’s priority, though, should be assisting our neighbours to move “their settlements to higher ground”, he said. “I think we should turn our minds to that positive contribution to our region”.

“It’s very much like your house is on fire, your children are in the house - should you call the fire brigade and get the children out of the house?” Mr Alexander told the public event.

Sarah Hanson-Young is not a fan of the Liberals’ environment announcement:

“This is way too little, way too late from the Liberal government. Today’s offering is a drop in the ocean to try and appease voters in Victoria rather than properly investing in environmental restoration and tackling dangerous climate change,” she said in a statement.

“Melissa Price has been Australia’s worst environment minister. She’s overseen cuts to her department and ticked off on shonky approvals for her mining mates on the eve of the election. Today she was kept away from the prime minister’s key environment announcement, keeping her from stuffing up another interview.

“It’s clear the Liberals will never do right by the environment. When they’re handing $20bn out in subsidies for fossil fuels, they are funding the destruction of our environment.

“Under the Greens plan for the environment, the big polluters would pay for the restoration of the environment and protecting our native species.

“With Adani facing another setback because of its inadequate plan for the black-throated finch, voters are faced with a clear choice this election. A vote for the Liberals is a vote for the big miners over the environment.

“Under our plan projects like drilling in the Great Australia Bight would never go ahead, and the animals that depend on the Bight – like the Australian sea lion – would be fully protected.

“Australians have a clear choice. If they want real action on climate change, the protection, and restoration of our environment, and a plan to save our threatened species, they have to vote Green on May 18.”

Updated

The people you meet on the campaign trail ... Former prime minister Julia Gillard briefly encountered one of her disloyal former cabinet ministers while on a street walk with Labor candidate for the seat of Macnamara Josh Burns in Port Melbourne on Friday morning. The pair bumped into former resources minister Martin Ferguson, who quit her cabinet after switching support to Kevin Rudd in 2013.

Very awkward hellos were exchanged. Ferguson was pushing a pram with a grandchild and appeared in a hurry to get away.

“He was like ‘uh oh’ [laughs] ‘we’re going to be [in the middle] of a campaign event here, I’ve got a baby I’ll stay out the away’,” she said.

Wearing delightful black-and-white polka dot shoes, Gillard settled back into campaign mode with ease, despite a long break since her departure from politics in 2013.

She was mobbed for selfies by supermarket staff, bakers and mums in activewear.

Gillard also patted dogs and hugged toddlers.

“Part of me does miss it,” Gillard told the Guardian.

“It’s always been a real privilege to have a personal conversation with people – they trust you with their stories, they want to tell you something about their lives and that’s an underrated bit of politics – that personal engagement.

During her prime-ministership Gillard weathered a formidable scare campaign against climate change action and her government’s price on carbon from Tony Abbott.

Asked if the tactics will cut through this election she said she was heartened by Labor’s preparedness to put out clear policies.

“I’ve got a lot of faith in Bill and the team and the way they are putting forward substantive policies including on climate change. Clearly Australians will make the decision when they go and vote,” she said.

Gillard doesn’t necessarily think the 2019 poll is an election on climate change.

“I was never a believer that elections turn on one issue or one thing,” she said.

On the musical chairs in the prime minister’s office under the coalition, Gillard was reluctant to weigh in on how much of a factor that will be with voters, but emphasised Labor’s stability over the past six years.

Updated

Shorten calls for full brief on Luke Creasey to end matter "one way or the other"

Well, there’s a slight delay:

“Some new social media posts have been brought to my attention from the candidate for Melbourne,” Bill Shorten says, in a very, very brief doorstop.

“I think I should get a full brief now that more material has arrived but we want to put an end to this matter one way or the other today.”

Updated

As mentioned earlier, once posts emerged of Luke Creasey talking about a particular person, not a meme – which was the distinction Anthony Albanese and others in Labor had made earlier – there was no going back.

Labor considers disendorsing Melbourne candidate

It looks like those earlier predictions about the latest posts crossing that final line – Bill Shorten will be confirming that Luke Creasey will be disendorsed in the very near future.*

*He stopped short of disendorsing him, asking instead for a “full brief” on the social media posts, but said he wanted an end to it “one way or the other”.

Full statement is a couple of posts up.

Updated

Responses are starting to come in – I guess the issue is, if you say yes or no, is it a blanket yes or no?

Because this is going to come up time and time again now. We all know people who have said things they regret (or hopefully regret) in the past – but now we have it in writing.

David Littleproud wants the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to look at the Murray-Darling basin plan (at least the water trading in the southern end of it)

A re-elected Liberal Nationals government will have the ACCC review the southern basin water market, including its operation, transparency and the role of brokers, traders and investment funds.

Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud said he’d heard concerns from farmers around lack of transparency around trading, including the role and impact of investors.

“It’s time to get under the bonnet and have a good look at how and if the market is working,” Minister Littleproud said.

“A pure market requires transparency and is not distorted. We need to shine the light of day in on this. We need to know what’s working and what isn’t so relevant governments can get to work and fix it.

“The water market has changed and continues to change, moving to different crops in different parts of the basin. We need to keep an eye on this.”

The ACCC will look at:

    • The operation and transparency of the water market
    • Developing market trends in the trading of water
    • The role of water brokers investment funds, and significant traders of water market allocations and entitlements; and
    • Make recommendations on actions to improve water market transparency and the operation of the southern basin water market.

The southern basin accounts for most water trading in Australia.

The ACCC has responsibilities under the Water Act 2007 and the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA).

Updated

I am genuinely interested in your views on this - is there a limit to where we dismiss a social media post as someone’s misspent youth, or too long ago to care about?

Updated

Bill Shorten is holding his community forum on the NDIS.

It is safe to say Adani is not happy with the Queensland department of environment rejecting its’s black-throated finch management plan.

From its statement:

After more than 18 months and seven revisions, the Queensland Labor government still cannot commit to a date to finalise Adani Mining’s two outstanding environmental management plans.

Adani Mining is calling on the premier to take charge and show leadership, requesting the Queensland Labor government commit once and for all to a date to finalise the plans.

CEO for Adani Mining Lucas Dow said that off the back of the State again delaying the approvals process by requesting an eighth round of new revisions, which he believes goes well beyond what is required to meet Adani’s environmental requirements, the department still refused to provide any firm dates to finalise the black-throated finch management plan or the groundwater dependent ecosystem management plans.

“After receiving this advice from the Queensland environment department late yesterday, we are now feverishly working through their new requests,” Dow said.

“Although we believe the current version of the black-throated finch management plan already meets our project conditions, we are not going to be pig-headed about it and we will review the feedback from the Queensland department and respond accordingly.

“However, department officials have refused to commit to a timeframe to finalise the plan, even if we were to accept the State’s new round of requests in full.

“At what point does the environment minister get held to account for the performance of her own department and its behaviour?

“Furthermore, if the department can’t provide us an answer, can the environment minister, deputy premier or premier provide us a date instead so we can get on with delivering thousands of jobs for regional Queenslanders?”

Updated

Dumped Liberal candidate to run as an independent

Jessica Whelan (who remains on the ballot) will now run as an independent, after resigning as the Liberal candidate, ahead of her dis-endorsement.

This is how Pauline Hanson was first elected in 1996:

There is a slight difference in the Luke Creasey comments the Australian have just posted - they appear to relate (joking or not) to an actual person. That’s different to sharing a meme, which was the distinction Anthony Albanese made today.

Given that Bill Shorten can’t get clear air because of this at the moment, it may be enough of a difference for the party to move. We’ll see.

Bit more detail on the government environmental policy announced today, thanks to AAP:

We will increase Australia’s recycling rates, tackle plastic waste and litter, accelerate work on new recycling schemes and continue action to halve food waste by 2030,” Scott Morrison said.

This new national waste and recycling initiative includes a $100m Australian Recycling Investment Fund through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

The fund would support manufacturing of lower-emission and energy-efficient recycled content products, such as recycled content plastics, paper and pulp.

Another $20m would go towards accelerating work on new industry-led recycling schemes, including for batteries, electrical and electronic products, photovoltaic systems and plastic oil containers.

A further $10m would go to establishing feral predator-free zones to create safe havens for threatened native species.

This is also happening today – another day of action from school students wanting something done on climate change:

School students who want action on climate change will target Tony Abbott’s office in Warringah and Josh Frydenberg’s seat of Kooyong on Friday, as the two senior Liberals face tough re-election fights.

After staging two national days of protest in the past six months, the school strike movement is turning its attention to key seats in the upcoming 18 May election.

On Friday, students will also protest outside the offices of Labor’s Anthony Albanese and Jason Clare, prime minister Scott Morrison in his southern Sydney seat of Cook, and Liberal MP Trevor Evans in the seat of Brisbane, among others.”

Please send me $1 for every politician who says they should be in school, which appears to be the new “get off my lawn”, so I can finally get to Disneyland pls.

Updated

More details of Labor candidate's Facebook posts revealed

The Australian has published a story with more of Luke Creasey’s 2012 Facebook posts:

Embattled Labor candidate Luke Creasey joked online about watching his female friend have sex with multiple people and about her wanting someone to “roughly take her virginity”.

In a post from 2012, Creasey told friends on Facebook that one of his female friends wanted someone to have sex with her.

“Can’t keep that girl away … or her clothes on. In fact she was just chilling on my couch on her towel just before. She was just saying how she wishes she had a bisexual education student to roughly take her virginity,” he wrote online.

You just have to think that this is going to be something that comes up every day from now on.

There is an issue between the right on the left of Labor in this – Labor right wants him gone, Labor left are sticking by him, and in Victoria, it is the left which holds the power.

But if these keep being dripped out, a decision is going to have to be made.

Adam Bandt is expected to hold Melbourne, but it is a bit of a fight. If Labor is out of the race there, the Greens can afford to spend more resources in other battles – like Macnamara (formerly Melbourne Ports)

Updated

As I have just been reminded, the government’s investment in recycling (about $160m or so) is a bit of a turn-around from when this first became a pretty major issue in 2017.

Then, Josh Frydenberg, who was the environment minister at the time (remember when the environment minister was actually allowed to be seen and talk abotuut the environment?) said:

Waste management and recycling is primarily the responsibility of state, territory and local governments.”

“While China’s ban is going to put pressure on some industries, it could provide opportunities for others in the recycling industry.”

(That’s from this ABC story looking at the issue)

The peak waste group had some pretty scathing things to say about the government’s action at a Senate inquiry into this issue in March 2018, as well:

Gayle Sloan, Waste Management Association of Australia:

The federal government to date has played very little role in waste policy, essentially limiting itself to the extent of producing responsibilities schemes. This is wholly inadequate when considering the importance of this essential industry to community, as well as its important role in the economy and the environment. The issue is simply too important for the federal environment and energy minister, Josh Frydenberg, to continue to repeat his mantra: ‘It’s up to the states.’ This is one that the federal government needs to start stepping up to the plate on. While I submit that Australia is being left behind the rest of the developed world in transitioning to the circular economy and using waste commodities as a resource, with the effective closure of China as a market for Australia’s commodities, it’s vital that the Australian government works with industries to create a circular economy in Australia and develop onshore local manufacturing. The added benefit beyond the environmental good of moving to a circular economy is increased job creation. Studies have found repeatedly that, for every one job involved in landfill and 10,000 tonnes of waste, over four are created by resource recovery.

The change in China’s policies must be seen as an opportunity to rapidly move Australia to the circular economy or we will not be able to bring the benefit of long-term employment through green-collar manufacturing, which will also create sustainable economic growth. For me and for WMAA, the European Union is an excellent example of how to create a framework that can successfully operate across countries to gain effective waste policies, increased diversion rates, landfill levies, investment in technology and adoption of the circular economy. The federal government should learn from this and other examples and undertake national leadership in waste. This industry presents an opportunity to create manufacturing jobs at a time when jobs are being lost from Australia, as well as sustainable power generation.

Updated

White Ribbon commented on the Luke Creasey issue yesterday:

Scott Morrison: Before we go, no one’s asked the question so I’m happy to address it. We’re spending more than $20bn on infrastructure here in Victoria. I noticed today Bill Shorten’s made a commitment to a project that is fully funded here in Victoria already.

The states and territories I’m sure will be overjoyed to hear if Bill Shorten’s prime minister he’s basically going to come and give them more money to not build an extra thing. They will see him coming. Where we’re investing money in Victoria is on projects like the Melbourne airport link, that is a partnership – $5bn each.

You don’t come and fund projects that are already funded. You come and commit to projects that actually expand what is being done in Victoria. That is what is happening with the Geelong-to-Melbourne fast rail, with the Melbourne airport link and we stand absolutely by those Melburnians living in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne who want an East West Link.

Bill Shorten’s happy to say that is not his priority and that people can stay in traffic jams in suburbs across eastern Melbourne. He is not interested in your issues or you getting home sooner and safer.

Josh Frydenberg: He used to be.

Morrison: He is not – he has said no to the East West Link. We say yes. I know the Victorian government hasn’t set that as their priority and I understand that.

The federal government, a Liberal government will stand by the residents of eastern Melbourne, we have listened to them.

They say it is important to them and that is why, whether it’s Michael Sukkar or any of our candidates across Melbourne, Tony Smith in Casey or any of our candidates and members across eastern Melbourne, they have consistently highlighted this because their residents have said it’s important to them. Bill Shorten doesn’t want to listen to them. We will always stand by them.

Updated

Question: You mentioned the Reserve Bank is responsible for monetary policy but surely the inflation being so far below the target rate this quarter is a sign of concern for consumer confidence?

Josh Frydenberg: These are matters for the independent Reserve Bank and I will leave monetary policy decisions to them. As the prime minister has made very clear today, we are focused on growing the Australian economy and we have been successful in doing that. Let’s not forget it has been on the Coalition’s watch that we have seen more than 1.3m new jobs created.

The fact that a record number of younger people are in work. That is our record, lower taxes, more jobs. The alternative from Bill Shorten is higher taxes and fewer jobs and lower wages.

Updated

Question: Can you confirm there won’t be any more Liberal candidate resignations for the rest of the campaign – a proper vetting process now?

Morrison: I will say what I said the other day in Perth – if issues arise, I will deal with them in exactly the same way. There will be a proper process to deal with them and that is what we have done and decisions will be taken.

One thing I won’t be doing – I won’t be accepting the excuses that BillShorten seems to accept. Bill Shorten is accepting an excuse from a young man that we had the head of White Ribbon today set out what the standards should be.

He’s made that very clear to Bill Shorten about what standards should be accepted and what standards should be upheld. Bill Shorten isn’t prepared to accept that standard. He is prepared to accept the young man’s excuse for disrespecting women.

I think when you are standing as a candidate, there is free speech in this country, there is all of these things. When you’re standing as a candidate, a higher standard applies and Bill Shorten seems unwilling to apply the standards to his candidates that we have been prepared to apply to ours and take the decisions that have been necessary.

Question: Your candidate in Scullin has linked the passing of same-sex marriage to paedophilia. Is that the high standards ...

Morrison: We will deal with these issuess as we always do.

[The candidate remains.]

Updated

Morrison: We’re building the NDIS and having ensured it is fully funded, both now and into the future. We are ensuring we are taking on one of the biggest challenges I think this country has and that is combating youth suicide and youth mental health issues in this country, announced in the budget that Josh handed down a few weeks ago.

This is a plan based on a strong economy, careful financial management, that is delivering and funding the essential services that Australians rely on. That is what Australians are voting for when they vote Liberal and National on May 18th.

The alternative is a Labor party that can’t manage money, that will weaken the economy with higher taxes, slowing it down of $387bn and that will put at risk the essential services, things like the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. We have listed 2,000 medicines at a cost of over $10.5bn.

When Labor were in power, they ran out of money and stopped listing medicines. That is the consequence for people, individuals, you met Luke Emery yesterday, benefiting from Orkambi – real people that depend on these medicines being listed. When Labor can’t manage money, medicines don’t get listed for people like Luke and that is the consequence.

That is why I can understand Australians are very concerned about the prospect of the big change that Bill Shorten wants to introduce.

Updated

Question: There has been a number of integrity issues with the ERF which is now the climate solutions fund. We have failed projects and some of the money has gone to projects that would have happened anyway and gone to big companies. Can you guarantee emissions will go down under your new policy?

Morrison: I can and I will tell you why – because they have. We have achieved the Kyoto 2020 targets. That is what we will be able to achieve.

[Question: But emissions are going up.]

The carbon emissions reductions is set on a carbon abatement budget. When we came to government, we had a more than 700m-tonne deficit in meeting our Kyoto 2020 targets. We will exceed that by 369m tonnes and one of the vehicles we have achieved that with was the he mixes reduction fund, in terms of government policy. That is our record. The policy has been directing.

The Direct Action package we came to government with and implemented has ensured that we not only met the first Kyoto targets but we will meet the second and we have a clear plan through the climate solutions fund of $3.5bn to meet our 2030 targets.

The difference between the Labor party and the Liberal party when it comes to the environment is they talk a big game but they fail. The Liberal party knows how to run programs and to deliver policies. That is why we have been able to meet those targets where Labor failed.

From the Labor party we got cash for clunkers, insulation programs that set fire to peoples’ roofs. We got a series of failed policies, the worst of which were on our borders. Labor not only couldn’t manage money, they couldn’t manage programs. That is what concerns Australians when they think about the Labor party in government.

They were voted out of office in 2013 because they were a very poor government. They not only lost control of the finances but they prevailed over some of the worst policy implementation failures in living memory.

That is why they were booted out. By contrast, our government, in addition to bringing the budget back to surplus, has increased funding for hospitals by more than 60%. We have increased funding for public schools by more than 60%. Aged care funding is going up a billion dollars every year.

Updated

Question: Bank profits have been squeezed a lot this week with their financial results. Part of it is the royal commission lending restrictions. What would you do to try and ease up and free lending conditions to make people and businesses able to get loans easier?

Frydenberg: We have made it very clear that the banks have an economic but also a social responsibility to ensure that credit flows freely throughout the economy. We have seen good growth in small business support but we’re also stepping in as a government through our $2bn securitisation fund to increase the access for finance for small businesses.

There is a number of things we’re doing to encourage further lending to small businesses to households. What we won’t do is impose on the housing market a new housing tax, the impact of which will increase rents for Australians and decrease the value of their home and that is one of the punishing taxes that Bill Shorten is promising which will hit the hip pockets of all Australians.

Morrison: Yesterday, I think you were there, when we were down in Tasmania, but yesterday I announced that the Regional Investment Corporation would be providing Newstart loans effectively to new agricultural producers.

Their loans up to $2m on favourable conditions going through that corporation and those loans are supporting the next generation of farmers and graziers and pastoralists to buy the farm and take on the farm and new people to come into the agricultural industry.

The average age of our producers is over 60 in this country. We need new younger farmers, new younger people coming in and moving, whether it is to Tasmania or other parts of the country, and taking on those roles. That is what that $2m in loans will be supporting to ensure we get younger people on our land and ensuring we have a great future for our agricultural sector around the country.

Updated

Question: I want to ask a question to the treasurer on the economy. You have made a virtue of the Coalition’s economic figures. Net debt that’s doubled and inflation is at zero and we are on the cusp of cutting interest rates below record levels. How does that show the economy’s booming?

Josh Frydenberg: Let me take your question bit by bit. When you talk about debt it was growing by more than 30% a year. If the Labor party had stayed in office the debt would have had a trillion dollars.

The fact is we have taken the term in government, nearly six years, to turn the ship around. As a result, we’re producing the first budget surplus in more than a decade.

When you talk about inflation, we saw childcare costs come down by 8%, we saw energy costs coming down as a result of the measures that we have taken. We’re responsible economic managers but this election will see a very clear choice for the Australian people and the choice is between Bill Shorten and his high taxes. You get up and go to work, you will get a higher tax. When you turn on your lights you will get ...

Question: Things can’t be going that well if we’re about to cut interest rates below ...

Scott Morrison: What I would say is that is a matter for the Reserve Bank.

Updated

Question: What do you think about the idea of a government being able to change the recipe of Vegemite, for example?

Morrison: What?

Question: Labor is looking at a policy that could change the recipes and reduce the salt in certain foods.

Morrison: I haven’t heard that – changing the recipe of Vegemite is a first.

Frydenberg: It is un-Australian.

Morrison: I have it on my toast every single morning. Jenny can’t stand me eating it, she doesn’t like it. I love it. It is fantastic. The more important point is this: it goes to how Labor want to interfere in your lives.

People say, “Why are you always going on about lowering taxes? Why does that matter to you so much?” Apart from ensuring it drives the economy forward it is this: I think your money is better off in your hands so you can spend it on the things that are important to you.

Frydenberg: Exactly.

Morrison: In your family, in your community, for you to get ahead. So you can plan for the future with confidence. Bill Shorten thinks your money is better off in his hands to be spent on the things that he thinks are important, not what you think are important.

Taxes aren’t just things that accountants and treasuries and tax offices deal with. Taxes tell you a lot about the beliefs of the party that is in government and our belief is that your money is better off in your hands, not in Bill Shorten’s.

The reason Bill Shorten wants your money in his hands is because Labor can’t manage money and, when you can’t manage money, you spend too much of it and, when you spend too much of it, they come after yours.

Updated

Question: Is it – was Ms Whelan, when the second comments came out, is her stance that she is still not behind the comments and she would have told that to the party, her stance and if that is true, why did you believe her the first time but not the second?

Morrison: The issue for our party is, did she make those comments? For me that is enough. If someone has made those comments and they were views that they have expressed in a public forum, which it’s clear to me that she had, that was enough for me. Whether she’s contrite about it afterwards or otherwise is not the issue for the party.

I won’t have a candidate that has been found, once we were able to go through the due diligence on these matters – remember, this only came up yesterday and we’ve dealt with it within 36 hours, which is what I undertook to you to do when matters like this came up. I said we would run through a process, which we have on this matter and we would take a decision.

Whether Ms Whelan is contrite about them or stands by them or doesn’t, that is a matter for her. What I find contrasting with the Labor party is you can say or do anything but as long as you say you were sorry later, you can still stand as a Labor candidate.

What that says is, I don’t understand why Bill Shorten who thinks a man who is still in his 20s, I understand it is OK to have a different view when you’re 27 but a few years ago when he said it, apparently that makes it OK. I don’t accept that excuse and that defence. I’m puzzled as to why Bill Shorten would want to accept that “I was just a young man at the time” defence.

Updated

Question: The announcement about this environment package that you’re releasing, $it is 200 million, it is a significant amount of money. Why isn’t theEnvironment Minister here with you?

Morrison: She is at a candidate forum in Broome. She is in one of the biggest electorates in the country. In WA there was a candidates forum and that is why she can’t be here today, she is there.

Josh Frydenberg: This initiative of $200 million we’re announcing today is also in addition to the $3.5 million climate solutions package, a billion dollars for Land Care. Our $2 billion Reef 2050 plan.

We, as Liberals, have a really proud record when it comes to the environment. We appointed the first Environment Minister. We banned whaling and mining on Fraser Island.

We stopped Labor’s dredging in the Great Barrier Reef, set up the national heritage trust. This is one of a series...

Morrison: Got the Great Barrier Reef off the endangered list and Labor put it on.

Morrison: I heard him say today he had no plans. It was only a week or so ago he said he had no plans to increase superannuation taxes and it was very much his plans. This is why Bill Shorten has a problem. He’s very shifty about these things. He says one thing but his policies say another. I don’t think Australians can take any comfort when it comes to private health insurance.

We know the Labor party has always used the private health insurance rebate as a slush fund to dig into, to cover up for the fact when they can’t manage money. That’s why anyone who holds a private health insurance policy in this country has every reason to be concerned that the Labor party would start ripping away the strength of that system.

You know what that means? More stress on the public hospital system. It means higher premiums for private health insurance and, particularly if you’re an older Australian relying on that and you have been putting into it for your entire life to make sure it is there for you in your retirement and you have taken responsibility by doing that and now it looks like we have another tax, a tax on private health insurance to go with the tax on housing, the tax on retirees, the tax on small and family businesses, the taxes on your superannuation. We have got a $387bn bill for taxes which is the cost of changing government which, as we get down to these last couple of weeks of the election, Bill Shorten still won’t tell you – tell us the price, Bill.

Because you know that Australians are going to have to pay it. If you can’t manage money, he always comes after yours. That is why it is the bill you can’t afford.

Updated

Josh Frydenberg: The Labor party’s candidate on the Senate ticket in the NT and the antisemitic views that were expressed by him, the views that were expressed by Melissa Parke in WA, the fact that just 24 hours ago, the Labor party was preferencing a candidate in the seat of Goldstein with antisemitic views ahead of the Liberal party, so the Labor party should not take the moral high ground in this. They have nothing to lecture us about.

Question: Mr Frydenberg, when Scott Morrison was the treasurer, he said he was very ambitious for Malcolm Turnbull and then took his job ...

Morrison: Sorry?

Question: When you were the treasurer you said you had ambitions for Malcolm Turnbull and shortly later there was a leadership change...

Morrison: Where I supported him.

Question: Should Mr Morrison be nervous post-election that you may take his job?

Frydenberg: What a ridiculous question. The fact is, the prime minister, who was then treasurer, and myself, our positions were well known through that process. I have to say that the prime minister has been campaigning very strongly in what is inevitably going to be a very tight election.

The real focus is on the leader of the opposition. He can’t explain his policies and he’s hiding the cost of his policies – 375,000 Australians have already voted in this election. They’ve voted without knowing the true cost of Labor’s climate policy.

That means Bill Shorten is refusing to come clean with the Australian people. Today, Bill Shorten has another question he needs to answer – will he stand by his shadow health minister who has left the door open to abolishing the private health insurance rebate?

It is going to equal about $70bn over the decade that is used by 11 million Australians. Is this Bill Shorten’s secret plan to abolish the private health insurance rebate? We know he will cut it. Does he want to abolish it?

Updated

Question: This is not the first candidate you have had who has been accused of racism. Penny Wong has accused the Coalition of supporting political figures such as Palmer and One Nation who hark back to the white Australia policy. How do you respond to that?

Morrison: I won’t take a lecture from the Labor party who, in the New South Wales election, the New South Wales Labor leader said that Asians are taking your jobs. Bill Shorten said nothing about that all the way to election day. Six days – I have heard of a six-second delay on radio but I haven’t heard of a six-day delay. Bill Shorten stood by the New South Wales Labor leader all the way to election day when it was clear he said Asians take your jobs.

In this election as well, we have had the deputy leader of the Labor party, Tanya Plibersek, saying Indian companies can’t be trusted to create jobs. The Labor party, on this issue, is in no position to lecture and when it comes to the Labor party lecturing on candidates, all I can say is the standard you walk by is the standard you accept.

I was not prepared, and our party was not prepared to walk by the standard which was set by a number of our candidates, including Jessica Whelan, and she has resigned as a result.

Bill Shorten is standing by a candidate, as you know here in Melbourne, at the same times it talks about doing the right thing in terms of domestic violence and taking action against domestic violence and their excuse is he was a 22-year-old man. If you’re a 22-year-old man, a young man in your 20s, that is not a defence, it is not an excuse.

He may well be contrite but the issue is not whether he’s contrite, it is whether that’s a standard that Bill Shorten is prepared to accept and only Bill Shorten can explain why he’s prepared to accept the young man’s defence when it comes to excusing this sort of behaviour.

Only he can explain why he thinks that’s OK. I’m disappointed that he thinks it’s OK to say it’s OK for a young man to do these sorts of things and he can explain why he thinks that’s a justifiable.

Updated

Scott Morrison 'I was lied to'

Question: Are you not embarrassed that yesterday you stood by this candidate, you stood with her, you stood alongside her and campaigned with her and now she has been dumped?

Morrison: Yesterday, we were doing – with the information we had yesterday and at that point, the other matters that have now come to light had not come to light. At that point we were going through a normal and fair process and that is what people should be afforded.

Question: You were campaigning with her yesterday and today she has gone.

Morrison: We have taken action on the issue. When it became absolutely clear those were the comments that had been made, those comments are things that I don’t share, that I don’t accept and I won’t stand for and in our party we won’t. As a result, the candidate, Jessica, has resigned.

Question: Why didn’t you stand by that yesterday, if those ...

Morrison: Because yesterday that information was not clear.

Question: Was the problem that her comments actually represent the views of some in the party. Her mistake was just putting it on social media?

Morrison: Her views were her views and they do not represent the views of the party I lead and they do not represent the views of the Liberal party. These views were not disclosed to the Liberal party at the time of her nomination, that was confirmed last night.

Question: They were aware yesterday ...

Morrison: No, they weren’t, the information in front of us yesterday was not the information that we were able to receive overnight.

Question: Have you been lied to?

Morrison: Yes.

Updated

Question: Haven’t you been made a fool by believing Jessica Whelan, prime minister?

Scott Morrison: Yesterday we announced that a matter was going to be referred to the federal police and it is still going to be referred to the federal police. In particular, the one image that was totally refuted by Jessica. I understand that will still be referred to the federal police for investigation.

Overnight, it became clear, as we went through our process – I said when we were in Perth, that when these matters come up we will follow a process with our party and that’s exactly what we have done on each and every case.

As we followed through that matter yesterday and last night, it became clear that other posts, there was no explanation from that was satisfactory and, as a result, Jessica has resigned as the Liberal candidate, as is appropriate.

What that says is we’re prepared to deal with these issues. The matters I raised yesterday are still matters that are going to be raised.

We stand by that. In terms of the other issues that have become apparent and as we’ve undertaken further discussions, these matters were not disclosed to the Liberal party at the time she nominated and was endorsed as a candidate.

Under our rules, if you don’t do that and if you’re not straight up with the party about these things, the party reserves its right. In those circumstances, Jessica has resigned her candidacy, resigned her Liberal candidacy for the election and that is the appropriate thing to do.

Whether, from that point on, what her views are, they are matters for her, but for me and the party, the fact that it was established that these things had been said was enough for me, it was enough for the party and the party has pursued the matter according to our process to ensure we got to the bottom of it and we dealt with it.

Updated

Morrison and Frydenberg appear at Liberal press conference

It’s Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg this morning, in Kooyong, making an environmental policy announcement.

The “cleaner environment policy” is a $200m package investing in recycling, reducing in litter and food waste, and cleaning up waterways and the like.

Morrison: We believe our environment should be cleaner. We believe our environment should be looked after for future generations. That’s why we are releasing our cleaner environment package here today. That package is not just about feeling better about the environment but living in a better environment.

There’s lots of strong views about the environment in our community today and we respect those views but, what matters is the quality of the environment you live in, and doing the practical things that are necessary.

What we have here, and the work that’s done by River Keepers and so many wonderful organisations around the country, is looking after our local parks, our local waterways, our beaches.

All of these places are Australians, they come, they spend time, they have picnics, they muck around with their kids, they ride their bikes, they exercise. It’s where they live in this environment. So, of course, we need to take action on the big environmental issues like climate change and are meeting our targets and will meet our targets in the future but you also need to invest in practical projects here on the ground working with your communities.

In the recycling package we’re announcing today, it’s not just about ensuring we manage waste better but it is about investing in the science and research that helps companies better use recycled products.

It’s about providing long-term scientific answers and commercial answers that make recycling an even better investment and a more practical initiative for businesses all around the country.

When you care about the environment as we do, it isn’t just about addressing the big climate issues, it’s about addressing the very real practical issues of looking after the places we live in here every single day with our families, in our communities.

Updated

On that pathology policy question and Sam Dastyari, Greg Hunt’s office has released this statement:

The Daily Telegraph’s ‘Blood Money’ story has exposed the close links between Sam Dastyari and a major private equity firm which would benefit from the funding.

Private equity firm, Crescent Capital is the owner of the Australian Clinical Labs to which Mr Dastyari is a lobbyist. Crescent Capital has donated over $115,000 to the Labor Party in the past two years.

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners has criticised the pathology funding in a sector which already has 99.4 per cent bulk billing for GP referred services.

It’s described the funding as absolutely unnecessary.

Mr Shorten must then answer:

    • Who has Dastyari met with on your staff and is your pathology pledge a payoff to the firm who donated over $115,000 to Labor in the past two years?
    • Doesn’t this policy just line the pockets of the big end of town with the Dastyari?
    • What involvement has there been between campaign the savepathology campaign now being run by Australian Clinical Labs and the Labor Party?

Health policy should be based on the needs of patients.

The question in this case is whether Sam Dastyari and his private equity firm have taken priority in determining Labor’s health policy.

Murph has covered Labor’s NDIS announcement:

Labor will unveil a National Disability Insurance Scheme Future Fund, promising a “locked box” to ensure all funds budgeted to the scheme are directed to the NDIS.

Campaigning at a national day of action for the NDIS ahead of a second leaders’ debate in Brisbane on Friday night, Bill Shorten will flag the new funding arrangement – a reserve fund to ensure underspent NDIS funds are not redirected to other programs.

Just on that $1.6bn, the government says it is not a funding cut but a slower than anticipated uptake of the NDIS. It maintains that the money is there if more people join.

Updated

Question: Does this mean the East West Link is dead under a federal Labor government? No money has been put aside by the current government?

Bill Shorten: When the government says it’s been put aside and it never gets to Victoria, it gets a cut. I have lived here for 50 years. I have caught the Dandenong line. This is a cracker of a project but I don’t think the Victorian taxpayer should have to do the heavy lifting on their own. When you vote Labor in the national elections, we will make sure public transport in our cities get some love.

Ever since Tony Abbott’s time, the National Liberals have been very, very shy about investing in public transport in the cities. Some of the other money we are using, though, is our fantastic south-east roads package which is north of a billion dollars so we’re going to help people who live out in Berrick, on the new suburbs in the south-east, to make sure that congestion and they don’t get ignored. We want to make sure they have quality roads to go with the quality lifestyle they want.

[But what would federal Labor do on the East West Link?]

On the East West, there has been two state elections, Dan’s put the case to the Australian people. I have been on the west side of Melbourne, there is plenty of work going on. If public transport and roads are what you vote on in elections, you would vote Labor. Have a look at the suburban rail loop, the airport rail link, Melbourne Metro, the roads package in south-eastern Melbourne plus what we’re doing in the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Melbourne and Victoria, if they care about roads and rail, should be voting Labor because we’ve got a positive vision.

Updated

Question: Does this money help cover the fairly drastic shortfall in your stamp duty revenue? Had Mr Shorten told you it was coming before you postponed the budget?

Daniel Andrews: No, no. We are very pleased to welcome this announcement today. This is a very significant demonstration I think of what a real partnership looks like.

A real partnership, a real project and real money coming to Victoria if Bill’s successful in the next four years. Not in 14 years. The next four years. That’s really, really significant and sits in stark contrast with the current government.

What this will mean is that instead of having to build these massive infrastructure projects on our own, we’ll have a proper partner, a real partner.

That means we will be able to do more and do better. The good thing about this is this is not an announcement for one budget, it is consistent announcements. That is what a real partnership looks like.

Updated

Question: Just on the NDIS, in last month’s budget the federal government showed an undercut, can you promise people who are on the NDIS that you will not cut any funding?

Bill Shorten: Yes, I can. I’m going to do a forum, it’s the day of action for people of disability and their carers at Moonee Valley racecourse.

But the short answer is we are going to make sure that the Liberals’ $1.6 bn cuts can’t be repeated. What a lazy government. They can’t get multinationals to pay their fair share of tax in Australia but they can make sure that poor people who need wheelchairs have to wait two years for a wheelchair. It speaks volumes.

On May 18th, if you know a family who are carers or people with disabilities, vote Labor because when it comes to looking after people with disabilities in this country, that’s more important to me than getting a tick from a vested interest property group or a vested interest private health insurance group or a bank.

Updated

Question: Catherine King yesterday said she would not rule out reducing the private health insurance rebate, do you?

Bill Shorten: We have no plans but we have a plan to cap the fee increases.

The private health insurers have been calling the shots for the Liberal government. Private health insurance premiums have been increasing too much under the Liberals. We are doing what this government’s too gutless to do, we are going to stand up to the big private health insurers.

We are saying you cannot, under a Labor government, for the next two years, increase private health insurance premiums more than 2%. We are going to introduce fair-dinkum price control because we are the party of working people in this country. I don’t want to see private health insurance becoming a luxury item which only the super rich can afford. We are going to rescue private health insurance by a bit of tough love.

Updated

Question: On Kevin Rudd, he has been doing a lot of work in Chinese electorates around the country. Is there a potential deal for him to get a foreign posting if you are elected as the prime minister?

Bill Shorten: No, there isn’t but Kevin Rudd is like the whole Labor tribe: they’ve all united because they know this government’s got to go. On May 18th, people have a choice and Labor is making the case for change. If you want to have the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison-Palmer-Hanson government, that’s what you are getting if this government get re-elected.

This government hasn’t made the case to give them a third chance. All this government’s delivered you is the promise of a tax cut on the never-never which can only be funded by massive cuts to schools and hospitals. Their record is one of looking after the very wealthy and doing nothing else for anyone else.

If you look at the $14bn worth of cuts to schools, $700m cuts to hospitals, 400,000 pensioners having their pensions cut or losing it altogether, this is a government which only thinks about the top end of town whereas we are making the case for change today and every day up to the election.

If you want real action on climate change, vote Labor. If you are one of 3 million pensioners who worry about how you pay for your dental care, vote Labor. If you are one of a million working households in this country under $175,000 and you’d like to get a subsidy between $1,500 and $2,100 per child, vote Labor. If you are sick of not getting a wage rise but corporate profits going up and up and up, vote Labor.

As for Kevin Rudd campaigning, that’s good. Because we need to combat the Liberal lie machine in the Chinese community, which is just lying every day. Making up stories about a million refugees in the next 10 years or making up stories about Safe Schools.

The Liberal party is actually offering Australians nothing at this election. If you want to ask the Liberals what they’re going to do for Australia in the next three years, all they do is complain about us. If you ask us, we have lots of good plans for working- and middle-class families.

Updated

Question: Mr Shorten, your costings is central to the debate in this campaign. Cynics would say, “He’ll release his costings in the last few days to minimise scrutiny on them as much as he can.” Can you please be clear with us exactly when we will see your full campaign costings?

Bill Shorten: We will release our costings towards the end of next week.

Updated

Question: What would a wages rise figure be acceptable? Secondly, what role did Sam Dastyari and a private equity firm have in your [pathology policy]?

Bill Shorten: We have decided after seven years we want to increase the bulk billing incentives to pathology to stop pathology from having to decrease its bulk billing. This is a government who loves to complain when Labor chooses to spend more money on health. This is a government who will always find an excuse to tell you they can’t afford your healthcare bills.

We take a different view. When the government says, “We can’t afford to spend on health,” what they are telling Australians is, “You don’t deserve better funding for health.”

Whether it be helping keep bulk billing pathology numbers at high numbers, that’s what Labor does. It is due for an increase. When it comes to Medicare and helping people fight for cancer, the government says it’s free.

How out of touch is the government? We want to look after pensioners. We are going to give a new Medicare item which will provide up to $1,000 every two years for pensioner to help with their dental care.

The government says they can’t afford that but they can afford to give tens of billions of dollars away to big business in tax cuts, they can afford to give tens of billions of dollars away to property investors, away in loopholes.

This is a government who just doesn’t think that the people of Australia deserve proper healthcare.

In terms of wages, the big problem in Australia under the last six years of the Liberal government is that everything’s gone up except the wages. In many sectors, you’ve had penalty rate cuts, the early childhood educators underpaid for the work they do. We see a lot of abuse of casual labour, abuse of 457 visas.

We think we can get wages moving. I will do better than the government because this government, while it has been in power, has presided over record low wages growth. If you have record low wages growth, that has a chilling effect to the economy. It is like putting the economy in the fridge and chilling it.

We have no growth going on, as a result 0% inflation means businesses are doing it hard. Everyone knows three more years of this current government’s cuts and chaos means everyday Australians fall behind the pace. Be it wages or healthcare, vote Labor on 18 May if you want better help with your healthcare. Vote Labor on 18 May if you want to get your wages moving.

Vote Labor on 18 May if you think 3 million pensioner and seniors health card holders deserve a fair go. Vote Labor as well if you’re one of a million Australian households whose income is less than $175,000 because we are going to provide you between $1,500 and $2,000 in additional subsidy for every child.

Updated

Question: Why isn’t Mr Creasey here? [The tunnel mostly runs under the seat.]

Bill Shorten: There are plenty of questions. This is actually the seat of Macnamara. Tunnels run all under Melbourne. Why don’t I have every Labor candidate in Melbourne here? Come on, fair’s fair.

Updated

Question: In the state election, this was a tactic you guys used in trawling through Facebook accounts, bringing up historic things the Greens candidates had said. You came to the conclusion they had a toxic cultural problem with women. Now for the bloke in your faction, it seems to be OK.

Daniel Andrews: Well, it’s not OK. He himself has made that very clear. I’ll be very clear with you ... What he has said and what is most important here is he shouldn’t have said what was said, he shouldn’t have posted, he shouldn’t have associated himself with those views. That was wrong. The difference is he has owned it, he made an apology and I believe he is sincere.

Question: You are running a protection racket for one of your own faction members.

Andrews: That’s not right.

Question: Are you not disendorsing him because, if you do, the Greens will put other resources into other seats in Melbourne?

Andrews: He has owned it, he has apologised. I believe his apology is in sincere. That sits in stark contrast to the culture of contemporary extremism that is in the Liberal party. I believe the prime minister is in town today.

I want answers to the question about whether that United Patriots Front, Neil Erikson, was engaged to interfere in the Victorian election last year. We are entitled to those answers. When people make a mistake, they stand up and apologise and that’s what the candidate for Melbourne has done. That sits in stark contrast ...

Updated

Question: At what age does the young and dumb offence cease to apply?

Bill Shorten:

No, I agree. Stupid is stupid is stupid. I’m not here giving the bloke a pat on the back. But let’s go the contrast. The Liberals have been forced to dump another one of his rightwing candidates … Jessica Whelan said what she believes now. It reflects on what she thinks now.

What our fellow said was he said it seven years ago, when he was 22 and he’s clearly regretted and apologised for it. He understands – he doesn’t think that now. He certainly doesn’t think it at all. The Liberal candidate, not only were these contemporary remarks, then tried to cover it up. They said: “We have got a conspiracy theory of hackers.” The federal police were going to be called in. The way they tried to cover it up reflects poorly on the Liberal party.

Updated

Bill Shorten stands by Luke Creasey

Asked why Labor is standing by Luke Creasey, Bill Shorten says he found the comments “deeply offensive”.

I’m not going to defend the remarks. Shocking and stupid.

He has also come forward and said he was 22 at the time, seven years ago. He is mortified, as he should be. He doesn’t want to cause any embarrassment and he doesn’t hold those views now. He has apologised deeply and he certainly doesn’t hold those views now.

Labor press conference

Bill Shorten is with Daniel Andrews making an infrastructure announcement in Macnamara (formerly Melbourne Ports).

Updated

Mathias Cormann also had to defend Tony Abbott’s “maybe we’ll build them” electric vehicle brain fart in last night’s Sky News debate between him and his independent rival Zali Steggall, which raised brows somewhere to just below Venus, given what happened to the car industry when he was prime minister.

Last night Abbott was questioned about how Australia would handled the coming EV revolution, if it didn’t start building the infrastructure for it now. He said:

We may very well re-create our own car industry. If we need them we will make them. I think the world will give us what we need. But, plainly, if there is something we do need that the world can’t give us, we will provide it for ourselves. That’s what we do.

Cue the lols. Abbott later said he did not regret not doing more because he wasn’t going to chase international car companies with a chequebook to get them to stay.

Cormann said it was a bit more complicated:

I’ve read what he said, I think it was much more nuanced than you are putting it to me this morning. I don’t think that Tony Abbott expects a car industry to emerge any time soon. Any industry in Australia would of course be absolutely welcomed, if it could stand on its own two feet.

Updated

Here’s Mathias Cormann on Luke Creasey, the Labor candidate for Melbourne, who is facing pressure to resign, or be disendorsed, over memes he shared on social media in 2012 (Anthony Albanese made the distinction this morning that they weren’t comments, they were memes. Memes that made a rape joke, among other lewd posts). He told Sky News:

“This is the Labor party just being completely hypocritical. If this was a Liberal candidate, what do you think they would be saying today?

The truth is, Bill Shorten has got a divided party, he is obviously being pressured by the left to keep that particular candidate in place and that is the only reason he hasn’t gone yet. Bill Shorten doesn’t appear to be strong enough to do the right thing here, and that is something that the Australian people should take note of.

Updated

Michael Koziol from the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age is touring through Queensland this week. He made it to Michelle Landry’s seat of Capricornia (in play) and asked her about the chances of Barnaby Joyce returning to the Nationals leadership after the election.

She had this to say:

That’s up to the party room and the party room will be totally different this time around. We had a lot of people resigning and hopefully a lot of new ones coming in.

After the election, all the positions become vacant and go up again. It really is up to the party room. They’ll decide how they think the leader has performed.

And then, Koziol reports this “clarification”:

Ms Landry later clarified post-election leadership ballots were formalities and she expected the party’s present leaders to be “confirmed”. Mr McCormack and Prime Minister Scott Morrison were doing “a great job”, she said.

In the same article, the LNP MP Keith Pitt (who also sits in the federal Nationals party room) gave a flat out no to the same question.

I asked him this morning: “Will Joyce be returning to the leadership in his view – ”:

My answer was no, and my view hasn’t changed … The reality is everyone is focused on making sure Bill Shorten is not the next leader of the country –this sort of stuff is unhelpful and unnecessary.

Landry is yet to get back to me but I’ll let you know if she does.

Updated

In just four days of pre-poll, more than half a million voters have made their decision.

Mathias Cormann is on Sky News, saying he can’t see “how the Labor party can possibly stand with a man who made such comments”, as the government pivots the attack on why Luke Creasey is still the party’s candidate for Melbourne, following Jessica Whelan’s resignation over past social media posts.

“Bill Shorten does not appear to be strong enough to do the right thing here, and that is the sort of thing the Australian people should take note of,” he says.

Probably cancelled:

Back on election issues, Queensland’s environment department has rejected Adani’s plan to protect the black-throated finch, sending the company back to the drawing board, and delaying construction even further.

From AAP:

A spokeswoman for the department has told the Australian the plan cannot be approved in its current form because “it fails to meet Adani’s environmental authority”.

The department says Adani can submit a new or revised plan but the timing of that is up to the company.

Adani has accused the state Labor government of constantly shifting the goal posts for its Galilee basin project. The Indian miner says Thursday’s meeting did nothing to clarify what is required to resolve the impasse.

“Unfortunately, we left the meeting still no clearer on the process or timing to finalise these plans,” an Adani spokeswoman told the paper.

Updated

Liberal candidate resigns before disendorsement

Jessica Whelan’s campaign has issued a statement. She is resigning ahead of her disendorsement.

Jess Whelan vehemently maintains that she did not make the vulgar post reported in yesterday’s media.

However, she accepts that she has made some of the other posts in question.

Clearly these posts are inappropriate, and the Liberal party was not aware of their existence until they were reported.

Therefore, she has offered her resignation as a candidate and the Liberal party has accepted it.

We note that our Coalition partners, the Nationals, are running a candidate in Lyons, Deanna Hutchinson, and we would encourage voters to support her and to vote Liberal in the Senate.

Updated

Simon Birmingham was also on The Today Show, talking about Jessica Whelan and what “came to light” overnight, which has led to her (soon to be) disendorsement:

Racist comments – well, I gather further posts and that information of not being declared or disclosed by the candidate previously. We won’t tolerate that. We won’t accept that. Scott Morrison has taken a strong stance in this regard.

I expect based on information that has come to light overnight, the additional information, that she’ll not be continued to be Liberal candidate.

My understanding they’re taking steps to do so. Which begs the question Labor’s candidate in Melbourne, who is been caught out in relation to making comments that White Ribbon has criticised because indeed they are undermining a domestic violence campaigns, they’re derogatory towards women. The way that Labor is applying double standard.

Updated

Jessica Whelan was a pretty big topic of conversation in the Tasmanian state parliament yesterday.

The Tasmanian Labor leader, Rebecca White, told the Mercury she would give sworn evidence, if necessary, that the comments in question were from Jessica Whelan.

As many Tasmanians told me yesterday, it’s a small place, and everyone is connected on Facebook somehow. So there were a lot of people coming forward questioning Whelan’s explanation.

Last night the Mercury published more posts made under the name Jessica Whelan, with her photo, as comments on news sites and Reclaim Australia’s page, which were advocating for banning Muslim immigration or pushing against Tasmania accepting refugees from Iraq or Syria.

When questioned about it yesterday, Scott Morrison said: “I don’t think it’s hard to believe in this day and age that the images can be doctored.” He said the matter would be referred to the AFP.

As far as we know, no referral has been forthcoming.

Updated

Good morning

We start day 23 (if you count the first Thursday the election was called) with the news the Liberal party is set to cut another candidate loose over her social media posts.

Jessica Whelan, the Liberal candidate for Lyons, which the Liberal party has been adding to its “maybe” pick-up list, will be disendorsed over Islamophobic social media posts.

Whelan claimed comments attributed to her had been “digitally altered” and Scott Morrison said she would be referring them to the AFP.

As we told you yesterday, by 6pm the AFP had not received a referral, despite the Mercury publishing the story first thing.

It looks as though that referral won’t be forthcoming, with Simon Birmingham saying he expected the Tasmanian Liberal party would be meeting to officially disendorse Whelan today.

“New information has come to light overnight which had not previously been disclosed to the party,” he told Sky News this morning. “I understand the Tasmanian division is taking swift action this morning.”

That followed a very awkward game of candidate chicken in Tassie yesterday, where Whelan went to Agfest with Morrison but, other than a very brief handshake, was kept well away from the prime minister. She avoided questions with the help of the prime minister’s staff and was shuttled off pretty quickly.

Labor had been calling for her to be dumped but it is sticking by its Melbourne candidate, Luke Creasey, who is also facing heat over sexist and lewd social media posts he made in 2012. Creasey has apologised and blamed youth – he was about 22 at the time, but with three Liberal candidates now disendorsed (or about to be) after the candidate nomination cutoff (which means they can’t be replaced by the party) the government will be turning its focus on to why Labor is holding on to him.

Plus, there is the second leaders’ debate tonight, in Brisbane, capital of the greatest nation on earth.

I went home last week and will let you know some more of my musings about what’s happening there a bit later.

Right now I am going to hunt down my third coffee and get straight into it.

Ready?

Let’s go.

Updated

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