Ley: the voters never get it wrong
Some more on the statement from Sussan Ley, who resigned as member for Farrer after she was dumped as opposition leader.
Serving the people of Farrer for 25 years, having been endorsed by locals at nine elections, was the privilege of my professional life. I know David (Farley) will feel that same sense of honour and responsibility.
Until tonight, at every one of 30 elections since 1949, through difficult and challenging circumstances, it has been held without exception by the Liberal and National parties. It would be an error to reduce both the scale and significance of tonight’s defeat to a Coalition split which occurred months ago, or to misattribute it to the date the vote was held.
I urge the Liberal leadership to accept this result with humility because the voters never get it wrong. On the day the leadership spilled in February, the new leaders said the Liberal Party needed to ‘change or die’. Three months later, the result in Farrer demonstrates that statement to be far truer today than it ever was then.
Key events
Farrer result a “bloodbath”: Chalmers
Dan Jervis-Bardy
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says the Farrer by-election result was a “bloodbath” for the Coalition that casts doubt on Angus Taylor’s future as Liberal leader.
Appearing on Sky News ahead of Tuesday night’s budget, Chalmers said:
It wasn’t a by-election, It was a bloodbath for the Coalition. Angus Taylor went big on division and lost really badly. It should come as a surprise to nobody after how badly he failed as shadow treasurer that he’s now failing as leader, and it would surprise me if the clock wasn’t already ticking on his leadership.
Chalmers said the result showed the Coalition would need to join forces with One Nation if it wanted to return to government, leaving Labor as the only party left in the “sensible centre of Australian politics”.
Chalmers says budget will include $2bn extra for infrastructure
The upcoming federal budget will include an extra $2bn over four years to fund infrastructure like roads, water, power and sewerage that will help build up to 65,000 new homes, the Albanese government announced on Saturday night.
The new funding, to be formally announced on Tuesday, will help fund necessary infrastructure to finish housing projects that would otherwise face expensive hurdles. It will be provided to local governments and state utility providers, and a quarter of those funds, some $500m, will be reserved exclusively for regional Australia.
The Labor government said the extra $2bn brings the total investment in infrastructure meant to assist housing projects to $6.3bn since the party came into power.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in a statement:
Building more homes is a big focus of this Budget and a big focus of the Albanese Government. …
Right now, it’s too hard for too many Australians to get into their own home and get ahead and that’s why we’re investing in supply. Our housing plan is pro-aspiration and it’s pro-investment.
We’re coming at this housing challenge from every responsible angle, and boosting supply is central to that.
Dfat officials travelling to Canary Islands to assist those aboard ship at centre of hantavirus outbreak
Consular officials with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) are traveling to Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, to provide assistance to four Australian citizens and one permanent resident on board the MV Hondius, the ship at the centre of a hantavirus outbreak.
Dfat said it is not aware of any of the travellers who are displaying symptoms of the virus, but will help coordinate response efforts with local authorities and partner countries. A spokesperson said:
We are considering options for the safe repatriation of the four Australians and permanent resident. Our priority is the safety of the community.
The MV Hondius is expected to arrive in Tenerife around midday on Sunday, local time. No passengers are allowed to stay in the country or take commercial flights, but travellers are expected to be repatriated by their respective nations.
The Australian government is working closely with states and territories to prepare for that eventuality, including looking into any necessary quarantine requirements, health monitoring or testing arrangements.
Hantavirus, while serious, has a low transmission rate between humans and officials have maintained that the likelihood of a widespread outbreak comparable to Covid-19 or the flu is very low. The World Health Organisation is managing an internationally coordinated response and also currently assesses the risk to the global population as low.
Jane Hume says “trust has been lost” by the Coalition
Dan Jervis-Bardy
The deputy Liberal leader, Jane Hume, has conceded the Coalition has lost the trust of voters after Saturday’s thumping Farrer by-election defeat.
The Liberal primary vote collapsed below 13% as One Nation’s David Farley romped home to victory, winning the right-wing populist party’s first ever lower house seat.
Hume told Sky News:
We always knew it was going to be a tough ask when a retired member, particularly one that has been long serving, more than 20 years, retires, when Labor chooses not to run and there isn’t an anti-establishment push. That’s really what we’ve seen.
We need to reflect on what it is that the people of Farrer and right around Australia are telling us that we need to rebuild trust. Trust has been lost by the Coalition.
Hume pinned the erosion of trust on the two Liberal-National splits and the decision to put all of its policies up for review after the 2025 election.
All of those occurred under Sussan Ley, whose decision to retire from parliament after losing the leadership to Angus Taylor triggered the by-election.
Ley – who held the southern New South Wales seat for 25 years – issued a pointed statement about Saturday night’s result, which appeared to suggest the Coalition’s position was worse now than when she was ousted in February.
Asked about Ley’s statement on Sunday morning, Hume said:
I saw that statement late last night. Sussan, as a long serving member (is) entitled to have their say. It was interesting on the booth, though, no one mentioned Sussan Ley to me, not in pre-poll and not on election day.
Ley: the voters never get it wrong
Some more on the statement from Sussan Ley, who resigned as member for Farrer after she was dumped as opposition leader.
Serving the people of Farrer for 25 years, having been endorsed by locals at nine elections, was the privilege of my professional life. I know David (Farley) will feel that same sense of honour and responsibility.
Until tonight, at every one of 30 elections since 1949, through difficult and challenging circumstances, it has been held without exception by the Liberal and National parties. It would be an error to reduce both the scale and significance of tonight’s defeat to a Coalition split which occurred months ago, or to misattribute it to the date the vote was held.
I urge the Liberal leadership to accept this result with humility because the voters never get it wrong. On the day the leadership spilled in February, the new leaders said the Liberal Party needed to ‘change or die’. Three months later, the result in Farrer demonstrates that statement to be far truer today than it ever was then.
Good morning
Hello and welcome to this Sunday 10 May.
And welcome, too, to an upturned political order in Australia, after One Nation won its first ever lower house seat at the Farrer byelection.
Pauline Hanson says her rightwing populist party is coming after Coalition and Labor seats around Australia, declaring her supporters want to “take the country back” after winning an emphatic victory on Saturday.
The result is stunning for a number of reasons: One Nation candidate David Farley finished in a two-party contest with independent Michelle Milthorpe. It was a jarring visual for political watchers used to seeing elections as red vs blue contests.
The loss will further weaken Angus Taylor’s depleted opposition, and is the latest evidence of a move away from the traditional forces in Australian politics.
Sussan Ley – the former opposition leader, whose resignation set the byelection in motion – has urged the Liberals to accept the result with “humility”, saying “voters never get it wrong”.
There is a lot to unpick today, and we’ll be bringing you coverage of reactions and news stories as they come in. The shadow treasurer, Tim Wilson, is due to be interviewed on the ABC’s Insiders program shortly.