Key events
Karen Middleton
Speculation is everywhere today that the Victorian Liberal Party may re-do its candidate preselection in the Melbourne seat of Kooyong in the wake of proposed new electoral boundaries that could be more Liberal-favourable, and that former treasurer Josh Frydenberg may seek to challenge 31-year-old Amelia Hamer, who was chosen in March this year.
Despite some Liberals raising concerns that it would be a bad look to oust a young woman to let Frydenberg return – after he chose not to contest the preselection when it was held just nine weeks ago – his former frontbench colleague, retiring federal Liberal MP Karen Andrews, is backing the move.
This is about making sure that we have the strongest possible candidates in each seat, and we have the best team to take forward,” Andrews has told ABC Radio National this morning.
…What I am saying is, in respect of Josh Frydenberg, they should do all they can to attract him back into parliament. And then clearly if that means reopening preselection, then that has to be considered,”
Amelia Hamer was selected to run against teal MP Monique Ryan, who took the previously blue-ribbon seat from Frydenberg at the 2022 election.
Former Victorian Liberal premier Jeff Kennett, who lives in Kooyong, is backing Hamer and says Frydenberg should “put up or shut up”.
Liberal women’s network founder urges party not to ditch female Kooyong candidate
Charlotte Mortlock, the founder of Hilma’s Network, which aims to recruit more women into the Liberal party, has warned the party against pushing Kooyong preselected candidate Amelia Hamer aside for former member Josh Frydenberg.
Frydenberg lost to independent MP Monique Ryan in 2022. At the time, the former prime minister Scott Morrison was blamed, but there are also those who believe that the blue ribbon seats like Kooyong usually were held by Liberals who were either in the ministry or had an eye on the ministry, and therefore didn’t spend as much time in their electorate as they could have.
Mortlock identifies that as one of the reasons the Liberals lost the inner-city seats it had taken for granted. She said:
We need the people who lost seats to take account that they might have also not done enough in those seats to hold them.
You cannot blame Scott Morrison for everything. And I think that we are working really hard – we’ve actually got a lot of good women in the field for the next election. I’m really proud of the calibre that we have managed to attract.
And that is why it is so important that we stand by these endorsed candidates, because we’re lucky to have them and they are a great look for us and they will be fantastic members of parliament, and they will make a fantastic contribution to our democracy.
So we should be lucky to have them – not telling them to stand aside.
Josh Butler
Minimum wage decision due today
The Fair Work Commission will hand down its latest minimum wage decision on Monday. The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has again called for the decision on raising the minimum wage to keep track with inflation. In a statement, he said:
We believe one of the best ways to deal with cost of living pressures is to ensure workers earn enough to provide for their loved ones and to get ahead.
We want to see strong and sustainable wages growth because we see this as part of the solution to the cost-of-living challenge, not part of the problem.
We’ve gone in to bat for Australian workers, recommending the Commission ensure real wages for low-paid workers don’t go backwards.
Chalmers said the government believed it had made “welcome progress in the fight against inflation” but conceded “it’s not mission accomplished because many Australians are still under pressure”.
The FWC decision will be published later today.
Josh Butler
Frydenberg reportedly considering run for Kooyong after electoral redistribution
The Victorian Liberal party has not ruled out reopening preselections for some federal seats following a proposed redistribution of Melbourne electorates, which could pave the way for Josh Frydenberg to make another run for Kooyong.
It was reported on Sunday that Frydenberg, who didn’t stand for preselection, was reconsidering his options after the Australian Electoral Commission announced draft plans for new boundaries. Frydenberg would need the Liberal party to reopen preselections in order for him to have another crack at the seat he lost in 2022, with finance professional Amelia Hamer having been successful in winning endorsement in March.
Hamer is unlikely to stand down, and several Liberal sources spoken to on Sunday said it would be unfair to ask her to stand aside. However, other Liberals said they would welcome Frydenberg back to the party room.
It is unclear whether the party will reopen preselections. But a Victorian Liberal party spokesperson said they were still considering options, and didn’t rule out running another round.
“Like all parties, we will be considering the detail of the proposed draft boundaries in coming days. There are still two more rounds of public consultation, and previous drafts have been heavily amended in the past,” they said in a statement.
“The Party will advocate for the best interests of affected communities and the people of Victoria, and will carefully consider what this means for affected candidates at the relevant time.”
Good morning
Amy Remeikis
Welcome to the second week of house sittings and estimates hearings as we kick off another week of Politics Live.
It’s that time of the electoral cycle where everyone Auspol-related has one eye on the coming election. Anthony Albanese has until May to call it and with inflation proving sticky, interest rates still weighing down people’s budgets and general discontent, the smart money is on the prime minister waiting.
But that doesn’t mean people aren’t getting ready. The Victorian electoral redistribution has the former Kooyong MP Josh Frydenberg feeling a certain way apparently, with reports he’s considering another tilt at the seat. Frydenberg recently received a big dose of media attention after helming a Sky News documentary on antisemitism and so has been back in the news after almost two years out. The Liberals preselected a candidate back in March – 31-year-old Amelia Hamer, who would have to stand aside (or be moved aside) in order for Frydenberg to make his return, which has optics of its own. So stay tuned.
And the fair wage commission will hand down its decision on the minimum wage this morning – the government has made no secret of wanting the minimum wage to increase, given inflation, but businesses are getting antsy. We’ll get that answer mid-morning.
You’ll have Paul Karp, Daniel Hurst, Josh Butler, Sarah Basford Canales and Karen Middleton answering all your other questions today as the day unfolds. You also have Amy Remeikis on the blog for most of the day. It’s a rainy start here in Canberra, which is making it a colder morning than usual and calls for a hot chocolate along with the three coffees.
Ready? Let’s get into it.
