Victorian Labor responds to shadow cabinet announcements
Benita Kolovos
Victorian government minister Lily D’Ambrosio has held a press conference this afternoon to lay into opposition leader Brad Battin and his new shadow cabinet.
She spoke for five minutes without taking breath, describing the group as the “Coalition cut squad”. D’Ambrosio said:
Brad Battin has taken 10 days since he took over the leadership of the opposition to come up with the shadow cabinet, one that he promised he would seek to have a 50-50 division between men and women in that shadow cabinet.
The most he’s been able to achieve is eight out of 23 positions [that] have been filled by women. That is a terrible representation of women in his team.
He’s only been able to fill eight of the 23 positions with women from his party, from his Coalition, and one of those women is from the 1950s in terms of their policy focus and their objectives.
It’s clear every single day that Brad Battin’s new opposition team are about cuts. Their three priorities are about cuts, cuts and cuts.
Key events
What happened on Tuesday 7 January, 2025
With that, we’ll end our live coverage of the day’s news.
Here’s a summary of the main news developments:
Thanks for reading. Have a pleasant evening.
Helen Davidson
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake has struck near one of Tibet’s holiest cities, the China Earthquake Networks Centre has said, damaging buildings around Shigatse and sending people running to the streets in neighbouring Nepal and India.
State media said 53 people had died and more than 60 had been injured in the quake, which hit at 9.05am on Tuesday. The US Geological Survey said the earthquake was centred in the Tibet region at a depth of about 10km (6 miles). It measured the tremor at a magnitude 7.1. China recorded the magnitude as 6.8.
“Fifty-three people have been confirmed dead, and 62 others injured as of Tuesday noon, after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake jolted Dingri county in the city of Xigaze in Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region at 9:05 am Tuesday,” Xinhua news agency said.
Read more:
Benita Kolovos
D’Ambrosio accuses opposition of being ‘divided’, with ‘losers out altogether’ of shadow cabinet
D’Ambrosio says the opposition is “divided”, with Battin’s new cabinet “barely achieved anywhere near … representing the broader population of women, and he has absolutely demoted and punished those that did not support his leadership”.
She went on:
He’s not interested in repairing the damage that they’ve inflicted on themselves for years and years. He’s demoted a lot of people because they could not support him.
Just have a look at how he’s treated Jess Wilson. He committed to supporting her as deputy leader, and then retracted that at the last minute and she has been demoted again, having been taken out of the finance portfolio. So as you can see that this is a very, very divided opposition shadow cabinet.
A team that wasn’t even able to front as a full team today – it tells you that they are as divided as they ever were. This is a shadow cabinet that has winners and losers, and many of the losers are out altogether.
Benita Kolovos
D’Ambrosio attacks shadow cabinet appointments as being ‘for cuts’
On Brighton MP James Newbury‘s appointment to the shadow treasury position, D’Ambrosio said he would become the “shadow minister for regional cuts”:
Why I say that of course, is that James Newbury is renowned for attacking the Victorian premier, the new treasurer, for not being from metropolitan Melbourne … we know that his first priority and only priority, will be the people of Brighton, everyone else in this state will come last.
She described Sandringham MP Brad Rowswell’s new position as spokesperson for “digital transformation and public service innovation” as a demotion and said the role was essentially the “shadow minister for public service cuts”.
On upper house MP Bev McArthur’s elevation to cabinet, D’Ambrosio said:
He’s promoted Bev McArthur as the shadow minister for the 1950s. Everyone knows Bev McArthur’s views on a whole range of issues, and no one can actually accept that she’s someone who actually reflects modern-day Victoria and the standards and aspirations that everyone around this state would hope to receive attention for.
He’s also demoted Jess Wilson, one of the best performers of the Coalition, and he’s promoted David Davis [to spokesperson for financial integrity and budget repair] … who was a significant contributor to the downfall of that Coalition in that last [election] campaign.”
D’Ambrosio is referring to Davis’ time as shadow treasurer, when he was unable to provide the total cost of the Coalition’s election promises.
Victorian Labor responds to shadow cabinet announcements
Benita Kolovos
Victorian government minister Lily D’Ambrosio has held a press conference this afternoon to lay into opposition leader Brad Battin and his new shadow cabinet.
She spoke for five minutes without taking breath, describing the group as the “Coalition cut squad”. D’Ambrosio said:
Brad Battin has taken 10 days since he took over the leadership of the opposition to come up with the shadow cabinet, one that he promised he would seek to have a 50-50 division between men and women in that shadow cabinet.
The most he’s been able to achieve is eight out of 23 positions [that] have been filled by women. That is a terrible representation of women in his team.
He’s only been able to fill eight of the 23 positions with women from his party, from his Coalition, and one of those women is from the 1950s in terms of their policy focus and their objectives.
It’s clear every single day that Brad Battin’s new opposition team are about cuts. Their three priorities are about cuts, cuts and cuts.
Krishani Dhanji
Many thanks for joining me on the blog today, Elias Visontay will take you through the rest of today’s rolling coverage.
Adeshola Ore
Man arrested over suspicious fire at Melbourne racecourse
Victorian police have arrested a 51-year-old man over a suspicious fire at Melbourne’s Caulfield racecourse.
Major parts of the racecourse grandstand were destroyed in the early morning fire on Tuesday.
In a statement, police said detectives arrested a 51-year-old man in Mordialloc on Tuesday afternoon in relation to the incident.
Fire Rescue Victoria earlier said they responded to the blaze at Station Street in Caulfield East in Melbourne’s south-east at 6.20am on Tuesday. One firefighter suffered a minor hand injury in the blaze and was treated in hospital.
Krishani Dhanji
Man charged after $3.2m worth of allegedly illegal tobacco products seized in NSW
Police have seized more than $3.2m worth of allegedly illegal cigarettes and vapes from a truck on the NSW mid north coast.
The 32-year-old driver was stopped on Monday night about 10:45pm after police allegedly detected speeding.
Police searched the rear storage area of the truck and found allegedly illegal cigarettes and nicotine vapes inside boxes. The driver was arrested and taken to Forster police station.
He was charged with goods in custody, restricted substance sold by non-wholesaler, and exceed speed limit 10k & under. He was refused bail to appear before Forster local court today.
Police will allege in court there were more than 20,00 individual vapes, and more than 1.6 million individual cigarettes with an estimated street value of more than $3.2m.
Police search for ‘scammers’ in Melbourne using ‘spirits’
Police say a group of alleged travelling con artists are targeting elderly Asian women on the streets of Box Hill, in Melbourne’s East, as part of an international “blessings” scam, AAP reports.
It is alleged the women in the group convince the women that there is a demon spirit following them and that they or a family member is in danger.
Police allege the group claim the only way to help the person rid themselves of the spirits, is to go home and retrieve money and jewellery and bring it back so it can be prayed over.
When the person returns they are told to close their eyes while the group allegedly prays over the bag, and exchanges the money and jewels for another heavy item.
Police allege the person is told not to look in the bag until they get home and when they finally do, they find their valuables have been stolen.
Detective Senior Constable Adam Stafford said one of the three alleged victims of the “cruel scam”, which originated in Hong Kong and China, lost valuables worth more than $150,000 – their life savings.
Two others lost as much as $50,000 combined – and there could be others who are yet to come forward.
“It’s quite embarrassing for the victims, a lot of these instances are probably being under reported for that reason.”
Police are looking for people that may be able to assist their enquiries and anyone with information is urged to contact crime stoppers.
Krishani Dhanji
You might have seen earlier the prime minister weighing into people using portable beach cabanas to reserve prime real estate on the sand.
It’s a practice dividing folks on social media, and Anthony Albanese says it’s “not on”.
Dan Jervis-Bardy has the full story here:
Krishani Dhanji
Police investigate after body of a man found in Dandenong home
A man, not yet identified, has been found at a property in Dandenong earlier this morning.
Emergency services were called shortly before 9:40am today. In a statement, Victoria police said:
The man, who is yet to be identified, died at the scene. The exact circumstances surrounding his death are yet to be identified and detectives from the homicide squad will attend. A crime scene remains in place.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or with any further information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
Benita Kolovos
Battin says he will work with former opposition leaders to ‘wake up ready to run’ if elected to government
Asked why he gave Matthew Guy the role of handling “transition to government” despite leading the party to two election losses, Battin said the MP has a “big skillset when it comes to working in government”.
As I stated before, we were very lucky in Queensland – they had three former opposition leaders. They used their skills to ensure they’re prepared. And I’ll say to Victoria, I will stand with Matthew Guy, I will stand with Michael O’Brien, and I’ll stand with John Pesutto, and I’ll take advice from them to ensure we are ready to govern.
We are not going to be elected and wake up on the 29th [of November 2026] without a clue of what we’re doing. We are going to wake up ready to run and make sure that we’re going to deliver on the things we’ve promised.
Benita Kolovos
Battin avoids questions on if he considered Moira Deeming for shadow cabinet
Asked whether he considered Moira Deeming for shadow cabinet, Battin doesn’t answer the question but says:
I’ve given her a very important role, and that is, we need to focus on [the byelection in] Werribee. The change starts on February 8th. We will be going into that election with an intention to get the best result we can for the Victorian Liberal party. And that means Moira and Trung [Luu], who are the Upper House members over there, will be working with a candidate who will hopefully be announced in the very near future, and myself and my team to put forward our position so people have got a genuine alternative when it comes to vote.
Benita Kolovos
Battin says Bev McArthur, 75, promoted due to work ethic
Asked why he promoted Bev McArthur, Brad Battin says she “works super hard and hardly sleeps”.
Her work ethic is quite amazing, and some have questioned her age. Let me assure you, she is up before me, she goes to bed after me, and she works exceptionally hard. She has a passion for local government. We know more than anything, she will hold the government to account when it comes to scrutiny of government.
MacArthur, 75, is a key member of the conservative faction of the Liberals and her support helped Battin secure the leadership. She has previously been criticised for appearing to suggest Indigenous people should be grateful for the “wonderful things that have been enabled via colonisation”.
