Long-serving backbencher Russell Broadbent has quit the Liberal Party and will now sit on the crossbench.
News of the move emerged late Tuesday morning and follows Mr Broadbent’s crushing preselection loss to Mary Aldred for the federal seat of Monash over the weekend that party room sources said was the reason behind his decision to quit.
Ms Aldred is employed as a government relations executive at Fujitsu and previously was chief executive of the Franchise Council of Australia.
Mr Broadbent was first elected to parliament in 1990, representing the seat of Corinella, before he lost the seat in 1993. He later represented the seat of McMillan in two separate stints from 1996-1998 and from 2004-2019 when the seat was abolished.
Since the 2019 election, Mr Broadbent has represented the seat of Monash.
Mr Broadbent has never held a position on the frontbench.
His failure to rise through the parliamentary party’s ranks is largely attributed to the backbencher’s outspoken positions on issues including asylum seekers and same-sex marriage that broke with the Coalition’s position.
In recent years, Mr Broadbent has become known for his outspoken advocacy on vaccine injuries resulting from Covid-19, putting him at odds with medical experts.
Party sources said Mr Broadbent had initially considered quitting the parliament, forcing a by-election in the seat of Monash, but has now chosen to stay in parliament until the next election.
Coalition hits out over major ruling
It’s “unbelievable” Labor was not briefed ahead of a major high court ruling that triggered the release of dozens of asylum seekers into the community, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has claimed.
About 80 asylum seekers being held in immigration detention were released almost immediately following last week’s High Court ruling that they were being kept unlawfully.
The Coalition has accused the government of failing to plan for the released detainees, flagging concerns that some had failed character tests and been deemed a risk to national security.
Speaking to 2GB on Tuesday, Mr Dutton lashed Immigration Minister Andrew Giles and said he was putting his human rights beliefs ahead of community safety.
“Nobody saw it coming, except the Minister who has done nothing about it,” he said.
“Minister Giles is a great sort of left wing advocate within the Labor Party and he’s got this view that keeping people incarcerated is infringing on their human rights. But I think the higher priority here is that concern about the next victim, and the government has a sovereign responsibility here to deal with a very serious issue.”
Speaking yesterday, Minister Giles said the federal government had advised against the release of the detainees but was prepared for the decision, confirming that Border Force and AFP authorities were involved in the process.
Government Services Minister Bill Shorten said Coalition was “pointing the finger”.
“First of all, this law has been the wrong law for 20 years. So we have found that coming into government, the previous government had no Plan B on this matter, so we are working it through,” he told Today.
‘Bring them home’
Jewish Australians have said they are “scared to speak Hebrew” or wear their religious garments.
At a “Bring Them Home” rally held outside Parliament House on Tuesday, posters of the 239 Israelis taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 were laid on the lawns alongside pairs of shoes with red balloons attached.
Protest organiser Noy Miran said Israeli hostages had now been held for 38 days.
“People don’t speak about the human lives that are out there. There are people with cancer that can’t get their treatment,” she told NCA NewsWire.
“We want the government in Australia to put pressure to bring them back home, which is our main message.
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley, who was in attendance, called the rally a “powerful representation” of a part of the ongoing conflict that “is not as prominent as it should be.”
It came one day after pro-Palestinian rally goers gathered outside of parliament to call for a ceasefire amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
50/50
States will be pushed to foot half the bill for new road and rail projects under major new reforms pitched by Labor.
Transport Minister Catherine King will announce plans to equalise Commonwealth spending on infrastructure projects today, scrapping the default 80/20 split and returning “to a preference of 50/50”.
Ms King said Ms King said that no funding will be cut from the government’s $120bn infrastructure pipeline.
“This is not about saving money – it is about shared accountability and maximising our investments.”
Last week, economists from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged the federal government to scale back on its record $30bn a year of public infrastructure spending, warning the economy was running far above capacity.
Under Labor’s new plan, funding splits greater than 50/50 will only be considered on a case-by-case basis if a state or territory has less ability to raise revenue.
‘Clean’ up politics
Independent MP’s have challenged the Albanese government to legislate stronger political advertising laws to clamp down on corruption and “clean” parliament up.
MP Helen Haines, who spearheaded recent efforts to set up a federal anti-corruption watchdog, said Labor deserved credit for helping legislation for a integrity body to pass in November but said far more needed to be done.
“We’re at a 6 out of 10 when it comes to transparency and accountability,” Ms Haines told RN on Tuesday.
Following widespread concerns of misinformation during the Voice campaign, Teal MP Zali Steggall said Australia needed stronger political advertising laws to hold political parties and third-party actors accountable if they spread deceptive or misleading claims.
“There are simply no standards or no requirements that those ads not be straight out lies,” she said.
“All the indicators are there, now the question is for the government to act on it.”
According to a poll published by the Australia Institute in October, 87 per cent of Australian voters support introducing truth in political advertising laws ahead of the next election.
Rent crisis spirals
Rental affordability has deteriorated over the past year, with new data showing rental prices have worsened in every city except Hobart and Canberra.
According to the annual rental affordability index, released on Tuesday, Sydney’s rental affordability rating has plummeted to 13 per cent and Melbourne and Perth has fallen to 10 per cent.
A single person on Jobseeker is currently having to spend at least 78 per cent of their income to rent a one-bedroom apartment in any capital city, the index revealed.
For a single pensioner, about 50 per cent of their income will be spent to rent in all capital cities except Adelaide and Hobart.