Israeli president Isaac Herzog arrives in Sydney
Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, has arrived in Sydney for a four-day visit to Australia to meet with survivors of the Bondi terror attack and their families.
Herzog arrived this morning accompanied by his wife, Michal Herzog, according to the Israeli embassy. Israel’s ambassador, Amir Maimon, met the president at the airport.
Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, Patrick Gorman, was also present to receive Herzog on behalf of the Australian government at Sydney airport.
Welcome to Australia, President Isaac Herzog! 🇮🇱🇦🇺 Ambassador Amir Maimon and his wife, Tal, received President Herzog and First Lady Michal Herzog as they arrived in Sydney this morning.
A court hearing scheduled for this morning will determine whether planned marches opposing Herzog’s visit can proceed at Sydney Town Hall, despite the NSW government’s public assembly declaration restricting such gatherings.
‘I’m not going to sprinkle gold dust on a cow pat’ McGrath says on Newspoll
The Coalition is engaged in significant damage control following a difficult Newspoll released this morning, which shows the party’s primary vote at just 18%.
Shadow special minister for state, Senator James McGrath, expressed candid views on the situation but noted he was not surprised by the poor polling results.
“I’m not going to sprinkle gold dust on a cow pat. The polling is dire. It is horrible. It is terrible. But speaking as a former campaign director, I’m not surprised it’s this bad because we’ve spent three weeks having a very public discussion talking about ourselves.”
“Of course I’m angry about that. I’ve just spent the weekend going back home. I live out in the Darling Downs and wandering through the shops on Saturday … our people are angry because we’ve been talking about ourselves. And what we’ve got to do, and look, I’m guilty of this crime at the moment. I’m talking about ourselves on Radio National.”
Coalition marked down for ‘talking about ourselves’ says Ley
Opposition leader Sussan Ley acknowledged the public’s dissatisfaction with the Coalition as it struggles to effectively challenge the government.
Speaking on Seven’s Sunrise program, Ley was asked if the latest Newspoll raised concerns about a leadership challenge from Angus Taylor. She stated she was not focused on “optics” but rather on addressing the public’s concerns.
“I’m not concerned about the optics of what people commentate on in this building.
Millions of Australians are frustrated … And when they don’t see a clear united message coming out of Canberra, they mark us down.
[They’ve] looked at the disunity and the back and forwards, and they marked us down because they saw us talking about ourselves. But yesterday we drew a line under that. We’ve resolved our differences, we’ve strengthened our processes, and we’re squarely focused Australians.”
What does the Coalition stand for, asks Hume
Former frontbencher Jane Hume expressed concern this morning following the Coalition’s reunification on Sunday and the release of challenging polling figures on Monday. She described the party as a “rabble.”
The Newspoll shows the Coalition’s primary vote at 18%, while One Nation has surged to 27%. The breakdown includes 15% for the Liberals and just 3% for the Nationals.
Hume told that leaders Sussan Ley and David Littleproud must determine how to extract the opposition from its current predicament and deliver a message that resonates with voters.
“My message to my leaders, both Liberal and National, is, please, time to express what it is that we’re fighting for. Time to express who it is that we’re fighting for. Because this Newspoll is so bad that we haven’t even been compared to Labor. They haven’t even bothered to do a two party preferred number.”
“I do believe that it’s time for the leaders to take a look like good, hard look at themselves, and decide what it is that they are going to do to get us out of this hole.”
Hume called for a “reset” within the party. When asked by host Pete Stefanovic if this implied a leadership reset, she responded:
“I can’t answer that question. What I can only say is that at some point we need to do a reset and say, what is it that we stand for? Who is it that we’re fighting for, and what policies are we presenting? Because the more we talk about ourselves, the less people listen to us.”
Good morning
Good morning. Krishani Dhanji here with you for another sitting week, and there is much happening.
The Coalition, after nearly three weeks apart, has reunited and will sit together again on the opposition benches. This reunification also means the Coalition will regain the extra questions previously allocated to the crossbench. However, not all members of the Liberal party are satisfied with the concessions made to the Nationals.
Sussan Ley is actively engaging with the media to explain how the Coalition will maintain unity. Despite this, the party faces challenging polling figures, which have intensified speculation about a potential leadership spill. There will be extensive reactions to these developments.
Meanwhile, Israeli President Isaac Herzog arrived in Australia this morning, with a rally planned in Sydney. Within Labor’s ranks, Ed Husic expressed “deep concerns” about the visit last week.
Additionally, the Labor government continues its agenda following Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s return from Indonesia over the weekend, where he signed a defence pact.
Stay with us for ongoing coverage; it promises to be a busy period.
