Scott Morrison dismisses preselection allegations as ‘bitter and malicious slurs’, insists party is united ahead of federal election
"AUSTRALIAN election soon. At this gravest of times the Coalition has served up an election budget designed simply to keep itself in power
It going to be a dirty one.
Posted 1h ago
Scott Morrison denies he raised concerns about Michael Towke's Lebanese heritage during preselection in 2007. (AAP: Bianca De Marchi)
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has described allegations about his 2007 Liberal preselection as "bitter and malicious slurs", insisting his party is unified ahead of the upcoming federal election.
Key points:
* Two media outlets have reported the contents of statutory declarations detailing Mr Morrison's battle to become a Liberal MP in 2007
* The Prime Minister has vehemently rejected the allegations that he raised his opponent's Lebanese heritage as an issue
* Senior government ministers have defended the Prime Minister ahead of the upcoming federal election
Both The Saturday Paper and the Sydney Morning Herald have reported on the contents of statutory declarations signed by two men in 2016, which detail Mr Morrison's battle to be preselected for the seat of Cook ahead of rival Michael Towke.
According to the reports, the men claim that Mr Morrison urged people not to support Mr Towke because of his family's Lebanese heritage.
The outlets reported Mr Towke said: "They informed me that Morrison was appealing with them to not support me based solely on the rationale that my family heritage was Lebanese."
"He was adamant and explicit that a candidate of Lebanese heritage could not hold the seat of Cook, especially after the Cronulla riots."
According to a declaration reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, Liberal Party member Scott Champan wrote that "Scott Morrison told me that, if Michael Towke were to be preselected, there would be a 'swing against the Liberal Party in Cook' because of Mr Towke's Lebanese background.'"
The ABC has not been able to verify those documents.
-- Fierravanti-Wells gave Morrison a budget night shock — but he has his own surprise to come Budget nights are typically carefully choreographed affairs but Tuesday night's routine involved an unexpected cameo followed up by a significant announcement hidden in the budget papers, writes David Speers. Read more > https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-31/budget-fierravanti-wells-surprise-cameo-darwin-port/100952464 --
Mr Morrison again denied the allegations for a second day while campaigning in Tasmania on Sunday, dismissing them as "untrue".
"It's just simply untrue — these are quite malicious and bitter slurs which are deeply offensive and I reject them," Mr Morrison said.
"It comes at an interesting time that these vicious personal attacks come on the eve of an election. I'll let people work out their own findings on what's motivating that.
"I've been around politics a long time and people when they've had disappointments — whether they be in preselections or in decisions — can often remain bitter for many, many years.
"All I can tell you is my record of my relationship with the Lebanese Maronite community in particular, as well as Lebanese Muslim community, is one that I think stands out."
The issue flared this week when Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells told the Senate Mr Morrison was "not fit to be prime minister".
In a fiery late-night speech, she told the Senate "Morrison might profess to be Christian, but there was nothing Christian about what was done to Michael Towke".
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells told Parliament Mr Morrison was "not fit to be prime minister".(AAP: Mick Tsikas)
'Party unified' ahead of election
Mr Morrison insisted the party was unified as it heads into the federal election campaign.
"We are totally unified in the parliamentary Liberal party, that's one of our great strengths through all the challenges faced as a government," he said.
Senior cabinet ministers have also come to Mr Morrison's defence, with government frontbencher Anne Ruston describing the allegations as a "political hit campaign".
"It appears to be an orchestrated political hit campaign on the integrity of the Prime Minister in the lead up to election," she said.
"We have to call this out for what it is — it's a political hit by the Prime Minister's enemies on the eve of a campaign."
Housing Minister Michael Sukkar, who is of Lebanese descent, said there was "no greater champion for the Australian Lebanese community" than the Prime Minister.
"In my experience, there is no MP, let alone PM, who's shown more support, care and respect for the Australian Lebanese community," Mr Sukkar wrote on Twitter.
The federal opposition has seized on the reports, with Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers saying the allegations make Mr Morrison appear untrustworthy to the public.
"I don't think that they believe a word he says about his own preselection," he said.
"If you can't believe him about his own preselection, you can't believe him about real wages, or the future of our economy.
"There's a pattern here. The people who know Scott Morrison the best, who've worked with him the longest, think the least of him and trust him even less."
Aussie conservatives have moved too far right too. Turnbull encourages voters to back independents to ‘thwart’ Liberal factions
"AUSTRALIAN election soon. At this gravest of times the Coalition has served up an election budget designed simply to keep itself in power"
By Farrah Tomazin May 6, 2022 — 5.00am
Washington: Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has encouraged Australians to vote for independents, a month after he declined to say if he would vote for Liberal MP Dave Sharma in his old seat of Wentworth.
In an intervention likely to infuriate the ex-colleagues Turnbull led to victory in 2016, the former Liberal leader has entered the fray in a speech concluding that “even if the members of a political party cannot escape from the thrall of the dominant faction, their traditional supporters in the electorate can do so by voting for an independent who has a real chance of success”.
Malcolm Turnbull, right, with former Liberal prime minister John Howard, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, and former treasurer Peter Costello in March. Oscar Colman
Due to address the Washington Harvard Club at 8am Friday (AEST), Turnbull is expected to say that the Liberal Party had once been a broad church of liberal and conservative traditions, but since his “deposition in 2018”, moderate voices had become increasingly marginalised, “especially on the toxically controversial issue of climate change where the political right, supported by [Rupert] Murdoch’s media, have opposed effective action for many years”.
In a copy of the speech provided to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, he notes there is also growing grassroots support for small-l liberal independent candidates who are typically progressive on climate and social issues and are now threatening his former colleagues in once-safe Liberal seats.
“In many respects this may be the most interesting part of the whole election, because if more of these ‘teal’ independents win, it will mean the capture of the Liberal Party will be thwarted by direct, democratic action from voters,” Turnbull will tell the club, whose members are made up of Harvard University alumni and associates.
While Turnbull has been a trenchant critic of the federal government since he resigned from parliament in 2018, his Harvard Club speech marks the first time he has weighed into the federal election campaign.
The proposal that the 22 “teal” independents might best represent Liberal values marks a further break between Turnbull and the party he led, after he accused Prime Minister Scott Morrison of being a serial liar at last November’s UN climate conference in Glasgow.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton told 2GB radio last year that Turnbull was “totally consumed by hatred and this desire to bring down the Morrison government”.
In March, Turnbull declined to say how he would vote but said the rise of small-l liberal independents was an understandable reaction to the federal Liberals “being seen as too right-wing on most issues”, particularly climate change.
In the speech prepared for the Harvard Club, Turnbull suggests that traditional Republican voters would also benefit if they could vote for “an independent Republican who better represented their values than Mr Trump’s pick and who could go on to win a district on Democrat preferences”.
“By direct democratic action, voters could ensure they have, in this case, the centre-right representatives that best share the values and political agendas of the majority of the electorate.”
Over the past few days, the former prime minister has met members of Congress on Capitol Hill, including Republican Adam Kinzinger, who has been rejected by his own party after voting to impeach Donald Trump and now sits on the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Malcolm Turnbull and his then treasurer Scott Morrison in 2018 only days before he was replaced as prime minister.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“Had a great meeting today with former Australian Prime Minister @TurnbullMalcolm .. https://twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm . We discussed challenges to peace, and most importantly the challenges to truth and democracy,” Kinzinger tweeted last week alongside a photograph of the pair. “Freedom is worth the hard work, truth is essential to freedom.”
Turnbull, who last year backed former prime minister Kevin Rudd’s call for a royal commission into Rupert Murdoch’s influence over Australian politics, criticises News Corp in his Harvard Club speech for legitimising “the type of crazy fact-free, conspiracy-laden content that used to be the preserve of social media alone.
“Australia has not been immune to this. Rupert Murdoch has the largest voice in Australia’s media. His outlets, to differing extents, have gone down the same populist partisan track as Fox News. Sky News Australia is the local Murdoch owned subscription television service and has essentially the same model as Fox.
“We are learning that merely elevating truthful content will not be enough to change our current course. We are drowning in lies.”
Somewhat a study in contrast between two conservative parties in two distant and different countries. In this particular case faithful Christian PM Morrison sorta reflects his religious colors too. Scott Morrison sticks by Katherine Deves after NSW Treasurer calls for Liberal candidate in Warringah to be dumped https://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=168571346
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