From Fairfax:
Only days after teaming up with the Coalition on Senate voting reforms that have increased speculation of an early federal election, Greens leader Richard Di Natale has accused the government of being “shambolic” and divided in its handling of key policy issues.
Senator Di Natale said the Turnbull government would look like it was panicking if it called a double dissolution poll.
It had mishandled the debate on taxation reform, and the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had also failed a key test of leadership by watering down aspects of the controversial Safe Schools policy, Senator Di Natale said.”The government does look very divided, it looks shambolic at the moment, and to sort of be panicking and running to an early election … I don’t think it would be a good look for them,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
Senator Di Natale said Mr Turnbull had “squibbed” the opportunity to stare down critics of the school anti-bullying program.
Victoria is going ahead anyway, from The Australian:
Senator Birmingham acknowledged there was little the federal government could do about Victoria’s plans to continue the Safe Schools program.
He warned that the Victorian government would be held accountable for any decision to ignore the rights of children to be protected from any inappropriate material and the rights of parents to know what their children were being taught.
“The federal government does not control what the Victorian government does in their education system,” he said.
“State governments of course run their own school systems but what I would urge state governments and everybody to think about are the rights of children to be protected from information that may not be age appropriate for them and the rights of parents to be fully informed and aware of what’s being taught in the school environment.”
So far the shambles still has it’s nose in front, from Newspoll:
Malcolm Turnbull’s approval rating as Prime Minister has fallen into negative territory for the first time but voters still rank him overwhelmingly as the best leader to manage the economy and deliver tax reform, and expect him to win this year’s election.
The latest Newspoll, taken exclusively for The Australian, also shows the Coalition has nudged ahead in two-party-preferred terms to lead by 51 per cent to Labor’s 49 per cent due to a slip in support for the opposition.
And still miles out in front in the betting, from Mark the Ballot:
