Via New Daily:
Scott Morrison is preparing to call a May 18 election as early as Thursday morning, hours after his ministers launched a blistering attack on Bill Shorten as ‘two-faced’ on the question of his relationship with a banned Chinese donor Huang Xiangmo.
The Prime Minister flew out of Melbourne after 9pm on Wednesday en route to Canberra, with the expectation he will dissolve the 45th Parliament on Thursday, before calling an election.
Late on Wednesday night, the Prime Minister’s office denied reports he planned a surprise visit to the Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove in Canberra to call the election amid speculation he wanted to avoid the “media circus” of helicopters tracking his journey to Yarralumla.
As Labor urged the PM to “bring on” a debate about the opposition’s tax policy, the Prime Minister spent Wednesday touring marginal seats in Tasmania including announcing jail terms for vegan activists who endanger farmers in their family home.
The Opposition leader said “enough was enough” and “time was up” for the PM to call an election.
The Prime Minister had been tipped to call the election last Sunday, but the delay allowed the government to finalise a rush of more taxpayer-funded government appointments before the caretaker period comes into force.
They including former Senator Richard Alston, who was appointed to the National Art Gallery council and a former Coalition MP Ewen Jones, who was appointed to the board of the National Film and Sound Archive.
Might as well spit on us on the way out.
