Australia news live: Minns to ‘put the heat’ on insurance companies to pay out flood claims; McCormack says ‘never say never’ on Nationals leadership | Australia news

Paterson says shadow cabinet appointments ‘a political process’

Paterson says he is disappointed for former education minister Sarah Henderson who was demoted to the backbench, “who did a great job in her portfolio and is a valued colleague as well”.

He also acknowledges senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price “would have preferred to be in shadow cabinet”.

Asked about her saying some appointments in the new coalition frontbench were not made on merit, Paterson told ABC RN:

We’d all like to be in shadow cabinet, but [Jacinta Nampijinpa Price] has been given a significant and senior role. Merit is the most important consideration in a reshuffle, but I’d be lying if I said merit is the only consideration.

This is a political process, and leaders have to balance states, they have to balance the house, representatives of the Senate. They have to balance gender. They have to balance the philosophical composition of their party rooms, and that’s no different for Labor or Liberal and it is a messy process sometimes, but I think Susan’s put together a really great team, and I’m really excited about some of the new colleagues that are stepping up into significant roles …

Paterson: ‘There’s always a bit of awkwardness in politics’

The shadow minister for finance and public service, James Paterson, says there is “always a bit of awkwardness in politics,” talking about his move into Jane Hume’s former portfolios.

Paterson spoke on ABC Radio National this morning:

There’s always a bit of awkwardness in politics. There always is a transition and a handover, often from someone who didn’t want to leave their portfolio or is expecting to do a different role.

All I can do, though, is work constructively with Jane to continue the good work that she did with her team in the portfolio, and now to hold Labor account for their performance in this area.

Dan Jervis-Bardy

PM has ‘no doubt’ Queensland will rebound after Origin defeat

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is doing a couple of Brisbane FM radio spots this morning, starting with KIIS 97.3.

Unsurprisingly, Albanese – a New South Welshman – is asked about his state’s 18-6 win in the State of Origin opener on Wednesday night.

Albanese said:

It was a good game but it’s only the first of three (matches). (Former NSW coach) Wayne Pearce was telling us last night … the last time that New South Wales won three-nil was 25 years ago. So Queensland will come back, no doubt about that

The state of Queensland swung behind Labor at this month’s federal election, with then even opposition leader Peter Dutton losing his seat as the Liberal vote collapsed in the state’s south-east. Asked if he felt sorry for this vanquished political rival, Albanese said: “absolutely”:

It’s a tough game – you lose your job. On a personal level, I had an OK relationship. I’m not going to gild the lily, but you know we had a respectful relationship.

Ley says she is working ‘productively and respectively’ with David Littleproud because ‘that’s what the Australian people would expect of us’

Ley says she is working productively with David Littleproud “because that’s what the Australian people would expect of us”.

The opposition leader was asked if she would have preferred to sit alongside Michael McCormack as Nationals leader. Ley tells ABC News Breakfast:

I’ll work with whoever is elected and I’m working very productively and respectfully with David because that’s what the Australian people would expect of us – to be that united team going forward. Remember – we’re here to work for them.

Ley says Hume was not punished for her work-from-home advocacy

Asked about Jane Hume’s demotion from the frontbench, Ley says:

Everyone did not achieve a role in the shadow ministrial lineup. Jane is a terrific colleague and someone who will continue to do outstanding work representing the state of Victoria as a Senator. But this isn’t about who is sitting at what table and what role they have. It’s broader than that, Bridget. It’s about even of the 54 members of our party room having a role to play.

Asked if Hume was punished for her advocacy on work-from-home, Ley says “this is not about that”:

This is about putting the best team on the field and respecting Jane’s talents, everyone’s talents. The communication skills of so many of my team mean that they will feature prominently across the debate and carry that argument and that advocacy forward.

Ley says she will bring her perspective as a carer and working mother to the leadership

Asked about why there were fewer women in shadow cabinet, Ley tells ABC News Breakfast:

Look, 40% of my shadow ministry is made up of women … The party is led by a woman. When we make the calls that we need to, I will be at the table for every single one of those big calls.

I will see those decisions through the prism of someone who, in my life, has worked hard, has saved hard, who’s had trials and tribulations, but who understands what it’s like to be a working mum, balancing home, family, job, rushing between here and there, being a carer and looking after your community as a volunteer as well. To bring that perspective to every decision that we make is a really important thing and one I’m looking forward to doing.

Ley says reformed Coalition presents a ‘very strong united team’

Asked about the short-lived Nationals-Liberal split, Ley says the Coalition reforming presents “a very strong united team”.

The leader of the opposition is speaking on ABC News Breakfast:

We had disagreements and they have been ventilated and they have been commented on. The most important thing is that when David Littleproud and I stood up yesterday to announce that the Coalition was officially reforming, we present a very strong united team on behalf of all of the Australian communities who sent us to Canberra to represent them, from the city to the bush to the suburbs, to every single corner of this country, and we want to work together because we are stronger together.

Whether you voted for Anthony Albanese or whether you voted for us, every Australian deserves, wants, and appreciates a strong opposition to actually take the arguments and the advocacy up to the government every single day.

Ley says she will listen to the Australian people and not lecture ‘from the top-down’

The leader of the opposition, Sussan Ley, says she won’t “lecture from the top-down” when asked how her leadership style will compare to Peter Dutton’s. She is speaking on ABC News Breakfast:

I said we would do things differently and I would bring a fresh approach, and I intend to be very consultative, very approachable, and to listen carefully, not just to my colleagues in the party room who have a vital role developing policy, harnessing the extraordinary talents that they all bring to that room, but listening to the Australian people, not lecturing from the top-down, listening from the ground-up.

I’m known for my work ethic. Australians would expect that from us. It’s tough times for many Australians out there. We got a tough message from them at the last election and we need to approach communities that we seek to represent with humility, understanding and above all, that listening and engagement.

The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says he will “put the heat” on insurance companies “to make sure that they’re good on their claims” when asked about the Insurance Council calling for a $30bn flood defence fund earlier this morning. Speaking on ABC Radio National, Minns said:

Well, that’s a lot of money. I’d have to examine the details.

Look, we work with the Insurance Council, and I’m not going to come on your program and thump them, but I do have to say, I don’t think a solution to this from the Insurance Council is to say, early on in this natural disaster, ‘oh, we don’t think we can cover a lot of this, notwithstanding people having long term policies, the federal and state government should tip in $30bn.’

Everyone’s going to have to do their part … and that means insurance companies will have to step up and pay out claims quickly. And I don’t say that without evidence. I’ve spoken to families, family businesses in Tari who had settled flood claims from 2021 three months ago, and that is way, way too long for a policy to be honoured by insurance companies. And I’ll be putting the heat on them to make sure that they’re good on their claims.

McCormack says he expects Nationals to revisit net zero position eventually

McCormack expects the Nationals to revisit net zero by 2050:

I think we need to have a very serious discussion about that. When I go to places such as Crookwell, and others, where they have got huge wind towers, they have done their heft lift as far as making sure they put these massive turbines up, the solar … that are popping up all over, taking up arable country, farmland, you know.

I think regional Australia has done its fair share and we need to revisit that, given the fact the world, indeed America and other countries and other political parties in other nations, have really revisited this net zero. I think the Nationals will do the same.

McCormack was asked if he expects to ever lead the Nationals again:

Look, you never say never. I’m not going to draw a line through my name because that would be silly, but, look, it’s up to the party room. It’s the gift of the party room. I have always accepted that.

I had the great honour of leading the party for three and a bit years and being the deputy prime minister at the same time. [A] truly great honour. One that I’ll cherish. But if it comes to pass that the party decides that I’m the one to lead them again in the future so be it.

McCormack says Nationals ‘weren’t told everything that went on between Sussan Ley’ and David Littleproud

Asked if he thinks Nationals leader David Littleproud “misled the party room,” McCormack says “we weren’t told everything that went on between Sussan Ley and David”.

The Nationals backbencher spoke to ABC News Breakfast a short while ago:

We weren’t told everything that went on between Sussan Ley and David, and, you know, that was, I suppose, a thing that David chose to do.

Quite frankly it would have been nice for the party room to have been told about the policy areas that were being taken as part of the Coalition agreement. I appreciate nuclear divestiture … and the regional fund were very important for the people we represent. But I think there could have been some other things on that list which could have been taken as part of the Coalition agreement.

I have been involved in Coalition agreements in the past, certainly with Scott Morrison, both in August 2018 and certainly after the 2019 election. But, look, David decides to go down that path. We have those four items in principle with agreement. The shadow ministry will now get on with the job of forming a credible opposition to what I think is a bad government.

McCormack says Liberals and Nationals ‘shouldn’t have split in the first place’

Asked if he thinks he’s been “punished” for advocating for the Coalition to reunify, he said “you have to ask David Littleproud about that”. The Nationals backbencher spoke on ABC News Breakfast a short while ago:

I thought it was important to get the two parties back together as quickly as possible. We shouldn’t have split in the first place. Last week was a messy week. When, honestly, there are people with their houses under water and now they’re cleaning mud out of their homes, you know.

It looked messy and people out in voter land must have looked and thought, what on earth are those people doing, naval-gazing, talking about themselves?

The Liberals and Nationals have been very good, very, very good for decades and it was, I thought, madness that we separated, but it’s taken a week, we’re back together and thankfully that is so.

McCormack accepts Littleproud demoting him to the backbench but ‘it would have been nice to hear a week ago’

Nationals backbencher, Michael McCormack, says “it would have been nice to hear a week ago” of his demotion to the backbench.

McCormack says Nationals leader David Littleproud brought up “generational change” when discussing the move.

He spoke on ABC News Breakfast a short while ago:

It had been foreshadowed in the media. It would have been nice to hear a week ago, but … that’s life, that’s politics. We move on.

And, yes, we had a discussion yesterday and [Littleproud] talked about generational change and, look, it’s his prerogative. He has the ability as the leader to pick the team that he wants and he’s done that. I accept that.

The Coalition is back together, what now?

The Liberals leader, Sussan Ley, and the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, have reached a new agreement, presenting a united front and announcing a new shadow frontbench. But with the Liberals facing a mammoth task ahead, and net zero commitments up in the air, could this mark the beginning of a rocky term for the Coalition?

Guardian Australia’s Nour Haydar speaks with Dan Jervis-Bardy about the Coalition’s short-lived breakup on Full Story. Listen here:

Rafqa Touma

Thank you to Martin Farrer for kicking off the blog this morning. I’ll be updating you from here – let’s go.

A nine-year-old girl raised the alarm before a married couple were found dead with gunshot wounds inside a home, police say.

The child alerted a family member who called police, with officers later discovering the “traumatising” scene in far north Queensland, Australian Associated Press reports.

“I have not previously been exposed to anything like this before,” Det Acting Insp Alina Bell told reporters in Cairns yesterday.

Police responded to a welfare check and arrived at a home in Mount Sheridan in Cairns at about 7.15pm on Tuesday.

They found a husband and wife – both aged 41 – dead in different rooms inside the home with gunshot wounds.

“We do not believe she was present or witnessed any of the incident that occurred,” Bell said of the girl.

“However that still doesn’t take away from how traumatising that will be for that child and the family members and friends moving forward.”

The child had been “alerted to the incident occurring” before reaching out to family members and neighbours, police said.

“That triple zero call occurred as a result of another family member calling us,” Bell said.

The married couple did not have a domestic violence or mental health history and were not known to police, she said.

Multiple firearms were located in the home, all registered to the husband.

Asset sales could be on the cards as a Tasmania’s Liberal government tries to reel in ballooning debt and deficit as well as fund its AFL dream, Australian Associated Press reports.

Tasmania’s treasurer, Guy Barnett, will hand down his maiden budget today, six months after taking over when his predecessor resigned over a ferry delivery saga.

Updated estimates for 2024/25, released in February, showed deficit for the financial year would rise from $793m to $1.2bn.

It also predicted net debt to reach $9.6bn by 2027/28, up from the previously slated $8.6bn.

Barnett recently refused to rule out the sale of state-owned companies, after the government commissioned a report to investigate potential privatisations.

The budget would contain a “very clear” path to surplus, Barnett said, despite the fact projected surpluses had been pushed back in recent years.

The estimated price tag for a new Hobart stadium, a condition of the Tasmania Devils entering the AFL, has risen from $755m to $945m.

The government is relying on borrowings to make up the difference, after pledging to “cap” its contribution to the project at $375m.

A larger spend is also needed to build the team’s high performance centre, which has blown out from $70m to $115m.

Costs have risen for a new port to berth delayed Spirit of Tasmania vessels in Devonport, with the latest figure up $188m to $493m.

Former treasurer Michael Ferguson, who was the minister responsible for the project, dropped his portfolios because of delays to the ships’ delivery.

Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer, bringing you the best early stories and then your morning blogger will take over.

It’s official – working from home is not to blame for the sharp drop in productivity in the wake of the pandemic, according to a report by the Productivity Commission today. Instead the commission points out that because people generally worked fewer hours during the lockdowns, when everybody started going back into the office when the pandemic ended productivity fell.

Rising debt, the ferry debacle and the ongoing question of a new AFL stadium hang over Tasmania’s finances as the Liberal government hands down the state budget this morning. Forecasts show the deficit could blow out to nearly $10bn by 2027/28, meaning that asset sales could be on the cards. We have more details coming up.

A nine-year-old girl raised the alarm before a married couple was found dead by police with gunshot wounds inside a home in Cairns. The child alerted a family member who called police, with officers later discovering the “traumatising” scene. More coming up.