Brad Battin names former leader Matthew Guy in role responsible for ‘transition to government’
Benita Kolovos
Another interesting new role goes to former opposition leader, Matthew Guy, who will be responsible for “transition to government”.
Nationals upper house MP Melina Bath, who was promoted to the shadow cabinet last year, has also got new roles as opposition spokesperson for Aboriginal affairs and public land management.
And unsurprisingly, John Pesutto will not be on the shadow frontbench.
Key events
Police search for ‘scammers’ in Melbourne using ‘spirits’
Police say a group of alleged travelling con artists are targeting elderly Asian women on the streets of Box Hill, in Melbourne’s East, as part of an international “blessings” scam, AAP reports.
It is alleged the women in the group convince the women that there is a demon spirit following them and that they or a family member is in danger.
Police allege the group claim the only way to help the person rid themselves of the spirits, is to go home and retrieve money and jewellery and bring it back so it can be prayed over.
When the person returns they are told to close their eyes while the group allegedly prays over the bag, and exchanges the money and jewels for another heavy item.
Police allege the person is told not to look in the bag until they get home and when they finally do, they find their valuables have been stolen.
Detective Senior Constable Adam Stafford said one of the three alleged victims of the “cruel scam”, which originated in Hong Kong and China, lost valuables worth more than $150,000 – their life savings.
Two others lost as much as $50,000 combined – and there could be others who are yet to come forward.
“It’s quite embarrassing for the victims, a lot of these instances are probably being under reported for that reason.”
Police are looking for people that may be able to assist their enquiries and anyone with information is urged to contact crime stoppers.
Krishani Dhanji
You might have seen earlier the prime minister weighing into people using portable beach cabanas to reserve prime real estate on the sand.
It’s a practice dividing folks on social media, and Anthony Albanese says it’s “not on”.
Dan Jervis-Bardy has the full story here:
Krishani Dhanji
Police investigate after body of a man found in Dandenong home
A man, not yet identified, has been found at a property in Dandenong earlier this morning.
Emergency services were called shortly before 9:40am today. In a statement, Victoria police said:
The man, who is yet to be identified, died at the scene. The exact circumstances surrounding his death are yet to be identified and detectives from the homicide squad will attend. A crime scene remains in place.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or with any further information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
Benita Kolovos
Battin says he will work with former opposition leaders to ‘wake up ready to run’ if elected to government
Asked why he gave Matthew Guy the role of handling “transition to government” despite leading the party to two election losses, Battin said the MP has a “big skillset when it comes to working in government”.
As I stated before, we were very lucky in Queensland – they had three former opposition leaders. They used their skills to ensure they’re prepared. And I’ll say to Victoria, I will stand with Matthew Guy, I will stand with Michael O’Brien, and I’ll stand with John Pesutto, and I’ll take advice from them to ensure we are ready to govern.
We are not going to be elected and wake up on the 29th [of November 2026] without a clue of what we’re doing. We are going to wake up ready to run and make sure that we’re going to deliver on the things we’ve promised.
Benita Kolovos
Battin avoids questions on if he considered Moira Deeming for shadow cabinet
Asked whether he considered Moira Deeming for shadow cabinet, Battin doesn’t answer the question but says:
I’ve given her a very important role, and that is, we need to focus on [the byelection in] Werribee. The change starts on February 8th. We will be going into that election with an intention to get the best result we can for the Victorian Liberal party. And that means Moira and Trung [Luu], who are the Upper House members over there, will be working with a candidate who will hopefully be announced in the very near future, and myself and my team to put forward our position so people have got a genuine alternative when it comes to vote.
Benita Kolovos
Battin says Bev McArthur, 75, promoted due to work ethic
Asked why he promoted Bev McArthur, Brad Battin says she “works super hard and hardly sleeps”.
Her work ethic is quite amazing, and some have questioned her age. Let me assure you, she is up before me, she goes to bed after me, and she works exceptionally hard. She has a passion for local government. We know more than anything, she will hold the government to account when it comes to scrutiny of government.
MacArthur, 75, is a key member of the conservative faction of the Liberals and her support helped Battin secure the leadership. She has previously been criticised for appearing to suggest Indigenous people should be grateful for the “wonderful things that have been enabled via colonisation”.
Benita Kolovos
Battin says lack of aim for gender split in shadow cabinet was due to focus on ‘merit-based program’
Asked why he didn’t aim for a gender split in his shadow cabinet, Brad Battin said he focused on merit. He said:
I was focusing on a merit-based program. But one of the things that we are very, very pleased to announce that we’re actually putting in here youth and future leaders [role], and that’s about engaging young people in the future, to get a diverse range of people engaged in politics and civil duties.
We know that we’ve got a lot of work to do. It’s not just us. It’s all of politics. If we want to engage, not just looking across the aisle and saying if it’s a male or female, we’ve got a whole range of people here in our community that we want to engage more with, and our best option is to have a position that is focused on getting more people engaged from a younger age and in the future I assure you we will have some of the best governments because we’ve made this change.
Brad Battin denies reports John Pesutto refused shadow attorney general role
Benita Kolovos
Brad Battin said John Pesutto had “some difficulties and challenges at the moment” and would not be a member of the shadow cabinet but remained a “strong part” of the opposition team. He said:
I assure you that when our alternative government is successful in 2026, on November 28 that John Pesutto will be a very strong part of that team, and someone I look forward to working with.
Battin denied Pesutto had asked to return to his former role as shadow attorney-general and he refused it.
No, I’ve had a discussion with John Pesutto in relation to the roles that were offered. If John wanted to come into the shadow cabinet, I would have been more than open to talk with him. He has a process now that he’s working through. He’s a very strong part of our team. I’m very lucky. I’ve actually got three opposition leaders in our team at the moment that I get to go and work with and discuss the things moving forward, so we can be a united team, learn the lessons of the past.
If we look at David Crisafuli in Queensland, he had the same thing with the three former leaders in the party, and by working with them, they’ve delivered an outcome, which is a Coalition government focused on things that the community really cared about.
Benita Kolovos
Victorian opposition leader denies portfolios were awarded based on factional alliances
Circling back to that press conference earlier from Victoria’s opposition leader, Brad Battin:
Asked whether he awarded shadow portfolios based on factional alliances in the recent leadership challenge or on performance, Battin replied that he’s put David Southwick (a Pesutto backer) in “one of the biggest” roles as spokesperson for police.
He’s had police before, he knows how to operate in there … People feel unsafe on the streets. Crime is at a record high. The only way to fix that is to ensure we’ve got the right policy and David Southwick is the one to deliver it.
Asked about what Brad Rowswell’s new position as spokesperson for “digital transformation and public service innovation” entails, he replied:
It’s an important role here in Victoria to get the efficiencies we need. If we’re going to try and impact on the cost of living, if we’re going to try and reduce taxes, if we’re going to fix the crime crisis and put money back into frontline [services], we have to find those efficiencies in the background so we can ensure that we can deliver those.
Experts expect modest home building recovery in 2025
The pace of home building is expected to pick up over the next 12 months though fewer interest rate cuts than previously expected may moderate the recovery, AAP reports.
The run of lacklustre new housing starts continued in late 2024, with dwelling approvals falling 3.6% in November, to 14,998.
While a muted monthly result, building approvals as tracked by the Australian Bureau of Statistics have been gradually trending higher.
Oxford Economics Australia head of property and building forecasting Timothy Hibbert expected about 170,000 dwellings to be built over the 2024 calendar year, up 4% on 2023. He wrote in a note:
Signs are that we will see further modest improvement in 2025, with attached dwellings providing increased support.
He wasn’t expecting a boom over the next 12 months, with utility connection bottlenecks and trade labour shortages imposing speed limits on the rebound.
We don’t expect a more meaningful double-digit recovery in total approvals until 2026, when mortgage rate cuts aid the release of pent-up housing demand, while traction on the supply policy front will become increasingly evident.
Brad Battin names former leader Matthew Guy in role responsible for ‘transition to government’
Benita Kolovos
Another interesting new role goes to former opposition leader, Matthew Guy, who will be responsible for “transition to government”.
Nationals upper house MP Melina Bath, who was promoted to the shadow cabinet last year, has also got new roles as opposition spokesperson for Aboriginal affairs and public land management.
And unsurprisingly, John Pesutto will not be on the shadow frontbench.
New Victorian shadow cabinet unveiled
Benita Kolovos
Victoria’s new opposition leader, Brad Battin, is holding a press conference to unveil his shadow cabinet, with promotions for those loyal to him in his recent leadership coup.
Late last year, Battin rolled the former leader John Pesutto in the wake of his high-profile defamation loss to exiled MP Moira Deeming, and returned her to the party room.
Battin’s supporters received promotions, including Brighton MP James Newbury, who will become the opposition’s shadow treasurer. Another supporter, Evelyn MP Bridget Vallance, will take on Newbury’s former role as manager of opposition business in the lower house while snagging the finance portfolio from Jess Wilson.
Wilson, the member for Kew, unsuccessfully challenged Battin for leader during the spill. Considered one of the party’s strongest performers, she will hang on to her role as opposition spokesperson for education and add industry and economic growth.
The former shadow treasurer and one of Wilson’s key supporters, Sandringham MP Brad Rowswell, will become opposition spokesperson for the environment and take up a new position on “digital transformation and public service innovation”.
Others to do well out of the reshuffle include Bev McArthur, who takes on responsibility for local government and scrutiny of government, and Richard Riordan, who adds planning to his housing responsibilities.
Evan Mulholland will take on major projects, multicultural affairs, arts and creative industries.
Pesutto supporters Georgie Crozier and David Southwick will also remain on the frontbench, with the former to continue in her role as health spokesperson and the latter to take on police, youth justice and corrections, formerly Battin’s responsibilities. Southwick also gets the new shadow portfolio of “youth and future leaders”. Malvern MP Michael O’Brien remains shadow attorney general.
Krishani Dhanji
Dutton’s nuclear strategy means ‘less economic activity’ in Australia, PM says
Anthony Albanese is continuing his tour of key seats in northern Australia, with Labor hoping to win the seat of Leichhardt from the Coalition.
He’s taken aim again at the Coalition’s nuclear strategy, saying it’ll lead to “less economic activity”:
The only costing that has been put out by Peter Dutton is one that relies upon 40% less energy being used in Australia by 2050. It means less economic activity, less manufacturing, less things being built here in Queensland and throughout Australia.
Albanese addressing reporters in Cairns
The prime minister has been speaking to reporters in Cairns, where he has announced $25m to build more homes throughout five regions in the local area.
Anthony Albanese said:
We know this is a major issue in regional Australia and in communities including in some of the more remote areas. Overcrowding in housing can create that social issues as well.
‘Extensive’ inquiry announced after man fatally shot by police in Adelaide
As we flagged earlier, police have shot and killed a 40-year-old man in Adelaide after they said he confronted officers with a knife during a mental health episode.
The South Australian police commissioner, Grant Stevens, announced an “extensive” inquiry into the incident, which he said would be led by the force’s detective chief superintendent, Scott Fitzgerald.
Catie McLeod has the full story below:
Consumer confidence starts year with a bang
New year optimism has infected Australian consumers, pushing confidence levels higher. As AAP reports, consumers are particularly upbeat about their personal finances, the weekly survey from ANZ and Roy Morgan has revealed.
A confidence boost at the start of the new year is not unusual, but ANZ economist Madeline Dunk says last week’s result is among the top three since 2023.
Higher interest rates and cost-of-living pain have been weighing on consumer sentiment but the darkest days appear to be over, with the confidence gauge trending higher from the lows of 2023.
We expect the upward momentum to continue through 2025, as tax cuts, rising real wages and, eventually, rate cuts support household disposable incomes.
Inflation is expected to moderate further and real incomes improve, but Australia’s jobs market is expected to weaken a little over the course of 2025 as growth remains fairly fragile.
SEEK senior economist Blair Chapman says the jobs market is still stabilising after the post-Covid-19 pandemic hiring boom.
Advertising on the jobs marketplace was weaker towards the end of 2024 compared with earlier in the year, he says, reflecting normalising labour demand easing from a very high base. But hiring in the care economy, including jobs in health care and childcare, is unlikely to slow down.
