Media wrap - Canberra's three way contest (and talk of a Premier on the skids too)
POLITICS AND ECONOMICS
Leadership
Liberal leadership battle turns to farce – The Liberal leadership crisis deepened last night with Tony Abbott declaring he would go head-to-head against Joe Hockey and Malcolm Turnbull to win control of the party – Sydney Daily Telegraph
Joe Hockey blinks, Tony Abbott stands in leadership spill - Liberal Party remained paralysed last night as powerbrokers struggled to convince Joe Hockey to seize the party leadership as Tony Abbott withdrew his pledge not to stand against him – The Australian
Tumult and fury engulf a three-way race – The battle for the Liberal Party leadership has erupted into a three-way contest after Joe Hockey refused to bow to the demands of climate change rebels to block Labor's emissions trading scheme – Sydney Morning Herald
Three-way fight for the Liberal leadership – Liberal leadership contender Joe Hockey has proposed a conscience vote for MPs on the emissions trading scheme in a move that has further divided the party on the eve of today's three-way contest with Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott – Melbourne Age
Feisty Turnbull still refuses to go quietly – The West Australian
Tony Abbott to stand against Joe Hockey, Malcolm Turnbull for Liberal leadership – Melbourne Herald Sun
'We're close friends,' Turnbull reminds Hockey – Malcolm Turnbull has sought to repel a leadership challenge by Joe Hockey by invoking their personal friendship and links between their families – The Australian
Libs to choose new leader and stance on emissions – The Liberal Party - after days of rancour and rumour - will settle its leadership in a three-way party room showdown between Malcolm Turnbull, Joe Hockey and Tony Abbott this morning. This will give Liberal MPs choices not only on their preferred leader but also on their stance on emissions trading – Melbourne Age
ETS cutback leaves Tony Abbott ready to dump on Joe Hockey – Tony Abbott will push on with his bid for the Liberal leadership as the anti-ETS candidate today despite earlier indicating he would pull out if Joe Hockey contested the ballot – The Australian
Hockey coy on candidacy intentions – Joe Hockey yesterday bunkered down with key party power to try to hammer out a climate-change deal, but his reluctance to declare himself a candidate in today's Liberal leadership contest was seen by some as denting his chances of winning it – The Australian
Hockey's personal life at risk – Joe Hockey shouldn't kid himself -- being a father to three young children and the leader of the opposition is going to be a hard act to juggle. NSW Liberal MP and the former federal sex discrimination commissioner Pru Goward said public life was never good for children and achieving a healthy work-life balance would be near impossible for Mr Hockey if he became leader of the party – The Australian
Peter Dutton forced to fight on two fronts – The ALP will aggressively target the seat of Liberal deputy hopeful Peter Dutton if he is elected to the leadership position today, in an effort to keep him occupied campaigning for his seat – The Australian
Business laments delay on emissions trading scheme deal – The Australian
Polls
Good figures suddenly turn into bad news – Voter approval of Malcolm Turnbull has hit a five-month high, an exclusive analysis of Newspoll data for The Australian has found. But the growth in support comes from Labor voters, with the embattled Opposition Leader abandoned by his own side – The Australian
The Senate
Minor parties press for ETS action now - minor parties are pushing the Liberals closer to a vote on the emissions trading scheme within days, with up to 12 Liberal senators prepared to support the legislation if they are given a free vote as demanded by Joe Hockey –
Sceptics' bid to send scheme to committee now in doubt – Melbourne Age
Election
Contender for Brendan Nelson's seat tries to hide in Bradfield 'bubble' – The Liberal candidate for Bradfield, Paul Fletcher, is putting as much distance as possible between the troubles plaguing his hoped-to-be colleagues in Canberra and his own election campaign – The Australian
Rudd is unlikely to be trigger happy - George Williams, the Anthony Mason professor of law at the University of NSW, thinks the Government may be about to gain a double dissolution trigger, but we should not expect it will be used any time soon – Sydney Morning Herald
Political life
Nick Minchin was a sceptic on tobacco as Kate Legge remembers in The Australian
Average Joe Hockey could help restore Liberals' image – He’s the nice guy of federal politics and comes across as an average Joe. But Joe Hockey's lifestyle is anything but average, thanks to the money earned by his wealthy wife – Melbourne Herald Sun
Kevin Rudd and Joe Hockey shared genuine mateship on Channel 7's Sunrise – They once shared the love on Seven's high-rating Sunrise program, trekked Kokoda's gruelling path in solidarity and called each other "mate". But when next year's federal election comes around, it is likely that Kevin Rudd and Joe Hockey will contest the top job – Melbourne Herald Sun
No ordinary Joe – Laughing his way through a three-hour baby burping session, sleeping in a Thomas the Tank Engine bed, and taking toddlers to dancing classes. What more do we need to know about the credentials of family man Joe Hockey? Asks Susie O’Brien in the Melbourne Herald Sun
State's politicians cut and run – The state's MPs will sit for three days this week and then escape parliamentary scrutiny for more than 130 days. But in a last-ditch bid, independent and Opposition MPs will to try to force Parliament to sit again before the March election – Adelaide Advertiser
Emissions trading consequences
Consumers face 50pc power bill rises due to electricity demand, emissions trading scheme – Power consumers in all states face price rises of up to 50 per cent over the next five years through a combination of increasing pressure on the current electricity network and the effects of the emissions trading scheme – The Australian
Leadership in NSW
Vengeance day: Right goes for anyone but Rees – There were moves last night in the NSW Labor caucus to overthrow the Premier, Nathan Rees, in favour of either the backbencher Frank Sartor or the Treasurer, Eric Roozendaal – Sydney Morning Herald
Labor rebels risk the boot over a Rees ambush – Senior Labor figures are believed to have discussed expelling John Della Bosca and Ian Macdonald from the party if the anti-Rees campaign continues – Sydney Daily Telegraph
Immigration
Most back immigration – Australians remained positive about immigration during the global financial crisis, but discrimination and safety fears were heightened in areas of high immigration, a survey has found. One in 10 Australians held strongly negative views about immigration, while 37 per cent of the 3800 people questioned for a social cohesion survey by the philanthropic Scanlon Foundation thought Australia's immigration intake was too high. The results defy historical trends of rising concern about immigration in bleak economic times – Melbourne Age
Economic matters
Rate-rise dilemma as housing booms – An unprecedented third successive increase in interest rates is a line-ball call today as the board of the Reserve Bank meets amid news of a renewed acceleration in house prices – Melbourne Age
Third straight interest rate rise on the cards – Brisbane Courier Mail
Opinions
Warning bells sounding for Hockey – The Adelaide Advertiser in an editorial says: By switching from the talented Malcolm Turnbull to the more popular - but decidedly less impressive - Joe Hockey, some MPs think they are tacking towards electoral salability. But this is an illusion that will take very little time for a dominant Labor Government to shatter.
Just one decision, but three choices - Liberal Party's attempts to find a consensus of policy and leadership have failed because of Malcolm Turnbull's intransigence, Joe Hockey's vacillation and Tony Abbott's refusal to accept a Coalition-endorsed Rudd government ETS is the analysis of Dennis Shanahan in The Australian
Turnbull to die for honour – Peter Hartcher in the Sydney Morning Herald writes how Malcolm Turnbull will offer himself as Australia 's first political martyr to the cause of climate change.
Hockey packs his baggage – The Sydney Daily Telegraph in its editorial says: Whoever said that conservatives were boring hasn't spent much time watching this mob tear itself to pieces. … How the Liberal Party is expected to make a completely clean break with the Turnbull experiment when his replacement is so aligned with Turnbull's views is anyone's guess.
Mamma mia - this is not the time for Joe to run – George Megalogenis in The Australian reckons Joe Hockey would be the right leader at another time for the Liberal Party.
Gallows humour at Malcolm manifesto – David Marr describes the scene in Canberra ’s Parliament House yesterday – Sydney Morning Herald
Paying the price for deaf ears – Peter van Onselen describes how Malcolm Turnbull was determined to lead on the ETS within the Liberal Party by force rather than persuasion – The Australian
Nationals smell blood – Malcolm Colless in The Australian says the Nationals are considering fielding candidates in Liberal strongholds to pick up those Liberals who don't support an ETS – The Australian
Turnbull the canary in the coalmine – The political consequences of global warming are proving diabolical – Dennis Glover in The Australian
Anti-ETS scare campaign is doomed to failure – Peter Brent in The Australian believes successful scare campaigns (the Coalition's on boatpeople in 2001 was another example) are invariably run by governments. Although they focus on a single potent issue, their purpose is to encourage latent apprehensions about the opposition and its leader. Hewson was made out to be a slightly deranged "feral abacus" with extreme right-wing economic ideas; Kim Beazley was depicted as a nice guy who lacked the ticker to make hard decisions.
Peter Costello's to blame for the leadership crisis tearing the party apart – Scott Prasser in he Australian
CPRS not the only way to cut carbon – Michael Stutchbury in The Australian thinks the stunning conservative revolt against the Rudd-Turnbull climate change deal means substantial changes to Australia ’s established emissions trading model could be possible.
Electoral oblivion beckons - Hockey as leader needs to tell the climate mutineers to get back on board or the ship will sink, with many lives lost – Timk Colebatch in the Melbourne Age
BUSINESS
Qantas raises fares to pull out of profit nosedive – Melbourne Age
All eyes on Dubai over debt woes – Brisbane Courier Mail
ENVIRONMENT
Tuck into some soggy pork, straight out of the test tube - Researchers in Holland have created what was described as ''soggy pork'' and are investigating ways to improve the muscle tissue in the hope that people will one day want to eat it – Sydney Morning Herald
New water rules for southeast Queensland, including Brisbane – Permanent water restrictions come into force from today throughout southeast Queensland . Homeowners could face an outdoor water ban if they use too much – Brisbane Courier Mail
LIFE
The drink
War on drink violence could take decades – Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland will today declare the battle to beat alcohol-fuelled violence may take decades and will launch an attack on ''profit-hungry businesses'' that he says encourage binge drinking – Melbourne Age
Minister: I don't want my son on 'Party St' – A senior Territory Cabinet Minister does not want his elder son to go for a night out along Darwin 's troubled Mitchell St. Alcohol Policy Minister Kon Vatskalis said: "I would be very concerned." His 20-year-old son is studying at university – Northern Territory News
Schoolies Festival 'a Government-sponsored binge-drinking festival' – say police fed up with drunken, badly behaved teenagers – Brisbane Courier Mail
HIV
Call for reform of laws on HIV - Australians living with HIV have called on the Federal Government to start reforming laws and policies that promote discrimination against sufferers – Melbourne Age
Education
Schools face struggle to find new teachers – Melbourne Age
Pupils log into virtual classrooms - Increasing numbers of "virtual classrooms", in which students from different schools share teachers over the internet, are being set up in WA State schools – The West Australian
Health and hospitals
Blood tests too costly for ailing St Vincent's – Doctors at St Vincent 's Hospital were told to cut the number of blood tests they order because ''every test costs money'' only hours after it was revealed the board had lost more than $24 million by investing in high-risk junk bonds – Sydney Morning Herald
Gold, Sunshine coasts run short of hospital beds: AMA – Brisbane Courier Mail
Law and order
Top detective Charlie Bezzina 'forced out' – One of Victoria's most respected detectives has quit, blaming police command for wrecking his career. Charlie Bezzina, a top homicide squad detective for many of his 36 years in the force, said he was bitterly disappointed by the way he had been pushed out of the job he loved – Melbourne Herald Sun
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