Labor saviour: Does Chris Minns have what it takes to be premier? | DeborahSnow
, though she has strenuously denied them and blamed their surfacing on a messy preselection battle. Minns will be under pressure not to let this drag on.
Minns has an unusually laid-back style for a political leader. Don’t mistake that for a lack of determination or ambition.It’s a sign of how hungry Minns is that his large, northeast-facing corner office in the state parliament building – a space traditionally allocated to the opposition leader – has virtually nothing in it, apart from a couple of black sofas, a coffee table and a few papers on the desk.
But Minns promises there won’t be much longer to wait until Labor rolls out its wares, undertaking most will be out “before Christmas”.He says “scores of policies” have been written and will be laid before the parliamentary budget office for costing, before they are released. Today, about a dozen locals trickle in from the side streets, with a medley of hyper-local problems: a deserted house on an overgrown block where a stray cat colony has established itself; dead trees; a poorly lit laneway; tolls. Minns listens patiently to each, and where he can help provide a fix, calls a staffer over to plan follow-up action.
Iemma says the younger Minns was always “obviously smart”. But now, he says, he’s “realising the potential that a lot of people saw back in those days as a young activist and a young adviser”. “I don’t think we will win Kogarah if we don’t win the election,” he says. “I’ll be tipped out of politics if we don’t prevail. I’m all in. Every chip is in the middle of the table and it all comes to a head in March.”
The family is currently squeezed into a unit while they oversee a home renovation, adding a two-storey extension to the back of their single-storey, 100-year-old brick home in the heart of Kogarah. Minns also spent time at the heart of Labor’s political machine, as assistant secretary in its Sussex Street office. So far, so standard for an aspiring party apparatchik. But there have been a couple of unconventional deviations from that script.
But Minns denies his position is dictated by a debt to Hayes, who played a key role in the sequence of events that led to McKay resigning and Minns’ subsequent elevation.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘Gig work ... like a cancer’: Labor takes aim at gig economyWorkplace Relations Minister Tony Burke will use a speech in Sydney to accuse the sector of driving down the wages of up to 1 million workers.
Read more »
‘Bugger your freedom of choice’: Labor trying to ‘steal’ super money for ‘political ends’Labor wants to “control” how super money is invested and ensure it runs into their “green left policy areas” of social housing or green energy, says Sky News host Chris Kenny. “Bugger your retirement incomes,” he said. “Bugger your freedom of choice. “They want to steal your money for their political ends.”
Read more »
Voters back Albanese on climate as Labor reaches first 100 daysA clear majority of the electorate backs the federal government’s target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 43 per cent by 2030.
Read more »
Jobs summit Australia updates LIVE: Labor’s open to Labor multi-employer pay deals, Burke saysEmployment Minister Tony Burke says Labor “deliberately wants to get wages moving”; Volodymyr Zelensky says a radiation accident was narrowly avoided at nuclear plant. Follow updates here.
Read more »
‘Gig work ... like a cancer’: Labor takes aim at gig economyWorkplace Relations Minister Tony Burke will use a speech in Sydney on Friday to accuse the sector of driving down the wages of up to 1 million workers. | By Nick Bonyhady nickbonyhady auspol gigeconomy
Read more »
Calls for QLD Labor to hand CFMEU donations to charity after 'disgraceful' protesters enter government buildingCFMEU members 'forcibly' entered the Transport and Main Roads building on Brisbane's Mary Street and staged a protest ahead of an industry meeting on Tuesday morning, according to a TMR spokesperson.
Read more »