Part-time politician?

CLAIM TO DEFAME

Christian Porter will delegate parts of his portfolio when he returns from leave on March 31, with The Age reporting another minister will oversee the courts as the attorney-general wages a defamation battle against the ABC.

Porter, whose lawyers challenged the ABC to “argue the truth” of historical rape allegations which first aired without naming the attorney-general, already has a statement of claim up at the Federal Court’s listing of Porter v ABC.

The Morrison government yesterday gagged debate on a Labor motion calling for an inquiry into the allegations against Porter, as well as an explanation of the government’s handling of Brittany Higgins’ allegations and action on the Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report, which the government is slowly implementing a year after it was handed down.

As The New Daily reports, Higgins yesterday accused the Morrison government of “side-stepping accountability” on sexual assault at Parliament House’s March4Justice event.

Elsewhere, Anthony Albanese separately sought to distinguish “anonymous suggestions” aired in a Facebook group for Labor staffers from the storm surrounding the government, arguing, as Guardian Australia explains, that the party needs specific allegations in order to investigate.

PS: Today, Liberal MP Bridget Archer will meet with the Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union on the Morrison government’s plans to keep JobSeeker well below poverty rates, after she called for increased funding for a Launceston-based sexual assault support service.

For other protest highlights, check out Crikey’s coverage of the Canberra march, some of the best signs, and interviews with protesters before and during the event.

KENNETT BE TRUE?

Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett is weighing up a push to run as party president of the state Liberal Party, with The Australian ($) reporting that backers believe he will run on a “reform ticket” as the party faces a parliamentary coup.

The news comes ahead of a spill motion against Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien this morning from shadow minister Brad Battin. The Herald Sun ($) notes the challenge is unlikely to succeed, but, if it passes, O’Brien is expected not to contest and Battin would face off against Louise Staley and/or former leader Matthew Guy.

In other state news, the ABC reports that WA Housing and Fisheries Minister Peter Tinley is set to be dumped from the McGowan government’s cabinet following Labor’s landslide on the weekend, with a caucus meeting set for tomorrow and Perth MP John Carey likely to secure a spot in the new cabinet.

PS: The push to install Kennett during a leadership crisis centred on the party’s response to COVID-19 is notable in that it follows criticism of his government during the state’s second wave, specifically its devolution of the state’s health care system and installing a culture of outsourcing from 1992–1999.

A NORMAL OCCASION

In the almost daily announcement leak, both The Australian ($) and The Age report that Josh Frydenberg will today signal a return to “fiscal discipline” and normal economy measures at a Business Council of Australia forum, with the Oz also touting the impacts of $12 billion in accelerated personal income tax cuts as JobKeeper and the increased JobSeeker payments end.

Frydenberg will also argue that continuing JobKeeper would be counterproductive and that its end will make states “think twice” about closing their borders following outbreaks.

PS: For some global context, CNN reports that Italy is back in lockdown as Europe faces a “third wave” due to the UK variant, while nations pause the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout despite assurance by the company that a review of the 17 million people inoculated across the EU and UK shows “no evidence” of a link with blood clots.

A BETTER DIRECTION

Finally, The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Nomadland’s Chloé Zhao and Promising Young Woman’s Emerald Fennell have together made history by being nominated in the best director category in the same year; before now, only five women had been nominated across the award’s 93 years history.