☕️ The party leadership contests, explained

It’s about to be a big week in federal politics with several leadership contests happening this week. Here’s the schedule:

Strap in!

“No more war!"
Pope Leo XIV in his first Sunday message at the Vatican. In his speech, the Pope called for an "authentic and lasting peace" in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as the return of the hostages held by Hamas.

$623 million
The estimated street value of a tonne of cocaine that was seized on a boat off Nambucca Heads by NSW Police. Police began investigating the boat after receiving intelligence that it was purchased with cash last month. Five people have been charged in relation to the seizure.

2000
The Tate Modern art gallery opened in London, England. It is now the world's most visited contemporary art museum.

Liberal MPs Sussan Ley and Angus Taylor are locked in a race for the party’s leadership following a landslide election defeat.

Outgoing leader Peter Dutton lost his seat at the election, meaning the party is required to choose a new leader.

Both Ley and Taylor have served in senior portfolios. Most recently, Ley was the party’s Deputy Leader, while Taylor was Shadow Treasurer.

Here’s what you need to know.

The Liberal Party has been left without a leader since Dutton lost his Brisbane-based seat of Dickson at the election.

Acting Leader Sussan Ley and Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor are the main contenders.

The party’s immigration spokesperson in the last term of Parliament, Dan Tehan, was reported as a possible challenger, although he has now formally withdrawn from the race.

Ley said she offers the party a “fresh approach” to “rebuild trust”.

“Many Australians, including women and younger Australians, feel neglected by the Liberal Party.”

Meanwhile, Taylor has vowed to “regroup, rebuild, and get back in the fight”.

He also referenced the party’s slipping support among women.

“We must bring in new talent that reflects modern Australia — especially more women,” Taylor said.

Liberal MPs and Senators will meet on Tuesday in Canberra to elect a new leader.

The leadership will be declared ‘vacant’ (empty) and nominees will put themselves forward. The members will then vote in a secret ballot.

The winner of the ballot will go on to become the Liberal leader and Opposition Leader.

TDA understands Ley is the favourite to win out of a contest between her and Taylor, with her supporters saying she has “more momentum”.

Reporting by Harry Sekulich.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will soon announce which MPs will form his Cabinet in this term of Parliament.

Cabinet positions include roles like the Defence Minister, the Treasurer, and the Minister for Women.

Competition is emerging between different ‘factions’ in the Labor Party for these spots.

So, what actually are factions?

Let’s start with an analogy: You know how when you go to a party, and there are lots of small groups all having discussions in their separate corners?

That’s basically what factions are.

In politics, factions are a ‘party’ within a party. They are smaller, ideologically aligned groups who share close ties.

They exist at both the state and federal level, and in both the Liberal and Labor parties. They tend to be most important when a party is choosing a new leader as the factions will create deals with each other.

For example, one faction might say to another faction: “If you let one of us become leader, we’ll let one of you be the deputy leader.”

Factional deals happen in the course of parliamentary business too. One faction might offer to compromise on legislation to keep another faction happy if they need something else down the road.

Factions are typically formed around political interests.

There are two major factions in the Labor Party: the Left and the Right.

Albanese is a member of the Left and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles is on the Right.

Early this week, Albanese will announce a new Cabinet — the main decision-making body of Government, made up of Ministers who are responsible for areas of Government.

Albanese technically gets the final say over who holds which portfolio, but it is clear that factions are playing a role.

With former leader and NDIS Minister Bill Shorten (Right) and Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones (Left) retiring, competition is now open within factions, and between factions, for their replacement.

Last week, it was reported that two cabinet members from the Right, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and Science Minister Ed Husic, have been removed from the Cabinet. Albanese has not confirmed this.

Dreyfus’ spot is set to be taken by Sam Rae, MP for Hawke. Husic’s dismissal is reportedly due to the number of NSW Labor Right members in the cabinet.

Former Labor Prime Minister Paul Keating has criticised the party for dumping Husic and Dreyfus from the Cabinet.

Keating said Husic’s demotion serves only to “keep up some notional proportional count between factions”.

He noted that Husic is currently the only Muslim MP in the inner Cabinet, and Dreyfus is the most senior Jewish MP in the Parliament, saying the factional moves display “poor judgment, unfairness, and diminished respect for the contribution of others.”

The Liberal Party has less structured factions than the Labor Party.

Broadly, its loose factions are the moderates, the centre, and the conservatives.

For example, Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor, who is vying for the role of leader, is aligned with the conservatives.

Deputy Leader Sussan Ley, who is also contesting the leadership, is considered a moderate.

Reporting by Annabel Whitehouse.

Meet the latest travel trend: virtual voyaging - where the game becomes the guidebook.

Flight Centre and Tourism NZ have teamed up to launch a range of exclusive New Zealand travel offers, inspired by the new Minecraft Movie - letting you step into the landscapes you’ve explored on screen.

From glowworm caves to bubbling mud pools, these trips bring iconic in-game experiences to life.

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Fragar beat out 56 other finalists with her portrait of fellow Brisbane artist Justene Williams. The prestigious award includes a $100,000 cash prize. It’s the first time Fragar has won the Archibald, but her fourth appearance as a finalist in the competition.

According to the Art Galley of NSW, it marks the “15th time the Archibald Prize has been awarded to a woman since its inception in 1921.”

Want more good news? Sign up to our weekly Good Newsletter here - we promise it’ll make your week better!

Reporting by Emma Gillespie.

An 8-year-old boy ordered 69,000 lollipops from Amazon.

The order was unbeknownst to his mother, who awoke one morning to find 22 11-kilogram boxes waiting on their front porch in the U.S. state of Kentucky.

To her surprise, her son exclaimed “Mom, my suckers are here!”

The boy says he had mistakenly ordered the lollies from the online platform instead of leaving them in his cart.

Amazon has given her a refund.

Reporting by Rosa Bowden.

Did you know that some politicians still get paid an annual salary (or in this case, a ‘pension’) upon retiring from Parliament?

The scheme no longer exists, but politicians who were in Parliament prior to it being axed in 2004 are still eligible.

And the reason we are talking about it now is because Peter Dutton is one of the eligible politicians.

We thought it was the perfect time to explore this little-known scheme that will see millions of dollars being paid out to former politicians for decades to come.