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NoneRepublicans won big in a relatively high-turnout election. How did it happen? STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: Hey, folks. You showed up. The turnout rate in this year's presidential election looks to be the third-highest in 100 years. A MARTÍNEZ, HOST: Yeah, and Republicans did really well. They won control of the House, Senate and the presidency. That directly contradicts conventional political wisdom that high turnout inherently favors Democrats. INSKEEP: NPR's voting correspondent, Miles Parks, has been looking into this, and he's in our studios. Good morning, Miles. MILES PARKS, BYLINE: Hey, Steve. INSKEEP: Thanks for coming by Studio 31. How do you think now about this general idea for many years that turnout - high turnout - favors Democrats? PARKS: So this idea was never a hard-and-fast rule. It centers on people who only vote usually in big presidential races or every once in a while - people known as low-propensity voters. INSKEEP: Right. PARKS: Research has found that these sorts of people are generally less educated, are poorer people generally, and those sorts of people have tended to vote for Democratic candidates. Therefore, higher turnout brings out more of these sorts of people, helps Democrats. But Trump seems to have really changed the game here. Exit polls found that he did really well among people without a college degree and also won people who said it was the first time they'd ever cast a ballot. So the question now is whether this is going to change how Republicans feel about voter turnout and also, critically, policies that make voting easier, since those policies have been shown to... Miles Parks

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Bill Reichart was honored with the Mayfly Award in recognition for his lifelong serviceto conservation. DOYLE DIETZ/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Dedicated flintlock muzzleloader deer hunters are willing to brave the elements to takepart in the special season that is in its 50 th year. DOYLE DIETZ/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Hunters are once again able to enjoy pheasant hunts at Martz’s Gap View Preserve whichovercame an outbreak of Avian Flu early this year. DOYLE DIETZ/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Anglers crowd the shore to find their favorite fishing spots on the opening day of theBetty Dietz-Bruce Schneck Memorial Fishing Event. DOYLE DIETZ/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER Bill Reichart was honored with the Mayfly Award in recognition for his lifelong serviceto conservation. DOYLE DIETZ/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER There were many memorable outdoors-related events in 2024. In no particular order, hereis a look back at some of them. Bill Reichart presented with Mayfly Award Bill Reichart says his first ever “conservation project” was when he was 8 years old and agroup of locals tried to pump out the lower level at Auburn Desilting Dam in 1956 tosave the fish before they pumped the dredged material into the lower level when the damwas dredged.Since then he has spent his life dedicated to promoting clean water projects, including theworks of Schuylkill River Greenway and promoting efforts to improve the SchuylkillRiver Watershed. Some of his efforts that have had the most impact in our watershed are:Understanding, educating people on, and addressing water quality issues – especially inthe upper watershed; Leading the Porter Floodplain restoration project and associatedSchuylkill River Trail–Auburn Bridge connection that fills the gap in the SRT betweenBerks and Schuylkill counties; and The Schuylkill River Acts and Impacts YouthExpedition.This year Reichart was recognized for his lifelong work by the Pennsylvania AbandonedMine Reclamation when it presented the Schuylkill Headwaters Association presidentwith its annual Mayfly Award. A symbol of clean waters, the award is presented annuallyto someone who focuses on maintaining the health of local waterways.Anglers owe a debt of gratitude to Reichart being instrumental in getting a significantamount of fish habitat into Sweet Arrow Lake near Pine Grove. He got 100 porcupinecribs built and sunk, got many tons of rock installed by the Pennsylvania Fish and BoatCommission, had hundreds of posts for clusters installed and coordinated a mile of fishhabitat/stream bank improvements in Upper Little Swatara Creek. Martz’s Gap View Preserve recovers from Avian Flu outbreak to celebrate 70 years As the third-generation operator of Martz’s Gap View Hunting Preserve, Mike Martz hadbeen living the dream following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father.Unfortunately, that dream turned into the nightmare this year when Highly PathogenicAvian Influenza hit the business. HPAI was discovered in one of the pheasant pens at Martz’s, necessitating the ceasing ofall activities – including field hunts, Continental hunts and trap shooting. It was thehardest event to unfold on the third-generation farm, which caused the PennsylvaniaGame Commission to adjust its late-season pheasant stockings to help safeguard theagency’s pheasant program and better ensure it will continue next year in the 2024-25hunting seasons.Over the summer, however, Martz’s rebounded and opened for its 70 th year of business inSeptember. It is now once again providing field hunts and Continental hunts, as well astrap events. Steve Smith appointed new Pennsylvania Game Commission executive director Steve Smith, who had served as deputy executive director since February, was appointedto his new role of executive director by the Board of Game Commissioners in executivesession. Smith replaced Bryan Burhans, who served as the agency’s executive directorsince 2017. Burhans resigned his position, which was accepted by the board.“This is a critical time for the Game Commission and the future of hunting, trapping andthe conservation of wildlife,” Smith said. “The work we do now will have lasting impactsfor the generations to come, and ensure they will enjoy the same opportunities we havefor centuries. It is an honor to serve in this capacity.”A Berks County native, Smith graduated magna cum laude from West Chester Universitywith a degree in Political Science. He then received a law degree from the Penn StateDickinson School of Law. Smith joined the agency in 2008, after several years ofpracticing law. Hunters Sharing the Harvest continues to set record donations For Hunters Sharing the Harvest executive director Randy Ferguson hunter donations ofdeer this fall and early winter has created good news with another record on the horizonto the extent money is needed to pay processors for their role in the record-breakingnonprofit charitable organization.At the conclusion of last year’s hunting seasons Pennsylvania hunters broke their recordfor venison donations with 261,672 pounds of ground meat from 6,905 deer and six elkstatewide. That record resulted in more than 1 million individual servings of lean, high-protein venison, and Ferguson expects that record to fall again when the 2024-25 huntingseasons end.Hunters pay nothing to donate a deer at one of HSH’s 100-plus participating processorsacross the state. Instead, the organization reimburses those processors for every deerdonated, and last season, those reimbursement costs reached an all-time high ofapproximately $500,000.“While helping HSH feed more families, crop damage deer are the driving factor inHSH’s rising operational expenses, and a cause for increased financial need for theorganization,” Ferguson said “When I started in this role almost four years ago, we sawacouple hundred deer a year that we could identify as crop damage related.“Last year, that number was nearly 1,300 deer, and the crop damage category of donateddeer is doubling year over year. Deer donated during the regular archery and rifle seasonscontinue to grow at a healthy and manageable pace.” Swatara Cooperative Trout Nursery celebrates 25 years Bob Evanchalk, whose farm houses the Swatara Cooperative Trout Nursery, has spent 25years raising trout which are stocked in Sweet Arrow Lake and local Pine Grove Areastreams. In 25 years that comes to 139,866 trout — or about 5,600 trout per year.In 1999 a 50-foot long, 4-foot wide concrete raceway was constructed after thePennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission deemed the water source and site acceptable to house the nursery. The Schuylkill Conservation District applied to the Fish AmericaFoundation and was awarded $5,000 to make the nursery a reality.Sweet Arrow Lake and the main branch of Swatara Creek were two of the primarystocking locations as they were not on the PFBC trout stocking list. Later, the Upper (akaRoedersville) and Lower Little Swatara (aka Rock) Creeks were added.The PFBC supplies fingerling trout and technical assistance, and the nursery must findvolunteers and finances for expenses to raise the trout. Thanks to Evanchalk and somestalwart helpers the fish were in good hands, and the nursery was expanded to 90 feet in2000 and was covered with a metal lid to keep predators like herons, kingfishers, mink,snakes and other critters from enjoying an easy meal. Dietz-Schneck Memorial Fishing Event major attraction at Sweet Arrow Lake Planning is already underway for the 2025 Betty Dietz and Bruce Schneck MemorialFishing Event at Sweet Arrow Lake. Dean Skinner Ney has taken over administering theevent from Craig Morgan and Dean will also coordinate the food stand.Pioneer Pole Buildings last year of sponsorship is 2025, but Bob and Diane Green haveagreed to commit four more years at $2,500 per year match money. Also, the Friends ofSchuylkill Parks & Recreation have committed $5,000 in the past in matching funds.The Swatara Co-op Trout Nursery received $3,000 from the Sportsmen’s Advisory Boardlast year and this donation helps stock 2,000 really nice fish in the lake.The event is not a fundraiser, and it continues because of community support andparticipants, plus what Tevis Energy and Modern Comfort provide for Mentored YouthDay.DEP denies enhancement project for Sweet Arrow LakeIn 2022 the outdoors page of the Pottsville Republican Herald ran a feature article thattold of plans to enhance fish habitat and angler access to the resource at Sweet ArrowLake County Park. Since then, PennDOT was contacted about safer access through theguiderails, but the agency said nothing could be done.Also contacted was the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Lake Habitat Management sectionfor assistance. An on-site meeting and boat tour of the lake produced an updated fishhabitat improvement plan that included a number of stone deflectors which also improvedangler access to the resource. The Schuylkill Conservation District submitted the GeneralPermit-1, Fish Habitat Enhancement Structure application to the Northeast Office of theDepartment of Environmental Protection for review and approval.The permit was denied, although the original fish habitat plan for Sweet Arrow Lakeapproved in 2011 included stone deflectors. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commissiondesigned and many partners have installed hundreds of sawtooth deflectors inPennsylvania lakes.These sawtooth or stone deflectors are approved and used at lakes all over Pennsylvaniato prevent shore erosion, which according to DEP is not evident at Sweet Arrow Lake.However, DEP’s denial states that these deflectors are not approved for use in lakes.Clearly, this seems to be a case of double standards, especially when stone can be placedon lake banks to prevent erosion. PGC makes changes made in purchase of antlerless licenses When Pennsylvania resident hunters began purchasing hunting licenses this summer theywere able to also purchase their choice of antlerless licenses because of the changes madeby the Pennsylvania Game Commission. At that time antlerless licenses were availablefor only three Wildlife Management Units where demand is highest – WMUs 1B, 2G and3A.Licenses in these WMUs were sold on a first come, first serve basis until the allottednumber of licenses sells out, and only Pennsylvania residents may purchase antlerless licenses initially. Three days after sales opened on a Monday, antlerless licenses for theremaining 19 WMUs went go on sale to residents.Guaranteeing an antlerless license to a resident hunter for any other WMU from June 27to July 8 largely eliminates the need to stand in line, allows demand to be spread out overmore than a week and gives hunters greater flexibility to buy at a time that’s convenientfor them. Even then, there are sure to be plenty of licenses left in most WMUs. PGC tables plan to reintroduce American martens In a split vote the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the board of game commissionerstabled plans to reintroduce American martens into the state by a 6-3 vote. Voting fortabling the plan were commissioners Bob Schwalm, Scott Foradora, Allen Di Marco,Kristen Schnepp-Giger, Stanley Knick and Todd Pride, with commissioners DennisFredericks, Michael Mitrick and Haley Sankey voting for the plan.Schwalm, who represents Schuylkill County, said he still has questions about the merit ofthe plan even after PGC staff developed an American marten reintroduction andmanagement plan for Pennsylvania that outlines a long-term, 10-year strategy totranslocate the species back to the state. This would be followed by long-term monitoringto evaluate the reintroduction and includes strategies on communications, partnerengagement, costs and timelines. Flintlock season celebrates 50th year Pennsylvania remains the only state with a flintlock-only muzzleloader deer season, andthis is the 50 th year. According to Dave Ehrig, one of the people who wrote what becamethe Pennsylvania Game Commission regulations for the flintlock season and currenteditor oft he official National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association magazine “MuzzleBlasts,” the season came into existence without celebration and not a whole lot of interestin 1974 when the first year of this primitive deer hunt was held, being almost anafterthought.Just 65 deer – including four bucks – were taken with flintlock rifles in that inauguralyear of 1974 compared to 3,909 deer – including 1,572 bucks – taken by bowhunters.Back then there were only 30 State Game Lands statewide open to flintlock hunters, sothey were concentrated into specific areas where archery and rifle seasons had reducedthe available number of deer.In 1980 the season was one week, and flintlock stamp sales continued to rise.Pennsylvania was fielding 145,144 flintlock-only deer hunters, who took 8,069 deer–including 490 bucks. Flintlock season was then reduced to four days in 1982, and it wasadded to the end of the December 15-18 antlerless season.The current statewide season began Thursday, Dec 26, and runs through Saturday, Jan.20. (Dietz is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association) Contact the writer: outdoors@republicanherald.com

Article content A Vancouver leather goods artisan is pleading for help after a thief broke into her studio, stealing more than a thousand dollars worth of handcrafted bags. Last Sunday around 9:30 a.m., a man broke into Maxine Young’s Gastown workspace, Mameyo Goods, while the small business owner was at a market selling her hand-made accessories. “Yesterday was my last market of the year, and to come back to a broken-in studio was heartbreaking,” Young posted in an emotional plea shared on social media Tuesday. “This is a huge hit to my small business, not only financially, but also I’ve lost security in one of my favourite places to be.” Surveillance footage shows the thief taking several handbags valued at approximately $1,500. But one in particular — the very first bag Young ever made — cannot be replaced. Young is appealing to the public for help in recovering The Penny bucket bag, which she describes not just as a product, but as the prototype that sparked the creation of her small business. “It is the very first bag that I made, and it’s the one that started off the whole business,” said Young, who designs and handcrafts each bag in her Gastown workshop from leather sourced as a by-product of the meat industry. “This is the one that I want back.” While the Vancouver Police Department confirmed Thursday that it is investigating the Dec. 8 break-in, no arrests have been made, Sgt. Tania Visintin said in an email. Since sharing her story on social media, Young said she has been overwhelmed with support, but has received no leads about the thief’s identity. She is, however, warning people not to approach him. Walley Wargolet, president of the Gastown Business Improvement Association, said break-ins and thefts have long been a concern for local businesses, as thieves increasingly target the historic neighbourhood with troubling frequency. Vancouver’s Central Business District, including Gastown, has the highest rate of thefts, break-ins, and weapon-related crimes in the city, according to the latest crime data. In October, the downtown district reported three times as many robberies (423) as Vancouver’s other neighbourhoods. According to Vancouver police crime map data, there were 27 break-ins reported at businesses just in the past four weeks. “We know one particular case in the neighbourhood where the suspect has 90 individual arrests of shoplifting and is still out on the street,” said Wargolet. However, the business representative said he believes the solution does not solely lie in increasing police presence in the neighbourhood. “Focusing solely on putting more police on the street is not going to fix the problem,” said Wargolet. “Many of the people committing these crimes are in real need of mental health and addiction support.” In September, Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim promised to tackle Gastown’s problem of violent robberies linked to repeat shoplifters by establishing a community policing centre in the neighbourhood. “These plans are progressing,” said Wargolet, noting that the Gastown Business Improvement Association has a meeting with police and city officials next week.

Anthony Albanese is slammed over 'tone deaf' comment to Jewish community leaders READ MORE: Greens senator slams one of her own over synagogue post By BRETT LACKEY FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA and AAP Published: 23:22, 12 December 2024 | Updated: 00:02, 13 December 2024 e-mail 35 View comments Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been criticised as tone deaf after telling Jewish community leaders that 'Arabs are doing it really tough at the moment'. The PM made the comments after an antisemitic attack in Woollahra last month, in which graffiti was sprayed on cars and buildings, including celebrity chef Matt Moran 's Chiswick restaurant, and one car was torched. Since then there have been two more attacks, one involving the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne on December 6 as Jews gathered to pray, injuring one person, and another graffiti and car fire attack in Woollahra on December 11. The Jewish leaders were reportedly taken aback by Mr Albanese's words and commented on them, but the PM's office said he had been calling for unity and the quote did not convey the tone of the conversation. Sky News host Sharri Markson said on social media the Prime Minister's comment highlighted the Labor leader's 'instinctive sentiment to talk about how tough the Arab community is doing it when the country is experiencing an antisemitism crisis'. Viewers has similar opinions with one saying he 'just can't help himself'. 'A limp PM... allowing hate speech on the streets and lumping our pain in with the Arabs. Shows a complete lack of understanding,' another wrote. 'Isn't it that we are just seeing the tip of the underlying iceberg of antisemitism?' a third added. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been slammed after telling Jewish leaders 'Arabs were doing it tough' The PM made the comments after an attack in November in Sydney's Woollahra in which a car was torched (pictured) Anti-Israel graffiti was also spray painted on cars and on a popular Sydney restaurant in November On Tuesday, Mr Albanese met with the Jewish community outside the Adass Israel Synagogue in Ripponlea and was greeted with a prickly reception, including one woman yelling from the crowd that his appearance was 'cheap and late'. 'People have come to Australia because we are a country that is peaceful,' Mr Albanese told the crowd. 'We are a country that respects people of different faith and are enriched by our diversity here.' His government this week reaffirmed its commitment to the Jewish community, including announcing $32.5million in funding for Executive Council of Australian Jewry to improve security at locations such as schools and synagogues. 'This is a time where the country should be looking for national unity, not looking for areas of distinction and difference over every issue,' Mr Albanese said. 'I would have thought that every Australian would be horrified by what occurred last Friday and would be equally prepared to condemn it and oppose it. It's un-Australian, I've said that. It's designed to create fear in the community, and it should be opposed.' On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to support a permanent and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages, the delivery of humanitarian aid, and the protection of children and civilians. The motion passed with 158 members, including Australia, voting in support and nine against, with 13 abstaining at an emergency session. Australia's ambassador to the UN James Larsen said the demand for full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance to Gaza was urgent. 'Israel must take urgent action to alleviate this humanitarian crisis,' he said. The PM talking to members of the local Jewish community during a visit to the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne on December 10 The shell of the synagogue after it was set alight as Jews gathered to pray on December 6 Minister for Housing Clare O'Neil leaves flowers at the synagogue on December 10 The Executive Council of Australian Jewry slammed the motion, saying an unconditional ceasefire meant Israel would have to abandon hostages 'and allow the Hamas terrorists to re-establish themselves as the de facto rulers of Gaza'. 'No country in the world should be expected to betray its own citizens as Israel is being called upon to do,' President Daniel Aghion said. Australia also voted to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in a second motion that passed with 159 in support, nine against and 11 abstaining. The motion called for the Israeli Knesset to reverse laws banning the agency from operating in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which included Gaza and the West Bank. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has repeatedly stated the agency was the only one with the capability to distribute aid at the scale needed in Gaza. 'For the past year, the world has been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate and unconditional release of hostages.Today 158 countries voted in favour of this, including Australia, the UK, NZ, Canada, Japan and Germany. 'We want this war to end and the hostages home.' Anthony Albanese Matt Moran Share or comment on this article: Anthony Albanese is slammed over 'tone deaf' comment to Jewish community leaders e-mail Add commentWorld News | White House Releases National Strategy to Combat Islamophobia

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‘I don’t want to win I want to knock him out’ – Graham McCormack Sends Craig McCarthy KO WarningWASHINGTON , Dec. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA has selected Nova Space Solutions, LLC of Anchorage, Alaska , to provide operations, services, maintenance, and infrastructure support for NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi , and NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans . The Combined Operations, Services, Maintenance, and Infrastructure Contract is a cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price, and indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract that has a value of approximately $822.7 million . The performance period begins July 1, 2025 , and extends eight years and three months, with a 15-month base period, followed by a one-year option period and three two-year option periods. Under the contract, Nova Space Solutions will be responsible for contract management, logistics, safety, health and environmental compliance, engineering and manufacturing support services, site services, facility operations and maintenance services, and environmental services and program management. NASA's Stennis Space Center is the nation's largest propulsion test site, with infrastructure to support projects ranging from component and subscale testing to large engine hot fires. Researchers from NASA, other government agencies, and private industry use NASA Stennis test facilities for technology and propulsion research and developmental projects. NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, managed by the agency's Marshall Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama , is the nation's premier site for manufacturing and assembly of large-scale space structures and systems. For information about NASA and other agency programs, visit: https://www.nasa.gov View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-awards-operations-services-maintenance-and-infrastructure-contract-302325313.html SOURCE NASAFive9's chief accounting officer Leena Mansharamani sells $55,632 in stock

Golf ace Viktor Hovland has disclosed a bizarre toe injury that could sideline him at the start of the 2025 PGA Tour season. Breaking the news on social media last Friday, Hovland shared an X-ray revealing a possible fracture to his right pinky toe. The Norwegian seems to have incurred the odd injury in the bedroom by jamming his toe against a bed frame, aptly captioning it: "Bed frame 1 - 0 me." This untimely setback comes just before the 2025 PGA Tour is about to tee off next week at The Sentry, with Hovland’s participation now hanging in the balance despite being listed for the tournament as of Dec. 28. Meanwhile, world No. 1 and FedEx Cup champ Scottie Scheffler also won't make Hawaii's event due to a freak injury during the holidays when he ended up with glass embedded in his hand on Christmas Day. Later declarations from Scheffler's representative confirmed the mishap will keep him out for the first few weeks of the season. Manager Blake Smith revealed: "On Christmas Day while preparing dinner, Scottie sustained a puncture wound to the palm of his right hand from a broken glass. Small glass fragments remained in the palm which required surgery. He has been told that he should be back to 100 percent in three to four weeks." However, a statement from his team said: "Unfortunately, he will have to withdraw from The Sentry. His next scheduled tournament is The American Express (scheduled for January 16-19)." Scheffler's withdrawal was also confirmed by the PGA Tour. "World No. 1 and 2024 FedEx Cup Champion Scottie Scheffler has withdrawn from the PGA Tour's 2025 season-opening tournament, The Sentry, which will take place next week, 2-5 January at The Plantation Course at Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii," the Tour confirmed. This news comes after an amazing 2024, in which Scheffler won nine times, including the Masters and Olympic gold. In contrast, Hovland had a tough time. He triumphed in the PGA Tour's top prize with a win at the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup title at East Lake in 2023. But he has struggled to repeat that form, failing to win in 2024 despite 28 starts. He has only achieved two top 10 finishes, third place at the PGA Championship and a tied second at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.Stabbing and robbery being investigated by London police, 3 suspects wanted

Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton recently admitted he was holding something back. Dutton was in Sydney earlier this month, standing alongside Liberal northern beaches candidates who hope to win back the teal-held seats of Warringah and Mackellar, and he was asked if his party’s nuclear policy costings were being held back to avoid scrutiny over Christmas. “Nope,” came the blunt answer, he was just letting the government kick another own goal. “There’ll be plenty of time to scrutinise. We’re not releasing it on the day of the election,” Dutton said. “Part of the reason that there’s been a delay is we’ve gone to announce it a few times, to be honest, and the government’s latest disaster has happened on that day where we’ve decided that we’ll let people concentrate on how bad the Albanese government is.” Dutton knows when to hold back and when to let rip for a ready headline, but his aversion to detail could prove a liability next year when he has to persuade the voters he’s prime ministerial material. In 2024, if the polls are any guide, Dutton is in with a real chance to win the next election, forging forward as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese loses ground. This month’s Resolve Political Monitor showed the Coalition’s primary vote fell by one percentage point to 38, Labor’s fell by three percentage points to 27 per cent and 35 per cent of voters nominated another party. This would almost certainly deliver a hung parliament on election day, with either side potentially able to cobble together minority government. Dutton needs to win 21 seats to claim 76 seats and govern in majority – a huge mountain to climb – but a 70-seat minority Coalition government is possible, supported by a clutch of independent MPs – including but not limited to Dai Le, Helen Haines, Rebekha Sharkie, Andrew Gee, Bob Katter and Allegra Spender. Dutton has been mostly gaffe-free (it’s hard to imagine him repeating his 2015 “joke” about Pacific Islanders being hit by climate change) and on message. He speaks in short, declarative sentences and quickly stamps out spot fires, such as when he quashed the abortion debate last month just as high-profile conservative Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said late-term terminations should be on the agenda. “I support a woman’s right to choose,” he said in a rare phone call to ABC’s Radio National. “I’ve been in very difficult circumstances where, as a detective working in the sex offenders squad, I’ve dealt with women in domestic relationships who have been raped; it’s a very, very difficult situation. Ultimately, that’s a choice and a decision for that individual to make, and that’s the position I support.” Peter Dutton dropped his opposition to stage 3 tax cuts when the changes proved too popular to fight. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Jenny Ware, a NSW moderate Liberal MP and the only current Liberal MP who chose to speak on the record for this piece, is not a natural ally of Dutton but she praises him for the job he has done, “particularly in the last nine months as Labor has gone odd on tangents”. “Peter has called out antisemitism in Australia, at universities et cetera. He is now representing the quiet majority of Australians on this and other issues,” she says. “A year ago, even if people weren’t happy with Albanese, they were saying Dutton isn’t ready. But the dial has shifted to Peter being electable and I think that all of the attacks Labor has launched on him haven’t worked.” History proved Dutton right when he chose to oppose the Voice to Parliament in 2023, but he demonstrated political judgment again at the start of January 2024, when he quickly dropped his broken promises attack on the changes to stage 3 tax cuts after it became clear that most voters didn’t care about discarded election pledges if they got more money in their pockets. The opposition leader has savaged Labor on its handling of immigration policy following the High Court’s NZYQ decision and prosecuted the case for reduced migration, linking the issue to housing shortages successfully, too. On the number one issue concerning most voters, the cost of living, he has mauled Labor while offering scant detail about how he would fix it. He picks his moments on when to lob culture war hand grenades, too, cannily tossing them at big corporates, such as accusing Woolworths of peddling a “woke agenda” on Australia Day, or starting an argument about which flags should be displayed behind a prime minister, pulling focus for 24 hours and then walking away. But for a former cop with a strongman persona, Dutton doesn’t like scrutiny and he doesn’t always front up. While he gives friendly interviews with commercial radio hosts, appearances on the ABC and long-form newspaper interviews are strictly rationed. When he does front up at a press conference it’s more often than not in a far-flung outer suburban seat or in a regional town, far from metropolitan newsrooms. Tracked down at these remote locations, he has proved brittle, taking a belligerent approach to questions asked by young reporters, especially if they happen to work for the ABC. The long-awaited launch of his nuclear power policy costings last week was a case in point: it was released at a small press conference in Brisbane with subject-matter-expert reporters thousands of kilometres away in Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne. The contrast with Bowen and Albanese fronting up in Canberra in 2021 with their climate change policy costings was stark. As the election approaches, there are more questions to be answered on the detail of what exactly a Coalition government would do on tax, industrial relations, health and education. The seven Coalition MPs who spoke to this masthead on background to inform this piece are dreaming of, at worst, a minority Labor government and some are even canvassing a return to government after one term. Dutton has enjoyed an unusual period of stability for a first-term opposition leader, assisted by the loss of Josh Frydenberg and many other Liberal moderates in May 2022 and the high number of conservative MPs and Queenslanders in the party room (usually but not always the same thing). But as one of those seven anonymous Liberal MPs points out, Dutton “read the riot act on abortion to the party room, for example, and that was important. And he has read the room on [Australia’s commitment to] net zero. He is holding the line, despite what the Nationals might want. “He has done an amazing job holding the government to account but he has to present enough of an alternative. His shadow front bench ... Is everyone ready? I don’t think so.” As the MP put it: “Policy is where Peter goes from an A+ to a B” and the loss of senior moderates Simon Birmingham and Paul Fletcher – both experienced policy wonks – makes it harder. A veteran MP who asked not to be named, says Dutton has performed better than his mentor Tony Abbott and in a more difficult environment, as Albanese’s team is not divided like the Labor government of the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd years. “Abbott’s approach was just ‘kill, kill, kill’ belligerence, and he had a fractured government to work with. He [Dutton] is not small or big target, he’s smart target, he picks his issues. The discipline with which he has shaped discussion of policies he wants to talk about and the sequence in which he has launched them shows very shrewd judgment,” the veteran says. Nuclear policy has been Dutton’s biggest policy gamble to date and, while the announcement strategy managed to minimise scrutiny on the numbers, both Dutton and treasury spokesman Angus Taylor have over-reached in recent days, perhaps deliberately, by claiming the nuclear plan will lower power bills by 44 per cent, despite the costings explicitly stating they had not modelled electricity price impacts. Labor believes this rhetorical overreach creates an opening for attack; the Coalition believes voters’ eyes will glaze over the fight on detail and bets a “he said, she said” fight will be a scoreless draw, which suits Dutton fine. Although polling shows Albanese is not rated by voters, nor is he hated, Dutton’s charge to the Lodge could come unstuck if he attempts to skate through on a “trust us, we will fix it” vibe because voters, at this stage, aren’t desperate to defenestrate the government. Professor of politics at ANU Ian McAllister, co-director of the university’s long-running Australian Election Study, says Dutton has been effective in 2024 and has room to be more expansive on policy in 2025. “He has established himself, he has no obvious challengers, he is in a good position to make quite dramatic policy changes if he wins the election. For example, on nuclear energy he has a degree of flexibility. To do it he will need some sort of bipartisanship, so for example Dutton could propose an independent inquiry, some sort of assembly or even a referendum on it if he wins the election,” McAllister says. Dutton has proven in 2024 that he is a worthy opposition leader. But he hasn’t yet shown how he would operate as a prime minister. He has just a few months to close the deal with voters. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter .

CHRISTMAS parties are being axed by nearly half of businesses — with the Tories blaming Chancellor Rachel Reeves for draining company coffers. New research reveals almost one in two firms won’t be holding a party. And one in four workers will have to cough up their own cash if their employer does throw a bash. The study of more than 650 employers by jobs site CV-Library also found one in four respondents said any celebrations will be more low-key than last year. CV-Library chief Lee Biggins said: “With tighter budgets, more remote working, and staff enthusiasm on the wane, it seems some companies are rethinking the traditional end-of-year bash. “With workforces much more disparate these days, I think there has never been a greater need to bring everyone together, in-person, to celebrate a year’s hard work. READ MORE ON CHRISTMAS PARTIES " Covid taught us that while remote working has its upsides, some things are better in person. " Christmas parties just aren’t the same over Teams.” Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith slammed the Chancellor as the “Labour grinch” who “stole Christmas”. He added: “Workers across the country are paying the price with Christmas parties cancelled after budget tax rises means the business cupboard is bare.” Most read in The SunAmeren's senior executive VP & CFO Michael Moehn sells $598,975 in stock