The Point Live: Angus Taylor, supporters, expected to make moves on Liberal leadership

It is worth taking note of the line from the Sussan Ley supporting Liberals that taking down Ley would be a bad/misogynistic look given that is the framing Labor have been creating around it.

It was no accident that Anthony Albanese defended Ley against a misogynistic headline and op-ed in parliament last week. He was contrasting Labor with the Coalition and signalling that if the Liberals replace their first woman leader just over a year into the job, then Labor will attack them for it.

Which is interesting for a few reasons – one, the Liberals are obviously sensitive to those sort of signals and have absorbed what Labor has been laying out over the last few months. And also, that Labor would prefer Ley to remain there until the Liberals are completely driven into the ground.

Angus Taylor’s pitch to the party room is that he will take the party back to its John Howard economic basics and would centre the Liberal party entirely around economics and the budget. While he is not a great communicator (and to be fair, neither is Albanese) and would be unlikely to win back too many voters already listening to Barnson, he would also have a better chance of having a showing with those voters than Ley, who can’t hold any of them.

Albanese is invested in making things as difficult as possible for Ley and the Liberals, and that includes the leadership mess she is in. Labor want to drag this out and so far, the Liberals are happy to be dragged along.

Don’t be surprised if Taylor doesn’t challenge this week.

Andrew Bragg walked out of the ABC studios and into a doorstop where he repeated what he said yesterday and also five minutes ago – Sussan Ley has had no clean air, it would be a bad look to tear down the first woman leader, and there is a policy reply statement coming.

And Angus Taylor needs to declare or not.

Australia’s largest bank has lifted its interim net profit on the back of lending and deposit growth after the national economy strengthened during the half.

Commonwealth Bank handed down its results for the six months to December 31 on Wednesday, in an announcement that has implications for the health of the banking sector and national economy.

CBA posted a first-half bottom net profit of $5.37 billion, up five per cent on the previous corresponding period, after revenue rose six per cent to $15 billion.

Its preferred cash net profit measure was a bit higher than $5.45 billion and above the market consensus of around $5.20 billion.

“Economic growth strengthened during the half, driven by increases in consumer demand and rising investment in AI (artificial intelligence) and energy infrastructure,” CEO Matt Comyn said in a statement.

However, constraints on the supply side means the economy is struggling to meet that demand, with CBA expecting inflation to remain above the Reserve Bank of Australia’s target band of two-three per cent “for some time”.

That increases the prospect of further interest rate rises by the central bank.

But overall, Mr Comyn said: “We are optimistic about the prospects for the economy and will pay our part in building a brighter future for all.”

The consensus estimate was for revenue to grow 5.1 per cent year-on-year to $14.81 billion.

CBA’s net interest margin was down four basis points to 2.04 per cent on an underlying basis compared to the same period last year.

The net interest margin is used to gauge the profitability of banks and measures the difference between the income generated from loans and the interest expenses paid to depositors.

CBA said the slightly lower outcome was due to competition in the home lending and lower income from its Treasury and Markets arm.

After CBA posted its full-year results for 2024/25 on August 13, its shares fell 5.4 per cent to $169.12, from $178.80. 

The stock has since remained under that level, changing hands on Tuesday afternoon at $159.17, down 0.45 per cent from Monday and down 10.9 per cent for the past six months.

IG analyst Tony Sycamore said the August 2025 sell-off came even as the bank posted solid numbers, including growing its full-year profit by four per cent to $10.25 billion and holding its net interest margin steady at 2.08 per cent.

CBA shares had hit a record high of $192 in June after changing hands around the $100 level from mid-2021 until late 2024.

But even after the fall in CBA’s share price, it was still expensive, Morningstar market strategist Lochlan Halloway said.

CBA traded on Tuesday at a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.7, making it the most expensive bank in the developed world according to market capitalisation.

Its Australian peers trade at a PE ratio in the teens, as does US banking giants such as Morgan Stanley and Bank of America.

“As the only big-four bank reporting in this cycle, CBA is the bellwether,” Mr Sycamore said.

Yes Bragg is very cranky today. Asked if he wants the Liberal MPs pushing for a spill to put up or shut up with a petition (which would include names) Bragg says:

We’re not paid to play games, tiddly-winks. We’re paid to work hard for the Australian people. If people want to do something, they should put their name to it.

But could this linger until March?

Bragg:

I think it would be reasonable that Sussan is given an opportunity to do her job.

Andrew Bragg is on ABC TV News Breakfast saying that the Liberal party’s job is to hold the government to account and it is just time to get on with that.

We had a party room meeting this week, yesterday. There were no leadership issues raised there in that meeting. That is, of any substance. I think it is best we move on. We will be marked down if we fail to do our job. We have two jobs – hold the Government to account and develop our own policies. That is what we will do over the next few months.

(The election was more than a year ago and NOW the Liberals are talking about developing policies? Jane Hume made the point I and others have been making, which is it would be a folly to think that the election will be in 2028, if Anthony Albanese feels he can capitalise on the Liberal’s fall. Which means that it could be as early as 18 months away. If you’re only just now thinking of developing policies, that doesn’t give you are a lot of time to actually convince the public of them)

Bragg claims Ley has the numbers (which haven’t really shifted since May when she elected by just over 50% of the vote) and repeated what he said yesterday about Ley having “been dealt a bad hand”.

We had the cataclysmic election loss and two bust-ups with the Nats, and haven’t had a chance to put out many policies and when we do things like that on red tape reduction and housing and things to do with small business you will see improvements., so she hasn’t had a fair run and we know it

Bragg is also a bit cranky today saying the job was “to hold this bad government to account wrecking the economy and housing system and develop our own solutions to take to the people”

That is the job. The job isn’t to have secret meetings and to skulk in the background.

(That’s a dig at the Liberals who attended meetings in Angus Taylor’s office yesterday)

The government’s big story today is health with the bulk billing numbers coming out and showing that there has been a rebound in the number of people receiving bulk billed appointments. The new figures show the bulk billing rate has increased to 81.4% nationwide (compared to 77.6% in July-September last year).

That’s a win for the government’s bulk billing policy that it took to the election and it’s given Mark Butler something to crow about today:

We promised cheaper medicines – we’ve delivered that. We promised more Urgent Care clinics and 123 of them are open. We promised to turn around bulk-billing, which was in free-fall when we [were elected] and [in some areas sit] comfortably above 92% – again, because of investments we made a couple of years ago.

But I am really focused on those people don’t have the benefits concession card going to the GP [being able to go when they need to] rather than when they feel they can afford to. So it’s early days – this is something we think will take a few years to get to the target want to see it at – but these are really promising signs

Survivors of sexual violence in the Australian military are urging the Albanese government not to block women who have served in the army from joining a landmark class action.

More than 2300 women have joined legal action against the Commonwealth alleging systemic sexual abuse and harassment in the Australian Defence Force.

Joshua Aylward, the lawyer leading the class action, said the Commonwealth was trying to limit the number of women from obtaining compensation by removing all claims made by those who served in the army.

This is because the class action’s four applicants are from the air force and navy.

The Commonwealth is also trying to remove claims alleged to have occurred overseas, arguing the Sex Discrimination Act does not apply abroad.

Mr Aylward said if the government and military top brass were serious about women seeking justice, they had no option but to drop the two points.

“In reality, they are trying to cut them off at the knees,” he said.

“If they want to continue being two-faced and say one thing at the highest levels of government, but then turn up in court and say something completely different, that’s their prerogative.”

A standalone inquiry into military sexual violence is expected to get underway mid-2026, after the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide found the issue “systemic”.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, an army veteran said the class action was where she intended to share her experience of sexual assault in the military.

“The sexual violence class action must hear from all services,” she said.

“It’s shameful that the government would try to exclude anyone from a class action that seeks the justice that was never afforded to those impacted who have served or continue to serve our country.”

The Department of Finance is managing the legal action on behalf of the Commonwealth.

“It is standard practice for parties to raise preliminary issues with the court to clarify and confirm aspects of the claim,” a spokesperson said.

Asked why the government is seeking to exclude current and former army members from the class action, the spokesperson said it would be “inappropriate to comment on detailed particulars of the claim”.

Donna Manton is a survivor of military sexual violence who chairs the Athena Project, a group supporting and advocating for victim-survivors.

She said it was “galling” that as Veterans’ Affairs Minister Matt Keogh addressed the National Press Club last year to announce the sexual violence inquiry, the government was in court trying to limit who can join the class action.

“Trying to exclude probably the largest group of victims of sexual violence in defence, just by sheer numbers with the army, just says that they’re still not taking this seriously, and they’re still not worried really about victims,” the army veteran said.

“It makes the victims again feel unheard, unsupported and unwanted.”

Defence respected the rights of its personnel to take part in the legal action, Defence force chief Admiral David Johnston told Senate estimates in December.

Greens defence spokesperson David Shoebridge slammed the government for its “grubby” tactic.

“Excluding people in the army from joining this class action is so unimaginably mean and insensitive,” he said.

“After the horrors uncovered in the royal commission and the devastating testimony heard, the government should be looking at ways to fix the broken culture, not cover it up.”

The case returns to the Federal Court in Sydney on Monday.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028

Lifeline 13 11 14

Fullstop Australia 1800 385 578

Open Arms 1800 011 046

The Commonwealth Bank is expected to announce billions of earnings in its half year results (which will be helped along by the latest interest rate raise) but the Financial Sector Union says that is happening while its workers suffer increased job insecurity.

A new survey of Commonwealth bank employees conducted by the union has found 72% are “worried about their ongoing job security, with offshoring and the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence cited as the primary drivers of uncertainty”.

More than half – 52 per cent – said they had considered leaving the bank in the past 12 months because of the pressure and insecurity.

Workloads are also intensifying, with 74 per cent of workers reporting their workload had increased over the past year. 

An overwhelming 84 per cent believed CBA needed to do more to maintain and provide genuine job security. A staggering 85 per cent said CBA was a worse employer than it was 12 months ago.

CBA CEO Matt Comyn received a total pay packet of $7 million last year, a 14 per cent increase on the year before. The union is about to start EBA negotiations and the issues raised in the survey will be central to the talks.

Finance Sector Union National Secretary Julia Angrisano said:

While CBA is announcing another massive profit, workers inside the bank are telling us a very different story. Too many workers are worried about what the future holds for their jobs.

When 72 per cent of workers fear for their job security and more than half have considered leaving, that’s not a healthy workplace.

Record profits should not coincide with rising workloads and growing anxiety about offshoring and automation. With billions in profit and executives’ pay increasing, CBA can absolutely afford to invest in its workforce.

These profits are delivered by the people who work there. They deserve job security, manageable workloads and genuine consultation about the future of their work.

We will be campaigning to ensure workers receive the respect, security and conditions they deserve. Profits are up – now it is the time for CBA to show that its workforce matters too.”

Hello and welcome to another parliament sitting day, where the Liberal party is once again the main event.

Angus Taylor’s supporters are running around telling whoever will listen that he is expected to resign from the shadow front bench ahead of an official leadership challenge. Sussan Ley’s supporters want her to pre-emptively force his hand, by way of a petition showing how many MPs actually want the spill (which was Malcolm Turnbull’s move that didn’t end so well before Scott Morrison came up the middle and won the Liberal leadership). The end result is the same. Taylor, and his supporters on the shadow front bench are expected to resign from the shadow ministry, which will start the spill ball rolling.

Is this going to change anything for the Liberal party. Unlikely. As Redbridge Group director Kos Samaras told The New Daily:

They are not only declining in support in regional Australia to One Nation – they’ve historically been losing ground to the Labor Party and to independents,” he said.

Outside of Queensland, they only hold five urban seats among a cluster of voters to the tune of 14.5 million. So they’ve got a lot of problems.”

Sky News latest poll has One Nation on a primary vote of 28, two behind Labor. Now no one follows Sky News polls – except the Liberals, who in this poll sit at 19. So it will push them on to the latest leadership bandaid.

We’ll be covering that, as well as everything else which happens, including the estimates hearings.

Coffee number three is not far away. Grab what you need and we’ll jump into it. Ax