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Credlin shirtfronts Abbott accusers: Students ‘sneering cowards won’t define me’ at risk of Turnbull’s $300m PETA fees bill CREDLIN ON CLAIMS ABOUT EXCLUSIVE WRITES HER RELATIONSHIP satisfaction KYLAR LOUSSIKIAN EXCLUSIVELY WITH TONY ABBOTT The financially stricken Austra- FOR THE lian Careers Network has warned it could target thousands AUSTRALIAN of students to repay $300 million I can’t be any in course fee loans if it is forced P12 clearer – it is into administration. on the slide ACN, the owner of contro- about as low as it versial training outfit Phoenix Institute, is teetering on the PM’S DESCENT gets. It’s vicious brink of insolvency after it was EXCLUSIVE unsuccessful in its attempt to PRIMARY VOTE Feb Mar % % and malicious claw back about $40m from the PHILLIP HUDSON 18-21 3-6 60 COALITION 43 43 federal government under the CANBERRA BUREAU CHIEF contentious VET FEE-HELP LABOR 35 35 50 People tell me loan scheme. Voter confidence in Malcolm TWO-PARTY-PREFERRED Satisfaction The Australian Securities Ex- Turnbull’s performance has COALITION 50 50 change-listed company, headed tumbled to a five-month low and 40 to ignore it but by former police officer Ivan LABOR 50 50 dissatisfaction with the Prime Dissatisfaction I refuse to let Brown, has less than $13.5m in Minister has reached the highest TURNBULL’S PERFORMANCE 30 cash at the bank, having churned level since he seized the leader- SATISFIED 48 44 this stand through $10.4m in the three ship from Tony Abbott in DISSATISFIED 38 41 months ending December. It has September. 20 obtained advice that administra- The latest Newspoll, taken ex- FULL TABLES P6 Sep 17-20 Mar 3-6 tors, if appointed, could pursue clusively for The Australian, also I am not the first up to 24,000 students for hun- shows that despite stronger than dreds of millions of dollars in expected economic growth fig- Early election a farce if PM woman to face course fee loans in a bid to ures last week and the release of recover money for banks and its defence white paper, the offensive and false investors. Coalition has failed to lift its doesn’t force issue on ABCC Mr Brown confirmed to The standing, remaining deadlocked rumours about Australian yesterday the com- with Labor at 50-50 in two-party resurrect the ABCC by its pany could take action against terms. PAUL KELLY omission from a double- the nature of her students if the federal govern- Bill Shorten has posted the EDITOR-AT-LARGE dissolution list. professional ment did not provide the money third consecutive rise in his Yet this may well happen. under the loan scheme. stocks, lifting satisfaction with his Having said last December relationships but “Our legal advice is that performance to a level not seen when the Heydon report was students entered into an agree- since Mr Abbott was prime minis- released that he was prepared sadly I doubt I’ll ment to enrol in a course at the ter, although Mr Turnbull still re- to fight an election on the issue, advertised fee,” he said. “If the mains overwhelmingly the Turnbull would look weak on be the last (Department of Education) preferred prime minister. the most decisive test for a decides they were ineligible for a The latest Newspoll of 1815 Liberal leader: fighting trade VET FEE-HELP loan (that) does people taken from Thursday to union lawlessness. not remove the student’s obli- Sunday shows the massive popu- Imagine this for a political How would such a retreat be Much of this gation to pay. It’s similar to sign- larity Mr Turnbull enjoyed late farce: Malcolm Turnbull calls a received by Liberal business ing an unconditional contract to last year has dissipated as the gov- double-dissolution election for backers, desperately needed post-leadership buy a house and the bank knocks ernment has fumbled its tax pol- July 2, keen to exploit ALP financial contributors and true- critique is your finance back, you are still icy and been wracked by weakness, but does not include blue Liberal volunteers needed on the hook.” continuing internal division. the Australian Building and for a campaign? It would swell politically Phoenix Institute is the target As Mr Turnbull weighs up Construction Commission bills nostalgia for Tony Abbott who of separate action by the Austra- whether to have a double-dissol- on his list of blocked bills. crusaded against the CFMEU motivated and lian Competition & Consumer ution election on July 2 and poss- The Prime Minister would and for the ABCC. Commission, which is attemp- ibly bring forward the May 10 have little credibility to Greens leader Richard Di driven by warring ting to recover more than $100m budget or stick with a regular campaign on the lawlessness of Natale has foreshadowed a paid by the federal government house and half-Senate ballot in the Construction Forestry major victory for the Liberal Party under the loan scheme. August, September or October, Mining and Energy Union, on government’s opponents. He Vocational Education Minis- several ministers believe he is the lethal royal commission said the absence of the ABCC camps ter Scott Ryan said the depart- leaning towards the earlier option report from former High Court bills from the list for the Senate ment was continuing its in a bid to clean out the Senate judge Dyson Heydon or on the sitting next week means the investigations into Phoenix, and crossbench. abuses of trade union power rife Turnbull government “could “the commonwealth is working Yet there has been confusion in the construction industry. not use it as a double- to protect students and is assist- about the detail of the Coalition’s The internal backlash would dissolution trigger and that is a ing the ACCC in their current plans for a plebiscite on gay mar- be immense. If you think Tony good thing”. don’t survive in those jobs unless tor the rumours were not true. An legal action against Phoenix”. riage and whether the govern- Abbott, the conservatives and The union movement, the EXCLUSIVE you’re up to it because you tend to anonymous source in the book Many of ACN’s students have ment intends to pursue legislation much of the Liberal rank and CFMEU and the Labor Party get found out pretty quickly.” described Ms Credlin as Mr been charged $18,000 or more to revive the Australian Building file have been noisy in recent would score a significant CAROLINE OVERINGTON Rumours of an affair between Abbott’s Wallis Simpson — the for vocational education and and Construction Commission times, this would pale victory. Ms Credlin and Mr Abbott have woman for whom a king once ab- training courses. Loans for the before calling an election. compared with the furore if the The only way a re-elected “Completely false, utterly untrue, circulated for years, but intensi- dicated. full amount were to be paid The fall in support for the gov- Coalition betrays years of effort Continued on Page 7 unfounded and wrong.” fied this week following the re- Ms Credlin told The Australian to ACN but the department ernment identified by Newspoll a and expectation buttressed by That is what Peta Credlin has lease of a book by The Australian’s she wasn’t the first woman to be deferred some of those pay- fortnight ago has been confirmed, the royal commission report MORE REPORTS P7 to say about rumours that she had columnist, Niki Savva. attacked about “the nature of her ments amid growing concerns with the Coalition’s primary vote and ditches the chance to EDITORIAL P13 a sexual relationship with her Savva revealed how NSW professional relationships, and that some students being en- remaining at the equal lowest boss, Tony Abbott. Liberal conservative Concetta sadly I doubt I will be the last”. rolled were not suitable for level since Mr Turnbull took over “I can’t be any clearer — it is Fierravanti-Wells, now a minis- She lamented the personal nature undertaking the study. of 43 per cent. Labor’s support is Satisfaction with Mr Turn- Mr Turnbull’s net satisfaction about as low as it gets,” Ms ter, raised the whispering cam- of the attacks, saying: “I hope this The Department of Edu- also unchanged at 35 per cent and bull’s performance has fallen four rating — the difference between Credlin said. “It’s vicious and paign directly with Mr Abbott in doesn’t put off smart women from cation issued a statement to The the Greens at 12 per cent. points in the past fortnight to those who are satisfied and those malicious.” I refuse to let this stand. I earned February last year. joining the political fray.” Australian yesterday saying that Based on preference flows at 44 per cent and has dived 16 points who are dissatisfied with his In a powerful rebuttal to sal- my good reputation by working “Politics is about perceptions,’’ She also hit out at Savva over it would stand behind students the last election, it leaves the since mid-November, when he performance — dropped from 10 acious gossip that exploded onto hard for four cabinet ministers, Senator Fierravanti-Wells told her refusal to come to her for a who were “properly enrolled”.