Australian news and politics live: Watt says environmental reform bill ‘will pass’ this week

Adding to the intrigue surrounding Sussan Ley’s future, Andrew Hastie will miss at least one day of Parliament this week as he recovers from shoulder surgery.

The Canning MP didn’t make the trip across the Nullarbor on Sunday with his West Australian colleagues (nor did Michaelia Cash, who continues to recover from a broken ankle).

He injured his shoulder in a jujitsu lesson in June and told supporters on Friday that he’d had “a repair job” on it last Wednesday.

“This week I’ll be working on a writing project and publishing an extended essay each week,” he wrote in an email to supporters, asking them to suggest topics.

“What questions do you think I should spend time answering? From the personal to the political, let me know what you’d like me to focus on.”

The Liberal party room will meet on Tuesday, ahead of the usual joint meeting with Nationals colleagues.

Police are preparing for protests around Federal Parliament on Monday as the third-highest ranking figure in the Chinese Government flies into Canberra for a visit, which will include a meeting with the Governor General.

Over the weekend, Zhao Leji, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, touched down in Brisbane, where he was met by the Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, Milton Dick

On Monday, Chairman Zhao will call on Governor General Sam Mostyn at Government House, then head to Parliament House for a formal dinner with the presiding officers.

The Nightly has confirmed the senior Chinese official will have breakfast with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday morning before he flies out of Australia.

WA antagonist Andrew Hastie has emerged as the front-runner to replace Sussan Ley, according to a new opinion poll that reveals half of voters can’t pick anyone they want to lead the Liberals.

The Coalition’s primary vote was still languishing at a record low 24 per cent, in the last Newspoll before Parliament rises — despite dumping net zero and talking tough on migration.

The poll — published in Monday’s Australian — showed Labor has increased its two-party preferred lead to 58-42 per cent, while 46 per cent of the 1245 voters surveyed answered “don’t know” when presented a list of potential Liberal leaders.

Ms Ley topped the list with 21 per cent support, including from 28 per cent of Coalition voters.

But Mr Hastie, who has previously confirmed his leadership ambitions, was closest on her heels with the backing of 15 per cent and — crucially — with 26 per cent support from supporters of One Nation, that has been the major beneficiary of the Liberal party’s identity crisis.

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Environment Minister Murray Watt says Labor’s controversial environment reform bill will pass Parliament this week, with either Coalition or Greens support.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that the Parliament will be passing these much-needed reforms to our national environment laws, and it’ll happen this week,” he told ABC on Monday.

“The only question now is whether it will happen with the support of the Coalition or the Greens,” the Senator added.

“Both the Coalition and the Greens have got a really important choice to make about whether they want to be part of reforming these laws in a way that strengthens our environmental protections while also speeding up the approval processes for things like housing and renewables, or whether they want to sit on the sidelines and see the other one run past them.

“This is going to happen this week.”