What we learned today, Tuesday 13 June
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today – thanks so much for joining us. Here is a wrap of the day’s biggest stories:
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, began today’s question time acknowledging the horrific Hunter Valley bus crash, saying: “Today we pause as a parliament to mark a loss beyond words, a tragedy beyond comprehension, an unfairness beyond understanding.”
You can read this explainer of what we know so far about the crash.
Senator Katy Gallagher denied misleading parliament over her knowledge of Brittany Higgins’s rape allegation, hitting back at the Coalition over their “giddy” reaction to leaked text messages.
The Greens party decried what they called “politicking” over the Higgins’s allegations, with Senator Sarah Hanson-Young saying, “The message that this sends to other women right around the country is dangerous.”
Meanwhile, federal police have been asked to investigate the alleged leaking of evidence from the trial of Bruce Lehrmann to the media by a lawyer representing Network Ten.
The Queensland government delivered its budget today, aimed at tacking cost of living pressures. You can read a full breakdown here.
Please take care this evening x
Lifeline 13 11 14
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Amber alert for one-day-old baby taken from Queensland hospital yesterday
Queensland police are seeking urgent public assistance to help locate a one-day-old baby girl who was taken from Ipswich hospital yesterday, who may be at significant risk.
Two women were seen taking the baby and putting her into a white Suzuki Liana with registration 095HI8.
The car was last seen leaving Charlotte Street, Basin Pocket at 2.30pm today.
Call 131 564 to provide information about this incident, or call 000 for life threatening information about this incident.
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The minister for international development, Pat Conroy, has shared some images on social media from the G20 development ministers’ meeting in India:
Productive talks at the #G20 Development Ministers' Meeting in India, including the UK's @AndrewmitchMP, France's @CZacharopoulou, the EU's @JuttaUrpilainen & Canada's @HarjitSajjan. Keen to collaborate for excellent development impact! pic.twitter.com/tWAoV5eFoS
— Pat Conroy MP (@PatConroy1) June 13, 2023
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Indigenous heritage laws ‘severely outdated in SA’
A state parliamentary committee has found that Aboriginal heritage laws in South Australia are severely outdated and need urgent attention, AAP reports.
In a final report tabled in parliament on Tuesday, the committee made a series of recommendations to establish a regimen “in accordance with community expectations”.
It proposed increased penalties for damage or harm to Indigenous heritage, something the government has already acted on, and recognised the need for more consistent laws across the country.
Committee presiding member and upper house MP Tung Ngo said in the report:
A consistent theme in the submissions received was that Aboriginal heritage laws in this state and around the nation are severely outdated and in need of urgent attention.
Aboriginal heritage protection is outdated and does not reflect modern community expectations.
Among its recommendations, the committee called for the definition of Aboriginal remains to be expanded to include all bodily remains, not just skeletal matter.
It also urged a review of the provisions allowing ministerial authorisation for any damage to heritage sites.
The committee said the government should consider ways in which Indigenous communities could be the “ultimate arbiters” on any proposal that would affect their local heritage.
Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kyam Maher said South Australia’s Aboriginal heritage protection laws were failing to protect the state’s ancient cultural heritage:
By legislating an increase in penalties, we are sending a clear message that Aboriginal heritage is to be both protected and respected.
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Labor blocks inquiry into NT Middle Arm industrial development
The Labor government has blocked a Senate inquiry into the proposed Middle Arm development in the Northern Territory, despite an earlier Senate inquiry into development of the Beetaloo basin recommending a follow-up inquiry.
Although Labor had indicated it would support the recommendations from the earlier Beetaloo inquiry, Labor joined the Coalition to vote down a Greens motion to set up the further inquiry.
The federal government has committed $1.5bn toward the maritime infrastructure for the huge Middle Arm development in Darwin Harbour, which is being promoted by the NT government as a “sustainable precinct” that will run on renewables and be a hub for new decarbonising industries such as green hydrogen and mineral processing for batteries.
But environmentalists fear that the huge investment in Middle Arm will inevitably lead to an expansion of gas in the Northern Territory and make Beetaloo a foregone conclusion and result in “a carbon bomb” that will make it impossible for Australia to reach its pledge to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
Labor said it was opposing a review by the Senate as the project was at an early stage and would go through other reviews including a strategic environmental assessment.
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To catch up on today’s biggest headlines so far, my colleague Antoun Issa has the latest:
In a statement, Independent MP Zali Steggall has spoken out against the alleged leaking of confidential information provided as part of a police investigation.
She said:
The media should not have a leave pass on people’s right to privacy… Media publication of leaked private material produced for a police investigation undermines trust and confidence in the criminal justice system for victims.
This is not in the public interest.
📣Media Statement: Freedom of speech is important, but so is privacy. #auspol #QT pic.twitter.com/kFY8B8VSeO
— 🌏 Zali Steggall MP (@zalisteggall) June 13, 2023
Queensland Council of Social Service (Qcoss) chief executive, Aimee McVeigh, says the short-term cost of living relief in the Queensland budget would make a “significant difference” to the lives of some of the state’s most vulnerable people.
McVeigh welcomed rebates on power that all Queensland households will enjoy and that will likely see some not pay electricity bills at all next financial year.
McVeigh said:
With increasing energy costs, increasing rents and even increasing costs of groceries, people on low incomes are really finding it tough right now.
People have been not turning on heaters, not turning on lights and not using power because of the pressure that the cost of energy is putting on household budgets.
McVeigh said Qcoss was also “very supportive” of the government’s universal kindy funding, school breakfast program, swimming lessons and funding for solar panels on social housing.
McVeigh’s comments came a day after she described the 500 extra social homes the budget would fund as welcome but “inadequate given the state’s current housing crisis”.
Queensland Resources Council chief executive Ian Macfarlane says the state’s budget has “revealed the true extent in which Queenlsand relies on the resources sector” but has taken an “enormous hit on the future viability” of the coal industry.
Macfarlane told reporters at state parliament:
An extraordinary record $15.3bn has been contributed to the Queenlsand government coffers from the coal industry alone.
The reality is that Queensland now relies on its viability in the economy on the coal sector.
But the former Liberal resources minister said the sector was facing “a grim challenge” with investor confidence “shattered” by the coal royalty increase.
Treasurer Cameron Dick today unveiled a raft of short-term cost of living relief measures on the back of budget flush with an unexpected $10bn revenue windfall due to his decision to increase royalties on record-high coal prices.
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Sarah Hanson-Young continues speaking on the ABC and argues that the leaking of Higgins’ text messages should be investigated.
Greg Jennett (host):
Should the AFP have a role in investigating this [portions of subpoenaed documents made public] or do you think they, as a party to the sovereign of inquiry and events generally around Brittany Higgins, are they conflicted?
Hanson-Young:
Frankly I’m surprised they haven’t called for an investigation already. The AFP have been pretty silent so far.
Jennett:
Why do you think that is?
Hanson-Young:
I don’t know but that is a question that they need to ask.
This is a very serious leak of private information and it will create a chilling impact on other victim-survivors. No doubt about it.
What this says – and if the parliament doesn’t respond, if the government doesn’t respond, if political leaders and the police don’t respond properly – what it says is watch out.
There is no point telling your story, there is no point putting your head up, because you cannot trust the information will be treated properly. That is a shocking indictment on all of this.
I think there are some very very serious questions. I’m glad that the attorney general has referenced it today, but it needs to be investigated.
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'Revolting': Hanson-Young decries 'politicking' over Higgins allegations
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said that the “politicking” over the Higgins’ allegations over the past few days has been “revolting”.
Speaking on the ABC she said:
We just step back a moment, a young woman alleged to be sexually assaulted in her workplace, she claims that when she went to her bosses, that she wasn’t supported, that she felt dismissed, that she felt silenced.
Years later, now her private text messages with her partner are being reported across newspapers and are being quoted in the parliament as part of a political game.
The message that this sends to other women right around the country is dangerous. It is going to have a chilling effect and every politician, every policymaker and every leader in this country should be concerned of what is going on here.
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Polls are ‘at disconnect to the conversations that I’m seeing on the ground’: yes campaigner
Marcus Stewart, Uluru Dialogue Representative and yes campaigner on the Voice to parliament, just appeared on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing.
He is asked about “faltering support for yes in the polls”, and responded:
It is a paper scissors rock [depending on what poll] you want to listen to.
Ultimately the polls that we see on the news are at disconnect to the conversations that I’m seeing on the ground [and] in our community with the broader Australian public.
There is enormous goodwill and so we have to stay calm. We understand polls sell papers, they’re clickbait, but it is not a true reflection of the mood of this nation and appetite for change and the opportunity for us to wake up a better country.
There is a lot that worries me but I am absolutely confident that the day post referendum we could see change in this country for the better and we just need to remain calm …
The start gun goes once the bill is passed, hopefully next week, and we take it out of the political domain … and then we have the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with the Australian people, win the hearts and minds of the Australian public and, as I said, wake up a better country that Sunday post-referendum.
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Youth advocates call for voting rights to extend to 16
Non-partisan group Make It 16 has called on federal parliament to extend the vote to the country’s 16- and 17-year-olds as part of a campaign to lower the voting age, AAP reports.
The 16-year-old Ravin Desai told reporters at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday:
At the end of the day, we’re the people that will inherit the consequences or benefits of what our governments do.
The group was supported by a mix of young and older crossbenchers.
The independent MP Monique Ryan said young people were affected by decisions parliament made on climate, the environment, housing and the economy:
All of these issues matter to them – more than to some people in this place. It’s only fair that we give them this chance to participate in our democracy.
The Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie supported the change and suggested an opt-in model:
No one in this country has a greater stake in our future than younger Australians. They will still be here long after I’ve been buried.
The Greens youth spokesperson, Stephen Bates, said young people are at the forefront of so many crises confronting Australia.
Austria, Argentina, Brazil, Malta, Scotland and Wales already allow 16-year-olds to have their say at the ballot box. The youth suffrage supporters credited higher rates of political engagement and voter turnout compared to older age groups, as results from those nations.
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Huge thanks to Amy for taking us through the day. I’ll be with you for the remainder of the evening – let’s get into it.
A very big thank you to everyone who followed along today in what was a rougher than expected day.
There are many who forget that what goes on in the chamber has very real impact on those outside of it. And the messages from today – and let’s face it, recent weeks – have been heard loud and clear. It is not just politics. It matters.
If that is you, if you are struggling, please know you are not alone. There are many of us who walk this path with you.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14.
I will be back early tomorrow to cover off the second day of the sitting. Let’s hope for a gentler one.
Emily Wind will take you through the afternoon. And please – take care of you Ax
For those wondering about the Queensland budget, you can find a handy catch up here:
The ‘r’ word
The Westpac consumer sentiments and the NAB’s business watch reports were released today and you will be SHOCKED, SHOCKED to learn that things are not great.
CreditorWatch’s chief economist, Anneke Thompson, has released a statement mentioning the “r” word and they are not alone – more and more economists are starting to warn we are headed into recessionary conditions.
And you know how the RBA deals with recessions? It cuts interest rates. (Face melting emoji here)
None of this changes the fact though that the third or so of people without housing costs or those with big saving buffers have not changed their spending patterns during this period of ongoing inflation. And the rest of us who do have housing costs and no savings are the ones who are paying the price.
From Thompson’s analysis:
Consumer confidence remains near recessionary levels, with consumers surveyed by Westpac after the rate rise decision on June 6 noticeably more pessimistic than those surveyed the day prior. Consumer sentiment has never been this low for this long, which points to difficult times ahead for the retail sector in Australia. Already, the household goods sector is being severely impacted, with trade in this sector down almost 5% in the year to April 2023, despite record inflation over that time period.
Business sentiment is now starting to fall the way of consumers, although the drop in sentiment, it must be said, is a far slower process. Business confidence now sits at -4 index points, and business conditions fell from +15 to +8 index points between April and May. More concerning is that labour and input costs edged up, a further sign that inflation is too sticky.
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Question time ends
Question time is extended to allow Tony Burke to talk about same job, same pay and then we are all freed.
Was it the most unedifying QT we have seen? No. But it is coming close. Thank goodness for the independent MPs for reminding the chamber that all of this is above politics and they are actually dealing with people’s lives.
A gentler parliament, this is not.
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Katter blurs question-statement line
Bob Katter has words which seem to be in the form of a question, but if this was old school Q&A, Tony Jones would say “I’ll take that as a statement” and then move on.
However, the government cannot move on, so Mark Butler takes it – it is about pharmacists I think – and gives pretty much the same answer he gave the member for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie, earlier.
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‘Calm down Radioactive Man!’
Bowen is ruled to be in order, so he continues:
I met with those farmers in the impacted area, they made clear that they have support for the project and announced in response to the government’s announcement of going on the nation, with local supply chain investment, estimated to be in excess of $1bn in more than 3,000 jobs in the construction phase, this investment will deliver long-term economic benefits.
There are plenty of more interjections – Paul Karp hears Labor’s Josh Burns call out to the Liberal’s Ted O’Brien “calm down Radioactive Man” (again, who is Fallout Boy –maybe Keith Pitt?)
But all in all, it is the same old argument.
The bringing of people into the gallery though, that is borrowing from old Labor tactics. This is the second time that the opposition have brought people into the gallery to make a point – last time it was pharmacists in their white coats, this time round it is farmers.
It’s going to be a long year.
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Question on power lines through Mallee farms
The Nationals MP Dr Anne Webster asks Chris Bowen:
My question is to the minister for climate change and energy. In the gallery today are many farmers from the Mallee. They will be impacted by the government’s fast-tracking of 28,000km of polls and wires across regional Australia. How many more farmers will be impacted from Labor’s arrogant policy to steamroll local communities and pushing forward 28,000km of transmission lines?
Bowen:
I thank the member for her question. Let’s say to her and the house it would have been better if the question was more anchored in the facts. And the facts of the matter, the fact … is the member made a number of positions in a question and it is appropriate to point out that those assertions are incorrect, in relation to that, the number of farms affected will depend in no small part on the final route selected, they made an announcement two weeks ago, two weeks ago that they had changed the proposed route based on community feedback, Mr Speaker, that is no bad thing.
That is no bad thing.
Its original path heading north-west in the Senate through Charlton and the border to go around and hit the Murray River downstream. This is a result of community consultation, community consultation is something we take very seriously in the government, Mr Speaker, in fact, the last sitting week I met with the Murray River group council who came to talk to me about that and I accepted the meeting, the request of course, they are to speak to me about it, they said to me that they appreciated the consultation that they had engaged on, they appreciated the engagement with the government, they made that point to me, they requested a meeting and they got [one].
There is a point of order.
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‘There is a lot of work ahead of us to turn this tide’: Labor on homelessness
Julie Collins takes that reader question – the whole answer is a bit of an essay, so here is the main take away:
The Albanese Government believes that everyone deserves a safe and secure place to call home.
We know the latest data from the ABS shows the number of people experiencing homelessness climbed by 6,000 people between 2016 and 2021.
It is unacceptable that almost 123,000 Australians are experiencing homelessness, as highlighted in the most recent census data.
These are more than numbers. These are people, people facing the extraordinary stress of not having a safe roof over their heads.
There is a lot of work ahead of us to turn this tide, and we need to work together to do it.
… Earlier this year I also announced our government’s continued investment of $91.7m into youth homelessness through the reconnect program over the next three years.
This is in addition to the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement that will see the Albanese government provide $1.7bn this year to states and territories for the operation of housing and homelessness services.
We are continuing to work with the states and territories on the future of the Housing and Homelessness Agreement, as well as the development of the National Housing and Homelessness Plan.
Collins then moved on to the fund:
The fund is about creating a secure, ongoing pipeline of funding for social and affordable rental homes over the long term.
What we’ve seen too often in the past is investments in housing being disrupted by changes of government – a boost from a government that prioritises housing followed by cuts when a government with different priorities and policies is elected.
This is exactly why the Fund is structured in the way that it is. Putting it at arm’s length from budget cycles and changes of government will mean it remains in place.
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Let’s do another Reader QT.
Jenny would like to know:
Statistical data shows that the homelessness rates among the population in the Aukus countries are approximately:
US 0.18% and worsening.
UK 0.39% and worsening.
AU 0.49% and worsening.
In Europe, Germany has the highest rate of homelessness at 0.37% of the population
China has been addressing poverty as part of their economic growth. They currently have an estimated homelessness of 0.18% but it is improving
On the Australian government’s attorney general’s website we can read that:
“Everyone has the right to an adequate standard of living including adequate food, water and housing and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.”
In regard to housing, would the 130,000 Australians who are currently homelessness be better off living in China?
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Queensland budget day update
Stepping into the Greatest Nation on Earth for a moment and Joe Hinchliffe has an update on Queensland’s budget day:
Queensland’s opposition Liberal National party says Labor’s budget – though flush with an unexpected $10bn revenue windfall due to its controversial decision to increase royalties on record-high coal prices – will fail to fix long-term solutions to the cost of living, youth crime, health and housing crises.
The shadow treasurer, David Janetzki, says Queensland will have “nothing to show” for the billions of dollars more than was previously forecast:
After the rivers of gold dry up, Queensland will have nothing to show but the highest debt in our state’s history, the highest taxes and failing frontline services.
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Labor asked about Privacy Act and Higgins
The independent MP Zali Steggall asks Mark Dreyfus:
To the attorney general, media publication of leaked private material produced during a police investigation undermined trust and confidence in the criminal justice system for victims.
The Privacy Act review and the Australian law reform submission have recommended strengthening the privacy standards that media organisations should consider prior to publication.
What steps is the government taking to review the privacy act for journalism as journalists have an inadequate self-regulated code of ethics and Australia does not have a statutory tort for breach of privacy?
Dreyfus says:
As attorney general, I am deeply concerned about the apparent unauthorised publication of material produced as a result of a subpoena in the criminal trial of Mr Bruce Lehrmann. Material produced to a court in response to a subpoena is subject to an implied undertaking from the parties who receive it, that it won’t be used for purposes other than for those court proceedings.
So the rule known as the Harmon rule or the Harmon undertaking, to breach it may constitute a contempt of court. I do understand that the Australian federal police have received a complaint in respect of this matter and that the AFP is currently assessing that complaint.
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‘The most egregious abuse of privacy I’ve ever seen’: Gallagher on leaking of Higgins’s text messages
In the Senate’s QT, the Coalition’s attack on Katy Gallagher continues. The finance minister has blasted the publication of Brittany Higgins’s text messages, calling it “the most egregious abuse of privacy I’ve ever seen”.
Gallagher conceded that she received information about Brittany Higgins’s rape allegations “several days before the first public reports went to air” but said she “did nothing with that information, absolutely nothing”:
I was asked to keep it to myself and I did. I won’t stand here and go through private conversations I had with a person at the centre of a very very difficult time in her life, a person who has had her privacy breached in the most egregious way over the last 2 years.
Asked by Bridget McKenzie about texts, as reported in the News Corp press, purportedly showing Higgins’s partner talking about discussing the matter with Gallagher and that the now minister had suggested questions for Higgins to prepare for, Gallagher would not comment. Asked several questions about this matter, Gallagher referred back to her statement, adding “the welfare of Brittany Higgins matters to me”.
Subjecting her to further commentary in a very distressing time for her, as minister for women, I don’t think it’s acceptable.
Gallagher said the current rhetoric would have an effect on other women “wondering if they should stand up and say something” about their own experiences.
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The speaker, Milton Dick, agrees and gives a warning to the chamber, reminding them they have a role to play and a standard to set.
Sussan Ley chooses that moment to make a point of order herself:
The points that the member for Goldstein raised around the content of the conversation would be respected better by the minister if she simply answered the question.
Dick says Plibersek is being relevant.
Tanya Plibersek takes up the answer again:
I want to thank the member for Goldstein for bringing us back to what matters here. This conversation is an incredibly difficult conversation for many thousands of people who are watching this right now. They find it distressing because they know that when victims of sexual assault report these matters to the police, they often go into a process which is revictimising and retraumatising.
In every instance, Mr Speaker, I behaved ethically and completely properly, respectful of the issues at hand and respectful of the people involved.
Barnaby Joyce forgets that he is not “debating” Plibersek on Sunrise and shouts something – Dick tells him to shut it. But more parliamentary than that.
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‘Nobody tells me what to ask in question time’: Plibersek
Tanya Plibersek:
I say again, nobody tells me what to ask in question time. But is it any surprise that the shadow minister for women, when she hears in the media, that there has been a sexual assault in Parliament House, a very serious allegation … in the media that that had been inappropriately dealt with by the employers in this place, that she would ask questions.
Is there any wonder – and, in fact, Mr Speaker, I would say I would not have been doing my job at all if I had not asked questions about this.
Can I take us back to the issue at hand here once again? Is it any wonder, Mr Speaker, that only 13% of sexual assaults in this country are reported to police when we see what has been happening in the media this week? With sms messages leaked to the media.
With private conversations taped and leaked to the media.
There are so many heckles and interjections it is hard to keep up.
The independent MP Zoe Daniel hears them too and makes a point of order:
I remind the chamber how triggering this conversation is for the woman involved, for the staff in the building and the women around Australia, who are victims of sexual assault. And I also remind the chamber that we have young people in the gallery listening to this behaviour.
Updated
We are back on that again.
Sussan Ley asks Tanya Plibersek:
In the last parliament the member asked 16 questions in question time relating to the serious allegations aired on the Project. When asked about this questioning on Sunrise on 5 June this year, the minister stated that nobody tells me what to ask in question time. Did the minister engage with any third parties regarding the content of these questions before she asked them?
There is the same back and forth about whether the question is relevant, going over the same ground we just covered in the previous post.
Tanya Plibersek takes the question.
Updated
This is going to keep coming up.
The issue is the opposition can only ask questions about what ministers are doing now/this term of government. So it can’t ask questions about previous roles, or previous parliaments.
So the Coalition is trying to link previous comments to current media interviews to have the questions ruled in order.
So it is a thin line and a confusing one, but essentially, the opposition has to ask questions about what government MPs are doing now, not what they have previously done/said in previous roles/parliaments.
The answer is done, but Sussan Ley tries again to make HER point:
The minister’s non-answer to the question relates to your ruling, I suggest, and I want to ask, to your ruling, and quote from practice, where ministers have made statements either inside or outside the House about matters that may concern their actions before becoming a minister, questions have been permitted on those statements. I am not sure what in your ruling narrows the answer that the minister was entitled to give so that she actually could not address the question that I was asking her.
Tony Burke is on his feet just as quickly:
Just to the point of order, Mr Speaker. ‘Cause there’s no doubt this issue will arise again on other times. It has over the last 10 years. The key point is the final two words that were just read out by the deputy leader, which is about questions have been permitted on those statements. The question can only be asked about the statement that has been made while the member was a minister.
And then Paul Fletcher tries:
What the minister said in her interview on Monday went specifically to the question of who had known what prior to the episode being broadcast. I’d suggest to you that the deputy leader is entirely within the standing orders in the question she is asking.
And then Dick says, with a little bit of exasperation that that is the point.
That’s why it was allowed. That’s correct. If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t have been allowed.
‘You bet I asked questions’: Tanya Plibersek on Higgins’s follow-up allegation
Tanya Plibersek tries to continue her answer:
The deputy leader of the opposition asked me if I stand by what I said on Monday and I do. I tell you why I do. Because it shocks me that in this place today we’ve got these sorts of questions when what the issue is here is a young woman who worked in this place has made a serious allegation …
That she complained and has further alleged that her complaint and complaint was not dealt with appropriately by her employer.
You bet I asked questions, you bet I took it seriously.
Would I do the same again? I 100% would. There is a reason …
There is a reason only 13% of sexual assaults are reported to the police in this country.
Independent MP Kylea Tink then comes to her feet with a point of order:
It’s just on standing order number 91 which is about disorderly conduct. This is a conversation which is highly emotive and there are questions to be answered here but I do not think it’s appropriate for any member of this House to be yelling across the chamber at anothermember to simply shut up. I don’t think that’s appropriate. So if I could call the House back to order and ask that that be addressed.
Milton Dick calls the house to order.
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Interjections aplenty
It is a complicated one, but Milton Dick allows the question. Mostly.
He asks Tanya Plibersek to not stray into what is outside practice (so while she was in opposition) and to tread carefully – ie, stick to what she said on Monday in the interview with Sunrise.
Plibersek is back on her feet:
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I 100% stand by what I said on Monday and I 100% stand by what I have done at every stage, at every stage.
And I tell you what really shocks me about this and what really disappoints me is that once again we are missing the point here.
A young woman who worked in this place has made a serious allegation that she was sexually assaulted in her workplace. She has made serious allegations that that was not properly investigated or dealt with …
Sussan Ley is back:
Mr Speaker, the question was within the standing orders. The minister indicated her willingness to answer the question. The point of order now is on relevance. The direct question was, was the minister or her office aware prior to 15 February 2021 of the allegations aired on the Project that night. So if she’s answering the question she needs to answer the question.
Milton Dick says if that was the question then it would have been out of order. There are so many interjections here, it is hard to keep up and given the subject it is pretty gross.
Updated
Sussan Ley is up now and asks Tanya Plibersek:
I refer the minister to her recent interviews on Channel Seven’s Sunrise – was the minister or her office aware prior to 15 February 2021 of the allegations aired on the Project that night?
Plibersek gets up and goes to answer, when Tony Burke gets to his feet:
I refer to page 554 and 555 of practice. There are a number of occasions, and we’ve been through this a lot over the years, and there are many precedents under Speaker Smith, where if a question is asked about someone that goes to a period prior to them holding the portfolio, the first question that can only be asked is to refer to the quotation where, as a minister, they have referenced back to it and to ask whether that is correct. That – simply referring to it and asking a different question certainly, our whole time in Opposition, that never got it over the line.
The first question always had to be providing the quotation exactly in line with that precedent, asking whether that was accurate and then subsequent questions could come based on the answer the minister had then given. That’s the way it’s worked here the whole way through.
Paul Fletcher argues it is in order saying:
Where ministers have made statements inside or outside the house that may concern their actions before becoming a member and or a minister, questions have been permitted on those statements. The question was very specifically in relation to quite extensive statements. The minister has received the question made about this matter on Sunrise on Monday and indeed prior to that.
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Julie Collins took a dixer on the housing fund during that foray into senate QT and mentioned the Greens leader, Adam Bandt’s earlier support for a future fund – Paul Karp hears Bandt respond:
It was a sovereign wealth fund, for the super profits tax.
The Liberal MP Tony Pasin interjected with “friends are fighting”.
So that is the standard of chamber debate today.
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‘I don’t intend to disclose further interactions’: Gallagher
Senator Katy Gallagher says she didn’t pass on information from Brittany Higgins to her staff, Penny Wong or Anthony Albanese, as she maintains she was keeping Higgins’s confidence by not spreading that information.
In Senate question time, the Coalition opposition went straight on the attack about Gallagher’s knowledge of Higgins’s allegations, asking what she knew and when she knew it. Gallagher referred back to her lengthy Senate statement earlier in the day, and stressed that while she was told some information ahead of time, that info was given to her by people who “asked to keep it confidential”.
Gallagher, responding to questions from Simon Birmingham and Michaelia Cash, said: “What you’re asking me to do is breach the confidence … to disclose information that was given to me and asked to be kept in confidence by a woman who was alleged to have been raped.”
Gallagher again confirmed she did receive some information but added:
I don’t intend to disclose further interactions between any people who contacted me and asked to keep their confidence.
The finance minister was also critical of “leaked messages being sprayed around TV and newspaper”.
The message is if you confide in anybody, seek help from anybody, you will be subject to that information being sought and put on the public record.
She called for “respect for Brittany Higgins” as the opposition continued questions.
Asked directly about what she did with the information, Gallagher said she didn’t communicate the information to her staff, Wong or her staff, or Albanese and his staff.
Updated
The New South Wales branch of the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) has welcomed the overwhelming backing of union members to support the University of Sydney’s current enterprise bargaining agreement and avoid future strikes.
A huge thank you to the hundreds of active members at USYD who campaigned, picketed, and came together in union to hold management to account and deliver much-needed improvements
— NTEU New South Wales (@NTEUNSW) June 13, 2023
The hard work starts now: let's get these wins implemented at all levels of the university! #UnionWin
Al Scott, digital communications organiser at the NSW division, said the vote, with more than 900 members in attendance, was the biggest NTEU branch meeting on record.
80% of those members voted yes.
Sources close to Guardian Australia have suggested there is internal disagreement among hardline no voters who think casual staff are being shortchanged by the agreement, with some suggesting an alternative minority strike.
While noting some of the union’s claims were unable to have been achieved, Scott said the NTEU had been able to secure a workload balance between teaching and research academic roles. The agreement also commits to the 20% de-casualisation of casual academic labour and casual sick leave.
A University of Sydney spokesperson said it had “always maintained” it wanted to put a union endorsed agreement to staff and had agreed to many proposals throughout:
As such the NTEU members’ endorsement was an important stage in the approval process and we are delighted the response was 80% ... we can now move quickly through the remaining steps and provide colleagues with a $2000 sign-on payment plus a significant annual salary increase, and access to enhanced working conditions.
Updated
Surely the shortest exchange for the session …
Peter Dutton is up now:
Prime minister, has Senator Gallagher misled the senate?
Anthony Albanese:
No.
(That was the entire answer)
Updated
Labor fields question on regional pharmacies
The independent MP for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie, asks Mark Butler:
I support consumer access to cheaper medicines. However, many of my Mayo pharmacists are genuinely worried that the 60-day dispensing without adequate compensation will lead them to lay off staff, reduce services or close, I ask the minister what modelling has been done on the impacts of regional pharmacies and will the minister assure the house that no pharmacy would be forced to lay off staff or close as a result?
Mark Butler gives pretty much the same answer he did last sitting, when these questions were asked by the Liberal MPs while pharmacists were in the gallery.
He finishes with:
Of course we are committed to the viability of the community pharmacy sector. Which is why we have committed to fully reinvesting all of the savings – that is we make sure and the most substantial focus of us in designing that reinvestment package is on the impact of small rural pharmacies.
We have had a couple of good discussions with the member for Mayo and we are doubling a rural allowance pharmacies receive to stay open …
There are areas where pharmacies will receive an increase from $40,000 in their allowance to $90,000, a 120% increase in the payments they receive simply to remain open. We’re still consulting about that.
Butler sits down, but Darren Chester who has the Nationals’ role of attacker-in-chief (which Sussan Ley fulfils for the Liberals) asks to extend time for Butler to go into the modelling, but his heart isn’t really in it (and it is pointless as the minister has completed his answer).
Updated
During the dixer Jim Chalmers was taking on the housing fund just a moment ago, Paul Karp heard the opposition heckling the treasurer about the housing fund.
Aaron Vitoli was shouting “not a dollar for housing” which is a Greens talking point as a heckle, while Michael Sukkar called out “How are those 1m new homes going?”.
Probably worth pointing out the Coalition is not supporting the housing bill either.
Labor asked about the ongoing dangers of Covid-19
Reader QT time and Tanya asked Mark Butler:
With more than 194 deaths last week and rising, why does the government refuse to inform the community about the dangers and ways of prevention of Covid-19 and is the media prevented from reporting on one of the most dangerous current health issues?
Mark Butler:
Every death to Covid-19 is a tragedy. My thoughts are with the families and friends of those who have passed away.
The government is continuing to monitor Covid-19 cases numbers closely, especially over the winter period as we experience a predicted rise in case numbers. Crucially, hospitalisations, ICU admissions and deaths remain low compared with previous Omicron waves.
I encourage all Australians to ensure they are up to date with recommended vaccinations. Vaccination is the single most important step each of us can take to minimise the risk of severe disease and death associated with Covid-19 infection.
The government continues to deliver important public health information about Covid-19. Messages on the importance of boosters, treatments, masks and Covid-19 safe behaviours are delivered regularly through a range of channels including media and social media, stakeholder networks (including aged and disability care), webinars, newsletters and advertising.
The current phase of the national Covid-19 campaign, called ‘Top Up’, has been in market since April 2023, and is running across television, radio, out of home, digital, social media, and cinema. It highlights the importance of booster vaccination as the best way to maintain protection against severe Covid-19 illness. This communication activity is focused on providing the latest Atagi advice regarding booster vaccination in 2023 – informing adults that if it has been 6 months or more since your last Covid-19 vaccination or infection, you should consider a booster. Specific materials have been developed for First Nations audiences and information has been translated for culturally and linguistically diverse audiences. All these resources can be found on the Department of Health website at www.health.gov.au/TopUp.
In addition, a range of ongoing targeted activities support the current advertising. These have a particular focus on reaching priority and vulnerable audiences and seek to connect people with credible information sources, encourage uptake of vaccination and treatments, and promote protective Covid-19 behaviours. This include stakeholder kits, community engagement, social media and media activities.
The Department of Health and Aged Care’s website also includes accurate, easy to understand information and resources on Covid-19, including the risks posed by Covid-19, the various ways people can protect themselves from infection, how to book a Covid-19 vaccination, eligibility for oral treatments, publicly available case numbers and statistics and dedicated resources for those working in the aged care or disability sectors. Visit www.health.gov.au for more information.
Updated
Anthony Albanese finishes with:
I was asked about what the prime minister’s office knew. And the truth is … that goes to the heart of what this issue is. The heart of what this issue is. The heart of what this issue is.
Because the heart of this issue goes to an alleged sexual assault by a Liberal staffer against another Liberal staff member in a Liberal minister’s office in 2019.
Metres away from the then Liberal prime minister’s office. When these allegations became public, two years after the Morrison government became aware of the security breach, the truth is that it sent shock waves not just through the parliament but through the nation.
As it was the first step in exposing a problematic culture in what should be Australia’s safest building, the one right here.
Scott Morrison … had an inquiry by Gaetjens, his former Chief of Staff who was then his head of his staff, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet about who knew what when in his office. That report has not never been released.
What we do know is that the leader of the opposition informed the prime minister’s office, prior to that information becoming public, prior to that, but he didn’t reveal that until 10 days after news.com.au published this information at 8.00 am on 15 February, and the Project interviewed or aired an interview with Ms Brittany Higgins on the Project that evening.
For 10 days the leader of the opposition said nothing about what he knew and about the fact that he informed the prime minister’s office on that day.
Updated
There is then a flurry of point of orders over how Anthony Albanese is answering the question.
Peter Dutton says:
This is a tricky answer. The prime minister was asked a question. I asked, Mr Speaker, in terms of … With respect to your office, I framed it in that way, Mr Speaker, if he wants to play these silly juvenile games, the Australian public …
Tony Burke is on his feet now:
The question from the leader of the opposition was completely in order because it asked about the prime minister’s office. If he wants to ask about a different question to get a different answer then page 553 of practice will tell him how to do that. But the prime minister is simply answering the question that’s asked. And had the question been … What the leader of the opposition is embarrassed about is he couldn’t work out how to get a question in order.
Paul Fletcher then steps up to argue his boss’s case:
The question from the leader of the opposition clearly referred to the prime minister. That’s the prime minister of the day, this man sitting here. He knows what to answer – all kinds of sneakiness and trickiness does not get around what is and what he is supposed to be answering.
Milton Dick rules:
I just want to deal with this matter before I return to the prime minister. As members know, the including the manager and the leader of the opposition, the prime minister cannot be asked under standing orders – and the manager is correct on page 553 of practice which makes it clears that ministers or prime ministers cannot be asked about their former role or a private member before coming a minister. The question was line ball in terms of what the prime minister is responsible for.
Just moving forward, questions will be ruled out of order in terms of actions or issues before ministers or prime ministers came into these roles.
Updated
Back to regular question time now and Peter Dutton asks:
My question is to the prime minister. When did the prime minister or the prime minister’s office become aware of allegations concerning sexual assault as broadcast by the Project in 2021?
(News.com broke the story earlier in the day, before the Project interview)
Anthony Albanese is prepared for this question:
Well, of course, the leader of the opposition asked the question about when did the prime minister’s office know about this and indeed that is the question, when did the prime minister’s office know. When did the prime minister’s office know?
(There are many, many interjections here)
Because … there was of course an inquiry into what the prime minister’s office knew and when and who was told, and we still have never seen the Gaetjens inquiry. We still have never seen the Gaetjens inquiry.
We know that the leader of the opposition asked this question but I’m surprised because he knows – he informed the prime minister’s office days before … days and days before there was any public announcement of this.
Updated
Here is the first of our Reader QT questions
Hayden wanted to know:
Given that defence has failed to meet recruiting targets for more than 10 years in a row, separation rates are at a record high, and the Defence Strategic Review made no specific recommendations into how to fix the problem, what is the government going to do to fix the workforce issue in the ADF? …
So far the current government’s retention initiatives, announced at the end of last year, and the retention bonus this year, have been met with resounding derision on public forums and social media (as well as in private groups) as being “not good enough”.
Richard Marles responded:
Our government recognises the challenges defence faces to recruit, retain and grow its workforce. Investing in our defence force personnel was one of the six priorities that we identified in the government’s response to the Defence Strategic Review.
As I have said previously, defence is not immune from the factors that we’re seeing in the broader economy. And one of the issues that we faced over the last few years, particularly during and in the aftermath of the pandemic, is really a skills challenge across the entire country. Defence feels this as well.
But this should also be seen in the light of providing opportunities. Defence does a lot of skills and training, so those in the defence force are highly sought after in the wider economy, and there are lots of opportunities for people who have had a career in defence to pursue their career in the wider economy. This also creates a challenge for defence in terms of retaining its workforce. With all of those challenges though, we need to be growing our defence force. And we certainly need to be retaining it at the funded strength levels that are in place right now, which is why this measure is so important.
In the wake of the Defence Strategic Review the government announced a $400m package to support Australian Defence Force personnel through a continuation bonus.
Similarly, we need to be attracting the workforce which will ultimately ensure we have a sovereign defence industry. That is why we committed in the 2023-24 budget nearly $150m towards 4,000 university degrees and extending the Defence Industry Pathways Program in Western Australia – this will see a more than doubling of supported places in defence industries, and promote job opportunities and careers in the Western Australian defence industry.
Updated
University of Sydney union votes to support EBA
I have heard reports the University of Sydney’s National Tertiary of Education Union has just voted overwhelmingly in support of the university’s proposed enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA), bringing a possible conclusion to the longest running industrial campaign at a tertiary institution.
The University of Sydney’s bargaining process has drawn out over almost two years, with more than seven days of strikes held as negotiations continued.
On Tuesday afternoon, union members voted in favour of the EBA at 639 votes to 146 in a heated Zoom meeting. The EBA offers staff a 4.6% pay increase in the first year, totalling 18.1% over the EBA as well as a $2,000 sign-on bonus.
The university’s casual network has been critical of the EBA, suggesting it won’t do enough to end insecure work in the sector.
The proposed USyd EBA fails to offer substantive improvements for casualised staff. We shouldn't have to beg management for decent pay and conditions.
— USyd Casuals Network (@CasualsUsyd) June 2, 2023
Read on for more info on why we're voting NO to management's deal: https://t.co/rG9qVgAM7h #EndWageTheft #USydEBA #NTEU pic.twitter.com/1AlJ31Wbfn
You can read more about the campaign here:
Updated
And with jarring whiplash, question time begins
The house holds a moment of silence and then it is into question time.
It is an absolute jarring whiplash.
Peter Dutton does not ask the first question as he usually would for exactly that reason – so he is not seen as shifting the mood from somber to attack.
So the Gold Coast Liberal MP Angie Bell gets the job.
Bell asks:
Prime minister, the cost-of-living crisis is the biggest issue facing the Australians today. Doug lives on the Gold Coast and his electricity bill has increased by more than 53% from last year by $308. Electricity prices are continuing to spiral out-of-control under Labor with new increases of up to 25% for households from 1 July. Why are the prime minister’s broken promises making it harder for middle Australians?
Anthony Albanese gives the same answer he always does, pointing out that the Coalition voted against the energy relief, before outlining all the cost of living measures in the budget.
Updated
‘By coming together we will be OK’: MP for Hunter
The Labor MP for Hunter, Dan Repacholi, also spoke, holding back tears as he talked of about his close-knit community.
We can provide strength and solidarity in need to overcome this tragedy. Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the lives lost. Let us remember the victims with love and respect and honour their memory by committing ourselves to creating a safer more compassionate community.
Together we can emerge from the dark of this moment a stronger and more united than ever before.
My heart goes out to the families and loved ones of the victims in this terrible event. No words can adequately convey the pain and grief you are all experiencing right now. Please know that our community stands beside you in this time of immense sorrow and we offer our support in any way we can.
By looking out for each other, by coming together we will be OK. In memory of the victims, please take the time today to call loved ones that are far away, to hug someone you love and remember just how precious life is.
Updated
Peter Dutton finishes with:
I echo the prime minister’s thanks to our first responders whose courage and composure is nothing short of heroic.
We often comment following a tragedy of this nature in this parliament about the fact that the first responders instinct is to run into harm’s way when the of most Australians would be to run from it
Australians have heard the audio of the ambulance officer calling for help in a calm and measured way, a reflection of his training, not really giving rise to the pressure that he was under and those around him were feeling.
I want to thank all of those in our hospitals and healthcare system who will support those affected over the coming days, months and years. In moments such as these our expression of thoughts, prayers and hopes to those affected can feel powerful. But on the contrary there is power in those sentiments.
Because they show those affected directly and indirectly that we care for you.
We are here for you.
It’s our promise to you that you will never have to travel the road of tragedy alone. We bind ourselves to you in this duty driven by the empathy and love we have for you as fellow citizens.
Wherever you need strength and support you’ll find it unconditionally. I send our heart felt sense of grief for all of those in the Hunter region at the moment, as the prime minister pointed out, who are doing it particularly tough.
Those at the wedding venue, those who were involved in photographs, those who were involved in preparations for other weddings over the course of that weekend.
We make sure we promise as a country to provide to those in their darkest hour.
Updated
Peter Dutton:
Since the news of this horrific event broke, the outpouring of our national grief has been palpable. Our heartbreak for those who lost their lives, our heartache for the families and friends whose lives will be forever altered by this disaster, our heartfelt hopes for those injured to make a speedy recovery.
The profound national sadness which surrounds this terrible event comes from a deep, human empathy. A wedding day, as the prime minister rightly points out, is one of the most joyous occasions we know, and the happiness of this wedding day has been eclipsed by a dreadful, dreadful event
Life’s terrible moments are all the more tragic when they [sit adjacent] to life’s most beautiful moments and we empathise with those affected all the more.
For so many of us have been passengers on a bus journeying home from a wonderful wedding.
We can picture how those aboard the fateful bus would have been fondly reminiscing about the evening’s festivities – stories, music, smiles and dancing of the bride and groom. What all those involved are now going through, what they will have to endure, is simply awful. As news of this disaster spread around the nation, I’m sure that for so many Australians, their phone calls with family would have felt even more precious.
Their embraces with loved ones would have been a little tighter. Their time together with those dearest to them would have been all that more special. This tragedy reinforces to all of us to never take our precious relationships for granted, to value the moments we have with families and with friends.
To always cherish those closest to us because life can be unpredictably cruel.
Updated
‘Australians’ prayers are with you’: PM on bus tragedy
Anthony Albanese continues:
We think too of the tight-knit community that is the Hunter. They are hurting so badly right now.
I do want, on behalf of the parliament, to give our thanks to the first responders.
We again have been reminded by those who arrived at this terrible scene, we cannot imagine what they were confronted with, what they had to deal with but, as they always do, they did their job. They did their best looking after people, trying to save lives and to assist in the recovery.
What was clearly was just a horrific scene. So to them, but as well to those who continue to assist in the following hours and days, the doctors and nurses, the police and emergency services, those who transported the injured to the hospital, the counsellors and those on Lifeline who no doubt think have received so many calls from people affected by this tragedy I say once again, thank you.
I also say thank you to those people who will continue to assist in the days, weeks, months and years ahead.
The hard truth is that mental and emotional scars of this will not fade with time. They will live with people for ever. We have a responsibility to make sure that when the spotlight leaves the care doesn’t, that the people who have witnessed this and for people who have experienced this tragedy first-hand.
To everyone who has been touched by this tragedy, I do want you to know that Australia wraps our arms around you. Australians’ thoughts and Australians’ prayers are with you at what is an extraordinarily difficult and traumatic time for our community.
Updated
PM begins question time by addressing bus tragedy
Anthony Albanese:
Today we pause as a parliament to mark a loss beyond words, a tragedy beyond comprehension, an unfairness beyond understanding.
What happened at Greta in the Hunter Valley was a cruel end to what should have been one of the happiest of days. We all know that joy of going to a wedding and so many of us know that feeling of getting on a bus with fellow guests, partly as a chance to share the excitement but partly because the bride and groom organised that in order to keep their guests safe.
We know that feeling of getting together with friends and family to celebrate the happy couple. To celebrate the love between two people and their declaration of spending a lifetime together, and around those friends and family, gathering around them, holding them at the heart of what is their local community.
A wedding is about both the seriousness and the joy of commitment. It’s about a beautiful new beginning and every wedding is filled with such a sense of possibility bow the future. It makes what happened on Sunday night all the more cruel.
We hold on to the memory of all those whose lives were tragically cut short. Our hearts go out to all the survivors and to all the loved ones who now have this most terrible of burdens.
And our thoughts and love are with the newlyweds who will never know the easy joy of an anniversary. May everyone around them somehow find a way to lift them up.
Updated
Ahead of question time, both Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have made statements on the Greta bus tragedy.
There will be a moment of silence for the victim, their families and the community.
Question time is in about 20 minutes so brace yourself.
In good news, I do have some answers back from reader question time, so I will include some of those in there as well.
Grab what you need to get through the next hour and a half and we will see you back here at 2pm.
‘I don’t think the public are ready for the voice’: Dutton
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has been asked about the Coalition’s position on the Indigenous voice at the Committee for the Economic Development of Australia.
Dutton argued that constitutional recognition (without a voice) is the “unifying opportunity”, which the opposition is prepared to work with the government on.
He said:
We have a situation, where I don’t think the public are ready for the voice. I don’t think it’s been explained. I think if we had a bipartisan position on this tomorrow, it wouldn’t shift the numbers that we’re seeing across every poll. The slide is obvious, you’ve now seen no take over the yes and I think it will deteriorate further. I don’t care how many people come out in support of voice, from sporting codes, public-listed companies, churches or anything else. The Australian public wants the detail. And this is the crucial point: by design, the prime minister has taken a decision not to provide the detail.
The voice design takes place after the vote in our country, which is without precedent. We suggested to the prime minister at the very start, start designing it now so people can have their hesitations or queries answered, and if they can be satisfied the issue they have, the issue wasn’t significant enough to worry about – you’ll shift those votes.
Dutton said the 1967 referendum was a unifying moment, and the equivalent today would be constitutional recognition (without a voice), which would win 80% to 90% support.
Updated
Senate to sit late for referendum legislation
So far, about 52 of the Senate’s 76 MPs have signed up to speak on the referendum legislation, which means the Senate will have to sit late tonight and tomorrow to get through them all.
The Senate is used to sitting late – it has not enjoyed too many “family friendly” sittings this year, given its role and the ongoing need for negotiations to get legislation through it.
The referendum legislation WILL pass – there is no question of that, but it will take some time for everyone to have their say on it.
Updated
Peter Dutton has given his Ceda address and is now giving his opinion on the voice.
Peter Dutton: "I don't think the public is ready for the voice, I don't think it's been properly explained...
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) June 13, 2023
The slide is obvious, I expect [support] to deteriorate further."
Says he doesn't care that companies, churches etc support it. #auspol
Dutton says best government could hope for us 51/49 yes, argues this would t be a unifying moment for the country like 1967 was, or like constitutional recognition (without voice) would be. #auspol
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) June 13, 2023
Dutton says onus is on PM to shift to constitutional recognition, which would get 80-90% support.
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) June 13, 2023
You can add the independent Victoria senator Lidia Thorpe to the list of senators who will not be supporting Labor’s housing fund bill in the Senate as yet. Thorpe says the bill does not help renters, particularly First Nations’ renters deal with the housing crisis:
— Senator Lidia Thorpe (@SenatorThorpe) June 13, 2023
Updated
Cash outlines Coalition’s opposition to voice referendum
Amid everything else happening in the parliament today, the Senate debate on the Indigenous voice referendum has begun. The shadow attorney general, Michaelia Cash, has outlined the Coalition’s opposition to the referendum, particularly the timetable set by the government – claiming it was being rushed.
Cash claimed there was “no external deadline” for the referendum, questioning why the Labor government had decided to accelerate the process.
If you don’t know, vote no,” Cash said, ending her speech to the Senate.
The government expects the Senate to pass the bill by mid-next week, the final parliamentary hurdle for the referendum before the campaign officially begins.
Updated
I regret to inform you that Kevin Rudd has once again been Kevin Rudding on social media:
— Kevin Rudd AC (@AmboRudd) June 13, 2023
Updated
Asio should decide who gets top secret security clearances: report
The parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security (PJCIS, often referred to by it’s official media name – the powerful parliamentary intelligence and security committee) has tabled its report on the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Amendment Bill 2023.
It has decided that yes, it makes sense to have Asio decide who gets top secret security clearance.
The committee noted that the security clearance process is designed to ensure that only individuals who are deemed suitable and trustworthy are granted access to sensitive national security information.
At the same time, the committee recognises that the security clearance process must be fair and, to the extent possible, transparent. Individuals who are subject to the process have the right to procedural fairness, including the right to challenge adverse findings and to have their case reviewed by an independent body.
The committee is satisfied with the merits and other review processes proposed by the Bill and the involvement of the IGIS in oversight of the powers and functions exercised under the Bill.
The committee also supported, the inclusion of the new Quality Assurance Office within the Office of National Intelligence and agrees with ONI that this should ‘drive the uplift of the mandatory insider threat capability across government agencies that sponsor top secret-privileged access security clearances.
The committee’s main quibble is that contractors aren’t used to carry out the vetting, “notwithstanding the Bill’s authority to delegate functions and powers to Asio affiliates, human sources or agents will not be used to undertake security vetting”.
Updated
The battle of the soundbites
I have had a couple of readers contact me and ask if those explanations will be the end of the matter.
Obviously, I am not privy to the tactics committees. But sadly, I think I am on strong footing when I say no.
Now it has crossed over to the political, there tends to be no slowing of these things, at least when it comes to point scoring.
Most people don’t watch parliament. Politicians know that the main messages which cross over to the public are the soundbites included in news bulletins. And so that is what they will be aiming for here. Who has the best soundbite. Who can “win” the nightly news.
As Paul Karp has already commented in his analysis, it becomes a race to the bottom and many of the people involved very quickly forget this isn’t about politics. It’s about people. And the message many are hearing has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with whether or not they would be believed if they came forward.
Please – make sure you take care of you, and those around you today.
Updated
‘I reject any suggestion of deliberate intent’: Morrison
Scott Morrison finished with:
However I reject any suggestion of deliberate intent in any such possible inaccuracy to my response, and am pleased to have taken the first opportunity available to me to clarify these matters to the House.
The lack of any such deliberate intent is borne out by the fact that regardless of whether an exchange between myself and Ms Brown had occurred prior to providing my response in the House, my answer regarding Ms Brown’s conduct in relation to Ms Higgins dealing with the allegation made in relation to Ms Brown’s conduct, my response had been informed by detailed discussions with Ms Brown and members of my office, who were advising me on those matters.
It was and remains my strong view that Ms Brown did all she could to provide support to Ms Higgins at that time, and most importantly, Senator Reynolds’s office had sought to ensure these issues were dealt with through the justice system, in supporting references to be made to the police, while at the same time, respecting Miss Higgins’s wishes for confidentiality and therefore supporting her agency.
Allegations of sexual violence against women should be addressed in our justice system.
They should not be cynically prosecuted in the public square for politics, as it sadly and increasing been revealed in relation to these issues.
Updated
Morrison cannot discount Brown’s recollection was ‘more accurate’
The former prime minister says he has recently spoken to Fiona Brown and can not discount her recollection was “the more accurate” (as we reported a little bit ago in the blog):
In my response, I noted the Australian Human Rights Commission says if an employer suspects that a criminal incident has occurred, the individual should be advised to report the matter to the police, and that is indeed what the minister, that is Senator Reynolds, did at the time, obviously supported by her office.
The minister arranged for Britney [Higgins] to have that meeting with the AFP that occurred on 1 April.
I responded to everyone here, by implication that included Ms Brown, tried to do the right thing, they took advice and followed the advice and they sought to provide that support.
On Saturday, the last Saturday, I had the opportunity to discuss the matters [explicitly] with Ms Brown regarding her recollection of the events for the first time and I appreciate the opportunity to have the discussion with Ms Brown.
While my recollection differed to that of Ms Brown, given there’s more than two years that have passed, given the considerable activity of that week, and the presence of Ms Brown’s contemporaneous note, while I believe my response to accurate at the time, I cannot obviously fully discount her recollection of those events now were the more accurate.
Updated
‘It was an extremely busy week’: Morrison
Scott Morrison continues with the timeline:
There were many corridor conversations within my office, as opposed to the corridors of this place more broadly, that occurred that week, and note that Ms Brown’s office was located directly outside my own.
It was an extremely busy week and there were many other issues I was addressing at the time, most significantly Covid-19 and the advancement of Aukus.
Over the course of the week I responded to 14 questions from the then leader of the opposition and the member for Sydney on the Higgins matter.
On Thursday just before 3pm, I responded to a further question addressing those matters.
The question was from the then leader of the opposition who asked if I raised a statement with the staff member in my office, Ms Brown, that Ms Higgins will allege in a statement that Ms Brown made her feel that her ongoing employment would be jeopardised if she continued.
I raised that matter with the member of my staff and that was my recollection at the time. I preceded by noting there were many conversations over the course of the week in relation to these issues.
Updated
Scott Morrison continued:
On Saturday, last Saturday, the Weekend Australian reported comments by Ms Brown, a former member of my staff, as prime minister, regarding the accuracy of an answer to a question I gave as prime minister on Thursday Feb 18, 2021.
Following the publication of the article on the Weekend Australian, I took the opportunity to review and inform myself once again of the event of that week, as the Weekend Australian article was the first occasion I was made aware that Ms Brown had a different account of the events I referred to in my response to a question in the house on Thursday February 18, 2021.
I’m pleased to take this first opportunity to address and clarify these matters here to this house.
I became aware of the incident involving Ms Higgins on Monday February 15, 2021. Over the course of that week, I received numerous briefings on what was known about those events to assist me to address the issues appropriately in this house.
The briefings included information drawn between discussions held between members of my senior staff and Ms Brown.
Updated
Here is Scott Morrison’s whole statement, which happened at the same time as Katy Gallagher was making her statement in the Senate.
Morrison:
I take statements made to this House extremely seriously. Especially as ministers and indeed prime ministers and am fully aware of the responsibility of members in this regard. I’ve always shown great care to ensure any statements I made to this house have been accurate to the best of my knowledge and recollection at the time.
And where I have been in error, or where errors are brought to my attention, I have always taken the opportunity to enter this House at the first opportunity to correct the record.
This is our obligation as members.
Updated
There is also the voice debate coming up in the Senate. It will pass, and then the campaign will begin in earnest.
I say to politicians here in Canberra, the Voice may not personally matter to you, but it matters to so many Indigenous people on the ground.
— Malarndirri McCarthy (@Malarndirri19) June 13, 2023
Making a practical difference in areas like health, education and housing – that’s what the Voice will help deliver.#Auspol #Yes23 pic.twitter.com/VRm7JdDDcO
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‘I take my responsibilities as a senator for the ACT seriously’: Gallagher
Katy Gallagher finishes with:
I have made my position clear to this Senate today. I repeat again – I take my responsibilities as a senator for the ACT seriously, and act with integrity at all times. This integrity is something I have displayed throughout my career and through my response to Ms Higgins’s rape allegations.
And she takes her seat.
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Katy Gallagher then moves to the settlement Brittany Higgins received from the department of finance – and media reporting around it in recent weeks:
Finally, on the issue of the Commonwealth settlement of the claim brought by Ms Higgins, much has been incorrectly written about my role in this, over the past few months.
Despite those outlets being provided with the accurate information. So this is crystal clear for this chamber and beyond, the minister for finance has no decision making role in processes around significant legal matters, absolutely none.
Paragraph 3.2 of the legal services directions provide that significant claims against the Commonwealth may not be settled without the agreement of the attorney general.
The attorney general has made clear he was the decision maker on behalf of the government on this matter. This has been made clear to all of those outlets that continue to misreport this fact.
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Katy Gallagher then takes aim at the opposition:
It does seem strange to me I’m providing a statement to the Senate, but those that were much closer to the events in 2019 have not done so …
The events of the past week, with the media coverage, the questions surrounding the publication of a young woman’s personal phone records provided for use in a court, splashed across TV and newspaper, with opposition members giddy with the courage, has done nothing but seriously damage this confidence. I fear the message out of this for women who want and need to come forward is watch out. Women who may now choose to keep allegations of serious sexual or violent abuse silent. To suppress the trauma and feel as though justice will always elude them.
Women who may feel like the system won’t properly protect their welfare and may let them down, and I’m not going to stand for that.
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Katy Gallagher continues in that vein:
At a time when she needed their support the most, she should have been dealt with as a human being, not a problem that needed managing.
The response shouldn’t have been calculated by the political needs of the coalition government, it should have been met with compassion and support and it wasn’t.
And we cannot lose perspective on the questions that remain unanswered by people in this place, who had a responsibility, a direct duty to this young woman. Unanswered questions about when they first become aware, some two years before this matter was made public.
Unanswered questions about what actions they took, some two years before these allegations were made public. Unanswered questions about who did they share this information with. For example, the secret Gaetjens report, commissioned by the former prime minister, Mr Scott Morrison, that still hasn’t seen the light of day.
Katy Gallagher then turns to what she believes to be at the heart of the matter:
It seems most of the discussion in the media this past week has been about what I did with information I had, in the days leading up to Ms Higgins’s allegations becoming public.
But the fact remains that those who owed Ms Higgins a direct duty of care had known of this for almost two years, and did nothing to make changes or improve culture and safety in the workplace where this incident had occurred.
And can I say to the Senate, we must not lose perspective on what matters here. At the heart of this whole story sits the wellbeing or otherwise of a young woman who came forward and made allegations on her own terms, a woman who bravely stood up and spoke out on her own terms.
And confronted her employer, the then government, that Ms Higgins feels significantly let down by, in the days, weeks, and months following the allegations she reported to them.
Katy Gallagher:
I want to be clear with this Senate – as I was with Senator Reynolds and Senator Ruston on the night of June 4 2021.
I was provided with information in the days before the allegations were first reported, and I did nothing with that information, absolutely nothing.
I was asked to keep it to myself, and I did.
I did nothing differently on this occasion, compared to hundreds of other times, that people have reached out to me in my time as a politician, and asked me to keep their information private. Including women seeking support over alleged sexual assaults, violence, and harassment.
Being available and trusted by our constituents is fundamental to the jobs we do on behalf of them.
I was not involved in any way with the story that went to air on the night, or reported online that morning.
I was in no way involved with the timing in which this story was published or aired.
Any allegations or assertion that I did is wrong and I reject it in the strongest possible terms.
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Katy Gallagher says she explained what she knew at the time to Senator Reynolds who accepted Gallagher’s explanation (then):
I explained that to Senator Reynolds in a wide-ranging private meeting that night, where several matters were discussed.
I informed Senator Reynolds that I was given a heads-up by the allegations in the days before they became public, an explanation she accepted at the time, some two years ago.
Senator Reynolds even said so on the record in Senate estimates that same night, and I quote, “I would like to say in relation to the matters raised before the dinner break, Senators Wong, Gallagher and I had a very respectful discussion before the dinner break and they assured me they were not involved in the matter becoming public.”
I repeat, they assured me they were not involved in that matter becoming public and I accept their assurance.”
This proves that Senator Reynolds knew the context of our exchange that evening was around whether or not – was around whether I was involved in that matter becoming public and I was not. Senator Reynolds and Senator Ruston have known that for two years and have never since raised a concern about that with me.
The allegations that were made public were done so on Ms Higgins own temples, those are the facts.
Facts that appear to have been lost in the past week.
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‘I did not mislead the Senate’: Gallagher
Katy Gallagher continued:
Over the past week, coalition members, including those at the centre of the rape allegations, have been alleging that I have misled the Senate over comments I made almost two years ago. I reject those allegations.
I take my responsibilities to this place as a Senator very seriously, and I have always conducted myself with the highest levels of integrity.
And I always will.
I did not mislead the Senate.
At Senate estimates on June 4 2021, the then minister for defence, Senator Reynolds, said, “I know where this started” she went on to say, “I was told by one of your senators two weeks before about what you were intending to do with the story in my office.”
Two weeks before.
I was shocked at the assertion made by Senator Reynolds, with the clear implication that I was responsible or had some involvement with making that story public. That was not true. It was never true. And I responded to that allegation by saying no one had any knowledge.
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Back to the senate and the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, is giving her own personal explanation:
I want to begin by statement by saying that when it comes to responding to the serious allegations of rape, that occurred in a minister’s office in this building, I have at all times been guided by the bravery and courage of a young woman who chose to speak up and about an alleged incident in her workplace. I have always acted ethically and with basic human decency on all matters related to Ms Higgins. I will continue to do so. I will always support women to come forward and I will always respect their confidence when it is sought.
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Scott Morrison continues:
It was and remains my strong view that Ms Brown did all she could to provide support to Ms Higgins at that time, and that, most importantly, Senator Reynolds office had sought to ensure these issues were dealt with through the justice system and supporting references to be made to the police, while at the same time respecting Ms Higgins wishes of confidentiality and thereby supporting her agency.
Allegations of sexual violence against women should be addressed in our justice system. They should not be cynically prosecuted in the public square for politics as has sadly increasingly being revealed in relation to these issues.
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Scott Morrison:
While I believe my response to be accurate at the time, I cannot obviously fully discount that her recollection, having read her recollection of those events now, will [be] more accurate however, I reject absolutely any suggestion of deliberate intent in any such possible inaccuracy in my response, and I’m pleased to have taken the first opportunity available to me to clarify these matters to the house.
The lack of any such deliberate intent is borne out by the fact that regardless of whether an exchange between myself and Ms Brown had occurred prior to providing my response in the house, my answer regarding Ms Brown’s conduct in relation to Ms Higgins had been informed by detailed discussions with Ms Brown and members of my office who were advising me on those matters.
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Scott Morrison on his knowledge of Brittany Higgins’s allegations
Over in the house, the former prime minister Scott Morrison is making a statement about what he knew about Brittany Higgins’s allegations and when.
He is explaining the difference in when he says he learned of the allegations from Linda Reynolds’ former chief of staff Fiona Brown and what he recalled.
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Penny Wong offers thanks in Senate
The Labor senator and foreign minister Penny Wong starts proceedings in the senate to thank her colleagues for their support on the passing of her father.
Wong took leave from estimates to be with her father in his final days.
She thanks Simon Birmingham and Anne Ruston for helping to facilitate her leave.
I wanted to take the opportunity before the day commenced to thank my Senate colleagues from across the chamber for the messages of condolences and sympathy on the passing of my father. I particularly think first mine colleagues, Senator Farrell, Senator McCarthy and Senator McAllister for covering me at estimates and also Senator Gallagher and Senator Urquhart.
I did want to also take the opportunity to thank the opposition. Because of their agreement, I was able to spend my father’s last days with him and not attend estimates I say thanks to Senator Birmingham and Senator Ruston for that.
I appreciate it deeply, as do my family.
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The bells are ringing for the final minute – the parliament session is about to get underway.
Eyes are on the senate in case Labor senator and finance minister Katy Gallagher makes a personal explanation ahead of the day of attacks the coalition is planning.
PM addresses state of voice at Labor caucus
At Labor caucus, Anthony Albanese addressed the state of the voice referendum. He said he remains positive about the referendum, citing support from the business, sports, arts and entertainment sectors, and that he was looking forward to passing the bill and fixing a date for the vote.
Albanese noted there was “no division” within Labor on the question, unlike the Coalition, and the government was determined to give the Voice the best chance to pass.
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Just on the final part of Josh’s post there – leave it to the National party to wonder how anyone in this country can walk and chew gum at the same time. The idea that the nation can only focus on one policy issue at a time, and expects its government to only focus on one policy setting at a time may explain why the Nationals continue to struggle to find a foothold in the modern political debate.
Dutton to push for scrapping voice to parliament after polls
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, will again ask the government to radically reshape the referendum and reduce the proposal to simple constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians, and scrapping the voice to parliament, in the wake of some polls showing flagging support.
Speaking to the Coalition partyroom today, Dutton noted the Resolve poll in the Nine newspapers showing slipping support, with a national majority and three of six states against the voice. The Guardian Essential poll, also published today, conversely shows support for the voice at 60%.
The polls have suggested the best case is the voice gets up by a slim majority and the country is divided,” Dutton said, according to a party spokesperson.
There is an opportunity now for the prime minister to unify the country, through constitutional recognition without a constitutionally enshrined voice. We will work with the prime minister to do this.
However Dutton didn’t say exactly how he would “work with” Anthony Albanese to effect this outcome. It is very unlikely the government will take up this offer, after Labor’s longheld commitment to the Uluru statement from the heart, which specifically calls for recognition through the voice – after years of rejection of symbolic constitutional recognition by Indigenous communities.
Dutton, on the other hand, says the government should consider it.
The prime minister is saying constitutional recognition, a genuine step toward reconciliation, is the price he’s willing to pay for the success of the voice referendum,” he said, again reiterating calls for detail about the voice.
Foreshadowing what’s likely to be a key line from the no side as the campaign amps up, the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, claimed Australians would wonder why the government was spending much time focused on the voice instead of cost of living issues.
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Labor used ‘alleged rape victim for political purposes’: Dutton
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has accused Labor politicians of using “an alleged rape victim for political purposes”, claiming they “conspired” to maximise the political damage for the Coalition from the former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins’ allegations of sexual assault.
Dutton’s claims in the Coalition’s partyroom meeting this morning foreshadowed the opposition’s plans to, in his words, “pressure” Labor over the matter.
The opposition will home in on the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, who has admitted receiving information about Higgins’ allegations ahead of their publication in the media in 2021. Her former colleague Bruce Lehrmann was charged but vehemently denied the allegations and maintained his innocence; an initial trial was aborted last year due to jury misconduct and prosecutors dropped the charges against Lehrmann amid concerns about the impact a second trial could have on Higgins’s mental health.
Dutton told his caucus that he believed it was an “open and shut case” that Gallagher had misled the Senate, pointing to an estimates hearing where she (as a then-opposition member) said “no one had any knowledge” of the allegations prior.
It’s increasingly clear that a group of Labor operatives conspired to maximise the damage. It was absolutely brazen. Labor used an allege rape victim for political purposes,” Dutton told the room, according to a partyroom spokesperson.
They said Gallagher would be “given the chance to correct the record” in the Senate today, and that Dutton believed it was “entirely right and appropriate for us, as an opposition, to put pressure on Labor to answer the questions.”
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Labor ‘1,000% behind Katy’ Gallagher: PM
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has addressed Labor’s caucus about Brittany Higgins’s sexual assault allegation and the Coalition’s targeting of finance minister, Katy Gallagher, over her knowledge before it was aired.
Albanese said that Labor’s opponents “know no limits to opportunism”, adding that it was “mind-boggling” that they tried to make Labor appear responsible for an allegation by a Liberal staffer that she was raped by a Liberal staffer (Bruce Lehrmann denies the allegation) in a Liberal minister’s office, metres away from the prime minster’s office. Albanese warned about the impact the debate would have on women coming forward.
He said:
This caucus is 1,000% behind Katy … No government has done more to put women at the centre of policymaking that what has happened under [women’s minister] Katy Gallagher. [Gallagher is] a person of extraordinary integrity. The attack on Katy Gallagher is unfair, unjustified and unscrupulous. There will be no backwards steps taken.
Albanese addressed Gallagher personally:
We thank you. We honour you. We’re with you.
Albanese also referred to how Scott Morrison had handled the allegations, including personalising the issue (Jenny telling him to think of his daughters), and remarks he made about the women’s march for justice and being lucky they weren’t in a country where protests are met with bullets.
Albanese argued the Labor opposition would not have been doing its job if it hadn’t pursued the government’s handling of the complaint, noting that its advocacy had resulted in the Jenkins review. “A young woman was let down terribly by the previous government,” he said.
Asked about the possibility of a further inquiry, Albanese said the government had to be cognisant of the impact it would have on people – which sounds like a no, because it would be retraumatising to the complainant. He said people will make their own judgment about whether it is tenable no one said anything to Scott Morrison in 2019 or 2020.
We acted responsibly the whole way through,” he said.
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Childcare group awards staff 7% pay rise
Remember how one of the reasons for increasing the pay for aged care workers was because it would cause a shift in the care industry where other care sectors – such as childcare – would need to address their wages because of the risk they would lose even more workers?
Well, the childcare group Goodstart Early Learning have announced it will be increasing wages for most educators by 7% on 1 July. The not-for-profit provider says it is one of the “largest wage rises offered by a major national employer”.
Goodstart’s chief executive, Dr Ros Baxter, said the wage rise was the largest in the organisations history:
We recognise and value our educators, and today’s significant pay rise is vital for our people in these trying economic times.
Goodstart educators will now be paid at least 5.3% more than award rates in a sector where most educators are paid only award rates.
Most of our educators will receive a 7% rise and the starting salary for a graduate teacher at Goodstart will rise 5.75% to $80,000, more than new teachers are paid in most government schools across Australia.
There is a national shortage of teachers and educators and we are doing what we can to be an employer of choice. But we are also very conscious of the need to balance support for our hardworking staff with affordability for families.
That also helps close the gender pay gap, given the number of women who work in the childcare sector. The government’s childcare subsidy changes will start next month which will put more pressure on an already strained sector, so expect to see more conversations in this space very soon.
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Population changes means new electoral maps and the AEC is looking at WA – here is the new seat Antony Green thinks might be drawn for the state:
It looks like being established in Perth’s east.
Western Australia will gain an extra seat for the next Federal election. Here's a rundown of where the new state might be drawn. https://t.co/72cWG0DtbS #auspol pic.twitter.com/NaeKoanJ5b
— Antony Green - elections (@AntonyGreenElec) June 13, 2023
NSW and Victoria look like losing a seat. And Queensland is close to gaining another one.
Keep an eye on the AEC
Blair Comley to be appointed secretary of health and aged care
The government has announced its recommendation for the new secretary of the health and aged care department, with Prof Brendan Murphy retiring:
Anthony Albanese will recommend the governor general appoint Blair Comley to the role:
Mr Comley has had a distinguished career across the commonwealth and NSW public sector.
Between 2011 and 2013, Mr Comley was secretary of the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism and the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency. He then led the New South Wales Department of Premier and Cabinet as secretary between 2014 and 2017.
Mr Comley is currently a director and partner at EY Port Jackson Partners.
With his strong economic qualifications and proven leadership navigating complex issues, Mr Comley will bring innovation and policy rigour to addressing the challenges and opportunities within our health system.
Making a recommendation to the governor general is only a formality – Comley has the role for at least five years. It begins on 17 July.
Murphy also got a shout out from the prime minister:
On behalf of my government, I thank Professor Brendan Murphy AC for his service to Australia’s health sector, as chief medical officer since 2016 and as Secretary of the Department of Health since 2020.
Professor Murphy’s service during the Covid-19 global pandemic kept Australians safe. I wish him well as he embarks on his well-deserved retirement.
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Greens decry 'politicking' over Britany Higgins allegations and reject latest Labor offer over housing bill
The Greens party room has met, deciding to continue negotiating with the government on the housing Australia future fund bill but not accepting Labor’s latest offer of guaranteeing $500m disbursements every year. According to the Greens, it doesn’t answer its core demands of more funding and a rent freeze.
With no agreement on that bill, the government has reordered Senate business to deal with the voice constitutional alteration bill this week. We expect the debate will go all week, with possible extended sittings, before a possible vote later in the week. The Senate is sitting on Friday.
The Greens do not support their ex-senator Lidia Thorpe’s amendment that “nothing in this Act shall be taken to cede or disturb the sovereignty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples”. The Greens regard it as a poison pill that will sink the referendum.
Instead, Greens senator Dorinda Cox will propose a symbolic second reading amendment acknowledging Indigenous sovereignty was never ceded.
The Greens also decided not to facilitate any political game-playing or points scoring on Brittany Higgins allegations and related leaks.
Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
I also wanted to make some comments in relation to the disgusting treatment of Brittany Higgins’ allegations, the politicking and the mud slinging and the hypocrisy that is surrounding this at the moment. People should be ashamed themselves. I’m extremely concerned about the message this sends to young women and and not just women outside these building but women inside this building. And whether you are a political staffer, whether you are a cleaner, whether you work at Aussies cafe whether you are journalist, it is not okay.
And the people trying to score political points out of this should be ashamed for themselves. We’re not interested in facilitating the game playing in the Senate.
And I think there’s some serious questions that need to be asked about how the private information of Brittany Higgins’ text messages and her partner’s are even being exposed publicly.
Hanson-Young noted Channel 10 has referred the matter to the AFP, questioning whether it was already being investigated before the referral. Hanson-Young expressed concern for Higgins’ welfare.
She said:
After spending 12 months of discussion on trying to raise the standards in this place and to have this back being debated in this matter ... I want to make it very, very clear we are not [going] facilitate political gameplay over a young woman’s alleged sexual assault and the way she was treated by her bosses.
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Queensland parliamentary speaker returns to work after hiatus
Dipping out of the federal parliament for a moment to look at some state politics. AAP reports Queensland’s parliamentary speaker, Curtis Pitt, has returned to the chair on budget day after a temporary hiatus citing mental health, divorce and health issues.
Pitt missed the regional parliament’s sitting in Cairns last month within his electorate of Mulgrave, taking to social media to admit he was “not doing as well emotionally as I’ve made out to anyone” after a divorce from a two-decade marriage and dealing with ulcerative colitis, depression and his parents’ serious health issues.
The five-term MP again took to social media on the eve of his return to parliament, posting a picture of four Superman models with a message for others to seek help when they need it.
The 12th of June is Superman day - it’s also the day I’m returning to work.
I want to say thank you to everyone who has given me so much support during my time away. I am very grateful.
While I’m going back to work, my journey is just the beginning ... you don’t need to be the Man of Steel on the outside.
It’s what’s inside that counts, and talking is important.
For those who don’t know, Pitt is a HUGE Superman fan. Comics in general, but Superman above all. We wish him well.
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Why are the Greens and independents like David Pocock pushing so hard?
Well, the basic answer is: people have nowhere to live. And the situation is at crisis point.
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Collins calls on Greens and Liberals to support housing future fund
The housing minister, Julie Collins, is pushing the line the government have a mandate for its housing fund fairly hard this week. That’s because it was part of the election platform.
But the easy rebuttal to that is the Senate has a mandate to push for more, because the Greens and independents were voted in on their commitment to hold the government to account. So we remain at a stalemate.
Collins:
The time for delays in terms of this legislation are over. What we know is that more delays mean less homes on the ground. It will take more time to get homes on the ground.
What we also know is all of the experts, whether they be from homelessness services, whether they be from social housing providers, whether they’re from the Property Council or the Master Builders or the HIA, everybody supports the housing Australia future fund.
What we need is people in the Senate, particularly Liberal senators and Greens senators, to look at this. This is not the only thing we’re doing, but it is critical to our agenda. And we took it to the last election. The Australian people voted for this $10bn fund. And I would call on senators, the Greens senators and the Liberal senators to support the housing Australia future fund.
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Labor concludes party room meeting as well
Labor has also broken from its caucus meeting. So you’ll hear what was in all of those meetings very, very soon.
That also means the parliament sitting is about to get underway in earnest. Strap. In.
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PM: national cabinet a ‘ballast’ for states and territories to drive a common agenda through with the commonwealth
How does Anthony Albanese think his productivity reform agenda is going with the states?
Softly, softly.
One of the things that I think the national cabinet can do is – part of the problem we have in this country is the gap … between the rhetoric … of some of the media.
But consistent with Ceda’s position of we need productivity reform, we need change, we need to drive that dynamic through. And anytime it [is] suggested, any reform you get - shock, horror, these are the impacts, don’t do anything, you get that contradiction there. So, reform is hard, we know that that’s the case.
I think the national cabinet can provide a ballast … for state and territory governments working with the commonwealth to drive that common agenda through and to get things done that would be more difficult if it was just a single unit of government.
So, it can work together against the pushback that occurs in any reform.
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Coalition finish party room briefing
The Coalition have also finished their party room meeting, so the briefing on that will happen very soon.
Peter Dutton will also be addressing the Ceda conference – that will happen around midday, so you’ll hear a few of the same messages.
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Committee established to investigate use of ADF in disaster response
A defence subcommittee has been set up to hear about the impact of using the Australia Defence Force to respond to Australia’s never-ending natural disasters.
Labor MP Julian Hill says it is time to take a look at what effect that is having on the ADF:
The subcommittee will hear how this seemingly near persistent requirement is impacting the organisation from a preparation, training, and capability perspective, as well as reviewing current policy and approaches to resourcing.
Leading experts and senior Defence representatives will publicly share their views on this important matter which will also provide useful context as respective authors consider the 2024 national defence strategy.
That committee is meeting today.
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Greens party room briefing wraps up
The Greens have finished their party room briefing – from what I hear, it was dominated by the housing fund, but we will hear exactly what went on soon.
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Prime minister identifies current opportunities for Australia as a nation
So what are those opportunities?
Anthony Albanese says they are:
The opportunity to be a renewable energy superpower – and to use that to drive becoming a manufacturing powerhouse.
To lead the world in the standard of care and support that we offer our citizens.
To drive a new wave of productivity in our big firms and our small businesses and our start-ups.
Australia has the resources, the people, the get-up-and-go to seize this moment. Our government is determined to make sure that we do just that.
We are a government with a sense of purpose. Grasping these opportunities and sharing them is at the very heart of that purpose.
In our first year, I believe that we’ve laid a very strong foundation. That was the theme of our budget.
In the year ahead, we’ll continue to build the better future that the Australian people voted for.
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PM: Labor always understood ‘the world would present us with challenges’
Because in terms of “the state of the nation”, things are not great. Anthony Albanese didn’t exactly channel Gerald Ford’s “the State of the Union is not good” line, but he did point to the challenges:
When my colleagues and I were campaigning during the election just over a year ago, we knew that Australia was facing a period of economic uncertainty.
We knew there was a shocking legacy of waste and neglect that we would have to deal with. And we knew that events beyond our borders and outside our control would bring significant and complex and unpredictable challenges.
But we sought the privilege and the opportunity of government to take up these challenges, to take them on. To look after Australians doing it tough, to help people under pressure here and now – but all while never taking our eye off the future agenda.
That’s why people turn to Labor governments – they trust us to make the right decisions for the present, but importantly as well, to shape the future.
And while my colleagues and I always understood the world would present us with challenges, we also held to the belief that it would offer us great opportunities.
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Summary of Anthony Albanese’s speech to the Committee for Economic Development of Australia
The Ceda speech from Anthony Albanese included the usual “rah-rah government” lines:
Australia’s future security and our future prosperity depends on our economy breaking new ground:
- Attracting new sources of international investment.
- Diversifying our future exports.
- Boosting the skills of our workforce.
- Building greater resilience in our supply chains.
- Moving more of our businesses up the international value chain.
- And supporting the full, equal, respectful and overdue participation of women in the economy.
This is the dynamic, competitive and diversified economy that we are already working with business to build – and we’re seeing encouraging results:
- The most jobs created in the first year of any government in Australian history.
- Record levels of participation, including a record number of women in full-time work.
- Wages growing at the fastest rate in a decade – and real wages growth forecast for next year.
We’re proud of this record – but we’re not resting on it.
But it also focussed on the challenges. Not even coming challenges. Because we are in them.
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Essential poll good news for Anthony Albanese
The latest Essential poll comes ahead of Anthony Albanese’s Ceda address. As Paul Karp reports, there is some good news for the prime minister in the numbers:
Labor is now the preferred party to handle the rising cost of living and interest rates after a collapse in the proportion of Australians who believe the Coalition is best on key aspects of the economy.
The result of the latest Guardian Essential poll of 1,123 voters is a warning sign for the Peter Dutton-led opposition, suggesting that voters are not angry at the Albanese government’s handling of the economy, despite the pain of 12 interest rate hikes and inflation.
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Hearing on migration issues tomorrow
The head if home affairs, Michael Pezzullo, will face the joint standing committee on migration tomorrow, which will be the first time he has fronted this particular committee.
The committee chair Labor MP Maria Vamvakinou said in its seven meetings so far, the committee has heard plenty about what is wrong with the system as it stands and now it is going to the source for answers to some of its questions:
This hearing will be the perfect opportunity for the committee to get answers on the current operation of the migration system from those directly responsible for administering it. The hearing is particularly timely given the recent completion of the Parkinson Review, the announcement of the government’s proposed migration strategy, and the ongoing multicultural framework review. The committee will be very interested to hear about the outcomes of these initiatives and how the department will implement associated reforms.
Tune in for that one.
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Parliament to start at midday after party room meetings
Parliament is going to start at midday today, because of the party room meetings.
Those meetings are going to be a bit messy today because a) it is the last sitting before the break and b) everyone is in a fighting mood.
The Coalition think they are on to a winner with the Katy Gallagher attacks. Labor is outraged over them. Everyone is spitting mad.
And that is before we even get to the referendum legislation debate in the Senate (it will pass) and the housing bill negotiations.
By the end of this sitting, everyone will need a break.
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High Speed Rail Authority established today
High speed rail in Australia has inched slightly closer to reality, with the Albanese government’s High Speed Rail Authority beginning operation from today.
On Tuesday, the transport minister, Catherine King, announced that the board of the HSRA – which itself was only formed earlier this month – had appointed Andrew Hyles as acting CEO as the board begins its formal search for its inaugural CEO.
In a statement, King noted the commonwealth had committed $500m to the Sydney-Newcastle corridor.
High speed rail was a signature policy Anthony Albanese took to the May 2022 election, but significant developments regarding the project – which has been promised to begin with a stretch between Sydney and Newcastle – have been sparse in the more than 12 months since Labor took office.
While there are no high speed rail lines that have been built in Australia, there have been several agencies dedicated to the transport mode. The formation of the HSRA on Tuesday means the abolishment of the National Faster Rail Agency, a body established by the Morrison government in 2019, which did not deliver on earlier high speed rail projects.
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PM on Gallagher attacks: ‘we won’t be distracted by these sort of campaigns’
In a harbinger of how uncomfortable today is going to be, the PM was asked in that same interview about Katy Gallagher. The day in parliament will cover both, often at the same time, and it is going to get messy.
Asked about whether Gallagher had questions to answer, Albanese said:
Oh, this is absurd. Katy Gallagher has been transparent. We’re talking about here an alleged incident, an alleged rape that occurred in 2019, in a Liberal minister’s office, of one Liberal staff member, by another Liberal staff member, and somehow Katy Gallagher is responsible for …
Q: I don’t think it’s that, but the question is being put. At one point it was like, what did you know when? And there’s been two different answers to that.
Albanese:
No, that’s not right. Go and have a look at the footage. Linda Reynolds in that speaks about ‘you knew weeks ago’, and she says that she was told that two weeks ago or weeks ago, she was told that there would be a conspiracy, that Labor was planning this.
And that’s just not true. It’s a bizarre conspiracy theory that suggests that Labor somehow is at the centre of all of this.
And indeed, according to Senator Reynolds herself, in the discussion that took place at that time, on the Monday night, Katy Gallagher said, ‘Yes, I was made aware in broad terms that there was an incident in the days beforehand’.
So this has been known by Senator Reynolds since that time, since 2021, and now in 2023, somehow, this is this concocted issue by what is a desperate Liberal opposition looking for any issue. I mean, one would have thought that just weeks after we handed down a budget, they would be concentrating on the economy and on issues that affect average Australians.
We’ll continue to do our job and we won’t be distracted by these sort of campaigns.
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PM on Hunter Valley bus crash: ‘a tragedy beyond belief’
Speaking to ABC Radio Sydney this morning, Anthony Albanese spoke about the Greta bus crash tragedy:
It’s just such a horrific incident to occur. People associate weddings with love and lifelong commitments and celebrations with family and friends. And for it to end in this horrific tragedy, with so many deaths, so many injuries, but of course, the scars will last for such a long, long period of time. It is going to be very difficult for the communities involved, the two sporting teams involved as well. It is just a tragedy beyond belief.
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David Pocock welcomes Labor offer on housing fund
The ACT’s independent senator David Pocock has welcomed the government’s shift on the housing fund, saying it has now responded to six of the eight initial joint crossbench requests:
We’re all seeing the effects of the housing crisis in our communities. It’s hurting more and more Australians. We need action.
These most recent changes in response to feedback from stakeholders and the crossbench will ensure this package of bills does more to address that crisis.
The two big areas where the government hasn’t budged are increasing the overall quantum of the fund and providing additional funding for First Nations housing.However, by agreeing to bring forward the date of the first review there’s an opportunity to reassess the size of the fund and its operations.
While the community wants to see more government investment, the need is growing and action is urgent.
These have been difficult negotiations but ground has been given and I hope there is sufficient support in the Senate to pass the bills this week.
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Gallagher and Higgins questions to be centre of today’s parliamentary session
Parliament is going to be very, very messy today as the coalition and Labor go head to head over whether or not Katy Gallagher misled parliament. Gallagher was not a minister when the Senate estimates exchange happened. But that won’t stop the politics as each side accuses the other of politicising the issue.
Simon Birmingham went on Sky News to push the Coalition’s side:
The reality is that it was Anthony Albanese’s Labor team that chose to, through the parliamentary processes, [ask] hundreds and hundreds of questions about these allegations to take them from a legal matter, a criminal matter, a matter to be decided by the courts and put them through the parliament as well.
Now, having done that and done that whilst proclaiming the innocence of their team in terms of any prior knowledge or involvement in the political nature of that attack, frankly, [that] does now warrant scrutiny as to whether or not they did have that prior knowledge or information.
The questions Labor was asking at the time was about what the then prime minister Scott Morrison or his office knew at the time, as well as what the then government did when the allegations had been privately raised.
There is also the very important questions of how Brittany Higgins’ private text messages have been leaked.
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Queensland announces further 50,000 free kindergarten places as part of budget day
Happy Queensland budget day, to those who celebrate. The lock up is about to begin, but here is what we know so far (from staff reporters and AAP)
The Queensland government has kicked off budget day by announcing it will make kindergarten free for all the state’s families from next year. Currently 14,000 children receive free kindy, which is a 15-hour-a-week government approved program aimed at the year before children start school.
Under the reforms, which will apply to kindergarten programs at long day care centres as well as community kindergartens, meaning an 50,000 additional children will be able to attend for free.
Annastacia Palaszczuk described it as a $645m investment in the state’s future.
There are currently around 8,000 children who are eligible to attend a kindy but don’t, and it’s time to close that gap.
The government has hinted there will be further cost-of-living relief in the budget, including an expected increase in the existing $175 energy rebate to help people struggling with power bills. Regional Queensland residents last week were hit with the highest electricity increase in the country at 29%.
The cost-of-living measures come as the government is flush with money from higher coal and petroleum royalties, with the budget update six months ago forecasting a $5.2bn surplus for 2022/23.
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Shorten: ‘We in the Labor team have a lot of support for Senator Gallagher. Full stop’
Bill Shorten came to the defence of finance minister Katy Gallagher while speaking to the Nine network this morning.
Gallagher is facing scrutiny over whether she may have misled parliament over what she knew about the Brittany Higgins allegations and when. Paul Karp has those questions covered here:
Shorten said:
I’m just going to make a couple of points about Katy. And one of the reasons why she does an awesome job is because she’s got such integrity and respect amongst the whole Labor team. In terms of what Senator Reynolds is complaining about in the parliament, Katy Gallagher was in opposition.
She was asking tough questions of Senator Reynolds on a particular matter. And then Senator Reynolds has decided to say that she was misleading the parliament. Senator Gallagher said she wasn’t. And we in the Labor team have got a lot of support for Senator Gallagher. Full stop.
…without me getting into every detail of every crossed T and dotted I, the point is that Senator Reynolds was saying that Senator Gallagher had weaponised this matter, that she was aware of everything for weeks in advance.
And Senator Gallagher has said she wasn’t, and she was answering Senator Reynold’s question.
The specific thing that Reynolds was putting to [her] – it wasn’t true, according to Senator Gallagher, and she just stood her ground.
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First Nations people call on government to sign nuclear weapons prohibition
A group of people are on their way to Canberra to call on the prime minister to sign the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons and speak to MPs about their experience surviving the British nuclear testing program in Western Australia and South Australia in the 1950s.
From the statement:
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the British nuclear testing program at Emu Field in South Australia, and one of the delegates, Karina Lester, a Yankunytjatjara Anangu woman from north-west South Australia, is a second generation nuclear test survivor from these tests. Her late father, Yami Lester, was blinded by the tests at Emu Field and Karina carries his story as well as her grandmother’s story about the impacts of the tests on her people.
Our mob were not informed of those tests that were about to take place on our traditional lands.
Consent was never given by Anangu for the Emu Field tests. The government did not come and ask Anangu if it was okay to test on our traditional lands.
First Nations peoples of this Country have been speaking up strong about truth telling, this is our truth telling, about the impacts felt by my people, Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, the contamination of our traditional lands, the hurt and pain and suffering still felt to this day. All Australians need to know the truth about what happened on our own soil.
I’m travelling to Canberra because we Aboriginal people need to be around the tables to make the decisions, and the nuclear ban treaty is a good opportunity to be part of the solution.
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Labor says rent freezes don’t work and we must instead increase supply
The housing minister, Julie Collins, was on ABC News Breakfast speaking on the housing fund and she responded to the rent freeze question:
Everyone knows the commonwealth doesn’t have the power to cap rents. There’s eight different states and territories across the country all doing different things. Some of them have ruled it out.
We have data and evidence it doesn’t work and it puts downward pressure on supply. What we need to do is add to supply. That’s what we’re doing, not just with our housing Australia future fund and our other investments. We have homes under construction today because we made that money available.
In my own home state of Tasmania, people are moving into new premises within weeks because of a decision we made since we have come to government.
And of course, the $1.7bn this financial year from 1 July that’s going to states and territories to invest in more affordable housing. The national housing accord, another $350m from 1 July 2024 for another 10,000 affordable rental homes that will be matched by states and territories. And of course, this comes on top of the budget measures that we have announced in this year’s budget, which is more tax changes and concessions for build to rent, which the sector indicate will be between 150,000 and 250,000 additional rentals because of that decision and our additional funding for the housing investment finance corporation.
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Liberal party emails supporters anti-voice message from John Howard
Liberal Party HQ have sent an email from John Howard to supporters asking for donations to fight the Voice. The bits in bold are the parts the Liberal HQ have made the emphasis on:
Recently, you might have received an e-mail from Peter Dutton about the voice.
I am concerned that enshrining in the constitution a voice that covers all areas of “executive government” presents a real risk*.
Like most people, I am in favour of constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians.
However, what is being proposed is a voice that can speak to every part of the federal government, with the potential for recommendations to be litigated if they are rejected.
This could create a constitutional quagmire**. There is a risk that a future high court could place an interpretation on the voice which goes beyond the current expectations of the government***.
The Liberal team will highlight these risks to everyday Australians.
However, making these arguments in the face of political, corporate and celebrity support for the ‘yes’ campaign will be a challenge.
Can you support Peter Dutton and the Liberal Team with a donation?
This voice is constitutionally risky.
Its effects are unknown, as are key details about how it would operate.
Furthermore, this voice would be permanent.
Every dollar donated will go to communicating key messages to everyday Australians.
*It doesn’t.
**This has already been debunked. The parliament remains in charge of its own destiny.
***Constitutional experts have already said, repeatedly, that no, they do not see that happening, as the voice is advisory and not binding to the parliament.
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Greens: investment property holders will still have access to negative gearing – but what of renters?
If the Greens get their way on rent freezes, what happens to people with investment properties when there are interest rate rises?
Max Chandler-Mather:
They still have access to negative gearing, which means they can write off losses on their rental properties on their tax, but can I just ask what happens to the one-third out of this country who [are] subject to another year of unlimited rent increases?
Rents have gone up … over 20% over the last 12 months? The RBA has predicted the rents may go up even faster over the next 12 months. What happens to that person who is currently budgeting, choosing between paying the rent and feeding their kids, what happens to that pension on a fixed income, knowing that the next place they’ll be sleeping is their car after the next rent increase?
It is not sustainable in one of the wealthiest countries on earth to allow unlimited rent increases.
I had someone write to me recently who had … copped a $584 a week rent increase … how [are] people meant to survive in those circumstances? [When] the cost of living is going up across the country right now, our point to the government is: … you can’t ignore a third of the country when it comes to one of the worst housing crisis we’ve seen in generations.
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Greens believe they have compromised and Labor needs to offer more
Max Chandler-Mather says the Greens have compromised on the bill and it is up to the Labor government to come to the table with something serious. He says:
There is a downturn in the private construction industry freeing up the skills and materials we could put to work right now building public and affordable housing, states and territories across the country.
[We could] have frozen rent increases before – we have a budget surplus of $4.2bn and the Labor party is locking in $30bn a year in tax cuts for people earning over $200,000 a year.
It is remarkable that [is] the only barrier right now to spending real money from this year on public and affordable housing and starting to coordinate limits on rent increases.
Labor has put rent freezes on the agenda for the next national cabinet. Chandler-Mather says there is more the government could be doing;
They delivered an energy price cap last year, even though part of the regulation [was] that was required at a state level.
They recall[ed] parliaments across the country and it was led by the federal government. I hear the federal treasurer get up in parliament every day to talk about how they put caps on energy prices. Why can’t they put caps on rents? Because they’ve decided that the one-third of this country who rent don’t matter.
Now, we know that the federal government plays a coordinating role on all sorts of issues including energy price caps last year, all we’re saying is they need to put a billion dollars on the table, cash incentives on the table, to incentivise a freeze on rent increases. And let me tell you, it would be a brave premier to turn back to their state and say not only are we going to turn down billions of … extra funding for housing in the middle of a housing crisis, the only reason we’re turning it down is because we don’t want to stop your rents going up for the next two years.
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Greens not supportive of current Labor offer on housing
On ABC Radio RN Breakfast, Max Chandler-Mather is explaining why the Greens can not support the housing fund yet.
Chandler-Mather says the $500m a year floor doesn’t come in for another 12 months, and no homes will be built until 2025.
Why is it fair in one of the wealthiest countries on earth that we have to tell that single mom waiting for a public home that she has to wait until after 2025, and then basically go into a lottery to see if they can get one of the up to 20,000 social homes that government wants to build through to what 2030, when the shortage is 640,000 homes?
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Labor offers Greens olive branch over affordable housing
Labor has moved a smidgeon on the housing future fund, as Paul Karp reports:
Labor has guaranteed a minimum of $500m will be paid out of the housing Australia future fund every year in a last-ditch bid to win Greens support for the bill to help build social and affordable housing.
The housing minister, Julie Collins, wrote to the crossbench on Monday offering a “guaranteed fixed disbursement” of $500m from 2024-25, with a new power for the treasurer and finance minister to increase the amount by regulation, making it a floor not a ceiling.
But the Greens are not overly thrilled by the offer. Labor can’t pass this bill in the senate without the Greens, unless the Coalition suddenly decide to support it, so this deadlock remains. For now.
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Minute’s silence to be held for victims of Hunter Valley bus crash
There will be a minute’s silence for the Hunter Valley bus crash victims today in parliament.
There will be some rare moments of bipartisanship in response to the crash today. Expect to see politicians from all sides drop the politics for a moment as they speak on it.
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Good morning
Thank you to Martin for getting us started there – Amy Remeikis is with you now and will be for most of the day.
Just a note on the horrendous tragedy in the Hunter Valley – there will be a lot more developments there today, and we know people are still looking for information, so we have set up a dedicated blog. Our thoughts are with those families and the community.
All of it makes politics seem a little ridiculous at times, but there are some important policies in amongst the muck – including the housing future fund. It remains to be seen whether Labor will bend and create a policy the Greens can support. Given how pressing the housing need is and how many people are already suffering, there’s no time to waste.
Today is also party room meeting day, which will set the tone for the week. Given this is the last sitting before the winter break, each side is throwing everything at “winning” the debate. It means things will be getting messy.
We’ll cover off all the events and provide context and fact checking where we can. You have Paul Karp and Josh Butler in Canberra, as well as the entire Guardian brains trust to bring you news from outside Capital Hill.
It’s going to be a long seven sitting days. Grab your coffee and let’s get into it
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Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage as parliament resumes in Canberra. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before my colleague Amy Remeikis boots up her computer.
It’s going to be an early start to the political day when Anthony Albanese addresses the state of the nation conference organised by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia. The prime minister will be buoyed by our latest Essential poll showing that Labor is the preferred party to handle the cost of living and interest rates crisis amid a collapse in the proportion of respondents who favoured the Coalition on interest rates, which fell 16 points from 42% to 26% since February. Indeed, he will tell the conference over breakfast that his government has helped to “enhance economic security in a time of global uncertainty”. We’ll have more on this soon.
The Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, will also be speaking at the conference (he gets the lunch slot) but his party might be more interested in making political capital this week from the ongoing Brittany Higgins saga. Our chief political correspondent, Paul Karp, writes this morning about how the Coalition will seek to press their narrative that Labor tried to “weaponise” the case, with Katy Gallagher as their particular target. But he warns “there really is no bottom to how low the debate could go, because both sides think the other is the one politicising the complaint”. More on this one coming up.
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