What we learned today; Wednesday 6 September
And that’s where we’ll wrap up today. Thanks so much for your company.
Here’s a little of what we learned:
Indigenous leader Marcia Langton told the National Press Club a no vote in the referendum would be “a mandate to cause us even further harm” while raising fears about setbacks to reconciliation.
The transport minister, Catherine King, has issued a fresh defence of her decision not to grant Qatar Airways additional capacity into Australia, claiming the request was “unprecedented”.
The debate spurred chaos in question time when the Coalition moved a dissent motion against the Speaker, Milton Dick, for his ruling on a response by King to the opposition’s questioning.
Labor’s industrial relations legislation contains a “major flaw” that will apply its “same job, same pay” policy to service contracts, potentially including IT, lawyers and accountants, one of Australia’s foremost academic experts has said.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has rebuffed concerns about big companies donating to the referendum campaign, saying it was “extraordinary” that there was controversy around the issue.
New South Wales coal royalty rates will be increased from the middle of next year in a move the state government says will raise $2.7bn over four years.
The NSW Environment Protection Authority says it has commenced prosecution in the land and environment court against Vales Point Power station owner Delta Electricity over a mass fish kill in the Lake Macquarie region last year.
Updated
Labor responds to Coalition’s call to list Wagner as a terrorist organisation
The Albanese government says it is deeply concerned about the Wagner mercenary group but won’t speculate on whether it is considering listing it as a terrorist organisation.
The Coalition’s home affairs spokesperson, James Paterson, earlier today renewed his call for the government to formally make such a designation after the UK announced the Russian mercenary group would be proscribed under that country’s terrorism laws.
Guardian Australia asked the home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, and the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, for a response.
Spokespersons for both ministers have now issued the following joint response:
The government is deeply concerned about the Wagner group’s operations in Ukraine and elsewhere.
The foreign minister has imposed targeted financial sanctions on the Wagner group (18 May 2022) and its leaders (25 February 2022).
As per long-standing practice, the government does not comment on whether it is considering the listing of any organisation.
Updated
Marcia Langton warns no vote in voice referendum could be ‘mandate to cause us even further harm’
Earlier today, we brought you live coverage of Marcia Langton’s speech at the National Press Club, where she said a no vote in the referendum would be “a mandate to cause us even further harm”.
If you missed it, my colleague Josh Butler has a rundown of the speech here:
Updated
Government hatches plan to drop wine complaint against China
The trade minister, Don Farrell, has proposed to drop Australia’s wine complaint against China in exchange for a review on punitive tariffs, AAP reports.
Farrell said it’s the same template the government used to come to a resolution on Australia’s barley dispute with China, which saw Australia drop its dispute with the World Trade Organization after China reviewed its tariffs.
China is yet to respond to the offer, but Farrell says he’s hoping to have the dispute resolved after his Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao, accepted his invitation to visit Australia and the Clare Valley wine region in South Australia.
Updated
Labor’s ‘same job, same pay’ bill contains ‘major flaw’, leading expert says
Labor’s industrial relations legislation contains a “major flaw” that will apply its “same job, same pay” policy to service contracts, potentially including IT, lawyers and accountants, one of Australia’s foremost academic experts has said.
Prof Andrew Stewart made the comments at the Minerals Council’s conference on Wednesday, siding with employers who have raised similar warnings that a major plank of the Albanese government’s closing loopholes legislation could force up costs beyond its intended application of labour hire.
Stewart also warned about the “potential for disruption” from Labor’s proposal to expand union delegates’ rights to communicate with non-members.
More on this story here:
Updated
New Liberal senator Maria Kovacic calls for caps on negative gearing
Yesterday the new Liberal senator Maria Kovacic, in her first speech to the Senate, called for tax changes to boost home ownership including capping the number of properties an investor can negatively gear.
This is a stance that puts her at odds with the opposition leader, Peter Dutton.
Kovacic is on ABC News now talking about why she thinks these changes are necessary. Kovacic said she is not advocating for negative gearing to be scrapped entirely given “it’s an important component of building wealth”.
We also need to address the fact that the purpose of negative gearing is to assist mum-and-dad style investors to help grow wealth and financial security, particularly into retirement … I think what has happened now is that we have a situation where there are groups of individuals or groups of investors that are leveraging that and that is probably not its intended purpose, so we need to have a look at if there is a sensible point [beyond which it is no longer reasonable] …
I don’t think it is OK for one person to have 30 properties they are investing in [when there are] young Australians not able to enter the market.
My colleague Paul Karp has more on Kovacic’s speech here:
Updated
Coalition making ‘something out of nothing’ over Marles’ VIP aircraft use, Peter Khalil says
The Labor MP Peter Khalil has just appeared on ABC News, where he accused the Coalition of trying to “make something out of nothing” in their accusations that the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, has misused VIP aircraft, costing $3.6m.
All of the travel that has been conducted on those [special-purpose] aircraft by the prime minister, deputy prime minister and so on, has been within the guidelines as they currently exist and the security protocols that currently exist.
Updated
John Pesutto and Moira Deeming fail to reach outcome after mediation
News via AAP:
Mediation between the Victorian opposition leader and a former Liberal MP threatening defamation action has failed to reach an outcome, setting the scene for a potential court showdown.
John Pesutto spent about three hours in mediation with Moira Deeming during his birthday on Tuesday and said the pair had “narrowed” on some issues.
The Liberal leader said lawyers for both sides would continue negotiations but he was confident any litigation brought against him would have “no merit”.
Pesutto told reporters at state parliament:
Mediations don’t always resolve on the first day.
Sometimes it takes some further discussions and I’m hopeful that can happen, but if it doesn’t I’m very comfortable with the advice I’ve been given.
Deeming was expelled from the parliamentary party following her participation in an anti-transgender rally in March that was gatecrashed by a group of masked men who performed Nazi salutes.
She has issued several defamation concerns notices to Pesutto relating to his post-event comments, alleging he publicly accused her of being a Nazi sympathiser and used the claim to bully and threaten her with expulsion.
Pesutto denies he accused the now independent MP of being a Nazi or having Nazi sympathies.
Updated
Here is a snippet from Marcia Langton’s speech earlier today at the National Press Club, where she urged Australians to consider the implications of a no vote in the upcoming referendum.
Updated
As always, big thanks to Amy Remeikis for steering us through the day! I’ll now be with you until this evening.
With the parliament starting to wind down after what has been an absolutely jam-packed day (complete with crackers), I am going to hand the blog over to Jordyn Beazley, who will take you through to the evening.
Don’t worry, though – we will be back with Politics Live from early tomorrow morning for the last day of this sitting week (there is another sitting week next week. Huzzah).
Until then, as always – please, take care of you.
Updated
Greens senator pushes Labor on super for paid parental leave
Over in the Senate, which today was the grown up chamber (which is how you know things were really bad in the house), Greens senator Larissa Waters asked Katy Gallagher when the government was planning on making the change so that super was paid on paid parental leave.
The government doesn’t have an answer on this yet. Waters is pretty cranky about it:
In the last financial year, Labor gave $9.8 billion worth of subsidies to fossil fuel industries, and they’ve committed half a trillion dollars to nuclear submarines. And yet women have to wait for super on PPL, despite it costing a modest $200m1 each year, because of ‘budget constraints’.
Why are women forced to wait when other things are not subject to budget constraints?
The Greens have committed to pass the superannuation tax reforms if Labor funds super on PPL, so the excuse about budget constraints really doesn’t fly.
The government’s superannuation tax proposal is such a timid proposed change to the tax concessions the obscenely wealthy receive. If Labor is not going to improve it, the least they can do is put the revenue to good use for the legions of women retiring into poverty.
We will use our balance of power in the Senate to get outcomes for families and for the women in Australia retiring with 23% less superannuation than men.
The government’s mooted superannuation changes, though, don’t come up for debate until after the next election, so don’t expect the government to be pressed into answering that in this term.
Updated
Qantas staff ‘high-fiving’ over Joyce’s departure
Qantas employees reportedly responded with glee to news that CEO Alan Joyce would be stepping down from the role early.
As Joyce announced his early exit on Tuesday morning, staff were reportedly celebrating mid-air.
Former Qantas pilot Richard de Crespigny said he was on a Qantas flight. He told 3AW radio:
It was about five minutes before we touched down and I saw staff high-fiving themselves.
De Crespigny also said that “airlines live and die on trust” and Qantas had unfairly attacked passengers for its problems.
They said the public were not match-fit coming out of Covid … The management were happy to criticise the passengers but it’s been found out that the airline was absolutely not match fit and I think it’s exposed a failure in governance of the board and the CEO.”
On another flight, a captain excitedly announced the breaking news to passengers over the in-flight audio system mid-air.
One passenger on the flight told Guardian Australia the captain’s excitement was such that he repeated the announcement a short time later.
Updated
Andrew Wilkie calls for charges against whistleblowers to be dropped
Earlier today, independent MP Andrew Wilkie moved a motion in the lower house calling for the government to immediately drop the charges against David McBride and Richard Boyle. He was supported by independents Zoe Daniel and Allegra Spender, among others.
The government and opposition opposed the motion.
Attorney general Mark Dreyfus told parliament the use of a suspension motion to call for intervention in two ongoing court cases was “highly irregular”. He said he was “strongly of the view that integrity and rule of law are central to Australia’s criminal justice arrangements” and that his powers to intervene were reserved for highly unusual and exceptional circumstances.
I would like to note that the government is committed to delivering strong, effective and accessible protections for whistleblowers.
Wilkie said later that the government should drop the charges, saying they make a “mockery of [the government’s] claim of providing greater protections for whistleblowers”.
This is about doing the right thing, so I call on the prime minister and the attorney general to listen to the Australian community and drop the charges. Unless they do it seems to me like business as usual, where those speaking truth to power are shut down, as much to punish them as to deter other people who would speak up.
Updated
Coalition calls for Russia’s Wagner Group to be listed as terrorist organisation
The Coalition’s home affairs spokesperson, James Paterson, has called on the Australian government to formally designate the Wagner Group as a terrorist organisation.
In a statement, Paterson pointed to today’s announcement by the UK government that the Russian mercenary group would be proscribed under that countries terrorism laws due to “the nature and scale of the organisation’s activities as well as the threat they pose to British nationals abroad”.
Paterson said the Biden administration had also decided in January to designate Wagner a significant transnational criminal organisation. Paterson added:
The Albanese Government needs to explain when and how it plans to list Wagner a terrorist organisation to ensure Australia stands shoulder to shoulder with its allies in taking action against the abhorrent conduct of the Wagner Group.
Comment is being sought from the government.
Updated
The view from Murph
Thank you Amy for letting me interject in the live coverage with some thoughts about that sequence in question time.
Let me share some perspective from the stone age.
During the 43rd parliament – the one where Labor governed in minority – Tony Abbott developed a mastery of the parliament, using the procedures of the House to inculcate and project a sense of daily crisis.
Day after day, Abbott moved a suspension of the standing orders in order to let rip about the legitimacy of the Gillard government.
Abbott’s tactics were brutal, but effective.
The atmospherics he manufactured (assisted, of course, by the civil war raging inside Labor during that period) served Abbott’s crisis narrative. Today we were treated to a motion of dissent in the Speaker’s ruling.
This intervention was clearly designed to get some shouty grabs from Peter Dutton on the TV news.
I suspect that objective will succeed, but the Liberal leader is lucky TV packages are edited tightly, because the method was hapless.
If the call was made in the opposition’s tactics committee today to blow up the parliament to foment a crisis around a lack of transparency, best not miss.
Best land your blow. Inside of forcing the transparency Dutton said he was intent on pursuing from the transport minister, Catherine King, we were treated to a few questions, then blokes shouting at each other in a testosterone-charged spectacle of performative accountability and zero sum politics.
On and on it went.
Meanwhile, the transport minister sat largely mute as the blokes competed to see who could get the work murky on the TV news.
Now don’t misunderstand me – King needs to front up and explain clearly why she made a decision to block extra flights from Qatar at a time when demand for air travel outstrips supply. Transparency matters.
But the whole performance of accountability today served to take the pressure off her, and allowed Labor to return fire.
Updated
What just happened?
From the messages, emails and texts I am getting, if you are asking that question, you are not alone.
The Coalition attempted to use parliamentary standing orders as a stunt. Labor has done this while in opposition – but their preferred method was suspension of standing orders.
Where this differed was it was tied to a speaker’s ruling over whether or not a minister was being relevant. So the opposition tried to have a political argument, where it outlined its political attack lines for the 6pm news, in a debate over whether or not the speaker’s ruling was correct.
So it all got a bit messy.
There was a vote on whether or not the dissent motion would be carried, and the crossbench and government voted to shut down the whole ridiculous exercise.
That all took just over 30 minutes. Ten minutes later and Richard Marles used his own power under the standing orders to end question time at 3.10pm – around the time it usually ends. Not because it had to, but because Labor had had enough of the whole thing and wanted to punish the opposition.
And that, folks, is how your democracy was carried out today.
Updated
And after one more dixer, acting prime minister Richard Marles calls time on question time.
The Coalition complains about how short QT is and someone (I think it is Tony Burke) says “It’s 10 past three”.
What is this? The consequences of the Coalition’s own actions?
The chamber moves on.
Updated
Catherine King is then asked:
Did the minister discuss Qatar’s application with Alan Joyce prior to her decision on Qatar?
And says:
As I said to in answering the previous question, to the best of my recollection the people who talked to me about the Qatar decision was a discussion I had with Virgin, a third party approached my office on behalf of Qatar, and the previous discussions I have had with Qantas.
Updated
Catherine King continues:
Now those new flights only started early last year in 2022. That’s when that new capacity asked for in 2018 actually was given to Qatar.
In the case of this Qatar civilised aviation authorities request, I determined that it was not in Australia to grant the request for an additional 28 flights per week.
I know that there are some businesses and airlines that would have liked me to make a different decision.
But I have not based that decision on any one company’s commercial interests but on the national interest. And again, as the member [for Riverina] has said when he introduced that safeguard article, because – and I quote – ‘you can’t have an airline coming in from overseas and just undercutting to the point where Australian jobs are at risk and Australian airlines were closed’.
And he said ‘deep pockets undercut, undercut, undercut and people go to them, as opposed to an airline that may be majority Australian owned and unable to compete with this unfair undercutting of prices’.
King is VERY exercised here. Her voice is almost cracking with strain as she gets the answer out.
Updated
And after ALL of that, Catherine King takes a dixer where she gets to say what she wanted to say before all of that dissent motion palava.
King:
It might be useful to remind the House that requests for additional capacity are made routinely to governments around the world, including Australia.
And these requests are not always granted including by those opposite.
In fact, when the very same question was put to the in front of the member for Riverina and he said ‘I’ve made a decision to put on hold an application by Qatar Airways’.
Well that ‘putting on hold’ was four years –that’s not putting it on hold that’s actually not making a decision on approval, and by the time a decision was actually taken nearly half the coalition’s time in office that elapsed and the end of that four year hold they were granted only an additional additional seven flights per week.
And so worried was the previous government about this airline for the first time they added an anti dumping clause to the international air services agreement.
Recap: question time dissent motion
The house is still going through the motions of its latest foregone conclusion, so to recap:
Michael McCormack asked Catherine King a question.
King gave some forward sizzle that she would talk about McCormack’s record in her portfolio.
As she went into doing that, Peter Dutton raised a point of order on relevance.
Milton Dick said King was being relevant.
Paul Fletcher jumped up and moved a dissenting motion in the speaker’s ruling (which is basically an I OBJECT but without Elle Wood’s pizazz).
There was a back and forth over whether Fletcher moved the motion correctly.
Fletcher got his shiz together and carried out the requirements. Hastie backed him in. Peter Dutton then Dutted all over the place and criticised the prime minister for going to Asean, when just yesterday he had said he “supported” the trip and how important it was our international allies heard a “united” message.
Tony Burke got very angry at all of it.
The house divided.
The government won, 53 to 86 (the independents and crossbench voted with them).
And we all lost just over half an hour of our life.
Updated
Senators join calls to fund unpaid uni internships
Crossbenchers are joining calls in the education sector for the federal government to fund unpaid university internships, which they say are placing significant stress on students in a cost of living crisis.
Speaking in the Senate yesterday, Tammy Tyrrell of the Jacqui Lambie Network urged Labor to fund workplaces to pay students to complete compulsory placements in areas with workforce shortages like teaching and nursing.
The Greens, One Nation and independent senator David Pocock have backed the proposed reforms.
Mehreen Faruqi, the Greens spokesperson for higher education, said placement poverty was a “pressing issue” that had become “even more urgent in the cost of living crisis”.
Students Against Placement Poverty launched a national grassroots campaign in July for placements to be paid, citing decades-high indexation on student loans and soaring rents.
Unpaid placements form part of a really cooked system of education that exploits student labour. We can’t keep turning away when we know that students are forced to do thousands of hours of unpaid placement work.
Faruqi said placement poverty was also gendered as unpaid stints were particularly common in feminised fields of study including teaching, nursing and social work.
Pocock supported Tyrrell “wholeheartedly”, pointing to medical degrees requiring more than 2,700 hours of clinical placements.
A thousand hours is about 25 work weeks, essentially half a year of unpaid work. At the minimum wage, that equates to around $22,000 of free labour.
Updated
Malaysia ditches ban on Australian live cattle exports
Malaysia has dropped a ban on live cattle exports from Australia, declaring Australian cattle are free of a highly infectious livestock disease.
In early August, the Malaysian government followed a move by Indonesia to block Australian live exports after a small number of cases of lumpy skin disease were detected in cattle imported from Australia – although this was after arriving at their destination.
The Australian government and the livestock industry remain adamant that Australia is free of the disease, which causes the skin of infected cattle or buffaloes to blister while significantly reducing milk production.
Australian government officials are in ongoing discussions with Indonesia – the biggest importer of Australian cattle – in hopes it will follow suit and drop harsh restrictions imposed on export yards in northern Australia.
Nicola Hinder, acting deputy secretary of the Agricultural Trade group, said:
Malaysia’s decision to lift the suspension is … a result of a well-coordinated whole-of-government effort.
[It was] led by the department’s technical and trade officials who helped gather the extensive evidence base that led to this determination.
Updated
Also in Jakarta, a reporter asked Anthony Albanese whether a loss in the 14 October referendum would undermine Australia’s relationships with south-east Asia. The prime minister smiled at the reporter’s creative attempt to get around Albanese’s reluctance to comment on domestic matters when he is out of the country.
Albanese referred to his previous comments on the voice and said he’d be “happy to discuss those issues back in Australia on Monday”.
Asked if he was disappointed that China’s president, Xi Jinping, would not be attending the G20 in India this weekend, Albanese said it was “a matter for nation states who they send to these events”. Albanese said his position on the relationship with China was consistent: cooperate where we can, disagree where we must, and engage in the national interest.
Albanese did not say one way or the other whether he expected to find an opening to have direct talks with China’s premier, Li Qiang, who is attending in Xi’s place:
I’m sure that over the next period, both here [in Jakarta] and at the G20, Premier Li will be present. We’ll certainly be in the same room during those meetings.
Albanese also confirmed that the long-planned meeting with south-east Asian leaders in Australia will be held in Melbourne between 4 and 6 March 2024. He said this special summit would commemorate the 50th anniversary of Asean - Australia relations.
Updated
While that mess continues, we’ll head back to Jakarta where Anthony Albanese has spoken to reporters about the government’s economic blueprint for the region. The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, was at the same press conference and was asked about her call on Monday with Qatar’s prime minister.
Wong said she had initiated the call to discuss a range of bilateral matters, which included the 2020 Doha airport incident where women, including Australians, were subjected to invasive searches:
That’s something that I spoke about in opposition and obviously it was a very distressing event for the women concerned. I also wanted to raise some multilateral issues ahead of UNGA (UN General Assembly).
She did not directly respond to part of the question - whether that was the “real reason” for Qatar Airways’ request for additional flights being rejected. Wong said:
As you have flagged, the bilateral air services agreement was not discussed in the call.
Paul Fletcher then raises ANOTHER point of order and claims that Tony Burke has strayed off the topic, which is not something Labor MPs had done when either Fletcher, Hastie or Dutton strayed off the topic, and Milton Dick has had enough, reminding Fletcher that Burke can respond to things said in the debate.
Burke:
Mr Speaker, even that point of order shows the contempt they have for this parliament. Even that point of order shows exactly how they used to run things and how they wish things were, where they get to make a point and no one gets to answer it in return. And that is precisely, precisely what they are wanting to have happen here, that is the only reason that point of order could have possibly been raised!
There is some kind of outrage that a different point of view is given in this parliament. Can I say, we are only a short way through question time, and if anything that they say is true, anything that they say is true in this debate, it is that they want to hear more in response to their questions. So in order to get on with it, and I do … in order to get on with question time, I moved that the question be put.
The house divides for its vote. The government have the numbers here, because of course they do, but we have all lost moments of our lives we are never getting back.
Updated
Tony Burke continues and pulls up Peter Dutton for criticising the prime minister for being in Indonesia for Asean, when Dutton had stood in the parliament JUST YESTERDAY and said:
I want to offer very strong words of support to the prime minister. We can have our arguments domestically and in this chamber [but] when the prime minister steps onto the international stage, it’s important that our trading partners and friends hear a very united message.
And for Indonesia – not just for the geopolitical priorities at the moment, and the need for us to collaborate closely with our partners in the near region, but also, as the prime minister rightly points out, the essential elements to advancing the relationship, the people-to-people links and the trading opportunities, which should be much greater than they currently are.
Both sides of politics very strongly support the development of the relationship with Indonesia and the expat community here, and the way in which our business leaders on both sides of the ocean are able to work together is a very significant underpinning for what should be a very bright future. Similarly, in terms of the other legs of the prime minister’s trip, it’s important for us to send a very clear message that, at this time, we do want to strengthen our relationships, our ties, across all of the areas detailed by the prime minister. We wish the PM every success in the trip because it is important for our country’s future, and we stand ready to support the outcomes of the statement the prime minister referred to as well.
Burke said:
In terms of the issues of respect for this place, in this debate, I’m simply referring to what has been said in this debate, Mr Speaker. We had the leader of the opposition go back on an indulgence that he gave in this place only a couple of days ago, talking about what should be above politics in terms of when we engage with the rest of the world. Now, members do not have to stand up and take an indulgence, members do not have to stand up and say something is above politics. But when you do, it should last longer than 48 hours. And that shows the character of this leader of the opposition.
Updated
'Disorderly conduct': Kylea Tink interrupts major parties during dissent motion
Tony Burke continues and says the dissent motion has been called because the Coalition has given up on talking about the cost of living. He moves on to hypocrisy and the whole chamber is in uproar which prompts independent MP Kylea Tink to stand up and say:
It is standing order 91 disorderly conduct. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to listen to both major parties talk about what is appropriate standing order or not but there are Australian public sitting in this Chamber at the moment watching this behaviour and I do not believe this behaviour is speaking highly of this Chamber.
If we could please have this debate and have it reasonably without yelling at each other I think that would be in the best interests of everyone.
Milton Dick tells the chamber to settle down.
Updated
Tony Burke gets to have some fun, though:
It is a pleasure to follow both the leader of the opposition and the former future leader of the opposition on what is one of the silliest moments I can imagine on a dissent motion.
If this was a test on whether or not you move dissent, you would have had a descent motion every question time every day for the previous nine years.
That is what we would have had. Because what they are objecting to is the fact that the standing order says you have to be relevant. That is what they are actually descending to.
That is the problem they have. If you have a look at the question, it asked about – and the end part of it regarding Qatar’s application before the decision was made.
What made them outraged, what suddenly enlivened them, was when the minister started to refer to what the situation was before the application was made.
That is exactly what she was referring to. What the situation the previous government had left in place.
The question specifically invited an answer about what the circumstances were before the application had been made.
And if you don’t want an answer about what the circumstances were before the application was made, then don’t be so idiotic as to ask a question as to what the circumstances were before the application was made.
Updated
Peter Dutton finishes with:
I don’t think the Australian public are seeing a level of transparency and that is why, Mr Speaker, this minister has bought this house into disrepute, and that is why, Mr Speaker, with due respect to you, you should have upheld our point of order, moved that the minister was not in order and not relevant to the question being asked, instead of the ruling you made.
This is a serious issue and the president, he is important. Because to be honest, this is not the first occasion we have contemplated whether we move dissent because of the way in which the government has put you into a difficult position.
Today, I think, is a red letter day for this minister, because the minister has a clear question before her. Will she answer it honestly? So far she has not and the Australian public demand nothing less of her.
This is all over whether or not they believe Catherine King to be relevant to the question. Which, if this is the bar, I am surprised Labor didn’t move a dissent motion every single day of question time under the Morrison government. But here we are.
Updated
The Coalition are using this dissent motion to trot out their lines, in what usually would be a suspension of standing order debate, but because it is supposed to be about the speaker’s ruling (that Catherine King’s answer was in order), they have to try and link it back to that.
Peter Dutton is asked to get back to the dissent motion and says:
The standing orders of this house are sacrosanct and we need to make sure that the integrity of our Westminster system is upheld.
(A reminder that the Coalition declined to censor Scott Morrison for holding his five secret ministries.)
Dutton to Milton Dick:
The requirement to do so fall squarely upon your shoulders. You are a decent and honourable speaker but you have been put into the most difficult position by a minister who is trying to escape the reality.
You would not be put in this position, Mr Speaker, that forced a hand to move dissent in your order if the minister had not been so evasive. Australians are demanding answers from this government.
And despite having a show of bipartisanship solidarity over Asean yesterday, where Dutton said how important it was that the world saw the government and opposition are in lockstep on foreign policy, Dutton then moves on to:
The prime minister is off overseas on another overseas flight and you have this minister, who refuses to answer questions in his absence.
Updated
Andrew Hastie seconds the motion of dissent and then gives his speech, which has been thrust in front of him, and he almost sounds convincing.
If Milton Dick sounded tired before, he now sounds like he’d rather be anywhere else.
Hastie is speaking on cost of living crises and protection rackets, which seems to be off the cuff – and, well, points for trying. Everyone has to start somewhere.
The chamber is an absolute rabble and Dick issues a general warning.
Peter Dutton is now making a speech. This debate goes for 30 minutes.
Question time had not even run for 30 minutes before this all started.
Updated
Peter Dutton raises a point of order on relevance as King starts to move to McCormack’s record in her portfolio:
I ask for your ruling in relation to whether the minister is relevant to the very tight question that was asked. I ask for your ruling in relation to the matter.
Milton Dick says:
I am listening to the leader of the opposition and the minister’s answers, she has canvassed the issue around her conversations, which is what the question was about, who she has met with, and has indicated with her answer who she has been meeting with. The question was also about the decision around the application, regarding the decision that the minister has taken, and I will listen very carefully to her answer, to make sure she has been relevant to that part of the question.
But no, Paul Fletcher is up! And he is moving dissent with the speakers’ decision.
Fletcher and Tony Burke then argue over whether or not Fletcher has correctly moved a dissent motion.
Burke asks where is the speech? Is it in writing? Fletcher reads out the standing orders, which also gives him time for the dissent motion to be written, and then relies on his university debate skillz (sp) to come up with a speech on the spot, but it’s not his best.
What has happened here is very clear. The opposition has asked an extremely tightly worded question of the minister for infrastructure, transport, regional development and local government [has failed to answer].
The minister has in a number of ways sought to evade answering what is an extremely direct question. We on this side of the house, both the leader of the opposition and I, have expressed our – we have sought clarification for you and sought a ruling from you, the ruling has been provided, we have indicated we disagree with the ruling and what we are now doing is moving dissent. And the reason we are moving dissent is because you made a ruling the minister was in order and what we are putting to the house is that the minister was not in order because she was not being relevant to what was a very tightly worded, narrowly defined question.
And so that is the basis on which the opposition is moving dissent, as is permitted under standing order 87.
Updated
Coalition targets Labor over Qantas and Qatar Airways
Former deputy prime minister Michael McCormack asks Catherine King:
Did the minister have a conversation with Alan Joyce regarding Qatar’s application before the decision was made?
King:
Thank you very much to the member for Riverina for his question. And I really welcome the question that has come specifically from him because I have a little bit to say about his role in international aviation services agreement as well.
The house erupts.
The Coalition begins yelling “it was about you” and “it’s not what the question was about”.
King continues:
As you would expect, my department had consultation with all relevant aviation stakeholders and I was aware of different stakeholders views when I took the decision.
I do meet routinely with the CEOs of all of the airlines, airports, and peak bodies, and from my recollection, the main people lobbying me about Qatar came from Virgin and a third party into my office on behalf of Qatar and the discussions I’ve had recently with Qantas have been about their concerns about our same job, same pay legislation.
But because I am asked about this matter of international aviation service agreements, which is what this question is about! Which is what this question is about…
The chamber descends into absolute chaos.
Updated
Jim Chalmers took a dixer (question asked by government backbencher to government minister, usually written by the minister’s office or the tactics team) on the GDP and Angus Taylor had a bit to say.
Paul Karp says he heard Taylor say:
Let more people in – that’s the answer.
… It’s only population growth.
He argued through interjections that today’s national accounts are a per capita recession.
Milton Dick told him to zip it, or he would be warned (the precursor to being thrown out).
Updated
Adam Bandt tries for a point of order on relevance, but there is no point of order.
Tanya Plibersek continues:
I might remind those, the member for Ryan and the other members of the Greens political party, I’m the first environment minister ever to refuse a coal mine and I was able to do that because the law allowed me to do that because of the risk to the … Great Barrier Reef. I judge every project according to the law* but the important thing to remember here is this government is determined to achieve net zero carbon emissions for Australia. We are determined to get to 82% renewable energy.
The approvals that I am making for renewable energy including working with the minister for climate change and energy on massive offshore wind farms around the coast of Australia, that is what will help us get to net zero. That is what will help us get to 82% renewable energy.
I might remind those members asking questions today as well that we have legislated a safeguard mechanism to deal with these large projects. A safeguard mechanism that you signed on to.
So I just want to say too, Mr Speaker, that this government is determined to ensure that Australia is on a pathway to net zero. The Greens have teamed up with the Liberals before to block action on climate change.
We are all about delivery. We are about the hard slog of government, not the slogans of opposition.
*If only Tanya Plibersek knew someone who could help her change laws.
Updated
Greens MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown asks Tanya Plibersek:
How do you justify approving more coal and gas?
Plibersek:
It is very similar to the question I was asked on Monday this week and last week and the week before and I state to the member for Ryan once again: no government has done more to transition this nation to renewable energy than our government, than the Albanese Labor government*.
I say also to the member for Ryan that it is only this government that has legislated a pathway to net zero, that has legislated an interim reduction target of 43%.
It is only this side of the chamber that has delivered a plan to get to 82% renewable energy, and in my own portfolio I have doubled the rate of approvals of renewable energy projects since we came to government. More transmission lines, more solar, more wind, more offshore...
*Yes, but the bar was subterranean.
Updated
Tanya Plibersek takes a dixer on the Murray Darling legislation (which she will need the Greens for) and takes a couple of interjections from the National party MPs:
I hear the interjections - the National party like to say they are on track to deliver the plan. Well, on their rate of progress we will get there around the year 200,000. We would have robot dogs and bionic humans and the National party water minister lugging the last buckets of water down to the Murray-Darling Basin.
Updated
David Littleproud steps up:
Will the minister advised the dates of conversation she had with Mr Joyce about the Qatar application prior to the decision being made.
The minister, Catherine King, says:
I refer to my previous answer [which did not include dates].
The Coalition side of the chamber erupts in oooooohhhhhhhsssss and Milton Dick calls for order.
He sounds very tired today.
Updated
Question time begins
The chamber stands in a moment of silence for Simon Crean.
Richard Marles is acting prime minister for the next two days.
Sussan Ley opens up the questions:
Did the minister or her office have any communication with the outgoing Qantas CEO Alan Joyce or any representative of Qantas regarding the application for additional flights to and from Australia by Qatar Airways before the minister made her decision to reject the application?
Catherine King is brief:
As you would expect, my department undertook consultation with relevant aviation stakeholders and I was well aware of different stakeholders’ view when I took the decision.
Updated
Over in the chamber and it is 90-second statements, where Darren Chester is comparing the “new Labor party” to jellyfish.
The punchline is no heart, no brain, no eyes and no spine.
It’s about the changes to Victoria’s timber industry.
He then continues riffing on it – jellyfish have no stomachs, and he says that fits, as the Labor MPs have “no guts” for not speaking up against the end of native forest logging in Victoria or “standing up” for blue collar workers.
The 90 seconds ends before we get to no legs.
Updated
PM hails boosted trade ties with Asean
After promising to match words with deeds, Albanese told leaders in Jakarta that today’s trade and investment strategy marked “the most significant upgrade of Australia’s economic engagement with Asean for a generation”.
He said the “overdue strengthening of our engagement” reflected an “enduring truth: this is where Australia’s economic destiny lies”. He gave a couple of examples:
Leading Australian company Cochlear has transformed the lives of over 9,000 people in Southeast Asia through distribution of its sophisticated hearing implants.
If you’re lucky enough to be served a quintessential Australian lamington, the coconut is likely to hail from the Philippines.
Our economies and our cultures are already so intertwined — in ways big and small.
But what [former Macquarie boss turned regional envoy] Nicholas [Moore] kept hearing during his consultations was that both sides can do more.
Australia is ambitious for what we can achieve with the region to tackle the challenge of climate change, for example. And we recognise that it’s in all our interests to support the net zero transition.
Albanese said deepening engagement between Australia and Southeast Asia was “a priority for Australia” but also an “opportunity for the whole region”.
That’s because “all of us will benefit from the security we build together, the prosperity we create together, the stability we preserve together, the sovereignty we respect together, the environmental commitments we fulfil together, the energy transition we drive together”.
Updated
PM says Asean is ‘vital to Australia’s future’
Anthony Albanese has also delivered a speech to the Asean Indo-Pacific Forum in Jakarta. He has heavily focused on the long relationship between Australia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean):
When Australia became Asean’s first dialogue partner in 1974, my predecessor, prime minister Gough Whitlam, described Asean as “unquestionably the most important [and] the most relevant” group in our region.
Albanese said both Australia and south-east Asia had changed profoundly since then.
We face environmental challenges, economic uncertainty and strategic competition on a level of complexity that could not have been imagined 49 years ago.
And yet for all that has changed, a defining truth endures: the centrality of Asean is vital to Australia’s future.
Because Australia and Asean are bound by more than an accident of geography or the virtue of history – we share a common belief in the opportunities of this region, the potential of our peoples.
And we hold a common responsibility to advance stability, peace and prosperity for every nation that calls south-east Asia home.
To recognise the sovereignty of every country* and the inherent dignity of every individual. To ensure this is a region where each of us can shape our own destiny and secure our own future.**
I am here today to affirm Australia’s belief in the power and value of Asean centrality. And to match those words with deeds.
* This sovereignty line is a nudge against China’s expansive claims in the South China Sea. Countries in the region have repeatedly made clear they don’t want to be forced into a binary choice between China and the US – but a number also have competing claims with China in the South China Sea. The Australian government has said countries should be free to make choices free of coercion.
** This ties in with Penny Wong’s repeated refrains that every country – big, medium and small – are not passive bystanders to history and have a responsibility to shape the type of region they want.
Updated
I don’t know about you, but I need a tiny moment after Professor Marcia Langton’s address. And we are in the downhill slide to question time, when any sense of decorum will be thrown out the window.
Take a moment and grab yourself what you need to get through QT (for me, the fifth coffee of the day and the bit of hazelnut chocolate I just remembered I stashed away somewhere) and we will see you back just before 2pm.
PM releases report on boosting trade with south-east Asia
Let’s switch gears for a moment for an update on Anthony Albanese’s visit to Jakarta. The prime minister has released a report written by the former Macquarie boss Nicholas Moore on how Australia can deepen trade and investment with south-east Asia, as foreshadowed here.
While the report contains 75 recommendations, Albanese has promised to “immediately support three initiatives that go to the heart of the strategy and are an investment in Australia’s economic future”.
A government statement described these three priority actions as follows:
Investment deal teams ($70.2m over four years) who will be based in the Asean region and will work with Australian investors, south-east Asian businesses and governments to identify and facilitate investment opportunities.
South-east Asia business exchange ($19.2m over four years) to boost two-way trade and support Australian exporters to enter, compete and grow in the fast-growing markets of south-east Asia. This will include a trade and investment campaign to promote opportunities in south-east Asian markets to Australian business and consumers.
Placements and internships pilot program for young professionals ($6m over four years) which will help to build enduring links between Australia and south-east Asian businesses.
Albanese said:
South-east Asia’s fast-growing economies present a major opportunity for Australian business, but we haven’t kept pace with their exponential growth. Our economic future lies with south-east Asia. This strategy outlines how we can harness this growth, and seize the vast trade and investment opportunities our region presents.
For more on the report’s recommendations, see our story from this morning:
Updated
Human Rights Law Centre comments on asylum seeker judgment
The Human Rights Law Centre has issued a statement about the high court’s Ned Kelly Emeralds decision. Despite the win it’s all a bit bleak because his detention, now in its eleventh year, will continue, and the court did not resolve whether ‘home detention’ orders could be made in cases such as his.
Ned Kelly Emeralds said:
Despite being kept in a cage and denied release for over 10 years, I continue to stand up so I might one day live a life in freedom. My case shows the unacceptable powers that ministers have over the hopes, dreams and possibilities for our lives – if the minister wants it, you can be locked up for a decade, sent to Nauru or given a permanent visa. But everyone deserves an equal chance to make a life in freedom.
Sanmati Verma, managing lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said:
The high court’s judgment today gives pause to consider the lengths to which governments will go to deprive people of their freedom. In Ned’s case, this involved the previous minister personally stepping in to prevent court orders from taking effect, then bringing an appeal against inoperative orders. We should be disturbed by the Australian government’s ongoing commitment to indefinite, potentially lifelong detention.
Despite his victory today, Ned remains in detention. People are being detained for some of the longest periods on record – on average, 711 days. On last count, there were 135 people who had been detained for over five years. This is the legacy of mandatory immigration detention that we must reckon with.
Updated
We get to the final question:
Q: You spoke at length about your Calma-Langton report. Was it remiss of the prime minister to have never endorsed the report, considering it claims a lack of detail, having a driving feature of the no campaign?
Marcia Langton:
He said over and over again that the constitutional question is about the principle … and that the detail is to be legislated by the parliament. And that’s the answer to your question.
We can talk about all of the models in the world, but what is the most refined and elaborate model is the Calma-Langton report, co-designed by 52 people with a range of wonderful public servants who worked closely with us, and based on consultations with tens of thousands of Australians, Indigenous and non-indigenous.
It’s the best model out there. Sure, you can have a few quibbles about a few points in it, but this matter arises after the referendum should it be successful, and would be legislated by parliament.
But, there is another opportunity for this government - and that is to consider what it would do should the Voice referendum fail. And then, I do hope that this government would turn to our report for inspiration, for policy settings, to empower us, to involve us, in Closing the Gap and other issues that affect our lives.
The address ends.
Updated
‘There’s no point in a second referendum’ – Langton
Q: If the polls are right and the voice isn’t successful, would you be willing to work with a future Coalition on a referendum for constitutional recognition, as Peter Dutton has promised?
Prof Marcia Langton:
Not in the least.
There is laughter and applause here, but Langton doesn’t crack a smile. She is asked to elaborate and, so, generously does so:
There’s no point in a second referendum, because it’s not what we want.
As Peter Dutton outlined, the purpose of his referendum, or to the extent that he did, is not what we asked for.
So on those grounds, no, I’m not interested, and I know that over 80% of Indigenous Australians would not be interested.
And we would communicate that very clearly to the Australian people should he ever be elected.
The other matter is that it would serve no purpose.
We asked for recognition through a voice combining the symbolic and the practical to give us both dignity and a sense of empowerment and responsibility in matters that affect us. Peter Dutton’s proposal, to the extent that I understand what he’s talking about, does not.
Updated
Marcia Langton:
Now, would I decline to be involved in public debate?
Not on matters close to my heart. I will continue to advocate on matters relating to family and domestic violence, as I have for many years. On environmental protection matters, as I have for many years. For decades. You can go to my second book, Burning Questions, on that matter, published in 1998.
Or matters to do with Aboriginal art, film and culture, in a book I published in 1994. Well, I heard it on the Radio.
So I won’t stop writing while the eyes and the hands work. But I think that the debate will change so radically if the No vote that our advocacy will be seen as ineffectual, and so, therefore, how we participate in the public square will be very, very different, because the levels of abuse against the Yes campaigners, including death threats, and daily published insults and abuse takes a toll.
And... I think our generation of leaders will hand over to younger leaders and they, too, then will become targets like Adam Goodes, like Stan Grant, and the cycle will continue.
And in this regard, I think that the media has a responsibility to lift their game in reporting on these issues. And not participate in pile ons on persons who are good and decent people.
The professor’s voice cracks here. It is obvious why.
Q: Just to pick up on the point about the importance of truth telling. You and Noel Pearson have said that there will be a withdrawal of people like from the public debate and discourse in the event of a No vote. If that happens, and in that context, what should happen to the process of formalised truth telling? Can that still go ahead?
Marcia Langton:
Well, Noel said that he’d withdraw from public debate. What I said to our journalist at the Australian was that I would not give another Welcome to Country.
And then, you know, social media lit up with people saying - oh, good, we won’t have any other welcomes to country. That’s not what I said.
Other Aboriginal people are entitled to do whatever they like. And if they want to continue to welcome people to their country, their specific country, like this Ngunnawal or Ngambri country, fine by me.
I said, my country.
That’s the point that they don’t understand, isn’t it?
Marcia Langton finishes that answer with:
All of these issues will remain forever, I expect, if we survive. Another one is environmental protection.
So, most people don’t know that of the Aboriginal estate, and Torres Strait Islander estate - that is the lands in which we have, the lands and waters in which we have rights and interests, one quarter has been entirely devoted to environmental and biodiversity conservation.
That is a larger contribution than any other group in Australia. And that shows you what our values are. And that involves Indigenous protected areas across the country, and thousands of rangers. Some on Work for the Dole pay.
And that reflects our values, too. Those values, we hope, will never go away. Australians should value that. They should appreciate that.
Marcia Langton:
Now, if the Voice proposal succeeds, the recognition and Voice proposal succeeds, Parliament would legislate it.
Legislation can be changed by any Parliament.
And so, wonder of wonders - let’s say that we reach in parity in life expectancy.
Well, that’s not going to happen for the next 50 years on present trends - then the Voice would no longer be required to give advice on life expectancy.
And if, all of the Closing the Gap problems were to result in parity or near parity - there would be no Closing the Gap issues for it to advise on.
But that’s not going to happen in your lifetime or my lifetime. It’s not going to happen in the lifetime of a young Australian.
That does not mean that there are not other issues to be addressed.
Cultural heritage issues, retention of Australian languages and transforming native title into economic opportunities - all of these issues remain, and they will remain in the future. Our cultural heritage is not going to disappear. And nor will the problems of encroaching development and the potential to destroy our sacred sites, our sites of significance, the environmental areas that are meaningful to us.
Q: Some people who say that they have concerns about the Voice proposal are expressing concerns about its permanency. You talked about why you felt it should be permanent. But I’ve heard people say that if the objective is to address the disadvantage primarily in Indigenous communities, and that objective is ultimately achieved through this process, they then argue that the Voice becomes redundant. They say - we’ve achieved the objective, but we’re stuck with the Voice in the Constitution. What do you make of that argument? And what do you say to people who might hold those concerns?
We’ll break this answer into a couple of parts.
Marcia Langton:
Well, first of all, I emphasised some of the Closing the Gap trends. I could have talked about cultural her issues. I could have talked about native title issues. How do we transform the present native title situation into opportunities for economic development for Indigenous people? I could have talked about the involvement of Indigenous people in their own cultures and teaching their own cultures. I could have chosen any emphasis.
But I chose what was important through the Voice process and the Closing the Gap process. So I’ve taken one slice of the problems that we face in the future.
Does Marcia Langton believe the government should lay that out before or after 14 October?
It must be as soon as possible. If the government is not inclined to set out the agenda before the vote, then they should do so immediately afterwards, and that means they should be prepared now to tell us what the future holds for us.
Updated
Josh Butler asks Prof Langton:
“When you appeared with the prime minister in March to announce the referendum question, you spoke about how all of the Indigenous leaders in that process had been involved in major initiatives over a long period of time. You talked about the Don Dale Centre and the deaths in custody royal commission, the inquiry into forced removal of children. You talk to people in these processes and it seems like this is, I guess, the next, the Voice referendum, the next big step is knitting together all of the threads of history. What would failure in this process represent to you? What would a failure in the referendum – what would that represent to you?”
Marcia Langton:
Well, just to add to your question there, senator Patrick Dodson and myself worked on the royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody in 1989 and 1990. It was tabled in 1991.
And still, today, state jurisdictions are being asked to implement the very same recommendations such as some of the recommendations of the Yoorrook Justice Commission yesterday.
I fear that a no vote will be interpreted, and falsely, I should say, as a mandate for governments to do nothing and to make our lives worse. I think that’s the greatest danger.
I also fear that a no vote will be perceived, and again, I say falsely, as a mandate for not establishing consultative bodies. And again, I say that that is false. That would be a false interpretation of a no vote.
Many Indigenous Australians who are on the frontlines of dealing with these problems in towns and cities and communities and outstations and home lands are very worried about the prospect of losing the voice because they already have little say, and a loss will mean that they have even less.
So, these are matters of great concern. I do hope that the government sets out an agenda for reform that’s based on common sense, on the recommendations of many inquiries and royal commissions, and on expert advice, before the rabble takeover and turn a no vote into a mandate to cause us even further harm.
Updated
Back to the press club and Marcia Langton is asked:
“Your report with Professor [Tom] Calma says that under the model that you outlined for the national voice, that federal parliament would be to ask for advice on a defined and limited number of topics relevant to Indigenous people, and there would be an expectation on others areas. Is that still your hope if there is a yes vote in five weeks or so? And is there anything to fear from that word, ‘obligation’, on federal parliament to consult?”
Langton:
There’s nothing to fear. If a voice were to eventuate, those matters would be set out in legislation. And they’d probably look quite different from what we recommended.
Does the parliament have an obligation to put parameters around the questions to the voice? I think so.
I mean, what would be the point of asking, as somebody did recently - “What do Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people feel about how Aukus submarines reverse?”
You know, so ... There have to be standards with the question. That’s the point of having legislation. Would there be an obligation? I don’t know. An obligation on the parliament to seek advice from the voice? I don’t know, that’s up to the parliament.
So when we tabled our report, with Minister Ken Wyatt, he took it to cabinet, and of course, we had produced an interim report, and like wise, then minister Ken Wyatt took it to cabinet. So twice, our reports went to cabinet. Peter Dutton was sitting in both of those cabinets. He received those reports. And yet, he says there’s no detail. Well, if he’d read the report, he might have asked me the question that you just did. And it’s a good question. But it’s to be answered by Parliament.
Updated
Littleproud faces push to drop net zero commitment
Meanwhile, speaking of the past – the Nationals are facing a push to dump the net zero agreement, as Murph reports:
Nationals leader David Littleproud will face a concerted push at the federal conference of the National party this weekend to dump the party’s commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
Guardian Australia has obtained a copy of a motion submitted by Barnaby Joyce’s federal electorate council in New England which calls on the Nationals parliamentary party room to “abolish its policy of net zero by 2050, and adopt a policy that will reduce Australia’s Co2 emissions in collaboration with the rest of the world”.
The new motion – which some party sources interpret as a strategic strike intended to destabilise Littleproud’s leadership – has alarmed moderate Liberals because the Nationals abandoning net zero would reopen an acrimonious internal Coalition discussion about climate policy.
Updated
No campaign's 'clever falsehoods' are deceiving Australians, Langton says
Q: What, in your view, is the pathway to success in the next five and a half weeks? Do you agree with Noel Pearson – it’s to listen to the soft noes and to answer their questions? And how do you personally convince the soft noes to vote yes?
Marcia Langton:
My view is that truth telling is the main exercise. Our arguments have been entirely misrepresented by the no campaign and in much of the media for a long time, mostly because of ignorance of Indigenous Australia.
Who’s got time to read the Productivity Commission report? How many journalists actually know what our suicide rates are?
And so I think that it is incumbent of those us in the yes campaign, who are seeking the approval of Australians for the yes vote, to give them information and show them where the information comes from, and explain that these are the facts. And to discourage them from taking the falsehoods to heart.
They’re very clever falsehoods. They appeal to the long-held tropes of discrimination. You know, we’ve heard words like ‘squalid’, ‘underbelly’, ‘maintain the rage’ thrown about.
It’s as if, you know, the frontier wars were still happening.
It’s very disappointing that so many Australians have been deceived and so we have an obligation to make sure that the undecided voters hear the truth.
And that means giving them the kinds of facts and figures that I’ve outlined to you today.
Updated
Marcia Langton finishes that answer with:
Another falsehood has been thrown around is that Indigenous affairs gets $30 billion a year. Tony Abbott I think said that. It’s a complete falsehood. And it’s a ridiculous statistic.
In fact, in relation to the health budget, Indigenous Australians get less per head than other Australians. So we’re a long way from health parity because there is insufficient funding, assuming that our health is like other Australians, which is isn’t, and not enough funding for the chronic issues.
So there’s hard work to be done, and it’s pointless to throw around neo-liberal slogans like “jobs, jobs, jobs” if people are too sick to get a job, if they’re disabled and have no housing.
Updated
Marcia Langton continues:
Many years ago … Sir Michael Marmot visited Australia, and he’s a renowned public health specialist, designed the social determinance of health framework.
Because if you go to the doctor and get pharmaceuticals, your problem is solved. But if there are underlying problems, the health problem comes back, and that’s what’s happening in Aboriginal communities.
That’s why we have chronic diseases at epidemic levels like diabetes, leading to blindness, amputations, severe disability and early death. Kidney dialysis, kidney disease.
So how do you tackle diabetes in a systematic way? Warren Mundine laughed at the social determinance of health framework, which is used universally now, and said that it was fairyland stuff, quote-unquote. Well, no, it’s not. In order to tackle the wide range of disadvantages, we need to start with the basics, the social determinants – housing, education and health services.
Updated
Marcia Langton is now taking questions from journalists at the National Press Club.
Q: What’s your message to those no campaigners and those maybe who are still undecided as to what real difference a voice to parliament will make to our communities?
Langton:
Well, just to give you an example. One person said recently, if they want a voice, learn English. Now, yesterday, senator Jacinta Price declined to approve of that person. Well, why? Because of the school whose governing committee she chairs, I believe, teaches the curriculum in the four local languages spoken by the Indigenous children from the town camps who attend the school.
So you know, they’re throwing out highly curated slogans to the public, but behind the slogans, at least some of them understand exactly the problem. Cultural diversity, linguistic diversity, extreme disadvantage, and the priority that children must take.
Now, another slogan is, “jobs, jobs, jobs, get a job”. Well, how can you get a job if there are no jobs in your community other than Work for the Dole? How can you travel miles from your home at risk of losing your social housing and be work ready and skilled to take up jobs? Well, there are some programs that have worked briefly, and many haven’t. Because of the housing problem.
Updated
Peter Dutton has praised the possibility that nuclear technologies like small and micro modular reactors can help Australia achieve net zero – despite the fact these would require massive public subsidies and are many years off.
Dutton said Australia had a chance to contribute to a growing demand for uranium and thanked the Minerals Council for its submission for uranium to be added to the critical minerals list.
He said the Albanese government wanted to handicap the mining sector through “higher taxes, more regulation and legal activism”.
He said:
A word of warning today is that it doesn’t stop with what has been proposed today. It’s clear that the government is on a roll and they need more revenue coming in the doors as they continue to increase spending.
Updated
Back to the Minerals Council address and Peter Dutton is slamming Labor’s closing loopholes bill, a description he calls “disingenuous”.
Dutton said:
The proposed changes will undoubtedly damage our industries and our economy at exactly the wrong time. And it will undermine a core workplace principle: that employees with more experience and skills should be entitled to higher wages than their counterparts with less experience and skills*. The government wants to treat employees as a collective rather than as individuals.
*As the workplace relations minister, Tony Burke, has explained: requiring labour hire employees be paid as if they were on a collective pay deal does not require them to be paid the same as workers with more experience.
Dutton warned that labour hire companies may go bust as a result of the industrial relations changes, adding more pressure to supply chains and “consequently fewer mining projects”.
Updated
Marcia Langton:
I urge Australians who are as yet to make up their minds – don’t imagine that there’s another opportunity around the corner.
Don’t think your no vote goes in a different pile marked ‘next time’.
In this referendum, there are only two options. A yes vote that delivers recognition through a voice and all the hope and healing it represents. By adopting the Uluru Statement from the Heart’s invitation for us all to walk together in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.
Or a no vote, which binds us more closely, all of us, to a broken status quo. Another turn of the cycle of poverty and disadvantage and disempowerment.
Updated
Prof Marcia Langton, who has been heavily involved with the voice, is addressing the National Press Club about the voice and the model and then says:
The key point is this: none of what I’ve just talked about should go in the constitution.
The constitution is a place for principles.
It sets the foundation for parliament and the people to build on. That’s why, if Australians vote yes, the implementation of all of this detail and design work will be in the hands of the Australian parliament, the representatives of the people. Not just in creating the advisory body, but in maintaining it.
Part three of the proposed constitutional alteration makes this crystal clear – the parliament shall, subject to this constitution, have power to make laws with respect to matters relating to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice, including its composition, functions, powers and procedures.
So whether individual members and senators vote yes or no at the referendum, they will have ample and equal opportunity to shape the design of voice.
Again, this is as it should be.
Updated
Dutton praises mining sector’s ‘contributions’
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, is speaking to the Minerals Council.
He said:
The mining sector has found itself increasingly in the crosshairs of environmental extremists and far left politicians advocating for socialist-style wealth redistribution. Such critics, of course, conveniently ignore your clean operations practices and carbon reduction efforts. And for such critics your tax contributions will never be enough.
Dutton said these leftwing messages gained traction because they were infrequently challenged. He wants parents to tell them their schools and cities are built “thanks to the contributions of the mining sector”.
Updated
Professor Marcia Langton is addressing the National Press Club today.
Josh Butler is there and will bring you the story, but we will bring you bits and pieces from the address and Q&A in the blog.
Updated
Just a little bit of context for you – Chris Barrett, who was first named as the government’s choice to head up the Productivity Commission but has since declined the role, was a former chief of staff to Wayne Swan. Jim Chalmers served as deputy chief of staff and when Barrett left Swan’s office in 2010, Chalmers was promoted to the top position.
Barrett was qualified for the job at the Productivity Commission but Chalmers appointing his former boss to the role immediately raised the opposition’s hackles.
Angus Taylor said in July:
It is crucial the Productivity Commission remains highly independent following Labor’s appointment of Wayne Swan’s former chief of staff and treasurer Jim Chalmers’ old boss Chris Barrett to chair of the Productivity Commission.
The opposition was not consulted on this appointment and will scrutinise it extensively at Senate estimates.
The test of Mr Barrett’s performance will be in whether he pursues genuine productivity reform or rubber stamps Labor’s union-led agenda that business is warning will take productivity further backwards
Updated
EPA launches prosecution against power station owner over Lake Macquarie mass fish kill
The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority says it has commenced prosecution in the land and environment court against Vales Point Power station owner Delta Electricity over a mass fish kill at Mannering Park in the Lake Macquarie region last year.
The EPA alleges Delta failed to maintain its chlorine dosing plant in a proper and efficient condition, resulting in a faulty valve that caused a discharge of concentrated sodium hypochlorite into waters leading to Wyee Bay.
Community groups estimated two incidents in August and September last year resulted in 15,000 fish deaths and Whitespotted eagle rays washing up onto the shores of Lake Macquarie.
The EPA’s investigation related to the second incident.
The regulator’s chief executive, Tony Chappel, says the prosecution follows a comprehensive investigation.
Alongside the community, we expect Delta to meet high standards given the proximity of the Vales Point power station to Lake Macquarie.
Our investigation found that Delta could have prevented the fish kill if they had adequate equipment and processes in place.
Chappel said the company had since upgraded its systems and “the water quality in the lake has returned to normal levels”.
A Delta Electricity spokesman said that while the company understood the EPA had commenced legal proceedings, it was unable to comment further because it had not yet received a copy of the allegations.
Delta takes these allegations seriously and will consider its response once the details are properly provided by the EPA. As the matter appears to now be before the courts, it is also inappropriate for Delta to comment further at this time.
Bruce Macfarlane, a member of the Keep Lake Macquarie Clean group, welcomed the EPA exercising its regulatory powers.
Over the decades we have witnessed the gradual degradation of the lake with ever-reducing areas of seagrass and fish kills due to industrial activity around the lake.
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Here is what Jim Chalmers had to say about the appointment:
The Albanese Government will recommend to the governor general that Danielle Wood be appointed as the next chair of the Productivity Commission for a term of five years.
The previously announced candidate for the position, Chris Barrett, has informed the government he is not proceeding with the appointment and has decided not to take up the role.
Ms Wood is an outstanding economist who will bring exceptional public policy expertise to the Productivity Commission. Her track record of leadership and innovative research at the Grattan Institute will greatly contribute to the PC’s mission.
Ms Wood will be the first woman to lead the Productivity Commission or any of its predecessor agencies that stretch back for more than a century.
… Her appointment follows a merit-based process involving interviews with two departmental secretaries and the APS commissioner.
Subject to the governor general’s approval, Ms Wood will take up her position as soon as possible. Until then, the standing acting arrangements will apply.
I thank Mr Barrett and wish him well with future endeavours. He is a talented and experienced public policy professional who will continue to make a meaningful contribution.
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Danielle Wood accepts appointment as chair of Productivity Commission
Danielle Wood has accepted the appointment as chair of the Productivity Commission, which means the Grattan Institute is looking for a new CEO.
Jim Chalmers announced the appointment a little while ago.
The Grattan Institute board chair, Lindsay Maxsted, said it was a “fine choice”.
Those involved in public policy in Australia know that Danielle is an exceptional economist, with an ability to break down a problem, pinpoint its causes and then imagine and design practical solutions.
Everyone at Grattan also knows Danielle as a thoughtful and welcoming colleague, a strategist and an inspiring leader. She leaves with the best wishes of all of us.
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Murray Darling bill introduced to parliament as financial regulation laws pass
On the legislation front today, the minister for the environment and water, Tanya Plibersek, introduced the bill for the Murray Darling plan, but it is going to take some fleet-footed work in the senate to get the Greens and crossbench across the line.
The government’s financial regulation legislation did pass and is off for royal assent, so that is one more banking royal commission commitment met.
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Just as a by-the-by, the ABS decided – for reasons not immediately clear to me – to lead its press release with the GDP figures for the financial year.
Australian gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.4% (seasonally adjusted, chain volume measure) in the June quarter 2023 and by 3.4% over the 2022-23 financial year, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today.
As Peter has reported, it is 2.1% for the June quarter.
So, if you are seeing a few numbers float around there, that’s why.
The main takeaway – the economy still grew, and defied economists predictions by being slightly better than expected, but the slowdown on household spending and savings continues.
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Initial market reaction to June accounts sees dollar bounce around a little and stocks edge slightly lower
So, the immediate takeaways from the national accounts was that the economy was slightly stronger than economists had expected.
The March quarter was revised slightly stronger to 2.4% annual growth (from 2.3%) and the slowdown to 2.1% in the June quarter wasn’t as abrupt as pundits had predicted (at 1.8%).
Australia's June quarter GDP rose at an annual pace of 2.1%, down from a revised 2.4% pace in the March quarter. (Economists had tipped a slowing to 1.8%). (Source: @ABSStats ) pic.twitter.com/qJ46iXrwUd
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) September 6, 2023
As the ABS noted, on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the economy has posted seven quarters of expansion in a row, with the 0.4% pace for the June quarter actually in line with a revised 0.4% March quarter.
Exports and investment were the main contributors to the quarter-on-quarter numbers, countering a drop in inventories.
Market reaction was moderate, with the Australian dollar dropping to a new 10-month low of 63.59 US cents before bouncing a bit. Stocks edged slightly lower to be about 0.4% down for the day.
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June quarter national accounts growth numbers slightly better than market expected
Australia’s economy grew at an annual pace of 2.1% in the June quarter, easing from a revised 2.4% pace reported for the March quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
Compared with the March quarter, GDP growth in the April-June period was 0.4%, or quicker than the 0.2% for the first three months of the year.
Economists had tipped annual growth to come in at 1.8% and a quarterly pace of 0.4%, so the national accounts numbers are slightly better than the market expected.
On a per capita basis, growth was actually a contraction of 0.3% on a quarterly basis, the third such negative result in a row, and pointed to the role of the rising population in keeping overall growth in positive territory.
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Treasurer acknowledges ‘headwinds’ reflected in June accounts but stays positive on labour market, wages growth
Here is the quick take statement from Jim Chalmers:
We know there are challenges ahead, but we face them from a position of relative strength.
The economy expanded by 0.4% over the June quarter, matching the revised pace of the previous quarter, to be 2.1% higher through the year. In the 2022-23 financial year, the economy grew by 3.4%.
This is a steady result, but we know that households are under pressure from the rising cost of living and higher interest rates.
Household consumption is moderating in expected ways, growing by just 0.1% in the quarter. Australians have continued to pull back on discretionary spending to make room for essentials and to cover mortgage repayments, and are saving less out of their incomes. The household saving ratio declined to 3.2%, its lowest level since mid-2008.
People are also spending less on renovating their homes, which contributed to a decline in dwelling investment in the quarter.
Despite these headwinds, our economy continues to benefit from a strong labour market, the beginnings of wages growth, easing supply chain pressures, and a welcome boost in our tourism and education exports.
On inflation:
Inflation is moderating, but is still too high and we’d like to see it moderate faster. The National Accounts measure of consumer prices grew 6.1% in the year to the June quarter 2023.
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Spending up on essentials, but down on discretionary items, ABS figures show
Here is what the ABS had to say about household savings and consumption – people have cut down on discretionary spending even further, but are still spending more on the essentials (because they have to).
Household spending (+0.1%) slowed further this quarter, impacted by pressures on household budgets from inflation and interest rate rises. These pressures have resulted in a continued shift away from discretionary spending towards essential categories.
Discretionary spending fell 0.5%, the third consecutive fall.
The decline was led by recreation and culture (-2.5%), and furnishings and household equipment (-2.5%). Spending on transport services (+3.2%), and hotels, cafes and restaurants (+0.2%) continued to increase, but at a subdued rate compared to prior quarters. Partly offsetting the weakness was purchase of vehicles (+5.8%), with vehicles delivered to households this quarter following quarantine delays at ports.
Essential spending rose 0.5%, driven by rent and other dwelling services (+0.5%), electricity gas and other fuel (+2.2%), and insurance and other financial services (+0.6%). The rise in electricity, gas and other fuel reflected stronger demand for heating following a cooler-than-usual Autumn.
Updated
Peter Hannam will have more for you very soon, but there is a small amount of growth, although household savings are falling - which would be because of the interest rate increases.
That savings decrease means people will be pulling back on spending, which is what business is keeping a wary eye on.
Updated
ABS figures are out – GDP rose 3.4% in 2022-23
The ABS has released the GDP figures:
The Australian economy rose 0.4% in seasonally adjusted chain volume measures
GDP rose 3.4% in 2022-23
The terms of trade fell 7.9%
Household saving ratio decreased to 3.2% from 3.6%
Updated
Workers’ compensation claims for three killed gig workers to be filed by families
Three families of gig workers killed on Australian roads will file workers’ compensation claims.
One family, that of Burak Dogan, says it has been forced to file its compensation claim after being denied insurance by UberEats. The company declined to pay insurance because Dogan was hit by a truck 11 minutes outside of the 15-minute post-delivery or cancellation window it uses to determine whether a rider is working for the company or not.
Yavuz Cikar, Dogan’s uncle, said:
At least, a company their size should have some sort of humane approach to this matter. But they completely disowned him at the time of his death. They didn’t want to know about him.
The Transport Workers’ Union is also helping the families of Akshay Deepak Doultani and Adil Abbas, both killed in Sydney in recent weeks, to file compensation claims.
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High court rules in favour of asylum seeker
The high court has ruled in favour of Ned Kelly Emeralds, a mute asylum seeker who has been indefinitely detained since 2013.
Emeralds had challenged an attempt by the Australian government to overturn a federal court order to require his removal from Australia to a regional processing country.
Following the final refusal of his protection visa application in February 2021, Emeralds won an order from the federal court to require his removal from Australia to a regional processing country and requiring that pending removal he should be detained at the home of one of his supporters.
But two weeks later, on the day that the order requiring home detention was to come into effect, then minister for home affairs exercised discretionary power to determine there was no duty to remove Emeralds. The Australian government then appealed against the original order in the full federal court. The full court allowed the appeals.
On Wednesday, a majority of the high court ruled the full federal court could not and should not have weighed in because there was no longer a “matter” or “justiciable controversy” between the parties.
There was no controversy over the primary judge’s orders because they had no operative legal effect on the parties’ rights, duties or liabilities because the court orders were rendered moot by the minister’s determination.
The Human Rights Law Centre has suggested the case could help at least 130 detainees facing indefinite detention and others held for long periods in immigration limbo.
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No talk of Qatar Airways decision in call between Wong and Qatar’s prime minister
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, held a phone call with Qatar’s prime minister on Monday but they did not discuss the rejection of Qatar Airway’s bid to expand flights, the Australian government says.
The government says the topics that were discussed included the October 2020 Al Hamad airport incident, during which Australian women were forcibly removed from planes by armed guards and some intimately examined without consent.
Qatar’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement:
[His Excellency] prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani held on Monday a phone call with [Her Excellency] Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia Penny Wong.
During the call, they discussed bilateral cooperation relations between the two countries and regional and international developments.
A spokesperson for Wong said:
The minister initiated the call to discuss a range of bilateral matters, including in relation to the Al Hamad airport incident, and multilateral issues ahead of the UN General Assembly later this month.
The Bilateral Air Services Agreement was not raised during the call.
Updated
Today’s June quarter national accounts release to help reveal future of RBA rate moves
We’ll shortly get the June quarter national accounts data from the ABS, providing the full picture from all those jigsaw data pieces of the past month or so.
There’s a bit of a challenge to interpret the GDP figures as an up or down arrow. Compared with the March quarter, growth probably quickened to 0.4% from 0.2% (up), but on an annual basis, it likely slowed to 1.8% from 2.3% (down), or so economists predict.
And once you take into account the expanding population, per capita GDP may be a negative (definitely a down).
We’ll get a sense of how much momentum the economy had at the end of the financial year. However, we’re now more than two-thirds into the September quarter and there have been no further interest rate rises from the Reserve Bank (although there is a delay in hikes being passed to borrowers).
Still, a weak set of numbers will be interpreted as increasing the odds that the RBA’s rate rises are over for this cycle, and push the Australian dollar to new 10-month lows below 63.6 US cents.
Stay tuned for the 11.30am Aest release.
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AEC staff facing an ‘outpouring of aggression’
The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) says there has been an “outpouring of aggression” towards staff online, and that it is leaking into real life.
At the NSW election there was “intimidation of polling staff by a number of people”, commissioner Tom Rogers said. “It’s the first time we’ve seen it.
[The behaviour included] those polling staff being filmed as they left the polling place. Their faces were put online with their names and claims they were ‘vote thieves’.
Rogers said the commission is looking at the “worrying” issue in the lead up to the voice referendum.
It is worrying. We are taking it seriously [and] doing risk assessments for our polling stations.
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Postal voting would ‘work better’ without political parties involved, AEC head says
The postal voting system would work better without political parties involved, Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) head Tom Rogers said this morning.
The opposition has been accused of “dirty tactics” for posting out referendum pamphlets that purport to direct people to postal vote applications but that actually just gather their information.
A committee inquiry into electoral matters heard 56% of postal vote applications (1.5m applications) went directly to the AEC, meaning 46% came through third parties.
Independent MP Kate Chaney asked Rogers if the AEC could do more to stop the practice.
“We could always do more,” he said, adding that political parties sending out postal vote applications is the “number one complaint” the AEC gets:
We’ve raised this continuously. We get complaints from citizens and sometimes they think the material does come from us and they’re surprised when they find out it doesn’t.
Rogers said he has spoken to the parties “over many years” on the issue. “From my perspective if there were other ways of doing that without the parties involved it would be a cleaner system,” he said, then clarified that by “cleaner system” he meant an “ordered system” and not “subterfuge”.
The AEC could send out postal vote applications to all voters, he said, but that would “encourage a pattern of behaviour” when elections are meant to be in-person events.
Updated
Angus Taylor is getting in ahead of question time for his national accounts response – the shadow treasurer has called a press conference for 1.40pm.
It’s a favourite time for attack lines – there are usually a lot of cameras around, but not enough time for too many questions because QT is about to start.
Updated
Industry Super chief calls out poor ATO record on collecting unpaid super
But despite the tough talk, the super sector has blasted the ATO for its poor record on collecting unpaid super.
Industry Super Australia deputy chief executive, Matthew Linden, said:
A penalty regime is only as effective as the regulators willingness to enforce it, and in the case of unpaid super, the ATO has strong penalties and powers at its disposal that it has shown a historical reluctance to apply.
The ATO dismally only recovers about 15% of unpaid super in a year, and while it has shown a recent willingness to better tackle unpaid super, its compliance activity still falls well short of acting as an effective deterrent. It must better apply its powers and penalties to reduce unpaid super.
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ATO commissioner ‘unapologetic’ about shift to exercise firmer debt collection action
The ATO commissioner, Chris Jordan, gave a speech to the Tax Institute Tax Summit today, in which he called out businesses that failed to pay tax and superannuation.
He said:
I am unapologetic about our shift to exercise firmer debt collection actions when appropriate.
Most collectable debt is self-assessed. It includes GST a business has collected and received credits for but hasn’t remitted. It includes unpaid pay-as-you go withholding and superannuation guarantee charge, that has a direct impact on employees.
Small businesses continue to be over-represented in our debt book, owing over $33 billion of the $50.2 billion of collectable debt. $23 billion of that is unpaid business activity statement debt. I want to make this point clear: although small business is overrepresented here, we obviously are very focused on every group in the tax system.
There are a growing number of profitable businesses who have the capacity to pay their bills but are choosing not to. Businesses appear to be de-prioritising payment of tax and super. This is concerning and is out of step with what we know, which is that the vast majority of taxpayers pay on time, and it’s unfair for them that some choose not to. This needs to stop.
We are hearing more and more from tax professionals that some businesses are rolling the dice, treating ATO liabilities like a free loan. This is not acceptable.
Updated
‘No plans to implement drug testing’ , Victoria’s mental health minister says
Victoria’s mental health minister, Gabrielle Williams, says the state government has no plans to implement drug testing after the reform was recommended by a coroner.
On Wednesday, the state coroner, John Cain, called for the government to introduce drug-testing to reduce preventable drug overdose deaths. His recommendation was part of the findings into the death of a 26-year-old man at a music festival last year.
Speaking to reporters, Williams said the government had “no plans” to introduce pill-testing:
We have very deliberately embarked upon a health-led response in our alcohol and other drug policy, whether that be through public drunkenness or medically-supervised injecting rooms.
Overtime, should there be evidence to suggest there is more that we could do, of course, as policy makers we’ll look at it.
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Butler confirms Covid inquiry ‘in due course’
Will the government be announcing a Covid inquiry soon?
Mark Butler said not now, but at some point, yes:
I can say that the prime minister and I and other ministers have made very clear that we intend to hold a deep inquiry into the management of Covid over the last few years.
It would be extraordinary for [the] government to take any other position and we’ll announce the terms of that inquiry in due course.
Updated
Behaviour of pharmacists in parliament gallery called out by speaker, MPs warned about sign-ins
Speaker Milton Dick gave a statement to the house yesterday about the security review he had carried out on the pharmacist protest in the gallery on Monday.
He said the behaviour was “unacceptable” and issued a general warning to members about who they sign into the parliament, saying their guest’s behaviour reflected on them, and, if it happened again, he would withdraw those privileges.
The Coalition said it did not encourage the behaviour during the Monday question time, but have also not condemned it.
The health minister, Mark Butler, said he had some thoughts on it all (it was during his answer that the pharmacists began jeering and heckling from the gallery, behaviour which continued against security staff as they left the public gallery and the parliament).
I was pretty shocked at the behaviour of some of the pharmacists who were in the gallery. To be in the gallery of our national parliament is something we should all accept as a real privilege: to be in a place where our democracy really is centred. Many other people across the world would love to see a parliament where they can elect their members and, frankly, deselect their members as well. So, as the speaker made clear, it’s an expectation for people in the gallery to be there as observers, not participants. I’d just endorse what the speaker has said about that.
The most shocking thing about what happened the other day with, with a couple of hundreds of people in the gallery jeering, making very rude gestures, pointing at particular MPs and making gestures as well, not just at me, but MPs on the crossbench and others, the most shocking thing was the behaviour of the Opposition.When, for example, when there were protests against the former Government, the Coalition Government back in 2016, as an Opposition, we steadfastly supported the Government and steadfastly supported the need for discipline in the chamber.
What we saw instead this week by the Coalition, was firstly the deputy leader go out to a rally and effectively encourage people to come in and disrupt question time. And then, when they did so, you know, the Opposition benches tried to sort of rev up, if you like, the crowd in the gallery.
I think that was just a shockingly irresponsible display by many on the Coalition side.
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Clover Moore speaks out on ‘heartbreaking reality of food insecurity in Sydney’, brings in $4.5m grants program
The City of Sydney council has created a new $4.5m grants program to help organisations distributing food to struggling households as the cost of living soars.
Demand for helping people get food on the table is higher than during the pandemic, a statement from the council says, with people forgoing food to pay for housing, health services and heating.
Groups say that while demand for food is increasing, government funding and personal donations are down, leaving them unable to help everybody that needs assistance.
Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore said this is the “heartbreaking reality of food insecurity in Sydney” and it shouldn’t be happening anywhere, especially in a country as wealthy as Australia.
Food relief organisations rely on surplus and discounted food, but they also need transport, storage and equipment to collect and deliver food safely.”
The council is calling on the state and federal governments to step up and also provide “urgent and ongoing” financial support to food relief organisations.
Food support grants are available for projects and programs that improve access to affordable and healthy food for Sydney communities. Projects can start from November this year, with applications closing on 20 September.
Updated
NSW coal royalty rate increase to raise $2.7bn over four years
New South Wales coal royalty rates will be increased from the middle of next year in a move the state government says will raise $2.7bn over four years.
The treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, on Wednesday announced royalties would increase by 2.6 percentage points from 1 July 2024.
He said:
Every dollar raised from these changes will be plowed back into rebuilding the state’s essential services and providing cost-of-living relief to hard pressed families. It’s important to recall that the last time royalty rates in NSW was changed was just after the iPhone 3 was introduced. That’s an eon. Market conditions have clearly changed. The existing coal royalty system is out of date.
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Victorian coroner urges state government to bring in drug testing
A Victorian coroner has urged the state government to introduce drug-testing services as part of a probe into a drug overdose death at a music festival.
State coroner John Cain handed down findings on Wednesday into the 2022 death of a 26-year-old man from consuming an MDMA (ecstasy) pill.
The findings said the pill was called the “Blue Punisher.” Pills featuring the Blue Punisher design have been seized in Australia and overseas and found to contain varying amounts of MDMA. The coroner concluded the man’s death was due to consuming a high-dose MDMA pill.
In the findings, Cain said the department of health should implement a drug-checking service to “minimise the risks and the number of preventable deaths associated with the use of drugs obtained from unregulated drug markets.”
The ACT introduced drug-testing services last year and the Queensland government announced a pill-testing trial in February.
Updated
Chalmers on Qatar airlines: ‘The transport ministers make these decisions’
On Sky News, Jim Chalmers was also pressed about the Qatar decision and what Anthony Albanese did or did not know and whether he should have known what he did not know (still following?)
Albanese runs a cabinet where ministers have responsibility for their portfolios and he trusts them to run those portfolios, which can be an issue when things like the Qatar decision become big issues.
Chalmers falls back on the portfolio minister:
The transport ministers make these decisions and really, right across the government in different ways, there are decisions taken like this which are the appropriate domain of ministers – in this case, the transport minister and, as I said before, in earlier governments this is how it’s happened as well. It’s a decision taken by the transport minister. They weigh up a whole range of considerations, they come to a view and they communicate the view and that’s what’s happened here.
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Malcolm Roberts gives speech on Covid-19 ‘science’
Going through the adjournment speeches (the speeches given by MPs ahead of the parliament adjourning) is always a delight.
MPs can speak on whatever they would like.
Malcolm Roberts used the opportunity to continue to speak about Covid-19 “science” because the man is nothing but tenacious:
In our haste to force vaccination on every Australian, we have weakened the immune systems of our nation and delivered weakened bodies into the hands of the medical establishment responsible for this crime in the first place. In the months ahead, as the medical establishment and their media mouthpieces scare the Australian public into more injections, masks and other manifestations of Soviet control [more information about how Covid-19 is essentially just a cold].
One Nation’s vote has continued to fall, and at the next election where Roberts is up for re-election, without Hanson’s name on the ballot, he will struggle (at least at this point) to get enough votes for a full senate quota.
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Former NSW fire chief warns government about ‘incomprehensible’ decision to approve more coalmines
Just on emissions reductions, Paul Karp and Graham Readfearn have a story from an interview with former fire chief Greg Mullins, who rose to prominence during the Black Summer bushfires, when it was revealed he and other fire chiefs had tried to warn the Morrison government Australia was not prepared for the coming fire season.
The former NSW fire chief, Greg Mullins, has accused the Albanese government of an “incomprehensible” decision to continue approving new coalmines despite accepting global heating is adding to bushfire risk.
In an interview on Tuesday, Mullins – a member of the Emergency Leaders for Climate Action group – likened Australia’s continued export of fossil fuels to selling drugs, after he delivered a briefing to the crossbench about the coming bushfire season.
Mullins, the Greens and independent MPs including Sophie Scamps are calling for more decisive action on global heating, including tearing up what the International Monetary Fund calculates is $65bn-a-year of fossil fuel subsidies in Australia.
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Government indicates coming action on Sydney airport services and slot hoarding
The transport minister, Catherine King, has indicated the government will soon address concerns that strict legislation dictating access to Sydney airport has led to increased cancellations and less competition for routes out of the city.
Qantas, Jetstar and Virgin have long denied accusations from airports and smaller airlines that they strategically schedule more flights out of Sydney than they intend to run, before cancelling those services, to block rival airlines from accessing the scarce take off and landing slots.
The Albanese government is yet to act on the recommendations of the Harris review into the Sydney airport slot system that was commissioned and delivered under the previous government which called for urgent reform and better scrutiny of why airlines were cancelling flights. The government has previously suggested it would address the topic through its upcoming green and white papers on aviation.
King, speaking during a matter of public importance debate in the house of representatives after question time on Tuesday, lashed the Coalition for failing to act on the Harris review.
King said:
They commissioned the Harris review into the Sydney airport, only to spend almost two years sitting on it, leaving it for us to have to sort out now. We’ve completed targeted consultation on the Harris review, and we’ll have more to say on that soon.
You can read more about Sydney airport’s slot system here:
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Treasurer preps nation for GDP figures release
Jim Chalmers REALLY wants you to be prepared for the GDP figures, which will drop in just over two hours.
It would be great if we started treating emissions data as seriously, given the impacts of that not just on the economy but life as we know it, but perhaps one day we will get there.
Chalmers:
Later this morning, we will get the national accounts for the June quarter. It remains to be seen what those national accounts will tell us. We already know that our economy is being buffeted by a combination of global economic uncertainty including a slowdown in China combined with the impact of these higher interest rates in our own economy.
It remains to be seen what those numbers say at 11.30 but our economy is being buffeted by the China slowdown combined with pressures here at home, including higher interest rates - we’ve seen that in the retail figures, we’ve seen that in household spending data and we’re seeing that in the data out of China as well.
Our job is to make sure that we are focused on the cost-of-living relief which we are rolling out right now in addition to laying the foundations for future growth.
We will get a really important snapshot of our economy at 11.30, we’ll get a better understanding of the impact of higher rates here on our economy and the impact of the China slowdown.
We are making welcome progress when it comes to inflation but the pressures on Australians are still substantial and that’s why that’s our major focus.
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Public consultations to begin on bias in healthcare system
The government is urging women to share their experiences of bias in the health system through the first public consultation of its kind in Australia.
People from communities who often experience additional challenges are encouraged to participate, with the results of the survey to help the National Women’s Health Advisory Council develop recommendations to reduce gender bias in health care and improve health outcomes for women and girls in Australia.
It comes as Guardian Australia reported stories from women throughout Australia who are still struggling to get access to essential reproductive health care services like abortion even at publicly funded, major tertiary hospitals.
Despite this, when asked by Guardian Australia if Labor would tie public funding to hospitals to willingness to provide abortion services, the prime minister Anthony Albanese did not respond, referring questions to assistant health minister Ged Kearney, who did not back away from current policy.
In 2019, the then shadow minister for women, Tanya Plibersek, indicated Labor would tie funding to public hospitals with willingness to provide abortion services, a policy since dumped by federal Labor.
Without reform to funding policies, Dr Ronli Sifris, the deputy director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law at Monash University, said the disturbing inequities detailed by Guardian Australia would continue.
The fact that public hospitals in Australia are legally able to conscientiously object means the vast majority of abortions are provided through the private sector.
This is unacceptable. And it would not be accepted if it were any other area of health care.
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Catherine King defends decision on Qatar Airways
The transport minister, Catherine King, has issued a fresh defence of her decision not to grant Qatar Airways additional capacity into Australia, claiming the request was “unprecedented”.
King, speaking during a matter of public importance debate in the house of representatives after question time on Tuesday, claimed the opposition was “attempting to manufacture a controversy” around Australia’s air services agreement with Qatar.
King said:
The history of this bilateral agreement with Qatar is one of very slow increments and increases. In fact, the last person who doubled the capacity of Qatar Airways into the Australian market was the now prime minister (Anthony Albanese).”
She added:
From time to time, those requests (for extra air rights) are granted, and from time to time they are knocked back. That is what those opposite did, and, obviously, it’s what we have done in these circumstances. It is unprecedented for the level of flights that have been asked for by Qatar to be granted by any government—that has never happened before.
The history of this bilateral agreement is a slow, incremental approach to this particular player.
King also spoke of high domestic airfares – but not international ones. “I know that Australians are paying too much for their domestic tickets. More international flights from Qatar would not have helped that. Even Virgin has admitted that.”
Updated
Deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley reacts to Senate inquiry over Qatar Airways debacle
Sussan Ley was very Sussan Ley on Sky News this morning, where she explained why the opposition had pushed for the Qatar inquiry in the senate.
People are FURIOUS about it, political livers. FURIOUS.
(I do think there is a lot of anger and confusion over the decision, given how expensive it is to fly in Australia and there aren’t a lot of other options in a country this size, so it is not as though we can just get on a … high speed train for instance. But there is also over-egging for dramatic effect)
Ley:
Well, we’ve heard so many different explanations for why the 28 additional Qatar airlines flights have been refused, which goes to show that the government has been shifty on this, the prime minister’s answers are shifty. He’s not explaining who he spoke to, what he said, and what advice he received. He’s giving different answers, he’s having to come back into the parliament after question time, it’s really unusual I have to say to your viewers, for a prime minister to do that, to come straight back in and add to an answer. Because the answer was shifty. The answer was avoiding the real substance here, which was that this prime minister has not shown leadership.
What is this special relationship between Anthony Albanese and Qantas that has actually led to consumers in this country getting another whack on their cost of living and having to face these ridiculously overpriced airfares when there’s capacity out there waiting to come and actually support their trips overseas as they return to family and friends. Coming out of Covid these visits overseas are absolutely, they’re front and centre for so many Australians and they’re furious about this Pete [the host], they’re furious.
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‘Quite extraordinary’: Chalmers rejects controversy over corporations donating to referendum campaigns
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has rebuffed concerns about big companies donating to the referendum campaign, saying it was “extraordinary” that there was controversy around the issue.
The Nine newspapers reported this morning that the Australian Shareholders’ Association expected volunteer retail investor representatives to use annual general meetings to ask questions about how donations to the campaign aligned with the strategies and core purpose of the big firms. Big companies like Qantas, BHP, Rio Tinto and Wesfarmers have contributed large sums to the yes campaign - drawing criticism from the no campaign and opposition leader Peter Dutton.
Asked if there should be any controversy around companies donating to the referendum campaign, Chalmers responded: “of course not”.
On what planet should Australians not have a view about constitutional recognition so we can listen to people and get better outcomes?
I find it really quite extraordinary that some people want to limit the opportunity for people to make their views known. This is a really important opportunity for Australia, this is a generational opportunity, and we want everyone to think about it, participate in it, grapple with it. Ideally, we’d get to a great outcome here, which is constitutional recognition, better outcomes, which come from better listening.
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Call for Australian women to answer survey on their health and access to healthcare
The assistant health minister, Ged Kearney, has launched a new survey on women’s health and women’s access to healthcare.
Kearney said she wanted “every woman” to take part in the consultation process, to help inform the government how to “best serve the women of Australia through the public health system”.
I particularly want to hear from migrant women, from women of diverse backgrounds, from refugee women.
You can actually give your story and tell us your story in up to 17 different languages through this website, through this portal. It’s incredibly important.
Some of the barriers we know that we hear from women when they tell us their stories is that they are simply not believed, that they are accused of all sorts of terrible things if they present with pain that the doctor has trouble diagnosing that they are “drug shopping”, or that they are to use a terrible term “hysterical” or that they’re over anxious, when actually in fact, there are serious medical conditions occurring.
A prime example that everybody knows about is that one in nine women suffer with endometriosis, which gives crippling pelvic pain and yet it takes on average around seven years to be adequately diagnosed. We want a health system where women will be believed, where their symptoms are treated adequately and where they can live their best and full lives.
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Parliament to begin shortly with Richard Marles as acting PM
The parliament sitting will begin at 9am. Richard Marles is acting prime minister, and as Murph said a little earlier, will most likely be the target of question time, given the questions over his travel costs.
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Government announces expert on carbon leakage review
The minister for climate change, Chris Bowen, has announced ANU professor Frank Jotzo has been engaged to provide “expert input” into the department of climate change’s review looking at addressing “carbon leakage”.
Carbon leakage is basically when carbon is shifted from one country to another – a company might change its production habits in one country to meet emission targets or receive subsidies, but then increase emissions in another country where there aren’t the same commercial pressures, meaning carbon just “leaks” into another area of operation.
Bowen said the carbon leakage review “will assess the need for further policy options and consider the feasibility of a carbon border adjustment mechanism for Australia – particularly for steel and cement”.
Don’t expect quick answers though – advice won’t be presented to the government until the end of September 2024.
Two rounds of consultation with Australian industry, environmental groups, research experts, international trade partners and local communities will inform the review, with advice to be presented to the government by 30 September 2024.
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Birmingham to ‘go and have a look’ at voice pamphlet story
Simon Birmingham is then asked about this story from Tory Shepherd:
I haven’t actually seen those stories, nor the pamphlet you’re talking about but but of course, all parties should operate in accordance with the electoral laws.
And there are entitlements in relation to being able to collect and keep data but that should do that should occur and within a processes if there’s been that should be addressed.
Well, I’ll go and have a look at the story you’ve raised, now that you’ve mentioned it.
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Birmingham elaborates on Qantas position
So Simon Birmingham doesn’t think Qantas should pay back the jobkeeper funds?
Birmingham:
I think there are a number of issues for the Qantas board. They can look at this one. They clearly have reputational issues at present, and they have confronted most recently, a terrible mistake they’d made in terms of consumer rights around the handling of credits that they had taken and was sitting on for travel from customers.
So there are a number of things for them to look at.
But I do stress in relation to jobkeeper – that A, it worked as effectively as it was intended to in terms of keeping jobs across the Australian economy. And B, we have to look for companies like Qantas to actually have returned to profitability otherwise, we would have even more dire problems across the Australian economy than those that we’re facing at present which you can clearly hear the treasurer buttering people up for bad national accounts figures for a weakening economy.
It comes at a time when we’re facing further global headwinds. around China. And the real concern is that under the Albanese Labor government, the biggest economic reform they currently have on the agenda is the industrial relations changes that will only further weaken our economy further hurt the competitiveness of Australian businesses and add to price pressures for Australian consumers.
(To be clear, those industrial relations changes are aimed at closing loopholes that allow companies to pay labour hire workers less than other workers, for the same job.)
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Opposition doesn't appear to support Qantas paying back jobkeeper
But when it comes to the issue of whether or not Simon Birmingham believes Qantas should pay back the money it received in jobkeeper, Birmingham falls back on some very old lines (Qantas received almost a billion dollars in jobkeeper).
Jobkeeper was structured to make sure that we kept businesses afloat during Covid, that we saved jobs and that they were able to return to profitability.
… They legally got the money now any business is free to pay back and that’s for the boards to consider. In the case of Qantas I note that they recorded significant losses during Covid, very significant losses.
They also had to go out and raise and did raise additional capital from private capital markets to sustain their operations. And of course, they now need to provide a return on that capital in those investments and for all Australians on their superannuation investments.
And so, jobkeeper was designed to see businesses return to profitability, and to keep Australians employed and it worked very, very effectively in terms of ensuring Australia was able to have more people in jobs at the end of Covid than we had at the start, rather than the huge economic damage that would have occurred if businesses like Qantas or other businesses across the country had actually gone under during Covid.
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Simon Birmingham questions ‘national interest’ of decision to block Qatar Airways flights
Liberal senator Simon Birmingham is next in the RN Breakfast chair and he seems a lot more comfortable spreading the Coalition’s message on the need to examine the Qatar Airways decision, than he has been when talking about the party’s position on the voice.
Birmingham had previously been supportive of the voice, but is tied to the party’s position as a frontbencher. Julian Leeser quit the frontbench so he could campaign for yes. Birmingham remains on the frontbench and so, falls in behind the party position of no.
Why they decided that it was not in the national interest to have more flights in and out of Australia, to have more competition in our airline sector to create a situation that could have driven prices down for consumers, created more places for tourists to come to Australia and helped our tourism industry created more space in the cargo holds of planes going out of Australia for exporters.
There are a range of things that were clearly in the national interest for them to approve this application. The government says it was not in the national interest, but they are refusing to actually define why they found it not in the national interest.
So we hope that this inquiry can dig through the entrails of that a call upon the government to release any modelling any analysis to cooperate fully with that inquiry, and also to be transparent about who influenced it, who lobbied it, and what discussions took place for them to come to this decision.
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Australian economy tipped to slow amid global uncertainty
But here is the message Jim Chalmers came to deliver (and has been delivering all morning); prepare yourself for a slow down in the economy.
We’ve seen this global economic uncertainty for a little while now and we haven’t been immune from it.
But I think the most pressing part of that the most troubling part of that, frankly, the most concerning part of it is the is developments in China.
That’s the part of the international scene that I monitor most closely right now.
We’ve seen particularly in the property sector, but also in relation to their retail in relation to the exports that the Chinese economy has been slowing quite considerably.
And that’s obviously important to us. When our own economy is slowing considerably as a consequence of some of these other forces the war in Ukraine is part of it domestic factors, as well inflation and higher interest rates.
And so China really is something that we watch incredibly closely I think most advanced economies are watching with great interest the developments in China, the authorities there have flagged some kind of response to that slowdown in China that’s important for us as well.
We don’t yet know what the numbers will say at 11.30 for our own economy, but our expectation from the data we’ve seen already, is that the combination of China and higher interest rates, it is putting serious pressure on our economy.
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Chalmers asked about advice from predecessors
Patricia Karvelas then asks Jim Chalmers if he has spoken to Wayne Swan (president of the Labor party and Chalmers’ former boss) after Swan said the Qatar Airways decision should be reviewed.
Chalmers says he has, but they talk about other things. Karvelas wants to know what other things. Chalmers is taken aback but answers;
Well, we’d sometimes talk about superannuation. We talk about the economy more broadly, we talk about the Chinese economy and prospects there we talk about monetary policy we talk about the prospects for the domestic economy and the national accounts, all kinds of things as you’d expect. I speak to more than one of my predecessors.
Like Paul Keating, Karvelas asks?
Chalmers says yes. Karvelas asks when is the last time he spoke to Keating.
I have spoken to Paul in the last week or so I think or two weeks. I was with him in Sydney a couple of weeks ago. I’ve spoken him on the phone a couple of times since then.
Karvelas asks what they spoke about.
Chalmers:
This is becoming very strange.
Karvelas says she thinks it is interesting who ministers receive their advice from and that she doesn’t believe it to be a silly question.
Chalmers:
I don’t think it is either. I speak to those two. I speak to a range of people in business, in the union movement. I speak to a couple of my predecessors. I value those relationships. I don’t think anybody’s got all of the answers on their own. And the key is to have people you trust who you can consult, who give you give you advice and give it to you straight and I think it in Paul’s case and in Wayne’s case, they are very valuable to me as their advice.
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Chalmers asked about PM’s discussions with Virgin Australia over airline slots
You can’t see Jim Chalmers’ haircut on ABC radio, but that is where he has headed after his TV interviews, as he lays down the “modify expectations” groundwork ahead of the GDP figures being released later today.
The focus is on Qatar Airways though, at least for the beginning of this interview.
At 3.45pm, Anthony Albanese walked back into the chamber to deliver an ‘additional answer’ from question time:
I rise to add to an answer I gave earlier today. I spoke to the Virgin CEO on 13 July 2023 by phone from Perth while in transit to Canberra from the Nato summit and bilateral visit to Germany, from 9 July to 13 July. In that call the CEO made representations relating to air services arrangements with Qatar.
During that discussion I did not know that the transport minister had made a decision on 10 July 2023, a detail that was only advised to me after question time today. I once again confirm I did not speak to the former Qantas CEO before a decision was made.
Chalmers is asked how the prime minister could not know (the decision had been made).
I’m not sure how I can answer a question about the prime minister in this instance. I mean, he has in question time and in media interviews, he has explained what’s what’s happened here, consistent with the way that transport ministers have taken these decisions in the past.
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SA ‘canary in the coalmine’ for health of Murray-Darling Basin
Sarah Hanson-Young says the issue is not just, as we say in state of origin, state against state, mate against mate – that there are bigger issues at play:
South Australia has been dudded over and over again. And this isn’t just a parochial argument.
I’m a senator for South Australia and I’m going to stand up for my state and that’s what I’m doing.
But it is not just a parchochial argument.
We are the canary in the coalmine when it comes to the river system. If the river is sick down south in South Australia, it’s sick everywhere. So getting good flows through the Murray mouth, getting that water promised to South Australia delivered, will be important for the health of the entire river system.
And we know - climate change is going to make this harder. The greed of big corporate irrigators has been out of control for too long, and we need to start putting the environmental needs front and centre.
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Murray-Darling plan legislation ‘just does not deliver’: Sarah Hanson-Young
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, who has been arguing for more water for environmental reasons in the Murray-Darling plan is telling the ABC why the Greens can’t vote for Tanya Plibersek’s Murray-Darling legislation as it stands;
The conversations will continue. But I’m concerned that the bill, as it currently stands being introduced today, just does not deliver that guarantee. It does a couple of good things.
It removes that [cap] for buy backs, so the minister has the power to ensure that the Government can go and buy back water.
But there’s no compulsion that this will happen. There’s no requirement that that 450 gigalitres that was previously promised to South Australia for the health of the river will actually be delivered and the deadline for that has been blown out in these changes proposed by the government until 2027.
That could be after even the election after next. That is so long away. We need to make sure that the health of the river is restored now.
We are going into a drying period. We know the climate challenges. We know that irrigation, throughout particularly the southern basin, has exploded. It’s actually grown more than less over the last decade, so even more water is coming out of the river, and the environment is suffering. I don’t want to see more fish kills. I don’t want to see, in my home state in South Australia, our Coorong suffer again. I want to make sure that we get this right. And as the plan is, it’s not right.
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Tasmanian hospitals experiencing significant demand, public asked to reconsider attending
Tasmanians are being urged to stay away from the state’s two main hospitals unless it’s an emergency as they face “significant demand”.
According to a statement from Tasmanian health department secretary Kathrine Morgan-Wicks, the Royal Hobart hospital and Launceston General hospital are both experiencing significant demand.
Communities are being urged to think about “the right treatment options for their needs” and reconsider attending the hospitals if it’s not an emergency.
This is due to high rates of unplanned absence among staff, the statement reads, with Covid-19, influenza and other seasonal illnesses circulating the community.
The hospitals are closely managing elective surgery activity to maintain access for emergency demand. This includes working with private hospitals to access contracted bed capacity and elective surgery.”
The community is being encouraged to utilise alternative healthcare options if it’s not an emergency, such as the Medicare urgent care clinics in Hobart and Launceston, after-hours GPs, their local pharmacy, or contacting Health Direct on 1800 022 222.
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Qantas board should ‘seriously consider’ decisions made: Bridget McKenzie
So now that Alan Joyce has brought forward his retirement from Qantas, what does Bridget McKenzie think of the Qantas board chair, Richard Goyder?
I think the Qantas board has to seriously consider some of the decisions that they have been making. I mean, not for nothing, you’re in front of the competition watchdog for what is alleged to be quite egregious behaviour.
You have also sought to, as I said, keep on your balance sheet half a billion dollars of your customers’ money rather than giving it back in the middle of a cost of living crisis. (The flight credits)
The last thing on people that are struggling to pay their mortgages and their weekly bills is an international holiday, they prefer that money back in their pocket.
Then you got the decision of the board to allow their CEO in the bad years – when they’re not making a profit – to kick his bonus schedule forward until it’s a good year and then he can collect, you know, years in return and then walk out with quite a, you know, generous payout. So I think all of those play into the fact that the Australian public has quite a negative view of Qantas when your flights are getting cancelled and delayed everyday and you can’t guarantee your baggage is going to rock up on time.
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Bridget McKenzie calls for answers on Qantas and Qatar Airways
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie has been one of the strongest voices calling for an inquiry into the Qatar airways decision and late yesterday, she helped convince the senate to make it happen (32 to 31).
McKenzie told ABC News Breakfast the government had questions to answer:
Anthony Albanese has not just a close personal relationship with the former CEO of Qantas, but a very strong political relationship with Qantas.
That’s not going to change just because, you know, Alan Joyce is out of the departure lounge with his, you know, in excess of $10 million carry-on luggage. It is not just the decision on Qatar Airways. It is the decision that this government chose to rule aviation out of its competition review until the backflip late last week.
And it also has chosen Qantas to be the flagship for their ‘yes’ campaign. So the government is very tightly linked at a personal and a political level with this company which is also one of the most reviled across our nation if you look at the ACCC complaints over the last couple of years.
So it’s becoming a political problem for the government and they need to front up and answer the questions. Like, what is it the national interest, they couldn’t answer that yesterday in question time. We keep getting different responses, conflicting answers from ministers, and it’s time we got to the bottom of it.
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Tanya Plibersek says Murray-Darling Basin legislation has to pass
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, is speaking to Sabra Lane on ABC radio AM about the Murray-Darling Basin plan legislation – which at the moment does not have the support in the senate to pass.
These new laws have to pass parliament by the end of the year because there are some critical dates in the Murray-Darling Basin plan and they you know – if we don’t see this legislation by the end of the year, for example, we can’t extend the timeframes on some very significant water efficiency and water saving infrastructure projects that the states already have underway.
But can Plibersek just demand it pass and expect it to happen? Plibersek says there is not the time to play politics.
We know we’re going into another hot dry period. Unless we get this water for the environment we will see the sort of catastrophic consequences that we’ve seen in years past with mass fish kills and drying banks of the river with trees that are hundreds of years old not [guaranteed to] survive.
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The view from Murph
Anthony Albanese is out of the country for the next few days to attend international summits.
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, will be in the chair when question time rolls around at 2pm.
It can be quite dangerous to predict the future on a parliamentary sitting day, but it seems likely the opposition will direct one line of attack towards a lack of transparency around taxpayer-funded travel.
The Coalition and the Greens teamed up in the Senate on Tuesday to order the government to produce documents related to the use of special purpose flights. The senate order seeks publication of relevant documents by 13 September.
If you’ve missed the relevant context, there has been a drumbeat of criticism about the government not being sufficiently transparent about the taxpayer-funded travel being undertaken by senior ministers, including Marles.
Simon Birmingham, the leader of the opposition in the senate, says the government’s failure to provide information demonstrates Labor’s “rank hypocrisy” given the prime minister had promised to implement more accountability and transparency as part of his pre-election pitch to voters.
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Treasurer speaks on possibilities of recession
It’s national accounts day – which means we are all going to pretend we understand the ins and outs of GDP.
What we will all learn is how much the economy has slowed down, now that the interest rate rises are taking a chunk out of confidence and spending (for at least the mortgage holders and renters) with China’s slowing economy also having an impact.
Jim Chalmers was on the ABC where he was asked whether he was still confident Australia would avoid a recession and said:
Well, that’s certainly our expectation that we will avoid a recession. Obviously, there’s a lot of uncertainty, globally and domestically. The two things that matter most to that will be China and the impact of these interest rate rises which are biting on family budgets and on the economy more broadly.
But our expectation, our forecasts in the budget, are that the Australian economy will continue to grow, but quite slowly.
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Good morning from Canberra
A very big thank you to Martin for kicking us off on hump day.
Amy Remeikis here, ready to guide you through the parliamentary day (with A LOT of help).
Mike Bowers is already walking around (with a coat because it’s chilly) and Katharine Murphy, Josh Butler, Paul Karp, Sarah Basford Canales and Daniel Hurst will take you through the Canberra happenings in detail.
It’s a three coffee morning, so let’s get into it.
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Economic growth for June quarter expected to be underwhelming
Higher interest rates, price pressures and dicey global conditions are expected to keep growth on the subdued side in the June quarter, AAP reports.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the national accounts on Wednesday.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, warned the results may be underwhelming.
“What we’ve seen in recent data is the impact of higher interest rates, high but moderating inflation, and also this continuing global uncertainty on our economy,” Chalmers said on Tuesday.
In the three months to March, the economy grew a modest 0.2% , and 2.3% on an annual basis.
Ahead of the June result, forecasters were feeling more upbeat following the release of some of the last remaining data points that slot into GDP, with the strong results enough to stamp out fears of a negative quarter of economic activity.
Commonwealth Bank is pencilling 0.5% quarterly growth and a 1.9% lift over the year and ANZ expects 0.4% and a 1.9% respectively.
Exceptions to Chevron strikes offered to ease supply disruptions
Some of Chevron’s Australian gas workers have offered to work during planned industrial action to avert domestic supply disruptions.
The Offshore Alliance said late on Tuesday that Chevron’s domestic gas plant for its Wheatstone project requires repairs which may need to be performed during planned strikes.
“Members are not seeking to negatively impact users of gas in Western Australia by engaging in protected industrial action against Chevron, and have given this undertaking as a show of good faith,” said the alliance, which consists of the Australian Workers’ Union and Maritime Union of Australia.
Workers at Chevron’s Wheatstone and Gorgon liquefied natural gas projects are preparing to start rolling 24-hour stoppages for two weeks from 14 September amid protracted negotiations over pay and conditions.
The unions are trying to lock in industry standard wage rates and conditions in a sector that typically uses individual contracts. They recently reached an agreement with Woodside.
Chevron was contacted for comment.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to today’s Politics Live blog. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be bringing you the best of the overnight stories in the news before Amy Remeikis takes the reins.
Anthony Albanese has arrived in Indonesia where the prime minister will unveil a sweeping economic blueprint today to boost trade with key south-east Asian markets such as Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. It has 75 recommendations for the government to consider to grow partnerships with fast-growing countries in the region, including increasing the number of flights, cutting foreign investment barriers, fast-tracking visas and “improving south-east Asia” literacy.
Our lead story this morning is that the Liberal party has been accused of “dirty tactics” by offering nonexistent postal vote registration for the referendum, directing would-be voters to a party website to harvest their personal information. The Australian Electoral Commission labelled it “potentially misleading”.
The board of Qantas will be hoping that moving Alan Joyce out of the big chair immediately will help reboot the company. But the company is still facing five major issues, including competition action, legal challenges and the trashing of its repuation for excellent customer service. We also have a podcast with Guardian Australia’s transport reporter, Elias Vinsontay, who discusses where the airline goes from here.
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