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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Mostafa Rachwani and Amy Remeikis (earlier)

Deal allows police to march in parade – as it happened

Anthony Albanese Dunkley (Geopolitical Entity) Tax Cuts Australia Katy Gallagher Coalition Labor Peter Dutton
Members of the NSW police during the 2023 Mardi Gras parade in Sydney.
Members of the NSW police during the 2023 Mardi Gras parade in Sydney. Photograph: Mark Baker/AP

What we learned: Wednesday 28 February

And with that, I am going to put the blog to bed. Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines:

  • The prime minister made the breakfast TV rounds this morning, saying tax cut changes were “not an easy decision” but “the right decision”.

  • The NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, put out a statement saying that the Mardi Gras board had reached an agreement with NSW police “that will allow NSW Police to march in this year’s parade”.

  • Australia’s consumer prices rose 3.4% in January from a year ago, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported.

  • The private health insurance lobby group Private Healthcare Australia have said The Australian’s story about a “war of words” between the health minister and private health insurance industry was “false”.

  • Lidia Thorpe accused the Senate chair of being “asleep” amid Senate chaos. She eventually delivered her speech on her cousin’s death in custody.

  • Independent MPs Bob Katter and Andrew Wilkie dressed as bright pink pigs to bring attention to the supermarket bill.

  • The federal government will wait months before announcing any reforms recommended in the Universities Accord, the education minister has flagged, with a staged approach to legislation.

  • Independent MP Allegra Spender called out Labor over “irrelevant and tedious repetition” in question time

  • The health minister, Mark Butler, announced an anti-vaping social media campaign, and said he aims to outlaw the sale of vapes from 1 July.

  • Victorians under threat from bushfires were facing their last chance to leave as catastrophic conditions descend on the state’s west, Australian Associated Press reports.

Updated

Key event

Former NSW government accused of pork barrelling after scathing WestInvest audit

Labor has accused the former New South Wales Coalition government of “pork barrelling at the public’s expense” after the auditor general found the design of a $5bn scheme to funnel money into areas worst hit by Covid lockdowns “lacked integrity”.

In a report released on Wednesday, Margaret Crawford found that more than $1bn was allocated to “low or moderate merit” infrastructure projects in western Sydney as part of the massive post-pandemic spending program WestInvest.

She found the program was “not informed by robust research or analysis” to justify the massive spend.

The fund was announced in September 2021 under the previous government to pay for “transformational” infrastructure projects across 15 local government areas in western Sydney, funded through the sale of the WestConnex motorway.

At the time, Gladys Berejiklian was the premier and Dominic Perrottet was the treasurer. Shortly thereafter, Pettottet took the top job and Matt Kean was promoted to treasurer.

The current state treasurer, Daniel Mookey, said on Wednesday the report was a “devastating indictment” on the previous government and the scheme was “a classic in the genre of pork barrelling at the public’s expense”.

Read more:

Updated

‘It’s a little township’: Ballarat base camp established for Victoria firefighters

A tent township has sprung up in less than 48 hours in the regional Victorian city of Ballarat as firefighters and volunteers prepare for catastrophic conditions, AAP reports.

The 131-hectare Victoria Park at Ballarat has become a base camp for hundreds of firies ahead of Wednesday’s extreme and catastrophic fire danger across the state’s west, central and northern regions.

Firefighters could be there for more than a month, depending on how the rest of the fire season shakes out.

The Victorian County Fire Authority’s deputy chief officer, Rohan Luke, said it had been a significant effort to set up the camp in such a short time.

“Base camps normally take a little while to set up,” he told reporters at the site on Wednesday morning.

“It’s a little township essentially.”

The camp has enough tents for about 300 firefighters and is already half full after the arrival of NSW firefighters on Tuesday evening.

“There was 160 here last night,” Luke said.

“When we bring night shift crews in here ... there are tents inside air-conditioned marquees so that those sleeping during the day can get some decent sleep.”

Of the 160 campers, about 100 were from the NSW Rural Fire Service and another 25 from NSW Fire Rescue.

Updated

Alex Greenwich welcomes news that NSW police will rejoin Mardi Gras parade out of uniform

Independent NSW MP Alex Greenwich has welcomed the announcement that NSW police will rejoin the Mardi Gras parade but remain out of uniform.

He said this was a “significant step in the LGBTQ community and police working together to improve community safety”.

The focus must now shift to what supports are needed to improve the wellbeing of LGBTQ people across NSW.

Updated

Stephen Jones says government doesn’t accept Meta’s claim over scam victims

The assistant treasurer and minister for financial services, Stephen Jones, has said the government does not accept Meta’s claim that it could not prevent scam victims being scammed further.

Earlier today we reported Meta’s comments on the government’s proposed mandatory scams framework and claims from Facebook’s parent company that the code would duplicate regulation and parts of it would be impossible to implement, given scammers tend to move between platforms and services.

Meta has clarified that they’re testing new measures to prevent scams.

Jones told Guardian Australia the policy was designed to get banks, telecommunications companies and digital platforms to work together to stop scammers across the board and protect people from falling victim.

We’re on everyone with every designated business to remove egregious content and if they don’t, and someone loses money as a result, fines and liability will follow.

He said he didn’t buy into Meta’s argument and it wasn’t good enough:

The biggest IT companies in the world say ‘We don’t know how to do anything about this?’ Come on. I’m not buying it, the government is not buying it.

He said the government will consider the issues raised as part of the consultation process, but he said he had not identified any obvious problem with the framework as drafted.

Updated

Mostafa Rachwani with you this afternoon, to take you through the rest of the day’s news.

With the parliament day beginning to get a little dry, I will hand you over to Mostafa Rachwani who will take you through some of the other news of the day.

A very big thank you to everyone who joined us again today. We’ll be back with more Politics Live tomorrow morning. Remember – take care of you. Ax

Updated

NSW police to march in Sydney Mardi Gras parade, but not in uniform

The NSW police commissioner Karen Webb has put out a statement saying that the Mardi Gras board has reached an agreement with NSW police “that will allow NSW Police to march in this year’s parade”.


Police have agreed not in march in uniform, in consideration of current sensitivities. I am delighted that our LGBTQIA+ officers, as well as our other police who are allies and supporters, will be allowed to march this year as they have done for the past 20 years.

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is an important event on the NSW Police calendar and as Commissioner, I am committed to continuing to strengthen the relationship between my organisation and the LGBTQIA+ community.

I thank the Mardi Gras Board for the cordial discussions over the past few days.

Updated

Department of Education secretary comments on proposed Australian Tertiary Education Commission

Secretary of the Department of Education, Tony Cook, said he was confident the Australian Research Council (ARC) would still have a central role if the commission was taken up, pointing to current legislation in the Senate addressed at reforming the body.

[The commission] will have a role around pricing, funding, and there will be an intersection with research and teaching [however] … the legislative responsibilities of the ARC board will continue … I’m not concerned for ARC.”

But he conceded the proposed Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) could reduce the role of the Department of Education in tertiary education.

We can’t have duplication if the commission was established – fundamentally you can’t have two bodies doing the exact same thing. Potentially it would be an advisor to the government on higher education … [the department’s role] could shift.”

Cook said there was a possibility the commission could be partially or fully composed of Department of Education employees, while an alternate model would appoint experts on short rotations, unlike the public service.

Updated

Perin Davey says she would welcome random breath testing for politicians

The Nationals deputy leader, Perin Davey, has appeared on Sky News this afternoon where she again defended her apparent slurring and stumbling at a Senate estimates hearing earlier this month.

To recap, Davey admitted to having two wines before appearing but insists she was not inebriated. In the days following the public reporting of the incident, she said she had speech challenges due to a medical incident that occurred five years ago.

Upon watching the footage, Davey said she “did not see a drunk person”, she “saw a passionate person”.

The Nationals frontbencher then turned her ire towards the media, who she accused of being discriminatory.

The media are effectively saying, ‘If you have a speech impediment go home, don’t bother running ... ’

Davey also accused journalists in the press gallery of drinking alcohol at National Press Club lunches and then returning back to Parliament House to file their stories.

I’m happy to say I probably shouldn’t have had a couple of glasses of wine and I’m also very happy to say that I will be far more aware in the future.

Davey said she would also welcome random breath testing for politicians within parliament.

I think I’m one of the few politicians who’s actually said if they’re going to do it, bring it on. I don’t have to worry about that.

Updated

Here is how Mike Bowers saw question times.

Andrew Giles has a young daughter and therefore has not escaped the Taylor Swift friendship bracelet curse. Pretty sure his says “Shake it off”.

Here, Tony Burke plays the role of an early night, while the prime minister plays me, doom scrolling until 3am.

Peter Dutton giving Dan Tehan tips on how to look and sound angry, we assume.

Peter Dutton meets a fan

Updated

Proposed tertiary commission could become a ‘monster’, analyst warns

A leading higher education analyst has warned a proposed tertiary commission could become a “monster” that drastically overreaches into the sector if proper safeguards aren’t implemented.

The Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC) was a key recommendation of the University Accords report, designed as an independent statutory authority that would advise the federal government on funding policies, pricing and other matters.

The architect of the accord, Dr Mary O’Kane, said the body would act as a safeguard mechanism to prevent successive governments from winding back reform.

But ANU professor of higher education Andrew Norton told a Universities Australia summit on Wednesday that he had serious concerns about the proposal, pointing to the lack of higher education expertise in Australia and little transparency over who the board would be composed of.

The risk is over-intervention. The Liberal party of the 80s or 90s wouldn’t like the interventionist approach, but now there’s distrust, they may well go for it.

If you don’t want this to overreach, don’t set it up in the first place … it may well be a monster by the time it’s legislated and has a fixed view from someone of what it should look like.”

Asked if he had more hope or fear about the key reform, he replied: “Fear.”

Updated

Continued from previous posts:

Like my son Josh, I was brought up in the system. I was taken at the age of two and raised by 100 staff. So I never knew a mother’s love or what love was. I was never shown how to be a mother. Because of that, I couldn’t take care of my son.

The day I told Josh about this, at first, he didn’t comprehend it. He came back a week later and said, ‘mum, I don’t blame you any more.’ The both of us broke down crying. He said ‘now I understand’.

Josh entered the system as a baby. 32 years later, that system took him from me forever.

His children will now grow up without their father, their trauma will be their dad died crying out for help as prison staff ignored him. This is the trauma the system creates. That flows through families, from generation to generation. It’s the chain reaction that starts when our kids are taken from us, and ends with more black deaths in custody, more kids without parents set on the same path.”

Thorpe continue:

With nearly 600 black lives taken since the 1991 royal commission into Aboriginal deaths in custody, governments still refuse to implement its recommendations, or the recommendations of the 1997 Bringing Them Home report, but you still have sorry day and have your morning tea.

Not one person has ever been held responsible or accountable for one black death in custody. In this country. Not one person. When does it end? 97% of us you wiped out. What are you trying, to wipe the rest of us out? How many more babies do we have to lose in the system for things to change? Josh loved his family. Every time he got of custody, he would come straight home to sit down with us have a yarn. Now whether we get justice or not, he’s not coming home. If we get justice for Josh, it will make history. And hopefully change history’s course.

But we can’t have a government like we have today, who continues to wave the Aboriginal flag and wear your Aboriginal flag on your T-shirts and your Aboriginal flag earrings and all your designs when you don’t care about the amount of children in the system, you don’t care about deaths in custody, your own attorney general said to me during the referendum, just be happy I gave you one recommendation of counting the bodies coming out of these prisons. He wanted us to be grateful for counting in the real time deaths in the custody. Shame on you, Labor, and shame on the native police.

Updated

Lidia Thorpe speaks about her cousin’s death in custody

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has delivered the speech she attempted to make in the adjournment debate last night (when the Senate descended into confusion over speaking times).

Last week the coronial inquest into the death in custody of my first cousin, Josh Kerr, finished. On the weekend, Donnas Kerr, Josh’s mum, published a heartbreaking piece about Josh in the Saturday Paper.

I want to share some of her words with you and I encourage you to go and read the full piece.

The last time I saw my son Josh, he was in shackles. He was let out of prison to attend his uncle Bruce’s funeral. After the service, as I walked him back to the police van, he stopped to cuddle everyone, I thought is he gonna say goodbye to me or what?

Before he got in the van, he turned to me. I love you, mum, he said. I love you too, son, I said. I will see you when you come out. Yes, mum, I will come home. We have the biggest cuddle. Those were our last words.

Everybody Josh met he touched. He and his sisters Maggie and Pat had a strong bond. They would sit down for hours just yarning. He adored and doted on his children, he was a social butterfly made for life and he loved his art.

When my son Josh was born, I was young and living in crisis accommodation at Margaret Tucker hostel. I kept him for eight months, as long as I could. He went into the out of home care system. It ripped out my heart.

One day when he was older he came to me, he was hurting and angry I wasn’t there to raise him. I told him the reason. I wasn’t brought up with a mum and dad, Josh, I told him, I was part of the Stolen Generation.

(continued in next post)

Updated

Mehreen Faruqi urges Labor MPs against attending iftar dinners: ‘We will not be taken for granted and used as photo opportunities during Ramadan’

Greens deputy leader Senator Mehreen Faruqi says Labor MPs shouldn’t show up to community iftars, after members of the Muslim community rejected invitations to premiers’ iftar dinners in New South Wales and Victoria.

Both the Australian National Imams Council (Anic) and the Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV) have told Guardian Australia they will not attend the annual events, with the latter calling for Victorian premier Jacinta Allan’s first iftar as premier to be cancelled altogether.

The groups both cited frustration with Labor governments over their response to the war in Gaza.

Faruqi said Labor MPs should “think twice” about showing up to community Iftar dinners.

She said in a statement:

If Labor won’t listen to the Palestinian and Muslim community then their empty iftar tables will mimic their hollow response ... We will not be taken for granted and used as photo opportunities during Ramadan by the very same politicians who have failed to even condemn Israel. If Labor politicians won’t show up for us now at a time when everyone is grieving, then they better not show up at our iftars either.”

Updated

The chamber has moved on to Bob Katter’s matter of public importance debate:

“The government’s failure to reign in the power of the supermarket duopoly and the necessity for legislating the regulation of food retailing.”

He is no longer dressed as a giant inflatable pink pig.

This man has been in parliament for 40% of the time since federation.

Updated

Adam Bandt claims PM misrepresented him over public housing

Question time ends.

Adam Bandt stands up to say that he was misrepresented by Anthony Albanese last night in a speech:

Last night in an extraordinarily misleading speech, the prime minister misrepresented me three times.

First, he said that I opposed investment in public housing. The Greens in fact secured investment in public housing and are calling for more.

Secondly, the prime minister said the following: “The member for Melbourne told the House: North Melbourne’s and Carlton’s towers will be the first to go. People will be kicked out of their homes within the next few years. It is wrong to destroy these vibrant and diverse communities. The people there have a right to a home – a public home.”

The prime minister then misrepresented me and misled the House by going on to say: “That sounds OK except that there is no one there because they’re derelict.”

In fact there are thousands of people living in those towers and the Victorian Labor government wants to demolish the homes of thousands of my constituents in public housing in North Melbourne and Lygon Street in Carlton, with 33 Alfred St in North Melbourne listed as the first to go.

Thirdly, in claiming that I was incorrect, the prime minister told the house that “What we’re doing ... is upgrading them into more homes for public housing” and “people who live in public housing should live in quality public housing”, which he said I disagreed with.

In fact, Labor has made no commitment to move these residents into public housing, just as I said. In fact, Victorian Labor has said they want non-government and private sector development on the land.

In misrepresenting me, perhaps the prime minister made a new guarantee to Melbourne public housing residents …

He is made to sit down by Milton Dick (who often does this when MPs say they have been misrepresented, because under the standing orders you can say you were misrepresented and how, but not really do a speech).

Updated

Peter Dutton joins with that:

I want to commend the minister for the work that he’s undertaken and pledge bipartisan support on this very important issue. We have spoken a lot in this place over the years about the incidents, the occurrence of sexual assaults in society.

We have an absolutely zero tolerance for the sexual assault of any person but particularly in an environment where students are vulnerable because of the confined living arrangements as the minister rightly points out, and the fact that universities are engaged in a productive way is to their credit, but a lot of work has to happen and quickly. And the Coalition will pledge our support without condition to the minister in his endeavours in this regard.

And Anthony Albanese:

Can I firstly, perhaps, thank the leader of the opposition for his comments, and for the bipartisan support but I’m sure will come from all members and senators in this House.

Can I acknowledge the grassroots movement, as the minister did, for people who, from my time on campus, have been drawing attention to these issues for many, many decades.

Can I congratulate the minister for actually, for acting on this report. It is something that he has brought up in other forums that we don’t talk about.

He has been very, very strong on this. The advice is so clear. What has been happening up to now is a real disincentive for women to be able to freely move around our universities and our educational system and the victims can have an impact that lasts for the rest of their lives … Those of us who are in a position to advocate important change will do so now as a result of this report.

Updated

Continued from previous post.

Jason Clare:

They’re also places where people live. Where you could live in the same student accommodation as the person who assaulted you.

The universities accord called this out in their interim report last year as an area where urgent work was needed.

And a lot has happened since then. A working group made up of commonwealth, state and territory governments have come together and to act.

And last Friday I announced that we will establish an independent national student ombudsman.

It will have the power to investigate complaints, the power to bring parties together to resolve issues, and the power to make recommendations on what actions universities should take. If universities don’t act, the power will be there to hold them to account.

As minister, I will also be responsible to report to the parliament on the number and types of complaints and the actions that universities take.

Mr Speaker, can I thank the member for Chisholm who has argued for this. Can I thank you the many members of the crossbench, both in this House and in the Senate who have advocated for this.

And most importantly can I thank Sharna and Renee and Camille and Dr Alison Henry and everyone that they represent, who have fought for this for years.

On the weekend Sharna said after 50 years of student-led advocacy, we’ve finally gotten reform. It’s coming now.

Because of Sharna and people like her.

Updated

Jason Clare is asked about the response to sexual violence at universities. We will make an exception on our no dixers rule for it, because it’s important:

Imagine finishing high school and then moving away from home and going to university. You’re living in student accommodation and one night you’re assaulted by someone who lives on the same floor as you. You reach out for support from your university, and it doesn’t come.

For the last 10 years, Sharna Bremner has been fighting for the rights of students like this. That’s what her organisation End Rape on Campus does. And she’s not alone.

Camille Schofield and the team at the Stop Campaign and Renee Carr and the team at Fair Agenda do this too. Supporting survivors and fighting for change on university campuses and in residential colleges. Change that has been a long time coming.

One in 20 students report being sexually assaulted since they started university. One in six report having been sexually harassed.

And one in two students say that they haven’t been heard when it happens. That the response hasn’t been good enough.

This isn’t just a problem in our universities. It exists in all workplaces. It exists here at Parliament House. But universities aren’t just places where people study or where people work.

(Continued in next post)

Updated

Sussan Ley is next on the Mad Dutts Express:

I refer to the prime minister’s answer in question time yesterday regarding the new electric version of the RAV4. Can the minister confirm under this government’s new tax on cars and utes, this car is set to sell for $74,900, $35,000 more than the base model of this vehicle sold in Australia today.

What is left to say here? It is a fuel efficiency standard. Not a tax.

Chris Bowen goes through pretty much all the same things we have heard, but none of it matters, because none of these questions is aimed at being anything remotely serious, but all about the tradie vote in Dunkley.

Updated

We are back to more questions from the opposition about the (current) cost of electric vehicles.

No one is forcing people to buy electric vehicles if they don’t want to. But by having a fuel efficient standard, then more vehicles will become available in Australia.

At the moment, Australia is a known dumping ground of inefficient vehicles, because most of the rest of the world has standards.

And let’s remember these questions are coming from the same side of politics that is seriously advocating for nuclear power to be considered – despite the evidence from everyone, including people who had been seriously attempting to build one, that they are not cost effective enough to be competitive.

So: nuclear good, despite the increased cost to consumers in energy prices.

Fuel efficiency standards bad, despite bringing in more choices.

This is so, so stupid.

Updated

It is worth pointing out that there was no disinformation in Kylea Tink’s question.

The independent North Sydney MP, Kylea Tink, asks Anthony Albanese:

Yesterday myself and others on the crossbench were briefed by the director of UNRWA in Gaza … he confirmed that unless funds previously committed by countries like Australia are reinstated as a matter of urgency, UNRWA’s entire humanitarian operation in Gaza will collapse by the end of March. This will be devastating for the region, ending Medical and emergency accommodation services in Gaza, as well as schooling for thousands of refugee children. When will the government reinstate the additional $6m for UNRWA?

Albanese:

The government, when we came to office, doubled our funding for UNRWA, up to above $20m. And we have forwarded every single dollar of that doubling of support for the people of Gaza, but of course also the West Bank, to provide that essential humanitarian support. The food and the essentials of life.

We are greatly concerned, as has been indicated by the joint statement that I released with the prime minister of Canada and the prime minister of New Zealand about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which is why we have made a very clear statement about that issue.

We suspended the additional funding to UNRWA … whilst allegations were dealt with, about where those dollars potentially were going, and we did so on the basis of like-minded countries did such as Canada, who have joined with us in calling for a humanitarian ceasefire, in calling for increased support for humanitarian assistance in Gaza. We did that because it’s a principled and right thing to do.

I do note that in the member’s question, as well as other commentary that’s been made publicly, it seems to be completely dismissed, the fact we have delivered double the funding that the former government had.

It wasn’t in the question, the member for North Sydney, at all. There’s a lot of misinformation here is going around. And I’m very concerned, very concerned about social disharmony in this country, as a result of disinformation that is being spread throughout the community.

That does nothing to advance the interests of the people of Gaza or the people of the West Bank or the people of Israel. What my statement with the prime ministers of Canada and New Zealand made very clear is this government’s support for a two-state solution. This government’s support for peace and security in the region.

Tink stands up to make a point of order, but Albanese decides he has concluded his answer. Tink makes her point anyway.

My point of order is disrespect.

Updated

Independent MP calls out Labor over ‘irrelevant and tedious repetition’ in question time

Allegra Spender has taken a stand against dixers, for which we salute her:

Point of order on standing order 75 which is irrelevant and tedious repetition. The point is, I now know, I now know how the tax cuts are going to affect almost every in this country and almost every sector of this community. I think these tax cuts are important but there are many other issues facing this country at the moment. And I think that they deserve to have that airing as well.

The teals have been trying to clean up question time by making clear the standing orders each day. Some would claim this observation as an “exclusive” that the teals are working together despite being independents, but others would realise that a group of people who campaigned on very similar platforms, and who agree on a lot of those principles would, of course, work together when it suited them and their electorates.

Updated

Nationals MP Sam Birrell:

Last year the minister showed off Australia’s first EV ute, the LDV eT60. A ute that would cost struggling tradies an extra $46,000. Is the true the maximum range of this ute is 300km, but only if it’s empty? Is it also true if the back of the ute is fully loaded up, the maximum range drops to 150km?

Chris Bowen:

I wasn’t intending to comment on the price of any particular model but the member has really tempted me and I’m going to take up his offer. Because I’m going to, the honourable member asked me about the LDV eT60 electric ute. I will refer to him an article which says, “LDV eT60 electric ute now cheaper than its diesel twin, but only in New Zealand.” Why is it cheaper in New Zealand but not in Australia? New Zealand has vehicle efficiency standards. Australia does not.

Updated

Did you know that the first mobile phone call was made in 1973?

Today, according to the Smithsonian, there are more mobile phones than people on earth.

The first commercially available mobile phones cost about AUD$18,000 (adjusted for inflation).

By the time most people in Australia began to seriously take up mobile phones in the 90s, you were charged by the character for a text message (changing language forever).

And now? It’s just part of life. And because of that, it became cheaper.

But for some reason (Dunkley, Dunkley, Dunkley) we are having to endure the most ridiculous argument since the $100 lamb roast about fuel efficient vehicles.

Updated

Greens MP Stephen Bates has the next question:

Right now our country is burning from bushfires fuelled by coal and gas, threatening lives and communities.

So as the climate crisis gets worse, why is Labor trying to fast-track massive new gas projects with a bill that overrides environment laws, and why is one of Labor’s first acts since the voice referendum a bill that weakens First Nations power to oppose massive new climate bombs on their land and sea country?

Madeleine King:

Contrary to what you’ve just said, which is not true, the bill does not give me any – pardon me, what the member has said is not true.

The bill before the house does not provide me powers to override any approvals whatsoever. It includes a technical amendment allowing the government to adopt future recommendations of an offshore environmental management review and it should come to no surprise to anyone in this house that if a government undertakes the review that we might seek, a government might seek to indeed implement some recommendations of that review.

No surprises there. So this is what this bill enables us to work and implement recommendations of the review, a review which is being undertaken as we speak.

It might come as a surprise to the member to know that the Greens currently did forward a bill to try and do something similar but not the same.

They’re not any party of government. They would have to make exactly the same changes to the existing offshore regulations to implement what they want to implement.

In that respect, you’d be in the same boat as the government is or any future government would be to do any such changes to those regulations. It might be worth having a bit of a look at that and getting some more knowledge in your own mind, for your own sense of understanding of what the offshore regulations are.

Updated

There is another ridiculous question on EV utes and “breaking even” on them (how does anyone break even on a petrol car? What world are we in?)

I refer to the minister’s last answer. Can the minister confirm the ute owner would need to own the vehicle for 33 years to break even?

What does that even mean? If I buy a Toyota HiLux and put $2.08/L of diesel into it, how am I ever breaking even? This is like listening to Old Baz who still sends chain emails written in Comic Sans and thinks Benny Hill was the pinnacle of comedy talk about the “woke agenda” at the pub.

(Your regular reminder that Taylor is a Rhodes scholar.)

Updated

We are back in Mad Max territory, with Angus Taylor very concerned over the range of a current electric ute and what a Drive.com.au reviewer had to say about it.

Last year the minister showed off Australia’s first eT60 EV ute. The managing director of Drive.com describes it as having an effective range of only 150km for tradies. Doesn’t work for people in rural areas on the urban fringe, people who tow or people who live on farms. Can the Minister confirm the eT60’s price tag of $92,000 is nearly double the price of the diesel alternative?

OH THE HUMANITY!

The first personal computer, the Kenbak-1, was invented in 1971, before microprocessors, and had 256 bytes of memory and a single circuit board.

Home computers entered the market six years later and by the 1980s were fairly common.

So this “debate” is like laughing at people who said computers would change the world. And yet, here we are.

Updated

For those who asked, Scott Morrison has officially left the building.

The bright blue gnome lookalike which sat in his office window, haunting everyone who walked past in the hallway, is gone.

Updated

Albanese government tells UNRWA it must be sure Gaza aid funding will go ‘to those who need it’

Daniel Hurst has an update on the suspended UNRWA funding:

The Albanese government has told the UN Relief and Works Agency that Australia needs confidence that aid will go to those who need it in Gaza, as calls grow to reinstate at least $6m in funding to the organisation.

Guardian Australia has learned that staffers from the office of the foreign minister, Penny Wong, met on Tuesday with Tom White, the director of UNRWA affairs in Gaza, to discuss the “acute humanitarian situation” in the besieged territory.

The meeting included an update on the progress of the investigation into allegations raised by Israel that as many as 12 UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October Hamas-led attacks.

Updated

Dan Tehan is back, but has toned down the angry Dr Honeydew impersonation.

What circumstance would cause the minister to release from immigration detention into the community an Austrian citizen who pleaded guilty to poisoning people?

Tony Burke is on his feet to nope that question, because it asks for a hypothetical, leaving Tehan to rephrase it on the fly to make it okay under the standing orders.

Tehan:

In a previous answer, he’s referred to releasing an Austrian who had pleaded guilty to poisoning people from detention. Now, under what circumstances would the minister release such a person out of detention?

That’s allowed (just) and now we get angry Andrew Giles:

I have already answered this question in respect to the first one. Let me be very clear, I don’t accept the characterisation that was just put to the chamber.

We continue to take every possible step to deport people who have no right to stay in the country. And this is a matter which is currently before the court.

(That’s parliamentary speak for “you know we can’t talk about it, or we will mess up the court case”, which of course the opposition does know – but politics means the question is asked. Labor did it while in opposition too – it’s an old tactic, because politicians and their advisers know that most people don’t understand the legal sensitivities and will only see the minister not answering a question.)

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The independent MP for Fowler, Dai Le, has the next non-government question and asks Anthony Albanese:

You’re no doubt aware working-class Australians are feeling the pains of rental costs, housing affordability and soaring costs in essentials such as food, electricity, gas, insurance, petrol to name a few. When will your government act to freeze the compounding Hecs indexation to help our best and brightest people, and in our Fowler community in Western Sydney?

Albanese:

I’ll begin and then ask the minister for education to comment, given the release just this week of the comprehensive plan that he has received on higher education. But I say this about the member for Fowler’s electorate, they were big winners last night. Big winners last night because it does have a large cohort of low socio economic recipients income levels. They will benefit substantially by the fact ...

(There are interjections)

Albanese continues about the tax cuts, but you have heard it all before.

Updated

Dan Tehan is trying to use his very serious voice, and it is like watching Dr Bunsen Honeydew attempt to put you in the naughty corner.

If he was not part of the NZYQ cohort, why was Mr Abdel-Hady released from detention?

Andrew Giles:

As he should be well aware, and I know the leader of the opposition is well aware, I can’t comment on individual cases.

I say again we continue to take every possible step to deport people who have no right to stay in this country. I say this, those opposite had five years to remove this individual and did nothing.

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Question time begins

Dan Tehan kicks off question time with a question to Andrew Giles about this story:

Why did Bob Hawke’s former business partner and friend who pled guilty to poisoning people, no laughing matter, Mr Safwat Abdel-Hady, an Austrian citizen, released from immigration detention on a bridging visa E, rather than bridging visa R after he did not have to wear an ankle bracelet or have curfew placed bracelet or have a curfew placed on him?

Andrew Giles:

Of course I remind him the individual he refers to is not part of the NZYQ cohort. I say to him and all members of the House, we continue to take every possible step to deport people who have no right to stay in this country. This is a matter before the court. I draw your attention and all members to the comments of the judge in the most recent hearing in which they said, and I quote, “There appears to be a very fixed view … of the minister to be rid of this man.” He’s right.

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Politicians and public servants often unable to access academic research, Australia’s chief scientist says

Circling back to the Universities Australia Solutions Summit, and Australia’s chief scientist, Dr Cathy Foley, made some interesting comments about the access – or lack thereof – that MPs have to university papers.

Since taking up her role, Foley told the conference she was surprised to discover the public service had no access to research literature, which generally required paid subscriptions.

They don’t have subscriptions to academic publications, and effectively work without access to our literature.

Foley said she had spoken to politicians and ministers a “number of times” who expressed concern they were having to make significant decisions while in the dark about the research community’s findings.

Two ministers in particular, whom Foley did not name, often had to make sensitive decisions and told her they “found it really frustrating”.

It’s not democratised if the only people who can access [research] are part of an academic library. The number of times I’ve spoken about this to politicians and ministers … they’re making decisions on a Sunday night, getting ready for a cabinet meeting the next day … they want to get to the core of the information to be able to understand it.

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Strap yourselves in for question time

The third question time of the week is just over 10 minutes away.

You can hear the chants of ‘Dunkley, Dunkley, Dunkley’ from Cairns as Australia’s top five favourite fuel feasters rev in the distance in preparation for another Mad Max sequel – Mad Max: Fuel Efficiency Standards.

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Teal independent MP calls for stronger safeguards around tribunal appointments

The independent Curtin MP, Kate Chaney, was elected on a platform of increasing transparency and accountability in government – a common thread throughout the teal independent campaigns.

Chaney is also a member of the standing committee on social policy and legal affairs which looked at the new administrative review tribunal, which will replace the administrative appeals tribunal.

Chaney is not overly impressed with the appointment safeguards and says without strong legislation, history (using the tribunal as a dumping ground for political mates) risks repeating.

Chaney wants the legislation to include these amendments:

1. Require the minister to use assessment panels, rather than the minister having discretion to do so;

2. Ensure assessment panels consist of independent individuals with appropriate expertise, and not be dominated by government or political employees or contractors;

3. Require the minister to appoint only a candidate shortlisted by an assessment panel unless there are exceptional circumstances, in which case a statement of reasons must be tabled in parliament; and

4. A former member of the commonwealth parliament should not be appointed as a tribunal member until completing a two-year cooling-off period.

Chaney:

Enshrining these protections in the legislation is preferable to the regulatory model proposed on appointments.

This would heavily rely on future regulations and leave governments open to the temptation of hijacking the process and appointing political allies.

I also support an independent statutory review of the operation of this Bill every three years, to make sure that the tribunal is delivering on its purpose.

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We are all thinking of those in the fire zone in Victoria.

Please take care.

We will be seeing more of these conditions throughout the country:

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‘Please help us hold the line’, Ukrainian community leader says at National Press Club

Here is a bit more from the NPC address, where Kateryna Argyrou, the co-chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, pleads for the international community, including Australia, to help Ukraine “hold the line” against Russia:

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‘Manpower, money and material’ crucial to Ukraine war outcome, ambassador says

Dipping in to the press club for a moment, there has been a question on what Ukraine needs. Vasyl Myroshnychenko, the ambassador of Ukraine to Australia, says:

Troops and boots on the ground is not on the table. We have the people. We have the manpower. And usually, there’s three factors which define the outcome.

Manpower, money and material. We have the manpower. We will keep on fighting. We need the military assistance and the military aid.

He then gets to one of the issues – a Trump presidency and a lack of support in the existing US Congress:

And, of course, the big elephant in the room, there might be a question on the US support. We are hoping for that support to come. It’s in the strategic interests of the US, of the US government to make sure that we can defend ourselves and we can win in this war and we hope that whatever hurdles that are currently in Washington, that will be overcome.

Because American leadership in this case is crucial. And we are very thankful to President Biden and his administration, bipartisan support of both parties in the Congress and, of course, the American people for that support coming.

We’ll work with any president that will be out there. It does matter, it is the choice of the American people. But it is definitely in the interests of America and the free world making sure that we can stop the aggressor. We can stop the dictator who is so delusional in his fight trying to change borders by force.

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Jana Stewart elected chair of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs standing committee

Labor senator Jana Stewart has been elected chair of the parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, taking the place vacated by Pat Dodson’s retirement.

Stewart, a Mutthi Mutthi and Wamba Wamba woman and a senator for Victoria, said it was a “privilege” to ascend to the role.

“It’s not easy following in the footsteps of Uncle Patrick Dodson but I’m looking forward to help drive real change for First Nations Australians,” she said in a post on Facebook.

Dodson’s other role, as special envoy for reconciliation and implementation of the Uluru Statement, is yet to be filled.The Indigenous Australians minister, Linda Burney, said two weeks ago that the government hadn’t yet decided whether they would name a new person to that role, with the future of the government’s commitment to the Uluru Statement also still up in the air.

At his last press conference last year, Dodson suggested Stewart could be a worthy successor to his special envoy role. As yet, the government hasn’t announced what - if anything - they will do about that role.

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CPI figures showing ‘welcome progress’, Chalmers says

The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has responded to the latest CPI figures:

Today’s Monthly Consumer Price Index Indicator shows annual inflation of 3.4 per cent in the 12 months to January 2024.

This is the equal lowest in more than two years and much lower than the 6.1 per cent that we inherited when we came to office.

The direction of travel is clear: inflation is moderating helped by the Albanese Government’s cost-of-living policies.

Inflation is still too high but we are making welcome progress.

Inflation is moderating in encouraging ways but we know it’s not mission accomplished because people are still under the pump.

Today’s result is consistent with annual quarterly inflation, which moderated to a two-year low of 4.1 per cent at the end of 2023.

(There is a whole other bit about Labor policies which I’ll save you, and us.)

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ABS basket of goods and services used to calculate inflation returning to pre-Covid weightings

Along with January’s CPI numbers (a “benign” result), the ABS has also released details about the updated basket of goods and services they use to calculate inflation.

Setting aside the long-standing issue that house prices are only counted when people buy a new home (rather than the general increase or decrease of existing ones), the general story is that the basket is increasingly looking like those of pre-Covid yore, which is what you might expect (whether you’re a stats wonk or not).

The share of goods reached 58% of the CPI index at one point during the pandemic, and just 42% on services. The 2024 update has revised the share to 54.5% for goods and 45.5% for services.

The recreation and culture group category has seen a big adjustment, rising 1.71 percentage points in the rejig. Within that, the fact more Australians headed overseas and with international airfare prices remaining elevated, the weighting of this sub-category increased 0.92pp.

Overseas arrivals and departures are now back to about 90% of pre-Covid levels, the ABS said.

After the 2024 CPI weight update, housing remained the largest category, accounting for 21.74% of the overall index. That was half a percentage point lower than for last year, dragged down by fewer people buying new homes.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages, with a weighting of 17.15%, was little changed from the 2023 index. Recreation and culture at 12.55% leapfrogged transport’s 11.42% to contribute the third largest weighting within the CPI index.

Figures can’t lie, but liars can figure, as the adage goes – but this blog would never do that.

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‘Near impossible’ for platforms to prevent further losses to scam victims, Meta says

Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, Meta, has said it would be near impossible to prevent scam victims losing more money on scams under the Albanese government’s proposed mandatory code, arguing that scammers rapidly evolve their methods and use multiple services to target people.

In the proposed framework released in November last year, telcos and digital platforms will be expected to take action to block and remove scammers and scam content from their services.

Included in the proposed framework, is an obligation that “where a consumer has identified they have been affected by a scam, businesses must take all reasonable steps to prevent further loss to the consumer and treat consumers fairly and consistently.”

Meta has said this would not be possible due to how scammers operate:

Given the cross-platform nature of scams, an obligation to prevent further losses to a consumer who has been affected by a scam may be impossible for digital platforms to achieve

What we have seen is that our and industry’s efforts to combat scams are forcing threat actors to rapidly evolve their tactics in attempts to evade detection and enable persistence. One way they do this is by spreading across as many platforms as they can to protect against enforcement by any one service. These changes are likely an attempt by threat actors to ensure that any one service has only limited visibility into the entire operation.

Meta said overall the proposed framework is complex and potentially duplicates existing regulations.

The treasury consultation ended at the end of January. No submissions to the consultation have been published so far, save for Meta publishing its own executive summary.

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Ukrainian ambassador to Australia speaking at National Press Club

The National Press Club address today is being delivered by Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, and Kateryna Argyrou, co-chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations and co-founder and NSW representative of the Australian-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce, on the two-year war sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The room has been asked to stand for the Ukrainian national anthem which is being sung by members of the Ukrainian community in Canberra.

Updated

Government aiming to outlaw sale of vapes from 1 July

The health minister, Mark Butler, says the government hopes to outlaw the sale of vapes from 1 July, following the passage of new legislation cracking down on the smoking products to be introduced into parliament next month.

Two parts of the government’s vaping crackdown have passed parliament so far – a ban on the import of single-use products that came into effect on 1 January and further restrictions on imports from 1 March. The final piece – which would make vaping illegal without a prescription, and which would essentially shut down retailers selling vapes – is yet to be introduced to parliament, but Butler said at a press conference today that the legislation would be seen next parliament week in mid-March.

I’m really hopeful for the support from the opposition. Peter Dutton has not yet come out and indicated the opposition’s view. I really encourage him to listen to the views of parents and school communities and public health experts about the need to shut this thing down.

If you’ll remember, this crackdown has been pitched as a way to stop young people especially from getting into vapes. Butler held his press conference surrounded by large piles of boxes of illegal vapes seized at the border by customs officials, noting flavours like bubblegum and blueberry that he claimed were targeted toward children.

There are some split opinions in the Coalition about the best way to crack down on vaping, with some sentiment that the near-prohibition of vapes may push people into black-market products.

Butler also launched a new social media campaign using young online influencers to push anti-vaping messages. Standing alongside sisters Zahlia and Shyla Short, who are surfing and lifestyle personalities, Butler said the campaign had partnered with a PR agency for around $250,000, which is part of an $11m anti-vaping push.

The minister said traditional media advertising strategies wouldn’t reach younger people, and that novel methods were needed to get kids off vaping.

Updated

Those January CPI figures were slightly on the low side, which is probably triggering some relief within the Albanese government with a byelection on Saturday.


Fruit and vegetables were up 1.6% from a year earlier, maintaining recent months when their increases have been well below the average. Meat and seafood continued to be cheaper than a year earlier, with prices of such produce 2% lower than in January 2023.

Many households, of course, continue to be squeezed. Rental costs were 7.4% higher than a year ago, in line with December’s year-on-year increase.

Insurance, too, was costing 8.2% more than a year ago, also in line with December pace.

Government interventions made a difference. Electricity prices were 0.8% higher - not great but better than the 15.3% increase had governments not been offering rebates.

We’re yet to see how the reweighting of the CPI basket affected the overall number. Still, holiday travel and accommodation - one category that was expected to be tweaked in the annual rejig - was 7.1% cheaper than in January 2023 (and not far off the 9.1% year-on-year drop reported in December).

Not sure if your summer break was cheaper than a year ago, but a lot of people must have reported so.

Markets, meanwhile, are a bit “meh” on today’s numbers, so it’s a case of as you were. Interest rate cuts by the RBA are coming but probably not for a good few months at this point.

Updated

The senate economics committee held an inquiry into Chalmers’ RBA legislation which would remove the section 11 powers where all these arguments were articulated and saw a growing consensus between the Greens and the Coalition that the power should be retained.

Nick McKim was an early critic of the recommendation and wants the government to amend its legislation to keep section 11. The Coalition hasn’t been as explicit but has been pointing to the unease of former treasurers and RBA governors (and senior economists across the political spectrum) about removing the power.

Those Coalition MPs are starting to speak up about that now, which the government is attempting to paint as the Coalition being ‘all over the place’ on the rule change.

But to be fair, it’s not. The Coalition has so far been speaking on the concerns which have been publicly raised by those who have been on both sides of this rule.

The government is on the outlier here. It can’t pass the legislation without the Greens or the Coalition, so there is going to be some sort of reckoning here, but that’s what is going on.

Removing intervention power would ‘do more harm than good’, say former treasurers and RBA governors

Now, for reasons which have not been articulated beyond “we think it makes the RBA less independent”, the RBA review board (three people) made a recommendation to the government that the power be repealed. No one asked for it in any of the public submissions to the RBA review. No one has come out, outside of the review board, and argued that this must happen.

In fact, the reverse has happened. Former treasurers – Keating and Peter Costello, and the RBA governors who served with them (Bernie Fraser and Ian Macfarlane) have all publicly said the idea to remove the power is a bit of madness and would do more harm than good.

Their reasoning is that the power makes the RBA more independent, because both sides of the friction coin know it is there, and treat it with respect. They argue that without the power, the parliament could legislate something worse in an emergency situation (if the RBA board went rogue for instance) without safeguards, or the RBA could become the target of popular politics (a political party campaigning to sack a governor, or overrule the RBA). There is also the argument that the parliament should have some control over the RBA because it exists to serve the people of Australia through guidance of monetary policy, and the parliament represents the people of Australia.

The current governor, Michele Bullock, said she is agnostic over the rule’s existence but has no concerns over the independence of the RBA with the rule being in place.

So the only people who are pushing to have the rule removed, for *reasons* that they haven’t been particularly able to articulate beyond “we just think so”, are the RBA review panel and the current treasurer, Jim Chalmers.

Updated

Fight brewing over proposal to remove power for treasurer to intervene in Reserve Bank

This (understandably) isn’t a major issue outside of the political/economic nerd groups, but it is an issue which should be on your radar.

There is a growing political fight over the pushback on the government RBA review legislation, which would, among other things, remove the government’s power to intervene with the RBA if necessary.

A bit of history on how this power (which hasn’t been used) came about. In 1930, as the Great Depression was hitting, the Labor government wanted Australia’s central bank (then the Commonwealth bank) to release funds for a national infrastructure building program to try and stave off the impacts of the economic crisis.

The Commonwealth bank said lol, nope, and you can’t make us, and by 1932 Australia’s unemployment rate was 32%. It took ten years for the nation to recover from the Great Depression’s immediate impacts. In 1935, a parliamentary committee remembered the bank’s refusal to release funds and recommended the government have a power to force it to do so.

Fast forward to 1959 when the Reserve Bank of Australia legislation was being established, and people who remembered what happened in 1930 made sure that power was part of it. Safeguards were included – for it to be used, the treasurer would have to explain to the parliament (and therefore you) the reasoning for it, and the RBA would get to explain why they have not agreed to do what the treasurer wanted. So you couldn’t just do it willy nilly, or use it to overrule a politically unpopular interest rate rise, because the justification for that would be pretty weak. It’s there as a break in case of emergency “once or twice a century” events, where a RBA board went rogue and made interest rates 20% or so for no reason.

Treasurers know the power is there (Keating threatened to use it in the late 80s) and RBA governors know it is there, and both are kept in check by it.

(More on this in the next post.)

Updated

Australia’s chief scientist pushes back against government framing of accord

The chief scientist of Australia, Dr Cathy Foley, says the Universities Accord is the “beginning of a conversation” rather than a blueprint for the coming decades that risks placing undue pressure on the sector.

Speaking to the Universities Australia Solutions summit, Foley questioned federal government framing that the report’s recommendations would define the sector to 2050.

It’s a starting point. What it’s got is flags, to say: ‘these are things that are important’. But I would urge universities to think - what is it you don’t do?

For too long, we keep thinking the universities will solve problems ... keep adding on and expecting them to work miracles.

We haven’t had a focus on universities other than ‘we want you to do more’ - more teaching … coming up with new knowledge, winning Nobel prizes and starting businesses as well as educating for the future.

She said it was “remarkable” universities were one of Australia’s biggest exports considering the strain the sector was under to deliver.

Having strong research is really important to a countries reputation - but also, to make sure the country is able to live to its ambitions.

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Amy’s analysis: what does the shadow education minister mean by ‘other more suitable work’?

That line our Caitlin Cassidy has reported on from Sarah Henderson’s address in response to the university accords should not go pass without note.

Henderson said:

Pushing vulnerable students with poor grades into a university course risks alienating them from a trade or other more suitable work*, and putting them on a pathway to failure.

Now, while it is true that university isn’t the best path for everyone for a variety of reasons, those reasons can have nothing to do with grades. Your grades in high school should not ever dictate what opportunities are open to you for the rest of your life. High-achieving high school students have found that university wasn’t best for them and students with poor grades in high school have gone on to find amazing success after completing university.

This idea that poor grades in high school – the learning environment of which does not suit everyone, and which can be impacted by poverty, language skills, family situation and even the area in which your school is located – means those students must only consider a trade is just another example of the class warfare which underpins much of the political class’s thinking on these issues.

If you want to go to university, you should have the opportunity to do so. And you should be supported in that endeavour because we don’t all start from the same place.

Updated

Henderson also used her address to push back on a number of findings in the Universities Accord Final report, including targets to double higher education participation by 2050 by improving equity in the sector.

She warned plans to significantly boost enrolments of disadvantaged cohorts risked putting students on a “pathway to failure”.

The ANU’s higher education expert, Andrew Norton, estimates universities will need to enrol students with an ATAR as low as 45 to reach this number … and herein lies a big challenge for the higher education sector. You know you can’t just open your doors and hope for the best.

Pushing vulnerable students with poor grades into a university course risks alienating them from a trade or other more suitable work*, and putting them on a pathway to failure.”

Henderson was particularly critical of proposed needs-based funding that would provide a bonus for higher education providers which met agreed completion targets of disadvantaged students.

It should not take a bonus payment to universities to ensure a student completes his or her degree. Surely that is core business – this is what universities are paid to do – by students and by the commonwealth … this is one recommendation that should not be supported.”

(*Um, sorry what? – Amy)

Updated

Coalition says Labor ‘kite flying’ ideas on higher education

The Coalition has warned a major report into reforming the higher education sector is “kite flying” its key ideas in an address pushing back against “raised expectations” of financial reform.

Speaking at the Universities Australia Solutions summit on Wednesday, the shadow education minister, Senator Sarah Henderson, said the Coalition was considering the final report in detail, adding the “opportunities and challenges” for the sector were considerable.

She backed the announcement of an independent student ombudsman, slated to begin next year, and the government’s expansion of regional university centres, while questioning the merits of building centres in suburban areas. But she said it was “disappointing” the government’s response had “raised many more questions than answers”.

As the minister for education, Jason Clare, said last night – there is a lot in the accord’s reform agenda. And might I say a little bit of kite flying – with raised expectations of paid student placements for student nurses, teachers and carers to combat placement poverty, changes to HECs repayments and much greater support for students in need – those from low-SES families and the regions.

The government has not articulated any plan for universities or put forward a set of priorities – and that makes your job tough.”

Speaking at a Universities Australia gala dinner yesterday evening, Clare told attendees including vice chancellors and leading academics that Labor would consider the reforms for several months before making further announcements.

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Private health lobby group says story in the Australian about row between health minister and industry is ‘a fiction’

The private health insurance lobby group, Private Healthcare Australia have also released a statement saying the Australian story about a ‘war of words’ between the health minister and private health insurance industry was “false”. From the statement:

The ‘health insurance row’ referred to in the report is a fiction and ‘six of the nation’s largest health funds’ have not commented publicly on the premium setting round as reported. Our industry has not accused the government of anything as suggested in the header.

The Australian claims to have: “spoken to six of the nation’s largest funds who say it is the longest wait on a premiums call from a government in 15 years, and they do not have enough time to notify their customers of any price increases if Health Minister Mark Butler does not make a decision this week.”

As the peak body representing 98% of the health insurance industry on membership, Private Healthcare Australia was advised by the six largest funds that this assertion is untrue.*

This story is a beat up which will do nothing more than create unnecessary fear among customers. It is an attempt to politicise a detailed financial and bureaucratic process.

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Australian CPI up 3.4% in January from a year ago

Australia’s consumer prices rose 3.4% in January from a year ago, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has just said.

As noted in an earlier post. Economists had predicted CPI would come in at 3.6%, or higher than the 3.4% increase in December.

Monthly figures can bounce around, especially when the basket of goods and services the ABS uses get revised, as has just happened for the start of 2024.

That makes for a few quirks to iron out. The Reserve Bank, though, will be weighing up today’s figures when its board next meets on 18-19 March, and what – if anything – the CPI means for interest projections.

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Butler reaches out for opposition support on vaping reform

Back to vaping – a question: when does Butler start to expect to see vaping stores close down?

Mark Butler:

We are aiming to have this enforced on 1 July, but subject to the passage of the legislation through Parliament. We need opposition support.

It has to be a strong message out of the parliament, just as there will be a strong message from our young influencers, that this thing is a serious public health concern.

I call on Peter Dutton to take a constructive view about this. He made encouraging messages when we first announced this, he recognised this is a serious concern, but we haven’t got an indication about their willingness to support our legislation.

Updated

Butler on private health: ‘My overwhelming objective is to get the best deal for consumers’

And of course, some reporter has to immediately ask about those poor private health funds who can’t release the increase to their premiums until the mean old government approves those increases, which it’s not doing yet because it is very meanly asking for more information on why those increases are justified.

Poor, poor private health insurance funds.

Butler:

I am going through a proper process and I’ve gone back to the industry and indicated my expectation that they sharpen the pencil.

This has always been a process for government [that] should have consumers in mind at the front of them in. They are going through a very difficult cost-of-living crisis that swept the world over the last couple of years, and I am not going to do a tick and flick that simply approves the first claims put to the insurance industry.

I saw your story this morning, Sarah, and I say with respect, if there is a row about this, it is a row between the Australian newspaper and the private health insurance industry, which [it must be] said your story was a beat up, complete fiction.

It is not unusual at all for these decisions to be made in the last week of February or the first weeks of March.

In the Howard government that was the custom. The last week of February of the first two weeks of March with a customary time of these decisions to be made, in the Howard government, Rudd government, Gillard government. Susan Ley, when she was health minister, made the decision in March.

I recognise Greg Hunt typically made these decisions earlier than all his predecessors, but it is not unusual for government to really press the private health insurance industry to come up with a better number.

Frankly, to their credit, the private health insurance industry this morning has recognised that is the job of government. This is the usual process we are following. Of course I want to make sure the industry has as much time as possible to communicate the ultimate decision made, but my overwhelming objective is to get the best deal for consumers and I make no apology for that.

Updated

Mark Butler says influencers are ‘the first phase’ of anti-vape campaign

Mark Butler said this is just phase one of the anti-vaping campaign:

This is the first phase. We are partnering with Spotify, with [career advice site] Year13. Those partnerships are already rolling out and there is, in total, $250,000 allocated to partnerships with a number of influencers … They have been selected by a PR agency on the basis of their reach.

We have been keen to make sure we have a diversity of influencers. We have healthy, sporting identities … others in the sporting field.

We have influencers who appealed to a gaming audience, young comedy influencers as well. All of this will be published in the usual way, in the same way we publish details when we advertise through your organisations, but this we are confident is a very good investment by the commonwealth.

We have to get that information to young people and if we get better information to young people we have to use the media they are reading and listening to. We know we are behind the eight ball already.

Updated

Health minister announces anti-vaping social media campaign

Mark Butler has started his press conference on the government changes to vaping regulations, surrounded as Josh has pointed out, by boxes of illegal vapes.

He says the government will be partnering with anti-vaping social media influencers (to the tune of $11m) to try and combat the popularity of vapes with younger people.

Butler:

Tragically, the only cohort in our community where cigarette smoking is on the rise is the youngest members of our community and we must always bear in mind at the end of the day, that was the object of this exercise from the perspective of big tobacco.

The broader community and governments across the world were deceived by big tobacco, have no illusions about that, but the purpose of today’s launch is to recognise young Australians themselves are being overwhelmed with misleading messages and false information every single day from big tobacco. Messages that this is cool, messages [that] this is the healthy alternative for young people.

I am advised Tiktok has 18 billion posts with the hashtag #vaped deliberately designed to promote vaping. I am advised Instagram has 18,000 vaping influences who there promoting messages in support of vaping behaviour.

We need to fight back on this. We have an obligation as government to get better information out to young Australians about the health risks associated with this behaviour and these rights and that is why today I am launching an influencer-led youth vaping campaign ….

Updated

Seems it is a day for stunts. We had the pig suits and now:

Labor’s help to buy bill will pass the House – but will the Greens sink it in the Senate?

The House of Representatives is going through the motions of the help to buy legislation debate (going through the motions because of course government legislation is going to pass the House, where the government has the numbers).

It’s the Senate where the big show is. The Greens are voting against it in the House, but reserving their position in the Senate while they negotiate with the government on changes to other housing policies – like grandfathering negative gearing.

So far, that’s a big NO from the government, but there is some time left in this debate.

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Labor senator speaks regarding constituent concerns over Israel/Palestine

In last night’s Senate adjournment debate, Labor senator Malarndirri McCarthy gave a speech detailing some of the concerns which have been raised by her constituents over any Australian contributions to the situation in Gaza:

Most recently, representations from my constituents have put some difficult questions which I wish to put to the Senate:

Concern about the impact of the pause on part of our financial contribution to alleviate food shortages and starvation in Rafah through the UNRWA; steps Australia can take to increase pressure on those controlling land access to facilitate the transport of aid currently bottlenecked at border crossings into the communities of the Gaza Strip; steps Australia can take to force meaningful negotiations to finalise a sustainable two-state solution that aims to undo the intergenerational aspects of the history of conflict in this part of the Middle East; the potential for graduated economic sanctions against all aggressors not heeding our support for a peaceful future or operating outside of international law; a call to any Australian companies involved in the manufacture of military hardware used in that conflict to cease that support as a humanitarian gesture.

In this regard, I note that Australia as a nation has not supplied weapons to Israel since the current conflict began and for the past five years.

The unknown question of how intelligence gathered by Australians and our allies might be assisting to inform Israeli military action is another point that constituents have put forward.

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What’s an extra day in February worth? About $6bn – to the economy

On the subject of quirks, 2024 as a leap year adds a day to the February quarter.

According to Brendan Rynne, KPMG’s chief economist, the December quarter GDP figures out next Wednesday might see growth close to or actually negative.

With weak momentum in the economy, it’s not out of the question the March quarter might also be close to zero or negative growth. Having the extra day in February - which Rynne says the ABS doesn’t adjust for - should add about $6bn to the quarter’s output.

Two quarters in a row of negative GDP growth would constitute a “technical recession”, which is a bit moot since in per-capita terms GDP has been going backwards since the start of 2023. Still, having an extra day in February might just come in handy later in the year.

Or as Rynne puts it:

This 1.1% kicker to quarterly GDP should be enough to ensure that the March quarter will not fall into negative territory thereby allowing Australia to skirt the possibility [of] falling into a technical recession … We aren’t called the ‘Lucky Country’ for nothing.”

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CPI figures due in this week

We’ll get our first official look at how inflation is tracking in 2024 later this morning when the ABS releases the consumer price index numbers for January.

It’s well-known the monthly CPI figures can be a bit quirky because the ABS doesn’t review the whole basket of goods and services each month. That’s why the quarterly numbers are treated more seriously by the Reserve Bank when it considers if we’re still on the track to its 2%-3% target range (and hence when it can start cutting its key interest rate).

Still, the arrow of direction will be noteworthy. Economists predict the January CPI will be 3.6%, ticking higher for the first time in four months, from December’s 3.4%.

Perhaps wary of a dunking at Saturday’s byelection in Melbourne’s south-eastern seat of Dunkley, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, has circulated prepared comments aimed at calming the horses should we see a rise in inflation.

The defensiveness might be unnecessary. Some goods’ prices are actually getting cheaper (thank China’s weak domestic demand for part of that) so CPI will probably remain around 3.5%. That’s lower than the 4.1% pace for the December quarter, for instance.

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Lidia Thorpe on being prevented from giving speech about first cousin, who died in custody, due to procedural issues

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has explained what happened in the Senate adjournment debate overnight:

Last night in the Senate I had a speech prepared about my first cousin Josh Kerr, who died in custody, and whose coronial inquest finished last week. I was going to read a statement from Josh’s mum, Donnas Kerr, who was watching the proceedings.

There was an agreement around speaking order and speaking time limits, which was not observed by the new acting deputy president.

Two other senators and I asked for clarification about the order change. I wanted to know when and whether I could read my speech. This clarity wasn’t provided, and then the president told me I couldn’t present my speech about my cousin’s death.

I’m speaking with the government to sort this, and make sure the rules are followed and communicated in future. And I’ll be giving that speech about my cousin Josh today – the story of what happened to him needs to be heard.

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In case you missed it yesterday, here is Paul Karp’s take on Scott Morrison’s final speech:

Aside from one passing reference by Morrison to the fact his faith gives him the ability ‘to both forgive but also to be honest about my own failings and shortcomings’ one could easily come away from the hagiography with the conclusion that in Morrison’s view he had no shortcomings at all.

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There have been a couple of questions in recent days (in the parliament and in interviews) on whether or not the government will honour Peta Murphy’s legacy and ban gambling ads.

So far, the answer has been “we are working through it and won’t be rushed” (that is paraphrased, obviously.)

Well, here is our own Henry Belot on how they are working through some of it:

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Woolworths announces price drops amid multiple inquiries into supermarket powers

Lol.

There are six inquiries in various forms and jurisdictions currently underway into supermarket prices and lo and behold Woolworths has just announced:

Woolworths has dropped the price of more than 400 items by an average of 18% to help customers spend less when they shop at the supermarket this あutumn.

How fascinating that all those supply chain issues and forced increase costs (which didn’t impact billion-dollar profits) were suddenly able to be overcome just as an intense political spotlight (in response to intense public rage) was turned on the major supermarket practices.

Deidre. Chambers.

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Some notes on pre-politics jobs from Jason Clare yesterday

Speaking of Jason Clare and jobs before politics, the education minister took a dixer on paid practice yesterday (meaning students in courses where practical work is required as part of the degree – think teaching, nursing etc – would be paid to undertake that work, to stop financial disadvantage from preventing people from being able to complete their degree) and went through some of the jobs MPs had before parliament.

Working at Sizzler helped get me through university. The prime minister worked at Pancakes on the Rocks when he was at university—am I right? (Albanese: Indeed)

The minister for local government [Kristy McBain] worked at Pedro’s Mexican restaurant and the member for Hinkler [Keith Pitt] worked as a paid lifeguard when he was doing his engineering degree at university. I see him nodding.

The minister for aged care [Anika Wells] served tea and coffee with her mum in an aged-care centre when she was studying at university; the minister for skills [Brendan O’Connor]—my bench buddy over there—worked in a petrol station and on an assembly line to get himself through university and the member for Paterson [Meryl Swanson] pulled beers at the Brewery in Newcastle.

A lot of us, all across the chamber, have stories like that. You worked in a butcher shop, didn’t you?

The hansard doesn’t say who that was directed to, but from memory Peter Dutton worked in a butcher shop while in high school (for cash in hand, I believe).

*Just a note following a message from a reader – it is important to note that not only do students have to give up paid work in order to complete their practical components, they also count as subjects, and so have to pay for the free work they are required to complete in order to achieve their degrees.

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Clare says accord at its core is about addressing disadvantage

Clare also revealed the personal reason that he chose to launch the Universities Accord report at the site of a former Fairfield car park.

After I finished Year 10, I got a part-time job collecting shopping trollies in the car park at Fairfield Woolies. That car park isn’t there anymore. Today it’s the site of Western Sydney University’s new Fairfield Connect … it opened on the weekend.

I still remember that 15-year-old kid in that car park. Shoving shopping trollies together and trying not to crash them into parked cars. Back then the percentage of people in Fairfield with a uni degree was about a third of what it was across the rest of the country.

Not much has changed. Today the percentage of people in Fairfield with a uni degree is about half the national average. And that, at its core, is what the accord is about.

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Education minister indicates drive to break down barriers to higher education

The minister underpinned equity in his address, pledging education “can be and should be the great equaliser in an unequal world”, while flagging future integration of VET and universities.

He cautioned that while demand for university places was currently “pretty flat”, it wouldn’t stay that way forever.

The Universities Accord says that in the world that lies ahead, we are going to need a workforce where 80% have a Tafe qualification or a uni degree. That’s no easy task.

He said two barriers needed to be broken down to achieve the target – better integrating vocational and higher education, and improving access to education amongst disadvantaged cohorts.

The accord peels away any misconception that it’s okay if kids from poor families don’t get a crack at uni, they all go to Tafe. 87% of young people from wealthy families have a Tafe or uni qualification. Only 59% of young people from poor families do …

A lot of people I grew up with just felt like university was somewhere else for someone else. That’s why over the next 12 to 18 months we will set up another 34 university hubs in the regions and the suburbs. It’s part of breaking down that invisible barrier.

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Jason Clare flags Universities Accord implementation will be staged over decades

The federal government will wait months before announcing any reforms recommended in the Universities Accord, the education minister has flagged, with a staged approach to legislation.

In his first major address following the release of the final report on Sunday, Jason Clare told a Universities Australia gala dinner on Tuesday night the accord was a “blueprint not for one budget, but for the next few decades”.

Over the coming months the government will work through it in detail and determine what needs to be done first. There is a lot in it … we can’t do everything at once. We have got to stage this. This is a long-term plan, but we have got to start now. And that means prioritising what we think is most important.

Clare acknowledged the target in the accord for 80% of Australians to have a tertiary qualification was set for 2050, the equivalent of eight future elections and beyond the lifespan of many careers.

None of us are here forever. Not even vice chancellors. But we have a chance in the next few years to start the work on something that will outlast us. To plant seeds in a garden we don’t get to see. The O’Kane reforms.

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Greens to introduce bill banning live sheep export

Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi will introduce a bill to the Senate which would legislate an end to live sheep exports.

The government is considering an end to the trade but has made no moves to set a phase out (The Liberal’s Sussan Ley was once a leading advocate to end this trade, entering her own private members bill into the parliament while the Coalition was in government).

The issue received public attention again recently when the Israeli-owned MV Bahijah ship was ordered by government officials on 20 January to return to Western Australia 15 days into a live export voyage. That was because of fears of Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.

The animals remained on board in limbo for more than a month before being ordered into quarantine yards. The exporter is attempting approval to have the animals sent to another middle eastern destination.

Faruqi wants the government to commit to an end date to the live export trade. Her bill, which would need government or Coalition support to pass the Senate and government support to pass the House, would begin phasing out the live export of sheep by sea by 1 May 2026.

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Human Rights Watch says Australia must push Phillipines president on human rights issues

Human Rights Watch wants Australian politicians to raise human rights violations in the Phillipines with president Ferdinand Marcos Jr, who will address the Australian parliament on Thursday.

The group says the deepening relationship between Australia and the Phillipines lays the necessary groundwork for Australia to urge action against the crackdown on human rights defenders:

Marcos’s visit to Australia is an important opportunity for Australia’s leaders to address well-documented human rights abuses in the Philippines.

Ignoring them will only embolden Marcos and the prevailing culture of impunity. The people of the Philippines deserve more than warm words and empty rhetoric when it comes to respecting and upholding their human rights.

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Katter and Wilkie cosplay as pigs to bring attention to supermarket bill (it is working)

Meanwhile, the independent MPs Bob Katter and Andrew Wilkie have wandered through the parliament dressed as giant pigs to represent the supermarket duopoly. The pair want the government to support their bill to reduce the supermarket’s dominance and this is how they raised attention for it.

This year, Bob Katter chalks up half a century in parliament (if you count his time in state alongside his time in federal parliament). Generations of the good people of Kennedy just can not get enough of him, apparently.

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At the same time all of that was happening in the senate, this is what was going on in the Blue Room (the second most fancy government press conference room after the PM’s courtyard):

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Senate session ends in chaos

Eventually the Senate president, Sue Lines, came and took over.

There was more back and forth, as Lidia Thorpe said the rules weren’t properly explained to the senators and Lines ruled that all was in order. Thorpe continued to try and raise a point of order and interjected, which led to Lines ruling she “no longer be heard” (you can’t boot people out of the Senate like you can under the House of Representative’s 94A rule, but you can rule they can not contribute to the debate for a set period of time). That led to this:

Thorpe: Point of order: are you telling me that I can’t be heard? Because I want to know. Is that right? Is that what’s happening?
Lines: Senator Polley [who had been speaking], please resume your seat. Senator Thorpe, I have ordered that you no longer be heard. Please resume your seat.
Thorpe: I’m not going to leave this chamber. I will read now.
Lines: Senator Polley, please continue.
Helen Polley: As I was saying, President, I was about to conclude my remarks on what I think—

(Senator Thorpe interjects by beginning to read her speech)

Lines: Senator Polley, please resume your seat.
Thorpe:

[I will share] her words with you: ‘The last time I saw my son Josh he was in shackles. He’d been let out on prison on leave to attend his Uncle Bruce’s funeral.

‘After the service, as I walked him back to the police van, he stopped to cuddle everyone, and I thought, “Is he going to say goodbye to me or what?” Before he got in the van, he turned to me. “I love you, Mum,” he said. “I love you too, son,” I said. “I’ll see you when you come out.”’

“Yeah, Mum. I’ll come home.” We had the biggest cuddle. Those were our last words. Everybody…

(Labor senator Murray Watt stands up)
Lines: Minister Watt?
Watt: I ask that the Senate now be adjourned.

And that was it. The Senate debate finished on that note.

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Lidia Thorpe accuses Senate chair of being ‘asleep’ amid Senate chaos

Senator Thorpe wasn’t the only one asking what was happening – Liberal senator Maria Kovacic, who had waited over an hour to speak, was also asking for clarification over what was going on. By then, Labor senator Louise Pratt was the acting senate deputy president (they do a bit of musical chairs) and was trying to deal with the previous rulings, senator frustrations, more confusion and rising tensions from all sides.

Because that is what happens when the senate president’s chair swaps over and over – not everything is communicated as well as it should be as the new chair tries to interpret what the previous chair had ruled.

That led to exchanges like this:

Chair: Senators! It is a courtesy to the chamber— Senator Thorpe interjecting— Stop! Stop interjecting, Senator Thorpe, and I will tell you what the rules are.
Thorpe: Wake up, because you’ve been asleep in that chair, and I have a mother who lost a son to your system
Chair: Senator Thorpe, sit down now!

(Senator Thorpe interjects)

Chair: Senator Thorpe, you will come to order.
Thorpe: Wake up! Wake up!
Chair: Senator Thorpe, I’ve been listening intently to the speeches before me –
Thorpe: No, you have not –
Chair: – Senator Polley’s speech on dementia and the speech on concussion, which I note you were taking a deep interest in because of your parliamentary work.

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Senate speaking time confusion causes anger and frustration

Reading through the Hansard and the Senate had an explosive end to its evening. It seems there was some confusion over speaking times in the adjournment debate.

Liberal senator Matt O’Sullivan was acting deputy president and in the chair, but senators were unclear whether 10 minutes had been given for the adjournment speeches (which can be on any topic) or five minutes. There had been a bit of an unusual end to the government business (because the stage three tax cut bill was rushed through) and then a ruling was made when not a lot of senators were in the chamber.

O’Sullivan:

Just to be clear, the next speakers will notice you’ll have 10 minutes on the clock. However, you may consider it courteous to others who have also been waiting a long time to keep to your five minutes. You will see that there are 10 minutes on the clock.

That not only created confusion, it built up a lot of frustration, because senators who thought they would be speaking soon ended up waiting over an hour to deliver their speech, while it soon became clear that others on the speaking list would not get their turn.

Tensions overflowed. Independent senator Lidia Thorpe made it clear what she thought about the confusion, as she was being prevented from delivering her speech on the death of Yorta Yorta and Gunnaikurnai man Joshua Kerr while in remand at Victoria’s Port Phillip prison.

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Football, marriage planning and Auspol: it’s all here, folks

And of course, the Venn diagram of breakfast TV and Australian politics interests is a complete circle at the moment with the NRL season opener. I can’t even begin to summarise this perfect encapsulation of the Australian breakfast TV/Auspol discourse.

Host: PM, just before we let you go, your beloved Rabbitohs are playing in Vegas this weekend up against my beloved Sea Eagles. I wanted to ask you, did you float the idea with Jodie?

Albanese: Shirvo, I didn’t know you were one of them.

Host: I know. Don’t worry. We get booed pretty much anywhere we go. Did you float the idea with Jodie to get over to Vegas and get married at the same time as watching the Bunnies?

Albanese: … Peter V’landys was keen on the idea of a marriage perhaps by an Elvis impersonator at half-time at the Bunnies-Sea Eagles game. But that won’t be happening. But we appreciate the idea. It certainly would be something a little bit different.

Host: With V’landys as your best man, there you go with the Elvis impersonator. I can see this in the Little White Chapel.

Albanese: Look, if you saw Peter at the State Dinner that was held in Washington with President Biden, you would have seen the velour jacket. He has got the outfit all set.

Host: Happy to have a personal wager on the game this weekend as well, PM.

Albanese: Okay. How about a six-pack, Shirvo? That probably doesn’t break any rules, does it?

Host: Down for it. Call you on Monday.

Albanese: Done.

Other host: You’ll have to declare that.

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PM: story that Labor is delaying health fund premium rises until after Dunkley byelection is ‘nonsense’

Over on the Seven network, the prime minister was asked pretty much about the same topics (Seven also included wedding date planning. The PM will sit down with his partner, Jodie Haydon at Easter and the pair will work out a date, if anyone cares about the PM’s private matters.)

It’s not that there is a script that floats around the breakfast TV shows; it’s that they all open up the papers/websites, see what the page one, three and five stories are, and then decide those are the stories of the day and ask about them.

Which is how we have interviewers suddenly deciding private health funds have your best interests at heart and are only concerned that they won’t have enough time to warn you over their coming increases – not that they might be made to justify those increases. Nope, couldn’t be that.

Host: Let’s talk about the byelection in Dunkley over the weekend. First of all, you’re down in the polls. The other big story out today, the nation’s biggest health insurers say you’ve actually delaying an increase in premiums until after the byelection, is that true?

Albanese:

Well, what a nonsense story that is. The nation’s big health insurance companies put out a story to try and say that it should be just tick and flick on health insurance increases.

Well, we haven’t done that. We have done what other governments have done to be fair as well, which is to go back and try to get the best deal possible for consumers. This is a normal time frame, [it] occurs either at the end of February or the beginning of March. That’s what’s going on here.

But we want the best deal for consumers. And we make no apologies for that. The health minister is doing his job.

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PM supports showcasing Australian rugby codes to the world

And of course, because it is Australia, the interview ends with a question on the prime minister’s thoughts on the NRL season starting in Las Vegas.

No, it’s good. Good on them. They’re having a crack. They’re going into a new market, the US market is a terrific one, and rugby league is much more interesting than the game of footy they play! There’s actually more action on the field in 80 minutes than there is in 4.5 hours of watching an NFL game.

So I think it will be attractive and good on Peter V’landys and Andrew Abdo for being prepared to take a risk and have a go here to showcase what is a fantastic game.

AFL, of course, [has taken] games to China in the past. I think that’s a good thing. We have two fantastic codes, the major codes here in Australia, and it’s good that we’re prepared to showcase them to the world.

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Albanese says more to be done on gambling reform in honour of the late Peta Murphy

Anthony Albanese is asked why the government won’t say whether or not it is going to honour Peta Murphy, the late member for Dunkley, and her push for gambling ad reform. This was a question Zoe Daniel asked in the parliament earlier this week.

Albanese gives much the same answer.

Peta Murphy, of course, is someone who was much-loved. She was loved in this building, she was loved by her colleagues, but across the Parliament she was respected, but she was particularly loved by her local community.

She was a strong advocate and she, of course, chose to recruit Jodie Belyea, our candidate, to the Labor party so she would be in a position of being the candidate in this by-election.

We have put in place a range of measures including the BetStop program that’s seen over 10,000 people register, including various restrictions on online gambling that were put in place already. We have a report, we’re saying more will be done. We have given that commitment. We’re consulting stakeholders on that, and I know that this is a big issue for people.

People don’t want to see their footy disrupted by ads on TV in the middle of a game. Now, some restrictions have been changed and affirmed by our government.

We realise there’s more to do. But your listeners as well, if they’re watching commercial TV to watch the AFL or the NRL, they’ll see those changes that have come up with the taglines of ads, we have followed recommendations doing it as is the nature of my government - doing it in a considered, measured, orderly way in order to make sure that there aren’t consequences that hadn’t been thought through and we’ll continue to do that.

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Albanese says Australia will provide support to Ukraine ‘for as long as it takes’

The interview moves on to Ukraine wanting more support from Australia. Albanese:

We gave an announcement just a week ago of an additional $50m in support for the effort in Ukraine. That was a substantial contribution. We are certainly one of the world’s largest non-Nato contributors to the struggle of the Ukrainian people in defence of their national sovereignty, in defence of their democracy, but importantly as well, on behalf of the global community, in support of the international rule of law.

That is the support that we are giving to Ukraine and we’ll continue to provide support for as long as it takes.

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Mark Butler pushing back against health fund increases: Albanese

“Why can’t the health minister (Mark Butler) push back?” the host asks.

Anthony Albanese says he is; that’s why it is taking longer. Mark Butler asked the health funds to resubmit their proposals for increases in December/January because he wants the funds to justify the increases.

Anyone with private health is questioning whether or not to keep it, given the monthly expenses. I made it to the dentist for the first time in five years the other day and as the person in front of me paid their $1,000 bill, they mentioned that previously their health fund had covered 50% of those particular fees (it no longer did). The receptionist said she had noticed more and more people dropping their extras coverage because it wasn’t covering enough to make it worth it.

Albanese says the private health funds are running their own agenda:

What they’re doing is trying to push for an easy decision, a tick and flick. We’re not going to give them a tick and flick. We’re pushing back as appropriate. That’s the health minister’s job and that’s what he’s doing.

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Albanese: ‘We make no apologies for pushing back trying to get the best deal possible for consumers’ re health funds

On private health funds getting towy over waiting to hear from the government about premium increases (health insurers claim it is because the government doesn’t want the cost-of-living backlash before the Dunkley byelection. Mark Butler says it is because he wants the health funds to prove why the increases are necessary. Given the profits of health funds and the premium increases with declining services, you be the judge):

Albanese:

Well, we make no apologies for pushing back against these health funds. The health funds have got a story out there in their interests. That’s what they do. And I reckon people will see through it pretty clearly.

We make no apologies for pushing back trying to get the best deal possible for consumers. That’s what Mark Butler is doing. It’s nothing unusual at all about the time frame, which is late February to early March, [Liberal] Sussan Ley, when she was the health minister, made a decision later than where we are today. And there’s nothing unusual about this at all.

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Albanese: tax cut changes ‘not an easy decision’ but ‘the right decision’

On the “broken promise” of changing the stage-three tax cuts (the latest Guardian Essential poll had Albanese falling in the trust stakes) the prime minister said:

We made not an easy decision. We made the right decision for all the right reasons. We know that families are under cost of living pressure.

The idea that we could sit back and ignore the clear recommendations that this was the best way that we could have an impact on providing that assistance to middle Australia without putting upward pressure on inflation – we couldn’t ignore that.

We have a responsibility to do the right thing, and that’s precisely what we have done.

And the fact is - the Liberals, of course, said that they’d oppose it. Then they said that they’d roll it back. Then they said we should take it to an election. Then, they ended up voting for it.

So they changed their position as well. Well, they can change the way that they vote, but they can’t change their values, which is why this morning, Senator [Jane] Hume has been out there saying that they’d start again with their tax proposals.

We’ll wait and see what it is that they come up with. But this is a much fairer proposal and it was unanimously endorsed by the Senate last night.

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Anthony Albanese’s breakfast TV blitz has hit the ABC. He begins by speaking about the deaths of Jessie Baird and Luke Davies:

This is just a terrible incident that’s occurred here. The loss of the two young men and I feel for the grieving of the family, the friends. They obviously were full of life, because so many people interacted with them. It’s a really tough day for, as well, the queer community, and it’s been a very difficult time.

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President of the Phillipines to address Lowy Institute today

The president of the Phillipines, Ferdinand R Marcos Jr, will address the Lowy Institute today, ahead of his address to the parliament on Thursday.

Australia is about to officially “upgrade” its relationship with the Phillipines to a “strategic partnership” which is just a fancy way of saying “both nations are concerned over security in the region and we are going to work together a bit to try and allay our concerns”.

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Jewish Council of Australia requests investigation into how Palestinian visa details leaked for safety reasons

The newly formed Jewish Council of Australia wants the government to investigate how a list of Palestinian people who had obtained visas for Australia had their private details provided to Sky News.

The News Corp broadcaster ran a story naming a Palestinian man who had been given a visa and said it had obtained 500 names of Palestinians who had been approved for a visa (only 80 or so have been able to leave Gaza and travel to Australia).

The council released a statement saying it was concerned for the safety of those who had their identities leaked and wants the government to investigate how it happened.

Public policy and politics expert and executive officer of the Jewish Council, Dr Elizabeth Strakosch, said the council also rejected claims accepting Palestinians “fleeing unprecedented violence is in any way a threat to the safety of Jewish people”:

Many of us have deep relationships with Palestinian people based on mutual trust and respect. Any suggestion that Palestinians arriving from Gaza are a threat to Jews is outrageous.

We are concerned about the racist language used by some Jewish community organisations in describing Palestinian refugees arriving in Australia. They rely on racist tropes of Palestinian people as dangerous and full of hatred. It is unacceptable to use racist and dehumanising language to argue against providing safety to those fleeing overwhelming violence.

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Amy’s analysis: what’s at stake in Dunkley for Albanese and Dutton?

Continuing on from his late night press conference, Anthony Albanese is doing a blitz of breakfast TV.

He has also spent the last couple of afternoons doing interviews with Melbourne media. The Dunkley byelection is on Saturday, and the Advance ground campaign is having an impact, sending Labor into overdrive to try and keep the seat.

Before the late Peta Murphy won it, it was not a natural fit for Labor. Murphy kept it with personal appeal in the electorate. But with a new candidate and a cost of living crisis – plus the usual swing against governments in byelections (the Aston byelection being an anomaly) – Peter Dutton could be about to get a new party room member.

Albanese not only wants to retain the seat for all the usual reasons; he also wants to keep the momentum the government got back in the new year (after a slump following the voice campaign and referendum) going.

Dutton, meanwhile, wants to cement in his party’s minds he could win a general election.

So both have a bit riding on this one.

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Good morning

Happy hump day to those who still believe time has meaning.

Thank you to Martin Farrer for starting the blog off this morning. You have Amy Remeikis with you for the parliamentary day now.

I hope you are taking care if you’re in the fire zone in Victoria – we are thinking of you on what must be a terrifying day.

In the parliament, it’s all about the Dunkley byelection. You can tell that the internal polls are telling both parties it’s close by just how ridiculous it is all getting: the Coalition are focussed on fuel efficiency standards ending Australia’s love affair with the current five-most popular cars (which apparently Australians are going to love forever and never want to change), while for the government it’s all about tax cuts.

As our Josh Butler said a little earlier, Anthony Albanese was SO keen to talk tax cuts he called a 8.30pm press conference – a time usually reserved for sudden events. After a small freak out, it was quickly confirmed it was over the tax cut legislation passing the Senate, which it was always going to do because the Coalition, after a pretty epic bitch-and-fold, supported them.

Such is the environment we find ourselves in.

You’ve got Paul Karp, Daniel Hurst, Sarah Basford Canales and Josh Butler to help you make sense of it all and Mike Bowers to take you there.

Ready? I’m on to my second coffee. Not sure there’s enough today.

Let’s get into it.

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Victorians warned to evacuate as bushfire worsens

Victorians under threat from bushfires are facing their last chance to leave as catastrophic conditions descend on the state’s west, Australian Associated Press reports.

The Bayindeen bushfire, north-west of Ballarat, is still raging this morning and authorities released a map showing the fire could rip through areas including Beaufort, Elmhurst, Amphitheatre, Lexton, Learmonth and Clunes.

Forecast temperatures in the high 30s and wind gusts of up to 80kmh in the area were expected to fan the flames.

The fire had burned through more than 21,300 hectares as of Tuesday.

Residents were warned to get out by this morning, while those in regions with extreme fire danger were also told to flee.

The areas with an extreme fire danger rating on Wednesday were the Mallee, Northern Country, North Central, Central and South West regions.

Mildura was set to reach 44C and other areas were also expected to creep into the 40Cs before a cool change approached central parts of Victoria after 8pm.

Residents fleeing danger zones were urged to go to built-up areas such as Ballarat, Ararat and Maryborough.

And while we’re still on the subject of voting intentions, we have a piece today looking at the shifting sands of voter behaviour as Labor and the Coalition brace themselves for a test of their popularity in the Dunkley byelection this weekend.

Intifar Chowdhury, a youth researcher and a lecturer in government at Flinders University, has crunched the numbers from the last five federal elections and finds that younger voters especially are less likely to vote according to party allegiance.

Policies are now the number one driver at 56.3% compared with 22.4% for party loyalty. Bad news for Messrs Albanese and Dutton, but good news for the Greens and the teals.

Read the full article here:

Albanese attacks Coalition for not embracing tax cuts

Prime minister Anthony Albanese has used a late night press conference to blast the Coalition again for not full-throatedly backing Labor’s tax cut changes, claiming the opposition would “never stand up for low and middle income earners”.

Labor’s revamped stage three tax cuts passed through the Senate overnight, and will come into effect from 1 July for all taxpayers. They will see a greater benefit flow to those on lower and middle incomes than the Coalition-legislated original plan would have.

Just days out from the crucial Dunkley by-election, the government has painted the changes as cost of living relief, a point Albanese was keen to hammer home at a press conference called for 8.30pm last night.

It was a time he conceded was “unusual”, after most journalists in Parliament House had gone home for the evening, long past the 6pm TV news bulletins and newspaper print deadlines had passed.

To a room of only four journalists gathered to ask questions (including your correspondent), Albanese praised the passage of his government’s tax plan. He claimed there was a “great divide in Australian politics” between the government and opposition, alleging “Peter Dutton wants people to work longer for less”.

Albanese and finance minister Katy Gallagher rolled out their usual stump speeches on how all taxpayers would benefit, and that most would get a higher benefit than before.

The lines they chose to front-load at the beginning of their remarks were of most interest – Albanese quickly moved to attack the Coalition’s shifting positions on the tax cuts, while Gallagher called it “a great result for Australian women”, on the same day the gender pay gap figures were released.

Asked about Saturday’s Dunkley election, Albanese responded “we wanted every single taxpayer in Dunkley to get a tax cut”, before quickly moving to criticise Dutton again.

“But by-elections are always tough, so we’ll wait and see what happens,” he went on.

“I expect that in by-elections there’s normally swings away from the government.”

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the day in Canberra and beyond. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be bringing you the best overnight stories before Amy Remeikis takes over.

Muslims across Australia are preparing to observe Ramadan from next Sunday but some community leaders have backed out of the traditional state premiers’ dinners in protest against government responses to the Israel-Gaza war. Two peak Muslim bodies rejected invitations to iftar dinners hosted by the premiers of New South Wales and Victoria, reflecting broader community frustration.

Inflation data for January will be released later this morning that could give a hint about the next move in interest rates. The December rate was 3.4% (well down from 4.3% in November) but January’s is expected by a consensus of forecasters to be 3.6%, which means the Reserve Bank might not feel it can begin cutting rates.

Anthony Albanese’s government will be hoping for better news as it campaigns hard to win the Dunkley byelection on Saturday, where cost of living is one of the main stump issues. Last night the prime minister held a press conference at the unusual time of 8.30pm to hail the passing of Labor’s tax cut changes – a move he hopes will garner votes and boost his party’s popularity. More details coming up.

More than 30,000 Victorians have been urged to leave their homes before what authorities fear could be the worst fire day for the state in four years, with temperatures forecast to reach the mid 40s in some areas today. More coming up.

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