What we learnt today, Tuesday 8 August
Thanks for joining us on the liveblog today – that’s where we’ll leave our rolling coverage.
Here is what made headlines today:
Doctors and parents from the Northern Territory rallied outside parliament and urged the government to drop its $1.5bn funding of the Middle Arm gas and industrial hub in Darwin amid health concerns for children and local communities. The protest is being supported by crossbench MPs and the Greens will be attempting to get an inquiry into the federal funding.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, defended the projects during question time, arguing the federal investment is needed “to develop clean energy industries to get to net zero” and dismissing health concerns.
Western Australia’s premier, Roger Cook, confirmed his government’s decision to overhaul cultural heritage laws introduced just over a month ago, saying they “went too far”.
Jumping on this decision, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, argued WA’s law could be “undone”, unlike a prospective Indigenous voice in the constitution which would be “permanent” and could have “unintended consequences”.
This comes as new polling revealed more Australians are planning to vote no in the referendum than yes – a first for Guardian’s Essential poll.
Albanese fielded numerous questions on the voice during parliamentary question time. Liberal MP Colin Boyce asked about claims the Uluru statement from the heart is “actually 26 pages long”, which Albanese shot down as a “conspiracy, [a] QAnon of a theory”.
The black box from the Taipan helicopter crash has been recovered from the wreckage site, Defence announced.
The government will reinstate the term “Occupied Palestinian Territories”. The Liberal MP Julian Leeser argued the “hard left” of Labor is responsible for this decision and that Albanese is “a weak prime minister” for being “unable to stare down [his] own people”.
The government will set up a new parliamentary committee to oversee defence issues but won’t reform the law to give parliament a binding vote on joining armed conflicts. The Greens senator Jordan Steele-John argued that “no other democracy in the world has an executive government that holds such unilateral power to send troops to war”.
The government today published the first update to its international development policy in 10 years.
The Reserve Bank noted that Australian investment in clean energy will need to triple from current levels by 2030 and keep rising after that to reach net zero emissions goals.
And the numbers are in – the sensational 2-0 win by the Matildas in the Fifa Women’s World Cup has drawn spectacular TV ratings, becoming the biggest audience of 2023 so far and eclipsing State of Origin I’s 1.98m metro.
Have a lovely evening and as always, we will see you back here tomorrow morning.
Updated
Climate activists push to legislate climate change duty of care for government
Teenage climate activist Anjali Sharma is continuing to push for the government to legislate a duty of care to young people to protect them from the impacts of climate change.
This comes as doctors and parents today protested at parliament over the government’s $1.5bn investment in the Middle Arm gas and industrial hub in Darwin.
Weighing in on the Middle Arm project, Sharma said on Twitter:
The Labor government has a duty of care to young people to protect us from the climate crisis. With every decision it makes, it seems to colossally fail to uphold this duty.
She wrote, “Is the future of young people just collateral damage in this government’s pursuit of profit” and argued if there was a legislated duty of care, the decision to fund Middle Arm “would likely be a lot harder to make”.
if the government had a legislated duty of care to young people to protect us from the impacts of climate change. this decision would likely be a lot harder to make. they’re lucky that they don’t - but our fight has just begun. sign the petition https://t.co/wWYmNbQ8Tu
— anjali sharma (@anjsharmaaa) August 8, 2023
Sharma was a high school student when she led a federal court case against the government for failing to consider the impacts of climate change. The proposed duty of care bill, introduced by the independent senator David Pocock, builds on this case.
Updated
Geoscience Australia has confirmed that reports of shaking in Melbourne early this morning are not related to a seismic event, and are likely associated with space debris re-entry:
After further analysis, Geoscience Australia can confirm that the shaking reports received from the Melbourne area at around 12:00am (AEST) 8/8/23, are not related to a seismic event. This is likely associated to space debris re-entry as determined by The Australian Space Agency. https://t.co/PziQ42pJS1
— EarthquakesGA (@EarthquakesGA) August 8, 2023
You can read more about that from my colleague Rafqa Touma here:
Out-of-control bushfire threatens lives near Darwin
People in the Darwin River area have been warned to take action as an out-of-control bushfire rages in extreme weather conditions, AAP reports.
Emergency services have advised residents to evacuate the area if it’s safe to do so or find shelter indoors immediately.
The fire is burning about 60km south of Darwin on Leonino Road in the city’s bushy outskirts.
A Bushfires NT emergency warning issued about 3pm ACST on Tuesday said:
A fire which is spreading on one or more fronts.
Effective containment strategies are not in place for the entire perimeter.
The risk of loss of life or threat to properties is almost certain or has occurred.
What a day of news – if you’re after a recap of all the biggest headlines, Jordyn Beazley has you covered:
Andrew Wilkie says Gonski education reforms ‘failing by design’
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has urged Labor to listen to teachers’ calls to fully fund schools within the next five years.
It comes off the back of an Australian Education Union campaign for all public schools to reach their minimum schooling resource standard (SRS) by 2028 – the funding level governments have agreed is the minimum required to meet the needs of every student since the 2011 Gonski reforms.
Speaking to parliament this afternoon, Wilkie said student outcomes were continuing to decline and “wealth based inequality and segregation in our education system [was] only getting worse”:
In 2023, almost all public schools across the country are still funded below the SRS. The Gonski reforms are failing and failing by design because the current agreements between the commonwealth and state governments for public school funding in effect guarantee that most schools will never be fully funded.
At Wilkie’s request, the parliamentary budget office investigated one option to address underfunding which would lift the federal government’s share of funding of public schools to 25% of the SRS by 2028, at a cost of around $9bn.
Wilkie said “for context”, the stage three tax cuts are estimated to cost $20.4bn in their first year alone.
A relatively modest investment would go a hell of a long way towards ensuring that every child has what they need to succeed at school.
Updated
Meanwhile, the opposition has welcomed the government’s decision to establish a joint statutory defence committee as recommended by the War Powers inquiry.
In a statement, shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie said he wrote to the defence minister last year with this request and is pleased the government is progressing with the proposal.
The Coalition offers bipartisan support on matters of defence and national security and awaits a briefing from the government on their proposal and consultation on the required legislation.
Greens call for decisions to go to war to be up for vote in parliament
The Greens senator Jordon Steele-John has released a statement on the government’s response to the War Powers inquiry, arguing that the decision to go to war should be a vote of the Australian parliament.
As Daniel Hurst reported earlier, the government has promised to set up a new parliamentary committee to oversee defence issues.
However, the government will not reform the law to give parliament a binding vote on joining armed conflicts.
Steele-John said the government’s response to the inquiry shows it is “refusing to take meaningful reform of Australia’s archaic and unaccountable process for going to war.”
No other democracy in the world has an executive government that holds such unilateral power to send troops to war.
We have seen over and over that these unaccountable powers result in real human disaster. Hundreds of thousands have died, millions have been displaced and to this day ADF personnel are deployed to overseas conflicts that were never debated, voted on or even scrutinised.
Steele-John argued the proposed changes leave Australia “vulnerable to the whims of the United States”:
The decision to go to war should be a vote of the Australian parliament.
When Australians get dragged into the next war the Australian Labor party should spare us their feigned outrage because the truth is they had the opportunity to stop it and didn’t. The blood will be on their hands.
Updated
The deputy leader of the Greens, Mehreen Faruqi, has just shared a photo on social media from her meeting with doctors and parents, who are protesting the Middle Arm project:
It was fantastic to meet with health professionals and @parents_action, who are in parliament to raise the alarm on climate pollution and the severe health impacts of the #MiddleArm project. #DoNoHarmStopMiddleArm pic.twitter.com/RXIIdaMu70
— Mehreen Faruqi (@MehreenFaruqi) August 8, 2023
Updated
Former PwC boss cannot recall ATO suggesting he review internal emails about tax division
Former PwC Australia chief executive Luke Sayers has said he cannot recall the ATO ever suggesting he read internal emails about the firm’s tax division, which was involved in a breach of confidentiality.
An ATO timeline, which has been provided to a Senate committee, reveals that in August 2016 the ATO’s second commissioner, Jeremy Hirschhorn, directly raised his concerns with Sayers about allegations the firm was helping clients avoid multinational tax laws.
At another meeting two years later, it is alleged, Hirschhorn suggested Sayers “personally review the internal emails” that revealed how confidential tax policy information was shared within the firm.
In a statement, Sayers said he was hesitant to comment on the PwC scandal given multiple ongoing inquiries, but wanted to address the allegations made in the ATO timeline.
I and other representatives of PwC met with the ATO to discuss a number of issues relating to aggressive tax practices, promoter penalties, and claims of legal professional privilege on behalf of clients of PwC.
I was involved in and oversaw a number of steps as a result of those discussions, seeking to address the ATO’s concerns.
I did not personally review the tens of thousands of documents and emails which PwC provided to the ATO as part of these processes, nor do I recall that being suggested to me by the ATO.
I was working through a number of issues with the ATO, but a breach of a confidentiality agreement was not one of them. I was not aware of the existence of a confidentiality agreement signed by Peter Collins until I read about it in the media this year. I regret that I did not know about the breach of it earlier as I would have taken firm action.
As the CEO when this occurred, I take this extremely seriously and understand that there are questions about this matter. I am available to participate as required in the reviews and processes underway.
Updated
Hanson-Young: lack of inquiry into Middle Arm development would be a ‘broken promise’ by Labor
The Greens environment spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young has made a statement ahead of a senate debate on a Greens motion for an inquiry into the proposed Middle Arm development and the government’s $1.5bn in financial backing. The motion is expected to be debated tonight.
Hanson-Young says Australians voted for climate and integrity not more gas and fossil fuel subsidies:
This is $1.5b of taxpayer money which will expand gas and fracking, help open up the Beetaloo [Basin] and cook the climate. It should be scrutinised at the very least, as promised by Labor.
Even putting the climate concerns aside, blowing $1.5b of taxpayer money without basic accountability smacks of fiscal recklessness from a government which says it can’t afford to lift people out of poverty.
Recommendation two from the Beetaloo report requires an inquiry into Middle Arm and Labor backed those recommendations. This will be a broken promise if Labor backflips.
People voted out the Liberals’ and their gas-fired recovery, but Labor is continuing on with attempts to massively expand our gas industry.
Updated
Monique Ryan: ‘Middle Arm is a fossil fuel project’
Meanwhile, the independent MP Monique Ryan has responded to comments the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, made today on the Middle Arm project near the Beetaloo Basin.
During question time Albanese defended the government’s $1.5bn investment in the project, arguing it is needed “to develop clean energy industries to get to net zero” and dismissing health concerns. In a statement, Ryan said:
The equation is simple: Middle Arm is required to frack the Beetaloo Basin, and fracking the Beetaloo Basin would mean 1.4bn tonnes more carbon in the atmosphere. Middle Arm is a fossil fuel project.
The scientists – and now the doctors – have made it clear we cannot approve any new coal or gas projects if we are to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees celsius.
I urge the federal government to listen to the scientists and doctors and withdraw its $1.5bn in funding from Middle Arm.
Updated
Greens to again call for Senate inquiry into Middle Arm development
The Greens will also make another attempt to pass a motion for a Senate inquiry into the Middle Arm development, including the process that led to the decision to support it with $1.5bn in taxpayer funding.
The government previously supported the inquiry via the recommendations made by an earlier inquiry into gas developments in the Beetaloo basin.
In question time in the Senate, the Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi asked why the Albanese government was providing the “handout” while “knowing without doubt you are enabling the expansion of gas while the planet boils”.
The government’s leader in the Senate, Penny Wong, said:
We actually think infrastructure that will develop clean industries as well as enabling Australia’s gas industry is part of the transition so we don’t have the same view that the Greens do.
The Greens senator Dorinda Cox will also introduce a bill to amend Australia’s offshore petroleum regulations to set standards for consultation with traditional owners and ensure intangible and underwater cultural heritage are factored into environmental assessments by petroleum companies. It comes after Tiwi people won a landmark federal court case last year to overturn Santos’ drilling permit for its Barossa gas project.
Updated
Doctors meets MPs in Canberra over concerns of fossil fuel expansion and impact on health
The delegation of doctors, as well as concerned parents from the Northern Territory, have been meeting with MPs in Canberra today.
A request was sent to all 227 members and senators and 49 meetings were scheduled, including with NT senator Malarndirri McCarthy.
This morning I hosted the Australian Parents 4 Climate Action and paediatricians in Parliament to speak about their concerns around climate change & health.
— Malarndirri McCarthy (@Malarndirri19) August 8, 2023
It’s important to listen to concerns that many have, particularly around extreme heat, livability & the impacts on health. pic.twitter.com/g0LXSLkD20
Kirsty Howey, the executive director of the Environment Centre of the Northern Territory said: “This week marks a turning point, as the campaign to stop mass fossil fuel expansion in the Northern Territory becomes a national fight.”
Updated
David Pocock says Labor has adopted Coalition’s ‘gas-led recovery’ in subsidising Middle Arm
The independent senator David Pocock has accused the Albanese government of adopting the Coalition’s “gas-led recovery” and doing the bare minimum on the climate crisis.
As we brought you earlier, doctors are protesting in Canberra and urging the government to drop $1.5bn pledged support for the Middle Arm gas and industrial hub in Darwin.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, used question time to dismiss concerns about the project, saying although one of the potential tenants for the site “is associated with fossil fuels”, the others announced so far were focused on hydrogen, critical minerals and solar.
More than 2,000 health professionals signed a letter to Albanese demanding the government reconsider subsidising the Middle Arm project and “intervene to prevent gas fracking in the Beetaloo Basin, acknowledging that the emissions cannot be fully offset”.
Parliament House lawns with Drs, Larrakia, Tiwi Islanders, parents from NT & others calling on the @AlboMP Govt to withdraw their $1.5B for Middle Arm.
— David Pocock (@DavidPocock) August 8, 2023
The health & climate impacts on future generations are not worth it. pic.twitter.com/BhgZU0P3wd
Pocock told a press conference at parliament the government’s support for the Middle Arm industrial precinct was “negligence” because proposed processing of gas at the site would harm the health of communities and the climate. About 100 doctors are in Canberra and have requested to meet with the prime minister.
Pocock said:
We have a government that got elected on the promise of climate action, we’ve seen them do the bare minimum.
We hear from them that they accept the science but they won’t listen to scientists. They won’t listen to experts. We have over 100 doctors here today expressing their concern about Middle Arm.
Updated
Leeser says he respects Coalition colleagues’ ‘different decision’ on voice
Leeser, who quit the Liberal frontbench over his support of the Indigenous voice to parliament, said he is comfortable with the tone of the debate during question time surrounding the issue:
I think we are having a debate and debates are robust, and people are right to test arguments both for and against a proposition.
When asked if he attempts to counsel his Coalition colleagues who are in the no camp, Leeser said:
I respect that my colleagues have made a different decision to me … My focus is [on] getting out there [and] talking to people who are undecided – which, I think large numbers of Australians haven’t thought about this – and tell them about the importance [of this].
… Doing the same old is really not an option any more. I think we should take this great opportunity we have to get structural change, to approach Aboriginal affairs in a different way.
Updated
Leeser labels Albanese ‘a weak prime minister’ over Israel/Palestine decision
Julian Leeser argues that prime minister Anthony Albanese is “losing control of the highest decision-making body in the Labor party … the national conference” in making this decision.
I think this sends a bad message, not just to Israel, but to any of our allies around the world: that Australian foreign policy is subject, while this government is in power, to the whim of the faction bosses within the Labor movement who are controlling a national conference.
This is about a weak prime minister, a weak foreign minister, unable to stare down their own people.
Q: These settlements that are at the centre of this debate, and have been historically, do you accept in international law they are justifiably called illegal? That’s the position the Australian government adopts in this.
Leeser:
I don’t accept that.
Updated
Leeser says ‘hard left’ of Labor responsible for reinstatement of ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories’ terminology
The Liberal MP Julian Leeser is next up on Afternoon Briefing, where he is asked about the government’s decision to reinstate the term “Occupied Palestinian Territories”, reversing the Coalition stance.
A person of strong Jewish faith, Leeser is asked whether this decision implies any diminution of support for Israel as a state.
Leeser argues this decision has been made in the context of the upcoming Labor party national conference next week, which is “being controlled by the hard left and trade union movements, and the Jeremy Corbyn faction who doesn’t even want to recognise the right of the state of Israel to exist”.
The Labor party has had a problem with the hard left at this conference. They had two foreign policy matters which [the hard left has] attacked. Firstly Aukus, and secondly the state of Israel.
What they have done is torn down one of those foreign policy pillars, which is support for the state of Israel, to preserve the other.
Updated
Many thanks to Amy for taking us through the day. I’ll be with you for the next little while on the blog.
On that note, I will hand the blog over to Emily Wind, who will take you through the evening.
Thank you to everyone who followed along with the parliamentary day – Politics Live will be back early tomorrow morning for the Wednesday sitting day, which already looks like it will be a rowdy one.
I’ll be back with you soon – until then, check back on the site and on the blog to see what is happening. And, as always – take care of you.
Updated
People of Scott Morrison’s electorate deserve more from their MP, says Ryan
And on the issue of the member for Cook, the former prime minister Scott Morrison, Monique Ryan is asked whether she believes it is time for him to leave the parliament and says:
I think the people of Cook probably deserved more from their local member. He has been absent, essentially, from parliament, during the time I have been here.
He has only spoken about his interests and things he has been accused of. If I were a constituent of Cook I think I would feel a bit shortchanged at this point in time.
Updated
‘Kids and grandchildren will pay the price’ for impact of Middle Arm: Ryan
Monique Ryan also rejects the NT chief minister’s claim in her national press club address last week about criticisms coming from “southern trolls”. She said she listens to doctors and is supporting the cause because of what she has learnt:
I am completely refuting allegations of resentment or opposition. I’m just concerned about the impact of this on our kids. The reality is the jobs development by this would be minor. The estimation from Appea was originally 4,000 but has come down to several hundred.
We will be giving windfall profits to overseas companies. The Northern Territory and the kids and grandchildren will pay the price for the climate change that will result from the intervention.
Updated
Middle Arm contamination could affect all aquifers supplying Darwin, Monique Ryan says
Independent Kooyong MP, Dr Monique Ryan, is speaking to the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing about why she is supporting the health professionals who have asked the government to reverse the decision to provide $1.5bn in federal funding to the Middle Arm precinct.
Ryan says the government cannot guarantee the precinct will be emissions neutral and the health impact is a real issue:
Carbon capture and storage is an unproven technology which has never been shown to work at scale. And the Northern Territory government is saying ‘we can do carbon capture and storage, it will be fine’.
… We’re talking about between 20 and 30,000 drills going down into the Beetaloo Basin. The water of the Northern Territory flows from the south to the north, so this will potentially contaminate all of the aquifers that supply Darwin.
The health impact is potentially very frightening.
Updated
Speaking of WA, Anthony Albanese and the WA Labor caucus members will be attending the Showcase WA event in the parliament in about an hour – the prime minister will give a speech.
Chances are, the heritage laws won’t be mentioned.
Updated
Indigenous land administrators slam WA government’s move to overhaul cultural heritage laws
The Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura Aboriginal Corporation (PKKP) says the Cook WA government’s plans to repeal the Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021 “demonstrates that First Nations people and their cultural are its lowest priority”.
In a statement, PKKP land and heritage manager Dr Jordan Ralph says “reverting to the culturally inappropriate 1972 legislation is among the worst decisions for Aboriginal cultural heritage protection this country has seen”.
The PKKP are outraged that they, and Traditional Owners in Western Australia are back to square one, and the Cook Government is reverting to laws that allowed to destruction of Juukan Gorge.
The safeguards that were supposed to be provided by the 2021 legislation have now been taken away and we will revert back to an outdated definition of Aboriginal cultural heritage and an approvals process that benefits industry over our Country.
Ralph said the return of the section 18 process “is a disgrace and PKKP has lost faith that the State’s lawmakers can provide adequate protections for culturally significant places in Western Australia”.
Our focus has been developing co-management agreements with mining companies to ensure there is clear communication and a joint responsibility for protecting our cultural heritage, and we were promised that would be backed up by protection under the law.
The PKKP has written to the minister for Aboriginal affairs, Tony Buti, demanding clarification on a range of issues that will need to be addressed following the Cook government’s change of heart.
This is nothing short of a cluster and again, First Nations people are being treated as second class citizens in their own Country.
Updated
Lidia Thorpe puts forward demands for housing bill including standalone plan for First Peoples
It is not just the Greens that Labor needs to win over to get its housing Australia future fund through the Senate – the independent senator Lidia Thorpe has her own list of what she would like to see included as part of the housing package, including:
Minimum targets in the Haff and other housing initiatives so that a minimum of 10% of new housing supply houses First Peoples.
An allocation of 50% of any additional returns from the fund above the $500m floor for acute housing needs for First Peoples, victims of family and domestic violence and veterans.
Development of a standalone First Peoples housing and homelessness plan, with a funding commitment for consultation and development alongside the national housing and homeless plan.
Coordination of rent controls and the expansion of culturally safe tenancy support programs in every state and territory to support renters and reduce the high rates of evictions for First Peoples, which should be coordinated with the states and territories.
Updated
Black box of Taipan helicopter crash recovered from wreckage site
Defence has released a statement on the recovery operation of the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter which impacted waters near Lindeman Island on 28 July 2023.
The recovery remains a complicated and difficult operation.
On Monday 7 August, a Royal Australian Navy dive team recovered the Voice and Flight Data Recorder (VFDR), also known as the “black box”, from the wreckage.
Army is continuing to support the families of the aircrew – Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs.
Defence’s priority remains the recovery of our soldiers and returning them to their families. Defence remains in close contact with the families and is updating them on the operation as new details become available.
The Queensland Coroner has released the recovered wreckage, including the VFDR, to Defence to support the Defence Flight Safety Bureau investigation into the accident.
Defence appreciates the support of the public in understanding the need to withhold some details of the ongoing recovery out of respect for the families and the impacted Defence community.
Updated
Stuart Robert met with Infosys 11 times during government bid process
A parliamentary inquiry submission has revealed a software giant met with former Liberal MP Stuart Robert a number of times while in the middle of bidding for a lucrative government contract.
Infosys detailed its 11 meetings with Robert between September 2018 and February 2022, including four meetings during the period it was bidding for a multi-million dollar contract to transform Australia’s social welfare program.
The tech provider said the meetings with Robert were unrelated to the IT project, known as the Entitlement Calculation Engine, and were instead for other reasons, such as listening to the minister’s “vision for the digital transformation of Australia”.
Infosys was awarded the contract in November 2019 for $18.4m but the program ended up costing around $191m in total before it was put to rest by government services minister Bill Shorten in July.
Details of the other meetings have been outlined in the submission to the public accounts and audit committee on Tuesday.
Robert and employees of consulting lobby group Synergy 360, which was contracted by Infosys, have denied any allegations of potential misconduct in their statements to the committee.
A former employee had alleged in June the firm arranged for Robert to financially benefit for his role in helping their clients win government contracts - a claim Robert has rejected “in the strongest possible terms”.
Updated
Penny Wong confirms Australia’s strengthened stance against Israeli settlements in West Bank
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, confirmed to the Senate that the Australian government “is strengthening its opposition to [Israeli] settlements by affirming they are illegal under international law and a significant obstacle to peace”.
Hours after flagging the stance at a Labor caucus meeting, Wong responded to a question from the Coalition in Senate question time:
Australia … will be returning to the term Occupied Palestinian Territories and the point I’d make to the senator is that is consistent with UN Security Council resolutions, it is consistent with the approach taken by key partners including the United Kingdom, New Zealand and the European Union. So this is a term which has been used including on past occasions by past foreign ministers and past governments.
Wong said the term was “consistent with much of the nomenclature that is used within the UN context”. She said:
In adopting the term we are clarifying that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and Gaza, were occupied by Israel following the 1967 war and that the occupation continues and reaffirms our commitment to negotiate a two-state solution in which Israel and a future Palestinian state coexist.
We’ll have a story on this soon.
Updated
Independent MP calls for school funding to be fully met as 98% of public schools miss threshold, union says
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie will address parliament this afternoon urging the federal government to listen to teachers’ calls to fully fund schools within the next five years.
It comes off the back of an Australian Education Union campaign for all public schools to reach their minimum schooling resource standard (SRS) by 2028, first laid out in the Gonski reforms of 2011. It set a funding level all governments have agreed is the minimum required to meet the needs of every student, set at $13,060 for primary students and $16,413 for secondary students.
Currently, around 98% of public schools are underfunded, the union says, while private schools remain overfunded. The ACT is the only state or territory to have reached the SRS for its public schools.
Wilkie:
Education is critical to the future success of every child, and of Australian society more broadly. But this future is under threat, with school quality and student outcomes continuing to decline, and wealth-based inequality and segregation in our education system only getting worse.
At Wilkie’s request, the parliamentary budget office investigated one option to address underfunding which would lift the Commonwealth government’s share of funding of public schools to 25% of the SRS by 2028, at a cost of around $9bn.
Updated
Nationals leader links WA cultural heritage law changes to Indigenous voice
David Littleproud is holding a press conference on the backflip of the WA government over its cultural heritage laws and is linking it to the voice:
There are many questions that are still left unanswered by the federal government. The Western Australian government has at least had the courage of their conviction and understand that they got it wrong and have looked the people in the eye and said we will amend it. We need that certainty from the federal government from the Albanese government, that there will be no no laws that will require cultural surveys or freehold land by farmers or households out there, and that we can move forward with certainty. Otherwise this government will continue to create the uncertainty that Western Australians have just experienced.
The voice doesn’t have the power to make laws. And there has been no suggestion that the Albanese government is proposing laws in any way which were similar to what WA is reworking.
Updated
New oversight committee for defence issues including war powers announced
The federal government has promised to set up a new parliamentary committee to oversee defence issues.
But, as expected, the government will not reform the law to give parliament a binding vote on joining armed conflicts.
It holds to the view that maintaining “the prerogative of the executive on decisions to enter into international armed conflict will support timely and flexible decision making and maintains the security of highly-classified information necessary for governments to make critical decisions”.
The government has tabled its response to a recent parliamentary inquiry into the war powers.
In line with the committee’s recommendation, the government has promised to set up a a new Joint Statutory Committee on Defence - although work isn’t finished on the structure, composition and remit of the committee.
The government has also agreed “that a ministerial statement be given in both Houses of Parliament to inform a timely debate on the decision by the executive to engage in major military operations as a party to an armed conflict” and that “debate in both Houses of Parliament should occur at the earliest opportunity”.
The defence minister and deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, said:
Sending our Defence Force personnel into international armed conflict is the most consequential decision a government can make and is never taken lightly. This report and the government’s response rightly affirms that this remains a decision for the executive, but that it is important that parliament has effective mechanisms to examine and debate such decisions.
Updated
Question time wraps up for today
Question time ends, and Dan Tehan asks the speaker for clarification on whether or not Anthony Albanese should have answered his question about a “national treaty” because in his answer, Albanese did not address the words “national treaty”.
“He didn’t mention national treaty once.”
(In a coincidental turn of events, neither does the Uluru Statement from the Heart.)
Now, it is not called answer time. And in the standing orders is a little rule that lets ministers answer questions any way they want as long as they are relevant to at least one part of the question. Which Milton Dick patiently explains to Tehan. Tehan asks again and Dick says he is happy to explain it again when he is out of the chair.
Updated
For the record, because it keeps coming up, here is the article in Jacobin that Anthony Albanese keeps referring to in relation to Max Chandler-Mather.
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‘Key to fixing up these issues is supply’, PM says on housing crisis
Anthony Albanese continues that answer:
For the member for Griffith, I will give him a big tip. Do not put it in writing in an essay if you do not want people to read it.
He went on to say allowing it to pass would demobilise a growing section of civil society. That is what his speech is about. All the political campaign.
I understand that renters are doing it tough. I also understand that in Australia’s federation, the commonwealth does not control rents, the commonwealth does not have the capacity either to abolish the private rental market.
The key to fixing up these issues is supply. That is what we’re dealing with. Including $2 million that we put additional money into social housing, including the measures we put in the budget that will result in between 150 and 250,000 additional private rental dwellings being built. Including the $2 billion that we have allocated for additional community housing.
Including the $1.6 billion for the 1-year extension of the commonwealth state housing agreement. Commonwealth and state ministers will have a national cabinet meeting next Wednesday and on the agenda next Wednesday is the issue of renters rights’ for what is there a context of a practical move. We will not be nationalising private housing in this country.
We will not be doing things that make it more difficult rather than less difficult, which is what the member opposite would do if he had his way. I say to the member if he is at all fair dinkum, vote for, break up this Coalition over there between the Liberals, the Nationals, in One Nation, the Greens in the other chamber and vote for additional housing. Vote for additional housing. I understand you never do it in your own local electorate local community but at least you [could do it] nationally.
Updated
Greens’ Chandler-Mather says ‘experts and majority of Australians’ calling for rent caps and renters’ rights
Back in the chamber and the mess of question time continues.
Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather asks the prime minister:
National polling shows 74% of Australians [want] the federal government to work with national governments to coordinate rent caps, while 80 housing welfare organisations including Marrickville Legal Centre in your electorate have signed a letter calling for national renters’ rights and rent caps. Rents are now [rising] the fastest in 35 years. Prime minister, [will you] finally take responsibility and listen to experts and the majority of Australians and [coordinate] national … stronger renters’ rights?
Anthony Albanese:
I thank the member for Griffith for his question. It goes to his blocking of the housing Australia future fund which goes to his reason he was up to that …
What he [put] in writing is more straightforward because he speaks about the need to continue a national doorknocking campaign and he says, to quote him, ‘this parliamentary conflict helps create the space for a broader campaign in civil society’. He also says …
Chandler-Mather is back on his feet:
I asked about renters, not the prime minister reading my articles. The point of order is not relevant …
We do not need to hear him talk about my articles. We need to hear about renters …
Updated
Walter Sofronoff pulls out of Queensland Media Club event
Walter Sofronoff, the head of the ACT inquiry into the handling of the Bruce Lehrmann prosecution, has pulled out of a Queensland Media Club event at which he was to discuss the “presumption of innocence”.
Sofronoff, who was criticised by the ACT chief minister, Andrew Barr, for handing his report to a columnist from the Australian before the government, was slated to appear at an event on 25 August hosted by Hedley Thomas, the newspaper’s national chief correspondent.
Just hours after Guardian Australia contacted Sofronoff and the Queensland Media Club for comment, and one hour after publishing a story revealing the event, the club announced it was cancelled.
“Given the issues that have now arisen between Mr Sofronoff and the ACT chief minister and attorney general, Mr Sofronoff considers that it is not possible to participate in the proposed event,” it said in a statement posted to social media.
EVENT CANCELLED – @QldMediaClub has cancelled this upcoming event. Given the issues that have now arisen between Mr Sofronoff and the ACT Chief Minister and Attorney General, Mr Sofronoff considers that it is not possible to participate in the proposed event. pic.twitter.com/xvJI71lgDK
— Queensland Media Club (@QldMediaClub) August 8, 2023
Updated
PM attacks no campaign and says it is ‘running out of steam’
Anthony Albanese takes his answer in more of a wandering journey which appears to upset Peter Dutton very much:
The scare campaign is running out of steam. It is like a deflated whoopee cushion. It has made a loud noise, it is a bit uncomfortable, but then it they have just moved on and on and on from one thing to the other.
We have had a range of them. The leader of the opposition said the voice will re-racialise our nation. He seemingly is unaware of the racial provision in the current constitution.
The former deputy prime minister went one further and said this – you know you’re losing the argument, and there have been a few, but only one of them would have said this, because you know the old saying – this is what he said: ‘The voice will be a delineation of people and their rights’…
Barnaby Joyce then asks for his title as member of New England to be used.
There are lots of points of order on relevance and the whole chamber seems to fall off the rails.
Updated
Tehan asks about ‘national treaty’ despite Uluru statement not calling for one
Dan Tehan gets a question!
The member for Wannon asks the prime minister:
Does the prime minister remain committed to a national treaty, a national treaty? As called for in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
For the record, this is what the Uluru statement asks for:
We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.
We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.
Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination.
We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.
We have linked to the whole statement, but you may see that it doesn’t call for a “national treaty” as stated in the question.
Updated
Wong labels opposition ‘Scott Morrison’s leftovers’
[Continued from previous post]
The minister is again interrupted by heckling from the Coalition’s side of the chamber.
Wong continues:
They want to talk about everything except what the voice does because they know Australians wouldn’t find the current situation experienced by Indigenous Australians acceptable –
Senate president Sue Lines calls for silence, zeroing in on Cash.
Senator Cash, what is your problem? I have called you to order several times.
Wong then uses her remaining time to reference an anonymous Liberal’s comments to the Australian Financial Review. The unnamed MP told the newspaper’s political editor, Phil Coorey, that the Coalition could not win the next election unless the party defeated it “solidly”.
Wong said the approach was continuing the former Morrison government’s legacy, calling the opposition “Scott Morrison’s leftovers”.
Updated
Wong accuses Cash of continuing ‘legacy’ of Morrison and ‘always putting the political interest ahead of the national interest’
Over in Senate question time, the temperature is rising as Labor senators hit back at Coalition attacks over the Indigenous voice to parliament.
The Coalition has used a large part of question time over the past sitting fortnight to target different aspects of the Voice.
Liberal senator Michaelia Cash is up and she asks Penny Wong how internal differences within the voice body will resolve differences – dissenting opinions, a vote or will they be required to reach consensus?
After some heckling in the chamber, Wong responds:
The senator well knows that were the referendum to be passed, that those in this chamber get the opportunity as members of parliament and the Senate to resolve the sorts of matters she is describing …
One hears what Senator Cash says and what I’d say to Senator Cash is that Mr Dutton and Senator Cash are really continuing the legacy of Scott Morrison – always putting the political interest ahead of the national interest.
Updated
Dr Monique Ryan did not seem satisfied with that answer, but unlike the senate there are no supplementary questions allowed, so the chamber moves on.
PM defends Middle Arm development as ‘clean energy’ infrastructure
Anthony Albanese:
I thank the member for her question but I say, with respect, it is just not right.
If the member is aware of what actually Middle Arm is about, one of the projects [is] potentially associated with fossil fuels, but five of the project, five of the six proponents are hydrogen, critical minerals … solar companies, including of course the Sun Cable project as one of the things that will need Middle Arm to proceed.
This will be the largest solar project in the world.
And so I think in terms of the Northern Territory government, I’d encourage the member to have a look at what the chief minister, Natasha Fyles, had to say at the National Press Club which she addressed last week, where she put forward comprehensively her case.
Our investment is equity in public [clean energy] infrastructure at Middle Arm. That’s what it is, to develop clean energy industries to get to net zero. That’s what our investment is about.
And our investment in infrastructure projects of course should concentrate on nation-building projects, ones that facilitate private-sector activities and ones that have a multiplier effect. Frankly, as someone who, along with the member for Kooyong, cares about climate change, and cares about the need for us to get to net zero, it is important that we stick to facts in this debate because otherwise what people will do is to walk away from the support which is there.
… So the idea that you just assert that it’s the case undermines, frankly, the very good public case across the board to action to get to net zero.
Updated
Monique Ryan asks about ‘dire health consequences’ of NT Middle Arm development
Kooyong independent MP Dr Monique Ryan has the next crossbench question:
Prime minister – the doctors are in the house. Eighty-five of them in this chamber right now. (not counting those sitting as MPs – Ryan is referring to those in the gallery)
Two thousand five hundred health professionals have today warned of the dire health consequences should the Middle Arm gas project and the fracking of the Beetaloo Basin begin. Will the government follow doctors advice and withhold the $1.5 billion in fossil fuel subsidies that you have allocated to the Middle Arm project?
Albanese’s answer is a little long, so we will put that in the next post.
Updated
Paul Karp is in the chamber and could hear Peter Dutton saying about the prime minister that “he just has no integrity, no integrity”, as it was ruled that Anthony Albanese was being relevant to the question.
Updated
Nationals MP attempts to table papers described as ‘the full 26-page’ Uluru statement
Anthony Albanese continues his answer in the same vein and Peter Dutton raises the same point of order, which Tony Burke says is not allowed under the standing orders.
Albanese finishes that answer:
In May 2017, Warren Mundine said this about the government, of which this member was there: ‘I have always supported treaty between governments and Indigenous First Nations … I’ve proposed the government offer each First Nation a treaty recognising them as traditional owners of the land and sea and concluding any native title claims over those areas’.
That was Warren Mundine talking about the advice he gave to the former Coalition government.
The Nationals’ Kevin Hogan then tries to table a bunch of papers:
I thank him [the PM] for tabling page one from the Uluru statement from the heart … I seek leave to [table] the full 26-page statement of the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
The Coalition benches seem to think this is hilarious. We are just more impressed they managed to get a printer to work.
Just a little context on the “26-page document”. Leading up to the Uluru statement from the heart, there were a lot of other proposals which were developed and put forward during the process (as we have heard, the voice proposal is not new and has been in the works for years – decades). At the 2017 meeting which determined the Uluru statement from the heart, there were a lot of ideas and things put forward which were not ultimately progressed. What was signed off on as the Uluru statement from the heart is the one-page document you have seen.
Other proposals were developed, but not progressed. Kind of like when political party branches put forward proposals they want the political party to adopt, but when it gets to the national conference where the proposals are voted on, not all of them are adopted.
Updated
‘Can you answer a question honestly?’: Dutton interjects over relevance
Peter Dutton has heard enough.
The question could not have been any clearer. Is it possible for this prime minister to answer just one question with a straight answer? Does the [prime minister remain] committed to a national treaty? Can you a question honestly?
Milton Dick starts to answer
Under the standing orders, the answer must be relevant to the question. The prime minister is talking about treaty process. I have not finished. I was about to say …
But Dutton is back:
I seek clarification from you as to whether your ruling is that the prime minister is in order and that his answer is relevant to the question asked.
Dick’s internal sigh could be heard in Queensland:
As I was explaining, before he took another point of order, the prime minister was asked about the Makarrata and does he remain committed to treaty. As called in the Uluru statement. Under the standing orders, he is talking about treaty and he may be talking about another form of treaty … Let me finish.
At the moment, I will listen to his answer to make sure he is being relevant to the question. He is halfway through his answer. I will ask him to return to the question to make sure he is being relevant.
Updated
PM outlines various state treaty processes in response to question on national treaty-making
Liberal MP Melissa Price asks Anthony Albanese:
On 21 August, the now prime minister promised a Labor government would as a matter of priority establish a Makarrata commission to develop a framework for federal treaty-making because the earlier statement called for a national process of treaty and there can be no reconciliation without treaty. Does the prime minister remain committed to a national treaty as called for in the Uluru Statement from the Heart?
Anthony Albanese doesn’t answer the question. He talks about a treaty, but not this particular treaty.
Of course, the issue of treaty-making has been something that has been around for a long period of time, since the Barunga statement; [it is] one of the things that was mentioned on the weekend at Garma and of course, Bob Hawke gave a commitment to advance treaty-making.
Since then, there has been various [agreements]. One of those, of course, is in Western Australia; probably the most significant one is the agreement between Premier Barnett and the Noongar people that cover south-western Australia.
Since then, at the moment, in Queensland, there is a process where the LNP and the ALP government have … passed a [treaty bill] in 2023 … in May.
In Victoria, there is also a process and there the leader of the Victorian National Party said this: ‘The Liberals and Nationals are committed to advancing the treaty process in Victoria.’
In Tasmania … the Liberal premier said this: ‘I am also deeply committed to delivering a pathway to treaty and truth telling.’
Of course, [there are] people outside the process as well, [such as] Warren Mundine, former Liberal candidate …
Updated
Sussan Ley tries to have the document that Linda Burney was reading from tabled, saying it can’t be confidential because Burney “read from it word for word”.
But Tony Burke, who can dish out procedure and standing orders in his sleep, says that for “reasons I do not understand” Ley prefaced her request with “I seek leave” and “leave is not granted”.
Updated
Burney: ‘For too long, governments have made policies for Indigenous Australians, not with Indigenous Australians’
Bill Shorten takes a dixer on robodebt and then it is back to the non-government questions where Sussan Ley asks Linda Burney:
The minister has previously said that the Makarrata commission work is, and I quote, ‘really code for treaty without saying it’.
Can the minister explain this statement?
Burney:
Can I thank the member for her question. What I have to say is difficult to listen to. We support the Uluru statement from the heart. We support constitutional recognition through a voice. We support Makarrata, and funding has been allocated in line with our election commitment.
The reason that we need a voice is [that] for too long, governments have made policies for Indigenous Australians, not with Indigenous Australians. The voice can change that.
We need a voice because there is a life expectancy gap of eight years between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Ley interjects with a point of order on relevance. There is a short back-and-forth but the speaker rules that Burney is in order.
Burney then speaks about why the voice is needed, giving the example of three women who lived in north-west Queensland who all died from complications of rheumatic heart disease in 2019 and 2020.
A disease that has all but disappeared from non-Indigenous communities. One woman was 37 and a mother of four children. Their loss is still felt and I extends my sympathies to their families and the entire community.
Updated
Burney accuses Dutton of bypassing ‘Indigenous community safety’ for Coalition seats
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, takes his usual dixer to talk about the economy and poke fun at his Coalition counterpart Angus Taylor, which is one of his most favoured activities.
The questions move on to … Taylor, who asks Linda Burney:
Internal talking points produced by the National Indigenous Australian Agency released under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that $21.9m has been provisioned in the contingency reserve for the Makarrata Commission. Why hasn’t the governor allocated $21.9 million in funding and contingency reserve for the Makarrata Commission?
Burney takes the answer in a different direction:
I am very pleased the member has raised the issue of money. As I have said, funding has been committed to a Makarrata commission in line with the policy that we took to the last election.
You might have noticed that.
But our priority is constitutional recognition through a voice. That’s what the referendum is about. Because not all governments in the past have listened to the needs of Indigenous Australians.
On the weekend I was in Arnhem Land and I sat down and listened to locals. They told me that under the last government the community missed out on funding for CCTV and safety lighting, despite [the department] having deemed it the 26th most worthy project. A program administered by the now leader of the opposition.
I think The Age [newspaper] summed that up. Dutton bypassed Indigenous community safety [for Coalition seats].
There are a lot of interjections from the opposition during Burney’s answer on this.
Updated
Bowen says ‘genuine process well under way’ to ensure methane measurements are accurate
Zali Steggall has the first crossbench question and the independent MP asks Chris Bowen:
Methane gases are 80 times more potent in trapping heat than CO2 in the first 20 years. Methane has been documented to leak and will be actively vented into the air at every stage of gas extraction and distribution in Australia.
The IEA has estimated Australia’s underreporting of methane by up to 60%. This invalidates all commitments including the safeguard mechanism cap. Is the government willing to legislate to properly measure and stop leaking and venting of methane?
Bowen thanks Steggall and says he agrees that methane is a “very important issue”:
That’s why we are engaging fully in the process of ensuring that our measurement of methane is accurate. It’s not a simple matter but we agree there is a matter to be looked at.
We have signed the methane pledge, about countries working together … to see methane emissions come down globally, but also are looking at a particular matter of methane emissions to ensure it is accurate.
I’ve sent references to bodies including the Climate Change Authority … to ensure methane measurement is as accurate as possible. A genuine process is well under way, and I will update the house further when I have received further advice.
Updated
‘Absolutely nonsense’: PM dismisses claims about Uluru statement from the heart
[Continued from previous post]
Anthony Albanese goes on with that answer:
What we have here is conspiracy theories colliding with each other. They are struggling to get this straight.
What role did [Prof] Marcia Langton play in the fake moon landing? What was the role of the Uluru statement from the heart in now?
This is absolutely nonsense. A lot of projection going on here. More projection than a film festival. It is coming from those opposite. They do not want to debate the facts, take what is in the earlier statements, that is an eloquent request from Indigenous Australians to come together as a nation – something that, after this statement occurred, they established committees to look at the detail.
This is absolute nonsense and conspiracy.
Updated
Suggestion that Uluru statement is actually 26 pages is ‘QAnon of a theory’, PM says
Anthony Albanese finally gets the chance to answer the question and he appears to relish it.
I thank the member for Flynn for his question. I do say he is a new member, he should be wary if no one at the front will ask a question [meaning the opposition frontbench].
That is a conspiracy. [A] QAnon of a theory. It is something that has been out there like a whole lot of theories. We have all sorts of conspiracy stuff out there, but this is a ripper.
Albanese then refers to a piece of paper, which he holds up. For those who didn’t see the chamber, it is just one piece of paper.
That is the Uluru statement from the heart on an A4 bit of paper. That is it.
He reads the Uluru statement from the heart and turns back to the Coalition.
Nothing exposes the falseness of the arguments being put by the no campaign [more] than this conspiracy theory.
They put it in FoI, [for] minutes meetings, a whole lot of verbal statements from whoever, to whoever, at meetings that are held right around the country. There were meetings held, over 1,000 meetings held around the country. Big and small. A dialogue leading up to the constitutional convention. Something that should have been respected.
It came up with what is an eloquent statement from the heart. One that not only fits on an A4 page but one that was signed by the delegates to the constitutional conventions. Signed by the leaders who were there at Uluru.
Updated
LNP’s Colin Boyce asks about ‘26 pages’ of Uluru statement from the heart
Queensland LNP MP Colin Boyce has the next question, for which he gets three goes, including one after Anthony Albanese asks for him to be given extra time to actually get the question out.
The prime minister has repeatedly stated that the Uluru statement from the heart literally fits on one A4 page.
Is the prime minister aware this statement as released by the National Indigenous Australian Agency in response to a freedom of information request is actually 26 pages long, and pages 23-26 call for a Makarrata commission? Why does the prime minister continue to be deceptive and [fail to] provide information millions of Australians asking for?
Albanese asked for Boyce to be given the additional time because he “actually wants to answer the question”.
That would be because the reference to the “26-page document” appears to come from a story by Peta Credlin, the conservative commentator and former chief of staff to Tony Abbott, which was broadcast on Sky News last week. You can see the short version on the broadcaster’s website here.
Updated
The first dixer (a government MP asking a government minister a question, usually written by the government’s tactics team or the ministers’ office themselves) is on the aged care pay increase.
As always, Annika Wells delivers her answer with the energy of a vice captain who is also in charge of backstage when the theatre club stages its annual musical – with a confident flare that also hints at an unerring stubbornness.
Updated
Albanese fires back after Dutton accuses PM of being ‘deceptive’ over voice
The questions begin, and Peter Dutton has the first one:
Why is the prime minister only releasing voice legislation after Australians have voted? Why does the prime minister continue to be deceptive and not provide the information millions of Australians asking for?
The short answer is because the parliament will decide what shape the voice takes. So if the referendum is successful, then consultation over what form the voice should take would commence and then the parliament would work its way through it.
Albanese repeats a lot of what we have heard previously, including how proposals were taken to the previous Coalition cabinet who had been working on the issue while in government, but then adds in this:
If they [the Coalition] think the voice is a bad idea, why are they going to legislate it? If they think they have the right idea for the structure of the voice, why are they not tabling the legislation or [why] didn’t they over … [this] period?
Updated
Question time begins
But not before a bit of a rah-rah for the Matildas. Anthony Albanese watched it at The Lodge, Peter Dutton was there. Albanese says he thinks the cheering from Canberra could be heard in Sydney.
The opposition leader says it was a “great honour to be there last night” and the atmosphere at the stadium “was quite remarkable”.
Updated
Hello – you have Amy Remeikis back with you. A very big thank you to Ben for stepping in there.
Updated
Government to respond to inquiry into international armed conflict decision-making
The government’s response to the “war powers” inquiry will be tabled in parliament shortly, with defence minister Richard Marles saying the parliament would be recalled and major decisions telegraphed in the event of future conflicts.
The Labor party room met in Canberra today, with common themes over recent weeks – cost of living, the voice, “go the Matildas” – again being major points of discussion in PM Anthony Albanese’s address.
A bit of news out of the meeting was the war powers issue, a long-running debate over whether parliament should have a role in approving or rejecting Australia going to war. Marles “affirmed the role of the executive” in such decisions, in responding to an inquiry into the issue.
A party room spokesperson said the formal response would be tabled this afternoon. Marles told the party room that legislation wouldn’t be required to effect the government’s response.
Asked by a caucus member about the Taipan helicopter crash, Marles said the government “need to be very careful and responsible” about their response, but noted Australia was moving onto the Black Hawk choppers.
Foreign affairs minister Penny Wong got a question on Israel: she responded that the government was looking to strengthen its objections to settlements, including affirming “they are illegal under international law and a significant obstacle to peace”, the spokesperson reported.
Wong also said the government would return to the position of previous governments, of referring to the Palestinian occupied territories.
Wong was also asked about international development – she said the government’s strategy was both “ethical and in the national interest”.
Resources minister Madeleine King defended the controversial Middle Arm and Beetaloo basin projects; infrastructure minister Catherine King said environmental approval processes were still to play out on those projects.
Two other MPs spoke on the Northern Territory projects, one calling on the government to acknowledge local concerns, and another assuring that those consultations would be honoured.
Updated
Police news across Australia
Katelin Renshaw reports:
A driver has died and three men have been injured when their vehicle left the road and hit a tree on the mid-north coast of NSW overnight.
Emergency services were called to Gowings Hill Road at Dondingalong, 15km south-west of Kempsey, after their sedan crashed in rain about 8.20pm Monday.
The 20-year-old driver died at the scene, while three passengers, all male and also all aged 20, sustained a range of injuries including fractures and lacerations.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
Anyone with information or dashcam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The Australian federal police has funded a new ute for the Niue police department to help battle transnational crime in the Pacific and better enable officers to cover the 269 sq km of the Pacific Island.
The vehicle was supplied by the Pacific Transnational Crime Network (PTCN) and funded by the AFP. New Zealand’s customs worked with Niue police to install a radio system, ensuring emergency services have broad coverage across the country.
The AFP deploys advisers in the Pacific in support of the PTCN and provides critical equipment to the Transnational Crime Unit.
The vehicle was officially presented by Australia’s high commissioner to Niue, Louise Ellerton, to Sina Hekau, Niue MP assisting the minister for police.
“The AFP is proud to have played a role in ensuring Niue police officers have the flexibility to get out to the community to keep them safe,” the AFP detective superintendent Doug Witschi said.
Niue police chief, Tim Wilson, said the vehicle was a vital piece of equipment.
“I want to thank the AFP and Australian government for providing our members in the TCU with this vehicle, which will make a big difference in their ability to carry out their duties,” Wilson said.
Updated
Lawyers for Stuart Robert describe release of allegations against him as ‘egregious’
Lawyers representing former Liberal MP Stuart Robert have described the release of allegations he received financial kickbacks from a lobbying firm for his role in helping them win contracts as “egregious” and an “abuse of privilege”.
The former Coalition minister’s legal team accused the Labor-chaired committee of deliberately releasing the extraordinary allegations in an effort to sway votes in the July Fadden byelection.
Ties between Robert and a group of investors are being probed by the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit (JCPAA) over contracts they were awarded by Services Australia and the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) while Robert was a minister.
In particular, there are a series of claims alleging the lobbyist group Synergy 360 had set up a scheme to deliver the then-Fadden MP financial kickbacks from government contracts he helped them win for their clients – claims Robert has rejected “in the strongest possible terms”.
Robert’s legal team on Tuesday accused the committee of playing politics and called on government chair Julian Hill to apologise.
It was obviously a deliberate tactic; a political manoeuvre, intended to inflict maximum reputational damage, and to seek partisan advantage and to attempt to influence the Fadden by-election.
The member or members of the Committee responsible for authorising the publication should be reprimanded for doing so.
The actions of those directly responsible are, unequivocally, an abuse of parliamentary privilege. The committee, via the chair, should apologise to Mr Robert and to the others the subject of the disgraceful smears contained in the document.
Hill defended the release of the allegations, saying the committee had followed proper process at every step, “including seeking advice from the clerk of the Senate, to inform its decisions”.
Updated
Care Australia calls for action on climate-driven humanitarian needs
The aid organisation Care Australia has welcomed the federal government’s new international development policy, but called for urgent action to “meet growing humanitarian needs, driven in large part by the impacts of the climate crisis”.
The policy document says Australia’s development program will mainly focus on the Indo-Pacific because “it is the region we know best, where we can make the most difference, and where our interests are most directly affected”.
The chief executive of Care Australia, Peter Walton, said the new policy was a positive reset, but there were questions about “the ability of those in our region to confront the lived reality of the climate crisis and the commitment of Australian Aid to women and girls beyond our immediate region”.
Walton said in a statement:
We continue to await a clear commitment to increased humanitarian aid beyond the Indo-Pacific, recognising this is truly how we can play our part in a world in crisis. For women and girls from Syria through to Afghanistan, Australian Aid can and is already making a real difference. But all too often, we see needs which outstrip resourcing.
Walton welcomed the commitment to put “local organisations and voices in the driving seat”, adding:
We are, however, concerned that there are no solid targets around locally led programming, so it remains to be seen whether this will translate into operational action, and how this will be measured.
Updated
NSW woman seeks lost interest on withdrawn Covid fine
A woman will seek lost interest on a withdrawn Covid fine in the New South Wales supreme court in what lawyers believe could be a test case for other fines.
The fine was withdrawn by Revenue NSW on the basis that the woman was homeless at the time of the incident and the agency has agreed to repay her the initial fine amount.
Redfern Legal Centre is representing the woman who will push forward with the case they believe can bring “justice for others”.
The legal centre’s instructing solicitor, Samantha Lee, said:
My client welcomes the withdrawing of the fine and having her fine repaid but she is entitled to interest on that money if the fine was invalid and she wants justice for others. For her, this case is more than about one fine, it is about withdrawing all invalid fines.
Lee said Revenue NSW had withdrawn the fine on the basis the woman was homeless at the time of the incident and not because the fine was invalid.
The woman is now seeking interest on the money she paid on the fine in order to have the court rule on the fine’s validity.
A lawyer representing the woman told the court today the matter was of “great public significance” and needed to proceed. The matter was adjured until next week.
The state government was last year forced to withdraw more than 33,000 Covid fines after another NSW supreme court test case, also lodged by RLC, raised serious concerns about their lawfulness.
Updated
Dutton uses WA laws backflip to warn against 'permanent' voice
In the Coalition party room, the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, praised weeks and months of advocacy that had seen a “bad law overturned” in relation to the Western Australian government’s decision to revamp cultural heritage laws.
Dutton said the law could be “undone”, unlike the Indigenous voice in the constitution, which would be “permanent” and could have “unintended consequences”. In fact, only the existence of the voice would be protected by the constitution, but the legislation governing how the voice operates would be able to be amended by parliament.
Dutton said former prime ministers Bob Hawke, Paul Keating or John Howard would “never have been so unprepared” as Anthony Albanese seems to be in answering questions on the voice. He argued Albanese is seeking a “Redfern speech moment” but has “undercooked” his preparation.
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, also attacked “ridiculous” cultural heritage laws for interfering with property rights in a form of government “overreach”. Littleproud said the Coalition is not seeking a “political win” by defeating the voice, but wants what’s right for the nation and Aboriginal Australians.
The deputy Liberal leader, Sussan Ley, said that bad constitutional change lasts forever.
On legislation, the Coalition will support changes to Asio’s use of foreign intercepts. The Coalition will support higher education legislation but then refer it to a Senate committee. The Coalition opposes the Housing Australia Future Fund bill, which has been reintroduced to the house.
Dutton told the party room the Coalition supports 60-day dispensing, but not pharmacists picking up the tab for the changes. These comments suggest the opposition is unlikely to attempt to disallow the policy, which Labor argues is an important cost of living measure.
Updated
Outside of the cultural heritage laws, Roger Cook has affirmed his support for the voice.
I’ll be supporting the yes case in the voice. It’s simple and I think common sense that we should acknowledge, recognise and consult Aboriginal people on issues that concern them.
Updated
I am going to hand the blog over to Ben Doherty for a short moment, but I will be back in time for QT.
Take care of you in the meantime.
Updated
Meanwhile, at least one Labor MP has met with parents concerned about the Middle Arm and Beetaloo Basin developments:
This morning I hosted the Australian Parents 4 Climate Action and paediatricians in Parliament to speak about their concerns around climate change & health.
— Malarndirri McCarthy (@Malarndirri19) August 8, 2023
It’s important to listen to concerns that many have, particularly around extreme heat, livability & the impacts on health. pic.twitter.com/g0LXSLkD20
Just on that last post, it looks like the Coalition determined at its party room meeting to support the legislation. Which would mean that the Greens are dealt out of the negotiations with the government on it.
Greens ‘firmly opposed’ to national security bill
As Paul mentioned earlier, the Greens are firing up over another round of national security legislation.
The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment Bill 2023 was introduced into the lower house yesterday, and there are expectations the government will try to pass it quickly with Coalition support.
The bill amends the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979 to ensure “foreign intelligence information” can be “communicated, used and recorded to protect Australia’s national security”.
The government’s explanatory notes say the bill “does not seek to alter or expand the information that may be intercepted under foreign intelligence warrants” but change the requirements:
The amendments would replace the requirement for the Attorney-General to approve the persons who can receive the information, as this may not be known with sufficient certainty. Instead, the amendments will allow the Attorney-General to limit the communication and use of such information by specifying purposes, or imposing conditions.
Addressing parliament this afternoon, the Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather said shifting from naming recipients to a purposes test was “a clear expansion of their powers and something the Greens are firmly opposed to”.
He told the parliament the bill was part of a “worrying trend” where urgency is cited as a reason to rush through laws expanding the national security apparatus at “an alarming rate”.
He urged the parliament to take its job of scrutiny “seriously”.
I think it’s clear to say we should be holding our intelligence services including Asio to account.
The home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, told the house the bill “does not grant any new powers” but “clarifies” the ability to communicate foreign intelligence in order to help identify threats to Australia’s national security.
She said the bill included a number of safeguards to ensure communication “remains subject to approval by the attorney general”, who can also set conditions.
An initial division on the legislation has been deferred to later today.
Updated
There had been widespread speculation that the WA government was going to ditch the laws – but that has now been confirmed.
Roger Cook tells reporters the laws, as presented to the parliament, “went too far, were too prescriptive, too complicated and placed unnecessary burdens on everyday Western Australian property owners”.
As premier, I understand that the legislation has unintentionally caused stress, confusion and division in the community. And for that, I am sorry.
Updated
Roger Cook says he will continue to campaign for a yes vote on the voice.
The voice is about three simple concepts, acknowledgement, recognition and consultation. Any fair-minded Australian believes that they are important things to embody in our constitution and I will continue to campaign for those.
Updated
WA premier confirms decision to overhaul cultural heritage laws
Dipping into state politics for a moment and the Western Australian premier, Roger Cook, is holding a press conference on the government’s decision to backflip on new cultural heritage laws.
There have been a lot of internal fights about this and Cook is trying to present a united front. And he says there has been no pressure from the federal government to dump the laws, given that they were being used as part of the no campaign in the referendum:
I want to make this very clear. I have not had any communication with the prime minister or any federal members in relation to these laws. The only contact I have had with the federal government in relation to these laws is when I contacted the prime minister yesterday to announce that we would be going in this direction.
Read more about what led up to this, here:
Updated
Myer store sale growth neutral as consumer spending plateaus
Continuing the consumer feeling theme:
Sales growth at department store chain Myer has stagnated, prompting shareholders to sell down shares amid concerns over consumer spending.
The company said in a trading update on Tuesday that sales were up just 0.4% in the first six months of the year, compared to last year’s corresponding period.
Investors sent Myer shares down more than 10% in early trading, spooked by the lack of sales momentum.
Many households are grappling with rising borrowing and living costs that have accompanied a period of high inflation.
Myer’s chief executive, John King, said headwinds had “buffeted” the retail sector.
We continue to tightly manage costs, inventory and cash to ensure we have a strong balance sheet as we begin [2023-24], where we expect the ongoing uncertainty around the macroeconomic environment to persist,” King said.
Updated
Stephen Bates gives examples and cites his sources and then asked the speaker to consider the request. We will let you know when we get an answer.
Stephen Bates outlines referral case for Scott Morrison
For those who missed it, here is some of what Stephen Bates had to say in the house a few minutes ago:
The member for Cook made statements in the House in relation to the robodebt scheme that have subsequently been shown to be false by the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme.
Just last week, the member for Cook made statements that clearly contradict the findings of the royal commission.
This is the first sitting week since these statements were made, and the earliest opportunity I’ve had to present this matter to the House in the manner required.
In response to a question without notice on 11 June 2020, the member for Cook stated:
“Where we have advice and where matters indicate, as has been the case in relation to the use of income averaging as the sole determinant of raising a debt, then obviously government practices change”.
At no point did the member for Cook report to the House that the robodebt scheme was implemented without legislative change, and was therefore illegal.
Even after the full release of the report of the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme, the member for Cook has deliberately made assertions that are clearly false.
Given the evidence before the royal commission, and the timing of the report, it appears clear that he not only deliberately made false statements, but did so in order to mislead the House.
Updated
National cabinet to meet next week in Brisbane
National cabinet is being called together – the next meeting will be held in the greatest nation on earth’s capital (Brisbane) on 16 August.
On the agenda?
Housing and planning reforms (no surprise there) ‘including proposals to increasing housing supply and affordability’.
There will also be some health chat.
Anthony Albanese:
I am looking forward to meeting with first ministers this month for positive and constructive discussions on Australia’s national priorities.
Our key priority for this meeting is increasing housing supply and affordability across Australia.
Updated
As expected, there is no immediate response – Milton Dick is going to consider the matter and tell the parliament his decision a little bit later on.
Updated
Parliament begins with the question of Scott Morrison
Greens MP Stephen Bates is first up, asking the house to consider a referral of Scott Morrison to the privileges committee.
He is going through the royal commission findings and outlining why it is something he thinks the house should take a look at – I will have more for you very shortly.
It doesn’t look like Morrison is in the chamber for this.
Updated
The bells have rung and the parliament sitting is under way.
We’ll keep you updated with the house and Senate goings-on.
Updated
Outlook brighter with business than consumers
A couple of divergent reports out today about the state of the economy.
First up, if you’re a consumer (who isn’t?), then you’re probably not very optimistic.
The Melbourne Institute and Westpac survey of consumer sentiment index actually dipped 0.4 percentage points to 81 in August even as the Reserve Bank left its key interest rate unchanged for a second month in a row.
A two-track economy seems to be emerging with consumer confidence remaining low... (Source: Westpac/Melbourne Institute) pic.twitter.com/4rPwjCflcI
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 8, 2023
Confidence, in fact, retreated in the days after the RBA decision, with people still hearing the central bank may need to hike its cash rate again.
Business, though, is not anywhere near as grim. A NAB survey found that, yes, conditions eased in July but they remained positive (at +10 points). Trading conditions, employment and profitability were all steady and positive. Business confidence even rose 2 points to be +2.
But business confidence and conditions are generally holding up. (Source: NAB) pic.twitter.com/7SQKpHGTtm
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 8, 2023
Price and cost growth, though, both rose sharply in the month. Labour cost growth quickened to 3.7% in quarterly terms, up from 2.3% in June, for instance.
Alan Oster, NAB’s chief economist, attributed that spike mostly to minimum and award wage changes that took effect on 1 July.
While labour cost increases are quickening, rising at a 3.7% clip on a quarterly basis in July, from a 2.3% pace in June, NAB says. pic.twitter.com/1JNr0mRe4X
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 8, 2023
Oster said:
Labour cost growth was strongest in recreation and personal services, transport and utilities, and retail, which aligns with where we would expect minimum and award wage workers to be most common.
He tells us the resilience of the business sector reinforces NAB’s view – alone among the big four banks – that the RBA has another rate rise to come, with the November meeting the likely one.
Updated
Bill Shorten has added a motion to the government business notice paper, asking the house to consider:
That this house:
(1) accepts the findings of the report of the royal commission into the Robodebt scheme regarding the former ministers involved in the design and implementation of the scheme;
(2) expresses its deep regret and apologises to the victims of the unlawful Robodebt scheme, and to front-line Centrelink staff; and
(3) commits to ensuring this cruel, unlawful chapter in the history of Australian public administration is never repeated.
Updated
Peter Hannam has also looked at consumer confidence and what do you know – things look different depending on your situation.
A two-track economy seems to be emerging with consumer confidence remaining low... (Source: Westpac/Melbourne Institute) pic.twitter.com/4rPwjCflcI
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 8, 2023
But business confidence and conditions are generally holding up. (Source: NAB) pic.twitter.com/7SQKpHGTtm
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 8, 2023
Again – S.H.O.C.K.E.D at this.
Updated
The parliament sitting will resume in less than 30 minutes.
Greens MP Stephen Bates will be up soon after with his query proposing to refer Scott Morrison to the privileges committee (Paul Karp reported on that a little earlier).
Don’t expect an answer straight away on that. Usually there is mulling when it comes to questions of what the privileges committee looks at.
Updated
Albanese fuels talk of Matildas public holiday
In what is becoming a daily love-in with FM radio hosts (there is a variety, but the conversation/tone is always the same), Anthony Albanese pushed along chat about a public holiday if the Matildas go all the way to the final and win.
It’s all very Bob Hawke-esque.
Albanese told Sydney radio Triple M Breakfast:
I have a national cabinet meeting on next Wednesday with all the premiers and chief ministers. And I reckon if they get through on Saturday, it’ll be on the agenda. It’ll be on the agenda for sure.
It’d be a pretty brave Australian state leader, wouldn’t it, who said no to that.
It is inspiring the whole country and it will inspire particularly for younger generations. It’s just fantastic to see young girls and young boys getting so excited and getting behind the Matildas in what is the world game. Here in Australia we tend to favour rugby league or AFL but it is being watched by many many hundreds of millions of people, if not billions, around the world.
I would have also imagined it would be a pretty brave state leader to say no to rental reforms, given the state of the housing market in this country, but you know.
Updated
Greens to push for Middle Arm funding inquiry
The Greens party room met today. At the top of the agenda this week will be attempting to get an inquiry into the $1.5bn of federal support for the Middle Arm development, which is branded a sustainable development precinct but supports expansion of gas exports. They’re unsure if they have Coalition or Labor support.
Shortly after noon today Greens MP Stephen Bates will propose referring Scott Morrison to the privileges committee, querying whether he misled the House in his statement on indulgence defending his role in the scheme. Morrison has rejected all adverse findings of the royal commission and said he was entitled to rely on his department’s advice that legislation was not required to enact the scheme.
Referrals to privileges are first considered by the speaker, who must decide whether to give precedence to a motion to refer, depending on whether a prima facie case of breach exists. It may not happen this week.
The Greens are also concerned about a bill expanding Asio’s powers to use foreign telephone intercepts. Currently the attorney general limits which agencies Asio can pass information gathered in this way on to, but a bill labelled urgent by the government would expand this to allowing them to pass to anyone, subject to any conditions related to purposes for its use specified by the attorney general.
The Greens don’t think the bill is necessary, but will also seek to amend it sunsetting the changes after three months, and requiring the AG to limit the purposes of its use.
Updated
Consumer confidence is down – who would’ve guessed?
In shocking, SHOCKING news, consumer confidence has taken a hit. It is almost as though raising interest rates and therefore limiting the spending power of a third of the nation with mortgages means those people don’t feel they have money to spend.
Well smash me down and call me avocado. I. Am. Shocked.
As AAP reports:
Consumer confidence sunk 3.4 points last week even after the Reserve Bank kept interest rates on hold for the second month and fuelled speculation the tightening cycle was over.
The board opted to keep the cash rate steady at 4.1% in August, but flagged the possibility of more hiking if needed.
The weekly gauge from ANZ and Roy Morgan has been tracking well below the long run average of 111 index points, coming in at 75 last week.
ANZ senior economist Adelaide Timbrell said home owners with debt remained far less confident than renters and those who owned their houses outright as the higher cost of borrowing ate into their cashflows.
Average confidence fell among all the housing cohorts, but the biggest fall was among renters, down 9.4 points, after a jump in the previous week.
Tenants have been under financial pressure because of the surging cost of rent.
All groups are feeling the squeeze, with questions relating to current and future financial conditions dropping off sharply.
Those surveyed were feeling a little more optimistic about the economic outlook, however, with the indicator for “future economic conditions” picking up modestly.
Updated
Matildas win attracts record TV audience
You’ll be hearing more about the Matildas win against Denmark in question time (nothing a politician loves more than associating with winners) so here is Jack Snape with some of the details of just how many people saw that through pass and goal combo:
A sensational 2-0 win by the Matildas in the Ffifa Women’s World Cup has drawn spectacular TV ratings at 2.29m viewers – in the metro market alone.
That skyrockets to the biggest audience of 2023 so far, eclipsing State of Origin I’s 1.98m metro.
The Matildas’ victory over Denmark on Monday night set a new metro TV ratings high for 2023 and a new benchmark for Channel Seven on its streaming service 7plus.
The event drew 2.29 million in metropolitan TV ratings.
A total of 6.54 million tuned in across free-to-air television and streaming platform 7plus. The average audience was 3.56 million.
The figures eclipsed the network’s previous high for the year, set by the Matildas’ match against Canada last week.
The 384,000 viewers on 7plus were a record for an individual event on the platform.
Updated
Thorpe says Blak sovereign movement won’t be distracted over website
Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has some words for whoever bought the website domain www.blacksovereignmovement.com, which is very similar to the Blak sovereign movement’s domain www.blaksovereignmovement.com.
For some people, the Black sovereign (with a “c”) diverts people to the www.yes23.com site and for others it goes to a dead page.
Thorpe says the Blak sovereign movement (no “c”) will not be distracted and will continue its work fighting for treaty.
Members of the Blak Sovereign Movement are busy fighting to protect Country, to stop our babies being stolen, to stop our people being tortured and dying in prison, and fighting for Treaty.
Updated
Labor MP accuses Dutton of ‘creating secret slush fund’
Labor MP Julian Hill has accused opposition leader Peter Dutton of “creating a secret slush fund” while in government, with claims the former Coalition government overlooked Indigenous community safety programs in a controversial grants program.
Dutton’s office called the claims “an absurd and pathetic attack”.
Funding decisions under the Safer Communities Fund were “not appropriately informed by departmental briefings”, according to the auditor general in 2022. The audit report found some rounds of the program focused money on Coalition and marginal electorates, that “for the majority of decisions, the basis for the decisions was not clearly recorded”, and that some projects were funded despite being assessed as ineligible.
The government has pointed to analysis of the fund, first published by the Nine newspapers last night, which showed that numerous Indigenous community safety programs – including lighting and CCTV upgrades – were overlooked for funding, despite ranking highly on the merit list and scoring by the home affairs department.
Dutton’s office was contacted for comment and response.
Hill, chair of the parliament’s audit and public accounts committee, tweeted:
Peter Dutton created a secret slush fund, and stripped funding from community safety works in vulnerable indigenous communities to fund bowling greens in Liberal held and target electorates.
When Peter Dutton had a choice he didn’t listen to his department or indigenous communities, he chose to pork barrel Liberal seats.
In a response to the Nine newspapers, Dutton’s office called the claims “an absurd and pathetic attack from the Albanese government, who desperately want a distraction from their shambles on the voice”.
A spokesperson told the newspapers:
The Labor party literally cut the Safer Communities program. Australians expect their government to act to make their communities safer and more secure. This is exactly what Mr Dutton did through the Safer Communities Fund.
Updated
Australia fighting ‘very hard’ alongside Pacific on climate, Conroy says
The ABC’s Sabra Lane pushed Pat Conroy on the climate change point in an interview this morning.
The minister for international development and the Pacific said:
Well, we’ve got very strong climate targets domestically to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and a 43% reduction by 2030 and to hit just over 80% renewable energy by 2030. So we’re taking strong action domestically.
But we’re also part of the international effort. We’ve got a climate finance facility for the Pacific to help get renewable energy projects up in the region. We’re also very active in negotiations.
Australia is back at the table and being a good actor. I represented Prime Minister Albanese at the UN Climate Summit in Egypt last year, and we were working with the Pacific to advance strong action on climate change in a way that’s consistent with Australian values.
And that’s why it’s important that we deal with climate change that’s happening, and that’s how our development projects will have to be focused. But we fight very hard with the rest of the Pacific to stop more climate change occurring.
Updated
Daniel Hurst has done a bit about this, this morning:
The Albanese Government’s international development policy will advance Australia’s interests in a peaceful, stable and prosperous region.
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) August 7, 2023
It's fit for the challenges and opportunities of our time - and will make a positive difference to lives in our region and beyond. pic.twitter.com/5DGyyzZIEf
The Coalition are taking a look at it. But the Greens see a “missed opportunity”.
Mehreen Faruqi says:
An international development policy misses the elephant in the room if it doesn’t set clear benchmarks for the overall aid budget. The government should have committed to increasing the aid budget to 0.7% of GNI by 2030 in line with UN targets.
Giving international aid policy a climate focus is all well and good, but what’s the point when the government is actively making the climate crisis worse by opening new coal and gas mines.
This policy ignores the reality that international aid is a necessary and urgent act of global justice rather than an act of charity or strategic tool.
Aid should be used to right historic wrongs and to build communities in parts of the world that have been left destitute by the ravages of colonialism, exploitation and climate change.
Faruqi says Australia should be committing to no new fossil fuel projects.
Updated
MPs emerge from party rooms
The party room meetings are breaking up, which means we will have an update on what went on very soon.
The parliament sitting will resume from midday (it is always late on a Tuesday because of the party room meetings).
A reminder of how those meetings work – they are closed meetings and confidential. However, in a weird Canberra quirk, after the meeting there is a briefing held for the media on what went on. The minutes are read out, but all the MPs are de-identified – you’ll be told an “MP spoke on XX” or “two MPs asked about XX” as well as a couple of lines from the leaders’ speeches.
However, it is all “background information”. And then the journalists have to go off and find out who said what and what deeper things might have occurred. When you read it, you’ll often hear it referred to as a “party room source”, but more often than not it came from the briefing.
Updated
The sun is out and so are the climate protesters outside Parliament House, who have come camera ready with props and masks.
Updated
David Shoebridge calls for more scrutiny of defence contracts
Greens senator David Shoebridge wants a closer eye applied to defence contracts, following the Four Corners report into consultancies overnight.
Shoebridge said the consultancy spend in defence had been “ramped up” over the last six years, but there needed to be more scrutiny:
The big four consultancies have clearly targeted Defence as the source of almost unlimited growth.
What is really remarkable is how the big four consultant’s feasting on Defence contracts has surged in the last six years, almost doubling year on year.
KPMG has been the biggest winner with Defence, grabbing over $440 million in Defence contracts in 2022 alone.
A quick look at history shows what an explosion there has been in Defence’s spend on consultants – in 2012 KPMG took ‘only’ $49 million from Defence.
Updated
Clean energy investment needs threefold rise to meet climate goals, RBA says
The Reserve Bank has this morning put out a speech on Australia’s financial markets and climate change by Carl Schwartz, acting head of its domestic markets units.
It’s more of an update on progress of so-called green and ethical funds, while noting that investment in clean energy alone will need to triple from current levels by 2030 (and then keep rising after that) to reach net zero emissions goals.
@RBA speech today notes annual investment in clean energy has to rise three-fold to meet 2030 targets on the way to net zero by mid-century. pic.twitter.com/NZoOUYQgTD
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 7, 2023
Schwartz also details progress on green bonds – debt that is issued “to fund projects that are beneficial to the environment or climate”. Examples include clean transportation projects, energy efficiency projects and green construction and/or green modifications to buildings.
He said:
The Australian green bond market has grown quickly since its inception in 2014, though it remains a modest share of the overall bond market.
Green bond issuance, meanwhile, continues to rise (but still a long way to climb): pic.twitter.com/JcPpkINLx0
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 7, 2023
Without an equivalent concept of green bonds and loans for equities, ethical funds serve as a proxy measure. These two have been on the rise but remain a small part of the total managed funds at less than 2%.
Ethical funds, too, are on the rise (but still only about 4% of the total): pic.twitter.com/ftuLgoWmxE
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) August 7, 2023
Schwartz said:
Australian financial markets have taken some steps to help facilitate flows of capital to sustainable investment, although the financing task ahead looms large.
In other words, a lot more money needs to be flowing to the tasks ahead in preventing what UN secretary general Antonio Guterres recently called “global boiling”.
Updated
If you were wondering where most of the MPs were – it is party room meeting day, which means they are all locked away.
They are just starting to come out now, so I will let you know what went on in there.
Here’s one angle of the rally being held outside Parliament House:
Crowd of NT health professionals, parents and allies on the lawns of Parliament House, braving a a crisp Canberra morning to say #DoNoHarmStopMiddleArm. pic.twitter.com/ZSqJoKruYC
— Climate and Health Alliance (@healthy_climate) August 7, 2023
Updated
Pocock says Beetaloo and Middle Arm ‘encapsulate the climate crisis’
The protest has been supported by teal independents who were elected to parliament on a wave of support for stronger climate action.
The member for Kooyong, Monique Ryan, says there is no justification for fracking the Beetaloo basin and that the Middle Arm development and the government’s financial stake in the project is helping enable a number of new gas projects.
If we can stop Middle Arm, we will stop Beetaloo, we will stop Barossa [offshore gas project] and a number of other fossil fuel projects.
The independent senator David Pocock says the Albanese government has continued the Morrison government’s so-called gas-fired recovery by putting taxpayer money into a project aiding the expansion of the industry:
We have to send a message to the government that this is not good enough.
Middle Arm and Beetaloo really encapsulate the climate crisis.
Updated
Doctor at Canberra rally decries ‘devastating impacts’ of NT gas projects
Northern Territory paediatrician Dr Louise Woodward has told the crowd outside parliament that “there is no safe way to expand the fossil fuel industry in the middle of a climate crisis” and health professionals are raising the alarm about the “devastating impacts” of the planned gas developments.
More than 2,300 health professionals have now signed a petition that will be delivered to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese. Protesters have brought signs that say “declare a climate emergency” and “the people say no more coal and gas” and “no taxpayers $$ for coal and gas”.
Woodward says “prevention is better than cure”.
At a time when the world is looking to decarbonise, the Australian government is funnelling $1.5bn of taxpayers’ money – your money – into what they call a sustainable development at Middle Arm.
This is marketing spin to hide the truth and avoid scrutiny. Governments should not be funding the fossil fuel industry and declaring it to be sustainable.
She says governments “should not sacrifice our children’s health and wellbeing in favour of multinational gas companies”.
Updated
Returning to the federal government’s international development policy, announced today:
The document describes gender equality, climate change and disability equity as core issues for Australia to address it its development projects.
It acknowledges the need to “respond to the calls of our region and evidence of the accelerating climate crisis by increasing our climate investments and better addressing climate risks” – but is silent on Australia’s own coal and gas policies.
It includes some targets.
From next financial year, at least half of all new bilateral and regional investments valued at more than $3m will have a climate change objective, with a goal of reaching 80% by 2028–29.
Likewise, 80% of investments must “address gender equality effectively”. This doesn’t necessarily mean dumping a whole lot of existing projects but means that gender equality should be taken into account as part of it. For example, a market development may need to have secure accommodation.
These targets are not a surprise. Since last year Pat Conroy has been saying he wanted to integrate gender equality, climate change and disability throughout our development program, and that Labor was reinstating targets axed under the Coalition.
Updated
‘The earlier the better,’ NT Labor senator says of voice vote
We are rapidly approaching the last quarter of the year, which is when Anthony Albanese has said the voice referendum will be held. The push is now on to set a date and as AAP reports, Northern Territory Labor senator Malarndirri McCarthy has declared “the sooner the better” .
She said the logistics of travel around remote parts of Australia was a consideration because many communities can be cut off by rain in the latter part of the year.
McCarthy said on Monday:
It’s not just for those of us who are looking for the support of this referendum, it’s just the practical work of the Australian Electoral Commission [and] all of their staff who have to travel out in these remote and regional places, it’s tough work.
14 October has been flagged as the possible referendum date.
“I reckon the earlier the better, prime minister,” McCarthy said.
Updated
Canberra protest hears from NT traditional owners
There’s about 100 people at the protest outside parliament calling on the Albanese government to prevent fracking of the Beetaloo basin in the Northern Territory and to withdraw its $1.5bn subsidy for the controversial Middle Arm development on Darwin Harbour.
We’ve heard recorded statements from Larrakia traditional owners in Darwin and from traditional owners in the Beetaloo basin between Katherine and Tennant Creek.
Larrakia elder Eric Fejo says the federal and Northern Territory governments “have not recognised or respected Larrakia people” or “engaged properly with Larrakia people over these issues”.
As Guardian Australia has reported, Larrakia people have raised concerns that a “priceless” piece of Indigenous history – Darwin’s only known Indigenous rock art – is at risk from the Middle Arm development.
Updated
Shadow foreign affairs minister Simon Birmingham was also asked about the development policy while speaking to Sky News. He said:
We’ll look very closely at the detail of this new development assistance policy that’s being released today. What we can see from some of the early reports is that this policy falls a long way short of the type of commitments Labor made in their national platform in relation to aid and development assistance. So there will be much disappointment at Labor’s failure in that regard.
And we’ll be looking carefully to make sure that there is no dilution in relation to the focus that the Coalition government placed around development assistance being focused on our Pacific Island neighbours and friends and on our near region and making sure, critically, that across the region, we are delivering practical assistance that helps lift education standards, helps improve health outcomes, delivers and drives development outcomes generally.
And they are the critical, practical steps that we want to make sure are attached to any spending of Australian taxpayer dollars on international development assistance.
Updated
On that story from Daniel Hurst, the minister for international development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, spoke to ABC News Breakfast about the policy:
There’s no point denying the fact there’s geostrategic competition going in on the region, and Australia is fighting very hard to be the partner of choice. We’re proud to be the security partner of choice, that’s means working with the police forces in our region to build their capacity, make investments in new police stations, so they can invest in law and order. It’s also about economic security.
Updated
Labor outlines goals in Pacific
The Pacific has been one of the key focusses of the Albanese government since it won power in 2022. Today, the government will publish the first update in 10 years to its international development policy, as Daniel Hurst reports:
Australian officials have sounded the alarm about rising debt levels and economic “fragility” among Pacific countries amid increasing competition with China for influence.
On Tuesday the Australian government will publish the first update of its international development policy in a decade, with a focus on the Pacific, south-east Asia and south Asia.
The policy is not backed by any new foreign aid funding, but the government wants to use “blended finance” tools to encourage the private sector to lend money, especially for climate-related projects in south-east Asia. The government will announce a new $250m fund for this purpose.
Updated
Doctors press Labor over NT gas projects
More than 2,000 doctors, GPs and health professionals have now signed a letter to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, demanding the government reconsider subsidising the Middle Arm project and “intervene to prevent gas fracking in the Beetaloo Basin, acknowledging that the emissions cannot be fully offset”.
Doctors from around the country, including the Northern Territory, will protest on the grounds the projects pose an unacceptable health risk to territorians and will contribute to climate change.
Parents from the NT who are concerned about the climate risk will also be meeting MPs.
Dr Louise Woodward, a Northern Territory paediatrician, says:
We do not want these industries to be established in Darwin due to the risk they pose to the population and the risk they pose to the whole of Australia by driving the climate crisis.
We would like governments around Australia to put the health of their people first and understand the principle of first do no harm when considering the approval of projects like this.
She says the delegation in Canberra has broad support, pointing to a statement released last week by medical colleges representing more than 100,000 professionals that called for a national health and climate strategy.
Updated
Doctors rally in Canberra against NT fossil fuel projects
The day of action against the Beetaloo Basin and Middle Arm projects in the Northern Territory has begun, with a rally outside parliament.
Lisa Cox, whose investigations revealed the Albanese government knew the proposed Middle Arm precinct would support the expansion of gas projects in the Northern Territory, despite claiming its financial stake was not a fossil fuel subsidy, sent this in this morning:
The protest by doctors and health professionals against gas developments in the Northern Territory is being supported by crossbench MPs, including the independent senator David Pocock – who is calling for a duty of care in Australian law that would require governments to consider the impact of climate harm on young people in their decision-making – and the member for Kooyong, Monique Ryan, whose work as a paediatrician included a period in the NT.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners is one of the medical colleges backing the rally.
RACGP representative Dr Catherine Pendrey is a GP based in Melbourne who spent five years working in the Northern Territory. She says:
The RACGP is supporting calls to cease gas fracking and processing from the Beetaloo Basin and the reason for that is because fossil fuels and specifically gas fracking and processing pollute the air and water which in turn impacts human health
These projects will significantly contribute to climate change, which is a public health emergency.
Pendrey says that with climate change driving more frequent and extreme natural disasters, it is often GPs who have to support and help people in their communities “to recover from those events”.
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Watt confident meat industry can catch up on emissions target
Yesterday, the CSIRO put out a report which claimed that the red meat industry would miss its target to be carbon neutral by 2030. Meat and Livestock Australia responded that it was only 10% short, but that as take up of better abatement programs improved (better feed etc) that gap would close.
Murray Watt is asked about it on RN Breakfast and says he is confident the industry can catch up:
I’ve found as the agriculture minister that farmers are up for this, they were already doing things despite the opposition of the former government.
They’ve now got a government who’s keen to work with them. And I think farmers recognise it’s good for their business to take climate and reduce their emissions. They can reduce their costs. They can protect their businesses from the extreme weather, which wipes out farms all too regularly. And farmers also recognise that our international markets and consumers are increasingly wanting to see their food produced in a sustainable way.
So I think it’s a really exciting opportunity that we’ve got now with a government and industry on the same page, trying to drive down emissions and make sure that our farmers remain profitable and productive for a long time to come.
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There are still a few things to work out with China (certain businesses had different bans on them, things like that) before Australian barley leaves our ports for China, but Murray Watt says he hopes to see it in the “near future”, maybe even in the next few weeks.
When it comes to the abandoned free trade agreement with the EU, though, that is another story. How long could it take to restart talks there? The answer seems to be along the lines of how long is a piece of string.
Murray Watt:
Our position is that they need to be willing to put an offer that is commercially meaningful that actually offers something to our producers. The whole point of trade deals is that each party gets something out of it and we think that we are making a good offer to the EU offer in relation to agriculture.
Their offer is far below what we think is acceptable and it’s far below what our producers think is acceptable. And that’s been the consistent position we’ve been putting now for months.
I think over the last month or so I think there has been in the EU, I think has the penny has dropped for them, that we’re really serious when we say that the deal is not good enough.
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Murray Watt says the conversations with China over other trade tariffs continue.
What happened with barley was that the WTO handed down a draft decision, provided that to both countries, and China at that point, so that they were willing to talk. At this point we haven’t seen a draft decision from the WTO. That’s expected expected sometime later this year.
But we’d like China to remove those tariffs. Today. We’d like China to remove the trade impediments that remain in place on seafood and some beef processing establishments today as well. That’s the position we’ve always put in. That’s certainly the position we’ll keep putting.
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Murray Watt on Australia’s wine trade action against China
Over on ABC radio RN Breakfast, agriculture minister Murray Watt is asked when Australia would consider dropping its World Trade Organisation case against China over wine, given it has indications that there will be some movement on the trade tariffs very soon.
The short answer is soon(ish). Depends on how quickly China moves, Watt says.
We would need to see some positive indications from China that they are similarly prepared to negotiate and to lift the tariffs on wine before we would consider that.
We obviously wouldn’t walk away from the WTO action until we had seen any positive sign like that. That’s what led us to suspend the case in the barley matter. [Then] China came to us and said that they were willing to talk and until we see something like that happen for wine then of course we’ll press on with the WTO action.
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No vote overtakes yes in all but one state – poll
Paul Karp has the latest Essential poll and it shows the no vote leading in all states other than Victoria:
More Australians are planning to vote no in the Indigenous voice referendum than yes, a first for Guardian’s Essential Poll.
The Essential poll of 1,150 voters released on Tuesday found that 47% did not approve of the voice, with 43% in favour and the remaining 10% unsure. That represents a reversal of July’s results, which found yes narrowly ahead by the same margin.
In a further concerning sign for the yes campaign, opponents outnumbered supporters in all states except Victoria, putting the requirement for a majority of states in addition to a nationwide majority out of reach without a swing in sentiment.
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Barossa offshore gas project draws concerns
Now there’s a bit to follow here but there is another project I need to mention that would also make use of the infrastructure planned at Darwin Harbour.
Last week, Teal independents and the Greens voted against a government bill to amend sea-dumping laws to allow the environment minister to issue permits for the export of carbon dioxide to be buried in another country’s waters. They expressed serious concern the bill will be an enabler for offshore gas development – specifically, Santos’ Barossa offshore gas project, which proposes drilling for gas in the Timor Sea and constructing a pipeline to pump it more than 200km to Darwin for processing.
Santos is proposing that CO2 from that project would then be piped from Darwin to an offshore carbon capture and storage facility in a depleted gas reservoir in waters of Timor Leste, meaning it would be helped by the sea-dumping bill before the parliament.
The Northern Territory chief minister, Natasha Fyles, used a National Press Club address last week to take aim at “southerners” and “teals and trolls” who she accused of trying to shut down the Middle Arm development and of running a “simplistic and misleading scare campaign” about the role of gas in the territory.
But much of the concern raised about these projects has come from people in the Northern Territory. Hundreds of the doctors who have signed the letter to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, are based in the NT and concerned territory parents are meeting with MPs in Canberra this week. Tiwi people, who won a landmark federal court case last year to Santos’ drilling permit, have expressed fierce opposition to the Barossa project. They invited Guardian Australia to observe and report on a meeting with Santos in March where they spoke about their fight to protect land and sea country.
Guardian Australia also revealed fears Larrakia people, the traditional owners of Darwin, hold for “priceless” rock art at the Middle Arm site and serious concerns raised by traditional owners in the Beetaloo basin and two native title lawyers that the Northern Land Council was not effectively representing traditional owners in their negotiations with gas companies.
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How the NT gas projects are connected
If you’re interested in more context around the protest that’s happening in Canberra today and the heightened concern about gas projects in the Northern Territory, our recent Guardian Australia investigation examined the interconnected nature of these developments.
We revealed the Albanese government knew the proposed Middle Arm industrial precinct on Darwin Harbour was seen as a “key enabler” for the export of gas from the Beetaloo basin, despite branding the development as “sustainable”.
The so-called Middle Arm sustainable development precinct will be a major hub for gas, petrochemicals, blue and green hydrogen, critical minerals and carbon capture and storage.
Protesters today, along with thousands of doctors who have signed a letter to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, are demanding the government drop its $1.5bn in financial support for the project on the grounds it poses an unacceptable health risk to the health of Darwin residents and will contribute to climate change.
Guardian Australia reported in June on documents revealing how the Northern Territory government hired a lobbyist and pursued a strategy to “influence the commonwealth government to support the establishment of gas-based manufacturing in the NT” and fund the Middle Arm project.
The government has denied its financial stake is a fossil fuel subsidy but Tamboran Resources, a company operating in the Beetaloo basin, has announced it will be an anchor tenant and process gas from the Beetaloo at the Middle Arm site.
In May this year, the Fyles government in the Northern Territory announced it was satisfied that 135 recommendations it had committed to implementing from a 2018 inquiry into fracking had been met, giving the green light for production in the Beetaloo.
But Guardian Australia revealed the NT government knew when it made this announcement that it could not meet a key recommendation to reduce the climate risk of its planned massive expansion of gas production and that federal officials had admitted Australia did not have any existing policies that would meet the recommendation in full.
All of this has led to growing concern from the crossbench and the community.
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Good morning
Welcome to the second day of the parliament sitting week – celebrations over the Matildas’ win were heard from all sorts of parliamentary offices I’m told, but don’t expect that goodwill to last long.
The Labor government is facing immense pressure from the crossbench and the Greens to drop its funding of the Northern Territory Beetaloo Basin and Middle Arm projects (the basin is a fracking project and Middle Arm is a processing plant). So far that pressure hasn’t shifted the government’s commitment.
Yesterday the crossbench and Greens welcomed the largest delegation of doctors to ever descend on Parliament House – and they are not there for their own lobbying purposes, but their communities. The doctors, led by a NT paediatrician, are lending their support to the campaign to try to stop the projects. They’ll be rallying outside parliament from 8am. Parents from the NT have also come to Canberra to lobby for the same cause, worried about the impact the projects will have on their children.
It’s going to be quite the sight – doctors and parents rallying outside parliament lawns calling on a Labor government to stop funding fossil fuel projects. Labor has faced questions over its continued support for the projects previously, but expect that to increase after this morning’s rally.
It’s (only) Tuesday, which also means it is party room meeting day, meaning you’ll hear a bit of rah rah from both leaders over the voice. Polling showing support is falling across the nation has given Peter Dutton a bounce, given his sole goal currently is a no vote. Anthony Albanese is worried, there is no denying that, with the yes camp to work on turning soft noes and undecideds into yeses in order to turn the tide.
We’ll be keeping you up to date on everything that happens throughout the day, with Paul Karp, Josh Butler, Daniel Hurst and Sarah Basford Canales in Canberra. You have me, Amy Remeikis, on the blog for most of the day.
It’s already a three coffee day.
Ready? Let’s get into it.
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