What we learned, Tuesday 23 May
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today – thanks so much for joining us. Here is a wrap of the day’s biggest stories:
Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas handed down his ninth and “most difficult” budget today. You can read the full details here.
Included in the budget was the announcement that native forest logging will end across Victoria in December, six years earlier than previously planned.
The federal government was pressed at Senate estimates as to why a public servant who held top jobs at two departments responsible for robodebt was given a plum $900,000-a-year job in June 2022 as an Aukus adviser.
Penny Wong responded that evidence revealed during the robodebt royal commission went “beyond what [she] would’ve anticipated”
The police officer who Tasered 95-year-old Claire Nowland at an aged care facility in Cooma last week has been suspended from duty with pay.
Offshore processing on Nauru will cost Australia more than $400m this year, despite there being only 22 refugees and asylum seekers left at the Pacific Island’s regional processing centre.
Qantas is on track to deliver a record net profit of up to $2.48bn this financial year amid surging travel demand, representing a sharp turnaround for the national carrier.
Affordable rental properties in Australian capital cities are at a “record low”, with the number of properties listed for under $400 a week halving over the past year.
Updated
Australian and Indian PMs set for India gala in Sydney
A rally at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney to celebrate Australia’s large and vibrant Indian community is kicking off shortly, with prime minister Anthony Albanese due to speak at around 6.45pm before introducing Indian PM Narendra Modi.
It is the Indian leader’s first visit to Australia since 2014 and the event is expected to draw around 20,000 people. Celebrations have already begun, with performers taking to the stage.
Updated
Catch up on today’s biggest headlines so far with this wrap from my colleague Antoun Issa:
Moves in the ministries
In a mini-shuffle to the Albanese ministry, Patrick Gorman will be appointed parliamentary secretary to the minister for public service, known as assistant minister for the public service.
This is in addition to his current role of assistant minister to the prime minister.
Meanwhile, Andrew Leigh has been appointed as parliamentary secretary to the minister for employment and workplace relations, known as assistant minister for employment.
This is in addition to his current role of assistant minister for competition, charities and treasury.
As an ANU professor, labour economics was one of my main areas of research. I've known @Tony_Burke since 1991, and am chuffed to be working with him as Assistant Minister for Employment, to deliver an economy with the well-paying & secure jobs Australians deserve. #auspol pic.twitter.com/7Y1waNfi1S
— Andrew Leigh (@ALeighMP) May 23, 2023
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[continued from last post]
Waters later asked questions about the threat the development may pose to Larrakia cultural heritage and whether satisfactory consultation with Larrakia people had occurred.
The department agreed it was “open to the minister” (Tanya Plibersek) to conclude the Northern Territory government needed to provide more information if she was not satisfied adequate consultation had occurred.
Waters also asked if the federal government should be taking a more “proactive approach” to cultural heritage in the wake of the Juukan Gorge inquiry and whether the strategic assessment of the Middle Arm development should be paused until national cultural heritage laws were reformed.
The assistant climate change and energy minister, Jenny McAllister, said she could not comment about projects that were still under consideration.
Updated
Darwin Harbour project scrutinised
Another update on the proposed Middle Arm development from earlier today in the environment estimates hearing. The Albanese government is taking a $1.5bn stake in the project on Darwin Harbour.
The Greens senator Larissa Waters pursued a long line of questioning about what industries will have facilities at the site and the standard of consultation with Darwin’s traditional owners, the Larrakia people.
This follows reporting by Guardian Australia that the precinct, dubbed a sustainable development hub, is seen as “a key enabler” for the export of gas from the Beetaloo Basin and would improve the feasibility of offshore carbon capture and storage projects.
Waters read from another document – written during the previous term of government – released to Guardian Australia under freedom of information. That document says the precinct would provide a “world class hub for gas production and manufacturing” by 2030.
Waters wanted to know what aspect of the precinct that description is captured under.
The department said:
That would be captured under the low emissions petrochemicals where they’re looking at potentially doing ethylene, urea, ammonia.
Updated
‘The time to act is now’, Stella Assange says
Stella Assange was speaking after a meeting in Canberra with the Bring Julian Assange Home parliamentary group, a cross-party grouping whose co-chairs recently held talks with the US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy.
Assange said that showed that the US realised the attempt to extradite Julian Assange was becoming a problem in the diplomatic relationship:
I think that’s encouraging that the Biden administration understands that this is a problem for Australia, and it’s coming in the way of their relationship with Australia and that the Australian people want a resolution to this case. And of course, it is the Australian people who will be paying for the Aukus arrangement over the next 30 years, so this is not something that can be ignored.
Stella Assange said there had been “a sea change in the mood here in Australia”. She called for ongoing constructive engagement between the Australian government and the US and the UK. The timing was “critical” because the US was about to enter its election cycle and the UK high court could issue its final decision on extradition within months:
So the time to act is now … and the Australian government is crucial to finding a path through which all parties can find a resolution to this.
Stella Assange declined to criticise the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, for not meeting with her this week, after the independent MP Andrew Wilkie raised it in question time yesterday.
She said it “wasn’t really on my agenda” as she was in Canberra primarily to address the National Press Club, before tomorrow’s rally in Sydney that had been timed to coincide with the now-cancelled Quad summit.
Updated
Assange’s wife says top Australian envoy set to visit him again at Belmarsh
Stella Assange has confirmed that her husband, WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange, is likely to receive further visits in Belmarsh prison in London by the Australian high commissioner to the UK, Stephen Smith.
She dropped by the Guardian Australia office in the press gallery at Parliament House today and said it was “significant that it was the high commissioner and not just a consular official who visited Julian” in prison last month:
The day that the high commissioner visited, Julian was supposed to receive a visit from the top two representatives of Reporters Without Borders and they were rejected by the prison. It’s clear that what Julian needs from the Australian government is diplomatic support.
It’s not a question about, you know, the administrative situation within the prison, it’s the fact that he’s in prison in the first place. Julian has done nothing wrong. He shouldn’t have spent a single day in prison. He has been accused of acts of journalism – and if journalism is a crime, then there are a bunch of criminals in this press gallery …
I think the signals are very clear. The high commissioner visited Julian and he’s going to visit him again.
Julian Assange, an Australian citizen, remains in Belmarsh prison as he fights a US attempt to extradite him to face charges in connection with the publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, as well as diplomatic cables.
Updated
Cruise passenger dies while swimming on Mystery Island
Carnival Cruise Line has confirmed that a passenger has died while swimming on Mystery Island in Vanuatu, during an apparent medical episode.
In a statement, a spokesperson said:
Carnival Cruise Line is deeply saddened by the death of a guest on Mystery Island, following what appears to be a medical situation whilst swimming.
Our care team are supporting the guest’s family along with other guests during this difficult time.
The Carnival Splendour cruise ship departed from Sydney on May 15 and is due to arrive back in Sydney tomorrow.
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Voice debate should look beyond party politics, MP says
On the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, NSW Liberal senator Holly Hughes is asked about opposition leader Peter Dutton’s comments in parliament yesterday that an Indigenous voice to parliament is Orwellian and would divide Australians.
She said the debate was already leading to division:
Noel Pearson in particular, every time he comes out and speaks about it, he accuses anyone who asks the question – not even, not someone who is saying they object to it – they’re a racist, they’re a Judas.
Labor MP Josh Burns responded:
I don’t think we should loose sight in the political comings and goings. It is not about the Labor party, or the Labor government or the Liberal party, it is about what are we doing for the first Australians.
Burns also pointed to Stan Grant’s speech on Q+A from last night as an indication of how people should conduct themselves:
On the topic on the way in which we engage in political debates, [Stan Grant] last night gave a pretty powerful reminder of the way in which we need to be conducting ourselves.
[He] gave us a moment where we can reflect on how we talk about issues, and how we interact with each other with respect. I think it’s incumbent on all of us to make sure we are elevating this debate and doing it respectfully.
Updated
Burgess on the ‘hive of spies’
Asio chief Mike Burgess is being asked about his infamous comments about disrupting a “hive of spies”, and why those spies were not prosecuted.
Greens senator David Shoebridge wonders why there are not criminal prosecutions, for example, when there are plots to lure Australians overseas and kill them.
Burgess said sometimes the most effective solution is removal, not prosecution:
One way that spying can occur in this country is there would be people posted to this country under diplomatic cover, who actually are not diplomats – they are spies. And when we discover that, we call it out and we remove them from this country by letting their visa lapse [expelling them] from this country.
The key thing in the case of the hive of spies was the most effective way of reducing that harm was to have them removed from the country quietly and effectively. The outcome was achieved.
Shoebridge is doing his best to get Burgess to comment on this story about Daniel Duggan, but Burgess is not having a bar of it.
Updated
Darren Chester condemns Daniel Andrews plan to end native forest logging
The Nationals’ member for Gippsland, Darren Chester, has a spray at the Victorian government’s plan to phase out native forest logging shortly before question time.
He said:
In my 15 years as a member of parliament I’ve never been more disgusted in a government decision than I am today. The Dan Andrews government has kicked every hardworking native timber industry family in the guts today and not one of those opposite has raised a single word of protest.
People and wildlife die in poorly managed forests. Dan Andrews has a plan to shut down the native timber industry in 2024. It’s a plan to kill country towns, it’s a plan to kill wildlife and a plan to kill Australian jobs. This is a Dan-made disaster which will devastate our communities and take a generation to recover from …
If the Greens are cheering you’ve made the wrong decision.
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Police arrest man after stabbing in Airport West, Melbourne
Victorian Police have arrested a man after a woman was stabbed at Airport West in Melbourne this afternoon.
Investigators have been told a man attacked a woman at a business on Louis Street around 1.30pm.
A 55-year-old woman sustained suspected stab wounds and was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Investigators located a 34-year-old Essendon man nearby who was then arrested. He is currently assisting police with their enquiries.
A crime scene has been set up while police work to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online.
The minister for international development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy, is in Papua New Guinea for the US-Pacific Islands Dialogue and has shared some images on social media from his visit.
Good to catch-up with Pacific leaders in Papua New Guinea while there for the US-Pacific Islands Dialogue.
— Pat Conroy MP (@PatConroy1) May 23, 2023
I had productive talks with Prime Minister Rabuka of Fiji, President Kun of Nauru, Premier Tagelagi of Niue, President Whipps of Palau & Prime Minister Natano of Tuvalu. pic.twitter.com/MySSCmU7Gb
An honour to meet @FijianPM Hon. Sitiveni Rabuka and discuss how we can strengthen the Vuvale Partnership. Australia & Fiji are the closest of friends and proud members of the Pacific family. https://t.co/3KOMk44HD6
— Pat Conroy MP (@PatConroy1) May 23, 2023
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Many thanks to Amy for taking us through the morning! I’ll be with you for the remainder of the day, let’s get into it.
Emily Wind will take you through the evening – the house will sit late to continue the referendum legislation debate, so expect some tired MPs tomorrow morning.
Thank you to everyone who joined along with me today – it was long and you were all troopers and I could not get through QT without you. I will be back early tomorrow morning for the third day of Politics Live – until then, please, take care of you. Ax
Updated
Anthony Albanese is about to head to Sydney (if he hasn’t already) for his 6pm community event with India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi.
About 20,000 people are expected to attend. Modi has spent the day holding meetings with business leaders. He will hold his official bilateral with Albanese tomorrow morning.
Updated
Union says Victorian logging decision could cost hundreds of jobs
The union for timber industry workers has blasted the Andrews government for ending native forest logging earlier than expected.
In Tuesday’s budget, the Andrews government revealed it would bring forward the end date of native logging to the start of next year rather than the end of the decade. It comes after court decisions which found the state-owned timber agency VicForests had not adequately protected endangered species.
Michael O’Connnor, national secretary of the CFMEU, said it was a decision “driven by Spring Street” that failed to consult the industry.
It’s a shame that he [premier Daniel Andrews] only governs for Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo. If you’re in any other part of the state, you don’t get a look in.
O’Connor said hundreds of jobs could be lost from the decision.
Updated
‘Big step forward’ in bringing leadbeater’s possum back from brink
A small update from environment estimates about a very small possum. Every estimates hearing for years, the Greens senator Janet Rice has asked the department what has happened to the overdue recovery plan for the leadbeater’s possum.
This question is particularly relevant today given one of the main threats to the critically endangered possum has been native forest logging in Victoria, which the Andrews government has announced will end in January.
Debate over forestry led to a plan to prevent the extinction of the leadbeater’s possum stalling for years.
Environment officials have come prepared today with an answer to this question and say they are pleased to report the draft plan is finally ready and has gone to the threatened species scientific committee for their review.
A “very big step forward”, they say.
Updated
Australian extremists are 'inspired' by mass shootings overseas: Mike Burgess
Australian extremists are “inspired” by mass shootings overseas and neo-Nazi attempts to recruit people have been “amplified”, but the terrorism threat is lower, Asio’s Mike Burgess has told Senate estimates.
But it still means it’s possible.
He also explained that far right groups were “smarter” and not advocating terror attacks publicly, so fewer of them were listed as terrorist groups.
After questions about connections between anti-trans activists and neo-Nazis, Liberal senator Alex Antic wanted to know if Asio was aware of threats from “violent” trans activists.
Burgess said:
Not from my perspective.
Updated
There was a question on this during question time from Andrew Wilkie – but it won’t be the last one. As the indexation date approaches, more and more people are pushing for it to be scrapped.
Inflation is causing HECS indexation to sky rocket, and it's creating a giant debt hole for young people, especially women.
— Australia Institute (@TheAusInstitute) May 23, 2023
Senior economist Eliza Littleton explains why freezing or abolishing indexation on educational loans could relieve the debt pressure. pic.twitter.com/2SuVUXEqr6
Updated
Asio weighs ‘threat’ to voice referendum
Spy chief Mike Burgess said Asio was keeping an eye on the upcoming voice referendum:
We look at all major things and minor things in society that actually could potentially represent a threat to security. [The voice referendum] is a significant event. And we continually look at that situation.
We have done a recent assessment where we look at the possible threat to the referendum at this stage. We are not seeing indications of people planning a terrorist attack as part of that. That’s something that we constantly look at, noting the terrorism threat level is still probable.
Separately, Burgess said the visible increase in neo-Nazi activity (which I covered in the post below) was because they were more “emboldened” and also trying to recruit people.
“Their actions are awful but lawful,” he said, but added:
There’s a small element of that group that do and may well take action to accelerate the downfall of society as they see it, but it may well be they’re looking to build their base so they can improve their influence and engage through normal political discourse and have an influence to their satisfaction through other means, which of course has happened in history.
Greens senator David Shoebridge is trying to draw Burgess out on a connection between anti-trans activists and neo Nazis, but not having much luck.
Updated
So the ministry doesn’t expand, but some of the responsibilities of ministers will be shared with existing assistant ministers (which is just a fancy way of saying parliamentary secretary) because existing workloads were too much.
Ministry shifts announced
Those ministry changes which were flagged in the Labor caucus meeting have been officially announced:
Patrick Gorman MP will be appointed as parliamentary secretary to the minister for the public service, known as assistant minister for the public service.
This is in addition to his current role of assistant minister to the prime minister.
Dr Andrew Leigh MP will be appointed as parliamentary secretary to the minister for employment and workplace relations, known as assistant minister for employment.
This is in addition to his current role of assistant minister for competition, charities and treasury.
Dr Leigh will be appointed to administer the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations in addition to the Department of the Treasury.
Senator Anthony Chisholm will continue as assistant minister for regional development, however, his appointment will change from parliamentary secretary to the minister for regional development, local government and territories to the parliamentary secretary to the minister for infrastructure, transport, regional development and local government.
Senator Chisholm’s appointment as assistant minister for education will not change.
Updated
(cont from previous post)
Smith and Farrell then engaged in a bit of a quarrel about Labor’s record on successfully delivering referendums, Smith pointing to the pulled 2013 referendum on local government (when Albanese himself was local government minister) and noting that the last successful referendum from Labor was in 1946.
“If PM Bob Hawke and PM Gough Whitlam couldn’t deliver referendum outcomes for the Labor party and for their Labor governments, why does PM Albanese think that he should be able to?” Smith said. “Given that he already has a track record of failing to deliver local government recognition?”
Farrell shot back:
You’ve fallen into the same trap as all of his critics, that is you constantly underestimate him.
Can I give you a bit of advice, senator Smith? Please don’t underestimate this man.
Smith posed one final question, asking if the government would consider a Yes vote of 60% a success – noting that would mean 40% of people voted no.
Committee chair Louise Pratt cut him off and moved to the next question before Farrell could properly answer.
Updated
Farrell defends PM in referendum stoush
Trade minister Don Farrell has given a strident defence of PM Anthony Albanese, telling a Liberal senator “please don’t underestimate this man” in a heated debate around the referendum.
Liberal senator Dean Smith took the Australian Electoral Commission down a detailed line of questioning about the possible date of the referendum, asking the AEC to rule in or out certain dates the vote could possibly be held on. Knocking out school holidays, and Saturdays at the end of parliament weeks, Smith proposed that the only suitable dates for the referendum would be in mid-October or early November (coincidentally, we’ve heard mid-October is most likely at this stage).
Smith, at one stage, commented that most referendums start out with high support that is then eroded away, hypothesising Labor would want to hold this vote earlier rather than later. Farrell, the special minister of state, later rejected this analysis, claiming some referendums decades ago had bucked this trend, pointing to a referendum in 1977.
Smith said:
The world has changed considerably since 1977.
(continued in next post)
Updated
Asio chief warns on spy recruiting
“It’s easy for people to get sucked in,” spy chief Mike Burgess says, warning Australians travelling overseas to be wary of spies trying to cultivate a relationship with them.
Australian Harry Harding came forward last week saying he thought he was being groomed while working in China. Burgess, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director general of security, declined to comment on that specific case but said Australians overseas in general “need to be concerned that they might be unwittingly drawn into unlawful acts in terms of providing information”.
He said:
Remember, the spies don’t always rock up to you and present themselves as: ‘hey, I’m a spy, I’d like you to do this for me’.
In some cases, they may well do that, depending on the individual they’re approaching. So people just need to be on the lookout for suspicious or unusual and persistent approaches, and [if someone asks you to] provide insights into something, or give [them] access to something, you might want to think about why they’re asking you for that.
He also said while Nazi symbolism was more visible, it had at one point comprised 50% of Asio’s investigations, but was now back down to 30%. He gave this breakdown of national security threats:
It is approximately 70% religiously motivated violent extremism, specifically Sunni extremism. The remainder, 30%, is ideologically motivated, violent extremism and most of that is nationalist and racist, violent extremism, which is sometimes also called far right or other kinds of descriptions [such as neo-Nazis]. It’s a really extreme right wing.
Nazis have been a thing in this country for a long time.
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Pesutto blasts Andrews government ‘mismanagement’
Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto says the state is paying the price of the “mismanagement” and “incompetence” of the Andrews government.
Pesutto said no Victorian would be spared the pain of the budget, which focuses on repaying the state’s record debt accumulated during the pandemic.
Every Victorian will pay some part of the price for Labor’s incompetence.
Opposition treasurer spokesperson Brad Roswell slammed the decision to no longer exempting high-fee private schools from payroll. He equated it to creating a “hit list” of private schools and said it would lead to higher fees for parents.
Updated
S&P Global ratings said today’s budget showed the fiscal recovery “will be a slow and long process”. The projected cash surplus by 2025 would be the first since 2019.
Still, “[d]espite some positive developments, Victoria’s fiscal outlook remains weak compared with other Australian states”, said Anthony Walker, an S&P analyst.
By 2024, we expect Victoria’s gross debt as a proportion of revenues to be about 200% of operating revenues or three times more than it was at the start of the pandemic.”
Still today’s budget provides “some headroom” for the state’s ‘AA’ rating, implying it will be left alone for now.
It’s worth noting, though, that states and territory debt ratings won’t stray too far from the federal government’s level because ratings agencies assume Canberra will step in if any state’s finances were really in a tailspin.
Victoria’s economy by numbers
As Victoria accounts for about a quarter of the Australian economy, it’s worth noting how that state is faring after the Andrews government’s ninth budget landed today. (See the main story here and winners and losers here, by Benita Kolovos and Adeshola Ore.)
For one thing, Victoria’s economic performance has been lagging the nation lately, with growth (as measured by gross state product) at 2.75% for the current year, versus national GDP expansion of 3.25%. From here on, the trajectories should be similar, according to forecasts in the federal and state budgets.
The state’s consumer inflation rate will end this fiscal year at 7%, vs a national average of 6%. Price rises, though, are projected to slow at a similar rate for Victoria and the nation, reaching 4.25% and 3.25%, respectively, by June 2024. After that, the CPI will also coalesce.
Victoria’s jobless rate (3.9% in April vs 3.7% nationally) will generally be higher than the national average for most of the coming years (with the exception of 2024-25). By 2026-27, the unemployment rate will be 4.75%, notably higher than the national average of 4.25% then, at least according to the budgets’ forecasts.
Ratings agencies, though, are interested in Victoria’s debt path as it absorbs the state’s big build program even if some project delays or cancellation.
Victoria's net debt projected to reach $171.4bn by June 2027 (and that trajectory doesn't suggest a peak by then)... pic.twitter.com/aCHFuFOk2O
— @phannam@mastodon.green (@p_hannam) May 23, 2023
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Anthony Albanese takes a dixer on how the government is making Australia better and then ends question time.
I think we have all had enough today.
Bridget Archer asks Stephen Jones (the assistant treasurer):
The Westpac consumer sentiment index reveals some 60% of the falling consumer sentiment in May is attributed to the federal budget. Middle Australia is hurting. Why does Labor keep making it worse?
Jones:
We’re proud of the budget we delivered 10 days ago, a budget that delivers for all, and on election commitments, that ensures that with a hard head we’re able to deliver in 12 months what this mob over here couldn’t deliver in nine long years.
That is, a budget which is bringing the finances back under control. Because we did bring the finances back under control, something that they promised to do for over eight years but couldn’t deliver on.
We’re able to be a budget that also has a big heart. A big heart to ensure that we can fix the mess that they left us on Medicare, because when we came into government, Medicare had been flogged to within an inch of its life. We are tripling the payments for bulk billing to ensure that those who most need it are able to get to see a doctor.
We’re making medicines more affordable. We’re making childcare more affordable. As the minister for aged care has just demonstrated in a master class of how to respond to the ridiculousness from those opposite, we are ensuring that not only are residents in aged care getting the treatment that they need, but the people who look after them are getting the pay that they deserve.
Step after step after step, the budget that we have delivered is ensuring we’re delivering on our promises, building more sustainable finances, but also building a fairer Australia. It’s something that mob on that side couldn’t do in eight tawdry long years.
Updated
Annnnd Michael Sukkar is booted out of the chamber under 94A.
Seems like the Queenslanders are not having it at all today.
Wells:
I agree the whole of Australia wants us to fix aged care. I agree the whole of Australia went to the election last year and voted for a government to take the aged care crisis seriously.
I agree the whole of Australia considered the two offerings from each of the two parties of government and said: we trust Labor to address this crisis and to try to lift the standard of aged care in this country.
Having had 15 long months with the final report of the royal commission into aged care, having chosen to address only nine of 148 recommendations, the opposition raises the 24/7 nursing policy – they don’t have a stance on a 24/7 policy. They don’t have a position on 24/7 nurses…
They didn’t fund it or roll it out, address the workforce crisis that formed on their watch. I’ve been addressing a workforce crisis that stems from 2017, $2.5 billion worth of funding cuts that I chose to make that set in place a rolling crisis of neglect, addressed by a royal commission and even now they walk into this chamber and say, oh, we see you are urgently acting to address the crisis.
How dare you do it so quickly? How dare you act so quickly, we’re worried it’s too fast. Unbelievable.
Updated
Wells continues:
A workforce crisis formed on their watch that has taken 12 months to address through working on migration settings with the minister for immigration, for home affairs, for skills, for education, for health, the prime minister, the treasurer. Every single minister has had to spend time cleaning up their mess, to address the crisis in aged care. They seriously walked in today to say you’re doing it too fast, you’re cleaning up the mess too quickly. How dare you try to address a crisis in an urgent manner. Unbelievable.
Yet, here we are after 12 months, with them having learned nothing.
Melissa Price tries to make a point of order on relevance but she underestimates just how annoyed Anika Wells actually is with this question.
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Anika Wells takes aim at Coalition over aged care ‘mess’
Former Morrison minster Melissa Price wants to know from aged care minister Anika Wells:
Already 23 aged care homes have closed under this government, compared to 300 opening under the former Coalition government. The Albanese government decision to [bring forward] the royal commission’s recommendations has imposed rigid constraints on the sector. Will the government now make a commitment to expanding the exemption criteria until the current workforce crisis has been addressed?
(The Tveeder transcription changes aged care minister to the menace of aged care, which shows AI is alive to the vibe of Price’s question.)
Wells is not having it today:
I cannot believe those opposite, of all weeks, would choose this week to try and lecture the government on management and funding of the aged care system. And to suggest, to dare criticise us for trying to pull every single lever we have at our disposal to try and lift the standard of aged care as quickly as humanly possible. To walk into this chamber and criticise us for trying to take that action to lift the standard of care for residents is unfathomable, that they have learned nothing after neglecting the sector for nine long years, to walk in now and criticise the people left cleaning up their mess.
Updated
Independent MP Zali Steggall also asks about the seriousness of this government acting on climate, given coal mines are still being approved contrary to science, and Anthony Albanese gives pretty much what is the rote answer – the government is serious about climate action and is investing in renewables to make the transition.
Updated
Offsets for habitat destruction in focus
Over in the estimates hearing for the environment department, the independent senator David Pocock has been asking officials to provide a clear answer about whether the government’s proposed nature market will allow for the purchase of biodiversity certificates to be used as offsets for habitat destruction.
The answer to that question is yes.
Officials are going to great lengths to emphasise that using the market for offsetting won’t be allowed to occur until a new national standard for offsetting has been legislated through reforms to Australia’s national environmental laws.
The assistant minister for climate change and energy, Jenny McAllister, says:
Certificates could be used as offsets if they comply with the offsets standard. The offsets standard is yet to be developed and will be subject to significant consultation
It is not necessarily the case that certificates will meet that standard. And they are separate benchmarks if you will. Some may be certificates that will be established for one purpose, but in another where an entity is seeking to meet an offset standard is a separate test.
Pocock asks if it is the case that there will be more demand for offsets under the scheme than there will be from companies voluntarily purchasing certificates in the market.
The department says it doesn’t have an answer to that.
Updated
Julie Collins answers Michael Sukkar’s question with what the Albanese government is doing in the housing space and finishes with:
We want this fund to get through the Senate and every day of delay is at the fault of those in your party and of the Greens party.
These are homes for people who need it most. These homes for women and children escaping family violence. Homes for older women at risk of hopelessness. Homes for our veterans that are at risk of homelessness. We want to get more homes on the ground more quickly and you were standing the way of that*.
We are about to go [announce] our national housing homelessness plan. The other side [need to] to get out of the way when it comes to the housing Australia Future Fund. We have a comprehensive ambitious plan. Being supported by every state territory housing minister. Being supported by the advocate bodies. Supported by the HIA. By the Master builders Association. Our Housing Australia Future Fund has been supported by everyone, except for those opposite. It is being supported because it is a good idea to get more investment into housing but across the country.
*I understand that this is designed to pull at the heart strings and to try and get public pressure to build, but people should not be used as pawns in political stand offs by any side. If the government wanted to get things moving for these people, it could compromise to get the Greens support. It works both ways.
The Liberal MP for Deakin, Michael Sukkar, continues the “big Australia” scare campaign with:
The government’s own budget papers say a further 1.5 million people will come to Australia over five years. But Labor’s half-baked Australia Future Fund will only provide 30,000 homes over that same five-year period. Where will the other 1.47 million people live?
OK.
The Coalition is against the fund and has voted against it. First, because it was inflationary, and now because it doesn’t provide enough homes. So bit of a contradiction there.
Two – temporary migration was forecast to be higher under the Coalition’s budget papers. And the reason was the same: because there has been a bounce after the borders re-opened – people left Australia and didn’t come back in.
Three – not all temporary migrants live in standalone houses. International students tend to live in student accomodation, backpackers in backpacker accomodation.
Four – slams head on desk.
Updated
Victorian Labor is ‘hurting people’, Greens say
Greens finance spokesperson Sam Hibbins is speaking outside parliament post-budget:
Everyday Victorians, who are already struggling, are going to be worse off under this budget. Despite there being a cost of living crisis, despite housing affordability being out of control, Labor – instead of choosing to help people in need – are actually hurting people.
While supportive of the tax measures introduced, Hibbins is disappointed that in the pursuit of a surplus the government is making public sector cuts and not providing renters and others doing it tough with support:
What we took to this budget was to tax profiteering corporations in order to fund helping people in need, to address the big challenges like the housing crisis, like the cost of living crisis. They’ve only done half the job – and make no mistake, should the budget get back into surplus, it will be off the back of workers.
Updated
Victorian tenants ‘could face rent increases’ under budget
The property council is warning Victorians tenants could face rental hikes due to a budget measure that will increase land taxes for investors.
Under the state budget, handed down on Tuesday afternoon, property investors will face additional land tax charges.
Cath Evans, Victoria executive director of the property council, said the changes would mean some investors would pay land tax for the first time. But she backed the abolishment of stamp duty for commercial and industrial properties in favour of an annual land tax.
Updated
Let’s go back to the Victorian budget while Brendan O’Connor takes a dixer on fee-free tafe (more than 150,000 people having taken it up so far, as we reported earlier today)
Industry groups have blasted the Andrews government for hitting large businesses with a new levy to help pay back record debt accumulated during the pandemic.
Paul Guerra, chief executive of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the government was planning to use big businesses and property owners “as an ATM.”
Peak industry body, Australian Industry Group, said businesses could look to invest internationally or in other states over Victoria.
Tim Piper, Victorian head of the body, said the budget lacks “imagination and would be troubling for many businesses.
Business has been used as a cash cow and businesses bearing the burden for a lot of the costs that are being imposed on the Victorian community at the moment.
Clare continues:
More generally, HECS helped millions and millions of Australians get to university and get a university degree. When I was a little kid, only about 7% of Australians had a university degree. When most of us were knee high to a grasshopper, very few Australians had a university degree.
We are a different country today. Almost one in two Australians in their 30s has a university degree and a big part of that is because of HECS, which helped to fund and increase in the number of students going to university.
That’s not true everywhere. In the member’s electorate, it’s only 30%. Where I grew up in Cabramatta, it’s about the same.
In the member for McMahon only 25% in their 30s have a university degree. In the Treasurer’s electorate, it’s lower still, only about 19%, lower in the bush.
It’s an order of magnitude less for our Indigenous brothers and sisters, only 7% have a university degree. This is what we’ve got to fix.
The cost of university degrees is important, the cost of living is important, but the cost of those kids from those communities missing out is important, too. This is what we’ve got to fix. This at its core is what the Universities Accord will be all about.
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie wants to know from Jason Clare:
Minister, you would recall last year I challenged you about sky-rocketing HECS-HELP indexation and you committed to have the universities Accord Panel look at it. Ten months later charges are set to rise further by a record.1%. Minister m the circumstances, will you freeze the indexation, at left until the Universities Accord final report is delivered in September?
Clare says:
I made a commitment to get the accord team to look at that and they’re doing that.
The accord team will report at the end of June with its interim report and provide a final report to me at the end of December. The short answer to your question is no.
We have made no change to HECS in the budget. What we’ve done is provide extra support to students through an increase in Youth Allowance and AusStudy and an increase in rental assistance, which will help a lot of students with the cost of living.
Minister for employment says Labor determined to close labour unequal pay loophole
There is a dixer about same job same pay to Tony Burke, which gives the Liberal MP Andrew Wallace an opportunity to ask “Why do you hate subbies, Burkie” across the chamber.
A reminder that the base pay to be a politician is over $212,000.
Burke:
There was a headline there today and it began with the words ‘Union admits ...’ I thought oh no, when you see the word ‘admits’, this will be trouble.
‘Admits Labor policy aims to drive up pay’. They’ve got us. Labor policy aims to drive up pay.
That’s exactly why we’re determined to close the labour loophole and it’s exactly why those opposite are so determined to key the loophole. They’ve never seen a tax loophole that they didn’t want to keep forever and never seen a loophole that drives down wages that they didn’t want to defend just as earn evidently.
The manager of opposition business described this as a made-up issue. That’s his description for it.
Well, it’s not a made-up issue if you are a casual working side by side being paid less.
It’s not a made-up issue for two workers with the same expertise, on the same job, with the same classification, one being paid less than the other. For them it’s not a made-up issue. For the mine works dealing with this it’s not a made-up issue.
For the government that’s determined to act, this is a loophole we’re determined to close.
Updated
PM says no cuts to Melbourne airport rail line in budget papers
The Liberal MP for Flinders, Zoe McKenzie, wants to know:
In the May budget the government made further cuts to infrastructure and referred hundreds of congestion busting projects to yet another infrastructure review. Yet the government’s own budget papers say a further 1.5 million people will come to Australia over five years. Why is this government putting at risk projects like the Melbourne airport rail line, where work is now halted?
(We all know the facts about the 1.5m number right? I don’t need to post it again?)
Anthony Albanese:
I’m very pleased to get a question about infrastructure from the member for Flinders. She has had a look at the budget papers, there are no cuts in the budget papers. The dollars remain attached. You have a look at the budget papers and whoever gave you that question, I think the tactics committee need to reconsider their strategy, as the Treasurer said – the next level from asking me questions about infrastructure will be me questions about South Sydney Rugby league football club.
(The joke being it’s two topics Albanese knows a lot about.)
Updated
There is a back and forth over whether Madeleine King was reading from a document as she gave her dixer answer or not and whether she should table it if she was.
Which I am absolutely sure voters really care about.
Updated
There is a dixer on the climate tech pact signed between the US and Australia, but you would be better off reading this from Daniel Hurst:
Updated
Anthony Albanese doesn’t read out Daniel Hurst’s factcheck. He answers by referring to some of the decisions made under the Coalition, including the Leppington triangle deal.
Paul Fletcher is not happy:
The question is relevance, about the motorway, not about local government and projects. I would have thought this PM of all people should know the difference between local infrastructure and major road and rail.
Albanese says the Labor government is actually funding projects, while the Coalition didn’t.
Updated
Fact checking the Coalition on their ‘1.5 million over 5 years’ immigration attack line (again)
Paul Fletcher wants to know:
In the May Budget, the government made cuts to infrastructure and record hundreds of congested busting project to get another review. But the budget papers show a further 1.5 million people* will come to Australia over five years. Why is this government putting [off] projects like upgrades to the M5 Motorway and the Western Sydney Airport Metrorail?”
*taps the fact check sign*
Net overseas migration is forecast to be 400,000 in 2022-23, followed by 315,000 the next year and 260,000 in each of the following three years. The Coalition has added these together to come up with the “1.5 million immigrants” figure.
The budget papers explain that these figures are part of a post-pandemic catch-up and are driven by “a rapid recovery in the stock of international students, skilled temporary visa holders and working holiday makers”.
At the same time, the budget says, “very low temporary migrant arrivals during the pandemic now means fewer departures – those who did not arrive cannot now leave”:
The budget explains: The elevated forecast for net overseas migration in 2023–24 is largely driven by fewer temporary migrants departing Australia than usual, rather than a greater number of people arriving.
Total net overseas migration “is not expected to catch up to the level forecast prior to the pandemic until 2029–30” and the total population is still expected to be 750,000 people smaller in June 2031 compared with pre-pandemic forecasts.
Updated
Marles argues Coalition culture made ‘grand defence announcements on the basis of absolutely nothing’
The defence minister, Richard Marles, uses a dixer to run through his greatest hits on the former Coalition government over defence policy. He argues it has been “a transformational 12 months for our nation’s security”.
He contends Australia had been “drifting through a sea of broken relationships” under the former government, but the Albanese government had improved Australia’s standing in the world, including with allies while also starting the process of stabilising the relationship with China.
Marles says there was a culture under the former government of “grand defence announcements on the basis of absolutely nothing”.
The opposition leader and former defence minister, Peter Dutton, appears to have been riled by this line of attack. He gets up to say “it would be relevant” to mention Aukus, which was initiated under the Coalition.
Updated
Regional development minister confirms freight and recovery program will continue
The former deputy prime minister Michael McCormack, known internationally as a kava ambassador, has a question for Kristy McBain, the minister for regional development: Will the minister guarantee the life-saving freight and recovery program will remain in existence?
McBain:
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Very important question. Simple answer, yes.
Updated
Tanya Plibersek runs through the laundry list of what she says Labor is doing to protect the environment, but it doesn’t answer the question about approving new coal mines.
Greens response to Victorian budget
The Victorian Greens say struggling households have been left behind in the Andrews government’s state budget handed down on Tuesday.
The budget focuses on repaying the state’s record debt accumulated during Covid by introducing a 10-year levy on big businesses. Victorians with an investment property will also be hit with a new tax and the government will slash the state’s public service jobs by as many as 4,000 roles. But there is minimal cost-of-living relief for Victorians.
Samantha Ratnam, leader of the Victorian Greens said the Andrews government said the government had failed to fix the state’s revenue problems.
Short-term measures won’t fix the housing crisis. In fact, this Labor government is funnelling four times more into the racing industry than new spending on people in housing stress or experiencing homelessness.
Updated
Labor response to Greens question on climate change is to blame the Greens
The Greens MP for Ryan, Elizabeth Watson-Brown asks Tanya Plibersek:
… you approved a new export coal mine in Queensland that would reportedly produce 500,000 tons of coal year and destroy [native] habitat. Why is Labor approving new coal mines in the middle of the climate emergency and how many more coal and gas projects will you approve in the coming months?
Plibersek opens with:
I want to say how proud I am to be part of a government acting on climate change. The first government to take serious action on climate change and it has been really instructive watching those of the crossbench line up with the Liberals and Nationals all too often to prevent and delay that action.
The Guardian’s Paul Karp hears the Greens leader Adam Bandt say: “Are you serious?! Are you absolutely serious?!” in response.
So it’s got off to a great start.
Updated
Albanese’s response to ‘word salad’ question from opposition
Here is what Anthony Albanese said in response. Annotations in brackets by me:
Mr Speaker, that mess of a question was messier than the last government. They workshop these things in a meeting and come out and put it in writing. That word salad that I’m asked about. [There are a bunch of interjections]
To return to the issue of middle Australia: our commitments that we made. We promised that 1.2 million families would pay less for childcare. Are we delivering that?
We promised Australians would pay less for their medicines. Are we delivering that?
[the caucus says ‘yes’ on cue]
We promised to boost bulk billing, and to strengthen Medicare, are we delivering that?
[you know the drill]
We promised to rebuild manufacturing and establish a National Reconstruction Fund. Are we delivering that?
[and again]
We promised a royal commission on robodebt and, boy, have we delivered that. We promised to increase the minimum wage. Was that delivered?
[yes again]
We promised to look after aged care workers, was that delivered?
[sigh]
We promised to lift wages, was that delivered?
[bigger sigh]
We promised to have climate change targets of 43% by 2030, and net zero by 2050. Was that delivered?
[Please make it stop]
We promised to have a safeguard mechanism was that delivered?
[cries under the desk]
The truth is we on this side did the hard work in opposition to develop policy, to implement in government. Policies deliberately aimed at middle Australia, to make a difference after the wreck that we replaced, who were more concerned with themselves and ever since the election, are more concerned with themselves still.
The opposition leader, of course, has a meeting tomorrow. He may well not be here at 2:00. I look forward to that.
Updated
Fact-checking Sussan Ley and the Coalition on 1.5 million people immigrating over the next five years
Sussan Ley is up with the next non-government question and ooohhh boy.
The words ‘middle Australia’ somehow made it into the budget talking points last week but the problem is they were forgotten from the budget itself. The word infrastructure didn’t even make it into the talking points, let alone the Treasurer’s speech. Now the PM is going to bring in a further 1.5 million people over five years and at the same time [is] cutting infrastructure and raising taxes. Middle Australia is hurting and why does Labor keep making it worse?
Before we get to Anthony Albanese’s answer, here is Guardian Australia reporter Daniel Hurst’s fact check on the “1.5m people over five years”talking point the Coalition has been using (Dan had it ready to go because it has got a bit of a workout since the budget was handed down). Dan:
The budget doesn’t set this as a target or a policy as such – it outlines forecasts for “net overseas migration”. Net overseas migration is forecast to be 400,000 in 2022-23, followed by 315,000 the next year and 260,000 in each of the following three years.
The Coalition has added these together to come up with the “1.5 million immigrants” figure.
The budget papers explain that these figures are part of a post-pandemic catch-up and are driven by “a rapid recovery in the stock of international students, skilled temporary visa holders and working holiday makers”.
At the same time, the budget says, “very low temporary migrant arrivals during the pandemic now means fewer departures – those who did not arrive cannot now leave”:
The budget explains:
The elevated forecast for net overseas migration in 2023–24 is largely driven by fewer temporary migrants departing Australia than usual, rather than a greater number of people arriving.
Total net overseas migration “is not expected to catch up to the level forecast prior to the pandemic until 2029–30” and the total population is still expected to be 750,000 people smaller in June 2031 compared with pre-pandemic forecasts.
Updated
The Coalition’s shadow ministry bench is looking a little bare this QT – Angus Taylor, Dan Tehan and Jason Wood have not made it into the chamber as yet.
Social services industry responds to Victorian budget
Victoria’s peak social services body says the state budget has delivered a “mixed bag” but helps shield struggling households from tough decisions.
Emma King, head of the Victorian council of social services, said it was a tough budget, pointing to cuts to employment services and energy concessions. But she pointed to the funding injections for helping teenagers at risk of dropping out of schools and reducing Aboriginal children in out-of-home care as positive measures.
While we’re repaying the Covid debt, this [budget is] largely sparing vulnerable Victorians.
Updated
The first dixer (a government MP asking a government minister a question, which is usually written by the either the minister’s office or the tactics committee) is on the Indian prime minister Modi’s visit.
Everyone loves Modi is the general vibe of Albanese’s answer.
Updated
Question time begins
Question time is about to begin – but first we have to get through the airing of the grievances/MP amateur stand up known as the 90-second statements.
… And we are now straight into it with the latest version of “why does (middle) Australia always suffer under a Labor government” which is the Coalition’s latest obsession.
Anthony Albanese reads through the usual laundry list:
I am asked about middle Australia. It cares about the wages. Wages are increasing under this government. Middle Australia cares about their kids getting access to cheaper childcare. I tell you what middle Australia cares about, particularly in the regions, they care about manufacturing jobs, that’s what middle Australia cares about.
I tell you what middle Australia cares about, they want to go to the doctor for free and receive bulk billing and 11 million Australians in middle Australia will be able to do that as a result of this government’s actions.
I tell you what middle Australia cares about, they want to pay less for medicines and under our government they will. Middle Australia cares about – when it comes to aged care workers, 250,000 will receive a pay increase. That’s what middle Australia cares about.
They [the Coalition] are so out of touch, they only talk to each other about themselves – they should get out there and talk to middle Australia about what their concerns are.
Updated
Victoria’s $500m coal-to-hydrogen project misses out on fresh funds
Perhaps it was better Japan’s PM Fumio Kishida isn’t visiting Australia this week as there might be a few awkward hydrogen conversations.
Back in April, we flagged here that Japan’s $500m plan to use Victorian brown coal to produce hydrogen had some big challenges to clear. Not least of them was a reluctance by the Japanese consortium to secure offtake agreements that would last more than about a couple of years.
In other words, after a short period they could walk away and source the hydrogen from somewhere else, leaving Victorians to find new customers (and also deal with the captured carbon emissions).
The 2023-24 federal budget dealt one blow to the plans by not offering any more money to the $50m the commonwealth had already tipped in.
Guardian Australia understands the debate within the Victorian government was quite willing, with the treasurer, Tim Pallas (with encouragement from media outlets such as the AFR), the main proponent for tipping in more funds. The consortium had hoped the feds and Vics would double their $100m subsidy.
Anyway, the 2023-24 Victorian budget had allocated zero money for the project, which we have to assume puts it literally on the back burner.
Updated
Government has spent over $2.6bn in disaster recovery payments over last year
The government has paid out more than $2.6bn for natural disaster recovery in the past year, the emergency management minister, Murray Watt, has told Senate estimates. That includes about $1.5bn in disaster recovery payments and allowances for individuals. Watt said:
This is money paid directly into the pockets of people doing it tough as a result of a disaster.
We’ve also paid out more than $590m for projects that build community resilience through commonwealth programs.
Updated
OK, we are now less than 20 minutes away from the next question time, so go grab what you need to get through the next hour and a bit. I won’t judge.
Victorian budget will 'directly impact jobs and investment': business lobby
The head of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Paul Guerra, says the state government’s budget – which includes a “Covid debt repayment” levy for big business – will “directly impact jobs and investment”. He says in a statement:
The government says this is the plan to pay off the ‘COVID credit card debt’ but they’re doing that by using medium to large businesses and property owners as an ATM over the next 10 years.
It’s certainly a departure from the ‘all in it together’ approach taken throughout the pandemic and this will directly impact jobs and investment in Victoria.
There are some positive initiatives including funding for manufacturing, major events, exports, renewable energy and training. The Victorian Chamber also welcomes the stamp duty reform and the payroll tax offsets for smaller enterprises, but this Budget will be remembered for job cuts and tax hikes.
Updated
Government denies Chinese media reports Australia opposes Taiwanese membership to regional trade agreement
The Australian government says it has not shifted position on a major regional trade pact, after a report today claimed that the trade minister, Don Farrell, had told his Chinese counterpart that Australia did not support Taiwan’s membership.
Both China and Taiwan – the self-governed democracy that Beijing claims as a wayward province – are seeking to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The Australian government’s longstanding position is that its initial focus is on the UK’s entry to the CPTPP, and that any other applicants would need to demonstrate high standards. That is a signal that, at a minimum, Beijing must remove trade impediments on a range of Australian export sectors before it could even be considered. Any new entrants must also be accepted unanimously by all existing CPTPP members, which is seen as a high barrier to entry.
The issue is back in the spotlight because the South China Morning Post today quoted anonymous sources as saying that Beijing had sought “a clear commitment from Australia, preferably public” that Canberra would support China’s bid to join the CPTPP and “deny Taiwan’s membership” during Farrell’s trip to Beijing earlier this month. The most contentious element of the SCMP report is the claim that Farrell told Beijing that Australia “did not support the Taiwanese membership”.
Guardian Australia understands the CPTPP was raised by the Chinese side during the meeting, and that Beijing reiterated its publicly stated opposition to Taiwan acceding to the deal. The Chinese government also requested that China be the next applicant considered for entry to the CPTPP. But a source said today that Farrell had not made any comments about Taiwan.
Farrell issued a statement today regarding his recent meeting in Beijing with the Chinese commerce minister Wang Wentao. Farrell said:
On the matter of CPTPP accessions, I indicated that the membership was currently focussed on finalising the United Kingdom’s accession.
I reiterated that any economy that sought to accede to the CPTPP must have a demonstrated track record of complying with trade agreements. I also indicated that Australia would work with the CPTPP membership to consider all accession applications on a consensus basis.
Updated
AEC says guidance on referendum pamphlet submissions to be sent to politicians next week
The AEC says it is working with politicians to prepare the referendum pamphlet, which will go to all households.
Commissioner Tom Rogers told Senate estimates that the AEC would write to all politicians in the next week with information about the process, which would include guidance on points like fonts and formatting.
Answering technical questions about how the formatting will need to be done, and what the AEC will do, Rogers said: “whatever you give us is going in that booklet”.
The pamphlet will be delivered to all homes, and be available online plus at polling places.
The pamphlet will be translated into a number of languages, including dozens of Indigenous languages. For some languages which are oral-only, the AEC is working on audio files to share the info in the pamphlet.
Updated
Monique Ryan welcomes decision to end native logging by end of 2023
Independent Kooyong MP Dr Monique Ryan has also welcomed the decision by the Victorian government to bring forward the end to native forest logging to the end of this year, congratulating “the many volunteers, environmental organisations, community groups, and political candidates who have worked tirelessly for many years to achieve this end”:
Together, we have saved our beautiful Victorian native forests.
Victoria’s native forests are unlike any other. They have historic beauty, and hold an extraordinary diversity of fungi, plant and animal life.
According to the experts, the decision to end native forest logging six years earlier than planned is akin to preventing the carbon emissions from 730,000 cars every year.
Preserving these carbon stores is a vital part of our efforts to move to a strong, clean economy of the future.
Ryan is also a fan of the $200m transition package for workers.
Success has many fathers – or, in this instance, fathers and mothers. Among the many voices who’ve called for this change in recent years are the two recent state independent candidates from my own community – Sophie Torney of Kew, and Melissa Lowe, from Hawthorn.
… Today is a really happy day for all Victorians who care for our forests, our environment, and our climate. We’ll keep working together to protect these assets – for ourselves and for our children.
Updated
For those who just want the numbers on the Victorian budget:
Victorian budget numbers:
— Benita Kolovos (@benitakolovos) May 23, 2023
- Deficit of $4bn 2023/24 – an increase of $400m since November. Shrinks to $1.1bn in 2024/25, before building to surpluses of $1bn in 2025/26 and $1.2bn in 2026/27.
Updated
Infrastructure department says it has had no contact with Larrakia people over Middle Arm hub
[continued from previous post]
The department also says it has had no contact with the Larrakia people who have raised concerns about the project and says that responsibility and any commentary about what industries would use the site lies with the Northern Territory government.
The independent senator David Pocock asks whether the department or ministers met with anyone on the federal lobbyist register about the project and where the change in branding for the development to a “sustainable” precinct came from. Both of those questions were taken on notice.
Updated
Greens and independents question process behind NT’s Middle Arm development
In an estimates hearing for the infrastructure department today, Greens and independent senators have been asking what process was used before the government decided it would take a $1.5bn equity stake in the Northern Territory’s proposed Middle Arm development.
Guardian Australia has reported on concerns about the project’s potential impacts on Larrakia cultural heritage and a document sent to the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, that states the project is seen as a “key enabler” for the export of Beetaloo gas.
Both major parties committed to funding the project before the last federal election but officials today have been keen to emphasise the decision was made through a cabinet process by the previous government and in the Albanese government’s October budget “that $1.5bn was not removed”.
The Greens senator Penny Allman-Payne asks:
Would it be fair to say there hasn’t been a substantive process that has been gone through in the department?
The department’s response is not particularly illuminating.
I think it would be better to say we provided advice into a cabinet for that process that we can’t speak to.
Updated
Further details on Victorian budget
A little bit more from the Victorian budget;
Payroll tax exemptions will also be removed for about 110 high-fee private schools, which will raise $348m in the 2023/24 financial year. The government will also double the levy paid by overseas property investors to 4%, and lift betting taxes from 10% to 15% of wagering revenue, in line with New South Wales.
The government has also identified $2.1bn in savings over four years, including reducing the public service by 3,000-4,000 workers – described as a return to “pre-pandemic levels” – and scaling back the use of labour hire and consultancy firms.
The budget, however, has allocated funding to every election commitment made during the November election campaign. As already reported, it also brings forward the end date to native timber logging in the state from 2030 to 2024.
Updated
Albanese to party room: there’s ‘plenty of work ahead for us’
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, addressed Labor caucus earlier today, one year on from when he and four colleagues were sworn in as ministers of the new government.
Albanese said:
We should never take for granted that we have the opportunity to be in government. As long as we stay disciplined, united and focused we can stay in this room. People see us as an adult government with a sense of purpose, that is disciplined, and doing its job ... We’ve been determined to deliver on our commitments. The key thing people remember from the budget is its tripling of bulk billing incentives.
Albanese referred to Labor’s housing policies, listing elements including the increase in rental assistance, and the housing Australia future fund “which the Coalition and the Greens are holding back”.
Albanese paid tribute to Penny Wong and Pat Conroy for their international work re-engaging with the Pacific, particularly on climate change. He said “action on climate change is the entry fee for credibility at international meetings”.
Albanese referred to the visit by the Indian prime minister Modi, and the US president, Joe Biden, needing to stay home due to debt ceiling issues. While unfortunate, Albanese said there was a “domestic and international interest in avoiding a US default”.
Albaese said he was proud of where Labor up to but not complacent. “There’s no hubris, plenty of work ahead of us,” he said.
Updated
Victorian treasurer introduces new levies to help pay down ‘Covid debt’
Victoria’s treasurer, Tim Pallas, has handed down his ninth budget in parliament, which introduces two new levies that are expected to raise $8.6bn over the next four years, in an effort to pay down the state’s $31.5bn of “Covid debt”.
From July, businesses that pay more than $10m in wages nationally – 5% of the state’s employers – will pay a “Covid debt levy” via a payroll tax surcharge of 0.5% for their Victorian employees. Businesses with national payrolls above $100m pay a 1% surcharge.
From January 2024, Victorians who pay a land tax will be hit with an additional annual fee of $500 for total landholdings worth between $50,000 and 100,000 and $975 for land worth between $100,000 and $300,000. For most land worth more than $300,000, an additional hike of 0.1% of total land values will be charged.
Family homes will be exempt from the changes, which Pallas said will affect 860,000 landowners who will pay an average of $1,300 in additional taxes annually.
He has told parliament:
We know some did better out of the pandemic than others - and it’s only fair that those that did well contribute to the repayment effort ... business profits are up 24% over the past three years compared with the previous three. Land values have increased 84% in the past 10 years. We’ve structured the repayment plan in a way that’s responsible and proportionate to those with an ability to pay.
Updated
Emergency management agency head agrees climate change is causing overlapping fire seasons
Climate change means the northern and southern hemisphere fire seasons are increasingly overlapping, Senate estimates has heard.
The Greens senator Nick McKim asked the National Emergency Management Agency about the ongoing availability of resources to tackle fires, particularly in remote areas of Tasmania. Australia currently leases some helicopters from countries in the northern hemisphere.
McKim asked NEMA’s commissioner, Brendan Moon, if he accepted that the higher fire risk periods between the northern and southern hemispheres were starting to overlap “to a greater degree than they did previously as a result of global warming”. He responded:
There’s absolutely no doubt that there’s an overlap there, and we’re exploring what that means.
Updated
Queensland removes bill that stopped UN officials from visiting detention facilities last year
The Queensland government has passed a bill to remove legislative barriers that prohibited UN officials from visiting places of detention during their visit to Australia last year.
A UN anti-torture subcommittee suspended its tour of Australian detention facilities in October after Guardian Australia revealed Queensland refused access to some mental health facilities that hold people charged with crimes, while NSW blocked inspectors from entering all of its detention facilities.
The former attorney general Shannon Fentiman said in parliament in March the bill was “another commitment ... to uphold human rights in Queensland”.
It recognises that the observance of human rights is the most effective and safe way to manage custodial environments.
Fentiman said access to the facilities had been limited to preserve people’s “safety and privacy” but the subcommittee was offered the opportunity to interview staff offsite and request information before their arrival.
NSW now remains the only Australian jurisdiction to refuse entry to inspectors.
Updated
While the housing future fund debate continues between Labor and the Greens, this was a particularly awkward moment for Labor’s Higgins MP, Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah, last night on the ABC’s Q&A.
Are tax breaks for investment properties through niiiegative gearing justifiable given the housing crisis? #QandA pic.twitter.com/Gz5Pv5A3Lt
— QandA (@QandA) May 22, 2023
Updated
AEC outlines yes and no essay guidelines for voice referendum pamphlets
(Continued from previous post)
The first questions, from the shadow special minister of state, Jane Hume, was on the official information pamphlets - which include essays written by politicians who vote yes and no in parliament.
Rogers said if the AEC doesn’t receive one of the essays on time (within the 28-day window), the pamphlet will go out with only one case – while if an essay arrives without meeting the guidelines (ie if it was over 2,000 words) it would be rejected “in its entirety”.
Laws governing the referendum do not state what process should be used to write the essays, but Guardian Australian understands the government is considering setting up large parliamentary committees to write the essays by consensus. Rogers said the AEC would deal with the essays when they come in, after being generated through “whatever parliamentary process”.
Rogers said the AEC would make no alterations to an essay (even to correct spelling mistakes) and wouldn’t make editorial decisions like changing bold headings.
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AEC commissioner raises concerns on online harm and violence against poll workers
The Australian Electoral Commission has raised concerns about violence against poll workers in the leadup to the voice referendum.
In evidence to Senate estimates, the AEC commissioner, Tom Rogers, said 2023 represented “the most challenging, unpredictable, complex and yet exciting epoch in the AEC’s history”, noting domestic and global challenges around the electoral process.
Against a backdrop of increasing threats to electoral integrity, escalating electoral costs, supply chain disruptions, recruitment challenges and ageing systems, the AEC continues to prepare for a referendum and the next general election, whenever that may be, and at least one byelection.
The information ecosystem was entirely different at the time of the last referendum, with no social media. We’re already seeing an increase in disinformation on social media, and a regrettable increase in threatening commentary. We’re adapting our approach to manage this for the referendum, including protecting our own staff from online harm.
We’re seeing a more unpredictable information environment every day, requiring us to navigate far more challenges than ever before.
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Pay ‘No 1’ issue driving early education staff losses, SA royal commission hears
Jim Chalmers was asked about whether the government will step in and raise child care wages yesterday and he said that first the multi-employer bargaining process had to be given a chance to get underway.
AAP reports on the South Australian royal commission into child care with the commission being told poor pay rates being one of the reasons for a the continued exodus from the sector.
United Workers Union’s executive director of early learning, Helen Gibbons, said pay wasn’t the only issue driving the loss of more than 30% of staff each year, but it remained the most important.
“It’s not just about being able to pay their bills, it’s also about how they feel valued by the community,” Gibbons told South Australia’s royal commission into early childhood education and care on Tuesday. “How much you’re paid is a really concrete expression of how much the community values the work that you do.
“I really want to stress that that is the key driver, absolutely the No 1 issue. Our educators tell us very clearly that if you don’t fix that, you don’t fix the sector.”
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Lengthy debate on referendum legislation to push out House sitting times
There are another 81 MPs who want to speak on the referendum legislation bill, which comes on top of the 20 who spoke yesterday. That means to get through them all, the house is going to have to sit later (they have been trying to do “family friendly” hours but that is not going to work this week).
Tony Burke told the chamber, in asking to amend the hours it sits:
… that means tonight and tomorrow night the debate will continue until 10pm. If you are listed to speak on the adjournment, those speeches will still happen between 7:30 and 8pm tonight and tomorrow night. And there is still no intention that we have a vote on the bill itself until next week.
The House has agreed to suspend standing and sessional orders to enable it to sit until 10 pm tonight and tomorrow night to facilitate further debate on the Constitution Alteration (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice) 2023.
— Australian House of Representatives (@AboutTheHouse) May 23, 2023
So there will be some late nights ahead for house MPs. Senators, who have not had a sitting week where there hasn’t been some sort of change and extension of hours, are trying to muster up some sympathy for their house colleagues, I’m sure.
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Nationals remain opposed to referendum bill – but leader notes ‘mistakes were made’ during settlement
Elsewhere, the Nationals leader, David Littleproud, declared again that his party would oppose the referendum bill in parliament – despite Peter Dutton previously saying the Liberals were inclined to support it, and allow the referendum to occur.
Littleproud admitted “mistakes were made” during British settlement in relation to Indigenous Australians, but believed Australians would be “stronger working together with Indigenous Australians rather than apart”. Littleproud also called for a “respectful” debate around the voice.
Dutton did not mention the voice in the Coalition party room, nor the official information pamphlet.
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Shadow defence minister calls for Aukus joint standing committee
Back in the Coalition meeting, the shadow defence minister, Andrew Hastie, renewed his calls for the government to set up a parliamentary joint standing committee on Aukus, saying there was the need for a “clearing house” for legislation around the military pact.
In the meeting, Hastie discussed a government bill on nuclear naval propulsion to back up the nuclear-powered submarines to be acquired under the Aukus deal. Hastie said there was a strategic need for the Coalition to back this bill, raising concerns about some on the crossbench opposing it.
In that debate, there was talk about the Aukus committee Hastie previously proposed in a letter to the defence minister, Richard Marles, last year. In February, Hastie said the Aukus committee would send an important signal to the US and the UK “that this parliament is serious about seeing Aukus through, through multiple governments”.
The government has not taken up that suggestion, Hastie noted.
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Final bids on failed solar project Sun Cable to be taken today
Back in January, billionaires Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest and Mike Cannon-Brookes fell out over their plans to develop giant solar farms in the Northern Territory to supply electricity via a cable to Singapore.
The company that both had invested in, Sun Cable, was put into administration. The plan was always ambitious, requiring up as much as $30bn, with some of the economics looking challenging, as we noted in this piece.
Anyway, the voluntary administrators are taking their final bids today (with the AFR today citing offers would land in the $100m range). FTI Consulting said the announcement about the winning bid will “potentially occur towards the end of this week to early next week”, a spokesperson said.
It’s possible, of course, that neither Twiggy or MCB wins out and both will then share some of the spoils to limit their investment losses so far. (MCB’s Grok and Twiggy’s Squadron energy declined to comment on their bids.)
A report out today by Bloomberg New Energy Finance finds Australia will need to invest as much as $US1.9tn ($A2.86tn) by 2050 if it is to reach its net zero emissions goals. That would need 800GW of solar and wind energy, or 21 times the 39GW we had at the end of 2022 (if we exclude a green hydrogen component, the requirement would be about 300GW).
How far Australia gets towards that goal will depend on the success of companies like Sun Cable (with or without the cable), hence the interest in this week’s bidding.
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Queensland ends licences to shoot flying foxes
This news may really upset Bob Katter (those of you didn’t cover Queensland politics for years may not know that Katter ran a campaign to “kill all flying foxes in urban areas” as a solution to stopping the spread of the Hendra virus – giving people permission to shoot flying foxes in their backyard was part of that).
Well, now Queensland has become the last jurisdiction to end the issuing of licences to shoot flying foxes, with the outgoing environment minister, Meagan Scanlon, writing to the Humane Society International that she had “made the decision to move away from permitting the shooting of flying-foxes due to ongoing animal welfare concerns”.
There will be a three-year phase out of the licences.
The HSI statement says that “despite being protected under the Nature Conservation Act 1992, Damage Mitigation Permits (DMPs) were issued to orchardists in Queensland to shoot three species of flying-fox: the black flying-fox, little red flying-fox and grey-headed flying-fox, in an effort to reduce crop damage”.
Not only was it inhumane and dangerous, it was also less effective than placing netting over the crops.
Updated
The Greens are pushing for all native logging states to follow Victoria’s lead.
Time for Tasmania to end the assault on nature from native forest logging. It’s a mendicant industry that slaughters countless creatures, poisons rivers, contaminates the air, despoils landscapes and cooks the planet. Just end it now and help people through the transition. pic.twitter.com/uvaxjRKpRX
— Nick McKim (@NickMcKim) May 23, 2023
Dutton stresses Coalition must work together to win Fadden byelection
[continued from previous post]
Dutton, addressing the room, had a renewed focus on the “working poor” in Australia, raising concerns about cost of living and energy prices, as well as industrial relations reforms mooted by the government. He noted popular public support for his proposed gambling ad ban.
The government has criticised Dutton for not outlining more substantial policy ideas in his budget reply. Dutton told the room the Coalition “needn’t rush to failure” in dashing out new policies, saying more policies would come “in due course” – noting the need for their ideas to be considered, costed and ready to be debated.
Robert, who formalised his retirement from politics last week, will be replaced in a byelection for the Gold Coast seat of Fadden in July. You may remember the last byelection triggered by a retiring opposition member didn’t go so well for Peter Dutton - so the opposition leader stressed the Coalition needed to work together to ensure they didn’t lose this one too.
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Dutton says he does not want to ‘rush to failure’ with too many early policy announcements
Peter Dutton has told the Coalition he doesn’t want to “rush to failure” by putting out too many policies early in his term as opposition leader, and told his troops they need to “work together as a team” to win the Fadden byelection and hold Stuart Robert’s seat.
The Coalition partyroom met this morning in Canberra, their first get-together since Dutton’s budget reply speech two weeks ago. Nationals leader David Littleproud addressed the meeting to praise the “vision and principles” outlined in Dutton’s speech, criticising the government’s budget as a “welfare budget” that he claimed would push inflation up (many leading economists and the treasury department disagree).
Littleproud claimed the regions were “being done over” by the government’s infrastructure funding audit.
One Coalition member, contributing to the meeting, suggested getting local mayors and other community groups involved in a campaign to oppose the mooted changes to infrastructure funding, which the opposition claims will see smaller regional projects axed (remember, this audit is being done to make sure all the Coalition’s projects announced in government actually meet criteria and weren’t just pork-barrelling ventures – or as infrastructure minister Catherine King described them, “press release projects”)
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Greens senator Janet Rice calls on Albanese government to bring forward ban on native forest logging
The Greens forests spokesperson and Victorian senator Janet Rice wants the Albanese government to follow Victoria’s lead in bringing forward the ban on native forests and stop all native forest logging:
Native forest logging is a dying industry and there’s no way around it.
If Labor bring on the Greens bill to a vote, we can immediately ban all native forest logging across the country.
The Regional Forest Agreements have allowed reckless destruction of native forests for decades across Australia, pushed native wildlife to the brink of extinction, destroyed First Nations heritage, endangered our water supplies, heightened bushfire risk, and made the climate crisis worse.
The government has a responsibility to stop this destruction, protect native forests and fix our broken environment laws.
The Greens are ready to work with the Albanese government on a national ban on native forest logging, ensure a just transition for forestry workers and protect what remains of our precious native forests.”
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Australia ‘deeply invested’ in freedom of navigation in South China Sea: Marles
Earlier this morning, the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, was asked if China’s military buildup kept him up at night. After a back and forth about what China’s motivations were, he said:
Well, the point really is we can have a long conversation about that and you’ll get different views on it.
But the real point is this: it engages our interest. If you look at the South China Sea, for example, that is a body of water which matters deeply to us. Why? Because most of our trade goes through the South China Sea.
And yes, a lot of that trade is to China itself. But all of our trade to Japan, all of our trade to Korea, two of our top five trading partners, goes through the South China Sea. So, we as a nation are deeply invested in the rules of the road applying there – freedom of navigation, freedom of overflight.
The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea matters to Australia and our way of life, our prosperity, as it applies in the South China Sea and, of course, everywhere else.
That is what is part of how we are seeing a much more complex strategic landscape which we need to posture for. And that’s what we’re doing. And that’s at the heart of the defence strategic review, the government’s response to it. It is why we seek to have, for example, long range nuclear-powered submarines.
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Guardian Australia’s 10th birthday event at the Seymour Centre
You can hear from Luke Henriques-Gomes, our social affairs and inequality editor, at our 10th birthday event at the Seymour Centre this Thursday (along with a cast of other superstar reporters and editors at the Guardian)
He’ll be talking about reporting on things like this:
A taxpayer-funded employability course is under fire after jobseekers complained that much of the compulsory training involved being shown irrelevant, inappropriate and, at-times, bizarre YouTube videos.
Under contracts signed by the Coalition last year, the federal government will pay private providers about $500m over five years to run Employability Skills Training (EST) courses as part of the commonwealth’s $7bn Workforce Australia program.
On its website, the department says the program offers “practical support” and “helps you become job-ready by providing intensive pre-employment training”.
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Illicit tobacco market growing, ABF tells Senate estimates
The Australian Border Force has seized 73% more cigarettes compared with the same time last year, while for both loose leaf tobacco and cigarettes there has been a 10.5% increase in terms of duty evaded. Criminal syndicates have increasingly become involved in the illicit tobacco market because it’s profitable, and the penalties compared to drug smuggling are lower, Senate estimates has heard.
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PM to announce workload changes for ministers
Looks like there are some workload changes coming for the ministry – there were extra staff allocated for MPs (not just ministers) in the budget, but this looks like a wider acknowledgment that the workload is unsustainable.
In caucus Anthony Albanese noted the workload on house leaders (Tony Burke, Penny Wong) and revealed he will make an announcement later today on "additional duties for assistant ministers" #auspol
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) May 23, 2023
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Victoria to ban native forest logging from start of next year
The Victorian government is set to announce that it will ban native forest logging from the start of next year, reflecting a widely held belief that the industry is not environmentally or economically viable.
The announcement, expected in today’s state budget, will bring forward the previous commitment to phase out native forest logging by 2030 and include transition funding for affected workers and communities.
It follows the state’s forests being hit by devastating bushfires in 2019-20, reducing the area available for logging, and court decisions finding the state-owned timber agency VicForests had not adequately protected endangered species.
Expectations the end was near have grown in recent months. VicForests stopped logging in November after the supreme court judged it had failed to protect the greater glider and yellow-bellied glider.
In February, the Maryvale Mill in the Latrobe Valley, the state’s biggest, ended production of office paper in the state, blaming a lack of timber supply. VicForests had already reported a loss of more than $50m last financial year.
It is expected the government will announce at least $200m in extra transition funding.
The decision is unlikely to be welcomed in parts of regional Victoria that are home to native forest workers. Critics say plantations are not yet in place at a scale that can replace native forest timber.
It will be celebrated by the state’s conservation movement, which has fought a decades-long battle to create new national parks and protect forests from clearfelling.
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Robodebt official given $900,000-a-year Aukus role before royal commission, says Wong
The robodebt royal commission will hand down its report on 7 June for those wondering. Paul Karp has an update on Kathryn Campbell’s new role as a defence adviser:
Penny Wong has given a qualified defence of a decision to appoint a public servant who held the top jobs at the two departments responsible for robodebt to a plum role as an adviser on Aukus.
The foreign minister told Senate estimates that the decision had been made before the royal commission began and evidence that has since come out went “beyond what [she] would’ve anticipated”.
Kathryn Campbell was given the $900,000-a-year job in June 2022, leaving her role as the head of the foreign affairs department.
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Transcript from prime minister’s office omits key part of question on royal commission into Covid
The prime minister’s office and department published a transcript which omitted a key part of a journalist’s question about whether the government will call a royal commission into Covid.
The omission from the transcript of a 15 May press conference in Adelaide has the effect of qualifying Anthony Albanese’s answer that the government will “examine it” to commit Labor only to consider “some kind of inquiry” but not specifically a royal commission.
Under Albanese and his predecessor Scott Morrison, the Australian government has been pressed to call a royal commission into the response to Covid, including by a Senate inquiry chaired by the now finance minister Katy Gallagher when Labor was in opposition.
The call is supported by the former independent senator Rex Patrick and a number of Labor, crossbench and Coalition senators.
On 15 May, a journalist asked Albanese: “You have committed to some kind of inquiry like a royal commission into Australia’s handling of Covid, but there was nothing on this in the budget. When do you plan on calling one?”
But the transcript, distributed by the prime minister’s office and published by the department, rendered the question: “You have committed to some kind of inquiry into Australia’s handling of Covid, but there was nothing on this budget. When you plan on doing that?”
Albanese replied: “Covid is still amongst us. What I’ve said is that when we are confident that we’re through those issues, then we’ll examine it.”
Guardian Australia understands the question may not have been clearly audible from the on-site recording, but the prime minister’s office declined to provide it.
The question follows numerous instances of Albanese committing to an “examination” of Covid, but not specifically endorsing the Senate committee’s call for a royal commission.
On 16 August Albanese told reporters that he has “said consistently that once we were through the pandemic, it would be inconceivable, regardless of who won the election in May, that you would not have a proper examination of the circumstances around the handling of the pandemic”.
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ACIJ calls for sanctions in response to targeting of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh
This morning, Richard Marles dodged questions on whether Anthony Albanese should raise the treatment of Muslims and minorities in India with Narendra Modi, but the Australian Centre for International Justice has made a submission (and a follow-up submission) to Penny Wong asking for action on what it says are ongoing human rights violations in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.
From its statement:
Our 75-page submission, prepared in consultation with affected members of the diaspora, set out evidence of the individuals’ respective involvement in violations of the right to life and the right not to be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. It focused on systematic campaigns carried out by members of the Uttar Pradesh police, in which Muslims (a religious minority in India) were disproportionately targeted.
The submission argued that domestic accountability for these abuses is highly unlikely and that efforts by survivors and the families of victims to seek justice in India have been met with intimidation, threats and harassment by police.
The ACIJ wants Australia to use is Magnitsky human rights sanctions regime to sanction those it says are responsible for what is happening in Uttar Pradesh.
Albanese will join Modi at a community event in Sydney this evening, with a bilateral meeting to be held tomorrow at Admiralty House.
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'Inhumane' treatment of asylum seekers in focus at senate estimates
“We don’t just lock people up and forget about them,” home affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo has told senate estimates.
Greens senator Nick McKim immediately replied:
You certainly do.
They were discussing comments from UN special rapporteur on torture, Anne Edwards, who said it was “inhumane” to detain people indefinitely.
Pezzullo said there were “terminus points” for all refugees and asylum seekers, including trying to send them back to their country of origin, and that no one was detained “potentially eternally”.
The department took on notice a request for more details on the length of time people are being detained for.
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Party rooms meeting before house sits at midday
Senators are busy with estimates hearings, but the house won’t sit until midday.
That’s for the party room meetings to occur, which means Tuesday morning is usually a little quiet at this time of the day, as most MPs are locked away hearing about how great everything their party is doing and how terrible the other parties are.
Legislation gets discussed, concerns are raised, and updates on policy are given. Then the media are called in for a background briefing to hear what went on.
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Security pact between US and PNG a ‘very positive’ thing, says Marles
If you didn’t see this yesterday, the US has signed a new security pact with Papua New Guinea.
As AAP reports, Richard Marles says Australia sees that as a positive step:
The fact that America is walking down this path is something that we certainly see as being very positive and we will continue to work with PNG in terms of developing our own friends.
Updated
More than 200 asylum seekers turned away by Operation Sovereign Borders in past year, Senate estimates hears
Eight boats holding more than 200 asylum seekers have been turned back under Operation Sovereign Borders in the past year. OSB commander, rear admiral Justin Jones, said:
Over the last year we’ve had eight boats and 209 people attempt journeys to Australia – all have been successfully resolved … returned to their place of origin safely and in accordance with Australia’s domestic and international legal obligations.
The socioeconomic crisis in Sri Lanka and other global and regional factors have led to an increased “tempo” of asylum seeker boats, he said, and people smugglers would continue targeting vulnerable people, spreading misinformation and “outright lies” to increase demand for their services.
As Senate estimates has also turned its attention to “on-water matters”, home affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo was asked about reports that 41 asylum seekers had been picked up and returned to Sri Lanka in April.
It’s a longstanding practice … we don’t discuss operational matters pertaining to Operation Sovereign Borders except in so far as we have a monthly reporting cycle.
He suggested that the media sometimes got the wrong end of the stick and that people may have, for example, been picked up from a trawler that got into trouble (but he wasn’t talking about any specific on-water matter).
Officials told estimates there were no planned upgrades to security on Christmas Island (the topic of another report) but that OSB was always prepared for more arrivals.
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Qantas to post biggest ever annual profit, up to $2.48bn
Qantas is on track to deliver a record net profit of up to $2.48bn this financial year amid surging travel demand, representing a sharp turnaround for the national carrier.
The forecast full year result to 30 June is underpinned by a flying schedule that is now more profitable than before the pandemic, Qantas disclosed in a market update on Tuesday morning.
The result could be almost $1bn higher than its prior record in 2018, which came in at $1.6bn.
Qantas’s profit margins have been helped by huge demand for domestic and international flights, high ticket prices and various cost savings.
Qantas chief executive, Alan Joyce, said lower jet fuel prices were helping put downward pressure on fares, although he noted there was still excess demand.
The industry remains capacity constrained and the travel category remains strong, so there’s still a mismatch between supply and demand that’s likely to persist for some time, especially for international flying.
Many airlines are now recording bumper profits due in part to pent-up demand and high fares, after recording years of pandemic-disrupted losses.
Qantas’s chief financial officer, Vanessa Hudson, will take over from Joyce as the airline’s chief executive in November.
Updated
Monash University backs Indigenous voice to parliament
Monash University has become the latest university to back the voice to parliament with the launch of a series of speaker sessions on the upcoming referendum.
The series, launching this week, features prominent Indigenous Australians and legal experts including Wiradjuri and Wailwan woman and senior lawyer Teela Reid, Whadjuk Noongar woman and commentator Narelda Jacobs and Prof Luke Beck.
The vice-chancellor of Monash, Prof Margaret Gardner, said the university council unanimously supported the Uluru Statement of the Heart.
We are committed to actively engaging in conversations and actions that promote a more equitable and inclusive society for all Australians.”
Prof Tristan Kennedy, the pro vice-chancellor and a Noongar man, said facilitating an informed discourse in the lead up to the referendum was crucial.
Higher education institutions have a responsibility and are in a privileged position to facilitate robust conversations about matters like this that affect everyone in the community, that’s what I see Monash University being able to do in 2023.
Universities Australia, the peak body for the sector, has withheld from actively backing the yes campaign, but a number of tertiary institutions have come out to announce their support.
Among them are Charles Darwin University, ANU, UNSW, the University of Wollongong, Swinburne and Curtin University, with others remaining in negotiation over their institutional positions.
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‘Significant uptick’ in cocaine seizures, says border force commissioner
ABF commissioner Michael Outram has confirmed a “significant uptick” in cocaine seizures, with 100 companies and 1,000 employees of “concern” when it comes to smuggling.
Outram was responding to last night’s Four Corners episode “Cocaine Nation”, which featured an underworld whistleblower’s claims about Mexican and South American cartels importing tonnes of drugs into Australia. He said:
What we’ve identified through undertaking Operation Jardine over the last year and a half is probably about 100 companies that deeply concern us – they’re operating at the border in different contexts within airports, seaports, the supply chain, customs brokerages … depots, warehouses, etc. And [there are] about 1,000 employees that concern us.
Outram said the ABF was “pretty stretched” tackling the issue and that he was concerned people would think ABF officers were involved, although he conceded the force was not “immune” to corruption:
I would never say that any organisation is impenetrable particularly when you think of the depths of the pockets that organised crime has. So I’ve been very cautious [but] no organisation is immune, including mine.
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Border force continued trial of Chinese-made drones after US and ADF stopped, estimates hears
The Australian border force continued a trial of drones made by Chinese company DJI for several days because the “risks were low and manageable”, commissioner Michael Outram told Senate estimates this morning.
The US stopped using DJI drones because of their links to the Chinese military, and the Australian defence force stopped using them on 5 May. Outram said he initially continued a trial because the ABF has a different security classification and was using them for things such as spotting illegal tobacco crops. But on 8 May, after further briefings, he suspended the trial “out of an abundance of caution” because it had become a “whole-of-government issue”.
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More than 150,000 taking up fee-free Tafe, says skills minister
The skills minister, Brendan O’Connor, says more than 150,000 people have taken up the government’s offer of fee-free Tafe so far:
More than 65,000 students in NSW
Over 26,000 in both Victoria and Queensland
More than 12,000 people with disability
Almost 35,000 jobseekers
Nationwide, almost 30% of all enrolments have been in courses related to the care sector – an area of high priority.
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Qantas forecasts before-tax profits of about $2.4bn for financial year
I am sure all of you will be as shocked by this news as I was – Qantas is reporting a before tax profit of about $2.4bn. That follows its $1.4bn half year profit.
Qantas says “continued strong travel demand and completion of its three-year recovery program” are the main drivers of the financial year “underlying profit before tax of between $2,425 million and $2,475 million”.
It has headlined:
Estimated underlying profit before tax of $2,425 million-$2,475 million for FY23.
Net debt of $2,700 million-$2,900 million expected at 30 June 2023.
Fuel prices, costs associated with operational buffer and fares all moderating.
On-market buy-back increased by up to $100 million.
On-track to share benefits of recovery with employees.
Shocked.
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NT government knew it could not reduce climate risk when it greenlit ‘carbon bomb’ gas production in Beetaloo Basin
Meanwhile, Lisa Cox has an update on the Beetaloo Basin:
New documents reveal the Northern Territory government knew it could not meet a key recommendation to reduce the climate risk of its planned massive expansion of gas production, and asked the Albanese government for help.
Federal climate change officials in turn admitted Australia did not have any existing policies that would meet the recommendation in full.
Advocates say the documents are proof the Northern Territory government lied when it claimed all the conditions were in place to give the green light to gas production in the Beetaloo Basin, an area of vast shale reserves 500km south-east of Darwin.
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It looks like estimates is going really well:
Dan Tehan either doesn’t understand the difference between net overseas migration and permanent migration – or he knows he’s lying. pic.twitter.com/iFttALeZ3Y
— Andrew Giles MP (@andrewjgiles) May 22, 2023
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Hourly wage gap between casual and permanent workers highest on record at 28%, ACTU research shows
AAP has looked at some Australian Council of Trade Unions research showing the pay gap between permanent and casual workers:
Australia’s casual workers are getting paid significantly less than their permanent counterparts, with the hourly pay gap reaching an all-time high.
Casuals generally earn $11.59 less an hour than permanent workers, or an hourly rate of $28.95 against $40.54, a pay gap of 28%, ACTU research shows.
The pay differential is the highest on record.
Employees with the same skill level or occupation had a smaller pay gap of between $3.55 and $3.84 an hour, equating to a discrepancy of about 11%.
The union noted the gap existed despite casuals receiving a pay loading of up to 25% and it called for the Albanese government to scrap “Morrison-era changes to the law”.
The government should also introduce a commonsense definition of casual work as part of its industrial relations reforms because too many jobs were casual “in name only”, it said.
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Gambling reform alliance CEO praises Zoe Daniel’s ad ban bill amid ‘white hot public anger’ against betting industry
The Alliance for Gambling Reform has welcomed Goldstein independent MP Zoe Daniel’s private member’s bill to ban the broadcast of gambling ads.
The government has tried to put the issue on ice by saying it is waiting for the review it ordered of online gambling ads to come back first (there is a small component of the review which will take in broadcast ads).
But CEO of the gambling reform alliance, Carol Bennett, said Daniel’s bill showed “a political leadership” she hoped the government would follow.
“There is white hot public anger at the tsunami of gambling ads that are on our screens. Parents are furious that they are not able to protect their children from a gambling industry that is both ruthless and predatory and which targets young people.”
But Bennett also hoped any forthcoming ban would go further than even Daniel’s bill:
But as good as this bill is, it does not go far enough, there must also be urgent government action to ban gambling ads on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat.
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Nearly half of those seeking Australian homelessness charity’s help have jobs but can’t pay soaring rents
If you haven’t seen this report from Jordyn Beazley on who is accessing help from Mission Australia, it is well worth your time:
Four in 10 people who sought help from a major homelessness charity in the past three years were employed but could not meet skyrocketing rents, according to a report by Mission Australia.
The report comes as the demand for the organisation’s homelessness services, mainly based in New South Wales, jumped by 26% to 7,378 people between January 2020 to December last year.
The number of people seeking help who were already homeless increased by 50% in three years to more than 3,500 people – mainly due to inadequate supply or affordable housing, the report said.
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No case ‘zeroed in’ on inclusion of ‘executive government’ in referendum, Leeser says
Does Julian Leeser accept that his proposal to remove “executive government” from the question will not get ahead?
Leeser:
Well, look, obviously the bill is going to pass the House of Representatives in the next fortnight where the government has the majority and the government is sticking with its wording – at least that’s what the minister said yesterday – but it’s quite a few more weeks to run in the Senate.
The reason I have put this forward is not that I don’t believe that the voice should be able to advise the executive.
But when I read and paid attention to the full sweep of the debate yesterday, the no case is zeroed in on this point. And I think having that second clause in there is making it more difficult for Australians to vote yes. And I want to see the yes case win and win handsomely and I think the best, best way for it to win is to try and encourage as many Australians as possible to vote yes.
And I think we can achieve that and achieve a strong voice by amending that second clause.
Updated
Leeser dodges question on Linda Burney’s ‘misinformation and disinformation’ comments on Dutton
The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney said Dutton’s claims were “misinformation and disinformation”. Does Julian Leeser agree?
Leeser dodges the question:
I think it’s important that the yes case and the no case each put their best arguments forward.
I’ve always said one of the reasons I’m on the yes case and not the no case is that I’ve always thought that it was a reasonable thing to have this body and have a body that is specifically designed to improve the policy outcomes for Aboriginal people for two reasons, firstly, because they’re the only people that we make laws about on the basis of their race.
And secondly, because this is a wonderful country where, you know, by global standards, our social and economic indicators, the best in the world, but we have a gap that Aboriginal people face and we haven’t been able to close that gap.
And I believe consulting people on the laws and policies that affect them, will help us improve. We’re addressing things like Indigenous homelessness, employment, housing, safety, education and economic advancement.
That’s why I think this is a good thing.
Updated
Leeser: ATSI people the only group for whom laws are made ‘on the basis of their race’, making voice a ‘reasonable’ move
The interview moves on and Julian Leeser is asked about party leader Peter Dutton’s comments in his speech yesterday that the voice would “re-racialise” Australia.
Leeser, who stepped away from the shadow frontbench so he could campaign for the yes vote, said:
I’m not going to be responsible for commenting on other people’s comments. I’m going to responsible for the words that I say.
I think that the voice will play an important role in Australia and it will play an important role because we know that you make better public policy when you consult people that are directly affected by the laws and policies that are made about them.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the only people that we make laws about on the basis of their race. It’s therefore a reasonable thing that they should be consulted about the effect of those laws and policies.
And that’s why we’re having the voice – it recognises Aboriginal people and it provides for a permanent institution for consultation and that should lead to better public policymaking.
Updated
‘Everybody has a responsibility’ to improve public debate, Leeser says when asked about mainstream media
Asked again about the responsibility of the media – mainstream media – Julian Leeser says:
Well, I think everybody has a responsibility to lift the standard of public debate in this country. And I think I always try and conduct myself in a way where we play the ball and not the person, and I think that that’s a really important principle.
And I’m really sad that it’s had this effect on Stan [Grant]. I’ve reached out to him personally, and I hope we see him resuming his public role again soon.
Which again doesn’t address the substantive issue at the heart of the question. The media can be notoriously bad at taking on board criticism or responding as needed (and yes, I am part of the media I am talking about). It doesn’t help when politicians are also not willing to call out when lines are crossed.
Updated
Julian Leeser ‘shocked’ at social media comments directed at Stan Grant
The former shadow attorney general Julian Leeser was next up on ABC radio RN Breakfast where he too was asked about the treatment of Stan Grant. Leeser had been on the ABC panel which played ahead of the coronation and had already spoken out against the “unrelenting racism online”.
Asked if he was worried about the media’s responsibility in conducting conversations around race and Indigenous people and history, Leeser said:
Let me firstly say again, that I’ve been horrified at some of the things that have been said about Stan Grant, in fact, I said it the day after I’d appeared on that coronation panel with him. I was just shocked at some of the things that were being said about him on social media and he’s copped that sort of thing for a long time.
He’s a good journalist. He’s a fair journalist and a fair man. And I think we all have to be better at having difficult conversations in our country and doing so in a respectful manner.
And I said in the context of the coming referendum that it’s really important that both sides engage respectfully. It’s important that advocates for the yes case listen to the reasonable concerns of those who doubt, and advocates for the no case listen to the hopes and aspirations of Indigenous people that they think the voice can bring them.
And I think that applies more broadly. We’ve got to have a more respectful conversation and I think sometimes social media commentary and so on doesn’t help that.
Again, you’ll notice that the answer focuses on social media. And there are problems with social media, but the question was on “the media”.
Updated
Victoria to introduce big business tax to help pay for Covid-19 debt
Big business is set to be slugged with a new tax to help repay billions of dollars worth of emergency funds borrowed by the Victorian government at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Victoria’s treasurer, Tim Pallas, on Tuesday afternoon will hand down his ninth budget, which will detail a “Covid-19 debt repayment plan” that includes new revenue measures and savings to get the state’s borrowings under control.
Guardian Australia has confirmed this will include a new levy on “big business” – though it remains unclear how many businesses will be eligible.
It comes after Pallas introduced the mental health and wellbeing levy to pay for an overhaul of the state’s system in the budget two years ago, to fund reforms to the state’s mental health system.
Updated
Marles encourages ‘sensitivity’ from both news organisations and social media users
It took asking at least three times for Richard Marles to get to that answer. The inclusion of News Corp’s campaigns against particular journalists at the ABC has seemingly made some politicians uncomfortable.
Justin Stevens, the ABC news boss has told News Corp and other media critics to focus on him: “I’m the person who’s responsible ultimately for the journalism and the decisions,” he said. “I’m saying, stop going after people for doing their jobs.”
Before agreeing that some of the comments below stories about ABC presenters in publications like the Australian were “revolting”, Marles said:
I think every news organisation and everybody who contributes to the public discourse and that includes those who engage in social media need to do so with a sense of sensitivity … and awareness about what people are saying and the way in which their voice is being heard.
Updated
Marles condemns 'revolting' comments left on media sites
The conversation moves on to Stan Grant and whether Richard Marles agrees with some of the comments ABC news boss Justin Stevens has made about the criticism Grant experienced by organisations like News Corp and its “relentless campaign”.
Marles is asked whether he has read some of the comments under articles about ABC staff which appear in newspapers like the Australian.
Patricia Karvelas:
Should those newspapers be dealing with the consequences and the commentary? I’ve read some of them I’ve read some of them about myself, too. They’re revolting.
Marles:
Look, I mean, they are revolting. It’s it’s an area in an age of social media where – where there are comments that are posted, well – anyone who engages in social media, I think we all need to do much better.
And the answer the question about why I haven’t read all them is precisely because of the impact which one has when you do read them all.
You know, I … do find it very troubling, is the short answer to the question. And I think this is a moment in Stan Grant’s decision for us all to have a long think about it.
Updated
Australia-China relations ‘dramatically’ more stabilised than a year ago: Marles
Should Anthony Albanese accept the invitation to visit Beijing if China hasn’t lifted its trade sanctions?
Richard Marles:
What we’re trying to do with China and really, this is the whole of this conversation – it is complex, and it is difficult.
If people want to try and make something which is very complex and difficult more simple, it just isn’t.
What we are trying to do is to stabilise the relationship. And as I say, we will work with China where we can, we will disagree with them where we must. That’s the philosophy that we are taking to stabilise.
I think it’s a bit it is more stabilised than it was a year ago, … dramatically so, but it’s not stabilised in the complete vision you have for where you want it.
Updated
Australia-China relationship ‘complex’ but is ‘a huge opportunity’, says Marles
Richard Marles gave a speech overnight where he said Australia “must confront the inconvenient truths about China”.
What did he mean by that?
Well, the point I was really making is that the China is a is a very complex country, and our relationship with China is obviously correspondingly complex.
And it’s not a relationship which can be defined with simplistic platitudes.
I think if you wind the clock back a year or more, you know, we had a debate in this country, which was pretty simplistic and didn’t take into account all the nuance of what is a very complex situation. And we need to embrace all of that, you know, we really need to look at the entire picture.
I mean, China is a huge opportunity for our country and remains such being our largest trading partner. The that facts has been at the heart of our economic growth over a number of decades.
Updated
But should Australia raise its concerns?
Richard Marles:
Well, I mean, we have a very deep and open relationship with India, but I’m not about to go into all of those elements.
Now. I’m sure that there will be a full conversation that that both prime ministers have tomorrow, but we want to emphasise that India is a democracy.
It’s a country with whom we share values and we do want to see a much bigger growth in the way in which we engage with each other and [cooperate], both on a military level and in terms of our trade.
Updated
Marles avoids question of whether PM will bring up India’s treatment of Muslims and other minorities with Modi
Will Anthony Albanese address the treatment of Muslims and other minorities with Modi, as Joe Biden plans to do when the pair meet later in the year?
Marles:
I’m not about to go into all that will be spoken about in when the prime minister, our prime minister, meets Prime Minister Modi tomorrow.
I think the fundamental point that we want to make is that is that we do have a strategic alignment based on a sense of shared values. I mean, ultimately, we are both democracies.
And that very much underpins the way in which we see the world and why we have an interest in building the relationship.
Updated
Marles confident of shared alignment with India despite silence on Russia
India has not condemned Russia. Is Richard Marles confident India is strategically aligned with Australia?
Marles:
We are confident that India is strategically aligned with Australia and India is a democracy with whom we share values. So that’s that’s the fundamental principle, and we share an interest in having a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Updated
India and Australia share ‘greater strategic alignment … than we really have at any point’: Marles
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, is speaking to ABC radio RN Breakfast about Narendra Modi’s visit. The Indian prime minister arrived at about 8pm last night. He and Anthony Albanese will attend a community event in Sydney tonight, with a bilateral meeting planned for tomorrow morning.
Marles:
I think we have a greater strategic alignment with India today than we really have at any point in both of our country’s histories, and it really does afford the opportunity to take the relationship to the next level, as Prime Minister Modi has said …
This is a real opportunity for us, because this year India becomes the largest country in the world by population. It is a growing, massive economy. There are great opportunities for us.
And in a security sense, we do both share values and share strategic alignment; we have a real investment together in the rules of the international trade, the global rules based order; we share an ocean, we want to see open trade occurring in all of that. And so we really do have a joint interest in cooperating.
Updated
For those who missed it last night, Stan Grant signed off from public life for some time, having received ongoing racial abuse for doing his job:
“I am down but I will get back up. And you can come at me again and I will meet you with the love of my people.” Stan Grant delivers a powerful message on Q+A before taking a break from the media. #StanGrant #QandA #WeStandWithStan pic.twitter.com/avNBJtzSMK
— QandA (@QandA) May 22, 2023
Updated
Snowy Hydro expects to restart stuck tunnel borer within weeks
Snowy Hydro’s tunnel borer, which has been stuck since 12 December just 70 metres into its work, should resume operations soon, Dennis Barnes, Snowy’s chief, told senate estimates on Monday night.
Dubbed “Florence”, the 211 metre-long machine hit soft rock soon after it began the 17km-long tunnel that will be a key part of the giant Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro scheme.
Work has been delayed while crews strengthened the rock around a sink hole that opened up in front of the borer and reached the surface. A separate plant to treat slurry rather than hard rock has had to be built sooner than expected, and should be commissioned by the end of May. Barnes said:
Then we should be able to push forward with Florence slightly thereafter.
After that, the borer will take “in the order of three years” to finish the tunnel.
Barnes said earlier this month that Snowy 2.0 could be delayed by as long as two more years. That could take the commercial start date to 2029 or later, compared with an original target of July 2025.
Barnes said the impacts of the delays and additional costs, and remedial efforts to speed up work, will be tallied later this year.
The official costs – excluding transmission lines to link the plant to the main grid – are already estimated to be $5.9bn and critics expect them to exceed $10bn (assuming there aren’t other major challenges).
Updated
Good morning
Welcome to day two of the parliament sitting – and estimates – as the house continues to be dominated by the referendum legislation debate. Liberal MP Julian Leeser is still looking for support to remove ‘executive government’ from the question, but the government has shown no indications it believes any shift is necessary.
There were more than 70 speakers on the list yesterday – although not too many Coalition MPs. One Liberal MP who did make a splash was Bridget Archer who directly countered claims made by her party leader, Peter Dutton who said the voice would divide Australia by racial lines.
No, the voice won’t have veto power or act as a third chamber ... To claim otherwise is a deliberate and harmful misrepresentation of the facts, and I’m disappointed to have seen this wilfully perpetuated by some.
Nor does the argument that this referendum is dividing the country by race make sense.
Anthony Albanese has a busy day – he will be in parliament in Canberra for most of the day, but is then headed to Sydney for a 6pm community event with Narendra Modi in what is the Indian prime minister’s first visit to Australia since 2014.
Landed in Sydney to a warm welcome by the Indian community. Looking forward to various programmes over the next two days. pic.twitter.com/gE8obDI5eD
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 22, 2023
There are also party room meetings, more budget debate and of course, estimates where the Coalition senators are doing their best to drum up a couple of headlines.
We will bring you all the news as it happens with me, Amy Remeikis, on the blog. Paul Karp, Daniel Hurst and Josh Butler are keeping the Canberra office buzzing with all you need to know, while the rest of the Guardian brains trust will bring you news from outside Capital Hill.
It is at least a two-coffee morning.
Ready?
