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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Stephanie Convery, Caitlin Cassidy and Amy Remeikis (earlier)

Coalition complains of ‘witch-hunt’ during question time – as it happened

Peter Reith Sri Lanka Cricket Australia Cricket John Howard Scott Morrison
Bill Shorten in question time
Bill Shorten called out the former prime minister Scott Morrison during Labor’s question time attacks on the robodebt scheme. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

What we learned today, Wednesday 9 November

And that’s a wrap for the Australian politics liveblog for today. If you’re keen to keep up with what’s happening with the US mid-terms, follow along over here.

Here’s some of what we learned locally today:

Look after yourselves, mates, and we’ll be back with you bright and early tomorrow.

Updated

Cyclone reinsurance pool lowers expected premium cuts and is yet to sign up an insurer

Senate estimates has been hearing from the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation and its CEO, Chris Wallace, with the news not that promising for those in northern Australia hoping for some relief on soaring premiums.

First, the Labor senator Nita Green asked about how much cyclone-related insurance premiums were expected to fall given the Morrison government had promised drops of as much as 58%.

Well, as it turns out, the change of government meant Labor could get its mitts on the modelling and, lo and behold, the reductions in premiums were much less. Two cracks at getting a better fix in June and then October now points to much smaller reductions, ranging between 6% and 32%, so Wallace said.

As Green stated, “people have had enough of being lied to or misled”, with a barb towards the previous government.

We’ll have more on this soon, but it’s fair to say many locals are already seeing premiums climb, so there won’t be much benefit when it lands.

And that won’t be until the end of next year for big insurers and the end of 2024 for smaller insurers – none of which have signed up so far, Wallace said.

So, the bottom line – there may be relief but for many there are two cyclone seasons to get through. And a parliamentary inquiry later this month to hear more about troubles with the scheme.

Stay tuned.

Updated

Ex-official concedes she failed to stop robodebt despite knowing it was unlawful, inquiry hears

A former senior official has conceded she failed to do anything to stop the robodebt scheme even though she knew it was unlawful, a royal commission has heard.

Under questioning by the senior counsel assisting, Justin Greggery, the former Department of Social Services official Serena Wilson accepted that by 2017 she was fully aware welfare debts were being raised using a method called “income averaging”.

She was also aware of 2014 advice from her department’s lawyers saying such a practice was likely unlawful.

Greggery said as the deputy secretary of the department Wilson was in a position to do something but “took no steps to stop it”.

He said:

You had an opportunity to do something about it and you didn’t, disregarding the consequences to those who had been subjected to the unlawful scheme.

He said Wilson had failed to act with “actual knowledge of the consequences of the raising of unlawful debts on a large scale”.

After a long pause, Wilson replied:

Yes, I think you’re right.

Serena Wilson, a former deputy secretary at the Department of Social Services, appears before the robodebt royal commission
Serena Wilson, a former deputy secretary at the Department of Social Services, appears before the robodebt royal commission. Photograph: Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme

Greggery said she was “duty bound” to provide “full and frank advice” but instead took steps to ensure the “continuation of what you then believed to be unlawful”.

He said she had “breached the [Australian Public Service] code of conduct” by her “deliberate choice”. Wilson accepted this was the case.

The inquiry continues.

Updated

Reports of a collision between two light aircraft north of Brisbane

There are fears for two pilots involved in an aviation incident north of Brisbane after reports of a collision involving two light aircraft, AAP reports.

Three Queensland Fire and Emergency Services crews responded to the incident at Kybong, north of Brisbane, at about 3pm on Wednesday.

Two aircraft were found in a paddock, separated by a distance of about 400 metres, a QFES spokesman said.

Crews had to make their way on foot for about 100 metres to gain access to the site.

Emergency services have now left and Queensland police remain on scene.

Inspector Brad Inskip is expected to hold a press conference with further details later in the day.

Updated

Going to Cop27? Take home this snazzy gift bag.

My colleague on the inequality round, Luke Henriques-Gomes, has been following the robodebt royal commission all week and live-tweeting as well as reporting on it. Today’s evidence has been pretty upsetting.

You can click through and follow his tweet thread for more as today’s hearing is still going; I’ve linked to his latest story proper a few blocks down too.

Updated

Here’s today’s Afternoon Update – for all the news you missed and everything you want to catch up on, courtesy of Antoun Issa:

Updated

Here’s a little teaser for our forthcoming video series on the Victorian state election later this month, from the queen of one-minute explainers, Matilda Boseley, and our excellent Victorian state reporters, Benita Kolovos and Adeshola Ore.

Melbourne Luna Park’s ‘Mr Moon’ to get a facelift

Just stepping away from politics for a brief moment to bring you the very important news, per AAP, that the giant face at the entrance to Luna Park Melbourne, “Mr Moon”, is having a facelift for the first time since 1999.

The face with a gaping mouth, which has swallowed up visitors entering the park since 1912, is undergoing a restoration as part of the theme park’s 110th anniversary celebrations.

Local Melbourne artist Mark Ogge is completing the work, which will be overseen by Bob Clutterbuck – the last person to paint Mr Moon.

The face has been restored several times over the years, taking it from its original chicken wire, hessian, and cement form to the fibreglass model unveiled and last painted in 1999.

Artist Mark Ogge paints key features of Mr Moon’s face at Luna Park.
Artist Mark Ogge paints key features of Mr Moon’s face at Luna Park. Photograph: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Updated

Defence considering contract for three more navy ships

Defence officials have confirmed the Australian government is considering a proposal from the Spanish company Navantia to build three more ships for the navy, with it now subject to a risk study.

Navantia’s pitch to build three additional Hobart-class destroyers has previously been the subject of media reporting. The company has argued it could provide “additional firepower” this decade to fill capability gaps.

At Senate estimates this afternoon, Defence confirmed the company had made an unsolicited proposal with three options: build the destroyers in Spain with some modules in Australia; build them in Spain but with the combat system integration largely done in Australia; and build them entirely in Australia.

Defence has ordered analysts from Rand Corporation to do a “risk reduction study” on the proposal so the government can weigh up the idea. An official, Tony Dalton, said:

It’s quite a complex unsolicited proposal … so we have taken some more time and have sought some external support to conduct that assessment of that proposal.

The navy was first approached with the first unsolicited proposal in May.

Dalton said the company had submitted a second unsolicited proposal within the past four weeks, which “added some more capability options to the three destroyers”.

He said Navantia was also offering to build six small warships known as corvettes. To date, this second idea has not been sent to Rand for review. Navantia has also pitched this to the defence strategic review.

Updated

Thunderstorm asthma risk in parts of Victoria tomorrow

There’s a high risk of thunderstorm asthma tomorrow in Wimmera in Victoria, and moderate risk across the state’s west.

Updated

Official says she failed to tell Scott Morrison scheme could be unlawful

A former senior Department of Social Services official, who was given damning legal advice the robodebt scheme was unlawful, has told a royal commission she lacked the “courage” to speak up and was now “ashamed”.

In dramatic hearings on Wednesday, the royal commission was told Serena Wilson, a former deputy secretary at DSS, was made aware of the legal advice in early 2015 when the scheme was being designed.

But she said she failed to personally tell former prime minister Scott Morrison the plan could be unlawful as she was under the belief it had already been “killed”.

Wilson then claimed she was unaware for about two years that the unlawful “income averaging” method was being used in the robodebt scheme, saying she had been given assurances by another official, Malisa Golightly, who has since died.

Wilson said she finally realised the unlawful method was being used in the “latter part” of 2017, but she did not have the “courage” to tell anyone.

She told the hearing:

And now I’m ashamed. And in hindsight I could have spoken up.

Read the full story here:

Updated

The SES have issued an evacuation warning for the NSW town of Darlington Point on the Murrumbidgee River.

Updated

Santos’s NSW gas project still has hurdles to clear

The debate over how to bring down energy prices in Australia still has a ways to run.

One element often overlooked is that getting new gas supply into the market could take years (and arguably make little difference to prices given eastern Australia has bolted itself to global prices).

Anyway, Santos yesterday updated investors on a few things, including the timing of when its much-delayed Narrabri coal seam gas project might get up. In short, the company is not expecting to make a final investment decision until its 2023-24 year.

The company also noted that the timing hinges on approvals for the gas pipeline and Indigenous land title claims.

The project is supposed to deliver as much as 70 petajoules of gas a year for 20 years to local consumers during its first phase involving 850 wells in and around the Pilliga state forest in northern NSW.

Those wells, by the way, will produce as much as 840,000 tonnes of crystallised salt over the project’s life that will need to find a new home (and is one of the conditions that the state’s Independent Planning Commission included in its approval of the project).

Anyway, not every bird is in the hand right now.

Updated

Albanese government pledges $15m to ease backlog of claims in child abuse redress scheme

Advocates for survivors of child sexual abuse have welcomed the government’s announcement of $15m in new funds to help deal with backlogs and delays in the national redress scheme.

Last week, a Guardian analysis of government data revealed a growing backlog of claims sitting before the commission. The analysis showed the volume of claims being received by the scheme had more than doubled to a rate of about 710 a month this year. The backlog of claims awaiting a decision has increased by 265% in the past two years.

The social services minister Amanda Rishworth on Wednesday announced $15m to help to reduce delay and address the “significant increase in applications” received since the second half of last year.

The Blue Knot Foundation said the extra investment was welcome and said it would help to deal with the added volume of claims – a trend it described as positive.

Cathy Kezelman, the organisation’s president, said:

Hopefully, this will mean that survivors – including many who have already waited decades – will receive a sensitive trauma-informed service in a timely manner.

We’re pleased that from early 2023, this government will respond to the outstanding recommendations of the 2-year review, to provide for a more survivor-centric scheme. Many changes have already been made, and this additional investment will help support the implementation of a process in which the Scheme can more efficiently respond to applicants, better meeting their needs.

Less waiting, minimising any additional trauma, and fair and equitable redress will respond to the objectives of the Royal Commission’s redress recommendations in the tenor in which they were handed down.

Read the background to this story here:

Updated

Army chief signals decision coming on troubled Taipan helicopters

The chief of army, Lt Gen Simon Stuart, has renewed concerns about the MRH90 Taipan helicopter, while signalling the government is currently weighing up its options.

The helicopters are used by the army – including to provide support to special operations – while the navy also relies on them for maritime support, but the Howard government-era acquisition has had a number of problems.

The then defence minister Peter Dutton said late last year that Australia was likely to buy up to 40 Black Hawk helicopters from the US as an alternative to the Taipans.

Stuart told Senate estimates today:

As you’re aware and as a matter of public record, despite efforts by all stakeholders, the MRH system has not been able to deliver the expected rate of effort and is more expensive to operate than we can afford over time.

Stuart said those problems had led Defence to develop options, which were “currently being considered by the government”. He said a decision had not yet been made on the UH-60 Black Hawk.

The secretary of the Department of Defence, Greg Moriarty, was reluctant to give timing on a decision, although it sounded like one might be imminent. He said a decision would be “announced by the government when it is ready to do so”:

A decision will be announced at a time of the government’s choosing.

An Australian army MRH-90 Taipan flying in Brisbane in September.
An Australian army MRH-90 Taipan flying in Brisbane in September. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

Updated

Indigenous voice referendum should happen ‘soon’, Uluru statement co-chair says

Uluru Statement from the Heart co-chair Pat Anderson has urged the federal government to not waste “momentum” for the Indigenous voice to parliament, saying the referendum on the constitutional change should happen “soon”.

Anderson joined Prof Megan Davis at the National Press Club on Wednesday, saying the potential referendum date she had most recently heard was October 2023. Anthony Albanese has said the vote will occur sometime in the 2023-24 financial year, but has not committed to an exact date.

Anderson said she wanted to see movement begin soon:

There is a fine line between getting everybody ready for a referendum and when it is time to go and there is definitely a time to go.

We can’t leave this hanging around for too long otherwise it removes momentum. I’ve been around here long time working in the space and this is the best opportunity we have ever had, so it is time to go, soon.

Anderson said she was concerned about losing momentum for the change, if the referendum was not held in the next year or so.

They are moving as quickly as they can, there is a lot of work to do. We have to work out how we will educate the Australian population, there is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing but we need to get out there fairly soon.

Anderson said there was still work to do on educating the public about the potential change, speaking up about misinformation.

Davis said she believed there was strong support for the voice in some parts of the federal Coalition, but that there was “a lot to run” before the parliament considers the change.

Updated

Defence officials praise US navy admiral for resigning from Australian post to avoid Aukus conflicts

Defence officials say a retired US navy admiral, Kirkland Donald, acted “in an exemplary fashion” by resigning from an Australian government position to avoid any perception of a conflict of interest.

At a Senate estimates committee hearing, Greens senators have been asking questions about a Washington Post report about several retired US admirals or former US navy civilian leaders who have taken on roles as paid advisers to the Australian government since 2015.

Defence officials confirmed at the hearing that Donald served on the submarine advisory committee from December 2017.

The Washington Post report said Donald also served, since 2020, as chairman of the board of Huntington Ingalls Industries, which makes Virginia-class submarines, which the Australian government is considering under the Aukus defence pact.

Donald told the newspaper he resigned from the committee in April 2022 to avoid any conflicts after “it became evident” his committee “would need to become involved in providing independent critical assessment” on acquiring nuclear-powered subs.

Tony Dalton, a deputy secretary at the Department of Defence, said the terms of reference for the submarine advisory committee were focused on the French attack class submarines (now abandoned) and the existing Collins class submarines.

Those terms had not changed after the Aukus announcement in September 2021 but Donald had resigned “to avoid even the perspective of a conflict of interest”, the Senate committee was told.

Dalton said Donald had managed the matter “in an exemplary fashion”.

Updated

Plibersek says she has ‘consistently supported’ government on stage-three tax cuts

The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has responded to claims by a constituent of hers that she had told him if it were up to her she would “get rid” of the stage-three tax cuts.

Guardian Australia reported the comments last week, after Labor supporter Alex Richardson claimed she told him this on Saturday 29 October at a school fair.

On Wednesday Plibersek told reporters in Canberra:

Well I’ve consistently said I support the government position on that [stage-three tax cuts].

Asked if she denied her constituent’s account, Plibersek said:

I’m not going to dignify your question with an answer. I’ve consistently said I support the government position.

Tanya Plibersek
‘I’ve consistently said I support the government position’: Tanya Plibersek. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Question time ends

Yeesh that was a long one, thanks for bearing with me! I have lots of updates to bring you from my intrepid colleagues, who have been chasing down all kinds of information this afternoon, so stick with us – today is far from done!

Updated

Another opposition spitball (sorry, that’s just how they come across to me in the hectic, schoolroom dynamic of question rime) on power bills and the “broken promise” of $275 reduction in them, to the prime minister.

It’s from the member for Braddon in Tasmania, Gavin Pearce, so Albanese spins off about Tasmania, eventually saying that there would be clean energy investment in the state over the next decade. Sort of. It was a bit hard to tell.

Updated

Albanese dismisses question about the federal integrity commission and union officials

There have been a couple of questions from the opposition today about why union officials are not covered by the national anti-corruption commission. They aren’t getting very far – Anthony Albanese answers this one, and says merely:

Union officials, if they act corruptly in engagement with government agencies are treated like any other third party. And are covered.

Updated

Dutton expresses agreement with Albanese on Iran

Peter Dutton is called, and expresses accord with the PM’s statements on Iran:

I join the Coalition with the comments of the prime minister. I recognise the work of the member for Menzies and other members in this house as well [who have] met with members of the community here and the outpouring of emotion is absolutely understandable. It seems the reporting is horrific and the treatment of women completely unacceptable.

As a member for Menzies has pointed out at a number of discussions on this issue, there is heartfelt sentiment across the aisle in relation to this issue. The Coalition will support any actions the government takes even if it means an economic consequence for our country. There are markets otherwise that we can identify and we will work with the government to support you in decisions because a very clear, significant, tangible message needs to be said that this type of behaviour is abhorrent, unacceptable in any society and completely against the values our country.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton during question time.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton during question time. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Albanese pressed on possible Iran sanctions

There’s a question from Liberal MP Keith Wolahan about possible sanctions on Iran:

Iranian Australians are pleading with us to follow the lead of the United Kingdom, Canada and the EU and impose sanctions against a regime which has violated the rights of Iranian women. Beyond the … condemnation, what action does the government intend to take?

Anthony Albanese responds:

I had as well as the foreign minister expressed my abhorrence at the actions of the Iranian regime in clamping down on the rights of women, in particular to wear whatever they want after the tragic killing of a woman. We have seen a clampdown on women in particular in Iran.

The Labor government will continue to work with our allies including in multilateral forums such as the United Nations. I expect that this may well be a topic that is also raised at the meetings that I will be attending of global leaders over the coming week.

I thank the member for his question. I acknowledge the enormous hurt that Iranian people and Iranian women in particular are feeling at this very difficult time. Watching this clampdown on human rights in Iran for things that were this country take the granted.

We actually don’t have a vast number of economic relations between Australia and Iran.

… We will continue to speak out, we will continue to vote in the forums in which Australia has a presence, to ensure that the people of Iran who are showing great courage, showing great courage in standing up for the Human Rights Commission, know that Australia, as always and in a bipartisan way, Australia is friends of all those who stand up for their individual rights and in this case, in particular the rights of women.

Updated

Giles promises to honour Albanese government’s commitment on visas

Independent Andrew Wilkie now, who refers to Labor’s promise to abolish temporary protection visas, enterprise visas and (I think, the transcription is a bit fuzzy) to fast track the refugee process.

The minister for immigration, Andrew Giles, responds:

I acknowledge [Wilkie] and many members of the crossbench have raised this issue with me in respect of this very significant event. I’m very proud to be a member of a government that recognises that we could be resolute in maintaining strong and secure borders while not abandoning our humanity.

And this government made a commitment, as the member for Clark recognises, to transition people who … are owed our protection and on temporary protection visas to shift to permanent visas. That is a commitment we made and that I am working towards.

We are doing so …. consultatively and deliberately. Making sure that we get this right.

I welcome any further discussions with the member Clark, never the crossbench or members opposite on how we will meet this important commitment.

Updated

There’s a question about housing which I missed, I’m sorry, but Jim Chalmers talks at length in response about the housing accord and how “people are coming from everywhere to be part of this”.

Fletcher and Albanese trade barbs on energy prices

On to energy prices now. The prime minister is asked by Paul Fletcher:

You promised Australian households and businesses you would cut their power bills by $275 a year - have you apologised to Australians for your broken promise, one you have refused to repeat since the election?

Anthony Albanese responds by talking about power prices prior to the election and how high they were. He’s told to come back to the question but he doesn’t really come back to the question. He does throw in a barb about Angus “great job” Taylor though:

It is no wonder the only person who has ever said ‘great job, Angus’, is the shadow treasurer who was responsible for this debacle!

Updated

Opposition says Labor on robodebt ‘witch-hunt’ as Dreyfus condemns ‘shameful’ scheme

Another dixer on robodebt to the attorney general Mark Dreyfus – we are going to keep getting these until the end of question time – but Paul Fletcher, manager for opposition business, complains again on the same point of order as previously, essentially trying to gag discussion of the royal commission, saying “this exercise is nothing but a politicised witch-hunt”.

He’s cautioned for those comments, and eventually the question is ruled in order, and Dreyfus continues his comments:

It is shameful, our government believes in the rule of law, the former government took a cowboy approach to the legality of their actions, even with some thing as far-reaching as robodebt which ended up affecting 400,000 Australians. How could this happen? Who was responsible? What advice did they seek, what advice with a given and most important how can we make sure this never happens again? A royal commission will answer these questions and I have every confidence that this royal commission will.

Updated

Defence minister plays straight bat to strange Bob Katter question on war and guns

Bob Katter has asked a question – of sorts – about how many machine guns Australia has in its arsenal, and how many people won’t fight if there’s a war, and whether he can give the minister for defence the telephone number for “my Kalkadoon mob” who “held the British invasion at bay for years”.

Look, I’m not really sure what to tell you about this.

Anyway Richard Marles gets up and talks about the Albanese government’s defence strategy more broadly.

Clearly, we’re going to need to think in strategic terms in the future much more in terms of impactful projection. Being able to hold our adversaries at risk at far greater distances from our shores, both in terms of greater lethality as the member has alluded to, but also through the full spectrum of proportionate response. Exactly how we do that will be the work of the defence strategic review.

Updated

Shorten says young people disproportionately hurt by robodebt

Back to Shorten again, who was thrown another dixer about robodebt, this time about why the royal commission is important to young Australians.

He also tells an anecdote about a young Australian who received a debt. For brevity, I’m not going to add the anecdotes in; they are as awful and heartbreaking as any of the stories of robodebt recipients we’ve heard over the past two weeks and the years we’ve been covering this.

But here are some of Shorten’s interspersing comments:

Young Australians were a disproportionate share of the unlawful robodebt scheme. Almost half or about 195,000 of the victims of the robodebt scheme were aged under 30. In fact, 79,000 were 24 and under. Some were just kids, aged 17.

Australians deserve and need to know why an Australian government continued to run an unlawful scheme that raised hundreds of thousands of unlawful debts against innocent Australians when they must have known it was illegal.

The opposition members down the other end taunt at question time that we’re not going to find what they think we are looking for. Colleagues in this house, we already know it was unlawful … it was stupid, it was wrong. It was just wrong. But what we don’t know is why did the ministers who would the ministers keep doing it for 4.5 years? No smirks excuse the responsibility of not doing a job properly to money and hundreds of thousands of young Australians.

Updated

‘Human services stripped of humanity’: Albanese says robodebt victims owed the truth

A second dixer on Robodebt, this time for the prime minister.

Anthony Albanese starts by summarising the “trauma and fear in the name of the Australian government”, before telling the story of Tony, who got a debt notice when he had been going through cancer treatment at the time he received benefits.

At the height of the scheme, the member for Aston, who was human services minister, said this: “We will find you, we will track you down and you will have to repay those debts, and you may end up in prison.”

What we know is that at the very time, at the very time the government knew that it was illegal and unlawful in black and white.

Human services stripped of humanity. Social services without social conscience. We are, through the robodebt royal commission, trying to get to the bottom, to make sure that it can never happen again. We do need to have answers to this. The robodebt royal commission playing a critical role in exposing the events that led to such trauma for hundreds of thousands of Australians. And we owe it to them, including those who are not around any more … to get to the bottom of these facts.

Anthony Albanese speaks during question time today.
Anthony Albanese speaks during question time today. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

Shorten takes aim at Morrison over robodebt

Shorten continues on Robodebt:

[The former prime minister] continued: “at the end of the day … ministers, I and my colleagues have to look constituents and I look them in the eye and be responsible for these decisions.”

Then he shared that memorable farmyard anecdote: “when I play rugby [my coach] described the bacon and eggs principle: the chicken is involved but the pig is committed to the task.”

He further explained his analogy: “under our system of government it must be ministers who set the policy direction, he added it is important not only to establish clear lines of accountability it is fundamental for our democracy to keep faith with the Australian people.”

The member for Cook and ministers responsible for the unlawful operation of the robodebt scheme, we don’t know if they will be called to give evidence to the royal commission but we do know this – applying his former principles, they cannot simply pass the buck onto the public service for their almost five years illegal, unlawful shakedown of hundreds of thousands of Australia’s most vulnerable citizens. I tabled the former prime minister’s speech about ministerial responsibility government policy. Thank you.

Updated

Labor targets robodebt scheme during question time

There’s a question about the royal commission into robodebt, and the opposition is objecting to the matter being discussed in the House at all. This is overruled by the speaker and discussion of the matter is allowed. The question was: “What have we learned about who was responsible for the unlawful robodebt scheme?”

Bill Shorten stands to speak:

In just under two weeks appearing in to the royal commission to robodebt we have learned several facts. One, the previous government received departmental and external legal advice that robodebt was unlawful. From its own staff.

We have also learned a top tier law form provided the good advice to the former government that the scheme was not able to be justified, prompting internal emails noting this particular draft was catastrophic.

We have also learned the former director of payments integrity at the Department of Social Services and his team saw the income averaging of robodebt as unethical, from the beginning, and that the initial legal advice warning this was unlawful was black and white.

That should have been the end of the proposal but as to who was responsible for the unlawful robodebt scheme, I draw the attention of the House to a speech concerning the demarcation between ministerial responsibility in the public service given by the former prime minister on 19 August 2019, at the Institute of Public Administration, outlining his key six guideposts outlining his approach and government.

He then said responsibility for setting policy, for making calls and decisions lies with the elected representatives.

Updated

Plibersek urges industry to ‘do its share’ on recycling after collapse of REDcycle scheme

Kylea Tink, the independent MP for North Sydney, is asking about the collapse of the REDcycle scheme to environment minister Tanya Plibersek. She’s asked to outline the specific steps she will take to ensure the recycling industry delivers for Australians.

Plibersek responds:

I was very disappointed as the member for North Sydney to hear REDcycle has closed its doors, and I have spoken to Coles and Woolworths today, the food and grocery council, to see what we will do in the immediate future. And then longer term.

Immediately, we see tons of soft plastics that have been stockpiled. We have to deal with that stockpiled first and longer term we have to invest in new infrastructure that will recycle the plastic.

This government is already playing a role with environment ministers around the country, we have upped our ambition, we’ve given $1m to the Australian Food and Grocery council to work with industry to develop more sustainable use for these plastics, we have set aside $60m for recycling plastics specifically, we are working across Australia to phase out single-use plastics, bags, plates, cups, stirrers, plastic cutlery.

I will tell you this, families are committed to action, this government is committed to action, it’s important industry also does its share.

Updated

Opposition presses government on rising mortgage repayments

Moving along to the cost of living. The opposition is clearly going at the government on mortgages today. The question from Angus Taylor is to the treasurer:

An average family is $2,000 worse off under this budget with their mortgage going up by more than $1,000 since March. [Doesn’t] this family expect the government to deliver on its promise of cheaper mortgages?

Jim Chalmers starts with some sledges to the opposition:

Two weeks and one day since the budget was headed down, and the shadow treasurer had now asked his second question about anything to do with the budget. I welcome the question, I welcome his interest even if it is belated and typically incompetent and misunderstood.

The substance to his answer comes later, such as it is, and it is basically just pointing to the “help to buy” policy – again.

Updated

O’Neil urges social media companies to crack down on Medibank data being shared

Clare O’Neil also issues a warning to social media and traditional media companies not to publish or share stolen Medibank data:

The eSafety commissioner has been included in the national coordination mechanism because social media companies and indeed traditional media companies are going to be crucial in our national response to this problem.

And I say now, I know I do not need to point out the importance of social media companies not allowing this information to be published and not allowing it to be shared on your platforms and to traditional media companies, to not rubbish the private information of Australians. If you do so, you will be aiding and abetting the scumbags were at the heart of these criminal acts and I know you would not do that your own country and its citizens.

Updated

Minister ‘disgusted’ by Medibank hackers and says fallout could last months

Clare O’Neil, the minister for home affairs and cyber security, is speaking now about the Medibank data breach. She says a relatively small number of people whose medical data is currently compromised is likely to grow, and this will be a long game, unfortunately:

The parliament would be aware that last night data that was expelled traded during the Medibank attack was released on a dark web. Based on information that we have at this moment, the number of citizens whose medical information may have been compromised is small at this stage.

But I want the Australian people to understand that that is likely to change and we are going through a difficult period now that may last for weeks, possibly months, not days and hours.

I cannot articulate the disgust I have for the scumbags who are at the heart of this criminal act. People are entitled to keep their health information private, even amongst adds aware attackers, the idea of releasing personal medical information of other people is considered beyond the pale. So make no mistake about it, this is not just any ordinary group of study criminals, this is the lowest of the low.

I would Australians know that your government stands with you, the prime minister said this morning that he is a Medibank customer like millions of other Australians, I am too.

Updated

Here’s Albanese’s answer on Labor’s housing scheme:

At the 2022 campaign launch, we had as one of the centrepieces that launch our help to buy scheme. That was based upon the very successful scheme that has been implemented for many years in Western Australia. There are also schemes being looked at in New South Wales by the Liberal government and in Victoria, of course, are being implemented as well. This is a good policy and it was in the budget, in the budget, our help to buy scheme.

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Peter Dutton asks Anthony Albanese about Labor’s ‘plans for mortgages’

Dutton:

In Labor’s 2022 campaign launch, they claimed that Labor has a real plans for mortgages. Can the prime minister provide a straight answer, did he make this statement, yes or no?

There’s a bit of back and forth before Anthony Albanese gets to his feet. He starts by going on about the campaign and how successful it was, before the speaker interjects and calls for order:

I am trying to hear the prime minister but there is continual interjecting on my left which makes it very difficult, I’m looking at you, leader of the Nationals.

There are repeated calls for order before Albanese starts speaking again.

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Question time begins

Thanks so much Caitlin Cassidy! We’re going to jump straight into question time.

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All good things must come to an end, including my time on the blog. The spectacular Stephanie Convery will be with you for the rest of the afternoon.

Katy Gallagher says fixing energy crisis ‘not just about tax’

The Nationals senator Susan McDonald is asking treasury officials about what modelling it has done on potential changes to the petroleum resource rent tax, known as the PRRT.

Marty Robinson from Treasury’s tax division said the department had begun looking at the PRRT regime, including the transfer pricing arrangements for vertically integrated projects, and the tolling arrangements which relate to pricing arrangements for gas between upstream extraction and downstream processing.

McDonald also asked if work was being done on a potential super profit tax for the resources sector, and it sounds like a yes.

Robinson:

The government has been tasking us with looking at a range of options around responding to the energy price issue, and as I mentioned before the Treasurer has made it pretty clear that no option is being ruled out.

Finance minister Katy Gallagher said a secretaries group between departments was working collaboratively on options to put to government to consider how to respond to the energy crisis.

She said it was “not just about tax”, and other measures were also on the table.

When asked how much tax it could levy from the sector, Robinson said it would depend on the final design of the measures.

Treasury’s Diane Brown said “comprehensive” work was underway, including changes to the regulatory and tax system, and they would be costed once parameters were decided upon.

Gallagher said it was a “highly unusual” environment and the government was focused on easing energy prices where possible.

She said that once a decision was taken, then information about the cost would be made public.

McDonald asked if changing the PRRT would have the effect of lowering electricity prices.

“No options are being ruled out at this stage, the resources tax, the PRRT, hasn’t usually been used in that way, but we are not ruling anything out at this stage.”

McDonald questions whether changes to the depreciation schedule to the PRRT were on the table, Robinson says he is not aware that is under consideration.

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Coalition MPs condemn Iran government for violence and rights abuses against women and girls

Three Coalition politicians have met with a senior Iranian diplomat in Canberra to directly call for an end to “violence, human rights abuses, and persecution of Iranian women, girls and protestors”.

The shadow minister for foreign affairs, Simon Birmingham, met with Iran’s chargé d’affaires yesterday. Birmingham was joined by the shadow assistant minister for foreign affairs, Claire Chandler, and the MP for Menzies, Keith Wolahan.

The Guardian reported this morning that the Iranian leadership was resisting growing demands from clerics and some reformist politicians to stage a new referendum on Iran’s constitution as hardline parliamentarians insist the only response to the recent unrest sweeping the country is for violent protesters to be executed.

Birmingham, Chandler and Wolahan said they took the opportunity to register concerns about “the latest human rights violations against women, girls and protesters in Iran, sparked by the killing of Mahsa Amini”. In an open letter to the Iranian community in Australia, they wrote:

This week, at our instigation, we met with the representatives of the Iranian Embassy in Australia. We directly condemned, in the strongest possible terms, the Iranian Government’s actions. We made clear our disgust and directly conveyed the concerns of the Iranian community in Australia.

We called on the Iranian Government to immediately cease violence, human rights abuses, and persecution of Iranian women, girls and protestors. We urged Iran not to undertake threatened mass executions of protestors. We also expressed deep concerns at the Iranian Government’s control of communication within Iran, while calling on them to allow independent investigations of human rights abuses, and hold to account those responsible.

The Coalition is calling on the Albanese government to “announce a tangible response to the human rights abuses in Iran and make its position clear on the implementation of diplomatic measures which have been proposed by the community and, in many cases, have already been implemented by our allies and partners around the world”.

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has previously condemned the deadly and disproportionate use of force against protesters in Iran and has called on the authorities to allow peaceful rallies and to cease the oppression of women.

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Greens to preference Labor above Liberals in all seats in Victorian election

The Greens have announced they will be preferencing Labor above the Liberals in all seats at the upcoming Victorian election.

Victorian Greens leader Samantha Ratnam says the party is not working with the Liberals. This is despite reports in the Australian today that the Liberals are considering preferencing the Greens above Labor in seats like Richmond and Northcote in an effort to oust Labor MPs.

Here’s what Ratnam said:

The Greens will be recommending preferences to Labor ahead of the Liberals in every seat in Victoria. If Labor is serious about a progressive parliament, they must commit to preferencing the Greens and progressive independents ahead of the Liberals across the state.

What the Liberals do is up to the Liberals. We have not met with them and there is no Greens-Liberal deal. We’ll direct preferences to Labor and progressive parties across the state, and we’re calling on Labor to do the same.

Samantha Ratnam, the leader of the Victorian Greens party
‘There is no Greens-Liberal deal’: Samantha Ratnam. Photograph: Christopher Hopkins/The Guardian

Ratnam has also called on all parties running in the election to put the far-right and religious right last in their preferences before early voting begins on Monday. This includes One Nation, the United Australia party, Freedom party, Family First and the Democratic Labour party.

Ratnam says:

Parties like One Nation, United Australia Party and Freedom Party are anathema to the vast majority of Victorians.

The Greens-initiated inquiry into the far right earlier this year exposed how their conspiracy-driven Trumpian politics is a danger to our political system.

Family First and DLP are running on explicitly transphobic and homophobic campaigns and their politics of hate has no place in the Victorian Parliament.

The failure of Labor to reform the corrupt group voting ticket system means a party can get elected into parliament on as little as 0.5% of the vote. To keep these hateful parties out of our parliament they need to be put last on everyone else’s group voting tickets this year.

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Professor Megan Davis and Pat Anderson AO are taking questions at the National Press Club. To recap, they are accepting the 2021 Sydney Peace Prize for the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

On the timing of the referendum, Anderson says the latest she’s heard is October 2023, but there’s a “fine line between getting everybody ready” and losing momentum.

I’ve been around here for a long time working in the space and this is the best opportunity we have ever had so it is time to go … you have to inform yourselves, doesn’t matter which way you vote, do it with some conscience, with some heart and with some intellect … there comes a time when you are at the ballot box and it is just you and your conscience. Get yourself ready for that time in your life because [for] all of us over 18 this is probably one of the biggest things we are ever going to do.

Anderson then has a little dig at the journalists in the room, who will clearly have a very significant role throughout the referendum process.

We do respect you but you’ve got to do your job a bit harder .. the press has an important job to do here and … sometimes the stories are one-sided. Often it is clear the journalist does not have a good history background. You need to be a little more agile and a bit more energetic about getting to the truth of issues.

There is a responsibility there for the journalist to do the best they can and to rise to this occasion. Because I think this is only going to happen in our lifetime. I hope it happens this time because I won’t be around. We don’t want to leave it to our grandchildren. Because we are not going away. Believe me.

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Katy Gallagher says fixing energy crisis ‘not just about tax’ and others measures on table

The Nationals senator Susan McDonald is asking treasury officials about what modelling it has done on potential changes to the petroleum resource rent tax, known as the PRRT.

Marty Robinson from Treasury’s tax division said the department had begun looking at the PRRT regime, including the transfer pricing element for gas between upstream extraction and downstream processing.

McDonald also asked if work was being done on a potential windfall profit tax for the resources sector, and it sounds like a yes.

The government has been tasking us with looking at a range of options around responding to the energy price issue, and as I mentioned before the Treasurer has made it pretty clear that no option is being ruled out.

Finance minister Katy Gallagher said a secretaries group between departments was working collaboratively on options to put to government to consider how to respond to the energy crisis.

She said it was “not just about tax”, and other measures were also on the table.

Senator Katy Gallagher during Senate estimates in Canberra today.
Senator Katy Gallagher during Senate estimates in Canberra today. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

When asked how much tax it could levy from the sector, Robinson said it would depend on the final design of the measures.

Treasury’s Diane Brown said “comprehensive” work was underway, including changes to the regulatory and tax system, and they would be costed once parameters were decided upon.

Gallagher said it was a “highly unusual” environment and the government was focused on easing energy prices where possible.

She said that once a decision was taken, then information about the cost would be made public.

McDonald asked if changing the PRRT would have the effect of lowering electricity prices:

No options are being ruled out at this stage, the resources tax, the PRRT, hasn’t usually been used in that way, but we are not ruling anything out at this stage.

McDonald questions whether changes to the depreciation schedule to the PRRT were on the table, Robinson says he is not aware that is under consideration.

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Katy Gallagher says energy market ‘is not working’ and government must intervene

Amid questioning about what the government intends to do in the gas and electricity sector, the finance minister Katy Gallagher said the government would prefer not to intervene but was being forced to act.

“It is having really significant impacts on manufacturers, on big business, on small business, and they are saying to us they won’t be able to keep operating,” she told the Senate economics committee.

This is the reality, this is the real world. It is unsurprising that companies would prefer the government doesn’t get involved ... but we are living in pretty extraordinary times and the government has to make decisions across the economy.

At the moment the market is not working and it is causing distorted outcomes ... and it is absolutely appropriate that the government is at the table trying to work out what to do about this.

Treasury’s Diane Brown confirmed that the department would look at the impact on future investment as part of the “comprehensive” advice it would provide to the government.

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‘You must imagine that this country can be better’: Megan Davis on Indigenous voice

The Indigenous activist and human rights lawyer Prof Megan Davis says Aboriginal people don’t want to be used as “a political football” anymore.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart was released as an invitation five years ago. Davis says since then she vividly remembers the morning after the 2019 federal election, when elders from the dialogues called to say – “take me off your list … my heart cannot take this”.

Concluding her address to the National Press Club, Davis says she’s “not a Pollyanna” by any means, but it is crucial to believe that Australia can, and will, change.

We won in 1967 and we can do it again.

On election night, the prime minister promised to implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full. And that night our hearts were full. Much has been made of the prime minister’s speech at Garma when he released a draft form of words for the nation to discuss and give input into. It is not set in stone, but it is a good beginning.

The process should not be used to hollow out the meaning and the intent which we sometimes see in commentary of political pundits. The political reality is that Australians won’t accept change in the constitution unless they can be sure that the change is worth making. And that they can be confident about its impact.

Despite everything, we responded with a statement of love … you must suspend your disbelief that this country cannot change. Against all the evidence, you must imagine that this country can be better. Imagine that this nation can change.

She reads the statement in full.

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Voice to parliament is ‘aimed at enhancing the participation of Indigenous peoples’ in state decisions: Megan Davis

Back to the National Press Club, where Prof Megan Davis is addressing the room on the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

She turns to calls by some First Nations people including Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe for a treaty prior to the implementation of a voice to parliament. She says the sequencing was discussed quite deliberately at the dialogues.

I know this has been the subject of some debate; the sequencing was the subject of very diligent consideration in all the dialogues that led to Uluru.

During the dialogues, delegates engaged in very comprehensive discussion of the political and legal reasoning and logic of the ‘voice first, treaty second’ sequencing, but the opportunity on the table for us in 2017 was constitutional recognition and treaty is not constitutional.

She says the commitment to a referendum is being discussed without “any real discussion and understanding of the need and exigency of the body”.

There is an … understandable impatience for detail on voice, but very little scrutiny on why it is needed or why people want a voice.

Discussion is divorced from policy settings that plague our people’s lives on the ground and subjugate our voice to the bureaucracy … it is why the reform proposed will provide an upfront political empowerment. It is tactile, it is pragmatic, it empowers our people.

The outcome captured in the Uluru Statement from the Heart was a testament to the efficacy of a structured process that produced a historic consensus, coalescing around a constitutional mechanism that compels the state to listen to our voice …

It is aimed at enhancing the participation of Indigenous peoples … in the decision-making of the state … because it’s communities themselves that know better than anyone else, what communities need.

Megan Davis.
Megan Davis. Photograph: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

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Peter Dutton meets with Chinese ambassador to Australia

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has met with the Chinese ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian.

Dutton said yesterday’s meeting at Parliament House was “constructive” and they had “discussed security, trade and human rights issues”.

He wrote on Twitter that he would “continue to engage in an open and honest dialogue in matters relating to the safety, security and prosperity of our region”.

Dutton, a former defence minister, has been one of the Coalition’s most outspoken members on the security threats posed by China and he said during the election campaign he had “no doubt” the Chinese Communist party wanted the Morrison government to lose.

Dutton was criticised by the Chinese government in November last year when he said it would be “inconceivable” that Australia would not join US-led military action to defend Taiwan in the event Beijing launched military action against the self-governed democracy.

Earlier today, the Chinese embassy in Canberra posted a photo of the meeting with Dutton and said the two sides exchanged views on bilateral, regional and international issues. The embassy said Xiao had argued this year’s 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations were a chance to get the relationship back on the “right track” based on mutual respect.

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PM says secure jobs, better pay bill strikes balance between union and business demands

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has spoken in the House of Representatives debate on Labor’s secure jobs, better pay bill.

Albanese said that Australians voted for measures including putting job security into the Fair Work Act as an objective, and changes to boost gender pay equity. Of course, the bill contains elements that weren’t part of Labor’s election policies – most notably the changes to expand multi-employer bargaining.

Albanese draws authority from the jobs and skills summit for these. He said:

Big business, small business, unions, economists all agree the current enterprise bargaining system is not working – not working for business, not working for workers, and therefore not working for our economy.

[People are] voting with their feet, enterprise agreement takeup is at an all-time low. The system is not delivering productivity gains employers need and the wage rises workers deserve.

It’s failing women worst of all – those industries with the most women have the least bargaining power and the lowest pay. Disability care, cleaners, early childhood educators, nurses ... They were the heroes of the pandemic. But they are more than that: they’re heroes every single day. They deserve more than our thanks – they deserve better support, better conditions and better pay.

Albanese particularly thanked the Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia for their “constructive contributions” to the debate - they’re the ones that gave in-principle support for multi-employer bargaining at the summit, while the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Australian Industry Group and Business Council of Australia were opposed.

Albanese said:

Not everyone is happy with 100% of this legislation. Both business and union representatives say this isn’t exactly what they would want. To me that says we’ve got the balance right. That doesn’t mean we expect everyone to agree on every proposal.

While unions have grumbled about some changes making strikes harder (compulsory conciliation, and arbitration of intractable disputes) - they are by and large very happy, as evidenced by the ACTU encouraging members to contact their senators and urge them to pass the bill.

Albanese concluded by observing that it is “easy to say you support higher wages as a hypothetical proposition. The test is: what are you prepared to do?”

Albanese said Australians deserved secure jobs and better pay.

Our position clear and so is our mandate.

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Climate protesters target Warhol art in National Gallery of Australia

In Canberra, more things are being thrown at art pieces to protest the climate crisis.

Climate protesters have attempted to deface one of the National Gallery of Australia’s prized modern art pieces, Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s soup cans, AAP reports.

Images released by the activists showed several blue scrawls across several of the cans, but it is understood the paintings themselves were under glass frames and not damaged.

Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies Support scrawl across Andy Warhol’s ‘Campbell’s Soup Cans’ at the National Gallery of Australia, ACT
Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies Supporter scrawl across Andy Warhol’s ‘Campbells’s Soup Cans’ at the National Gallery of Australia, ACT Photograph: supplied by Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies

The Stop Fossil Fuel Subsidies group said in a statement on Wednesday it wants the Australian government to end support for the oil, gas and coal industries.

It said it was part of a global civil resistance network known as A22.

Families are having to choose between medicine and food for their children while fossil fuel companies return record profits. And yet our government gives $22,000 a minute in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry.

The gallery is cooperating with the Australian federal police.

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Voice to parliament would constitute substantive recognition of First Nations Australians: Megan Davis

Davis turns to the word “recognition” – one which has been thrown around a lot as of late.

It’s a word that has been used, Davis says, on a spectrum from mere tokenism, as we have seen in our politics, to concrete, nation-altering change – what First Nations people are working towards.

Recognition is a complex legal and political concept. Its dictionary meaning does mean acknowledgment but it can mean many things in a legal and political context. It can mean symbolic acknowledgment. It can mean a preamble. But it also means substantive change, substantive reform, to power relations.

It’s on a recognitions spectrum. At one end of that spectrum is what we call weak recognition … it does not compel the state to do anything. It doesn’t stop or prohibit the state from doing something. It is rather a statement of fact. It is symbolic.

At the other end of the spectrum, which is really where First Nations reside, is concrete or substantive recognition. There is many mechanisms that recognise substantive recognition. It can be something like this parliament.

It could be something like a designated parliamentary seat. It can be treaty, it can be a voice to parliament. The problem in 2015 was the public discussion in Australia rarely rose above the dictionary meaning of recognition, which is acknowledgment.

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Australia historically provided ‘minimalism and symbolism’, not substantive change, on Indigenous matters: Prof Megan Davis

Davis says she will use the address to speak about the process of the First Nations regional dialogue, which is vital to convey to the Australian people how important and generous the Uluru Statement from the Heart is.

The First Nations regional dialogue was conducted under the auspices of the referendum council … the first of its kind since the Australian constitutional order commenced in 1901. Many Australians would know that First Nations were excluded from the drafting of the Australian constitution … therefore, this process, the dialogue process, was unprecedented in our nation’s history.

Davis says the dialogue was the first time a constitutional convention had been convened with, and for, First Nations people – a profound response to “the historical exclusion of our people from Australia’s constitutional system”.

She says historically, Australian politics has provided “minimalism and symbolism” when it comes to Indigenous matters.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart and the dialogue process universally rejected symbolism as an acceptable form of constitutional recognition alone … there is an alignment between non-Indigenous Australians and First Nations peoples in terms of their desire [is] that this reform is not tokenistic, that this reform is not symbolic, but that it must be substantive, it must change people’s lives on the ground, otherwise why go to a referendum?

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Meanwhile at the National Press Club this afternoon, Prof Megan Davis and Pat Anderson AO, architects of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, are holding an address on the lands of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people.

Davis and Anderson are two of the three First Nations leaders accepting the 2021 Sydney Peace Prize for the historic Uluru Statement.

Davis acknowledges the presence of First Nations in the room who were present at the 2016 and 2017 regional dialogue, including the women who have pushed the movement forward for five years.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart is a shared endeavour of many minds and many hands. To that end, I want to begin by acknowledging the presence here today of some of the men and women of the First Nations regional dialogue …

I also note the Aboriginal women in attendance. The quiet work in advocacy of women has sustained this movement for change since the Uluru Statement was issued to the Australian people five years ago. It has been led by women, and we are really honoured that a woman – minister Linda Burney – will take that forward.

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Future Fund revealed to be investing $3.4bn in major fossil fuel companies

The publicly owned Future Fund is investing billions into major polluting companies, Senate estimates questioning has revealed.

Answers to questions on notice to the Greens senator Barbara Pocock found the fund is investing a total of $3.4bn into the top 50 fossil fuel emitting companies in the world.

Pocock said there was a deep irony in the government relying on dividends from polluters to pay for infrastructure to deal with the damage the same companies were causing by investing in fossil fuels.

The federal government’s Disaster Ready bill, currently before the Senate, will use proceeds from the Future Fund to pay for infrastructure to mitigate climate damage.

Pocock:

The Future Fund is invested in companies that have absolutely no intention to diversify away from coal and gas, with $549m directly invested in Woodside, $190m in Santos and $83m in Whitehaven.

While Australia is attending Cop27 to mitigate against climate disaster, and is asking the world to let us host a climate summit, our government is sinking money into the world’s biggest polluters.

If the Future Fund is entrusted with paying for the public works needed to keep Australian communities safe from floods, fires, storm surges and cyclones moving south – then it needs to stop profiting from those companies making these natural disasters worse.

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Amy Remeikis has had to unexpectedly dash off today, so it’s Caitlin Cassidy here to keep the good times rolling. I’ll be with you for the next little while.

We reported it a little earlier this morning, but here is Labor’s Stephen Jones’ whole comment on the criminals who have released some of the data they stole from Medibank:

They’re scumbags, they’re crooks, they’re criminals, and we shouldn’t be paying ransom. We shouldn’t be giving in to these fraudsters and criminals. The moment we fold, it sends a green light to scumbags like them throughout the world that Australia is a soft target.

We cannot give in. We won’t give in. All the more important that we lift our protection against cyber-threats and lift our protection against scams and fraudsters. That’s why we made our announcement earlier in this week about following through on our election commitment to set up an anti-scam centre. The best protection is ensuring that the data doesn’t get stolen in the first place.

If that fails, we want to ensure that consumers are protected. So establishing an anti-scam centre inside the ACCC will provide consumers with the information and the protection they need and enable us to move quickly if some of these cyber-breaches lead to frauds and theft and scams going on in our economy.

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Coalition will support changes to laws governing ex-ADF personnel to safeguard national secrets, opposition says

The Coalition has offered to support legal changes if required to safeguard Australia’s national secrets after the government announced a review of China’s alleged attempts to recruit former Australian defence force personnel.

The opposition’s defence spokesperson, Andrew Hastie, has issued the following statement:

Reports that ex-Australian fighter pilots were approached by Chinese interests to provide military training to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are deeply concerning.

Such conduct, if these allegations are verified, is highly improper and contrary to the Australian national interest.

Our national military secrets – including tactics, techniques and procedures for our elite fighter pilots – must be safeguarded by serving defence members and our veterans. They are not for sale to another country.

The opposition therefore welcomes the Department of Defence examining current policies and procedures governing ex-ADF personnel who have served in classified and sensitive capabilities.

The responsibility for protecting these national secrets does not cease when personnel separate from the ADF. It is a continuing obligation on our veterans and the ADF must ensure that this obligation has both moral and legal foundations.

Hastie said the Coalition would welcome the opportunity to receive further information from the government on this matter. He added:

Three weeks ago, the opposition stated that if legislation is required to deal with this matter, we will work closely with the government to further safeguard our sensitive national capabilities.

Our position remains unchanged, and we trust the government is making this an urgent priority.

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Government to look at improving access to IUDs and other long-acting reversible contraception, Ged Kearney says

The push for greater recognition of endometriosis and womens’ health more generally has come from female MPs from all sides of politics, which is why Labor, the Coalition and the Greens are happy to come together today to talk about the results of that push.

The previous government had committed funding, and this government is continuing that commitment and is now starting the process to establish the clinics.

Also good news – Ged Kearney says the government is looking at pain relief for IUD insertion. It is one of the most painful things you can go through, in terms of voluntary medical procedures – and most women are only told to take two Panadol for it, which is like handing someone who has lost a finger a Band-Aid and a pat on the stump.

Kearney:

We are looking at all of the barriers that women face, particularly accessing long acting reversible contraceptives, like IUDs. And we’re trying to get to the bottom of that – pain is certainly one that I’m hearing loud and clear.

And it’s anything that we know from this issue that we’ve raised today, too often women’s experiences of pain are absolutely, well, not ignored, exactly, sometimes ignored, but dismissed and something that I really want to get to the bottom of.

But there’s a lot of other barriers right now to women accessing LARCs, that’s one of them. Certainly, the number of doctors and general practitioners that actually … do it – people in rural and regional areas simply don’t have access to clinics that are available.

So, who knows, maybe with this pelvic pain clinic, this is something that we can actually expand on and have these clinics actually deliver very specialty care. So yes, it’s something that we are very much looking at.

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Bipartisan announcement for endometriosis clinics

Ged Kearney, the assistant health minister and Anne Ruston, the shadow health minister, have joined together for a bipartisan announcement of clinics for endometriosis and pelvic pain.

Kearney:

Today, we are finally on the hunt for clinics that will provide specific services to women with endometriosis and, I’m pleased to say, the broader issue of pelvic pain.

As you would know, endometriosis affects one in nine women in Australia. And their diagnosis often is very long, takes far too long, is painful, because … all too often, women with pelvic pain are ignored. They’re told to just live with it, it’s just part of being a woman, when actually there are very serious issues that can be treated and we could do so much more for women with pelvic pain and endometriosis.

So we have launched today the process to find 16 specific clinics right around Australia, who will provide very special services to women with pelvic pain, who may well have endometriosis. And if they do, they will be able to refer them on to specific services.

We think that this will revolutionise care for women with endometriosis and we are really excited about it. In the hunt for the clinics, we will be taking into consideration things like geographical location – we know that women in rural and regional areas particularly have a great deal of trouble accessing services like this.

We will make sure that clinics are able to scale up and provide care for extra patients coming from outside their area. We’ll make sure that they have an absolute commitment to upskilling their staff and providing special services around the area of endometriosis and pelvic pain. We’ll make sure that they are prepared to be culturally appropriate.

So there’ll be a range of things that we will be looking at in this tender process for clinics to provide the service.

Also, from 1 November we are very pleased to say that women who are having difficulty conceiving will be able to, on the MBS, get an MRI. This will also be life-changing for a lot of women who have tried to conceive for many, many years and have not been able to do so. It will also, of course, help diagnose those conditions which we know are a barrier to fertility like endometriosis and other conditions.

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Greens continue grilling Treasury on government’s housing accord

The Greens are back to grilling Treasury on the housing accord and the government’s social housing policy.

Senator Nick McKim asked about what definition of “affordable” will be used, and how many of the promised 1m homes under the accord would meet this definition.

Laura Berger-Thomson from Treasury said that while no definition had been agreed to by all parties of the accord, this would be worked through.

She said that the government had pledged 30,000 social and affordable homes under the Housing Affordability Fund, with an extra 10,000 promised by the government and another 10,000 from the states. Berger-Thomson said:

There is general consensus around what is affordable in a broad sense and I think it is really is down to the specifics of whether ... it will include just rental stock or whether affordable homes to purchase will be included.

She said an affordable rental would typically have rent at 80% of market rent.

McKim asked whether any of the $350m pledged under the accord would go to private developers and investors. The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, said the government’s preference was to go to community housing providers, but she would not play the “rule in, rule out” game.

She said it was “unlikely” any government funds would go to private developers, but left the option open. Gallagher said:

We are working with investors and I don’t want to ... lock down options to deliver the policy outcome.

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Big business has no incentive to fix recycling problem, Greens senator says

The Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson isn’t impressed with Tanya Plibersek’s response to the revelations Coles and Woolworths soft plastics recycling programs aren’t happening:

It’s unacceptable that once big packaging corporations whack a recycling label on packaging, the government thinks it can wipe its hands clean of responsibility.

The government can’t keep passing the buck on recycling. Minister Plibersek today said it shouldn’t be beyond big companies like Coles and Woolworths to come up with a viable solution to soft plastic recycling.

I’m disappointed with Minister Plibersek’s comments. The attitude and culture of governments leaving this problem to big business to sort out is why we’re in this mess. Big businesses have no incentive to fix the problem, they’re only interested in their bottom line.

Australia’s recycling industry has been crying out for the government to introduce mandatory national packaging targets in order to have the confidence to invest in the infrastructure and technology necessary to recycle things like soft plastics right across the country.

An export ban on sending plastics overseas for recycling should’ve provided a welcome boost for Australia’s recycling industry but successive governments have failed to take the most basic of steps to make us self-sufficient waste and recycling managers. If recycled content in packaging and government procurement of recycled content were mandated, we wouldn’t be in this mess.

Every day the government fails to take meaningful action on recycling is another day our environment suffers and another day that Australians miss out on thousands of job opportunities that could be created in a true circular economy.

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The Greens have announced they will vote for the IR bill in the house (where the party’s vote isn’t needed to pass it) but will have more to say about it when it reaches the Senate (where the Greens vote does matter).

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Supermarkets need to ‘step up’ on plastics recycling: Tanya Plibersek

The environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, says Coles and Woolworths need to “step up” and explain how they will deal with recycling soft plastics in the wake of the collapse of Australia’s biggest soft plastics recycler, REDCycle.

Plibersek said:

It shouldn’t be beyond these big supermarkets to come up with a viable solution to allow Australians to continue to recycle.

I expect Coles and Woolworths to step up and indicate how they will deal with soft plastic recycling. We’re happy to work with them to achieve this.

Their customers want to do the right thing, Coles and Woolworths should too.

REDCycle announced the suspension of its programs on Tuesday night after the Age reported soft plastic items customers had dropped off at Coles and Woolworths supermarkets were being stockpiled in warehouses and not recycled.

At last month’s meeting of environment ministers, there was agreement to work with the private sector on phasing out waste and pollution like ice cream wrappers and pasta packets by 2030.

Plibersek said on Wednesday almost a billion pieces of soft plastic had been recovered by the REDCycle program since 2011 and the problems it was now facing were “unfortunate”:

Like many Australians, I feel bad when I am forced to put soft plastics in landfill and I do my bit to take them down to my local supermarket to be recycled. I want to ensure Australians will be able to keep recycling their bread bags and plastic sachets.

She said soft plastics were worth money, including to Coles and Woolworths, given plastics collected by REDCycle had been recycled into items such as Coles trolleys. They had also been used for roads, footpaths and garden edging.

Plibersek said the government had set aside $60m to increase soft plastic recycling and provided $1m to the Australian Food and Grocery Council to work with industry to develop more sustainable solutions for their soft plastics.

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Ministers ‘have talked about it being important to have targets’ for national domestic violence plan: social services secretary

Over in department of social services estimates, there seems to be some hint towards a target within the national plan to end violence against women and children.

That came from questioning from the Greens senator Larissa Waters, who was asking questions of the deputy secretary of families and communities, Liz Hefren-Webb.

Waters:

Okay. Thank you. Is it the government’s aspiration to ensure that no one who seeks help from a frontline domestic family or sexual violence service is turned away for lack of resourcing?

Hefren-Webb:

So obviously the government’s expressed its aspiration to end violence against women and their children. But I think a target that’s around ensuring people have access to services and support when they need it is something that I think would be central to an action plan.

Waters:

So, okay, because obviously one of the key criticisms of the National Plan was the lack of measurable targets. So is that – you’ve just hinted – is that a target that could be in scope for either of the First Nations or the non-First Nations action plan?

Hefren-Webb:

It’s certainly an area where the government and ministers have talked about it being important to have targets, not only overall targets about prevalence, but targets about services and support and people being able to access what they need.

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Greens senator questions whether federal housing accord’s ‘aspirational target’ of 1m new homes is a ‘meaningless figure’

The Greens senator Nick McKim is asking Treasury about the government’s new housing accord, which has an “aspirational target” to build a million new homes in the five years from 2024-25.

McKim is asking how many of the million would be built by the private sector regardless of the accord, pointing to the 995,000 homes built over the past five years.

Laura Berger-Thomson from Treasury said that while the forecast over the next two years was for 180,000 housing starts a year, beyond that the number was expected to decline.

Although we have the 180,000 completions over the next three years, given the rise in interest rates, we would expect that there’d be a decrease in homebuilding activity subsequent to that, as the effects of those interest rate rises kind of flow through to the construction sector, which we know is sensitive to interest rates.

So I think our best guess ... given the economic situation, that there would actually be if there wasn’t kind of policies in place, there would actually be substantially less than the 1 million built … We’re confident that the one million homes is a target which actually does genuinely increase the supply of dwellings.

McKim is questioning what the difference in housing stock would be without the accord.

“It is a meaningless figure, isn’t it? McKim says.

The finance minister, Katy Gallagher, emphasises that it is an aspirational target.

It’s an aspirational target informed by the delivery of what’s happened over the past five years, and extra effort going in by the commonwealth states and the territories.

The Liberal senator Anne Ruston is also asking whether the Treasury has done any modelling to show how many extra homes would be built under the accord.

Somebody can’t live in an aspirational target, can they?

The Greens senator David Shoebridge has also tried to push Treasury on the deductible gift recipient status granted by the former Coalition government to the Future Leaders Foundation charity of the governor general, David Hurley, but received few answers about the specific listing.

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Liberal senator accused of ‘inappropriate’ characterisation of social housing

The Liberal senator Jane Hume has had a crack at the government’s focus on social housing amid discussion about the former Coalition’s Homebuilder program.

Treasury officials have explained that the pandemic program, which was designed to boost demand and confidence in the market, had been budgeted to be worth $680m but blew out to $2.7bn. The program was uncapped and demand-driven.

The program provided 24,000 grants to assist with renovations, of a total of about 105,247 grants. Laura Berger-Thomson from Treasury said the renovations “needed to be substantial”.

Vera Holenstein, an assistant secretary at the Treasury, said the amount for the renovation needed to be between $150,000 and $750,000 for people to be eligible, with the aim to stimulate the construction industry.

Labor senator Deb O’Neill asked whether there were any restrictions on what the money could be spent on, asking whether gold taps, bidets and swimming pools were allowed.

Holenstein said an applicant needed to have an income under a certain amount, but was unable to provide the figure. She said swimming pools and granny flats were excluded, and the value of the property needed to be less than $1.5m.

At this point, Hume interjected, saying:

Put them in little boxes, little boxes of social housing, would be so much better

The remark prompted O’Neill to call for Hume to withdraw the remark.

[It] is an inappropriate way to characterise social housing and all Australians who grew up in it and rely on it and need that roof over their head.

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PM aims to emphasise commitment to net zero and regional stability at upcoming summits in Asia

Anthony Albanese is about to hit the skies again. The prime minister is headed to international and regional summits in Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand from 11–19 November, including Asean, G20 and Apec.

In a statement, Albanese said:

Australia has always been an outward facing nation and we have never shied away from facing up to global challenges.

The global economic outlook is stark, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated the challenges of food insecurity, rising energy prices, rising inflation and cost of living pressures globally.

Australia strongly supports Asean’s central role in the region and its vision for the region is closely aligned with our own.

My role at these summits will be one of advocacy for not only Australians, but also for … our Pacific neighbours who face many of the same pressures that we do.

At each summit I will emphasise Australia’s commitment to the global transition to net zero, and our vision for a stable, peaceful, resilient and prosperous region.

I will remain, on behalf of the Australian people, a fierce opponent to Russia’s immoral and illegal invasion of Ukraine.

I look forward to engaging my counterparts in Phnom Penh, Bali and Bangkok in the next week.”

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AFP Operation Guardian to be expanded to protect exposed Medibank customers

In the wake of a ransomware group beginning to publish Medibank customer data on the dark web overnight, the Australian federal police has announced that it will expand Operation Guardian – which was set up to protect the 10,000 Optus customers who had their personal information posted online earlier this year – to those Medibank customers exposed.

AFP assistant commissioner cyber command, Justine Gough, said in a statement:

Operation Guardian will be actively monitoring the clear, dark and deep web for the sale and distribution of Medibank Private and Optus data.

Law enforcement will take swift action against anyone attempting to benefit, exploit or commit criminal offences using stolen Medibank Private data.

Gough also said people should not try to download or access the data themselves, saying it may constitute a criminal offence.

We use the powers and authorities of all of our agencies to disrupt the sale and distribution of the unlawfully-obtained data.

Operation Pallidus is the investigation into the Medibank cyberattack itself. It is the other AFP operation in partnership with federal government agencies, and Five Eyes law enforcement including the FBI.

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Meeting with Chinese leaders would be ‘a positive thing moving forward’, PM says

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has been asked if he will be meeting the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, or president, Xi Jinping, at the forthcoming G20 and East Asia summit.

Albanese said his trip will be a “very busy nine days” and the government is still finalising the program – but he left open the possibility.

Albanese told reporters in Canberra:

I’ve made very clear that dialogue is a good thing. And so if a meeting is arranged with Xi, then that’s a positive thing moving forward. We are organising a range of meetings – but they haven’t been finalised ... We’ll make an announcement if and when meetings with various leaders are locked in.

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Back to defence estimates and there has been an exchange concerning the basis for predictions by the former government that a guided weapons enterprise would eventually create more than 2,000 jobs across the supply chain.

Greg Moriarty, the secretary of the department, said drily: “You’d need to ask the former prime minister. It was his press release.”

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Medibank has followed guidelines effectively: PM on stolen data release

What is the government doing about the release of some of the stolen Medibank data which was reported overnight?

Anthony Albanese:

We are working with the security agencies as a government. We have also made sure we have been clear about the risk that is there, and this is really tough for people. I am a Medibank Private customer as well and it will be of concern that some of this information has been put out there. Can I say this, though? The company has followed the guidelines effectively, the advice, which is to not engage in a ransom payment. If you go down this road, then you end up with more difficulties potentially across a wider range. But we will through Clare O’Neil be responding extensively about this. We are concerned and we will continue to monitor what is occurring. We need to keep people’s information as safe as possible. There has been a real wake-up call for corporate Australia with both this breach and also the Optus breach that have occurred.

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We need to hear more good stories happening within the NDIS: Alcott

There is another question about rorting in the NDIS and Dylan Alcott says:

First and foremost, we have had four questions about the NDIS, they have all been negative.

I’m starting by saying the NDIS is bloody awesome. We commissioned the NDIS report four months ago, the first half is about how good the NDIS is. We talked about early intervention before.

One of the things we found out about this report, for kids with early intervention on the NDIS before the age of six [are more likely to have no] friends than kids [without early intervention].

I had no friends when I was five. I would like to have had the NDIS, do you know that? We don’t talk about the economic growth of it being involved in things like that. First and foremost, it is awesome, and we need to hear more stories about the good things that are happening.

But secondly, you know, there are some dodgy people out there doing dodgy things, and the government have already commissioned … the fraud taskforce, and if you are watching this and you are doing the wrong thing, you are literally taking away from a neurodiversity kid getting care.

You are taking away someone with a high level of disability having a shower.

You are not taking away us having fast cars and stuff like that. That is not what it’s about. So remind yourself, if you are doing that, hey, you know what? I’m not going to try and do that anymore.

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People with disability should be allowed to be themselves: Alcott

Dylan Alcott, the Australian of the Year who is launching “The Field” website then steps in to address that question Albanese was just asked:

Just with disclosing people with disability especially, I’m going to put this down real quick.

There are probably people with disability right here and you don’t know, because not all disabilities are physical. A lot of them are invisible, and it is not up to them to have to disclose to anybody about their disability.

They can be their selves, right? But we want to create cultures in this country where everybody feels like they can be their authentic self when they go to work, right?

And I think it is really exciting to frame it that way, where people go, you know what? I saw that today, I might apply for the job … they may be someone with neurodiversity, but being together and creating that community is really important.

So yeah, we want to have targets, quotas, we want that employment rate to go up, we don’t want anyone with a disability to go out there and advocate for any disability or whatever they want to do, they just want to be themselves.

You will be surprised even in this building the amount of people that actually do have some form of disability or mental health struggle and I think it is great that more and more people are feeling more included to be able to come out and talk about it.

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Politicians and businesses should take leadership role in employing people with disability: PM

Anthony Albanese is asked whether he has people with disabilities working in his office and whether politicians need to take a leadership role:

Yes, I think they do, and I have always, including in my ministerial office, had relationships with disability employment providers that have had people come through the office and then go on to other skills.

We have people in the office for privacy reasons frankly, I’m not about to go into those issues of employment in my office, but it is something my office is very conscious of and I think all businesses, all the public sector, we can all of course do much better on those issues, but one of the things this is about with the field is showing that there are people out there who have skills, who want employment, and matching that up with employers.

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Launch of new website matching people with disabilities looking for work with employers

Bill Shorten is holding a press conference with Anthony Albanese as part of “The Field” website launch with Dylan Alcott AO.

That is a website designed to match people with disabilities who want to work, with employers.

Shorten is asked though whether the government will review services available on the NDIS, with sex therapy given as one of the examples.

Shorten says:

Firstly, when it comes to services, there is a pretty clear defined operational guideline put in by the agency. We are reviewing the whole scheme – no doubt the process of what services are assessed to be reasonable and necessary will be part of the review but you should not take that to be a wholesale review and a lot of commonplace services will be scrapped.

There is this one where people are able to access sexual therapies as a part of that system, can I just ask the media and I should say on that, I am not sure whatever the medical reasons may be and the full court has deemed it acceptable by the way, I am not sure ultimately taxpayers would see it as the appropriate use of the fund, but can I also just say, before we say people with disabilities are getting benefits they are not entitled to, that is not true.

There are 500,000 people under the scheme and they are not getting exotic services or special things people see as unusual. 99.9999% of the scheme is going to what the scheme was set up for, wheelchairs, early intervention therapies, assistance animal.

So when we talk about the scheme, it is important we don’t just blame people for the cost increases, our first priority is to tackle fraud and waste and administrative red tape.

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The Greens will be announcing their position on the IR bill just after 11am.

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Australia’s eSafety commissioner warns Elon Musk about Twitter layoffs

We reported yesterday that Australia’s eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, had written to Elon Musk expressing concern over Twitter laying off around half of its workforce over the weekend and what that might mean for online safety on the social media platform.

The letter has now been tabled in the Senate.

In the letter, Inman Grant tells Musk she is “deeply concerned about the depth and breadth of recent cuts to Twitter staff across the globe and their potential impact on Twitter’s ability to respond to and comply with our regulatory requirements” under Australia’s online safety act.

She says despite assurances that moderation is unaffected by the cuts, the broader layoffs in Twitter will have an impact in combating online abuse on the platform:

Deep cuts to public policy, legal, communications, human rights, ethical AI and transparency teams leave me very concerned that Twitter is removing both the expertise and necessary guardrails to deal with the growing threat of hate, harm, disinformation and other forms of serious online abuse on the platform.

She called on Twitter’s billionaire owner to assure her that the social media company will continue to comply with Australian law and respond to requests in a timely manner.

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For those wanting to keep an eye on America, you can follow along with the midterm vote results here:

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Here is the story Adeshola was referencing in her post:

So what does that mean?

Well, Australia is committed to contributing to the Pacific Islands. And Australia is bidding to hold a Cop with the Pacific Islands in 2026.

This Cop isn’t asking for contributions to the fund just yet – it is just discussing the establishment of one.

So Australia is having the discussion, but at this stage is keeping its options open between direct contributions to the Pacific or re-committing those contributions to the fund (which it would not have control of).

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Chris Bowen on Australia contributing to a loss and damage climate fund

Here is a little more from Chris Bowen this morning.

He isn’t committing Australia to contributing to the loss and damage fund, but he is also not not committing Australia to it.

Firstly, Australia supports loss and damage being on the agenda. That’s a change. I think Peter Dutton is showing, frankly, that he would continue a wrecking approach to international negotiations if he were to become prime minister. The two big changes at this Cop are the changes in government of Australia and Brazil, which means there are two constructive governments where previously they were wrecking governments.

Now on loss and damage, what is loss and damage? Loss and damage is assisting developing countries deal with the impacts of climate change on their countries. And I’m pleased that Australia has supported loss and damage getting onto the agenda. Now, in relation to compensation: the incoming president of the Cop, minister Shoukry has made it clear and the agenda makes it clear, this is not about compensation. This is about development assistance, working with countries, facilitating cooperation. And we have a particular focus on the Pacific here. And of course, we’ve increased our foreign aid by $1.4bn in the budget, for example, with a strong focus on the Pacific and introduced a new Pacific Climate Fund as part of our agenda that we are implementing since the election.

So we are getting on with that. But we’re also coming to the table as constructive engagers in this conversation. Now with Egypt, the new Cop president wants to take this conversation and use this to progress further discussions about financing to be determined in 2024. So finalised in 2024. We’re engaged in that, we’re constructive, Peter Dutton is showing that he would not be constructive in that. There is a difference of approach in that. Australia is back as a constructive player at the table. Under Peter Dutton we would not.

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Defence aware of recruitment concerns before it became subject of media reporting last month

The review announced by Richard Marles today is focused on defence policies rather than investigation into individuals.

But the secretary of the Department of Defence, Greg Moriarty, told the committee that if defence became aware of any potential breaches it would engage with law enforcement agencies and would support any such investigative work.

Speaking generally about the obligation of former ADF personnel and others to protect official secrets, Moriarty says: “That sticks with them for the rest of their life.”

Defence is working with the counter-foreign interference task force:

We are collaborating very closely with the other security agencies. I wish nature of that collaboration and the information being shared to remain confidential.

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Privacy bill increasing penalties for data breaches passes parliament

The privacy laws which were sped up in response to the data hacks passed the parliament overnight. The laws increase the maximum penalties for serious or repeated privacy breaches from the current $2.22m to whichever is the greater of:

  • $50m;

  • Three times the value of any benefit obtained through the misuse of information; or

  • 30% of a company’s adjusted turnover in the relevant period.

The bill also provides the Australian Information Commissioner with greater powers to resolve privacy breaches and quickly share information about data breaches to help protect customers.

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House of Representatives debates Labor’s IR bill

The House of Representatives is discussing the secure jobs, better pay bill, which leader of the house Tony Burke has fast-tracked.

The crossbench and Liberals have moved amendments.

MP Allegra Spender wants an inquiry into parts dealing with flexible work, bargaining changes and single interest multi-employer bargaining.

MP Rebekha Sharkie wants an inquiry into the abolition of the Australian Building and Construction Commission and Registered Organisations Commission, and has called on the government to expand the carveout for small business from multi-employer bargaining to including medium-sized businesses up to 100 employees.

Liberal leader Peter Dutton has moved that the House should decline to give the bill a second reading and call on the government to:

(1)give the Australian Parliament three months to review these significant changes rather than trying to force through the legislation this year;

(2)amend the legislation to exclude changes to multi-employer bargaining which will lead to more strikes and fewer jobs without increasing productivity or wages;

(3)admit to the Australian people that these extreme industrial relations changes will result in significant red tape and higher costs for small, family and medium businesses;

(4)work with the Opposition, crossbench and other stakeholders to make improvements to the Better Off Overall Test and changes to enterprise bargaining as outlined in the former Coalition Government’s legislation introduced in 2020;

(5)abandon the move to abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission and the Registered Organisations Commission;

(6)redraft this legislation to ensure matters are dealt with separately rather than as an “all or nothing” approach; and

(7)in the event the bill is passed, an independent review be conducted of the operation of the amendments made by this Act as soon as practical 12 months after the bill receives Royal Assent and cause a copy of the report to be tabled in each House of Parliament

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Coalition questions Labor on recosting stage-three tax cuts

Liberal senator Andrew Bragg is questioning treasury officials and the finance minister Katy Gallagher about the recosting of the stage-three tax cuts.

The Coalition believes this line of questioning shows that the government was toying with scrapping the stage-three tax cuts. We know that the cabinet was considering tweaking or changing the tax cuts which overwhelmingly benefit higher income earners, and which are now forecast to cost $254bn over a decade.

Deputy secretary of revenue Diane Brown said the department had costed a range of measures to give the government “a complete understanding of what are the pressures in the budget”.

“I don’t think it’s unusual that an incoming government handing down a budget within its first few months would seek a whole range of information...in order to inform decision making”.

“We’re just doing our job, mate,” Gallagher says.

Bragg asked if “every tax setting under the purview of the government” was recosted, and questioned if there had been a precedent. Treasury confirmed this was not the case.

“The answer to that is no. But if I might also add, it’s not really a matter of precedent here. We cost policies on request of government and if the government seeks advice we will cost them.”

Bragg asks what other tax measures had been costed: “What were the tax policy issues that were costed? Are they all in the budget or were some cut?”

Gallagher said some were in the budget, and the government sought a “range of information” from Treasury about tax policy in the lead up to the budget.

“A lot of this will be covered by cabinet in confidence, because that is essentially how it operates,” she says.

Brown said the request was not a request to cost the removal.

“I wouldn’t characterise it as a request for the removal of stage three, it was a request for a costing in order to understand pressures in the budget ... the spending and revenue profile of the budget,” she said.

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Daniel Andrews says contact tracing data sent to federal agency was ‘de-identified’

Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has played down criticism of his government sending contact tracing data to a federal agency, stressing that the information was de-identified.

Guardian Australia has revealed that in July 2020 – during the height of Covid – the Victorian government sent contact tracing data to the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission in the hope a controversial data mining platform could identify the source of mystery cases. The Victorian department of health did not proceed with the platform but data security experts have described the move as “dubious” and “outrageous”.

Asked if Victorians deserved to know about the use of the data, Andrews said it was “de-identified” information.

Victoria’s health minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the data was not used on the platform.

The important point of the story is that we did not proceed down that route.

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Former ADF personnel ‘may have been approached’ officials tell estimates

At Senate estimates committee hearing, Defence officials are being asked about concerns about ex-ADF personnel being approached to provide training to China.

Celia Perkins, a deputy secretary at the Department of Defence, doesn’t give numbers but she tells the committee:

We are aware and have been made aware through engagement with security agencies that former ADF personnel may have been approached to provide military-related training services.

Perkins says these are “quite sensitive national security matters” and so she is limited in what she can say.

But she says that “all our people but particularly our highly trained people” are “attractive targets”.

Perkins says there is an “onus on us” to support former ADF personnel and build deep awareness in community that “foreign actors will target our people for the unique skills they have”.

She says the terms of reference of the detailed review announced by Richard Marles today are classified, but the intention is to look at adequacy of the policies in place for serving and former ADF regarding employment after they leave the ADF. Perkins is leading the review and she has undertaken to report back to the deputy prime minister by 14 December.

Richard Marles wouldn’t go into any detail, but here is the story of the extradition that was referenced in that press conference;

NAB reports cash earnings of more than $7bn for 2022

NAB have posted their earnings for the financial year, AAP reports – and if you own shares, it is good news. If you have a loan with NAB, here is some of where that interest rate increases have gone:

National Australia Bank has bumped up annual earnings to more than $7bn following a “pleasing” year during which it reaped the rewards of rising interest rates.

Australia’s largest business-focused bank reported cash earnings of $7.1bn for fiscal 2022, up 8.3% from the previous year.

Cash earnings are the banking industry’s preferred measure of operational strength because it strips out volatile and one-off items.

NAB’s bottom line net profit also rose 8.3 per cent, to $6.9bn, in the year ending 30 September.

“Our FY22 results are pleasing,” CEO Ross McEwan said on Wednesday.

The result was attributed to volume growth and cost management, and interest rates.

“After 11 years of interest rate reductions, earnings have also benefited in FY22 from the rising interest rate environment,” McEwan added.

Borrowing rates have been rising steadily since May when the central bank first began hiking the cash interest rate from a historical low of 0.1%.

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Defence minster’s press conference on reports China approached ex-ADF personnel

Here is the questions Richard Marles did answer:

Q: Have you confirmed that any Australians have actually provided this training to China? And is there going to be an approach to the Chinese government to say this is not acceptable?

Marles: You’ll forgive me that I’m not going to answer that question. But defence is supporting the Joint AFP-Asio Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce, which is currently investigating a number of cases.

Q: How many cases, can you clarify how many cases? Is this related to a specific incident that kicked us off? And is this for any relation to that pilot facing extradition?

Marles: Again, I’m not going to answer that question for obvious reasons, but the taskforce that I’ve described is investigating a number of cases. What we are focused on right now is making sure that we do examine the policies and the procedures that are currently in place in respect of our former defence personnel to make sure they are adequate. And if they are not, and if there are weaknesses in that system, then we are absolutely committed to fixing them.

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Australia should remove ‘unnecessary discrimination’ from blood donations: Liberal MP

The Liberal MP for Bass, Bridget Archer, spoke in the parliament last night about the need to remove discrimination from blood donations:

I want to make it clear that I’m in no way demonising the critical work of Lifeblood Australia, and I understand the need for precautions. However, there is now research available indicating that a move to implementing criteria based on sexual-behaviour-based screening for all donors, regardless of gender and orientation, would be considered safe.

The UK and Canada moved to this model very recently, and Australia should follow. I understand that the Therapeutic Goods Administration is reviewing the report submitted by Just.Equal Australia, and I’m hopeful for an outcome that will both protect the blood donation supply in Australia and remove unnecessary discrimination.

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The IR legislation debate will resume this morning.

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Defence minister releases statement on China's attempts to recruit former ADF personnel

Richard Marles just released this statement:

Last month we heard concerning reports that ex-Australian Defence Force personnel may have been approached to provide military related training to China.

At the time, I asked my Department to urgently investigate these reports.

The information provided to me so far presents enough evidence to warrant the need for a detailed examination into the adequacy of current Defence policies and procedures addressing this matter.

I have therefore instructed the Department to commence that process.

It’s no secret that Defence activities, people and assets are targets for Foreign Intelligence Services.

But let me be clear: Australians who work or have worked for the government in any capacity, particularly our ADF, who come into possession of the nation’s secrets, have an obligation to maintain those secrets beyond their employment with, or their engagement with, the Commonwealth.

This is an enduring obligation and to reveal any of those secrets is a crime.

It’s clear and unambiguous.

We already have a range of layered policies in place to protect Defence people, information and assets from foreign collection but if there are weaknesses in our system the Albanese Government will strengthen them.

I thank Defence for their urgent work to date on this matter.

We will have more to say upon receiving the recommendations in due course.

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The Victorian election continues:

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And then he left, as questions were still being asked.

Joint AFP-Asio taskforce investigating ‘a number of cases’: Marles

Q: Have you confirmed that any Australians have provided this training to China? And is there going to be an approach to the Chinese government to say that this is not acceptable, what’s happened?

Richard Marles:

You’ll forgive me that I’m not going to answer that question. But defence is supporting the joint AFP-Asio, counter-foreign interference taskforce, which is currently investigating a number of cases.

Q: How many cases, can you clarify, how many cases? Is this relating to a specific incident that kicked this off? Has it got any relation to the pilot facing extradition?

Marles:

Again, I’m not going to answer that question for obvious reasons but the taskforce I’ve described is investigating a number of cases. What we are focused on right now is making sure that we do examine the policies and procedures that are currently in place in respect of our former defence … to make sure they are adequate. And if there are not and there are weaknesses in the system, we are committed to fixing them. Thank you.

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Ex-ADF personnel reportedly approached to provide military training in China: deputy PM

The deputy prime minister is in the Blue Room (the second most fancy press conference location) where he is speaking about his order for a “detailed examination” of the procedures which apply to former defence personnel who “come into possession of our nation’s secrets”.

Richard Marles says he has received reports that ex-ADF personnel may have been approached to provide military training in China. This press conference came up very quickly – and there wasn’t a lot of detail in it.

I want to make this point – for those who do come into possession of our nation’s secrets, either through service in the Australian Defence Force, or, indeed, service in any other part of the commonwealth, there is an enduring obligation to maintain those secrets for as long as they are secrets, which persists well after their engagement with the commonwealth.

And to breach that obligation is a very serious crime. And that is clear and unambiguous.

Having said that, it’s really important that we have the most robust framework possible that is in place to protect Australia’s information and protect our secrets.

And so as defence undertakes this examination, which it is doing right now, if there are any weaknesses in the policies and procedures that do currently apply in respect of our former defence personnel, then the Albanese Labor government is absolutely committed to fixing those weaknesses so as to keep Australia safe.

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'We shouldn't be giving in to these fraudsters': assistant treasurer on Medibank hackers

AAP reports assistant treasurer Stephen Jones has had a bit to say about the Medibank cyber criminals on Sky News:

They’re scumbags, they’re crooks, they’re criminals and we shouldn’t be paying ransom.

We shouldn’t be giving in to these fraudsters. The moment we fold it sends a green light to scumbags like them throughout the world that Australia is a soft target. We cannot give in and we won’t give in.”

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Penny Wong speaks with Chinese foreign minister

Foreign minister Penny Wong had a phone call with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi overnight.

There isn’t a lot of detail – the official read out is “the two discussed a range of bilateral issues, including trade and consular matters”.

But it is noteworthy as it seems to be another step towards Anthony Albanese and Xi Jinping meeting. Which is again, noteworthy because it will be the first time Xi has met an Australian prime minister since Malcolm Turnbull (and there has been A LOT of water under the bridge since then).

Updated

Intergenerational wealth and inequality in Australia

There is a small, but determined campaign bubbling away in the background of the political agenda to start talking about intergenerational wealth and its role in inequality.

WA independent MP Kate Chaney spoke about it in the Federation chamber (the third chamber of parliament where speeches the House doesn’t have time for live) on Tuesday.

I rise today to talk about the changing economic relationship between the generations in Australia. Australia’s millennial generation is widely forecast to be the first generation since Federation that has worse economic outcomes than the generation before.

Individual wealth of older households is increasing significantly faster than those of their younger counterparts. In fact, the gap between the wealth of the old and the wealth of the young almost doubled over the last few decades.

I want to talk about how we need to address the implicit generational bargain that underpins the relationship between younger and older Australians, and how we set our tax and spending priorities. Intergenerational economic fairness is an issue that we need to fix if we want our communities to enjoy rising living standards.

This must be done in the context of a wider community discussion about what we care about.

Which means, Chaney says, it is time to talk about tax:

While no one likes to talk about tax, this is not a problem that will fix itself. We need to either reduce our expectations of support or be open to new ways of paying for it.

This was raised a decade ago in Ken Henry’s review of the tax system but not much has changed.

Understanding generational differences in what we value and how we want to live through an intergenerational fairness inquiry would inform longer term thinking and provide a mandate for some of the economic reform that has ground to a halt over the last decade.

At the last election, communities such as mine in Curtin indicated that they wanted to see longer-term thinking in policy development and an optimistic and courageous vision for the future of the country.

Now is the time to start these national conversations:

What is important to us?

How does our tax and spending system reflect what we value?

How do we make good on the intergenerational bargain to support people at the vulnerable beginning and end of life in exchange for the promise that we will keep making things better?

I’ll continue to work with the government and other stakeholders to support these longer-term discussions to ensure that we’re focusing on the things that matter and making structural decisions that do not unfairly burden our children and their children.

Updated

Federal government paying contractor $900,000 for review of naval shipbuilding

The federal government is paying a contractor $900,000 to carry out a new review of naval shipbuilding issues with the findings due by January.

The three-month contract for Rand Corporation is the latest in a series of defence reviews that are due early next year.

The big-picture defence strategic review, headed by Stephen Smith and Angus Houston, and the nuclear-powered submarine taskforce plans are also due in the first few months of 2023.

Rand Corporation is carrying out the “Strategic Shipbuilding Review” for the Department of Defence on a three-month $900,000 contract, AusTender records show.

It is believed to be an update of Rand’s 2015 naval shipbuilding review. That earlier work looked at the “capability of the shipbuilding and ship repair industrial bases in Australia to meet the demands of current and future naval surface ship programs”.

Defence may face questions about the matter at Senate estimates today.

Updated

Bringing nuclear submarines into service will be Australia’s biggest challenge, academic warns

Bringing a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines into service will be one of the biggest training and workforce development challenges Australia has ever faced, a leading academic warns.

Prof Brian Schmidt, the vice-chancellor of the Australian National University, will talk about the difficulties of making the Aukus agreement a reality when he addresses the Submarine Institute of Australia Conference in Canberra today:

Australia has the expertise and capability. What we don’t have yet is the scale to deliver the graduates and skills in the quantities required …

I’m here to tell you today is that whatever submarine design ends up being chosen, we won’t be able to build and operate it locally unless we address the fundamental issue of Australia’s workforce capability gap.

Schmidt will say the nuclear workforce “will need to include not just engineers and physicists, but also lawyers, regulatory experts, specialist medical staff, naval architects and policy advisers to decision-makers.”

He will urge the government to establish “an Aukus career pathways program to harness high-achieving school-age students and provide long-term development and career progression in critical skills”:

Nuclear science should clearly be the first cab off the rank for this program, but this approach will also be necessary across the broader advanced capabilities of Aukus including in cyber and computing, engineering, space and quantum physics.

An Aukus pathways program, jointly developed with Defence, could feature a portfolio of tailored degree programs providing a pathway for students to gain qualifications in an Aukus-related field and then progress to a position in Defence working on Aukus programs.

He also suggests processing security clearances for students while they are studying “to enable real work experience and practical placement opportunities with Defence”. He suggests international exchanges with US and UK partner universities.

Updated

Supermarket plastic bags not being recycled

Nine newspapers have reported this morning that the plastic Coles and Woolworths encourage their customers to bring back to the store to recycle is not being recycled, but stored in warehouses, because Redcycle can’t find anyone to recycle the bags and soft plastics.

Tanya Plibersek doesn’t think that is good enough.

Updated

What is the government doing about energy prices?

Chris Bowen:

Our intention will be to ensure that energy prices don’t rise by the amount that’s indicated by the rising gas and coal which is being brought about by the international crisis, which governments around the world are dealing with. Again, the opposition seems to think that Ukraine hasn’t been invaded and coal and gas prices haven’t gone up. They seem to think that this is all the fault of renewable energy, which again shows the 10 years of denial and delays continuing into opposition. We’re not doing that. But obviously energy prices impact on inflation. The treasurer made that very clear in the lead-up to the budget that the main inflationary pressure is energy prices in Australia. Hence, that’s one of the reasons why we’re going to deal with it.

Updated

Peter Dutton ‘hasn’t moved on from cracking jokes’ about climate change: Bowen

Chris Bowen keeps using the word “constructive” there because he is also making the point that Peter Dutton, who does not seem to be in support of the “loss and damage” fund, is not being constructive.

He’s doubling down on 10 years of denial, delay and distraction. That’s okay. We’re not. We’re doubling down on constructive engagement as a responsible international citizen, and Patricia as the prime minister made very clear and very strongly, this point yesterday in parliament, we also regard this as a matter of geopolitical national security.

I mean, the stability of our region, comes very much down to cooperation on climate. We’re back at the table.

Peter Dutton, you know, really hasn’t moved on from cracking jokes about the water lapping at Pacific islands, frankly, which is a bit sad, but that’s the reality.

Updated

Australia being ‘constructive’ on climate action heading into Cop27: Bowen

Energy minister Chris Bowen is speaking to Patricia Karvelas on ABC radio RN Breakfast, where he is being asked whether Australia should sign up to the “loss and damage fund” being discussed at the UN Cop27 conference.

The fund in its most basic form is wealthy countries contributing towards mitigating the damage from climate change in developing nations.

Australia is in support of the loss and damage fund being discussed at the conference, but Bowen says there is no fund as yet to contribute to. And he won’t go into whether Australia would contribute to a fund, if one was set up.

As I said our focus has been on improving aid to the Pacific, working with our Pacific friends. We welcome the comments from the PIF [Pacific Island Forum] chair overnight about Australia’s role here that’s been very, very welcome and has been very constructive, and recognised Australia’s role developing the Pacific climate facility financing facility which we took to the election and we are implementing, that’s the job we’re getting on and doing and we’re also being constructive.

Updated

What's on in parliament today

Welcome to the Wednesday parliament sitting, where estimates will continue to mean everyone inside the parliament is annoyed about something.

It’s been that sort of week.

Because this government is still relatively new, estimates has been a mix of things the last government did and changes this government has made since taking over the treasury reins.

So both opposition and government senators are asking the department officials targeted questions and then doing what they can to make those answers the narrative of the day.

Meanwhile in the House, the government is pushing the last bits of the legislation it wants to get passed by the end of the year, which has meant we are also talking IR, Respect@Work and the national anti-corruption commission.

It means that the final two weeks are going to be an absolute mess as everyone tries to stick to the plan, with the Senate, as always, the place to watch.

But first we have to get through hump day.

The Medibank data hack will be one of the big issues of the day, with reports (see below) that some data stolen from the health insurer has been posted, after Medibank refused to pay a ransom (a position supported by the Australian government).

And of course, the cost of living and particularly energy prices will continue to dominate the political conversation – ahead of Chris Bowen leaving for Cop27.

Katharine Murphy, Sarah Martin, Daniel Hurst, Josh Butler and Paul Karp will be all across what is happening in the parliament, and you have me, Amy Remeikis for the majority of the day on the blog.

I am on my fourth coffee and given its Wednesday, I made the sensible choice and had a piece of banana cake for breakfast.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.

Updated

Ransomware group post data they claim to be from Medibank clients

A ransomware group has begun posting client data apparently stolen from Australia’s largest health insurer on the dark web, AAP reports.

Hundreds of names, addresses, birthdates and Medicare details were being posted under “good-list” and “naughty-list” on a blog belonging to the group.

The hackers had demanded a ransom to stop them from releasing the data, but Medibank earlier this week said it would not pay it because it would encourage further crime.

Shortly after midnight, the group posted the first lists.

“Looking back that data is stored not very understandable format (table dumps) we’ll take some time to sort it out,” they said in the early hours of Wednesday.

“We’ll continue posting data partially, need some time to do it pretty.”

The hackers also appeared to have revealed screenshots of private messages recently exchanged between themselves and Medibank representatives.

Medibank has previously confirmed almost 500,000 health claims were stolen by the hackers, along with personal information, when the unnamed group hacked into its system weeks ago.

Some 9.7 million current and former customers have been affected.

No credit card or banking details were accessed.

On Tuesday, the ransomware group posted to its blog that “data will be publish (sic) in 24 hours”.

“P.S. I recommend to sell (sic) medibank stocks.”

Medibank apologised again to clients past and present on Tuesday. It advised customers to be alert for any phishing scams via phone, post or email.

“We knew the publication of data online by the criminal could be a possibility but the criminal’s threat is still a distressing development for our customers,” CEO David Koczkar said on Tuesday.

Home affairs minister Clare O’Neil said Medibank’s decision not to pay a ransom to cyber criminals was in line with government advice.

Updated

Lunar eclipse images from across Australia

And in case you didn’t see it yourself, photographers were out and about to snap the lunar eclipse that was visible across the country last night.

A full moon rises ahead of a total lunar eclipse in Stanwell Park, south of Sydney.
A full moon rises ahead of a total lunar eclipse in Stanwell Park, south of Sydney. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP
The ‘blood moon’ or lunar eclipse seen from Williamstown in Melbourne.
The ‘blood moon’ or lunar eclipse seen from Williamstown in Melbourne. Photograph: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images
The total lunar eclipse over Canberra last night.
The total lunar eclipse over Canberra last night. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

Welcome

Hi, Martin Farrer here. Welcome to our live blog. Amy Remeikis will be here soon to start the day’s politics coverage, but let’s get the ball rolling with some of the main news stories this morning.

Former prime minister John Howard has led tributes to his “great friend” Peter Reith, who has died at the age of 72. Reith was deputy leader of the Liberal party in the Howard era and served as minister for industrial relations and defence among others. But while Liberal politicians paid tribute to his “conviction” style of politics, others have remembered his role in the notorious “children overboard” claims about asylum seekers during the 2001 election campaign and his fight against dock workers in 1998.

Melissa Davey, our medical editor, has an exclusive story this morning about how the Victorian government sent Covid contact tracing data to the national crime authority for potential use by the data mining firm Palantir. Experts said the move was “dubious” and “outrageous”.

Senate estimates last night revealed more detail about Scott Morrison’s secret ministerial portfolios. Meghan Quinn, secretary of the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, told a hearing that officials from Morrison’s department asked their counterparts in the industry department to provide a briefing to the prime minister on the Pep-11 gas project in December 2021, because Morrison had designated himself the decision-maker. Asked whether then resources minister Keith Pitt had received the same briefing, Quinn said: “I don’t believe so.”

Sri Lankan cricketer Danushka Gunathilaka will appear in court in Sydney today over the alleged sexual assault of a woman. More questions about the conduct of the squad have emerged overnight after Sri Lanka Cricket launched an investigation into “various alleged incidents” involving its players in Australia during the T20 World Cup.

Updated

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