What we learned: Thursday 1o November
Can you believe it? We’ve made it to the end of another sitting week in one piece. Here are the major developments of the day.
Labor’s industrial relations bill has passed the House of Representatives, after further government concessions paring back the expansion of multi-employer bargaining.
The Joint Select Committee have given “unanimous” support to the national anti-corruption commission bill, while independent MP Helen Haines and the Greens signalled they would move for amendments in the Senate.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has announced a review into the program to resettle former Afghan employees who assisted Australia in Afghanistan. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) revealed it received more than 1,300 complaints about doctors and medical professionals over Covid-related misbehaviour such as spreading conspiracy theories or flouting public health orders. After investigations, 28 had been subjected to “immediate action”.
A small number, about 2,800, of Virgin Australia’s Velocity frequent flyer customers have been caught up in the Medibank data breach, the airline has announced. Meanwhile, the ACCC says the number of scams reported to the regulator in the current financial year is up 92%, with almost $500m in losses reported in the four months since July 1.
And as the nation grapples with rising Covid cases, Queensland has moved its traffic light system to “amber”, recommending the return of masks to some settings. Independent MP Monique Ryan says Australia is “sleepwalking” into the wave.
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The minister for finance, Katy Gallagher, says the decision of hackers to release Medibank information related to abortion is “sickening and appalling”.
— Katy Gallagher (@SenKatyG) November 10, 2022
On Thursday morning, on a dark web blog linked to the REvil Russian ransomware group, the attacker posted a file labelled “abortions” alongside claims they had sought US$10m from Medibank to prevent the leak of the data.
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BoM summer outlook: warmer days for Tasmania and more rain for the east
The Bureau of Meteorology has released its latest climate outlook.
Shocking none, a wetter than expected summer is likely for much of eastern Australia. Warmer days are likely for Tasmania, central and northern Australia, and cooler days are likely for the south-eastern mainland.
The outlook is driven by La Niña, a negative Indian Ocean dipole event, a positive phase of the southern annular mode and record warm waters around Australia.
The BoM:
December to February rainfall is likely to be above median for large parts of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and eastern Tasmania. Northern Queensland has at least twice the average chance of unusually high rainfall. Below-median rainfall is likely for large parts of Western Australia and the western Top End.
December to February maximum temperatures are likely to be warmer than median for Tasmania, and most of western and central Australia. Below-median temperatures are likely for south-eastern parts of Queensland, central and eastern New South Wales, and parts of Victoria.
December to February minimum temperatures are likely to be warmer than median for much of Australia. Areas where this is not the case are the north-west coast and southern interior of Western Australia, and the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales, extending into southern parts of Queensland.
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Fencing failure allowed lions to escape exhibit, Taronga review finds
Remember that brief but extremely exciting moment when lions were on the loose in Sydney? We have answers.
Taronga Zoo says failed clamps that join wire cables were behind the escape.
Preliminary independent engineering advice has confirmed that swages (clamps that join wire cables together) failed, enabling a lacing cable that connects the fence mesh to a tension cable to unravel. The lions were then able to create and squeeze through a gap.
The preliminary review has recommended the engagement of an independent tensile-structure engineer to conduct detailed investigations and provide specialist advice on the failure and repair.
The ongoing review also found that while inside their exhibit, the lions played and interacted with the fence for approximately 20 minutes before four cubs, and later adult male Ato, were able to breach it. Lioness Maya and one cub chose to remain in the exhibit.
Lioness Maya and the cub who chose to remain in the exhibit were recalled into their dens by keepers.
The review is ongoing.
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Australia 'sleepwalking' into next Covid wave, Monique Ryan says
Independent member for Kooyong Monique Ryan says Australia is “sleepwalking” into the latest Covid wave in the absence of a national strategy to deal with the pandemic.
It’s time for a national strategy for the ongoing pandemic.
— Dr Monique Ryan MP (@Mon4Kooyong) November 10, 2022
COVID case numbers are rising, vaccinations stagnating, immunity waning with no clear plan for boosters, no universal recommendations for workplace ventilation or masks..
We’re sleepwalking into a wave. https://t.co/0iKIQiKJrV
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Here’s what Greens Senator David Shoebridge, the party’s justice spokesperson, had to say about the unanimous support of the national anti-corruption commission bill announced today.
He echoed Helen Haines’ sentiment that the party would move amendments to the bill in the Senate while supporting it in principle.
This unanimous report is a landmark moment, and shows we have the numbers to deliver a Federal ICAC with teeth before the end of the year.
The overwhelming evidence supported removing the “exceptional circumstances” test for public hearings. Former judges, past and current ICAC commissioners, transparency advocates all want this fixed and we’ll be moving amendments to do this in the Senate.
Doctors Without Borders welcomes review of Australia’s Afghan locally engaged employee program
Some more on the announcement earlier today that the Australian will conduct a rapid review into the program to resettle former Afghan employees who assisted Australia in Afghanistan.
Simon Eccleshall, the head of programs for Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) Australia, said the organisation “welcomes the Australian Government’s announcement today that it is conducting a rapid review of the Afghan Locally Engaged Employee (LEE) program that supports humanitarian resettlement in Australia”.
MSF is acutely aware of the risks faced by Afghans who worked with Australian and other foreign missions, militaries and aid organisations, and would stress the importance of including aid workers in any revised LEE definition.
MSF highlights the threat posed by the Islamic State, which released a publication in August 2022 condemning the work of international medical organisations in Afghanistan, threatening the lives of local and international humanitarian workers and medical staff.
MSF views this announcement as a demonstration of the Australian Government’s commitment to a broader shift in refugee and asylum seeker policy, and calls on the Government to fast track the implementation of their election promise to restore permanent protection for all refugees in Australia.
Earlier today, foreign minister Penny Wong announced a review of the ‘locally engaged employee’ (LEE) program, run by the former government, of which she has been highly critical.
She told a Senate estimates committee hearing this afternoon that in some cases the former government got caught up in “legalism” about the employment arrangements.
Wong said the Taliban - which seized control of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul in August last year - didn’t stop to check whether a person had been directly employed by a specific department or had been engaged by a subcontractor.
Announcing the review, Wong said:
I have got the agreement of Dr Vivienne Thom … who will lead an independent review into the Afghan locally engaged employee program and I hope as a consequence of that we can make changes necessary to deal with the concerns which were raised both publicly by family members and LEEs themselves but also identified by the Senate inquiry [during the previous parliament].
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Rain and storms forecast to hit central and eastern Australia
The Bureau of Meteorology has warned “warm and unsettled conditions” are bringing widespread rain and storms across central and eastern Australia which will increase over the weekend with possible renewed flooding. Parts of New South Wales are already experiencing flooding.
Twenty-four hour rainfall totals of 91mm were observed at Dorunda in far north Queensland, while wind gusts in excess of 100 km/h were recorded in Cloncurry.
The BoM:
On Thursday, a surface trough over South Australia will move into western parts of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, and showers and thunderstorms will extend east through the day, including Tasmania.
Severe thunderstorms are also possible across western parts of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria and eastern South Australia and may produce damaging wind gusts, flash flooding and large hail.
The BoM warned there was a “high to extreme” pollen risk across Victoria in the coming days due to the thunderstorms, which will raise the risk of asthma throughout Thursday.
The BoM:
Showers and thunderstorms will continue in coming days across large parts of central and eastern Australia, along with humid conditions. A significant band of rain and thunderstorms with a cold front will develop on Saturday, and then move over the eastern states from Sunday.
This system has the potential to bring moderate to heavy falls that may impact already flood-affected communities. Major flood warnings continue across several rivers in northern Victoria and inland New South Wales, while minor to moderate flooding continues through other parts of eastern Australia.
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New acting president of the Fair Work Commission
Employment minister Tony Burke has announced Adam Hatcher SC will serve as acting president of the Fair Work Commission.
Burke:
Hatcher has provided strong leadership as Vice President of the FWC since 2013, and I thank him for agreeing to the Acting President role for three months.
He brings extensive experience to the role, and I am confident he will continue to execute his duties with impartiality and diligence.
Hatcher’s three month term will commence on 19 November following the retirement of the Hon Justice Iain Ross AO.
Burke:
On behalf of the Australian government m, I thank Justice Ross for his stewardship of the FWC as President since 2012.
The FWC will remain fair and just, transparent and open under this Government.
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Small nuclear reactors in Australia ‘not a competitive option’, CSIRO says
The CSIRO has told Senate estimates that it isn’t investigating small modular nuclear reactors as a viable power option for Australia until at least the end of this decade, noting it isn’t currently “a competitive option”.
Dr Peter Mayfield, the CSIRO’s executive director of environment, energy and resources, was asked by Labor senator Deb O’Neill about the prospects of nuclear power in the near future. The Coalition has tried to begin a debate about nuclear energy in Australia, as the Labor government pursues clean energy policies in pursuit of a net zero by 2050 goal.
Mayfield flagged that CSIRO’s ‘GenCost’ report into power generation, released in July, reported “there is no prospect of a [Nuclear SMR] plant being deployed before 2030”.
We don’t even look at it before 2030 because we don’t think it’s viable in that timeframe. It would need some significant cost reductions for it to become a competitive option.
Asked about what Australia needs to achieve a reliable power network in coming years, Mayfield listed new clean energy options, better storage, a transition from fossil fuels which includes gas options, and carbon capture & storage technology.
Keep building out renewables, improve storage options we have, a transition from fossil fuels that makes sense.
We believe at this point in time it needs gas for quite some time and it needs CCS in the later decades to get to net zero… CCS we see as very important as well.
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Greens MP accuses treasurer of dodging question on affordable housing
Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather has accused the treasurer of avoiding his question over how many affordable homes will be built under a federal government scheme to build one million dwellings in five years.
The Treasurer dodged my question, as much as admitting that the one million homes won’t be affordable for low income renters. We know that over the last five years the private sector built one million homes, and the housing crisis got worse. In estimates, we’ve heard that the great bulk of these million homes will be left up to the private sector to build how and wherever they will. We need public and affordable homes, not luxury apartments.
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Haines says proposed integrity commission a ‘good bill’ but urges government to act on committee recommendations
Independent MP Helen Haines says the federal government should adopt the joint select committee recommendations on the national anti-corruption commission bill, and “consider further improvements”.
The committee tasked with scrutinising the bill, of which Haines was deputy chair, handed down its report today unanimously supporting the bill with six recommendations.
Haines:
It was clear to the Committee that the overwhelming majority of groups and individuals supported the establishment of a national anti-corruption commission – and there was broad agreement in relation to a number of core elements of the bills.
The best decisions are reached through collaboration and consensus. If the NACC is to withstand changes of government and the whims of the times, it needs multi-partisan support from the beginning.
It is my sincere hope that this consensus continues beyond the Committee and that all members of this Parliament vote as one to pass this Bill.
Haines said while it was a “good bill” she would move amendments when it comes up for debate.
I am hopeful the Government will consider them in the same good faith way the Committee has engaged with the Bill. The Committee did not hear compelling evidence from the Government in favour of retaining the exceptional circumstances test for holding public hearings, and many experts questioned why it was necessary. Together with other members of the committee I have recommended the Government consider adding measures to increase the transparency around the budget of the NACC, and measures for a special majority of the oversight committee to approve appointments of the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner.
She also recommended “pork barrelling” be explicitly included in the definition of corruption.
Australians now expect that Government money only goes where it is politically advantageous, not where it is most needed. My recommendations would go towards improving that trust.
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Redress delays ‘compounds the distress’ of child sexual abuse survivors, researchers say
Researchers have warned any delay in providing redress to survivors of child sexual abuse threatens to “compounds the distress many victim survivors feel”.
Last week, the Guardian revealed the backlog of claims before the national redress scheme had more than doubled in two years. A rapid surge in claims this year - up from 300 per month to 700 on average in 2022 - had not been matched by any significant increase in resources or decision-making.
The government announced $15m in new funding for the scheme this week. Social services minister Amanda Rishworth said the money would help better resource the scheme and help it deal with the increased demand from survivors.
Swinburne University of Technology professor James Ogloff said the commitment would hopefully help to alleviate the suffering of survivors.
Waiting for their applications for financial support to be finalised compounds the distress many victim survivors feel. The commitment to hire additional staff for the National Redress Scheme will help clear the claims backlog and hopefully help alleviate victims’ suffering.
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Albanese wraps up last question time of the parliamentary sitting
The last question for the last question time this parliamentary sitting is to the prime minister Anthony Albanese, on what upcoming summits he will be attending abroad.
He’s a busy bee. Tomorrow after Remembrance Day commemorations in Sydney he will travel to the Asean summit in Cambodia, followed by the G20 Bali summit in Indonesia and Apec leaders summit in Thailand.
In the next fortnight, meetings have been lined up with the UK prime minister “and other friends”.
He has accepted Joko Widodo’s invitation to be one of three speakers alongside prime minister Modi at the summit.
As we know, the two have shared a special affinity ever since their bamboo bike ride.
The treasurer will be joining me … for the beginning of the G20 in Indonesia … and I congratulate president Joko Widodo, our friend, the work that he has done in organising this summit which is an important recognition of the standing that Indonesia has as it rises along with India to be in the top economies in the world over coming decades and on that note Mr Speaker I would asked further questions be placed on the notice paper.
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Bowen and Pike trade barbs on cost of living and energy
Liberal MP and member for Bowman Henry Pike has asked Chris Bowen a question about the “spiralling cost of living occurring under the government’s watch”.
The climate minister says he is “more than happy” to answer the question “because the budget provided $20bn of funding to ensure that we rewire this country”.
After years of indolence over there … we also funded 400 community batteries across Australia which will help families store the renewable energy that they generate and use it at a time and a place convenient to them because batteries store renewable energy, something the leader of the opposition has some trouble coming to terms with.
Bowen says Dutton was on 2GB this morning, where he “always goes to get his toughest questions” and poo-pooed renewable energy.
The leader of the opposition … still doesn’t understand that just because the sun doesn’t always shine in the winter, the wind doesn’t always blow nor does the rain always fall but we manage to store water, we manage to drink water when it is not raining.
Laming says he “didn’t ask for a history lesson” but rather was asking about the cost of living.
We don’t have to go back too far to be reminded of the former prime minister … who said a big battery was as useful as a big prawn. Nothing has changed over there.
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No King Charles III on our notes soon, RBA says
WA Liberal senator Dean Smith has been pressing Michele Bullock, the RBA deputy governor, over whether or not the RBA will approve King Charles III to appear on $5 notes.
As our colleague Amy Remeikis noted earlier this month, RBA governor Philip Lowe has been in talks with Labor about the matter. All Australian notes carried a monarch between 1923 and 1953, so estimates heard today.
Anyway, it seems the decision will be between a depiction of the new King “or some sort of Australian-style design”, Bullock said.
We shouldn’t expect an early revision of our fivers, though, with the decision likely to take 12 months at least, and require the Buck House signing off on the note should they be graced by KCIII.
Perhaps pessimistically, Smith intones, “it’s quite a heavy burden for the RBA board to get wrong”. Well, right or wrong will depend on which side of the ledger you fall, Bullock says.
Dutton thanks veterans on eve of Remembrance Day
The leader of the opposition Peter Dutton is up.
On the eve of Remembrance Day, he thanks all the veterans in the chamber for their service.
To all of those veterans who will be commemorating Remembrance Day … to all of those family members … it is important we recognise their service to keep our country safe not just in generations past, but in future generations as well.
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Albanese says Australia has ‘fallen behind’ on climate but can be part of global shift
Independent MP for Warringah Zali Steggall has asked a question about Cop27.
The planet has already warmed by 1.2C but current pledges including your government’s inadequate 43% by 2030 have us on track for 3C of warming. Will your government stop making the problem worse by funding and approving further fossil fuel projects?
Anthony Albanese is up. The PM thanks Steggall for her “genuine engagement on the issue of climate change”.
As the member pointed out in the preamble to her question, she spoke about what was happening at Cop27 and spoke about the global effort, because indeed climate change does require a global effort.
He says the previous chair of Cop27 “welcomed Australia back” as part of the global effort to tackle climate change, and reiterates the commitment of 43% by 2030 as a pathway to 2050 net zero – which Steggall called inadequate.
Australia has fallen behind where we should be because we have had a decade of deny and delay, and we didn’t have any climate policy.
This government understands that we need to deal with energy policy, transport policy, housing policy, we need to make homes more efficient, we need to change the make up of our transport network with accordance of what’s happening around the world and we need to move to the cheapest and cleanest form of the new energy which is renewables. We need to do that in partnership with the rest of the world, and I look forward to in the coming days meeting with global leaders, talking about how we co-operate.
I am optimistic that the world can move. I want Australia to be a part of that and my government’s commitment is to do just that.
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‘You can’t drive on a press release’: infrastructure minister defends Labor’s roads plan
Nationals MP for Nicholls Sam Birrell is up and about on roads. As someone who has driven on a road recently, I can testify the situation is dire.
He refers infrastructure minister Catherine King to the $9.3bn in cancelled infrastructure funding in the budget including $208m already committed by the Coalition to stage one of the Goulburn Valley highway bypass of Shepparton in his electorate.
Is the government “abandoning regional Victoria”?
King says Birrell “means well” but the government has inherited an “absolute mess” when it comes to the infrastructure investment pipeline.
This government is investing $123bn over the next 10 years, increasing funding to regional communities by over $4bn over the next 10 years, I am very proud of that investment.
She says the money for the bypass remains in the budget and Labor is “fully committed” to the project, then has a dig at the Coalition for being all about “announcement and not able to deliver”.
You are more interested in getting an announcement on the papers, putting a press release out. You can’t drive on a press release. You can’t actually build a road if you don’t have enough money for it and that is the problem.
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GP bulk billing in the ‘worst shape’ in Medicare’s history, Mark Butler says
Centre Alliance member for Mayo Rebekha Sharkie relates a story about pensioners who can’t afford medical treatments.
She says “every day” she is hearing similar stories with constituents being left sick and untreated.
Minister for health and aged care Mark Butler says he shares her concerns, that general practice is in the “worst shape it has been in the almost 40 year history of Medicare” and “all of the trends in general are bad”.
We know that bulk billing rates have been dropping … I suspect every member of this house are talking to GPs and patients who say that billing rates are plummeting. GPs will tell them how distressed they are at having to change their bulk billing policies. We know that about one in three Australians pay a gap fee in this country and those gap fees have skyrocketed.
He says this is the fault of the opposition.
It is the leader of the opposition who tried to ram through attacks that make every Australian pay a fee for every consultant in general practice and when he couldn’t do that, pursue the Medicare rebate for six long years.
I am not going to pretend that it is going to be a quick or an easy job to fix up nine long years of cuts and neglect but … we have already invested $160 million in a rural general package, we’ve invested more than $220 million to strengthen general practice grants which will be rolling out in the coming weeks and months and only last week again I met with the strengthening Medicare taskforce to advise the government on our investment of $250 million each and every year.
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Here’s a nice short and sweet exchange.
Shadow minister for business Paul Fletcher asks Chris Bowen:
At a time when Australia urgently needs more gas supply, why has the government funded $9.8 million over four years to activists who oppose and stop new gas projects?
Bowen:
We have not.
Complaints about Covid behaviour of medical professionals tally 1,300, Ahpra says
Ahpra receives more than 1,300 The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) has revealed it received more than 1,300 complaints about doctors and medical professionals over Covid-related misbehaviour such as spreading conspiracy theories or flouting public health orders.
In a Senate estimates hearing, Ahpra said it had taken action against 28 doctors including for actions such as not wearing masks, claiming the pandemic was fake or that vaccines were “government mind control”.
But the health regulator hit back at criticisms from Liberal senators Alex Antic and Gerard Rennick, refuting allegations it was “silencing” doctors and defending its actions in taking action against practitioners working against government advice and scientific evidence.
Ahpra was among government agencies appearing before the health committee in Parliament House on Thursday. CEO Martin Fletcher said it had received 1,303 notifications against 1,006 practitioners (including doctors, nurses, psychologists and other professionals) for Covid-related actions.
He said after investigations, 28 had been subjected to “immediate action”:
11 were suspended from practise over spreading misinformation, with examples given such as claiming Covid was fake or that the vaccines were “government mind control”;
10 were suspended over actions including failing to comply with health orders, faking the administration of vaccines, or concerns over large-scale vaccine exemptions given to patients;
while seven were not suspended but had restrictions placed upon them, such as additional supervision while on the job.
Concerns were also raised about doctors giving vaccine exemptions that did not follow government guidelines, behaviour like refusing to wear masks, practising while unwell, or online conduct including “spreading conspiracy theories”, Fletcher said.
In response to questions from Rennick about workers losing their jobs over refusing to get Covid vaccinations, and claims that some doctors were fearful of giving vaccine exemptions to people who reported having side-effects from the vaccine, Fletcher said Ahpra did not want doctors to be fearful of the regulatory body:
But I don’t step back from the fact that our fundamental focus is on public safety and patient safety, and if concerns are raised with us about risk to safety, we’re obliged to look at them and if there’s a need for us to take regulatory action, we’ll take it.
Antic asked Fletcher how Ahpra decided what was “accurate” information, to which Fletcher responded it relied on expert government advice. Antic asked whether Fletcher believed it was a “great big bureaucratic stitch-up” and a “cartel of regulatory totalitarianism”.
Prof Brendan Murphy, the health department secretary and the nation’s chief medical officer during the first part of the pandemic, shot back “it’s a regulatory environment that works on the best available evidence”.
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Bowen bristles at Liberal MP’s question on gas prices
Liberal MP and member for Fairfax Ted O’Brien is up and about on the energy crisis, running the old wives tale that Labor doesn’t know how to handle the economy.
He asks energy minister Chris Bowen about a projection in the budget that gas prices will rise by 44% in two years.
Since the budget, government ministers have spoken about price caps, no price caps, direct assistance, no direct assistance, extra supply, limited supply, taxes on companies, no extra company taxes on companies.
Does the minister have any idea what he is doing, or is this just yet again Labor proving it doesn’t know how to manage money, doesn’t know how to manage the economy?
Bowen says he is “trying to take a statesmanlike tone … but it’s hard, when you get questions like that”.
Questions from an opposition about gas prices and how much they are going up, when on the day the member for Hume became the minister of energy, gas was $9.40, and at the time of the election it was $34.75!
That’s pretty good! Some would say that’s fantastic! Maybe the gas companies would say that’s fantastic but Australian consumers would not.
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Tony Burke just got on such a roll his time expired.
The question was on a motion earlier today moved by Peter Dutton on changes to enterprise bargaining. Burke says:
Everybody wants to get wages moving. We kept hearing from people on each side of the debate that they want to give people pay rises. Yet there are two tests, one, are you willing to do anything about it, and secondly, we ended up with a vote that was designed to do the exact opposite.
Today, in a motion moved by none other than a leader of the opposition, it said that they were calling on us to have changes to enterprise bargaining … so in the same time that this parliament was debating on the need to get wages moving with people facing higher inflation, those opposite took to a vote, took to a vote to bring back the 2020 legislation.
What does it mean if you suspended the better off overall test? It means a part-time level to hospitality worker aged over 21 could see the hourly New Year’s Eve rates slashed from $46. Instead of earning $375, they would earn $166.
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Labor’s housing plan will increase investor ‘appeal’ for affordable homes: Chalmers
Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather asks a question about the housing affordability crisis.
Using the standard definition of affordable housing as used by the Victorian government where a person on a low income pays no more than 30% of the income on rent or other housing costs, what proportion of the government’s promised one million homes will be affordable?
The federal government promised to build one million homes in the latest budget as part of the housing accord, including “affordable” properties.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government recognises extremely low vacancy rates and extremely high rents are hitting Australians (as a Sydney renter, this is a big mood).
What we have done is brought together state and territory governments and local governments, the building industry, the … and other institutional investors to sign up to a target of affordable homes to be built from 2024- 2029, in the hope that by bringing people together, and by providing an element of government investment, we can subsidise the rental returns for builders, the community housing providers and super funds to take something which is not appealing enough to investors to make it a bit more appealing, but most importantly we have to build more housing stock.
We do have a problem in this country when it comes to the supply of affordable rental properties. We are trying to do something about it, we do see a role for the commonwealth … in dealing with the problem that has been with us for too long, that is what the housing accord is all about, building more affordable properties, and that’s what we intend to do.
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Dreyfus says anti-corruption commission is ‘biggest integrity reform’ in decades
Mark Dreyfus is up, and boy is he on a high!
If you missed it, the joint select committee on the national anti-corruption commission bill tabled its unanimous report in parliament today.
He takes a little trip down memory lane:
On the 28 September 2022 I introduced a bill to establish a powerful, transparent and independent national anti-corruption commission. On the same day a joint select committee was established to enquire into the bill. The committee called for submissions addressing the provisions of the bill and held four days of public hearings.
Today Helen Haines and the deputy chair of the committee tabled its report in the house … I am delighted that the committee made up of government, opposition and cross-bench members of both houses has delivered a unanimous report today. This is the parliament at its finest, with members and senators coming together to find common ground and to find a constructive way forward. In doing so they have respected the mandate given by the Australian people on the 21 May to the Albanese government to establish a powerful, transparent and independent national anti-corruption commission.
Dreyfus says this is the “single biggest integrity reform” parliament has seen “for decades”.
The government will now carefully consider this report and its recommendations ahead of the resumption of debate on the bill in the next session of parliament. We are determined to pass this legislation and have the commission up and running by mid 2023.
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Clare O’Neil ‘genuinely shocked’ at Karen Andrews question about Medibank
The former minister for cybersecurity Karen Andrews asks Clare O’Neil what she, specifically, is doing for people that have been victims of the latest Medibank attack as opposed to “just expressing sympathy”.
O’Neil says she is frankly shocked.
It is so regrettable that at a moment like this, the opposition wants to politicise the pain and suffering of Australians.
I am genuinely shocked. I have been a member of parliament for nine years and usually in moments like this, we have a rare time to come together as a parliament to help people. And I just cannot believe that people who are suffering, who have had personal information about them revealed, that you are trying to politicise this. I am just genuinely shocked.
This is an incredibly embarrassing question from someone who was the minister for cybersecurity five months ago.
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O’Neil says Australia’s ‘smartest and toughest’ are coming for Medibank hackers
Labor MP and member for Blair Shayne Neumann has asked Clare O’Neil how she is responding to the latest revelations in the Medibank attack, which included specific references to abortion.
She says it was indicated yesterday the consequences of the Medibank hack were likely to get worse, and today, “those fears have been realised”.
She says what has occurred is “morally reprehensible and it is criminal”.
I want to say, particularly to the women whose private health information has been compromised overnight, as the minister for cybersecurity but more importantly, as a woman, this should not have happened, and I’d know this is a really difficult time. I want you to know that as a parliament and as a government, we stand with you. You are entitled to keep your health information [being kept] private and what has occurred here is morally reprehensible and it is criminal.
The concerns and issues that citizens will face … have many variations. Some will need technical questions answered, some will be victims of crime, some will need … and much more vulnerable citizens who are affected here are going to require intensive case management … our focus as a parliament is on Medicare stepping up on this, but of course there are requirements here are as a government. We are very focused on how to make this easy and simple for citizens.
O’Neil spoke with the Medibank CEO twice today and made it “abundantly clear” the expectations of the Australian community.
They owe that people who need help are able to get it. Medibank is providing a clean one-stop shop … and it is important that that support is scalable and I received the assurance from Medibank today that if a large data dump occurs, they are fully ready to provide services when and if they are needed to Australians who need them. We are supporting that work … I want the scumbags behind this attack to know that the smartest and toughest people in this country are coming after you.
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Wong announces review of program to resettle Afghans who assisted Australia
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has announced a review into the program to resettle former Afghan employees who assisted Australia in Afghanistan.
Wong was highly critical of the handling of the locally engaged employee (LEE) program by the former government. She told a Senate estimates committee hearing this afternoon that in some cases the former government got caught up in “legalism” about the employment arrangements.
Wong said the Taliban, which seized control of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul in August last year, didn’t stop to check whether a person had been directly employed by a specific department or had been engaged by a subcontractor.
Announcing the review, Wong said:
I have got the agreement of Dr Vivienne Thom … who will lead an independent review into the Afghan locally engaged employee program and I hope as a consequence of that we can make changes necessary to deal with the concerns which were raised both publicly by family members and LEEs themselves but also identified by the Senate inquiry [during the previous parliament].
A government statement issued a short time ago said Thom’s review would examine how program decisions were made, including the application and appeals process, record keeping and departmental resourcing. It would also consider whether the legislative instrument that underpins this program remained fit for purpose.
The defence minister, Richard Marles, said in the statement:
Our current and former ADF personnel have been clear about the painful impact of leaving people behind in Afghanistan. Dr Thom’s review is critical to ensuring our ADF personnel can have confidence that Australia will stand by those help us.
The immigration minister, Andrew Giles, said Australia had a duty to ensure that its humanitarian efforts focused on those whose safety was most at risk, especially those who may face harm due to their involvement in Australia’s mission in Afghanistan.
The Thom review is due to report back to government early next year.
Meanwhile, a Dfat official said the department was currently assessing 261 applications for certification.
The review was one of the recommendations of a damning Senate committee report - you can see that previous coverage here:
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Question time begins
Alright you know what time it is … question time, of course!
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Dreyfus says Labor committed to protecting journalists and sources
On the national integrity bill, Dreyfus was asked if he agreed that journalists and whistleblowers needed more protection. He said it was a “longstanding commitment” of the Labor party to uphold press freedom:
This bill contains protection for journalists. It contains protection of journalist sources. It is a longstanding commitment of the Australian Labor party. A clear commitment of this government that there should be protections for journalists. No journalist should be punished for doing their work.
Independent MP Helen Haines said she was surprised at the exclusion of the exceptional circumstances test in the bill. Was this done to secure support of the Coalition?
Dreyfus:
We will give complete consideration to all recommendations of the committee and indeed, all of the well considered suggestions made during the course of the parliamentary hearings and submissions made. I can say very directly there have been no deals done anywhere in the parliament or the passage of this legislation. The bill that I brought to the parliament on 29 September is a bill that our government thinks is the best possible model for establishing, at long last, a national anti-corruption commission in Australia.
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Committee gives ‘unanimous’ support to national anti-corruption commission bill
The joint select committee on the national anti-corruption commission bill has tabled its unanimous report in parliament today.
Attorney general Mark Dreyfus said the unanimous support of a committee made up of both houses, the opposition and crossbench “gives confidence” to the Australian people.
I am delighted that the report is a unanimous report because it is the best possible basis for going forward in this parliament with this really important piece of legislation. It has been a long time coming.
He said the bill would be brought back for debate on 21 or 22 of November.
Our intention is the legislation will pass through the parliament this year so that we can then get on with the very important job of setting up the commission with a view to it commencing operations around the middle of next year.
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Sussan Ley labels industrial relations bill ‘extreme’
Deputy Liberal party leader Sussan Ley is not a fan of the industrial relations bill, which she labelled “extreme”.
She said businesses had “abandoned” the Labor party’s legislation.
We have seen lining up, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and industry, the Council of Small Businesses, the Minerals Council, the National Farmers Federation, all saying that this bill is not in a fit state to pass.
The prime minister loves to list these organisations are supporting his government’s agenda. I think today Anthony Albanese needs to come into the parliament and update the house on what this very same organisations are saying about his extreme industrial relations agenda.
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Many thanks to the equally lovely Natasha May for keeping us informed today. I’ll be with you for the rest of this fine Thursday. Question time is coming up shortly.
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Thanks for your attention this morning, I am handing over to the lovely Caitlin Cassidy for the rest of the afternoon.
Independent MPs raise concerns for small business over IR bill
Helen Haines, the member for Indi, said:
The issue around the size of small business is I think a universal concern amongst virtually everyone that I have spoken to, to have had the opportunity to speak to [in the] short period of time that we have had to consider this bill.
Zali Steggall, the member for Warringah, highlighted there were nuances that undermine the government’s claim that the bill was a step forward for gender pay equality:
It is disingenuous of other government to claim that this is to assess feminised industries when many small businesses are run by women, and they will be the first to suffer when this legislation brings an absolute stall to sectors like childcare.
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Omnibus IR bill created ‘Sophie’s choice’, Scamps says
We brought you the news of the government’s IR bills passing the lower house but here are some of the concerns raised by the crossbench who voted with the Coalition.
Sophie Scamps, the independent member for Mackellar, said:
The problem I have with the omnibus nature of the fair work legislation Amendment is that many of these excellent policies are bundled up with the more controversial ones, and this has created a Sophie’s choice when it comes to voting. As with many of my crossbench colleagues, I too have serious concerns for the consequences of this legislation will have on small business.
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HECS debt wiped for rural health workers
The government is offering to wipe the study debt of doctors and nurses who choose to live in rural and remote areas, in an attempt to address the shortage of medical staff in the bush.
Under new legislation to be introduced by the government today, eligibility will depend on the remoteness of the placement and the length of time worked.
A doctor or nurse practitioner who works in a remote or very remote town for a time period of half the length of their course would have their entire HELP debt wiped.
Those who live in a large, medium or small rural town for a time period equal to the whole length of their course would have their entire HELP debt wiped.
The government also said that those living in “an eligible place for a period of time equivalent to half the time required is eligible to half the applicable debt reduction.”
Approximately 850 doctors and nurse practitioners are expected to be attracted to rural and remote areas every year, the government predicts.
The measures would be effective from the first day of the new year.
The minister for education, Jason Clare, said:
Zero HECS debt is a great incentive for young graduates to live and work and build their careers in rural and remote communities.
The health minister, Mark Butler, indicated he thought the measure would also help make working outside the cities a more likely long term option too.
We recognise the challenge of recruiting and retaining primary health care workers in rural and remote communities. These measures will make country practice a more attractive long-term career option for doctors and nurse practitioners.
Guardian Australia’s rural network recently highlighted that long term solutions for the healthcare crisis in the bush could also be found in local populations, particularly by tapping into demographics like men that haven’t been part of nursing recruitment drives:
RBA ‘not bankrupt’, Bullock reassures senators
The Reserve Bank’s deputy governor Michele Bullock has been asked about the huge losses and negative equity of $12.4bn as of the end of June, by the National party senator Matt Canavan.
We covered the big losses reported by the RBA and negative equity issue here:
Anyway, Canavan asks: “Is the RBA bankrupt?”
“No, the RBA is not bankrupt,” Bullock replies.
As the central bank, it can print money, and so is not like a commercial bank. (Cue, phews.)
The reason why the RBA has such large unrealised losses – about $37bn last financial year – is that the central bank snapped up many billions of dollars of Australian government debt during the Covid pandemic to force interest rates down.
As interest rates have risen, the value of the holdings has dived if “marked to market”. Anyway, the bank plans to let most if not all the debt mature, hence the “unrealised” bit about those losses.
Canavan’s fellow Queensland LNP colleague Gerard Rennick, meanwhile, was eager earlier to press the RBA to reveal its exchanges with the Bank of International Settlement (the “central bank of central banks”).
That information, not surprisingly, is confidential, and the RBA is not about to cough it up. Rennick says the BIS had a “notorious history”. “They melted down the gold, Nazi gold,” Rennick said, tugging on a rather long bow when it comes to current discussions.
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Early childcare worker speaks on IR bill and better wages: ‘It gives us all genuine hope’
Burke finishes by inviting an early childcare worker in Canberra to speak after him:
I think this story is best told by one of the workers themselves, so before we go to questions I would like to invite Laura to say a few words.
She says:
Hi, my name is Laura, in Canberra, I am a mum of three, and I have been an early educator for 18 years. What this Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill will mean for us is hope and I really want to thank the minister and the Albanese government for giving us this hope.
It is going to give us the opportunity to see wages moving, wages that have remained on hold for the better part of a decade under the previous government. So we now have that hope that we can no longer have to work two jobs to keep our lives running.
I talk with educators every day that are really struggling with the cost of living, with our wages, and what this does is it gives all of us that real genuine hope that we can keep the passion for what we do, the passion for early childhood education and care and that we can start to see a real difference in our lives and in the lives of the children we look after. So I really want to thank you again for the hope you has given us today.
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Peter Dutton’s IR bill amendment about ‘pay cuts’, Tony Burke says
Tony Burke goes on to speak about the opposition leader Peter Dutton’s amendment:
There is amendment that was moved this morning that a lot of people won’t know about. It was moved by Peter Dutton. And he called on the parliament to go back to the changes to industrial relations that were brought into this place in 2020, when Christian Porter was the minister.
They were changes that allowed the full suspension of the better off overall test for two years through agreements that would remain intact for a further four years. They were about pay cuts that could last six years and more.
So we had two votes, effectively, in terms of the major parties. We had a vote brought on by Peter Dutton and the Liberal party that called for sustained wage cut and we had a vote, supported in the House by the government and a number of crossbench members of parliament, that said let’s get wages moving. And in doing that, let’s prioritise those areas that have been left behind in bargaining.
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Tony Bourke says ‘feminised’ workplaces ‘left behind’ on bargaining and wages
The minister for employment and workplace relations, Tony Burke, just spoke in Canberra after the workplace relations bill passed the lower house:
Too many workplaces that have been left behind in bargaining. In particular, feminised industries. And I’m really proud that at the exact moment that the House of Representatives makes this decision, I’m standing here with these workers.
Early childhood educators, workers who provided the example of how a sector where the enterprise by enterprise bargaining had been really hard and they hadn’t benefited from that system, but were able to work together across a number of workplaces and provide that great Victorian example of wage rates that are now well above the award.
When wages aren’t moving, people are feeling that in every household at the moment. And we hear lots of people in this building talk about cost of living. The cost of living has two sides. It has prices and it has wages and you can’t seriously care about cost of living unless you are doing something about wages.
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Labor's industrial relations bill passes House of Representatives
Labor’s industrial relations legislation has passed the House of Representatives, after further government concessions paring back the expansion of multi-employer bargaining.
The secure jobs, better pay bill – the most extensive changes to workplace laws in two decades – will now pass to the Senate, where ACT independent David Pocock is the swing vote who has driven a suite of changes to accommodate business concerns.
The bill passed 80 votes to 56 shortly after 1pm, with independent MPs Zoe Daniel, Monique Ryan, Bob Katter and Andrew Wilkie joining Labor and the Greens in favour.
The Coalition, along with MPs Kate Chaney, Allegra Spender, Sophie Scamps, Helen Haines, Rebekha Sharkie and Dai Le voted against at both the second and third reading stage.
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Robodebt royal commission hears about Morrison’s desire for ‘welfare cop’
The robodebt inquiry also heard more details of a key meeting in 22 January 2015 when Pratt and Wilson met with the then new social services minister, Scott Morrison.
Pratt did not recall Wilson being there but said it was possible she was. He also did not recall any mention of discussion about the welfare compliance measure that became robodebt, and there was no reference to it in his notes.
His handwritten notes, shown to the commission, did mention the phrase “welfare cop”.
Morrison had flagged in media at the time his desire for a “strong welfare cop on the beat”.
Pratt said he had no knowledge of the use of income averaging – the unlawful debt raising method used in the scheme. Asked if Wilson had raised the issue of the legality of the scheme with him, Pratt said he no recollection of that, though he did not rule it out.
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Robodebt royal commission probes which department was ultimately responsible for scheme
The former social services minister, Christian Porter, called the head of his department at the initial height of the robodebt scheme and asked words to the effect of “what the hell is this all about?”, a royal commission has been told.
Finn Pratt, then the secretary of the Department of Social Services in late 2016, told the inquiry:
Mr Porter might have said something in the order of, ‘What the hell is all this about?’ I think my response was ‘You are reading the same media I am. This is clearly something which DHS is doing.’
Guardian Australia reported on the controversy in a series of stories in December 2016.
Pratt said he had connected Porter with the acting secretary of the Department of Human Services, because that department was running the debt recovery scheme. Kathryn Campbell, who is being called to the inquiry, was on leave at the time.
The question of which department was ultimately responsible for the program is one of the key questions being asked by the royal commission.
At the time, the Department of Social Services held internal advice saying the scheme was likely unlawful. However, Serena Wilson, a deputy secretary and one of a handful people who was second in charge to Pratt, said she did not share the advice with Porter, and likely didn’t share it with Pratt either.
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Thunderstorm asthma warning in Victoria
Victorians are being warned of risk of thunderstorm asthma today, with a “high risk” warning issued for the Mallee and the Wimmera.
The bureau of meteorology said there was also a moderate risk in the western and central districts, including Melbourne.
A combination of high levels of grass pollen in the air and thunderstorm conditions can trigger thunderstorm asthma.
The advice warning on VicEmergency says:
Be aware of an increased chance of experiencing breathing difficulties or an asthma attack. Prepare now – carry your asthma reliever puffer with you at all times today.
Due to increased thunderstorm activity the forecast risk of thunderstorm asthma has increased to high in the Mallee District. This is in addition to the high-risk forecast in Wimmerra District.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) November 10, 2022
For up-to-date information and advice visit @VicEmergency https://t.co/RxySW33wyn pic.twitter.com/0RwI95enC1
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RBA’s Michele Bullock defends RBA over interest rate comments
The Greens senator Nick McKim has been using Senate estimates to ask about the RBA’s accountability over statements last year that interest rates wouldn’t rise until 2024.
(Let the record note that the comments were always qualified, “based on conditions and so forth”, but the message many people would have taken was the bank’s cash rate wasn’t about to budge soon.)
The issue, deputy governor Michele Bullock says, was that economic conditions during Covid were “dire” and that the settings reflected that. As economies roared out of the lockdowns, supply shortages contributed to the emerging inflation. (Add Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the global energy and food price spikes, and inflation suddenly loomed large.)
Bullock said:
We were caught by surprise as was everyone.
Nobody at the bank, though, lost their jobs over the miscalculations, she conceded.
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Gender and sexuality questions could be included in the next census
Gender and sexuality questions could be included in the next census, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics telling the Senate economics committee it is on a “journey” and the census adapts in line with changes in society.
The inclusion of the question became embroiled in controversy ahead of the 2021 census after it emerged that the then assistant treasurer, Michael Sukkar, had expressed “a preference” for the questions not to be included.
The Liberal senator Andrew Bragg asked the head of the ABS, David Gruen, about its advice to the previous Coalition government.
Gruen said the advice had included both “pros and cons” for asking questions about gender and sexual orientation, but had not expressed a preference, with the decision left up to the government.
When pressed on what the pros and cons were for inclusion of the questions on sexuality and gender, Gruen said that the advantages were access to information of “considerable interest” for groups in the community, while the disadvantage was the inclusion of a “sensitive” question that went to a household, rather than an individual.
The aspect of it that makes this more complicated than many things is that you send the census to a household and you ask someone to fill the census in, and these are highly sensitive personal pieces of information that perhaps some members of the household have not shared with other members of the household.
He said that the ABS collected similar information in individual surveys, but the census was a “different kettle of fish”.
The general manager of the census for the ABS, Duncan Young, said that when they had done some testing ahead of the 2021 census there had been “some confusion” with people not understanding the difference between questions about sex and gender.
They thought they were being asked the same question twice; there is not a universal understanding across the community.
However we are on a bit of journey here, and these things do change from census to census, and the censuses continue to adapt to the society that it is run in and we will start our public consultation process early in 2023 ... and we expect this will be an area of interest in that process.
Gruen said new advice would be provided to the government “well in advance” of the 2026 census after consultation with the community.
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First Nations ambassador plans spark heated exchange at estimates
The Northern Territory Country Liberal party senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has criticised the government’s plans to appoint an ambassador for First Nations people, sparking some heated exchanges at Senate estimates.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said the position would enable connections to be made that contributed to Australia’s international influence:
This is about telling the full breadth of the story about who we are.
Price contended that the role was about the “continuing theme of segregation of First Nations people”.
Wong replied:
I reject that. It’s not about segregation. It’s about inclusion.
Wong said it was elevating First Nations voices to “a place in our international story that we have not told” to date.
Price suggested that it would be better to recognise everyone as Australians, saying the move was “ideologically driven”:
As someone who has Indigenous heritage, I do find it divisive.
Price, a long-standing critic of the plans for an Indigenous Voice to parliament and who doesn’t believe the Uluru Statement from the Heart represents the view of all Indigenous Australians, told Wong:
Well, I doubt that you would accept 0.03% of the Asian community on anything with regard to any decisions made with regard to the Asian community of Australia, which is on the same sort of principle.
Wong replied:
Well I’ll answer that. You want to talk about my ethnicity and my heritage. I am deeply proud and deeply grateful that the Australian people have chosen to put more people from diverse backgrounds into our parliament.
Price:
I’m glad you’re proud.
Wong:
I am. I think it is a good thing for our country. You asked me a question about being Chinese so I’m responding.
Price:
I didn’t ask you a question on that. I put it to you that that’s what the premise is ... You would probably feel insulted if that was the case for Asian Australians and that’s the point I wanted to make.
Price went on to suggest the ambassador for First Nations people was a “another international PR role for the Voice referendum internationally”.
Wong said the government would continue “articulating and projecting the reality of modern Australia”, including multicultural and First Nations heritage.
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Reserve Bank deputy governor Michele Bullock and assistant governor Christopher Kent are appearing at Senate estimates this afternoon, with inflation and interest rates high on senators’ agendas.
Interestingly, to underscore the central bank’s independence, related ministers are absent from today’s hearing. (Not sure if that applies to any other agency.) NSW Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has opened the session, with a query about whether the RBA’s leadership team has met with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, a question taken on notice.
Getting into the questions about what’s causing inflation, we learn the RBA takes the projections about energy prices next year from the federal budget (rather than doing their own number crunching).
The budget predicted electricity prices would rise 20% this fiscal year, most of it already turning up on bills, and another 30% next year. Gas would go up 20% in both. (Those numbers are a bit rubbery, since it’s a national number and states vary a lot, especially Western Australia with its gas reservation keeping a lid on power prices that the east can only look on with envy.)
Anyway, we’ll have about two hours of hearings to cover. Not quite “strap in” but more “stay tuned”.
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Virgin Australia’s Velocity frequent flyer customers caught up in Medibank breach
A small number of Virgin Australia’s Velocity frequent flyer customers have been caught up in the Medibank data breach, the airline has announced.
It is understood about 2,800 Velocity membership numbers have been included in the initial drop of the hacked data from Medibank being posted on the dark web.
A Virgin Australia Group spokesperson said:
After being notified late yesterday, Virgin Australia is acting to protect a small number of Velocity frequent flyer membership numbers [that] may have been compromised as part of the Medibank cybercrime event.
As a precautionary measure, we have locked the accounts of impacted members. We are notifying impacted members this morning and are in the process of creating new membership numbers for those members.
Keeping the accounts of our members safe from unauthorised activity is our priority and we apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Those affected will still be able to fly, access lounges and earn points while new numbers are being issued, but will not be able to redeem points or log in online until those numbers have been replaced.
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Government kicks off $15m plan to increase energy efficiency of homes and businesses
The federal government has begun consultation for a national energy performance strategy to improve the energy efficiency of homes and businesses.
The government has set aside $15.2m over four years for development of a framework for demand-side improvements.
The review will examine ways to both lower energy demand and improve energy performance and will consider whether energy efficiency targets should be set across the economy. Such targets already exist in countries including Japan and the European Union.
The assistant minister for climate change and energy, Jenny McAllister, said more energy efficient homes and businesses would take pressure off energy bills, the energy system and the climate.
She said Australia was lagging behind other countries in making these kinds of improvements.
We want to support affordable energy for Australians, ensuring no one gets left behind, while taking strong action on climate change. Action on the demand-side of the market will mean Australians can take control of their energy use.
This is an issue directly affecting the health and welfare of our nation, including low-income and disadvantaged households, and regional communities.
The government has released a discussion paper which says energy efficiency improvements – such as more efficient buildings and appliances – could significantly reduce Australia’s emissions, with residential buildings and the commercial and services sectors responsible for about 11% of Australia’s emissions.
The consultation paper is seeking submissions on issues including energy efficiency targets, governance and the residential, commercial and industrial sectors until 3 February.
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Iranian diplomat called in three times amid protester crackdown
Iran’s senior diplomat in Canberra has been “called in” by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade three times over human rights abuses in Iran.
Australian officials have also told a Senate estimates hearing that they have raised “very concerning reports about intimidation of people here in the community”.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said the government had condemned the crackdown on protesters and the repression of women and called for a prompt and impartial investigation into death of Mahsa Amini.
Marc Innes-Brown, a first assistant secretary for the Middle East Africa and Afghanistan Division, told the Senate committee:
I have called in the Iranian chargé d’affaires on three occasions during this period to convey in the strongest possible terms our concerns about what has happened.
I’ve also spoken to him on another occasion about very concerning reports about intimidation of people here in the community.
Wong did not speculate on potential further sanctions ahead of such decisions being made, but said she understood the call for further steps.
The Dfat secretary, Jan Adams, said the issue of whether Magnitsky-style sanctions could be applied was “under active consideration”.
The Liberal senator Claire Chandler said the Iranian community in Australia was looking for tangible action.
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‘You’re asking me to foresee the future’: Wong on recognition of Palestine
The Australian government does not recognise the state of Palestine but acknowledges “their future aspirations for statehood”, a Senate estimates committee hearing has been told.
In both 2018 and 2021, Labor’s national conference backed a resolution that “supports the recognition and right of Israel and Palestine to exist as two states within secure and recognised borders” and “calls on the next Labor government to recognise Palestine as a state”.
However, those resolutions did not set a specific deadline, saying only that the party expected “that this issue will be an important priority for the next Labor government”.
The Coalition’s Simon Birmingham asked the government to outline its position on the recognition of Palestine.
Marc Innes-Brown, a first assistant secretary for the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, replied:
The Australian government does not recognise the state of Palestine. We obviously acknowledge their future aspirations for statehood but we at this time do not recognise a state of Palestine.
Wong said the government urged all sides to “resume negotiations towards a just and enduring two-state solution”. She said that principle was “part what drives the reversal” on the recognition of West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Birmingham asked whether the government’s policy on Palestinian statehood would remain the same in the life of parliament absent a resolution on two-state solution.
Wong said:
You’re asking me to foresee the future.
In a clear attempt not to be locked into a position, Wong distinguished the Labor party platform from the government’s position:
The government’s position is, as Mr Innes-Brown outlined, and I’m sure you would be aware of this: obviously there are many parts of the community who feel deeply about this issue on both sides of the debate. Just as there are communities who feel deeply supportive, as the Labor party has been, of the establishment of the state of Israel and the right of Israel to live in security behind intentionally recognised borders, there are also people who have a very strong view about the lack of progress towards a two-state solution and the consequences of that for the Palestinian people.
This has been a discussion in the community for many years.
The resolution that the Labor party has arrived at is an expression from the national conference about the will of the national conference but a recognition that this is a matter for government.
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Number of scams reported to ACCC up 92%
The ACCC says the number of scams reported to the regulator in the current financial year is up 92%, with almost $500m in losses reported in the four months since July 1.
Under questioning from Labor senator Deb O’Neil, ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said Australians were losing more than $2bn a year, describing it as “both a financial loss and a source of emotional trauma” for people who were affected.
We also have found that consumers, the victims, are disproportionately older than younger, so all groups you expect to be more vulnerable and experience vulnerability – the Indigenous community, the CALD [culturally and linguistically diverse] community, refugees, for instance, will receive threats of being deported if they don’t take action transfer money etc, so scammers are incredibly capable of targeting people with vulnerability, and the data we receive in our reports indicates that there is a disproportionate impact in each of these more vulnerable members of the community.
She said that the number of reports received by the ACCC was more than 177,000 in just four months, with these figures suggesting a dramatic increase in the incidence of scamming. She said that the $2bn in losses last financial year was a likely underestimate.
Cass-Gottlieb said the ACCC was pleased to receive a $12m government grant which it would use towards the establishment of a national anti-scam centre, whose primary task would be to “make Australia a harder target for scammers”.
She said:
They will target countries that they think are the most vulnerable.
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Queensland switches to amber Covid alert
The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, says “it’s time to be alert – not alarmed” as the state has switched from green to amber in the state’s Covid-19 traffic light advice system.
BREAKING: Queensland is entering a new wave so our COVID-19 traffic light system will switch from green to amber from tomorrow on advice from the Chief Health Officer.
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) November 9, 2022
It is recommended that we wear masks in healthcare settings, on public transport and rideshares, indoors where you cannot socially distance, if you're older or at risk, and if you are around a vulnerable person.
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) November 9, 2022
More info on Queensland's COVID-19 traffic light advice https://t.co/Cfnpn0SCvE
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) November 9, 2022
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Winners from IR bill ‘will be the unions and lawyers’: Zali Steggall
Zali Steggall complains in lower house that Labor MPs are walking out of consideration in detail stage of IR bill.
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) November 10, 2022
ZS: "It's misleading to claim this will get wages moving, when there'll be months of delays ... and the winners will be the unions and lawyers."#auspol #ausunions
Daniel Andrews calls for federal funding to treat long Covid
Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, says he expects state leaders will be united in calling for further commonwealth funding to treat long Covid.
The state government has called for further funding for overwhelmed hospital clinics treating Victorians for long Covid but has not put a dollar figure on the requested investment.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Andrews said if the government was re-elected this month it would push for a continued partnership with the federal government for Covid support:
I don’t think we’ll be on our own there. Whether it’s NSW, every state has been having really important discussions with the commonwealth government about this next phase of Covid.
Last month, the federal budget revealed the equal sharing of Covid-related hospital costs would end at the end of the year, despite peak health bodies and state leaders calling for the arrangement to be extended.
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Building and construction industry exempt from multi-employer bargaining
The industrial relations debate is grinding on in the House of Representatives, with crossbench MPs putting up (largely) doomed amendments.
One detail from earlier when the workplace relations minister, Tony Burke, made fresh concessions.
Labor has agreed to exclude the entire commercial building and construction industry from multi-employer bargaining, replacing the clause targeting the construction union for breaches of industrial law with a general exclusion.
Burke told the House this decision – likely to exclude electricians, plumbers and other trades bargaining together – was “not taken lightly”.
The government does “not believe it is appropriate or necessary to extend multi-employer bargaining to this industry at this time”, he said.
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ACCC looking to boost gas purchasing power of small manufacturers
The ACCC is also looking at ways to boost the purchasing power of small manufacturers in gas price negotiations, pointing to the potential of collective bargaining.
Nationals senator Susan McDonald raised concerns about the retail end of the supply chain, saying that without any restriction on what retailers can charge, households and small manufacturers “who have the least control in the market place” would be hard hit.
Gina Cass-Gottlieb reveals that the ACCC is also looking at ways to improve the purchasing power of smaller players. She said:
We are considering the questions about whether there are other mechanisms for small manufacturers to participate potentially in a collective bargaining capacity in terms of an acquisition from producers so we are trying to test the question of bargaining power and improving bargaining power in multiple ways.
She also said that while the initial focus of the ACCC’s work was on the “top of the supply chain”, the ACCC was also looking at the retail picture.
We do watch this situation ... that at the retail level the market operates in a properly competitive fashion. If the parties are not operating in a properly competitive fashion ... we will watch it very closely and take action.
The immediate focus is looking at the top of the supply chain, but we are seeking to ensure that all parties, including all parties who are users and purchasers, would also be subject to obligations.
McDonald then asks about the need to increase supplies, pointing to projects in Queensland and the NSW Narrabri projects as ways to increase supply into the market. She suggests that price controls may make these projects less likely to go ahead, and asks Cass-Gottlieb her view.
The ACCC chair says this view had been put forward by some producers, and it would “take them into account”.
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Teal independents named women of the year by Marie Claire
Independent MPs elected on platforms of climate action and integrity in politics at the May federal election have been named as Women of the Year by Marie Claire magazine.
The “change makers of the year” award went to (in the order they appear on the cover shot) the independent member for Kooyong, Monique Ryan, for Wentworth, Allegra Spender, for Goldstein, Zoe Daniel, for Curtin, Kate Chaney, for Mackellar, Sophie Scamps, for North Sydney, Kylea Tink, and for Warringah, Zali Steggall.
Ryan said it was an honour but that “the people of Kooyong and across Aus who sent Independents to parliament are the real change-makers”.
It’s an unexpected honour to be named as Women of the Year with my crossbench independent colleagues.
— Dr Monique Ryan MP (@Mon4Kooyong) November 9, 2022
My election represents the work of thousands of volunteers and supporters.
The people of Kooyong and across Aus who sent Independents to parliament are the real change-makers. pic.twitter.com/IrwQkHPKVd
Updated
Wong regrets lack of consultation on West Jerusalem reversal
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has conceded she had not intended to announce a change in policy on the recognition of West Jerusalem when she did.
At a Senate estimates hearing, the opposition’s foreign affairs spokesman, Simon Birmingham, asked whether it was always her intention to make the announcement in mid-October:
No. I don’t generally do things that way. I think you know that, Senator. I like to be a little more prepared.
Wong has declined to say who authorised the change in the Dfat website on 17 October to remove the previous Morrison government’s language recognising West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. She said that change occurred “ahead of government processes”.
There was a mistake made. This was not how we would have dealt with this … Let’s be clear, a mistake occurred and I’ve taken responsibility for it.
Wong said cabinet made a decision the following morning – 18 October – to approve the change in government policy. She implied that the decision was fast-tracked to ensure there was no confusion about the government’s position:
Cabinet made a decision that morning … A mistake was made, I took responsibility for clarifying the government’s position as quickly as possible. I thought that it was best for that to happen and, as a consequence, there were a range of consequences to that, which we’ve discussed. But the decision was made by cabinet on the morning of the announcement.
As a consequence, obviously there was not the consultation and advice that would usually occur … including with Australia’s ambassador to Israel and others and it is not the process we would generally engage in or I have engaged in.
A senior Dfat official told the hearing he had spoken with Australia’s ambassador to Israel, Paul Griffiths, on 17 October, around the time of the media reports. The Dfat official said he had “advised [the Australian ambassador] what the situation was at that point in time, which at that point in time there was no change in policy”. The following day Israel summoned Griffiths to a meeting to register the Israeli government’s displeasure with the cabinet decision.
Asked whether a communications plan had been presented to her office, Wong said:
I think self-evidently the sequence of the events has been well publicised, so it’s pretty obvious there was no communications plan.
Updated
Origin shares soar after $18.4bn takeover bid lobbed
Origin Energy shares have jumped by more than a third this morning after it received a takeover bid from Canadian asset manager Brookfield and LNG group MidOcean Energy.
Brookfield, you may recall, made a tilt at AGL Energy in February that was rebuffed. (Although Brookfield’s partner in that bid, Mike Cannon-Brookes, later became AGL’s biggest shareholder and will have a big say over that firm’s governance at next week’s AGM.)
Anyway, a takeover by Origin would place a big question mark over the timing of the company’s plan to shut Australia’s biggest coal-fired power station, the 2,880-megawatt Eraring plant, in 2025.
If the consortium confirms its bid of $9 a share (compared with $5.80 of yesterday), Origin’s board would unanimously support the takeover bid. The current share price, recently at just under $8, has a bit higher to climb by the looks.
More to come.
Updated
‘A mistake was made’: Wong on reversing West Jerusalem recognition
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed that the change to its website – removing the language that recognised West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel – was made on Monday 17 October.
The Coalition’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Simon Birmingham, told a Senate estimates hearing that was “also the date that it was first reported by the Guardian”.
Birmingham said:
So it was reported within a 24-hour window or even less. Does the department have any idea how the Guardian came to be aware of the change to the website?
The Dfat secretary, Jan Adams, quipped:
I can’t speak for the Guardian, I’m afraid. Presumably they have a good monitoring system.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, told the hearing it was “a deeply sensitive issue for many people in this country and elsewhere”.
Wong said the majority of the international community considered the status of Jerusalem was a final status issue to be resolved in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian people. She said Labor reinstated the longstanding bipartisan position.
Wong reiterated her previous comments that the timing of the announcement was “deeply regrettable”.
Referring to the website being change prior to the cabinet signing off on the change, Wong said:
A mistake was made. I don’t intend in this hearing or anywhere else to point the finger of blame. I took responsibility as minister to ensure there was clarity around Australia’s position.
Updated
Identifying greenwashing an ‘enduring priority’: ACCC
Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young is asking the ACCC about its focus on “greenwashing” where it investigates claims made by companies about their green and environmental credentials.
Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb says that they are looking across the board, but focusing on claims made to consumers through advertising, with the Australian Securities and Investment Commission focused on the corporate side.
Hanson-Young asked about “sweeps” of various sectors being undertaken by ACCC to identify misleading environmental claims.
We are very conscious of the importance for the community to actually have trust that claims that are made for environmental sustainability are true.
Cass-Gottlieb said that a sweep undertaken in October aimed to identify which claims were being made in which sectors, and what was the likely verification for such claims being made.
She said the preliminary analysis of the ACCC was that there was a “higher prevalence” of potentially misleading content in the sectors of cosmetic and personal care, food and beverage, energy and fashion.
Cass-Gottlieb said that identifying greenwashing would be an “enduring priority” for the ACCC.
Updated
Bluey and Bananas in Pyjamas visit parliament
Parliament yesterday received a few special guest visitors from some of the ABC’s most beloved children’s programs.
Which left some saying the talking bananas were a “definite improvement on the characters you usually see in this place”.
Real fame in Parliament! #abc pic.twitter.com/oIRtu7iyyO
— Matt Thistlethwaite (@MThistlethwaite) November 9, 2022
A definite improvement on the characters you usually see in this place!
— David Shoebridge (@DavidShoebridge) November 9, 2022
We <3 our ABC pic.twitter.com/mto03u6HuP
Hey @ABCaustralia, are you looking for extra Play School presenters? Asking for a friend. pic.twitter.com/UgH64snGMl
— Tanya Plibersek (@tanya_plibersek) November 9, 2022
Updated
Australian Passport Office admits they underestimated pent-up travel demand
The number of Australian passport applications in the queue has dropped from 428,000 in early September to 180,000 this week, officials have told a Senate estimates hearing.
The hearing has focused on problems with passport processing following the Australian border reopening.
The executive director of the Australian Passport Office (APO), Bridget Brill, said officials had anticipated an increase in passport applications after the border reopened, but it “far exceeded anyone’s expectations”:
We doubled our workforce – we had already started to upscale our workforce ahead of the border reopening.
We predicted we would need to at least double our staffing by May [2022], which we did.
On the modelling we had done, based on the data received from the travel industry and other sources, we anticipated we were going to be able to meet the demand based on the modelling.
When asked by the Labor senator Nita Green whether the modelling was wrong, Brill replied:
Correct, Senator. Unfortunately, the surge in travel [and] the wish to travel internationally far exceeded anyone’s expectations around the timing of that.
It was around April/May that we got demand that far exceeded what we had modelled across the scenarios. A similar thing played out in the travel sector itself.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said that on coming to office “it was very clear to us that there were passport processing delays because the post-Covid surge in applications had been inadequately prepared for”. Wong said the new government had further increased staffing and had now issued 1.4m passports:
I understand Australians’ frustrations about this and staff in this area have worked very hard since the election with us to try and deal with this situation to clear the backlog.
Craig Maclachlan, a Dfat deputy secretary, said the department regretted “the inconvenience caused to Australian travellers through this processing time”.
He said the high point of applications that were “on hand” reached 428,000 on 7 September, but as of this week it had fallen to 180,000. He said the average processing time “has dropped from well over 30 days to about 23 days”.
Updated
Any interactions with Russia at G20 summit to be used to express opposition to ‘immoral’ invasion: Dfat secretary
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has been asked about Anthony Albanese’s forthcoming attendance at summits, including the G20 in Bali next week.
Wong tells the Senate estimates hearing the prime minister “will be looking to meet with as many counterparts as he is able” but she doesn’t confirm whether that will include China.
The shadow minister for foreign affairs, Simon Birmingham, asks whether China has made any direct requests of Australia when it comes to policy, in a series of meetings with Australia since the election.
Wong said she did not propose to go into details, and neither did predecessor Marise Payne, of conversations with counterparts – but Wong added that Australia’s government has changed but its strategic policy interests have not.
She said the government would not walk away from Australia’s interests.
Wong said the relationship with China “has been in a difficult and challenging place for some time”:
Dealing with that requires a careful considered process and strategy. In part that includes a great deal of thinking about how we publicly articulate and articulate to the PRC [People’s Republic of China] how we envisage the relationship. In order to [explain] that more clearly, including to the Australian people and publicly, I released my opening statements for each of those two bilaterals publicly ... They are, I think, clear about the issues we were raising on the face of it.
The questions shift to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s potential attendance at the G20 next week.
The Dfat secretary, Jan Adams, said the attendance level by Russia was “yet to be made clear”.
Adams said Australia would not let down the summit hosts by refusing to attend, but any interactions with Russian delegation would be “very restricted and will be used to express our clear opposition to the illegal, immoral and unacceptable invasion of Ukraine”.
The government has pledged to work with Indonesia on these issues.
Updated
IR bill wins second reading vote, as Labor introduces new amendments
The House of Representatives has voted on crossbench and Coalition amendments to Labor’s secure jobs, better pay bill.
Centre Alliance’s Rebekha Sharkie proposed that the carveout for “small businesses” to opt out of single-interest multi-employer bargaining be expanded from businesses with 15 employees to 100 employees.
That amendment was defeated 79 votes to 57, with Labor and the Greens voting together against it. Crossbenchers Bob Katter, Dai Le, Allegra Spender, Kylea Tink, Kate Chaney and Sophie Scamps voted with the Coalition.
Procedural amendments from the Liberals and from Spender, who wanted a longer inquiry on some aspects of the bill, were also defeated.
The bill got a second reading, with 80 votes to 58. On this vote: Zoe Daniel and Monique Ryan voted with the government and the Greens. Spender, Tink, Chaney and Le voted against the second reading.
The bill now passes into its consideration in detail phase.
The leader of the House and workplace relations minister, Tony Burke, is tabling a new explanatory memorandum with government amendments. These go further than was thought.
The new amendments are designed to ensure the “primacy” of enterprise bargaining (between one employer and its workforce) over multi-employer bargaining. He said:
Under our amendments, employers who have agreed with an employee organisation for a single enterprise agreement are exempt from the single-interest stream.
The Fair Work Commission will also be able to exempt an employer from the single-interest stream if they have a “history of effective bargaining”.
Updated
Victorian Labor pledges $42m for neighbourhood batteries
Some news out of Victorian state politics. The premier, Daniel Andrews, has promised to install 100 neighbourhood batteries if his government is re-elected on 26 November.
Updated
Foreign minister to actively offer briefings to parliamentary committee on China
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says she will actively offer briefings to federal politicians on the relationship with China, saying the previous Morrison government’s reluctance to do so was “a lost opportunity for the nation”.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is up at Senate estimates today.
Wong began the session with a pledge to work closely with parliamentarians across the political divide, saying advancing the national interest is a shared responsibility. Australia could deliver a powerful message project through bipartisanship and unity of values:
We need not agree on every government decision. But we should all look to the national interest first rather than partisan political interests. And in pursuit of that purpose we we should seek out ways to better prepare and brief this parliament because our democracy and our country are more robust if parliamentarians are better informed. This was my view as shadow minister and it remains my view as foreign minister.
The committee will recall that in opposition I asked the Morrison government to engage the parliament more deeply to help foster unity, especially on the complex issues surrounding Australia’s relationship with China. I believe their refusal was a lost opportunity for the nation and for all of us as custodians of the national interest.
So I’m being clear with the committee: I wish to take a different approach. I will routinely offer this committee briefings. If additional briefings are requested I will seek to facilitate those – and the same applies to parliamentarians generally. And I am pleased to announce a new initiative to start next year, NS23 National Security 23, which will offer national security-related training to parliamentarians – a collaborative effort between the Australian government and the national security college of the Australian National University.
The recently appointed Dfat secretary, Jan Adams, who is a former Australian ambassador to China and Japan, said she wanted to lift Dfat’s capability:
Conflict comes when diplomacy does not succeed. I therefore see the mission of the department as central to our national interests.
The shadow minister for foreign affairs, Simon Birmingham, agrees that it is important for Australia to seek bipartisanship on foreign affairs wherever possible, but he also says it is important to scrutinise government decisions.
Updated
ACCC says wholesale gas and price caps ‘a possible option’
From Peter Hannam and Sarah Martin:
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says it is looking at including legally binding measures to force down prices in gas negotiations as part of a new mandatory code of conduct for the gas sector.
The regulator, which has been tasked by the Treasurer Jim Chalmers to come up with options for the government to consider, has also said that both retail and wholesale price caps are under consideration.
Appearing before the Senate economics committee this morning, ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb gave more details of what the regulator was considering, with its advice to go to government by mid November.
She said:
The ACCC has been asked by the Treasurer to give advice, the specific request is directed to looking at the voluntary code of conduct in respect to gas purchase negotiations and advising as to whether there are methods and options to supplement that with the intention of it becoming mandatory, so that there can be an assurance of supply with reference to reasonable pricing.
So far no supplier has signed up the voluntary code, Cass-Gottlieb notes.
McKim asked whether the ACCC’s scope had “hard boundaries” or whether the regulator could potentially look at capping retail prices.
Cass-Gottlieb said:
The initial part of the requested advice is directed to the sale of the wholesale level between producers and their purchasers who will generally be either gas power generation....commercial and industrial users and retailers, it would not be at the retail price level.
[But] we are also asked a second question more generally to advise if there are any regulatory gaps relevant to the current circumstances facing the east coast gas market, so there is a possibility that the second more general one would address that [retail price caps].
McKim also asked whether capping wholesale prices of gas and coal prices was on the table. Cass-Gottleib said:
It is a possible option that we will need to consider in the scale of all possible options.
At present we are considering the question really in terms of the scope as framed - we are considering enhancements to what is currently a voluntary code to which no supplier has yet signed, and enhancements that would in legal terms provide greater transparency, certainty and binding outcomes.
Asked by LNP senator Susan McDonald what assumptions were behind the ACCC’s July report that found eastern Australia faced a 56-petajoule shortfall in 2023 and that “every extra molecule of gas” would be exported, Cass-Gottlieb said it was based on forecasts by the producers themselves. (ACCC “did not make assumptions” about that export forecast, she added).
Of course, what needs to be made clear (but is often skimmed over) is how much gas prices would drop if supply rose since east coast gas prices are linked directly to global ones. Perhaps one of the senators could ask that one.
Updated
ACCC giving government advice on energy prices
The consumer watchdog is up before parliamentary estimates where it has confirmed it is providing advice to the government to address high energy prices.
ACCC confirms it is providing advice to government to address high energy prices. This could include capping wholesale coal and gas prices, and retail power prices. Solution is easy - cap retail power prices and tax the super-profits of coal and gas companies to pay for it.
— Nick McKim (@NickMcKim) November 9, 2022
Baby boy dies after Sydney house fire
A six-week-old baby boy has died after being critically burned in a house fire in Sydney’s south-west.
NSW Ambulance chief superintendent Mark Gibbs says paramedics were called to the boy’s Campbelltown home on Wednesday afternoon.
He said:
The baby had sustained burns to between 80 and 90% of its body and this was a very confronting scene for our paramedics.
Paramedics provided treatment for the burns, alongside a specialist medical team from the Toll Ambulance Rescue helicopter.
The baby was taken by road to Campbelltown hospital in a critical condition but died.
A second child was assessed for smoke inhalation, but did not require further treatment.
The death will be investigated and a report sent to the coroner, police said.
- from AAP
Updated
‘Important to do everything … to engage in dialogue and diplomacy’ with China: Peter Khalil
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is trying to meet with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, next week. Khalil is asked where this review into former Australian defence personnel being approached by Beijing leaves diplomatic relations between the two nations:
Any type of dialogue at the leadership level is a good thing. We want to be able to engage with China through dialogue, and it will be a good thing if the prime minister does meet with Xi Jinping.
Of course, our foreign minister [Penny Wong] has had multiple conversations with her counterpart, Wang, and our defence minister [Richard Marles] has met with his counterpart as well. That’s good because, for us as Australians, it’s important to do everything that we can to engage in dialogue and diplomacy to reduce tensions that might exist, to address some of the issues around economic sanctions and barriers that have been placed there, and to try and get a good result or good outcomes in that respect.
But we’ll always stand up for our values and our position. The prime minister has been very strong on that. He won’t be budged on, you know, our particular commitment to human rights and democracy and our values, but he’s always open to talking to our partners, and it would be a very good thing for that dialogue to occur in some of these international fora in the coming weeks.
Updated
‘Obligations are made very clear to defence personnel’: Khalil
The shadow defence minister, Andrew Hastie, has said the personnel may need to be educated about their obligations.
Khalil responds to that idea, saying “more education is always good” but he believes defence personnel’s responsibilities are already made “very clear”:
Education may be part of the process, absolutely. Having said that, I know for a fact that, having worked in this space in the past, that the responsibilities and the obligations are made very clear to defence personnel, people working in national security agencies, in the commonwealth public service about their responsibilities around sensitive information. I think there is a very strong level of understanding about what your responsibility is during your work, but also outside of your work, and when you leave your work you sign off on a number of documents to confirm that responsibility. So, look, education - more education is always good, but certainly people know what their responsibilities are.
Updated
‘A breach of trust with your fellow Australians’: Khalil on Australians training Chinese military
As the defence minister, Richard Marles, launches a review over China approaching former personnel to help train the Chinese military, the chair of the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security, Peter Khalil, spoke to ABC News.
Just how concerned should Australians be about these latest revelations?
Oh, I think very concerned … there is an enduring obligation, as the minister said, when you leave that service to protect that sensitive information because effectively you’re protecting Australia and fellow Australians.
And when you breach that obligation, that enduring obligation, that is really a breach of trust with your fellow Australians, so it’s seriously concerning.
The government did move very speedily … Yesterday [Marles] pointed out there was enough serious concern that he’s gone into a much more detailed examination of the policies and procedures around former defence personnel and the way that framework works. And if there are any weaknesses, he’s going fix them pretty quickly.
Updated
RBA up before estimates as China clouds gather
As noted in an earlier post, the Reserve Bank deputy governor, Michele Bullock, used an evening speech to highlight that inflation is still expected to peak soon, perhaps next month.
That’s even with flood impacts on farming pushing up grocery prices and the full whack of energy price increases still to land for many households and businesses.
The RBA, meanwhile, will appear before Senate estimates later this morning (after the ACCC kicks off proceedings for the Treasury portfolio), so expect more grilling about whether the central bank should have acted sooner to curb inflation so we wouldn’t be jamming the brakes so hard now. (They’re reviewing their models, and rightly note that most economists didn’t pick Russia’s war, etc.)
One thing worth keeping an eye on is the deteriorating Chinese economy amid a sagging property market and rolling Covid-zero policy lockdowns.
As we noted in August, China’s economy was showing signs of a big slowdown.
We shouldn’t lose sight of this notable stat provided by Michael Pettis, an economist at Peking University*: China’s GDP is roughly three-quarters that of the US and Europe, but the value of property assets are double those in the US and triple those in Europe. The mother of all property bubbles, it seems.
Anyway, China’s producer prices fell last month for the first time in almost two years we learnt yesterday, quite at odds with most other parts of the world. Deflation is not a good sign about the health of the local economy.
Not surprisingly, then, Bullock cited China as the top uncertainty in the international economy.
“A significant concern from our perspective is the downside risks in China,” she said, with the real estate woes at the core.
Bullock said:
Residential property sales have declined sharply over the past year, and housing starts have also fallen to be lower than they have been for over a decade.
The way Australia might feel the pinch directly is via lower iron ore prices, but since China is the biggest consumer of most other things dug out of the ground, the implications could end up being a lot wider.
However, a flood of goods that can’t be sold at home should ease price pressures in Australia and elsewhere.
* “Peking University” is the official name in English, in case you’re wondering why it’s not “Beijing University”.
Updated
‘Hallmarks of a Russian-based ransomware gang’: shadow cybersecurity minister on Medibank attack
Asked about reports Russian-linked criminals are behind the Medibank hack, James Paterson responded:
It’s not yet confirmed that it is Russian hackers, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be the case. It certainly has some indications and hallmarks of a Russian-based ransomware gang. It does appear, on the face of it, to be criminal in nature at this time. It is certainly true that there is a convergence in between online criminals and nation states. It’s been revealed in previous attacks.
What should Australia be doing?
I think the most important is we have to demonstrate that there’s a cost for this activity. So one thing which we have done in the past is to attribute it because a lot of nation states are uncomfortable being called out on it, China included.
We also need to make use of the sanctions within the Magnitsky regime, which we legislated a couple of years ago, which now allows the Australian government to sanction people from [cyber behaviour] that’s never been used. It should be used because I think that will have a powerful disincentive.
If you want an explainer on the human rights sanction regime named after late corruption whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky, Guardian has you covered (Australia’s legislation is modelled on the UK):
Updated
‘Safe harbour’ mechanism needed to boost company confidence to disclose cyber-attacks, opposition says
Patterson says the director general the Australian Signals Directorate, Rachel Noble, is “very supportive” of his proposal for a “safe harbour” mechanism to allow companies to disclose data attacks without immediate fear of legal ramifications.
Before estimates this week, I discussed with the director general the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), Rachel Noble, whether or not some kind of safe harbour is needed so that in a crisis companies have confidence that they can share information with ASD to help deal with the threat in the immediate aftermath of an attack before they have to start worrying about legal ramifications from the privacy commissioner and others. And Rachel Noble was very supportive of that idea.
It’s an idea that’s been put to me by industry because they say they are anxious that their companies will think twice about whether they should cooperate to defeat the threat because they’re worried about those legal ramifications and those fines. And, if that is the case, that’s very unproductive and it will stall or an effective response to these crises.
Updated
Opposition says if new Medicare card numbers needed, government should pay
The shadow minister for cyber security and countering foreign interference, James Paterson, follows Bill Shorten on ABC radio, giving his two cents on this latest news of the Medibank data leak.
Paterson says he welcomes the measures the government has put in place, including supporting state police.
He goes on to say there are “other things that government will need to contemplate in the coming days and weeks”:
My No 1 focus today is Medibank customers who will be very distressed by the news that their data appears to be leaked on the web by the hackers. They’ve made good on their threat, unfortunately. This is the worst-case scenario.
There are other things that government will need to contemplate in the coming days and weeks. For example, as we saw in the Optus case, where the government issued identification, like Medicare numbers need to be reissued. If that’s the case, that should be done free and, it should be done promptly.
Updated
Shorten urges victims of data breach to ‘contact us’ to replace government ID
NDIS minister Bill Shorten is asked about data breaches after the latest Medibank leak as part of his ABC Radio interview.
Shorten supports Medibank not giving into ransom demands, saying this would “incentivise it happening”:
In terms of people whose ID is compromised, where it’s government identification, contact us, so we can help replace it and help change it.
Patricia Karvelas:
Will that be free of charge?
Shorten:
Yes, for the person.
Updated
'US$1 per customer': Medibank ransom claim
The hackers allegedly behind the theft of Medibank data linked to 9.7 million customers have revealed they allegedly demanded a US$1 per customer ransom from the health insurer.
In a chilling message posted on the dark web overnight, the ransomware group also claimed it had released sensitive details of customers’ medical procedures. The post said:
Added one more file abortions.csv ... Society ask us about ransom, it’s a 10 millions usd. We can make discount 9.7m 1$=1 customer.
The group began releasing Medibank data on the dark web in the early hours of Wednesday morning under “good-list” and “naughty-list”.
The first wave included names, birthdates, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, health claims information, Medicare numbers for Medibank’s ahm customers and passport numbers for international student clients.
Medibank confirmed on Wednesday:
The files appear to be a sample of the data that we earlier determined was accessed by the criminal.
We expect the criminal to continue to release files on the dark web.
Medibank revealed this week it had rejected hacker demands it pay a ransom in return for the data not being released.
Asked what people should do if they were contacted by someone claiming to have sensitive information about them, federal minister Annika Wells reiterated the government’s advice was not to pay ransoms.
She told Nine Network today:
You do not pay the ransom.
You’re making the assumption that that is true and what we’re saying is that may not necessarily be the case – plenty of scumbags out there are going to try and make the most of this situation.
Medibank had warned more customer data would be uploaded to the dark web, which is what appears to have happened in the early hours of Thursday.
Australian federal police are ramping up efforts to catch those behind the huge data breach.
– from AAP
Updated
Coalition’s staff cap has fuelled lack of payment integrity, Shorten says
Bill Shorten goes on to criticise the NDIS staff cap implemented by the Coalition government:
When there were 180,000 participants in the scheme, the staff numbers were around 3,500 to 4,000. And the government of the day said, ‘OK, no more staff.’
Now the scheme has half a million people-plus, and what’s happened is that we’ve brought in contractors or labour hire or partners in the community and the scheme hasn’t been well, in my opinion, supervised and well loved.
And as a result you know, the payment system. I don’t think there’s sufficient scrutiny on the invoices that gets submitted for services which are provided.
We’re going to have to put more effort into payment integrity, more effort into monitoring the invoices.
Updated
‘It was to be a 50/50 split’
RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas asks Bill Shorten if that means he thinks some of those kids shouldn’t be on the NDIS.
Shorten:
I don’t blame someone for seeking to get support for the child. What does make me wonder is the state school systems providing the support for kids with developmental and learning delays? Are they doing enough or not? How can you force their hand to do it so that these people aren’t going on the NDIS?
Originally, when the NDIS was created, it was to be a 50/50 split, at the moment the federal government is paying 64% to 66% of the scheme and states are paying in the mid 30s.
Updated
NDIS ‘can’t be the only lifeboat in the ocean’, Shorten says
Bill Shorten goes on to say that the distribution of responsibilities for funding needs to be distributed more evenly with other bodies like state governments stepping up, so the burden doesn’t only fall on the government scheme:
I also think there’s a challenge with the state’s what’s happened is now the NDIS exists, everything becomes an NDIS matter. It can’t afford to be the only lifeboat in the ocean for people with a disability.
[The NDIS] was designed for the most profoundly and severely impaired Australians, not for everyone with a disability.
All of the coverage of it looks at the cost and that’s legitimate, but it’s not cost in a vacuum. We are seeing improvements is half a million people who for the first time in many cases, most cases are receiving support, which previously fell to a crisis-driven system. So this is an investment and it’s delivering good returns with more kids getting better results in terms of our education. There’s more people with disabilities participating in work. We’re seeing improvement in terms of the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people and their families.
Updated
Bill Shorten addresses NDIS cost blowouts
The minister for the NDIS, Bill Shorten, is speaking to ABC Radio this morning about those cost blowouts to the disability scheme of up to $100bn a year predicted in last month’s budget.
ABC Radio asks Shorten if the rapid growth in participants has been driving the blowouts:
The scheme hasn’t been well managed in the nine years. There’s a variety of reasons why the scheme is growing at the rate it is.
There are certainly more kids coming onto the scheme than was originally forecast. So that’s true. But just the point about those kids, they tend to be pretty minimal cost.
So, it is a factor but I don’t think it’s the only feature, what I do think is that there has been clunky decision making within the organisation, there’s been a lack of attention on the payment side … In other words, what service providers are charging, who’s taken the scheme for a lend?
My focus is not that people with disabilities, profound disabilities, are doing the wrong thing. They’re not. I do think there is rent-seeking behaviour by some providers, and not all of them, but some of them.
Updated
Defence reveals ‘rotten egg gas’ problem in Pacific patrol boats
Department of Defence officials say they are hoping to fix problems with the Guardian-class patrol boats in coming weeks after revealing an “ongoing issue” with hydrogen sulphide from the vessels’ waste management systems.
Australia has so far given 15 Guardian-class patrol vessels to regional neighbours, starting with the delivery of one to Papua New Guinea in November 2018, but the government announced four months ago that it had found a number of problems, including carbon monoxide entering part of the boat.
Hugh Jeffrey from the Department of Defence mentioned the hydrogen sulphide issue during questioning by the Greens senator David Shoebridge at a Senate estimates hearing last night. Hydrogen sulfide, or H2S, is a colourless toxic gas that can smell like rotten eggs:
As with all new capabilities, we have some maintenance issues. There has been a specific issue in relation to H2S, a toxic gas, created by the ship’s grey-water and black-water systems. We’ve been working this issue intensively with Austal, the ship manufacturer. They have been committed to resolving this, as have we, and they’re currently trialling steps to improve the robustness of the grey-water and black-water sewerage systems on those boats.
The head of maritime systems, Rear Admiral Wendy Malcolm, said Austal was “working in Cairns at the moment to trial those [steps] and subsequent to those trials proving effective over the next two to three weeks, we will look to roll out those fixes across the fleet”. She said safety was “absolutely paramount”.
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, added that the patrol boats were “a very important part of Australia’s engagement with and support to the Pacific” and the government was committed to fixing the problems as quickly as possible.
Last week an Austal spokesperson provided Guardian Australia with an update on the other issues:
Working with our component suppliers, Austal has rectified both the engine muffler and the Vulcan Engine Coupling, and also supported the Commonwealth in optimising the design to improve ventilation in the sick bay.
Updated
Workplace relations minister attacks Dutton’s amendment
The House of Representatives is due cast votes this morning on the government’s IR bill, including an amendment from opposition leader Peter Dutton to reintroduce the previous government’s changes to the “better off overall” test.
Workplace relations minister Tony Burke has taken to social media to criticise the amendment, saying it would only cut wages.
At 9:15am today the House of Reps will start a series of votes on the Secure Jobs Better Pay Bill.
— Tony Burke (@Tony_Burke) November 9, 2022
One of those votes will be on an amendment moved by Peter Dutton.
Clause 4 of that amendment is extraordinary.
The Dutton amendment calls on the Parliament to reintroduce the changes to the Better Off Overall Test that were introduced by the previous government in 2020.
— Tony Burke (@Tony_Burke) November 9, 2022
Those changes tried to suspend the test entirely for new agreements for 2 yrs. The agreements could last at least 4 yrs
The Dutton amendment has the effect of allowing agreements to cut any penalty rate, shift allowance or overtime rate.
— Tony Burke (@Tony_Burke) November 9, 2022
In short it allows cuts to wages.
The difference could not be more clear.
The Govt bill will get wages moving.
The Dutton amendment would cut wages.#auspol pic.twitter.com/xyrHdvATJ1
Updated
Small business pulls support for Labor IR bill
The Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia has joined a joint employer statement urging that Labor’s industrial relations bill not be passed in its current form.
This is significant because Cosboa gave conditional support for more options for multi-employer bargaining before the jobs and skills summit, signing up with the Australian Council of Trade Unions in a move that allowed workplace relations minister, Tony Burke, to say there was consensus for the idea.
Consensus no more.
The employers said the bill “would introduce fundamental and highly problematic changes to Australia’s bargaining system that would be detrimental to Australia”:
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Australian Industry Group; Business Council of Australia; Minerals Council of Australia; the Cosboa; and National Farmers Federation are united in a call for the Government to either abandon or substantially amend various contentious elements of the bill relating to bargaining.
The bill, as currently framed, should not be passed by Parliament.
We jointly call on the Government to permit time for a thorough consideration of the content and implications of the Bill. This deeper consideration should include removing the provisions to allow widespread use of multi-employer bargaining backed by strike action. The Australian Parliament should remain open to making further amendments.
The legislation as drafted does not reflect broad consensus arising out of engagement with industry at the Jobs and Skills Summit or subsequent consultation. It is crucial these proposals are thoroughly examined.
The council said national employer associations were particularly concerned that the bill:
unjustifiably expands the scope for multi-employer bargaining;
fails to articulate clear parameters around where multi-employer bargaining would be available in either the supported bargaining or single-interest streams; and
undermines the system of enterprising bargaining that has delivered many significant benefits to Australia over several decades and currently operates effectively in many sectors.
The currently proposed framework for arbitrating bargaining disputes also risks unreasonably subjecting broad sectors of the economy, and community, to the centralised setting of terms and conditions over and above the comprehensive system of modern awards already in place.
The government is being urged to address “additional deficiencies” in the bill and to allow “detailed examination of the multi-employer bargaining elements”.
Updated
Flood warnings
Good morning! Natasha May on deck with you now.
NSW and Victoria continue to face a weeks-long flood emergency.
In NSW, the far west of the state could see flooding while in Victoria, new watch and act warnings have been issued overnight. The full list of warnings in Victoria are available here.
This WATCH & ACT - RIVERINE FLOOD - Avoid the Flooded Area is for Murray River to Tocumwal.
— VicEmergency (@vicemergency) November 9, 2022
Stay safe - avoid the flooded area. Be aware of potential hazards caused by flooding and never enter floodwater.
More details at https://t.co/CvbNjSuhRh pic.twitter.com/2E0vr1D4VQ
Updated
Gas prices ‘expected to rise again’
With energy bills front and centre in consumers’ minds, it’s also clear that they are central to thinking in Martin Place right now as well.
RBA deputy governor Michele Bullock said in a speech last night that the situation in Europe remained clouded in uncertainty, AAP reports:
While gas prices have declined lately, they are expected to rise again, particularly if there is an unusually cold winter or Russia’s war on Ukraine escalates further.
Speaking in Sydney, Bullock said high global energy prices boost Australia’s export earnings as a major coal and gas exporter – but also put upwards pressure on prices.
The government has flagged regulatory intervention in the energy markets to keep gas and electricity prices down, after the October budget revealed they are expected to soar by a combined 50% over the next two financial years.
Bullock said the bank had built a substantial hike in energy prices into its outlook for the economy but said “there is a risk we haven’t incorporated enough”:
On the other side of the coin, however, global supply chain pressures are easing quite quickly and that could turn out to be more of a dampening force than we are currently expecting.
Skyrocketing rents were another area of inflationary concern, she said.
Updated
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to the blog. I’m Martin Farrer, bringing you the early headlines before Natasha May takes control.
There are two big foreign stories overnight that we should look at to begin with.
First, the Republicans have failed to secure the resounding victories in the US midterm elections that were widely expected. Democrats did much better than predicted, leaving control of Congress in the balance. That’s also bad news for Donald Trump who reportedly fumed in his Mar-a-Lago lair as he watched several of his high-profile backers go down to defeat. Follow all the latest at our US election live blog.
The second big story is that the Kremlin has ordered its troops to withdraw from Kherson. The Ukrainian city was the first large target captured by the Russians at the beginning of their invasion and their withdrawal is a huge blow to President Vladimir Putin. You can follow those developments here.
At home, a poll shows that almost 90% of people want the government to do something about energy bills, either through export controls or a windfall profits tax, or both. It comes after Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy also backed the need for intervention in the energy sector. Interesting as well that RBA deputy governor Michele Bullock said in a speech last night that the situation in Europe remained clouded in uncertainty and that energy prices could rise rapidly again.
And we’ve also got a cracking story from the campaign trail in Victoria where it has emerged that deputy Liberal leader David Southwick has used his campaign manager and a part-time staffer in campaign ads to attract young voters – without declaring that they work for him.
Also today, Chris Dawson, the former teacher found guilty of murdering his wife Lynette 40 years ago, will be back in court to hear arguments about what sentence he should be given.
