What we learned today, Monday 31 July
Thanks for following along on the live blog today, here’s a recap of today’s biggest stories:
The former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison spoke for the first time since the robodebt royal commission handed down its findings. Speaking to a near-empty parliament chamber, Morrison there were regretful “unintended results” of the scheme but he “completely reject[s]” adverse findings.
Morrison also accused Labor of “political lynching” over robodebt.
Four missing crew members of an Australian defence force helicopter that crashed last week have been presumed dead. The defence minister, Richard Marles, today announced that search efforts had changed to recovery efforts following the “catastrophic incident”.
Parliament resumed and debate between Labor and the Greens over the Haff bill resumed right where it left off, following the five-week break. The Greens housing spokesperson, Max Chandler-Mather, said they are keen to negotiate with the government and may scale back their asks for a passing of the legislation, labelling double dissolution talk as an “empty threat”.
The Ppime minister, Anthony Albanese, said he’d “rather not have” the double dissolution trigger and would “rather have this policy passed”.
The opposition announced plans to increase the income-free threshold for welfare recipients, allowing them to receive twice as much before their welfare payments are reduced.
Albanese labelled this a “shocker” and argued it would have “unintended consequences”. The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, said the Coalition would support the government’s $40-a-fortnight jobseeker boost if their proposal doesn’t get up.
The government announced it will appoint the former Dfat secretary Dennis Richardson to review the governance of Australia’s offshore processing. In a statement the home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, said “serious issues” raised in recent weeks “merit detailed and thorough examination”.
The Greens senator Nick McKim said a royal commission was needed, rather than a review, as “it won’t have powers to compel evidence or subpoena documents, or hold hearings”.
Tasmanian police formally identified a body found in bushland last week as the 14-year-old Shyanne-Lee Tatnell.
The independent senator David Pocock introduced legislation to the Senate seeking to legislate a duty of care owed to young people around stopping climate change.
As always, we’ll be back bright and early tomorrow morning.
Updated
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will be appearing on The Project tonight to discuss the housing bill:
I'm on @theprojecttv tonight talking about our Housing Australia Future Fund, which will build thousands of social and affordable homes. Tune in from 6:30pm. pic.twitter.com/ko9LKFMMuH
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) July 31, 2023
Updated
