What we learned: Monday, 27 November
And that’s where we’ll leave you this evening. Here’s our Monday wrap:
Michael Pezzullo, the longtime boss of Australia’s Home Affairs Department, was removed from the top job after an independent inquiry found he had breached the government’s code of conduct at least 14 times, including for using his power for personal benefit.
The federal Labor government and the Greens reached a deal to pass legislation to amend the Murray-Darling Basin plan and ensure an additional 450 gigalitres of environmental flows.
The major parties entered the week with Newspoll showing Labor and the Coalition are locked 50-50 on the two-party-preferred measure.
Bruce Lehrmann returned to the witness box today for the second week of a defamation case which the former Liberal staffer brought against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson. Lehrmann is suing over a broadcast he says defamed him by falsely alleging he raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House on a couch in then minister Linda Reynolds’ office.
Adam Bandt has warned that climate protests will grow if Labor allows new coal and gas mines, after more than 100 people were arrested in Newcastle yesterday after protesters blocked a major coal port beyond an agreed deadline.
The immigration minister, Andrew Giles, introduced more amendments to laws that would add even more conditions on migrants and refugees who have been released following the high court decision that ended indefinite detention.
Former Bank of England boffin Andrew Hauser will serve as deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia for five years, treasurer Jim Chalmers announced.
And Bob Katter wants to replace the British monarch’s image on the back of Australian coins, suggesting scrapping King Charles in favour of Indigenous warrior Tubba Tre or army veteran Ralph Honner.
Amy Remeikis will be back with you bright and early tomorrow morning to take you through another day of live politics and news. Have a lovely evening.
Updated
Labor urged to avoid ‘dirty deal’ with Coalition and double number of ACT and NT senators
Crossbench MPs and senators are urging the Labor government to avoid doing a “dirty deal” with the opposition over key electoral reforms, and back a parliamentary committee’s recommendation to double the number of territory senators before the next federal election.
A long-awaited report on electoral reform, released on Monday, recommended the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory gain an extra two Senate seats and that another inquiry look into whether the parliament should be increased across the board.
The committee chair for the joint standing committee into electoral matters, Labor MP Kate Thwaites, said the two territories should be “appropriately represented” in parliament.
She said:
It’s clear both are very different from what they were when the representation for the original states was put into our constitution at federation and they are still different from when they were granted territory representation in 1973.
You can read more about the report here:
Updated
NSW premier concerned after terrorist slur directed at Sydney primary school boy
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, is concerned about overt acts of racism after a Palestinian Christian child in Sydney was called a terrorist, AAP reports.
The slur against the year 6 student comes after the Islamophobia Register Australia reported a flood of activity since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on 7 October.
Minns told reporters on Monday:
We have a successful multicultural, multifaith community in this state that’s come about because of generations of understanding, working across faiths and a general recognition we live in the best country in the world. So if there are overt acts of racism in our community, that’s a massive concern for me.
While the school incident involved a Christian boy, the Islamophobia Register Australia executive director, Sharara Attai, considered it an example of Islamophobia due to a likely perception of “Muslimness” in the perpetrator’s mind.
She compared it to an uptick in abuse towards the Sikh community immediately after the September 11 attacks in 2001.
The case was in addition to the 227 cases reported to the register in the seven weeks since 7 October, a 13-fold increase in reporting rates.
You can read the full story here:
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Zoe Daniel calls for real-time reporting of family violence
Goldstein MP Zoe Daniel has been speaking on ABC TV about family violence. There’s a danger of “becoming quite desensitised on this issue”, she said. She wants to see better data gathering on deaths “to drill into the ‘why’”:
We do real-time road toll reporting… it had a vast impact of the road toll in this country and often in car crash cases, too, the reasons take some time to come out. So yes, I do think there is a strong argument for real-time reporting and data gathering.
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Would you like a little First Dog On the Moon moment right about now? Of course you would.
NSW Liberals back motion to exclude offshore windfarms from Hunter and Illawarra renewable energy zones
The NSW Liberal party members backed a motion at their state conference on Saturday calling for offshore windfarms not to be considered as part of the Hunter and Illawarra renewable energy zones.
The final motion came after an extensive debate at the conference over the original motion that was put forward by NSW Liberals leader Mark Speakman’s branch of Cronulla. It was amended to remove calls for the party to object to renewable energy zones in the region completely, and also investigate small modular nuclear reactors “as the alternative”.
A spokesperson for the NSW opposition leader said the party remains committed to its energy policies launched while in government, which include renewable energy zones in the Illawarra and Hunter region:
We respect organisational wing policy considerations, but note that they are not binding on the parliamentary Liberal party.
Earlier in the conference, opposition leader Peter Dutton made a speech outlining his plans to “start a conversation” on the opportunities for nuclear energy in Australia.
It comes as Liberals at both the state and federal level have been pushing back against renewables and instead promoting small modular nuclear reactors as the answer to Australia’s energy needs.
Three members from the Illawarra community – where a consultation period to declare an offshore windfarm zone in the region ended in mid-November – entered the conference’s lobby to protest against Dutton’s stance on nuclear and for fanning opposition against the offshore windfarm proposal in the community.
Two of the protesters dressed up in hazmat suits, with one wearing a sign stuck to the front reading “Dutton MP for Fukushima”.
One of the protesters, Arthur Rorris, the secretary of the South Coast Labour Council, later told Guardian Australia:
The alarming part of this story is that nuclear reactors are not only the most dangerous but also the most expensive way to generate power.
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I am going to hand the blog over to Stephanie Convery for the evening, so make sure you check back to see the updates. And the team are all beavering away for you as well, so check back to see what they have for you story wise as well.
I will be back with you for another day of politics live tomorrow morning – which is also the last party room meetings for the year. Good times.
Thank you to everyone who followed along with us so far today – and please, take care of you.
Updated
Here is how Mike Bowers saw QT:
Just in case anyone needed a new screensaver.
‘Your face is; PM edition.’
‘Your face is: Speaker edition.’
Updated
Senator’s superannuation proposal isn’t the only idea floating around
You may have missed it in the mess of the weekend, but the Liberal senator Andrew Bragg has proposed people be able to offset their mortgages with their superannuation in order to lower their mortgage repayments.
He says:
Allowing Australians to use their super to offset their mortgages will have an immediate impact on easing mortgage stress.
In the absence of Labor adopting a contractionary fiscal policy, all options should be on the table.
Labor must abandon the Big Super talking points, and implement policies that help all Australians.
This proposal will benefit from further analysis which I will be pursuing.
It’s not the first time Bragg has turned to super as a way of addressing the housing crisis (or in this case, the mortgage cliff facing a lot of first home owners) and there are ideological reasons at play here too – Australians using super early means less money in the super funds, many of which are run by unions, which means unions have less market power.
But it does remind me that there have been other suggestions on how to deal with inflation.
After the second world war, when economists were trying to work out how to rebuild economies without creating massive inflation problems (obviously these were allied countries), one of the ideas John Maynard Keynes came up with was compulsory savings.
The idea was the government would take a cut of workers’ pay through a levy or tax which would be returned to them once things had calmed down, or even retirement.
It is one of the ideas which is floating around again now – that instead of increasing interest rates, which just takes money and gives it to banks in the form of increased interest payments, who then return that money to bank shareholders (a wealth transfer, if you will), that more money goes into your super, which will then be returned to you at the end of your working career.
Updated
Victorian teachers to go ahead with week of action in solidarity with Palestine
Teachers who are organising a week of action in solidarity with Palestine and protesting students (Teachers and School Staff for Palestine) are moving ahead with their planned actions – which include “wearing symbols of Palestinian culture, including keffiyahs, flags and watermelon to school” as well as a vigil at the Melbourne state library on Thursday, despite the state education minister calling the actions “inflammatory and divisive”.
A spokesperson for the group said schools should be places for “open and informed discussion”:
As teachers in the classroom we will always actively advance human rights, in line with the Victorian curriculum, and in line with the Victorian public service code of conduct charter for human rights.
In the community it is entirely appropriate that we raise our voices as teachers and union members to speak out against the horrific crimes being perpetrated against fellow teachers, union members and students in Gaza.
Updated
The video team have done up a video featuring some of the protesters who were arrested during the Newcastle port climate blockade:
Updated
Question time ends, and Anthony Albanese takes the opportunity to “add to an answer”, which is basically to announce all the times Coalition ministers didn’t comment on meetings or conversations they had with international counterparts.
Updated
There is a question about whether or not the Albanese government will be changing tax arrangements on the “family home” and, honestly, we have been here before.
Besides which, the issue is investment homes. No one is coming after your family home (if you are lucky enough to own one).
Updated
Home affairs minister responds to Pezzullo sacking
Earlier in question time, the home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, responded to a dixer on the sacking of the former home affairs boss Mike Pezzullo.
Pezzullo was fired after an independent inquiry found he had breached the government’s code of conduct at least 14 times, including for using his power for personal benefit.
The inquiry had probed a series of text messages he had allegedly sent to a Liberal party insider in an attempt to influence political processes.
O’Neil had held a press conference at 9am this morning, which concluded half an hour before the statement was released, so it’s the first time she’s responding to it publicly.
The minister said:
What does this say about our government and our approach to the business of the work we do? We have profound respect for the frank and fearless advice that the Australian public service has a great history of providing to Australian governments. We value proper process, we value the integrity of the Australian public service, indeed, speaker, we insist on it.
Updated
High court to publish reasons for indefinite detention ruling tomorrow
The high court has announced it will be publishing its reasons for its indefinite detention decision … tomorrow.
Reasons will be published in NZYQ v. Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs & Anor at 2.15pm on Tuesday 28 November 2023
— High Court of Australia (@HighCourtofAus) November 27, 2023
That is a lot faster than anyone was expecting.
Updated
The question is lightly rephrased and then Chris Bowen thanks McKenzie for the question as it “just underlines how much they hate renewable energy and how much they don’t get that it is the cheapest form of energy”.
He then gets a dose of the Frydenbergs and forgets how a microphone works, as he begins to yell:
The honourable member should show that question to the electorate and show what you really think of the renewable energy.
… We know on this side of the house that renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy and getting more of it into the system means lower prices ... I am not the only one who thinks it. In response to the announcement last week, those well-known socialists at the Australian Aluminium Council said ‘the Australian Aluminium Council welcomes the expansion of the business scheme bringing foreign investment and placing downward pressure on electricity prices for consumers, including industries and households’.
The Australian Industry Group said today’s announcement in the expansion of the scheme will ‘greatly expand the capacity for constraints from the federal government and looks like a very helpful step to address fears of an adequate supply on price unreliability this decade’.
The Energy Users Association of Australia says they welcome the announcement from the commonwealth as it will provide a level of sustainability for consumers during this time.
We will facilitate the deployment of renewable energy and so technology while working to shield Australian households and businesses from significant increases in energy cost. I could go on, Mr Speaker.
He does, but I need a Panadol.
Updated
Katharine Murphy also points out that if we are going to talk about Ponzi schemes, the opposition should maybe address the elephant in the room (which is the Coalition was once looking at a capacity mechanism itself while in government).
Just while we are on ponzi schemes. Angus Taylor, flagging work on a capacity mechanism.
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) November 27, 2023
“We are also prioritising work on a new fit-for-purpose market design, including a capacity mechanism and delivering flexible backup generation and storage ... "https://t.co/0G7dVM1c5s
Updated
Zoe McKenzie asks Chris Bowen:
Given that Australians have already seen their power bills go up by $1,000 after the Albanese government came to power and the government has just committed to a Ponzi scheme as it tries to mop up its renewables-only energy part of policy, can the minister guarantee that this Ponzi scheme will not see Australians facing yet another thousand-dollar increase in their power bills?
Tony Burke says the reference to Ponzi scheme is not acceptable. It was in an earlier question, and the opposition argues it should stay in.
The resulting debate results in Ted O’Brien being told by the speaker that “the member for Fairfax is not helping”, which is, of course, an evergreen statement.
Updated
Peter Dutton joins with Anthony Albanese’s comments on indulgence, but he aims his comments at Zali Steggall over the question she asked:
I want to say to the member of Warringah, I’m sure her sentiment is heartfelt, but this issue is not an issue for point-scoring or political difference.
The Australian public should hear there is no difference between either side, anybody in this chamber, in relation to this most serious issue.
Every government, including this government, has dedicated themselves to doing the best they can to reduce violence, funding through programs, through innovation, and the support that the prime minister expects from all of us is forthcoming and will be forthcoming, prime minister, and I do not believe it is a fair critique of the government that they have not done enough or they are not doing enough to have no intention to act properly in this space.
I do not believe that is the view of the prime minister at all and I believe it mischaracterises the approach of the government, and the approach of the opposition will be to support …
The strongest measures that we can send from this chamber to the Australian public is that we stand united to condemn it and as the prime minister rightly pointed out, all of us should have conversations, and regular conversations, with our sons, with our nephews, with others that we influence. And we need to call it out in the workforce and anywhere else the atrocious conversation or demeaning behaviour or conduct that some might seek to pursue. And this is not an issue where there is a single page of difference between the government and the opposition and nor should there be with the crossbench or anyone else in this place.
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He finishes with:
Has it been perfect? No, because these issues are not perfect. They take time. It is not just a matter of government, it is a matter of every bloke having a conversation at the pub, at the football, calling it out, and they see that it is wrong.
Men have a responsibility, men are in a position to make a difference with their peers.
This needs to be not just a government response, this needs to be a whole of society response, and that is what I am committed to as a matter of urgency.
Updated
Anthony Albanese continues:
I am determined to make sure that my government, while we are in office, makes a difference each and every day, and that each and every opportunity that we have had around the cabinet table, led by, it must be said, the minister for the status of women, Katy Gallagher, and minister Amanda Rishworth and minister Bill Shorten who had particular responsibilities in these areas, particularly led by Katy Gallagher.
If there has been a stronger advocate for women elected to either chamber in this place, I have not seen it.
We will continue, continue to do what we can and I would hope that we do so in a way reflected by the leader of the opposition’s last comments in regard to the question that I received, in a bipartisan way. And I accept, for example, that the leader of the opposition took some measures when he was minister, particularly aimed at children. And those issues and these issues certainly should remain bipartisan.
I assure the member for Warringah that I will continue to be a strong advocate, but I am very proud of what my government has done.
Updated
Anthony Albanese responds:
My government came to office with a clear commitment to increase funding, including for community service workers dealing with violence against women and children, I announced at Queanbeyan, with the now member for Eden-Monaro, I’m not sure if the fine minister was the member at the time [Kristy McBain] and with the shadow minister Linda Burney.
We announced the most significant expansion and we put the money in the budget. And now, there are people working to protect women and children from domestic violence because of that.
One of the first pieces of legislation that we introduced in this parliament was for 10 days paid domestic and family violence [leave], one of the very first now, employees, as a result of my government’s actions.
We, in short, in our budget process, in the two budgets handed down by the treasurer, that wherever funding was due to fall over, we provided the funding that in many cases was due to stop on the 30 June after we came to office, we went through it line by line, including in places ...
And then Sussan Ley stands up with a point of order on “relevance”.
Could the prime minister refine his tone, given the subject matter we are discussing?
This has been part of Ley’s ongoing crusade to try to paint Albanese as disrespecting women. (You may remember the march of Coalition women (not all of them it must be said) in a press conference to say “enough is enough” after Michelle Landry became upset thinking the prime minister was referring to her, when he was referring to a mistake Peter Dutton had made about north Queensland roads very early on in the term. Then there was the shoo sit-down gesture Albanese used (and has always used) which Ley said was disrespectful to women.)
It’s not a point of order. And Albanese responds quite forcibly:
I’m passionate about the issue of family and domestic violence and doing something about it. Because I know, I know the impact that it has. I have been there.
There is silence in response.
Updated
Zali Steggall then asks Anthony Albanese:
To the prime minister, with respect, the member for Goldstein’s question was the first to address domestic and family violence in this place. Many talk about keeping communities safe, but we are failing women and children, a woman a week and a child every two weeks.
And yet, we talk of keeping communities safe, both as the parliament came together to pass urgent legislation following the high court’s decision. Where is the urgency and national emergency when it comes to women and children? With respect, 10 years is not good enough.
Updated
Sussan Ley asks Anthony Albanese:
It’s over one month since Australians emphatically rejected the Albanese government’s divisive* voice proposal. Will the prime minister confirm the Albanese Labor government still remains committed to implementing treaty and truth-telling?
*The proposal was not divisive.
Albanese:
I note that one of the things we have said about the referendum is that we respect the outcome. We respect the outcome that was made on October 14. Prior to October 14, I stood at the dispatch box and they [the opposition] were trying to say that what people were voting on was treaty. You might recall that. And I indicated at this dispatch box that that wasn’t what people were voting on, that indeed, treaty negotiations are under way at state level, at state level, not at federal level, there is no treaty negotiations under way by the federal government, and those negotiations are at different points in Victoria, in Queensland, where the LNP said that they supported it and they said that they supported and voted for the legislation, they voted for the legislation. They voted for it before they were against it ...
Ley gets up for a point of order, but Albanese is not playing and sits down, indicating he has completed his answer.
Updated
Over in Senate question time, the Coalition is pursuing the government over the people released in the wake of the high court ruling on indefinite detention.
The Coalition’s Michaelia Cash asked in the Senate:
The government has admitted today that four detainees have refused to have tracking devices attached to them*. Have any of these detainees been charged with breaching the new criminal provisions of the Migration Act? Are any of them now being held in custody? And is one of the detainees’ whereabouts unknown to authorities?
In response, the government minister Don Farrell told the Senate:
My understanding is that the individuals that you’re talking about have been referred to the police for action to be taken by the police in respect of these matters.
* Cash’s question is a reference to comments made at a media conference earlier today by the Australian Border Force commissioner, Michael Outram, who said that 132 people released as a result of the high court’s NZYQ decision had already had electronic monitoring ankle bracelets applied.
Outram said four individuals – whom he did not name – had been “referred to the Australian federal police for investigation”.
Asked by reporters for further detail about these cases, Outram said:
In terms of the scale of offending, all I’ll say is that they’re at the lower end of risk to the community, those four. In one case that’s been referred to the Australian federal police, we’re still making attempts to contact that person. The other three have been contacted and we know where they are.
You can read Paul Karp’s latest news wrap here:
Updated
Peter Dutton adds his support for the prime minister’s words and commits the opposition to continue working to end violence against women and children.
Updated
Albanese says preventing family violence ‘a matter of urgency’
The chamber is silent as Anthony Albanese says:
I thank the member for her question and for her genuine commitment along with other members in this house to eliminate violence against women and against children.
I acknowledge Rosie, I acknowledge her in the house, she is a great Australian. And she took a tragedy and turned it into a motivation to make a difference for others.
One life lost to domestic and family violence is one too many, and this year, as with every year, has been one life lost after another.
Recent tragedies have been stark reminders that family and domestic violence recognises no social, economical, cultural barriers, but while it’s indiscriminate, it is not inevitable. We cannot keep accepting this violence as inevitable, because it is unacceptable.
During the 16 days of activism, I want to reiterate the government’s commitment to ending violence against women and children in one generation. We must treat this violence as something we can end and focus all our efforts on doing so. Because there’s no time to waste. Men in particular have to step up, leaders have an opportunity to champion change and create the conditions that prevent violence, abuse, discrimination and harassment.
My government is taking immediate and practical action, with a record investment of $2.3bn in this area, ministers across governments are working to end family, domestic and sexual violence.
We have fixed the Escaping Violence Payment, reducing the time it takes victim-survivors to access support by 22 days. We’ve extended funding for state and territories to deliver frontline services including one that was due to end.
We delivered on a commitment of new frontline community service workers to support victim-survivors. We have legislated for 10 days of family and domestic violence leave for all employees including casuals.
We’ve made family law reform a priority to make the family law system simpler and safer for people fleeing violence. We have responded to sexual violence in university settings and through respectful relationships education.
This is a scourge in our society.
I thank the member very much for her question and I do note the colour scheme* representing the 16 days campaign of activism on this issue, but 355 days a year of action and commitment to rid our society of the scourge.
The crossbench are all wearing orange. The parliament was also lit up orange last night in recognition of the 16 days of activism.
Updated
The independent MP Zoe Daniel asks:
February will mark five years since Rosie Batty’s son was killed by his father. Rosie is in this place today, still advocating for women and children. Yet 54 women have been killed so far this year and children are still being killed by parents once a fortnight. The government’s plan to reduce deaths by 25% year-on-year has failed in 2023. What will you do differently next year to stop women and children being murdered?
The LNP’s Andrew Wallace is then booted out under 94A for interjecting with “what about age verification” (Paul Karp is in the chamber and can hear what he said), which is about porn, a completely different issue to intimate partner violence.
Updated
Chris Bowen finished his answer to Ted ‘all the cool kids are doing nuclear’ O’Brien with:
The honorable member asked about the investment capacity scheme – I understand his interest and it is being treated and will be treated in the same way as similar matters have been treated in the budget for time immemorial.
Updated
CFMEU boss urges government to double the number of territory senators
The CFMEU is urging the federal government to double the number of territory senators as recommended in today’s joint standing committee report on electoral matters.
Zach Smith, the union’s national and ACT branch secretary, said it would be “totally unfair” for the territories to have any less than four senators in the upper house.
Smith, alongside Northern Territory attorney general, Chansey Paech, had in August successfully pushed to amend Labor’s platform at the party’s national conference.
Smith said:
The ACT’s population is fast approaching Tasmania, which has six times the Senate representation. The federal government needs to fully implement the committee’s recommendations if it’s serious about strengthening our democracy. Australia hasn’t changed its number of senators since 1983 when the population was 15 million. Given we’re now a nation of more than 26 million people, it’s time we updated our parliament.
Updated
Over in the Senate, the Greens senator Nick McKim has challenged the government over its response to the high court ruling on indefinite detention – and its implementation of minimum mandatory sentences in breach of Labor party policy.
McKim asks Murray Watt, the minister representing the immigration minister in the Senate:
Minister, the government’s just tabled in the house the migration amendment bridging visa conditions and other measures bill 2023. Isn’t it the case that the fact that you are having to this week rush through an anti-refugee bill to fix up the previous anti-refugee bill you rushed through in the last sitting week clearly demonstrates that you’ve been panicked by Mr Dutton into demonising refugees and, in fact, into abandoning proper legislative process – and, indeed, the entire concept of good governance?
Watt replies drily:
The short answer to your question is no.
Watt alludes to the Greens’ “extensive social media campaigns” on the topic, but says the government has “acted as quickly as possible” to protect community safety. Watt adds that the government has always said that the initial legislative response would require “refinement” down the track.
In a follow-up question, McKim asks for confirmation that it remains Labor party policy to oppose mandatory minimum sentences (an issue my colleague Paul Karp previously covered here).
Watt says the government makes “no apologies for passing tough laws to keep the Australian community safe”. Watt says he is “surprised that the Greens party think that the Australian community safety doesn’t matter”, which prompts McKim to interject:
I’m surprised you ignore your members.
Updated
Coalition claims Labor’s renewables push a ‘Ponzi scheme’
The LNP MP Ted ‘nuclear is kewl’ O’Brien asks Chris Bowen:
In media interviews over the weekend, the minister failed to answer questions on whether there is a cap on taxpayer money to be spent mopping up the minister’s renewables-only energy policy via his newly announced Ponzi scheme. When will the minister come clean and disclose the true cost of the scheme, or has the minister again signed a blank check on behalf of taxpayers?
Mmm-kay. Calm down Jan.
Here is Murph’s take (you may notice she predicted the pearl-clutching*).
Bowen says:
It is the last sitting week of the year and the honorable member just rustled up his fourth question to me all year, so congratulations, took you all year to get four questions, which is a great achievement.
The treasurer wrote about productivity, you might want to have a look at the member for Fairfax. He asked me about the capacity investment scheme, which is a very important investment scheme and an important scheme to ensure that we are getting reliable energy into the system and it works as an option.
It is quite common practice in governments of all levels when you are conducting an option to say that it is commercial-in-confidence and it makes sense. That is why the New South Wales Liberal government, when they used to boost their equivalent scheme, kept the cost commercial-in-confidence. Thus the way it works in WA. It is a concern we hear from the member for Hume, it is a concern might be with, because when he announced the only scheme underwriting a new generation – which could have been better called unfortunately no generation bold, because there was not ...
O’Brien has a point of order which is not a point of order.
Side note: it should be a rule that anyone raising a point of order on relevance actually has to be relevant themselves. It would save a lot of time.
*Fun fact: I once attended an LNP state conference where they announced over the loud speaker that a pearl necklace had been found and about three-quarters of the women in the room immediately grasped at their necks.
Updated
Andrew Giles takes a dixer about the indefinite detention conditions and community safety which leads to a bunch of gaffaws from the opposition because everything is theatre.
Angus Taylor asks Anthony Albanese:
Last Wednesday, the Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock, said inflation is homegrown. Homegrown. Why does Australia have core inflation that is among the highest of any advanced country?
There are the usual groans about Taylor not being able to ask Jim Chalmers a question, but nobody outside the chamber cares and, honestly, I think half of the Labor backbench have forgotten why they groan in the first place.
Albanese reminds them:
I am asked a question about the economy. By the shadow treasurer. Who is incapable of asking the treasurer of a question.
He then goes into the usual numbers spiel – unemployment is at historic lows, participation rate is at record highs, gender pay gap is low, women’s workforce participation is at a high, strikes down, investment up yadda yadda.
Updated
You can always tell what a government wants you to be talking about, because it is all the dixers (government questions to government ministers, written by the tactics team or the minister’s office) are about.
And now I’m not always great at reading between the lines, but I think the government is subtly trying to tell us it is focusing on the cost of living. RELENTLESSLY FOCUSED on the cost of living. It lives cost of living, it breathes cost of living. If cost of living was part of the Eras tour, it would be the only part the government would turn up for.
You get the picture.
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The Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather is also absent from question time – for the happiest of reasons though.
He and Joanna Horton have welcomed a son.
Belated hello to Felix who was born almost three weeks ago, after a champion effort from @joanna_horton . Mum and Felix both doing well and we’re all over the moon. If you’re wondering I’ll be on leave until Jan, but my office will still be open with my champion staff pic.twitter.com/vhRZNA0iPc
— Max Chandler-Mather (@MChandlerMather) November 26, 2023
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Jim Chalmers takes a dixer on inflation.
Then it is time for the crossbench question and the Greens MP Stephen Bates asks:
The RBA governor has suggested that everyday people need to stop spending money at the dentist to help reduce inflation. Will you scrap stage-three tax cuts that give a $9,000-a-year handout to politicians and the 1% and instead define dental into Medicare to ease the cost of living and to reduce inflation?
Chalmers says:
In my last answer, I made our views on inflation and cost of living pretty clear. Inflation is moderating in our economy, not as fast or far as you would like, but it is moderating from the high quarterly peak that we inherited. The Reserve Bank governor, as is appropriate, has made some comments about that in recent weeks, as have I. Our focus as a government is on rolling out those 10 different types of cost-of-living relief that I went through in some detail a moment ago.
Yes, but no one was listening because it was a dixer (you didn’t miss anything – it was the usual answer).
Updated
Over in Senate question time, the Coalition also pursued the government over the issue of the unsafe interaction between a Chinese military vessel and HMAS Toowoomba in international waters (but within Japan’s exclusive economic zone) earlier this month.
Don Farrell, the trade minister who is in the chair representing the prime minister in Penny Wong’s absence, said the government had raised its concerns through “every channel that is appropriate in these circumstances”.
The opposition’s Senate leader, Simon Birmingham, wanted to know on what date the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was made aware of the unsafe interaction. Farrell said he was “not aware of the date that the prime minister was advised about the matter” but promised to seek “some further advice on that”.
Farrell also said there were “no formal bilaterals” between Albanese and China’s president, Xi Jinping, at the Apec summit in the US.
As for Penny Wong’s absence from the Senate, it is understood it relates to family reasons but she is due back in the chamber tomorrow.
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Peter Dutton tries a point of order that is not a point of order, but Anthony Albanese seems better equipped to deal with Dutton this week when it comes to the statements he makes under the guise of a point of order.
Dutton: On relevance, the prime minister, if he raises the issue of trust needs to demonstrate to the Australian people that he stands up for our sailors or not?
Albanese:
It is more about his anger issues, Mr Speaker, we see. It is what we see yet again being demonstrated here.
We released the information about the incident involving HMAS Toowoomba before previous incidents under both governments that have occurred where protest have been made to China. We certainly have done that through all of the channels that you have seen and others that you have not.
Because that is the way that you deal with those things. We have been totally public and transparent and gone after these issues defending the fact that our sailors were put in a position they should never have been put in. And our primary concern was always standing up for the interest of Australians and our defence force.
When you stand up, you stand up for the interests of Australians by delivering a foreign policy in international relations that ensures that you are around the table and ensures that you are engaged.
We have said we will cooperate with China where we can and disagree where we must. Those opposite disagreed where we could and disagreed where we must and [just] disagreed.
That is not the way to deliver outcomes with our major trading partner, that is not the way to deliver outcomes in the interest of our nation as well.
The truth is that under those opposite, our international relations with China, with France, with the United States, with Greece, with others, as you go around and you talk to international leaders, the damage that was done by the leaking of text messages … (he runs out of time)
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Peter Dutton then asks directly – did Anthony Albanese raise the issue in talks with Xi Jinping.
Albanese:
At Apec there were no bilateral formal meetings between myself and China’s president.
I had a range of conversations, private conversations, with people at Apec and one of the things that characterise good diplomacy and foreign policy is that, when you have a private conversation, just like when I have a private conversation with the leader of the opposition, Mr Speaker, when I have a private conversation with the leader of the opposition, it stays private. It stays private. That is what happens. That is how you get outcomes.
That is how you get trust, that is how you defend Australia’s national interest.
You many remember that when Scott Morrison went to Hawaii during the 2019-20 bushfires, he told Albanese he was taking leave with his family (although not where he was going) and in the subsequent reporting when Morrison’s office refused to confirm that Morrison was out of the country, Albanese did not mention the text, until Morrison himself raised it (to claim that Albanese knew where he was going – which, it turned out, he didn’t. He just knew that Morrison was going on leave).
The point is, keeping conversations private isn’t a new thing for Albanese. It’s one of his rules of engagement in politics.
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Coalition targets Labor over Chinese navy encounter
Peter Dutton wants to know if Anthony Albanese raised the issue of the Chinese sonar pulses which injured Australian navy divers with China’s president, Xi Jinping, while he was in the US for Apec.
Albanese:
The government expressed concerns about the HMAS Toowoomba incident clearly, directly, unambiguously. This event was unsafe, and was unprofessional. We communicated this through all appropriate channels and with every opportunity that was available to us. Every opportunity. This government has worked hard to stabilise the relationship with China without compromising any of our core interests. We have been patient, calibrated and deliberate in our approach. I note the opposition said I should not go to Apec during that week.
The pair get into it over points of order and Albanese says:
What we will not be doing is taking lectures on how to build diplomatic relations from those opposite. Who could not get a phone call returned for the entire term of the last government.
And then Albanese signals that he is willing to go as low as Dutton, asking who might have the better record on foreign relations:
Those opposite figure foreign relations are simple. Threats of shirt fronting, leaking private text messages, leaking of private conversations, which meant that there was no possibility of getting outcomes. And I make this point, Mr Speaker, that compared with the $85bn of exports on those products that suffered from trade impediments last year, this year, up until just August, $6bn of those products had gone to China – $6bn.
And when we talk about yes or no, you might like to ask yes or no as to whether Cheng Lei thinks that our approach towards diplomatic relations is more effective than yours. You can talk to her because she is now in Melbourne with her family. With her family.
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Question time begins
The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, is away, so he won’t be answering questions today.
Over in the Senate and Daniel Hurst reports Penny Wong is “away for personal reasons”.
The questions now begin.
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Chalmers announces new RBA deputy governor
Jim Chalmers has announced the former Bank of England boffin Andrew Hauser will serve as deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia for five years.
Mr Hauser brings international expertise in macroeconomics, markets and central banking operations from his distinguished career spanning over 30 years at the Bank of England.
His appointment strikes the right balance between providing deep central banking experience and offering a fresh, global perspective to the work of the RBA.
He will work closely with Governor Bullock to implement the recommendations of the Review of the Reserve Bank of Australia, including a stronger monetary policy framework for the benefit of all Australians.
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We are about to enter question time. No one seems particularly excited to be there, so if you need to give this section of the day a miss, I don’t think anyone will blame you.
This week, MPs are reading out speeches from their young constituents.
Andrew Willcox, the LNP MP for Dawson, is reading a speech from a year 6 student from the north Queensland town of Bowen, who wants the government to lower the price of fuel.
“Do you want to give a child a better life?,” Aislin wrote, and Willcox dutifully read.
If you want to give a child a better life, acting on climate change would probably top the list, but Aislin finds themselves in “good” company – Gina Rinehart would also like the government to lower the cost of fuel.
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Greens nervous about electoral reforms ‘stitch-up’ and welcome Pezzullo removal
The Greens’ Larissa Waters and Nick McKim have held a press conference in Canberra covering a range of topics:
On the electoral matters report, Waters continued to warn she is “very nervous” about a possible “stitch-up” between the two large parties to disadvantage smaller parties and the crossbench.
Waters called for the Senate to disallow the gas code on the basis the Greens can’t vote for anything that will facilitate new gas.
Waters decried the fact Australia is “up to 54 women this year who’ve been killed by violence by a partner or former partner”.
McKim welcomed the home affairs department secretary Michael Pezzullo’s removal, accusing him of having politicised the public service. “Don’t let the door hit your arse on the way out,” he said, adding it was a “good day for democracy”.
McKim accused Labor of “appeasing” Peter Dutton on a second emergency bill to respond to the NZYQ high court decision.
He also warned the Greens “won’t give a platform to demonise refugees” to Peter Dutton and News Corp, pouring cold water on (but not definitively ruling out) the possibility reported in our The Agenda column that they could set up an inquiry into indefinite detention.
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Pocock keen to see IR amendments but says no rush to get bill through this week
The independent senator David Pocock says he’s “really keen” to see the government’s proposed amendments to the industrial relations legislation going through the lower house this week, but voiced reluctance to Labor’s wish to get that bill through the house in coming days.
Business groups have raised their concerns about a large swathe of amendments to the Closing Loopholes bill. The Business Council and Australian Chamber of Commerce this morning shared a joint statement on behalf of other big employer groups, accusing the government of trying to “avoid proper public scrutiny by rushing their radical workplace relations changes through the House of Representatives in a matter of days”, voicing concern that there “will not be adequate time for debate and proper examination of laws which will impact the entire economy”.
Pocock, who may again end up being a crucial lynchpin vote in the Senate, said he too was concerned about the timeline in the lower house.
“As a crossbencher I’m constantly asking the government to give more time for consideration of amendments – that’s good governance to ensure people can do their due diligence and then vote on behalf of the people that have sent them on that legislation,” he said at a press conference just now in Parliament House.
Pocock noted the Senate committee report into the bill wasn’t due until February, and that there was a full day of hearings set down in January. He said “there’s some time” before the bill could be passed by the Senate, hinting that the government didn’t need to rush it through the lower house this week.
The thing I’ve been saying to the government is, I’m really keen to see these amendments. We’ve seen a number of deals struck with various groups and organisations. What are the details of them? So we can take them into account.
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Jewish Australians for a Ceasefire urge Australian government to back a permanent ceasefire
Jewish Australians for a Ceasefire have reiterated their calls for a permanent ceasefire and urged the Australian government to call for one.
An open letter, signed by members of the Australian Jewish community, urged the government “to call now for both the release of innocent hostages, and for a full ceasefire”.
A spokesperson for the group said while it didn’t speak for all the people who have signed the letter (more than 850 at last count) the group hoped the current humanitarian pause could represent “an opportunity to push for a sustained ceasefire, and by doing so, to realise the very values that the Australian government claims to hold”.
Australia must join France, Spain, Belgium and a growing number of countries calling immediately for a permanent ceasefire. By failing to do so, Australia will find itself on the wrong side of history.
We wholeheartedly support the school students who protested last week, outraged at the scale of Palestinian suffering. Like the thousands of Australians turning up each week, these young people are acting with moral and intellectual clarity.
The spokesperson also rejected criticism the protests were antisemitic.
There has been a deeply offensive effort to paint these protests as somehow antisemitic. This is absurd. Zionism and Judaism are not the same. The State of Israel does not represent all Jews, in Australia or anywhere.
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Climate protesters call on Minns to back 75% tax on fossil fuel export profits
The organisers of the protest that blockaded the Port of Newcastle have called on Chris Minns to support their demand for a 75% tax on fossil fuel export profits after he said this morning coal was needed to support the state’s energy transition.
Speaking on 2GB earlier today, the NSW premier said he did not support climate protesters blockading the port in Newcastle, arguing coal was needed to support the state’s energy transition.
We need it if we’re going to transition our economy to renewable energy.
In fact, it is not possible to do it without getting coal royalties as a result of exports.
Zach Schofield, a member of Rising Tide who organised the protest and who was among the more than 100 people who were charged after they blocked the major coal port beyond the agreed deadline, said the fossil fuel industry needed to pay “their fair share to solve the climate crisis”:
If Chris Minns thinks that coal taxes are so important to transition, we call on him and his government to support our [call for a] 75% tax on fossil fuel export profits.
So far, two of the protesters have been convicted and received a $600 and $650 fine after they pleaded guilty to a charge of operating a vessel so as to interfere with others’ use of waters.
Schofield said Rising Tide “are building a mass movement to take on the fossil fuel industry if our government won’t”.
The 97-year-old Uniting church minister Alan Stuart, who was among those arrested, said:
Whatever happens to me doesn’t matter, but what happens to the climate [does] because the climate is going to affect future generations and my grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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Labor introduces more immigration bill amendments
In the House of Representatives, the immigration minister, Andrew Giles, is introducing the latest migration amendments – which will add even more conditions on to migrants and refugees who have been released following the high court decision which ended indefinite detention.
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New Zealand’s new coalition government is sworn in
New Zealand’s new government is official-official as AAP reports.
Time to update the social media status:
Chris Luxon has been sworn in as New Zealand’s 42nd prime minister in an ornate ceremony at Government House in Wellington, marking the start of his National party-led coalition government.
On Monday, the National leader gave governor general Dame Cindy Kiro an assurance that his government could “command the confidence” of parliament, paving the way for his ministers to be sworn in.
The assurance was possible after weeks of negotiations with minor parties ACT and New Zealand First produced a three-way coalition government.
Kiro signed ministerial warrants for all 30 ministers, who then offered oaths or affirmations underneath a stately photo of King Charles III.
Under the deals brokered, it also boasts another first: a time-shared deputy position.
The NZ First leader, Winston Peters, will be deputy prime minister until 31 May 2025 under the pact, with the ACT leader, David Seymour, taking over from that date until the end of the parliamentary term.
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Crossbenchers urge Labor against opposition deal to avoid sweeping electoral reforms
Crossbenchers are warning the federal government against doing a deal with the opposition to avoid sweeping electoral reforms to double the number of senators in territories and place caps on federal election spending.
A long-awaited report into electoral matters, released on Monday, also recommended the size of parliament could be increased more generally.
The opposition, however, has indicated it will oppose the increase in Senate representation.
The teal MP Kate Chaney called on the government to make a choice:
It can work with the opposition and potentially make some large compromises in terms of what the community would like to see on electoral reform. Or it can work constructively with the crossbench and the Greens in both houses to put together an electoral reform package that meets the needs of the community.
The ACT senator David Pocock said it was “really strange” for the Coalition to oppose increasing the number of territory senators given it no longer has representation in nation’s capital despite recording a 20-25% primary vote.
By having four, you ensure that there is a Liberal representative in here. Obviously, I’d love to see more independents who aren’t tied to the party line that has forgotten Canberra for a long time ... this is our offer as a crossbench to the government. You say you want consensus? Well you can get that in both houses with the crossbench.
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NSW premier Chris Minns has Covid
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has tested positive for Covid following a busy morning of in-person media engagements.
He announced the positive result shortly before 1pm the day before parliament returns for the final sitting week of the year.
He said:
This morning after feeling unwell, I took a rapid antigen test which has returned a positive result for Covid-19. I’m now at home, and while there are no rules which require you to self-isolate, NSW Health strongly recommend you to stay home until symptoms have subsided to protect our community.
He said he hoped to be back at work “in a couple of days”.
Minns was a guest on 2GB this morning before holding a press conference alongside the state’s housing minister, Rose Jackson.
— Chris Minns (@ChrisMinnsMP) November 27, 2023
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Greens criticise Labor over lack of progress on donations and advertising
The Greens senator Larissa Waters has some immediate thoughts on the Jscem report and they are not happy ones:
All year Labor has used the Jscem process as an excuse for rejecting independent and Greens private member’s bills for electoral reform on topics like truth in political advertising, donation reform and transparency, and on-the-day enrolment.
And yet here we are, with the final Jscem report delivered, and still zero detail on how Labor plans to work with the parliament to deliver improved transparency and integrity to our elections.
The Greens welcome the proposal for more Senate seats for the territories, but it is very concerning to see no further progress made on donations, transparency or tackling misinformation in today’s report.
If Labor is genuine about electoral reform to deal with misinformation, with big spenders like Clive Palmer, and with dark money, they’d be consulting and working with the crossbench instead of talking about ‘bipartisan approaches’.
Updated
There are a lot of reactions to the joint select committee on electoral reform recommendations – the crossbench has a bit to say about the report (which is also looking at how much funding independents etc should get). Sarah Basford Canales will update you on who is saying what, very soon.
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Curriculum reform a distraction from school funding shortfall, Greens say
Reforming Australia’s curriculum is a “sideshow” distracting from the need to address funding shortfalls of public schools, the Greens have said.
Today, a report was released by research and consulting group Learning Now suggesting shortfalls in the curriculum were to blame for Australia’s declining results in international tests.
But the Greens spokesperson for education, Senator Penny Allman-Payne, said blaming educational inequity on the curriculum ignored the continued underfunding of public schools and strain on the teaching profession.
Teachers are overworked and leaving the profession; parents and teachers are dipping into their own pockets to pay for classroom supplies; and thousands of students can’t attend class because their schools don’t have the resources to adequately support them.
The idea that tweaking the curriculum would magically reverse the decades of neglect of our public school system is a technocratic fantasy that no serious person can possibly believe.
Allman-Payne has called on the federal government to fund every public school to 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard, the minimum benchmark required under Gonski reforms, by 2025. It’s three years earlier than the Australian Education Union, which has set a deadline of 2028.
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ACT and NT should have more senators, parliamentary committee says
The joint standing committee into electoral matters (Jscem) has handed down a report into what the parliament should look like into the future.
There is still a bit of hoorah to go, including legislation yadda yadda and Sarah Basford Canales will update you on the whole report.
But one of the main takeaways is that the committee recommends that territories see their Senate representation double – from two to four.
The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory are growing in population, but their representation hasn’t grown with it, so the idea is to give them more senators.
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Bob Katter suggests replacing monarch on coins with image of Indigenous warrior or army veteran
Kennedy MP Bob Katter wants to replace the British monarch’s image on the back of Australian coins, suggesting scrapping King Charles in favour of Indigenous warrior Tubba Tre or army veteran Ralph Honner.
The longtime federal MP has also again stated that he has “refused to swear allegiance to a foreign monarch” over his 50 years in politics. When asked if that meant he is not “a proper MP”, Katter responded “it would sound like it”.
Katter held a short press conference this morning, unveiling a mocked-up version of an Australian coin featuring the image of an Indigenous warrior he identified as Tubba Tre. Katter listed him as “the leader of the Kalkadoons, that held the British empire at bay for arguably over 20 years, with brilliant guerrilla tactics by my mob, the Kalkadoons”.
Katter also held up an image of Ralph Honner, an Australian army leader during the Kokoda track campaign and later an Australian ambassador to Ireland, saying he hadn’t had time to mock up a coin with Honner’s face but that he would also be keen to see his image on national currency.
In a press release before the event, Katter wrote: “Everyone who comes to this place swears allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, with one exception. I didn’t, and I never have. In my 50 years in politics I’ve refused to swear allegiance to a foreign monarch.”
At the press conference, Katter was asked about the situation last year when senator Lidia Thorpe was forced to repeat her swearing-in, after being told she was required to recite the oath as printed.
Katter was asked if he, then, had also been properly sworn in.
I haven’t done it for 50 years*.
But I’ll tell you what, the Australian people will say I’m a proper MP, and they’re the people who count.
*Just popping in on Josh’s post here – when Katter first raised that he didn’t swear allegiance to the regent I checked with the speaker’s office – and there is no problem. He has performed the oath as it is set out.
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CPSU head says Pezzullo’s termination ‘appropriate and necessary’
The Community and Public Sector Union national secretary, Melissa Donnelly, has responded to the news of Mike Pezzullo’s termination as departmental head of home affairs.
Donnelly said the termination, following a review, was “an appropriate and necessary step” as the public service values need to apply to the bosses, as well as those who work under them.
The CPSU would like to acknowledge the tens of thousands of APS employees who, despite the failures of senior APS leadership, have continued to serve our country with integrity.
Our union will continue to advocate for a public service that is strong, frank and fearless – one that can maintain the trust and confidence of all Australians.
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Nationals senator claims Murray-Darling basin plan will drive up food prices
The Nationals senator Perin Davey, who was lurking in the background of the joint press conference between Labor minister Tanya Plibersek and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young (following the deal the two parties came to on the Murray Darling basin plan) has held her own press conference.
Davey is not happy with the plan.
As she makes clear.
We’ve just heard what happens when Labor party and the Greens agree to a coalition in government. We’ve heard that the Labor party and the Greens have come to an agreement on the Water Amendment Bill (Restoring Our Rivers).
We have heard that we know – now the minister might not want to put a number on it, but I can put a number on it – that they will buy back more than 225 gigalitres of water, because this amendment removes the cap on buyback, and that is the volume under that cap that is still available for them to purchase. We’ve just heard that the minister acknowledges that buybacks hurt rural and regional Murray Darling Basin communities, but they don’t care.
The plan is attempting to balance business (and yes, farming is a business) needs with environmental needs – the river system is sick and the only way to address the issues is to make sure it keeps enough water to rebuild its ecosystem.
Davey says, though, that the prices of food will increase:
Now the minister won’t tell you how much it will cost Australian taxpayers to purchase this water. But I tell you, how much will it cost you in your grocery prices? How much will it cost rural and regional communities in jobs? How much will it cost the rice millers, the dairy processors, the canneries in their jobs? That is what cost this is.
I’ll just remind you of the $100 lamb roast that never came to pass.
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Greens senator says conditions to be placed on released detainees show ‘Dutton is running the show’
The Greens senator Nick McKim has criticised Andrew Giles’ announcement of further conditions to be placed on refugees and migrants who were released from indefinite detention by the high court decision as “further proof Peter Dutton is running the show”.
McKim said Labor has “clearly learned nothing from last week”:
They may as well reappoint Peter Dutton as minister for home affairs and be done with it.
This isn’t leadership; it’s a betrayal of principles in the face of political pressure. They have completely folded in the face of a rightwing scare campaign.
Again we see one group of people in our country treated more harshly than another just because they are not citizens. Mandatory sentences are contrary to good governance and Labor’s own policy platform.
For Labor to introduce them today just shows that they are only interested in appeasing the far right.
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Pro-Palestine protests in Melbourne and at Pine Gap in the NT
AAP has reported on the simultaneous protests happening in Melbourne and the Northern Territory this morning:
Palestine supporters have staged a demonstration outside the United States consulate in Melbourne and near Pine Gap defence facility in the Northern Territory.
The entrance to the consulate’s office on St Kilda Road in the Victorian capital was seen splattered with red paint on Monday morning.
Signs reading “stop the genocide”, “close Pine Gap” and a Palestinian flag were hung from temporary fencing and placed on the ground. More than a dozen demonstrators attended and some gave speeches.
Protesters are also targeting the Australian-US military facility Pine Gap near Alice Springs, claiming Israel Defence Forces rely on information gathered there.
Northern Territory police confirmed they had received reports of protest activity at 4.40am on Monday on Hatt Road, about 100m from the Stuart Highway turn-off to Pine Gap.
No one has been arrested and traffic diversions are in place.
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Consultation on life insurers’ use of genetic testing opened under government paper
This is a slightly weird one, but a sign, as Harry Styles would say, of the times.
The Albanese government has opened up consultation on addressing the use of genetic testing by life insurers. There are benefits to genetic testing – learning about whether or not you carry a certain gene can help save your life – but there are worries that this information could then be used to alter how much you pay (or if you are covered at all) for things like life insurance.
Stephen Jones and Josh Burns have released a statement saying that currently, “the Disability Discrimination Act provides an exemption for life insurers to use genomic or genetic test results when underwriting life insurance contracts. Since 2019, an industry-regulated partial-moratorium has been in place that prohibits the use of these tests below certain financial limits.”
However, the government is aware of community concerns that people are being dissuaded from taking genetic tests for fear of discrimination in accessing life insurance. A Monash University report, A-GLIMMER, was published earlier this year and raised several concerns with the moratorium and called for government intervention.
The Albanese government recognises the importance of genetic and genomic health technologies. They are reshaping clinical practice and changing the way medical practitioners prevent, diagnose, treat, and monitor a range of heritable conditions, cancer predisposition syndromes and cancers.
Have some thoughts on this? The consultation paper is available here and submissions are open until 31 January 2024.
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Anyone looking for the full report which led to former home affairs departmental boss Mike Pezzullo’s termination, you can find it here.
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For those looking to follow the defamation case Bruce Lehrmann has brought against the Ten network and Lisa Wilkinson, you can follow along with a separate blog here.
Amanda Meade is covering the trial for you:
Updates may be a little slower in that blog than what you are used to – Amanda will be updating major events in the case, not every blow by blow.
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We are half an hour into the last joint parliament sitting of the year.
Strap in. Things will absolutely be bumpy before the house adjourns at the end of this week.
Treasurer to introduce legislation on RBA review changes
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, will introduce legislation to parliament to implement the changes to the Reserve Bank as recommended by the review in the central bank.
One of the changes will be to reinforce the RBA’s independence, with the amendments to include repealing the power of the treasurer to overrule its monetary policy decisions.
That change has long been flagged but social media is getting a bit agitated about this morning.
What’s probably been lost is the reality that no government has intervened since the bank began setting interest rates independently in the 1990s. John Howard didn’t do it in 2007 when the RBA unhelpfully lifted interest rates, undermining his ageing government’s economic credentials.
The Morrison government was in caretaker mode when the RBA hiked the cash rate in May 2022 but it’s highly unlikely they would have dared to intervene either.
Why? Because investors at home and abroad value the RBA’s independence. Undermine that, and Australia’s ability to maintain its top credit rating would quickly evaporate, making it more expensive to borrow … and that wouldn’t make borrowers’ current pinch any easier.
Closing a loophole that wasn’t going to be used removes a temptation for future governments.
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Dreyfus announces full restoration of Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
And Mark Dreyfus has just announced the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner will be fully restored, with standalone privacy and freedom of information commissioners.
It’ll be the first time since 2015 that the OAIC will have a standalone freedom of information commissioner, privacy commissioner and information commissioner.
Elizabeth Tydd has been appointed as the FoI commissioner for a five-year term. Her appointment will start 19 February next year.
Carly Kind has been appointed as privacy commissioner, which Dreyfus says reinstates the standalone position abolished by the Coalition.
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If you need a refresh on what that investigation Anthony Albanese referenced was about, you can find the story here:
Former home affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo sacked
Anthony Albanese has confirmed that the former home affairs secretary Michael Pezzullo has been sacked.
In a statement, Albanese says:
Earlier today the Governor-General in Council terminated the appointment of Michael Pezzullo as Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs.
This action was based on a recommendation to me by the Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the Australian Public Service Commissioner, following an independent inquiry by Lynelle Briggs. That inquiry found breaches of the Australian Public Service Code of Conduct by Mr Pezzullo. Mr Pezzullo fully cooperated with the inquiry.
I thank Ms Briggs for conducting the inquiry.
Stephanie Foster will continue to act as Secretary of the Department until a permanent appointment is made.
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Melbourne protesters opposing US support of Israel military lock on to fencing at consulate
Protesters have staged a blockade outside the US consulate general in Melbourne, with several protesters locking themselves on to temporary fencing. The group are protesting against the US support of the Israel military action against Gaza.
The group reports another protest is in solidarity with the protest and blockade at Pine Gap in the Northern Territory, where a joint US and Australian defence facility is based.
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PM urged to fully fund underresourced public schools by education unions
A coalition of Australian Education Union (AEU) representatives have delivered tens of thousands of postcards to the prime minister urging Labor to commit to fully funding underresourced public schools.
Their arrival in Canberra follows a national roadshow across the nation, gathering signatures to their pledge.
About 1.3% of public schools are funded at the minimum levels deemed necessary by the government under Gonski reforms a decade ago.
Correna Haythorpe, the AEU president, Tim Costello, the chair of the Community Council for Australia Sally McManus, the secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, is among the congregate this morning.
Haythorpe said there had been a “groundswell” of support for the full funding of public schools.
Teachers, parents, principals, disability organisations, unions and community groups are united in saying this is a vital investment in our children’s future that cannot be further delayed.
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Mike Bowers was at that Murray-Darling Basin plan press conference Lisa just updated you on – and who did he spot standing at the back, listening on?
The Nationals senator Perin Davey:
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Extra 450GL of water to be delivered is a ‘breakthrough’, Hanson-Young says
Sarah Hanson-Young said securing a commitment in law that the 450GL would be delivered was a “breakthrough” that would “deliver more water for the river across the entire basin, north and south”:
This is a landmark win for South Australia after more than a decade fighting for the water needed to protect the Coorong, Lower Lakes and to keep the Murray Mouth open.
The legislation is set for debate in the senate this week.
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Labor and Greens reach agreement on Murray-Darling Basin plan
The government and the Greens have reached a deal to pass legislation to amend the Murray-Darling Basin plan.
The environment and water minister, Tanya Plibersek, in a joint press conference with the Greens environment spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young, said the two parties had agreed to a series of amendments to strengthen the bill before parliament.
Plibersek said these include ensuring an additional 450 gigalitres of environmental water to allow flows to South Australia was delivered by 2027. The federal government would also have the power to withdraw state infrastructure projects that are deemed unviable. And the Aboriginal Water Entitlement Program will receive a funding boost to $100m.
The legislation before the Senate extends the deadline to reach water recovery targets from 2024 to 2027 after it became clear the plan would fail to reach the 2024 deadline. It also allows buybacks to resume after being halted by the previous government.
Plibersek said she had been clear she was determined to deliver the plan:
This is a critical time for our environment – I don’t want communities to wake up one day with a dry river and know their governments could have done more …
Not delivering this is simply not an option. We want to make sure we have a healthy and sustainable river system for the communities, industry, First Nations groups and environment that rely on it.
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Chris Minns argues coal is necessary for energy transition after Newcastle port protest
The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, did not support climate protesters blockading the port in Newcastle, arguing coal was needed to support the state’s energy transition.
Speaking on 2GB on Monday morning, he said:
I don’t support it. I’d rather it didn’t happen. We sold $40bn worth of coal last year and we need it if we’re going to transition our economy to renewable energy. In fact, it is not possible to do it without getting coal royalties as a result of exports.
Police charged more than 100 people when protesters blocked the major coal port beyond the agreed deadline.
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Climate action and referendum ‘distracted’ government from cost-of-living relief: Barnaby Joyce
Barnaby Joyce told the Seven Network this morning why the Coalition was not celebrating the 50-50 (2PP) result in Newspoll this morning:
We’re going to continue our hard work. This is what happens when the government’s distracted by climate action and the referendum* – we have people who can’t afford their food bill, can’t afford groceries at food banks, can’t afford the power bill being cut off, can’t afford their interest rates, can’t afford fuel, and to top it all off, we’ve got paedophiles, rapists and murderers walking the street**.
This government is completely and utterly distracted. They’re not competent at their job and the polling’s reflecting that. And in some way [they are] suffering the sin of hubris. We’re going to continue to work because we’ve got to shine a light on exactly the sort of government this nation’s landed itself with.
*Not sure this is why.
**Australia releases people who have completed their sentences back into the community every day.
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Alan Kohler has written the Quarterly Essay on how the housing market has not only increased inequality, it has also fundamentally changed society.
You can read part of that argument here.
He also spoke to Murph about the wider issue, which you can listen to here.
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IR bill process ‘would be much faster if they just paid people properly’, Burke says after business lobby groups’ statement
Tony Burke has responded to the joint-business lobby groups who are calling for a delay to the closing the loophole bill.
Burke, as you can imagine, is not too impressed with the call.
He said:
So certain business groups ask for delay, then ask for amendments and now say the amendments mean they need more delay.
This would be much faster if they just paid people properly in the first place.
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Opposition briefed on offences some detainees committed, immigration minister says
The immigration minister, Andrew Giles, says he has provided information to Sussan Ley on the offences that some of the indefinite detention detainees who have been released had committed (not all of the people in indefinite detention released by this decision have criminal records). The information had been available, but Giles says he has given it to Ley:
I should confirm that I have provided those details to the deputy leader of the Liberal party.
We have also briefed the opposition twice on these matters. As I think has been discussed, there has been a range of offending including very, very serious offending which is why we have put in place both the legal framework that was passed by the parliament in the last sitting week, and why we are seeking to expand the range of offences in the terms that I have outlined today.
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You can follow Paul Karp to stay across the issue:
Another 45 people have been released after NZYQ High Court decision - people who had court matters on foot appealing visa refusal #auspol
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) November 26, 2023
High court reasons for detention decision will determine how people ‘we believe are a risk’ will be managed: O’Neil
Clare O’Neil goes on to say the government’s response should be seen in “three stages”:
We had an immediate decision by the high court and then one week and one day later you saw the government release people on bespoke arrangements.
We set up a joint police operation between AFP and ABF, and we constructed an entirely new regime to manage these people appropriately in the community.
The second phase is what we’re in now and that is from the passing of that law to when we receive reasons for decision, we are using this law to manage community safety risks while we await the high court’s clarity on exactly what the defined boundaries of the law are and I will just say there’s some pretty fundamental things that the high court is considering in its decision here.
When we receive reasons for [the] decision, we will be able to establish durable approaches to what is a very different way that the commonwealth will have to manage people who we believe are a risk, but we cannot do that properly until the high court gives us their reasons, and that will come, I hope, shortly.
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O’Neil flags possibility others in detention could be ‘brought in’ for release under high court ruling
On that cohort of people Clare O’Neil is speaking about, she says:
For people who might be appealing an aspect of Minister Giles’ decision-making, those people we have been advised we are also required to release.
What I would like to share with you is that this is it for NZYQ. So the entire detention cohort has been assessed against the criteria. What now awaits us is this period where the reasons for decision will be released by the high court.
It is then that we will understand [whether there are] any further applications.
It’s possible no further criteria will be set down by the high court. It’s possible other cohorts will be brought in and this is where we are because of the high court’s decision to give us a clear decision, a Full Court, high court decision on NZYQ but not to release reasons for those decisions.
So what O’Neil is saying there, is until the high court publishes its reasons for its decision (which will most likely be from February next year), then the government can only guess at what else might be needed to address the decision.
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Second cohort of people in detention must be released under high court decision: O’Neil
The home affairs minister Clare O’Neil and immigration minister Andrew Giles are holding their press conference announcing the $255m in funding to help security agencies monitor detainees released after the high court decision ruled indefinite detention was unconstitutional.
O’Neil spoke on the “consequences” of the NZYQ decision (the name given to the detainee who successfully brought the case) given ongoing criticism from the opposition that the government was not prepared for the outcome:
As you know there was a high court decision just over two weeks ago which required that NZYQ and people of his description be immediately released from immigration detention.
So the features of that individual are someone for whom it is not reasonably possible for us to move them to another country. Someone who is in immigration detention under the same sort of circumstances as NZYQ.
The reason a second cohort has been brought in is because we have received advice that this also needs to apply to people who have some kind of legal matter [ongoing] with the commonwealth. So that was not the circumstance of NZYQ, his legal matters with the commonwealth had ceased.
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Bruce Lehrmann to return to witness stand
Bruce Lehrmann will return to the witness box today for the second week of a defamation case the former Liberal staffer brought against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson.
Lehrmann is suing over a broadcast he says defamed him by falsely alleging he raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House on a couch in then minister Linda Reynolds’ office.
The federal court heard last week Lehrmann’s account of what took place when he entered Parliament House in the early hours of 23 March 2019 with Higgins after a night of drinking at Canberra venues.
Higgins accused him of rape and at an aborted criminal trial Lehrmann pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent.
Charges were dropped in December 2022 after an earlier mistrial due to juror misconduct.
At the civil trial, Lehrmann told Justice Michael Lee he entered the office suite where he spent up to 40 minutes annotating briefs for question time by hand but did not access his computer or have any contact with Higgins.
Ten’s silk, Matthew Collins KC, put it to Lehrmann that he had sexual intercourse with Higgins while she was “semi-conscious or passed out”.
Lehrmann denied all contact with Higgins. “I did not have sex with her,” Lehrmann said on Friday.
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Industry groups release joint statement opposing amendments to IR bill
Tony Burke has slowly been making deals with some industries over the closing the loopholes legislation (the IR legislation which, among other things, is designed to close loopholes allowing labour hire workers to be paid less). But that doesn’t mean everyone is happy.
A joint media release has just been sent out from these groups:
Business Council of Australia
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Australian Energy Producers
Australian Industry Group
Australian Retailers Association
Council of Small Business Organisations Australia
Master Builders Australia
Minerals Council of Australia
National Farmers Federation
Recruitment, Consulting and Staffing Association
Restaurant and Catering Industry Association
It argues that the government is trying to rush through amendments to the legislation without proper scrutiny.
The groups are calling for splitting the bill to pass the non-contested aspects, while delaying the bulk of the IR changes.
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NSW Council for Civil Liberties says police should withdraw charges against legal observers at protests
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties has called on police to withdraw charges against legal observers at recent protests.
Legal observers are usually volunteers and attend protests to monitor police actions, as well brief protesters about their legal rights at protests, and record police interactions with protesters, in case of future legal action.
At a recent climate change protest, legal observers were wearing pink hi-vis vests identifying their role. Some were arrested as part of the police action. Lydia Shelly, president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, has sent a letter to the NSW police commissioner calling for the charges to be dropped.
Shelly says the police commissioner should:
1. Ensure that Sydney police officers are briefed on the role of Legal Observers and understand that role, its legitimacy, and Legal Observers’ right to carry out that role unhindered.
2. Ensure that police officers do not obstruct Legal Observers as they carry out this role.
3. Ensure that police officers do not instruct Legal Observers to direct protestors, but instead respect their independence.
4. Ensure that police do not ask Legal Observers not to video, do not deliberately step in the way as videoing occurs, and likewise do not seek to prevent members of the public from recording interactions.
5. Ensure that Legal Observers are not required to produce their ID without grounds, other than performing this role.
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Climate protests will grow if Labor allows new coal and gas mines, Bandt warns
At the end of his interview, the Greens leader, Adam Bandt, was asked about the arrest of protesters at the Newcastle port late yesterday.
New South Wales police charged more than 100 people in Newcastle after protesters blocked a major coal port beyond an agreed deadline.
Bandt said:
The Labour government obviously wanted to reopen that coal port so much they were prepared to arrest over 80 people, including teenagers and a 97-year-old.
What’s becoming clear from around the country is that if Labor won’t stop opening new coal and gas mines, people are prepared to start doing it themselves. People understand – students, older people understand – that it’s coal and gas that are fuelling the climate crisis. And if Labor wants more, then these protests are only going to continue to grow.
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Zoe Daniel announces work to raise awareness of gender-based violence
The parliament sitting won’t begin until 10am, so the morning will be taken up with politicians trying to get their agenda a little clear air.
Independent MP Zoe Daniel has announced she will be working to shine a light on gender-based violence (with a press conference ahead of question time at 1pm) as part of the 16 days of activism planned to raise awareness.
Six women were killed in just one week in Australia. On average, one man a week will kill his partner or former partner.
Late last week, the government announced a data tracker as part of its response to address the wider issues:
Daniel says more needs to be done.
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Dave Sharma says he considers ‘calling for destruction’ of Israel to be anitsemitism
AAP has reported on Dave Sharma’s earlier interview with ABC radio, where he accused the Greens of having a ‘blind spot on antisemitism’:
AAP reports Sharma said:
If you are calling for the destruction of a member state of the United Nations, and denying the Jewish people a right to their homeland and a state that is accepted by the United Nations, yes, I consider that to be antisemitism.
… People can and should be allowed to advocate for Palestinian self-determination and Palestinian national rights … But it should not be a zero-sum proposition.
Too often we see these protests think that to be pro-Palestinian, you need to be anti-Israel, or more critically anti-Jewish people in Australia, and I think that’s where we’ve seen lines crossed many times.
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Labor to give presser on monitoring of people released from detention
Clare O’Neil and Andrew Giles have announced a press conference for 9am to discuss this announcement:
They’ll be joined by the commissioner of the Australian Border Force, Michael Outram APM.
It is in the blue room, so you know it is serious, serious.
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Labor’s answer to climate risks is ‘more gas and more coal’: Bandt
Where would Adam Bandt get more energy from to combat the shortage the energy market operator has flagged?
Bandt repeats that the government should be helping businesses move off gas and stop sending Australia’s gas offshore.
Asked about the gas already being contracted for export, Bandt says:
What’s more important? Profits of these massive big gas corporations or keeping Australia safe from climate change?
… We’re just getting into December, and people in Perth have already lost their homes. Large parts of Queensland have been on fire. There’s people in New South Wales who still haven’t been able to get back into their homes after the floods and what is Labor’s answer? More gas and more coal. Now? What’s more important? The profits of these big gas corporations or people in Australia’s safety?
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Labor ‘not doing enough’ to transition businesses off gas amid climate crisis, says Bandt
The interview moves on to the gas code disallowance motion the Greens plan on moving in the Senate. Chris Bowen says if it is passed (it would need the Coalition’s support to do that) it would put the east coast’s gas security at risk. Asked why the Greens are attempting to block the code, Adam Bandt says:
We’re in the middle of a climate crisis. Labor is backing new coal and gas fields and an energy policy in the middle of a climate crisis should be based on helping businesses get off gas.
And instead Labor is not doing that, but is in fact backing the opening of more gas fields. You get an exemption from provisions of this code if you open up new gas fields – that is not the way to tackle the energy and the climate problems that the country is facing.
Now, there’s plenty of gas in Australia, Labor’s sending a lot of it offshore, including much of it that goes off tax free and the profits go offshore as well.
… We’re not certainly not doing enough to get businesses off gas after a year in power. We still see many businesses reliant on gas instead of being given the help to get across to cheap and clean renewables where they can, and the answer cannot be [for the] gas code to be able to say open up new gas fields.
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‘One atrocity does not justify another,’ says Bandt in response to question on Hamas
Adam Bandt is then asked about the Greens statement which was released on 7 November – one month after the Hamas attack on Israel, which left 1,200 people dead.
Q: Your party issued a statement on the first month anniversary after the 7 October attacks. You did call out the attacks themselves. But you also call out what you describe as war crimes and crimes against humanity being committed by the State of Israel in Gaza right now. You make no mention, though, of what Hamas is alleged to be doing in terms of using civilian infrastructure to hide weaponry and military infrastructure. Why do you ignore that?
Bandt responds:
I just don’t think that’s a fair characterisation.
Asked why he doesn’t think it is fair, he says:
From day one, we’ve condemned the taking of the hostages. That’s a war crime. Attacks on civilians is a war crime. And we’ve called for the unconditional release of the hostages because at the end of the day, our position is based in international law, and that is that there should not be attacks on civilians. And that one atrocity does not justify another …
At the same time we can condemn, and do condemn and mourn the loss of the 1,200 Israelis and others who died, we also mourn the losses of the over 12,000 Palestinians, many of them children, who’ve been killed in the bombing of Gaza.
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‘We have been very clear from day one that we oppose antisemitism’: Bandt
Adam Bandt is asked about a photo the Greens senator and deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi put on her social media, and then took down. In the photo, Faruqi is posing with pro-Palestinian protesters, one of whom is holding a poster which showed an image of Israel being put in a rubbish bin. Faruqi took down the image and issued an apology over the poster appearing on her social media.
Bandt says that Faruqi did not see the poster’s image when she posed with the protesters, or when the photo was posted.
He says the Greens also stand against antisemitism.
I just need to clarify – we have been very clear from day one that we oppose antisemitism.
We’ve been concerned about the rise of antisemitism in Australia for some time. It’s been ongoing for a number of years now. We’ve thrown our weight behind … pushes to tackle antisemitism as well as Islamophobia in this country.
And I think taking the position to steadfastly call for peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians on an equal footing and calling for an end to the invasion is something that not only [we are] calling for, the United Nations is calling for [it]and a large number of international observers are calling for [it] and the majority of countries around the world are saying we need to have a permanent ceasefire and a just and lasting peace that’s based on an end to the occupation.
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People of Gaza should not be ‘collectively punished’: Adam Bandt
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, is speaking to ABC Radio RN. He’s there to speak about the gas code disallowance motion which the Greens have flagged they will move in the Senate a little bit later – which Chris Bowen says could put in doubt the east coast gas supply.
The interview starts with the Greens position on Gaza and Israel, after incoming Liberal senator Dave Sharma said in an earlier interview (which I didn’t hear) that the Greens had “a blind spot on antisemitism”.
Asked about that comment, Bandt says:
From the beginning, since the attacks on October 7 … we condemned or spoke very, very clearly in parliament, condemning – not only condemning antisemitism, as well as Islamophobia.
But we’ve taken a principled position to this invasion, and we do not believe that the people of Gaza should be collectively punished and we’re seeing a humanitarian catastrophe unfold in front of our eyes. And the there has to be not only a temporary ceasefire, but there needs to [be] a permanent ceasefire and we have called for that.
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Paul Karp has written on the possibility of an inquiry into Australia’s immigration detention system, with the Coalition and Greens interests aligning (although for different reasons, as he points out):
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Murray-Darling presser
Things are looking good for Tanya Plibersek and the Murray-Darling basin legislation – Plibersek is holding a joint press conference with Sarah Hanson-Young of the Greens who has been, until recently, quite critical of the legislation.
So it looks as though there will be peace in our times – at least when it comes to the Murray-Darling basin plan between Labor and the Greens. In this moment.
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Postcard push for education funding changes
More than 50,000 postcards will be amassed on the lawns of Parliament House urging the federal government to commit to its promise of closing the funding gap for under-resourced public schools.
The postcards, addressed to the prime minister, are part of a nation-wide campaign by the Australian Education Union to fully fund the public system.
They’re accompanied by an open letter to Anthony Albanese, signed by more than 50 education organisations including principal, parent, disability, community groups and unions.
The letter says it is unacceptable that only 1.3% of public schools are funded at the minimum level governments agreed was necessary under Gonski reforms more than a decade ago.
AEU federal president Correna Haythorpe said along with publishing the letter, the union was in Canberra today to deliver the postcards collected on a four-week road trip covering every state and territory.
What we are seeing is a groundswell of support from the Australian community for the full funding of public schools. Teachers, parents, principals, disability organisations, unions and community groups are united in saying this is a vital investment in our children’s future that cannot be further delayed.
The prime minister promised to work with state and territory governments to deliver full funding and this must happen by 2028 at the latest with all public schools funded to 100% of the Schooling Resource Standard (SRS). We need all governments to work together to deliver 100% of the SRS for public schools.
The federal government is due to negotiate new bilateral agreements with each state and territory next year.
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Call for a ‘one-stop shop’ for energy advice
Households are disengaged with information provided to them by the energy market, research shows, with consumers citing complexity and irrelevancy in messaging.
The research, released today by Energy Consumers Australia, surveyed 2,500 household energy consumers.
It found 48% didn’t recall seeing anything in the media or online in the past 12 months about how to reduce their energy costs or usage, and those who did found it complex and irrelevant.
Energy Consumers Australia chief executive Brendan French said the results showed the need for a centralised place for energy information and advice.
While 82% of those surveyed were concerned about rising energy bills, 43% said it was too hard to work out what to do to reduce consumption and costs:
Australians are not receiving the right information at the right time from trusted sources, and this is leaving them lacking the confidence to take action and lacking trust in the energy market. Consumers can be the heroes of net zero, but they need to know what is being asked of them in the energy transition.
The information is coming at them from so many sources, many of which they simply don’t trust, and it is so complex that they just switch off.
The body is calling for a “one-stop shop” for energy advice, particularly amid rising costs of living and high energy bills.
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RBA bill outlined
With one week of house sittings left in 2023, Jim Chalmers will introduce the legislation to “strengthen and modernise” the RBA for the future.
The Treasury amendment bill Chalmers will introduce this week is in response to the RBA review and Chalmers says it will “reinforce the RBA’s independence, clarify its role and modernise its structure”.
The legislation, once passed, will:
Mandate that the RBA’s overarching objective is to “promote the economic prosperity and welfare of the people of Australia, both now and into the future,”
Confirm that monetary policy should have dual objectives of price stability and contributing to full employment,
Reinforce the RBA’s independence, including by repealing the power of the Treasurer to overrule its monetary policy decisions,
Establish a Governance Board to oversee the management of the RBA, and
Clarify the RBA’s responsibility to contribute to financial system stability.
The legislation also establishes robust governance arrangements for the RBA.
From next year you can also expect to see more communication from the RBA governor Michele Bullock. To that end, Malcolm Turnbull’s former right-hand woman Sally Cray has been hired to head up RBA communications.
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Labor trumpets cheaper medicines and rise in bulk billing
With one week of house sittings left, the government is keen to try to refocus some attention on what it has done in the cost-of-living space, as well as the election commitments it has met.
That includes health, with minister Mark Butler’s office releasing figures on how much Australians have saved with the “cheaper medicine” changes. Butler’s office said lowering the maximum cost of a prescription on the PBS from $42.50 to $30 in January has “delivered around $20m each month back to the hip pocket of Australians”. The total savings from that measure is about $200m across 18m prescriptions. Combined with lowering the PBS safety net threshold by 25% and the first phase of 60-day prescription medications, Butler said the cost of medicines for Australians has dropped by almost $250m this year.
Butler is also celebrating the increase in bulk billing after the government tripled the incentive for GPs to offer the service. The minister says doctors in GP clinics in every state and territory have increased the availability of bulk billing since the $3.5bn investment started flowing through in early November:
The tripling of the bulk billing incentive benefits patients that account for 3 out of 5 visits to the GP.
Doctors have been telling me and now the data shows the reality, even in these early days, only three weeks into the new incentives, clinics everywhere are making the shift back to bulk billing.
You can expect to hear this in a dixer during question time.
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‘Reckless and pointless peacocking risks domestic gas supply’
Labor and energy minister Chris Bowen are warning the Greens against attempts to sink its gas industry code in the Senate, claiming it could lead to future gas shortfalls for the east coast.
The Greens have signalled they will be moving to disallow the Albanese government’s mandatory code for the gas industry because it supports new gasfield projects.
While the Greens voted for Labor’s intervention in the energy market, which included price limits, it has balked at supporting elements of the wider code, given the government’s support for new fossil fuel projects.
You can read more about the Greens’ reservations here.
The Coalition voted against the market intervention and its support in any Labor energy policy is not guaranteed. That has left Bowen taking aim at the Greens.
Bowen said two new enforceable commitments, totally up to 300PJ of gas to 2030 (or 140PJ of gas by the end of 2027) have been secured by the code, with companies APLNG and Senex both having to supply additional has to the east coast market. Bowen said 300PJ of gas was the equivalent to about two years of east coast industrial usage of gas and, without the extra supply, the east coast faced a shortfall.
He says if the Greens disallowance motion went ahead, the additional supply commitments would no longer apply “threatening this supply into the east coast market and creating untenable shortfall risk”.
The Greens would need the Coalition’s support to disallow the regulation change. The parties have come together previously to delay the government’s legislative agenda.
Bowen said joining together in this instance “will threaten energy security for millions of households and thousands of manufacturing jobs across the country”:
That kind of reckless and pointless peacocking risks domestic gas supply, higher prices, as well as manufacturing jobs and the energy transition.
The result will play out in the Senate.
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Good morning
Hello and good morning for what is the first day of the final joint sitting for 2023. The Senate has another week to get through its legislation backlog but the house is almost done.
Being the last week, tempers are fraying – and this year, more than usual.
Anthony Albanese enters the week with Newspoll showing Labor and the Coalition are locked 50-50 on the two-party-preferred measure. The Coalition has been getting closer to Labor but, at the same time, Albanese has maintained his status as preferred leader over Peter Dutton. So while the Coalition has clawed back equal support in two-party-preferred, Dutton has slipped in popularity.
There will be some gnashing of teeth over that in Labor caucus, because while Dutton has managed to create a firestorm out of law and order and border security over the last couple of weeks, Labor’s support has been falling over the last year. And not all of that is down to Dutton. Albanese has held firm to his softly, softly approach and pretty much sticking to the middle of the road, but it may not be a time for middle of the road. We’ll see how Labor reacts to the shift over the next couple of months.
Chris Bowen has come out in the final days of parliament with a message for the Greens and the Coalition – he is ready to fight, it seems. The Greens had flagged they were preparing a disallowance motion for the gas industry code because it includes support for new gasfield projects. But Bowen says disallowing the code will put the extra supply the government has confirmed at risk, which could then throw future gas security into doubt. The Senate will decide how it responds to all of that a little later.
Moderate Liberals are celebrating a win after former Wentworth MP Dave Sharma’s successful bid for the NSW Senate spot after the resignation of Marise Payne. Sharma beat fellow moderate (we are talking about moderates in comparison with conservatives like Zed Sesleja) in the final vote, so the NSW moderates were in a fairly good mood late yesterday. Dutton had endorsed former ACT senator Sesleja as well as Andrew Constance, and it was Sussan Ley (herself a NSW Liberal) who put out the congratulations statement yesterday, so we’ll see what Sharma’s return to the party room will bring.
There is lots more happening today – the RBA legislation will be introduced, there are more fights over Tony Burke’s “closing the loophole” IR bill and there is the ongoing response to the high court decision making indefinite detention unconstitutional. And amid all of that there is going to be a pretence at Christmas spirit. It is, after all, allegedly the season.
You have Katharine Murphy, Paul Karp, Daniel Hurst, Josh Butler and Sarah Basford Canales to guide you through, with Amy Remeikis here on the blog. Mike Bowers is with us too, so we will bring you his images throughout the day.
Not sure there will be enough coffee today, but I am on number three.
Ready?
Let’s get into it.
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