What we learned today, Wednesday 27 July
That’s it for today, thanks for reading. Here are the main stories from the day:
- The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, is criticised as ‘disrespectful’ for walking out of a welcome to country in the Senate.
- Australia records at least 82 Covid deaths, with almost 50,000 cases and 145 people in intensive care across the country.
- Inflation reaches the highest point in 31 years, CPI figures released by the ABS show.
- An aged care reform bill is the first bill to pass the lower house under the Albanese government.
- New MPs, including Kylea Tink, Marion Scrymgour, Stephen Bates and Andrew Willcox, give their first speeches to parliament.
- Labor introduces its climate legislation, despite being yet to reach an agreement in the Senate.
- The mystery of Somerton man’s identity has been solved after 73 years, an Adelaide academic says.
We will see you back here for more action from parliament tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your evening.
Updated
NSW shark nets are catching threatened animals, report shows
The vast majority of animals caught in New South Wales shark nets last season were not target species and just over a fifth were threatened species, new government figures show.
Of the 376 marine animals caught in the eight months to April, 325 were non-target species.
They included 14 critically endangered grey nurse sharks, 19 vulnerable green turtles, 16 endangered leatherback turtles, and four endangered loggerhead turtles.
The full story is here:
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Alcohol abuse must be tackled in Indigenous communities, Labor's Marion Scrymgour says
The new Labor MP Marion Scrymgour has called for the federal and Northern Territory governments to take more action on alcohol abuse in Indigenous communities, including a weekly “grog-free day” in regional towns including Alice Springs.
Giving her first speech in parliament on Wednesday evening, the new MP for Lingiari said she was concerned that the recent end of the NT’s Stronger Futures program – which set out jobs, education and social measures for Indigenous communities – was not accompanied by transition measures for the end of alcohol restrictions.
Scrymgour said:
You can agree or disagree with the town camp alcohol restrictions which were in place ... But you need to bear in mind that the special measure was left in place for about 14 years. When a government puts a protective regime of that kind in place, and leaves it in place for that long, you can’t just suddenly pull the pin on it without any protection, sanctuary or plan for the vulnerable women and children whom the original measure was supposed to protect.
To do that is more than negligent – at the level of impact on actual lives it is tantamount to causing injury by omission. It’s like pulling your forces out of Afghanistan but leaving your local workers and their dependants in harm’s way on the ground without an escape plan.
Scrymgour said the federal government wasn’t able to reinstate the legislation, but that harm minimisation measures should have been implemented 12 months ago. She raised concerns about domestic violence, and children being exposed to alcohol abuse at home, saying:
What is at least needed is for both governments, federal and Northern Territory, to work out a plan to protect the innocent victims who are being swamped by waves of violence, now that takeaway alcohol is getting let back into town camps.
Scrymgour said she’d spoken to the NT Labor government’s chief minister and attorney general in recent days, and proposed “a weekly weekday grog-free day in our regional towns, including Alice Springs”, adding:
This is not much, but will no doubt raise objections from alcohol consumers who have not previously been inconvenienced. It could at least give a few teeth to the often recycled Northern Territory anti-alcohol abuse call “Enough is Enough”.
Updated
As someone who now lives in an old house in Footscray the next mystery I wish to uncover is whether I am living in Somerton man’s house:
Pauline Hanson sits during standing ovation for Aboriginal senator
Coalition members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as senators from other parties including the UAP’s Ralph Babet, stood and applauded Labor senator Jana Stewart after she delivered her first speech in the Senate this afternoon. But as this wonderful pic by Mike Bowers shows, One Nation’s Pauline Hanson stayed in her seat.
Stewart is the party’s first Aboriginal senator in Victoria and is 35 weeks pregnant with her second child!
Updated
Kylea Tink gives first speech: 'refugees deserve our compassion'
The independent MP for North Sydney, Kylea Tink, the former chief executive of the McGrath Foundation, is giving her first speech.
First thing’s first: it’s pronounced the same as Kylie, it’s not Ky-lee-ah. Tink presents herself “not as a politician per se but as a proud parliamentarian, elected by the people of North Sydney to ensure our community’s voice is heard loud and clear”.
She says it was “notable” that “nowhere in [the constitution] was there any use of the word ‘party’”.
Tink said that for too long the North Sydney community’s desire for policies including greater green space have been written off as those of “pure, enlightened and woke capital city greenies” or “inner-city raving lunatics”. She said:
Criticisms that we initially found curious but which we ultimately realised were indicative of a far greater level of disconnect and basic disdain for our community. Hear me when I say: the people of North Sydney want politics done differently. I stand before you today as the elected representative of a vibrant and diverse community that draws in people from all backgrounds and ages ... We recognise we are at a tipping point – on climate, integrity, equality and fundamentally in politics and we can see the potential to do better.
In particular, Tink cited treatment of refugees as an area we can do better:
It is not enough for us to continue to spruik the idea of Australia as the lucky country: not when 30,000 people continue to reside here as part of an appalling “illegal immigration legacy caseload”. Our current laws are preventing these people from planning beyond five- or three-year intervals. They cannot be reunited with the family they may have left behind, and yet the children that came with them know nothing of life in any other country. Indeed, they are Australian in every way, yet because of the decisions of past governments they are currently told they will never qualify for Australian citizenship. We have already heard much talk about the extraordinary gift that is Australia’s multicultural reality and of the courage it takes to run with your family from imminent threat. I would challenge us as a parliament to strive to truly do better in the area of human rights. True refugees deserve our compassion, not our disdain.
Tink spoke about the need to do more for young people and mental health:
We must also look beyond what has been done to date to identify underlying systemic issues driving phenomena like the unprecedented levels of mental distress across our country. Recent studies indicate that approximately one in five teens suffer from at least one diagnosable mental health disorder, and that the teen mental health crisis continues to grow ... We must do everything we can to build resilience in our children from their earliest ages and teach them how to ask for help. At the same time, we must build up support for those that are currently seen as the missing middle: perhaps struggling but not acute. We can and must do better.
Updated
WA police call off search for missing fisher
The West Australian police will call off the search for a missing fisher, the force confirmed in a statement.
Ian Gray, 46, went missing while fishing off Green Head near Geraldton on Sunday.
In a statement, WA police said the search would be suspended at 5pm today WA time, pending further information.
The statement said:
During the four day search, approximately 3,900 sq nautical miles was searched on multiple occasions by air, land and sea assets.
The search area extended from Leeman to Guilderton and out to approximately 50 nautical miles offshore.
A report will now be prepared for the coroner.
Updated
This not insignificant milestone was reached today:
Pauline Hanson opposes First Nations flags in Senate
Somewhat lost among the rest of her stunts today was the fact the One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, was opposing this motion.
I was pleased to put forward a successful motion to finally display the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in the Senate. 2 years ago, the same motion was rejected by the Coalition government during NAIDOC week. #auspol pic.twitter.com/WhiZt0nV52
— Malarndirri McCarthy (@Malarndirri19) July 27, 2022
Updated
See how inflation has changed prices in Australia in our interactive
Data released on Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed prices climbing by 6.1% in the June quarter – the fastest annual pace since 2001 – driven primarily by the increasing cost of food and fuel.
We’ve brought together all the data that goes into Australia’s headline inflation figures, broken down into the most detailed goods and services categories available, and put it all in this fancy interactive:
Updated
This is a bit of a change of pace, but worth a read nonetheless:
Thanks again for your sure hands at the wheel Amy Remeikis! Let’s go and have a look at what other news is about today shall we?
Greens MP Stephen Bates gives his first speech to parliament
The Greens MP for Brisbane, Stephen Bates, is speaking about his experience as a retail worker.
Bates says:
I have spent my life up until this point working in frontline retail and hospitality and have been proud to have been a member of the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union during my time in retail.
There have been two pivotal moments for me that have shaped who I am and my politics; my experiences of working poverty-wage jobs, and my coming out as gay. Both impacted me deeply and forever changed how I saw the world.
On sexuality and the importance of representation in politics, Bates says:
I spent much of my teenage years knowing I was gay and doing everything I could to hide it. I told myself I would force myself to get married to a woman, have kids and live in the suburbs.
Because that is what I had to do. I was lucky enough to have a very supportive family to come out to but I spent years hiding myself because I could not see anyone in my world that was openly gay.
I made a promise to myself once I came out. That if I ever found myself in a public role that I would be open and proud of who I am – hence the rainbow gear. That I would be that person that I never saw growing up because if I can even help one person out there then this life will have all been worth it.
I was lucky enough during the campaign to have received an email from a mother who told me that after receiving a letter from me in her mailbox – that just happened to mention my partner Scott’s name – her 14-year-old son wanted to donate some of his pocket money to our campaign.
When she asked him why, he said he had read the letter and wanted me to win. If you cannot see it, you cannot be it. It is not enough to wave a rainbow flag when it is politically convenient, our community deserves tangible legislation that protects us from discrimination, and empowers us to be who we are.
Updated
There are more first speeches being delivered and Paul Karp has eyes on those.
Nino Bucci will take you through to the early evening, while I will be back at sparrow’s tomorrow morning to bring you the last day of the first week of sittings (we are back next week).
Until then, please take care of you.
Updated
Labor’s Kristy McBain says new standing orders will improve culture of parliament
Over on the ABC, the Labor MP Kristy McBain has been asked about the new standing orders, which will see parliament finish earlier most sittings, as part of a push to improve conditions for staff and MPs. It is part of the cultural change which is being implemented.
McBain says:
I don’t think it’s helpful for just a small bunch of MPs – it’s helpful for every MP. We’ve been through the last parliament where we spoke about making this workplace a safer workplace. We’ve got the Set the Standard report, and we know in the last parliament we sat for 20 hours straight over a particular bill. If we want to make this place as inclusive and family-friendly as possible, we have to understand that no other workplace extends to those large working hours. So a change in those standing rules will assist, I think, all MPs and all staffers to actually really achieve that work-life balance.
Updated
Nationals MP Andrew Willcox gives his first speech to parliament
The Nationals MP Andrew Willcox, the member for Dawson, is giving his first speech, much of which is about his upbringing on a mango farm.
Willcox says:
I will be forever grateful for my farming background. The ability to make such an important contribution as feeding our nation is one that I am proud to boast about. The farmer of today is efficient and resourceful. Their practices modernised, with their farm and equipment worth millions of dollars. The costs of fertilisers and pesticides is enormous … so the efficiency of their use is a must, and nothing is wasted. Farmers are heavily invested emotionally and financially in their operations. To work the land, you must love it. Farmers do not wish to harm the environment, their properties, the land, or the water surrounding them. This is the same environment that provides their livelihoods and, in many cases, has so done for many generations.
Willcox spoke about the importance of dams and hydroelectric:
That is why I am totally committed to projects such as Urannah Dam, Hells Gate and the raising of Burdekin Falls Dam to the full height of 14 metres. It would provide a secure and affordable water supply for our current farmers, our mining industry, as well as industrial and urban users, and secure the region’s water future. Water is the lifeblood of rural and regional Australia and water management in a region where rainfall is inconsistent is even more important. When you add water, everything grows – populations, economies and opportunities. To borrow a quote from my parliamentary colleague, Barnaby Joyce, “water is the currency, and a dam is the bank”. Urannah Dam would mean so much more. A pumped hydroelectric scheme would provide clean, green, reliable energy that can be connected straight into the north- south high-voltage grid, which feeds the national network. Surely water stored at height must be one of the best batteries in the world.
Updated
Blake Sharp-Wiggins was in the Senate and saw this:
Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian
Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian
Updated
Leaving the circular debate behind, let’s have a look at how Mike Bowers saw the chamber:
The Speaker’s friends and family came to rah rah him on:
The PM’s friends and family came by to rah rah him on:
Anthony Albanese arrived in the chamber:
Peter Dutton took his new spot in the chamber:
The new respectful parliament:
Updated
Sussan Ley steps in after Tony Burke’s rebuttal to Peter Dutton and says he was a “very shouty minister, a long way away from the ‘family-friendly’ [behaviour] he promised this morning”.
Ley says she wants to know “who is protecting the women” on construction worksites.
Updated
Lidia Thorpe criticises Pauline Hanson's walkout during acknowledgement of country
Josh Butler covered this off this morning, but AAP has some more detail on Pauline Hanson’s latest stunt in the upper house:
The Indigenous Greens senator Lidia Thorpe has criticised Senator Pauline Hanson as “disrespectful” for storming out of the Senate chamber during the opening acknowledgement of country.
“Day two of the 47th parliament and racism has reared its ugly head,” Thorpe wrote on Twitter.
“Pauline Hanson disrespectfully stormed out of the acknowledgement of country in the Senate, refusing to acknowledge ‘those people’. You want to make parliament safe? Get rid of racism.”
The Labor senator Jenny McAllister said on Tuesday the acknowledgement of country was “a courtesy ... that brings people together”.
“Everyone has to make their own decision about how they behave in this place and what they bring to this place – it’s up to Pauline Hanson to make her own decisions about,” she told the ABC.
“But I am really clear about my position. Acknowledging country and acknowledging traditional owners is the right thing to do.”
Hanson angrily left the Senate chamber during the acknowledgement of country after dismissing its validity. She interjected: “No, I won’t and never will.”
The One Nation senator later told newswire AAP she could not accept the welcome to country or a proposal, to be moved later in the day, that would raise the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in the Senate chamber.
“I’ve been feeling this way for a long time. I have called from the first day for equality for all Australians. I see this as divisive.”
Hanson said if anyone needed acknowledgement it was “our people that have fought for this country – people who have sacrificed their lives”.
She added:
It’s not for senators to decide whether the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are flown in this chamber. I suggest that (we) actually allow the people of Australia to vote whether they want those flags flown.
Updated
NBN Co withdraws controversial plan to raise prices
NBN Co has said it will withdraw a controversial proposal for price hikes proposed under the former government, after new government ministers outlined new expectations for the company.
The Special Access Undertaking sets how NBN wholesale prices are regulated, and in March this year NBN Co had proposed a system which would have allowed the government-owned company to increase prices by inflation plus 3%.
Retail internet service providers had warned the proposed change would lead to the cheapest NBN plan doubling in cost over the next decade.
The communications minister, Michelle Rowland, and the finance minister, Katy Gallagher, wrote to NBN and said the current proposal was not acceptable.
The pair said the variation proposed was “underpinned by unrealistic revenue expectations and reflected a view to privatisation”.
NBN Co was told the new government intends to keep NBN Co in public ownership for the foreseeable future.
NBN Co said today it would ask the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which set the framework, to withdraw the submission.
A new discussion paper will be prepared to be released early next month, with the process expected to be finalised early in 2023.
The NBN Co CEO, Stephen Rue, said:
The policy landscape has changed since we submitted our original proposal. Therefore, we are pleased to be able to withdraw our earlier submission and submit a revised proposal that takes this into account. The NBN underpins Australia’s global competitiveness in the digital economy so it is imperative that we get this right.
Updated
Ambassador Caroline Kennedy hails ‘next chapter’ in US-Australia relations
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, met with the new US ambassador, Caroline Kennedy, in Parliament House today. Kennedy, who was sworn in on Monday, is considered US political royalty.
Her father was the former US president John F Kennedy. According to a statement:
The ambassador passed on the best wishes of president [Joe] Biden and the White House’s optimism about the next chapter in bilateral relations. It was a warm conversation covering the strength of the alliance, new possibilities for Australia-US cooperation including on climate, and developments in the Indo-Pacific region. The prime minister briefed the ambassador on the importance of the Uluru Statement and the Parliament’s work towards a Voice to Parliament – an area of special interest to Ambassador Kennedy. Kennedy will travel to Solomon Islands next week.
Updated
Peter Dutton ties abolition of ABCC to rising cost of living
Peter Dutton leads the matter of public importance, which is on ... the CFMEU and the abolishment of the ABCC.
He tries to tie it to the rising cost of living – as in, on a day with the highest inflation since 2001, rising energy costs etc, “it is telling” that one of Labor’s first acts is to abolish the ABCC.
But with all of those cost of living increases, the opposition spent most of that question time asking about a statutory body which most outside of this building have not heard about, nor care about.
The opposition is in a bit of a tight spot – the inflation, after all, happened on their watch. But still, given the impact on the public, you would think that there would be more than one question on price impacts.
Updated
And with that, question time ends.
Clare O’Neil says election day boat report a ‘disgraceful, unprecedented act’
Shayne Neumann to Clare O’Neil:
My question is to the minister for home affairs. Can the minister update the house on the findings of the [Sri Lankan boat] report and its implications?
(Alan Tudge seems to throw out a sledge about Neumann being on the backbench, from the opposition shadow bench.)
O’Neil (there are a lot of interjections here, so bear with me):
I thank the member for Blair, and all of us would acknowledge this as a person who comes to work every day and acts with the utmost integrity and so it is no surprise to get the question from him today.
Speaker, last week the Australian government made the decision to release the report written by secretary Mike Pezzullo into the disgraceful action of the former government to release information about a boat arrival on election day on 21 May. This was the former government sabotaging protocols that protect Operation Sovereign Borders and the people in uniform who do dangerous and difficult work.
One of the truly outrageous things is that the former minister of home affairs chose to release this information while the operation was on foot.
This was without precedent in the history of Operation Sovereign Borders and it meant an operation undertaken by border force and defence force officials was undermined by the shadow minister who now sits opposite me.
The report also details the fact that despite the fact that the prime minister at the time asked the minister for home affairs to release the statement herself, she chose not to do that, instead she put it on a defence force official who wears uniform for our country to make the statement for her, and that was an act of cowardice.
If you are going to politicise this operation, you do it yourself and you put your name to the work that you do. Shadow minister had an opportunity ...
Luke Howarth tries to make a point of order on how O’Neil reflected on the shadow minister (Karen Andrews) and Tony Burke responds:
To the point of order, Mr Speaker, because the standing order on reflection for members is important but it does not extend to explaining what a member in fact did. If the actions are taken to be, well, that is terrible the person did that and a lot of conclusions are drawn, that is on the member. The standing order is not there to protect member from the accurate description of what they did
Paul Fletcher responds:
Mr Speaker, the relevant standing order says all imputation of improper notice to members and personal reflection on other members shall be considered highly disorderly and so it should be withdrawn.
Milton Dick (after telling Chris Bowen off for interjecting):
Listening to the minister carefully, she did not reflect directly on the former minister. Standing order 90 is important. She was referring to the situation. She did not refer directly to the minister, but if she did I would enforce standing order 90. Order! The member for Petrie! Order! It is close enough. Order. I ... intend to enforce the standing orders and particularly standing order 90. In this case, the minister did not reflect directly on the member. I will listen carefully to her and to all members to ensure that standing order 90 is in force. I call the minister.
Peter Dutton:
Mr Speaker, with all due respect to you, I want to take you up on the point of your recollection of what was a clear statement by the minister and I hope she is able to step up and clarify for you, but it was in fact a direct reflection on the shadow minister. In her statement, the minister made a comment directly in relation to the shadow minister about actions that she took ... That was a direct reflection on the shadow minister.
O’Neil:
I was reflecting on the conduct of the member and those are two different things.
... I really invite those opposites to consider this, if you do not want to be accused of acts of cowardice ...
Paul Fletcher tries to have another point of order and is sat down.
O’Neil:
I would like to say to those opposite, if you do not want to be accused of acts of cowardice and breaching your duty and the trust you owe to the Australian people, don’t do it. Don’t do what is in this report.
I do not need to make it up, we have a report on the public record that outlines the disgraceful conduct of the former government. She has to defend herself.
Any of us accused of these things would come forward and apologise, but that is not what we heard. We had a denial that the public service was subverted. Wrong, it is in the report.
I want to close by saying this, we should not become immune to these things in our democracy. This was a disgraceful, unprecedented act that should never have happened and those opposite stand condemned for doing it.
Updated
Greens leader asks treasurer about stage three tax cuts
Adam Bandt to Jim Chalmers:
I congratulate the prime minister and the government on the election. Stage three tax cuts will cost the public over $220bn and give billionaires a $9,000 a year handout at the taxpayer expense. With inflation rising and the budget under pressure, will you drop these and put it into dental and Medicare instead to help relieve the cost of living pressures on everyday people?
Chalmers:
I thank the member for Melbourne and congratulate him on his re-election and [on] the election of his colleagues on the crossbench as well. As the member for Melbourne knows, the legislated tax cuts are already in the budget and they do not come in for a couple of years and we said we do not intend to change that.
Our position is on that as is, respectfully your position is known on that as well. We also should acknowledge that when it comes to those stage three tax cuts, if your idea was to prevail it would not do anything about the inflation challenges.
Yes, we have budget challenges right now. The most pressing thing to focus on is high and rising inflation, falling real wages, and some of our choices have been constrained. So our priority, when it comes to tax reform – first of all, the only legislation that I have introduced from this place in the first day is to make electric vehicles cheaper, and we are proud of that, working closely with the minister for climate change. But beyond that, repairing the budget, the member knows our focus is on making multinationals pay their fair share of tax as well as measures on tax compliance and making sure the foreign investment regime retains some money to the budget as well. That is our priority when it comes to taxes and charges and repairing the budget.
More broadly to budget repair, you would be familiar, as is the whole house, particularly the member for Hume would know this, as we inherited a lot of waste in the budget and frauds that we are going through those rorts advice to find other alternatives, like investment in skills, the skills minister was talking about before, like investment in childcare that the childcare minister was talking about.
We talk about taking unproductive, politically motivated spending, for which the member for Hume is the poster child, and directing it to more productive spending in the budget that begins cutting back on lots of waste and includes making sure we are investing on the things that can get the economy growing the right way.
Budget repair, responsible investment is part of that and the onus is on the government to do what we can to repair the budget. We have had a decade of rorts and waste, which has led to $1tn of debt without enough to show for it, so we want to make sure every dollar which is borrowed, which now costs more to service, is actually delivering a dividend for the Australian people.
Updated
PM asked about federal court view of CFMEU case
Melissa Price to Anthony Albanese:
Is the prime minister aware that senior judges at the federal court [described] CFMEU behaviour as notorious, an embarrassment to the trade union movement? Which displays an outrageous disregard for Australian industrial norms? Given the minister’s decision to abolish the dedicated industry watchdog, would this make a bad situation worse and increase the cost of new schools and hospitals?
Albanese:
I thank the member for her question, and I am asked about the federal court and the CFMEU and the ABCC. This is what the federal court did in 2017 that I am aware of. A blast of the ABCC as a waste of time and taxpayer public money prosecuting two CFMEU officials for, to quote from a federal court decision, having a cup of tea with a mate.
Having a cup of tea with a mate. And this is what Justice North described ... he described as a minuscule insignificant affair. And then he said this is all external forces that are beating up what is just a really ordinary situation that amounts to virtually nothing. That is the federal court’s ruling in the decision.
There are a lot of interjections and points of order, which are rejected.
Albanese:
It is just extraordinary. I can’t be more specific. Justice North went on to say, when the ABCC was talking about, use public resources to bring the bar down to this level, it really calls into question the exercise of the discretion to proceed. That is what they had to say at that time. The federal court has also dismissed the ABCC for its prosecutions labelling them unnecessarily inflammatory and another quote, conducted as a blood sport. This is what the federal court had to say about these actions that the member raised, and I thank you very much for her question.
Updated
Anne Aly outlines Labor’s childcare reform plans
Anne Aly is asked about the childcare reforms and says:
May I take this opportunity to pay heed to my predecessor in this space, the minister for social services (Amanda Rishworth), when as the shadow minister for the arts was architect of Labor’s plan, and who continues to be a fierce advocate of early childhood education.
On this side of the chamber, we know that childcare costs are eating a bigger and bigger hole in the household budgets, and putting more financial strain on families.
Almost 73,000 families are locked out of the childcare system because it is unaffordable. That means that children are missing out on important early learning, and parents, and in most cases mothers, who are the primary caregivers are not able to work the hours they want, they are not able to progress their careers and they are not able to contribute to the household finances in the ways in which they would like to.
Labor’s cheaper childcare plan will make early childhood education more affordable for 1.26 million families by increasing our childcare subsidy rate. A big part of that is a plan for the ACCC to design a price regulation mechanism that will drive down out-of-pocket costs for families. We have committed to a comprehensive review of the childcare sector through the Productivity Commission, with the aim of implementing a universal 90% childcare subsidy for all families.
These reforms aren’t just about the economy. They are also about increased workforce participation. They are about women being able to go back to work in the capacity in which they want to go back to work and participate in the workforce. It means that early childhood education educators are valued for their vital work, but importantly, these reforms are about ensuring all children have access to quality, affordable early learning, investing in their future and in ours.
Updated
Paul Fletcher to Brendan O’Connor:
I ask the minister inform the house as to whether he has met with any CFMEU officials regarding the abolition of the construction watchdog?
O’Connor:
Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I thank the honourable member for his question. And before I answer the question, I congratulate you, Mr Speaker, on your elevation to office, a well-deserved result in the election yesterday.
Can I indicate to the house that I have not spoken to any official of the CFMEU in relation to this matter that has been asked of me by the honourable member.
Updated
BasicsCard is cruel, unnecessary and ineffective, Antipoverty Centre says
The Antipoverty Centre’s Jay Coonan says continuing the BasicsCard is continuing to punish those living in poverty:
It is galling for them to have misled the public about their intention to “abolish” cashless welfare, because they haven’t. Keeping the BasicsCard is cruel, unnecessary and ineffective. It is worse when the prime minister uses his mother’s experience of social security for political gain, only to punish people like this.
This abhorrent decision leaves the door open to expand income control further under the guise of “community consultations” – when it’s never the voices of people subjected to the card who are consulted. It was a Labor government that expanded cashless welfare last time they were in government and we fear it will be a Labor government who expands it again.
The minister’s office has been contacted for comment.
Updated
Minister confirms cashless debit card to be scrapped – but no word on BasicsCard
Amanda Rishworth is asked a dixer about pensioners being able to relax about being put on the Indue card (which was not the previous government’s policy, but was an attack line Labor prosecuted during the campaign).
Rishworth says it will never happen under Labor (it was not going to happen, as a wider policy, under the Coalition either).
Rishworth goes on:
Earlier today, I introduced legislation to start the task of dismantling the Coalition’s cashless debit card experiment, and I want to reassure the member for Bruce that seniors will no longer have to worry that their pension will be linked to the card because no one in this country will have to worry about it because we are getting rid of it and we are ending the experiment of privatised welfare in this country*.
Of course, the cashless debit card was an ideological obsession by the former Coalition government. It was imposed on communities and rolling out, rolling out, rolling out and, of course, it was completely imposing on communities that did not want it and did not like it and when the evidence came out that it was not working, there was no evidence to support it, there were pleas from communities and what do they do? They just kept rolling it out.
They put ideology before evidence, arrogance before consultation. This was a defining feature of the former Morrison government. Well, that is not what will happen under this government. The prime minister during the election campaign said that this would be a priority, to get rid of the cashless debit card and we’re getting on with the job.
*But. There is still no word on what is happening to the BasicsCard. The BasicsCard is different to the cashless welfare card but it is one of the income management tools.
The APH library describes the card as:
The BasicsCard was introduced to support the [Coalition] government’s income management initiatives. Various forms of income management operate in locations around Australia including the Northern Territory, Cape York, the Kimberley, Perth, Playford, Shepparton, Bankstown, Logan, Rockhampton and a number of remote Indigenous communities.
The BasicsCard is a PIN protected magnetic stripe card that allows income support recipients to spend their payments at approved businesses. The card works on the Eftpos system. Cardholders cannot use the card to withdraw cash from automatic teller machines or Eftpos terminals or to buy alcohol, tobacco, pornography or gambling products.
Only some retailers and service providers are approved to accept the BasicsCard. To get approval, a business must agree to accept a list of obligations that include not allowing people to use the card to buy excluded goods, gift cards or cash.
A common complaint from cardholders in some income management trial sites is that many retailers and service providers do not accept the BasicsCard. For example, Aldi, Bunnings, Officeworks and some government agencies.
There has been no word on whether Labor plans on scrapping this income management card, which a lot of people have been placed on.
Updated
Milton Dick:
The member for Longman, I just ask the house if the minister could be heard in silence and you interjected straight away. Could we cease interjections at least until the minister starts talking?
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Independent Andrew Wilkie asks about Hecs hike
There is another question from the crossbench.
Andrew Wilkie:
Minister, the recent 650% [indexation rate rise] in Hecs is unreasonable, especially coming as it does so soon after the previous government’s reduction of the compulsory [repayment threshold]. Education was too expensive already. Will you review the indexation rate and bring relief to the 2.9 million Australians lumbered with Hecs?
Jason Clare:
The power and importance of education – I thank the member for Clark, he knows very well, as well as do you, Mr Speaker. And I congratulate you on your election, and I note the comments you made yesterday about the parliament in schools program, and I look forward to working with you on that.
Last year, the indexation rate was 5.6, this year it is 3.9 calculated based on CPI over the last two years. The member for Clark mentioned the cost of living and in that regard it is important to remember that payments are set as a set percentage of your income. In other words, they do not go up unless your salary does.
The issue of affordability is an important one, that said, and it will be one of the things that will be looked at by the government as part of the university accord process. It is important to make this point, Mr Speaker, when Hecs was first introduced in 1989, less than 8% of Australians had university degrees.
That now stands at about 33%. Hecs is largely responsible for that. Amongst younger Australians, the percentage is even higher, more than 43% of younger Australians have a university degree. But that figure hides another fact – that is the fact that kids from poorer families are less likely to go to preschool, less likely to finish high school and are less likely to get a university degree.
Where you live also matters. My friends on both sides of the House of Representatives in regional areas will know this. About 48% of young people in our major cities have university degrees but the percentage in regional Australia is about 20%, and for our Indigenous brothers and sisters that percentage is even lower, something like less than 10% of Indigenous Australians have a university degree.
We have got to do something about that. I do not want this to be a country where your opportunities in life depend on your postcode, your parents or the colour of your skin.
Soon I will be announcing a group of eminent Australians will lead that work and look at everything from low economic background, regional Australians, but also transparency, regulations and employment conditions, and also the issue that you have raised, the issue of affordability.
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Where are your masks? Labor’s Anika Wells asks Coalition MPs
In answering a question about driving up the take-up of fourth doses of Covid vaccine in aged care, Anika Wells throws in this to the opposition:
I got my fourth dose at one of our efforts to drive up vaccination rates, the focus of our winter plan in aged care. I only regret I cannot follow that lovely team of dedicated clinical ledgers around the country getting my fourth dose at every facility to drive up awareness, such is my determination to leave no stone unturned. That would be against medical advice and we on this side of the house actually follow the medical advice. Where are your masks?
There are about a handful of people wearing masks in the Coalition ranks – Darren Chester, Karen Andrews, Michael McCormack and who I think is Stuart Robert are the ones I can see. But by and large there is an absence of the highly recommended masks.
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Angus Taylor asks question about energy costs
There is a dixer on the cost of living, and then it is time for Angus Taylor:
During the campaign, Labor promised a $271 increase decrease in power bills. Will the prime minister guarantee to the house Australians will see that?
Anthony Albanese:
I thank the member for Hume for his question and I congratulate him on his courage for asking it. The paradox of the last government, they were obsessed with power but totally failed on energy, totally failed when it came to energy, and Australia’s families are paying for that.
Peter Dutton:
It is on relevance, and we spent yesterday with you talking about the standards of this place and it is clear that in the words of Speaker Smith, given the tightness of this question, the prime minister needs to answer the question and restrict himself to the question.
Milton Dick:
The question was specific and it mentioned during the campaign. The prime minister is in order and I will listen carefully to what he is saying. If you want a different answer, you will have to ask a different question.
Albanese:
I will go directly to the campaign and what happened, because this is what happened and this is what we did not know was happening while the campaign was on but they knew ...
They knew about the price increase in March.
One of the previous government’s final acts was to hide that energy prices would be going up in July. They were advised in March that the default mark offer price per household in NSW would increase by 19.7%, in Queensland up 12.8%. They knew about it in March, but days before the election was called they made a conscious decision to keep the information from Australians until after the election.
And who might that have been? It was the member for Hume. It was the member for Hume, the minister at the time.
What we will do is deliver an energy policy. It will be the first one we’ve had in this country for a decade. They have had 22 announcements and did not deliver one. Did not deliver one.
Paul Fletcher stands up and says something, but Dick tells him he does not have a point of order.
Albanese:
I am asked about energy and energy prices, and I was asked about what we were doing during the campaign, and what happened during the campaign is we promised an energy policy and we will deliver through our Powering Australia plan. They had 22 announcements and did not deliver one. Even when the national energy guarantee went through the Liberal party room twice – twice – instead of implementing the policy, they just rolled their leader.
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Nationals leader asks about government ‘confusion’ over foot and mouth
David Littleproud to Catherine King:
My question is to the minister representing the minister of agriculture and I refer to the chief veterinary officer briefing to the opposition on Thursday where he advised that foot-and-mouth disease is uncontrolled and increasing, and to a subsequent comment from the minister of agriculture on Monday, Indonesia seems to be getting ahead of it. Who is correct? And has this confusion caused thousands of passengers to cross the border of Indonesia without proper screening? Why is Labor making a bad situation worse?
King:
I tell you what is confused. What is your position on border closures? We have one position put by you and all sorts of different members. What have you actually had in terms of your actual position? Again, can I say very, very clearly, this is an issue the government takes very seriously.
We are taking the advice of the chief veterinary officer. We are taking the advice of the agriculture department. We have been rolling out sanitation maps, and I don’t care who wants to claim credit for that, but that is there, and they are put in place now. We know that this is a serious threat to Australia’s biosecurity, and this government has put in place the most serious measures, the most comprehensive measures of any government that we have ever seen.
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Richard Marles answers defence question: ‘We understand the challenge we face’
The next question is on defence force capability.
Richard Marles goes through what we already know.
He says:
This country is now under a new management. There is a serious group of people who are in charge, and we understand the challenge that we face. We know the difficulties we face. What we can say is this: whatever we face, there is only one interest which is going to guide the effort we make, the decisions we take, and that interest is the national interest, which is defined by the national security of the Australian people.
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Liberal deputy leader asks PM about building watchdog
Sussan Ley to Anthony Albanese:
My question is to the prime minister, and I refer to comments he just made that the watchdog is a waste of taxpayer money. They are currently pursuing [I miss the name] for allegedly pushing, shoving and verbally abusing a female health and safety manager. Does the prime minister seriously believe that pursuing this vile behaviour is a waste of taxpayer’s money, and why is Labor making a bad situation worse?
Albanese:
Thank you very much for the question. I believe if someone commits assault, they should be charged with assault and dealt with. That is what I believe. I am surprised that you don’t. This seems to be a controversial issue. I make this point.
There is a kerfuffle.
Paul Fletcher:
That is an invitation against every member on this side. The prime minister just said that you don’t believe assault is a serious matter. Of course we do.
Milton Dick:
Resume your seat. That is not the point of order. I call the prime minister.
Albanese:
The irony! The question suggested that. That was the point. The point of the question was that I wouldn’t regard that behaviour. That is precisely what I was asked! Precisely what I was asked. And my answer was, where someone commits a crime, they should be charged with a crime of assault if they commit assault.
That is what my view was. If I tell you what the ABCC have spent their money on, $500,000 of taxpayers’ money on an unsuccessful case brought against the union who requested that a women’s toilet be available on the site.
Peter Dutton:
It is a point of order on relevance and it goes to the seriousness of the question that was put to the prime minister. He is not answering that, he is choosing to belittle the question that was put. Instead playing games and getting frustrated, he should answer the question about ...
Dick:
The point of order is not on relevance. The prime minister is answering the question and has answered the question, and I asked him to continue.
Albanese:
Thanks very much, Mr Speaker. ABCC spent over $500,000 as well of taxpayers’ money enforcing a blanket ban on putting stickers and posters with union logos up on worksites. How many people died on worksites in the construction sector?
... I have made it very clear that where someone commits a crime, they should be charged with it. Charged with it. I have never heard of this bloke. Never heard of him. No connection with him, and the idea somehow that we’re going to come in here ...
The idea we are going to come in here says a lot about why they are sitting opposite.
That they come in here today and they can ask questions about inflation, they can ask questions about cost of living, they can ask questions about the health pandemic, they can ask questions about foot-and-mouth disease, they can ask questions about a whole range of issues, and what do we get? Back to the same old bucket. The same old bucket that saw them have a royal commission into trade unions, that saw them have a royal commission into, at the time, current and former Labor leaders effectively, spend millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money on what was a political pursuit. The federal court said this about the ABCC or its prosecutions, labelled them unnecessarily inflammatory and conducted as a blood sport. Politics should be better than that, but I am not surprised that the opposition isn’t.
To be fair, the head of the ABCC said no one was prosecuted over stickers, and the court case Albanese referenced was not about a women’s toilet.
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Catherine King outlines Australian government’s foot-and-mouth response
Catherine King gives an update on foot-and-mouth disease and the response:
This is an issue the government takes very, very seriously and it is why we have introduced the toughest biosecurity measures ever undertaken in Australia. It has been detected in over 70 countries but the immediate and pressing concern is the outbreak in Indonesia.
It has been detected in 22 of the 37 provinces so the government is taking a two-pronged approach by strengthening measures at our border but also working with our partners, particularly Indonesia, to prevent an outbreak coming here to these shores. An additional $14m committed to strengthen Australian prevention for F&M. A million doses will be provided to Indonesia of the F&M vaccine and the government has assisted through the provision of technical support in the broader vaccination program.
We also have CSIRO Center for Disease preparedness working with the Indonesian minister of agriculture to provide laboratory support and also essential materials. We have got the Indonesian government with signage and biosecurity measures for outgoing Australians.
We are doing everything we can to support our neighbours. It is in the interests of this country that we do so and they get this under control as quickly as possible and we are confident the Indonesian authorities are doing all they can.
Here in Australia, we funded additional biosecurity officers, security detector dogs to this task, the activation of biosecurity powers which have never been actually used before in this country, additional signage and distribution of flyers at major airports, deployment of sanitation mats, expanded social media campaigns and informing travellers of their biosecurity responsibilities.
But what we do know absolutely and utterly is that one of the highest risks is if people illegally import meat or dairy products. We know that we have biosecurity officers checking around certain retail outlets at the moment, those imports have been stopped ...
What my message is particularly to the Australian people and particularly to those opposite, this is a very important task for all of us. Anyone coming in from these airports declare, declare, declare.
Absolutely make sure that you do your part to ensure that we maintain this important trade.
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The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, who has been close friends with Speaker Milton Dick for almost as long as both have been in the Labor party, is in the gallery, along with the Speaker’s brother, the Queensland treasurer, Cameron Dick.
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Bob Katter asks PM about infrastructure projects
The next dixer covers ground the treasurer went through this morning.
We move on to the first of the crossbench questions, and it is Bob Katter, who gets cut off under the new time limits for questions, but Anthony Albanese gets that it is about infrastructure and answers anyway.
Albanese:
I thank the member for Kennedy for his question, and also thank him for his hospitality up in his electorate. I have indeed visited it on two occasions ... (speaks indistinctly) ... I do not think that needed clarification from the member for Kennedy but I thank him nonetheless for his goodwill.
Indeed, I did potentially get into some difficulty in the pub – I was sitting on the wrong seat, apparently, that was reserved for a very large gentleman with a hat bigger than the member for Kennedy.
What we did is exactly look at infrastructure projects and this project, the irrigation project, I understand has had an initial business case that has been forwarded and will be examined by the department as is appropriate. I do also note that the Flinders shire council has been very supportive of the project and I met with the mayor on a number of occasions.
That part of the world has an enormous opportunity with projects like Big Kennedy and Little Kennedy and the Kingston project, a range of renewable energy projects, water projects, potential irrigation project to expand agriculture. I have had the privilege in former capacities of visiting with the member of Kennedy. I know that my colleague, the minister for the environment, and the minister for infrastructure will look at these projects and, of course, it fits in two categories for the minister of environment as well as looking at it in her capacity as minister for water.
Where we can appropriately, within appropriate environmental protections, we should be looking at ways in which we can improve irrigation, expand our agricultural sector. It is important Australia plays a role and potentially a more important role as food resources around the world become more scarce, is to use the fact that we are such a vast island continent, to expand that, and I look forward to working constructively with the member for Kennedy on that.
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Peter Dutton asks question about union officials
Peter Dutton to Anthony Albanese:
My question is to the prime minister. Officials from the CFMEU have been charged with thousands of offences. Has the prime minister met with any of the union bosses accused of criminal behaviour, including sexual assault, harassment and rape?
Albanese:
Mr Speaker, if the member opposite has an allegation or wants to know someone I met with, he should say ... If he... wants to name somebody, he is perfectly entitled to. But what he is not entitled to do is to engage in that sort of smear tactics ...
Dutton:
I do not know if this is a point of order but it is not an answer to the question. Have you met with these officials that have been charged with sexual harassment ...
Speaker Milton Dick:
There is no point of order, I call the prime minister. Completed your answer?
Albanese has. Dutton is not impressed and the Coalition benches echo that displeasure.
It seems to be a new experience for quite a few of them.
It takes time to settle into opposition.
Updated
Looking at the chamber, Labor and the crossbench is masked up – but once again, there is barely a mask to be seen on the Coalition’s opposition benches.
I’m not sure you could say it is anything other than a deliberate statement at this point.
PM outlines government’s actions so far in answer to first dixer
The Hasluck MP, Tania Lawrence, has the first dixer:
In May the Australian people voted for the Albanese Labor government with plans for a better future. How is the government working towards that goal?
Anthony Albanese:
Thank you very much for the question, and I congratulate the honourable member for her election to this parliament, and I look forward to working with her and the other new members in this chamber across all sides of the parliament.
On 21 May the Australian people voted to change and we have hit the ground running as a new government. We have not wasted a day. We have put in a submission, as we said we would do, to say that people on the minimum wage of $20 and 33 cents an hour should not go backwards.
Remember in the election campaign I held up the dollar and said if people on the minimum wage got a dollar increase per hour then the sky would not fall in. Those opposite said it would, that it would wreck the economy. We got a decision of 5.2% out of the Fair Work Commission and I am pleased that occurred.
We also acted very quickly, faster than any previous government has, to deal with the natural disaster of the floods that have hit Queensland and NSW, once again. We had the ADF on the ground quicker than ever before. We had payments in people’s bank account quicker than any previous natural disaster. We worked to make sure people get access to anti-virals in order to deal with the pandemic. Legislation introduced just today in our first week, to create jobs and skills Australia, to fix the aged care crisis, responding to the royal commission, legislation to our climate target, something we have already submitted to a nationally determined contribution. But we have also worked very hard to restore our relationships around the world.
The truth is, we had major problems with our relationships in the Pacific, our European neighbours – particularly France – but also relationships with the United States and other countries. We hit the ground running very, very quickly. Indeed, on the Monday morning we were off to the Quad leaders’ meeting where we met with leaders.
We have an overriding philosophy that no one is held back and left behind and that is a program this government will be proud to implement over this time and beyond.
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It is the first of the dixers.
Now, you know I hate dixers and that hasn’t changed. Given the newness of this government and how it is still laying out its agenda, I will allow a few dixers at this early stage, but the moment they become press releases or just furthering agendas, they will once again cease.
Question time begins
The first question time begins and Peter Dutton is straight out of the blocks, with a sledge and an inside Queensland joke, which will only hit for a very niche audience:
I refer to the CCCU, to the corrupt and criminal construction union, and a successful donor to the prime minister’s party that [donated] $5m to the Labor party in the last five years and advocates for a policy which will drive up housing. It will drive up construction costs. Why is Labor making a bad situation worse?
(The CCC is the name of the Queensland corruption watchdog.)
Anthony Albanese:
I thank very much the leader of the opposition for the question and I congratulate him on his election as leader of the Liberal party and wish him well as leader of the opposition and I hope he stays there for a very, very long time.
Mr Speaker, when the ABCC is abolished the Ombudsman will enforce a fair work act in the construction sector. We come with the very simple principle, which is why should one worker in one sector be treated differently from workers in a different sector.
If people commit a crime, actions should be taken by the appropriate authorities and we’re not to take lectures from people who when they commit issues that sees them go to the back bench they come back in leadership positions. We are not going to cop lectures from those opposite [who] presided over an anything goes attitude towards taxpayers money over the last nine years.
Updated
Murph is in the chamber for question time and she tells us that Anthony Albanese’s partner, Jodie Haydon, and son, Nathan, are on the sidelines of the chamber, watching on.
Updated
It is just before question time, which means it is 90-second statements and Paul Fletcher is still complaining about the change to the standing orders.
CPI figure points to Reserve Bank rate rise in August
A couple of things to clear up. Shy of some decimal point rounding, the June quarter’s CPI at 6.1% was the highest since the June 2001 quarter.
Our earlier post erroneously had it as the most since 1990 – which the expected 6.3% pace would have been. (Lady Marmalade was top of the charts back then, if you must know.)
Analysts, though, say there’s no mistaking the problem of price pressures.
“There are no two ways about it – inflation is red hot in Australia right now, as it is in many parts of the world, and the RBA will respond by raising the cash rate again at the August board meeting next week,” Gareth Aird, the head of economics at CBA, said.
“Our central scenario for the RBA to raise the cash rate by 50 basis points [to 1.85%] at the August board meeting is unchanged.”
The dollar weakened slightly on the news, as did yields on some bonds, implying investors had been bracing for worse inflation figures.
Still, the CPI figures are likely to hurt most workers whose wages won’t be keeping up.
According to the ACTU, a worker on the average annual income of $69,000 will have experienced a $2,350 pay cut (presumably over the past year).
The ACTU president, Michele O’Neil, said the upcoming jobs summit would give unions “an opportunity to address the wages crisis, and to fix a bargaining system that has been decimated by a series of Coalition governments hellbent on taking power away from workers”.
“The need to get wages moving again is urgent,” O’Neil said. “‘Business as usual’ will not turn this around; it will not fix this.”
If the RBA does raise its cash rate by half a percentage point to 1.85% next Tuesday, it would mean an extra $140 a month in mortgage repayments assuming commercial banks pass the increase along, according to RateCity. (That also assumes you’re an average owner-occupier with $500,000 debt and 25 years remaining.)
The research director at RateCity, Sally Tindall, said such borrowers were likely paying $472 more a month on loan repayments than they were in April. “On top of rising grocery and petrol prices, that’s going to hurt,” she said.
Since the RBA is unlikely to stop raising rates after next Tuesday (unless there’s an unforeseen calamity), more strain is ahead for borrowers, Tindall said. Perhaps a lot more.
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CSIRO chief hails Australian scientists’ relationship with Chinese counterparts
Dr Larry Marshall:
As the head of Australia’s leading, premier science agency, does science break down geopolitical boundaries or do we throw our eggs into the American basket at the expense of working with the Chinese?
Marshall:
Science is the language that transcends these boundaries and CSIRO has had a deep relationship with the Chinese Academy of Science for more than five decades. Australia was the first western country to embrace China in that way …
On things that are global challenges, like solving a pandemic, solving climate change, global issues, [we will] absolutely work with China and we have done for more than five decades, and [we] absolutely work with the US.
The final question is from the Nobel laureate and Australian National University vice-chancellor, Prof Brian Schmidt, who asks Marshall to “articulate cleanly the value proposition that CSIRO brings to the Australian people”. Schmidt asks what more the agency could be doing to help Australia tackle the seven megatrends detailed in the decadal report.
Marshall says:
There are 39 great Australian universities and a number of other phenomenal research institutions. In the past – and CSIRO is 100 years old – like many institutions, it tended to think a bit too internally …
Brian and I have run our institutions for about the same period of time, we have tried to break that model and do much more, much deeper and more open collaboration … it is too hard to compete internationally if we try and go it alone.
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CSIRO chief says Australian science is helping industry be more environmentally sustainable
CSIRO’s Dr Larry Marshall is now taking questions at the National Press Club. He is asked about the state of the environment report which was released last week, and how concerned he is about the scale and rate of land clearing occurring in Australia. Marshall doesn’t answer that directly but instead discusses industry and innovation:
Wherever we can, we step in to help industry be more environmentally sustainable than they have been in the past … I grew up in an era where industry and environment were competitors. A lot of the science that CSIRO has been focused on in the last seven years has been around breaking that paradigm. We found industry is willing to change their practices if we can show them another way. Australian science, through things like FutureFeed, completely broke that nexus in. Getting rid of emissions from cattle seemed impossible until science could solve it and make it possible – it is not economically better but industry is doing it because it is the right thing to do …
Marshall is asked whether the CSIRO supports the idea of Australia having its own Silicon Valley. He says:
We shouldn’t copy Silicon Valley. Place-based innovation has its place. What is remarkable about Australia: FutureFeed was invented in Townsville, not in a big city, in Townsville. It was tested in another part of northern Queensland and eastern Victoria. I think the wave of the future is in a network. It is getting the brightest minds in the country together and technology enables us to do that in a way that Silicon Valley couldn’t have done back then. We are different … Silicon Valley did amazing things but they missed agriculture and food as an investment area.
There are multiple questions about China and geopolitics. Marshall is asked about Chinese collaboration and suggestions that CSIRO scientists have accepted Chinese Thousand Talents Plan scholarships. He says he is not aware of any instances of foreign interference or theft:
In terms of the Thousand Talents program, I don’t believe that any CSIRO person has been part of that program. We have some amazing CSIRO scientists who are of Chinese ethnic descent and they made incredible contributions to some of the innovations we have done.
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Sally Sitou’s first speech to parliament – watch some highlights here
There is still a ways to go, but the parliament is starting to look a little bit more like the community it represents.
That also means we are getting a wider range of life experiences in the parliament, making for some different, but relatable for so many, first speeches.
Here is some of Sally Sitou’s first speech, which has been widely applauded – if you haven’t seen it, I recommend you give it a listen.
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Greens say fossil fuel moratorium issue is not a dealbreaker – yet
Labor’s lack of a moratorium on fossil fuel projects is not a dealbreaker, the Greens say – at least, not yet.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said on Tuesday the federal government would not put a stop to new oil and gas projects because that would have a “devastating impact on the Australian economy”. Australian coal, and its emissions, would just be replaced by coal from other countries, he said.
The Greens, whose votes Labor will need in the Senate for its climate change legislation, want the ban. But leader Adam Bandt said yesterday negotiations were ongoing and his party’s role was to “push” the government towards ending fossil fuel projects.
[The idea] we can keep opening up coal and gas mines if we make climate targets, and be taken seriously by the rest of the world, is just untenable.
The rubber is going to hit the road on this very soon.
The Greens will push against the government allowing new mines over the next three years of parliament, Bandt said.
There are a “number of ways” that push could take place, he said, including a climate trigger and stopping government agencies from funding any new mines.
We’re having discussions with the government … and my job is to see where we get to and then go and take that back to the Greens party room, and we’ll make a decision about the bill on that basis.
We’re not at that point… we’re not at that point yet where we’ve talked through all of the issues.
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Countdown to question time
We are in the countdown for the first question time of the new parliament (and a new government).
The government has promised it will be a more respectful question time, but time will tell on that.
Updated
PM meets new US ambassador Caroline Kennedy
Anthony Albanese has met with the US ambassador, Caroline Kennedy.
It has been about a year and a half since Australia had a US ambassador.
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Greens again ask Labor to agree to no new coal or gas
The Greens are again asking for Labor to agree to no new coal or gas projects.
Labor is not going to agree to that – it has already said that won’t be part of the legislation.
The Greens are trying to drum up public pressure on the government and make them agree, but it doesn’t look like there will be any shift on it at all.
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Business registry reforms delayed by up to four years
Yesterday the assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, revealed a billion-dollar blowout in the modernising business registry reforms.
Jones said it was an important project that “will amalgamate 30 business registries, update the technology platform and deliver a more integrated experience for Australia’s hard-working business owners”.
Today, an obscure Treasury bill introduced in the House of Representatives gives an idea of what sort of impact the blowout will have on the timeline of the project.
Under the new bill, changes that were due to begin on 22 June 2022 will now not be required to occur until 1 July 2026 – a delay of up to four years.
The explanatory memorandum states this will “allow sufficient time so that the supporting legislation aligns with the IT delivery schedule”. If the IT is fixed sooner, the government can nominate an earlier date.
But, if this bill passes, it’s given itself four years to fix the problem.
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Marshall:
The fourth and fifth megatrends are linked but importantly quite different: they are diving into digital and increasingly autonomous artificial intelligence … just to keep pace with the rate of change in the world, Australia will need 6.5 million more digital workers just by 2025.
Megatrend #6: geopolitical shifts.
The uncomfortable truth is, it took a global pandemic for us to realise that we had lost sovereign capability as we grew reliant on exporting raw materials and buying back and importing the skills and technologies that we need.
The final megatrend is “unlocking the human dimension”, which Marshall says “for me is perhaps the most important of all because it holds the key to how we solve the other six”. He says:
Trust in science led Australia’s response to Covid-19 and we can build on that trust now to put science at the centre of a united response to the challenges ahead ... there is much more that we must do, but science can show us the way.
Marshall then criticises a lack of innovation over the last several decades:
Thirty years of uninterrupted economic growth hasn’t motivated us to innovate and find the new waves of prosperity where we can actually lead. We have fallen behind, while others have raced ahead. While investment in research and development around the world has gone up, in Australia, investment has gone down for decades …
Both Wifi and low-cost solar design were invented right here in our country ... We had the dawn of two new global industries in the palm of our hand, but as a country we lacked the market vision and the courage to back ourselves.
In closing, he calls for innovation and adaptation on a “tremendous scale”.
By working together, by backing ourselves and investing in Australian innovation and building on the trust in science that the pandemic response has grown, we can make the seemingly impossible become possible.
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National Covid-19 update – Australia reports 82 deaths
Here are the latest coronavirus numbers from around Australia today, as the country records at least 82 deaths from Covid-19:
ACT
- Deaths: 0
- Cases: 1,104
- In hospital: 141 (with 1 people in ICU)
NSW
- Deaths: 20
- Cases: 16,173
- In hospital: 2,275 (with 56 people in ICU)
Northern Territory
- Deaths: 0
- Cases: 530
- In hospital: 71 (with 1 person in ICU)
Queensland
- Deaths: 19
- Cases: 8,209
- In hospital: 1,023 (with 26 people in ICU)
South Australia
- Deaths: 4
- Cases: 4,197
- In hospital: 365 (with 8 people in ICU)
Tasmania
- Deaths: 4
- Cases: 1,313
- In hospital: 170 (with 3 people in ICU)
Victoria
- Deaths: 32
- Cases: 12,653
- In hospital: 872 (with 33 people in ICU)
Western Australia
- Deaths: 3
- Cases: 5,422
- In hospital: 442 (with 17 people in ICU)
CSIRO chief launches once-in-a-decade Our Future World report
Dr Larry Marshall, the chief executive of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is addressing the National Press Club of Australia to launch the agency’s once-in-a-decade “Our Future World” report.
The report includes seven “megatrends” that “will change the way we all live over the next 20 years”.
Marshall:
Megatrends give a name to the uncomfortable truths and the massive opportunities that will literally shape our future ...
Our future depends on our ability to understand the waves of disruption that are coming at us, to face the uncomfortable truths and respond together at scale. As a nation, we haven’t always done this well. We spent 50 years understanding climate change. But we haven’t invested in the large-scale transformative change that we now so desperately need to limit its impact.
This failure to act is an uncomfortable and costly truth. But uncomfortable truths also show us where the greatest innovation can be found, if we act.
The first megatrend is adapting to a changing climate.
Climate change began as an environmental emergency, then it became an economic emergency, and today it is a human health emergency. In Australia, heat-related deaths are expected to grow by 60% by 2050, with Perth forecast to be the worst hit. In 2020, there were 673 heat-related deaths in Perth. That is forecast to be 1,400 lives lost every year by 2050 in one Australian city …
The uncomfortable truth is the world has missed its opportunity to limit dangerous climate change within this century ... we must adapt to a changing climate while we wait for the world to reduce its emissions. We need to adapt our healthcare system, our critical infrastructure, our settlement patterns and our disaster preparedness.
Megatrend #2: “leaner, cleaner and greener”
Australia has ridden the wave of fossil fuels for 30 years but it is time to catch a new wave: renewables. They will account for 80% of the growth in global electricity demand by 2030. Australia has the highest wind and solar capacity per capita of any developed nation, with a wealth of critical minerals needed for low emissions technologies … we can become a superpower in clean energy.
Megatrend #3: the escalating health imperative
We are moving into a world of greater pandemic risk, not less. Growing resistance to antibiotics is another significant threat to human health, already responsible for 1.27 million deaths per year worldwide. More than 11 million Australians suffer from chronic disease. That is nearly half our population and it is going up.
The uncomfortable truth is we need a far greater focus on preventive and precision health and new approaches to infectious disease and superbugs that consider the interconnection of health of people, health of animals and health of the environment.
Updated
Larry Marshall of the CSIRO is addressing the National Press Club today – Guardian Australia’s science reporter, Donna Lu, will be covering that for us.
Updated
Government tables 23 reports into aged care
While Anika Wells introduced her aged care legislation earlier this morning, the government tabled the 23 reports into aged care over the last 10 years.
One by one.
Wells also became emotional speaking of two constituents, Pat and Jack Cook, with whom she had been speaking to about improvements to aged care and homecare packages.
Jack passed away recently before Wells had a chance to introduce the legislation. She had told him the legislation was coming at their last visit.
His wife and best friend, Pat, gave Wells their wedding photo to carry with her as she introduced the legislation.
Updated
Queensland records 19 more Covid deaths and 1,023 people in hospital
Queensland has reported 19 lives lost to Covid and 8,209 new infections.
Today we have recorded 8,209 new COVID-19 cases.
— Queensland Health (@qldhealth) July 27, 2022
Sadly, we have reported 19 deaths in the past 24 hours.
Full details➡️https://t.co/rKHIwroZeI pic.twitter.com/UZlWYM9iIc
Moving to NSW politics for a moment...
The New South Wales metropolitan roads minister, Natalie Ward, is standing by her colleague trade minister, Stuart Ayres, as Labor ramps up its attacks over the former deputy premier John Barilaro’s appointment to a $500,000-a-year New York trade position.
It was this week revealed that the premier, Dominic Perrottet, was sent a brief noting that former senior public servant and businesswoman Jenny West was the “successful candidate” for the US role before Barilaro was picked. The brief was identical to the one Ayres signed in August last year, as well as that sent to then premier Gladys Berejiklian.
Speaking at a press conference in Sydney’s inner west on Wednesday, Ward said:
He (Ayres) has my confidence. It’s important that the independent process that is reviewing those appointments is undertaken thoroughly and comprehensively. The government’s already committed to ensuring that we support that review and implement its recommendations.
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Summary of the treasurer's response to inflation figures
So there was a lot to take in there. The main takeaways:
- Things are tough.
- They are tougher for people on lower incomes, who spend a higher percentage of their income on the necessities.
- The budget is not in great shape and no one should be expecting it to contain treats when it is handed down in October.
- Jim Chalmers is wrestling with what to do with the fuel excise pause, but it will most likely expire in September.
- Wage growth over the last decade has been wiped out by inflation.
Updated
Chalmers: ‘we want to end the ideological war on super’
Q: What about the protections the government is winding back on superannuation?
Jim Chalmers:
We want to end the ideological war on super. And the big opportunity, not just for the government, but for the country, is to recognise that superannuation is one of the things that we’ve got going for us.
We want to make sure that the regulatory arrangements are right. We want to make sure that superannuation is being paid.
We want to make sure we get to that 12% superannuation guarantee. At some point I’d like to find a way to responsibly fund paying it on paid parental leave.
There’s a bunch of things we should be doing in super which we now have an opportunity to do because we’re not caught up in that ridiculous ideological war on industry super, in particular by a Liberal party which pretends to support superannuation at the same time as they undermine it at every turn.
We created super. We’re proud of it. It’s not perfect. There are ways to improve it.
And we give ourselves ways to improve it by making sure that we’ve got all the arrangements in place in a way that’s not ideological, it’s not partisan, it’s all about the best thing for the funds and therefore the members of the funds.
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Chalmers: Labor has been upfront that pause on fuel excise will not be extended
Q: Will the pause on the fuel excise be extended?
Jim Chalmers:
I said during the election campaign, before the election campaign, after the election campaign, that Australians shouldn’t expect us to be able to afford to extend that petrol price relief and I’ve ... [been] upfront every single time I’ve been asked about this.
The price tag attached to even a 6-month extension is around $3bn. And we have inherited $1tn of debt with not enough to show for it.
We’ve got to walk that fine line between responsible investments in growing the economy the right way and dealing with these supply chain issues at the same time we recognise that every extra dollar borrowed costs more to service.
That’s the conundrum. And I don’t want to give people false hope when it comes to ... the end of [the fuel excise].
We’ve always said ... since the day that it was introduced by our predecessors, that people should expect it to end in September, and I know that will be really difficult for people and there hasn’t been a day I haven’t thought about it.
When I think something is likely to be too expensive for us to responsibly fund, I’ll say so.
Updated
Chalmers: rising interest rates will have implications for unemployment
Q: Does Chalmers expect to see employment stay where it is?
Chalmers:
If the impact of rising interest rates and slowing growth is a downgrade to our expectations for growth here, that will impact the unemployment rate. I’ll talk more about that tomorrow.
My reluctance to give you specific numbers today is because when you get a number at 11:30, you feed it through the various models at the Treasury and they come back with a final set of numbers. So I’m reluctant to be more specific than to say if rising interest rates and slowing global growth will slow our economic growth here, you can expect that to have implications for unemployment as well.
Updated
As Sally McManus points out, the little gains in wage growth over the last 10 years are moot:
A decade of wage growth has now been wiped out. Real wages have not been this low since Dec 2011. Business as usual will not turn this around. We need serious reform to our wages system pic.twitter.com/I8zGvuACxq
— Sally McManus (@sallymcmanus) July 27, 2022
Chalmers: global petrol price decreases should be passed on faster
Q: What about the cost of petrol?
Jim Chalmers:
Australian motorists, for good reason, get absolutely filthy about when the global price goes up, the price rise gets passed on immediately [but] when the global wholesale price comes down ... it seems to take longer. And Australians are filthy about that and they should be.
Service station owners, companies, shouldn’t treat Australian motorists as mugs. People desperately need some relief to these cost-of-living pressures. So and when the wholesale global price comes off, so should the price at the bowser.
Updated
Chalmers: ‘vulnerable people are making decisions between vegetables or rent’
Q: Who is bearing the brunt of the cost of living increases?
Jim Chalmers:
Well, there’s a lot of commentary about people having buffers in their home loans for example, which wrongly assumes, in my view, that interest rate rises and inflation isn’t hurting people.
It already is.
For every dollar that people find to service their mortgages, every extra dollar, it means a dollar that can’t go to funding the skyrocketing costs of other essentials. So I think we need to take a broad view about the impact of inflation on the economy, but also on the most vulnerable Australians.
A lot of people are living paycheque to paycheque for whom this inflation will be devastating, because it’s getting harder and harder for them to substitute things out of their household budgets.
I speak to people. I try to be a relatively engaged local member. I try to engage beyond, you know, the capital cities and all of that, and what you hear again and again and again is that maybe in the first instance, people started winding back on discretionary items – Netflix or something like that.
We saw that in Netflix’s numbers. But it comes to a point when people are trying to work out, you know, what’s left to substitute out?
I think that’s the practical demonstration of what’s happening here, because at some point, you know, the most vulnerable people are making decisions between, you know, vegetables or rent. And that’s when it really bites.
Updated
Chalmers: ‘we will responsibly trim spending that’s not providing an economic dividend’
Q: Is the government looking at deeper spending cuts as recommended by the IMF? (In a global sense; the IMF did not single Australia out.)
Jim Chalmers:
Katy Gallagher and I are looking for ways to trim spending in the budget, as you know. And that begins with the audits of rorts and waste, which we’ve spoken about before, but it doesn’t necessarily end there.
If there are other opportunities to remove duplication in the Budget or to sensibly trim spending, then we’re obviously prepared to do that and we’ve been engaged with ... ministerial colleagues about this for some time and they’ve been constructive about it in welcome ways.
But what we need to balance here is, we have had in this country a wasted decade of missed opportunities and messed-up priorities where we haven’t seen the investment in the economy that we need to see, and that has made us more vulnerable to the sorts of shocks we’re going through now, whether it’s global, inflation or both.
And [so we may] responsibly trim spending that’s not providing an economic dividend and redirect it in ways that does provide an economic dividend in some of the areas we’ve talked about - cleaner and cheaper [and] more reliable energy, childcare, investment in skills, investment in industries which will be big employers.
And so even in the event that we find substantial savings, we recognise that at least some portion of that will need to go towards funding our priorities, which is so important to getting the right kind of growth into the future.
Updated
Chalmers: not possible with budget constraints to fund every cost of living relief measure
Q: Where does the government stand now on tying the minimum wage to inflation, given that inflation has outstripped the minimum wage increase once again?
Jim Chalmers:
We were very pleased with the decision taken by the Fair Work Commission and our encouragement to give low-income Australians a decent pay rise that allowed them to keep up with the skyrocketing cost of living.
We said then, and we have said subsequently, that each time the Fair Work Commission minds to determine the minimum wage, that should take into consideration the whole range of economic conditions.
And so we will make our submission when the time comes, we have only just been through a wage review round. When the time comes, we will factor in the cost of living and all of the other considerations when we make our submission and that [the FWC] will make their decision independently.
On the broader steps to ease the pressure on people during this cost of living crisis, it is not possible with our budget constraints to fund every good idea that people might have about cost of living relief.
We need to tread a pretty careful path here when it comes to budget, we inherited a budget heaving with $1tr in Liberal party debt, and we need to make sure that everything we do ticks more than one box – [brings] cost of living relief and also has [an] economic dividend.
I focus on childcare relief, which is incredibly important, and also relief in the cost of medicines.
There are good ideas and other things we might contemplate, but we are intent on being responsible economic managers and we are operating under some pretty severe constraints.
Updated
So the main message there is – strap in.
That does not bode well for those who were hoping Labor would be more generous in its budget than it had indicated during the election. It sounds as though it is going to be a very tight budget which is handed down in October.
Chalmers: ‘inflation will get worse before it gets better’
Jim Chalmers finishes his pre-question spiel with:
I will finish on the set of points. We have a lot going for us in Australia, we had good prices for commodities on global markets, we have unemployment historically low which is obviously very welcome.
One of the things, or one set of things that we have going for us is, and [that] I detected around Australia and the broader community is that there is an appetite for real talk about our economic position, there is a hunger after a decade of division for Australians to come together around the economic challenges.
There is an understanding that is not possible to clean nine years of mess in nine weeks.
It will take time for us to get on top of these issues as I’ve described them. We will get on top of them.
Inflation will get worse before it gets better. They will get better, some of these other challenges, with the right policies and right mindset and the right approach and with some degree of patience will turn around for us as well.
It will be a difficult time ahead and the inflation numbers show that as to the new forecast for the IMF.
Updated
Chalmers: expect ‘enduring challenges’ in tomorrow’s forecast
Jim Chalmers:
The ministerial statement tomorrow will provide you the forecast for inflation, the wages and economic growth, for unemployment, and some of the related measures.
It will also begin to describe ... the budget in October when it comes to the bottom line.
Many of you have followed closely the monthly release of the financial statements, which show that we have been very fortunate in the last budget year and the beginning of this budget year because of commodity prices and lower-than-expected [figures] on employment.
We have had some things going for us in the budget, but what I will explain tomorrow and describe tomorrow is that the things that have been working for us in the budget are temporary, highly temporary, and some of the challenges are more enduring.
Part of those enduring challenges in the budget will be the impact of some of the revisions that we will have to do to our economic forecasts as well.
Updated
Ministerial statement on inflation expected tomorrow
Jim Chalmers then moves on to what this will mean in a wider sense:
The IMF is reacting to those pressures and other pressures in sensibly downgrading expectations for global growth. If you look at the release as some of you have, they are downgrading the output for global growth this year to 3.2%; it was 3.6%.
They expected the global [contraction] in the second quarter of this year and they expect global growth in 2023 to further slow to something like 2.9%, which is two-thirds of a percentage point down since the April outlook.
That is giving you a sense of the concerns of the IMF and that we share here in Australia, given the potential impact on our own economy.
My ministerial statement tomorrow will show the combined impacts of rising interest rates, and slowing global growth on our own economic growth here in Australia.
It will be primarily focused on the economic forecasts, rather than the budget forecast.
It will focus on the above occasions of this high inflation, which brings rising interest rates and ... the global situation that the IMF has described and what all that means for Australians and the economy as well.
It will be confronting, in the sense that what you can expect to see in the ministerial statement tomorrow is inflation revised up substantially, growth revised down, and all of the implications that that brings.
Updated
That is not so different to the message Josh Frydenberg delivered when he was treasurer and inflation began to rise.
Chalmers: government ‘very focused’ on domestic factors for inflation
Jim Chalmers:
The inflation in the economy is primarily but not exclusively global. There are domestic factors as well. That is why we are focused, as a government, in dealing with some of the supply chain issues which are pushing up inflation here in Australia, whether it be the issues around labour shortages [or] the issues around a lack of resilience in the supply chains.
I think Australians understand when they’re at the supermarket, when prices are going through the roof, that this challenge is partly global and there are domestic components of this challenge as well. I wanted to reassure them that the government is very focused on those domestic factors.
Updated
Treasurer responds to inflation figures
Jim Chalmers is in the blue room (the second-fanciest government press conference locations) where he is responding to the the 6.1% CPI figure the ABS reported today.
(That is just a fancy way of saying the cost of living has increased by 6.1% in the aggregate.)
The inflation outcome today mirrors the lived experience of Australians who are doing it tough right now. If you look at the release from the ABS when it comes to inflation, you know it rose by 1.8% in the June quarter to be 6.1% higher through the year.
This is the highest rate of annual inflation since June 2001, the equal highest inflation in the inflation targeting period.
Updated
It should be pointed out the Indue card was the brainchild of Andrew Forrest, who included it as a recommendation in the “Creating Parity” report he handed to the Coalition government in 2014.
There has never been any evidence the card does anything to address inequality, or help, and in fact, had added to inequality and robbed “participants” of dignity.
The auditor general was particularly critical of it last month following two independent evaluations.
Updated
Labor moves to repeal cashless debit ‘Indue’ card
As previewed by Josh Butler, Amanda Rishworth is now moving to repeal the cashless debit card (also known as the Indue card).
Updated
Jim Chalmers is about to hold his press conference following the inflation data – the highest it’s been in more than three decades.
Updated
Here is how the chamber looked as Chris Bowen introduced his climate legislation.
Those empty benches are the Coalition’s.
Updated
Coalition: Labor following work of Morrison government on aged care
A little bit of kerfuffle in the house in response to Sussan Ley’s response to Anika Wells’s speech on the aged care bills.
Ley says the government is merely following the work of the Coalition on aged care and accuses Labor of politics for not supporting the Morrison government bill.
Updated
Lots to digest in the CPI figures but it’s notable that the inflation rate for non-discretionary goods and services (that presumably we can’t do without) rose 7.6% in the June quarter, or more than the 6.1% “headline” rate.
The discretionary gauge came in at a more modest 4%, the ABS said.
And while the headline pace of inflation was roughly what economists were tipping, the trimmed mean measure that the Reserve Bank is most interested in came in at 4.9%. That was a bit higher than economists at NAB, for instance, were tipping.
The trimmed mean inflation figure came in at 4.9% for the June quarter, or more than economists were tipping. The RBA aims for that to be in the 2-3% range over time. pic.twitter.com/422FuoAfLL
— Peter Hannam (@p_hannam) July 27, 2022
The RBA hones its rates policy with the aim of keeping this underlying inflation rate within a 2-3% band over time. Hence the central bank will be hiking again next Tuesday.
Updated
Labor MP Peter Khalil to chair joint intelligence and security committee
Guardian Australia understands that Labor MP Peter Khalil will be the new chair of the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security. Before entering parliament, Khalil was a national security adviser to Kevin Rudd.
Andrew Wallace, the Liberal MP and the former speaker of the House of Representatives, will be the deputy chair.
Updated
Fuel costs rise for eighth consecutive quarter despite fuel excise cut
It is hard to see how the government will allow the fuel subsidy to expire, given petrol prices are well above $2, even with the pause on the fuel excise.
From the ABS:
Automotive fuel prices rose for the eighth consecutive quarter. Price pressures continued to flow through to consumers following an oil price shock caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine last quarter, coupled with ongoing easing of Covid-19 restrictions strengthening global demand.
While a cut in the fuel excise of 22 cents a litre on 30 March 2022 resulted in fuel price falls in April, price rises were seen in May and June. The average unleaded fuel price in the month of June surpassed the previous record high monthly average seen in March.
Updated
New houses, fuel and furniture powered cost of living increases
Peter is working at lighting speed to bring you more on the CPI figures, but in the meantime, the ABS reports the increase in price of living was driven by:
- The most significant price rises were: new dwelling purchases by owner-occupiers (+5.6%), automotive fuel (+4.2%) and furniture (+7.0%).
Updated
Inflation highest in 31.5 years
The most anticipated consumer price index figures have just landed from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
CPI for the June quarter came in at 6.1%, the fastest annual pace since the end of 1990. Economists on average were expecting 6.3%.
Unlike most countries, Australia only reports inflation every three months while releasing monthly numbers for many other things, such as the jobless rate. That means data like today’s carry extra suspense and either relief or despair when they land.
For comparison’s sake, New Zealand clocked up a 7.3% CPI pace in the June quarter – also a 32-year high. Both the UK and the US posted 9%-plus rates of inflation in June and the Eurozone notched an annual rate of 8.6% for the same month.
More key numbers to come shortly.
Updated
Labor introduces aged care bills
That bill being commended to the house, Anika Wells is up with the first of the aged care bills, which seeks to increase care standards for people in aged care residences.
Updated
Treasurer introduces electric vehicles tax benefit legislation
Jim Chalmers is now introducing the legislation aimed at helping the pick up of electric vehicles (it’s a fringe benefits tax thing, which is why the treasurer is introducing it).
Updated
Chris Bowen finishes with:
The bill ... may be simple in what it lays out, but it’s significant in what it seeks to achieve.
There are many issues about which members of this house will disagree but the principle of holistic action on climate change should not be one of them.
Our country and our parliament have wasted long enough delaying and denying. The time for action is now. We don’t have a second to waste.
The Australian people voted for action on climate change on May 21.
Now is the time for the parliament to vote for action.
Updated
Extinction Rebellion’s ‘zombie koala’ protests outside Parliament House
While Chris Bowen introduces this bill, Extinction Rebellion is protesting outside, armed with a “zombie koala” as the visual representation of what is at risk if climate policy doesn’t go further. (Sound warning on the video for zombie roaring.)
Updated
Chris Bowen’s speech includes a few shots at the Coalition for “making the choice” to continue “scare campaigns” rather than moving with the times.
“It’s disappointing,” he says.
Chris Bowen introduces climate legislation
Chris Bowen is on his feet introducing Labor’s climate legislation.
There is still no agreement in the Senate, but it is the first step.
“It sends a message that Australia is back as a good international citizen,” Bowen says.
Updated
Mike Bowers was in the chamber for the standing orders vote:
Updated
Brendan O’Connor is putting through two of his bills – and then we will get to the climate bills.
Labor’s changes to standing orders on speaking times pass
As expected. You can see the details here.
Updated
Toddler dies from Covid as infections rise
Tragic news out of Queensland. AAP reports:
Queensland’s deputy premier says the death of a toddler from Covid-19 in the state is “awfully sad”.
The 23-month-old died at Queensland Children’s Hospital on Sunday night, but the child’s death was only confirmed late on Tuesday night.
The deputy premier, Steven Miles, says he can’t talk about the case due to privacy protocols but offered his condolences to the family.
My heart just goes out to that family, and of course to our health workers who would have done everything that they could to take care of that little child.
Miles said there were about 1,000 people in hospital with Covid-19 in the state, but the government had no plans for a mask mandate or any other health measures to suppress the outbreak.
Updated
Today’s consumer inflation figures are likely to be the highest in decades when they land in about an hour’s time from the ABS.
Market economists on average are expecting the headline consumer price index figure for the June quarter to come in at 6.3%, which would be the highest since the 6.9% pace clocked in the December 1990 quarter. (Cue tedious references to Madonna’s “Justify my love” topping the charts, etc ... if anyone remembers it.)
Anyway, the headline number will tell only part of the story. For one thing, the ABS splits discretionary and non-discretionary goods.
In the March quarter, the 5.1% “headline” CPI number was overshadowed by the 6.6% pace of price increases for things that people generally had no choice about.
Ahead of the CPI figures out in about an hour, it's worth noting the 'headline' inflation figures tell only part of the story. Punters probably care more about the 'non-discretionary' inflation, which in the March qtr came in at an annual rate of 6.6% (vs 5.1% overall). pic.twitter.com/hhTEWBlRhI
— Peter Hannam (@p_hannam) July 27, 2022
The other key number, for borrowers and savers at least, will be the trimmed mean tally which strips out more volatile movers and is the number the Reserve Bank is usually most keen to look at.
In the March quarter that number came in at 3.7%, or outside the 2-3% range that the RBA prefers over the long term.
As we reported when those figures landed in the middle of the official election campaign in April, the big inflation numbers were high enough to prompt immediate speculation that the central bank would lift its cash rate target the following week ... which, of course, it did.
As things stand before today’s CPI numbers land, investors are certain the RBA will lift its cash rate for a fourth straight month when its board meets next Tuesday. In fact, there’s about a 4/5 chance it will hike by 65 basis points to make the rate a nice round 2%.
Ahead of the CPI figures out in about an hour, it's worth noting the 'headline' inflation figures tell only part of the story. Punters probably care more about the 'non-discretionary' inflation, which in the March qtr came in at an annual rate of 6.6% (vs 5.1% overall). pic.twitter.com/hhTEWBlRhI
— Peter Hannam (@p_hannam) July 27, 2022
Given inflation (and jobs growth) have tended to surprise on the upside, will we see another larger than expected jump today? Stay tuned ...
Updated
Standing orders changes going to a vote
The motion and amendments to change standing orders are going to a vote.
We’ll bring you that result very soon.
Updated
One Nation: Hanson to oppose motion for Aboriginal flag to be displayed in Senate
Further to Pauline Hanson’s interjection in the parliament in the very opening seconds of the Senate’s first sitting morning during the Indigenous acknowledgement of country, her office claimed the acknowledgement “perpetuates racial division”:
From this point forward, Senator Hanson will refuse to acknowledge country in the Senate.
Senator Hanson will also oppose a motion in the Senate today for the Aboriginal flag to be displayed in the Senate. Senator Hanson considers that only one flag, the Australian national flag, truly represents all Australians.
To back up her argument, Hanson claimed the acknowledgement is not “any sort of indigenous Australian tradition, given that at most it has only been in use for the past 25 years (and in Parliament only 12 years).”
Updated
Pauline Hanson only just managed to retain her senate seat, after a very strong vote for the Legalise Cannabis Australia party.
Preferences got her across the line. But it was close.
Pauline Hanson walks out during acknowledgement of country
Pauline Hanson has kicked off her contributions to the 47th parliament in typical fashion, storming out of the acknowledgement of country during the opening formalities of the Senate’s first proper sitting day.
As is tradition, the Senate president read out the Lord’s prayer to begin the day’s proceedings at 9.30am, followed by the Indigenous acknowledgement.
Just as newly-installed president Sue Lines said she acknowledged “the Ngunnawal and Ngambri peoples who are the traditional custodians of the Canberra area”, Hanson’s voice appeared to ring out in interjection.
The Senate’s cameras did not switch to the back of chamber, but it was reported by AAP that Hanson had called out ““No, I won’t ... I never will.”
We’ve contacted Hanson’s office for comment.
The Greens senator Lidia Thorpe, a Djab Wurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman, tweeted that Hanson was “ignorant”, claiming she “disrespectfully stormed out of the acknowledgement of Country in the Senate”.
Updated
ACT reports no new Covid deaths with 141 people in hospital
The ACT has recorded 1,104 new Covid infections.
ACT COVID-19 update – 27 July 2022
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) July 27, 2022
🦠 COVID-19 case numbers
◾ New cases today: 1,104 (608 PCR and 496 RAT)
◾ Active cases: 5,604 (3,025 PCR and 2,579 RAT)
◾ Total cases since March 2020: 187,664 (111,532 PCR and 76,132 RAT)
COVID-19 vaccination data is reported on Fridays. pic.twitter.com/JTHuWnvyUM
Wilkie joins Steggall on urgent bill amendments
Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie says he only received the amendments from Labor at 8.30 this morning.
“It is not good enough,” he says.
He is largely in support of the amendments, but wants some changes, like Zali Steggall has suggested, to urgent bills.
Updated
Bandt backs independents in standing orders debate
Adam Bandt is supporting Zali Steggall’s proposed amendments to the standing orders (she wants more leeway for urgent bills)
Greens leader @AdamBandt seconds the motion on the basis the changes are better than the status quo. But he says there has to be some understanding about independents needing to put independent positions during debate. He says he'll support @zalisteggall's amendment #auspol
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) July 27, 2022
Labor is proposing to give the crossbench more questions during question time and Bandt is also pointing out that the opposition’s objections to the change of standing orders is because the crossbench will be getting a bigger voice.
He says it makes sense to give the crossbench more questions – there is more of them now, and it better reflects the parliament.
Updated
Paul Fletcher: changes will make the house a ‘toothless legislative body’
Meanwhile, the Liberal’s Paul Fletcher shows no signs of leaving the Sydney Uni debate tactics out of the chamber.
He has responded to the proposed changes to the standing orders (no quorums after 6.30pm, potentially cutting the time for speaking/debates in the evening) with:
Indeed, [with] this standing order, Mr Speaker, we will be right up there with the Russian Duma as a toothless legislative body.
Relatable as always.
Updated
Debate on change to standing orders continues
The independent MP for Warringah, Zali Steggall, is pointing out that in the previous parliament, “disruption in the house” has been the fault of both major parties, pointing out that Labor quite liked moving motions to suspend standing orders.
.@zalisteggall is moving an amendment to the changes of the standing orders. She has concerns about the truncation of consideration in detail when bills are declared urgent #auspol @AmyRemeikis
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) July 27, 2022
There is going to be a bit of discussion on whether or not there needs to be amendments to the standing orders, so if you want to get a cuppa, now is the time.
Updated
Victoria records 32 new Covid deaths with 872 people in hospital
In Victoria, 32 people lost their lives to Covid yesterday and 12,653 more people tested positive to the virus.
We thank everyone who got vaccinated and tested yesterday.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) July 26, 2022
Today’s total number of COVID-19 deaths includes some historic cases.
Our thoughts are with those in hospital, and the families of people who have lost their lives.
More data soon: https://t.co/eUcG51gd78 pic.twitter.com/uENCTRuhhL
NSW records 20 more Covid deaths with 2,275 people in hospital
A further 20 people in NSW have lost their lives to Covid in the last 24 hours and 16,171 more people have tested positive to the virus as hospitalisations continue to surge.
COVID-19 update – Wednesday 27 July 2022
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 26, 2022
In the 24-hour reporting period to 4pm yesterday:
- 96.8% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine*
- 95.3% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine* pic.twitter.com/sQ5drNiwij
Parliament has begun
Once we get through this bit in the house (see Murph’s post on how the government is setting things up) there will be the introduction of the climate bill.
This is the first bit of major legislation the government is introducing. There is still a long way to go – it has to get past the Senate, so this is the first step towards Labor meeting the commitment it laid out during the election campaign (and before).
For a first week of a new parliament, this one is motoring along. Lots being done very quickly.
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Katharine Murphy has an update on how parliament is set to work from today:
On the first working day of the new parliament, Labor confirms two cross benchers have been appointed to the Speaker's panel. New rules: no quorums after 630pm. Parliament to start at 9 not 930 on Wednesday and Thursdays #auspol
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) July 26, 2022
Tony Burke says parliament should vote to declare bills urgent to push business through more quickly without cutting off speeches altogether. So an effective gag with shorter speaking times. Votes would happen the following morning.
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) July 26, 2022
For #qt Questions last for 30 seconds. Katter could be an exception as father of the House (and because he's uncontrollable). Cross bench gets three questions per session. Burke says suspensions of the standing orders will happen sometimes. In the 46th, these generally gagged.
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) July 26, 2022
Burke says there will be an opportunity to move that the suspension speech happen post #qt. "I want us to have more debates," Burke says. We need to have the arguments "that we are paid to come here and have".
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) July 26, 2022
Burke says the government is not afraid of debate. Manager of opposition business Paul Fletcher says the Coalition has significant concerns about the changes, despite Burke adopting his "reasonable voice".#auspol @AmyRemeikis
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) July 26, 2022
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Attorney general to argue for partial redaction of judgement in Collaery case
Lawyers for the attorney general Mark Dreyfus have indicated they will argue for partial redactions of a key judgment in the Bernard Collaery case.
Dreyfus earlier this month announced he had directed prosecutors to end the pursuit of Collaery for his role in exposing Australia’s 2004 bugging of Timor-Leste’s government during negotiations over oil and gas reserves that were crucial to the young and impoverished nation’s future. But one thread of the case remains outstanding.
Last year, the ACT court of appeal delivered a key judgment lifting extraordinary levels of secrecy over parts of Collaery’s then impending trial.
But the court was unable to publish the reasons for its decision, because the then Morrison government believed that doing so would put Australia’s national security at risk.
The Morrison government applied to the high court to have the judgment suppressed. It still has not been published.
On Wednesday morning, lawyers for Dreyfus indicated they would seek a new hearing in the ACT courts to redact parts of the judgment.The court heard there were practical difficulties in proceeding with the last part of the case.
Confidential evidence has been locked away in a secret room and the only person still with the court who knew the pass code was an associate for a judge who has since moved on. That associate was unsure of the legality of disclosing the password to anyone else, the court heard.
Tony Giugni, a lawyer acting for the Commonwealth, said the government would file evidence and submissions to the court in support of the need to partially redact the judgment.
The matter will be heard by a single judge of the ACT court of appeal later this year.
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Labor abolishes parliamentary Northern Australia committee
A group of Coalition MPs and senators have complained that the Albanese government abolished parliament’s Northern Australia committee on the first day of the 47th parliament.
There’s still a minister for Northern Australia (Madeline King), but no committee.
Liberal MP Warren Entsch, the former chair, said he was “gobsmacked” by the decision, suggesting that even Labor’s Pat Dodson was “disappointed” by the decision.
The Country Liberal senator, Jacinta Price, said the decision was evidence of an “elitist agenda driven by the cities”.
The Nationals senator Matt Canavan warned that he fears the abolition of the committee is just the first step before Labor rips money away from Northern Australia, including investment in the Beetaloo basin, beef roads and the Pilbara package.
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Coalition senators on the voluntary assisted dying bill
The Country Liberal senator for the Northern Territory, Jacinta Price, has sounded a warning about the Territory rights (voluntary assisted dying) bill which would allow the NT and ACT to legislate voluntary assisted dying.
Price told reporters in Canberra:
These are conversations I still have to have, and a decision I have to form [on how to vote]. But yes, I am concerned about ... assisted dying, particularly in the Northern Territory with vulnerable Indigenous Territorians, who haven’t been able to express their views ... There’s a huge responsibility that comes with [voluntary assisted dying].
It appears as though the Labor government is more concerned with destroying and ending lives than saving lives. That is a huge concern.
The Nationals senator Susan McDonald said she hadn’t seen the legislation yet, but she shares Price’s concerns.
Anything that undermines vulnerable Australians is something that I can’t support
Senator Matt Canavan said he is not in favour of euthanasia, had voted against it when put to a vote a few years ago and will do so again.
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Meanwhile, newly sworn-in independent MPs are wasting no time settling in to the swing of things.
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Mike Bowers has been out and about – he came across Nationals MP Darren Chester fresh from the parliament gym in the press gallery.
Quite a few Coalition MPs have found a new appreciation of the gym. They’ve got a bit more time on their hands theses days
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Outsourcing of jobseeker skills training criticised
The Australian Council of Social Service (Acoss) has criticised plans to pay millions of taxpayer dollars to outsourced providers delivering so-called employability skills training for jobseekers.
Guardian Australia revealed this morning that the employment services industry successfully lobbied to stop a rule that would have seen job agencies under the new Workforce Australia model referring their clients to training courses run by their own organisations.
The long-standing practice has been repeatedly criticised as a way for providers to bolster their bottom line, despite the potential conflict of interest. It was proposed to be banned under Workforce Australia, but the rule was ditched following industry lobbying.
Acoss’s acting chief executive, Edwina MacDonald, questioned the quality of the employability skills training program.
Plans to spend $125m on Employability Skills Training that includes two-week courses on how to dress for work and show up on time is a wasted opportunity and a slight on people who have years of work experience behind them.
Actual paid jobs and decent vocational training to update skills are far better ways to support people looking for paid work.
We need programs that help people who are looking for paid work and facing disadvantages in the labour market get into secure and sustainable jobs.
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Dark clouds gather on economic front
Peter Hannam has a preview on what economic conditions are heading our way:
Incoming treasurers invariably discover “black holes” in inherited budgets and then accentuate the economic negatives to lower the bar for future comparisons.
In Jim Chalmers’ case, expect an array of perceived budgetary bungles over the past decade of Coalition rule to be revealed ahead of his October debut budget.
However, on the economic front the dark clouds are rapidly gathering on their own.
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Peter Hannam will have you covered on inflation when that drops at 11.30.
Jim Chalmers has already scheduled a press conference for midday.
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Emissions targets are a floor not a ceiling, Bowen says
On Sky News, Chris Bowen said the climate bill negotiations weren’t about concessions for the Greens:
I wouldn’t put it in terms of concessions, what I would put in terms of with the Greens and the crossbench more broadly, they had suggestions to make things more explicit that we’re already there, to clarify some of the language to do that sort of thing, more than happy to take that stuff on board.
And that’s what we’ve done. It’s a floor, not a ceiling. The targets have to go up in the future in terms of 2035 and 2040. That’s clear in the bill, all those things are worthy of discussion. But as I said, we stick to our agenda and our mandate, and that’s what we’ll get on to implement. This legislation is best practice. It’s ideal, it’s very good. If it doesn’t pass, we’ll just get on with the job anyway. That’s what we’ve been doing anyway, since day one and we’ll continue but this legislation does help if it’s passed, send the message to investors in Australia and around the world.
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Inflation could hit highest rate since 1990
AAP has a preview of today’s inflation figures, which are going to be horrible:
Australia could be about to record its worst inflation outcome in more than 31 years, paving the way for higher mortgage and lending rates.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release the consumer price index data for the June quarter – when the price of a supermarket iceberg lettuce hit $10 – on Wednesday.
The financial market consensus is for a headline annual inflation rate of 6.2% – the highest since the December quarter of 1990.
That would be more than the 5.1% rate logged in the March quarter, which was the fastest pace of annual price growth in 21 years.
“Since then, inflation has likely broadened and deepened,” St George chief economist Besa Deda said.
The quarterly outcome is forecast at 1.8%, which would be slightly lower than the 2.1% recorded in the previous quarter.
But the range of economists’ forecasts for the quarterly number is wide – between 1.6% and 2.8% – signalling uncertainty about how deeply entrenched price pressures have become since March.
While the main drivers of inflation in the June quarter will again be fuel and food costs, housing and building costs are also likely to be strong – perhaps as high as 20% year-on-year, according to JP Morgan economists.
Other factors are adding to the pressure, particularly in the housing sector, where rents are rising and demand for new homes and related construction services and products remains strong.
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It is the first question time today. In case you missed it, here is Murph’s analysis on the plan so far:
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Ministers remind gas companies of their social licence
Chris Bowen was also asked about discussions with Australian gas suppliers, in the wake of Russia putting further squeezes on Europe’s gas supply:
Well, that’s a constant theme of the discussions that Madeleine King, the minister for resources, and I have with the gas companies, of course, you know, they are market participants and they run their companies in a way in accordance with their obligations to their shareholders.
Having said that, we are regularly in a respectful and constructive way reminding them of their social licence. This is Australian gas and we expect the Australian market to be properly supplied. That’s been something we’ve had to do since day one …
It’s been important and urgent from the day we were sworn in. I mean, I literally left the swearing in to come and deal with this crisis. Literally. You know, I was getting text messages during the swearing in. That’s the level of the mess that the previous government left us.
Madeleine and I have been working very closely and working wherever necessary to talk to gas companies to remind them of the social licence – it might not be in all senses a legal obligation but it is a social license obligation.
And, of course in relation to legal obligations we have previously and as we’re looking at reform of the various mechanisms and triggers that are available to ensure that they fit for purpose, and I’m sure Madeleine will have more to say about that.
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Building commission head says he wasn’t surprised by decision to scrap agency
The head of the soon-to-be-defunct Australian Building and Construction Commission, Stephen McBurney, also spoke to ABC radio RN this morning, saying he was not surprised the government was scrapping the agency.
That’s because Labor had always said it would. But it was confirmed when Tony Burke announced it on Insiders on Sunday.
McBurney:
We were not consulted on the decision announced on Sunday but we’ve been aware for some time of the government’s intention to abolish our agency, and were undertaking the work necessary to transition to abolition …
I was surprised at the extent to which the code has been amended. But having said that, our responsibility is clear. We operate under our legislation and it’s a decision for governments as to what the future code is and what powers, functions and duties they wish for us to perform.
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Minister backs energy regulator
On the Australian Energy Regulator investigation into energy companies which may have “gamed” the system, Chris Bowen says he has full faith in the regulator and those who lead it:
Well, there are substantial penalties under the various acts for not behaving properly in the market for energy companies.
I’m not going to go into the details of that because the Australian Energy Regulator, it’s an independent regulator is doing their job. I will say Claire Savage as a regulator is a first-class regulator.
She has my absolute respect and confidence. She has been very active in recent weeks and months as we move through this energy crisis, working very closely with Daniel Westerman, the chief executive of the operator to ensure that the energy market puts consumers first.
So she has a job to do as the energy regulator, I’m not going to sort of run on daily commentary on on that job, other than her say she has my 100% support. With all the powers of law she has to ensure that every participant in the energy market is behaving properly in accordance with the law, and that consumers rights are protected and defended. That’s her job and she’s doing very, very well.
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Climate discussions with moderate Liberals are confidential, Bowen says
Asked about his discussions with moderate Liberals, including Bridget Archer, about whether or not they will support Labor’s climate legislation, despite the Coalition ruling itself out of negotiations, Chris Bowen says those conversations are confidential:
Any discussions I’ve had with members of the Liberal party at this stage remain confidential. That’s important in this building. These people approached you confidentially. You respect that.
But Bowen does speak on the Liberal party’s position at large:
There are you know, some people in the Liberal party who get it and who get that the modern Liberal party is so out of touch.
This is the modern Liberal party unfortunately for Australia, this once-great party. It’s changed from Morrison to Dutton. But really, nothing has changed. They don’t get action on climate. They don’t think Australia needs action on climate. They don’t see the jobs opportunity from action on climate. They don’t see the investment opportunity. They haven’t gotten the memo. They haven’t changed. It’s the same old Liberal party.
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Greens’ demands for no fossil fuel projects won’t be heeded, Bowen says
The minister for climate change, Chris Bowen, is speaking to ABC radio RN about the climate legislation he will be introducing today.
He tells Patricia Karvelas the government is doing what it said it would be doing – which means the demands for no new coal or gas projects won’t be heeded. Bowen says the public position reflects the private position – which means the Greens are arguing for no new projects in discussions with Bowen, and Bowen isn’t shifting:
Publicly and privately we have said the things that we regard we have a mandate for – and the things that we don’t think we have a mandate for are things that the Greens are asking for that weren’t our policy.
We will not move on it.
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Is there a reckoning coming for the employment services industry?
It is a slow boil (as is everything to do with how we treat people who receive social security for unemployment) but there seems to be a reckoning coming for the job services agencies that make their money from the mutual obligations the government sets for people receiving jobseeker.
When John Howard privatised what was left of the old Commonwealth Employment Service, it set up a system where agencies earned millions from the unemployed. A lot of people are now looking at whether that has been best for those looking for jobs, and the burden placed on those who are unable to work, who are ill, or are unable to take a job which is offered (not all are suitable to people’s circumstances).
Luke Henriques-Gomes is one of those who has been examining the employment services industry:
The employment services industry successfully lobbied to stop a proposed rule banning providers from referring jobseekers to their own training courses under the new $1.5bn-a-year Workforce Australia model.
In a potential windfall for providers, Guardian Australia can reveal the Department of Employment last year intended to ban the practice before reversing course after “strong feedback” from the industry.
That included claims from providers that the ban would be “counterproductive” to the “viability” of the Employability Skills Training program, through which $500m will flow to private providers over the next five years.
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Also on the agenda today – the overdue decision to scrap the cashless welfare card. As Josh Butler reports:
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Good morning
It’s the first official sitting day of the new parliament – we’ll get our first question time, which will be the first test of the new “respectful” parliament.
But there is no time to settle in – the economy and climate will once again dominate today, with inflation data expected to confirm what we are all feeling – the price of life is going up.
The revised IMF predictions for global growth show that it is not going to improve anytime soon. The RBA could respond by raising interest rates higher, sooner, in a bid to put a lid on Australia’s rising inflation, which is only going to add to the pain.
Tomorrow Jim Chalmers will give his economic update on the state of the budget. It is laying the groundwork for what is going to be a pretty tough budget. But so far the government is not budging on delivering the Morrison government’s stage-three tax cuts – something the budget couldn’t really afford when it was passed (with Labor’s support, despite its reservations over the stage-three plans) and can ill afford now. Those tax cuts will also add to the unfairness of Australia’s tax system, so stay tuned on those.
The climate conversations continue, with Labor and the Greens inching towards an agreement to have the legislation passed through the Senate. The Coalition has weirdly decided to just deal itself out of the first major piece of legislation – it won’t even come to the table. Given what the last election was fought on and how much the Liberal party in particular suffered, that seems a strange strategy, but here we are.
Mike Bowers is back with you, as is Katharine Murphy, Tory Shepherd, Josh Butler and Paul Karp.
You have Amy Remeikis on the blog for most of the day.
Ready? I am about to have my third coffee, meaning I’m heading to five. So it’s going to be a little rough.
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