What we learned today, Thursday 22 June
That’s where we’ll leave the blog for today – thanks so much for joining us. Here is a wrap of the day’s biggest stories:
Greens senator David Shoebridge has said PwC won a contract with the Australian federal police without a tender process and public discussion, and was ironed out between “two mates, some other partners from PwC and the chief operating officer from the AFP”.
The Senate has set up an inquiry into the rental crisis, a process designed by the Greens to pressure the Albanese government into agreeing to freeze or cap rising rents.
Deputy leader of the Liberal party, Sussan Ley, accused the prime minister of having a “bullying attitude” towards Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather.
Australia’s eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has issued a legal notice to Twitter, the social media giant headed by Elon Musk demanding an explanation about what it is doing to tackle online hate.
The NSW government has been accused of bowing to pressure from gambling lobbyists after confirming its promised expanded cashless gaming trial was delayed.
Newcrest’s Cadia Hill goldmine in central west NSW – one of the largest goldmines in the world – is releasing “an unacceptable level of dust” and failing to meet clean air standards.
More than 1,000 private schools will be overfunded by $3.2bn as inequity in the education system deepens, documents released through freedom of information reveal.
Prominent Indigenous voice campaigner and senior Australian of the Year, Professor Tom Calma, has lashed out at politicians for deliberately “peddling misinformation” about the referendum, saying they “should know better, if they’ve got a conscience” than to “mislead” voters.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has confirmed a decision on who will take on the role of Reserve Bank for the next term will be made next month.
Updated
Speakman queries police explanation for silence over Tasering of Claire Nowland
NSW opposition leader, Mark Speakman, today again questioned the police commissioner’s explanation for why the public was not told for two days about the Tasering of 95-year-old Claire Nowland.
NSW police commissioner, Karen Webb, said the priority was to ensure Nowland’s family was informed directly and the integrity of the investigation was maintained.
But Opposition leader Mark Speakman cast doubt on that theory today:
You can put plenty of labels on it but there is a lack of accountability and a lack of transparency.
There was an initial failure to disclose that Mrs Nowland had tragically been Tasered.
That delay took up to 54 hours and although a reason has been offered that they needed to talk to the family, it hasn’t been explained why it took up to 54 hours.
Following AAP revealing yesterday that several key details were slashed from the first public statement about the incident, Speakman said police could have mentioned the Taser and other details while de-identifying Nowland.
Police minister Yasmin Catley deflected a barrage of questions in parliament today about when she saw the first police statement and when Nowland’s next of kin were informed.
The minister reiterated the police decision to not release “graphic details” until the family was fully informed and stressed the steps police took to ensure the incident was properly investigated.
Updated
Greens oppose bill that would require ACT to hold inquiry into Calvary hospital takeover, senator says
The Greens senator Jordon Steele-John has said the party supports the ACT government’s planned takeover of Calvary hospital and does not support Matt Canavan’s bill that, if passed, would require the territory to have an inquiry into the proposed takeover.
It comes after the Greens and Coalition voted in the Senate to refer Matt Canavan’s bill about the Calvary hospital takeover to an inquiry.
Jordan Steele-John said:
We support the ACT Greens approach to Calvary hospital and we oppose the Canavan bill.
The Greens support private senator’s bills being referred to committees, as is the normal practice, even where we don’t support the bill itself.
Updated
ABC’s international budget should grow as China spends billions on information war, inquiry told
China is spending billions to win the information war in the region, a committee inquiry has heard, and greater funding for the ABC would allow it to be a stronger presence in the Asia-Pacific.
Claire Gorman, the ABC’s head of international services, told the inquiry into supporting democracy in the region that China is spending at least $3bn a year on international media, compared with $11m for the ABC.
Extra funding due to roll out from July means the national broadcaster “stands ready” to do more to advance democracy, civil society and peace, she said.
Read the full story here:
Updated
UN report criticises religious exemption laws for increasing anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination
A report by the UN has called out Australia’s religious exemption laws for increasing discrimination against LGBTQ+ people by faith-based service providers and religious schools.
The report, by independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, said it had learned of several cases in Australia where religious schools in Australia have fired teachers because of their sexual orientation.
Madrigal-Borloz wrote:
Some States justify their acquiescence of such dismissals on the grounds that religious institutions should have autonomy in their internal administration, admissions policies, and curricula.
This claim, however, can hinder the successful implementation of plans and programs intended to promote diversity-oriented education, comprehensive sexuality education, and gender equality.
Equality Australia legal director, Ghassan Kassisieh, said the report showed protections were urgently needed for LGBTQI+ people:
These discriminatory practices are not theoretical or academic. One in three students and almost two in five school employees are employed in non-government schools, most of which are religiously affiliated.
Two out of the four adoption providers in NSW explicitly state on their website that you are unable to adopt a child if you are a same-sex couple, thanks to gaps in our legal protections.
Updated
New higher education loan program to aid startups
A new higher education loan program that will help students bring startup ideas to life will soon launch after the education legislation amendment bill passed today.
Called START-UP HELP, 1,000 eligible students will have access to the program in a first-year pilot starting early next year. This will later be expanded to 2,000 students.
The education minister, Jason Clare, said:
The Startup Year means more Australians will have the opportunity to turn their ideas into businesses.
The government will work closely with the higher education community and industry to implement the program from early 2024.
Updated
Labor under pressure to freeze rents as Greens and Coalition back inquiry into housing crisis
The Senate has set up an inquiry into the rental crisis, a process designed by the Greens to pressure the Albanese government to agree to freeze or cap rising rents.
On Monday the Greens voted with the Coalition to delay consideration of Labor’s $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund (Haff) until 16 October, despite pressure from housing groups to pass the bill after the government pledged $2bn of direct funding for social and affordable housing.
The Greens and Coalition teamed up again on Thursday to establish the inquiry, which will provide an interim report by 23 September to provide input into the national cabinet process considering renters’ rights set up by the Albanese government.
Read more:
Updated
ACCC flags concern over effect of Qantas and Emirates partnership on competition
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has raised concern that Qantas’ partnership with Emirates is affecting competition on a key route between Australia and New Zealand, but has found that extending the coordination will benefit the public.
On Thursday afternoon, the ACCC announced it had issued a draft determination proposing to authorise Qantas (including Jetstar) and Emirates to continue their coordination operation for a further five years.
The codeshare alliance was first authorised in 2013, and has allowed the airlines to coordinate passenger and cargo transport operations across their respective networks.
The ACCC commissioner, Anna Brakey, said public benefits would include “increased connectivity and convenience and greater loyalty program benefits for consumers”. “The coordination will give customers greater choice of flight times and flexibility when travelling on routes where the operations of Qantas and Emirates overlap.”
However, the ACCC flagged the continued alliance could harm competition on flights between Sydney and Christchurch, because Air New Zealand is the only other airline operating on that route.
“We have included a condition in the draft approval, requiring Qantas and Emirates to provide the ACCC with information so we can monitor the competitive dynamics on this route during the term of authorisation,” Brakey said.
Updated
Ballet dancers to take first industrial action in more than four decades
Dancers of the Australian Ballet will take industrial action for the first time in more than four decades, after negotiations with management over a new workplace agreement reached an impasse on Monday.
Dancers will “hold the curtain” at this Friday’s performance in Melbourne, meaning the show Identity, a program of two original works, will be delayed by 15 minutes.
In response, ballet management has decided to cancel a one-off bonus performance of a new short work that was scheduled to take place after Friday night’s show, in a move the dancers’ union, the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance, has called “punitive”, but management said was unavoidable, given the scheduled performance would now run overtime.
Read more:
Jordyn Beazley will take you through the next little bit as I walk into the night (the sun looks like it is almost down on this, the shortest day of the year) and put Politics Live away until 31 July.
There will be a general news blog filling the gap as usual, and please check back to see what we are up to Canberra with Paul Karp, Josh Butler and Daniel Hurst leading the way.
Parliament might be (almost) adjourned for a while, but the politics doesn’t stop – I do hope that somewhere in between all of this, you find time to have a small switch-off. And find some fun. As perhaps the ashiest person in this building at the moment, I hope to find some myself at some point!
I’ll be back to general political news, but still around to answer your questions, so keep them coming.
And as always, please – take care of you.
Updated
Labor livid as Greens and Coalition unite to refer bill on ACT hospital inquiry to its own inquiry
Labor are livid that earlier today the Greens and Coalition voted in the Senate to refer Matt Canavan’s bill about the Calvary hospital takeover to an inquiry.
The bill, if passed, would require the Australian Capital Territory to have an inquiry into the proposed takeover, reporting by 30 June 2024.
This is an odd alliance, because the Greens are in Andrew Barr’s ACT government, so the federal Greens are supporting an inquiry into a bill that would establish an inquiry into something the ACT Greens are jointly responsible for.
Adam Bandt told reporters in Canberra this was a “run-of-the-mill matter of Senate procedure; there is a longstanding practice in this place where private members’ bills are able to be referred to an inquiry”.
Bandt denied that the Greens got something in return for it. Bandt said the Greens position was “crystal clear”. Asked if the minor party was buying into a culture war, he said: “Absolutely not.”
Labor is concerned that the inquiry is being driven by people who view the hospital takeover as an attack on religion, meaning it will give a platform to those who want abortion and trans rights restricted.
Updated
Here is some of how Mike Bowers saw QT:
Updated
The Senate still hasn’t moved through the government’s agenda, which means there is the risk of a late night sitting or even a continuation of the sitting tomorrow, which is not impressing senators who have sat longer hours than the house in general this session and are very, very over each other.
Updated
MP’s smartwatch flags question time with ‘loud environment’ warning
Just back to question time for a moment – one of the MPs has told me their smartwatch gave them a “loud environment” warning in the midst of some of those interjections, which they say is the first time it’s happened.
So seems like everyone needs a break from each other.
Updated
NSW investigating alleged hack on cashless gaming trial
The New South Wales government is investigating an alleged hack on the state’s cashless gaming trial in Newcastle.
The Daily Telegraph reported up to 40 customers participating in the trial at Wests Newcastle had been caught up in the breach.
A spokesperson for the NSW minister for gaming and racing, David Harris, said Cyber Security NSW is working with its federal counterparts and the NSW police to investigate.
The NSW Government has been informed that Liquor & Gaming NSW (L&GNSW) is working with the trial operators.
The NSW Government has been informed that operators are assessing any impacts to patrons.
The NSW Government strongly believes any cashless gaming trial must have secure privacy and data protections in place.
The NSW Government is committed to the establishment of an independent panel of experts to oversee its broader cashless gaming trial.
Updated
Chandler-Mather says PM misrepresented article as saying ‘direct opposite’ of its actual argument
We finally circle back to Max Chandler-Mather on his original personal explanation where he says he was misrepresented:
The prime minister selectively quoted to the extent and then imputed meaning to those quotes that imply the direct opposite of what the article was arguing.
He asks to read one quote but Milton Dick says he has given his explanation and doesn’t allow the quote.
And that’s it. The last question time until 31 July.
Is everyone proud?
Updated
Sussan Ley ordered to withdraw bullying comment
Milton Dick asks Sussan Ley to withdraw and Ley says:
I stand by my comment by allegation and Mr Speaker, I will not withdraw it.
Dick then basically orders Ley to withdraw it (“to assist the house” is essentially an order. And if a MP doesn’t do it, it kicks off a whole bunch of other procedure.)
Ley withdraws to assist the house.
This all happened 30 seconds after Dick asked the chamber to reflect on their behaviour and the standards they are setting.
Updated
Sussan Ley accuses PM of ‘bullying attitude’ towards Max Chandler-Mather
And then Sussan Ley adds in her two cents:
I certainly felt very uncomfortable with the bullying attitude of the prime minister to a first term MP and not just the dispatch box yesterday but on the way out of the [chamber] (then her microphone is turned off)
Milton Dick does what he can to calm the chamber.
Tony Burke is not well pleased and stands up to demand that Ley withdraw the bullying allegation:
Bullying is a serious allegation and should be withdrawn. And words like that, when they’re used simply when someone took the point of order, it actually creates a problem for when instances occur.
And then Tanya Plibersek gets up:
In response to the deputy leader of the opposition’s point of order, Mr. Speaker, I feel profoundly offended and worried when the deputy leader of the opposition constantly interjects when ministers on this side are responding to her interjections constantly. They are personal and they are nasty.
Which makes half the chamber laugh, because Plibersek has literally included sledges to Ley in some of her dixer answers about “houses on the Gold Coast” and has been in politics for long enough for most things not to bother her.
Updated
Max Chandler-Mather claims PM misrepresented and ‘selectively quoted’ him
Annnnnddddd theeeennnnnnnn ….
Max Chandler-Mather of the Greens makes a personal explanation and goes to say he has been misrepresented by the prime minister:
Today in question time, the prime minister so badly selectively quoted an article and then imputed meaning to those words that were the complete opposite of those words …
I don’t mean to explain it in full but I would just like to quote the words some of the words …
Anthony Albanese then has a point of order on that personal statement:
A personal explanation has to show when a member has been misrepresented. The member has just stood up and said that I quoted him, which I did.
I tabled his own whole article in the Hansard yesterday, which he wasn’t capable of doing, because I want people to read exactly what it is that they are saying, which is that the motivation for the holding up of the housing Australia future plan is all about politics.
Adam Bandt then gets up:
…. The member should be entitled to be able to make [his statement in full] – especially on a question of misrepresentation, where the appropriate form is not to intervene while the question or the statement has been made during question time, but to wait until afterwards – [and the PM] should be entitled to make that point of order after that.
Anyone considers that that is a misrepresentation, and the prime minister has other forms that he can take, including making his own as he did yesterday. But it should be a minimum, especially after what you just said, Mr. Speaker, about appropriateness … [that the member] be able to make his statement in full.
Updated
Milton Dick reminds house of ‘shared responsibility’ to develop ‘safe and respectful culture’
Milton Dick then gives a statement to the house about standards, and uses speaker-talk to tell the MPs to get their shiz together.
As the final setting before the house adjourns for the winter, I thought it was timely to remind members of our shared responsibility in relation to developing a safe and respectful culture that has a general demeanour, and the courtesy we show one another in the chamber matters, in the language we use, to the tone and volume [of] contributions, the standing orders, [to] guide and support respectful dealings in the chamber.
As a house we have changed our standing orders to facilitate more family-friendly hours.
And further, as all members have seen, I’ve been firm and consistent in asking members to withdraw unparliamentary terms when raised by other members.
We have clear guidance to about general responsibilities from the safe and respectful workplaces training program, as well as those draft behaviour standards and codes for parliamentarians.
We need to act individually and collectively to enliven those values in our culture.
Before the house returns on the last day of July, I want to encourage each of us to genuinely reflect on our own behaviour. Consider what contribution we’re making could make towards a safe and respectful workplace environment.
Updated
Anthony Albanese takes a dixer which is a rah-rah for the government, “here is what we have done! Isn’t this an amazing start! More to do!” and then ends question time.
Thank Dolly.
Updated
‘Clearly false’ posts made by no campaign on social media, Burney says
Linda Burney is then asked:
Can the minister confirm that the voice would have the power to advise the government on taxation policy?
(It doesn’t really matter by who, because all of these questions come from the tactics team, but I think it was the member for Hughes.)
Burney:
I’m not sure how many times I can say this. The provision makes it very clear that the voice will advise on matters that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and matters that affect Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders differently.
Differently.
Those things like life expectancy, those things like baby birth weights, things like self-harm, these other things that we’re referring to. I cannot be any clearer than that.
Can I do so in terms of context, just say that the referendum is about two things: it is about recognition and listening. It is about making a practical difference.
We have seen [posts by the] no campaign … on social media that are clearly false, including an image of Bob Hawke saying that he did not support recognition. And his widow said this: ‘There are many joys but also many tears in politics.’
This is [Blanche d’Alpuget] speaking: ‘Bob once said to me, “Yunupingu is a soul in torment. He grieves for his people.” Bob grieved too.
‘His greatest disappointment as prime minister was that he could not deliver his promise to Yunupingu with the indigenous people of Australia – for recognition.’
Updated
PM slams Greens propositions on housing bill as ‘ill-thought out and opportunistic’
Adam Bandt asks Anthony Albanese:
This morning on Radio National, when asked about limiting rent increases, the treasurer [Jim Chalmers] said: we are prepared to show leadership at national cabinet on rental rights and other aspects. We know you oppose a rent freeze but even limits on rent rises would make a massive difference to millions of renters in crisis.
With the ACT Greens Labor government limiting rent rises and the Victorian government now looking at rent caps after a deal with the Greens, will you show leadership at national cabinet to help make unlimited rent rises illegal?
Albanese says (after a preamble on why Bandt is wrong):
I tell you what would have a devastating impact on renters: that would be, in June, to say, ‘Because the Greens political party have blocked this legislation from being even debated until October’ – if you said to every property owner out there, ‘You’ve got till October until the rent freeze comes on’, what do you think would happen?
Do you think they’d put up their rents or do you think they would decrease them? That is why your propositions are so ill-thought out and opportunistic. Get on with the program, vote for social housing, do it today in the Senate.
Updated
Stuart Robert’s involvement in Synergy360 profits ‘not business as usual’ for an MP, Shorten says
Bill Shorten continued:
Since then, the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, chaired by the member for Bruce, has heard more disturbing allegations against Synergy360 and Mr [Stuart] Robert.
The JCPAA heard evidence from Mr [John] Margerison explaining how he instructed his accountant to direct Synergy360 profits derived from commonwealth contracts to a trust in which Mr Robert was a beneficiary.
Section 44 (v) of the Australian constitution covers the issue of disqualification of parliamentarians.
It states that anyone who:
Has any direct or indirect pecuniary interest in any agreement with the Public Service of the Commonwealth … shall be incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a senator or a member of the House of Representatives.[1]
To be clear, at this point, we do not know if that threshold was breached.
What we do know, this is not business as usual for a member of parliament.
Furthermore, despite these revelations, Mr Robert remained on the frontbench until his sudden resignation immediately prior to the formation of the national anti-corruption commission next month, in turn causing the Fadden byelection … costing millions of dollars … inconveniencing 109,000 Gold Coast electors.
Fundamental questions remain: one, was Mr Margerison installed in Synergy360 to secure Mr Robert’s influence in government procurement and decisions? Two, was Mr Margerison installed in Synergy360 to channel funds through related entities to Mr Robert? And crucially, three, was Mr Robert a shadow director of Synergy360?
Updated
Shorten says review of contracts awarded under Stuart Robert turned up ‘real deficiencies’
Bill Shorten takes a dixer on what he has learned about “prior practices” in his portfolio.
This sounds like the ministerial statement Shorten was on the notice paper to deliver yesterday, which didn’t happen.
It is, as so many of these dixers to Bill Shorten have been, on Stuart Robert:
On 24 November last year I first updated the house on disturbing reports in The Age [and] SMH alleging that Mr Stuart Robert used his status as a federal MP to help Canberra lobbying firm Synergy360 sign up corporate clients with the promise of helping them navigate parliament and the bureaucracy and meet key decision-makers, including senior coalition ministers.
As further details emerged, I have updated the parliament.
The initial report detailed how Mr Robert personally intervened in contracts worth $274 million awarded to Indian software giant Infosys.
Mr Robert met with Infosys – a Synergy360 client – in December 2019 at the Gold Coast home of his political fundraiser Mr John Margerison.
Leaked emails show that he had given “insights on progress of Infosys and future opportunities”.
Flowing from these disturbing revelations, Services Australia and the NDIA investigated potentially tainted contracts linked to Synergy360.
The review was led by eminent former public servant Dr Ian Watt.
Of the 95 procurements reviewed, Dr Watt found that 19 – or one in five – had real deficiencies.
Updated
PM says commonwealth will do ‘whatever needs’ to be done to support rebuilding flood-hit communities in NSW
The Nationals leader, David Littleproud, asks an actual question of importance. (I just had to pick myself up off the floor.)
Littleproud:
It’s been more than seven months since flooding hit central west NSW. In towns like Eugowra, more than 100 people are living in temporary housing with no government support to rebuild their homes. When will communities in central west NSW get this support?
Anthony Albanese takes it seriously and says he knows there needs to be faster action:
I’m willing to do – whatever needs to [be done], the commonwealth will do. By and large it is states that provide housing, of course; there’s no commonwealth public works department that builds housing and provides support.
Some of the issues which are there as well, that we need to work with, are on issues of insurance for people and we know that has been a challenge.
Too many people who have lost everything find themselves in disagreement with insurance companies, and we are working with the Insurance Council as well … I must say, I think there has been significant progress there.
I worked very closely with the Perrottet government at the time and we worked in a completely bipartisan way [across] different levels of government, and I’m sure that [with] the incoming government, the Minns government, I will certainly raise the issues that he has raised with me.
And I’m willing to work through the break with the member, and also the member of Calare has been diligent for standing up for his community that has suffered so much as well.
Updated
Marles dixer on defence draws accusations of being unparliamentary
Richard Marles took a dixer about defence, which has become a semi-regular event staged so he can talk about how terrible the Coalition was when it came to defence.
That is part payback because of the 10 years of having to listen to the Coalition talk about how terrible Labor was when it came to defence.
But the Coalition is very touchy over this subject and there are a bunch of points of order over whether or not Marles is being relevant because he is talking about the last parliament (ironic given all the Katy Gallagher questions this sitting), and then whether or not he is being unparliamentary (even more ironic given Dutton’s standard “Labor and unions are terrible” dixers he gave as minister).
But everything old is new again. And when the dispatch box is on the other side, things tend to hit differently.
Updated
In that answer, Milton Dick asked Sussan Ley to stop interjecting.
Next minute:
The deputy leader of the opposition, I just said don’t interject or you will be warned, and you immediately interjected. I don’t know how clear I can be.
She is warned and will remain silent for the rest of question time.
Milton Dick is very Dugald Dick today (Milton is his middle name – when he is cranky he becomes Dugald. Yes, I know, but I can’t help knowing too much about the Queenslanders.)
Updated
State leaders ‘conscious of’ housing needs in regions, PM says
The independent MP Dr Helen Haines asks:
Regional Australia is suffering from a disastrous lack of housing supply. In Wangaratta, people are sleeping in tents because there is nowhere for them to go. Last week the government said it was going to give $2 billion to the state and territories to build thousands of new homes. Did the government impose any conditions or receive any assurances that some of this money must go to regional Australia?
Anthony Albanese:
When I was having discussions with each of the premiers and chief ministers, as well as at the virtual meeting that we held last Friday afternoon, all of the premiers – including the premier of Victoria, who of course I announced the program with on Saturday in Moonee Valley and then I had a meeting with him afterwards – [are] very conscious about the need for homes to be built, not just in our capital cities but in our regions as well.
The rest of the answer goes to the housing fund fight. I have now eaten an entire share packet of Violet Crumbles and we are only halfway through this.
Updated
The Liberal MP Keith Wolahan, who presents exactly as you would expect the Liberal MP for Menzies to present, asks:
Yesterday the minister told this house that subsection three of the voice constitutional amendment means parliament will determine the functions and powers of the voice.
Isn’t it the case that subsection three explicitly deprives parliament of that power to make laws where those laws conflict with the voice’s powers under subsection two, and interpreting the scope of those powers would be a matter for the high court, not this parliament?
There is a back and forth over whether this is asking for a legal opinion or not, but no one seems to have any energy for it, including the speaker, Milton Dick, who appears one point of order away from trying to shut the whole thing down. He says Linda Burney can address the part that relates to her statement yesterday.
Burney:
I absolutely stand by my response yesterday.
Updated
‘I simply will not engage in the style of politics that we are seeing today’: Linda Burney
The Liberal MP Henry Pike asks Linda Burney:
Referendum working group member Thomas Mayo has stated that “we need the power of the constitution behind us so we can organise like we have never organised before, and that if we keep going, we maintain this momentum, until we change the system, until we tear down the institutions”.
Was the minister aware of Mr Mayo’s views when she appointed him to the referendum working group?
Burney:
I addressed this issue yesterday, and the day before, and I am responsible for what I say.
The referendum is about two things. It is about recognition and it is about listening. It is about making a practical difference, and I simply will not engage in the style of politics that we are seeing today.
Updated
Anthony Albanese must be tired because it seems like he just repeats the same answer he gave yesterday when asked a dixer on housing.
Although he mixes it up at the end:
Australians rejected the pathology of political conflict that had defined the Morrison government, always looking for an argument, never a solution. But Australians will also reject the phony political conflict being waged by the Greens political party. You can’t say you support public housing while you are voting against it. You can’t say that you are serious about protecting vulnerable people in our society, while you are voting against public housing. Vulnerable people should not be the collateral damage in your manufactured political conflict. Time to stop blocking so we can start building.
It’s lucky parliament won’t be sitting for a while because it seems we are one day away from someone disturbing pages from a burn book in the school parliament hallways.
I wish I could bake a cake filled with rainbows and smiles and everyone would eat and be happy
Sussan Ley recycles questions on Indigenous voice and Australia Day
Julie Collins continues the “Greens are the worst” dixers, and then we get to Sussan Ley, who asks:
If the voice provides advice to the government to change or abolish Australia Day, will the government follow that advice?
The groans could be heard from space.
Linda Burney:
I refer to my previous answer on this matter yesterday. And to provide context, Mr Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the four land councils from the Northern Territory that join us today … They have come together and issued the Barunga voice declaration, which they presented to the prime minister this morning.
In part, it says: we need to be heard, and urge our fellow Australians to stand with us and vote yes in the forthcoming referendum for the sake of a better future for all of us.
A better future for all of us.
Also, given how many targets Australia is failing on when it comes to Closing the Gap, in what universe is the date of Australia Day – a contested date already that is not exactly gripping the nation’s every thought – anyone’s priority?
Updated
Resources minister defends Middle Arm after Steggall asks about ‘record profits’ for gas company
The independent MP Zali Steggall asks Madeleine King:
Your government has backflipped and blocked an inquiry into Middle Arm in Darwin despite $1.5bn of taxpayers’ money allocated to this project, extensive self-interested lobbying and seemingly no independent business case or assessment of risks and benefits to the Australian people.
FOIs show the key purpose is as a gas export terminal. Why is the public funding key infrastructure for a private gas company to make record profits from exports?
King:
I think the members trying to impute there is a subsidy for fossil fuels on the Middle Arm – that is not the case. We have made that very clear. That is not [happening] …
We will continue to work with the Northern Territory government on the development of the sustainable develop and project there in the Northern Territory on Middle Arm.
It is very important for the Northern Territory to diversify its economy. It does have challenges and this government, the Albanese level government, will continue to support and work with the Northern Territory government.
This government will have an equity stake in the [project] and will continue to work right across northern Australia, particularly in Darwin where this project is very important for future export industries.
Updated
Burney fields more questions on voice’s scope: ‘Not even the PM can influence the Reserve Bank’
The former deputy prime minister Michael McCormack gets the next non-government question and he asks:
Professor Megan Davis, a member of the government’s referendum working group, has written of the voice that “the voice will be able to speak to the Reserve Bank”. Will the voice have the power to offer advice to the Reserve Bank on interest rates?
Linda Burney takes this one and says:
Thank you. The Reserve Bank is independent. Not even the prime minister can influence the Reserve Bank.
Stay tuned for the next opposition question on this when we could find out – will the voice have the power to cancel Ray Hadley’s show? Will the voice ensure the opposition leader’s midwinter ball speech is funny? Will the voice be able to choose the NSW Origin team so it stops embarrassing itself?
Updated
Milton Dick is a mood today:
There is far too much noise in the chamber. It is the last day.
Everyone. Needs. To. Take. a. Breath.
Updated
Question time begins
The questions are under way in the house and the first one is from Peter Dutton who asks:
My question is to the Prime Minister. Your government has delivered two budgets which have weakened our economy. Taxes are up, which is the and gas bills are getting out of We have higher inflation than the US, France and Germany, Australians I was off today than when you came to government the 10 months ago. When will the prime minister accept responsibility for his economy destroying policies?
Hmmmkay.
You know what the prime minister says here. My gift to you in this last sitting day for six or so weeks is to move on.
Updated
(continued from previous post)
Shoebridge told the senate:
Daniel Duggan has now spent 8 months and one day in prison. He was arrested on 21 October 2022 and since then has been in solitary confinement. In the last few weeks he has seen the sky only a handful of times but has otherwise been locked up completely alone.
There are grave concerns for Dan’s wellbeing, concerns that I share. His case raises the question: can Australian citizens really be locked up indefinitely at the request of a foreign power?
There are some big red flags around Dan’s prosecution by the US: the timing of the indictment by IS authorities in 2017 was exactly when the US started talking about China as a strategic challenge.
It’s clear to many that this is a politicised extradition and prosecution with the dual aims of making an example of China and placating our Aukus allies.
Did Asio conspire to lure Dan back to Australia for the underhanded purpose of the US extradition?
How can he be extradited for something that isn’t an offence in Australia and therefore fails the dual criminality test?
But at the heart of this matter is Dan, a husband, father and Australian citizen. I recognise now in the gallery the presence of Dan’s wife Saffrine Nydegger and his advocate Warwick Ponder.
They’re fighting for Dan to be released on bail to be with his family including his six wonderful children. They’re fighting for the Australian government to step up for this Australian citizen.
And I am with them, as are all my Greens colleagues.
Updated
Greens senator David Shoebridge has spoken in support of incarcerated Australian Daniel Duggan, who has been held in prison for more than eight months on an extradition request from the US.
Duggan, 54, a former US marine pilot who is now a naturalised Australian, was arrested last October at the request of the US which is seeking his extradition on charges of arms trafficking and money laundering, arising from his alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots more than a decade ago. The allegations have not been tested in court.
Duggan, who has no criminal history anywhere in the world, has been refused bail, and has faced extreme isolation in prison, having been classified as a high-risk prisoner. He denies the charges and is fighting his extradition from prison, a process that could take months, even years, to resolve.
(continued in next post)
Peter Dutton then adds his words:
We send our best thoughts, wishes and prayers to those flying in our country’s name, on behalf of Australians alongside their brothers and sisters in Canada at the moment.
Australia is renowned around the world for those men and women who wear the uniform in the Defence Force but there are those paramedics, those firefighters and police officers who are quite often deployed internationally to hot spots in our region across the world because of the reputation that they are earned over a long period of time, the training that is done conjointly, the shared values we have with a country like Canada, coming before in our hour of need.
….When Canada is in need of help we stand up and provide the help to her as Canada has also on many occasions to us.
We say to the families of those Australian firefighters who are deployed at the moment, that this will be a period of [unrest] for you and for those colleagues left behind there will worry about the safety of those officers fighting this fires in Canada.
We wish them all the success and God speed and made a return safely and quickly and no doubt will provide support to the Canadians to save lives in their quest there.
The last question time until the spring sitting session is now under way (there will be no more parliament until 31 July)
Anthony Albanese starts it with a statement by indulgence on the Canadian bushfires – Australia has sent firefighters to Canada to help fight the wildfires tearing through the country and we are about to send some more.
Albanese:
There are currently 422 active fires burning across Canada with 199 of those considered to be out of control.
Over 3.3 million hectares of land has burned and tens of thousands of people have been displaced.
We unfortunately in this chamber are familiar with these scenarios. They are coming more often and with more intensity around the world.
I am so proud as all Australians should be but there are currently on the ground 364 Australian firefighters and incident management specialist and that additional cruise of 124 are preparing to leave in coming days. These Australians come from every single state as well as from the ACT. And they are making an enormous difference on the ground.
I said to the Australians, please keep yourself safe. We know in 2019-20, not only did so many Australians lose their life, of course American firefighters who are here to assist lost their life as well.
So to, our firefighters, we say we are proud of you. We return the favour that now we do with our friends. Canada of course abided 100 firefighters here during that summer of 2019- 2020.
We spoke this morning with the Canadian Prime Minister about, as I have had these discussions with President Biden as well, about increasingly with climate change leading to more intense and frequent events, we are going to have to have these exchanges more and more, most tragically. We are saying to our firefighters, thank you, will you do our nation proud.
Universities welcome Startup Year bill
The Australian Technology Network of Universities (ATN) has welcomed today’s passage of the Startup year bill which included amendments to improve protections for intellectual property and course quality.
The bill creates a new form of higher education loan assistance called SY-HELP, available to final year undergraduates, post-graduates and recent graduates to enrol in accelerator program courses.
It will also allow New Zealand citizens to access HELP (a nation where the first year of university is free).
ATN executive director Luke Sheehy said the amendments would bolster budding entrepreneurs to operate small businesses.
Expertise and input from across the political divide, along with great ideas from higher ed and industry, have brought us to this moment. Today’s passage of the bill is also due to the contribution of all senators in this process, including the shadow education minister and members of the crossbench.
The passing of this legislation is a shot in the arm for young entrepreneurs across Australia. Startup year will provide students access to our world-class facilities and our sector-leading mentors, the opportunity to learn from academic experts and test their exciting, new business ideas.”
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If you didn’t vote in the 2022 Victorian election a fine is coming your way
The Victorian electoral commission will be sending out about 230,000 fines to people who didn’t vote in the 2022 state election and didn’t have a valid excuse.
The fine is $92 and people who receive one will have 35 days to respond.
Acting Electoral Commissioner Dana Fleming is urging people who receive an infringement notice to take it seriously.
The most important thing is that you respond to the notice before the deadline – otherwise you could be issued a penalty reminder notice, which carries the original penalty plus an additional administration fee.
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Public schools on a ‘road to nowhere’, Greens say
Greens spokesperson for schools Senator Penny Allman-Payne has responded to news we reported earlier that revealed 1,152 private schools will be funded $3.2 billion over their public funding entitlement over the next six years.
With the exception of the ACT, every public school system in the country is underfunded, while some states and territories have committed to funding 100% of public schools to their cchooling resource standard, outlined in the Gonski report, without fixed timelines in place.
Allman-Payne said the revelations, released under freedom of information, were “pretty revolting”.
While most public schools don’t have enough teachers and resources to give kids a decent education, the private sector is swimming in cash. The promise of Gonski was that all students would receive the funding they need to have the education they deserve. But the gap in total funding between private and public schools is wider now than it was when David Gonski handed down his report. That’s created one of the most unequal and segregated school systems in the OECD.
All we hear from state and federal Labor governments is that public schools are ‘on a pathway’ to full funding. That pathway is looking more and more like a road to nowhere.”
Education minister Jason Clare, a beneficiary of and vocal supporter of public education, has outlined equity will be a focus of the next ational school reform agreement, delayed until 2024.
Updated
Dutton says the voice is a ‘con job’
Peter Dutton has spoken to Sydney radio 2GB. Once they got through the midwinter ball and SOO chat, Dutton moved on to the voice.
I have never seen anything like it in the last couple of decades I’ve been involved in politics*. The con job that’s going on here is unbelievable. I can’t believe that a Minister like Linda Burney, in a very important portfolio, can just stand in the chamber and essentially either not have a clue what she’s talking about**, or misrepresent what the Voice is about.
They’re setting up a situation here where the voice will be able to have an influence into every area of public administration. They can advise the tax commissioner on tax policy, they can advise the treasurer on any element of the budget, they can advise the defence minister, or the chief of the defence force, about defence acquisitions or where a defence base should be located. It goes into every area of government responsibility. It’ll grind the whole system of government to a halt and the impact will be felt by everyday Australians, whether they live in an Indigenous community, out in the suburbs, or in a regional town or in a capital city.
Honestly, it’s the biggest con job going and the prime minister wants Australians to vote for this on ‘the vibe’, but the unintended consequences here are very, very significant and I just think Australians are smarter than what he believes them to be and I just think we need to have an honest conversation. They’re deliberately keeping details from the Australian public because of how severe this thing is, and I think it’s why people are continuing to really turn off when they hear about the voice.
*I mean Scott Morrison swore himself into five ministries while he was prime minister so…..
**Burney has answered question after question after ridiculous question the opposition have asked on this.
Updated
No statute of limitations on corruption
Back in Victoria for a moment and Michael O’Brien says there is no statue of limitations on corruption so delay shouldn’t be used as a reason not to charge those invoked in the scandal:
If a murder happened a long time ago, you don’t say, ‘Well, that’s all right. We’ll just let that one go.’ We’re talking about serious crimes that contributed to the undermining of Victoria’s legal system ... This is about as serious as it gets. And there’s no statute of limitations on corruption. There’s no statute of limitations on destroying the integrity of our legal system. And I’m very surprised that the DPP would put that up as a reason to not prosecute those responsible.
Updated
AFP responds to PwC assertions
The Australian Federal Police has responded to David Shoebridge’s claims (made under parliamentary privilege) that commissioner Reece Kershaw and PwC partner Mick Fuller discussed the “the best possible way that PwC can make money off the AFP” at a meeting in 2022.
An AFP spokesperson said:
The AFP categorically rejects the assertions made. The AFP will be appearing before Senates Estimates on August 4.”
Updated
Antipoverty advocates accuse Labor of running a scare campaign on cashless welfare
Antipoverty Centre spokesperson Jay Coonan said the legislation “entrenches income control in the welfare system” and included powers for the social services minister to expand it anywhere in the country – which is what Labor opposed when they were in opposition.
Not only have the Labor party opened the door for the mass expansion of cashless welfare today, they have crushed the hopes of 22,000 people in the Northern Territory currently subjected to compulsory income control, the vast majority of whom are First Nations. Communities in the NT have fought cashless welfare since it was first proposed during the 2007 intervention.
The Labor party should be ashamed to have run a scare campaign on cashless welfare, promising to abolish it, only to betray welfare recipients who hoped an Albanese government would mean this damaging, paternalistic program was a thing of the past.
The group said that claims the card would be voluntary was “doublespeak” because the card could be requested by people without consent from the individuals it would apply to.
The antipoverty centre has already received reports from current cashless welfare sites that people affected by these programs are being excluded from consultation.
By carving out an exemption so that people on the age pension cannot be subjected to income control, it’s clear they are willing to have it imposed on any working age welfare recipient in the country. Regardless of their intentions, a future government will be able to do this without any need for legislation.
Updated
‘Sneaky and insidious bill’: Greens say
The legislation to expand compulsory income management has passed the senate, 27 to 12.
Greens senator Janet Rice said it was a “betrayal” of people who voted for the Labor government:
Labor have now gone further than the Liberals did in expanding the racist and entirely ineffective compulsory income management system. We don’t need another conservative party in this country.
In the same week as securing the voice referendum, Labor teamed up with the Coalition and PHON to pass a racist bill that overwhelmingly targets First Nations people, against the wishes of key First Nations organisations, including the Central land council and the Aboriginal peak organisations Northern Territory, that gave evidence to the bill’s inquiry. The hypocrisy is astounding.
Despite Labor’s false claims, the bill is not a simple matter of improving technology. This is a sneaky and insidious bill that significantly expands the minister’s power to roll out compulsory income management in new areas, and effectively allows the new cashless debit card to apply nationally, despite Labor’s campaign against CDC in opposition.
The only differences between Labor’s SmartCard and the ashless debit card are its name and colour.
Updated
More on Lawyer X scandal
Shadow attorney-general, Michael O’Brien, says the director of public prosecutions comments today fail to explain why no charges have been laid over the Lawyer X scandal:
It’s wholly unsatisfactory, that after a royal commission, after a special investigation and after tens of millions of taxpayers dollars, not a single person has been charged over the greatest legal scandal in Victoria’s history, the Lawyer X scandal … It is clearly in the public interest that people are held accountable to such a great failure … It is not good enough to sweep it under the carpet.
He says the Lawyer X special investigator - Geoffrey Nettle - has decades of experience and should have the power to bring charges himself:
Geoffrey Nettle has had decades of experience as a trial judge, as an appellate judge in the Victorian Supreme Court and Victorian Court of Appeal and the High Court of Australia. The director of public prosecutions, with respect to her, does not have that level of experience that Justice Nettle has.
His view, that was put before the parliament, is that the evidence is there to justify charges.
It’s been reported today, in fact that one of the people are concerned - Nicola Gibbo - was ready to plead guilty to charges and yet despite that, the DPP says no. She might have her reasons but the public interest demands that these issues be tested in open court. And that’s why I again call for the government to amend the laws to give Justice Nettle and his office the power to directly bring charges against those people who have conspired to pervert the course of justice.
Updated
Critical minerals should be included in Aukus pillar two: report
Australian production of critical minerals should become a focus of the Aukus agreement to reduce reliance on China, an Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) report argues.
In Aukus and critical minerals: Hedging Beijing’s pervasive, clever and coordinated statecraft, former Labor defence minister Kim Beazley and strategic advisor Ben Halton argue for a consistent definition of critical minerals, and for them to be part of Aukus pillar two – which is the sharing of technology aside from that needed for the nuclear-powered submarines.
With China supplying more critical minerals than the rest of the world combined, the authors argue, states are left vulnerable:
This is where Australia comes in. Australia has the essential minerals, which are more readily exploitable because they’re located in less densely populated or ecologically sensitive areas.
Australia also has the right expertise, including universities offering the appropriate advanced geoscience degrees, as well as advanced infrastructure, world-class resources technology and deep industry connections with Asia and Africa, which are also vital global sources of critical minerals.
Critical minerals needed by the Aukus nations include rare earths, lithium, magnesium and tungsten. The ASPI report points out that almost every weapon being used in Ukraine, every fighter jet, navy vessel and nuclear weapon depends on rare earths.
Updated
Fadden candidates to be revealed
The Fadden byelection candidates will officially be declared by the AEC tomorrow and straight after the ballot draw will be done.
That’s happening around midday Friday.
Updated
Winding path on income management
Back to income management and the slow grind of amendments, most of which are being voted down by the government, including Greens senator Janet Rice’s attempts to add a sunset clause to the bill.
The government said a sunset clause (a date the bill lapses) would add further complications and so they would not be supporting it.
We continue to wind our way to the final vote.
Updated
Wait! No! Twist.
Greens senator David Shoebridge has told the Greens press conference the vote was actually to guillotine the debate and force the vote, meaning the Greens voted against a procedural thing to keep an option of a tougher bill open.
Updated
Greens and Labor scuttle bill to limit gambling ads
Yesterday, it seemed as if the Greens may have supported the Coalition and passed the Coalition’s limit gambling ads, as Josh Butler reported.
But ultimately, the Greens voted against the Coalition’s bill (as did Labor) and David Coleman is not particularly thrilled.
This is a deeply disappointing result which flies in the face of overwhelming community sentiment for action now.
Despite all the huffing and puffing particularly by government MPs about gambling advertising, today they chose to block a new law that would take strong action.
Greens senators also voted against the Coalition Bill, despite voicing similar concerns during the debate about the impact of gambling advertising on families and young people.
If the Greens had supported the Bill it would have passed the Senate easily.
Updated
Labor and Coalition vote in favour of income management legislation
The legislation which will expand compulsory income management is being voted on in the senate. Labor and the Coalition are voting in favour of it, which cuts down on the negotiating power the Greens and crossbench usually have in the senate.
Updated
Bill to cut down on worker exploitation
The migration amendment bill has been introduced in the house, which aims to cut down on the exploitation of workers.
Tony Burke and Andrew Giles said the bill would:
Make it a criminal offence to coerce someone into breaching their visa condition;
Introduce prohibition notices to stop employers from further hiring people on temporary visas where they have exploited migrants;
Increase penalties and new compliance tools to deter exploitation;
Repeal section 235 of the Migration act which actively undermines people reporting exploitative behaviour.
Updated
More to come on senate rental inquiry
The Greens are holding a press conference to discuss that rental inquiry.
We’ll bring you that very soon.
Updated
Senate inquiry into rental crisis
The Greens have established a senate inquiry into the rental crisis.
The inquiry will explore:
the experience of renters and people seeking rental housing;
rising rents and rental affordability;
actions that can be taken by governments to reduce rents or limit rent rises;
improvements to renters’ rights, including rent stabilisation, length of leases and no grounds evictions;
factors impacting supply and demand of affordable rentals;
international experience of policies that effectively support renters;
the impact of government programs on the rental sector;
any other related matter.
Updated
Lawyer X scandal back in Victorian parliament
We’re tuning into question time in Victoria’s upper house after explosive criticism from the Lawyer X special investigator of the director of public prosecutions for failing to lay charges over the scandal.
Kerri Judd, in a response tabled in parliament today, says she had no confidence a key figure would give evidence against police.
Deputy opposition leader in the upper house Matthew Bach has asked the attorney general, Jaclyn Symes: Why does the government not accept Justice Nettle’s view regarding the DPP’s refusal to lay charges over the Lawyer X scandal?
Symes replies:
It’s not for me to determine these matters, it’s for independent bodies and I support both of them.
Updated
Up-dos from last night in both chambers today
Debate on the expansion of income management has been parked for a bit and the senate has moved on to other business for a little bit.
There are still a few up-dos from last night being sported in both chambers today. I get it. Washing all that out takes time. Much easier to just go to sleep in it and hope for the best in the morning.
Updated
Lidia Thorpe drills down on cashless debit card promises
Not included in this was a commitment to also abolish the Basics Card, which remains mandatory in some areas, including the NT.
Senator Thorpe is reading out all Labor's broken election promises to abolish the cashless debit card
— jeremy poxon (@JeremyPoxon) June 22, 2023
Today, the government is securing the continuation of the card (just with a different name and colour) pic.twitter.com/0DrnTDQRJx
Updated
Greens' David Shoebridge targets PwC in parliament over alleged 'unminuted meeting' with federal police commissioner
The Greens senator, David Shoebridge, in the Senate on Wednesday targeted PwC over documents that give an insight into the process by which it won a contract with the Australian federal police.
This follows revelations in Senate estimates that AFP commissioner Reece Kershaw had a text exchange with his friend PwC partner and former NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller about the referral of the PwC leak to the AFP.
Two text exchanges were produced:
14 July, 2022 (while PwC was bidding for work). Mick Fuller: “Think I’m booked in to see you with Pwc in a few weeks. Will call you before if okay.” To which commissioner Kershaw replied: “Good plan”
24 May 2023, the day of Treasury’s referral to the AFP. Fuller: “Just saw news re referral. Will give you some space so not too complicate your life.” To which the commissioner replied: “Ok thx mate”
Shoebridge was concerned by documents detailing meetings between the pair when PwC was bidding for work.
He told the Senate:
We now know from the documents that have been produced that Commissioner Kershaw actually attended a meeting on 28 July 2022 with his mate Mick Fuller. It was described as: An introductory meeting to outline the identified need to undertake a comprehensive independent review of the AFP’s delivery of policing services to the ACT government— And, get this— This informed PwC’s consideration of whether they had the capability to undertake the work and would submit a formal quote. The meeting, of course, was not minuted. So two mates get together—one the AFP Commissioner, the other a former New South Wales Police Commissioner, now a senior partner in government relations at PwC—in an unminuted meeting to work out how PwC can get money from the AFP, to cobble together the best possible way that PwC can make money off the AFP. There was no tender and no public discussion. It was just two mates, some other partners from PwC and the chief operating officer from the AFP coming together to work out how they can give PwC more money and also, at significant public expense, to try and reshape the future of the Australian Federal Police operations in the ACT.
The reference in the documents to submitting a quote do not necessarily support the allegation that the pair aimed to “work out how PwC can get money from the AFP”, which was made under parliamentary privilege. Guardian Australia does not suggest any wrongdoing in the way the contract was awarded.
Updated
Human rights lawyers get green light to appear in whistleblower case
Human rights lawyers will intervene in the case of Richard Boyle, the tax office whistleblower, as he appeals a landmark decision to deny him whistleblower protections.
The South Australian district court ruled that Boyle was not protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act for actions he took to collect evidence in preparation for blowing the whistle on his employer’s aggressive pursuit of debts.
The case was considered the first major test of the nation’s whistleblowing laws and experts say it revealed deficiencies in the protections.
Boyle has appealed to the state’s supreme court. His appeal is due to be heard in August.
The Human rights law centre announced on Thursday that it had been granted leave to involve itself in the appeal as amicus curiae, or a friend of the court. That allows it to make submissions on the critical issues in the appeal.
HRLC senior lawyer Kieran Pender said:
Richard Boyle’s appeal will determine the strength of protections for all Australian whistleblowers, given similar provisions exist in almost all Australian whistleblower protection laws. It is a vitally important test case with significant implications for truth and transparency in this country.
Labor has committed to reforming the PID act to better protect whistleblowers.
Updated
Private schools overfunded by $3.2bn, FoI documents show
More than 1,000 private schools will be overfunded by $3.2bn as inequity in the education system deepens, documents released through freedom of information reveal.
Internal Department of Education figures prepared for witnesses appearing before Senate estimates state over the next six years, 40% of non-government schools will be funded in excess of their entitlement under the schooling resource standard (SRS), to an estimated value of $3.2bn.
The SRS estimates how much total public funding a school needs to meet its students’ educational needs, agreed to by all Australian governments in 2012.
It’s out of reach for the vast majority of government schools, with the documents estimating only those in the ACT, SA and WA will be at or above 75% of the SRS by 2023.
Correna Haythorpe, the president of the Australian Education Union, said Australia couldn’t continue to accept “deep inequity” in school funding.
Private schools are overfunded by billions, and public schools are underfunded by billions. It is public schools that enrol the vast majority of Australian students, and it is public schools that enrol disproportionately higher rates of students with additional needs, students that experience disadvantage and students with disability.
If the commonwealth and state and territory governments can afford to overfund private schools, they can afford to fully fund public schools.
Updated
Your Nairu questions answered
Peter Hannam has taken at look at what exactly the Nairu is and why it matters:
Updated
‘People power and the Swifties of Australia can unite’
Being the last sitting day before the winter break, MPs are doing all they can to remind people that they are just like them! Just normal humans, doing normal things! They’re Swifties too! They have the friendship bracelets! They’re in their Midnights era!
The latest was Patrick Gorman, who after running through a list of legislation the government passed said:
There’s one thing that this parliament cannot address. And that is the gross injustice of the Taylor Swift Eras world tour schedule, which has dismissed both the great state of Western Australia and the great state of Queensland, represented by so many in this Parliament including my friend on the other side, Andrew Wallace, the member for Fisher.
What this parliament can’t do is determine where international touring artists go.
But people power can change that. People power and the Swifties of Australia can unite.
And they can say it is a Cruel Summer when there is Sweet Nothing for Perth in the Taylor Swift Eras world tour.
And if I think about Western Australia – we have proudly hosted the grand final – we can host a concert of this magnitude.
The Gabba has also hosted a grand final; it can host a concert of this magnitude. And it will give both an emotional and economic boost to the great states of Western Australia and Queensland.
I’ve got to say though, for the Queenslanders, I mean they can just drive down the road to Sydney. I’ve done that drive myself and I know that the Swifties of, particularly, south-east Queensland, would just do that for their absolute love of Taylor Swift’s fantastic music. But for those of us in Western Australia: three-day drive.
We need the Eras World Tour to come to Perth.
Updated
Bill to expand BasicsCard has backing to pass Senate
The second reading debate of the income management reform bill 2023 is under way in the Senate.
Labor made a pretty big deal about scrapping the mandatory aspects of the cashless debit card, but they didn’t ever do anything about the BasicsCard – another form of income management, which is compulsory, and run by the same company as the cashless debit card – Indue.
This bill expands the compulsory use of income management. The Coalition is in favour, so the bill will pass. The Greens and the crossbench will attempt to amend the bill, so we will see what happens there.
Updated
For a bit more on what the eCommissioner is planning to do about hate on Twitter, you can head here:
Paterson says not enough is publicly known about the hack
James Paterson expanded on the government responsibility there:
Unfortunately, we’ve got two problems. One is the home affairs minister said in February that she would appoint, within a month, a cyber security coordinator to handle the fallout of attacks like this. Well, it’s nearly five months later, and we still don’t have that person on the ground responding to this.
Secondly, we’ve received virtually no information out of the government at all about what has happened in this attack, about what government agencies have been affected, about what information has been lost, and that’s been exacerbated by HWL Ebsworth taking out an injunction in the court which has prevented, potentially, the victims of this from finding out what of their private information has already been uploaded to the dark web.
Updated
Paterson says HBL Ebsworth hack is a potential national security risk
Liberal senator and security hawk James Paterson spoke to Sky News about that hack Josh mentioned, this morning:
There’s a number of things that are concerning about the HWL Ebsworth attack, some of which are similar to previous attacks and some which are different. The similarity is it again appears that individual Australians’ private information might have been exposed on the web by a ransomware gang, probably operating out of Russia. That’s what’s similar to previous attacks.
What’s different is that HWL Ebsworth is a law firm that acts for a number of government clients. It represents a number of government agencies, including in the national security sphere, and it appears that it held on their behalf, because it represented them in legal proceedings, sensitive information of highly, sometimes classified, nature.
And the risk that that has spilled out into the public is a very serious thing indeed and needs very swift action by the government.
Updated
Law firm hacked by Russian-linked group reviewed digital ID legislation
The law firm at the centre of a major cyber security hack was hired by the government to conduct a privacy assessment for the digital ID legislation last year.
HWL Ebsworth has had around 4TB of information stolen by Russian-linked hacker group ALPHV with over 1TB posted on the dark web. The firm last year conducted a review of the former government’s proposed digital ID legislation to assess the privacy risks associated with the legislation.
The Digital Transformation Agency, which had carriage for the legislation, is now in discussions with the firm over whether any of its own data has been compromised in the hack, Guardian Australia has confirmed.
A spokesperson said:
The DTA is engaging with HWL Ebsworth on whether any data about the PIA held by them has been affected.
The Government continues to actively engage HWL Ebsworth as it investigates the extent of the breach including impacts on Commonwealth information.
Guardian Australia reported this week that the agency in charge of the National Disability Insurance Scheme was also currently discussing with the firm whether any client information had been compromised as HWL Ebsworth represents the agency in coverage appeal cases.
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Speaker responds to Tink on parliamentary behaviour
Independent MP Kylea Tink wrote to the speaker Milton Dick this week, asking him to remind MPs of the higher standard they are supposed to set in terms of behaviour, and discourse.
Tink wrote to Dick asking he “provide the Chamber with a full and complete update on the progress of cultural change, including reiterating the endorsement of the ‘behaviour standards and codes’”:
Standards and codes are only as effective as the people who uphold them. The behaviour and revelations of the past week show we have a long way to go to change the culture of this place. But we must …
We all have a responsibility to display exemplary individual leadership and a role to play to set the standard for an inclusive, respectful, and professional workplace here in Parliament House and across Australia. I call on you to recommit the Parliament to positive change.
Dick responded in a letter of his own:
As you would appreciate, the events of last week are of keen interest to me, adding as they do to my ongoing concerns about unacceptable behaviour in our workplace.
It is my intention to make a statement in the Chamber before the House rises on Thursday, to remind Members of our shared responsibility in relation to developing a safe and respectful culture in Parliament House.
I will refer to some general aspects such as the language and volume of debate, as well as courtesy and respectful behaviours during proceedings.
I will incorporate appropriate references to the resolution of the House endorsing the draft behaviour standards and code for Parliamentarians and reinforce the guidance the standards and code provide to Members.
Dick said he would ask members to consider on what contribution they are making “to achieving this” and to “genuinely reflect on their own behaviour”. By that he means the heckles during debate and question time, but it seems as though Tink was asking more broadly, given what some of the “debates” have covered lately.
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‘I’m not going to be silent just because it suits Clive Palmer’
Last night Labor MP Josh Wilson spoke out against investor state dispute clauses in trade deals, vowing not to be silenced by Clive Palmer on the issue.
Palmer’s Zeph Investments is suing Australia for $296bn, with two more potential claims in the works.
In the adjournment debate Wilson told the House of Representatives he had received a letter from Palmer asking him to withdraw comments and apologise, and calling on him to refrain from further comment.
Wilson said:
Now whatever you think about Clive Palmer, most people wouldn’t think of him as a bloke who generally favours keeping quiet or thinks people should keep their thoughts to themselves, especially when they’re in a role as a parliamentary representative, as Clive Palmer himself once was. In any case, I can assure you I’m not going to be silent just because it suits Clive Palmer. Mr Palmer is free to pursue his interests and I’m free to express my views – indeed, I have a duty as a member of this place, as we all do, to speak up in the national interest.
In the past I’ve done that when Mr Palmer sought to undermine WA’s nation-leading, and I dare say world-leading, management of the Covid-19 pandemic, and in WA we remember that Mr Palmer did that with the shameful assistance of the Morrison government.
And I’ll continue to speak up in relation to the risks posed by the unnecessary and dangerous ISDS system. Let me be clear: I have not made the argument about the ISDS system, which I have done on many occasions, by reflecting on any particular tribunal, its members or process. My criticism is of the system as a whole.
There’s no reason for large multinational companies to be able to sue governments through an outside tribunal system when they can either make use of a country’s judicial system in the normal way or make use of government-to-government dispute resolution processes that all trade and investment treaties include.
As long as Australia is party to agreements that contain ISDS clauses, and as long as we don’t act to exclude their operation, we will be at risk of the kind of enormously harmful outcome that was involved in the Philip Morris action all those years ago and is at risk from the action being taken by Mr Palmer’s Singapore-based company now.
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Oversight of intelligence agencies in spotlight
Attorney general Mark Dreyfus is on a bit of a legislative tear at the moment, with another bill to be introduced today which would put all of the intelligence and security agencies will be under the same statutory and parliamentary oversight.
He explains:
The Intelligence Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 will strengthen and expand the oversight responsibilities of the Inspector‑General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) and Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) to include the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and the intelligence functions of the Australian Federal Police, AUSTRAC and the Department of Home Affairs.
This legislation ensures all security and intelligence agencies are now subject to the same statutory and parliamentary oversight, commensurate with their powers and responsibilities.
The Bill also:
strengthens the relationship between the IGIS, the PJCIS and the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor;
enables the PJCIS to review, on its own motion, proposed reforms to counter-terrorism and national security legislation, and all such expiring legislation; and
requires the Inspector-General and the Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence to provide annual briefings to the PJCIS.
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Last sitting before break begins
The last parliament sitting before the winter break is under way.
The Senate has today to get through what the government wants it to get through. If it doesn’t, then Tony Burke has warned the parliament will sit on Friday too (the house would have to sit in case the Senate makes any changes to bills it has to sign off on) which NO. BODY. WANTS.
It’s mostly a warning to the Coalition to stop fillibustering (adding more people to the speaking lists to drag out debates) and get to the business of voting, but Burke doesn’t control the Senate, or the opposition, so who knows what will happen.
Updated
‘Queensland hearts are full’
Treasurer Jim Chalmers used the start of his doorstop (a very quick press conference) to pay homage to the Queensland origin team:
Every day is a great day to be a Queenslander but especially today. I wanted to congratulate Billy and Daly and everyone associated with another absolutely stunning victory for the good guys in the State of Origin and I wanted to wish the Queensland women all the very best for their big clash tonight as well. This is another really quite remarkable outcome for Queensland. Every day is a great day to be a Queenslander but especially today. Queensland hearts are full and we thank the guys for delivering another outstanding victory.
I am very sorry to New South Wales supporters, but the thing you have to understand is that Queensland just has more heart. It’s a fact. You can’t train for that – it’s as Queensland as a Milton mango, or the mighty brown snake (shibboleths used to identify true Queenslanders).
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Geelong job losses at Ford
Victoria’s minister for jobs and manufacturing, Ben Carroll, is with the premier and is being asked about job losses at Ford in Geelong:
It’s always difficult when anyone loses a job. It can be one or it could be 10 or it could be 50. It’s always felt very hard by those families in those communities. As the prime minister himself recently said, you know, the defence industry is very much becoming the new auto industry …
These jobs are well trained, they’re well executed. We have a great partnership with the auto sector. We have a great partnership with our manufacturing partners, the unions, so I have every confidence that we’ll find solutions for these workers and be able to do tailor-made solutions to support them going forward.
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Voice will save money, PM says
There was some serious conversation there (a lot of the FM radio strategy has been about reaching people about the voice) and, asked how much the voice would cost, Anthony Albanese said:
I think this will save money. And the reason why it’ll save money is that everyone knows that there’s been billions of dollars expended on education, health and housing. Governments of all persuasions have, with the best of intentions, expended a lot of taxpayers’ money trying to close that gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia. But the truth is that in so many areas, it’s not going forward, it’s going backwards.
It’s not going forwards to the targets, for example, on year 12 completions. Now, if the money is spent better and more efficiently and in a way that gives people that ownership over the way that programs are run by being listened to. The voice won’t run any programs itself, it won’t be a funding body.
It will simply be an advisory body, just like we have a range of other advisory bodies. But this will be a special one, because it will be listening to people who, of course, are the original owners of the land that we share with them.
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‘I really got into Tay Tay,’ Albanese says
Anthony Albanese told WSFM’s Amanda and Jonesy that he is in his Taylor Swift era:
I really got into Tay Tay through Folklore and Evermore when she released those two albums, and I find, I think her songwriting is extraordinary, so I really like her.
Will he be at her upcoming concerts now she has announced Australian dates?
I don’t know about that but we’ll see how we go. I’ve got three Origin games, two of them parliament [was] sitting, and one of them I’ll be in Lithuania. So, I’m not always in control of my diary.
Host: Well, it’s a good thing you missed Origin last night.
Other host: Yes, we all wanted to be in Lithuania last night.
First host: I would have liked to have been in Lithuania.
Albanese: Indeed. We might just focus on the Ashes, I think.
Updated
Ford to cut 400 Australian jobs
AAP reports on another blow for Geelong’s workforce. Ford had been a huge part of the Geelong story for almost 100 years before manufacturing was shut down in 2016. Now the company has announced it will be cutting 22% of its remaining Australian workforce, as AAP reports.
Some 400 Australian jobs are set to be lost at Ford. Most of the roles to be cut are in product development and design, with a small number in other areas.
About 1,800 people work for the company in Australia, meaning more than one in five are set to lose their jobs.
The company said it has started a consultation process with unions and employees about a “separation program”.
Australian operations will continue to be the headquarters for development of the Ranger and Everest models.
A spokesperson said:
The changes are part of Ford’s global drive to improve efficiency and transform its operations to meet future needs.
The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union has been contacted for comment.
Updated
MPs don’t decide who is charged, Andrews says of Lawyer X decision
The government has spent $125m on the Lawyer X royal commission – is Daniel Andrews disappointed no one is going to face criminal consequences? He says it not up to MPs to make that call:
No one in the Victorian parliament determines who gets charged and with what … A comprehensive brief of evidence that should be the only factor. We do not want a situation where members of parliament, let alone leaders of governments are out there deciding who gets charged and what they get charged with ...
That’s not our system. That’s not my intention, and I’ll make no commentary that would undermine the independence of those independent prosecutorial decision makers. They have a very difficult job. The royal commission made recommendations and we’ve been 100% faithful to all of those.
But it is not uncommon for people with the best legal minds to have different views on whether someone should be charged or not. And that relates to the likelihood of getting a conviction.
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‘We have to accept the DPP advice and I will’
A reporter asks Jaclyn Symes why she won’t heed the advice of the special investigator – who used to be a pre-eminent high court judge:
The DPP, she is equally eminent, respected and expert in her field. It is not my role to adjudicate between two very qualified people that have very different roles. I thank the OSI for his work. I hank his office investigators, great team. They have gone to great lengths to ensure that these matters have been looked at thoroughly. They’ve done that.
The DPP has determined that if these went to the court, they would fail. A jury would not convict. We have to accept the DPP advice and I will.
The premier, Daniel Andrews, is now being asked about the special investigator’s report at a separate press conference in Parkville. He says:
I’m not entering into a debate with him. I’m not going to enter into a debate with the OPP. It is not appropriate. There will always be differences of opinion on these matters. It’s not the first time that the director of the Office of Public Prosecutions has made a decision … to prosecute or not, that not everybody has necessarily agreed with.
It is in fact more often than not the case that people have different views about whether someone should face charges or not.
That’s not new. That’s not new at all. Debates not are not unhealthy. And I’m in no way critical of either the those who have to make those difficult judgments.
Updated
Symes hits back at O’Brien’s ‘outrageous claim’ on Lawyer X scandal
Back to the Victorian attorney general press conference: Jaclyn Symes also hit back at the opposition shadow attorney general, Michael O’Brien, who said yesterday Labor would be pleased the DPP had “swept under the mat” the Lawyer X scandal with no charges:
That’s outrageous claim and to attack an independent body within the justice system is unbecoming of somebody who purports to want to be the attorney general. I have greatest respect for both independent bodies. It is not appropriate for an investigative body to then decide whether they are the prosecutor as well. And I draw that conclusion based on experiences from other jurisdictions as well.
Symes also rejected O’Brien’s call for the office of the special investigator to be given powers to prosecute cases themselves:
Setting up the office of the special investigator was a direct implementation of recommendation 94 of the royal commission report which said you should set up an investigator to tie up loose ends, look at any matters and see if there’s any cases to prosecute.
Let’s make it clear – if it was a clear case the royal commission would have made those recommendations, but there was a lot of things to consider. It was complex, it wasn’t clear cut. It wasn’t foreseen, it wasn’t predicted that there would be charges. So this isn’t something that is being undone. This was work that was asked to be completed to see if there was any grounds for criminal or disciplinary action.
These are many years ago and there’s been a lot of work, many documents, a lot of investigative effort has gone into this to come up with a brief. With all of that time and effort into an investigation you can see why it’s inappropriate for that body to determine whether it should proceed to prosecution …
Ibac themselves, despite having legislative opportunity to prosecute, have an internal policy where they will not prosecute directly any indictable offences. That will go to the DPP for that independent view. They recognise that there is a conflict between a body who is doing the investigative work, determining whether that should go all the way to the courts.
Updated
‘Welcome to the last Midwinter Ball before it gets cancelled by the voice’
I’ve spent the morning ferreting out what I can about the speeches last night.
From all accounts, yes, the Midwinter Ball was a pretty tame affair.
We’ve already reported that Anthony Albanese had a few pokes at the Greens in his speech, but he also apparently had a few digs at the Coalition’s questioning of the voice, opening up with, “Welcome to the last Midwinter Ball before it gets cancelled by the voice” – because the opposition have been asking increasingly ridiculous questions over what the voice would or would not have control over.
Once the laughter had died down, Albanese suggested that it “wasn’t the silliest thing” which had been put forward this week.
He apparently also paid “tribute” to the influence of Newscorp over the last year, including over the federal election, the Victorian state election and the Aston byelection (all of which Labor won, the joke being that Newscorp was campaigning for Labor to lose).
Albanese said he enjoyed watching the Sky News federal election coverage (you know, the whole “the resistance starts now” stuff).
There were a couple of inward Labor jokes, including that the first nuclear submarine delivered under the Aukus pact would be named the HMAS Paul Keating (because Keating has been such a vocal critic of Aukus).
Andrew Probyn, the ABC’s political editor who was made redundant last week in a shock announcement got a few shoutouts. ABC’s big news bosses were in the room so there would have been a few uncomfortable moments there.
Albanese alluded to it having been a big week for the national broadcaster, who apparently had no money for a political editor, no money for an arts team, but enough to have a weekly segment on what Toto (Albanese’s dog) is getting up to (I don’t know what that was about – but I’m told there was some segment on the ABC about the little white ball of fluff)*.
In the serious bits, Albanese made a general statement that he had been thinking of the women in the building given the discourse over the last couple of weeks and reiterated that the parliament needed to be a safe workplace. He also praised the partners of MPs and gave Peter Dutton and his wife Kirilly a shoutout for an upcoming big anniversary.
Dutton’s speech was “not particularly” funny, according to the sources I have spoken to, but there is only one James Jeffrey (Albanese’s speechwriter) so it is, as many Coalition MPs like to complain at times “an unfair advantage”.
Dutton made a few jokes about Kevin Rudd going to the US and said he had used ChatGPT to write some of his speech, asking it to reconcile reality with some of Labor’s claims.
There were no impressions of US presidents by Australian prime ministers, so no diplomatic incidents this year.
The speeches were held late, so the dancing didn’t start until about 10pm and the ball ended pretty soon after.
*I have just been informed that Albanese named the segment “in full” as “Albo’s fucking dog” – a regular segment on ABC’s comedy current affairs program The Weekly.
Updated
Victoria’s attorney general addresses Lawyer X scandal
Victoria’s attorney general, Jaclyn Symes, is speaking to reporters outsides parliament after a special investigator yesterday threatened to quit because the director of public prosecutions refused to charge several key figures involved in the Lawyer X scandal.
She says the report “speaks for itself”, with a response from the DPP to be tabled today:
Effectively, he has presented cases to the DPP. [It’s] her job as the independent officer to determine prosecutions in these matters. But those cases have no reasonable prospect in the courts and that is the response that she’s provided to the officers especially investigated for the ones that have already been presented.
They’ve been having ongoing conversations about the ones that the office have been working on, the report makes clear that it is his view that his work has come to a conclusion based on the conversations with the DPP. The DPP will be making her response available today, it will be tabled in the parliament.
Asked if she was disappointed no one will face criminal charges over the biggest scandal in Victorian legal history, Symes responds:
No. I think that the justice system has learned a lot from this outrageous conduct. It doesn’t mean that I can create a consequence at the end of that.
There is a justice system there. There is court process. There are applicable rules and laws that apply to perpetrators, to people who have done wrong things, to victims.
Not everybody gets the outcome that perhaps they want but the work has been completed. Important work. And the DPP has assessed that these cases would not make it through to successful prosecution in the courts. She’s an expert in her field.
Updated
Here is how the MPs looked at the ball, with a special shout out to Mike Bowers for staying back late last night to capture the arrivals:
States stand firm against rent freezes
For the time being at least, the states are in lockstep against rent freezes:
The argument is that in places where rent freezes have been announced, rents have gone up drastically to get ahead of the freeze, therefore doing nothing to actually freeze rents.
Now there are ways to combat this – caps, rent controls or the federal government giving states money to ease the increase. But so far there is no appetite to explore any potential answers, with the focus on increasing supply.
Updated
Chalmers flags boost to rent assistance
Pressed again on rents, Jim Chalmers says:
We’ve got the biggest increase in rent assistance for three decades. We’ve got new tax breaks for build to rent properties.
We’ve got a whole suite of policies including tomorrow – I’ll be convening the state and territory treasurers to advance our housing accord and to make sure we’re all working together to get the funding right to get the zoning and planning right to work with industry to build more homes for more people who desperately need them.
We would prefer the support of the Greens in order to do that, but in the absence of that support, with all of their political posturing and product differentiation, we will do what we can without them.
Updated
‘Greens more interested in fighting with Labor than for Australians who need somewhere to live’
Will the government do anything for renters to get the Greens’ support for the housing Australia future fund?
At this stage, from what Jim Chalmers is saying, it is unlikely:
I think we’ve already been incredibly accommodating and respectful … We put it to the Wenate and the Greens voted against it.
And it doesn’t look though the government is backing off from its criticism of the Greens either.
Chalmers:
We know why they did it. And that’s because they’re more interested in fighting with Labor than fighting for Australians who need somewhere to live. That’s what it boils down to.
Updated
Decision on RBA chair will be made next month, treasurer says
The governor of the Reserve Bank, Dr Phil Lowe, will find out his future next month, Jim Chalmers says.
Lowe’s contract ends in September. There is an option to renew it for three years but that is up to the government. Chalmers says he will announce that decision in July.
Chalmers says it is a “big job and a big call” and the government is working through it in the usual methodical way.
By the way, July could mean when parliament returns – which is 31 July.
Updated
Unemployment uptick expected
Asked about the RBA’s deputy governor Michele Bullock’s speech in Newcastle this week where she spoke about a rise in unemployment to help lower inflation (on the current labour force numbers, a return to a Nairu of 4.5% would be mean about 140,000 people losing their jobs) Jim Chalmers says:
I think what the deputy governor was referring to was simply reflecting the fact that both the Reserve Bank’s forecasts and the Treasury forecasts in the budget expect an uptick in unemployment at the same time as we expect a moderation in inflation.
I think her comments really just reflected those forecasts. And we’ve been pretty upfront, I think, as a government, in saying that we expect the economy to slow because of higher interest rates and because of tricky global conditions, and that will have implications for the labor market as well.
But let’s not lose sight of the really quite remarkable performance of our country when it comes to the labor market record employment, record participation, unemployment with a three in front of it, given everything that’s coming at us from around the world, that those are remarkable outcomes. And it means we enter this period of global economic uncertainty from a position of relative strength and that’s a good thing.
(The Nairu is the non-accelerating inflation of unemployment – the theoretical rate of unemployment where wages growth and inflation are under control. It has been around 4.5%.)
Updated
PwC breach of trust ‘deeply disappointing’, Chalmers says
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is addressing the Senate interim report into the PwC matter on ABC radio RN Breakfast:
It is a deeply disappointing breach of trust, completely unacceptable, because what’s happened here is we’ve seen the consultation process trashed and we need to get to the bottom of it. That’s what this interim report from the committee is all about …
We do want to see more information and more transparency it needs to be consistent with and not get in the way of some of the other processes under way, including the AFP referral from the Treasury at the same time as we get on with all the other work that we’re doing cleaning up the tax practitioners board that work that Katy Gallagher is doing when it comes to procurement, all of these things are important ways to ensure we get to the bottom of what’s happened here but also, we make sure it never happens again.
Updated
Albanese takes swipes at the Greens
The Midwinter Ball was held overnight. It seems to have been a fairly staid affair but I am still ferreting out info.
I can tell you that Anthony Albanese used his speech to the ball to take another swipe at the Greens over the housing Australia future fund.
His jokes included that he “only had one request for the DJ, play ‘Give Me Shelter’, but the Greens cancelled it” and that the Greens had “two demands when we came to office, more staff for themselves and less housing”.
The speeches from the leaders are usually comedic in tone and give them a chance to poke fun at themselves, each other, their rivals and the gallery at large. Last year, for instance, Peter Dutton made a joke about Scott Morrison’s five ministries.
Updated
PwC’s response ‘grudging and slow’, Greens senator says
Greens senator Barbara Pocock has spoken to ABC radio AM about a Senate committee report into PwC. Paul Karp looked into that report for you:
Consulting firm PwC engaged in a “calculated” breach of trust by using confidential information to help its clients avoid tax and engaged in a “deliberate cover-up” over many years, a Senate committee has found.
PwC should be “open and honest” by promptly publishing the names and details of its partners and staff involved, the finance and public administration committee has recommended.
In a unanimous report, tabled on Wednesday, the committee also recommended that PwC cooperate with investigations by the Australian federal police and Tax Practitioner Board, which deregistered its former head of international tax, Peter Collins.
Pocock said she would keep the heat on and wants to see the firm banned from any new government contracts until she sees “real action” taken by PwC to address the issue:
I am waiting for action from PwC so that I can have some confidence that we’re not going to see further stalling or further opaque behaviour. And you know, PwC have yet to front a media conference – their response has been grudging and slow and I would love to see real responsibility and transparency, but I think we’re still waiting.
Updated
Twitter must abide by Australia laws, eSafety commissioner says
The eSafety commissioner says Australia does have levers it can pull.
Julie Inman Grant:
Well, we have extra-territorial reach. So, you know, if they want to continue serving in Australia, they do have to abide by our laws. One of the first things that Elon Musk said, when he made this general amnesty, was that he would promote freedom of speech but not something that broke the law.
Well, if you’re breaking the law – and this is what we’re trying to get to the bottom of – then you do need to comply if you want to continue to serve.
I was just on a call with regulators from around the globe last evening, and more countries around the world are creating online harms regulators like the eSafety commissioner, including the European Commission.
And they will have very potent powers. We will be working with other governments to make sure that we’re shining a spotlight on these companies and getting them to improve their standards and doing the right thing.
Updated
Taking on Twitter’s ‘spewers of hate’
The eSafety commissioner has issued a legal notice to Twitter, asking it what it is doing to prevent hate on its platform.
(Given that Elon Musk announced yesterday that calling someone “cis” is now a hate crime on the platform, and will lead to accounts being banned – while Twitter has allowed anti-trans abuse to flourish – I think we know the answer to that.)
Julie Inman-Grant says the reinstatement of the 60,000 accounts which were permanently banned under the previous regime have contributed to the problems on the platform:
I think it’s safe to say that these are the worst of the worst accounts. So, 75 of these accounts have more than a million followers. So, they have an outsized impact on the toxicity of the platform.
So, again, as you said, it’s very, very hard to be permanently banned from Twitter. You have to be the most egregious, repetitive spewers of hate to contravene the Twitter rules multiple times and be banned. Two of them, we know, have already been re-banned, but what we want to know is: who are these accounts? Are they given special dispensation? Are they able to tweet without immunity, particularly if they’re paying for a Twitter blue subscription?
A lot of the changes to the algorithms have made people feel like you see more toxicity, much worse, much more coarse discourse, but without lifting the hood and using these transparency powers we really don’t know what’s happening. And this is where we’re trying to get to the bottom of things.
Updated
Twitter an ‘absolute bin fire’, eSafety commissioner confirms
The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman-Grant has confirmed it’s not just you – Twitter has become an absolute sh*t show since Elon Musk took over.
Inman-Grant uses slightly more professional words, but only just.
She told ABC News Breakfast:
Well, a third of all reports into our office of online hate are coming from Twitter. It’s been a huge surge since October 2022, when Elon Musk took over. Of course, there have been a confluence of factors that have added to this. Twitter has always been fiery in terms of discourse, but it’s turned into an absolute bin fire.
Updated
Anthony Albanese is kicking off the day with another FM radio station, where we assume he will agree to allow the hosts to run the country for a day, given his habit of granting FM hosts their every wish.
This morning is with Jonesy and Amanda on WSFM.
Updated
Good morning!
Happy winter solstice!
A very big thank you to Martin for getting us all started this morning – you have Amy Remeikis to take you through these daylight hours, with Josh Butler and Paul Karp in Canberra.
In Lithuania, this would be a day to eat and celebrate the coming return of the sun.
But alas, I am in Canberra, where the shortest day of the year is celebrated with the last day of parliament (hopefully – Tony Burke has warned that if the Senate doesn’t get through its work the parliament will sit on a Friday and I will lead the riot if that happens).
It is at least a five-coffee day.
Ready?
Updated
‘Voice from the bush’ calls for yes vote
The Northern Territory Aboriginal land councils are asking the people of Australia to stand with them and vote yes in the upcoming referendum on an Indigenous voice, AAP reports.
And they are entrusting prime minister Anthony Albanese with helping them spread the message.
The chairs of the four land councils have travelled to Canberra to meet with Albanese on Thursday to hand him the 2023 Barunga declaration.
Northern Land Council chair Samuel Bush-Blanasi said the declaration comes directly from Aboriginal people of the NT:
It is the voice from the bush calling on all Australians to recognise us, support us, and help us make the changes so urgently needed for a better future, together.
The declaration calls “for the recognition of our peoples in our still young constitution by enshrining our voice to the parliament and executive government, never to be rendered silent with the stroke of a pen again”.
Members of the Northern, Central, Tiwi and Anindilyakwa land councils signed the declaration at the Barunga festival in early June.
Updated
Yes dress steals show at Midwinter Ball
Labor senator Jana Stewart stole the show at the Midwinter Ball in Canberra with a Indigenous voice-themed dress printed with the words from the Uluru statement from the heart and also emblazoned with the “yes”. It was made by Indigenous label Clothing the Gaps.
There were also honourable mentions for the teal MPs, although only one appeared to be wearing their team’s colour.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese and his partner Jodie Haydon played it straight in black.
As did Peter Dutton, although his wife Kirilly went for a midnight blue number.
Check out all the styles in Mike Bowers’ photo gallery:
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our rolling news coverage. I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be be running through a couple of the best overnight news lines before Amy Remeikis takes charge.
A big influx of migrants in the next year will keep the recovery in house prices bubbling along into next year, despite the headwinds of higher interest rates and tighter household budgets, according to the Domain group. It says Sydney, which led the downturn last year, will lead the rebound with a rise of between 6% and 9% in the next 12 months, lifting the city’s median price to a record of just over $1.6m. Perth and Adelaide will see new records as well with Melbourne and Brisbane just short. It will also keep pressure on rents as the Greens felt pushback from Labor states over their hope for rent freezes.
We’ve got the latest in our series of reports about people pushing back against the gas industry in the Top End. Today Lisa Cox reports from the Tiwi Islands where locals are hoping that a federal court ruling forcing Santos to consult with them about its huge Barossa offshore gas project will draw a line in the sand in their battle with expansion and “white fella rule”.
The World Airline awards announced at the Paris Air Show have confirmed what many Australians already knew – Qantas isn’t as good as it used to be. The national carrier was ranked 17th in the league table of airlines compiled by Skytrax, a fall of 12 places from last year after 12 months beset by lost baggage, delays and cancellations.
A Qantas spokesperson said:
This survey started nine months ago when it was clear our service wasn’t back to our best.
