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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Stephanie Convery and Amy Remeikis (earlier)

Cost of cancelling French submarines revealed – as it happened

Coalition Australia Phil Gaetjens
Emmanuel Macron welcomes Anthony Albanese
Emmanuel Macron welcomes Anthony Albanese to the Elysee Palace in July. The prime minister traveled to Paris in a bid to repair the relationship with the French president following the failed submarine deal between Australia and France. Photograph: Lukas Coch/EPA

What we learned today, Tuesday 8 November

And that’s where we’re going to wrap things up for the day. Here are some of the highlights:

Look after yourselves folks, and we’ll see you again tomorrow.

Updated

Mark Dreyfus says AAT has a ‘completely unacceptable’ bullying record

The administrative appeals tribunal has a “completely unacceptable” record of bullying complaints on top of the Coalition’s “miserable record” of stacking the body, the attorney general has said.

As we reported earlier, Mark Dreyfus made the comments in question time on Tuesday, seizing on the latest controversy involving the tribunal to bolster Labor’s case to reform or replace it due to partisan appointments made by the Coalition.

In opposition, Dreyfus frequently criticised the Coalition’s practice of appointing former staffers and politicians from its ranks to the powerful tribunal, which reviews the merits of government decisions in areas including welfare, immigration and the national disability insurance scheme.

The government is actively considering abolishing the AAT and replacing it with a new merits review tribunal. Dreyfus did not rule out that option in June when it was proposed by a Labor-chaired Senate committee. A decision on the AAT’s future is expected as early as December.

Read the full story here:

Updated

I have no context for this but it seems apt for <waves hands> all this.

Emus appear to be causing problems … in the United States. Because people are buying them to keep as pets. Because of TikTok.

This is where the entirety of Australia shakes its head in bewilderment.

Updated

Peter Dutton speaks against Labor’s industrial relations bill

The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has spoken in the lower house against the industrial relations bill.

He noted the millions of dollars unions have donated to Labor in recent years, arguing in this bill “the government repays them in spades”.

Dutton accused Labor of “sacrificing small businesses at the altar of unionism” through a reform that will “usher in economy-wide strikes”. He said the “desire to push the bill through at warp speed” shows disrespect to workers and businesses.

Dutton said it was “absolutely unprecedented” for the Fair Work Commission to be given powers to arbitrate intractable disputes, a move that would “kill off bargaining” and move back towards centralised wage fixing.

Dutton claimed there is “no shortage of strike action right now” – which ignores that strikes are at their lowest level in decades – citing the RTBU train strike in Sydney as a sign of things to come. That is exactly the sort of dispute that the FWC is likely to be able to arbitrate, getting trains running again.

“Catastrophic damage at a time we can least afford it” … Peter Dutton speaks against the IR bill.
“Catastrophic damage at a time we can least afford it” … Peter Dutton speaks against the IR bill. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Dutton said:

We strongly support choice. If people choose to join a union we honour and respect their choice to do so ... Multi-employer bargaining is a mechanism for unionists to assert their relevance in the 21st century ... Many businesses will have to contend with the union machine, and their mob-like extortion and intimidation for the first time.

Dutton said the bill will do “catastrophic damage at a time we can least afford it”. He called on independents in the house and Senate to stand for integrity (and block or significantly amend the bill).

Dutton is proposing his own amendments removing the elements of multi-employer bargaining out of the bill, and reinstating the Australian Building and Construction Commission.

Updated

Want to catch up on the day’s events? If you’re not already signed up to our Afternoon Update, I highly recommend you do. You’ll get this nice little curated snippet of everything that’s happened in the past 12 hours sent straight to your inbox, from Antoun Issa.

Here’s today’s edition:

We had a post from Luke Henriques-Gomes in the blog a little earlier this afternoon – he’s been watching the royal commission into robodebt this week. Here’s his wrap of today’s proceedings so far.

Updated

Independents 'disappointed' as Labor curtails debate on IR bill

The leader of the house, Tony Burke, has successfully moved a motion accelerating and curtailing the House of Representatives debate on Labor’s secure jobs better pay bill.

Under the motion, Peter Dutton will have 30 minutes to speak on the bill, then speeches will be cut to 10 minutes as the bill is debated through Tuesday and Wednesday, before a further cut to 5 minutes if the debate is still going on Wednesday evening. Amendments will be voted on in batches, to give it a vote on Thursday.

Several independents spoke against the motion.

North Sydney MP Kylea Tink said:

Just eight business days after the introduction of the most significant IR reform since WorkChoices in 2006, we’re being asked to truncate due process. I welcome discussion [on the bill] but I’m concerned due process is being severely truncated.

MP Zali Steggall expressed “disappointment with the government”, after three years of complaints about debate being curtailed it has now used a procedure which “attempts to move past gagging debate altogether” but still curtails debate.

The Liberals moved an amendment to neuter the motion.

The government won the votes 72 to 67, outvoting the crossbench and opposition.

Updated

Greens senator Nick McKim is also asking about the stage-three tax cuts, whether abolishing them would reduce inflation more quickly.

Treasury deputy secretary Luke Yeaman has said that the inflationary impact of the stage-three tax cuts had already been factored into the budget, and that considering the inflationary impact of the measure was “not the only factor”:

If you take more income, and it can be tax cuts or spending on any front ... out of the economy then that is likely to lead to a reduction in economic activity and therefore inflation.

I would say though and it is an important point ... that the prevailing economic circumstances matter, as do the effects more broadly of tax changes or any other policy measure frankly on a whole range of other factors such as distribution and participation.

That is one factor that you would consider in such a decision, but it is not the only factor.

Yeaman rejected the suggestion from McKim that leaving the tax cuts in the budget would be inflationary:

I wouldn’t use that term, Senator.

However, Yeaman conceded that not proceeding with stage-three tax cuts would effectively be an increase in taxes, which would put downward pressure on inflation.

Updated

Bob Brown charged with trespass following logging protest

Tasmania police have confirmed they have charged environmental campaigner Bob Brown with trespass following a protest against logging of native forest in the state’s northeast.

The 77-year-old ex-Greens leader was one of three environmentalists charged after a protest in what police called a “timber production zone” at Lake Leake.

Bob Brown arrest in Tasmania while protesting against logging in forests, which home critically endangered swift parrots.
Bob Brown is arrested in Tasmania while protesting against logging in forests, home to critically endangered swift parrots. Photograph: The Guardian

Campaigners say the forest is nesting habitat for the critically endangered swift parrot, a migratory species that scientists say could be extinct in a decade, and which is supposed to be protected under law.

A police spokesperson said they were called to the area after reports a group of people were obstructing logging contractors.

They said some in the group left without incident, but a man - Brown - initially failed to move on and would be “summonsed to attend court on a trespass matter”.

They said:

Two women who had secured themselves to logging equipment with metal lock-on devices were arrested and charged with trespass and obstruct police after search and rescue officers had to attend and release them from the equipment.

Updated

One we missed from earlier today in Estimates:

David Pocock asked the Australian Electoral Commission about “doctored superman corflutes from the election campaign” – which depicted him wearing an Australian Greens shirt.

The AEC has previously said it considered this to breach section 329 of the Electoral Act, which bans material that “is likely to mislead or deceive an elector in relation to the casting of a vote”.

AEC officials told Pocock that it can’t prosecute people, but it had referred the matter to the AFP to investigate further.

Rain relief on the way – perhaps? – as oceans shift to more neutral conditions

Eastern Australia has been enjoying a relatively dry spell of late – unless you’re in the path of some slow-moving major flood waters, such as the Barwon-Darling/Bakka river.

The Bureau of Meteorology has updated its climate drivers report, with some good news from the north-west. The negative phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole has ended, snapping the first recorded back-to-back annual occurrence of this event.

During the negative phase, surface waters off north-western Australia are relatively warm (compared with those on the western side of the Indian Ocean), making it more likely for clouds to form. These rainbands stream across the continent in late winter and spring, lifting rainfall as we have seen, particularly in the southeast. The shallow La Niña in the Pacific is also tilting back towards neutral conditions.

After three La Niña years in a row, we’ll be glad to see the back of this one, which is likely in January, if not before.

Weather and climate, though, don’t switch on or off, and so we’re probably talking about the gradual easing of conditions as summer plays out.

As an island continent, though, what happens to the south plays a role too. The Southern Annular Mode – which tends to produce more rain across the nether parts of the country – looks like remaining in its positive phase for now at least.

As the bureau notes, that means increased odds of above-average rainfall for the near term for parts of eastern NSW, eastern Victoria, and south-eastern Queensland. (Western Tasmania seems to be the place to head if you want drier-than-usual weather just now.)

The wildcard in the pack, though, could be tropical cyclones, which can bring a lot of extra rain to many areas. La Niñas favour more such tempests than usual, which is something we didn’t see in the first two years of this trio. Will we be lucky for a third year in a row?

Updated

Public servant nominated for award for role in designing robodebt scheme, royal commission hears

Department of Human Services officials nominated a public servant for a 2017 Australia Day award to mark his role designing the robodebt scheme, a royal commission has heard.

Emails presented to the royal commission on Tuesday from November 2016 show that an email from DHS official Scott Britton nominated another official, Jason Ryman, for an Australia Day achievement award for 2017.

He was nominated by the department’s compliance branch for “leading the Online Compliance Intervention” project – which was the robodebt scheme.

Britton, who was giving evidence on Tuesday, said he did not know if Ryman had received the award.

Other emails aired in the commission in early 2017 showed that then human services minister Alan Tudge had written to his department asking for a briefing, including “real life examples” of the use of ATO data to raise debts, in part because the then prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, had read an opinion piece about the scheme. Tudge also requested details of the savings the scheme would generate.

The inquiry also heard that throughout the second half of 2016 – after the robodebt scheme had been ramped up – Tudge’s office asked Department of Human Services officials when the scheme would hit a $500m savings target.

Departmental emails showed public servants were not aware of any official target, and Britton told the inquiry he expected that the “target” was a milestone that Tudge’s office wanted to mark with a media release.

The commission continues.

Updated

And on that note, I am going to hand you over to Steph Convery for the rest of the afternoon.

We have two more days of the house sitting and three more days of estimates, so who knows what could happen!

Thank you to everyone who followed along with me today – I will be back early tomorrow morning.

Have fun with Steph – in the meantime, take care of you.

And in case you haven’t seen it from Josh Taylor:

The online safety regulator has written to Elon Musk, cautioning him his company must comply with Australian law and expressing concern about the cuts to the platform’s safety team and proposed changes to verification.

Julie Inman Grant, who worked for Twitter prior to becoming Australia’s eSafety commissioner in 2016, told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday she had written to Twitter’s new billionaire owner to seek assurances Twitter would comply with takedown and other government requests.

Australia’s online safety act gives the eSafety commissioner powers to issue requests to companies like Twitter to provide information to her about accounts or remove content such as bullying or image-based abuse targeted at Australians.

The Coalition’s shadow finance minister Jane Hume is asking about the costing of the stage-three tax cuts, suggesting the new government had costed the measure because it had considered scrapping it.

Hume asks why Treasury would cost an “already legislated government policy”.

“There is a costing that has been done to remove the stage-three tax cuts,” Hume said.

Last month, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, announced that the cost of the stage-three tax cuts had blown out by $11bn over the medium term to $254bn.

The finance minister Katy Gallagher said it was a routine budgeting process, and accused the Coalition of leaving the budget in “a mess”.

“We wanted a very clear understanding of everything that was and wasn’t in the budget,” Gallagher said.

Yeaman said “not surprisingly” Treasury had looked at a range of different options on both the spending and revenue side, “to help inform government decision making”.

Hume requested Treasury provide an answer as to when the costing was requested, commenced and completed.

Updated

Wet girl summer seems inevitable.

Updated

Cancelling French submarine contract cost $591m, Senate estimates reveals

Greens senator David Shoebridge said estimates has revealed cancelling the French submarine contract cost “half a billion dollars”:

Only in a bungled multibillion-dollar Defence project would a government even try to hide a lazy $591m in additional costs.

These costs have been ferreted away off the Defence budget, but they will still have to be paid for by the public.

It’s the opportunity cost of these funds that really hurts. When we pay an extra $591m for not building submarines we lose those funds for public housing, schools or income relief.

While there are strategic arguments for retaining skilled staff, the fact that the ASC contract costs $1.3m for every job is astounding.

The ASC contract is filling a staff capacity gap caused by the bungled handling of the future submarine project.

This proves that there are far more effective ways to promote employment and economic opportunities across Australia than throwing countless millions at overpriced defence contracts.

Updated

Nationals senator Matt Canavan has been pushing Treasury on the components of inflation and its previous forecasts, saying that inflation had started rising ahead of the Ukraine invasion. Canavan suggested it was “self-interested” for Treasury to blame the pandemic and the war.

Yeaman is outlining how the pandemic and its supply shocks had contributed to initial inflation rises, pointing to shutdowns in China as an example and the shortages of goods.

Canavan is also asking Yeaman to explain what Treasury had meant when it talked about possible government intervention in the energy market, asking if price caps were on the table.

Sam Reinhardt, deputy secretary of the fiscal group, said that they were looking at a range of options.

It’s a significant issue for government, so as you would understand, Senator, there are options along the whole supply chain for electricity generation and we will look at all the options that are available.”

Canavan asks if that included looking at any increase in supply, saying Australia should be looking at increasing its exports of gas and coal to help assist other nations, including allies.

A pedestrian wearing a face mask crosses an empty road in front of office towers in Lujiazui financial district, after the lockdown placed to curb the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak was lifted in Shanghai, China.
Luke Yeaman says the pandemic and its supply shocks, including lockdowns in China, contributed to initial inflation rises. Photograph: Reuters

Reinhardt said that increases in supply that fed into electricity markets would reduce prices, and pointed to a “really substantial number of reforms” in the budget that would increase grid capacity and have a longer term impact on prices.

Yeaman said that while Treasury would provide advice, the decision on what type of intervention took place would ultimately come down to the government.

Given the market is currently being hit by ... these disruptions, things that act quickly and directly on the price are going to be most effective in our view .... in helping people to deal with the current energy price shock and effect this redistribution of income.”

Finance minister Katy Gallagher said the government’s focus was on what could be done in the short term.

Updated

Economy shows no signs of wage-price spiral, Treasury deputy says

Greens senator Nick McKim is asking about the contribution of wages and corporate profits to inflation, with Treasury deputy secretary Luke Yeaman saying there was no evidence of a wage-price spiral emerging in the economy. He said inflation was being driven by external supply shocks and cost pressures coming from the pandemic.

McKim pushes Yeaman on whether corporate profiteering was a driver of inflation, saying this was the view of “well-credentialed economists” in Australia and overseas.

Treasury deputy secretary Luke Yeaman tells Senate Estimates the ACCC is looking into any potential price gouging.
Treasury deputy secretary Luke Yeaman tells Senate Estimates the ACCC is looking into any potential price gouging. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

“Obviously, corporate profitability has been high recently, which is primarily driven from our perspective by the very large increases in commodity prices that we’ve seen recently, and I think fundamentally, the things that are driving inflation are as I said, those cost pressures coming through out of the pandemic and those external supply shocks from outside not corporate profits per se,” Yeaman said.

McKim said companies were using the external price shocks as “cover” to jack up their prices, and people who were doing it toughest were getting “smashed”.

Yeaman said that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was looking at any potential price gouging.

McKim then asks Yeaman about correspondence within the department that said high prices may be coming from “margin rebuild”.

McKim and Yeaman are now discussing whether this equates to corporate profiteering, with Yeaman saying that this could mean a return to normal dividends following the pandemic, with McKim saying that rebuilding margins clearly meant making profits.

Updated

Brewers hope for excise freeze amid warmer weather

The beleaguered beer industry has weathered pandemic shutdowns, supply chain issues and the August tax hike, and is hoping for a bumper summer.

Coopers Brewery has posted its 2022 results, and managing director Tim Cooper said a 3.5% fall in volume sales was a decent result, “given the supply and demand pressures facing the entire industry”, although he warned the cost-of-living crisis and price increases were affecting people’s purchasing decisions.

For Coopers, profit before tax was $27.3m, down from $36.5m the year before.

“While the overall market remains tight, we are seeing some positive signs emerging,” Cooper said.

A pint of beer is poured into a glass

The Brewers’ Association of Australia has warned that the next excise increase, in February 2023, could push prices higher still.

Chief executive officer, John Preston, said the August increase of 4% was the “highest in 30 years”, and that the February increase would be as high again.

Beer is already $15 for a “higher end” pint in some places, he said, and that would become a more common price. Bars then have a choice of absorbing the cost or passing it on, Preston said. The association is calling for an excise freeze, and hoping the warmer weather and post-lockdown crowds deliver for the bars.

“We’re just hoping that they get a really good run at it this summer,” Preston said.

Updated

Mark Dreyfus finishes up the questions with a dixer on the sports rorts Gaetjens report and question time, and my patience for it, ends.

Andrew Hastie has a question for Richard Marles:

My question is for the minister for defence. The prime minister said he does not want duplication in the national anti-corruption commission. Why is the ADF included in the commission but senior unit leaders are not.

Marles:

Thank you, Mr Speaker and I thank the member for his question. The military tribunal have their important role to play. The government has committed to producing an anti-corruption commission which is going to be robust in accordance with the commitments that we took to the last election.

Updated

Adam Bandt has another of the crossbench questions:

Greedy energy corporations are driving up bills by 56% while making record profits. prime minister, would you back the Greens plan to freeze electricity bills funded by a windfall tax on gas and energy corporations to deliver immediate relief?

Anthony Albanese:

What we will be doing – I thank the member for Melbourne for his question. And I thank him for the constructive engagement as well. I understand that we have different solutions that we will present in dealing with the challenge of climate change but I don’t doubt his sincerity in wanting to deal with it.

That is the starting point. It is acknowledging the science which is there.

We went to the election with a very clear plan.

Our powering Australia plan – it acknowledges the changes that are required in our economy that will provide for an 82% share of our energy mix to be renewables by 2030. We understand that that is the cheapest and cleanest form of new energy. I know that, on a number of areas, housing, energy – in these areas – we have had propositions stating we could just take the action of freezing payments as is put forward by the member for Melbourne.

It is completely unclear to me and upon any legal advice of how you would do that, in terms of intervening in the way in which the member for Melbourne’s suggested. What the government has to do is to come up with practical plans that make a practical difference.

We did that in June by making sure that the lights stayed on. We did that in negotiations that took place with gas suppliers to make sure that we secured the greater than the 56 petajoules that was anticipated would be the shortfall by the ACCC.

We will do that as we are working through the current solutions or working through with industry, working through with our departments, working through with manufacturers as well. Because we understand that the increase that is occurring as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in global energy prices that is feeding into global inflation as well, it is a challenge for the economy. We will deal with it with real solutions rather than slogans. That is a Labor way and the responsibility we have as a government.

Greens leader Adam Bandt at a press conference at Parliament House before question time on Tuesday.
Greens leader Adam Bandt at a press conference at Parliament House before question time on Tuesday. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

The Liberal MP for O’Connor, Rick Wilson has a question for the prime minister:

Can the prime minister please explain why NDIS workers and soldiers will be subject to the national anti-corruption commission but union officials exercising their power under the law of the commonwealth will have a specific exclusion?

Anthony Albanese:

I thank the member for his question. He seems unaware that of course people in the industrial relations system are covered by the Fair Work Ombudsman, as well as the Fair Work Commission. They are subject to that. One of the things that we have done with the national anti-corruption commission – the party may want to talk to the leader of the opposition about this, because he has made it very clear that what we should not do with the national anti-corruption commission is duplicate systems that are in place already. So if you look at for example parliamentarians with IPEA for example are excluded from the provisions.

I’ve done that. They’ve done that as a result of the clear indication from those opposite that I agree with, that I agree with as well. That what you need to do with the national anti-corruption commission is fill the gaps which are there. You don’t need to duplicate laws and provisions which are available already.

Updated

The independent MP for Fowler, Dai Le has another of the crossbench questions:

Will the treasurer tell the House how can the government offer additional childcare relief for those earning up to $530,000 while removing the low and middle income tax offsets for individuals and families earning less than $130,000 who need tax relief the most during a cost-of-living crisis? How will the government provide immediate relief for those families struggling, like those in Fowler?

Shoppers in Cabramatta, in Dai Le’s electorate.
Shoppers in Cabramatta, in Dai Le’s electorate. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images

Jim Chalmers:

Once again, I appreciate the question from the Member for Fowler and thank her for the conversations we’ve had about cost of living in the past.

We recognise and understand that when inflation is high and rising for longer than we would like, Australian families and Australians more broadly are under more pressure than we would like and when it comes to low and middle income tax, it was a decision made by our predecessors to end the LMITO [lower and middle income earner tax offsets] and that has ended, that’s a decision that my predecessors [including] treasurer Frydenberg made very clear.

What we have tried to do in the budget and what we have done in the budget is to provide cost-of-living relief your constituents and to all of our constituents in a way that does not add to inflation in our economy.

We recognise that the reason why real wages are going backwards is because inflation has been too high for too long. We recognise that interest rates are going up because inflation is higher than we want it to be and that is largely a consequence of pressure coming from around the world but it’s felt around the kitchen tables of our communities and so the cost-of-living relief that we are providing in the budget, whether it be cheaper early childhood education, expansion of paid parental leave, whether it be the housing accord to get more, cheaper rental properties into the market, whether it be cheaper medicines, our policies to get wages moving again, all of these things are all about providing the cost-of-living relief that people need and deserve in a way that is not counter-productive by making the inflation problem even worse. So that’s the government’s strategy here.

The alternative would be to risk making the inflation problem worse. There is something like $7.5bn of cost-of-living relief flowing in the budget. Obviously, as we go through these challenging times, if there is more that we can responsibly do, obviously we will consider it and will always try to do the right thing by her constituents and all the people be represent in this place.

Updated

The Liberal MP for Lindsey, Melissa McIntosh has a question for Anthony Albanese that Chris Bowen takes.

In Lindsey, the owners of a local cafe, Screaming Beans are struggling with the pressure of rising inflation and power prices. Given the budget indicates that power prices will increase by 56%, why are businesses like Screaming Beans having to pay for the Prime Minister’s broken promise to cut power prices?

(Screaming Beans is now in the Hansard. And also, describes my coffee habit.)

Bowen:

I thank the member for her question and this government is extremely concerned about power prices for businesses, small, medium and large, and power prices for industry and for residents as well.

And this government has taken the approach of being straight with the Australian people about the pressures on energy prices, the pressures caused by very high coal and gas import costs.

That’s why we took the approach in the budget and the Treasurer took the approach in the budget of being straight with the Australian people. It was an alternative approach, which is not to be straight with the Australian people.

We took option A to be straight forward with the Australian people. The previous government took option B, of hiding those price rises. They are in every sense the B team, option B was the one embraced by ...

Paul Fletcher has a point of order:

Previously on the 1 August you directed a minister to be relevant to the question where a minister had strayed and began talking about the record of the former government. They cannot help themselves, he has done it again, and should be directed back to the question.

Milton Dick:

The minister has said some context and one minute and I will ask him to return to the specific broken promises alleged in the question. About, and also the rise in power prices which was also in the question which he is referring to and I call the minister.

Chris Bowen
Chris Bowen: “You did not have the guts to tell the Australian people you could not help them.” Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Bowen:

In relation to the rising power prices, if the option they took and there has been a development in recent days on this important topic which will be of interest to the house because previously the Member for Hume denied hiding the power price rises and said it did not happen and then he said he did not know about the power price rises when he changed the law and last week of the National Press Club, he said I was acting on departmental advice, Mr Speaker. How pathetic, to blame your public servants for your decision, Mr Speaker. That’s how pathetic these guys are, blaming a department. That is what they are lowered to.

That’s why the prime minister, treasurer, resources minister and myself have made it clear we will not be standing by and watching the prices of coal and gas flow through to Australian industries and households, that’s what you did and you did not have the guts to tell the Australian people you could not help them. You hid that from the people and that’s how pathetic you got and how that’s how pathetic you still are.

Updated

Angus Taylor asks about gas prices, giving Chris Bowen an opportunity to use “well done Angus” (a reference to when Taylor or someone in his office forgot to move to the shadow account on Facebook and meant Taylor ended up congratulating himself for his own announcement).

Bowen:

I welcome a question from the opposition about gas because it was those opposite that promised a gas-led recovery. Remember that? What they left was a gas-led bin fire.

Because on the day that our old friend the Member for Hume announced a gas-led recovery, the price of gas was $4.28 a gigajoule. The gas-led recovery went so well that by the time of the election the price of gas was $34.75 a gigajoule. Well done, Angus!

Updated

Treasury supports government support to rein in energy prices

Treasury’s deputy secretary Luke Yeaman is fronting the Senate economics legislation committee for budget estimates.

After outlining global and domestic pressures facing the Australian economy, Yeaman – who read an opening statement from Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy who is absent – said that the government will need to address “profound” budget pressures in the future.

Beyond the near term, the budget pressures are more profound and will likely require a combination of spending restraint and increases in taxes to reduce deficits and lower debt.

We are fortunate in Australia to begin this journey with a relatively lower level of debt as a proportion of GDP than in many countries. Nevertheless, necessary policy decisions will be difficult in order to best promote the national interest.”

On energy, Yeaman said Treasury was supportive of government intervention to address surging energy prices in a way that it wouldn’t normally be, saying in usual circumstances high price signals were important to allow for “helpful adjustment” in the market.

The circumstances of war-driven price shocks are different and outside the frame of such an approach. In our view such shocks bring into scope government intervention.

For example, the current gas and thermal coal price increases are leading to unusually high prices and profits for some companies, prices and profits that are well beyond the usual bounds of investment and profit cycles.

The same price increases are leading to a reduction in the real incomes of many people, with the most severely affected being lower income working households. The energy price increases are also significantly reducing the profits of many businesses and raising questions about their viability.

Office buildings are seen illuminated in the central business district on June 21, 2022 in Sydney, Australia.

Yeaman said that interventions that “directly address the higher domestic thermal coal and gas prices” would be “optimal” and Australia was “uniquely placed” to pursue this type of intervention given it is an energy exporter.

He suggested any government intervention should take into account the different level of shock being experienced by different state and territories and that it should also be temporary and “regularly reviewed”.

Updated

Angus Taylor to Jim Chalmers:

Before the election, the prime minister promised Australians cheaper mortgages. Can the prime minister inform Australians how much the cash rate has increased since May 21?

The Labor side of the house makes a lot of noise at this, because – audacity.

Anthony Albanese:

I will ask the treasurer to answer the question but we are not going to take lectures from the lightweight on the hill over there.

The Coalition side of the house makes a lot of noise at this, because – theatre.

Paul Fletcher wants Albanese to withdraw his “unparliamentary language”.

Milton Dick says there was too much noise for him to hear.

Jim Chalmers:

With questions that bad is it any wonder he hardly ever gets one. It might not have dawned on the shadow treasurer, nor on the dregs of the former government which are arrayed before us …

The Coalition again gets up in arms. Dick makes a general warning about language. It seems he heard that one.

Chalmers:

Would leftovers be parliamentary, Mr Speaker?

Treasurer Jim Chalmers during Question Time in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra

The government side laughs, Dick tells Chalmers to stop the jokes and get on with the answer.

Chalmers:

Thank you to the shadow treasurer for a very rare and particularly bad question. Because as everybody else in this House knows, interest rates started going up on their watch.

Interest rates started going up for a range of reasons from the extraordinary lows that they were at - 0.1% - and they are currently out to 2.85% as every member of this house knows. Except perhaps the shadow treasurer. Now, if the shadow treasurer had any credibility whatsoever, he would acknowledge first of all that rates started going up on the former government’s watch.

And secondly, he would say what members over there said when they started going up during the election, which was interest rates were not going to be at 0.1% for ever. So what we have done and what we have done, Mr Speaker, and one of the reasons why we are proud of the budget we handed down two weeks ago and the shadow treasurer won’t ask me any questions about that budget, but what we did that budget was make sure we were making the inflation problem was.

The fact is, we showed remarkable spending restraint and we invested in the supply chain issues which were pushing up ... in the economy.

I was asked about interest rate.

Taylor starts yelling things and Paul Fletcher jumps up with a point on relevance:

That was your promise what are you doing about it?

Dick says Chalmers is in order.

The treasurer is referring to interest rates which in my understanding is linked to mortgages. So I call the treasurer.

Chalmers:

You are already far ahead of the shadow treasurer, Mr Speaker, if you make that link and far ahead of the manager of opposition business. Because the point I am making is that the budget we handed down two weeks ago was aimed fairly and squarely at this inflation challenge in our economy, which was a problem before the election, interest rates were going up before the election. They have absolutely no credibility if they won’t acknowledge that.

Updated

Paul Fletcher is really falling back on his time debating at university. There is plenty of dour flourish in his interjections.

Updated

Kate Chaney has one of the crossbench questions today:

Australia has a history of complex industrial relations regulation and the multi-employer bargaining part of the secure jobs better pay bill is making many employers very nervous. Wages will not increase if businesses and their employees have to navigate an even more complex wage-setting system full of unintended consequences. What does the government think is more important, getting the bill passed urgently or getting it right?

Anthony Albanese:

I thank the Member for Curtin for her question and for engaging constructively with the government. We had a meeting earlier today in which these issues were canvassed and raised and I’m always happy to meet with members of the crossbench, as I am with anyone in this parliament who has serious policy issues to raise.

The fact is that the government that I lead was elected with the mandate to increase people’s wages.

We went to an election and cannot have been clearer. We also can’t have been clearer either in the speech I gave to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Sydney during the election campaign.

I spoke about the need to get bargaining operating effectively. I spoke about the fact that productivity was flatlining over a considerable period of time and that is the Reserve Bank governor had indicated, that we had a circumstance whereby wages just simply were not keeping up, and that was actually holding back the economy, that’s a constraint on the economy.

What we have been doing with the industrial relations legislation is making sure that we consulted not just during that period, not just after we came to office but at the jobs and skill summit, in the lead-up to the legislation being moved by the minister for workplace relations and then, during the inquiry that is taking place into the legislation and also prior to the legislation being debated in this chamber. And as a result of that consultation, extensively, there are a range of amendments that were removed by the government.

We do want to make sure that we get this right. But we also want to make sure that wages get moving because we understand the pressure that family budgets are under.

And we understand that you cannot have a circumstance whereby particularly feminised industries – our cleaners, our childcare workers, our aged care workers, our disability care workers, heroes of the pandemic – you deserve something more than a thanks.

They deserve an increase in their wages. And that’s why what our industrial relations legislation is aimed at doing, is working effectively, constructively with the business community, consulting with COSBOA, ACCI and anyone else who wants to join us in discussing that legislation so I thank the member and other members who contribute constructively to it, you certainly will get it right and get it done.

Updated

Mark Dreyfus takes a dixer to talk about the bullying claims at the AAT which were raised during estimates:

Over recent weeks, those opposite including the opposition leader have complained that the AAT is, his words, stacked with political appointees who cannot be trusted to approve warrants for the proposed new national anti-corruption commission.

Those opposite appear to have no sense of irony at all.

According to the opposition leader, the members of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal lack the independence and requisite level of oversight and intellect to perform the important role of approving warrants, even though, as minister for home affairs, the same leader of the opposition radically expanded the role of AAT members in issuing warrants.

For the benefit of the opposition leader, yes, the AAT is stacked with political appointees and that’s because he and his colleagues spent almost a decade stacking the AAT with political appointees. They are attacking their own miserable record.

The opposition leader and its colleagues are now openly admitting what many of us have been saying for years.

… Each year, tens of thousands of Australians rely on the AAT to independently review decisions made by commonwealth departments and ministers that have major and sometimes life altering impacts on their lives.

Those opposite do not care about those Australians. Those opposite have never cared about those Australians and they never will and just yesterday we heard more troubling revelations about the internal culture of the AAT, after almost 10 years of Liberal party stacking.

Seventeen current members of the tribunal have faced bullying, discrimination or harassment complaints since 1 July 2016.

One of those members has had at least five such complaints made of them.

That’s completely unacceptable and it’s another problem that our government will have to address.

The Liberal party of Australia deserves to be tarnished forever for the legacy of this uniquely disgraceful exhibition of political cronyism which has come at enormous cost to taxpayers to the AAT and to Australia’s system of administrative law more generally.

Updated

Angie Bell, the Liberal MP for Moncrieff, asks how much wholesale power prices will need to fall for the government to meet its “lower power bills by $275 by 2025” promise.

Anthony Albanese gives his same answer he gives to all these questions – moves to renewables, which are the cheapest form of power, the war in Ukraine making things worse, and working towards solutions.

The opposition interjects for relevance, as they usually do, it is ignored, as it usually is, and we move on.

Updated

The first dixer (question written by government tactics team to a member of the government) is also on climate.

Anthony Albanese talks about what the government is doing:

[Cop27] sits in a context where it comes after the hottest decade on record. And indeed, the past eight years are on track to be the eight warmest on record. Think about that.

Every one of the eight hottest years on record is the last eight years! The last eight years. And what we’ve seen, of course, not just the impact of this with the devastating floods in places like Pakistan, we don’t actually have to look offshore.

We can look here at the increased number of extreme weather events and the increase in the severity of them. Just before question time, I was speaking to the member for Riverina about Forbes in his electorate that we visited just a couple of weeks ago.

We visited as the flood waters were going down. Now, they’ve gone up again and fortunately, for the people of Forbes who have done it so tough, they’ve gone down again.

I visited just a week ago, Lismore with the New South Wales premier, where we’re actually having to buy homes to move them out of the flood plain because people do not feel safe in those communities.

We’ve had the devastating bushfires, including in areas of rainforest that had never burnt ever before – ever before!

And we have the secretary of the UN say last night, “The science is clear, any hope of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees means achieving global net zero emissions by 2050.”

But that 1.5 degree goal is on life support and the machines are rattling.

This parliament, the major parties apparently are all agreed on zero by 2050. They are all agreed except for the rhetoric, and you wanted to know it if you follow the statements that are aimed.

So our government is acting and one of our first acts was to sign up to our changed nationally determined contribution of 43% by 2030. We enshrined in law net zero by 2050 and we are investing in renewable energy.

Climate change is a challenge for our generation but it’s also a challenge [for the world].

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reacts during House of Representatives Question Time
Albanese prepares for a dixer. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

Question time begins

Peter Dutton to Anthony Albanese:

The Coalition has ruled out paying compensation to other nations for the effects of climate change. Will the Albanese government also rule out signing Australia up to compensate other countries as part of the deal at COP27 in Egypt.

If you missed it, please read Murph’s column from the weekend:

With that in mind, here is Albanese’s answer:

One of things that I won’t do is in front of boom mic, make a joke about our island neighbours. That’s one of the things that I won’t do. I won’t do that.

And I won’t do that because I want to build good relations with our Pacific neighbours.

And one of the things that we provided for, we provided for in the budget for all there to see, and if the leader of the opposition wants to have a look at the budget papers, we’ve made it very clear that one of things that we will do is provide support for our Pacific Island neighbours for infrastructure that needs to be dealing with because of the threat that countries like Tuvalu and Kiribati are experiencing.

One of the things that we saw during the election campaign, Mr Speaker, was the Solomon Islands was front and centre of the campaign. The fact that Australia, unfortunately, has stepped back at other nations with the strategic competition that’s occurring in our region.

This is one of the things that we have to be strategic of with the national security issue. That is something that is recognised by the United States. It’s something that’s recognised by our other partners, and indeed, our allies.

It’s something that was recognised in the Quad Leaders’ Meeting.

The first thing that I did as prime minister was get on a plane and visit Tokyo to meet with Prime Minister Modi, Prime Minister Kushida and President Biden. And there, we spoke about the responsibility that we have as leaders of developed nations to engage in our region.

In south-east Asia, in the Indo-Pacific. So what we won’t be doing, Mr Speaker, is trying to score a cheap domestic political point, and at the same time, actually set back our international relations.

So you can’t say you care about strategic competition in the region, whilst you continue with this sort of position. No wonder, no wonder that Senator Wong has had to work so hard to restore Australia’s standing in our region.

Updated

Bob Brown arrested while protesting logging in Tasmania

Bob Brown has been arrested in north-eastern Tasmania while protesting against logging in forests that environmentalists say are breeding habitat for the critically endangered swift parrot.

Police led the former Greens leader out of the forest on Tuesday morning after he camped with other campaigners in what he called a “squalid” area of logged forest on Monday night. He is believed to have been charged on summons with trespass. Confirmation was being sought from Tasmania police.

The swift parrot is a migratory species that spends winters on the mainland and summers nesting in Tasmanian forests depending on where its main food sources, blue and black gums, are flowering. A CSIRO-published guide last year estimated the population had slumped to about 750, down from 2,000 a decade ago.

Tasmanian Swift Parrot, Tasmania, Australia
The endangered swift parrot. Photograph: ROBBLAKERS/Rob Blakers

Peer-reviewed studies have suggested it could be extinct in 10 years, and forestry was the greatest threat to its survival.

In a statement, Brown said he was under arrest for “upholding the laws of nature and the international biodiversity convention”.

We have more than enough plantations to meet the nation’s wood needs. In this extinction crisis, the government will get majority public applause if it ends the unnecessary native forest carnage”.

Updated

Ahead of question time is a condolence motion for former 1970s Liberal minister, Bob Ellicott.

Resources minister Madeleine King was speaking about some of the issues with energy prices on the ABC not so long ago, which included this exchange:

Q: You are saying retailers may be part of the problem here? That is where we are seeing increasing prices?

King:

I think the whole market as a problem, it is opaque, we can’t see into it. Minister Husic gets calls from manufacturers, I get calls from manufacturers, retailers, so you see, we’re all getting scatter-gun answers to these problems and what we really need is to find out the truth, and a transparent market will help us get to that and will put pressure on all providers, wholesalers, retailers, users of gas, gas powered generators to make sure everyone knows exactly what they are doing with the gas that people need.

Q: So would you back Ed Husic’s comments when he calls these gas producers greedy, tone deaf, milking gas prices? Is that a fair observation to make?

King:

It is not the kind of language I would use.

Updated

Sterle’s comments about McKenzie ‘completely unacceptable’, Watt says

Agriculture minister Murray Watt said his Labor colleague Glenn Sterle’s comments about Bridget McKenzie were “completely unacceptable” and said he doesn’t want to hear such words repeated.

Sterle, as we reported earlier, described Nationals senator McKenzie as a “naughty little girl” and told her to “be quiet” during a heated argument in a Senate estimates hearing. Sterle eventually apologised and withdrew the comment.

Watt, the minister who was at the estimates desk during the argument, was asked about the comments in a brief press conference this afternoon.

What Glenn said was completely unacceptable in the modern age. I’ve spoken with Glenn about it and I know he’s remorseful,” Watt said.

He’s made his apology but it’s utterly unacceptable for those kinds of remarks to be made in any workplace environment or in society as a whole.”


Watt called it “an extremely unfortunate remark that shouldn’t have been made”.

I’m pleased Glenn pretty quickly made an apology and recognised that he’d done the wrong thing,” he said.

I don’t want to see those kind of remarks made by any senator, no matter what their party is.”


Updated

You know it is estimates week when there are warring press releases.

Mark Dreyfus has just put this out:

Contrary to claims made today by the discredited former Home Affairs Minister, overall funding for the Australian Federal Police increased in the Albanese Government’s first Budget.

Budget Papers show that in 2022/23 total funding for the AFP is $1.84 billion.

As was confirmed today in Senate Estimates, this is a $100 million increase on the AFP’s 2021/22 Budget, and higher than the funding committed in the Coalition’s final budget in March this year when Karen Andrews was the Minister responsible for the AFP.

Nita Green: What is the total resourcing for the AFP in the 2022/23 financial year?

Charlotte Tressler (AFP CFO): Thank you. The total resourcing for the AFP is $1.8428 billion, so almost $1.9 billion.

Green: And how does that compare with the 2021/2022 financial year?

Tressler: So, in terms of actual resources spent, as opposed to appropriation, it’s $100 million more than last financial year.

This is an increase of more than 5% on the previous year, not a cut.

In future, Karen Andrews should take more time reading Budget Papers before rushing out media releases making false claims.

Updated

And then the apology:

Question time is coming up – there is no sign of any random storms so we should get through it with power intact this time round today!

Labor senator Glenn Sterle likens Bridget McKenzie to a ‘naughty little girl’ in Senate estimates

The deputy Nationals leader, Perin Davey, has questioned the behaviour of the Labor senator Glenn Sterle, who referred to Bridget McKenzie as a “naughty little girl” during a Senate estimates fracas this morning.

Sterle, a government senator for WA, said he was “going to do my block” during a disagreement in the rural and regional affairs committee in Parliament House this morning. McKenzie, the Nationals senator from Victoria, was asking questions of a dairy organisation appearing before the hearing, and pushed back on interjections from other senators about her line of questioning.

McKenzie: It’s interesting – I’ve asked a legitimate question ... I would like to continue my questions... you’ve both been yabbering at me.

“We’ve been going so well,” Sterle said, before McKenzie appeared to interject to defend herself. Sterle, the committee chair, then spoke up more loudly:

Sterle: Senator McKenzie, do you always have to have the last word? I was going to defend you then. Honestly like a naughty little girl, can you be quiet while someone finishes? You don’t have to have the last word... I’m going to do my block in a minute.

Sterle gave the call back to McKenzie, before further arguing with the Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson about the tone of discussions. Whish-Wilson asked Sterle to withdraw his comment, but Sterle refused.

You’re all as bad as each other... I will not withdraw it, I’m probably the easiest one to get on with.

McKenzie herself asked Sterle to withdraw, whereupon he apologised and said “you’re not a naughty little girl”.

We’ve contacted McKenzie’s office for comment, who declined to add any further to it. But Davey, the Nationals senator from NSW, tweeted in response to a clip of the exchange:

Updated

Inquiry into alleged war crimes conducted by Australian special forces has expanded beyond Brereton report, investigators confirm

Investigators from the Office of the Special Investigator have not yet been able to travel to Afghanistan to investigate alleged war crimes - but they have visited third-party countries.

The OSI is the body set up to work with the Australian federal police on the investigation into alleged war crimes stemming from the Brereton inquiry into Australian special forces.

The OSI director general, Chris Moraitis, confirmed that the 36 incidents referred to OSI from the Brereton inquiry all remained under active investigation – and the OSI was also investigating additional matters:

Yes, senator, as well as other matters that have come to our attention beyond Brereton.

Moraitis said OSI sought “evidence where we can” but would not go into operational details. Moraitis said they had not yet been able to travel to Afghanistan (the complicated issue of engagement with the Taliban is a matter for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade).

The Greens senator David Shoebridge asked whether OSI’s investigators had “travelled to countries outside of Australia except for Afghanistan for the purposes of contact with witnesses and investigators”.

Moraitis replied:

Without going into details, the answer is yes.

(He did not say whether this included neighbouring countries such as Pakistan.)

Moraitis also told the hearing he was comfortable with OSI’s resourcing. He said the current headcount was 128:

We have the option of another 25 or so investigators. We don’t think we need that at the moment. In fact we’re quite happy with what we’ve got.

He said OSI had been in close consultation with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, but at this stage had not provided any completed briefs of evidence to it. He would not indicate how many partial briefs of evidence provided to the DPP – he said he would “prefer not to” disclose that publicly because he was “still in the process of investigation [and] finalising elements”.

Moraitis was vague about when he expected to send first completed brief of evidence to provided to DPP. If he was optimistic he would say “near future”, which he later clarified meant 2023.

Updated

ABS data shows over 100,000 people moved to Queensland over the last five years

(I think the headline for this AAP story should be that more Australians show good sense, but as a Queenslander, I would say that – Amy)

Far more people are moving to Queensland than any other state or territory, while NSW recorded the biggest net loss, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows.

There was a net gain of more than 100,000 people to the sunshine state in the five years to 2021, according to internal migration numbers from the census. The biggest net loss was just south of the border, as 102,000 people moved out of NSW.

There were more modest gains in Tasmania and the ACT, with net increases of 15,000 and 10,000 respectively, while almost 10,000 people left Victoria.

Anecdotal stories of sea and tree changes are also backed up by the data, with a net loss of more than 160,000 from Australian capital cities.

Updated

Senior member of pesticides authority who is alleged to have urinated on fellow staff members has resigned, Senate told

A senior staff member of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority is alleged to have urinated on staff members at a function in Armidale in late 2021. He has now resigned, according to the APVMA’s chief executive, Lisa Croft, who was appearing before Senate estimates.

After initially denying that there were any current investigations into sexual harassment within her agency, Croft confirmed that she was “ aware of the matter” and that those directly involved had talked to her about it soon after the incident.

No official complaint was made.

But she confirmed there had been discussions with HR and that the staff member – a member of the executive team – “resigned soon after the event,” she said.

Croft insisted that the urination incident had occurred at a private event, not the office Christmas party as the Greens senator. Peter Whish-Wilson, had initially suggested in his question.

The APVMA has struggled to retain staff since being moved to Armidale in 2015 by the former agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce, whose seat includes Armidale. It has been wracked by poor morale and high staff turnover as a result of the move.

The minister for agriculture, Murray Watt, said he would be seeking an urgent briefing.

These are very concerning questions. It is certainly the first time I have heard about it and I will be seeking an urgent briefing.

Updated

Labor senator withdraws comment calling Bridget McKenzie ‘a naughty little girl’

It does not matter how frustrated you are, what your politics are, who it is directed towards, or what happened in the past – calling a woman “a naughty little girl” in a professional setting – the parliament no less, where the Respect at Work legislation was only just passed yesterday – is wildly inappropriate and the Labor senator Glenn Sterle deserved to be called out for it.

Updated

Defence minister calls for ‘industrial base’ across Australia to support defence

Richard Marles has spoken at the Submarine Institute of Australia conference, where he had a lot to say about, shockingly, submarines (the topic is kinda there in the title).

What does Australia need to prepare for nuclear submarines (referring to Aukus)?

Marles said:

Before we say nuclear powered submarines, submarines are hugely complex machines, so the process that we have gone through as a country in terms of … working out what capabilities we have to build the Attack-class … is not wasted effort … That is still highly relevant to understand what capabilities we’ve got and what we can bring to bear in this.

So I think before we talk about nuclear power, we are planning to build submarines in Australia still, and we’re planning to walk down that path pretty soon and pretty quickly. And so all the work that we had previously done in relation to getting people prepared to participate in Attack applies here.

… there are all the issues that I described in relation to nuclear stewardship which we need to be thinking through … it’s kind of, I almost feel, above my paygrade, but it is just the concept that everything is more far more robust. And so we need to be thinking about that.

And the final point I’ll make is, a lot of focus has been put on South Australia, that’s appropriate, that is where we will develop the capability to build submarines. WA is going to matter as well, it’s really going to matter. WA is obviously the home to our submarine fleet now [and] will continue to be that going forward and has I think, a very particular role play in the next few years. So we need to be thinking about our infrastructure there.

And then the final point I’d make is that to do all of this actually requires a defence industrial base across the country, so, this is going to require a significant national [attention].

Updated

What impact have the recent rains had?

Coalition looking for ‘sensible amendments’ to anti-corruption bill

The Coalition is still hoping for “sensible amendments” to the government’s anti-corruption body, seemingly still committed to a higher bar for public hearings such as an independent judge’s approval.

In the opposition party room meeting today, a major point of discussion was the national anti-corruption commission (Nacc). A parliamentary inquiry process is ongoing, and the Coalition’s party room spokesperson said the opposition had the “expectation” that some of their amendments would be advanced, including further safeguards around issues like public hearings.

You might remember that the government’s bar for holding public hearings was that they should be “exceptional” circumstances only, which upset some crossbenchers and integrity bodies. The Coalition wanted an even higher threshold, calling for a senior judge to make that decision.

The Coalition party room heard around five contributions on the Nacc, with members querying processes around public hearings and claiming the Nacc could be a “point of delay” for infrastructure projects. No decision was made on whether the Coalition would vote for or against the Nacc, based on the success of further amendments, but negotiations continue.

Elsewhere, the opposition leader Peter Dutton called the budget a “stinker”, while David Littleproud described Dutton’s budget reply speech as a “watershed” moment. Littleproud also claimed the Labor government “aren’t talking about their budget at all”, which he said “spoke volumes” about cost of living pressures being felt by Australians.

Contributions from the Coalition party room included short addresses on cuts to infrastructure funding in their electorates, gas prices, and the annual politicians vs press cricket game over the weekend (won easily by the pollies, thanks to a handy batting knock from several backbench Coalition MPs).

Updated

ABC staff take issue with Sarah Henderson’s comments on working practices

ABC staff are not holding back in correcting the record following some of Sarah Henderson’s comments and questions during senate estimates today. The senator often cites her experience working for the ABC, which occurred during the 1990s.

(As an aside, kids who were born when Henderson left the ABC are now primed for their quarter-life crisis. Go well, Gen Z. You’ll get through it. We all do.)

Updated

Coalition criticises apparent cuts to police and border force budgets

Karen Andrews is going hard on cuts today – here is the shadow home affairs minister on what she says is cuts to the AFP’s budget:

Today in Senate estimates, Australian Federal Police officials confirmed a cut of $18.46m to this crucial agency.

Since coming to office in 2013, the Coalition increased total funding to the AFP to $1.7bn.

In the March budget this year, the Coalition invested $170.4m to further develop the capabilities of the Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force (ABF) over the next four years.

This funding was aimed at hardening Australia’s border against transnational, serious and organised crime (TSOC) by increasing the number of ABF officers at seaports, airports and warehouses and boosting the AFP’s specialist operational, surveillance and criminal asset confiscation capabilities.

Any cut to the AFP’s funding is an undermining of our national security and Labor needs to explain what program is now being underfunded by their short-sightedness.

Daniel Hurst is listening to that estimates hearing, so I asked him for some context:

The $18.46m figure is not a revelation from Senate estimates, although it was discussed during the hearing today. It appears in the AFP’s portfolio budget statement released at the time of the budget last month.

What does it involve?

The saving of $18.46m for the AFP is listed in 2022-23 as “savings from external labour, and savings from advertising, travel and legal expenses”.

This is part of a government-wide cross-portfolio savings measure announced in the budget. However, the same document shows total resourcing for the AFP will increase from $1.88bn in 2021-22 to $1.98bn this financial year.

Updated

Turns out even economists think it is time for government intervention when it comes to the energy sector:

Eric Abetz may be gone from the senate, but his spirit in ABC estimates lives on.

Updated

Attorney general 'committed' to reforming AAT

The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, told the Labor caucus that he is “committed” to reforming the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, “an institution that has suffered serious harm over recent years”.

The comment followed evidence in Senate estimates on Monday that there are 19 members who have had more than one bullying or harassment complaint made against them since 2016, including 17 who are still serving members.

Dreyfus is meeting the AAT president this afternoon to discuss what measures have been put in place to deal with the complaints.

At the National Press Club in October, Dreyfus used comments from Liberals complaining that the AAT could grant warrants to the National Anti-Corruption Commission to bolster the case to reform or replace the body.

Dreyfus said:

If ever you wanted a demonstration or a confirmation that something needs to be done about the AAT, there it was with these current members of the opposition attacking, in effect, the partisan appointments that they made with almost 90 failed Liberal candidates, former Liberal staffers, former Liberal members of parliament that have been appointed.

In June a Senate committee called for the AAT to be abolished and reconstituted as a new merits appeal body - something Dreyfus has never ruled out.

His recent comments sound like he is contemplating something more extensive than just improving the appointment process.

Updated

NSW parliament says companies should be able to claim back costs of transporting donated surplus food through tax system

The NSW parliament has completed an inquiry into food production and supply and made a recommendation:

That the NSW Government advocates for reform at the federal level to enable farmer and logistics companies to claim the cost of transporting donated surplus food as tax credits

Now the food relief sector wants not just the NSW government to take up that recommendation, but all states and territories, to help make it easier for producers to donate excess stock:

Foodbank, OzHarvest and SecondBite have joined forces to lobby governments to make the tax changes:

The Foodbank Hunger Report 2022 highlighted that over 2 million Australian households were severely food insecure in the last 12 months, yet the country currently wastes more than 7.6 million tonnes of food each year, costing the economy over $36.6 billion. Of this food, 70% is perfectly edible and redirecting it to food relief would potentially deliver $2 billion in social return.

Despite this, Australia’s current tax framework does not motivate food producers to donate excess stock. In fact, in tax terms, donating is no different to recycling or sending to landfill even though it may cost the company more.

The tax incentive proposal, developed by KPMG with the support of the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre, recommends a two-tiered tax incentive based on the ability to offset a percentage of costs related to food donations from taxable income. Its aim is to encourage food producers to donate surplus product to food relief rather than sending it to landfill.

Updated

Threats to politicians on the rise

The Australian federal police commissioner, Reece Kershaw, says his agency will have to step up its protection of high office holders because threats to politicians are increasing.

At Senate estimates, Kershaw was asked about the prevalence of threats to MPs and their staff. He said:

We are concerned. We’re seeing that around the globe, the threat to high office holders. Unfortunately it seems to be on the increase. Often it is through the online environment that threats are made.

Kershaw said the AFP was working with Asio to review how assessments of threats are conducted.

They’re a point in time - what can happen in a week can change quickly.

He said the AFP was looking at restructuring the protective security command so that it would “coalesce” with its counter-terrorism command and sensitive investigations, “which will bring a whole new doctrine to that command”.

Kerhsaw said there was a need to focus on the needs of individual MPs:

Some MPs are more comfortable than others. Not that that changes our decision but I think, for us, we’re more and more going to be required to protect our high office holders.

Kershaw said that there were “a record number of incidents” during the recent election period, but he did not go into details. He said data would be provided to the Senate committee notice.

Updated

In Labor caucus, Anthony Albanese spoke about how the budget is being received, criticised Angus Taylor for not asking any questions to the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and spoke about the need to get wages moving.

He referred to the recent 15% rise in aged care pay and the national minimum wage decision, but didn’t mention the game of Senate chicken the government is engaged in with Senator David Pocock over the secure jobs, better pay bill.

Albanese referred to evidence in the robodebt royal commission that the illegality of the scheme was known early on at least by officials.

Albanese referred to Australia’s participation in the Cop27 climate summit, and how important it is for international relations, including the fact it was the first topic he and new UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, discussed.

Asked what impact the US midterms would have on climate action, Albanese said Australia will respect the outcome of democratic elections, but also noted that Biden’s climate agenda has already passed congress and is being implemented.

The attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said he would be meeting the Administrative Appeals Tribunal president this afternoon to discuss evidence of repeat bullying complaints by unnamed members. He reminded caucus he is committed to reforming the body, which he has criticised the Coalition for making partisan appointments to.

The caucus agreed to a range of legislation:

  • Allowing law enforcement and emergency agencies access to telco data for missing persons and natural disasters, not just cases involving imminent danger.

  • Forgiving Help debts for doctors and nurses in regional areas, and other technical amendments to the jobs ready graduate scheme.

  • Increasing penalty units from $222 to $275

  • Approving amendments to the secure jobs, better pay bill

Labor will oppose Jacqui Lambie’s private senators bill implementing the veterans suicide royal commission recommendation to allow royal commissions to disregard parliamentary privilege.

Updated

Being a Tuesday, the party room meetings were held.

They have wrapped up – the house will sit from midday – so we will bring you some of what was said.

For those who are new here, each of the parties meet on a Tuesday when parliament sits. The meetings are private, but in a very Canberra tradition, a briefing is held afterwards, where one of the MPs reads out the minutes from the meeting. Journalists can ask questions about what was spoken about, but no names are given – it is up to journalists to chase down who might have said what, if needed.

The whole briefing is on “background” which means it is not attributed to anyone. It is another of the federal parliamentary reporting quirks which are tradition, but you don’t really find out about until you get here.

Updated

Business confidence dropping sharply according to NAB survey

As we noted in an earlier post, one target of the RBA’s higher interest rates is consumers, but the other is business.

NAB’s monthly survey of conditions and confidence in October, also out this morning, revealed the former are holding up but the latter is ebbing. For those hoping for higher wages, there’s not much sign of that happening, with increases lower than in September.

Business conditions were down only one point to 22, while profitability edged up by the same amount to 22 too.

Workers, though, might have to wait for a bit more to come their way.

NAB’s labour cost measure eased to a 3.1% increase in October, slowing from 3.8% during the September quarter. Note that July had a bit of a blip, with the minimum wage increase and superannuation changes. That means subsequent months, including October, will only have had moderate increases.

Business confidence, meanwhile, sagged four points to be zero, meaning as many firms are pessimistic as optimistic about the future. NAB said:

Confidence fell sharply in transport & utilities, as well as in mining, manufacturing, finance, business & property, recreation & personal services, and wholesale.

Victoria, which goes to the polls later this month, saw sentiment sag the most.

Alan Oster, NAB’s top economist, said:

Despite the strength in conditions, confidence has been falling for several months as headwinds have weighed on the outlook for the global economy and Australia.

Could it be that workers will be asked to “tighten their belts” when things start to turn south, before they’ve had much loosening of said clothing accessory?

Updated

Liberal senators demand to know salaries of high-paid and senior ABC staff

A senate estimates committee descended into a shouting match today after Liberal senators demanded ABC managing director David Anderson provide the salaries of presenters and senior staff earning more than $230,000.

Anderson refused on privacy grounds, but Liberal senator Sarah Henderson was not satisfied and insisted he had to answer every question asked of him by the senate.

The MD was also asked about a speech Four Corners reporter Louise Milligan gave to a women’s legal event, which has been subject to criticism by the Australian newspaper.

Henderson claimed some of the women who attended the event were upset by Milligan’s speech.

Anderson said the speech was given by Milligan in a private capacity.

After Milligan responded to Henderson’s claims on Twitter, the senators began talking about the reporter’s comments about the hearing.

Updated

Federal police sought help from FBI for Medibank and Optus data breaches, AFP head says

Over in the legal and constitutional affairs committee, the commissioner of the Australian federal police, Reece Kershaw, continues to face questions about recent high-profile data breaches.

It has previously been confirmed that the AFP has sought help from the FBI in the Optus investigation. The Liberal senator James Paterson asked whether the AFP had also sought help from the FBI in the Medibank case – or just Optus. Kershaw confirmed the assistance of the US agency was sought in “both instances”:

I can’t go into the specifics of the investigation but obviously having the strong linkage that we have with the bureau … is a positive in a sense of tracking down those people responsible.

Paterson asks if the FBI is involved because of its capability or because of its jurisdiction and laws. Kershaw says:

It’s both capability and also the intelligence space. These individuals and/or syndicates operate globally and we’re not just talking to the bureau - there are other police forces in the Five Eyes group. In particular as chair of the Five Eyes law enforcement group, we’ve sent that out to to partners, which is New Zealand, UK authorities, and the Canadians – so we’re going to unite the fight on this in particular on ransomware.

Updated

Hackers' threats to release data 'a distressing development', Medibank says

Medibank has released a new statement:

Medibank is today aware of media reports of a purported threat from a criminal to begin publishing stolen Medibank customer data online in 24 hours. The criminal could also attempt to contact customers directly.

Medibank is working with the Australian Government, including the Australian Cyber Security Centre and the Australian Federal Police. The Australian Federal Police is investigating this cybercrime and trying to prevent the sharing and sale of our customers’ data.

Medibank CEO, David Koczkar, said: “Customers should remain vigilant. We knew the publication of data online by the criminal could be a possibility, but the criminal’s threat is still a distressing development for our customers.”

We unreservedly apologise to our customers. We take seriously our responsibility to safeguard our customers and support them. The weaponisation of their private information is malicious, and it is an attack on the most vulnerable members of our community,” he said.

Overnight we again wrote to all customers to update them about this cybercrime. We continue to inform customers of what data we believe has been accessed or stolen and provide advice on what they should do. This is being done via email or letter and in some cases via phone.

If you are contacted by someone who claims to have your data, or you are a victim of cybercrime, you can report it at ReportCyber on the Australian Cyber Security Centre website. To report a scam, go to ScamWatch. If you believe you are at physical risk, please call emergency services (000) immediately.

Customers can also contact us via our contact centre team (12 23 31 for Medibank and international customers, 13 42 46 for ahm customers and 1800 081 245 for My Home Hospital patients).

Customers should be vigilant with all online communications and transactions including:

- Being alert for any phishing scams via phone, post or email

- Verifying any communications received to ensure they are legitimate

- Not opening texts from unknown or suspicious numbers

- Changing passwords regularly with ‘strong’ passwords, not re-using passwords and activating multi-factor authentications on any online accounts where available

- Medibank will never contact customers asking for password or sensitive information

The Australian Government has activated the National Coordination Mechanism to bring together agencies across the Australian Government, states and territories.

Updated

‘A story about dressing up is acceptable’, says ABC head after Liberal senator makes ‘grooming’ claims

The Spectacular Suit, by Kat Patrick, with illustrations by Hayley Wells, is about a young girl called Frankie who is preparing for her birthday party, but all her party dresses feel wrong. She ends up feeling comfortable wearing pants.

It’s about individuality and expressing yourself. And given some children feel most comfortable wearing a bike helmet, swim cap, superhero costume or holding a spatula at times, is designed to let them know that expressing themselves is OK and normal.

David Anderson continues in that hearing:

I think children do dress up senator, and a story about dressing up is acceptable.

Alex Antic kept pushing:

Do you think this sort of content is contributing to the gender dysphoria problem in this country?

Anderson:

One, I [think] that complex issues that exist within Australian society … I don’t think we’re generating anything. If anything, the ABC reflects what is happening the Australian community.

Antic:

What percentage of Australian children are getting read to by people dressed like this, men dressed like this?

Anderson:

I don’t have the audience data with regard to that but what we have is a story about dressing up.

Updated

ABC refutes Liberal senator's claim story on children dressing up was 'grooming'

South Australian Liberal senator Alex Antic has accused the ABC of “grooming” children, over a children’s story about dress-ups. Antic had issues with girls wearing pants, it appears, which Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young called out, particularly over the language he was using.

This is a rough transcript of what just happened in senate estimates, with ABC head David Anderson answering Antic’s “questions”.

Antic: Mr Anderson, I have got a couple of questions about some programming matters and at the moment the ABC is airing a program called Courtney Act: The Spectacular Suit, in which a male drag actor, Shane Jenek, reads a children’s book called The Spectacular Suit, about a female child wanting to wear male clothing. The program was rated G and has been heavily promoted on TV and on the app. Why is the ABC grooming children with this sort of adult content?

Anderson: Senator, I don’t see that as grooming children with our content. That particular program is reading from a book that is about dressing up so I think …

Antic: Female children in male children’s clothing, you think that’s not ...

Sarah Hanson-Young: You mean young girls wearing pants? Seriously.

Antic: I have the call, thank you.

Hanson-Young: Well it’s offensive. It is deeply, deeply offensive.

Antic: If it’s offensive, you don’t have to hang around Sarah. You don’t have to hang around, Sarah, if you don’t want to.

Hanson-Young: Heavens above – girls wearing pants. That is the level of rubbish you are putting forward.

Antic: Okay. It is amazing what triggers a response. The truth. The truth that the ABC is grooming our children.

Hanson-Young: It is offensive and it needs to be called out.

Antic: You are welcome to leave.

Hanson-Young: Grooming is a really serious matter! It is not for being played with by conservative senators to make headlines.

Antic: That is what grooming looks like.

Anderson: My answer is we are not grooming Australian children.

Hanson-Young: Sexual assault survivors right around this country will be deeply offended, deeply offended by you playing politics.

Anderson is asked to answer the question again:

Anderson:

I was simply refuting the fact that we were grooming Australian children. Because we are not grooming Australian children … What we are doing, that is about dressing up.

Antic: Cross dressing. Let me ask you this, does ABC agree that transgender or cross dressing are adult concepts?

Anderson:

When it comes to transgender, yes, you can see there are people that wish to identify as a sex other than what they were born as, and I don’t accept what you are saying about somebody who is trans grooming Australian children. That’s not – that whole story time was not about that, it was about dressing up.


Updated

Parliamentary expenses reporting delayed amid IT issues

Expenses reporting for federal parliamentarians will be postponed as the Albanese government cites “severe” delays and major problems with the existing IT system.

Senator Tim Ayres revealed the decision made by the special minister of state, Don Farrell, at a Senate estimates hearing this morning, and said the government would ask the auditor general to look into it.

The “significant” problems affect the Parliamentary Expenses Management System, or Pems, which is billed as “a secure online portal” for parliamentarians and their staff to manage their office expenses.

Ayres told the Finance and Public Administration Committee there had been issues in the development and implementation of the system since 2018. He said public expenditure reporting by parliamentarians was a “vital” transparency measure:

It’s become apparent that the system is not progressing as intended and announced by the former government …

Delays in the system are now so severe that although the system is functional and claims can continue to be made, they prevent these reports being created and populated. As a result, the government has been advised that significant time and additional work is required to rectify the system and to allow the established system of public reporting to continue.

On the advice of the relevant agencies, the special minister of state [Farrell] has authorised a postponement of parliamentarian quarterly reports until the second half of 2023. This is not a decision that the minister has taken lightly.

The requirement for public reporting is a key pillar of faith in our parliamentary system and the government has required relevant agencies to put every effort into rectification of this issue. In the government’s view, a fix is not enough. Maintaining transparency and integrity must be the highest priority.

As such the special minister of state will write today to the Australian National Audit Office and suggest that this project be the subject of an audit or review should the auditor general deem it necessary.

Ayres said Farrell would also write to every parliamentarian with information abut the system. He said briefings would be offered to all MPs and staff, starting with the shadow special minister of state, Jane Hume.

Updated

Andrews government pledges free vehicle registration for Victorian apprentices

The Andrews government has pledged to make vehicle registration free for Victorian apprentices, as part of a $9.7m cost-of-living election commitment.

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, made the announcement at a vocational campus in Geelong on Tuesday morning. The government has also committed to establishing a parliamentary inquiry to crack down on bosses and contractors who refuse to pay sub-contractors if re-elected this month.

Andrews said the vehicle registration scheme would save apprentices $865 a year and help incentivise people to take up vocational training:

We think it’s a really practical, sensible thing to do.

Updated

From that press conference:

Q: Fortem said that got its contract by competitive tender, but the prime minister’s office said that’s not true. You were in government at the time. Can you clarify how that works?

Karen Andrews:

Yes, I can. So Fortem were engaged in a competitive tender process for the Black Summer fires. And as you heard John Bale say they were one of the final successful tenders. When we needed to look at an opportunity to build capability, we looked at how we could build scale here.

Now, it’s the same thing that’s done with manufacturing. You start off with a level of funding and support and you build the scale. We need to build scale and support for our first responders. And that’s exactly what we did. So when we knew that we needed to build more capability, that we needed to make sure that our first responders were being appropriately looked after and cared for after the trauma that they themselves had experienced, we then looked at what we could do to scale it up. And Fortem already had the runs on the board. So this should not be a case of just dealing out small amounts of money to organisations.

In Australia, we know that we have to build scale - or the Coalition understands the need to build scale - so there has been a process that has been successful in the past. So this is additional funding that builds on that process.

Just to clarify there, it was by competitive tender at the time. My understanding of what happened with the Black Summer fires is that there was a process that was undertaken. It was managed, I believe, through a different department to Home Affairs or PMC but there was a competitive process. John Bale mentioned that when he spoke earlier this morning but I’m more than I’m sure that he is able to provide additional detail exactly of the process that he undertook. But he mentioned four organisations of which two of those were successful as a result of that process that was undertaken.

Q: Why would the prime minister’s office then say there wasn’t?

Andrews:

I have no idea. That is a question for the prime minister (the answer does go on but that’s the relevant bit to the question that was asked)

Updated

Coalition MPs have held a press conference about the decision to take funding away from Fortem, which provides mental health help to first responders.

Karen Andrews:

Prime minister Albanese and the Labor government have made a deliberate decision to rip funding away and support away from our first responders. This money was budgeted by the Coalition government and the reason that we provided that funding was to make sure that our first responders are supported. Now, our first responders are the people that are pulling people out of flooded waterways, that are pulling people out of fires, that are rescuing people from car crashes.

These people are on the front line making sure that Australians are well looked after, and yet the Albanese Labor government has turned their backs on them by ripping away this funding. Now, this has enormous implications for the health and wellbeing of our first responders. This is a disgraceful decision by the prime minister. He needs to reverse it immediately.

Updated

Just in case you missed it yesterday, one of the issues the attorney general is chasing up is the revelation of complaints within the Administrative Appeals Tribunal which came out of estimates on Monday.

Senator Nita Green:

Thank you. How many members of the tribunal have had one or more bullying, harassment or discrimination complaint made about them since the first of July 2016?

AAT chief operating officer, Jamie Crew:

Nineteen members including senior members and deputy presidents have had more than one bullying, harassment or discrimination complaint made about them since 1 July 2016.

Crew then gives more detail:

So I think, Senator, we’ve provided some clarification about how we’ve interpreted that phrase. So we’ve interpreted the phrase more than to mean one or more, two or more, three or more, four or more ,five or more complaints received during that period. So more than one bullying complaint was 19 [people]. More than two was six [people]. More than three was three [people]; more than four was two [people]; and then more than five was one [person].

Updated

Extension of Collins class submarine lifespans to begin in 2026

The Royal Australian Navy’s director general of submarines, Commodore Tom Phillips, has spoken about the technically challenging plans to extend the life of the existing Collins class diesel-electric submarines.

The life-of-type extension program begins in 2026 starting with HMAS Farncomb. Each upgrade will require extensive work and is expected to extend the life of each submarine by 10 years. This is intended to bridge any gap before the new nuclear-powered submarines under Aukus are ready.

Phillips told the Submarine Institute of Australian conference in Canberra today that the purchase of items with long lead times for the extension of HMAS Farncomb had begun. He said he did not underestimate the technical challenges of the work:

We’re full aware of the risk and technical challenge and we are bringing all forces to bear in the design effort to [reduce] that risk before 2026.

Phillips also mentioned that the new east coast submarine base (the location has not yet been decided out of Newcastle, Port Kembla and Brisbane). He said the base would not only be a submarine base but would also support a range of other undersea capabilities.

He said HMAS Stirling – the existing naval base in Western Australia – would remain a premier submarine base “for quite some time to go” and into the future (ie it will not be closed when the new base on the east coast opens).

Updated

Consumer sentiment dims to first Covid wave levels

If the theoretical framework underpinning the RBA’s rate rise binge is to cruel demand, last week’s seventh rise in borrowing costs in as many months seems to be having some of the desired effect.

The latest weekly survey of consumer sentiment by the ANZ and Roy Morgan shows the sixth decline in a row, bringing the gauge to levels not seen since April 2020 when the first Covid wave was cresting.

David Plank, ANZ’s head of Australian economics, says most measures were lower, including the economic conditions next year subindex, which has sagged 17% over the past nine weeks.

What the RBA wants to see, though, is falling expectations about how high inflation will go. Alas, that arrow is still pointed in the wrong direction. Those concerns are now at their highest level since the data series began in April 2010.

One slightly contrary mood, though, is a rise in consumer confidence among those paying off their mortgage, with the gauge up 2.6%.

That sentiment may not keep rising if the markets are any guide, though. Investors are predicting the RBA will hike again next month (with a two-thirds chance of another 25 basis-point rise to 3.1%.)

If the market’s right, the cash rate will top 4% in about a year’s time (though most economists predict the RBA will stop well shy of that).

Updated

Labor announces $5m to encourage women to run for office

Katy Gallagher has announced $5m over five years to boost the number of women in public office.

The women in public office grant is designed to encourage – and prepare – more women to run for elections at all levels.

From the minister’s release:

Projects will address barriers to entering office and provide women candidates with a clear understanding of political process and candidate expectations.

Applications will need to clearly demonstrate that activities have no political affiliations or agendas, and are accessible to all women across the political spectrum.

Eligible organisations currently delivering programs, initiatives and resources that encourage and prepare women to run for public office are invited to apply. Proposed projects must complement or expand, and not duplicate, existing programs aimed at helping women gain public office positions.

The Women in Public Office grant opportunity opens on Tuesday 8 November 2022 and closes Monday 19 December 2022.

A virtual information briefing will be hosted by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet’s Office for Women from 10am to 11:30am on Wednesday 16 November. Interested organisation are encouraged to attend.

Further information on the grant opportunity and the virtual information briefing is available on GrantConnect.

Updated

NSW Greens to introduce bill to ban logging in koala habitat

In the New South Wales parliament today, the Greens will introduce a bill to ban native forestry operations in koala habitat.

The bill would amend forestry laws to make logging an offence in areas of regional koala significance.

The NSW Greens environment spokesperson, Sue Higginson, said the bill was an essential step to saving koalas from extinction:

If the government was serious about protecting koalas or any of our native animals threatened with extinction then they could introduce a bill to do so – just like I am doing today.

It would save NSW money and save many of our forest-dependent threatened species from extinction by taking a proactive approach to a looming crisis for industry and nature.

It is unclear whether the bill will be debated before the NSW parliament wraps up for the year ahead of the March election but the Greens say they will reintroduce the legislation next year regardless of who wins government.

The Greens federal environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, said the bill to end forestry operations in koala habitat was a step towards what was ultimately needed in NSW, which was an end to all native forest logging:

There must be an end in sight to this destructive industry, for the sake of our precious forests and the wildlife that call them home.

In federal parliament, the Greens have proposed legislation that would put a moratorium on clearing of critical koala habitat.

Updated

Liberal senator says teal independents were ‘bought and paid for by some of Australia’s richest people’

James Paterson was also salty about the amount of money Climate 200 raised:

I thought it was extraordinary that the Climate 200 movement raised about $13m and that more than a third of that, almost $5m, came from just three political donors.

If the Liberal party collected that much donations from that many high net worth individuals, or the Labor party collected that much donations from the union movement, there would be outrage and the loudest criticisms would be coming from the crossbenchers and the teals. They would say this is democracy being bought by rich people and they’d be outraged.

So, I think they need to reflect on what they told the electorate and what they’ve been saying for months, which is that they’re supposedly a people-powered movement with thousands of grassroots donors. Now we know the truth. They are bought and paid for by some of Australia’s richest people who stand to benefit from the policies that they advocate.

He says the phenomenal amounts of money the major parties raise, including the Liberals, is different because they contest more electorates.

If they contested every electorate in the country and spent as much as they did in those electorates, they would massively outspend us. It’s extraordinary to be spending $2m or thereabouts on a single seat. Most Liberal party candidates, including MPs who are re-elected, spend nowhere near that amount of money.

This is an extraordinary amount of money, an unusual amount of money, and it is an innovation that teals have brought to our political system despite their criticism of money in politics.

There didn’t seem to be the same criticism for Clive Palmer’s spend.

Updated

The Liberal senator James Paterson also says looking at officially banning ransom payments is something the parliament might need to consider. He held a brief doorstop (a quick press conference) where he said:

People do advocate from time to time the banning of ransom payments. I think that’s something the parliament needs to carefully consider.

It certainly is the advice of the Australian government consistently not to pay ransom because there is no guarantee that you’ll get your data back and you are contributing to others being hacked in the future by paying ransom. So, I think that’s something the parliament needs to consider.

Updated

Women and children recently repatriated from Syria will continue to be assessed by AFP and counter-terror teams, says AFP boss

Reece Kershaw also addressed the recent repatriation of women and children from Syria as part of Operation Ammersoyen-Alsunga.

Kershaw said:

Our established relationships offshore also assisted with the repatriation of four women and 13 children from detention camps in north-east Syria.

The individuals who recently returned to Australia will continue to be assessed by the AFP and our partners through our joint counter terrorism teams.

I have confidence in the well-established framework that enables the AFP to respond and manage extremist threats in Australia, including our community liaison teams, which will work with community leaders to support these returned individuals.

The Liberal senator Paul Scarr is asking the AFP whether it is investigating the unauthorised disclosure of information about the operation to the Australian newspaper.

Kershaw said the AFP requires a “harm statement” to assess whether the leak is worth investigating. “We’re going through that process now,” he said.

Updated

Federal police chief gives update on cyber-attack investigations

The AFP commissioner, Reece Kershaw, has opened Senate estimates with a statement about the Optus and Medibank data breaches.

Kershaw said:

As chair of the Five Eyes Law Enforcement Group, which includes agencies from the US, UK, New Zealand and Canada, I know partnerships are crucial in combating cybercrime.

The FBI is assisting in the AFP-led Operational Hurricane, which is focused on identifying the perpetrator or perpetrators responsible for the Optus data breach.

The AFP is also leading Operation Guardian, which has the objective of protecting more than 10,000 Optus customers, whose identification credentials were unlawfully released online.

Recently, a Sydney man was charged under Operation Guardian for allegedly attempting to blackmail Optus customers. He faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

We also launched Operation Pallidus to investigate the data breach against Medibank Private and Operation Allora to investigate the MyDeal data breach.

The AFP has invested significant resources into these investigations, which will be long and complex.

And apart from sending a warning to cybercriminals that the AFP will relentlessly pursue them, I also have a message to business: please alert authorities immediately when a data breach is suspected. It’s like any crime scene. The longer it takes relevant agencies to be informed, the harder it is for perpetrators to be identified, disrupted or brought to justice.

Updated

‘Profoundly important’ to convey Aukus submarines’ strategic advantage to Australian public, deputy PM says

The deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, has implicitly acknowledged that the government will have to persuade the public of the need to spend vast sums of money on nuclear-powered submarines under Aukus.

Australia, the US and the UK are expected to conclude their work early next year to determine the way for Australia to acquire at least eight nuclear-powered submarines.

Speaking at a Submarine Institute of Australia conference in Canberra this morning, Marles reiterated his view about what submarines could deliver in a strategic sense:

We are buying a large question mark in an adversary’s mind.

But Marles said he saw it as “profoundly important” to convey that message to the Australian public, “so that people can understand why we are spending an enormous amount of money” on a a comparatively small number of platforms.

(The cost of the new submarines is not yet known, but previous estimates by analysts have put it well north of $100bn. This all comes at a time of budgetary and economic pressure.)

Updated

Hackers behind Medibank cyber-attack threaten to release data

The cybercriminals allegedly behind the Medibank data breach have threatened to start releasing some of the data they took now that Medibank have refused to pay the ransom (a position backed by the government).

The Liberal senator James Paterson told Sky News it was a worrying time:

I think the unfortunate thing about the Medibank crisis is that the company’s understanding of the attack has evolved. And yesterday I asked the information commissioner before the Senate estimates about that and she said that’s a matter of active investigation because it is important that companies disclose what they know when they know it, and it will be important to understand whether Medibank has done that. But that’s kind of for after the crisis.

We just need to get through the crisis at this stage. I understand that Medibank is cooperating with the Australian Cyber Security Centre, who will be also appearing before Senate estimates this afternoon, and we’ll discuss that further with them. It’s critical that they continue their cooperations to protect their customers as best they can.

Updated

David Pocock continues to support splitting IR bill

The ACT senator David Pocock has spoken to ABC Canberra about what changes he would like to see in the government’s industrial relations bill.

Pocock has proposed splitting the bill to pass the low-paid and cooperative multi-employer bargaining streams this year, and deal with the more controversial “single-interest” stream next year.

Asked what changes he would like, Pocock said:

The stream that is causing the most grief is the single-interest [stream] ... so we’re looking more at that and I’ll be waiting to see the details of these amendments that have been flagged. There’s a Senate committee process still under way ...

There’s three more, three more, full days of Senate committee hearings. And then the committee will hand down its report.

And the minister’s already flagged that there will likely be amendments from that. And for the ACT, we’re a city of small businesses. We have to ensure that we are getting wages moving. And also looking after small businesses ensuring that the system is is simple enough to work for them and be understandable.

And one of the issues that has been raised by small business, across the ACT is the definition of a small business, being 15 headcount, not 15 full-time equivalent. Which potentially scoops up a huge number of, you know, smaller cafes and all sorts across the territory.

Small businesses are exempted from being compelled by their employees to join a multi-employer pay deal, so changing the definition to 15 full-time equivalent, not 15 employees, would broaden that safeguard.

Updated

Monarchist league chair says government’s republican ‘scheming’ amounts to ‘acts of deceit … worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy’

The national chair of the Australian Monarchist League, Philip Benwell, is quite agitated by the idea that King Charles III may not appear on the $5 note. It is the decision of Dr Philip Lowe, as the governor of the reserve bank, but Lowe is consulting with the government. Last week, treasurer Jim Chalmers said he would like to see an Australian on the note.

Benwell is outraged and thinks removing the regent’s image from the note is the first step towards a campaign to make Australia become a republic (which is not something the government is planning for this term, but is on the agenda for any potential future terms):

There was a time when, following an election, people thought that a government in power was for all people, but obviously not this government which obviously intends to embark upon a Keating-style campaign of republican attrition commencing with the removal of the monarch’s image from the $5 note.

One wonders how Mr Albanese and his cohorts will be able to face the monarch in the eye when they rush to London to attend his coronation when, at the same time, they are scheming to get rid of him. These acts of deceit are worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy.

How duplicitous could anyone be? Firstly they dump the King from Australia’s $5 note and then pay homage to the King on a taxpayer-funded cavalcade of exclusivity costing the people upwards of a million dollars, better spent on reducing the cost of living for ordinary Australians.

Updated

Meanwhile, Bridget McKenzie still has this to deal with:

Opposition expected to focus on redirected regional funds in budget estimates

Budget estimates is back on today and the opposition are focusing on where money has been taken from regional Australia as part of the redirection of funds.

Labor scrapped the funds which the previous government had given Barnaby Joyce and the Nationals as a balm for supporting Scott Morrison’s net zero by 2050 target.

A joint release from Coalition MPs was sent this morning on some of the funds which have been redirected:

The Coalition Government backed in our essential first responders by providing $10 million over two years to charity organisation Fortem Australia, for essential mental health and wellbeing support for those assisting during natural disasters.

However, Labor’s first Budget ripped $8 million in funding from the organisation, which means they are unable to open services in important regional locations like Townsville, Ballina, Albury-Wodonga, Gippsland, Dubbo, Nowra, Newcastle, Sunshine Coast, Darwin, Launceston and Perth.

Labor is ripping money from regional Australia, just like they did with the Building Better Regions Fund. Labor’s blatant carelessness for the wellbeing of our first responders needs immediate rectification. The Opposition is calling on Labor to urgently reverse this funding cut.

Expect to see more of that.

Updated

Allegra Spender: Neither major party took available chance to change political donation regime

Allegra Spender said she believed a citizens’ assembly (like a big jury) should be involved in setting the rules for election spending and fundraising.

Why?

I think because people don’t trust politicians to make up the rules for their own political funding their campaigns.

I believe that if we actually listen to everyday people’s, you know – get together a group, a bit like a jury, of just people from broad parts of Australia, and said, ‘Okay, how do you believe politics should be funded’, and they were given the time and resources to really debate that … then I believe that [we could] come up with some great outcomes.

You see that very much in – we’ve seen other countries like Ireland use that same model to debate something really contentious, which was the abortion laws, and come up with a community something that was backed by the whole community.

I think, if you can really put politics back in the hands of the community – if you can do politics differently, then I think we will all be better off for it. And so that’s why I’m a strong advocate for that approach to resolve political donations, because, you know, both major parties have had a chance to change the political donation regime, and neither of them have made the major changes.

You know, both of them could have stopped Clive Palmer spending over $100m on political donations, but they haven’t. And so I think this is a change. I think that we could really see a fundamental shift in political funding.

Updated

Allegra Spender was also asked about how much money she and some of the other independents spent on their election campaigns.

She said:

It was, I know, it was an expensive campaign … For me, I think the biggest difference, however, was the volunteers.

So we had over 1,500 volunteers in our campaign who, you know – when you ask people [about] what made the difference, it’s people … the visibility of people who said, I care about climate change, I care about integrity, I care about a future-focused economy and I’m going to support an independent …

So I’m really proud of of the volunteers and I’m very grateful for the donations as well because honestly, if you’re in an independent and you need it’s a lot just to be known in the community.

That takes a lot of time. But I also agree with you, PK, and I believe we should fundamentally reform how we do political spending, but I can’t do that on my own. You actually need to get that across the parliament. And that’s something that I’m going to be driving as part of my time here.

Updated

It does have to be said, though, that small businesses don’t tend to be unionised, even when a majority of Australians were unionised (which was about 30 or so years ago).

The bill does not cover businesses with less than 15 employees, or those with their own enterprise bargaining agreements.

So that takes out a whole heap of small businesses.

Plus, a majority of employees in that small business would have to vote to take part in multi-employer bargaining.

So there are some protections in there for small businesses.

It is also worth noting that a lot of the big business lobby groups are spending a lot of time advocating for small business in this debate. Which they don’t represent.

The Senate won’t sit until parliament resumes in a couple of weeks. It’s going to be an interesting time.

Updated

Wentworth independent MP Allegra Spender is now speaking to ABC radio RN Breakfast and she is raising her concerns with the IR bill being rushed.

The government doesn’t need the crossbench in the house – it has the numbers itself. But it would be a very brave government indeed to ignore such a strong crossbench, which was elected by constituents who wanted politics done differently.

Spender says she is concerned with unintended consequences and everyone just needs more time to examine things like multi-employer bargaining:

Look, I believe, honestly that we should split the bill. I think there are elements of the bill that are particularly focused on low paid workers. And on feminised industries and around gender equity, that I believe there’s a lot of consensus around, you know, there’s business and unions have been working together on these areas for a long time and I think we could pass those parts of the bill by Christmas.

It is particularly however, the multi sector employer bargaining and particularly the piece where it’s forced bargaining buyers, you know, businesses that have never been forced into multi employer bargains.

I think we should take a really big pause on and look at the legislation in detail, because industrial relations legislation is some of the most complicated in our history, and you just need to see that you know, so many problems, actually, with the Fair Work Act are being trying to fix in this legislation, because there were problems in their Fair Work Act, which actually made it hard for businesses and workers to bargain together.

So I think we should be very cautious because otherwise you’re going to end up with a lot of unintended consequences.

But Tony Burke also concedes there that there won’t be a vote on the IR bill “for a couple of weeks”.

That is government code for – we aren’t close enough to having the votes yet.

Patricia Karvelas puts to Tony Burke Jacqui Lambie’s statement that it will be a “miracle” to have the bill past by Christmas.

Burke laughs and says the miracle might be getting Lambie across the line, but he’s not giving up on any option:

She’s made her own views really clear. And I don’t think anyone’s got a better turn of phrase than Jacqui Lambie when it comes to the parliament. There have been lots of occasions where things have looked to be impossible and the parliament has ended up finding a way.

And I’ll tell you if there was an issue where we should be trying to find a way right now, it’s at the core of the cost-of-living challenges. A whole lot of the inflationary pressures are international. There’s some we can do things about; there’s a lot that we can’t. We can do something about wages, and we really need to.

Updated

Tony Burke:

The pressure that is being felt is real. The sooner we act, the sooner pay will go up. And that’s why I’m doing everything I can to try to make sure we can get those wages moving for Australians this year.

Updated

Tony Burke doesn’t want to take out the single-interest stream as yet because “I want to get wages moving for as many people as possible”.

The single-interest stream is one part of multi-employer bargaining – the bill authorises workers with common interests to bargain together, where it is in the public interest for them to do so (thanks, Paul).

That’s what David Pocock wants carved out, so he can have more time to consult. That’s what the government doesn’t want to move on.

Updated

If you are looking for an explainer on the legislation we’ll be talking about today, Paul Karp has you covered:

Updated

Tony Burke is also being quite conciliatory about David Pocock’s concerns about the bill.

Asked by Patricia Karvelas if he is prepared to make more amendments to the IR bill, Tony Burke says that is standard after a senate inquiry process.

So yes, there will be more amendments, Burke says.

I suspect there’ll be more to come.

Tony Burke is quick off the blocks this morning – he will be on ABC radio RN Breakfast very soon.

Six million Australians hacked in the last year, survey suggests

A new survey suggests around one in three Australians, or more than 6 million people, have fallen victim to a data breach in the last year, with young people the most likely to have their information exposed.

The latest round of the ANUpoll, from the Australian National University, found an overwhelming percentage of people backed stronger penalties against companies not adequately protecting data, and better regulation from government. It comes in the wake of high-profile breaches experienced by customers of Optus, Medibank and more, with the federal government promising tighter data rules and bigger penalties for errors.

The representative poll of nearly 3,500 Australians, released on Tuesday, asked “‘Have you, or a member of your household, been the victim of a data breach in the last 12 months?”

Some 31.2% of men and 32.8% of women responded yes. Prof Nicholas Biddle, from the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods, said:

Roughly one third of adult Australians, or around 6.4 million people, have been the victim of a breach in the last 12 months.

In comparison our survey found only 11.2 per cent of Australians had been the victim of serious crimes like burglary or assault in the last five years.

As our lives become more and more dominated by data, so too does our exposure to data related crime. This is a serious issue that needs serious attention.

The poll found that the most likely group to become data breach victims was the 25-34 age bracket, with around 41.5% saying they’d been exposed.

More than 96% of respondents said they wanted to see significant penalties against companies “that do not adequately protect consumer data”, Biddle said:

And 92.8 per cent of Australian adults think government regulation of new technologies is crucial for consumer protection. At the same time, 90.6 per cent think government should regulate companies’ use of data.

Breaches like the Optus breach clearly impact on trust in the whole system of data governance, and Australians are crying out for stronger regulation and better protection.

Updated

Sticking with the defence strategic review, and the university sector has warned of critical skills shortages including in cybersecurity fields.

Universities Australia released its submission to the defence strategic review overnight and said Defence was “not immune to the skills crisis rippling through our economy”:

Skill shortages are plaguing many areas of our defence force, defence industries and complementary sectors, with the shortfall of cybersecurity professionals alone tipped to hit up to 30,000 unfilled positions over the next four years.

Universities Australia’s submission sets out proposals to address Defence’s workforce challenges. These include expanding the Defence University Sponsorship Program to sponsor individual students to study a full Defence-relevant degree (rather than having them apply after one year) at any Australian university,

The sector also suggests offering students a broader range of internships and work integrated learning experiences; reconsidering the eligibility requirements for Defence internships; making it easier for non-university-educated workers to transition to university study; and boosting research partnerships between Defence and regional universities.

The chief executive of Universities Australia, Catriona Jackson, said university-educated workers across all the disciplines – in STEM, humanities and social sciences – would be central to building Australia’s defence capability:

The success of security pacts like the Aukus arrangement hinge on the capacity of these researchers and highly skilled workers.

Updated

Defence strategic review faces 'exploding suitcase' of challenges, thinktank warns

A new report warns that the forthcoming defence strategic review faces an “exploding suitcase” of challenges.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute report says the leaders of the review, Angus Houston and Stephen Smith, are tasked with delivering new military acquisitions faster in the next decade, but it says the existing acquisition plan is “probably already unaffordable”:

That is, more funding will likely be necessary even before additional capabilities are added to the shopping list ...

And with nuclear-powered submarines and frigates on the untouchable list, the challenge of delivering more sooner gets even harder, as those two projects will consume tens of billions of dollars over the coming decade even before they deliver their first vessels.

The report’s author, senior analyst Marcus Hellyer, provided an update on the state of defence funding following the October budget:

Defence is facing the same challenge as Australian mums and dads: inflation is rapidly eroding buying power. While on paper Defence is getting a 7% budget increase in 2022-23, once we take inflation into account it’s only around 1%. That’s probably not enough to afford its shopping list of new equipment.

There’s no pot of gold available to cover increased defence spending.
That doesn’t mean the government can’t or won’t increase defence spending once it gets the DSR’s recommendations, but any increase will require either higher taxes (which appears unlikely, since the government is proceeding with its predecessor’s planned tax cuts), greater borrowing (accelerating the vicious cycle of debts and deficits), or cuts to other priorities that have constituencies of their own.

(ASPI receives funding from defence but says its editorial judgments are independent.)

Updated

Gaetjens report into sports rorts criticises ‘lack of transparency’

A little bit more on that Gaetjens report which is sure to garner a lot of reaction this morning after it was finally obtained last night through that FOI request, two years after the investigation by the former head of the prime minister’s department.

These are the key quotes from Phil Gaetjens relating to decisions made by then sports minister Bridget McKenzie that brazenly channelled funding to Coalition electorates.

Gaetjens wrote:

This lack of transparency coupled with the significant divergences between projects recommended by Sport Australia and those approved by the minister has given rise to concerns about the decision making.

The report also states:

Those submitting grant funding applications had, in my view, a right to more fully understand the basis on which the funding decisions were being made.

Updated

Our reporter Jordyn Beazley has been talking to people who have turned to buy now, pay later credit schemes to get them through the cost of living crisis. They describe how it can be a tempting fix but can soon lead to much greater financial strife.

Experts fear the schemes, which have mushroomed in recent years, will leave more and more people stuck in a “revolving door” of bad debt.

Read her full report here:

Updated

Good morning

Welcome to Tuesday, also known as ‘the government starts the IR fight in earnest’ day.

Tony Burke will be introducing the amendments (concessions) the government has made on the bill, but the government is still trying to push it through on a very tight timetable. It wants the bill passed by the end of the sittings – which is essentially just two weeks – and two of the senators the government needs, Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock, want more time.

For those who need a refresher, here are the main amendments Burke will be introducing today;

  • Requiring majority support from employees of each employer for a single interest bargaining stream authorisation.

  • Providing that businesses and workers cannot be compelled into an authorisation or single interest employer agreement when they have agreed to bargain for a proposed single enterprise agreement, and a six-month grace period where there is a history of effective bargaining.

  • Making further changes to the Better Off Overall Test to ensure new employees under an agreement are not left worse off;

  • Clarifying that the Fair Work Commission must be satisfied a minimum period of good-faith bargaining has occurred before moving to arbitrate;

  • Establish the government’s promised new national construction industry forum as a statutory advisory body.

  • Giving business 12 months to adjust to changes to fixed-term contracts.

But Lambie and Pocock still don’t want to rush. They want to split the bill, which the government does not want to do. Meanwhile, the resources industry is preparing a multimillion-dollar campaign arguing against the IR changes.

There is still the rumour that the parliament, or at least the senate, will sit for another week in early December, given there is so much for the senate to get through. If that happens, it would give the government another week to negotiate for the numbers it needs to pass IR. But that, I understand, is still a last resort. We’ll see how today plays out.

Meanwhile, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute warns the defence strategic review faces an “exploding suitcase” of issues, including cost, Daniel Hurst reports.

It seems inflation is also affecting the defence force’s buying power. Yet another issue the government needs to deal with, and one that already comes with a whole bunch of political landmines.

Good times ahead.

And of course, we still have budget estimates. Because there is no such thing as too much fun.

We will cover all of the day’s events and more. You have the Canberra team of Katharine Murphy, Sarah Martin, Paul Karp, Josh Butler and Dan Hurst at your disposal, and me, Amy Remeikis on the blog. Mike Bowers sends his love as he works on some other projects.

Guardian Australia’s exceptionally hardworking team around the country will keep you up to date with what is happening outside of the federal parliament – we’ll make sure you are all across any breaking news.

I have already had three coffees. It’s only Tuesday and I am already out of coffee grounds.

Ready?

Let’s get into it.

Updated

Welcome

Good morning. Welcome to the Australia politics blog. Amy Remeikis will be along soon to take you through the day but before then here’s a quick roundup of the stories making news this morning.

The secret report by the former Coalition government into the sports rorts scandal has criticised the decision-making process by former sports minister Bridget McKenzie and its “lack of transparency”. The findings by former top public servant Phil Gaetjens were kept secret for two years but have been revealed by a freedom of information request.

Sewage leaks into flood waters are being blamed for “massive fish kills” along parts of the Murray River system in northern Victoria. Authorities have warned residents to stay clear of the water which some believe has been contaminated with human waste in the wake of the catastrophic flooding events of the past few weeks.

The aftermath of natural disasters are also a key focus at the Cop27 climate summit that began in Egypt overnight. As around 100 world leaders gathered in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, they were told by the UN chief, Antonio Guterres, that the globe was on a “highway to climate hell”. But the devil will be in the detail at the two-week talks, with the thorniest issue being “loss and damage” funding for developing countries hit by climate-related disasters. Chris Bowen will be representing the federal government. Follow our live coverage of the summit here and there’s lots more coverage of the event here.

And in Canberra, despite making concessions, the government is struggling to get its workplace relations reform past the crossbenchers in the Senate.

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