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

Government urged to split IR bill to help low-paid people now – as it happened

Labor Australia COP (Event) Clare ONeil David Pocock Jacqui Lambie Tony Burke
David Pocock in the Senate
The independent senator David Pocock has argued that splitting Labor’s industrial relations bill would help the government ‘urgently deliver’ payrises to low-paid workers. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

What we learned, Monday 7 November

That’s where we’ll leave you this evening. Here’s just some of what we learned:

• Melbourne’s Crown casino was slapped with $120m in fines for breaches of its responsible service of gambling obligations.

• The federal government announced a review into migration, looking at the visa system, how people interact with it, the potential for criminals to take advantage of loopholes to traffic people, and whether it can address Australia’s labour shortages.

• Medibank announced to the ASX a confirmation they will not pay the ransom hackers have demanded not to release information from its data breach. Medibank also confirmed the hackers accessed the name, date of birth, address, phone number and email address for around 9.7m current and former customers.

• Independent senators Jacquie Lambie and David Pocock called for the government to split its industrial relations bill, with the latter arguing it had been very rushed, and that splitting it would see low-paid people get pay rises faster.

• Traditional owners from the Torres Strait built a mock seawall outside Parliament House, in a bid to get Labor to go further on climate action and protect their islands.

• The attorney general’s department told Senate estimates that it did not provide advice to Christian Porter before the then attorney general advised Scott Morrison on the way he could be appointed to multiple ministries.

• Australian Electoral Commission disclosures revealed that Atlassian founder Scott Farquhar was the biggest donor to the six successful teal independent candidates, followed by fellow co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes’ climate campaigning entity, Boundless Earth.

• And the head of the Fair Work Commission, Justice Iain Ross, has announced his retirement, effective 18 November.

Thanks for sticking with us. We’ll be back tomorrow.

Updated

Cost-cutting at the Parliament House cafeteria

Brace yourself for a very Canberra Bubble update, but the Department of Parliamentary Services has confirmed that the decision to cut back the variety of food at the Parliament House staff cafeteria was indeed due to cost-cutting.

If you do not work in this palace of democracy your eyes may glaze over here, but the cafeteria used to switch up its bain-marie buffet menu in the middle of the week, with one set of food for the first few days and an entirely different one for the back end of the week.

Recently the cafeteria upped the price of coffee and also food as inflation pressures came for Canberra too, before APH occupants also noticed the midweek menu change had also fallen by the wayside.

A sometimes frankly baffling combination of buffet items now sticks around for a whole week. Coalition senator James McGrath asked DPS in a Senate estimates hearing this afternoon what happened to the variety?

“I’m asking this on behalf of some of the staff who are in the building full-time,” McGrath asked secretary Rob Stefanic, saying his question went to looking after “the brilliant staff” who work in APH:

I ask this with seriousness ... on behalf of staff and not my stomach.

Stefanic said DPS was looking to improve the level of service for building occupants, with the midweek menu change aiming to give “variety” for staff. But he also noted that costs had to go up:

As part of the cost side we reduced it back to a single menu through the week.

Updated

Here’s the Minister for Home Affairs, Clare O’Neil, making a statement on the Medibank ransom demand and the company’s refusal to pay it.

Medibank’s decision is consistent with Australian government advice, she says:

Robodebt scheme was 'oversold' in briefing to Morrison: DHS official

The robodebt scheme was “oversold” by the Department of Human Services when it was briefed to Scott Morrison, an official from DHS has told a royal commission.

Christopher Birrer, the deputy chief executive at DHS’s successor agency Services Australia, told the inquiry on Monday there had been more than 860,000 welfare debts flagged as potential overpayments in advice provided to Morrison in early 2015. But he said this was never going to lead to the budget savings promised. Morrison was social services minister at the time.

Asked it had been “oversold” from the beginning, Birrer replied:

It was terribly oversold, commissioner... I’ve used the phrase, like a ‘slam dunk’, that this [debt] was out there to get. Even if averaging was lawful, DHS would never have recovered what was in that executive minute.

Birrer added:

It’s disappointing that the benefits were oversold and the risks understated.

Holmes said:

It’s the chemical weapons in Iraq, slam dunk sort of thing.

Birrer only joined the agency in 2020, five years after the robodebt scheme was established, and also months after it had been wound up.

With hindsight, he said a crucial moment was the failure of DHS to emphasise the legal concerns held by the Department of Social Services in its February brief to Morrison.

These had shared between high ranking officials from both departments in January 2015, and then “watered down” though still included in the advice provided to Morrison the following month.

Birrer said another issue was a “demanding and difficult leadership environment” with “aggressive and demanding leadership”. He said this conduct was, according to the recollections of others, “inappropriate”:

There was an attempt to essentially make it look like everything was fine.

The commission continues.

Updated

Michael Manetta, the AAT member who says he was benched for deciding cases against the government, has commented on evidence in Senate Estimates that he has been reinstated to the social security division.

Manetta told Guardian Australia his complaint had been “grossly mishandled from beginning to end”, but declined to say more citing the confidentiality of the process. Manetta’s complaint concluded with a resolution to reinstate him on 4 October, and he’ll be back hearing cases by 15 November.

In Estimates, officials said they couldn’t say more because of the privacy of the parties.

Split the bill to help low-paid people now: David Pocock

The independent senator, David Pocock, has responded to Labor’s “get wages moving” rhetoric by noting that the whole point of splitting the IR bill would be to help the low-paid sooner.

Pocock said:

It’s good to see the government addressing many of the concerns I and others have raised with the amendments they have announced today. I’m working through the details of the fairly substantial amendments the government is proposing.

In order to urgently deliver pay rises for the lowest paid workers, the government should move forward with the supported (low paid) and co-operative multi-enterprise bargaining streams now.

I look forward to continuing constructive engagement with the government, including on matters not covered in today’s updates and the more complex changes in the bill to make sure we get them right.

David Pocock and his partner Emma Palandri attend a rally organised by traditional owners from the Torres Strait calling for stronger action on climate change outside Parliament House on Monday.
David Pocock and his partner Emma Palandri attend a rally organised by traditional owners from the Torres Strait calling for stronger action on climate change outside Parliament House on Monday. He says splitting the IR bill will help low-paid workers more quickly. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

First Dog on the Moon has taken on robodebt today.

Read that, but then also read Luke Henriques-Gomes’ report from the actual robodebt royal commission hearings (spoiler: satire is dead and not remotely funny):

Updated

Walgett, Collarenebri and Lightning Ridge completely isolated due to flooding

The New South Wales State Emergency Service has sent through an update about its work in the flood areas.

Walgett, Collarenebri and Lightning Ridge have been completely isolated thanks to major flooding, with the Castlereagh Highway closed for almost a week.

They have 16 helicopters assisting with supplies to communities and in partnership with emergency services, they’re running regular ferry services by boat to stranded residents at Gingie and Namoi on the outskirts of Walgett.

There have been 268 requests for assistance in the 24 hours to 2pm today – 18 of those have been flood rescues.

There are currently 103 NSW SES warnings current, 15 at emergency, 65 at watch and act and 23 at advice.

Updated

AAT officials pressed in Senate estimates over tribunal member's complaint

In Senate estimates, Greens senator David Shoebridge has interrogated Administrative Appeals Tribunal officials about the complaint of a member of the tribunal who said he was benched from hearing social security cases because he decided too many against the government.

In May Michael Manetta told Guardian Australia that the AAT deputy president, Karen Synon, a former Liberal senator, expressed concern in June 2021 about the number of appeals against his decisions by the Department of Social Services before he was benched in September in a bid to increase “consistency” between tribunal members’ decisions.

On Monday the AAT’s registrar, Michael Hawkins, told Senate Estimates:

There was a complaint made to the president and the president has consulted with the parties and a conclusion has been reached ... I understand Mr Manetta is practising in the same field again ... He is now hearing matters in the [social security] division.

Hawkins refused to give any other details about the complaint, how it was handled and the conclusion - citing the privacy of the parties.

In May, Manetta had branded the decision to bench him “completely incompatible with the rule of law” and warned it “undermines the impartiality and independence of the tribunal”.

Synon said she categorically denies “any implication or inference that I have acted in any manner that is not fair, impartial and just in the exercise of my statutory duties at the AAT”.

Updated

Federal immigration minister, Andrew Giles, has been speaking to the ABC where he was asked about reports published in the Australian “suggesting you are being used as a fundraising machine for Victorian premier Daniel Andrews [in the Victorian state election], particularly in multicultural communities”.

Giles responds:

Time to time I, like all politicians, … support other candidates for fundraising. I do so when I am asked, if I support the candidate or cause. When I do so, and always report, they are matters I have attended to by myself in my own time, driving my own car. Sharing my perspective on the portfolio issues I am responsible for, expressing, not dealing with any individual issues, I always conduct myself with integrity and carrying out my duties, that’s a really critical part of any public office is to maintain a public trust.

Updated

Qatar rejects calls for compensation for killed and injured World Cup workers

Qatar has rejected calls for a compensation fund for migrant workers killed or injured during World Cup preparations, with the country’s labour minister labelling it a “publicity stunt”.

Labour minister Ali bin Samikh Al Marri said Qatar had already handed out hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid wages and accused the Gulf state’s critics of “racism”.

Marri said Qatar already has a fund to deal with worker deaths and injuries. He told AFP:

Our door is open. We have dealt with and resolved a lot of cases.

If there is a person entitled to compensation who has not received it, they should come forward and we will help them.

Controversy has surrounded Qatar’s World Cup preparations, particularly over consistent alleged human rights abuses against migrant workers and the rights of LGBTQI+ people in the country.

On Friday, Football Australia was presented with a petition of almost 5,500 signatures calling on the organisation to publicly support a compensation fund to support any migrant workers injured – and the families of those killed – working on preparations for the Qatar World Cup.

Be Slavery Free, a charity focused on ending slavery, presented Football Australia with the petition that stated:

When Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup, almost 12 years ago, it had very little infrastructure (three football stadiums) or labour (one million population) to support such a mammoth global event. In the years since, thousands of migrant workers, mostly from Asia and Africa flocked to the Gulf state to make the Fifa World Cup possible.

Alarming reports of abuse, exploitation and forced labour of workers resulting in serious harm and death have not ceased since.

However, very little has been done to remedy the situation.

In a statement, Be Slavery Free said:

Last week, Football Australia and the Socceroos both released statements supporting the establishment of a Migrant Workers Centre but they have stopped short of calling for reparations for the workers who have been injured and the 6,500 or more families who have lost loved ones.

With global partners Freedom United, Be Slavery Free is asking Football Australia to publicly support a compensation fund for migrant workers, equivalent to the prize money of US$440 million. Football Australia was given a petition of almost 5,500 signatures asking for this.

Last week the president of Fifa, Gianni Infantino, took the unusual step of writing to all 32 nations competing at this month’s World Cup, urging them to “let football take the stage” in Qatar.

Here’s some more background to this story:

Updated

Another severe thunderstorm warning for heavy rainfall – this time for New South Wales and parts of the ACT. It comes on the back of more general thunderstorm warnings earlier this afternoon, though I suspect people in the region are already aware of it…

Rudd suggests government department turned blind eye to News Corp

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd’s staff accused an Australian government department of taking a “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach to News Corp after finding the media company did not need to register under the foreign influence scheme.

Documents obtained by Guardian Australia reveal the Attorney General’s Department dismissed two cases that the former prime minister suggested may require News Corp to disclose activities under the scheme.

In a letter released under freedom of information laws, Rudd cited the reporting by the Saturday Telegraph in May 2020 about Covid’s origins, which appeared under the headline “China’s batty science: Bombshell dossier lays out the case against the People’s Republic”.

The details in this “world exclusive” were attributed to “a dossier prepared by concerned western governments”. Rudd drew attention to previously published advice by Bret Walker SC.

Rudd wrote in the October 2021 letter:

This advice noted that, in the absence of an exemption for media activities, any decision of News Corp Australia to receive and distribute information on behalf of a foreign government seeking to influence political discourse in Australia would be registrable.

Read the exclusive report here:

Updated

Paying ransom would ‘increase risk of extortion for customers’: Medibank chief

Medibank’s chief executive, David Koczkar, has been speaking to ABC’s Afternoon Briefing, about the fact that the accounts of 9.7m current and former customers of Medibank and its subsidiary, AHM, were accessed in a data breach.

Medibank announced today it will not pay a ransom to the alleged hacker. The company is, however, offering some compensation for some customers.

Koczkar said:

Last week we announced a hardship package for those particularly vulnerable customers who may be victims of cybercrime, I encourage anyone who needs support to contact Medibank through one of our dedicated cybercrime phone lines or through our scam emails. Also, if customers prefer, they can contact the government through cyber website with the reports to raise an incident if they have been a victim of cybercrime.

We stand ready to support our customers in the event that they become impacted by this cybercrime in the event of the criminal contacts them, in the event that they are extorted.

The fact that they refused to pay a ransom was partly due to the fact that there was only limited chance that it would make customers’ data any safer, Koczkar said.

Based on extensive advice we’ve heard from cybercrime experts, there’s only a small chance that any extortion payment would actually return the data of our customers. There is actually a strong chance that any payment would actually increase the risk of extortion for our customers and actually put more strain this is a decision that consistent with the Government policy on rent somewhere and this is why we’ve made a decision to not pay this ransom.

For more on this, check out Josh Taylor’s earlier story:

Updated

More details on ban of political fundraisers at Parliament House

We’ve got a little more info on the recently reported ban on political fundraisers inside Parliament House, instituted by the prime minister, Anthony Albanese.

The Department of Parliamentary Services told a Senate estimates hearing that nine functions called up DPS to cancel their events when news of the ban was made public before budget week.

DPS officials also said future bookings for events inside Parliament House will include a section where applicants must confirm their shindig isn’t a political fundraiser. If there’s any doubt, DPS will further investigate and ask applicants to sign a statutory declaration about the event.

Rob Stefanic, secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services, told the hearing that a final policy is currently being signed off by the presiding officers of the House and Senate.

He said the definition of banned political events includes:

… those organised by registered political parties and/or candidates for public office and/or any third party where funds are collected in connection to the event for the purpose of donating raised funds to a political party, campaign and/or candidate.

Updated

Department rules that TikTok is OK for politicians

The federal Department of Parliamentary Services says it doesn’t believe politicians or parliament employees need to avoid downloading apps like TikTok to their work phones, despite such recommendations being made in other parliaments.

Appearing before a Senate estimates committee hearing on Monday afternoon, Liberal senator James Paterson – who has long raised concerns about security concerns about the Chinese-owned social media app – noted that parliaments in New Zealand and the United States had warned against the use of TikTok on political phones.

A DPS official said they were aware of that advice from overseas equivalents, but hadn’t received similar recommendations that Australia should follow suit:

We work closely with our partners at the five parliaments, the other parliaments around the world, and my understanding of that advice they provided is it was related to specific advice they’d received from other agencies in their country and we haven’t received an equivalent level of advice to us that would warrant us to be providing that advice to parliamentarians.

Paterson, chair of the parliament’s intelligence and security committee under the previous government, noted some federal departments had given such advice to their employees to not use TikTok on work phones.

DPS said it did not make similar recommendations, and said it had not recommended employees or politicians only use social media on a personal (not work) device.

For some background:

Updated

Don’t take any easing of those Melbourne storms as evidence they’ve gone away, either:

Bureau issues severe thunderstorm warning for parts of Melbourne

The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe thunderstorm warning, with flash flooding likely in Melbourne’s inner west.

Metro Trains is already reporting that the subway at Ascot Vale station is inaccessible as it’s full of water.

Updated

In Estimates, the Australian government solicitor, Michael Kingston, has revealed fresh details of the public interest immunity claim that resulted in Afghanistan whistleblower David McBride withdrawing his Public Interest Disclosure Act defence.

Kingston said the claim was made by the Department of Defence way back in June 2021 but new correspondence on 18 October 2022 qualified the claim by identifying eight documents (two whole documents, and sections of six others) and asserting public-interest immunity over them.

The claim is designed to protect confidential information where disclosure would harm the public interest – such as security, defence or international relations of Australia and the proper functioning of a government.

Advocates are still pressuring the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, to discontinue the prosecution.

For some background on this case:

Updated

Minister pays tribute to outgoing president of Fair Work Commission

The minister for employment and workplace relations, Tony Burke, has released a statement regarding the resignation of Justice Iain Ross from the Fair Work Commission, as we noted earlier. Burke describes him a “man of great intellect and integrity”, saying his tenure has been “outstanding”.

His commitment to fairness, decency and justice hasn’t wavered in his ten years on the Commission.

His open and transparent approach has been an enormous asset – working in the interests of both workers and employers.

Justice Ross has served governments on both sides of politics and he is held in high regard by all.

He’s maintained the reputation of the Commission in the eyes of the public during turbulent times, particularly the lockdown period of the pandemic.

The Fair Work Commission is an institution the Australian people rely on and trust. As president, Justice Ross has cemented that trust.

Burke also charges Ross with some responsibility for fruit pickers receiving a minimum hourly wage, the government’s legislation for 10 days of family and domestic violence leave and other pay increases to workers.

Updated

Kristy McBain, the minister for regional development, local government and territories has been speaking just now about flooding assistance, but there isn’t very much new in there – she’s just noting that a bunch of disaster payments have been made today and referring to the various other supports the government has put in place.

Updated

There’s a dixer to the assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, about scams – which descends into an attack on the opposition:

Jones:

Yes we have a lot of work to do to protect people who have disadvantage and who are vulnerable to scams but it is not just them. From the highest of those in the country to the public in the regions, all have fallen victim to scams. Crypto scams, romance scams, investment scams, invoice-interception scams. This is a legacy that we have inherited.

The member for Deakin has had a fair bit to say throughout question time. He has just gone quiet. There is a very good reason that he has gone quiet. This issue is beyond politics. But it is not beyond incompetence and it is not beyond indifference. On his watch it doubled and then it doubled again. The member for Deakin had more people working on branch-stacking in his office. This is his legacy! This is his legacy! No wonder he had so much to say.

Updated

There’s some argy-bargy now about whether or not the PM is answering a question about gas prices. Peter Dutton claims he is not; Albanese claims he is.

Dutton:

The question was: prime minister, at your budget how much will gas prices go up by? Mr Speaker, he refuses to answer a basic question.

Albanese:

I am certainly talking about gas which is what the question is about. Not the gas coming from those opposite. But the gas in the system that we need. And what we used to have was, we used to have questions of the minister...

There’s commotion.

Albanese:

He’s yelling. He is very angry, Mr Speaker.

Updated

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has just finished speaking in response to a question about the government’s desire to host the 2026 COP – despite Australia being “one of the biggest fossil fuel exporters, with a further 114 new coal and gas projects in the pipeline.” Will he now commit to not opening any new coal or gas projects?

Albanese:

The government will be implementing the plan that we took to the election, our Powering Australia plan and our plan to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030. Our plan to engage with our Pacific neighbours. At the Pacific Islands Forum, which the prime minister hosted in Fiji, it was clear to me that the entry card to get into discussions around the globe is action on climate change, is taking climate change seriously. The fact is that the communique from that summit, from the Pacific Islands Forum welcome the Australian government’s new position, welcomed it.

It goes on much like this. No commitment, in other words.

Updated

Lovely readers, this is Stephanie Convery – I’m just jumping in unexpectedly because poor Amy Remeikis has lost internet at her house thanks to a big storm. Please bear with me while I attempt to catch up and with Amy while she tries to get back online!

Updated

Independent MP Allegra Spender has one of the crossbench questions today and, like most of the crossbench questions, it’s an actual question about policy.

(It’s still a surprise to hear someone ask something that matters beyond a political gotcha)

Allegra Spender:

A question for the prime minister. Do you agree that real effective wage rises in low-paid industries can be achieved through the awards as has been shown this week in the aged care awards, rather than through complex IR read legislation not taken to the election, delaying wage rises in protective negotiations?

Anthony Albanese:

I will start and ask the minister [for employment and workplace relations, Tony Bourke] to continue as well. I thank the member for Wentworth for her question and constructive engagement in this house. I think it is, though not credible to say to say that we did not take our policy to lift wages to the election.

We were very very clear, very very clear we would make clear that we would want to lift the wages and make submissions to those about those on minimum wage and the aged care workforce.

We were clear that we would make secure work an objective of the Fair Work Act. We were very clear that we would make gender-pay equity an objective of the Fair Work Act.

One of the things that is very clear on why we need to change the industrial relations system is that not only had real wages gone backwards over the previous decade, as a deliberate policy of the then-government, is that the feminised industries – people like our cleaners, our early learning educators, our aged care worker is, our disability care workers – have copped the brunt of the holding back of wages in this country.

That is why a fairer country deserves a fairer industrial relations system. That is what our secure work better pay bill will do. We believe there is a need to reform the system.

That was something we took and engaged very much with business and continue to do so, as well as with the unions.

We did so at the jobs and skills summit here. It is one of the challenges we need to meet and the Reserve Bank Governor made it clear that we need to lift wages, that it was something holding back the economy. And that is why our legislation is worthy of support by this parliament, because we believe very clearly we have a mandate for it…

Tony Burke:

I thank the member for Wentworth in the way she has engaged with this debate and the further conversations that are yet to happen. I do have to note as to why we do not just rely on the reward system – people with enterprise agreements [get paid] more and get more flexibility and productivity. They do provide a better outcome but are largely less available if you are a small business or medium-sized business unless available if it is a feminised workforce. If you deliver the pay rise in productivity, it is a much better outcome.

Updated

Liberal party deputy leader, Sussan Ley, has a prop (I think it is a front page) as she continues to find her groove as the opposition’s attacker-in-chief and Milton Dick (who was once thrown out of question time for using muppets as a prop) immediately tells her to lose the paper.

She does not.

Ley:

My question is to the prime minister and I refer the prime minister to the front page of the Australian on May 2, 2022, entitled Life will be cheaper under me, when the prime minister says that Labor has lasting plans to cheaper mortgages and electricity and given they confirmed it will rise 55% and interest rates have gone up six times since the election, how can the prime minister seriously suggest that life is cheaper under Labor? Why won’t he say sorry for yet another broken promise?

Dick is annoyed. Perhaps Ley could consider bringing in a muppet?

I specifically asked you not to use a prop and if she does it again shall be asked to leave the house. I cannot be clearer than that. That goes to every member in the house.

Nice try! I give the call to the prime minister.

Albanese:

Thank you, Mr Speaker, I always read the front page of the Australian and I read the front page of every paper in the country to try to keep on top of where things are. A couple weeks later, in May, in May, the first interest rate increase occurred by the Reserve Bank and I thought they were in government at that point in time. But what we also know there was also scheduled to be an increase in energy prices, in wholesale prices, at the same time. But I didn’t get to read about that on the front page of the Australian. I didn’t get to read about it! I wonder why that is the case?

Because it was scheduled to occur, scheduled to occur, during the campaign, just like the interest-rate increase occurred during the campaign but when you know about one but we didn’t know about the other one. When knew about one but not the other.

And we do not know about the other because someone, someone...

Who? Who was that! Someone, ... someone introduced, actually introduced a change in the law so that, so that people could not know that there was this wholesale price scheduled to occur.

Why would they do that?

And what date did they pick?

What date did they pick? Because election was on May 21 so did they pick the day before May 21 or after May 21? Hands up those who think they pick the day after? Hands up those who think they pick the day after? You are all correct. They pick the day after because they were not transparent. They were not transparent about what they had intended and what they had intended as a result of this...

(Hands up never works well in this parliament)

Before the opposition can object, Albanese decides he has concluded his answer.

Updated

Question time begins

Peter Dutton:

My question is to the prime minister. Last week I met with Louis and Tess who run a Cafe in Fairfield. They were promised that the Labor government would bring down power prices by $275 a year. They are facing a 56 per cent rise in power prices over the next two years and are forced to take measures like turning off the air conditioning to try and rein in surging costs. Will the prime minister apologise to families and businesses like the one Louis and Tess run for not delivering on his $275 commitment cut electricity prices?

Anthony Albanese:

I thank the leader of the opposition for his question. We stand by the evidence which is that renewables are the cheapest form of power. And the best way to get power prices down is to get renewables up. And that is exactly what this budget has done. Nearly $24 billion for clean energy investing in renewable energies, offshore wind, pumped hydro, community batteries and solar banks. All of it making up for a decade of neglect, a decade of denial, a decade of chaos.

We had on those opposite’s watch four gigawatts leave the system and one gigawatt come in.

That is what occurred. From those opposite. Common sense tells you that with demand and supply, if you have less supply, but demand is going up then you will have pressure when it comes to prices.

But, of course, those opposite were too busy fighting for power amongst themselves to worry about generating power for the country. That is essentially the problem that occurred. That is essentially the problem that occurred. They had a rotation of ministers, they had every time that we had the potential of an energy policy being adopted, even ones that could’ve adopted with bipartisan support, instead of adopting them they rolled the leader. That is what occurred. They were too busy worrying about their own power squabbles.

Paul Fletcher steps in:

Mr Speaker on relevance. I ask that you follow in the tradition of Speaker Jenkins and direct the prime minister to make the material to the question at hand not some kind of historical explosion. He is looking for every reason to avoid answering the question.

Tony Burke counters:

To the point of order, this was hardly the type of question that went for the full 30 seconds available and asked what the impacts were on a cafe in Fairfield electricity prices. The prime minister is going to exactly why there is pressure on those families and those households and right now.

Dick says the PM is in order and we move on

Thank you very much Mr Speaker. Of course, what we know is that there are two big reasons why there are pressure on prices at the moment. One of which is I have outlined already, the failure of those opposite to actually build enough supply to generate power in the country, because they were too busy worried about power struggles within themselves. By the second of course, is – and this might be a news release for those opposite – the fact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to global power prices rising that has occurred throughout the entire world. It seems oblivious to those opposite that this has occurred, but it is just a fact.

Updated

Fair Work Commission boss retires

The head of the Fair Work Commission, Justice Iain Ross, has announced his retirement, effective 18 November.

Ross, who has served 10 years and 8 months as president, was a federal court judge appointed to head the industrial tribunal during the Gillard government.

In a statement to FWC staff, Ross said:

“We have recently concluded the review of modern awards; our digitalisation strategy is on track and we are meeting or exceeding all of our performance targets. Of course there is always more to be done. But at some point all things end. And for me, now is the right time. We are in good shape as an institution and are well placed to successfully implement any legislative change determined by parliament. Leaving now will mean that whoever is chosen as my successor will be fully involved in the implementation of those changes from the outset, rather than splitting that responsibility between myself and the next president. I think it is in the interests of the institution that there is continuity of leadership through the implementation of any legislative change.”

Ross’ replacement will be one of the most significant appointments the Albanese government will make: with power over annual minimum wage reviews, award reviews and equal pay cases. The Fair Work Commission is an extremely powerful body, setting pay and conditions for millions of Australians.

Just on Friday the FWC awarded a 15% pay increase to workers in the aged care sector.

Justice Iain Ross, who served as president of the Fair Work Commission for more than 10 years.
Justice Iain Ross, who served as president of the Fair Work Commission for more than 10 years. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

Ahead of question time is a condolence motion for the Liberal minister Tony Street. He served in the parliament from 1966 to 1984.

Ok, it is just a few minutes until question time – so let’s tune into the chamber.

Electoral disclosures reveal main teal backers

As promised, Paul Karp has gone through the electoral disclosures for you:

The six successful teal independent candidates were backed by $10.2m of political donations at the last election, according to disclosures released on Monday.

The Australian Electoral Commission disclosures reveal that Atlassian founder Scott Farquhar was the biggest donor to the Climate 200 funding body, giving $1.5m, followed by fellow co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes’ climate campaigning entity, Boundless Earth, which gave $1.18m.

Climate 200 has boasted that it helped raise $13m from 11,200 donors, disclosing to the Australian Electoral Commission that it received $8.3m donations above the $14,500 threshold and made $6m in donations.

Updated

Snowy Hydro confirms delays to work on 2.0 and gas/hydrogen plant

Senate estimates have been looking at Snowy Hydro today, and we got a bit of an update on their two main projects - the giant (as in $5.9bn and counting) 2.0 pumped hydro project and the $600m-plus Kurri Kurri gas plant, near Newcastle.

There had been reports that “Florence”, one of the giant borers for the hydro venture had become “bogged” or “stuck” – but Snowy’s acting boss Roger Whitby ruled that out.

(We’d been fielding reports that it had hit some sort of chasm and would have to be dismantled and replaced. That information seemed a bit unlikely since workers, suppliers etc would have been laid off, news that would have surfaced by now.)

Now, Snowy isn’t the most open of organisations, and that tradition seems to have continued in the wake of the resignation of Whitby’s predecessor Paul Broad in late August. Perhaps ironically, Broad’s exit followed issues over communication and transparency, Whitby said.

Asked repeatedly by Senator Malcolm Roberts (who told estimates he too had worked underground; no comment) about how much 2.0 would cost, and when it would be completed, Whitby did eventually state the $5.9bn cost they had said previously remained the budget.

Parts of the work, though, were “12 months behind program”, Whitby conceded.

The work is no doubt challenging. The underground power plant is 800m below the surface and will require, he said, a cavern carved out that is 250m long, 80m high and 50m wide.

Digging may yet accelerate (as is sometimes the case in such tunnelling). However, Snowy has not told the Australian Energy Market Operator formally of any delay (as AEMO confirmed to us today).

They still have December 2026 pencilled in for the commissioning of 2.0 - while adding “sensitivity” forecasts that adjust supply projections just in case 2.0 is delayed (as is likely).

Meanwhile, senators remain a bit sceptical about when the 750-megawatt Kurri Kurri gas plant might begin operation - and when it might be able to burn hydrogen and not just fossil gas. (Labor policy is for it to run entirely on hydrogen by 2030.)

Anyway, Kurri Kurri is supposed to go online by the end of 2023. That’s still the timetable even though flooding of the worksite has prompted construction delays. Snowy Hydro, though, continues to work towards a completion rate on time.

Which might be one stretch-target for whoever gets the formal CEO gig.

Updated

Flinders Liberal MP Zoe McKenzie says there will be no hold-up in passing the Respect@Work legislation through the parliament.

She told the ABC:

There was amendment on the floor of the house today, which likely goes to implementation, things like which is the proper body to investigate some kind of behaviour. There was a discussion about whether that should be the Fair Work Ombudsman or indeed the Human Rights Commission. I think there is broad support across the parliament for this change. A great piece of work done in the previous government, great work done by Kate Jenkins.

Just a disagreement about the right organisation for investigations. Otherwise I think it will go through.

Updated

Things have been a little quiet this morning, which is usual for Monday. We are in the downhill slide into question time where energy prices will be the focus of the opposition’s questions. Don’t be surprised if there is a little on funding for regional Australia as well.

Updated

Albanese: ‘we must never accept sexual harassment as inevitable or unavoidable’

The PM finished his speech with:

Mr Speaker, we must never accept sexual harassment as either inevitable or unavoidable.

It is anything but.

Nor should we be tempted by the dangerous fiction that we are somehow incapable of improvement. That we have come this far as a society, and that’s it.

Let’s make these changes and move forward with our national story.

Mr Speaker, we live in the greatest nation on earth.

But there is an even greater nation within our reach.

Thanks to the courage of every victim-survivor who stepped forward, we have no reason not to reach it.

They have shown the way.

And it is something we should all embrace as part of the determination we share to shape Australia into the very best version it can be – a nation that reflects our highest ideals.

I know that together we can build a better future, one with equality and respect at its core.

Updated

Anthony Albanese on introduction to parliament of the Kate Jenkins report

The remaining recommendations from Kate Jenkins’ Respect at Work report which need legislation have been introduced to the parliament.

The PM has given a speech on the bill’s introduction:

The bill will:

  • Place a positive duty on employers to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sex discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation, as far as possible;

  • Give the Australian Human Rights Commission new powers to enforce the positive duty, to help make sure employers are meeting their obligations;

  • Expressly prohibit conduct that results in a hostile workplace environment on the basis of sex; and

  • Ensure Commonwealth public sector organisations are also required to report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency on its gender equality indicators.

You can read Katharine Murphy’s preview of the report here:

Updated

Record low grid demand but pain at the petrol pump

With a lot of wind and sun around yesterday and the generally mild temperatures on a Sunday, there was a good chance that the national electricity demand would drop to fresh lows.

And voila: a record low for demand in the NEM - by more than 5%.

With more solar panels sprouting on rooftops by the day, it was also not a surprise that the share of renewable energy continues to creep higher. At the time of the record demand low, almost half the power was coming from rooftop PV, the Australian Energy Market Operator noted.

Contrast that with what awaits the motorist at the service station. Of late, petrol prices in many places have spiked above $2 a litre - with of course the end of the excise “holiday” at the end of September adding about 25c/l. (Servos, though, were careful to phase back the increase.)

What’s also a factor is the fattening of the margin between wholesale and retail prices, according to the Australian Petroleum Institute. (Not great for CPI, either.)

With the next week looking dry for most of Australia most of the time (sorry Victoria, there’s a bit more rain heading your way in a few days), more than a few people will be wondering why they don’t have an electric vehicle powered by solar PV.

Updated

IR bill continued …

So there have been some compromises. Tony Burke says:

But we’ve been happy to listen to feedback about how to make sensible improvements to the practical application of the Bill. After additional consultations the Government has drafted a number of amendments we will move in the House this week, including:

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

  • Provide 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 6 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.

Updated

Tony Burke has released a statement on the IR bill

The Albanese Labor Government will adopt a range of amendments to the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill after a week of constructive consultations with business groups, unions and experts.

This bill is essential and urgent. It will promote job security, help close the gender pay gap, modernise the workplace bargaining system and get wages moving after a decade of stagnation.

Australians are struggling with the rising cost of living. Their wages are not keeping up with prices, and it’s clear the Government has to intervene to increase access to bargaining and close the loopholes undermining wage growth.

The Government made a clear commitment to the Australian people at the election to get wages moving.

That won’t happen automatically. To get wages moving we need to modernise our workplace laws.

One of the Government’s top priorities is to fix the ailing bargaining system and get more people on to enterprise agreements.

Workers on agreements benefit from better pay and conditions – and employers on agreements benefit from better productivity. But today only 14.7 per cent of workers are on in-date agreements. The system isn’t working.

Single enterprise agreements will remain the primary form of agreement and this Bill makes important improvements to get more people on to single enterprise agreements.

We’re also opening up the multi-employer pathway for people who haven’t been able to access single enterprise agreements, particularly low-paid workers in female-dominated industries. For too long they have been left out of the benefits of bargaining.

This is a critical element of the Government’s plan to get wages moving and close the gender pay gap. We will not compromise on the principle of getting wages moving and getting them moving quickly.

Updated

More on the migration review

You can find the terms of reference for the migration review, here.

But the scope of the review will be to:

Identify the reforms needed to create a simple, efficient migration system that can effectively:

- Enrich the economy, with a focus on productivity growth;

- Complement Australia’s education and training systems and the skills of Australians - Unlock the potential of migrants;

- Help build Australia’s sovereign capabilities and address challenges associated with the aging population, climate change and new technology;

- Compete globally for highly skilled migrants, including by improving clients’ experience of the immigration process;

- Provide clear pathways to permanent residence and citizenship and reduce the exploitation of migrant workers; and

- Foster enhanced integration (including people, trade and supply chain links) with our international friends and partners.

The Strategy will be informed by a review of the current visa framework, including both the temporary and permanent visa programs, and the processes and systems that support the administration of that framework.

In doing so, it will consider the current limitations and opportunities to reform the visa processing systems, including through digital platforms, trusted and secure identities, cyber security, and enhanced data analytics.

Updated

Australians will welcome IR bill being law of the land ‘come Christmas’, assistant minister to PM says

Patrick Gorman spoke to Sky News this morning about the timetable for the IR bill. It is very short. That is partly to head off the PR war and partly to tick it off before clearing the agenda for next year:

I have great confidence in the processes that are under way in terms of making sure that there is a proper parliamentary process where there’s committee scrutiny.

We’re already seeing those crossbenchers engaged very deeply on the details, so they have had time to get across it and to see what is at stake here.

And what is at stake is whether or not we find a path to get wages moving again for millions of Australians.

What we know is, when we look at the enterprise bargaining system for people in aged care, childcare, it’s not delivering the sort of outcomes that we need.

And what we also know is there are a range of overdue reforms when it comes to things like properly prohibiting sexual harassment in the workplace. This bill acts on all of that and I think, again, there will be millions of working families in Australia who will welcome this legislation being the law of the land come Christmas this year.

Updated

Jacinda Ardern is facing a very tough battle to get re-elected:

Jacinda Ardern rallies party faithful as Labour faces difficult reelection path

Updated

AG’s department questioned on NSW and QLD blocking UN prison inspectors

The attorney general’s department is being grilled about the NSW and Queensland government’s decision to block UN inspectors from the torture sub-committee from inspecting their prison facilities.

Departmental secretary, Katherine Jones, said:

We were only notified on the day of the UN team arriving in Australia that NSW would not facilitate visits. All discussions we’d been having with NSW to that date were about broader compliance with Opcat [Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture] and specifics around facilitating the visit. We had not been advised prior to that that NSW would not admit entry to sub-committee inspections.”

Greens senator David Shoebridge asked why the commonwealth did not clarify with NSW whether it would admit the inspectors in the two years of preparations for the visit.

Jones replied that the commonwealth “had engaged with NSW and had been led to believe they’d been preparing” to admit the inspectors.

Updated

David Pocock on his call to split IR bill: not about ‘delaying’ but doing the job ‘properly’

David Pocock – a key vote for the government for its IR bill – tweeted some of his thoughts about the bill a little bit ago:

Updated

Scammers expected to cost Australians $4bn this year

Scammers cost Australians $2bn last year. Next year the government expects that to double. Here was Stephen Jones on the Nine network this morning:

Yeah, look, $2 billion last year. We anticipate that will hit $4 billion this year. At a time when Australians are already struggling with cost of living increases, this is just going to hit them out of the park. More needs to be done. More will be done. Today, we’re announcing that we’ll implement our election commitment for a new anti-scam centre set up inside the ACCC. But we’ll also be rolling out new industry codes. We’ll be putting in place some significant review and changes to the anti-privacy laws, which are woefully out of date. And a big job of work also needs to be done to make it easier for people who have had their identities stolen to repair those IDs and ensure that they aren’t victims of a subsequent scam. So, a lot of work to be done, but when you look at those numbers moving from $2 billion to $4 billion, we can’t afford to have another year where there’s no action on this.

Updated

Liberal senator ‘gobsmacked’ about draft question for Indigenous voice referendum

Still in estimates, AAP has a story on Liberal senator Paul Scarr being “staggered” and “gobsmacked” (he seems to use these words a lot tbf) that Anthony Albanese didn’t receive legal advice from the Attorney-General’s Department before unveiling a draft referendum question for an Indigenous voice to parliament.

AAP:

Government officials confirmed the lack of advice at Senate estimates on Monday, drawing scathing criticism from Liberal senator Paul Scarr who described himself as “staggered” and “gobsmacked”.

But minister Murray Watt was quick to defend the prime minister’s action, saying the statement he made in July was only intended as a draft and required further consultation.

Albanese revealed the draft question at the Garma Festival: “Do you support an alteration to the constitution that establishes an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice?”

Senator Watt said there was no suggestion it was the exact question Australians would be asked to answer at the ballot box.

“These are proposed words that have been put forward by the prime minister, they are not necessarily the finished product,” he said.

“When he made the announcement, he referred to them as a starting point and we welcome discussion from all members of the public.”

Senator Scarr said he found the lack of legal consultation “extraordinary”.

“I would expect ... given the significance of the prime minister tabling an amendment to our constitution would actually seek advice from the Attorney-General’s Department with respect to the wording,” he said.

“I’m absolutely staggered; I’m gobsmacked, to be frank.”

Constitutional law office general counsel David Lewis agreed with the minister the statement was for draft purposes and didn’t necessarily need legal advice.

“Those words were very similar to some words that have been … developed by a number of groups and publicly available for a number of years,” he said.

“When the prime minister announced those words, he said this is a draft for discussion … I expect there’ll be further discussion before the draft is finalised.”

Earlier, Indigenous Australians minister Linda Burney addressed Noel Pearson’s statement First Nations people were “much unloved” and a referendum may fail due to “prejudice, contempt and violence of the past”.

“He is right in the sense that with the equal marriage plebiscite, a lot of people knew people that would be directly affected by this … I don’t think that’s the case so much with Aboriginal people,” Burney told the ABC.

“But the great thing is Noel also described the voice as a bridge to unite, at long last, First Peoples and the rest of the country and that to me is where we should focus.”

Updated

‘Defining politicisation’ is a challenge, secretary of AG’s department says

The Greens senator David Shoebridge has asked whether the Attorney-General’s Department has done any of its own analysis to verify claims about the politicisation of administrative appeals tribunal appointments.

The AGD secretary, Katherine Jones, suggests that the department “broadly support the government of the day” in terms of appointment processes for tribunals and courts.

Jones avoids being drawn into discussions about previous appointments, saying “defining politicisation” can be a challenge.

But she says the current attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, has “asked us to work” on implementing a new process for “transparent, merit based” appointments to the AAT.

Shoebridge is also asking about the “extraordinarily excessive fees” of bringing challenges against AAT decisions at a federal court.

The minister at the table, Murray Watt, says the AAT requires a “significant overhaul”:

The government considers that the AAT is broken in a range of ways … and we have a review process under way.

Updated

Clare O’Neil: ‘Some of the best and brightest’ people want to come to Australia

Here is a little more from what Clare O’Neil was saying this morning about the review into Australia’s migration systems on ABC radio’s RN Breakfast:

If there’s systemic abuses, I can’t honestly say that and that’s why the government is so seriously trying to look at this system. It has been without question the subject of neglect for nine years and we’ve got to make sure, number one, that we address the issues around criminality that are being alleged here by the media at the moment. But that we also get the opportunity here – and this is a really important piece of the puzzle, PK – you would have people on your show all the time talking to you about their frustrations about dealing with the migration system. We’ve got some of the best and brightest people around the world who want to come here and make Australia their home and we’re making them wait for sometimes years at a time to get in the door when countries that we’re competing with like Canada are essentially rolling out the red carpet and getting people to come through.

So we’ve got two issues here. A system that isn’t getting the people into the country that we need, but one that is essentially being used to facilitate wrongdoing, and so this is a really big issue that immigration minister Andrew Giles and I are jointly working on at the moment.

Updated

SpaceX’s Starlink internet service now available across Australia

While all eyes are on the other Elon Musk venture, one of his other companies, SpaceX, has just announced that its Starlink internet service is now available across all of Australia.

This is satellite internet that is very expensive by comparison to other internet options such as the NBN, but reports from those who have used it in Australia so far (it has been available in parts of the country for around a year) say it’s very fast, and for those who don’t have decent NBN access or mobile broadband options, it can fill the gap.

Updated

Melbourne's Crown casino fined $120m

Melbourne’s Crown casino has been slapped with $120m in fines for breaches of its responsible service of gambling obligations.

The Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) has taken disciplinary action against Crown for ongoing misconduct, imposing two fines.

A 2021 royal commission found the Southbank casino had breached its code of conduct for the Responsible Service of Gambling over several years.

It found the casino failed to prevent gambling harm for its customers and also failed to comply with a statutory direction by the regulator.

(Via AAP)

Crown casino in Melbourne.
Crown casino in Melbourne. Photograph: Jason Reed/Reuters

Updated

Review of Members of Parliament Act not yet underway

The review of the Members of Parliament Act – known as the Mops Act, which dictates the terms of employment for parliamentarian staffers, has not yet started.

Katy Gallagher says there is “a desire to get it in place as soon as we can” but there are a few process issues to sort through first.

And on the issue of extra staff for parliamentarians – don’t hold your breath. Larissa Waters asks Gallagher if there will be some sort of review in the future to determine staffing allocations, based on workloads.

Gallagher says in the past, additional staff were granted “for votes” and not workloads. She says it is a matter for the prime minister though.

Updated

Still not a lot from prime minister and cabinet estimates but Liberal senator Jane Hume seems to be enjoying asking finance minister (and the minister representing the prime minister) Katy Gallagher questions.

If you didn’t catch it yesterday, this story from Nino Bucci is absolutely worth your time:

NSW rideshare costs to rise under revamped levy scheme

Rideshare is about to get a little more expensive in NSW as AAP reports:

NSW rideshare and taxi passengers will be slugged $1.20 for every trip until 2030 to compensate and appease taxi licence plate owners.

Under the revamped scheme announced on Monday, compensation for Sydney taxi plates will be $150,000 and between $40,000 and $195,000 will be doled out for regional plate holders.

Taxis queueing for customers at Blacktown train station in Sydney.
Taxis queueing for customers at Blacktown train station in Sydney. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

This means the cost of the passenger service levy scheme will rise to $905m, up from an earlier $645m package.

For passengers, it means they’ll pay an extra 20 cents per trip, and pay the levy beyond the original end date of June 2029.

Sydney taxi licences were selling for $220,000 in December 2015 but now fetch about $30,000 each.

In the past year, a Tamworth plate sold for $150,000 while a licence in Picton went for $5,000.

The NSW transport minister, David Elliott, has urged the taxi industry to support the “generous package” so owners could receive the compensation as soon as possible.

Should the final package not be accepted, legislation will not be introduced and a review will then be needed to assess a compensation package, the government warns.

Updated

We get a lot of messages about Covid and particularly long Covid.

Bertin Huynh and the very talented video team have put together this explainer on its impact:

Updated

Still in Senate estimates, the Liberal National party senator Paul Scarr is incredulous that the attorney general’s department was not asked for advice before Anthony Albanese proposed draft wording of the changes to the constitution in his speech to the Garma festival in late July.

The minister at the table, Murray Watt, says Albanese had made clear that the draft wording for enshrining the Voice in the constitution was being put out for feedback, and was a starting point for discussions:

These are not final words, senator Scarr ... There is a constitutional expert group that is advising the government on all of these matters.

Updated

Attorney general writes letter to Morrison about information disclosed in book Plagued

Here is that letter Dan was reporting on:

Dear Mr Morrison

I am writing to you to express concern at the apparent extensive disclosures of cabinet information in the recent publication Plagued: Australia’s two years of hell – the inside story published by Pantera Press.

I understand that the authors were informed by interviews conducted contemporaneously over the 2020-2022 period, including deliberations of the National Security Committee of Cabinet. As you are well aware, the publication is granular in its description of cabinet and cabinet committee deliberations.

Several disclosures appear to have been made in contravention of the expectation of discretion regarding sensitive Cabinet discussions, including the disclosure that the then-Secretary of your Department briefed cabinet on planning on Chinese economic coercion [at 129] and that the national security implications of Covid-19 were further discussed at the National Security. Committee of Cabinet [130] and [147] which includes alleged quotes from you and paraphrases discussions allegedly from those meetings. Additionally, references to a ‘secret intelligence briefing’ from the Office of National Intelligence (312] would appear to be contrary to the confidentiality of information from the intelligence and security agencies.

Disclosures of Cabinet discussions and deliberations undermine Cabinet confidentiality and solidarity. I trust there will be no further disclosures from your period in government that undermine national security and the integrity of the Cabinet process.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Dreyfus.

Attorney general Mark Dreyfus.
Attorney general Mark Dreyfus. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Over in the attorney general’s estimates hearing, Mark Dreyfus has written to Scott Morrison in relation to information about cabinet processes that appeared in the book Plagued, Murray Watt has told Senate estimates. He is tabling the letter. We are chasing a copy and will bring you an update soon.

Updated

The gender pay gap within the public service is 6% at the moment.

A review is underway to find out why.

Updated

Prime minister’s department questioned over consulting services within public service

Over in PM&C estimates, Liberal senator Dean Smith is very interested in the government’s review into the public service.

He attempts a bit of a gotcha when asking about consultants – because the public service is still using them/prepared to use them.

Katy Gallagher jumps in here – she says there is no push to end consulting services within the public service, it is just reviewing what they are being used for, and not using them to do things the public service can do – that consultants are hired for their own expertise.

Updated

We’ll be popping in a little bit of the Victorian election into Politics Live over the next couple of weeks – but we promise not to overwhelm you.

Updated

So far Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet estimates has been fairly uneventful.

That’s not unexpected – it is a new government and people are still settling in to their questioning roles.

But that will quickly change.

Updated

Attorney general’s department did not advise Christian Porter on Morrison’s multiple ministries

The attorney general’s department has told Senate estimates that it did not provide advice to Christian Porter before the then attorney general advised Scott Morrison on the way he could be appointed to multiple ministries. There was a brief exchange this morning regarding revelations from the book Plagued by Simon Benson and Geoff Chambers.

The secretary of the department, Katherine Jones, noted that she was not the secretary at the time, but from her enquiries into the matter she said the department did not provide advice on the matter.

Attorney general's department secretary Katherine Jones appears in Senate estimates in Canberra, Monday 7 November 2022.
Attorney general's department secretary Katherine Jones appears in Senate estimates in Canberra, Monday 7 November 2022. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Barnaby Joyce debates Tanya Plibersek on renewables

I regret to inform you that Barnaby Joyce believes he has once again found his groove, and his groove is 2013 climate scaries.

Tanya Plibersek was talking renewables on the Seven network this morning, when Joyce responded:

The only thing in that fairy tale Tanya missed was a house made of liquorice, winged monkeys and a witch on a broomstick. They’re going to create further chaos. It is not dispatchable power. It is not as cheap power*. It is mitten power and it’s the dearest power, and it’s renewables. And we’re seeing that.

Plibersek: That’s not true.

Joyce:

She just said that power prices are going down. So, power prices are going down? Well, I’m sure your listeners are going to check that one in their power bill. As you move towards your targets, which they’ve legislated – they’ve legislated carbon targets – you’re going to become poorer. It’s going to put pressure on manufacturing jobs. The price of power goes up. The price of fuel goes up. The price of food goes up. Ultimately, as I’ve always said, the bunny in the headlights is your listeners. They’re the one who’s pay for this.

And what we’re saying, Chris Bowen going over to Sharm el Sheikh and, you know, it will be a wonderful resort, we’re seeing – the Labor party doesn’t really have anybody who really worked in the manufacturing industry, who worked as manufacturing workers. And they are now saying they will lose up to 100,000 of them.

And the final thing is, Tanya, you’re the government. Stop talking about the previous government*. You’re the government. It’s happening under your watch. And unless there’s a reality check like they have –

Plibersek: And power prices went up under you, Barnaby.

Joyce:

Like in Germany, like in other places where they’re bringing on base load power and coal-fired power stations, then you’re just not going to have the supply. And if you restrict the supply, price goes up. And everything else is a total nursery rhyme.

*Renewables are cheaper and becoming even less expensive.

**The Coalition spoke about the previous Labor government for 10 years.

Updated

Happy 6th anniversary of this moment, to those who observe:

Updated

Torres Strait Islanders to build seawall outside Parliament House in bid for more climate action

Traditional owners from the Torres Strait are building a mock seawall outside Parliament House, in a bid to get Labor to go further on climate action and protect their islands. It comes after traditional owners won their case with the UN, which argued they should be compensated for climate crisis failures.

Kabay Tamu, Warraber man from the Kulkalgal Nation and claimant in the UN case said:

By building a seawall outside Parliament House, we urge the Albanese government to protect our island homes, as the international community exhorts them to take stronger action on climate change at Cop27.

Rising seas are threatening our homes, swamping burial grounds and washing away sacred cultural sites. If the government fails to take enough action, we could be removed from these islands we have called home for thousands of years. Removing a race of people from our islands is like colonisation all over again for us. You can’t put a price on the connection we have to the land and the sea.

Every high tide, every monsoon season, I see the damage of coastal erosion on my island home of Warraber. Across the Torres Strait Islands, we lose metres of land all the time. It’s happening more often now.

The Our Islands Our Home campaign has set out demands for the Australian government:

  1. Fund adaptation programs that will allow Torres Strait Islander communities to adapt to climate impacts.

  2. Commit to going 100% renewables in Australia in the next 10 years.

  3. Support Torres Strait Islander communities to build community-owned renewable energy.

  4. Transition away from fossil fuels as rapidly as possible through a just transition for workers.

  5. Push the world to increase global ambition and keep warming to less than 1.5 degrees.

Updated

This isn’t the major parties – it’s candidates, Senate groups and election donors, so minor parties and independents will be the focus of this. Paul Karp is looking through it all for you.

Updated

Jacqui Lambie favours proposal to split workplace bill

Senator Jacqui Lambie has confirmed that she does not support Labor’s secure jobs, better pay bill in its current form.

Lambie told reporters in Canberra that the bill was “mostly pretty good” but Labor in opposition had often complained that government’s attempt at an omnibus bill when they are “trying to hide or rush stuff through”. Lambie said it was “embarrassing” for the government that even unions didn’t have their submissions done by a Friday Senate hearing.

Senator Jacqui Lambie.
Senator Jacqui Lambie. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Lambie said concessions made by workplace relations minister Tony Burke only water down some aspects of the multi-employer bargaining provisions, but she has concerns about whether the bill will make it harder for small and medium businesses recovering from Covid.

Lambie said that the abolition of the Australian Building and Construction Commission is a sticking point for her. She said it was “working well” and if the government has problems with the body being anti-union it should replace personnel not abolish the body.

Asked if medium-sized employers should be allowed to opt out of multi-employer bargaining, Lambie replied that “anyone should be able to opt out ... regardless of size”.

Lambie is in favour of senator David Pocock’s proposal to split the IR bill.

Updated

Migration system review will focus on process

For those wondering, here is a little more detail on the migration review Clare O’Neil announced this morning.

Former public service chief Martin Parkinson will head the review, along with temporary labour migration expert Joanna Howe and John Azarias, a former partner with Deloitte.

It will look at the visa system, how it works and what improvements need to be made, as well as things like the income threshold. But it won’t be looking at population size or anything too political. That’s because the government wants the focus to be on the system.

And in terms of politics, O’Neil and the government are more than capable of pointing fingers (as is the opposition).

So the review is about process, not politics.

Does that mean the findings will be non-political?

I think we all know the answer to that.

Updated

Medibank provides update on customer data accessed in cyber-attack

Here is what Medibank reported in terms of what it knows the cyber criminal accessed:

  • Accessed the name, date of birth, address, phone number and email address for around 9.7 million current and former customers and some of their authorised representatives. This figure represents around 5.1 million Medibank customers, around 2.8 million ahm customers and around 1.8 million international customers.

  • Did not access primary identity documents, such as drivers’ licences, for Medibank and ahm resident customers.

  • Medibank does not collect primary identity documents for resident customers except in exceptional circumstances.

  • Accessed Medicare numbers (but not expiry dates) for ahm customers. 

  • Accessed passport numbers (but not expiry dates) and visa details for international student customers.

  • Accessed health claims data for around 160,000 Medibank customers, around 300,000 ahm customers and around 20,000 international customers.

  • This includes service provider name and location, where customers received certain medical services, and codes associated with diagnosis and procedures administered.

  • Additionally, around 5,200 My Home Hospital (MHH) patients have had some personal and health claims data accessed and around 2,900 next of kin of these patients have had some contact details accessed.

  • Accessed health provider details, including names, provider numbers and addresses.

  • Did not access health claims data for extras services (such as dental, physio, optical and psychology).

  • Did not access credit card and banking details.

Updated

Paying hackers could make Australia a ‘bigger target’, Medibank CEO says

Medibank gave these reasons for not paying the ransom:

Medibank CEO David Koczkar said we again unreservedly apologise to our customers and recognise the distress this cybercrime has caused. Medibank has today announced that no ransom payment will be made to the criminal responsible for this data theft.

Koczkar said:

Based on the extensive advice we have received from cybercrime experts we believe there is only a limited chance paying a ransom would ensure the return of our customers’ data and prevent it from being published. In fact, paying could have the opposite effect and encourage the criminal to directly extort our customers, and there is a strong chance that paying puts more people in harm’s way by making Australia a bigger target.

It is for these reasons we have decided we will not pay a ransom for this event.

This decision is consistent with the position of the Australian government.

Medibank branch in Canberra.
Medibank branch in Canberra. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

Medibank will not pay ransom to hackers

Medibank have made another announcement to the ASX confirming they will not pay the ransom hackers have demanded not to release information from its data breach.

Updated

Multiple bills to be debated heading into Senate’s final two weeks

It’s going to be a big week in the house – the Respect@Work legislation is set to be introduced today with the privacy changes in response to the data breaches to be introduced tomorrow. Which leaves IR for Wednesday and Thursday.

As a blog watcher pointed out, that puts those bills in the Senate for the next two weeks (the Senate’s final two weeks).

That leaves the National Anti-Corruption Commission bill. The report into that is due to be tabled on Thursday which means we won’t see it debated this week. So it looks like a big final fortnight of sittings.

There is still talk – and it’s just talk – of the Senate sitting for an additional week in early December if it doesn’t get through everything. Some in the Coalition see that as just a threat to rush through legislation. Others on the crossbench see it as necessary to properly review everything. But we’ll see whether it happens or not soon.

Updated

Second shipment of monkeypox vaccines arrive in Australia

The second shipment of the monkeypox vaccine, Jynneos has made it to Australia and will be distributed to the states and territories. There are about 40,000 vials of that shipment and it coincides with a new awareness campaign which is about to be launched.

Mark Butler says it’s important people continue to get vaccinated:

Through peak organisations Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO), state-based LGBTQ+ health organisation ACON in NSW and Thorne Harbour Health in Victoria, new case numbers have been suppressed in Australia, with only one case diagnosed during October. However, vaccination remains important, particularly as we head into summer and WorldPride events, which will see many international visitors to Australia.

Updated

That review also means the skills list is under the spotlight.

Updated

Australia’s migration system needs an overhaul, home affairs minister says

Over on ABC radio RN Breakfast, home affairs minister Clare O’Neil is talking about the migration reform review the government has just announced.

The review will look at the visa system, how people interact with it, as well as the potential for criminals to take advantage of loopholes to traffic people.

The review is also designed to try and make the migration system also address Australia’s labour shortages.

O’Neil said the visa system needs an overhaul:

At the moment, there just isn’t sufficient strategy going into how we design that system and think about this critical task. So we need to sort that out. But there is an issue here around the visa processing system and that might sound I’m sure bureaucratic and boring to people out there, but … when we arrived in government, there were a million problems.

Minister for home affairs Clare O'Neil.
Minister for home affairs Clare O'Neil. Photograph: James Ross/AAP

Updated

Concerns raised over flaw in Labor’s Respect@Work bill

Lawyers, academics and advocates have raised concerns that the Albanese government’s Respect@Work legislation contains a flaw that could “undermine access to justice”.

The bill, which is expected to pass the House of Representatives this week, “will go a significant way to strengthening legal protections against workplace sexual harassment”, according to a joint letter to the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, and the minister for women, Katy Gallagher.

But the signatories – including the 2015 Australian of the Year, Rosie Batty, and Prof Michelle Ryan, director of the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at the ANU – have raised “deep concern at the proposed amendments to the costs provisions in the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986”.

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers and other signatories say the bill proposes a costs neutrality model, whereby litigants bear their own costs unless the court orders otherwise. (The court may make orders as to costs as they consider “just” where “there are circumstances that justify it in doing so”.)

The letter explains:

While superficially the arrangement represents an improvement on the status quo, its design and uncertainty around its operation will in fact serve to undermine access to justice. The proposed model will ultimately make it harder for targets of sexual harassment to vindicate their legal rights; it will deter women from pursuing cases and reduce the compensation that they will achieve if they do proceed.

Taking a costs neutrality approach to a relationship that is characterised by endemic inequality only serves to entrench that inequality. The proposed approach will also make it uneconomical for law firms to offer no-win, no-fee arrangements in discrimination matters and make it unviable to bring class actions against employers.

We urge you to amend the Bill to include an “equal access” asymmetrical costs model. Such an approach would protect a complainant from an adverse costs order, unless they have acted vexatiously or unreasonably, but enable them to recover costs should they succeed. This model would recognise the significant inequality in resources between complainants in sexual harassment matters and their employers. It would also underscore the wider public interest in those who have been sexually harassed vindicating their legal rights.

Other signatories to the letter include Shine Lawyers, Grata Fund, Public Interest Advocacy Centre, Australian Council of Trade Unions, and Australian Women Lawyers Ltd.

Updated

Good morning

Welcome back to parliament.

There are only three scheduled house sitting weeks left – and just eight days for the Senate, which will spend this week in budget estimates.

So no legislation is getting passed this week. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to see some legislative fights.

Tony Burke and the government really want to see the IR bill get through the parliament and have set a very tight timeline to make it happen. So far Burke has compromised on a couple of sticking points – including changing multi-employer bargaining from a majority across the sector to a majority in each business. There is also potential for the government to move on the introduction of the changes, with talk of a six-month grace period in the works.

But the government will have to spend this week trying to win over a Senate crossbencher or two. Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock are the two most likely and so far neither are budging.

Meanwhile, Labor senators will find themselves on the other side of the table this week as Senate estimates gets under way in earnest. The Coalition are intent in poking holes in the budget and in particular anything to do with the cost of living, so that’s going to be a long week for some of the Labor ministers.

And it’s all playing out in the shadow of the 27th Cop, being held in Egypt. Anthony Albanese isn’t there – Chris Bowen is.

Australia doesn’t have much new to say, but Adam Morton will be covering what the meeting decides – as well as poking into some of the schemes meant to improve Australia’s position.

You have Katharine Murphy, Sarah Martin, Paul Karp, Josh Butler and Daniel Hurst watching all the happenings in Parliament House for you and the entire Guardian brains trust watching what’s happening outside of Canberra.

Amy Remeikis is with you on the blog for most of the day.

Ready? It’s a three coffee day minimum. Hope you have yours.

Let’s get into it.

Updated

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