The former prime minister has stepped into the climate debate, with a stark warning to moderate Liberals to act. All the day’s events, live
Greg Hunt will be giving the next coronavirus update at 1.10pm
Meanwhile, the lights keep flickering in Parliament House, which can only mean that my moods have begun to physically manifest.
Continue reading...Government MPs have lashed out at Labor over its emissions target, with arguments in parliament’s corridors. All the days events, live
Parliament starts at 10am.
Tellingly, Joel Fitzgibbon is on board with Labor’s plan. Here he is writing for his local paper, the Newcastle Herald over the weekend:
The aspiration of carbon neutrality by 2050 (zero net emissions) offers a conservative and low-risk path to satisfying the commitment Malcolm Turnbull made in Paris on our behalf back in 2015.
First, it provides plenty of time to think and act, including the time needed to embrace existing and future technologies.
Continue reading...Shadow education minister emphasises education as key battle line against Coalition, while Greens leader Adam Bandt calls for end to public school fees
Labor will continue to make education funding a key point of difference to the Coalition, with a greater emphasis on the disparity between public and private schools’ spending on facilities, Tanya Plibersek has signalled.
In a speech delivered to the Australian Education Union on Friday, Plibersek warned both the government and internal critics arguing for lower social spending that “the fight for fair school funding is not over” and claimed that “visible inequality” in facilities suggests Australians care more about some children than others.
Continue reading...The ALP leader says a feasibility study into a new coal-fired power station in Queensland is ‘hush money’ for climate sceptics
Anthony Albanese says he supports jobs and economic activity from the Adani coalmine, but he has blasted a feasibility study into a new coal-fired power plant in Collinsville as “hush money” for climate sceptics in the Coalition.
In Queensland on Wednesday for his fourth “vision statement” since taking the Labor leadership, Albanese told reporters the ALP needed to improve its electoral performance in the state given the poor showing in last year’s federal election. He said he was listening to voters in a number of regional centres.
Continue reading...Labor says National party seats shortchanged after projects in Liberal-held, non-rural seats got nearly $110m
Labor is accusing the government of shortchanging rural areas through a $150m sports fund that was overwhelmingly spent in marginal seats during the election campaign.
The $150m female facilities and water safety stream program, announced by the Coalition less than two months before the election, was funded in the 2019 budget for the purpose of female change rooms and swimming pool upgrades, but was all allocated in the election campaign.
Continue reading...Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary must be seen to be independent, opposition leader says
The federal opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, has said top bureaucrat Phil Gaetjens must show his independence in the sports grants scandal “that just stinks”.
Gaetjens, the secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, wrote on Friday to the Senate inquiry into the sports grants saga that cost the previous sports minister, Bridget McKenzie, her job.
Continue reading...Former NSW Labor MPs allegedly conspired over mining properties in Bylong Valley, near Mudgee
The federal opposition leader, Anthony Albanese, a former New South Wales premier, Morris Iemma, mining figures and public servants are expected to give evidence in the trial of former mining ministers Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald.
The former state Labor MPs – with Obeid’s son Moses, 50 – are being tried in the NSW supreme court over their alleged conspiracy to commit an offence between 2007 and 2009, when Macdonald was mineral resources minister and the Obeids owned land in coal country.
Continue reading...Prime minister says reality for Indigenous children a ‘national shame’ as Senate turns up the heat on the government to release the PM&C report into the sports grants affair. All the day’s events, live
Scott Morrison:
There remains much to do.
And we will do it differently by working together. By moving from a fixation with what is going wrong to a focus on strength.
Scott Morrison:
I am saddened that we have not met the target for child mortality but I draw hope and result from the fact that we are making progress in tackling the risk factors.
More Indigenous mothers are attending antenatal care in the first trimester and more are going to at least five antenatal sessions.
Continue reading...The fallout from last week’s leadership spill continues, with rebel MPs refusing to fall into line. All the day’s events, live
There is a real pattern emerging of Nationals MPs wearing green ties with dark blue suits, and really I can see why the party room is in revolt.
Josh Frydenberg is yelling again, and I can’t transcribe it, because GUESSWHOTHATFINANCIALGENIUSWASSIRTAXALOT is doing my head in, and really, you only get one life.
Continue reading...Online video emerges as the Senate sets up an inquiry into the Coalition’s $100m sports rort grants
Video has emerged online of a member of Scott Morrison’s electorate staff being lauded for helping Cronulla Sailing Club win an $8,400 grant, as the Senate moved on Wednesday to set up an inquiry into the controversial $100m community sport infrastructure grant program.
In the video posted to Facebook, a representative of the club thanks the staffer, identifying her as “Scott Morrison’s PA”, for helping push her to apply for a grant for a new stainless steel barbecue. GrantConnect shows the grant was approved in December 2017 as part of the stronger communities program.
Continue reading...Crossbencher ‘hopes to think’ she is close to a deal with government on union penalty bill unexpectedly defeated last year
Senator Jacqui Lambie is looking to strike a deal with the government “as soon as possible” on the union penalty bill, while Labor struggles to contain a debate in its own ranks about union-backed superannuation funds.
Lambie is meeting the industrial relations minister, Christian Porter, on Tuesday to continue negotiations on the bill, which would lower the threshold for the deregistration of unions and disqualification of their officials.
Continue reading...Large numbers of easily exploited temporary migrants could have a ‘corrosive’ effect, says Kristina Keneally
Australia’s reliance on temporary migration is creating a new economic underclass that risks having a “corrosive” effect on the nation’s society, Labor’s shadow home affairs minister, Kristina Keneally, says.
In a major speech to the Curtin institute on Thursday night, Keneally will step up Labor’s attack on the government for its reliance on temporary migration, saying current trends could see as many as 3 million people – or 12% of the population – living in Australia on a temporary basis.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed. Our live coverage will continue tomorrow morning
We are wrapping up the live blog now, but we will be back at 7am AEDT for the latest on the fires.
As of 9pm, this is what we know.
There’s now what media (but not RFS) refer to as a megablaze in the Kosciuszko national park with three fires at emergency level in that area of southern NSW, just near the Victorian border.
There’s also concern that a fire at watch-and-act level in Faulconbridge in the Blue Mountains could worsen around midnight once the southerly reaches there. People in the Wentworth Falls and Leura areas are being advised to stay alert.
Tax reform dominated debate, as ministers discussed East Timor and the 2000 Olympics – and resisted climate action
On 1 July Australia’s goods and services tax will have been in place for 20 years. It is uncontroversial in concept, with no major party advocating its abolition. Every so often there are calls for it to be increased from 10% or expanded – calls that are usually rebuffed.
But just how fraught the GST was to introduce is one of the key insights from the release of cabinet papers by the National Archives of Australia, covering the years 1998 and 1999. There were other concerns: East Timor’s independence, the 2000 Sydney Olympics, the failed republican referendum, and familiar resistance to doing anything but the minimum on climate change.
Continue reading...Deb Frecklington said she had ‘no choice but to remain grounded’ because she had children, and said the premier’s fashion choices were ‘too much’
Federal and state Labor MPs have rounded on the Queensland LNP leader, Deb Frecklington, after she criticised Annastacia Palaszczuk for her fashion choices and said she had “no choice but to remain grounded” because she had children.
In an interview with the Sunday Mail, Frecklington said Palaszczuk had “deliberately changed her image – the whole ‘Princess Palaszczuk’ is pretty obvious – but I haven’t changed mine”.
Continue reading...Scott Morrison announces cut in number of government departments as part of public service overhaul. All the day’s political news, live
Labor is moving a motion saying the government’s attempts to push the union-busting bill through without debate was “anti-democratic”.
Better still is this bit of the motion:
This is a prime ministerial tantrum, with the prime minister of Australia behaving like a juvenile schoolyard bully just because he didn’t get his way last week.
We’re now moving through the votes for the government’s union-busting bill.
A side note - this is the 100th division to take place in the House for this sitting fortnight.
Continue reading...Sydney lord mayor approached by police investigating accusations the emissions reduction minister relied on a falsified document to attack her. Follow all the day’s political news live
That’s where we’ll leave the live blog for the day. Thanks for following along.
It’s been another messy day. Many say the medevac repeal has made it one of parliament’s darkest.
Another development on the Angus Taylor front.
The City of Sydney’s lord mayor, Clover Moore, has been approached by police to provide a statement for their investigation into accusations Taylor relied on a falsified document to attack her travel-related emissions. The council said in a statement:
Continue reading...PM concedes a misstep in his defence of minister as Labor continues its attack. All the day’s events, live
From Peter Dutton’s office:
The Australian Government has declared three terrorist attacks for the purposes of the Australian Victim of Terrorism Overseas Payment (AVTOP) scheme.
The Senate is finishing up its divisions on the ensuring integrity bill. That’s brought on the second reading debate, where we go into the amendments.
We’ll be in amendment hell until about 11.45am. Then it’s usual Senate business for a bit, and then straight back into the IR bill. The only thing that will interrupt it then, is question time.
Continue reading...Westpac chief executive’s resignation draws little sympathy on all sides of politics. All the day’s events, live
And here is another indication of where question time is headed:
Last week, a bank broke money laundering laws 23 million times.
But instead of going after them, the Liberals are going after unions – trying to take away their right to exist.
This Government hates working people. We'll fight them every step of the way. pic.twitter.com/9vMhFquk4W
A group of north Queensland dairy farmers are on their way to Canberra to express their frustrations at what is happening within their industry.
That’s at the same time the Nationals are trying to get ahead of Pauline Hanson, who may have come late to the issues, but certainly has been running full steam ahead since becoming aware of it.
David Littleproud, the drought minister, some time ago said he fixed the supermarket [milk price] problem. He said he thumped his chest, waved his fists at them, and demanded they put their milk prices up.
Well, we know that solution lasted about five minutes.
Continue reading...Aged-care package ‘falls well short’ of what is required, Labor says; Morrison responds to Chinese spy plot allegations; and Jacqui Lambie ‘not supporting a repeal’ of medevac, Rex Patrick says. All the day’s events, live
And on that note, we are going to ground this plane - but we will be back tomorrow morning for more fun and games.
There are officially seven sitting days left. Medevac and ensuring integrity are still high on the government’s wish list, but, as always the crossbench is the key. It looks like the government has agreed to Pauline Hanson’s amendments for the union bill, but she is still holding out. Jacqui Lambie has a diary full of meetings when it comes to medevac. Keep a close eye on that one.
Something to watch out for, tomorrow
Our 2019 Mapping #SocialCohesionReport launches tomorrow, 26 November. The report produced in partnership with @MonashUni researchers uses a comprehensive survey to gauge a nuanced understanding of shifts in public opinion on social cohesion and population issues.
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