What we learned today, Wednesday 24 November
We will wrap up the live blog here for the day.
Here’s some of what made the news today:
- The defence minister, Peter Dutton, won a defamation case against a refugee activist over a tweet, receiving $35,000 in damages.
- The home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, announced the government plans to list both The Base and the entirety of Hezbollah as terrorist organisations under Australian law.
- New Zealand will open to international visitors in 2022. The border will initially open to NZ citizens and visa holders coming from Australia in January, then citizens and visa holders coming from the rest of the world in February, and finally opening to all vaccinated visitors from April.
- The NSW deputy police commissioner, Karen Webb, will become the first female NSW police commissioner, replacing outgoing commissioner Mick Fuller.
- Victoria recorded 1,196 new Covid-19 cases and three deaths, while NSW reported 248 cases and two deaths.
- The Northern Territory recorded 11 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the cluster, centred in Indigenous communities, to 51.
Amy Remeikis will be back with you tomorrow morning for the last sitting day of this the second last sitting week of 2021.
Updated
⚠️Severe thunderstorms with heavy rainfall may which will lead to flash flooding have developed through the Blue Mountains and are moving into Western Sydney. Storms are expected to push slowly east into the evening. Keep up to date with #Warnings here: https://t.co/jJWt2wlxel pic.twitter.com/tUMfIJurA7
— Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) November 24, 2021
AAP has a report on new Magnitsky-style laws introduced into the Senate today making it easier to slap sanctions on serious human rights abusers and criminals.
The laws would allow the government to hit those who conduct egregious acts of international concern, including human rights abusers.
The previous sanctions regime does not mention human rights and is not used for this purpose, leading to a joint parliamentary committee recommending more specific sanctions.
The foreign minister, Marise Payne, said it would allow the government to respond more directly to national security threats by targeting people proliferating weapons of mass destruction, committing human rights abuses or engaging in serious corruption.
“Our reforms will deny access to our economy for the proceeds of egregious abuses ... and ensure our banking systems do not become a safe haven for these proceeds and any associated foreign influence,” Payne said.
“Cyber-sanctions serve as an important tool of statecraft. Rules apply online just as they do offline and perpetrators must be accountable.”
Debate on the bill was adjourned until the next sitting period.
Labor supports the Magnitsky-style laws, which are named after a Russian whistleblower who died in a Moscow jail after accusing Russian officials of tax fraud.
The US, the UK and Canada have used the measures to respond to Russian aggression.
Updated
Earlier this afternoon, the PM announced a $242.7m “Trailblazer Universities” initiative, which will pick four universities and fund them up to $50m each for commercialisation of research around manufacturing in defence, space, resources tech, food, energy and medical products.
The unis will also be able to get $8m in CSIRO specialist support through Test Labs.
There will be a competitive application process, after universities submit expressions of interest, from which a shortlist will be made.
Universities will be assessed against the following terms:
- Commercialisation readiness, including the adoption of innovative intellectual property arrangements, and clear promotion pathways for academics engaged in commercialisation activity to reward research entrepreneurs.
- Research capability to support a National Manufacturing Priority, including research translation and commercialisation capabilities to become a world-leading centre in a priority area.
- Industry alignment, including collaborative partnerships with industry and co-funding from business partners, greater workforce mobility between businesses and universities, and offering courses in priority areas that are endorsed by industry.
The shortlist will be developed in January, with a business case assessed up to March next year.
Updated
The Coalition’s voter ID bill is back in the House of Representatives.
Labor’s Andrew Giles labels it a “blatant voter suppression tool”, a “cheap trick” that the Morrison government thinks can help it win the election but has “nothing to do” with voter integrity.
Giles said that long lines at US polling places show the efforts that voters have to go to overcome “racist” voter suppression methods there.
Giles cited the Australian Electoral Commission’s finding that double voting is “vanishingly small” and is usually the result of electoral officers’ errors or the voter’s dementia.
He said:
The government knows people in Indigenous communities are less likely to have identification or carry it with them.
This is “yet another barrier to Indigenous Australians’ participation and from having their voice heard in this place”.
Even if the bill passes the House - numbers in the Senate are very shaky. One Nation supports it in theory but is having a dummy spit about other bills and Country Liberal Sam McMahon is unsure she can support it. The government would need their votes, rebels Alex Antic and Gerard Rennick and one of the crossbenchers – most likely Stirling Griff or Jacqui Lambie.
Although some, including Griff, want an inquiry into the bill, the government wants it passed this fortnight, and Labor wants it voted down.
Updated
The head of the OECD, Mathias Cormann, was also asked about the role of China during the Lowy Institute event. He said it was important to work constructively but also to “draw lines in the sand”.
The former senior Coalition minister said China was “a significant market” and “now the world’s second biggest economy” while it was the biggest trading partner of a growing number of countries around the world.
Cormann said that meant countries around the world had an interest in having “the best possible relationship with China”.
And there are also issues, you know, whether it’s climate change or international tax, or a series of other issues that can only be effectively addressed by having all of the major and minor players around the table. And an issue like climate change will only be able to be addressed effectively if the US, China, India and others are around the table. So there’s a whole range of areas where it is very clear that we must find ways to effectively cooperate.
Cormann added that the OECD was an organisation that brought together market-based democracies that shared a commitment to human rights and the rule of law.
The political and economic system in China is different, and inevitably, there will be pressure points from time to time. Now, the key is going to be to work through those in as positive and constructive a way as possible. But also to be very clear on, you know, where it is important to stand up for our interest and to draw lines in the sand. And well I think that that’s going to require appropriate balancing, you know, for some time to come. I mean, ideally, we will end up with an appropriate, sustainable accommodation in the context of an international rules-based order, where we can continue to live together harmoniously, peacefully and pursuing the further expansion of global trade to mutual benefit.
Mathias Cormann, the former finance minister turned OECD secretary general, has called for an “internationally more coherent and globally better coordinated approach to the pricing of emissions”.
Cormann – who as a member of the Abbott government helped abolish the Gillard government’s carbon pricing scheme – mentioned climate action during the Lowy Institute’s Owen Harries Lecture this evening. He said:
While emissions across OECD member countries peaked in 2007, there is much more work to be done. Earlier this month, I was at Cop26 where the need to accelerate global policy action to match climate commitments was obviously very stark. And it’s great that more and more countries including Australia have committed to a net zero emissions target by 2050. However, ultimately, it will be real outcomes and not commitments that matter. And to be truly effective in helping to reduce global emissions, climate action needs to be globally coherent and better coordinated.
Cormann said one issue was that individual jurisdictions must “actually help reduce global emissions instead of simply shifting emissions to other parts of the world” – meaning emissions have to be cut everywhere.
The challenge is to ensure the level of ambition and effort in individual jurisdictions can be lifted to the level required while maintaining a global level playing field, avoiding counterproductive trade distortions, and carbon leakage.
(This, incidentally, is why the EU and others are considering carbon border adjustment charges, aka carbon tariffs.)
Later, in Q&A with the Lowy Institute executive director Michael Fullilove, Cormann was asked whether Australia should have taken a more ambitious 2030 target to Glasgow. Cormann avoided directly criticising the Australian government, saying it was important “to have credible and realistic transitions” to net zero by 2050.
I think it’s always important to be more ambitious, but it’s even more important to be able to deliver the outcomes. And the outcome that we need the world to deliver is global net zero by 2050. And in that sense, we’ve got to continue to make decisions that help reduce the global problem. That don’t just shift the problem from one jurisdiction to other jurisdictions around the world.
Updated
Amy has just informed me that the House of Reps is having to recount a vote on the litigation funding bill due to “technical glitches” involving the iPads they use.
LNP MP George Christensen has also crossed the floor to vote against the bill.
His crossing the floor didn’t change the outcome - it passed 65-63.
Updated
A bit rough, we’ve all been there.
#Butterfingers #auspol #qt pic.twitter.com/cfz6K9vUhl
— Jim Chalmers MP (@JEChalmers) November 24, 2021
The very lovely Josh Taylor will take you through the evening, as I contemplate floristry or some other lovely career.
It’s been another day of just absolute batshittery in the parliament and the exciting news is, we have five more sitting days to go this year!
Who knows what tomorrow will bring – outside of the prime minister introducing the religious discrimination legislation (which started life as the religious freedom legislation) – an election promise which will be sent straight to a senate committee, and therefore will be unlikely to be passed before the next election (unless that election is in May)
Given all the questions you have asked me about election timing at this point, the only answer I can give you is the same as every other time – the prime minister will call an election when it is best suited to him. If everyone calms down over the summer, and the prime minister is able to stay away from the news, enabling people to forget, then there is every chance he will call an election for March, if the polls show there has been an uptick in support. Because the longer he waits, the more opportunity there is for something to go wrong. But there are still those who want to see a budget handed down to go to the election with. So again, it will depend on when the prime minister thinks the timing is best. There has to be an election by May 22, so that is the only absolute in any of this.
But first we have to get through the end of the sitting – and at this point, the end of the first sitting week. Will Andrew Wallace have decided if he wants to follow in the footsteps of Tony Smith or Bronwyn Bishop by then? Probably not. Can question time get any worse? Always.
Am I entirely grateful to the Canberra Guardian team and the Guardian brains trust at large for all their hard work? Completely and absolutely. This project doesn’t exist without them, or the heart of the blog, Mike Bowers. I am just the ranting typing monkey to their intelligence, calm and patience.
And we all take our hats off to you, our readers, for keeping us going. We truly appreciate you and your support. It means the world to us and does make everything worth it.
We’ll be back early tomorrow. Until then, please – take care of you.
The voter ID laws are still in the house, but the ABC reports another Coalition senator is considering crossing the floor. This time it is Country Liberal party senator (who has lost the number one ticket spot on the NT senate ballot) Sam McMahon, who says she is in discussions with the government over whether or not the legislation is needed, or something she can support.
I’ve got concerns about how they’re going to impact, particularly Indigenous Territorians,” she said.
I think there’s very little, if any, evidence of voter fraud in the Northern Territory.
I’m thinking that it is possible that I might not be able to vote for them but, like I said, that’ll hinge on discussions that I have with my colleagues.”
Updated
Anne Aly was on Afternoon Briefing talking about her position on the religious discrimination bill (Labor is yet to come to a caucus position)
I am pleased that some of those provisions in the first and second draft, especially around the provision of medical services, have been removed, and that the Folau case has been removed. In principle I support religious freedom as a person of faith myself, and as a person who has a lot of contact with faith-based communities within my electorate and across Australia to support those provisions.
I note one of the first and longest running debates I had when I was first elected was about the remove of provisions to protect against discrimination in 18C, the racial discrimination act, interestingly having this discussion about religious freedom and discrimination.
I had concerns about the provision in the current bill around the belief clause, around the statement of belief clause, I think there are some parts of that that could be problematic and that need to be knotted out more.
I understand it has been a recommendation the bills go to a Senate inquiry and I hope that those aspects of that particular clause, the statement of belief because our knotted outcome I have concerns that clause might overrun some state legislation that offers better protections for people of faith, and for faith communities.
Updated
The Western Australian deputy police commissioner says he expects fewer than 24 police officers to lose their jobs with the vaccine mandate for police coming due on December 1.
As AAP reports:
Western Australia’s premier is confident critical industries won’t be disrupted as the deadline nears for mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations.
Fly-in, fly-out resources workers, police officers and fire and emergency services staff are among those who must have received their first dose by December 1.
A larger cohort including retail and hospitality workers have until the end of the year to get jabbed.
WA is expected to reopen its borders in late-January or early-February, subject to 90 per cent of people aged 12 and over being fully vaccinated.
About 85 per cent of West Australians have now received at least one dose but there has been backlash over the mandates from a vocal minority, some of whom have levelled violent threats against the premier and other leaders.
Premier Mark McGowan expects most people will agree to get vaccinated when faced with a threat to their livelihood.
“We had exactly the same issue in the aged care workforce,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
“As the deadline approaches, people see sense. They get vaccinated, life goes on, they keep themselves safe, they continue to be employed and in due course they wonder what all the fuss was about.”
WA Police deputy commissioner Col Blanch said officers who refused to get vaccinated before the deadline would likely lose their jobs.
He told Perth radio 6PR he expected the number to be fewer than two dozen.
The state government will this weekend launch a summer vaccination drive including targeted promotions and events and pop-up clinics at selected supermarkets.
Clinics will also open at cricket matches at Optus Stadium, beginning with Saturday’s WBBL final.
Remote communities remain a continued focus with only about a third of Aboriginal people in WA being fully vaccinated.
Police have increased Mr McGowan’s personal security after two young men allegedly threatened to behead the premier and his family.
The men, aged 18 and 20, are alleged to have phoned Mr McGowan late on Saturday and left a number of threatening messages. They are due to face court next month.
Mr McGowan, who has indefinitely closed his electorate office amid security concerns, is also weighing whether to move his family from their nearby home in Rockingham, south of Perth.
“The people involved in all of this share my address all of the time, so it’s a bit of a problem,” he said.
“I’m not too worried about it in a personal sense, (although) it’s not pleasant.
“The main thing I’m worried about is making sure people get vaccinated before they catch COVID.”
Police Commissioner and vaccine commander Chris Dawson said threats had also been made against his life, resulting in charges being laid.
He said police were monitoring back roads between WA and the Northern Territory, whose outbreak has grown to more than 50 cases.
AAP has a little more on what I think the government is calling ‘can do capitalism’:
Leaders of a business climate club say they are dodging “petty party politics” and getting on with the job of decarbonising the economy.
“We’re trying to keep the politics out of it and just get on and do what we can,” said CSIRO chair David Thodey, who co-chairs the Climate Leaders Coalition group.
The biggest climate question for Australia is how to get small and medium-sized firms on board, he told the audience of an online event held by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia on Wednesday.
“I do think that governments can play a critical role here and I think they need to be at the table, setting policies and incentivising everybody to move,” he said.
“I’m not going to buy into their petty party politics because there’s nothing rational in it.”
Business leadership and peer group pressure will make a difference, Thodey said.
“I’m not going to have irrational arguments or discussions around technology road maps and things like this that are only a part of the solution.”
But state governments have “wonderful” initiatives and continue to step up on net zero and 2030 targets, he said.
“We will encourage and work with anybody who wants to make a difference.”
The CLC is a group of 33 Australian companies that account for just over a fifth of the country’s current greenhouse gas emissions under current global accounting rules.
AGL, BHP, Fortescue Metals, Rio Tinto, Santos, and Wesfarmers are among its members.
Updated
Thinking of those in the flood zone – stay safe out there peeps.
It is going to be another wild summer.
Via AAP:
The State Emergency Service has responded to almost 3000 calls for help during the flood crisis that’s gripped NSW for a week, and there is no reprieve in sight with more severe weather forecast.
Commissioner Carlene York says the SES has been “extremely busy” with the requests, including 150 in the last 24 hours.
More than 60 flood rescues have been conducted, including six in the last day.
The bulk of the calls have been in Forbes, Gunnedah, Orange and Coffs Harbour, mainly for fallen trees and leaking damaged roofs caused by heavy rain.
York is urging people to monitor the Bureau of Meteorology and SES websites for forecasts and warnings, saying it’s important for people in danger zones to prepare to evacuate.
“Have an evacuation kit ready, get your important documents, know who to contact and know where to go,” she said on Wednesday.
BoM hazard preparedness and response manager, Jane Golding, has warned that with catchments saturated, dams full and rivers high it doesn’t take much to trigger a flood.
“More rain means more flooding,” Golding said.
Severe thunderstorms are also developing over inland NSW.
Warnings were issued on Wednesday afternoon for the lower west and Riverina regions, with areas between Ivanhoe and Narrandera in the path.
Narrandera recorded 46mm of rain in a three-hour period on Wednesday.
Heavy rain is also expected further west near Broken Hill and Menindee.
A low pressure system is forecast to deepen before it moves towards the east coast on Thursday and Friday, with strong southerly winds expected to follow it, bringing more danger.
Updated
Mike Bowers had to endure that question time in person.
Here is some of what he saw:
Anyone who has seen the Peppa Pig tiktok challenge knows what I am seeing here (it’s not bad, just funny)
Colour me shocked
You'll be shocked to hear the government has again refused a Senate order for the production of documents for robodebt documents (legal advice and other documents).
— Luke Henriques-Gomes (@lukehgomes) November 24, 2021
One of these documents was actually given to the ombudsman years ago as part of one of its reviews. Now apparently it's a state secret
— Luke Henriques-Gomes (@lukehgomes) November 24, 2021
Question time ends.
The pain though, it lingers.
It is worth noting that asked to condemn a member of his government’s benches comments on vaccine mandates, which also said civil disobedience was ‘part of the solution’, Scott Morrison turned it into an attack on Sally McManus and Labor MPs who were found guilty following court cases which occurred because of findings of the NSW Icac – which Morrison has recently criticised as a body.
It also doesn’t make sense. He claims that the McManus comments about breaking unjust laws (which McManus was talking about in the context of unprotected strike action in 2017) were relevant to a question asking him to condemn George Christensen’s anti vaccine mandate comments, which included comparisons to Stalin and Pol Pot, and said civil disobedience was ‘part of the solution’.
So the question has to be asked – in what way? In what way are they relevant? Is Morrison saying that unjust laws should be broken? Because it makes no sense. Morrison has said that Icac has too much power now that Gladys Berejiklian’s actions form part of one of it’s investigations, but he is also criticising the Labor party for the actions of Eddie Obeid, which were found out because of an Icac investigation.
"It's certainly not a model we'd ever consider at a federal level"
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) October 4, 2021
Prime Minister @ScottMorrisonMP on claims NSW's anti-corruption watchdog wields too much power. pic.twitter.com/c9QT4o0mIh
All building to an attack to call Anthony Albanese a “weak reed” in answer to a question on why he won’t condemn a member of his own backbench who is threatening to withhold his vote or cross the floor and de-rail the government’s attempts to pass legislation in the house, while also ramping up his anti-vaccine mandate rhetoric which is being celebrated by far right elements within the anti-vaccine protest movement.
Scott Morrison was asked to condemn the comments, and said he does. But he won’t name the member. Or call out the comments specifically. Instead, he calls the opposition leader ‘weak’ for comments a union leader made in 2017 about unprotected strike action, and brings in Eddie Obeid, who was found guilty in a court, after prosecutors decided to follow up the findings of an investigation by Icac, a body Morrison has recently criticised as it looks into dealings of a Liberal politician.
Question time ends.
Updated
The next question should go to Terry Young, but Bob Katter has shown up with a question, so Young gives the floor to Katter.
And then Andrew Wallace reverts back to his previous form.
Katter:
Prime minister, Sally McManus who has been a great union member in this country. Would you quote her in this house, please.
Scott Morrison is positive gleeful:
I thank the member for Kennedy for his question! This is what the leader of the trade union movement said. “I believe in the rule of law when the law is fair and the law is right, but when it is unjust, I don’t think there is a problem with breaking it”, Mr Speaker. Now, Mr Speaker, we should respect the rule of law. We should always respect the rule of law, Mr Speaker!
We shouldn’t encourage people to break the law, it shouldn’t be optional, Mr Speaker, for trade union leaders and militant union thugs, Mr Speaker, who might want to come on... It is not OK for members to encourage those to be wilfully not obeying the law I going on Mr Speaker and preventing people from accessing their place of work which those opposite, Mr Speaker, know all about. Know all about, Mr Speaker.
There is no wonder, Mr Speaker, why those opposite did not want want me to read out that quote. It betrays their hypocrisy. It betrays their hypocrisy that it is alright for union thugs to come and try and knock this building down, Mr Speaker (that happened in the 80s).
It is alright for that, we will support them then, Mr Speaker, we will support them when they are out working away, when John Setka (who Anthony Albanese had removed from the Labor party) and outlaw motorcycle gangs, Mr Speaker, and it is OK, Mr Speaker, when they commit these crimes they will let them stay in this country which is what happened under the Labor party, but when we, Mr Speaker, when we are in government, Mr Speaker, and we want to send those thugs out of this country and we want to introduce laws that strengthen our protections to enable us to keep the thugs out of this country, guess who votes against us? The Labor party, Mr Speaker. That is not the sort of weakness this country needs, Mr Speaker.
The leader of the opposition was part of a Labor party which led outlaw motorcycle gang thugs and union leaders who work with them, Mr Speaker, to get away scott free! That is not how you run a country if you are a strong leader, Mr Speaker. This leader of the opposition is a weak reed, Mr Speaker. He is a weak reed.
Tony Burke:
There is no doubt this was not directly relevant to the question.
Wallace:
Has the prime minister completed his answer?
Just before the prime minister continues...I will give the call to the prime minister but the prime minister should return to... To the general thrust of the question (which was just asking for him to quote Sally McManus)
Morrison:
Mr Speaker, Mr Speaker, Mr Speaker, I can only go back to what the leader of the trade union movement said, Mr Speaker, when she said she didn’t have a problem with people breaking the law, Mr Speaker. I understand the Labor party has sympathy with that.
I wonder whether the leader of the opposition will be going out and meeting his mates that he backed into their roles in prison, in the New South Wales parliament they are going down to the [Obeid] ski lodge this winter!
Updated
Again though, Scott Morrison doesn’t directly condemn George Christensen. Instead he tries to turn it to comments Sally McManus made in 2017 when she became the ACTU secretary and was asked about strikes without fair work protection.
That’s when workers are not granted permission by the fair work commission to strike. I have done it, while working at what was Fairfax, over pay and conditions. The workers take on the risk in those cases – you can be fined and lose protections over the strike.
McManus was asked about unprotected strike action in 2017 and said:
I believe in the rule of law where the law is fair and the law is right but when it is unjust I don’t think there’s a problem with breaking it.”
That’s the comment the prime minister is desperate to say. Not sure how it is relevant to what George Christensen said though. Unless he is saying that it is his position that Christensen’s comments fall under the same ‘unjust laws’ category?
New speaker Andrew Wallace sits the prime minister down
And Scott Morrison has found a line that even Andrew Wallace on his second day can’t let him cross.
My question is again to the prime minister and I referred to his previous answer in response to my question about the comments in this parliament from the member for Dawson. In which he refused to mention the member for Dawson. I invite him to directly condemn the member for Dawson for the very specific comments that he has made saying that part of the solution is, to quote him, I don’t say this lightly, ‘civil disobedience’.
Morrison:
Mr Speaker, and I restate exact to what I have said in the previous question. And, Mr Speaker, I note this. This is a quote from Sally McManus, Mr Speaker.
Anthony Albanese:
It goes to direct relevance. This is a very specific question about a member of this prime minister concert government and statements that were made in this parliament.
Andrew Wallace:
The leader of the opposition will resume his seat. The prime minister is entitled to some preamble but it was a very direct question and I’m going to ask the prime minister to respond to the question, please.
Morrison:
I complete the quote as I was going to refer to as it is relevant.
Wallace:
The prime minister will resume his seat. Leader of the opposition, the managerial position business will resume his seat. The prime minister will directly respond to the question. It is not appropriate 12 seconds in or 15 seconds into a question to make a quote of Sally McManus. I ask the prime minister to respond to the question directly, please.
Morrison:
I do condemn those statements. But I also condemn statements like this, Mr Speaker.
...You are very touchy on this, aren’t you? You don’t want to let me read it out!
Burke:
Mr Speaker, I raise a point of order understanding order 91C where a member’s conduct should be considered disorderly if the member has persistently and wilfully refused to reform to the standing order which is exactly what the prime minister is now doing in defiance of your [ruling]
Wallace:
I would ask the prime minister again to respond to the question and be directly relevant to the question.
Morrison:
On the point of order, I have responded directly to the member’s question into denunciating those statements, I have been very clear about that, Mr Speaker. I have been very clear about that, Mr Speaker. I believe in the rule of law and the law is fair in the law is right!
Wallace returns him to his seat.
Updated
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
I refer to the speech prior to Question Time in which the member for Dawson criticised actions by state governments to secure the health of Australians referred to it as “police state” complete with medical apartheid, compared them with Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot and at the end of his speech said the solution is rediscovering human dignity along with, and I don’t say this lightly, civil disobedience.
Will the prime minister unequivocally and without reservation condemn this call for civil obedience from his government member for Dawson?
Morrison:
As the son of a police officer, I believe that everyone should obey the law, Mr Speaker. Every single person should obey the law and no one should encourage anyone to disobey the law. No one, Mr Speaker.
I don’t care if they are in this house or anywhere else and I indeed, Mr Speaker, would condemn any encouragement by any places in any place that like any person in any place encouraging acts of civil disobedience was a bit is not coming I would participate Mr Speaker.
I don’t think I could be any clearer than that. I have been very clear in my denunciation of violence and threats and intimidation and I don’t care, Mr Speaker, whether that has occurred most recently all when it happened at the Shrine of Remembrance, Mr Speaker, or indeed when people and Labor unions try to crash through the doors of this building many years ago, Mr Speaker.
Every single time I have seen this I find it appalling. I find it appalling, Mr Speaker, and I don’t think it is an issue that those opposite should seek to play politics with.
Note he doesn’t directly condemn George Christensen? Or say his name or title?
Updated
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
Will the Prime Minister admit that real Australian workers are being paid less than their colleagues for doing the same job simply because they work for a Labor hire firm? Does he agree this is a real problem which is causing any quality and depressing wages or does he agree with his [deputy prime] minister, in the statement he made yesterday, that it is a made up issue?
Morrison:
Australians working across the country are working under the rules and laws put together under the Fair Work Act, and you know who put those laws and rules together? The Labor party.
They put those rules and laws together.
And, Mr Speaker, when they wrote those laws, the number of people employed, Mr Speaker through Labor hire was the same as it is now, exactly the same.
There has been no real change when it comes to those issues over the course of that time, there are many different ways people are now being employed in the Australian economy, since they used to be, and it is important we have the dynamism and our economy to get people those many different options and choices about how they can participate in the Australian economy.
We want to make sure they have those opportunities and do it in accordance with the rules and laws of the country and the rule of law when it came to those issues were written by those opposite. And so we will continue to make sure we enforce that rule of law when it comes to these conditions, and we want to see businesses succeed, businesses succeeding in this country, small and medium-sized enterprises have gone through, especially family businesses, through one of the hardest times they have ever had to go through, since the Second World War and certainly since the great depression, economically.
They are the one workers rely on for their wages and if you have more small businesses doing better with taxes down and government out of the face so they can go ahead and employ more people and we took built into this parliament to try and improve the opportunities, we took a bill to this parliament in the course of this term, we sat down with employers and employees and sought to bring everyone together and took the product of that to this place and the Labor Party voted against it, they voted against it because they wanted to use this issue as a political issue, they are all about the politics, they are not about the solution, all insults and no ideas.
The bill was voted down, because it didn’t actually include the protections which had been spoken of in those round tables.
And why is it always about what businesses want, and not workers?
Updated
Peter Dutton lays out his daily dixer, which is now just an excuse to call the Labor party weak on defence (it used to be weak on home affairs issues, but as he has switched portfolios, he has also switched his focus)
If you want to see an example of weakness, when it comes to national security, find yourself a government that cuts defence spending on the cusp of an uncertain period in our region. This leader of opposition was a central figure in the Kevin Rudd and Gillard government, he was there for every decision that was made by prime minister Kevin Rudd and prime minister Julia Gillard, not just in relation to cutting defence spending and taking money away from the soldiers of the Australian principals, he was there when they made decisions, in fact he was a chief advocate of policy which resulted in this country losing control of our borders.
This leader of the opposition, the more he is known to the Australian people, the more that they know, he is a weak, weak leader.
Updated
I miss who asks this question, but the nub of it (to Scott Morrison) is:
The prime minister said that batteries to store energy is as useful as the big banana and the big prawn. Then he said that that was a complete misrepresentation. Given the Prime Minister is on tape: the big battery in South Australia as useful as the big banana and a big prawn, why is he pretending that he didn’t?
For the record, here is what Scott Morrison said as treasurer in 2017 in response to the South Australian battery project, which was put forward by Elon Musk. Morrison dismissed it as a “Hollywood solution”.
It is so at the margin it barely is worthy of a mention.
I mean, honestly, by all means have the world’s biggest battery, have the world’s biggest banana, have the world’s biggest prawn like we have on the roadside around the country, but that is not solving the problem.
That’s just trying to say, ‘bright shiny thing over here, don’t look at the thing over there’, that’s an old trick from a politician.”
He also said:
30,000 SA households could not get through watching one episode of Australia’s Ninja Warrior with this big battery. So let’s not pretend it is a solution”.
(This is someone who now wants us to believe that he is invested in future technologies which are yet to be developed to solve Australia’s emissions reductions issues)
At the time, Alan Finkel had recommended that batteries form part of renewable projects.
Morrison:
The comments I was making on that day, I recall them. I was down in Adelaide and I was talking about how the battery technology at that time, that large battery would not have been able to charge all of the television sets in Adelaide and wouldn’t get you through one episode of Australia’s Ninja Warrior, that was the point I was making.
What we need in this country is long duration storage, Mr Speaker, which is why we are investing in projects like Snowy Hydro 2.0. Now, Mr Speaker, of course we should invest in battery technology, it is part of our low emissions technology plan to get us to net zero by 2050, Mr Speaker, but those opposite are kidding themselves if they think that is going to keep the aluminium smelters firing up.
I tell you what is going to help those. What is going to help those in particular, Mr Speaker, is the work that we have invested through Snowy Hydro, to ensure there is a gas-fired power plant as you know who is opposed to that in the Hunter?
The Labor party, Mr Speaker. The Labor party and the Greens working together to work against Australians having affordable, reliable power. They don’t want to see the gas, they want to turn the gas off on Australian industry, Mr Speaker!
An exasperated Tony Burke:
There is nothing asked about alternative policies. I don’t know why we have to rise each time. The prime minister knows this is not directly relevant and he does it to defy every single time.
Andrew Wallace:
The question was very open-ended in so far as it talked about the prime minister’s position in relation to batteries. And battery power.
Burke:
And there is no reference to opposition policy.
Wallace:
The prime minister will be relevant to the question.
Morrison:
I was asked about my comments on that day and I provided the context of the comments on that day. The context of the comments on that day was battery storage was not at a scale and frankly is still not at a scale that competes with long duration storage like projects like Snowy 2.0 and those sorts of battery projects are not at a level yet, but we must invest in them so we can rely on them for the heavy industry this country needs. That is what our policy is based on.
We have a policy about reducing emissions about technology not taxes, choices not mandates, it’s about ensuring we are investing in a portfolio of technologies which means we can get the cost down to meet those important targets, ensuring we have reliable and affordable power and that’s why we invest in gas, that’s why we are keeping the gas on. Those opposite they really don’t like this policy, they have been attacking our policies, seeking to mock the policy, if you don’t like technology not taxes, it means you need taxes. It means taxes, taxes, taxes.
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Andrew Wallace is still struggling here. He doesn’t seem confident enough to pull the government MPs (or heckling Labor MPs) up on anything.
He also doesn’t seem to have a grasp on listening to the answers, or deeming what is relevant.
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
The Prime Minister said electric vehicles won’t tow your trailer, won’t toe your boat and will end the weekend but now he says he didn’t ridicule the technology. Does he think Australians don’t notice when he says something on television and later pretends it never happened? Why does this Prime Minister keep making things up?
Morrison:
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I want Australians to have choice. I want Australians to have a choice about what sort of car they want to drive, Mr Speaker.
I want them to have a choice about whether they use gas or electricity, Mr Speaker.
I want them to have a choice about whether they want to work in a heavy end two heavy industry in original area or have that job taken away from them, Mr Speaker.
I want Australians to have the choices and for them to plan for their future with confidence, Mr Speaker.
And I want the big companies that make these electric vehicles to get their prices down without the Australian people having to pub that make public subsidies into them so that if they wish to buy them they can do so.
If the Labor Party was to send money over to Europe, Mr Speaker, to big manufacturing companies, to subsidise, Mr Speaker, now, those opposite us a where and when? This is the problem with the Labor Party, we don’t know what their policies are.
We don’t know what their policies are, Mr Speaker.
Albanese:
Point of order, Mr Speaker, on relevance. This went to the Prime Minister saying that he didn’t ridicule the technology on electric vehicles. It didn’t come to a fantasy policy he is just making up. We want things to be made here. It is your lot that sent the car industry offshore.
Wallace:
In raising point of order it is not an opportunity to raise another argument. I asked the Prime Minister to remain relevant.
Morrison:
I am speaking about electric vehicles. Yesterday the Leader of the Opposition didn’t know what it was. He was the Minister for Transport! That was actually his job and he didn’t know what it was, Mr Speaker! Heaven knows what he would do a national security and the economy, the guy has never put a budget together.
...I will return to the topic. Our policy is that we want to ensure those technology costs come down so they can be affordable to Australians who wish to buy them. We don’t want, Mr Speaker, we don’t want to pay out subsidies for large companies overseas to make them cheaper, Mr Speaker.
If people want to buy them then we want the car companies to make sure they are more affordable and they bring down the cost on their technology because there is a large market for it. But what we don’t do, I can tell you this.
What we won’t do, Mr Speaker, is put up the price of the cars they are now buying and that they wish to buy, Mr Speaker, to try and force their choice to another choice, Mr Speaker. The Labor Party would love to tell you what to do, they love to make the choices for you...
Wallace:
The Prime Minister was not asked in relation to alternative policies.
Morrison:
I was not asked about alternative policies, Mr Speaker, because I couldn’t actually speak of the alternative policies. I wasn’t asked about alternative policies, Mr Speaker. All I can go in terms of alternative policies from the opposition is what they did at the last election Mr Speaker because that is the only thing we know and there is only one thing worse than Labor telling you what they are going to do... Is when they are so sneaky not to tell you!
To be fair, there are a lot of interjections from the opposition benches of “liar” which Andrew Wallace is also not pulling up.
So he is either a little hard of hearing, or he doesn’t yet feel confident enough to use 94A and boot them out.
Jim Chalmers to Josh Frydenberg:
Can the current treasurer, name any other treasurer, in the last 100 years, that has a worst record than him on waste, reports, debts, deficits, annual growth and real wages?
Of course Frydenberg doesn’t agree, and lists his achievements. Very loudly. Because he still doesn’t know how to use a microphone.
Especially when it comes to the word “sneaky” which he all but screams.
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New Speaker Andrew Wallace does not seem to have scrubbed up on precedent overnight – he is letting government MPs say pretty much whatever they want.
Alternative policies (which are backed with a vengeance) apparently include Anthony Albanese’s economic qualifications.
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Helen Haines has the independents’ question today.
My question is to the prime minister, with only five sitting days left this year there is no government bill for integrity commission in sight. If you truly want to pass a bill wright one, table it, you bring it on for debate, that’s what I’ve done but you have shut down debate on my bill in the House and shutdown debate Senate and have muscled the attorney general, who is missing in action on this. Come clean with the Australian people, Prime Minister, do you honestly expect Australians to believe you truly want a robust integrity commission?
Morrison:
The government has been returning to some priority legislation after having spent the last two years, focused on the pandemic response, the economic recovery.
The first of those priorities has been to make sure we finalise the religious discrimination act which I look forward to introducing to the House tomorrow.
At the same time the attorney general has been working steadily away and with cabinet, on our draft legislation for Integrity Commission, and that also soon will be available for people to give their responses to.
He goes on, but it is not relevant.
Paul Fletcher gets the call:
I thank the prime minister for my ability to add to his comments. We have processed 330 written submissions, 46 consultations and roundtables, and meetings, we have committed substantial funding, almost $150m of funding has been committed for this body, at full capacity, the Commonwealth Integrity Commission will have 172 staff, as the prime minister has made clear the Australian mission for law enforcement integrity will be subsumed within the Commonwealth Integrity Commission, and of course we have also set out an explanation of the powers it will have.
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Tanya Plibersek to Scott Morrison:
Why did the prime minister falsely claim a News Corp journalist had a claim filed against them when it wasn’t true. Why does the prime minister always accused first and make excuses later?
Peter Dutton:
The first point is the second half of that question is clearly out of order, it is a reflection on the prime minister, not a factual statement it’s not anything other than a slur and it should be ruled out of order.
Tony Burke:
To the point of order, it’s an unusual one, the question asked for some time, and effectively what is being put by the leader of the House is that it is not open to us to test the credibility of the prime minister.
Andrew Wallace allows the question.
Morrison:
I thank the member for the question and I addressed those issues some time ago with those directly impacted by those remarks. I was [told some] reports which proved not to be correct and I contacted those directly affected and brought up the matter with them. That’s exactly what I did and what you should do in those circumstances.
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Barnaby Joyce once again tries to form sentences but once again, fails to make any sense.
He is staying on the train that asking about jobs for mates is an attack on regional Australia. He also says the word ‘sneaky’ so often it begins to lose any meaning.
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
When will the Prime Minister show leadership and reign in Senator Rennick who is undermining the vaccination ever, spreading conspiracy theories and holding Australia back from being able to be opened up by undermining that very vaccination process. When will he stop pandering to Senator Rennick, offering concessions, and instead show leadership?
Morrison:
(Morrison starts with something unrelated and Tony Burke jumps up)
I’ve only been going for three seconds! Three seconds! They are very touchy today, Mr Speaker! There he [Albanese] is, getting all upset and tetchy. Calm down!
Mr Speaker. One of the people in this place who I have relied on heavily is the Member for Higgins. And her counsel and support and her experience that has guided I and the Minister for Health and I know who is opposing her at the next election. Someone who spoke against the AstraZeneca vaccine and a member of the Labor Party, Mr Speaker!
Burke:
On direct relevance, the prime ministers not even trying to be directly relevant to this question. It is the game the Deputy Prime Minister played yesterday.
Andrew Wallace:
No, the Prime Minister is being relevant. The Prime Minister is directly relevant in addressing the issue of the vaccination. The Prime Minister has the call.
Morrison:
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Mr Speaker, and this government has absolutely no truck at all, at all, Mr Speaker, with those who would speak against, he would speak against the importance of getting vaccines in this country.
That is not my government’s policy, that that is not our government’s policy, Mr Speaker, and I would urge all Australians to continue to go and get that vaccine and I have such faith in Australia to do that, Mr Speaker, that I don’t think they need to be paid off like the Leader of the Opposition.
They had to be, Mr Speaker! I have great faith that they knew what they had to do to protect themselves and their families and their communities.
The Labor Party had so little faith in the people of Australia that he bought they had to pay them off the Mr Speaker, to do the right thing by public health in this country. I let that reflect on the views that the Leader of the Opposition has about the strength and the character of the Australian people.
Wallace: The Prime Minister will return to the question.
Morrison:
Thank you, Mr Speaker, and I will. I encourage all Australians to go get the vaccination. It is actually this government who secured those vaccines, who has got them into the arms, Mr Speaker, supported the National vaccination program, which has seen authorised to one of the highest levels of vaccination in the world, Mr Speaker. And that is something that I think Australians can all be proud of. I had my booster shot the other day, Mr Speaker,
...Now, Mr Speaker, I put my arm where the vaccines need to go, Mr Speaker, and our government has put shoulder to well when it comes to the vaccination program and that is why, Mr Speaker, we have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. I was disappointed they were people over the other side of the house that spoke against AstraZeneca vaccine.
Just before question time, Liberal Russell Broadbent added his voice to the internal resistance to vaccination mandates. In a short contribution Broadbent, the veteran Victorian moderate, shared a couple of accounts of adverse reactions to the Covid-19 vaccines.
This is one of many conversations I have had [during the pandemic] and they all end pleading to me to help. What happened to ‘first do no harm’? Welcome to Australia.”
Broadbent did not specify whether or not he would join other strikers in the parliament – the cohort of MPs refusing to pass government legislation until Scott Morrison reverses the mandates – but he declared he intended to “continue to represent my people.”
Broadbent ended thusly: “Vaccine mandates without reasonable exemptions are not only unconscionable, they are criminal”.
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Question time begins
Mark Butler to Scott Morrison:
Why has the prime minister allowed himself to become hostage to a senator who boasts he is unvaccinated and proudly spread this vaccine disinformation and what other changes to government policy is the prime minister willing to negotiate with Senator Rennick?
(That’s about the government’s decision to lower the income loss threshold from $5000 to $1000 after negotiations with Gerard Rennick, who has given the government assurances he will be paired/vote with the government on non-legislative matters)
Morrison:
The government has been considering for some weeks now, improvements to the compensation scheme in relation to the people who have had adverse reactions to the vaccine, Mr Speaker, and we have decided to ensure that that threshold is $1000, Mr Speaker.
Now, Mr Speaker, I don’t know why those opposite would think that is a bad idea. We have been running a national vaccine program that now has one of the highest rates of vaccination in the world but, Mr Speaker, we also know that in any national vaccine program, there are adverse reactions to vaccines and we put in place a scheme to provide confidence to the Australian people so they can go forward and get these vaccines, Mr Speaker, and that is one of the many reasons why under the national vaccine program we have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.
If those opposite don’t think we should have a scheme for people who have had adverse reaction to the vaccine, if they think that is some sort of pandering, Mr Speaker, to an anti-vaxxer movement, I disagree with them. We put this in place, Mr Speaker, to ensure that there was a proper scheme to give confidence in the national vaccine program. So what do those opposite do?
When we put it in place and we make sure it is fair and equitable with the same tight restrictions about the proof of injury, Mr Speaker, and harm, what do they do? They want to play politics with it like they have all the way through the pandemic. I’m so pleased we didn’t have to rely on the opposition during the pandemic, Mr Speaker because he wouldn’t have had the results.
Now, you may notice that Scott Morrison answered a question he wasn’t asked. No one said that it was a bad thing that there was compensation for people who had adverse reactions. No one said such a scheme should not be in place. The question was about changing the scheme because of a backbencher’s demands and what else would change. Morrison turned that into Labor being against the compensation scheme completely.
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Question time is about to begun.
May Dolly have mercy.
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Over in the chamber, the 90-second statements are occurring.
Both George Christensen and Russell Broadbent have used their time to speak against vaccine mandates.
Dr Katie Allen is speaking to the ABC about the religious discrimination bill – she says she is broadly in support of it:
I think it has the balance right. I have to say, people, I have had a lot of roundtables in my electorate over the last two years with regard to this bill, with religious leaders and the LGBTIQ community because I have a very large, vibrant LGBTIQ community and of course faith-based leaders. It is fair to say that faith-based leaders in Higgins are very progressive.
They did tell me that they feel that there is the issue of religious discrimination.
Many of them didn’t feel strongly that they needed to legislate but there were some who felt very strongly that they needed to legislate.
This is the best bill I think that we could get. I think there is still a little bit more work to go on it but I am very proud of the fact that I have worked extremely hard with the attorney general to get some concessions and the first one is the removal of the conscientious objection for the health provision.
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Concetta Fierravanti-Wells is one of the conservative MPs who are not happy with the religious discrimination legislation, because it doesn’t go far enough.
She is chatting to the ABC about why she thinks it is a problem for the coalition:
Into the last federal election, we said that we would protect religious freedom and of course let’s not forget that at the last federal election the issue of religious freedom reared its head as a consequence primarily of what happened in the Israel Folau matter.
So there was a perception, particularly in areas of south-western Sydney, culturally diverse areas, religiously diverse areas, that the Coalition was better placed to protect religious freedom. And I know that many people voted for the Coalition on the basis. When one compares the swings that happened in those areas to the votes that were tainted during the time of the same-sex marriage postal survey then it is very, very clear that there is a correlation between those two.
...If I can encapsulate it in this form. At the kitchen table, if I can put it that way, at the last federal election, I brought it down to is concern or a fear that if I quoted my bible would that get me into trouble? If it can happen to somebody like Israel Folau will it happen to me? Therefore, it’s now, the test here is what those faith leaders will tell those congregations now and say yes your religious freedoms have been protected. So that is ultimately the test.
What I think and what commentators like yourself may or may not say is really not the issue here. The test will ultimately be what those faith leaders, particularly at the grassroots, preach to their congregations, and the assurances that they will give those congregations that their religious freedom has been protected. And ultimately I think that that is the test.
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There has been so much going on, not all issues are getting as much attention as they should. But the government attempts to crack down on charities, which includes gagging organisations with charitable status from commenting on anything deemed political, is deserving of more attention.
The charity sector says the legislation could see charities deregistered if staff participate in protests in their own time.
Andrew Leigh spoke to Adelaide radio 5AA about it this morning:
“The chances of a charity being deregistered for illegal activity are about the chances of the typical Australian being convicted of murder this year: pretty low. The fact is that this is a solution in search of a problem. The government has been out there consistently trying to reduce the voices of charities in the public debate, because they don’t like being criticised. And yet charities, as you know, one of their main roles is participating in the public debate.
…Anti-poverty charities don’t just run soup kitchens - they talk about inequality. Environmental charities don’t just plant trees - they talk about climate change. Legal charities don’t just help individual cases, but they also talk about the root causes of Indigenous incarceration. So our public debate is better when we have a whole bunch of charities involved in it, rather than a government that’s trying to silence them.
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It’s the downhill slide into question time. Let’s see how Andrew Wallace handles his second time in the Speaker’s chair.
How his first time went really seems to depend on which side of the house you sit. Barnaby Joyce declared he already liked him better than Tony Smith, if that’s any indication.
Updated
We’ve got the written judgment now in Justice White’s decision awarding Peter Dutton $35,000 in damages for Shane Bazzi’s tweet labelling him a “rape apologist”.
In explaining the (relatively small) award of damages, the judge noted a few things:
- The tweet did not have a wide readership
- It was his impression that Dutton experienced an “initial affront” but had not expressed “continuing distress” from the tweet
- “There is no suggestion that the tweet has affected Mr Dutton in his day-to-day political or ministerial activities, or in his relationships with other people.”
Justice White also rejected Dutton’s claim for aggravated damages, citing statements soliciting funds for Bazzi’s defence.
He said:
“There is nothing wrong in persons seeking forms of crowd funding for a defence to defamation proceedings.”
“It was not inappropriate for him to bring to public attention the issues concerning freedom of speech raised by Mr Dutton’s proceedings ... [this was] a legitimate matter to be raised”.
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Northern Territory records 11 new Covid cases
The NT has recorded another 11 cases of Covid.
That brings its cluster, which is centred in Indigenous communities, to 51.
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Greg Hunt has released a statement on the changes to the compensation threshold for those with a demonstrable and proven adverse reaction to a Covid vaccine, which has resulted in the loss of more than $1000 in income:
The Morrison government is reducing the claim threshold of the no fault Covid-19 Vaccine Claims Scheme to enable more people access to compensation for costs associated with a vaccine injury.
The Covid-19 Vaccine Claims Scheme is designed to ensure that people who have suffered a recognised adverse event as a direct result of a Covid vaccine have rapid access to compensation.
Reducing the threshold for access to the scheme from $5,000 to $1,000 will ensure more people can claim for eligible costs including lost earnings and care costs, providing greater levels of comfort to those yet to make the decision to vaccinate.
The government has been considering this policy change for a number of weeks now and I thank all colleagues and stakeholders who have contributed to this decision.
Australians will now have ready access to compensation from $1,000 for Covid-19 claims related to the administration of a Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approved Covid-19 vaccine delivered through a Commonwealth Government approved program.
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And if the government’s voter ID laws make it through the parliament, voting will become harder for almost everyone!
Longer lines! Further disenfranchisement! All for no reason!
What a great move for democracy in a nation with compulsory voting, and no real issues with voter fraud.
A milestone was reached yesterday ahead of the 2022 federal election! For the first time, over 17 million Australians are enrolled to vote with a phenomenal pre-election enrolment rate of around 96% #auspol pic.twitter.com/onTBW4JVaV
— AEC ✏️ (@AusElectoralCom) November 24, 2021
The chimney stacks at the Lithgow power plant, are now history as Peter Hannam reports:
AAP has an update on where the quest for the robodebt information is at:
The federal government is under pressure to detail a breakdown of funds returned to Australians served with unlawful debts.
The “robodebt” scheme matching Australian Taxation Office and Centrelink data to claw back welfare benefits the government claimed were overpaid was deemed unlawful by the Federal Court.
Labor and Greens senators want Services Australia to release publicly the total value of debts across class action members and the average share of the cumulative $1.2m settlement sum once finalised.
The latest report of an inquiry looking at the saga lashed the government for not releasing information about legal advice regarding the scheme’s operation on the grounds of public interest immunity.
“Despite numerous attempts to obtain the information, the committee has been prevented from thoroughly assessing whether the government knew of the insufficient legal basis of the program due to repeated and poorly articulated public interest immunity claims,” the fifth interim report said.
It requested government services minister Linda Reynolds table in parliament by 1pm on Wednesday requested documents or explain her failure to do so.
Government senators Wendy Askew and Hollie Hughes said the documents were exempt under freedom of information laws and public interest immunity claims should be respected.
They said 98% of refunds had been made, with around 426,400 people getting money back or having their debts wiped.
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Peter Dutton wins defamation case
Peter Dutton has won his defamation case against Shane Bazzi.
On Wednesday justice Richard White found:
- The tweet published by Bazzi did contain the imputation that Dutton excuses rape, and it was defamatory of Dutton; and that
- Bazzi has not established the defences of honest opinion and fair comment.
White indicated he intends to enter judgment for Dutton, ordering compensation of $35,000. He refused Dutton’s bid for an injunction against Bazzi from future publications.
But he’s asked both parties to make submissions on the form of orders and costs.
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For those keeping an eye on New Zealand’s borders, here is the plan for re-opening:
Full detail on NZ border reopening:
— henry cooke (@henrycooke) November 24, 2021
- Jan 17: Fully vaccinated Kiwis can skip MIQ and self-iso at home if
- Feb 13: Fully vaccinated Kiwis can do the same from anywhere in the world
- April 30: Re-opening to everyone fully vaxxed, but may be staged by visa category pic.twitter.com/5c5KmpQvig
The home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, has kept the door open to listing other groups as terrorist organisations, after announcing plans to designate both the Base (a far right group) and the entirety of Hezbollah.
Andrews said Australia was built “on a broad fabric of many and varied experiences and cultures, and our nation’s character is better off for it”.
The views of violent extremist groups such as these are a stain on that rich cultural fabric. There is no place in Australia for their hateful ideologies.
Before today’s announcement, there were 26 terrorist organisations listed under Australia’s Criminal Code, which contains criminal offences such as being a member of a terrorist organisation or providing support to or associating with a terrorist organisation.
Here’s what Andrews’ press release says about the two entities the government intends to add to the list:
Hizballah’s External Security Organisation has been a listed terrorist organisation since 2003. The group continues to threaten terrorist attacks and provides support to terrorist organisations such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas’ Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades.
The Base is a violent, racist, neo-Nazi group known by security agencies to be planning and preparing terrorist attacks. The Base is currently proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the Governments of Canada and the United Kingdom, and is known to have organised paramilitary training camps overseas.
The listings will enable the application of terrorist organisation offences to these groups, and align Australia with international partners such as the United Kingdom and Canada.
Asked at the press conference why it had taken so long to list the Base, given longstanding calls to do so, Andrews said she did not take listings lightly and wanted to make sure the groups met the legislative tests.
Q: Are you considering listing any other far right groups?
I will continue to take advice from Asio in particular but also the Department of Home Affairs, and also from other agencies here in Australia. I am very open to the prospect of looking at any of the organisation that threaten to do Australians harm and where they meet the threshold, I will not hesitate to list.
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The chair of the parliamentary joint committee on security and intelligence, James Paterson, is happy with the decision to list the entirety of Hezbollah as well as the neo-Nazi organisation The Base as terror organisations.
No matter what your ideology, if you engage in or threaten violence to achieve your political objectives you will face the full-force of the law,” Senator Paterson said in a statement.
Labor will continue to prosecute Scott Morrison’s truthiness in parliament.
The video team have put together the latest example of that (from yesterday’s question time):
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Karen Webb to become first female NSW police commissioner
Karen Webb will replace Mick Fuller as NSW police commissioner, becoming the first woman in the role in the state’s history.
Very welcomed appointment of Karen Webb as the NSW Police Commissioner. She will not only be the first female in the role, but also the first person who has been a @nswpolice corporate sponsor for the LGBTI community appointed to this role.
— Alex Greenwich MP (@AlexGreenwich) November 24, 2021
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Government to list new terror organisations
Home affairs minister Karen Andrews has announced plans to add two more groups to the terror organisations list, under the criminal code:
Breaking: Karen Andrews says govt plans to list both The Base (a far-right group) and the entirety of Hizballah as terrorist organizations under Australian law. Ping @amyremeikis pic.twitter.com/hQ4GYOPjqP
— Daniel Hurst (@danielhurstbne) November 24, 2021
For further context for Penny Wong’s comments today in response to Peter Dutton, here is an exchange Dutton had with Daniel Hurst at a press conference yesterday afternoon:
Q: So what exactly in relation to Aukus that Senator Wong said most concerns you?
Dutton:
There was no equivocation at the time from Anthony Albanese, and now we have this soft language, the diplomatic language that will excite some of Penny Wong’s supporters, but it’s clear that the Labor party has a very different position when it comes to the alliance. I think some of the comments today by Senator Wong need further analysis as well and I think it’s also important to point out that no such qualifications were provided by Anthony Albanese 68 days ago when he said that he signed up to Aukus. So I think the Labor party has demonstrated, just as they did on boats – I mean they promised the Australian public before the election that they’d be no different to the Howard government on boats and of course when they get into government, they go week at the knees – well Penny Wong’s demonstrated today already that the Labor party has gone week at the knees and we’re not even through the election, let alone through to the other side.
Q: Minister, you said in parliament that Senator Wong doesn’t stand up for Australian values. What do you mean by that? And is that a dog whistle?
Dutton:
Well just give me the quote. What is the quote that I said?
Q: I’ll get it up for you, but you said…
Dutton:
…you don’t have to quote, I’ll give it to you. So the statement that I made in question time was that the acting ambassador is attacking Australian values and that Senator Wong wasn’t standing up for those values.
Q: So she doesn’t stand up for those values? On what basis do you make that claim?
Dutton:
Well, she should have been condemning those comments today by the acting ambassador.
Q: Is that a dog whistle, are you engaging in a dog whistle today?
Dutton:
Senator Wong should have condemned the comments of the acting ambassador today. Instead, she didn’t; and I think that says a lot about Senator Wong, and it says a lot about her approach. I can’t recall in my 20 years of parliament an ambassador from any other country carrying on the way that the Chinese ambassador has ... The comments again today by the acting ambassador should be condemned by the Labor party, and they weren’t.
Q: Senator Wong doesn’t stand up for those values, is that a dog whistle?
Dutton:
No, no, I’ve answered that and I’ve given you the context of the quote and what I said and what I said in relation to both the acting ambassador and her comments.
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New Zealand to reopen to vaccinated visitors in early 2022
New Zealand has announced it will reopen its borders to fully vaccinated visitors in the first months of 2022, for the first time since prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced their snap closure in the first month of the Covid-19 epidemic. The country’s borders have been closed for more than a year and a half.
The border will initially open to New Zealand citizens and visa holders coming from Australia in January, then citizens and visa holders coming from the rest of the world in February, and finally opening to all vaccinated visitors from April.
They will still have to self-isolate at home for a week and test negative for the virus – but most will no longer have to pass through the country’s expensive and highly-space limited managed isolation facilities.
Covid response minister Chris Hipkins said:
Closing our border was one of the first steps we took to keep our country safe from Covid-19 and it will be one of the last things we do in terms of opening up.
We do know that the international restrictions we have had around our border have been tough for many people.
He defended the government’s decision not to reopen the borders before Christmas.
“There continues to be a global pandemic with cases surging in Europe and other parts of the world, so we do need to be very careful when reopening the border.”
The border will open in stages. Hipkins said that fully vaccinated New Zealanders can travel to NZ from Australia without staying in managed isolation from Monday 17 January. They can come from all other countries from Monday 14 February 2022.
After that, fully vaccinated people, including international tourists, will be able to travel to NZ from the end of April.
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Heading back to the senate for a little bit, Anne Ruston this morning confirmed she had correspondence from Gerard Rennick and Alex Antic that they would be paired with the government on procedural votes (so not legislation)
That has come about after late night talks which included Josh Frydenberg and Greg Hunt over compensation for people who have had (demonstrable and proven) adverse effects from a covid vaccine. The threshold to access the compensation has been lowered for those who lost at least $5000 in income because of an adverse reaction (so lost work, business while recovering) to $1000 in income.
Penny Wong was also asked if a new low had been reached with One Nation publishing Jacqui Lambie’s mobile phone number and said:
Yes, I think we are. And yesterday, when this arose and Jacqui raised this before question time, I reminded people that when Senator Cormann left and in his valedictory, I talked about the importance of contained conflict, and that there are some things - we’re going to disagree with each other - but some things have to be off limits.
And the problem at the moment, is that leaders in this place and senators and members in this place are not ensuring that there are boundaries to the contest.
And this was an example of it. Publishing someone’s mobile number, in order to enable people who are very aggressive about vaccines to contact her and make threats, is simply inappropriate.
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Given it is an issue which is bubbling along under the surface, here is a bit more from Penny Wong defending herself against Peter Dutton’s recent comments (on China, national security and Taiwan).
Wong told ABC radio RN:
Let’s be clear, when he [Dutton] uses those words, “inconceivable” that Australia would not join a war, he is radically out of step with a strategy that successive Australian governments have long adopted, and the strategy and position that successive US administrations – our principal ally – have adopted, most recently confirmed by president Biden.
So, I think the real question that Mr Dutton ought to answer is why is he amping up talk of war, rather than simply working to maintain longstanding policy to preserve the status quo?
.... My point yesterday was I think his motivations do go to election tactics. And I think that is the most dangerous election tactic Australia has seen – to talk up the prospect of war against a superpower.
Q: “Well, just to quote Peter Dutton again, he says it wasn’t anything other than a statement of reality, but just about your talk describing it as the most dangerous election tactic – what’s so dangerous about it?”
Wong:
Well, the reason people ... have chosen not to declare a definitive position on armed conflict is because we have to all work – the US, the Taiwanese, other countries of the region, US allies like Australia – to maintain the status quo. And we do so by the US maintaining what’s described as a position of strategic ambiguity, which is reflected in Australia’s position, and by ensuring that the Taiwanese do not declare unilaterally independence. Now, there is a fine balance here, in Taiwan. And the reason is that we all know as I said yesterday that war in and over Taiwan would be potentially catastrophic for humanity. So, it does require an approach that has been adopted under successive governments. It’s Mr Dutton who’s out of step.
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If you are within parliament house and are having email issues, you are not alone.
There seems to be a slight issue with the server this morning, which has hit quite a few offices. Not all emails are going through, but people are working on it.
The federal government’s religious discrimination bill is yet to be introduced, but there is already talk of high court challenges if it goes through the parliament in its existing form.
Victorian independent state MP Fiona Patten said she would expect the Victorian government to challenge the federal legislation if it goes through as is:
“If this bill passes in any form that overrides Victoria’s strong anti-discrimination laws, the State Government must launch a High Court Challenge,” she said.
“Next week the Victorian Legislative Council will debate and hopefully pass laws that will bring religious institutions into line with all other organisations.
“The laws will close the exemptions that allowed religious institutions to discriminate against someone on grounds such as sex, religion, sexuality, marital status or parental status.
“The closure of these unnecessary exemptions is in line with the community attitudes of Victorians but the federal bill will overrule these changes.”
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The Daily Telegraph is reporting the NSW government is about to announce police commissioner Mick Fuller’s replacement as Karen Webb, who will become the NSW’s first female police commissioner.
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Mike Bowers ventured into the Senate as the government tried to work through the mess LNP senator Gerard Rennick created last night over pairings, votes and who was being counted (it says everything is fine, above board and there are no issues, despite Rennick claiming he didn’t want to be paired, but giving no explanation as to why he missed the vote he was complaining about).
Updated
Greens leader isolating pending Covid test
The Greens leader Adam Bandt has been told to isolate pending a Covid test, after being alerted by Victorian authorities of a possible contact. He is in Canberra, but will be in isolation until his test result is returned, and has asked for his vote to be paired.
He is vaccinated.
I was advised by Vic Health last night that I ‘may have had contact’ at an outdoor pool on Saturday with someone who has COVID. It’s not clear if I had contact or if we were even there at same time. I’m required to get tested & am isolating until I get a negative result. (2/3)
— Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) November 23, 2021
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For what it is worth, the ABC remains one of the most trusted media organisations in Australia and is still producing acclaimed local content, which is then on-sold overseas.
Liberal senator says ABC on 'quest to wokify the world'
Just before 9pm in the Senate last night, after the Gerard Rennick mess over the ABC inquiry vote, LNP senator James McGrath gave this speech calling for an inquiry into how the ABC is funded, as well as a royal commission into the ABC:
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation needs to be reformed to be saved from itself. The ABC is a $1.1 billion organisation funded by the taxpayer, yet the ABC, along the track, has wandered off course, leaving us in the unfortunate position we are in now, wondering what we should do with the ABC.
We saw that today in the Senate where Labor and the Greens combined to stop an inquiry into something as innocent as the complaints process within the ABC. What we’re seeing is a grotesque, left-wing, back-scratching orgy of flatulent arrogance from the ABC and those on the Left.
This ABC who sneers at us is led by an arrogant chair who sees the ABC as a country apart from Australia. And that is quite sad.
The inevitable result of decades of free rein, of grossly excessive budgets and diminished accountability is that we’ve ended up with an inner-city hive of woke workers, hiring woke friends to do their woke work in their quest to wokify the world. But in conjunction with the first-night crowd, the chair of the ABC and her fellow first-nighters are at the opera, chinking their champagne glasses, sneering at middle Australia and at those who believe in a pluralistic, diverse media market. It is time for there to be reform of the ABC.
It is time for the recruitment process to be opened up. It is time for their inner-city headquarters to be sold and for their staff to be shifted to regional Australia. It is time for there to be a proper review of the charter of the ABC.
But it needs to go beyond that. I have written to the minister for communications calling for an inquiry into the future of public broadcasting in this country. We have the ABC model, which is essentially an old wireless trundling along, yet we have a pluralistic, diverse media market.
And the ABC, this taxpayer funded monolith, is not fit for purpose in the 21st century. So we need an inquiry into the future of public broadcasting in Australia.
We need to determine whether there is a need to fund Triple J and all these different TV and radio stations.
I will say, as someone who lives and spends a lot of their time in regional Queensland, there is a place for a taxpayer funded broadcaster in regional Queensland and regional Australia because there is not a diverse media market there.
But in terms of the rest of our country, it is time for a royal commission into the future of public broadcasting in this country.
It is time that we stood up for the taxpayers of this country who are not getting value for money, and it is time that the board of the ABC—that most arrogant organisation—realise they are losing middle Australia because we have choice.
There is so much diversity in our media market and it would be sad if the ABC were to fail and fall over. I want the ABC to be saved. I want it to be reformed so it can be saved from itself.
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In case you missed this from last night, Peter Dutton does not think Scott Morrison has ever told a lie in public life (and then weirdly pivots to social media, which was not the question, or the issue).
.@leighsales asks @PeterDutton_MP: "Is Scott Morrison telling the truth when he says he's never told a lie in public life?" #abc730 pic.twitter.com/PNQ7f8g2Wa
— abc730 (@abc730) November 23, 2021
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Earlier on the parliament lawns, Greens senators accepted a petition signed by more than 110,000 people who oppose public funds being used to open gas fracking in the Beetaloo Basin.
It was part of an event put together by GetUp, 350, Seed Mob and Lock The Gate.
Lidia Thorpe spoke:
We see these mining companies and parliament acknowledging Country, but you can’t acknowledge Country and stab us in the back at the same time. You can’t acknowledge Country and destroy our land, our water, our air, and our people.
... We’ve got a really important vote this afternoon to stop $50m of public money being given to private companies to wreck the land and poison the water of our First Nations Territorians. We’ve managed to get all of the crossbench to say they’ll vote with the Greens. We just need one of the big parties to stand on the side of First Nations owners, of protecting our climate, of clean water, and a liveable future for us all.
The decision for Labor today is: will they stop $50m of public money being wasted to wreck the climate and poison the waters of this sacred land?
Labor has sided with the government on previous votes on this issue.
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All in all, it’s a bit embarrassing for the government in the Senate.
Anne Ruston is now trying to assure the Senate to say that the pairing arrangements are all above board.
She says Alex Antic and Gerard Rennick have both written to say they seek to be paired with the government with all non-legislative votes.
But this doesn’t explain why Rennick then came into the Senate last night to say he didn’t want to be paired, he wanted to vote. But he also didn’t say why he missed the vote (the bells rang).
This is what he said last night (just after 7pm):
I seek leave to have the question put again on general business notice of motion No. 1270 due to a confusion around pairing arrangements this afternoon.
Now the government says there was no confusion around the pairing arrangements and all is fine.
Updated
Senate sorts through confusion over Rennick's vote on ABC inquiry
The Senate is trying to work through Gerard Rennick’s demand that he wants his vote counted in the Greens-Labor motion to end the Senate inquiry into the ABC complaints process until the ABC board ordered independent inquiry is completed.
Rennick missed the vote. He was paired, which Simon Birmingham confirmed this morning, which means his vote was counted with the government. But Rennick entered the Senate last night and said he wanted the vote recommitted.
Now the government is saying the vote will NOT be recommitted. So the vote from yesterday stands.
And Labor and the Greens are trying to work out what it is Rennick was talking about, why there was a demand for a recommittal and what is happening with the pairing arrangements, given Rennick’s claim he didn’t want to be paired, he wanted to vote. Which, given his public statements that he will be withholding his vote until the federal government addresses state vaccine mandates, has everyone confused.
So now the Greens want the pairing arrangements considered “in detail and in length”.
Labor wants Rennick (and SA Liberal senator Alex Antic) to put their voting intentions in writing ahead of each vote.
Penny Wong:
I ask that you communicate in writing your intention to support oppose or abstain on each vote to all whips. It is consistent this requirement with the requirement for independent senators when they’re absent from the chamber and minor parties when they are not represented.
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Activists block WA highway to protest Woodside gas project
Environmental activists have closed down the main highway into the Burrup Peninsula in Western Australia’s remote northwest in protest of Woodside’s decision to go ahead with developing the Scarborough gas field.
Three activists have physically attached themselves to a car and a caravan parked across Burrup Road, a highway that provides the only access to industrial operations in the area including the Karratha gas plant, Pluto LNG plant, Yara fertilisers and the Port of Dampier.
The protest comes as Woodside confirmed on Monday it would develop the Scarborough gas field, a project that will release 1.6b tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over three decades of operation and risks damaging sacred Murujuga rock art.
Analysts have warned the decision is a risky bet for the company as it relies on global gas prices to stay high until 2026, when the field is expected to enter production – a time when the world will also be moving away from fossil fuels.
The International Energy Agency said in May that limiting global heating to 1.5C, a goal set out in the Paris agreement, meant exploration and exploitation of new fossil fuel basins had to stop this year.
We're blockading 2 Woodside LNG plants to #ShutDownScarboroughGas.
— Scarborough Gas Action Alliance (@scarborough_gas) November 23, 2021
Scarborough gas is a carbon bomb and will emit 1.7 billion tonnes of CO2 💣
Cops are here, TV are here and there's a big line of cars. Most importantly, concerned citizens are here to do what it takes, all day. pic.twitter.com/z4fllynavd
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Anthony Albanese held a press conference a little earlier this morning. He was asked about the government’s religious discrimination bill and says:
I haven’t seen it. I haven’t seen it. And I find it extraordinary that the prime minister hasn’t had the courtesy to do that ... I’ve met with religious leaders across the board since I’ve been leader of the Labor party and indeed, beforehand.
And I’ve met with people of my own position, I’ve met with Catholic leaders for 50 plus years.
I’m of the view that people should be allowed to, of course, practise their faith, that should be respected. That’s my starting point, that will be not to discriminate on the basis of faith, it shouldn’t be at the expense of discriminating on the basis of other people.
So based on what Penny Wong had to say this morning, and what Albanese is saying now, Labor is firming its position on the statement of faith provisions – which would allow state discrimination laws to be overridden, if a comment or action was found to be within the parameters of a person’s faith.
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Labor to fight election on 'things that matter to families', Plibersek says
Tanya Plibersek stopped by doors this morning – which means Labor is ramping up its campaign messaging (you can tell because the opposition is sending more and more senior MPs out to deliver the daily messages).
Asked what the next election would be about, Plibersek said:
We will be fighting the next election on the things that matter to Australian families: a secure job with decent pay, wages going up when you work hard, a roof over your head, affordable cost of living – petrol, rent, groceries. That’s what matters to people. We’ve got policies out there already that are about bringing down the cost of energy, bringing down the cost of new cars, bringing down the cost of childcare, making sure we’ve got more affordable housing. That’s the ground we’ll be fighting on.
Q: Do you think Scott Morrison’s in trouble at the next election?
Plibersek:
I hope so.
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Labor has released a new policy for a commissioner for family and sexual violence (as reported by Sarah Martin).
A Labor government would appoint a new commissioner for family and sexual violence, and fund 500 new community sector workers, under a $153m women’s safety policy.
The new family, domestic and sexual violence commissioner would act as an advocate for victim-survivors, coordinate national safety policies, provide reports that track progress against the national plan, and work with states and territories to gather data.
The government has also released its plan for pretty much the same thing. From Anne Ruston’s release:
The Morrison Government will invest $22.4 million over five years to establish a Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence Commission to oversee the implementation of the next National Plan to end violence against women and children.
The Commission will support the Government in providing policy leadership, developing and fostering relationships across the sector and ensuring greater cooperation and transparency between the Commonwealth, states and territories in delivering the targets and objectives of the next National Plan.
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There is a new quality and safeguards commissioner for the NDIS.
Tracy Mackey, a CEO of the NSW EPA, has been appointed the new NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commissioner. pic.twitter.com/QeVrCaFGkw
— Luke Henriques-Gomes (@lukehgomes) November 23, 2021
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Victoria records 1,196 new Covid cases and NSW reports 248
NSW and Victoria have released their daily Covid numbers.
Victoria has recorded 1,196 new cases and three deaths, while NSW reported 248 cases and two deaths.
NSW #COVID19 update – Wednesday 24 November 2021
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) November 23, 2021
In the 24-hour reporting period to 8pm last night:
- 94.4% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
- 92% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/Hy5vBfO9jZ
We thank everyone who got vaccinated and tested yesterday.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) November 23, 2021
Our thoughts are with those in hospital, and the families of people who have lost their lives.
More data soon: https://t.co/OCCFTAtS1P#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/OTsKHzh2EE
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Petrol prices are shaping up as an election issue – Peter Hannam has looked into what’s going on:
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The Wallerawang power station in Lithgow is to be demolished today, to make way for a renewable power grid.
So fare thee well, smokestacks.
Peter Hannam has visited the site:
Remember the “Lithgow Flash”? Well there should be a couple of those later this morning when engineers demolish parts of the Wallerawang coal-fired power plant.
The two 175-metre chimney stacks and one of the two big boilers will be brought down.
Travellers on the nearby Castlereagh Highway and a couple nearby roads will have to wait for the explosions to happen, and for safety to be ensured, before they can drive on.
The power plant shut in 2014 a year after EnergyAustralia bought it and the nearby Mt Piper power station from the NSW government. Mt Piper has about two decades of operations to go, but with falling prices for renewables and advancing storage technology, that finale might not be so far off.
As for Wallerawang, a company named Greenspot has taken it over, and is planning to convert the 620-hectare site into a new technology, accommodation and tourism zone.
More on this later today, but in the meantime, here’s what I wrote about it earlier this year.
Personally, a visit inside a cooling tower is not to be missed, and it’s great Greenspot plans to keep that part intact.
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Who does Jacqui Lambie think has more to worry about when it comes to trust? Scott Morrison or Anthony Albanese?
I think Scott Morrison has more to worry about than Anthony Albanese but Labor could do themselves a favour by getting their positions and policy out there a lot quicker than they are now.
Jacqui Lambie also warned the government earlier this week it was in danger of losing its seats in Tasmania. She is asked what she knows about that from being on the ground:
It is really worrying because I’m out there with my boots on the ground. I tell you what, very marginal seats, both those seats down there. It will be very, very interesting to see what happens. I am obviously running, I have runners in those seats as well, so that percentage most of the time we are on 10 or 15% and that will make a difference.
So depending on where those votes go, after they’ve voted for me, will make a significant difference on who wins those seats and that’s the honest truth of it.
The best thing that those candidates – the best that those members can do is get out there and actually start earning their seats, because it they think by spending a load of money down there in Tasmania will save them, I have news for them and it is not good. You may want to get out on the ground a little bit more and talk to the locals because they are not impressed.
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The Tasmanian senator says she wants an apology. Lambie said:
I will be putting that in paper and addressing that over the Senate in the next day or so. I want an apology. Not even a phone call, you know, not even a phone call from Malcolm Roberts. It is just disgusting. You did the wrong thing, mate, you put my number up there. It is a really low act with what you’ve done with the heightened tensions going on out there and quite frankly you disgust me.
(Jacqui Lambie accused Malcolm Roberts of publishing her number in a speech she gave to the Senate. Roberts didn’t apologise but said it was a One Nation candidate who had published her number.)
Updated
Jacqui Lambie changes phone number after being bombarded with abuse
Jacqui Lambie was on ABC News Breakfast this morning, speaking of the impact of a One Nation candidate having published her private phone number on social media. Lambie said she has had the same number for 17 years, and has now had to change it, after she was bombarded with abuse. She says that means veterans and constituents she has been in contact with will not be able to contact her as easy.
She also hasn’t received an apology from One Nation.
Here is some of what she told ABC News Breakfast about the abuse she received:
Honestly, these right-wing nut jobs, and only a real small amount of them – most of those people were they want a vaccine or not, they are good, doing the right thing, peaceful, protesting, that’s it. But this really, really small fringe group out there and quite frankly you are disgusting, you are really disgusting.
Swearing at me and calling me every word under the sun and that – seriously, are you serious? If you want to say something to me, then put it in a sentence, say what you’ve go to say, but all this swearing – where do they think it is going to get them?
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Lorraine Finlay also says she doesn’t believe her past political aspirations with the Liberal party will impact her job.
Certainly my past political involvement doesn’t qualify me for the role, but it also isn’t a disqualification from the role.
Now the human rights commission is an independent, apolitical statutory agency. And as the human rights commissioner, let me be very clear, I am not a politician. It is not a political role. And I fully intend to operate within the established framework of the commission.
I think that independence is incredibly important. And that’s certainly something that’s at the front of my mind is that independence is so important.
But again, none of her personal opinions, which are on the public record, have changed.
What I can say is my personal views, haven’t changed, but my role has, and I’m very aware that as human rights commissioner I do need to take a broader perspective and there are a variety of views and opinions that need to be taken into account.
So again, I don’t see this role as my personal soapbox. I’m not a politician by default, I am here to do a very specific job. And I intend to operate very squarely within the framework of the commission to perform these duties.
Updated
The new human rights commissioner, Lorraine Finlay, commenced her term yesterday.
Finlay, a former Liberal upper house candidate and member of the WA Liberal women’s council was handpicked by attorney general Michaelia Cash for the role.
You can read about some of her history, and her positions, here:
In an interview with ABC radio RN, Finlay says her personal positions on issues (such as religious freedoms, affirmative consent, Indigenous voice to parliament) have not changed.
But she said she her personal opinions won’t impact her job:
In my new role as human rights commissioner I recognise that this job isn’t a personal soapbox for me. What this job is about is bringing people together around human rights issues, listening to variety of perspectives, and hopefully achieving some really good outcomes.
So I don’t expect that people will necessarily agree with me 100% of the time, but I also don’t think as human rights commissioner that my personal opinion, is the most important thing because the job is actually much bigger than that.
And I’m very excited about being able to consult with a wide variety of people, speak to a wide variety of people and hear a wide variety of perspectives on these types of issues.
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Also happening today – the federal court will hand down its judgement on Peter Dutton’s defamation claim.
Paul Karp has been covering the issue – here is a quick refresher.
Matt Canavan was on the Nine Network a little earlier this morning, where he was again speaking about his opposition to vaccine mandates and made this comment about the protests, where death threats against elected officials were made:
I think voting in our Australian parliament is something serious. I think that is absolutely my job and we have seen hundreds of thousands of Australians out on the street against this policy.
We have seen them denigrated as some sort of far-right extremists and I have met them and they are average mums and dads in the street.
Updated
Penny Wong did spend a bit of time talking about Peter Dutton’s comments on China though.
He’s lying about what I said, he’s lying about Labor’s position and he’s making [these comments] because he wants to turn this into a domestic political fight.”
Wong says she believes that is a dangerous line to be walking.
Penny Wong was also asked about what Labor plans to do on religious discrimination. She said the party had not yet come to a decision. Religious freedoms was a fairly big issue for Labor at the last election, with the party accused of not doing enough to protect faith-based views. That has led to Labor so far playing dead on the issue, but Wong seems to suggest that might be changing:
I support, Labor supports, protection against religious discrimination and that protection should not come at the cost of reducing protections for other forms of discrimination.
Wong said she hasn’t looked at the bill as yet as she has had a “pretty busy 24 hours” (that’s a reference to Peter Dutton and his China comments, as well as the Senate mess).
Our principle position has been that this right, the right to practice your faith freely, which is a human right, should not be protected through the reduction of protections that other Australians have against forms of discrimination.
You can read more about the bill here:
Updated
Scott Morrison will introduce the religious discrimination bill to the parliament (most likely tomorrow) but it will be heading straight to a Senate committee, as reported yesterday by Sarah Martin and Paul Karp.
The Coalition party room signed off on the bill before seeing it – the legislation wasn’t released until after the meeting. It was signed off on though, because of the agreement to send it to a Senate committee.
LNP MP Angie Bell was on ABC News Breakfast this morning speaking about that:
I think it is important that we understand that all Australians need to be protected against discrimination, and that is my position, and that is the position of the party, and the party room, but also the position of the prime minister, and the attorney general.
I’m sure all Australians would agree with that position, that there should not be discrimination to any minority groups or indeed any religious faith groups, and that’s what this discrimination bill is based upon.
The government has taken out a couple of clauses, that minority groups were concerned about and indeed moderate Liberals were concerned about, and my position on this is that we are at a reasonable position to move forward with this bill, but I also put my concerns forward that it should go to a Senate inquiry to make sure that any stakeholders who have further concerns have the opportunity to put those forward.
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Penny Wong defends Labor on China
Daniel Hurst has been covering Peter Dutton’s escalating comments on Penny Wong and Labor when it comes to China, as well as Taiwan. Yesterday, Dutton accused both Labor and Wong of being “weak” against China. He said:
I notice the acting Chinese ambassador has been out attacking Australian values and Senator Wong today doesn’t stand up for those values; instead, she folds in a fit of weakness.
Wong is speaking to ABC radio RN and defended Labor and her own position, but accused Dutton of politicising national security for the purposes of the coming election.
I think it’s about elections.
Now, an interesting point – he has not been backed up by the prime minister.
Updated
Speaking of the Senate, Greens senators Lidia Thorpe and Dorinda Cox have been working to disallow the $21m in public funding for gas fracking in the Beetaloo Basin.
Labor has been in support of the project, and has previously voted with the government in these sort of motions, but this morning, GetUp, 350 Australia, Seed Mob and Lock the Gate are coming together to hand over a petition with more than 110,000 signatures asking that public money for the fracking project not be spent.
That petition will be handed over to Thorpe and Cox on the parliament house lawns this morning.
Updated
Good morning
It’s the first hump day on the last sitting fortnight of the year, which means nothing other than we are all one day closer to this being over.
Which no one seems to want more than the prime minister.
It hasn’t exactly been the greatest of times for Scott Morrison. After launching the pseudo-election campaign, Morrison was hoping to come into parliament and tick off a couple of election promises, clearing the way for the actual election in either March or May next year.
But his own party has other ideas. There is discontent in the backbench, in both the Senate and the house, with the rabble rousers who haven’t exactly been brought into line at any point in the term now realising they have just a few more days to create some havoc, make a name, and get themselves (or members of their factions) re-elected.
So the Senate has gone rogue and now house MPs are threatening the same thing. George Christensen will vote on his “conscience”, whatever that means, and fellow Queenslander Llew O’Brien is once again considering his own options about withholding his vote/crossing the floor. That’s not a new position – O’Brien left the Nationals party room for a while (but stayed in the LNP) and has threatened to cross the floor on issues like the federal Icac. He also accepted Labor’s nomination to be a deputy speaker over the government’s endorsed candidate Damian Drum in 2020, with enough of his colleagues defecting from the vote to get him across the line.
So, like I said, not new. But it is bad timing for the prime minister who spent a good chunk of yesterday’s joint party room meeting talking about discipline and unity.
Meanwhile, the Senate is in disarray, with Gerard Rennick now wanting to re-commit his vote in the Greens-Labor motion to end the ABC complaints Senate inquiry. The motion got up, meaning the inquiry was stopped, at least until the ABC board ordered the inquiry had been completed (some time next year). The bells were rung for the vote, but Rennick didn’t make it into the chamber. He was paired instead, but is now saying he didn’t want to be paired. But he hasn’t explained why he missed the vote. So today, the Senate will consider whether it re-commits the vote, which if it does could overturn the decision to end the inquiry. It’s all a bit of a mess and no one is happy, so all in all it is shaping up as a great day in the parliament.
Mike Bowers is already out and about and you will have Katharine Murphy, Paul Karp, Daniel Hurst and Sarah Martin keeping you updated. Amy Remeikis will be on the blog until the early evening. There doesn’t seem to be enough coffee this morning.
Ready?
Updated
