What we learned today, Thursday 25 November
That is where we will leave the blog for today, the end of this parliamentary sitting week.
We’ll be back with you again tomorrow, but for now here’s some of what made the news today:
- Australia has sent 23 Australian federal police and 43 Australian Defence Force personnel to the Solomon Islands for riot control, amid violent protests.
- A 55-year-old man has been charged with the murder of two Victorian campers who disappeared in early 2020.
- The member for Bass, Bridget Archer, crossed the floor to vote for debate on independent MP Helen Haines’s federal Icac bill. The vote ultimately just failed due to not being able to get an absolute majority due to Covid restrictions resulting in pairings.
- The government introduced its long-awaited religious discrimination bill into parliament.
- The Senate disallowed rules cracking down on charities’ advocacy work, which would have allowed the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission to investigate and deregister charities and not-for-profits for engaging in or promoting a range of minor offences.
- The former ABC reporter Zoe Daniel will run as an independent at the next federal election in the Victorian seat of Goldstein against Liberal incumbent Tim Wilson.
- Victoria has ended the use of border permits for travel into the state with 90% of the 12+ population now double-vaccinated against Covid-19.
- Victoria recorded 1,254 new cases and five deaths, while NSW reported 276 cases and no deaths. The Northern Territory reported one additional case.
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Hill says police are searching a potential crime scene area in the Great Alpine region, and it is hoped that is where the remains of the missing campers are found.
They are also looking out for a blue car and trailer. He says it is believed the trailer was sold on Gumtree between March and July last year.
He won’t go into what happened when the man was interviewed by police in the past couple of days as it is now before court.
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Man charged with murder of missing Victorian campers
The Victoria police assistant commissioner, Bob Hill, says a 55-year-old man has been charged over the murder of the missing Victorian campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay.
He will appear in court tomorrow.
Hill says police are still searching for remains, and are hopeful they will be able to find the deceased and provide ultimate closure for their families.
Hill and Clay were last heard from on 20 March 2020 while camping in the Victorian Alps.
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Victoria police will be holding a press conference at 7.15pm AEDT to provide an update on the arrest of the 55-year-old Caroline Springs man in relation to missing campers Russell Hill and Carol Clay.
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Assisted dying bill passes lower house in NSW
A law to allow terminally ill people to access voluntary assisted dying has been passed by NSW parliament’s lower house, AAP reports.
The bill was put to a vote on Thursday evening, winning by 53 votes to 36.
“NSW is the only state to have no legislated this compassionate reform and it is time we ... moved forward with this safe, compassionate end of life option,” the Sydney MP who spearheaded the bill, Alex Greenwich, said before the vote.
The Legislative Assembly now faces a potentially lengthy debate on more than 160 amendments to the bill that have been lodged by supporters and opponents.
That debate will continue into Thursday evening and into Friday, the last sitting day of the year.
Some of the amendments are from supporters who wish to address concerns raised in the debate.
Greenwich said he was working collaboratively with many MPs who’ve put forward amendments.
But, he said, “there are some amendments that were literally lodged at midnight and others that are coming thick and fast”.
“I don’t believe that last-minute amendments on complex matters if is how we make good laws,” he told parliament.
The 167 proposals include labelling VAD medication “poison” and changing the name of the bill to something more inflammatory.
Nevertheless, Greenwich is optimistic the lower house debate can be finalised before parliament retires for the year on Friday.
“There is sufficient time to be able to resolve it and I think it’s in the parliament’s best interest to see if we can resolve it this year.”
Both premier Dominic Perrottet and opposition leader Chris Minns opposed the bill, but allowed their MPs a conscience vote.
Health minister Brad Hazzard was among the MPs to speak in favour of the bill on Friday. He hadn’t supported euthanasia for the first 29 years of his three-decade career in parliament, he said, but this bill was different.
Hazzard became emotional as he recalled holding his mother’s hand and asking her to squeeze it if she wanted palliative care, knowing that death might come more quickly if she did.
His mother squeezed his hand. She died the next day.
Hazzard said that voluntary assisted dying did not “remove the importance of the value of palliative care.”
“What it does do is give choice to those who are approaching the end of their life, to those who might suffer (what) none of us would want family members or friends or anyone to suffer, to enable that person to control their own passing.”
He also said he couldn’t withhold a right from NSW residents that Australians in all other states had.
Attorney general Mark Speakman and police minister David Elliott spoke in opposition to the bill when debate resumed on Thursday.
If it passes the upper house, the bill will make NSW the last state in Australia to permit voluntary assisted dying. The proposed legislation restricts euthanasia to terminally ill people who would die in no more than 12 months.
Two doctors will have to assess applicants, and the bill makes a criminal offence of attempting to induce a person to apply for voluntary assisted dying.
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⛈️⚠️Severe thunderstorm #warning update: severe thunderstorms continuing in central #QLD. Details and updates: https://t.co/FBmpsInT9o pic.twitter.com/VCPlTmWMCf
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) November 25, 2021
Victoria ends border permits as state hits 90% vaccination
Hello. As of 14-ish minutes ago, you no longer need to apply for a border permit if entering or returning to Victoria, as part of the easing of restrictions now 90% of the 12+ population has been vaccinated against Covid.
The traffic light system has been abolished, and people can return to Victoria regardless of vaccination status (though doing anything once you’re here is limited).
The border bubbles will end, and international travellers who quarantined interstate will also no longer need to apply for a permit.
Acting chief health officer Prof Ben Cowie said:
Victoria’s border permits were designed for a time before we had a vaccine, and there was the likelihood of incursions from other states and territories. Now we are a highly vaccinated society and there are fewer cases interstate, the risk is much lower.
Even though we are highly vaccinated, it is still critical that we wear masks where recommended, maintain social distancing, use hand sanitiser and have gatherings outside wherever possible. It is also essential that we get tested if we have any symptoms of coronavirus, no matter how mild, and tell our family, friends, workplace and school if we test positive to Covid.
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The parliament is officially adjourned for the first sitting week.
We have four more sitting days for the year. And possibly, this parliament – depending on how the summer goes.
Again, no one knows when the prime minister will call an election, other than he will do it at a time which suits him. That could be straight after Australia Day, with a March poll date, or it could be after two more sitting weeks in February, or it could be for May. We don’t know and neither, at this stage, does anyone else.
Prime ministers call elections when they think they can win them. That’s the only certainty.
Everyone is going back to their own corners for a few days, and no doubt Scott Morrison will spend the weekend trying to get his messages back on track. The ground he wants to be fighting the election on is the economy, as well as appealing to the middle – which is why there was so much emphasis put on religious freedom today.
As for the attacks on Icac and the defence of Gladys Berejiklian, that’s because as far as Morrison and his electoral thinking is concerned, NSW is the state which will either win him the election, or lose it. And western Sydney is one of the most important parts of that strategy. Based on the last election, faith is one of the burning issues. So expect to see a lot more of Morrison’s focus on NSW – which is comfortable ground for him, being where he has the most influence over the party at large.
The very wonderful Josh Taylor will take you through the evening events and make sure you tune back to the Guardian for Sarah Martin, Katharine Murphy, Daniel Hurst and Paul Karp’s reports on the issues of the day. They are absolute saints.
A very big thank you to Mike Bowers, who is still toiling away, not just putting in photos, but in letting us know what is happening in the corridors. He will be back on Monday doing exactly the same thing, as well as keeping us all smiling, so our never ending thanks to him.
I’ll be back on Monday, where hopefully I will see you all to follow along. Thank you for your support. We truly mean it. You do us all a great honour by spending your time with us and we appreciate it.
We hope you manage to get some you time this weekend, whatever that means. And please – as always – take care of you.
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Here are the numbers on the support Australia is sending to the Solomon Islands:
ADF units: 43 people. Around 30 from 3rd brigade, as well as medical treatment from 17th brigade and military police from 6th brigade.
AFP is the specialist response group – 23 personnel, more to go later (the prime minister said up to 50).
The first 23 AFP officers left by RAAF plane from Canberra this afternoon.
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A Victorian anti-corruption commission public hearing scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled.
The hearings started in October as part of Operation Watts, an investigation into the alleged misuse of public funds within the Victorian branch of the Labor party.
Former Labor party member, branch president and Somali community leader, Dr Hussein Haraco, was scheduled to give evidence on Friday. But the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission said in a statement on Thursday that he would not be appearing “due to ongoing medical reasons”. Haraco had also been scheduled to give evidence for two days earlier in the investigation.
The commission said that while public hearings had concluded for the year, the investigation remained ongoing.
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That was the first press conference Scott Morrison has held since Monday (which was the first press conference he had held with the Canberra press gallery in three weeks) and yes, it is very important that events in the Solomon Islands are explained.
But Morrison took one question on the events of the week, in a parliamentary week which also needs examining. And when a follow up question came, he ended the entire event.
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Paul Karp now gets his question in.
Q: In the last election you promise to protect both gay students and religious Australians from discrimination. Given that both have had to wait three years, why not do both together or one after the other rather than wait 12 months?
Scott Morrison:
We are waiting for the report from the Australian Law Reform Commission and on the other matter in my view has not changed. Gay students should not be expelled from a religious school and nor should gay teachers who have been employed at those schools be dismissed if they are gay.
That has always been my view.
And this bill does nothing to enable such a dismissal. It provides no powers for that. And there could be no suggestion that it could because it simply does not. That is dealt with under sex discrimination law.
What I introduced today was about religious discrimination and this was about ensuring that people who hold religious beliefs or who choose not to hold religious beliefs, that that is considered a protected attribute like other things that are protected attributes under discrimination law. This brings it into line. There was a gap and that needs to be fixed.
(The bill may not allow for LGBTIQ students to be expelled or LGBTIQ teachers to be sacked, but it also has nothing to stop it – which is the point some of the moderate coalition MPs have been making today, which is why they have asked for the sex discrimination act to be changed to put in those specific protections. That won’t happen until the review is finished, in another year)
Paul tries to get a follow up, but Morrison ends the press conference.
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The AFP and ADF will be carrying both non-lethal and lethal weapons as part of the support deployment.
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Scott Morrison won’t take questions on anything else other than the Solomon Islands.
Paul Karp tries to ask a question on what has happened in the parliament today and receives this answer:
I already made my comment on those things. But right now Paul I am dealing, with great respect, there are 23 Australian federal police officers who are on a plane going to a part of the Pacific where they are facing civil unrest and they are doing that four weeks out from Christmas.
I am happy to answer questions, particularly while we are dealing with those issues. So why don’t we focus on that?
I’m going to go around the rest of the press conference. I made statements at the start about how we are standing here before you today because of a security situation that has emerged in the South Pacific and Australians are on their way to provide that support. That is where my focus is right now. Your focus may be somewhere else.
Paul points out this is the first time he has held a press conference since it happened (and the first since Monday, which was less than 30 minutes) and asks the PM to commit to coming back to other questions.
He does not.
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Scott Morrison again makes that point (no position on political situation).
We are going to provide support and assistance and it is our hope and ambition that our presence will seek to calm the situation in the Solomon Islands. And to restore some peacefulness which will enable the normal peaceful ways of seeking to resolve any issues there.
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Foreign minister Marise Payne says that Australia is not taking a position on the political situation occurring on the Solomon Islands.
Scott Morrison stresses again that Australia AFP and ADF is there to support the Solomon Islands police force.
We are there to support them and what they are doing and to provide that backup, particularly in relation to the critical infrastructure that is there and it has been important for us to be quite clear with our Pacific Island nations, in particular with the prime minister, about the nature of our involvement and particularly those of the key infrastructure such as parliament and executive buildings have been directly, including close personal protection for any government and minister, that is been done by the Royal Solomon Islands police force.
He says he has been in contact with Anthony Albanese to let him know.
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Australia’s official travel advice for the Solomon Islands is to ‘reconsider your need to travel’.
Following a protest in Honiara on 24 November, a curfew is in place from 7pm, 24 November until 7am, Friday 26 November. Follow the advice of local authorities. The Solomon Islands has resumed incoming passenger services from Australia for passengers approved by the Solomon Islands Government. Flights from Honiara to Brisbane continue to depart every Friday. Follow the Australian High Commission’s social media accounts for further updates.
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Scott Morrison:
Our Pacific family is very dear to us as Australians. It’s very dear to us. And we have always been there to help our Pacific family when they have needed us. And this is such a time. We believe in their sovereignty. We believe in this offer termination messaging me we believe them be able to be resolved these issues and to advance in accordance with their constitutional processes and their democracies and we want to support them and to be able to do this.
They are our family. And as a result when they need our help, they will receive it either it’s in relation to natural disasters, when they need our help, or whether it’s been in relation to Covid when they’ve needed vaccines and other support with the rollout.
Of the vaccination program. And regrettably, in a situation like this, where there is once again civil unrest, we are there to help them because they are very dear to us as part of our Pacific family.
Morrison thanks the leaders of New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji for their assistance.
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Scott Morrison stresses that Australia will not be interfering in any processes and are just there in support:
Our purpose here is to provide stability and security to enable the normal constitutional processes within the Solomon Islands to be able to deal with various issues that have arisen and that be done in a climate of peace, stability and security.
It is not the Australian government’s intention in any way to intervene in the internal affairs of the Solomon Islands. That is for them to resolve. I’ve made that very clear.
Our presence there does not indicate any position on the internal issues of the Solomon Islands. It is there in direct response to a request made by the prime minister so we can be present to assist the Solomon Islands police force to be able to ensure that police can provide stability and security, so the normal constitutional processes can be undertaken.
We anticipate this will be a deployment for a matter of weeks, but obviously we’ll be assessing this on a very regular basis. And we wish those who are heading out this evening all the best for their safety. I thank them for their service and those who will be joining them tomorrow.
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Australia sending AFP and ADF to Solomon Islands to support 'riot control'
The prime minister Scott Morrison starts by speaking about the situation on the Solomon Islands.
For those who are unaware, you can catch up with what is happening, here
Australia has been asked for help by the prime minister of the Solomon Islands Manasseh Sogavare, and after a meeting with the national security committee, has decided to send support.
Morrison says:
The Australian government has agreed to respond to that request. And we’ve agreed to send an attachment of 23 AFP personnel who are deploying immediately, in fact, even as we speak, to support riot control and up to 50 further AFP will deployed to support security at critical infrastructure.
I note that critical infrastructure does not include the parliament or the executive buildings of the government, that will be dealt with by the Royal Solomon Islands police force.
In addition, 43 ADF personnel will join them tomorrow, those initial 23 AFP and they’ll be approved to reinforce AFP to support security at critical infrastructure. In the first instance at the airport, where they will remain.
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Law firm Slater & Gordon has filed a class action lawsuit against Beach Energy over a significant decline in the oil and gas company’s estimates of how much it could extract from its Western Flank field in South Australia.
The claim, filed with the Victorian supreme court, alleges Beach engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and breached its legal obligation to keep the market fully informed of material developments.
Shares in the company fell by 25% after the company announced, on 30 April, that it was withdrawing earlier estimates of how much oil and gas was in Western Flank’s reserves because they were too optimistic.
It cut expected production from a range of between 26.5m barrels of oil (or the equivalent in gas) and 27.7m barrels to a range of between 25.2m barrels and 25.7m barrels.
Slater & Gordon class action lawyer Eleanor Toohey said the company was on notice that its estimates might not be right because of a largely unsuccessful exploration program, declining reserves at Western Flank and issues with the reliability of its modelling. She said:
Investors are entitled to assume that when they purchase shares in a listed company all of the material information relevant to its financial position has been disclosed.
The downgrades by Beach Energy during the August 2020 to April 2021 claim period caught the market by surprise and revealed that this had not been the case.
Guardian Australia attempted to contact Beach Energy for comment by telephone at its Adelaide office. However, a recorded message said the office closed at 4pm and advised calling back during business hours.
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Government loses on charity crackdown
The Senate has disallowed rules cracking down on charities’ advocacy work, in a major defeat for the government in the penultimate sitting week.
On Thursday afternoon Labor, the Greens and the crossbench combined to support a disallowance moved by independent senator Rex Patrick. One Nation joined the push despite fears they were set to green light powers to investigate and deregister charities.
The charities regulations would have allowed the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission to investigate and deregister charities and not-for-profits for engaging in or promoting a range of minor offences.
The sector has warned that the changes would threaten entire organisations with deregistration on the mere suspicion of a minor offence – trespass or harassment, for example – and would restrict their ability to engage in protests.
News Corp Australia reported on Monday that One Nation, previously undecided on the changes, had struck a deal with the government to support the powers against challenge on the proviso that it better shield churches from the changes.
But on Thursday afternoon the Senate voted 24 votes to 19 to scrap the powers, with senators Stirling Griff and Jacqui Lambie voting with Patrick, Labor and the Greens to reject them.
One Nation’s two senators were not present for the vote, but were paired to vote with Labor and the crossbench, reducing the government’s tally of votes by two.
Patrick told Guardian Australia: “It’s been a long week but in one of the last votes for the Senate, it has done a fantastic service to the charities sector. I thank the Senate.”
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The report into the amount of labour hire within the public service has been released.
It’s a Labor chaired and majority committee and the Coalition senators have sent in a dissenting report, so keep that in mind.
The top three recommendations though are that the government scrap the cap on the APS, which has seen departments turn to short-term labour hire to make up the numbers, resulting in delays in areas like veteran’s affairs.
- The committee recommends that the Australian Government abolish the Average Staffing Level cap and require agencies and departments to manage staffing levels within the funding envelope provided by the Budget.
- The committee recommends that the principal mode of employment in the Australian Public Service (APS) be direct, permanent employment. Short term peaks in employment requirements should in the first instance be filled with either the redeployment of permanent staff or the direct employment of APS non-ongoing staff. The use of labour hire should only occur where it is not possible to engage non-ongoing staff directly.
- The committee recommends that the Australian Government:identify where Australian Public Service (APS) work has been contracted out to labour hire companies; anddevelop and report on a strategy to return the work to direct APS employment.
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The prime minister has called a press conference for 5.15pm – it is in the Blue Room (second most fancy press conference place).
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AAP has a story on that motion we brought you earlier today, which Greens senator Dorinda Cox brought forward:
Indigenous Greens senator Dorinda Cox has secured the Senate’s support for an inquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women and children in Australia.
Cox on Thursday said she knew of 76 missing or murdered Indigenous women across Australia – which was why the national inquiry was necessary.
It will investigate the systemic causes of this violence and the vulnerabilities of First Nations women and children.
“We have a justice system that does not take seriously the issues of missing and murdered First Nations women and children in this country,” Cox said.
“This is linked to family and domestic violence First Nations women face in Australia, which is why we want to understand the framework and social issues that lead to these cases so we can do better.”
Senators of all political persuasions spoke about ending domestic violence on the international day for the elimination of violence against women.
Labor senator Penny Wong spoke of her frustration giving the same speech on domestic violence for the past two decades with no improvement in the number of women who die or are abused at the hands of partners.
A woman is killed by a current or former partner every week on average in Australia. One in five women have been sexually assaulted or threatened.
Greens senator Lidia Thorpe, a Gunnai Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman, said her cousin was killed and left dead on the front lawn of her mother’s house.
“[She] was carried by her perpetrator and dumped on the front lawn of her mother’s house,” Thorpe told the Senate.
“Because there was substance abuse involved in that family, the police response was that they were drunks and no one was held accountable. Women in our family who have been murdered had no justice because they were not important enough for investigations to happen.”
Minister for Women Marise Payne said there were too many stories about the abuse of women.
“Violence against women and children is never acceptable,” she said.
“Gender inequality is the root cause of violence against women and we must work across our society - including with men and boys - to change social norms and attitudes and behaviours.”
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The Conservation Council of WA wants Western Australian premier Mark McGowan to clarify comments suggesting his government might intervene to assist Woodside if it runs into legal trouble over its $16b Scarborough gas development.
Despite the company’s decision to push ahead with the controversial project on Monday, it faces risks - including an ongoing legal challenge from the CCWA that argues the environmental approvals process was not followed.
On Tuesday McGoward said that if the supreme court were to find the approvals invalid, his government would “step in”.
“Well, if the choices were going to close down all the industry in the state, turn off the lights and not have any jobs, obviously,” he said.
“I’m not going to second-guess what the courts do, but obviously government will do what it has to do to keep the state functioning.”
A spokesperson for the CCWA described the premier’s comments as “extraordinary” and called on the premier to commit to “upholding Western Australia’s environmental protection laws”.
All we are asking is that the environmental impacts of this development are assessed according to the requirements of the law, like any other major project in WA.
If Woodside and the EPA can simply ignore our environmental laws, knowing that the premier will step in to facilitate climate wrecking projects like Scarborough then what is the purpose of those laws?
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Victoria has hit back at a call from Linda Reynolds for the states and territories to take more responsibility for funding the NDIS.
The Australian this morning reported Reynolds as saying the states and territories would need to do more to fund the scheme, which she said was “not sustainable” on its current trajectory.
The scheme is supposed to be jointly funded 50-50 between the states and territories, but the states’ contribution is capped at a 4% annual increase, and the commonwealth says the scheme is currently growing faster than that.
However, Victoria’s disability minister, James Merlino, claimed the commonwealth had previously relied on an underspend to prop up its budget.
Victoria claims that in 2018-19 and 2019-20, the state contributed 70% and 58% respectively to the NDIS due to the “commonwealth’s NDIS underspend”.
Merlino said in a statement:
Throughout the pandemic we have seen the Morrison Government avoid taking responsibility for the wellbeing of Australians - by failing to order enough vaccines and refusing to lead on protecting vulnerable aged care residents.
Now they are again refusing to take responsibility on the NDIS - after years of using underspending on the NDIS to prop up their budget, the Commonwealth are again walking away from their responsibility to support Australians with disability.
People with disability deserve the NDIS they were promised, and the federal government need to step up and deliver that.
Reynolds told the Australian today that states had withdrawn disability funding outside of the NDIS, which was placing pressure on the scheme.
“Unfortunately, over time that funding has been withdrawn and so there is more pressure on the NDIS because participants themselves or their families see the NDIS increasingly as what’s been described as an ‘oasis in the desert’,” she said.
Reynolds has repeatedly claimed the scheme is becoming unsustainable. The states and territories vetoed an unpopular push to introduce so-called independent eligibility assessments for the scheme earlier this year.
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That conversation continues:
Q: OK, that’s not consistent with what governments do on other pieces of legislation, right? Following my logic here, you don’t always go we only introduce things we’re going to get support for. Regularly you don’t get support?
Ruston:
It depends very much on the situation. One of the things just as an example around Indigenous recognition in the Voice. We would not want to go to a referendum or do anything in the parliament that would have any likelihood of failure. So it depends on the individual circumstances surrounding the action that’s been taken as to how you would manage it through this place.
(The biggest block to the Voice to Parliament is the coalition’s own party room, elements of which still claim it is a ‘third chamber of parliament’ – which it is not.)
Q: Do you think the New South Wales Icac is like a kangaroo court?
Ruston:
Certainly the public nature of that organisation has led to an awful lot of public discourse around particular issues before the person or persons or organisations have the opportunity to be able to defend themselves. And what we have to make sure with any of these organisations is you don’t turn it into, as has been often referred to, a kangaroo court. And people are actually judged to be guilty before they’re afforded natural justice.
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Then Anne Ruston attempts to defend how far Scott Morrison went in slamming Icac and defending Gladys Berejiklian (who the feds want to run in Warringah, as Sarah Martin reported last month) in parliament today.
Q: Just on another issue, the prime minister has likened the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption to a kangaroo court and accused the agency of doing over former premier Gladys Berejiklian. This is of course all in relation to this push for a debate on an integrity commission. Do you understand the frustration of all of those people, including one of your own in the lower house, who just want to see this happen?
Ruston:
Well, I think one of the things that we need to be careful of when you introduce any new body of this nature, is to make sure it’s designed in such a way that you don’t end up with unintended consequences that allow the court of public opinion to convict or condemn someone before the proper course of justice is allowed to go past*. And that’s why I think we’ve been very clear around the design of any anti-corruption body that we might put in place in the federal arena, that it doesn’t become a kangaroo court and it does deliver on the things that it is designed to deliver. And that unintended negative consequences need to be made sure that they don’t occur by making sure the bill reflects what the outcome is that we’re seeking to achieve.
*Icac does not find anyone guilty or not guilty. It does not pass judgement, it does not lay charges. It reports its findings from its investigations, and gives recommendations, which public prosecutors then make decisions on. It also has closed hearings which can not be reported on.
Q: We haven’t even seen the bill. This is the issue. There’s no bill.
Ruston:
My understanding is that the attorney general has been in discussions with the opposition in order to try and achieve a consensus on how we would walk forward on this corruption body, the body they’re proposing, and we’re unable to be able to get the agreement of the opposition to move forward.
(Scott Morrison said there was legislation – but there is only an exposure draft at this stage).
Q: Well, why wouldn’t you just move forward? If you believe in it, you just, you do on other issues and don’t always get an agreement? You haven’t had an agreement on lots of pieces of legislation?
Ruston:
We don’t want to put forward a proposal that is not then successful. We would seek to make sure that we had the support of the parliament to bring something in. Because, as you rightly point out, it’s a very important issue.
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Anne Ruston is on the ABC now, speaking on the religious discrimination bill:
Q: The ACTU says the bill will protect people who make discriminatory religious statements of belief, even if they’re offensive, inappropriate and harmful. What’s your response to that, that people could be deliberately making offensive comments? Saying it’s on the basis of their religion but someone is harmed as a result of that?
Ruston:
I think the attorney general has been very, very clear that that would not be allowed under the bill that is being proposed for legislation.
Q: I have to interrupt. I’ve seen the bill. It is possible to do that. It is entirely possible in the bill. If it is, it means someone can be harmed whether it be LBGTIQ community or other minority groups?
Ruston:
Well, I’m going to have to beg to differ with you there. The attorney general has been very clear that those provisions that the bill does not allow that to happen. But the other issue that we need to be clear here is that under current legislation, some of these provisions already exist and that is why the ARC inquiry is so important is to make sure we can get consistency here, so that people cannot be discriminated in a way that is harmful on them.
(Members of the Coalition have raised concerns about this point Patricia Karvelas raises. Today even.)
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This is worth a listen from Malarndirri McCarthy.
Millions of dollars have been thrown into the ‘work for the dole’ CDP program. What does the Morrison Government have to show for it despite the harm it has done to communities? Where are the jobs and opportunities? It’s taken them years to realise what a failure it is. #auspol pic.twitter.com/MT2DC4vstR
— Malarndirri McCarthy (@Malarndirri19) November 25, 2021
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Daniel Hurst has a very interesting story here:
The Morrison government’s decision to scrap plans to build a 2.7km concrete runway on Antarctica has opened a new round of Coalition divisions, with China hawks blasting the “retrograde” move.
The Tasmanian Liberal party senator Eric Abetz criticised the decision, labelling it a “huge disappointment” as Australia risked loosening “our foothold” on Antarctica to China and Russia.
The final parliamentary sitting fortnight of the year has been marked by government divisions, with a number of backbenchers either voicing dissent or crossing the floor on issues ranging from a strong integrity commission to vaccine mandates to religious discrimination.
The latest flashpoint is Liberal environment minister Sussan Ley’s announcement the government would “protect Antarctica’s pristine wilderness by not proceeding with a decision to build a 2,700m concrete runway at Australia’s Davis research station”.
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Helen Haines is on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing talking about the integrity commission vote today (which she won on the numbers, but did not have an absolute majority of 76 needed for the motion, so the motion was defeated on what is a technicality).
Haines:
I’ve been talking to members of parliament for over two years about the importance of a federal integrity commission.
We’ve been waiting for the government for three years to introduce one and today felt like the right day to suspend standing orders and call for a debate. We’ve only got a few days left of sitting before we rise for Christmas and I felt very strongly that the nation needs this.
They’re calling for it. Nine in 10 Australians want an integrity commission. I have a bill in the House and I felt it was time to call for that debated again.
Q: You’ve labelled the technicality which requires an absolute majority undemocratic during the pandemic. Without this, your bill would have been debated. What message does this send about the support for a federal integrity commission?
Haines:
Well, I think the fact the government lost both votes on the floor of the House today demonstrates that the will of the parliament is to debate my federal integrity commission bill and indeed vote on it.
And if things had been different today, we could in fact have a federal integrity commission passed through the House today.
This extraordinary situation that we have where the government can lose two votes on the House but still manage to escape through this technicality I think is quite extraordinary for our democracy and I think it’s a real problem. And I would not be surprised if many people across the nation tonight are asking the question how did Scott Morrison get away with that?
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Government charity changes disallowed by the Senate
The Senate has voted in support of Rex Patrick’s motion to disallow the charity changes.
Which means the government lost. Again. Paul Karp will have more for you soon.
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The New South Wales government has released an updated Covid roadmap which will see indoor mask restrictions eased before the busy Christmas shopping period, while QR code check-in systems will no longer be required to enter retail stores.
After a Covid subcommittee meeting on Thursday the premier, Dominic Perrottet, announced a raft of changes to the state’s Covid restrictions which will come into place once restrictions on non-vaccinated people ease on 15 December.
They include changes that will mean masks are only required on public transport, on planes and and for indoors front-of-house hospitality staff who are not fully vaccinated. Previously the mask rule had been due to apply to all hospitality staff regardless of vaccination status.
The government will also scrap density limits previously set to one person per square-metre and make Covid safety plans optional.
It will also mean that from 15 December the QR check-in codes that became a staple of the government’s contact tracing efforts will be scrapped in some places. While the QR codes will remain mandatory for a number of “high-risk venues” including hospitals, gyms, places of worship, pubs, nightclubs and hair and beauty salons, other venues, such as retail stores, will no longer need to use the system.
Perrottet also announced on Thursday that from next week close contacts of Covid cases at schools and outside school hours care services will no longer need to isolate.
Instead, close contacts of a positive case will be required to get a PCR test as soon as possible after being notified of exposure. If the PCR test is negative, the student can return to school immediately, so long as they provide negative rapid test results for the next seven consecutive days, the government said in a statement.
In line with community settings, schools will no longer need to close while contact tracing occurs due to successful cohorting of year groups on school sites. The only exception may be if there are multiple cases at a school or complex settings in place,” the government said in its announcement.
Mask settings remain the same, meaning they are required for all staff and high school students, and are recommended for primary school students.
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How Mike Bowers saw question time:
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In case anyone was wondering about the context of this:
Thank you to my very good friend Josh Frydenburg who was checking on my welfare here. Reports that he was lecturing me are in no way true. He is a good person and was being very kind to me #auspol #FactsMatter pic.twitter.com/BsNpBN8gxK
— Bridget Archer MP (@BridgetArcherMP) November 25, 2021
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In the Senate, Rex Patrick is attempting to disallow the charities amendment, which the charity sector says is a gag stopping organisations from being able to comment on political issues.
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Despite the declaration of a La Nina this week, parts of Australia can expect above normal bushfire potential through summer.
The national council for fire and emergency services - AFAC - has released its fire outlook for summer.
Large parts of NSW west of the Great Dividing Range and in the Cooma Monaro region can expect an above average chance of fire due to high grass and crop fuel loads.
In Western Australia, southern parts of the state and the Pilbara, Gascoyne and Murchison, the Swan Coastal Plain, Jarrah Forest, and western most parts of the Esperance Plains and Mallee regions also have an above normal potential for fire due to fuel loads in those areas.
Increased rainfall and the effects of the 2019-20 bushfires have resulted in a below average chance of fire in coastal areas of NSW, the ACT and much of Victoria.
Most of the country, however, is showing normal bushfire potential.
The outlook is prepared each year by AFAC, fire authorities and the Bureau of Meteorology and is used by emergency services ahead of the summer fire season.
This is especially important as they balance the risk of bushfire this summer with the risks associated with a La Niña event, such as an increased chance of rainfall and the number of tropical cyclones that form,” said AFAC’s Rob Webb.
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In Senate question time, Labor has asked Richard Colbeck, representing the health minister, whether the government is considering overriding state vaccination mandates.
Colbeck said:
The Australian government’s position all the way through is that as much as possible, the vaccination program should be a matter of choice, as much as possible.”
So Colbeck refused to rule out overriding states’ vaccination mandates. He notes that at times the AHPPC and national cabinet have recommended mandates that were supported by the federal government (ie in aged care).
There were a number of objections on relevance, but Colbeck plowed on with statements of general principle that vaccinations should be “voluntary” without addressing the issue of overriding the states.
Colbeck said the government’s position is “completely clear” - but I for one am no clearer on whether they are considering overriding the states’ public health orders.
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Zoe Daniel has confirmed her independent tilt for Goldstein
For those who are in Goldstein I would be absolutely ecstatic to see you on Saturday morning at 930 at the Sandringham Rotunda on Beach Rd opposite the Sandy pub where we will be launching the campaign. #auspol2021 #zoeforgoldstein #findyourvoice
— Zoe Daniel (@zdaniel) November 25, 2021
The new speaker, Andrew Wallace, has rejected a fresh bid from Labor to refer Christian Porter to the privileges committee.
Earlier this week, Tony Burke had asked for Porter to be referred, citing an interview by Tony Smith that he would’ve voted to refer him, claiming this was new information that should be considered by the lower house.
Wallace said he had considered the material but the interview “does not reveal new information” that relates to the subject of the privileges referral (Porter’s disclosure of the Legal Services Trust on his register of interests, but not the source of its funds).
Wallace concluded that as the house had recently voted against referring Porter, there was no reason to now give precedence for a motion to do so now.
Although Labor’s earlier attempt failed, Guardian Australia revealed earlier in November that the committee is continuing to consider a separate complaint from the shadow attorney general, Mark Dreyfus into Porter.
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As Paul Karp and Sarah Martin have previously reported, Bob Katter wants changes to the religious discrimination legislation – he wanted the Folau clause back in.
He has now said he will try and amend the legislation to include it:
The whole intention of this Bill is to protect against religious persecution; people who are being punished because of their religious belief,” Mr. Katter said.
Israel Folau was punished with the termination of his Rugby contract for simply posting and reading from the Bible.
It is one thing to agree or disagree with the Bible, that is your privilege. It is another thing to start punishing people for expressing their beliefs from the Bible, then you are in big trouble indeed.
There is no Folau clause in the Bill, so I don’t know why the Morrison Government is introducing this legislation.”
Katter also has an issue with the definition of a religious belief.
The definition of religious belief includes a person having religious beliefs and a person not holding a religious belief and not engaging in, or refusing to engage in, religious activity,” Mr. Katter said.
The definition is not just contradictory. It contains definition which cannot be reconciled. My concern is that the consequence of this contradictory definition is that the legislation could be used against people of faith and especially small business owners. The legislation tries to be all things to all people.
So hypothetically, if I say no, you can’t use our Jewish temple community hall for your homosexual wedding based on my religious beliefs, he can sue me and say I have discriminated against him based on his religious belief, which is that he doesn’t have a religious belief.
However, the whole point of this legislation is that someone should not be able to come after me or punish me due to my religious belief.”
Andrew Wallace is giving an explanation as to what happened during Helen Haines’ motion vote today and the confusion which followed.
The short version is Wallace is saying he did not mess up.
Wallace:
Over most of the last two years the house has adopted different formulations of certain questions on motions as they are put to a vote.
The different formulations have been adopted as a means of reducing movement across the chamber and thereby reducing risks associated with Covid-19.
In relation to motions to suspend standing orders, because of the current formulation of the question, in the overwhelming majority of cases, those questions are decided for the ayes in favour of the question that the motion to suspend standing orders be disagreed to.
Earlier today, the member for Indi moved a motion to suspend standing orders. Following debate on the suspension motion.
The initial question was decided for the nose that is disagreeing to the question that the motion to suspend standing orders be disagreed.
A second decision was needed. On a differently formulated question, simply because a decision against a proposal to disagree to a motion is not the same as a decision in favour of emotion.
The second question enabled a vote on whether the suspension motion should be agreed to which is the question understanding order 47. That requires an absolute majority in order for it to be carried.
If members thought this was unusual, they are correct.
As there is usually no need for a second question because of the result of the initial question or regret if members were concerned about having to change sides of the chamber to vote, given the Covid safety arrangements, the house has been operating under. On the other hand, this one exception in almost two years highlights just how successful the arrangements have been.
Question time ends.
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Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
The report of the independent review into commonwealth parliamentary workplaces by the Australian Human Rights Commission is due next week. To ensure that there is no delay in any action required to make parliament a safer place to work, will the prime minister commit to releasing the report in parliament on the date in which he receives it?
Morrison:
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Of course the government will consider the report. And then we’ll table it in the normal way we consider any reports, Mr Speaker. What I’m pleased to say, over the course of this year, we have worked very closely with Kate Jenkins and I thank her for the work she’s done and I also thank the finance minister.
Albanese jumps in with a point of order on relevance, but Andrew Wallace says it has been 40 seconds and Morrison is being relevant to the report/question.
Morrison:
I said we would continue to report and would release it, as the government does in these occasions always, Mr Speaker. The leader of the opposition may be seeking to try to politicise this again, seeking to try to score political points [amid] all the games he is seeking to play in Canberra this week, I’m not going to be distracted by the political games of a lifetime politician* and the leader of opposition, who is not focused on the issues, Mr Speaker. The issue that is in question is a serious one. (Scott Morrison did have two jobs in tourism/marketing, but he was also the NSW state Liberal party director in 2000-2004 before he ran for preselection for Cook. Anthony Albanese worked in the Commonwealth Bank just after school, before becoming a research assistant for the minister for local government and administrative services, Tom Uren)
Morrison:
The government has been considering that seriously from day one and we have taken action from day one, work that is done through the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, the establishment of the new counselling procedures in the 24/7 core line, the establishment of the independent complaints process a critical part of what was necessary to keep people working in this building safe, and whatever role they work, we have been taking action and putting in place a much improved environment, in this place, and I look forward to receiving the Jenkins review and I look forward to working together to take further action on it. I think that will be important and we will receive that and make a decision about its release as we do with every single report, but I would ask the opposition, if you want to work with us on this don’t play political games in this place.
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Stuart Robert calls Warren Entsch the “king of the north”.
That sound you hear is Bob Katter’s eye twitch.
Here is Linda Reynolds speaking to Murph six months ago about the need to bring costs down.
Bill Shorten to Scott Morrison:
My question is to the prime minister: Eligibility for the National Disability Insurance Scheme requires that a person have a profound and severe lifelong disability. But today on the front page of the Australian his NDIS minister says that the scheme was never intended to be function as a welfare scheme for life. Does the prime minister agree with his minister, that Australians living with a lifetime of profound and severe disability should expect a lifetime of NDIS support?
For context, the Australian report Shorten is referencing is on the front page of the paper edition today and reads:
States and territories will need to take more responsibility for funding the national disability insurance scheme, with the minister in charge warning that the program was ‘not sustainable’ and never intended to function as a ‘welfare scheme for life’.
There does not seem to be a direct quote in the article which uses the same quote.
Morrison:
The member may not be aware, but that reference in that article has actually been withdrawn by the Australian, as the minister was able to establish, that’s what I’m advised, that statement was not made about referencing welfare.
He may not be aware of that, so I understand why he would ask that question on that basis. I don’t believe the NDIS is welfare. I do believe the NDIS, Mr Speaker, is provided to ensure people with permanent disability have as much as possibly can, the same opportunities as other Australians do. I have been a supporter of this initiative from the outset. I have supported it, Mr Speaker, in opposition, when it was brought forward by those opposite when they were in government, I have supported it as a social services minister, I have supported it as a treasurer, and I have supported it as a prime minister. And Mr Speaker, I support it...
... In the previous article, just to assist the member, the statement welfare scheme for life was put in inverted commas, ie to indicate a quote, a quote. That’s not in the updated document. There’s no quote marks in relation to that statement. There is no quote marks in relation to that statement.
So the suggestion that the member has made – based on this, is incorrect. But Mr Speaker, Mr Speaker, regardless, let me be very clear, Mr Speaker.
... The NDIS is not welfare. I have never believed it is. And I never will. And I have supported every single day I have been here as it’s been brought into this chamber many years ago, by those opposite, and I believe it should be a matter of bipartisan support, continuing as it was, when it was introduced. As it was when it was introduced.
And that is certainly the approach I have taken in opposition and in government, as a minister, a treasurer, and a prime minister. I will continue to. It’s providing Australians with disabilities with opportunities when they were growing up, people of our generation, would never have dreamed of. And I think that says marvellous things about our country.
It’s a very demanding scheme in it terms of its fiscal cost and Australians are bearing that cost and we’ll continue to, Mr Speaker, and we need to ensure it’s run efficiently and we need to ensure it isn’t subject, Mr Speaker, to any form of abuse, because by protecting it against abuse, we’re protecting the people who it’s intended to support. So, Mr Speaker, Mr Speaker, let there be no doubt that our government, my government, Mr Speaker, believes in the NDIS and we have demonstrated that by fully funding it every single day and we’ll continue to.
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Alan Tudge takes a question from Tanya Plibersek on the government’s support for the university sector.
He speaks about how universities know that the government is in support of the sector.
He doesn’t mention how they were carved out of jobkeeper, while also losing international students. Or that about 40,000 academics lost their jobs across the sector, during the pandemic.
Richard Marles to Scott Morrison:
Can he confirm this week he has been forced to correct himself twice over the one holiday he took while Australia burned, denied ridiculing electric cars despite saying they would, quote, ruin the weekend, claimed he was not aware he had said Shanghai Sam 17 times? If the prime minister has no regard for what he said in the past, why should Australians have regard for what he is saying now?
Morrison:
The opposition demonstrates once again just how petty and small they are.
Honestly Mr Speaker, if you have a small question to ask, ask the opposition because they only deal with small questions. If you have a big question, about what’s going to happen with the economy, how are we going to guarantee national security, cut taxes and put pressure on the cost of living and get electricity prices down, how we will get more people into trades training and ensure the million people working in manufacturing stay in those jobs, our government has the answers to those. Those opposite, they [think] whinging and whining and sledging is a recipe for getting into government, but it’s not, you have to have policies, you have to have plans, you can’t just stand up every day and have a [whinge and a moan], that’s why we still don’t know what the 2030 target is in the policies, that’s why we can only go on what they have done before.
And what have they done before? $387 million of higher taxes, they put a carbon tax on when they were last in government and cut defence spending, they lost control of our borders, Mr Speaker, they lost control of our borders, Mr Speaker and the leader of the opposition was front and centre when the weakness of that government was displayed.
Tony Burke:
Direct relevance – I’m struggling to work out how this is even remotely close to the question.
Andrew Wallace:
The question was asked in a manner as to why should Australians listen to the prime minister now? That was the last question. The prime minister is entitled to respond appropriately.
Morrison:
The other reason I believe and know Australians are listening is because this government knows how to ... stand up to those who would seek to compromise their interests. I know we in our government know how to stand up to those countries not too far from here who would seek to coerce us and interfere in our country and universities, in our laws, and seek to affect us with trade and other forums.
We know how to do that, we know how to call out action when it comes to human rights abuses overseas, we are not afraid to do that and stand up to the bullies ... that get on social media and try to troll those of religious faith. We are very happy to stand up whether it is the big banks, the big energy companies, the multinationals and digital platforms, we have had to take them on and we have, we have been prepared to stand up and audit the organised criminal gangs and take them down. We stood up to the people smugglers and will stand up to all of those who seek to compromise the interest and fears and best interests of our nation. It takes strength to lead this country, a strength the leader of the Labor party does not possess.
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Before I get to the next question and answer, it is probably worth pointing out this exchange between Morrison backer Stuart Robert and Sky News’s Kieran Gilbert on Gilbert’s program yesterday.
KG: Have voters lost faith in the prime minister?
Robert:
Goodness no. Not even remotely close. We started this segment talking about Australia having coming through with some of the world leading results in vaccination, world leading. Our response, whether seen through our unemployment results – [Interrupted]
KG: Why is his trust rating so low?
Robert:
We were the only country in the world really, that had more of its citizens employed. This was pre-Delta of course [rather] than pre-Covid.
KG: But why is his trust rating so low then?
Robert:
As you come towards an election, of course Labor likes to play the man not the ball, all of these things have an impact. But in terms of how the country’s gone, and how our results have been and the economic basis of what we’re doing. I think the results speak for themselves.
KG: And finally, you talk about playing the man, not the ball. It looks like the government’s willing to do that now as well. The battle lines are drawn for the election aren’t they? We heard in the parliament: national security; economy; Albanese weak. That’s pretty much where you’re going isn’t it?
Robert:
Well that is because Mr Albanese is a weak leader. So we’re going to roll that out because it is true and is what we believe.
And yes, we’ve got an election coming up and things of course will be phrased in that way, but we’re going to come out and speak the truth on this Kieran.
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Tim Wilson reportedly to face former ABC reporter in seat of Goldstein
The Australian is reporting former ABC reporter Zoe Daniel will run against Tim Wilson in Goldstein.
Daniel will be running as a pro-climate independent.
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Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
My question is to the prime minister. Can he confirm this week five government senators voted for a One Nation bill on vaccines, one government member crossed the floor to vote against government legislation and today another government member twice crossed the floor on a National Integrity Commission, and declare the Morrison and Joyce government a complete shambles?
Morrison:
The leader of the opposition has been in this place a very long time. The leader of the opposition is obsessed by the games that go on in Canberra. He is totally obsessed with that, absolutely obsessed about it.
So focused about what’s going on down here in Canberra, that what he can’t hear, what he fails to hear, is what is going on around the rest of this country, where their focus ... is how is the economic recovery going to be secured, and that’s what our government is focusing on.
Our government is focused on ensuring electricity prices have been going down, on making sure we have 217,000 apprentices and trade training places, which is the highest level we have seen on record since they were kept in 1963.
Our government has been focused on the fact we now have a million Australians who are working in manufacturing ... our government is focusing on ensuring we have reliable and affordable energy so we are building a gas-fired plant and curry courage to make sure the people of the Hunter Valley can have those jobs and support history and keeping electricity prices down, and the Labor party is opposing that. Our government is focusing on making sure Australians get into home ownership and 320,000 Australians have been able to get into home ownership since I was elected as prime minister three years ago, on the basis of policies we put into this place.
Getting Australians into homes, using electricity prices down, getting Australians into jobs and leading them through one of the worst pandemics we have seen for 100 years, one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, one of the strongest economies coming through the pandemic and one of the lowest fatality rates. Then there are the security issues we face in this region which are going on even as we speak right now in our own region.
Australia will provide the strength to stand up to those who would seek to coerce, to stand with our allies and partners, to gain answers to the defence technology, which means we can have nuclear powered submarines, which those opposite would never dare to even ask for, let alone understand why it was necessary and have been quibbling over it ever since.
A strength the leader of the opposition does not hold and does not understand.
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Why are we hearing so much defence of Gladys Berejiklian from Scott Morrison today in the parliament?
Well, there is a poll in the SMH that found she is as popular as ever.
And there is also this story, from Sarah Martin in early October. Morrison hasn’t given up on having Berejiklian run in Warringah, against Zali Steggall.
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The new speaker Andrew Wallace has said he will allow dixers to include “alternative approaches” as well as “alternative policies”, which frees the government up to attack Labor in its dixers.
Tony Smith had been cracking down on that.
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Catherine King to Scott Morrison:
My question is to the prime minister. Is the reason the prime minister is blocking an anti-corruption commission to avoid scrutiny of the forging of documents to discredit the lord mayor of Sydney, the purchase of land in the Leppington Triangle ten times its value, a cabinet minister taking anonymous donations, and the use of colour-coded spreadsheets to [rort] taxpayers’ money?
Morrison:
Thank you Mr Speaker. The government has a proposal for a commonwealth integrity commission Mr Speaker. The Labor party do not support it.
The government has funded nearly $150 million to support the establishment of a commonwealth integrity commission Mr Speaker, and our proposed commission will investigate specified criminal corruption across the whole of the public sector, including parliamentary staff, and it will have two divisions, the law enforcement integrity division, that would have the same function as the public sector integrity division, that would be able to investigate allegations of a criminal conduct in the rest of the commonwealth public sector as well as higher education providers and research bodies that receive commonwealth funding.
Our proposed commission will have a full suite of powers to invest corrupt conduct, including to require people to give sworn evidence at hearings, to confiscate people’s passports by court order, to search people’s houses and search their property under warrant and conduct a search of a person under warrant, and when necessary to tap phones and use other surveillance devices, and the commonwealth proposal that we put forward and a law enforcement integrity division will be able to hold public hearings.
That is our proposal. Why don’t the Labor party support it? Why don’t they support it?
This has been out of public consultation for a long time, even the draft legislation has been there, but they don’t want to have a commonwealth integrity commission, they want a commonwealth kangaroo court.
A kangaroo court that can go and find and pursue political vendettas, as we have seen in New South Wales with disgraceful treatment of the former premier of New South Wales Gladys Berejiklian, who was chased out of office* before that even made a finding. Before even a finding. The leader of the Labor party may support what was done to Gladys Berejiklian, but I do not.
*Gladys Berejiklian decided to resign, she was not made to resign.
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In his dixer, Josh Frydenberg, a former Howard and Downer staffer, accuses Jim Chalmers of not being qualified as treasurer, because he is a former Swan staffer.
So a former political staffer just accused another political staffer of not being qualified because he was a former political staffer (upside down head emoji).
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Anthony Albanese asks Scott Morrison to table the legislation he is talking about.
Andrew Wallace says it is a public document.
Albanese was asking that because it is not legislation as yet – it is an exposure draft, which has not been introduced into the house.
Tanya Plibersek to Scott Morrison:
In December 2018, the prime minister sat next to the member for Pearce and announced he would deliver a national integrity commission, more than a thousand days later the prime minister has not introduced his own legislation and today defies the House of Representatives which demanded an anti-corruption commission. Why did the prime minister say he would create a National Integrity Commission, when he didn’t mean it?
Morrison:
I did on that proposal, and the draft legislation is out for all to see, and those opposite do not support our proposal for a commonwealth integrity commission.
Instead, they want one which does not sufficiently provide procedural fairness to individuals that are investigated for conduct, they want one that would allow the use of significant coercive powers, on low-level misconduct and disciplinary offences, they want one that would not safeguard against baseless, [politically] motivated and time wasting referrals the shadow attorney general is well known for, it has a perfect strike rate of making vexatious claims, which have been refused by proper authorities, which detract from legitimate investigation.
They want to support something that does not include mechanisms to protect national security information, it does not include protections for journalists and the sources and would compromise potential prosecutions of corrupt conduct by public investigations.
Albanese:
Relevance, this is about why the prime minister has not introduced legislation for a National Integrity Commission, which he said he would do a thousand days ago; it is not about Labor policy.
Andrew Wallace:
The question, the way it is worded, was quite open. In that it was asking why the prime minister hasn’t done it, the prime minister is entitled to answer that. And in doing so, he is entitled to a preamble stop and, with less than a minute, around a minute, into the question, he is entitled to that preamble. I would ask the prime minister to return to the question.
Morrison:
The proposal for a Commonwealth Integrity Commission, it is set out in the legislation drafted and being circulated, and the Labor party says they don’t support it. If you want to support that legislation and establish that type of integrity commission, great, bring it in, indicate you support such a Commonwealth Integrity Commission and we will have our support to proceed, but I’m not going to get into the political gamesmanship of the Leader of the Opposition who was so interested in theatre of this place he forgets the real issues facing the Australian people.
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Defence minister Peter Dutton has blasted Liberal party colleague Gerard Rennick for spreading misinformation on social media after the Guardian revealed the Queensland senator had posted dozens of claims about vaccine side-effects on his Facebook page without knowing whether they were true.
On Thursday Dutton told the Sydney radio host Ray Hadley that Rennick’s social media presence was “not acceptable”.
“He shouldn’t do it, he’s taken [the post] down as he should have but it shouldn’t have gone up in the first place,” Dutton said.
It came after the Guardian revealed this week that Rennick had shared content from an anti-vaccination leader who has previously called for the execution of Jacinda Ardern, while also admitting that he hadn’t verified a deluge of claims about vaccine side-effects that he has posted on his own Facebook page. Rennick deleted the post after being contacted by the Guardian, conceding he had realised it to be “fake”.
“I try to verify this stuff, I thought it seemed OK,” he said about the post. “I’m a bit annoyed about it.”
Rennick told the Guardian he was unaware of the woman’s previous comments about Ardern, and conceded he “should have” checked the source of the letter before sharing it.
Speaking to Hadley on his regular Thursday appearance with the self-described “right-wing shock jock”, Dutton said MPs had a “special responsibility” not to spread misinformation.
“Particularly at the moment when there’s a lot of disinformation going around,” he said.
“These conspiracy theories and other things that spin around on the internet shouldn’t be glorified, they shouldn’t be promoted and they shouldn’t be posted.”
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Barnaby Joyce is once again trying to make words.
We’ll leave that there.
Updated
That was ... something.
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Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
“A majority of Australians and the majority of their representatives in this House of Representatives, want an anti-corruption commission now. Why has the prime minister refused to act for more than 1,000 days?”
Morrison:
The legislation that we have released sets out our plan for such a commission, it’s been out there for some time. Those opposite oppose it. They don’t support our plan for a commonwealth integrity commission. They oppose it!
The legislation is there for all to see and if the opposition wishes to support that legislation, they should do so and we can legislate it. But those opposite do not support our laws to introduce a commonwealth integrity commission.
Instead, those opposite want to support the sort of show in NSW, which has seen the most shameful, the most shameful attacks on the former premier of New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian.
What was done to Gladys Berejiklian, the people of NSW know, was an absolute disgrace. And I’m not going to allow ... I’m not going to allow that sort of a process, which seeks to, Mr Speaker, seeks to public humiliate people on matters that have nothing to do with the issues before such a commission, to see those powers abused, Mr Speaker, and seek to reduce the integrity of people like Gladys Berejiklian.
The Australian people know that the former premier of NSW was done over by a bad process, and an abuse ... I’m not going to have a kangaroo court taken into this parliament.
... These things, these matters should be looking at criminal conduct, not who your boyfriend is. That’s what it should be, these things should be looking at criminal conduct, now those opposite know all about criminal conduct because too many of their colleagues in the NSW parliament have ended up in prison. (note: after court cases which were held following Icac investigations)
Criminal conduct! Criminal conduct is what this should look at, not chasing down someone’s love life.
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The first dixer is on the Covid recovery and Scott Morrison speaks about how well Victorians in particular have done.
We are back on the national plan and the economic recovery being the most important thing for the government to focus on.
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Question time begins
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
The prime minister’s government lost two votes on the floor of the house today. Hasn’t the prime minister lost control of the house, lost control of the senators and lost the control of his government?
Morrison:
No.
(That’s the whole answer)
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The former deputy prime minister is reading a poem based on that “I’ve been everywhere man” song about the government’s blackspot program.
This day does not need that.
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Over in the house, the Labor member for Cowan, Anne Aly, is using her 90 second statement to remind the chamber that she is the actual member for Cowan, not Vince Connolly, who is the Liberal member for Stirling. A boundary re-distribution means that Stirling will not exist as an electorate after the next election so Connolly is now calling himself the “Liberal for Cowan”.
Connolly is the Liberal endorsed candidate for Cowan, after losing a challenge to Ian Goodenough in Moore.
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Is that “twilight in the property boom” about to accelerate?
Days after the Commonwealth Bank, the country’s largest mortgage issuer, predicted the slowdown in property price rises would turn into a 10% fall by 2023, there are fresh signs the “seller’s market” may be tilting more in favour of the buyer.
Data out today by CoreLogic show the number of scheduled auctions has jumped, with this week’s tally setting records in Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide in the consultants’ 13 years of data.
All up, 4,354 capital city homes will be auctioned this week, topping 4,000 for the first time, and beating this year’s current peak of 3990 in March by about 10%.
Not surprisingly, much of the traffic is a result of Covid-19 lockdowns easing, with auction numbers rising at a pace of about 10% a week since a nadir of 1,423 in early September. The expected tally is 17% up on last week and double this time a year ago.
Somewhat counterintuitively, extra supply doesn’t necessarily translate into lower prices, according to the CBA’s chief Australian economist Gareth Aird. He reckons interest rates (still low but rising in the market) and household income (perhaps picking up if jobless rates keep falling) are more important.
Still, having more choice should ease some of that “fear of missing out” that spurred some of the 25%-plus rise in prices over the past year. Whether we see a panic to sell (let’s trademark it as Fear of Remaining In, or FORI), remains to be seen.
Economic data out today should reassure many that the economy continues to pick up. Weekly payrolls for the fortnight to 30 October rose 1.4% following a 1.7% gain in the previous two weeks.
Westpac economists said the numbers were strong enough to make them consider raising their current forecast for November employment of a 110,000 gain, or a 1.2% rise in original (not seasonally adjusted) terms.
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Greens senator Dorinda Cox has had this motion pass the Senate from both sides of the chamber:
The number of First Nations women and children who are missing and murdered;
b) The current and historical practices, including resources, to investigating the deaths and missing person reports of First Nations women and children in each jurisdiction compared to non-First Nations women and children;
c) The institutional legislation, policies and practices implemented in response to all forms of violence experienced by First Nations women and children;
d) The systemic causes of all forms of violence – including sexual violence – against First Nations women and children, including underlying social, economic, cultural, institutional and historical causes contributing to the ongoing violence and particular vulnerabilities of First Nations women and children;
e) The policies, practices and support services that have been effective in reducing violence and increasing safety of First Nations women and children, including self-determined strategies and initiatives;
f) The identification of concrete and effective actions that can be taken to remove systemic causes of violence and to increase the safety of First Nations women and children;
g) The ways in which missing and murdered First Nations women and children and their families can be honoured and commemorated; and
h) Any other related matters.
Cox:
This inquiry will be the first of its kind in Australia and will investigate the systemic causes of violence including underlying social, economic, cultural, institutional and historical causes contributing to the ongoing violence and particular vulnerabilities of First Nations women and children.
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Liberal senator Andrew Bragg is backing in his colleague Trent Zimmerman about wanting to fix the sex discrimination act to protect LGBTIQ students. The government has committed to reviewing the sex discrimination act in the next 12 months.
He tells the ABC:
I just think we need to get on with this. If we are going to go there and say schools are going to have more say over who they hire, which I think is entirely defensible, we need to tidy up discrimination, you wouldn’t sack someone if they were black or Jewish, but people are being sacked because they are gay, what about kids?
Q: Can they be expelled because they are gay?
Bragg:
They can be at the moment, gay teachers and gay students are being discriminated against, we are going to proceed down this path we need to tidy this up as part of the process, it doesn’t need to be a separate process these are relatively simple amendments.
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AAP has an update on what is happening in the NT:
The Australian Defence Force has rejected “wild” social media claims that it’s forcibly vaccinating Indigenous Northern Territorians against Covid-19.
The territory detected one new case overnight, bringing the outbreak to 52 cases after a teenager from Binjari Aboriginal community tested positive.
“This shows us the hard lockdown is working, and caring for close contacts in quarantine is working,” chief minister Michael Gunner said on Thursday.
It comes as the ADF launches a public relations blitz following colourful and false Facebook posts by various groups and individuals about the military’s involvement in the Top End’s pandemic response.
Some of the posts allege infected Aboriginal people are being forcibly transferred to quarantine facilities while likening them to the stolen generation.
One group of traditional owners also accused ADF personnel of holding down people in some Indigenous communities and injecting them with the vaccine.
The misinformation has been shared and reposted to multiple platforms and there are fears it could threaten efforts to contain an outbreak.
The ADF has rejected the accusations, saying they are lies.
“Defence is aware of social media posts claiming the Australian Defence Force is forcibly vaccinating or detaining members of the Australian community,” a spokesman said in a statement.
“These claims are emphatically false.”
Colonel Tim Rutherford, the ADF’s NT Covid-19 response commander, said the posts were made by “issue-motivated” groups using Defence’s involvement as a “prop”.
“The claims are wild and various,” he told the ABC on Thursday morning.
“They’re thoroughly untrue.”
Col Rutherford said there had been no complaints from people in the locked-down Aboriginal communities of Binjari and Rockhole, 330km south of Darwin.
“On the ground the people in the communities have been great and understand we’re there to support them, to keep them safe, protect country, families and communities,” he said.
“They’ve been great ... but it’s creating a stir elsewhere and that’s attracting the attention of some of our coordinating staff who are now having to respond to this misinformation.”
He urged members of the public to be aware of the facts before sharing social media posts.
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It is almost question time – the last one for the week.
Let’s see how this one plays out.
Remember how the government (apart from five senators) voted against the Pauline Hanson anti-vaccine mandate legislation on Monday?
Well, today the government voted for this amendment, which asked for the legislation to be sent to a committee, which is not so far away from what the government opposed earlier in the week.
At the end of the motion, add: “and, in respect of the COVID-19 Vaccination Status (Prevention of Discrimination) Bill 2021, the bill be referred immediately to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee for inquiry and report by 1 February 2022”.
The motion was lost after the rest of the crossbench voted with Labor and the Greens.
Religious discrimination committee motion hits snag
The government tried to send the religious discrimination bill to the government controlled legal affairs committee, when Labor and the crossbench thought it was going to go to a joint committee (both the house and the senate).
The bill is still in the house (debate was adjourned until next week) but this was an attempt to get ahead of when it arrives in the senate.
So the government tried to send the bill to a committee it controlled and have it report on 1 February.
So the vote happened and it was 25 to 25 – which means the government lost the vote (so no inquiry at this stage).
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What Bridget Archer did today, was actual conviction.
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Helen Haines:
We were prevented by an undemocratic technicality. The prime minister and the government are standing in the way now of not only the will of the people but the will of the parliament.
This is an extraordinary moment, I think, in the history of the House of Representatives. That we can have a vote of 66-64 in favour of bringing on debate of the most important bill this nation needs and we were defeated on a technicality, a technicality of the prime minister’s doing.
It’s absolutely clear now that this prime minister, this government, does not wish to instigate a federal integrity commission.
Right now, if we were not under the absolute majority pandemic rules, we would be debating and voting on my bill. Today you saw, I think, the absolute lioness of the 46th parliament and that woman is the member for Bass, Bridget Archer.
Bridget Archer is a true Liberal. Bridget Archer today walked across the aisle for the single most important thing that any parliamentarian could do. She walked across the aisle to vote for integrity in this parliament.
She walked across the aisle to make sure that her constituents knew that, that the nation knew, that she stands for accountability, transparency, decency and honour in parliament. She truly is a hero.
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Helen Haines and members of the crossbench are now holding a press conference about what happened this morning.
They are not overly impressed with the government for denying the vote.
To be fair, this is me on a fairly regular basis in this place:
worth seeing this one in video form pic.twitter.com/sIbOZ6WOmM
— Huw Parkinson (@rabbitandcoffee) November 25, 2021
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The house and senate have moved on to more sedate matters.
For those counting though, Bridget Archer was the seventh government MP to cross the floor this week across the two houses.
The last parliament sitting of the year is always a bit chaotic. And having a new Speaker hasn’t helped.
We saw it when the medevac legislation (since repealed) passed against the government’s will though too. The government went on to win the next election. One chaotic sitting does not an election outcome make. Just something to keep in mind.
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The Australian Catholics Bishop Conference has welcomed the religious discrimination bill. From its statement:
Archbishop Peter A Comensoli, chair of the Bishops Commission for Life, Family and Public Engagement, has commended the bill, saying it offers ‘a positive expression of religious freedom’ that will be ‘an important progression towards parity with other anti-discrimination laws in Australia’.
“Federal and state anti-discrimination legislation protects Australians from discrimination on the basis of a wide array of attributes,” he said.
“However, discrimination on the basis of religious belief or activity is only inconsistently acknowledged and protected against.
“All Australian citizens, regardless of their religious belief or activity, should be able to participate fully in our society. They must be entitled to the equal and effective protection of the law and should not be discriminated against on the basis of their religious belief or activities in public life.”
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Lisa Fitzpatrick says the debate around Victoria’s pandemic bill “has swung into at times toxic political territory focusing on personalities and revenge rather than on protecting Victorians and our health workforce”.
Meanwhile beyond exhausted nurses and midwives feel taken for granted while the critics pretend the pandemic is over. We are furious at this self-indulgence. We need our politicians and the community to care for nurses and midwives so they can care for them.”
This morning unions representing nurses, midwives, doctors, paramedics and patient transport staff held a press conference to urge Victorian politicians to remember the bill should be about health in their last-minute pandemic bill negotiations.
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (Victorian Branch), the Australian Medical Association Victoria, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation and the Victorian Ambulance Union are confident the bill provides the equivalent powers as the legislation of other Australian states. In a statement, the unions said:
It provides the health minister with the critical ability to receive expert health advice and to respond quickly and decisively. These decisions cannot be made via a committee and must be entrusted to the elected position rather than a committee. The health unions also believe the bill provides appropriate transparency and accountability.
They say without the new pandemic laws the state government will not be able to quickly respond to sharp increases in hospitalisations by pausing or re-introducing some restrictions; require aged care, healthcare workers and others to have the Covid-19 booster; or require Covid-19 positive people to isolate until they no longer pose a risk.
It would also be difficult to contain an outbreak in a small town with no mechanism to isolate the population, the union say, or to implement different levels of isolation according to vaccination status.
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Here is how some of that played out in the house, as seen by Mike Bowers:
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For those who are confused, an “absolute majority” is 76.
Which is why even though the crossbench had the majority, it didn’t have an absolute majority (which is needed under the standing orders to suspend debate).
So the vote has been held again, and the crossbench and Labor, with Bridget Archer, win again, but this time Andrew Wallace remembers to say “absolute majority” and so the government loses the vote, but the motion still fails.
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The independents are sitting around Bridget Archer, like an honour guard. Or protection from some of the looks she is receiving from the government MPs. Hard to say.
Anthony Albanese is sitting in the prime minister’s chair, signalling to the photographers to take his photo.
Peter Dutton can be seen mouthing the word “hubris”.
Scott Morrison has mostly had his back turned and is facing his backbench.
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So this is very confusing and this may not be entirely right, but what I think is happening is this.
Andrew Wallace declared the vote for the Noes which was the crossbench, but without saying they needed an absolute majority. So he gave the win, but without the caveat, and given his rulings determine what the house does, it gave the crossbench and Labor to argue they may have actually won.
It just makes it look like chaos on the floor of the parliament, which is why Anthony Albanese currently looks like he just heard the Rabbitohs won the premiership.
Bob Katter stands up:
“Clearly a lot of us are confused. I don’t know what is happening,” he says.
He has no point of order, so he is sat down.
Labor is now saying the vote needs to be recommitted.
Former speaker Tony Smith is not moving a single facial muscle as this plays out.
Tony Burke is pointing out that Andrew Wallace has declared the noes as having won the motion, without having declared the question/outcome.
Peter Dutton is now trying to back in Wallace, while telling him what he needs to do.
Burke is arguing against him
It is, as they say, a complete mess on the floor right now.
Kevin Andrews is trying to tell Andrew Wallace what he should be doing.
Wallace is checking.
Josh Frydenberg had a very long chat with Bridget Archer as she made her way across the chamber to vote with the crossbench.
George Christensen voted with the government (he’s voting on his conscience at the moment) so did Llew O’Brien who has previously, publicly said he would consider crossing the floor.
Speaker Andrew Wallace is really struggling with what comes next, and what question is being put to the house.
Kevin Andrews is trying to seek the call.
It’s a bit of a mess.
Motion to suspend standing orders is defeated
Ayes 63
Noes 66
So the motion to suspend standing orders is defeated.
The speaker seems a little confused about what comes next.
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The entire crossbench, including Craig Kelly is voting to suspend standing orders, along with Labor and Bridget Archer.
It looks like Llew O’Brien is on the government benches for this vote.
With Bridget Archer on board, the crossbench just needs one more government MP to cross the floor to suspend standing orders to bring on the debate.
Both Andrew Wilkie and Bob Katter have interrupted Paul Fletcher to basically say, get on with it, and they want to have a debate on Helen Haines’ bill, not the government one.
Fletcher runs out of time to clear up what he says are ‘misconceptions’ with the government bill.
The house divides.
Bob Katter takes a very round about way to say he will be supporting the suspension of standing orders to bring on the debate.
It is, as always, a ride.
Paul Fletcher confirms the government WILL NOT be supporting the motion, as it doesn’t believe the Haines bill covers things off.
He says the government bill is ready to be introduced (that would be the one that no thinks actually addresses the issue)
Rebekha Sharkie is also in support of the bill. She commends Bridget Archer for her move, and says other members of the government who have privately expressed they feel the same way as Archer should show the same courage.
Llew O’Brien has previously said publicly he would consider crossing the floor on this issue.
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Here is Helen Haines on why she is moving this motion now:
I am moving to suspend standing orders in the House to get my bill to create the Australian Federal Integrity Commission. We have waited too long for an integrity commission.
— Helen Haines MP (@helenhainesindi) November 24, 2021
I have watched scandal after scandal go uninvestigated, with no independent watchdog on the beat.
— Helen Haines MP (@helenhainesindi) November 24, 2021
Each day that we delay is another day of deterioration of trust in this place, and among the Australian people.
Each day, it becomes harder to claw back that trust.
There are only 4 sitting days left this year. We may not be back again. This might be our last chance.
— Helen Haines MP (@helenhainesindi) November 24, 2021
If someone is serious about an integrity commission, they would write a bill to set it up.
They would table it. They would bring it on for debate.
That’s what I have done.
The Government has acted very differently.
— Helen Haines MP (@helenhainesindi) November 24, 2021
An endless merry-go-round of consultation.
Shutting down debate in the House.
Shutting down debate in the Senate.
It’s clear the Government is ignoring the will of the people.
And now, it’s obstructing the will of the Parliament.
Bridget Archer did preview she could do this, as Sarah Martin reported:
Australia’s overseas spy service has revealed that the former deputy commissioner of the NSW police force, Catherine Burn, is now its deputy director-general.
The Australian Secret Intelligence Service (Asis) decided to publicly reveal the identities of its two deputy directors general (previously only the director-general, Paul Simon, was publicly disclosed). Burn’s appointment occurred in April 2018, but has only been revealed now.
The Asis website has been updated to say: “Catherine was appointed ASIS’s Deputy-Director General Capability & Corporate Management in April 2018. Prior to this, Catherine had a distinguished career with the New South Wales Police Force (NSWPF) reaching the rank of Deputy Commissioner.”
The other Deputy-Director General (for Operations) is Fabio Meloni, a long-time foreign affairs official.
A report by the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security - tabled in parliament this week - explained this disclosure: “For the purposes of the 2019-20 No. 19 Review, the ASIS Director-General advised the Committee of his decision pursuant to s.41(b)(ii) of the IS Act to publicly declare the identities of the two Deputy Directors-General of ASIS. This declaration is reflected in the official witness list for the classified hearings for these reviews from April 2021, and the Committee acknowledges the trust placed in the Administration and Expenditure Review process with the formal identification of Mr Fabio Meloni and Ms Catherine Burn through this mechanism.”
Zali Steggall is also pushing for the suspension of standing orders.
Labor will also support it.
Second Coalition backbencher crosses the floor
The member for Bass, Bridget Archer, has crossed the floor (a day after George Christensen did it) to allow debate on Helen Haine’s federal Icac bill.
Archer says it is isn’t perfect, but it deserves debate.
The government defeated a similar motion Rex Patrick made in the Senate yesterday, so Archer’s move is not insignificant, given the numbers in the house.
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Over in the house, Helen Haines is attempting to suspend standing orders to bring about a debate on her (and the crossbenchers) federal Icac bill.
Government backbencher, Bridget Archer has seconded the motion.
Scott Morrison in his speech spoke about the need for people of faith to treat others as they would want to be treated.
Which is a core tenet of many faiths.
Cool.
But then, he moved on to “cancel culture” and social media, and how it was impacting people of faith:
Many people from various religious traditions are concerned about the lack of religious protection against the prevalence of cancel culture in Australian life.
It’s true, it’s there, it’s real. Mr Speaker, the citizens of liberal democracies should never be fearful about what they believe, the lives they lead, or the god they follow if, indeed, they choose to follow one or acknowledge one at all. Australians shouldn’t have to worry about looking over their shoulder, fearful of offending an anonymous person on Twitter, cowardly sitting there, abusing and harassing them for their faith, or transgressing against political or social zeitgeists.
We have to veer away from the artificial, phoney conflicts, boycotts, controversies and cancelling created by anonymous and cowardly bots, bigots and bullies.
This is from a government that is attempting to whitewash Australia’s history in the school curriculum to focus on the “positives”, while right-wing culture warriors whip up frenzies about school materials designed to make learning environments inclusive and safe. Not to mention what LGBTIQ people, particularly those from the trans community, are subjected to every single day – and not just on social media, but in actual media.
This is a country, led by the same Coalition government, which chased a young Muslim woman out of the country for a one-sentence social media post. The “artificial phoney conflicts, boycotts, controversies and cancelling” Morrison is speaking about, overwhelmingly have been in response to attacks on marginalised communities. We know about those who have been “cancelled” because they go on to whine about it on television, columns, radio shows and parliament, while those who are the actual victims of those attacks struggle to have their voices heard.
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The Australian Academy of Science has elected Prof Chennupati Jagadish as its 20th president.
Jagadish, a nanotechnology expert and distinguished professor at the Australian National University, is one of the world’s leading physicists.
He has helped develop semi-conductors used in LED lights and has designed some of the world’s smallest lasers.
Jagadish arrived in Australia in 1990 to take up a position as a researcher, and will become the AAS’s first president of Indian heritage. After completing his PhD at the University of Delhi, he received 300 rejection letters before landing his first role.
In a statement, Jagadish said:
I never imagined when I came to Australia with a two-month-old baby and two-year contract 31 years ago, that one day I’d be elected a Fellow of the Academy and then go on to lead the organisation.
The AAS, an organisation of Australia’s top research scientists, provides independent scientific advice to parliament.
Jagadish will commence the role as president in May 2022.
He said:
I look forward to leading that work and being a champion for the cause of science and scientific excellence.
As a nation, we must adequately invest in research and development to meet national and global challenges, such as climate change and future pandemics.
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On the flip side the human rights law centre wants the parliament to oppose it:
“Our laws should protect people of faith and no faith from discrimination, without granting religious organisations new licence to discriminate against others. Women, LGBTIQ+ communities, people with disability, school students and people of faith should not fear unfair treatment and harm. The Morrison government’s proposed law fails on all fronts,” Adrianne Walters, the centre’s legal director said.
The bill has far-reaching implications for all people in Australia. It contains alarming provisions that have never been seen in Australian anti-discrimination laws. It goes far beyond the important goal of protecting people of faith from discrimination and in doing so, it fails to fairly balance the right to equality with the freedom of religion.
Of particular concern are provisions that:
- Allow people to make derogatory, offensive and harmful statements of belief, including in workplaces, schools and health services, and that override federal, state and territory anti-discrimination laws, thereby denying victims an important avenue for justice.
- Grant unprecedented licence to religious bodies, including schools and charities, to discriminate against people of a different faith or no faith in a range of circumstances.
- Attempt to override new legislation before the Victorian Parliament that seeks to provide better protections against discrimination for LGBTQ+ people, women and others.
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The Ai Group is happy with parts of the religious discrimination bill which have been removed:
“Industry welcomes the removal from the Religious Discrimination Bill 2021 of the unworkable provisions relating to employer conduct rules concerning employee statements of belief,” Innes Willox, chief executive of the national employer association Ai Group, said today.
Ai Group’s submissions on two earlier exposure drafts of the bill raised significant concerns about the previous provisions which would have severely constrained an employer’s ability to maintain appropriate standards of conduct in the workplace in respect of ‘statements of belief’ made by an employee.
Employers are rightly focussed on ensuring that their workplaces embrace diversity, inclusion and tolerance and it is important that the rights of all employees are respected. Any statements made in the workplace must meet appropriate standards of conduct. The bill now protects this important principle.
Ai Group supports freedom of religion. The bill appropriately outlaws discrimination on the grounds of religious belief or activities (similar to the anti-discrimination laws in most states and territories).
We thank the government for its consultative approach as the proposals in the bill evolved. The consultation process turned what would have been impossible proposals for employers into a workable outcome. We look forward to participating in the parliamentary inquiry that will be held into the provisions of the bill.
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As for George Christensen saying he “abhors violence”, and never called for it, or incited it and “never would”, I guess he has forgotten about the time he posted himself pointing a gun three years ago, with the caption “you gotta ask yourself, do you feel lucky, greenie punks?”
When people rightly complained, he fell back on the old sense of humour defence.
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George Christensen 'clarifies' Hitler, Mao, Stalin comments
George Christensen has made a personal explanation to the house about his 90-second speech yesterday
[I refer to] reports and claims that I directly compared state premiers to Stalin, Mao, Hitler and Pol Pot. I wish to inform the House I did not.
I said the path they’re on was troubling. If there is concern over any misrepresentation that I did say that, then that’s regrettable.
Further, there’s been false reports in the Senate, on social media and elsewhere that I called for, and/or incited violence.
I did no such thing. Never did. Never would. I abhor violence. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker.
Here is what Christensen said yesterday:
The totalitarian regimes responsible for the most heinous atrocities in the 20th century – think Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Pol Pot – didn’t get there overnight. They used fear to control. They excluded the dirty people, softly at first. They justified the exclusion.
They moved to harder exclusions and eventually eliminated people either socially or physically.
In 21st century Australia state premiers are racing down that familiar path, trying to out-tyrant each other, drunk on power, setting up their own biosecurity police states complete with medical apartheid.
Sadly, we have enabled it, refusing to rein them in and, worse, supplying the Australian Immunisation Register data that underpins this medical apartheid.
Fear is a justification of choice for coercion and control, with non-vaccinated Australians increasingly demonised, ostracised and socially eradicated.
In Queensland the premier tweeted that people not vaccinated raise red flags – not just one, but 22 of them.
In the media politicians and health bureaucrats all claim Covid-19 is now a pandemic of the unvaccinated, but there is no justification for such demonisation. In a German study, 55% of symptomatic patients over 60 were fully vaccinated. Gibraltar, where all 34,000 residents are fully vaccinated, is recording 60 new cases a day.
The totalitarian path we are unquestionably on has never ended well. The solution is a rediscovery of human dignity, along with – and I don’t say this lightly – civil disobedience.
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The bill is commended to the House, and the debate is adjourned.
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Scott Morrison:
Sadly, every faith faces its share of bigotry against people of faith.
The treasurer and his colleagues, sadly, know too much about this in their own personal lives and in their own communities.
And I particularly acknowledge all those of the Jewish faith is a great shame that the treasurer of our country, has to be offered personal protection, not because he’s the treasurer, but because he’s a Jew.
(And yet some elements of the anti-vaccine mandate protests seek to fuel that bigotry. The same protests members of the government, including the prime minister, have “both sided”.)
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Scott Morrison:
The bill is about creating a bigger space for everyone in our national lives to be themselves, who they believe, what they believe, free of discrimination, coercion and judgment.
That is our Australian way and always has been so.
The bill recognises that religious bodies, religious schools must be free to uphold the tenets of their faith, and the ethos that makes this school, a community and is a recognition of the sacrifices parents make to educate their children in accordance with their values and beliefs, and the choices they have made for their children’s education.
As many schools schools have said throughout this process, faith is caught not taught.
The bill protects the fundamental right for religious schools to hire religious staff to maintain their religious ethos in accordance with a publicly available policy.
This protection will be able to override state or territory laws which seeks to interfere with that right …
Nothing in this bill, I stress, Mr Speaker, nothing in this bill allows for any form of discrimination against a student on the basis of their sexuality or gender identity. You won’t find anything of that nature in this bill. Such discrimination has no place in our education system.
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A reminder though, that this bill is going straight to a Senate inquiry. It won’t be passed this sitting.
And the conservatives in the Coalition don’t think it goes far enough, and the moderates are uncomfortable with provisions which could override discrimination protections in state laws.
So while the speech dresses it up as getting the balance right, there are those in Scott Morrison’s own party room who disagree. So to an inquiry it goes, for more consultation.
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Scott Morrison is using this speech as another reset – he is on solid ground and speaking directly to the people he believes he needs to reach – a lot of them who live in the NSW electorates the government is desperate to either hold on to or win.
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Scott Morrison:
It is therefore no wonder that people of faith and religion have played such a prominent role in the creation and establishment of free societies. The underpinning principles of our free societies – indeed, the notion of liberty itself, Mr Speaker – draws heavily from the roots of faith, religion and faith and is also about humility and vulnerability.
It is about love. It is about compassion.
It is about speaking the truth in love as the Scriptures say. It recognises the sanctity and dignity of every single human thing.
It is about the heart, Mr Speaker, it’s about the soul, and it’s about the spirit.
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Scott Morrison:
Mr Speaker, a free society is a tolerant society.
In a free society, we don’t go around imposing our views on each other or seeking to injure one another with those views.
People should not be cancelled, or persecuted or vilified, because their beliefs are different from someone else’s in a free liberal democratic society such as Australia.
The whole point of faith, Mr Speaker, is choice.
It is the action of free will and is for this reason free societies typically have had a strong tradition of faith. Faith and freedom have been so inseparable in the formation of liberal democracies all around the world.
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Scott Morrison introduces religious discrimination bill to the House
Parliament has begun and Scott Morrison is on his feet, bringing the religious discrimination bill into the House:
The protection of what we choose to believe in a free society is essential to our freedom. And so it is only right we should expect what we sincerely believe should be afforded the same protection from discrimination in a free liberal democracy as any protected attributes of our humanity …
This bill puts this right, it is sensible and balanced and I commend the attorney on the work she has done in ensuring that it is sensible and balanced.
[This bill] is the product of a tolerant and mature society that understands the importance of faith and belief to a free society, while not seeking to impose those beliefs or ever seek to injure others in the expression of those beliefs.
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Andrew Giles stopped by doors this morning, with one of Labor’s messages for the day:
George Christensen made a vile, disgusting and indeed dangerous contribution in the parliament. He compared jurisdictions in Australia to places they simply should not be compared to. And he concluded with an incitement to civil disobedience.
Let’s think about the context right now – where we have seen in my home state gallows displayed on Victoria’s parliament. We’ve seen threats to elected officials and their families, including threats to kill.
At this moment, Australia’s prime minister should stand up for our democracy. He should stand up for the safety of Australians – whether it’s by supporting unequivocally the vaccine rollout, or supporting unequivocally our democracy and the right of every Australian to safely go about their work.
He should call out George Christensen instead of talking in mealy mouthed terms about understanding the frustrations of protesters, and continuing to cuddle up to extremists. We see this in the parliament too, because it’s not just about George Christensen’s behaviour – the prime minister won’t stand up to anyone. He won’t stand up to anyone, so he can’t be trusted to keep Australians safe and to make the decisions that he needs to make.
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Scott Morrison will soon introduce the religious discrimination bill into the House.
Sarah Martin and Paul Karp have the latest on the legislation, here:
The Daily Telegraph says Morrison will link the bill to “cancel culture” in his speech.
Because that is absolutely an issue outside of conservative minds.
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More than one-in-two retail workers are experiencing increased hostility and abuse from customers, according to a new report from the Australian National University and the University of Sydney.
The report is one of the first to look at the impacts of the pandemic on essential workers thrown into the frontline with little preparation and a high risk of exposure to the virus.
Pandemic Pressures: Job Security and Customer Relations for Retail Workers highlights the challenges faced by retail, fast-food and distribution workers during the pandemic and lockdowns, as well as Covid-19’s impact on job security and worker-customer relations.
Lead author Prof Ariadne Vromen, from the ANU Crawford school of public policy, said 56% of retail workers had experienced a notable increase in customer abuse during the pandemic.
“The experiences and concerns of these workers have tended to be overlooked or underestimated by the media and governments, relative to other frontline workers,” she said.
“Questions remain about why there has been continued job insecurity and unpredictable hours in such a significant sector, and why workers were not redeployed into new online sales and warehouse roles.
“Women, linguistically diverse people and young people working in retail were also much more likely to report increased customer abuse during the pandemic, while also being much more likely to say they felt stressed enforcing customer Covid-19 safety compliance.”
The report is the result of a representative online survey of more than 1,100 retail, fast-food and distribution workers in September during the height of lockdowns in many parts of Australia. The researchers also conducted 30 interviews with senior stakeholders from across the industry.
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Victoria records 1,254 new Covid cases and five deaths; NSW reports 276 cases and no deaths
NSW and Victoria have released their Covid reports:
NSW COVID-19 update – Thursday 25 November 2021
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) November 24, 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
- 92.1% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/IxJupaMFCb
We thank everyone who got vaccinated and tested yesterday.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) November 24, 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/Od9P5vcTrI
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The House will sit at 9.30am, for those wondering.
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A special Victorian Roy Morgan SMS poll shows 76% of Victorians agree that an employed worker in Victoria should not be allowed to enter their employer’s workplace unless fully vaccinated, compared with only 24% that disagree.
Agreement with this policy is consistently strong across gender, age and location, although there are significant political differences, the poll found.
An almost unanimous 96% of Labor supporters agree with the policy, compared with 91.5% of Greens supporters, 55% of Coalition supporters and just 4% of supporters of Clive Palmer’s United Australia party.
Support for the ALP on a two-party-preferred basis increased to 59.5%.
The ALP has increased its two-party-preferred lead almost 20 percentage points. Labor is now on 59.5% (up 1.5 points since mid-November 2021), compared with the LNP on 40.5% (down 1.5 points).
Approval for Daniel Andrews increased despite protests. The survey found 63.5% of Victorian electors now approve of the way the premier is handling his job, up three points from mid-November 2021 while a minority of 36.5%, down three points, disapprove.
Support for the minor parties is largely unchanged from mid-November, with total support at 15.5%, up 0.5 points. Support is highest for Clive Palmer’s United Australia party on 4% (up 1 points) ahead of Derryn Hinch’s Justice party unchanged on 2%, while an unchanged 3.5% of people support other parties. Support for independents is at 6%, down 0.5 points from mid-November.
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But the bill could still be used as a “sword”, depending on the sexuality of staff.
Stoker:
Let’s think about how this works in practice. If a teacher applies to work at a school, whether it’s Christian, or Islamic, or whether it’s Jewish or any other, and they apply to work at a school that’s got a clearly stated policy …
Kelly: That’s what I’m asking, can that policy say we don’t employ gay teachers? I mean, if this Christian school is looking at the employment of a Christian teacher and their Christian teacher happens to be gay, can that disqualify them from employment? Is that allowed under this bill?
Stoker:
Look, I think that is something that would depend a great deal upon what that school is prepared to be upfront with the community about now. I’d suggest there would be very few schools that that want to be in a position where they’ve got to say to the community, that this is what we believe and we’re not going to hire people, unless they subscribe to a version of belief that is very, very strict on that front.
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The “shield, not a sword” line is one Scott Morrison has been using, which has been adopted by almost the entire party room.
But the reason it is going to a Senate committee is because not everyone within the Coalition’s own ranks is happy with the bill.
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Here’s why Trent Zimmerman wants the Sex Discrimination Act loopholes dealt with now.
From Amanda Stoker’s interview this morning with Fran Kelly on ABC RN:
Kelly: The bill is dense, people are still getting across it. But a lot of the focus, and I know the focus in the discussion your party room is on how gay teachers and students will fare under this legislation. The attorney general has conceded that under the current law, teachers can be sacked because of their sexual discrimination. That’s a sexual orientation, that’s under the sex discrimination law. Will it still be the case, under the religious discrimination bill?
Stoker:
The religious discrimination bill covers slightly different territory. It provides that it is unlawful to discriminate on the grounds of religious belief or activity or indeed someone’s non-belief in areas like employment, education, provision of goods and services. But what the government has committed to do is to meet the commitment it made some time ago, to work through with the Australian Law Reform Commission, a way forward that involves moving, particularly in relation to students, those provisions in the Sex Discrimination Act that create that risk. Noting that, you know, overwhelmingly, when you talk to faith-based schools have all different kinds of backgrounds, they’re all saying I don’t want to do this to students and teachers, overwhelmingly, they like to include and support pastorally.
Kelly: Overwhelmingly they might, but there is evidence that some schools do and teachers have been sacked for their sexuality and the students have been kicked out too.
Stoker:
Look, I’m not going to split hairs over that.
Kelly: That’s not splitting hair, that’s the whole point of this argument that’s happening within your party room. I mean, your colleague, Fiona Martin, who’s a psychologist, works with kids and teenagers, is saying the Sex Discrimination Act should be amended now to stop it happening. Why not get it done now, rather than wait for a review for another year? The prime minister made this promise at a byelection in Wentworth in 2018. That’s, you know, waiting up to a third election since then.
Stoker:
Look, we’ve made the commitment both to bring in the religious discrimination act, and to deal with those provisions in the Sex Discrimination Act. It’s important we do them well, and that we do them in a way that brings people with us. And so that’s exactly what we’re doing. We also took the religious discrimination act to an election, as you’ll recall. We’ve had an elaborate consultation process and it’s ready to go.
But the matters for which colleagues, and different parts of the community seeking change around the Sex Discrimination Act, remain on the table, and they remain matters that we are committed to pursue. And this has to be done in two different pieces. And they are in different acts. That makes sense. But the commitment is clear.
We need to make sure that people from a religious perspective, or indeed a right not to believe perspective, don’t face discrimination. And it’s very important that in doing so, we make it clear that we are not permitting or authorising or empowering discrimination on the basis of any other protected attribute. It’s worth thinking of this bill, not as a sword to use against others, but a shield to use to protect from discrimination.
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Trent Zimmerman, one of the Coalition moderates, wants the government to fix the Sex Discrimination Act – now.
It’s in the frame of the religious discrimination bill – moderates, like Zimmerman, want stronger protections for children, no matter their sexuality, and don’t see why there needs to be a year-long wait for the Australian Law Commission to review the law:
My view is there’s no earthly reason why we can’t be getting on with this now, rather than putting in place a review that will go for longer than 12 months.
Because it is disturbing that still today a school could exercise those rights to expel a student because of their sexuality. As someone who has personally lived through this, that fear of action by your school during that extraordinarily difficult time in your life, when you’re coming to terms with your sexuality is something that can have a profound impact on a young person.
Scott Morrison had promised as a “priority” to fix legislation which could see LGBTIQ students discriminated against because of their sexuality in 2018 when it was all about the Wentworth byelection.
Here he is in 2018:
.@ScottMorrisonMP on changing laws allowing schools to expel gay students: Religious schools don't want to expel students on this basis. However, the Coalition is looking to close this loop hole as soon as possible.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) October 13, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/6W5xmLQzim #SkyLiveNow pic.twitter.com/LKn6XGgKhc
Three years later we are still talking about it.
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Amanda Stoker, who lost the preselection battle with James McGrath, despite the prime minister’s support, and has been relegated to the third place on the LNP ticket, is also in a fight to stay in the Senate. She is up against Campbell Newman, who is now a member of the Liberal Democrat party, which is getting support from Clive Palmer’s party (you can bet his advertising dollars will be used to cement that alliance) as well as One Nation and the Greens (presuming the polling is right and Labor’s vote has recovered in Queensland).
How worried is Stoker this could be one of her last times in Canberra?
Look, I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about delivering for sensible and, and reasonable concerns for Queenslanders. And so I’m getting on with the job. I’m not counting numbers.
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Queensland senator Amanda Stoker, the assistant minister to the attorney general, was on ABC radio RN talking about the religious discrimination bill, which Scott Morrison will introduce today.
She was asked about the statement of belief clause, as well as who schools would be able to hire (and possibly fire) under the protections the bill offers:
Statement of belief is the ability of a person to politely and respectfully and, without inciting violence, state what they believe to others, without fear that they will be dragged for a tribunal accused of having discriminated for stating they genuinely held good faith, religious belief.
That’s what statement of belief is.
The matter in relation to schools is a bit different. I think as a matter of principle, it should be the case that a school who can show that they have a belief set that is justified from the core of their religious beliefs that they are prepared to make public and that they are prepared to be upfront about with people who apply to work in a place should be able to require that people act consistently with it.
Now for many people, they’ll look at that and go, ‘Well, you know, that’s, that’s pretty intense. That might not be somewhere I want to work.’ Other people will say, ‘That’s the way I think, and that’s a way that I want to believe.’ But if we look at the big picture here, what these schools do is provide education in a, in an environment in, in a school culture that is shaped by the fact of the way that really just belief is implemented across that community.
And if you take away the ability of a school to be able to lever a community that’s based on that, then you might as well just have public schools across the board, because parents and teachers and students won’t be getting anything different from the private school sector.
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Daniel Hurst also has the latest on where Australia is at with the IP waiver for Covid vaccines:
The Australian trade minister is pessimistic about an imminent deal to waive intellectual property on Covid-19 vaccines, as he prepares to fly to Geneva for crucial World Trade Organization talks next week.
Dan Tehan’s planned travel comes amid accusations the Australian government has been “trying to have it both ways” by backing the proposed waiver but not co-sponsoring it at the WTO.
The idea – proposed by India and South Africa a year ago in a bid to speed up vaccine delivery to low-income countries – would allow for cheaper generic versions to be manufactured in developing nations.
But it has yet to be approved, despite support from more than 100 countries including the US.
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AAP has a bit more on the Byron Bay hostel lockdown:
More than 80 backpackers at a Byron Bay hostel on the NSW north coast have been placed into a week-long lockdown after a guest tested positive to COVID-19.
The lockdown comes as thousands of celebrating school leavers are due to arrive in Byron Bay and other parts of northern NSW over the next month from this weekend.
Ballina MP Tamara Smith posted on Facebook on Wednesday night about the situation at the Aquarius Backpackers.
“I’m closely monitoring a situation in Byron Bay this evening where a positive COVID-19 case and 84 close contacts have been identified at Aquarius Backpackers in Byron Bay,” she said.
NSW Health has locked down the hostel for seven days, impacting 84 guests.
“I’m told [they are] being supported with food, health and support,” Ms Smith said.
NSW Police have placed a 24-hour guard on the hostel to ensure compliance.
“My thoughts are with everyone in that situation as it will be a tough time,” Ms Smith said.
Thousands of HSC students are about to descend on the resort town for schoolies celebrations.
Some 80.9 per cent of residents in the Byron Bay local government area are fully vaccinated. Although high, the coverage rate lags the state average of 92 per cent.
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Good morning
It’s the last sitting day of the first week of the sitting and probably no one is more excited about the prospect of a small break from parliament than Scott Morrison.
What was meant to be a triumphant return to form after three weeks on the quasi-campaign trail has instead been a bit of a horror show for the government. Morrison created an own goal early on in the week by claiming he’d told Anthony Albanese where he was going on holidays during the bushfires, which he doubled down on when Albanese denied it, before finally admitting that no, he hadn’t. That set the tone. Since then he’s been dealing with an increasingly rebellious backbench, senators running amok in the upper house, questions on pairs, lower house MPs threatening to cross the floor/withhold their vote (George Christensen did cross the floor yesterday) and trying to walk both sides of vaccine mandates, while some of his own MPs ramp up public hostilities on the topic. All in all, not a great week for the prime minister.
Today he’ll introduce the religious discrimination bill, which started life as an election promise under religious freedoms. But even that won’t be the win it was meant to be just a few short weeks ago. Division in his party room means the bill will be going straight to a Senate committee where it’s unlikely to see the light of day again before an election, especially if the PM decides to go to the polls in March. So that’s one less commitment made and commitment met, as the PM is fond of saying. And it’s one less thing he can try and force Labor (which has its own divides on the issue) into a position on.
Meanwhile, Ccovid continues to change people’s realities. A Byron Bay hostel is in lockdown and more information is coming out about what NSW health authorities had asked for earlier on in the NSW outbreak. Victorians are still scarred and Queenslanders are nervous about the coming reopening. The Northern Territory is struggling to get outbreaks in Indigenous communities under control and anti-vaxxers are making it even harder.
We’ll bring you all the day’s news. Mike Bowers is out in the corridors and Katharine Murphy, Paul Karp, Sarah Martin Daniel Hurst all have their ears to the ground in Canberra, while the rest of the Guardian team keep you up to date with what’s happening outside of the building.
I’m having gingerbread biscuits for breakfast. But only because HR frowns upon breakfast cocktails while working.
Ready?
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