Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Lisa Cox and Amy Remeikis

Labor questions Coalition decision to cut jobseeker during 'worst recession in almost a century' – as it happened

Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison during question time
Scott Morrison has defended the government’s decision to cut the jobseeker payment amid the ongoing Covid recession. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

What we learned today, Tuesday 10 November

Parliament is winding down so we are going to leave things here for the evening. In case you missed anything today:

  • The government announced the jobseeker Covid supplement will be extended for three months to March but will drop to $150.
  • The prime minister, Scott Morrison, signalled no action would be taken against the two ministers – Christian Porter and Alan Tudge – who were the subjects of Monday night’s Four Corners. Morrison said the issues had been dealt with by the previous prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, who appeared on the program.
  • Labor’s Joel Fitzgibbon quit the shadow cabinet after a dispute about climate policy.
  • New South Wales and Victoria recorded no new locally acquired cases of Covid-19.
  • The minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, has committed, in response to questioning from Patricia Karvelas, to legislate for an Indigenous body before the next election.
  • The government voted down a Labor motion to fly the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in parliament for Naidoc week.
  • Labor put the government under pressure again about a net zero emissions target. In response to questions about whether the government will commit to such a target, Scott Morrison said the government had “an aspiration” to achieve it.

And you’re up to date. See you tomorrow.

Updated

via AAP:

A Tasmanian man has been hit with multiple criminal charges after allegedly breaking quarantine rules on the first day of his enforced hotel stay.

The 31-year-old arrived in the island state on Tuesday from Victoria having travelled south on the Spirit of Tasmania.

Police allege he smoked inside the hotel at Devonport in the island’s north-west, abused staff and continually left his room.

He was arrested after several warnings but was granted bail to appear in court at a later date and told to isolate.

However, he continued to breach restrictions and was arrested a second time.

The man was held in custody by police and was expected to appear in court on Tuesday night. He posed no coronavirus risk to the public, police say.

Updated

Western Australia’s Covid-19 update for Tuesday – two new cases related to overseas travel, zero new cases of local transmission.

Updated

Some more, via AAP, on the Senate estimates hearing that was examining the Leppington Triangle land sale:

The federal infrastructure department hired an independent auditor to do further checks on a controversial Western Sydney Airport land deal after the auditor general found problems with it.

The department in 2018 paid $30m for land worth $3m near the airport development.

The Australian federal police is investigating potential fraud involved in the deal after the auditor general, Grant Hehir, referred it to them in July.

A Senate estimates committee heard on Tuesday the department felt the initial audit left some “outstanding questions” to be resolved.

The department secretary, Simon Atkinson, said the auditor general probe was focused on “documentation”, but he was keen to find out “what happened beyond the documents”.

“There were so many direct allegations around what people knew,” he said. “We wanted a full perspective on what happened to support future management decisions and improvements.”

He said there were also questions around the “culture” of the organisation that needed to be examined.

“Any organisation that has something like this happen should look if there is a cultural element to it.”

Labor’s Penny Wong asked whether one of the officials stood aside from Western Sydney Airport had gone on to work with the multibillion-dollar Inland Rail project.

Atkinson declined to publicly comment, but offered to give evidence in private.

“We are trying to protect the privacy of the individual under investigation.”

The committee heard AFP officers had been provided with a large amount of material from the auditor general and given three names of people to interview – one currently serving official, one former official and the independent auditor.

Updated

The lobby group for the oil and gas sector – the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association – has issued a statement “saluting” the Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon after he quit the shadow cabinet.

“Mr Fitzgibbon has stood up for the resources industry as a key driver of the economy. It is an industry that provides significant wealth and investment for the nation and enables governments to deliver health, education and infrastructure commitments required for a modern economy,” Appea’s chief executive, Andrew McConville, said.

Updated

The infrastructure department secretary, Simon Atkinson, has said there is a “question around culture” in the Western Sydney unit that “should be looked at” – but he doesn’t have any evidence the whole unit has a cultural problem.

He said:

The evidence is there has been a substantial problem here [with the Leppington Triangle sale], but it may be a one-off type of activity. Many governance-type activities were embedded inside the unit, a different construct [to the rest of the department]. Any organisation that has something like this happen should look if there is a cultural element to it.

Labor’s Penny Wong attempted to probe what other areas the public servants being investigated in connection with the Leppington Triangle might be working on.

She said it was a “dubious” purchase and wanted to know if they’d worked on other projects such as the Inland Rail project.

Atkinson asked to provide the evidence in camera (in private, at the conclusion of the hearing) because it might identify the person or breach their privacy.

Updated

And on that note, I will hand over the blog to Lisa Cox for the evening shift.

Thank you to everyone who followed along today. I’ll be back early tomorrow morning.

In the meantime – take care of you.

Updated

Senate Estimates has started with Penny Wong grilling the infrastructure department about incorrect evidence about when it first became aware about concerns with the Leppington Triangle sale.

The secretary, Simon Atkinson, had told an earlier session he thought he first learned about the issue when the audit office sent through its proposed report in August.

That was incorrect – the department received “preparation papers” on 23 June that identified the problems with the purchase. Atkinson explains that he got those two stages of the audit process confused and had treated them “as one” because he was venturing his best guess.

Wong is upset, telling Atkinson he had given “incorrect evidence that you should’ve corrected”.

She then queried why it took until 21 August to set up investigations into alleged code of conduct breaches, when it had actually known “a number of months and weeks” before about allegations of misconduct or corruption involving the sale.

The deputy secretary, David Hallinan, told the hearing the department hadn’t done nothing, it had ensured that the two staff members who were impugned by the ANAO report played no further role in compiling the department’s response. HR also began to look into the issue as a “precursor” to the later code of conduct investigations.

On 14 July it responded to the ANAO – including to query whether it had taken further action such as referring the matter to the police.

Wong is now asking for a series of documents, including the briefs the ANAO found failed to warn the minister, Paul Fletcher, about the total price and the basis of the calculation.

Wong wants to know whether two briefings to Fletcher in January 2018 and July 2018 are included in the scope of code of conduct investigations.

“I want to know that every brief the minister had is being investigated properly,” she said. Officials say their expectations is the answer is yes.

Wong is concerned there are more than two public servants involved in writing the briefs. Officials have taken it on notice.

Updated

Matt Canavan has defended the government voting down having the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in the parliament for Naidoc week, at least, because ... something-something-white-people-reasoning-and-also-mining.

Canavan told the ABC:

This is the problem, Patricia, there are a lot of people that stand up at the start of the speeches and say they want to recognise the land and traditional owners, give your house back, give your land back.

Canberra has 99-year leases, it was given back to Indigenous people, if you really like that. It is all words and symbols ... let’s do practical things that can improve people’s lives.

Q: I will challenge you. A lot of people, Aboriginal people, say that they do find that acknowledgement and that it does actually mean something to them. Doesn’t that matter?

Canavan:

I find it massively hypocritical especially when you see the same politicians, often from the Labor party or the Greens, then when [they] choose to , ignoring the voices of Indigenous Australians in not including [them] on the Adani Carmichael mine where they favoured the mine and then the politicians go away and work like hell to stop the rights of Indigenous peoples being implemented.

Updated

The Morrison government will narrow the coverage of its foreign veto bill – and enshrine more details in the legislation itself – in an attempt to ease concerns of the university sector and the opposition of the reach of the planned new powers.

Guardian Australia understands the government will make two major amendments, including putting the definition of foreign universities’ institutional autonomy into the bill itself.

The other change will be requiring a review of how the new powers have operated to be completed within three years of the law coming into effect.

The definition is crucial to how far-reaching the powers as they relate to universities will be.

This is because universities will have to notify the government of any planned deals with foreign universities only if that foreign university “does not have institutional autonomy”.

The foreign affairs minister will have the discretion to block such deals if they would adversely affect Australia’s foreign relations or would be inconsistent with Australia’s foreign policy.

Originally the government had not included the definition in the bill itself and was going to leave it to the foreign minister to spell out in accompanying rules (ie by regulation) – prompting fears of a lack of adequate parliamentary scrutiny.

It is understood the new definition will say: “A university does not have institutional autonomy if the government where the university is located – whether it’s a national or sub-national government – is in a position to exercise substantial control over the university.”

And what is meant by substantial control? Apparently, it is based on factors such as who is on the university’s governing body, whether there is a law or governing body that spells out the control that can be exercised, and whether academic or research staff are required to adhere to political principles or doctrines.

The government has previously insisted the legislation is country-neutral, and that it would not be spelling out which countries will and won’t be in the frame. But based on the definition that is being discussed, universities would likely not have to notify the government about agreements they make with counterparts in countries such as the United Kingdom and United States.

The government hopes the legislation will pass both chambers of parliament by the end of this year.

Labor had been calling for changes including to address the “lack of clear definitions of critical terms”.

Updated

Meanwhile:

Updated

Federal Labor staff asked to contribute to party 'fighting fund'

The staff of federal Labor MPs and senators have been asked to contribute to a fighting fund to prepare for the next election. The party is seeking regular monthly contributions ranging from $25 to $250 per month, in addition to the long hours hard-working staff already put in.

The Labor national secretary, Paul Erickson, told Guardian Australia:

I presented at an all-staff meeting and provided Labor parliamentary staff members the plan for the development of a campaign. I invited them to sign up voluntarily to a fighting fund. The fighting fund is entirely voluntary and was presented as such – I respectfully requested staff make a contribution.

Elections aren’t solely about the quality of arguments and the organisation – and often the loudest voice in the room wins.

We are at a structural disadvantage in terms of money compared with the Coalition. This is one of a number of fundraising initiatives to build the biggest resource base possible to take on the Coalition and their many allies.

That sounded like a dig at Clive Palmer, who spent more than $60m before the last election, failing to win a single seat but dragging Labor down with a negative campaign including boosting claims it planned to introduce a death tax.

In August The Australian reported that Labor’s election war chest is set to be $15m lower than Bill Shorten took into the 2019 election, but Erickson disputed that characterisation of the financial position.

“Our campaign budget today is in a very similar position to the equivalent point in the last cycle,” he said.

The party’s other fundraising efforts involve using digital channels to seek small dollar donations.

Updated

Ken Wyatt says he will legislate for an Indigenous body

The minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, has committed, in response to questioning from Patricia Karvelas, to legislate for an Indigenous body *before* the next election.

That is not enshrining it in the constitution – but it is where the government has been heading in terms of recognition.

Wyatt:

Well, it will be, and I reflected back on this with the agency because I said to them my recollection of the establishment was this – there was an interim group until they consolidated the processes because I was announced as regional chair and I know the processes we went through in order to set up the structures.

That took a little bit of time. But, nevertheless, it gave us the opportunity to put in place an organisation that gave us, and the regional structures were brilliant because we were able to make decisions.

I think the thing we shouldn’t have had was the funding control and some of the program implementation because it let state and territory governments off the hook in that process.

This one I have already indicated to state and territory ministers that I want to link with their bodies that they have already established, that have been operating and who are voices to those state and territory governments to link with the voice.

Updated

And here is how Ed Husic, as shy and retiring as always, announced his promotion on social media (he is not on Twitter, because it can be a bin fire – particularly if you are a minority, like for example, Muslim)

Also, the music here is the Who’s Wont Get Fooled Again. I assume Husic was going for more of a CSI mood, but the song includes the lines:

We don’t get fooled again

Don’t get fooled again, no, no

Yeahhhhhhhhh

Meet the new boss

Same as the old boss

Related – I was eating hummous as I was working and snort laughed when I saw this insty post, meaning I snorted hummous. Do not recommend.

Updated

Ed Husic is Patricia Karvelas’s guest on Afternoon Briefing.

He gets the big ABC studio. Usually he is on with Tim Wilson, as part of a panel and Wilson usually gets the bigger studio (there are some government MPs who like to refer to it as the ‘government studio’, because I don’t know, private school life lessons never end I suppose, and Husic usually gets the smaller one, which is, to put it mildly, about the size of a cupboard.

But he’s at the big desk for this interview.

Here’s the crux of what he had to say:

If people look at my track record, I care a lot about policy, I think deeply about issues, but I listen to people. From my point of view, I will be spending a lot of time basically catching up with people, with those that care deeply about agriculture and resources across a wide range of areas, taking on board what they have to say and learning, but you learn through listening and that is where I will be going. But I feel strongly that both these portfolios, as I said in my remarks today, Patricia, they have contributed a lot in terms of the economy, but especially helping people pay their bills, build a family, build a great life, create a great job for themselves. I approach this job with a lot of respect for those portfolios.

Updated

From Mike Bowers’s lens to your eyeballs:

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, home affairs minister Peter Dutton and minister for population, cities and urban infrastructure Alan Tudge arrive for question time
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, home affairs minister Peter Dutton and minister for population, cities and urban infrastructure Alan Tudge arrive for question time. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
The member for Hunter, Joel Fitzgibbon, talks to the member for Chifley, Ed Husic, during question time
The member for Hunter, Joel Fitzgibbon, talks to the member for Chifley, Ed Husic, during question time. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Attorney general Christian Porter and prime minister Scott Morrison during question time
Attorney general Christian Porter and prime minister Scott Morrison during question time. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek during question time
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek during question time. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Scott Morrison leaves question time
Scott Morrison leaves question time. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Joel Fitzgibbon leaves question time
Joel Fitzgibbon leaves question time. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

If you need a laugh, type loser.com into your browser.

Not sure if we have a loser.com.au version yet, but there is time.

I mean, probably not:

Updated

Simon Birmingham says the government is “not afraid of anything” as it works on its plans for a national integrity commission.

Before Senate question time ended, the Labor senator Carol Brown contended that the government had been “dragged kicking and screaming” to release draft legislation to set up a corruption watchdog and she pointed to expert commentary that it was the weakest such body in the country.

Brown asked: “What is the Morrison government so afraid of?”

Birmingham, the leader of the government in the Senate, replied: “We’re not afraid of anything – we’re determined to get things right.”

Birmingham said it was important to strike “the right balance between indeed what are sometimes criticised as star chambers … or indeed others that are criticised in different ways”.

He said the attorney general, Christian Porter, was “carefully stepping through” those issues.

Brown then asked whether the Coalition would guarantee the body would be established before the next election. Birmingham was unable to do so, saying it would depend on the passage of the legislation. He added it would be “a brave person” who would predict how parliament would handle legislative proposals, particularly the Senate.

Updated

Question time ends.

My rage though, it only grows.

For the actual facts, rather than the comparison between rotten oranges and rotten apples Stuart Robert is attempting, head here:

Updated

Let’s just remember that the government is cutting the Covid supplement for the unemployment payment AHEAD of when the pain relief for businesses runs out. Economists expect the economy to get worse when jobkeeper is eventually cut off. It’s been cut down, but eventually the supplement will be cut.

That will be the end of the so-called ‘zombie businesses’ – ones that remain open because of jobkeeper, but won’t trade again.

Once that happens – in March – economists, and treasury watchers (and Treasury itself) expect things to get a lot worse for the Australian economy.

Unemployment will increase. And we have cut the rate for people to live on, while they go hunting for jobs, in the middle of the worst recession in 100 years.

Updated

Jacqui Lambie isn’t impressed with the Morrison government’s proposed model for a commonwealth integrity commission, including the lack of public hearings into allegations of corruption involving the public sector, and the inability to act on anonymous tip-offs from the community at large.

In Senate question time, the Tasmanian independent senator asked Marise Payne – who represents Christian Porter’s portfolio in the Senate – about the cases of former state MPs Eddie Obeid and Daryl Maguire in New South Wales and Adem Somyurek in Victoria.

Lambie’s general line of argument is that those cases may never have been investigated or become public knowledge if those states had the model of integrity commission that Porter has proposed for the federal sphere.

Payne argued the government was committed to a period of extensive public consultation after the recent release of the draft legislation. The government had carried out “very detailed planning” to ensure the body had the resources and powers needed to investigate criminal, corrupt conduct across the public sector.

“We believe that our commission … will do the task that it is required to do at the commonwealth level. It will have greater investigatory powers than a royal commission.”

Payne added that the courts would be the sole arbiter of a person’s guilt or innocence.

For more on the concerns of crossbenchers, see this story from last week:

Updated

Stuart Robert is still going back almost a decade to talk about what Labor did with Centrelink job cuts.

He is proud of what his government is doing.

Amazing how alleged events that happened on the Coalition side are dealt with as:

The matters that were the subject of last night’s report were matters that arose several years ago. They were not matters that were contemporaneous. They were matters that were raised several years ago.

But in terms of service delivery, it is let us go back almost a decade and compare things, in a completely different world, to justify what we are doing.

Updated

Stuart Robert, who contributed to keeping robodebt going until the courts said ‘what are you doing?’ is boasting about the government’s service delivery in terms of Centrelink.

Peta Murphy:

Can the minister inform the House why he still plans to close the Mornington Centrelink shopfront in March 2021 when the site received over 31,000 contacts in the 2019-20 financial year?

Robert:

As the House would know, Services Australia runs an extraordinarily diverse property portfolio.

In fact, 728,000 square metres. Services Australia runs 402 commercial properties, Services Australia runs 325 customer-facing sites. It is a large portfolio.

Now that portfolio used to be larger. In fact, it used to be 256 sites larger, which were those that Labor cut from 2009 to 2013. In fact, in 2009, 61 sites were cut. 2011-12 budget, 67 sites were cut. So I say to the member, your tactics committee has given you the hospital pass from hell when you walked in here and talk to us about sites when the colleagues of yours over there closed 256.

He is pulled up on relevance. Labor was last in government seven years ago.

Stuart:

The Mornington service centre has been extended to the extent that the lease is up at the date the member had.

We had conversations with our leaseholders as we do.

It is important to also understand that in terms of leaseholders we have 354 individual landlords that the department engages with across our 402 commercial sites and we continue to engage with them as necessary.

But in terms of service delivery, it’s important the member understands that the service delivery to her constituents will continue.

For example, it’s important the member understands that yesterday Services Australia answered 147,000 calls and on the social services and welfare line those calls were answered in 67 seconds on an average speed of answer.

I would say to the member in 2013 the average speed of answer under those opposite was 90 minutes – 90 minutes Australians waited for.

Yesterday they waited 67 seconds. That’s the difference. Now I would – that’s the difference. Now I would say to the House unfortunately this financial year ... Australians have not been able to get through on the call centre compared to when the member for Sydney was there, it was 40 million calls were not answered in the 12 months the member for Sydney was there.

So I would say to those opposite, if we’re going to have a discussion about service delivery standards, we will stand up every day and compare our 67 seconds to 90 minutes. We will compare our 47 Australians who couldn’t get through on our lines compared to 40 million. We will compare 256 closures over their ...

Updated

As part of his ‘just how safe are we – very safe’ second dixer, Peter Dutton speaks about Australia’s involvement in the Malabar naval exercises:

Last week HMAS Ballarat joined our close partners, the US navy, the Indian navy and the Japanese defence force for the Malabar naval exercises.

Australia accepted India’s invitation to take part, building on the positive momentum of our recent comprehensive strategic partnership.

It is through these strong regional partnerships that we can ensure our region continues to be secure and prosperous, and both large and small nations have their sovereignty respected.

Updated

Larissa Waters, the leader of the Greens in the Senate, has told the upper house the Four Corners broadcast revealed “a culture of sexism, coverups, abuse of power and behaviour that could constitute a breach of the ministerial standards”:

“This is the parliament’s #MeToo moment and it needs a strong response.”

Waters asked Simon Birmingham, the new leader of the government in the Senate, whether the prime minister would investigate all ministers over their compliance with standards, and whether he would stand aside Alan Tudge and Christian Porter pending an investigation.

Birmingham said it was “important that we have high standards and that they are adhered to”. He encouraged parliamentary staff to contact the Department of Finance to raise complaints about sexual harassment.

Waters contended, however, that the existing complaints process was little known and weak, because it required mediation with the boss and the finance department could not take action against parliamentarians.

Birmingham urged Waters “not to undermine the process that exists that is independent of government and does allow a confidential complaint to be raised”. The new finance minister said he was happy to organise a briefing by his department.

In a third question, Waters asked whether people should have confidence in Porter, as attorney general, being responsible for implementing the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Respect@Work sexual harassment inquiry.

Birmingham said he was sure the government would respond to that inquiry in the usual way, including consultation across all relevant areas of government. That would include the department of Marise Payne, the minister for women.

Updated

Scott Morrison then goes back to the dispatch box to talk about how the best form of welfare is a job.

It’s not. That’s a furphy. Welfare is what you have when you don’t have a job. A job is a job. It’s not welfare. It is nothing like welfare.

It’s a phrase Tony Abbott used to say, but it has really come to prominence under Scott Morrison – he also enjoyed saying it as treasurer.

But it doesn’t make sense. You can help people into work, but that is not welfare. Welfare is the safety net when you DON’T have a job.

It’s Orwellian phrases like that which make it easy for most of society (and I say most, based on voting patterns of the last 20 years) to keep demonising those on unemployment payments.

Unemployment is a failure of the economy. It means the private sector is struggling. But we also build in a certain amount of unemployment into our economy. We consider about 5% unemployment – still half a million people or so – to be ‘full employment’. We actually build that in to the decisions we make.

So government policy keeps people unemployed. It’s part of the mechanisms.

And then we give them nothing to live on, less money than they need to actually look for work, and tell them to go get a job.

Scott Morrison during question time today
Scott Morrison during question time today. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

Angus Taylor is speaking, and honestly, this day has already been too much.

Updated

Josh Frydenberg is again trying to explain why the government is plunging Australians deeper into poverty, which is horrendous at any time, but particularly during a recession. There is no justification. And to try to explain it as ‘an extension’ and not a cut, is insulting.

Frydenberg:

I can inform her that what we have done today is extend the jobseeker coronavirus supplement at a cost of $3.2bn.

I would say to the honourable member if you look in the budget papers announced on October 6 there wasn’t an extension of the jobseeker coronavirus supplement from January to March. There wasn’t. But today we announced an extension at $3.2bn. It is $150 a fortnight.

And the reason why we are tapering down these payments of jobseeker and jobkeeper is because the Australian recovery is recovering.

The honourable member may be interested to know that at the peak of this pandemic the effective unemployment across this country was 15%.

Right now today it is 9.4%. But if you take out Victoria, where we’ve seen the terrible impacts of the second wave, the effective unemployment rate in Australia would be at 7.8%.

So what we have done is provided an extension of an extra six months for jobkeeper and an extension now for jobseeker. But, Mr Speaker, I would just say to the honourable member that if she listened to the leader of the opposition when he was asked directly the question on the Today show: How do you start to balance the books if you want to extend jobkeeper and extend those increases to jobseeker?

And the leader of the opposition replied: Well, we haven’t said to extend it. What we have said though is that it will need a tapering off.

The leader of the opposition has said it’s needed a tapering. We have undertaken a tapering and it is in the best interests of Australian jobs.

Updated

Clare O’Neil to Scott Morrison:

The prime minister said today: ‘We cannot allow the lifeline that has been extended to now hold Australians back.’ Can the prime minister explain how supporting unemployed Australians during the worst recession in almost a century is holding the country back?

Morrison:

Mr Speaker, I will simply quote the member’s own senior members in relation to these issues. It says the government needs to take into account all sorts of considerations about the state of budget. We expect the new jobseeker rate will be lower than it is right now. That’s what they’ve said.

They’ve consistently said that the level of the jobseeker Covid supplement would be at its elevated levels and then it would be reduced.

That’s what the leader of the opposition and the shadow treasurer have said consistently.

That is what the government is doing. The member opposite would be aware that when you set these allowances, these rates, these welfare payments, if you set them at rates which can potentially impede the labour market from people moving into work as the economy strengthens, then that can prevent the economy being able to get people in work. Our job is to get people into jobs, not have them stay on welfare.

Our plan is about getting businesses open. Our plan is about getting Australians into jobs and off welfare. That’s why the jobmaker hiring credit has been put in place in the budget. It specifically goes to Australians who have been on jobseeker and go into a job.

A job that will support their incomes not just with the support of the government but with the support of a viable business that is part of the great Australian comeback and recovery that is under way as a result, Mr Speaker, of the tremendous resilience of Australians but also of the strong policy settings and economic supports that were put in place by this government.

Now, Mr Speaker, those who need the support will continue to receive it and we have extended the jobseeker coronavirus supplement out until the end of March at a cost of $3.2bn. But Australians have always known, as we went into these most difficult times, that the elevated support that was necessary during these times of crisis is not sustainable on an ongoing basis and they understand that we need to re-gear the economy as we move through to the recovery and we return our economy to the strength that it was before.

Now you don’t achieve that by weighing it down. You do it by freeing it up. Our policies are about freeing up businesses to employ more Australians.

Mr Speaker, it may come as a surprise to the member opposite, but all across regional Australia at the moment there are farmers and orchardists and others who are crying out for people to come and work on their fields and to realise that harvest. It was our government that put in place a $6,000 relocation allowance that could say to Australians who are in need of that work ...

Updated

Josh Frydenberg boasts about the $36bn that has gone “out the door” from super funds during the pandemic.

Please remember this when those thousands of Australians who withdrew most of their super because of government policy, need government policy to help them have a dignified retirement in five decades’ times and it’s not there for them.

Those words will come back and bite.

Updated

I’ve heard vitamin B12 can help with memory issues, so perhaps the treasurer would like to add some more to his diet, so he can remember how microphones work.

Adam Bandt to Scott Morrison:

I refer to last night’s Four Corners program and the revelations about toxic sexual culture in the Liberal party, ministers’ offices and this parliament. This is the parliament’s MeToo moment and women in this place and around the country want you to act. Will you immediately commence an investigation into what’s going on in ministers’ office, stand aside the ministers involved with the Four Corners story while the investigation takes place and put in place a proper framework for sexual misconduct to be reported and investigated so that every woman working in parliament feels confident they can come forward without fear of reprisal?

Morrison:

I thank the member for his question. The matters that were the subject of last night’s report were matters that arose several years ago. They were not matters that were contemporaneous. They were matters that were raised several years ago. It predated my time as prime minister and these matters were addressed by the then prime minister Turnbull, and his response, which I strongly supported as members in this place will know at the time, he put in place a new standard for ministerial conduct in this place.

He did so prospectively and we have upheld that standard and we will continue to uphold that standard for one very important reason. It goes to the very issues that the member has raised. Every single person who works in this place, and any place in this country, should feel safe.

And there should be, Mr Speaker, as there are in this place, as you will be aware, with the arrangements that are put in place for staff who work in this place to raise issues such as this through the Department of Finance in an anonymous and a very private and confidential way and that is the process that is set down for all members of this place. But there is an even higher standard that was put in place by prime minister Turnbull and upheld by me to ensure that ministers go even beyond those arrangements.

Now I don’t see, frankly, why the simple process of not saying it’s OK for members of this place – ministers or shadow ministers or anyone else, leaders of political movements who are representatives of this party should not be held to the same standards in terms of the conduct that you are referring to that is set out in the ministerial standards.

It doesn’t matter if you are a staffer in a shadow minister’s office, a leader of the Greens office or my office or any other member in this place’s office, it doesn’t matter.

That sort of thing should not be on in this place and under my government and under my predecessor’s government we made sure that those standards were put in place.

When we did it some in this place, including on that side, mocked it. Some outside of this place, including in the media, mocked it as well. They continue to with the language that they referred to that change in standards.

I decry that because it is an important change in standards and you can have it from me, Mr Speaker, that those standards, in my government, that are set out in that code will be upheld. And I would invite the leader of the Greens, and I would invite the leaders of other political parties in this place, to ensure that their staff have the same protection that staff in my ministers’ offices have.

Updated

Linda Burney to Scott Morrison:

One million Australians are unemployed and 160,000 more are expected to join them by Christmas. There are seven job seekers for every job available ... Isn’t this the worst possible time for the prime minister to cut the coronavirus supplement?

Morrison talks through what the government did at the beginning of the pandemic, and then gets to the actual answer, which is this:

As we come out of the Covid-19 recession, what’s important under our recovery plan is you go through the gears up again in the same way we provided temporary and targeted support for those who needed it most, at the same time as the economy improves, it is important that our safety net arrangements do not negatively impact on how the labour market performs in this country and provide potentially an impediment as we hear from so many employers around the country who are seeking people to go into jobs*.

Those job advertisements are doubled since May and there will be more jobs coming as we open up. It is important that’s the case. It was essential to provide these emergency measures, but for Australia to move forward again we can’t remain, Mr Speaker, trapped by those emergency measures.

We need to ensure that those emergency measures move with the recovery that is under way and we are extending the jobseeker payment at a cost of $3.2bn to taxpayers around this country.

The level of support provided by this government through the course of this pandemic is unprecedented and at a global comparison is one of the most significant of anywhere in the world. I know that Australians have greatly appreciated that.

They’ve greatly appreciated the context of it, the fact that it cannot be there at those levels forever and that we need to graduate from those levels of support in order for our economy to recover again and get back to the strength that all Australians want it to be at. These are sentiments that have also been expressed by the leader of the opposition and the shadow treasurer at the time that these measures were put in place

*There is no proof of this. There are a bunch of employers talking about it, but there has been no actual proof. And if you were being paid more money to work, you would work. No one chooses to be poor. There are a lot of impediments to work. There are a lot of conditions we force those living in poverty to endure, and we place on them a very heavy moral burden to boot.

Updated

Over in Senate question time, Labor’s Jenny McAllister has been asking Marise Payne, the minister for women, for her response to the Four Corners report last night.

Payne said: “I condemn all inappropriate treatment of people in the workplace, women and men, including relationships that exploit an imbalance in power within a workplace. Every Australian has a right to feel safe in their place of work.”

Asked if the minister was aware of existence of a WhatsApp group of Coalition women raising concerns about their colleagues, Payne said she was “not specifically aware of that WhatsApp group” but continued:

“However, I would reiterate what I said in my response … and indicate that we know well from the respect at work inquiry carried out by the sex discrimination commissioner, Kate Jenkins, that there are many workplaces in Australia which don’t meet the standards that we would hope and expect to see. That includes this parliament and it doesn’t just include the government sides of this parliament – we know that. And so it is incumbent on all of us, women and men, to take responsibility for addressing these issues across the parliament, in the ancillary parts of the parliament, whether that is the press gallery, for other staff, for the entire building and the entire community in which we work including the political community.”

McAllister asked what advice the minister for women had given the prime minister “to improve the culture of his government and ensure Liberal women feel safe and can come to work without fear of intimidation or sexism”.

Payne said: “In fact, in 2018, at the direct request of the prime minister, my political party undertook a compressive review of its processes for the handling of complaints and dispute resolution to ensure our party had rigorous and confidential processes in place as we should.”

She said a national code of conduct and dispute resolution policy were endorsed by federal executive of the Liberal party in 2019, arguing it was a sign the government took the issue “very seriously”.

Updated

George Christensen asks Michael McCormack a dixer, which is apparently an opening for the deputy prime minister to attempt to string words together to invite Joel Fitzgibbon to the Nationals party.

I mean ...

Even the Speaker has enough after about 30 seconds and tells him to move on.

Updated

The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has said she does not believe a “bonk ban” similar to the ban introduced by the former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull into the ministerial code of conduct is necessary in NSW.

Berejiklian said ministers should “act respectfully” towards their staff but she stopped short of proposing a ban on relationships.

Berejiklian has faced a few uncomfortable weeks over her “close personal relationship” with the disgraced former MP Daryl Maguire, which came to light due to an investigation by Icac into Maguire.

Of course, Turnbull’s ban applies only to ministers and their staff, not MPs.

The opposition leader, Jodi McKay, said she also did not think a rule was needed in NSW and that she had not seen predatory behaviour towards women in NSW parliament. But if there was a rule, it should apply to all.

Perhaps it’s not a problem because Sydney-based NSW politicians go home after parliament. Perhaps.

Updated

Morrison on net zero by 2050: 'We would like to achieve, and we have an aspiration, that we would like to see this achieved'

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

I ask, has the prime minister ruled out committing to net zero emissions by 2050 before the next election?

Morrison:

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the member for the question. We would like to achieve, and we have an aspiration, that we would like to see this achieved.

We have no issue, Mr Speaker, with being able to achieve at some point in the future, indeed as we have already committed to under the Paris accords in the second half of this century.

That is actually a commitment as part of the accord. That is the same commitment that countries that have signed up to the Paris accord have also committed to. Indeed, there are only four countries in the world today – only four – who have committed through the formal process to the very exercise that the leader of the opposition has outlined.

That is a formal process, which has accountabilities attached to it. But I’ll tell you what I’m not going to do, what I’m not going to do is make a commitment to the Australian people when I can’t tell them the cost of it.

When I can’t tell them what it would mean for their incomes, for their livelihoods. I won’t make such a reckless commitment as that.

What I will do, what the minister for emissions reduction will do, what my cabinet and my government will do, is we will put in place the technology and the investment in the technology that is necessary to get us to the place that the leader of the opposition has referred to. And I know this, Mr Speaker, if you can’t get there by technology, the only way to get there is by taxes.

That’s why the leader of the opposition is so quick to commit because the leader of the opposition and the Labor party, they’re not committed to getting there by technology, Mr Speaker, they are committed to getting there by taxes.

And they will not – they will not be up front with the Australian people just as they were not at the last election when the former leader of the opposition could not explain the cost of their policies to the Australian people and the Australian people smelt it.

They smelt a rat on that, Mr Speaker, and they rejected the policies of the opposition because they could not come clean with the Australian people about what it meant for them.

Now, Mr Speaker, we would like to achieve these goals. We think they are good goals and we think we should be ensuring that we invest in the technology and working with countries around the world to achieve these goals, but they must be achieved by technological advancement that does not cost Australians’ jobs.

My members agreed with these position. They agree strongly with this position, Mr Speaker, and the member for Hunter agrees with us as well. The member for Hunter has been driven out of the shadow cabinet ... Driven out by an ideological group of zealots on that side of the House who have no interest in the jobs of Australians in regional areas. That is the view of the member for Hunter. Come on board ...

Updated

The Senate has just voted 30 to 28 to include safeguards in the jobmaker hiring credit bill so employers who sack employees or cut their hours cannot get youth wage subsidies. Labor, Greens, One Nation, Jacqui Lambie and Rex Patrick were all in favour.

The Senate then voted down a Labor-Greens amendment to give the Fair Work Commission a dispute resolution role in the program, 31 votes to 29. Pauline Hanson voted with the government on that one.

While it is significant the Senate has voted up some safeguards to the bill – if the House rejects them and sends the bill back unamended Labor has said that “ultimately” it supports the bill.

So unless the government has a change of heart and adopts any of these amendments Labor are unlikely to die in a ditch over them.

Updated

Among a range of bills on the Labor caucus agenda this morning was the government’s jobmaker hiring credit legislation, which is currently being debated in the Senate.

Caucus was told a range of amendments were being considered, dealing with transparency issues and industrial relations issues such as whether people could be displaced from their jobs or hours of work by new entrants supported by the credit. Ultimately, however, Labor is poised to support the legislation.

Labor’s employment spokesperson, Brendan O’Connor, who briefed the caucus on the issue, said the party had concerns about a number of matters including a lack of support for over-35 jobseekers.

During the caucus meeting, a Labor member asked about the increasing tendency of the government to pass legislation without much detail, but handing broad details to the minister to work out later without parliamentary oversight. Jobkeeper – introduced during the first wave – and the hiring credit were cited as examples.

The Labor leader, Anthony Albanese, made the point that this approach may have been acceptable for parliament to consider at the height of the pandemic (such as with the original jobkeeper wage subsidy), but this was not a good way to conduct government, and Labor would continue to speak up about it. (Labor is also set to support the government’s changes to the foreign investment laws to enshrine a national security test, but will consider amendments after a Senate inquiry reports later this month.)

Updated

Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:

Will the prime minister assure Australians that his ministerial standards have been and will be enforced?

Scott Morrison:

It is always the case, Mr Speaker. That is always the case. I would hope that the same standards that are set out in this document would be adopted by the leader of the opposition in relation to his own front bench.

Updated

Question time begins

It starts with Anthony Albanese announcing Ed Husic’s ascension to the Labor frontbench.

The Speaker, Tony Smith, congratulates him, and says “that means you can’t interject any more”.

Updated

Anthony Albanese on Labor’s medium-term target:

The position is clear. We have net zero emissions by 2050. And we will have a complete announcement, including how we get there, before the election.

One of the things that I’ve said consistently is that – and I said it a couple of weeks ago in answer to a question from the honourable Phil Coorey outside ... we do.

One of the things that we do is to look at the fact that changes occur.

Now, there are 22 different policies this government has had.

If I had announced a policy under president Trump, it may well be that the international scene on climate change is different under president-elect Joe Biden. That’s the point that I have been making consistently.

So no matter how many times people from the Guardian or the Oz have asked the same question, they effectively get the same answer.

You might try and draw different nuance in, but you get the same answer. You get the same answer. Sometimes you try and draw different things into what shade of green that is, what shade of ... what this is made of, but essentially it’s the same answer. We will have ...

We have a net zero emissions target by 2050. It will all be there. Guess what – you’ll have plenty of time before the election to transact exactly what it all means, to go through all of that. And, quite frankly, what you should be doing is holding this government to account now, that does not have an energy policy in this country.

Updated

Ed Husic on being back in the shadow cabinet:

I wasn’t expecting, I’ve gotta say, that I’d be here. I woke up this morning as a backbencher, and I’m here now in a different role.

But I’m very honoured to be so in the position. Thanks for the words, Albo. I have tried to be as direct and straightforward and speak from the heart in relation to a lot of things that I care about as a parliamentarian, but particularly as a representative of the area where I’m from.

And I have to say too, at this point, I just want to acknowledge Joel Fitzgibbon. Joel and I have known each other before I was even a parliamentarian.

We have known each other probably from the point when I was in Young Labor. And Joel and I have been great friends over that period of time. As much as to be completely frank with all of you, I’m very happy to be here.

There is a big part of me that is sad that I’m here, with him departing. You know, it would always be great to serve alongside Joel, but we’re still in the same parliament together, and I look forward to that.

The other thing is too, can I just say in terms of the – I just want to make this point.

When you’re making your decisions – I’m very happy to be able to be responsible for two industries that have been the absolute bedrock of the Australian economy, in terms of agriculture and resources.

They have not only generated enormous wealth for the nation, but they’ve created jobs for people, really good jobs.

And it would be a huge honour to be able to be in those portfolios, and I look forward over the coming weeks to talking with a wide variety of people, right from the agricultural and resources sectors, because they’ve got a continuing role to play in terms of providing – making sure that people can pay the bills, generating wealth for the nation. And as I said, they have just been bedrocks for the Australian economy. There will probably be a lot of other occasions we’ll get a chance to have a chat. But I might leave my contribution at that.

Updated

Anthony Albanese is asked about Labor’s mid-term emissions target (2030/35) and says that everyone will have plenty of time to pick over its policy before the election.

But he says that right now, the focus should be on holding the government to account, as it doesn’t have a proper energy policy, nor has it committed to a 2050 net zero emissions target.

Updated

Anthony Albanese has formally announced Ed Husic as Joel Fitzgibbon’s replacement in the shadow cabinet.

Updated

For the record, the prime minister also wants the media to stop referring to the ‘bonk ban’ as the bonk ban.

Scott Morrison:

How this ban is referred to is quite dismissive of the issue. I would ask media to stop referring to it in that way. We took it very seriously. And constantly referring to it in this way takes away from its seriousness, was that it is a very serious issue.

He interrupted Anne Ruston, who had been asked about the culture within the parliament, to make that decree.

Updated

Anthony Albanese will be holding a press conference at 1.45pm – just ahead of question time, so don’t expect it to go too long.

Updated

It really should not get lost in today that the Covid supplement for people on unemployment benefits is being cut (again) from $300 a fortnight to $150 a fortnight.

That puts the jobseeker payment for a single person at $357 a week.

Before Covid, it was just over $280 a week.

At its peak – when Covid hit – it was $550 a week.

If the payment was too little to live on at the beginning of the year – which is why the government put it up with the Covid supplement – then it is too little to live on now. An extra $77 a week, in a recession, where there are more than 1 million people unemployed, is not a ‘boost’. It’s not enough. By a long shot.

Updated

Murph has the latest on what happened in Labor’s shadow cabinet meeting last night:

Monday night’s shadow cabinet discussion began with Anthony Albanese expressing annoyance that Labor’s media strategy following the election of Joe Biden – a strategy that was intended to increase political pressure on the government over climate change – had been blown off course by ill-disciplined commentary.

Guardian Australia understands Fitzgibbon responded to Albanese’s comment by saying: “I’m in the room, you shouldn’t speak about me like I’m not here.”

A heated discussion followed where shadow ministers, including fellow rightwingers, criticised Fitzgibbon for not backing Labor’s climate policies.

Labor sources say Fitzgibbon had planned to step out of the shadow cabinet before the next election in favour of fellow New South Wales rightwinger Ed Husic, but the departure was brought forward after internal tensions reached boiling point.

You can read that story, here:

Updated

Ben Butler gave an update on the market opening this morning.

Here is a bit more from AAP:

Australia’s share market jumped about two per cent higher early as global markets rallied on promising results for a coronavirus vaccine.

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark index was up 96.4 points, or 1.53 per cent, to 6395.2 at 1200 AEDT on Tuesday. The index reached a session high of 6395.2 in the first 20 minutes of trade, then eased. The All Ordinaries gained 83.7 points, or 1.28 per cent, to 6599.4.

There was a whopping gain of 7.94 per cent for the energy sector, as traders hoped a coronavirus vaccine would later help people to travel more.

Pfizer prompted a rally on global markets after it said its experimental vaccine was more than 90 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19, based on initial data.

On the ASX, energy providers were just some of the big winners after the oil price climbed about eight per cent on the vaccine news. Oil Search gained 14.43 per cent to $3.25, Beach was up 13.2 per cent to $1.41 and Santos rose 11.47 per cent to $5.58.

Travel stocks also soared on the vaccine news. Corporate Travel Management rose 18.34 per cent to $20.26, Qantas gained 9.61 per cent to $5.13 and Webjet was up 15.18 per cent to $4.93.

Property group Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield had the biggest gains of large capitalisation companies after it said the vaccine could have a significant impact on retail property.

Shares rose 23.17 per cent to $3.53.

In banking, ANZ rose 5.54 per cent to $20.28, the Commonwealth gained 3.1 per cent to $72.49, NAB climbed 6.8 per cent to $21.10 and Westpac was up 4.87 per cent to $18.62.

While the materials sector was lower, the big three miners were not. BHP gained 1.3 per cent to $36.35, Rio Tinto was up 0.13 per cent to $96.22 and Fortescue edged up by 0.22 per cent to $17.65.

The technology sector had heavy losses and was down 3.92 per cent. Earlier, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 834.57 points, or 2.95 per cent, to 29,157.97 in its biggest one-day percentage gain since June 5. The S&P 500 rose 41.06 points, or 1.17 per cent, to 3,550.5 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 181.45 points, or 1.53 per cent, to 11,713.78.

Updated

Anthony Albanese described the allegations aired in the Four Corners program as deeply disturbing, in an address to the Labor caucus meeting this morning.

It is understood he expressed a strong view that no matter what side of politics, staff in Parliament House must feel supported and safe in their work.

The opposition leader also reminded members of the caucus that as a result of a process Tanya Plibersek led in the last term of parliament, Labor had what he described as a robust internal complaints process for any member of staff to access if they felt subjected to sexual harassment. He reaffirmed the importance of everyone being diligent about the culture that exists in the building.

No one else spoke about this issue during the Labor meeting.

Penny Wong addressed the Labor caucus on the Morrison government’s foreign veto bill (which would allow a range of state, territory, local governments and university deals to be reviewed and torn up).

She told colleagues that from a public policy point of view, the idea that the federal government would manage foreign relations was unremarkable, but she indicated Labor had concerns about the degree to which this bill was rushed out.

Labor will call in the lower house for the bill to be withdrawn and redrafted.

If that call is not supported, Labor will support its passage through the lower house. In the Senate, Labor is set to consider a range of amendments (Labor is still engaging with the university sector on the details).

But if a push for amendments failed in the Senate, Labor is expected to still support the passage of the bill.

The leader of the Greens, Adam Bandt, said where the Labor party ultimately landed on an interim 2030 target was a key test for the opposition. He said if Labor settled on an inadequate target it would suggest that Joel Fitzgibbon “may in fact be wielding more influence” outside the shadow cabinet.

The Labor caucus began with Joel Fitzgibbon notifying colleagues of his departure from the front bench.

We’re told that in Fitzgibbon’s speech to colleagues he expressed his gratitude for the support the party had given him over a long parliamentary career. He thanked Anthony Albanese, whom he named as a very close friend.

There was a motion of support moved by Anthony and seconded by Richard Marles for Fitzgibbon’s service.

Labor intends to fill the vacancy as soon as possible, with nominations to close at 1.30pm. The replacement will take over the agriculture and resources portfolio. With Scott Morrison planning a reshuffle later this year, Albanese will also consider a reshuffle of portfolios at that time.

Updated

Scott Morrison is due to reshuffle the cabinet – Mathias Cormann’s departure makes way for that (keep an eye on what happens with Home Affairs is the rumour) which means Labor will probably hold off on announcing its reshuffle until about the same time.

Updated

And in the midst of all that, Ed Husic, who stepped aside from the frontbench to help make way for Kristina Keneally (factional battles are strange and each faction has a certain number of cabinet spots and it is strange numbers beast that is hard to understand from outside the party, but that’s the gist of what happened) is back on the shadow frontbench.

Husic is of the Labor NSW right faction – which Joel Fitzgibbon was in – so when Fitzgibbon stepped down, Husic could step up.

It means that Husic can’t be as free in his comments anymore – just as he was getting a run up about privacy concerns and media laws. But he will be able to have more influence on policy, and one of his bugbears – spoken about publicly – has been the need to take more of the fight to the government.

Updated

Christian Porter has questioned Malcolm Turnbull’s motivation in making public comments about a meeting the pair had in late 2017.

Porter told 6PR: “Malcolm called me into his office, it was at a time he was very frustrated about cabinet leaks.”

He said Turnbull “put this bar story to me” towards the end of the meeting, and asked whether there was any substance or problem Turnbull should know about. Porter said there was not, “and of course Malcom appointed me attorney general inside two weeks from that”.

Porter said he never had any suggestion of problem with conduct of duties or any suggestion he may have been compromised.

Porter said right at the end of Turnbull’s prime ministership, Porter declined to join him in advising the governor general around a course of action regarding Peter Dutton:

“I often suspected there would be some consequences from that.”

Pressed on whether he was claiming Turnbull’s commentary may have been motivated by revenge, Porter said: “I don’t think that Malcolm is a great fan of mine, I”ll say that much … I don’t know what his motivation was.”

Updated

Daniel Hurst was also listening to the Christian Porter interview (Scott Morrison was on at the same time, so it helped having extra ears):

Christian Porter also said that he had “never breached that ministerial code of conduct”.

He said he felt “so desperately sorry for my beautiful wife Jen that she had to see all that stuff from university and see it cut up and chopped up in that way”.

The pair announced their separation in January this year.

Porter said the matters raised on Four Corners were not related to the separation.

“Like any couple we had our ups and downs and problems and difficulties and I would say that I was far from a perfect husband in many regards but our separation was not about this sort of stuff.”

Q: What are you suggesting [should happen] – taking disciplinary action against them?

Scott Morrison:

As prime minister, they have engaged in no conduct as they have served in my cabinet that is in breach of the code.

I expect them in their behaviour, as of all of my ministers to live by that code.

If there are breaches of the code, that is how you do it.

I have considered breaches of the code in the past. Not on this matter, I should stress, but other matters you are familiar with.

Q: Do you think it passes the pub test? Do you think Australians are looking at Christian Porter and Alan Tudge and thinking they should be in the ministry right now?

Morrison:

I think Australians understand more about human frailty than perhaps you are giving them credit.

You know, family breakdown and individual decisions of people, and there is also no suggestion here of anything non consensual, I should stress.

These things happen in Australia. People do things and they regret them, they do damage to their lives in the lives of many others, and I know there would be deep regrets about that.

I think Australians understand human frailty, and I think they understand the people who work in this place are just as human as anyone else and subject to the same vulnerabilities and frailties as anyone.

I think some sensitivity to that ... Perhaps I have a better opinion of Australians. I think they are far more understanding of human frailty and their understandings of what happens in their own lives and own communities. Because they want standards. That is why the standards are there, that is why the standards were introduced. The action was undertaken under the form of prime minister, one I strongly support and uphold to this day and will continue to in the future.

Updated

In response to Scott Morrison’s “focus on both sides” comment there, this is what the EP of Four Corners, Sally Neighbour, said on that last night:

Updated

Q: We heard a Senate hearing that he had been copied in on emails from federal government staff members relating to whether this was in the public interest or not. Why did your government raised concern with the ABC about this story?

Scott Morrison:

I am not familiar with the emails you are referring to. All I can say is as I said yesterday, the ABC has to uphold its charter, and I think that is reasonable

The discussion on how to air those matters, that focused on one side of politics rather than another, I won’t offer a commentary other than to say it only focused on one side of politics.

And if anyone who has had any experience around this place things that issues in the past are limited to one side of politics, well, honestly, you reckon? You really reckon?

So I think it is an important issue for all of the parliament stop and it doesn’t matter if you work in shadow minister’s office, I think the same standard should apply.

Updated

Back to Scott Morrison, the prime minister is asked if the code of conduct banning relationships between ministers and their staff needs to be expanded:

Well, what it goes to, when it was introduced by the former prime minister, and I had a hand in it as well as we discussed it, is dealing with what happens in your workplace, and in all of these offices here.

In my office and ministers’ offices, there is that direct employee relationship that it is seeking to address.

It is not some kind of moral policing or code more broadly, what it is about is dealing with genuine workplace issues in a workplace.

And in a minister’s office, that is the workplace. And this is incredibly important. And I think it has a big impact on the understanding of the culture that is expected in ministerial offices.

Since its introduction, I think it has been a very positive thing. And I hope that those who didn’t support it at the time would now support it, and increasingly, I think that is the case.

I think it was a very wise act by the former prime minister, a very wise act, and I appreciate it very much.

Updated

Christian Porter’s interview ends.

Asked if he will sue over the Four Corners program, Christian Porter says:

I think there’d be pretty substantial basis for that.

I’ll have a look at it, but you know what Gareth, I just, I’ve spent five years as a minister but we’ve been dealing obviously with a global pandemic.

Some people might have time for today’s talks of massive distractions.

I don’t want to let it become a massive distraction for me, I’ve got a job to do for the government for the prime minister to try and help get the country through all of this.

I’m not a grudge holder. I think this was conducted pretty unfairly.

I think that a lot of people would not really look that great, if you’re looking back on their 20s.

And, you know, I’m prepared to cop that I probably deserve to not look that great based on my 20s and law school, like I get it, I can absolutely cop that.

But that level of scrutiny over things that happened in the early and mid-1990s prior that’s never going to make anyone look particularly good, but I’ve got to say it, it doesn’t, in my view, characterise who I am now, or, or in any way affect my performance in my job, which I’ve always given 100% to, so I totally have no intention of resigning.

Updated

Back to Scott Morrison:

Q: Prime minister, there is clearly a group of women who do not feel like this matter has been dealt with, which is why we saw the allegations we did, last night.

When you launch any sort of investigation, moving forward, given these are ministers sitting in your cabinet and have you spoken with either of these ministers?

Scott Morrison:

I have spoken to both of them and they speak to them quite regularly, as you would expect. Including about these matters. And in terms of what their conduct is as well as of my ministers, since they have served in my cabinet, that there are no matters before me regarding the conduct while they have served in my cabinet.

And indeed, I am not aware of any conduct, nor was the previous prime minister, after the introduction of those standards.

See, our government responded by putting in place standards that do not exist in many of your newsrooms. They don’t exist. Those sort of standards between employers and employees do not exist in many workplaces around this country. I tell you what, they exist in mind. I have imposed them. They are there, and they will be adhered to.

Updated

Christian Porter is still speaking to his local radio station – he denies the allegations which he says were raised in Four Corners overnight, but did not directly answer the question over whether he had an intimate relationship or intimate relations with a staff member. He refers back to what he said was raised in the program, in his answers.

Porter then says this when asked about his meeting with Malcolm Turnbull, which Turnbull spoke about in the program. Porter says at the end:

I had a very significant disagreement with Malcolm in the final days of his prime ministership because I declined to support him in a course of action about advising the governor general that I thought was wrong.

And, you know, I often suspected that there would be some consequences for that. But, you know, that’s the meeting that we had.

Updated

Q: And in relation to what was added by Four Corners last night ...

Scott Morrison:

They relate to circumstances that occurred that were pertinent to the prime minister at the time and put to the cabinet and the ministry and those matters were dealt with them.

Q: Does it raise any questions for you about Alan Tudge and Christian Porter and their fitness to hold officers as ministers?

Scott Morrison:

It raises considerable cost and hurt. And we are all accountable for our all actions.

We should apply standards to ourselves. I am not one who seeks to judge others on these beings, and I know many in the media do not think it is their job either to judge on these things.

What is important is there are standards and standards are adhered to.

Under made ministration, under my government, I take that code very seriously. My ministers are in no doubt about what my expectations are of them, absolutely no doubt, about my expectations, and I expect them to be lived up to.

But, you know, when you get past all the other issues around this issue, all I know is there are a number of families that have been broken, and there are some people who are really hurting over this.

And I know the people involved in these issues are working really hard to try and restore what has been terribly lost. And there is no greater thing that breaks my heart than the breakdown of a family. It breaks my heart.

And frankly, that’s the thing that bothers me most.

And we’ve got a job to do to ensure we do everything we can keep families together, and we all have personal responsibilities in that regard.

Updated

Scott Morrison is asked whether he will launch an investigation into the allegations raised against Alan Tudge or Christian Porter in the Four Corners program last night.

He speaks about standards and then ends his answer with:

In terms of the individuals subject to the report last night, those matters were addressed by my predecessor at the time, and they relate to issues that predated that ministerial standard, and as a result, he dealt with them at that time.

Christian Porter opens his interview with “not a normal conversation” to be having.

He is asked if he has ever had “an intimate relation or intimate relations with a staffer”.

Porter gives a variation of the same answer he gave in his statement last night.

The statement from yesterday:

At the outset I apologise for material I wrote in a law school magazine 24 years ago. I obviously wouldn’t write that now and it is something I regret.

As a university lecturer I taught criminal law and evidence. By its very nature this involves dealing with confronting subject matter and images. To suggest I gratuitously focused on this required area of teaching is unfair.

I have not spoken in any substantial way to either Ms Foley or Ms Dyer for decades so I am surprised to hear them reflecting on my character so long after I knew them.

But 4 Corners depiction of interactions in the bar are categorically rejected. The other party subjected to these baseless claims directly rebutted the allegation to 4 Corners, yet the programme failed to report that. This fact usually would be expected to be included in a fair or balanced report. The claims made by Sarah Hanson Young were never put to me, my office or the other individual. They are rejected as totally false.

The journalist, Louise Milligan, never contacted me or my office, despite my awareness that for many months she has been directly contacting friends, former colleagues, former students – even old school friends from the mid 1980’s - asking for rumours and negative comment about me.

The ABC’s Managing Director told a Senate Committee just today that all relevant information had been provided to Ministers who were the subject of tonight’s programme – that is not the case.

Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister often summoned Ministers in frustration about the amount of detail leaking from his Cabinet. I had one such meeting in early December 2017, where Malcolm put to me a rumour that I had leaked to journalist Sharri Markson about the Banking Royal Commission and towards the end of that meeting he queried whether there was any accuracy to what he described as another story he had heard, the answer was no to both of these things. Malcolm then promoted me to Attorney-General less than two weeks later. In my time as AG I never had any complaint or any suggestion of any problem from Malcolm regarding the conduct of my duties as AG until the last week of his Prime Ministership when we had a significant disagreement over the Peter Dutton citizenship issue.

Given the defamatory nature of many of the claims made in tonight’s programme, I will be considering legal options.

Updated

Scott Morrison is talking about the potential for a Covid vaccine being made available very soon, as well as borders.

Gareth Parker has started his perth radio 6PR program - Christian Porter is his big guest this morning

Scott Morrison:

Any other questions on jobseeker? The recession? The pandemic?

Updated

Scott Morrison does not want to answer questions on Christian Porter or Alan Tudge following last night’s Four Corners – he says he is sticking to jobseeker for the moment.

Updated

Is this an acknowledgement from the government that people can’t live on $40 a day?

Scott Morrison:

Over $3bn to taxpayers, to extend a higher and elevated level of support for jobseeker, out until the end of March, that is what we have announced today.

Updated

Anne Ruston explains the (awful) changes to the unemployment supplement, which drops it back down to levels people can not live on. In a recession. With more than 1 million unemployed.

The particular measures contained within the extension for January 1- March 30 2021, as the Prime Minister said, the extension of the coronavirus supplement at a rate of $150 per fortnight, and we will be extending the income free area, which is currently at $300 per fortnight, because we want to encourage Australians to dip their toe back into the jobs market and test their ability to get work, because we know that people who report earnings are twice as likely to actually come off payment in the short term than those that do not report any earnings at all.

We will be maintaining the elevated level of the partner taper rate, which means people whose partners are earning up to $80,000 per year will also still be able to gain access to payment.

In addition, the expanded eligibility criteria will cover people who are sole traders, people who are self-employed, those that have been stood down but remain connected to their workplace, people who were in isolation and people who have to care for somebody in isolation.

We will also be extending some of the waiting periods to make sure that people have got quick and easy access to payment.

Updated

Jobseeker supplement to drop to just $150

This announcement was coming – but the government had said it would most likely be later.

We are getting it today.

Scott Morrison:

Today, we are announcing the changes to jobseeker supplements, the Covid supplement we introduced at the start of the pandemic, and we will be extending that supplement for three months after the end of December, we will be changing the rate of that supplement down to $150 for that period, out to the end of three months, and this will come at a cost to taxpayers of some $3.2bn over that three-month period, not a small measure, a very important measure, to ensure that that support remains.

I was very clear that when we made the changes to jobkeeper, we would make a later decision on jobseeker, taking into account what would happen in the labour market and we would go through that process.

But we need to be legislated before the end of the year, so cabinet has considered it, it has now gone through our party room this morning and legislation will come to place later this week.

And I will ask Minister Ruston to take you through the other details, because many other aspects of the Covid supplement and eligibility arrangements will also be maintained over that three-month period.

We cannot stay stuck in neutral in this country, we have got to keep moving forward, like the emblems on our national crest, the kangaroo and the emu, they only go forward, and that can be the only plan for Australia.

That is what we tell the kids when they come here to Parliament House. That is what Australia is all about.

Updated

Just before Scott Morrison’s press conference, the Greens have called on the prime minister to take action to “fix this toxic culture” in Canberra.

“The very least he can do is stand aside ministers Tudge and Porter while he investigates any breach of the ministerial code of conduct,” Greens senator Larissa Waters told reporters.

Updated

Scott Morrison is due to speak very soon.

Updated

Labor is expected to propose amendments to the Morrison government’s foreign veto bill which is up for debate this week.

They are likely to focus on adding more certainty in the bill (with less up to the minister to set by regulation) and dealing with concerns raised by universities.

The details are to be confirmed later today.

Coalition party room 'did not discuss' Four Corners episode

The official word out of the Coalition party room is that the Four Corners investigation about the bonk ban was not discussed, despite ministers Alan Tudge and Christian Porter being the main subjects of the story.

But Scott Morrison began the meeting by reminding colleagues that the Coalition wins when they remain “united, disciplined and not distracted”.

He wants the focus on jobs, health, security and safety while “others talk about other things” and reminded colleagues to “support each other”. Neither Tudge nor Porter spoke in the meeting.

Morrison noted that discipline can be “eroded” when the government is faring well, but warned against outbreaks of ill-discipline.

In addition to former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, the investigation featured Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells suggesting colleagues need to live up to standards.

There was discussion of travel agents – again – with treasurer Josh Frydenberg confirming a package of measures is “imminent” to help bail them out due to unique pressures processing refunds during Covid-19.

There was also discussion of the extension and tapering down of jobseeker – nobody spoke against the extension beyond December.

In fact, Coalition members asked about the challenge of getting people to accept work.

Morrison noted jobkeeper is due to reduce again in January – explaining that the payments had geared up at the start of the pandemic and will now gear down.

Technical amendments to the foreign deal cancellation bill were discussed – we’ll get the details of these from the foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne.

Updated

Scott Morrison has just announced a press conference for 11.45am.

Updated

Inside caucus, Joel Fitzgibbon was doing his thing.

And then he stepped outside, to continue it:

Joel Fitzgibbon explains his decision to resign from the shadow cabinet
Joel Fitzgibbon explains his decision to resign from the shadow cabinet. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

Before caucus, Labor held a smoking cermony, in celebration of Naidoc week.

Malardiri McCarthy, Pat Dodson and Linda Burney with help from Ngambri custodian Paul House conduct a smoking ceremony
Malardiri McCarthy, Pat Dodson and Linda Burney with help from Ngambri custodian Paul House conduct a smoking ceremony. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

As a friend of the blog pointed out, in response to Joel Fitzgibbon’s comments on Labor’s lack of success at the polls with its climate policy – Labor has also had a lack of success when Fitzgibbon has held resources/agriculture/rural portfolios:

  • Shadow Minister for Resources from 25.11.2001 to 8.12.2003.
  • Shadow Minister for Mining, Energy and Forestry from 8.12.2003 to 26.10.2004.
  • Shadow Minister for Agriculture from 18.10.2013 to 13.10.2015.
  • Shadow Minister for Rural Affairs from 1.7.2014 to 23.7.2016.
  • Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry from 13.10.2015 to 2.6.2019.
  • Shadow Minister for Rural and Regional Australia from 23.7.2016 to 2.6.2019.
  • Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Resources from 2.6.2019.

Updated

We are just waiting for the clock to tick over to 9am in WA, which is when (ish) Christian Porter will be speaking to Gareth Parker on Perth radio, 6PR.

Parker, by the by, has just been given a promotion to the breakfast show for 6PR – it will be more of a 2GB-style show under the shake-up, which saw the current breakfast host moved on, after 16 years in the chair.

Updated

NSW reports no new locally acquired Covid cases.

NSW has reported no community transmission of Covid.

There are five new diagnoses – but all are in hotel quarantine.

There were 10,058 tests reported to 8pm last night, compared with 9,499 in the previous 24 hours.

NSW Health is treating 70 Covid-19 cases. There are no patients in intensive care.

People in the southern highlands, south-western Sydney and the Rouse Hill areas are being especially urged to come forward for testing, even if they are experiencing only the mildest symptoms, such as a runny nose or scratchy throat, cough, or fever, which could signal a Covid-19 infection.

This follows the diagnoses of cases in Moss Vale and south-western Sydney recently, and detection of virus fragments in sewage sampled from Rouse Hill on 5 November and Liverpool on 6 November.

Updated

Joel Fitzgibbon on what he wants from a Labor climate policy:

I want Labor to have a climate change policy which is meaningful.

I’m a serious believer that the climate is changing and humankind is making a contribution. And government should act. But we are in opposition.

And I believe we need to stop so often being government-in-exile.

Scott Morrison has used the pandemic now as a justification for spending a lot of money on the technology side of the climate change equation.

In other words, driving it by initiating that technology rather than addressing the issue with a carbon constraint.

Now, if Scott Morrison is serious about his actions, spending taxpayers’ money, then who knows where we’ll be on the carbon output equation or ledger in possibly two years’ time?

So, I think we should let Scott Morrison make his investment, allow him to encourage others to invest, let him go to Glasgow?

Where’s the conference of the parties? Glasgow. Let him establish his next medium-term target. And I think, once he does so, the Labor party should think about backing it. Because I made the point a million times:

The path to 2050 ... And I repeat I support net-zero emissions as an ambition.

But the path to 2050 will not be linear. As technology kicks in, the effort will reduce. See, you don’t have to be halfway there at the halfway point.

That’s a very basic thing to understand. So, let Scott Morrison govern it. Let’s hold him to account. Let’s see what he sets. And let’s take some time to see whether he’s on track to meeting the commitment he makes.

Updated

I mentioned this, from Adam Morton’s reporting yesterday – but it bears mentioning again.

The main drop in Australia’s emissions over the last 15 years or so, occurred under Labor.

Updated

Joel Fitzgibon’s says no to leadership ambitions – and then adds in that he would have to be “drafted”.

Updated

Q: You say you support Anthony Albanese for leadership. Do you think that he can win the next election with the policy platform that the Labor party is likely to send him to the election with, particularly on energy and climate change?

Joel Fitzgibbon:

I think Albo can win if he listens to Joel Fitzgibbon more.

Updated

Joel Fitzgibbon says this would not have come as a surprise to his leader:

I told Anthony Albanese – gee, I don’t know – a number of months ago that I intended not to see Christmas as a shadow minister.

So, I’ve sprung no surprise on Albo.

He has been fully aware that this is coming. And I thank him, actually, for not breaching the confidence of that conversation.

I really appreciate that. So, there should be no talk of instability.

Look, I’d like to think the resources and agriculture sectors are gonna be pretty disappointed with my departure.

I have very good relationships with them.

I was up in Darwin last week, visiting with Richard Marles in the LNG facility. I was talking to live exporters and cattlemen and the Northern Territory farmers about their issues.

And Richard very generously in the caucus just now told my colleagues how impressed he was by the way I spoke their language and how warm they were towards me.

So, yeah, I like to think I will be missed. But I’m not going anywhere. And I’ll be there, advising and giving any help that’s required to the new shadow minister.

Updated

Does Joel Fitzgibbon have ambitions as leader?

One of the regrets I have is not running for the leadership after the 2019 election.

I don’t believe I would have won that contest, but I think a contest would have been good for the rank-and-file and the industrial wing of the party. And it would have been an opportunity for me to develop a mandate for my determination to take the Labor party back to its traditional roots.

Not at the expense or the exclusion of our – what I call our newer base, our more recently arrived base – because it’s very important.

But certainly to have us focus on our traditional base, more like the Labor party I joined 36 years ago. Now, I know the world has changed somewhat in 36 years.

But there are still hardworking Australians out there with huge aspirations for their family, and Labor somehow seems to have given them the impression, at least, that we haven’t been backing them at recent elections.

Updated

Joel Fitzgibbon on Labor’s climate policies:

I’ll run for Hunter at the next election.

And going to the backbench now will give me more time to concentrate on my electorate.

I mean, every election campaign, I’m doing the work of a shadow minister and the work of a local candidate. And next time I expect to have the luxury of being a local candidate only, and I think, you know, I’ve always worked the electorate hard and always campaigned hard in the electorate, that will make the job of winning back the confidence of my electorate a little easier.

Look, the leader has a reshuffle opportunity now, of course. And where he allocates the portfolio is a matter for him. I’ll only make this point – the Labor party, since the 2013 election, has had, I suppose, at least two energy policies and two climate change policies.

And I note that both of them had been rejected by the Australian people.

The Labor party has had at least six climate change/energy policies since the 2006 election.

Only one of them was ever adopted by a Labor government. And, of course, that policy, having been legislated, was repealed by Tony Abbott.

So, the conclusion you can draw from that is that, after 14 years of trying, the Labor party has made not one contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in this country.

So, if you want to act on climate change, the first step is to become the government.

And to become the government, you need to have a climate change and energy policy that can be embraced by a majority of the Australian people. That is something we have failed to do for the last seven or eight years.

Updated

Why today though?

Well, if this is the wrong day, when is the right day? Christmas is coming on. I wanted both the New South Wales right and the leader to have sufficient space to organise and fill the vacancy. And, to me, it seemed like a pretty fair time.

Updated

Why did he make the decision to leave the shadow cabinet – where the policy decisions are made – if he wants to influence policy?

Joel Fitzgibbon:

Well, I remind you that I made this decision 18 months ago. And I’ve stuck to my plan. But I do – I am concerned that we have a challenging culture. We have to be – we have to speak to, and be a voice for, all those who we seek to represent, whether they be in Surrey Hills or Rockhampton. And that’s a difficult balance. But we have been juggling it for some time.

And the Hawke and Keating governments, it might not have been as pronounced then, but they juggled it pretty well. I think it can be done, but I think the Labor Party has been spending too much time in recent years talking about issues like climate change – which is a very important issue – and not enough time talking about the needs of our traditional base.

Updated

Does Joel Fitzgibbon have confidence in Anthony Albanese’s leadership?

Yeah, look, I do have confidence in Anthony Albanese’s leadership. And, of course, I didn’t say this first, ‘cause you might have thought I was avoiding the question – we have been mates for a very long time.

We are the last two remaining members of the class of ‘96.

I first encountered Albo at the Balmain Town Hall at a Young Labor Conference in, I think, 1985.

He said at the caucus that I acknowledge that we’ve had a few dust-ups in our time – not just recently, by the way.

He told the caucus we might have a beer tonight for each dust-up.

I said, “We’re gonna be in pretty bad shape tomorrow.”

But I also told the caucus I believe in robust debate in the party. I think a vibrant party is a one that has a contest of ideas, not just internally and externally.

There’s a break on that, of course. There’s a limit to how much you can blue with one another outside the party room.

But I think that – and I made the point earlier – I think we do have a contest of ideas. We do all represent different electorates and we need to be a voice for them.

Updated

He finishes his introduction with:

There’s been a lot of talk that many of the things I’ve said over the course of the last 18 months have been in response to my experience in my electorate at the last election.

And while that, of course, is partly true – or largely true – I would be a foolish politician not to respond to such a large swing.

Some people around here would be very happy to have a 3% margin. And I remind you all that I had a 3.8% margin after the 2013 election. I have been here before.

And while I don’t take my electorate for granted, and never l I reckon if they didn’t get me last time, they probably never will.

It was a perfect storm. But I will continue to be a very strong voice on their behalf. And I’ll call out policy, including Labor policy, which I don’t think is in their interest.

Updated

Joel Fitzgibbon is not stepping away from politics, or the Labor party – just the frontbench – but the explanation continues as a retrospective:

Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people rely on us to form a Labor government from time to time.

You know, the true definition of “conservativism”, of course, is to oppose change. Well, that’s alright if you’re doing just fine. But there are a lot of Australians that aren’t doing just fine, and we do have growing inequality in our country, so we need a Labor party, a Labor government to close that gap and to speak out for the people who need a hand up.

But, of course, we also need to talk to aspiration – those coalminers on $150,000, $200,000 a year, who have big mortgages but have worked hard, and made big decisions on behalf of their family, who can’t afford to have politicians specifically close down their industries.

We’ve got to speak for them as well. We have to back their aspiration. You know, the roles of government are pretty basic, really: Keep our people safe, establish good foreign and trading relations, build a strong economy, and therefore the tools required, both infrastructure and human capital, keep people safe in our workplaces, and make sure that they are well-rewarded for their effort, and, of course, making sure that we have an education system – starting from the earliest years – that allows every person an equal opportunity to participate in our economy. And, finally, dignity in retirement.

Now, I think that’s what the Labor party stands for. And I’ll add one – an efficient tax system that incentivises work rather than does the opposite.

So, that’s what I’ll continue to pursue.

Updated

Joel Fitzgibbon continues:

I’ve been trying to put labour back into the Labor party. Trying to take the Labor party back to its traditional roots, back to the Labor party I knew when I first became a member 36 years ago.

In particular, I have been focusing on blue-collar workers, whether they be working in coalmining, coal generation, oil and gas, our manufacturing sectors, electricians and other tradespersons – the people who have traditionally voted for us in very large number, but somehow haven’t been voting for us in large number over the course of possibly the last decade.

And I’ve seen them come up to the polling booths in their high-vis, carrying LNP how-to-vote cards, One Nation cards, and I asked myself, “How did it all go so terribly wrong?”

I told the caucus this morning that I’m very strongly of the view that we have to allow candidates and local members to express the aspirations of their local communities.

We cannot expect a candidate in what used to be called Batman, Ged Kearney’s seat, to be saying the same thing as a candidate in Flynn, in central Queensland.

We have a diverse range of membership, and we must speak to them all. And I think somehow over the course of the last decade we forgot that, and we lost touch with traditional working people.

Now, when I say “working people”, I acknowledge also that nurses and aged care providers – people who work in aged care homes, in our hospitals, our police persons, they’re all working Australians.

And there are people amongst all of them that we’ve lost for various reasons.

So, everything I’ve done over the course of the last 18 months has been motivated by the same thing that has motivated me for the last 36 years. And that is to promote Labor’s key ideals and objectives.

Chief amongst them, from my perspective, is equality of opportunity, and to do everything I can to ensure the electability – if that’s a word – of a Labor government.

Updated

Joel Fitzgibbon press conference

The member for Hunter is explaining his decision to quit the frontbench:

This morning I went to see my mate Anthony Albanese, and informed him that I was stepping down from the shadow cabinet, effective immediately.

I’ve also just shared that news with the caucus, where Anthony Albanese and Richard Marles generously paid tribute to my contribution.

Although, I reminded them that I’m not going anywhere. The announcement today came as a surprise to very many, but not to all. Particularly not the member for Paterson [Meryl Swanson], who I called on election night 2019 and said, ‘Saddle up’.

Because I’m not going back to the frontbench in the wake of the very significant election loss, and I reckon you’re the person who should replace me.

Somehow, 24 hours later, I found myself running for the leadership. I, uh, don’t want you to ask me to explain how that all happened.

But I do know that, in the course of that period between election night and the Monday morning, I realised that the Labor party had been very good to me, and it was time for me to give back.

And it wouldn’t be the right thing to just walk away from the frontbench when the party was going straight into a rebuilding process.

So, I decided to stick around for 18 months, I guess, and to do everything I can, in a most senior position, to rebuild the party and to make it electorally more competitive.

So, that’s what I’ve been doing over the course of the last 18 months. Some of you might have noticed. And I have been quite robust in some of my contributions, and I have no regrets about that.

Updated

A little more from Paul Karp on the caucus meeting:

Left MPs agree with right MPs’ characterisation that Joel was reasonable, stuck to the issues and didn’t reflect adversely on the leadership.

Updated

And two months ago, there was this public battle between Mark Butler (left) and Joel Fitzgibbon (right)

Labor’s climate and energy spokesman Mark Butler has blasted his frontbench colleague Joel Fitzgibbon for endorsing the taxpayer underwriting of new gas infrastructure, championed by one of Scott Morrison’s most influential business advisers, before seeing the specifics.

Fitzgibbon, the shadow resources minister, declared on Wednesday that Nev Power, the chair of Scott Morrison’s Covid advisory commission, was on the right path lobbying the government to support a gas-led recovery from the economic shock created by the pandemic.

“It would be a simple thing for government to do to underwrite some of these long-term gas contracts so that we can get on to the build, get on to delivering gas not only to households, but importantly, to our manufacturing sector,” Fitzgibbon said.

“Our manufacturing sector will remain in decline if we don’t get affordable gas to market and if we can do so, then we can rejuvenate our manufacturing industry and create jobs.”

But Butler told Guardian Australia it would be ludicrous for Labor to sign up to an unseen proposition.

Also from Murph’s story overnight about the left factions frustrations with Joel Fitzgibbon’s constant interventions on energy policy:

A number of left MPs had wanted to use the victory of Joe Biden in the US presidential contest to redouble public advocacy for Labor to stay the course on climate action, given the Democrat had prevailed in the contest against Donald Trump with significant commitments driving a national and global transformation to low emissions.

But Labor MPs expressed the view that Fitzgibbon’s sustained interventions, which persisted in media interviews throughout Monday, cut across the plan to frame Labor’s record positively and put pressure on the government.

There was particular fury about Fitzgibbon describing colleagues as “delusional” for taking comfort from the Biden victory’s positive signal about climate action.

The Australian market has been given a Pfizer riser on news the drug company is developing a vaccine.

Benchmark index the ASX200 surged 2.1% at the start of trade this morning, driven up by relief rallies in covid-battered stocks including online travel site Webjet, which surged 17%.

Overnight, European markets rose to an eight-month high, with Germany’s Dax surging 4.9% and the London FTSE up 4.7%. Pfizer’s European partner, BioNTech, rocketed almost 14%. In the US, Pfizer stock was up 7.7%.

The Dow Jones index was up 3%, buoyed by huge rises in corona-hit stocks including cruise liner Carnival, which rose by 39%, but the tech-focused Nasdaq index fell 1.5% as stocks like Zoom fell on the realisation that we may not all be working from home forever after all.

Updated

When we said Joel Fitzgibbon had been on this train for months, well –

Updated

Joel Fitzgibbon will hold a press conference at 10.30am to explain his decision.

Just to be clear – Joel Fitzgibbon remains a member of the Labor party – he has quit the Labor frontbench. Not the party.

He will sit with the Labor backbench.

Updated

Joel Fitzgibbon quits Labor shadow cabinet

Joel Fitzgibbon has announced he is resigning from shadow cabinet in Labor’s caucus meeting this morning.

One account of the meeting said that he explained the decision with a “brief mention of issues” including the gas-led recovery, and he also cited a desire to spend more time to concentrate on his seat.

Updated

Joel Fitzgibbon quits Labor's shadow cabinet

So after spending much of this year freelancing on climate policy, and in many cases, contradicting it, Joel Fitzgibbon has left the Labor shadow cabinet.

Moving to the backbench gives more freedoms – he is no longer speaking as a shadow cabinet minister, which means he can comment, without it seemingly shifting Labor policy.

But it also means he has no restraints now. And as we have seen with Barnaby Joyce, when it comes to speaking your mind on policy, that can be a prickly thing.

Updated

There we go

We posted Murph’s story from earlier today about Labor’s left factions frustrations with Joel Fitzgibbon, and how that was due to come to ahead at today’s caucus meeting.

Resigning from the shadow cabinet means Fitzgibbon would have more freedom to say what he wanted – without being bound by the (shadow) cabinet rules.

This is one fight which is not going to be resolved soon.

Updated

Queensland has reported one new case of Covid – they are in hotel quarantine though.

Updated

Further to my previous post – I’ve now confirmed that Labor and the Greens will co-sponsor an amendment stating that if an employer terminates the employment or reduces the ordinary hours of work of an existing employee in order to claim jobmaker hiring credits, they will not be eligible for the youth wage subsidies.

This addresses union concerns that existing safeguards (that payroll and headcount must go up) are insufficient to prevent replacing existing workers with new younger workers.

Labor and the Greens will also jointly move to give the Fair Work Commission oversight of disputes relating to jobmaker.

These include disputes about the termination of the employment, reduction in the ordinary hours of work and “disputes about other conduct of an entity that adversely affects employees”.

Updated

Christian Porter is keeping his chat appointment with his local radio station, Perth radio 6PR.

Other than a statement, which claimed the Four Corners report was defamatory, he has not spoken on the allegations aired in the program.

Following on from Paul’s post, and Rex Patrick’s tweet earlier today, on the jobmaker plan, Pauline Hanson has just released this:

Updated

‘Malcolm Turnbull retweeted’

The Senate will be debating the bill giving the government power to establish the jobmaker hiring credit (youth wage subsidy) scheme today.

Labor and the Greens have already flagged that they are going to seek amendments.
The Labor amendments in senator Louise Pratt’s name:

  • Require the ATO to publish information about the performance of the scheme
  • Create reporting requirements for companies receiving jobmaker credits
  • State that the government must make rules to create avenues for whistleblowers and dispute resolution procedures for the program

The Greens amendments are more extensive - they want to limit jobmaker to companies that haven’t increased their dividends, ban them for companies that have underpaid workers, and prevent companies sacking staff and claiming jobmaker.

They believe they have Labor support for the last amendment - but we won’t be certain until after caucus today.

Independent senator Rex Patrick also has a plan to write the current rules, which sit outside legislation, into the bill. This move would require the Coalition to come back to parliament if it wants to change the program in future rather than allowing treasurer Josh Frydenberg to unilaterally make changes.
Patrick also claimed on social media that One Nation “is not supporting” the bill in its current form:

PHON aren’t ready to confirm that yet - although Pauline Hanson did say in Senate question time yesterday that jobmaker decreases job security because an employer could be better off hiring two part-time workers instead of one full time worker.

At the end of the day, if numbers are there to amend the bill in the Senate, the questions will be: will the government accept the changes? And if not, will Labor and the crossbench wave through the unamended bill rather than block it in the Senate?

Victoria is making kinder free next year and expanding before- and after-school care programs – 95% of primary schools will be involved.

Daniel Andrews says its to support working parents, particularly women.

Updated

Richard Marles spoke to the ABC yesterday and said Labor would not be pursuing a royal commission into the Murdoch media empire, despite its former leader Kevin Rudd’s push.

Someone might need to tell Andrew Leigh. He tabled the Rudd-led petition, which amassed 500,000 signatures – setting a record for a parliamentary e-petition (not a paper petition though).

Leigh was on Sydney radio 2SM talking about the need for the royal commission:

The federal government should take seriously the views of two former prime ministers, Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd, and half a million Australians who are calling for greater media diversity.

People are concerned when they see hundreds of local newspapers closing across the country.

They’re aware that we have a pretty concentrated media market, and they know the important role of the media plays in our democracy.

Now, we’ve seen in the United States recently the strong campaigning that Fox News has done for Donald Trump, some of the misinformation around climate change and coronavirus, which is downright dangerous.

So the role that Fox has played in that environment is not the role that you want a diverse, accurate, independent free press to be playing.

Updated

Once again, Barnaby Joyce did not resign because his extramarital affair, and subsequent child, was revealed. He resigned after harassment allegations were made against him (the allegations were not proven).

Here is how Joyce sees MPs’ sex lives:

I believe that the bonk ban was never a bonk ban, it was a Barnaby ban. It was created – and obviously it was, because they knew of other people – to remove me from office.

You know, that’s just what happens in that hard game of politics.

I think the three questions in any workplace that people should ask – a relationship between two people, one of age, one of agency, if the person is young, they’re probably naive and don’t know what the world is about.

Agency, whether the person has a capacity to say, “No, I don’t want that.”

And one of consent. If it’s a consensual relationship between two adults.

Updated

Victoria records 11th consecutive double zeroes day

There is the tweet – it’s reporting four active cases.

And Victoria is now just a few days off a whole Covid cycle without a new case.

(For what it is worth, the website is still reporting six active cases – it is possible that there are two historical cases which have been added to the tally, or two people in hotel quarantine who are registered as living in Victoria usually, who have been diagnosed.)*

*Thank you!

Updated

Victoria Health is a little late with its numbers today but the website shows active cases have gone from the four reported yesterday (across the state) to six in the last 24 hours.

You can find that here.

It also reports the daily average is now 0.4, up from 0.2.

We don’t know why yet – we should find out soon.

Updated

Australia has a seat on the UN committee on the elimination of discrimination against women.

The foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, championed the bid:

I congratulate Ms Natasha Stott Despoja AO on her election to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

Ms Stott Despoja is the first Australian to serve on the Committee in almost thirty years, following the membership of the Hon Elizabeth Evatt AC.

The Committee is a body of 23 independent experts, who monitor the progress of UN member states’ efforts to eliminate discrimination against women. Ms Stott Despoja will serve as the only expert on the Committee from the Oceania region.

Ms Stott Despoja’s candidacy was supported by the Australian Government following an open, merit-based selection process. It builds on Australia’s global leadership in advancing women’s rights and demonstrates Australia’s commitment to eliminating discrimination against women and girls in Australia and globally.

Updated

Here is how some Coalition MPs are dealing with the Four Corners program:

Updated

Australia Post went before Senate estimates on Monday evening, with its chair, Lucio Di Bartolomeo, detailing the fallout from the chief executive Christine Holgate resigning over the controversial decision to award executives Cartier watches as a bonus.

He said:

I understand well that our ownership structure places a unique responsibility to manage the resources of this business prudently, and ultimately in the best interests of all Australians – as underlying shareholders, as well as customers. If I had been chair in 2018 and had been made aware of the proposal to purchase Cartier watches I would have vetoed that purchase.

Di Bartolomeo provided more detail of the government’s involvement on 22 October when the Cartier gift was made public – including that the communications minister, Paul Fletcher, told him he thought Holgate should stand aside pending an investigation.

The board met to discuss that position and then, after a series of conversations, he and Holgate agreed she would stand aside.

Di Bartolomeo said the decision wasn’t a judgment on what had occurred, or whether something had “gone wrong”, but rather had been made to facilitate the investigation. The legal basis was that she elected to stand aside, and he wrote to her setting this out.

The rest was as Holgate described when she ultimately decided to quit. She will be paid her accrued annual leave but won’t be paid to the end of her fixed-term contract.

Australia Post is setting the arrangements out in a letter but will not ask her to sign a deed of release, so it won’t seek an undertaking that she won’t institute legal proceedings.

Updated

It is looking increasingly unlikely that even the stranded overseas Australians judged as “vulnerable’” will be able to come home by Christmas.

Elias Visontay has been following that story. You can read more, here:

Updated

It’s Tuesday, which means it is party room and caucus day, and both major parties are set for some uncomfortable moments.

The Coalition because of the Four Corners episode overnight, and Labor because of energy policy.

On the latter, Murph reports:

Labor left MPs have lined up to blast the outspoken frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon in a fiery meeting of the left caucus over the shadow resources minister constantly freelancing on policy.

Guardian Australia understands that about 15 MPs spoke during the discussion, which was triggered by a briefing from the shadow climate change minister, Mark Butler, about the party’s position on gas.

Butler on Monday night briefed MPs about an internal deliberation convened to try to settle an ongoing public battle between the leader, Anthony Albanese, Butler and Fitzgibbon over Labor’s language regarding gas – a process that ultimately produced talking points stating that Labor would support new gas projects, subject to environmental approvals and reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

Butler’s briefing kicked off rolling frustration and anger from MPs about Fitzgibbon’s constant public campaigning since the election defeat in 2019 for Labor to lower its ambition on climate policy – a backlash that seems set to continue into Labor’s regular caucus meeting on Tuesday.

Updated

Well, there is another vote in the Senate gone.

Updated

Barnaby Joyce, who still hasn’t given up leadership ambitions for the Nationals, and resigned after a sexual harassment claim was levelled against him (the claim was unproven), has waded into the turbulent waters left by the Four Corners episode last night.

He’s made allegations about what the former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who was featured in the program, knew and added: “It wasn’t a bonking ban. It was a Barnaby ban.”

Updated

The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (working with its German partner BioNTech) has announced its vaccine may be 90% effective against Covid (based on early results and a small sample), with no serious side-effects.

Pfizer is claiming it could have 50m doses by the end of the year and 1.3bn by the end of next year.

It’s yet to publish its claims in a peer-reviewed journal, and it has released no more information on its early tests.

The ABC’s health expert, Dr Norman Swan, has reservations:

I hate to rain on the parade but this is a commercial release.

The race is here to have a first-mover advantage in the marketplace.

Pfizer has not necessarily been a team player in the development of a vaccine.

The other vaccine manufacturers that are at the front have shared the same trial protocol – in other words, they’re doing their randomised trials in the same kind of way – which means that when they get the results, it will be much easier to compare what they’ve found with each other and find out which is the best vaccine.

Pfizer has not been part of that. So it’s not clear what 90% effectiveness actually means in this. And I think that the announcement also knowledges that.

Is it 90% effectiveness at preventing the COVID-19 disease, which is what the regulators want to see, but the rest of us want to see 90% effectiveness of preventing transmission – in other words, infection in the first place.

We don’t know that yet. I suspect all the other manufacturers know exactly the same data as Pfizer. In other words, I think I said this last week, they all know whether it works at the moment and they haven’t gone to a press release.

They’ve got the data already. As you can see from the Pfizer results, it doesn’t take very many patients to know that it works. It takes a lot of people to know that it’s safe.

You go too early for an approval you’re not following people for the wash-out period, for two months or so, to know it’s safe after they’ve had their last dose.

Remember, it is a two-dose vaccine.

Updated

South Australia is considering unrestricted travel with Victoria by the end of the month.

Yesterday Victoria chalked up its 10th day of no known transmission of the virus – with testing still in the double digits.

New South Wales was looking at opening its border to Victoria after watching what happened over the next couple of weeks once restrictions were removed – all remaining well, that border should be down very soon.

Queensland likes to see two cycles of no unknown community transmission, although it is looking promising that the border to greater Sydney will be down at the end of the month.

Updated

Good morning

Welcome back to parliament (and everything else).

It’s the third last sitting of the year and, after the Four Corners program last night, the government may wish it were closer to the end of the week.

Here is Paul Karp and Anne Davies from last night:

Malcolm Turnbull confronted Christian Porter in 2017 over allegations of inappropriate conduct with a young woman in a bar and warned him “the risk of compromise is very real”, the ABC has reported.

The then prime minister went on to appoint Porter his attorney general a fortnight later, it was revealed on Monday’s Four Corners program. In a statement after the broadcast, Porter said the “depiction of interactions in the bar are categorically rejected”.

The attorney general said “the other party subjected to these baseless claims directly rebutted the allegation to Four Corners yet the program failed to report that”.

Monday’s program also detailed allegations by a female staffer who said she had an affair in 2017 with the then-human services minister, Alan Tudge, before Turnbull’s so-called “bonking ban” was introduced in early 2018.

You can read the whole story here:

We know there was government pressure on the ABC not to run the program last night – the estimates spillover hearing which questioned national broadcaster’s top executives went longer than the show, and detailed just how much pressure the ABC was under.

We will no doubt hear more about that today.

The journalist who led the Four Corners’ investigation, Louise Milligan, spoke on ABC Breakfast TV this morning about why the story was important:

There was concern that this was not appropriate for ministers of the crown, and that this sort of behaviour, as the former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said in our program last night, has not been acceptable in corporate Australia for a very long time.

We’ll cover that, and everything else that happens today, including Covid. You have Amy Remeikis with you for most of the day.

Ready?

Updated

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Another Day, Another Round Of Internet Users Calling Out The Kardashians For Major Photo Editing
Here we go again.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Tom Holland, King of Marvel spoilers, also managed to ruin the Avengers movies for Zendaya: "I was like... 'Why did you tell me that?!'"
Love means never having to say you're sorry, or something
Total Film
Total Film
Every "Groundbreaking" Outfit From Anne Hathaway's 'The Devil Wears Prada 2' Press Tour
This fashion marathon isn't moving at a glacial pace.
Marie Claire
Marie Claire
“I believe with all my heart that it will translate to something good”: Lindsey Buckingham teases reunion with Stevie Nicks following renewed interest in their pre-Fleetwood Mac album
The two publicly fell out in 2018 and Buckingham subsequently left Fleetwood Mac
Guitar World
Guitar World
Newly spotted Clone Wars Easter egg in Ahsoka season 1 might be a huge hint at the season 2 plot
One Ahsoka detail might be a huge hint for the future
Total Film
Total Film
Why Unrecognisable Kelly Osbourne Is Risking Everything to Buy Back the 'MTV House' After Ozzy's Death
Kelly Osbourne has shared her family's attempts to buy back the Beverly Hills MTV House from The Osbournes, amid grief over Ozzy's death and her split from Sid Wilson. The property holds strong family memories she is determined to reclaim.
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play