Night time politics
Here are the main points for today.
- Legislation containing wide ranging powers under which dual nationals will lose their citizenship were introduced to parliament today and sent straight to a parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security (PJCIS) for review. Terrorism-related offences range from damaging commonwealth property to financing terrorists. Children of terrorists could also lose their citizenship according to the bill. Legal experts have suggested the bill casts a wide net. Labor supports the bill in principle but will await the detail.
- The Coalition and Labor joined forces to push through a bill to close a loophole which could have stopped governments funding offshore detention. The loophole was discovered by the Human Rights Law Centre, which challenged the government’s in the high court. Independent Andrew Wilkie said offshore processing was a “crime against humanity” but the bill was carried on the voices. Shorten used the bill to demand the Coalition recognise Labor is “doing the right thing”, even though the Coalition had been a relentless opponent on asylum seeker policy.
- There were a number of bills and votes through in the second last day before the winter break. Noteworthy are three senate inquiries, including the Coalition (not Labor) paying people smugglers, credit card interest rates and another Murray Darling Basin Plan investigation. Bills included slashing the of Renewable Energy Target (late on Tuesday). But the bill to increase advertising on SBS failed.
Tomorrow is the last day of parliament before the winter break.
To tide you over until the morn, herewith Madam Speaker and her great friend Tony Abbott.
Tony Abbott then delivered the Magna Carta lecture, which opened with this quote.
The rule of law serves just as much to protect us from criminals as it does to protect us from tyrants.
Good night.
The prime minister is about to deliver the 2015 Magna Carta Lecture at the great hall in parliament house to talk about his new citizenship laws.
I’ll just let that sink in for a minute.
Thanks to our friends at AAP for this report. As foreshadowed earlier in the week, a parliamentary inquiry will investigate credit card interest rates charged by Australian banks.
Labor senator Sam Dastyari and a number of crossbenchers won support today to refer the growing gap between credit card interest rates and the official cash rate to a Senate committee.
The economic references committee - which will report by November 24 - will also look into credit card loyalty programs, consumer protection measures and transaction costs.
Migration bill passes on voices
Labor MP Melissa Parke is speaking against the migration amendment (regional processing arrangments) bill 2015 but only Andrew Wilkie raises his voice against the bill. Wilkie wants his vote against recorded in Hansard.
The migration bill passes on the voices.
Andrew Wilkie says the government and Labor are trying to pre-empt the findings of the high court. He is making the point that the Australian government’s so-called regional processing is not that at all. He says a regional processing centre would be run by a number of countries. Australia simply has offshore processing centre, where it dumps people.
This isn’t a regional process, these are like the hulks of 200 years ago...these are sovereign states and we are sending people to sovereign states.
It’s the job of the high court to interpret the law...instead we are trying to cook the books....This is a shameful day. Its more shameful and more troubling because it is done with a virtual consensus in this place.
Just re that Victorian Liberal donations drive, here is what the PM’s office told Fairfax.
The Prime Minister and his office had no knowledge of the email sent by the Victorian state division of the Liberal party.
Better to have a cake stall.
Offshore processing is a crime against humanity, says Andrew Wilkie
Tasmania Andrew Wilkie is shouting at both Labor and the Coalition. He is referring to offshore processing as:
a crime against humanity.
He says to retrospectively legalise offshore process is a disgrace.
It’s about time we start acting like a fortunate and clever country.
Senate committee will investigate Coalition paying people smugglers - NOT Labor
A parliamentary committee will investigate whether the Abbott government paid cash to people smugglers to turn asylum seeker boats around.
Australian Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young won Labor and some crossbench support to refer to a Senate committee reports people smugglers had been paid on the high seas.
BUT it will only investigate payments made after September 2013, covering the Abbott government’s term.
The Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee will also look into the legality of any payments under international and Australian law and the extent to which “such bribes” encourage people-smuggling activities.
The committee will report by September 15.
Playing politics with national security? Nah. #politicslive http://t.co/SndE8dzW43 pic.twitter.com/F4BIR5hDBO
— Gabrielle Chan (@gabriellechan) June 24, 2015
Playing politics with national security? Nah
If you ever wondered if there was a political element to the national security debate, the Victorian Liberal party has just confirmed it with a fundraising advertisement.
The fundamental job of government is to keep its citizens safe.
Today the Abbott Government announced additional measures to ensure terrorists aren’t allowed back into Australia.
Labor and the left are playing politics with our national security, weakening our borders and are a soft touch on home grown terrorists.
With a Federal Election due next year donations are critical to allow the Abbott Government to continue on with the job of keeping Australia safe.
Remember it is tax time, donations up to $1,500 may be tax deductible.
Your contribution is vital to ensure the Liberal Party has the resources to keep fighting on the issues that matter to you.
The migration debate is continuing. The bill is here.
Vandals take note: the citizenship laws cast a wide net
If you haven’t read Lenore Taylor’s story on the citizenship laws, you should.
It’s a wide net, the Allegiance to Australia bill.
Damaging or destroying commonwealth property is one of the offences for which an Australian dual national could have their citizenship revoked under the legislation introduced by the government on Wednesday.
University of NSW law professor George Williams said he believed the government had “cast the net far too wide” in its new laws, which now went “far further than people involved with Islamic State or acts of terrorism”.
“This law appears to cover low-level offences that have only a very minor connection to terrorism,” he said.
“The most remarkable is that it extends to section 29 of the Crimes Act, the offence of destroying or damaging commonwealth property, which would appear to not necessarily require any connection to terrorism at all. That might just mean that someone was involved in vandalism.
“It also extends to the offence of possessing a ‘thing’ connected to terrorism. ‘Thing’ is an open-ended term and is not defined.
“The government’s redrafting has probably satisfied the constitutional problems, but in my view it has now cast the net far too wide,” Williams said.
Calm the good Doctor the down.
A very interesting exchange just occurred.
Bill Shorten was reminding the government, many of whom were not on their benches, that Labor is trying to do the right thing on the migration vote.
Remember when you needed us in the national interest we are there....Remember this moment.
I have asked the Labor party to take the government on trust in this matter and we know trust is in short supply.
This moment in cooperation could be a turning point in the national debate.
Shorten calls for “no more dehumanising or inflammatory language”.
Shorten sits and Queensland Liberal MP Andrew Laming gets up and immediately hooks into Labor about its record. A Labor MP gets up and takes issue with Laming’s intemperate remarks.
Recognising that Laming is going provoke Labor when the government desperately needs their votes, Peter Dutton gestures to Laming with his hand behind the table.
The minister mouths something like “calm it down”.
After a kerfuffle with the speaker, Laming gets up and tones down his language.
Now he says there should be a “convergence” around the recognition that both sides should support reasonable policies.
Bill Shorten says Labor remembers that the Coalition did not support Labor’s Malaysian plan, which was ultimately struck out in the high court.
He reminds people that Scott Morrison, the former immigration minister, did not want to allow family members to attend the funerals of asylum seekers drowned at sea.
He says after the Coalition and the Greens voted against the Malaysian solution, “689 souls” lost their lives.
They opposed the Malaysian solution not because it wouldn’t work but because it would work.
They play their politics hard.
We will do the right thing, we will help you solve this problem.
Shorten says too often, asylum seekers are demonised and says Hansonism (as in Pauline Hanson) is a factor - a “genie” that needs to be put back in the bottle.
Bill Shorten is giving a history of Labor’s asylum seeker policies: “We will vote for this bill because people’s safety comes first.”
There’s been no more effective deterrent than the regional resettlement agreement instituted by Labor.
Bill Shorten is saying he understands the government needs to get this through before the winter break. Labor is supporting the bill only to enable payments to be made for offshore processing.
Shorten says it is in line with Labor policy, which is about preventing tragedy, ie drownings at sea.
Labor learned lessons from its time in government.
At the end of the war in Sri Lanka, the movement of people changed, says Shorten.
We stand here guided by our compassion because our compassion demands we stop drownings at sea.
We never see the photos of the people who drown at sea seeking refuge in Australia.
Peter Dutton introduces the Migration Amendment (Regional Processing Arrangements) Bill 2015. A.K.A the Loophole bill. It allows for the funding of the offshore processing to address an issue which which was under challenge before the high court earlier today.
Bill Shorten is expected to speak to this motion.
Not the gummint.
#classified #pressPhotographers #reenactment @ellinghausen @mearsey @mpbowers @cochl @garyramage2 pic.twitter.com/j4MjIMZTP5
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) June 24, 2015
The boys, and they were boys, decided to re-enact the Asio briefing for Mikey Bowers, because he felt left out.
Solidarity.
The gummint.
Legislation to amend the migration act to deal with “loopholes” in appropriations for offshore processing will come before parliament this afternoon. The loophole was discovered after the Human Rights Law Centre began a challenge to the federal government’s powers to provide money for offshore detention.
The foundation of the case was built on the challenge to the school chaplaincy program last year. The high court unanimously found that the federal government needs parliamentary approval for expenditure on big policy areas.
There was a flurry mid-morning and Labor had to convene a special caucus meeting to discuss the Migration Amendment (Regional Processing Arrangements) Bill 2015 after a request for support by the government.
The recommendation to support the legislation was moved by Bill Shorten and seconded by Richard Marles.
That the Caucus supports the draft amendment to the Migration Act on the basis that the legislation solely goes to enabling payments, enabling the fact of regional offshore processing and that the legislation does not change or in any way expand the current situation/policies/extent of regional offshore processing. Nor does the FPLP in any way condone the manner in which the current Federal government is running offshore processing.
The government is hoping to put the motion up this afternoon.
SBS advertising bill dies in the senate
The SBS bill to insert more advertising in prime time was knocked off in the Senate today just after midday. Apologies for the late post. It’s been that kind of day.
The bill would have, among other things:
increase(d) the restriction of no more than five minutes per hour of advertising to 10 minutes of advertising in any hour of broadcasting on the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS); and clarify SBS’s ability to earn revenue through the broadcast of programs containing product placement...
Updated
Ships in the night.
Now there is general silliness.
@EwenJonesMP @JulieBishopMP @gabriellechan @GuardianAus @billshortenmp #peaklegislationstudy pic.twitter.com/2FR26OJBcH
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) June 24, 2015
Environment minister Greg Hunt is asked about Green Army projects.
Hunt says there have been 311 projects this year and we have announced 156 going forward.
But, just in case anybody wonders whether it’s being done an an evenhanded basis, it is - 230 projects announced today will be in either ALP seats or seats from independents.
This time shadow attorney general Mark Dreyfus tries to ask about the Monis letter. He wants to know why it took Julie Bishop four days to correct the “record the false information” in parliament.
Bishop refers to previous answers.
Blue Steel.
Plibersek asks Bishop: Can the foreign minister explain when the attorney-general’s department and the department of Prime Minister and Cabinet were discussing the need for the foreign minister to correct the record as early as 5:30 on 1 June. Why did it take until after question time had finished when no further questions could be asked of her and broadcasting had ceased for her to correct the record?
Bishop suggests Plibersek refer to her earlier answers.
Ok and we are back to the business of the day, having been shut down by government numbers.
Julie Bishop confirms with a “high degree of certainty” that terrorist Mohammed Elomar has been killed.
I am advised that there is a high degree of certainty that Mohammed Elomar has been killed joining about 30 other Australians also believed to have been killed fighting in Syria and Iraq.
No word of Sharrouf.
She says there have been 30,000 calls to the national security hotline and she thanks the Muslim community.
I welcome the efforts of the Muslim community leaders in tackling the extremist threat and publicly rejecting those extremists who claim to speak for all Muslims.
A little tet a tet between our own Mike Bowers and Liberal MP Ewen Jones regarding the earlier Tony Burke picture.
Jones suggests Labor’s frontbench is ignoring Burke during his speech.
@mpbowers @JulieBishopMP @gabriellechan @GuardianAus @billshortenmp is doing a David Putty, staring at the back of the seat on front of him
— Ewen Jones MP (@EwenJonesMP) June 24, 2015
Never ask for a photographer’s attention.
@mpbowers @JulieBishopMP @gabriellechan @GuardianAus @billshortenmp Legislation, Mike. Always legislation
— Ewen Jones MP (@EwenJonesMP) June 24, 2015
So just to summarise, Julie Bishop has said she found out she discovered her mistake via a “formal confirmation” from the department in question time on the Monday June 4.
But a George Brandis statement dated June 4 says:
The foreign minister was advised shortly before Question Time and she made a statement in the House of Representatives correcting her answer on the issue last week.
Labor says this is a cover up.
There is another division on the Labor motion now.
Tanya Plibersek was gagged on a count of 83-50.
Christopher Pyne moves that the suspension motion be put so the government can knock it off and get back to questions, presumably on The Killing Season.
Another division.
Democracy in action, people.
The government wins the division on the numbers: 83-50. Tony Burke is gagged.
Tanya Plibersek rises to second the motion and make a speech:
This is a cover up of a cover up of a cover up.
Christopher Pyne moves that she no longer be heard.
Gag.
Another division.
This is a long division on a gag.
Tony Burke attempts to censure @JulieBishopMP and PM Tony Abbott #QT @gabriellechan @GuardianAus #politicslive pic.twitter.com/8MqOZiwXtR
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) June 24, 2015
I move the member be no longer heard.
As Tony Burke was saying before he was cut off:
The parliament has been misled today by the foreign minister...
Christopher Pyne jumped to his feet:
I move the member be no longer heard.
Tony Burke to Bishop: And I refer to evidence given by deputy secretary Tony Sheehan where he referred to the following advice. ‘PM&C had checked the Martin Place siege documents very carefully. The letter is not there.’ That was sent on 1 June. When will the foreign minister be returning to the House to correct the answer she gave today.
When Bishop does not back down, Labor moves to suspend standing orders over misleading the house. Christopher Pyne rejects the motion and seeks to gag Tony Burke.
The house is dividing.
Julie Bishop, for George Brandis.
Barnaby Joyce is giving a dissertation on how the government is helping farmers in a Dixer.
Tony Burke to Tony Abbott: Can the PM confirm that on 1 June at 5:30pm his own department sent an email to attorneys-general to indicate that minister Bishop had referred to provision of the Man Monis letter in Parliament and to ask about the need to correct the record?
I can also confirm that the Director-General ofASIO has said publicly that the letter in question was handled perfectly appropriately by the Attorney-General.
Abbott is avoiding the question, repeating his words about how “soft” the system is. He says it was acted on “at the earliest opportunity”.
Joe Hockey is asked about fixing the budget.
This is not Joe Hockey.
Updated
Cathy McGowan asks Malcolm Turnbull about the regional mobile blackspot program, which promised to provide money for regional blackspots. Apparently she has a drop as Turnbull says it will be announced tomorrow.
Plibersek to Julie Bishop: Today the minister said she was informed during question time after 3pm on Thursday, 4 June that the letter written by Man Haron Monis had not been provided to the Martin Place siege inquiry. So why did the Attorney-General say in this statement, ‘The foreign minister was advised shortly before question time’?
Bishop says an email was sent to the committee at 2:55pm. After question time, that is 14 minutes later, at 3:09pm, she corrected the record.
I had no earlier opportunity to correct the record as I was in France until 4 June.
Just on the Monis letter, Daniel Hurst explains the greater detail here. The government was forced to correct the record regarding a letter Man Haron Monis had written to the attorney general, George Brandis, about a desire to contact Islamic State (Isis) two months before the deadly attack. The first issue was the letter was not picked up as alarming in the AG’s office. Also, Brandis said the letter had been provided to the Martin Place inquiry. Turns out it had not been done.
Bill Shorten asks Tony Abbott why the parliamentary record on the Monis letter was not corrected for four days.
Tony Abbott says nothing to see here.
There has been nothing untoward here. There has been no impropriority here and and if members opposite are trying to suggest that in some way our possession of that letter would have averted the atrocity in Martin Place in December I think that suggestion, if it’s being made is fanciful to say the least.
Plibersek asks Julie Bishop as AG rep in the lower house:
I refer to the letter the attorney-general refer received from Man Haron Monis on October 2014. According to Senate testimony last night the attorney-general’s department knew on Monday, 1 June, that the department had not provided the letter to the Martin Place siege inquiry. Give the attorney-general knew on Monday that both he and the minister for foreign affairs had misled the Parliament, why wasn’t the record corrected before Thursday, 4 June?
This goes to the government’s claim that it had provided the Monis letter to the Martin Place inquiry.
Julie Bishop:
The record was corrected at the earliest opportunity after receiving formal confirmation from the secretary of the attorney-general’s department on 4 June, 2015. That information was received in writing at 2:43pm. And the advice was that the earlier advice from the department was wrong.
Catherine Jones, deputy secretary of the attorney-general’s department, on 4 June, by email to the committee, advised the committee at 2:55pm. I received information during question time after 3pm that the record had been corrected, as far as the committee was concerned and, at 3:09pm, minutes later, at the end of question time I corrected the record.
The attorney-general sent a letter to the committee on 4 June at3:15pm, again hand delivered.The initial advice to the attorney-general on 1 June was that it appeared that the evidence was wrong. He immediately asked the secretary of the Attorney-General’s department to conduct a review. And the outcome of that review was the information provided to the Attorney-General on the afternoon of the 4th of June as I’ve just outlined.
Updated
Labor is back to Monis in question time, via Tanya Plibersek.
Lunchtime politics
It’s that time already and with question time coming up, here is your political wrap:
- New citizenship legislation has been introduced to parliament to strip dual nationals of their Australian citizenship for a range of terrorism related offences, including financing terrorists. Constitutional lawyers have said the laws are less likely to be challenged than the original version that gave wide ranging ministerial discretion.
- The Coalition and Labor are contemplating an urgent legislative solution to a high court challenge that could potentially derail all offshore detention policies.
-
Tony Abbott said he did feel for the Khaled Sharrouf’s five children, but they would be dealt with in the same way that families of criminals normally were.
- Australia will sign up next week as a founding member of the Asian Infrastructure Bank.
Joe Hockey has announced that Australia will sign on next week to join the Asian Infrastructure Bank as a founding member. This was the bank that split the cabinet. Hockey reportedly wanted to join while the foreign minister Julie Bishop was not so keen. Here is the money bit:
Australia will contribute around A$930 million as paid-in capital to the AIIB over five years and will be the sixth largest shareholder. The AIIB will have paid-in capital of US$20 billion ($A25.2 billion) with total authorised capital of US$100 billion (A$126.2 billion).
The Treasurer will attend the Articles of Agreement signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, Beijing on Monday 29 June.
Back to negotiating, Leyonjhelm makes an interesting point on the difference between Labor and the government. Remember Labor has not had a majority in the senate in recent history.
I think there’s a cultural difference between Labor and the Libs in terms of their willingness to negotiate. Labor’s used to it, they negotiate everything, the Liberals usually take their tablets of stone from the leader and go out and promote them.
Lambie says Labor is good but they are not in government.
It comes down to a matter of trust and if I find out you’re lying to me and trying to sell the legislation you’re trying to put through and it’s been a blatant lie, you’ve said that in front of my face then that trust is just blown out the window and you’ll have to start from the ground level and that’s the biggest issue, there is very little trust.
Nick Xenophon has compared Jaqui Lambie to a rockstar in Tasmania. A cross between Katy Perry and Nana Mouskouri.
But a little less love between Nick and David.
The three indies are asked about the life in parliament.
Leyonjhelm:
It has its moments of sheer pleasure but they’re a bit like a Wagner opera, moments of sheer bliss interspersed by utter boredom. The one aspectof the job they hadn’t anticipated is the hours and the intensity of life in parliament house. I am really good we don’t do that 52 weeks of the year, it would kill me.
Lambie thinks it is a bit like defence headquarters.
And Xenophon calls for more transparency, given the relentless pace of federal politics.
One reason why so manyAustralians hate so many politicians is we’re not transparent enough and it won’t kill us to publish details of our entertainment, of where we travel, online and do it frequently and rather than you guys as journalists having to trawl through FIO requests and I don’t think it will hurt us to do that. Rhat’s one thing that once it’s done, it’s like ripping off a band aid. Most think “why didn’t we do it earlier?”
On Khaled Sharrouf’s family coming back to Australia, Leyonhjelm does not believe in collective punishment, Lambie thinks his wife Tara Nettleton should be charged with sedition.
Nick Xenophon believes:
You can’t make judgments without knowing the full facts and I think it also highlights the need for the government making a concerted effort, a greater effort in terms of deradicalisation of Islamic extremism.
Crossbenchers on citizenship laws
On citizenship law, David Leyonjhelm says he is opposed to ministerial discretion,
There are issues about who it applies to, when it applies, what appeal rights they have.
Nick Xenophon wants terrorists under lock and key in Australia rather than causing trouble around the world.
What concerns me is if someone is stripped of their citizenship, they’re there, they’ve been fighting for ISIS or Daesh, they can’t come back to Australia, will they then spend the rest of their miserable lives trying to work out how many Australians they can harm somewhere overseas? I’d rather they be brought back to Australia and kept under lock and key for a very, very long time when they’re no longer a threat to Australians anywhere and I think outsourcing the problem is not necessarily the wisiest thing to do.
Jacqui Lambie wants terrorists sent to their other country.
You bring them back here, this is where the terrorist cells feed, that’s how it happens. So I don’t believe that’s the answer, but if you have a dual citizenship, we don’t want you. You go back to whenever you come from. That one to me is straight down the line.
With Labor likely to support the bill however, their votes won’t make much difference.
Nick Xenophon nominates Labor senator Sam Dastyari, as doing good work.
Dasher Dastyari #Live #NotAReenactment at the press club @gabriellechan @GuardianAus #politicslive pic.twitter.com/ApNZEwy5hi
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) June 24, 2015
Xenophon is up for a compromise on the senate reforms.
Simply one above the line as recommended by the majority position, I think that will make it difficult for diverse voices. I think a better way is to at least require three above the line, as easy as 1, 2, 3, it’s the sort of thing some say could work and you get rid of the group voting tickets.
Jacqui Lambie suggests the government is very hard to deal with.
I have struggled to communicate with them. Compared to Labor, I’ll give it to Labor, they’re very easy to communicate with, very easy. They sell things very easily, but right now you have the Coalition. They’re difficult to communicate with and to be honest they couldn’t sell Avon at a bargain price, that’s what I’m up against.
The independents are asked to nominate whether they are feeling the love from the government.
David Leyonhjelm says the government is getting better at negotiating but nominates Scott Morrison as the standout on temporary protection visas. It took ScoMo a while to come to it but he finally did according to Leyonhjelm.
In the beginning, my exchanges with Scott he was a bit like the old story about Australians talking to people who don’t speakEnglish, they speak louder. Scott was a bit like that, he just kept repeating it and repeating it. After a while, he’s quite a smart guy, it dawned on him maybe he needed to listen to what I was saying and maybe some of my concerns were legitimate and worth addressing.
Ricky Muir watches fellow crossbenchers.
Independents day.
Nick Xenophon has pushed back at David Leyonjhelm’s claim that he always votes with Labor and the Greens.
It’s a bit misleading to speak in terms of voting with The Greensand with the Government only 30% of the time. I have voted with the government on key pieces of legislation. The carbon tax, the Emissions Reduction Fund (Direct Action), the RET and border protection. My voting record is not as good or as bad as David’s, because I voted against the government when it came to issues of metadata, press freedom, Section 35P of our anti-terror laws has a chilling effect on press freedom in this country and I make no apology for that.
The point of the shopping trolley joke is her assertion that journalists are somehow keeping a lid on secret reports.
The secret reports I’d like to talk about are the ones that you the Canberra media haven’t talked about all that much, and my question to you is why not?
Lambie quotes the interim report on the royal commission into trade unions.
This is unfortunate because the confidential volume reveals grave threats to the power and authority of the Australian state.
Amended: Lambie wants a briefing on the interim report. I am also happy to take delivery of a copy.
Updated
Jacqui Lambie goes through her achievements which include a raise in defence force pay, an increase in funding to the freight equalisation scheme and Tasmanian manufacturing,
I begin most of my conversation with government ministers who want to meet with me by saying, “What’s in this deal for Tasmania?”
Perhaps from now on if they don’t come up with the cash, I’ll just say “Let’s pretend I’m an Indonesian people-smugglers” , and you can be Tony Abbott.
Lambie also has a joke about Canberra journalists, given to her by her mother.
What’s the difference between a journalist and a shopping trolley? Apparently a shopping trolley has a mind of its own.
Jacqui Lambie puts it this way:
In the lead-up to the next federal election the conservatives parties will run a scare campaign about a hung parliament and a feral Senate. The Liberal election ads will scream a hung Senate means chaos. Have Tony or Malcolm, or Julie, or Scott as prime minister, because we have a long-term economic plan, same, same . And my question to those ads is simply this, a hung Australian parliament will and has guaranteed consultation, not chaos. A hung Australian senate will and has guaranteed greater accountability, less political corruption and a better deception.
Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm is at the National Press Club with his crossbench colleagues, Nick Xenophon and Jacqui Lambie.
The speeches so far have revolved around the proposed reforms to stop so called gaming of the senate and the achievements of crossbenchers. The joint committee on electoral matters have recommended optional preferential voting in the senate.
Leyonjhelm suggests such a reform will:
wipe out the minor parties and keep the major parties in power. The Senate will be permanently deadlocked between the Coalition on one side, Labor and the Greens on the other. The only crossbencher who would survive is Nick who votes with the Greens and Labor most of the time.
Updated
Project host Waleed Aly took on Zaky Mallah regarding his statements on Q&A.
Rather than shouting at the ABC, it was a much more effective way of addressing the content of Mallah’s ridiculous statements, such as this one, in my opinion.
The majority of the #qanda audience tonight was pro Libs and pathetic. I would pay to see that Minister dumped on #ISIS territory in Iraq!
— Zaky Mallah (@ZakyMallah) June 22, 2015
The whole Project interview is here.
Back to the RET.
Senator Janet Rice, Australian Greens forests spokesperson, says the RET legislation will drive additional native forest logging and allow the burning of whole logs.
This deal between Labor and the Coalition has thrown a lifeline to the native forest logging industry at the expense of taxpayers, genuine clean energy and plantation timber jobs. The Abbott government’s claims that this is just about ‘wood waste’, ‘branches’ or ‘offcuts’ is absolute rubbish. It simply won’t be worth the transport costs to use anything but whole logs. Our native forests are worth much more standing for our climate, our most threatened animals and for the local communities that rely on them.
Shalailah Medhora is on the case of the offshore processing loophole which the government is scrambling to close on this second last day of this parliamentary sitting.
A High Court challenge could derail the government’s policy of processing asylum seekers on Nauru, sending both Labor and the Coalition into a tailspin.
The court heard a directions hearing on Wednesday, ascertaining the factual basis of the case, which claims that the government does not have the authority to detain people offshore or put money towards that goal.
Constitutional lawyer George Williams: new citizenship laws have lower risk of being struck down
Lenore Taylor has spoken to University of NSW law professor George Williams, who says he believes the citizenship bill as it is now drafted is unlikely to be struck down by the high court on constitutional grounds.
It has a much lower constitutional risk that the original plan. At best the minister can exempt someone from the operations of the act which does not raise the same considerations.
Updated
In a brief love affair with the ABC, Tony Abbott praised the national broadcaster for Sarah Ferguson’s excellent series The Killing Season, documenting the sorry leadership mess of the last government. That was before he hit the treason button.
The series was compelling - though I always had the feeling that it was a little too soon to provide perspective. Timeframes notwithstanding, Rob Manwaring of Flinders University has a nice comparison on The Conversation to the Akira Kurosawa film Rashomon, which retells a story four different ways by “unreliable and self-serving narrators”.
The final episode revealed that Bill Shorten was talking to Kevin Rudd before the latter’s return to the prime ministership in 2013. It would appear the clincher of the deal was that Kevin wanted a change to the leadership rules, which made it much harder for the party to get rid of a leader. Shorten, possibly calculating future scenarios, agreed to swing his support behind Rudd.
Shorten was asked about it this morning, most particularly whether he was a liar for supporting Julia Gillard when he was talking behind the scenes to Kevin Rudd.
It is history. It is not my job as leader of the opposition to be the curator of the museum of Labor. What I am determined to do is work with my team to develop the best possible vision for Australia. What has happened in the past is exactly that, the past. I think all reasonable commentators would say that in the last two years the Labor Party has been much more united than it has for the years previously. That is the first step of Labor’s rebuilding of trust with the Australian community.
I am not sure two year old history is worthy of a museum analogy myself.
Tony Abbott was not in the parliament when the citizenship legislation was presented but he was at a classified briefing at Asio headquarters. While the briefing was classified, some lucky photographers were allowed in the room, one of whom was Lukas Coch of AAP. Sadly, Mike Bowers was not invited.
Here is a map.
Destination: classified.
Wow. Govt has discovered a loophole in offshore processing legislation and needs a bill passed by the end of the day. Labor caucus to meet.
— Latika M Bourke (@latikambourke) June 24, 2015
Just checking what this is about.
Labor will meet at 11.30am for a special caucus on the citizenship legislation.
Labor is being briefed by the government right now, two hours after the bill was presented to the house.
Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment Bill 2015 introduced
While the lawyers pore over the citizenship legislation, other stuff is happening.
The white paper on developing northern Australia was only released last week and one of its recommendations was:
More efficient native title processes that create more certainty for investors and opportunities for native title claimants and holders (through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Indigenous land review).
The white paper said:
Many Indigenous Australians say that native title rights do not provide a basis for active participation in the economy. Indigenous Australians sometimes talk about being ‘land rich, dirt poor’. In many cases, native title does not currently provide a secure asset that promotes investment, unlike most Australians who can borrow against their freehold title in their own home or business.
This issue was raised with the prime minister during his first trip to Arnhem Land, where he spent five days in an Indigenous community. The community of Yirrkala was particularly keen to change the powers in order to develop their land.
The government must have had the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment Bill 2015 sitting in the bottom drawer as it has been introduced to parliament this morning. We are working through this one now.
Updated
Julie Bishop says as a matter of course, the Coalition would not support retrospectivity. Except.
As a matter of course, the Coalition would not support retrospectivity but there are certain circumstances where, for example, people convicted of terrorist offences currently serving time in prison, their circumstances should be considered on their release from prison.
Labor yet to be briefed on citizenship laws
Bill Shorten has not been briefed on the citizenship laws yet. He is asked about the family of Khaled Sharrouf, who was reported killed. His wife Tara Nettleton and their children want to return to Australia. Shorten is not committing on a Labor position.
I do not as a parent understand how on earth anyone, no matter how twisted their own view, would subject their children to that sort of trauma and child abuse. Also as a parent I know that with these children to return they were going to need a lot of working through what they have seen and done. As a parent I wouldn’t feel comfortable with these children reinserting in a playground with my children or anyone else’s children. But I reckon the sins of the father should not be visit and treated as the sins of the children. We just need to work through this issue intelligently. We will take the advice of the security agencies and that is what Australians want.
Updated
Under the current Australian Citizenship Act, a minister can revoke the citizenship of a child if their parents’ citizenship is revoked. Exceptions include if there is another responsible parent who is an Australian citizen or if the child is left stateless.
The current act is here.
Updated
PDuddy and his learned friend the Bull, perusing the bill dutifully.
Updated
Parallel universe
Just by way of contrast, Philip Ruddock, the special minister for citizenship discussion, is presenting the parliamentary joint committee on human rights to the parliament.
Updated
Natural justice? Need not apply
The legislation contains some general notes about the minister’s powers overseeing the “renunciation” of citizenship, which for the wonks is section 33AA.
It states that the minister holds the powers personally – in other words, back off courts.
And it states:
The rules of natural justice do not apply in relation to the powers of the minister under this section.
Updated
A child can lose their citizenship under the new laws
This is directly from the legislation:
Where a person renounces their Australian citizenship under this section, the renunciation takes effect, and the Australian citizenship of the person ceases, immediately upon the person engaging in the conduct referred to in subsection (2).
Note: A child of the person may also cease to be an Australian citizen.
While we trawl through the bill, this from National MP Darren Chester, bless him.
First in class! Important to grab your seat early when they're taking a photo of the cabinet team @cpyne #auspol pic.twitter.com/FRYAY0pDDf
— Darren Chester MP (@DarrenChesterMP) June 23, 2015
No notice required for loss of citizenship
The bill also limits sections of the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation Act for the new provisions.
These sections relate to giving notice of a loss of citizenship or rescinding a notice and exempting a person from loss.
Dutton:
This means that the minister may rely on any information provided by Asio, whether it is in a preliminary form or information or whether it amounts to a security assessment or qualified security assessment.
Updated
Australian citizens by birth can lose citizenship under new laws
Immigration minister Dutton introduces the allegiance to Austrailia bill @gabriellechan @GuardianAus #politicslive pic.twitter.com/s8gOIRchNm
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) June 23, 2015
The bill makes it clear that the new loss provisions apply to all Australian citizens, regardless of how they acquired that citizenship ... Legislation has long provided that Australian citizens by birth can lose their citizenship.
Updated
Here is the minister’s formulation regarding a declared terrorist organisation:
A declared terrorist organisation will be a subset of those which are proscribed for the purposes of the criminal code. The minister will declare those organisations that are opposed to Australia or Australia’s values, democratic beliefs, rights and liberties.
OK citizen journalists, here is the link to the Allegiance to Australia bill.
Peter Dutton says the loss of citizenship will be immediate, upon the person engaging in the relevant conduct.
The minister must give notice that a person has ceased to be an Australian citizen once the minister becomes aware of the person’s conduct, giving rise to that outcome.
The definitions which will cause citizenship renunciation
Here’s the definitions for actions which will cause citizenship renunciation, via Peter Dutton.
The relevant conduct is engaging in international terrorist activities using explosive or lethal devices, engaging in a terrorist act, providing or receiving training connected with preparation for, engagement in or assistance in a terrorist act.
Directing the activities of a terrorist organisation, recruiting for a terrorist organisation, financing terrorism, financing a terrorist, and engaging in foreign incursions and recruitment. Automatic loss of citizenship will be triggered whether the conduct takes place inside or outside Australia.
(Bear with me, there is a lot of detail and I need to get it right.)
Updated
Dutton:
The bill proposes three mechanisms for automatic loss of citizenship.
First, a new provision where a person renounces their citizenship if they act inconsistently with their allegiance to Australia by engaging in certain terrorist conduct.
Second, an extension of the provision for a person fighting in the armed forces of another country against Australia. In that situation a person ceases to be an Australian citizen if they fight for or are in the services of a specified terrorist organisation overseas.
Third, a new loss of citizenship provision if the person has been convicted of a specified terrorism offence by an Australian court.
Updated
Peter Dutton is delivering a second reading speech, with Malcolm Turnbull sitting behind him.
[Citizenship] is a common bond that unites us all, whether we were born here or chose to make Australia our home. Citizenship shows a commitment to this country, its people and its democratic rights an privileges. Australian citizenship should not be taken lightly.
Citizenship bill in da house.
Speaker Bishop is in the chair.
Here comes the bill.
The Australian citizenship amendment (allegiance to Australia) bill 2015 is in the house.
Updated
Twitter friend and wag:
@gabriellechan we need to know. These Pro Bono lawyers which side are the on? Also why r they such fans of U2 anyway?
— Tarnation Australia (@miamiaman) June 23, 2015
From our colleague down at Sky, the Daily Tele’s spread on Q&A.
Is this a real qanda panel? pic.twitter.com/EbvNgWMXKz
— James O'Doherty (@jmodoh) June 23, 2015
PM: Plenty of pro-bono lawyers will rush to help the first person affected by laws
Tony Abbott does not seem to be worried about anyone inadvertently getting caught up by national security laws.
I am sure there will be all sorts of pro-bono lawyers who will be rushing to help the first person for whom this takes place but the fact is if you’re a terrorist, you’ve left our country to fight with a movement that regards our way of life as in some way satanic, it is saying to us, submit or die, which hates our freedom, which hates our tolerance, which hates the welcome that we give to minorities, which hates everything about the way we live, frankly why should we consider you to be one of us?
Updated
Tony Abbott: All too often the ABC seems to be on everyone's side but Australia's
The citizenship legislation will be introduced to the parliament at 9am.
Meantime, here is Tony Abbott, who was speaking to Sunrise this morning.
Our supposed national broadcaster is giving a platform to someone who hates us, hates our way of life, supports the terrorists that would do us harm and again I say, the issue for the ABC, our national broadcaster, is whose side are you on because all too often the ABC seems to be on everyone’s side but Australia’s.
The GST is back on the agenda. Here is Daniel Hurst’s report:
The Abbott government has reignited debate about the carve-up of the goods and services tax after releasing a reform blueprint that includes the option of tying allocations to the population of states and territories.
Another option is a new “floor” to ensure that no state or territory’s allocation fell below a set level – an issue Western Australia has complained about given its share is set to fall below 30 cents for every dollar it contributes next financial year.
The ideas are outlined in a new discussion paper on federation reform (pdf), which also floats a federal takeover of state responsibilities for universities and the potential for the states to take charge of all homelessness services..
The paper presents three options:
- Maintain the status quo but improve transparency of the process to ensure the public understands how the system works.
- Change the system, either by introducing a “floor” for each state or territory’s allocation, or by adjusting the revenue and spending information that is taken into account in the calculations.
- Replacing the system with a carve-up based on population, with “top-up grants” to states or territories that were the losers of the new system.
The third is the most radical option for change to the GST carve-up. The paper says it would require the unanimous support of the states and territories to move to a simple per-capita formula.
Updated
Renewable energy target hair cut: is it a mullet?
The renewable energy target has been cut from 41,000 gigawatt hours to 33,000 gigawatt hours. The Greens and Labor tried to exclude wood waste from the RET to no avail as the government got the support of the Senate crossbenchers by appointing a windfarm commissioner. Lenore Taylor broke that story last week.
Industry groups welcomed the slashing of the RET, with Kate Carnell, chief executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, describing the new target as an:
enormous relief to energy users … The reduction of the target from 41,000 gigawatt hours is a sensible reform that acknowledges the changed circumstances of lower overall demand for energy than originally anticipated.
I will bring you more reaction through the morning on whether the new RET target haircut represents a trim or a mullet.
Updated
The ABC is in deep doodoo again. As anticipated, the warriors are out. From the highest office in the land to a wide range of media commentators, swords have been drawn to hang, draw and quarter the national broadcaster for treason.
This sort of thing really helps, though I’m not sure the advertiser at the bottom would be pleased.
The front page of tomorrow's Courier-Mail. pic.twitter.com/2kRB0YcRlT
— The Courier-Mail (@couriermail) June 23, 2015
Peter Dutton has his metaphorical night stick out and giving the ABC a whack.
I think people want to see a balanced Q&A, because as I say, it has been a good format, but in recent month it is has lost the plot ... They do have serious questions to answer and that’s the idea of this independent process because people need to have confidence restored into the public broadcaster because there are lots of people across the community that shouldn’t be ignored, that do have significant concerns about the composition of the audience, about now the safety aspect of going into that audience or as a panel member.
Updated
Good morning citizens,
Hang on to your citizenship tightly this morn. The immigration minister, Peter Dutton, has been staring down at me from every television in the joint, explaining the new laws to strip citizenship, which we have yet to sight.
The legislation is expected first thing this morning so it will be refreshing to have facts in front of us.
Dutton has told various outlets that if a dual national “serves or fights” in the name of a proscribed terrorist organisation, “by their very act” they renounce their citizenship.
Evidence for that action will be provided from intelligence agencies to the minister, who will “notify” the person. On receiving the notification, the (former) dual national may then challenge the circumstances in a court.
The change from the previous “ministerial discretion” option is that rather than the minister cancelling the citizenship on agency intelligence, the citizenship is stripped “automatically” by their conduct.
Dutton says the “person themselves make the decision” and “renunciation takes place at the time of the conduct”.
While I am nothing more than a bush lawyer, which is no lawyer at all, the automatic button seems troublesome.
It may be all well and good if the person declares they have been fighting with Isis or other orgs but I still come back to the fact that proving the conduct for someone who does not self-declare surely is still an issue.
The other interesting development which Dutton has expanded on this morning is the fact that Australians who are dual nationals and now in jail for terrorism-related offences could have their citizenship stripped under the laws.
The legislation presented this morning will not be retrospective but after it is introduced, it will go straight to the parliamentary joint committee on security and intelligence, which will be asked to look at whether the law should be retrospective.
PDutton says there are now 23 Australians in jail for terrorism related offences and about half are dual nationals.
There is a question about whether or not there should be some applicability to the 23 or those who are serving jail sentences now and that’s an issue for the committee which is a joint committee between Liberal and Labor to have a look at that question, but we don’t propose retrospectivity in its current form.
The other thing that happened while we were having a life was the passage of the renewable energy target through the Senate. You now have a windfarm commissioner, who will be paid for out of “existing savings” in the environment department, so kick back and relax.
Jump into the conversation below, or on the Twits @gabriellechan and @mpbowers.
Second-last sitting day of parliament before the winter break. Giddy up.
Updated
