With both chambers adjourning, I too am going to adjourn the blog.
We have another week of sittings to get through though, before we can rest our weary heads. Plus estimates is coming up. So prepare yourself.
It is committee day tomorrow, so make sure you check in with the Guardian to see what is happening across the day, as well as all the other news which happens outside this place.
A very, very big thank you to Mike Bowers, Katharine Murphy, Sarah Martin and Paul Karp for their never-ending help today, which is also extended to the rest of the Guardian brains trust. You might not get to know all their names, but it is a small but mighty team who keep this blog ticking over and from the moderators to the subs, to the editors, we could not do it without them.
I hope you manage to have some switch-off time between now and Monday morning. I’ll be back on the news beat in the meantime, but will be back with you in blog capacity just before 8am when parliament resumes.
Have a wonderful weekend. And take care of you.
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When the conservatives fire up Photoshop, you know you've got them scared. Didn’t take long to spook them, did it?
— Australian Greens (@Greens) February 6, 2020
PS: Hey Bolt, you know the Hulk is the good guy, right? pic.twitter.com/y9l7hmzCX1
The House stands adjourned until 11.30 am on Monday. The business of parliament is only accelerating, though. We have four major committee hearings on the schedule for tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/GOMvALZIdM
— Australian House of Representatives (@AboutTheHouse) February 6, 2020
And now the House is adjourned.
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From Mike Bowers’ lens to your eyeballs:
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When you start with the man in the mirror and ask him to change his ways.
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The Senate is on to its adjournment debate.
Everywhere you look, everywhere you go
There’s a heart (there’s a heart), a hand to hold onto.
Everywhere you look, everywhere you go
There’s a place, of Somebody who needs you
Everywhere you look.
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Further to my earlier post on Jacqui Lambie:
A spokesman for the attorney general, Christian Porter, said: “There are no constitutional issues with the points system and the government is continuing direct discussions with the crossbench including Senator Lambie.”
Updated
Here is the whole exchange between Tim Watts and Tony Smith on the Christopher Pyne ‘joke’.
Watts:
I have a question for you, Mr Speaker. I refer to recent comments made by the former minister for defence, Christopher Pyne, in conversation with the former secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Martin Parkinson, on the 20 January 2020 episode of the Pyne Time podcast. In the conversation, Mr Pyne commented on the malicious intrusion into the Australian Parliament House computer network, discovered in early 2019, stating that he and Mr Parkinson knew ‘how much worse it all was’ and that they ‘could never talk about it’.
Putting aside the extraordinary indiscretion of a former minister for defence making comments of this kind, I refer to your statement to the House on 12 February 2019 about the extent of this attack.
I know that you appreciate the seriousness of public confidence in this institution and I acknowledge and thank you for your written response to my correspondence with you on this matter. I ask whether for the benefit of the House you could share your response to Mr Pyne’s comments.
Smith:
I first thank the member for Gellibrand for bringing the matter to my attention in writing. I have replied, as he said, outlining – in fact, I’ve replied jointly with the president of the Senate. I think it is important that I do, given these comments have been made, make a statement to the House, which I’ll do now.
I’m only aware of the comments thanks to the member for Gellibrand, but I’ll just say this: following discovery of the cybersecurity incident in January of last year, as members would be aware, the president and I, as we have said, received detailed briefings from the Australian Signals Directorate and the Department of Parliamentary Services. Communication and management of the incidents was guided by the information available to us as presiding officers in the context of the parliamentary computing network. Of course, as we pointed out, our statements balanced the need for transparency with discretion on matters of national security. But any inference that our statements to the parliament on this issue were inaccurate or misleading as to the seriousness of the situation is false. I stand by the statements made by the president of the Senate and myself.
I finally say the podcast also refers to a cyberintrusion at the Australian National University, which is in the transcript that you kindly forwarded to me. So perhaps it shouldn’t be inferred that the comments necessarily relate to the parliamentary network.
The important point is that the president and I have no further information or knowledge as to what Mr Pyne meant with his comments, and I thank the member for Gellibrand again.
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Senator Jacqui Lambie has been asked on ABC Afternoon Briefing about her proposed amendments to the union penalty bill.
As Guardian Australia reported on Tuesday, Lambie is trying to strike a deal with the government “as soon as possible” on the bill, which lowers the threshold for deregistering unions or disqualifying their officials.
Lambie replied: “We are still talking through those amendments ... The hold-up is when it comes to, there’s a points system, on whether or not it’s constitutional, so that’s what we’re doing at the moment. I do believe that the other amendments are sitting there, there’s just a couple of other issues and one of them is the points system. That could be a little bit constitutional. So do we work it around so we still get the same result and the same outcome and we’re just trying to tie that in now”.
That’s a very interesting answer. The points system was introduced by Centre Alliance amendments as a sort-of three strikes policy to prevent disqualification of union officials for minor offences. The government accepted the amendments in a bid to pass the bill.
It’s possible Lambie has blown the whistle on a problem not just with her proposed amendments but the scheme of the bill put to the Senate and defeated in November.
I’ve asked the attorney general, Christian Porter, to clarify.
Updated
Christopher Pyne's 'jokes' questioned
OK, it took some transcription time, but we got there.
At the end of question time, Tim Watts raised an issue with Tony Smith, asking about comments the former minister Christopher Pyne made in his podcast with the former Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Martin Parkinson.
Pyne and Parkinson were talking about the breach of the parliamentary network last year on the podcast, which led to this exchange:
Parkinson: I’m amazed, actually, at how little concern is expressed by the public when these breaches occur.
Pyne: Everyone almost factors it in, don’t they?
Parkinson: Yeah.
Pyne: They think “oh well”.
Parkinson: Look at ANU, at what’s happened. I’m not blaming ANU but just saying we should be appalled by this. Look at what happened at Parliament House. We should be appalled.
Pyne: You and I know how much worse it all was, which we could never talk about (laughs).
Parkinson: No (laughs).
Watts asked Smith whether this is something Pyne should be joking about, and whether he had gone past his boundaries by hinting there was more to what the public was told about the breach.
Smith said he was unaware of what Pyne was talking about:
Communication and management of the incident was guided by the information available to us as presiding officers in the context of the parliamentary computing network,” Smith said.
Of course, as we pointed out, our statements balanced the need for transparency with discretion on matters of national security.
But any inference that our statements to the parliament to this issue were inaccurate or misleading as to the seriousness of the situation is false. I stand by the statements made by the president of the Senate and myself.
I would just finally say the podcast also refers to a cyber intrusion at the Australian National University.
... So perhaps it shouldn’t be inferred that the comments necessarily relate to the parliamentary network.
The important point is the president and I have no further information or knowledge as to what Mr Pyne meant.”
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Asked about the AFP decision not to investigate Angus Taylor, Anthony Albanese says:
Well, Scott Morrison could ask Angus Taylor tomorrow what happened. How did this occur? That’s what he should do. You shouldn’t need outside organisations.
A PM who actually cared about integrity would have dealt with this. The PM quite clearly doesn’t care about integrity.
And I make this point as well – and I’ll conclude with this – Australia needs a national integrity commission.
We need one with real power to make independent investigations. The fact is that faith in our politics is at an all-time low.
It’s at an all-time low because of the sports rorts saga that we can see.
... Angus Taylor of course has been involved in a Watergate scandal, he’s been involved in the issue around Jam Land and his declarations to the parliament.
He’s been involved in this document where we still don’t know where it came from.
We know it was given from his office to the Daily Telegraph. Where did it come from?
They can’t just say we don’t know because quite clearly someone does know.
We know it didn’t come from the City of Sydney because the police in their investigation went to the City of Sydney and went through their data.
Now why the data of minister Taylor’s office wasn’t gone through is a question for others to answer.
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Anthony Albanese:
... If you look at Stuart Robert’s answer today to my question in parliament, it is clear he knows they will have to pay money back. It was clearly implied.
And I will make two points in addition to the point that Bill has been making, and I praise Bill for what he has done in pursuing this issue.
The fact is, every single person who came to my electoral office seeking assistance either got their debt reduced to zero or got it reduced substantially. Without exception.
The truth is the most vulnerable people in our society don’t go to their local MP’s office.
People from non-English-speaking backgrounds, in some cultures if you get a demand letter from the government, you rush and you pay that money even if you don’t have it – you borrow it from a relative. That is what has gone on here.
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Bill Shorten:
[Scott Morrison] was the treasurer when they invented robodebt. No doubt his fingerprints will be all over it.
The point about it is they want to pretend they are making a surplus.
They will string out vulnerable people. This is a government who basically had no authority to send vulnerable people on safety net payments, they just assume that people would pay up.
... This is a mass act of unjust enrichment by the government. It is theft of people’s money – the government has abused its power.
... How may times of this government after getting caught breaking the rules before it simply says they got it wrong.
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Bill Shorten:
The federal government has been illegally and unjustly enriching itself with the government adding money back.
They don’t have the power to do it. The fact they are still running a legal action when their own public servants have already privately said it is not legal.
This is a waste of money.
The interest bill is ticking over because if you owe someone money that you have taken, you owe them the interest on that lost income. They are paying lawyers to fight it, they shouldn’t have taken the taxpayers’ money and they are spending more taxpayer money ...
... the commonwealth has been pretending that it is allowed to take money by issuing these notices. It is not! If I sent you an email demanding money, and you pay me, that is illegal.
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Anthony Albanese throws to Bill Shorten:
Due to the persistent efforts of Labor, a document was put up on the Senate website, which goes to the heart of the robodebt scandal: 700,000 Australians received robodebt notices over the last four years. The government has taken $1.5bn off Australians back to the coffers for themselves.
Labor has campaigned against the robodebt, it’s been unfair. Mothers report their children have taken their lives, adult children, because of the pressure of these robodebt notices.
But today a document has been released which the government did not want people to see, they resisted that. What it reveals is that the chief legal officer of the tax commission has told the tax commissioner that he’s been told by the government, the department of social security, that there is no valid legal basis for the commonwealth to issue these debt notices. Or to put it in plain English, the government has been illegally, unjustly enriching itself, ripping off hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable Australians. Today in response to Anthony’s question, minister Stuart Robert said, we have justified it.
No minister, you have been illegally taking money from Australians for four years. Now the government needs to answer the following questions.
When did they find out the scheme was illegal?
Why didn’t they find out the scheme was illegal?
Furthermore, how many people will be repaid? How much money will be repaid?
Why are they wasting taxpayer money fighting legal class actions, when their own ... documents reveal the government has been running a legal ponzi scheme, ripping off hundreds of thousands of its own people with no legal authority.
Updated
Anthony Albanese and Bill Shorten are holding their second press conference together since the election, on robodebt – asking when the government knew it was illegal.
Albanese:
Today in question time we started by asking about the correspondence that came from the Australian Taxation Office that we know, as a result of Senate questions on notice that were delivered today, that months ago the government was advised that the robodebt scheme was in fact illegal.
Even after being presented with that, what the government did today was consistent with what it does on everything. They couldn’t confess, they said it was just an adjustment. They couldn’t say they got it wrong.
The fact is, given the ATO advice, the government will have a very significant liability indeed. Because people were put under enormous pressure getting bills we now know were not only unfair and just wrong but also illegal at the time.
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Christian Porter:
... Now it has been previously noted that meritless political referrals to key law enforcement agencies waste resources that could be allocated to the investigation of serious matters such as homicides, terrorism offences, drug offences, offences against children, and the NSW police commissioner said they are a great diverter of my time.
It has also been previously noted that the shadow attorney general has either made or oversighted from Labor eight meritless political referrals, with zero charges laid, referred, pursued. Zero.
And so now, the information before House is that the strike rate is now zero from 10. Not zero from nine, because the shadow attorney general first referred it ... to NSW police under NSW law, they said nothing, then it went to the AFP, two more strikes. Zero from 10.
I noted previously, to try and find some context to put to this, the most Test cricket ducks in Test cricket history was from a poor person, Ajit Agarkar, who had five in a row (shared by Australia’s Bob Holland). I can now inform the House that the record in all first-class cricket innings without scoring a run was set in 1930 by an English cricketer, Seymour Clark, nine innings, zero runs, he has now been beat.
Zero from 10. If the shadow AG was a cricket player, he would be the worst first-class batsman in cricket history.
In fact, I have been into deep ministerial discussions with the minister of health, to see if we can provide the shadow AG with a referral pad, so he can just save time with his referrals, just by writing the name, and the offence, and sending it off to the police.
Perhaps now you might ask yourself, do you regret, do you apologise?
Updated
Brendan O’Connor is making a personal explanation on being “misrepresented” after his photo was used in multiple News Corp outlets in place of Michael McCormack.
Which it was. Because after two years, apparently even newsrooms can’t identify who the deputy prime minister is.
It’s hard being sourdough.
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The attorney general calls on Labor to apologise to Angus Taylor.
Cue the prime minister: “And on that note, I ask for all other questions to be tabled.”
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Christian Porter says Labor now has a strike rate of “zero from 10” in “meritless” referrals to police
We get one more dixer – on Angus Taylor not being investigated by the AFP.
The motion to suspend standing orders fails, and the MPs return to their normal seats.
“Arrogance and cowardice is what characterises this man,” says Richard Marles, pointing to an indifferent prime minister, before he too is shut down.
Updated
Tony Burke gets in “we saw the prime minister’s true character on display – stubborn, all about marketing” before he is shut down by Christian Porter.
The bells ring again.
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Joel Fitzgibbon has welcomed David Littleproud’s return to the agriculture portfolio:
I congratulate both David Littleproud and Keith Pitt on their ministerial appointments. It was a mistake to remove David Littleproud from the agriculture portfolio and Labor welcomes his re-appointment.
David Littleproud was denied the portfolio following the 2019 election because he diverged too far from the National party playbook and its failed populism and pork-barrelling guidance. His challenge this time will be to take the prime minister and his colleagues with him on a reform journey to turn around the flat-lining productivity and poor profitability in the food and fibre sector.
The Morrison government has no national plan for the agriculture sector and no coherent national plan for the ongoing drought. Despite some welcome rain, the drought is very much still with us. David Littleproud’s first act should be to stop cutting farming families off Farm Household Allowance.
Labor will work with David Littleproud on any reform agenda in pursuit of sustainable profitability in the agriculture sector. The government can’t keep claiming the National Farmers Federation’s plan as its own. In the face of challenges from drought, bushfires, biosecurity threats, trade wars and the coronavirus, the sector deserves better.
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There are some rumblings from government backbenchers to just let Labor have one of these debates and get it over and done with, because Labor has been responding to the shut down of the motions by calling a quorum every chance it gets.
Because of that, government MPs are having their speeches interrupted – they also can’t do their work, because they keep getting called back into the chamber.
These aren’t things that impact Scott Morrison, because he doesn’t make those speeches, and he doesn’t have to form the quorum. But it is annoying the backbench, who have been doing this for a while now and are a bit sick of it.
Still, rules are rules and Labor can call for a quorum if there aren’t enough government MPs in the chamber. And Labor’s tactics are honed through decades of factional wars within its own conferences and branches – it is better at this sort of political warfare, because it is a natural part of its own brand of politcs.
And there is more chance that a Hemsworth will suddenly take notice of me than Morrison allows one of these debates to go forward.
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Christian Porter moves that Anthony Albanese no longer be heard.
The division bells ring for four minutes.
You know where this is going.
The motion:
That the House, one, notes:
a) The prime minister is incapable of expressing regret and admitting when he is wrong.
b) The prime minister blames others and attempts to cover up his failings with false or misleading claims including but in no way limited to:
1. The prime minister’s claim the response to the national bushfire crisis was a matter for the states and territories.
2. The prime minister’s claim volunteer firefighters didn’t need economic compensation because they wanted to be there.
3. The prime minister’s statement that he didn’t hold a hose when Australians were looking to him for national leadership in an unprecedented bushfire crisis.
4. The prime minister’s claim he had a conversation with a bushfire survivor who had lost everything, when he instead forced her to shake his hand only to turn his back when she asked for help, and
c) The prime minister can’t learn from his mistakes if he never admits them, and
Two, therefore calls on the prime minister to put the national interest ahead of his political interest,
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Labor is now moving to suspend standing orders with its latest “the prime minister is terrible” motion.
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Scott Morrison, who actually appears under pressure with these questions, but still hasn’t actually expressed regret, continued that answer:
Mr Speaker, I do not – I do not regret establishing the national bushfire recovery agency within days. And putting $2bn into the national bushfire recovery agency.
Mr Speaker, I don’t regret pulling together the peak groups of all the organisations from Indigenous organisations to charitable groups to tourism industry bodies to small business bodies, to those looking after wildlife and getting them together and putting the plan in place, that is now in full operation, that is out there supporting local communities.
And I don’t regret that I did not take the actions that those opposite now seek to be doing in seeking to politicise a bushfire crisis, as they sought to do all summer.
As they sought to do all summer, Mr Speaker, as we sought to communicate how we were helping Australians. As we reached out to Australians, as we coordinated our response, as we got that response out ... boots on the ground.
All the leader of the opposition could do was seek political opportunities for himself and his colleagues.
Mr Speaker, our government is responding to the crisis of the bushfires. Our government responded to the crisis of the north Queensland floods.
Our government is responding and delivering on the response to the devastating drought that is being faced by the Australian people.
Our government is responding to the virus that threatens the world today, and we are ensuring that to date our measures have been effective at protecting Australian people not just here in this country but overseas.
The leader of the opposition is consumed by his political ambition.
He is consumed by his political vanity and he has displayed a lack of character in this House today which only confirms what I expect: the each-way attitude he has to everything will be confirmed more and more in the eyes of the Australian people.
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Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
Why does the prime minister refuse to express any regret for saying the national bushfire crisis was a matter for the states, forcing a handshake on a bushfire survivor only to turn his back when she asked for help, claiming volunteer firefighters didn’t need compensation because they wanted ... and launching a political ad on a catastrophic fire day?
Why can’t the prime minister admit that he ever got anything wrong?
Morrison:
No member of this House is perfect, Mr Speaker.
Not me, not the leader of the opposition. And where there are things that need to be improved, and over the summer where I could have responded to events in different ways, I have already made those comments public because I will always seek to do my best each and every day for the people of Australia.
But I tell you what I don’t regret ... I don’t regret when I returned to Australia – with my family ultimately, who followed me – I don’t regret the fact that we put in place the single biggest call-out of our reservists to go to the aid of Australians who are fighting this bushfire crisis.
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Josh Frydneberg continues to use old auditor general reports to attack Labor, in some sort of tactic to explain why the sports grants auditor general’s report into its scheme isn’t so bad.
Or something.
I am not sure how highlighting all the times the auditor general has said “this is dodgy” makes what is still happening any less smelly.
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Jim Chalmers to Scott Morrison:
Does the prime minister regret telling communities devastated by the bushfires that the economic impact “could well prove to be positive”?
Morrison:
Mr Speaker, I’d be happy for the member to relay to me outside of this place or to send to my office what he’s actually referring to.
But what I can say to the House is this: that, Mr Speaker, once we work through the recovery arrangements across all the bushfire-affected areas, once we get past the devastation that has impacted all of these bushfire-affected areas, there will be a recovery.
There will be a rebuilding. There will be significant economic activity going into these areas to rebuild these communities, and that will support their economies when that occurs.
This is a similar observation, Mr Speaker, that has been relayed to us by the treasury. That once you go through the process of rebuilding and recovery, that is what can support those economies getting back on to their feet.
Those are the remarks I have made. Once again I suspect that the Labor party is seeking to be grubby on bushfires.
I don’t remember those comments Labor is referring to, and I can’t find them, so can’t help you with that one, sorry.
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And here is the relevant part of the transcript at the time:
Journalist: Do you think volunteer firefighters – should we be looking at starting to pay them?
Prime minister: Well, we have a volunteer firefighting force across the country which numbers in the, you know, the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands. And that also includes those who come in from other jurisdictions. It is a standing volunteer force. And these are matters that are considered from time to time, but this is why I am so appreciative of the commitment made by employers to support that volunteer effort. The volunteer effort is a big part of our natural disaster response and it is a big part of how Australia has always dealt with these issues.
We are constantly looking at ways to better facilitate the volunteer effort, but to professionalise that at that scale is not a matter that has previously been accepted and it’s not a matter that is currently under consideration by the government. But as is the case with all fire events, or as is the case with all flood events and other natural disasters, this actual nationally coordinated effort is designed to constantly look at those issues, post these events.
And the recommendations come forward from the chiefs, those directly responsible for fighting these fires and coordinating resources.
And you’re right, these fires have been going on for some months now and when I was speaking with the commissioner on the weekend out at Wilberforce, where we have the megafire in the north-west at the moment, we were talking through the crew rotations.
And the fact is these crews, yes, they’re tired, but they also want to be out there defending their communities. And so we do all we can to rotate their shifts to give them those breaks, but equally, they – and in many cases – you’ve got to hold them back to make sure they get that rest. And I thank them all for what they’re doing, particularly all those who support them.
Mark Butler and Mark Dreyfus have responded to the news that the Australian federal police will not be investigating Angus Taylor:
Serious questions remain unanswered over Angus Taylor and his doctored documents scandal.
Two police investigations have now failed to clarify where Angus Taylor got his dodgy figures from.
Angus Taylor assured parliament that this fabricated report was ‘directly downloaded’ from the City of Sydney council website.
We know this is not true, as a law enforcement official confirmed: “The document had to have been doctored from Canberra.”
The public internet archives, the Trove database maintained by the National Library, confirmed that the correct version of the report was on the internet all through 2019.
We know the Department of Energy’s draft letter provided to the minister’s office contained no reference to the City of Sydney’s travel expenditure.
If Angus Taylor continues to refuse to come clean, then the prime minister must order a proper, independent and transparent investigation into his minister and commit to making the findings public.
But it is done.
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And a reminder that NSW Liberal minister Andrew Constance – who fought, alongside his neighbours, to save his house in that electorate, and was out there every single day (and was so involved that for a brief period was put on a list for unaccounted people) – had a different take to Scott Morrison of that visit:
“Well, I didn’t even know he was coming and I haven’t had a call from him,” Constance told the Seven network.
So to be honest with you, the locals probably gave him the welcome that he probably deserved.
I’d say this to the prime minister today: the nation wants you to open up the cheque books, help people rebuild their lives.
I know this is tough and I know I’m on his side of politics, but you know, Gladys [Berejiklian, the NSW premier] and [the RFS commissioner] Shane Fitzsimmons came here two days ago and they obviously visited the fire-affected part of my electorate in the north. Glad’s he going to come back, but this is the feeling that people are going through.”
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Terri Butler to Scott Morrison:
Does the prime minister regret saying he had a conversation with a bushfire survivor who lost her home in Cobargo, when video clearly shows there wasn’t a conversation? He forced her to shake his hand and then turned his back on her as she asked for help.
Morrison:
I thank the member for her question about my visit to Cobargo with my wife Jenny on that occasion.
I’d just been through fire response centre and been elsewhere. Fire had raged through Cobargo days before.
I was the first member of parliament to visit Cobargo after those fires. I went there because I knew the community needed to know that the government would be there and, Mr Speaker, that I was prepared to hear from them.
And to be there, as I had spoken to many people, including Mark, who was the captain of the Rural Fire Service brigade there, and the many others I met at the Rural Fire Service brigade, and I went up to the showgrounds and there were some people who were very pleased that I was there, and I discussed the impact of the fires on them.
And there were others who were very distraught. They were very upset.
I was there and they were able to vent their frustration and their anger directly at me. When you’re prime minister, you turn up and you listen and whatever comes at you ... you’re prepared to do.
That the lady you referred to raised with me funding levels for the NSW fire service, that’s the issue that they raised with me.
The leader of the oppposition will remember back when he was on the mid-coast, I think it was further north, people heckled him at a press conference and yelled out at him.
Now, you will not find me criticising him for being in a fire zone and being subject to those sorts of things.
I don’t think that helps. For the opposition to be engaging in this sort of low-rank behaviour, it doesn’t help anybody recovering from the fires. All I know is I was in Cobargo ... I was there for the people of Cobargo, and I’ll be there for the people of Cobargo into the future as well, and they know it.
Updated
And here is when he said he didn’t hold a hose, on December 20:
I mean, I took leave in June as well and we did follow exactly the same practice. So I mean, we don’t always say where we’re going. My privacy with my family when we’re having leave, I’m sure people understand, that’s something that I know Australians would respect. But I think on this occasion, John, because there have been such horrendous events that have understandably caused a lot of anxiety, I deeply regret that and so does Jenny, and to all those who were affected by the fires especially, we deeply regret it. And I’ll be getting back there as soon as I can. The girls and Jen will stay on and stay out the rest of the time we had booked here.
But I know Australians understand this and they’ll be pleased I’m coming back, I’m sure. They know that, you know, I don’t hold a hose, mate, and I don’t sit in a control room. That’s the brave people who do that are doing that job. But I know that Australians would want me back at this time out of these fatalities, so I’ll happily come back and do that.
Updated
Richard Marles to Scott Morrison:
Does the prime minister regret saying, and I quote, “I don’t hold a hose, mate” when Australians were looking to him for national leadership?
Morrison:
I was simply making the point that the operational response that was going on at that time was being handled excellently by the New South Wales Rural Fire Service.
And I stand by those comments, Mr Speaker, that I support the amazing efforts of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, which only a few days ago were in here, and I commend them here again today.
Each and every day we’ve been working closely with that service, as we have with the firefighting service, CFA in Queensland and South Australia. I note today, as they did yesterday, those opposite sought to politicise the bushfires over summer and they continue to do it now.
Updated
Here is the story on that at the time:
Updated
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
Does the prime minister regret saying that volunteer firefighters don’t need economic compensation for lost income because they “want to be out there”?
Morrison:
And once again the leader of the opposition is misrepresenting what occurred for political purposes.
For political purposes, as he always does, Mr Speaker.
There is no issue that the leader of the opposition will not seek to exploit for personal, political gain. And this is just another example. Another example of his lack of character.
Now, Mr Speaker, what he suggested, Mr Speaker, was not what I outlined when those remarks were made. Mr Speaker, what was raised in the press conference I was at was in relation to – for the first time when the suggestion was made that there may be some ... that there may be raised by the journalists about whether, Mr Speaker, we would be considering ... It was being raised with me as to whether the commonwealth would be providing compensation for the rural and regional affairs and transport references committee – Rural Fire Service volunteers.
That is not a matter that is normally dealt with by the federal government. It is a matter that is traditionally dealt with by the Rural Fire Services, Mr Speaker.
On that occasion, I was reflecting comments made back to me when I had advised with Rural Fire Service’s members, and they had put it to me when they were out there they wanted to be out there protecting their communities.
That’s what I was talking about. They know that they would prefer not to have fires. They know that they would prefer to be at home with their families and their communities. What I was saying is that duty called, they wanted to answer that call to duty, because that’s what our volunteers do.
Updated
Michael McCormack just gave an update on the coronavirus and I have never wished to be on a cruise ship more.
The UK’s foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, has met with Australia’s foreign minister, Marise Payne, with the pair holding a brief media conference ahead of question time.
It is the first overseas visit for the UK foreign secretary since Brexit was finalised six days ago.
Raab faced questions about the Australian government’s record on climate change and the UK’s ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 – a position it will be advocating in the lead up to the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow later this year.
Raab said he had a “good, constructive” conversation with Payne about the UK’s goal and Australia’s position.
“We want to lead in producing a step change in the international response, the global response to this challenge of our times,” he said.
When he was asked about Australia’s policy record on climate change, which was “politically contentious” in the wake of the summer bushfire crisis, Raab said the UK’s approach was to “try to make a success” of COP26.
“We are also going to talk to all the countries about their contributions in getting their emissions down.”
Payne said that in the lead up to COP26, the Australian government would be looking at what “practical climate action we can take together”.
On the British government’s decision to allow the Chinese tech giant Huawei a substantial role in supplying the country’s 5G network – at odds with Australia’s decision – Raab suggested there had been a “market failure” that had contributed to the decision.
However, he said there was nothing in the agreement that would inhibit intelligence sharing among Five Eyes partners.
Updated
AFP statement on Angus Taylor
On 20 December 2019 the AFP received a referral from NSW police regarding allegations of falsifying documents from the office of the lord mayor of Sydney by the office of the minister for energy and emissions reduction.
- Following inquiries undertaken and information provided by NSW police, the AFP has determined it is unlikely further investigation will result in obtaining sufficient evidence to substantiate a commonwealth offence.
- The AFP assessment of this matter identified there is no evidence to indicate the minister for energy and emissions reduction was involved in falsifying information.
- The low level of harm and the apology made by the minister for energy and emissions reduction to the lord mayor of Sydney, along with the significant level of resources required to investigate, were also factored into the decision not to pursue this matter.
- The AFP now considers this matter finalised.
Updated
Vincent Connelly, who continues to treat question time dixers like it’s an audition for the unauthorised Perth society of over-actors, asks Josh Frydenberg to turn the auditor general’s report into the sports grants affair into Labor’s fault, and the treasurer joins in on the chewing the scenery theme:
As those opposite will be aware, this is not the only report of the auditor general that’s made some interesting observations.
I’m reminded that there was an ANAO report number 3, 10-11, into a $550m infrastructure program, which said on page 38, and I quote: ‘Ministers made an explicit decision to approve an application that was known to be otherwise ineligible under the guidelines.’
And also went on to say: ‘The equitable situation of all applicants was not evidence in the processes employed.’ So, Mr Speaker, who are the beneficiaries of this process?
Well, the auditor general went on to say on page 48, and I quote: ‘The awarding of funding to projects disproportionately favoured ALP seats.’ In fact, the auditor general found, when it came to funding, ALP electorates had a success rate almost three times the coalition, Mr Speaker.
Who was the responsible minister overshowing this $550m grant program? None other than the member for Grayndler, Mr Speaker!
Hypocrisy, thy name is Labor.
Dude – that was a decade ago.
Updated
Scott Morrison jumps up to add to his answer to Mike Kelly:
I‘m sure the member for Eden-Monaro would like to know that the NSW government opened their program, which is funded by the federal government in relation to small business recovery, on 2 February 2020; 109 expressions of interest have been received before the program opened, 68 applications have been received, with an average amount requested of $30,981 per grant.
And for the information of other members, the Victorian program has not yet opened. It’s expected to open this week.
These programs are run by the state governments, funded by the federal government; 114 expressions of interest have been received by 5 February.
For South Australia, that opened on 30 January 2020, with 14 grants totalling $329,435 paid so far.
And they have approved a further five grants. In Queensland there have been nil small business impact, with no grants program in place from at this point.
The NSW loans opened on 3 February 2020, just a few days ago. That is also run by the NSW government.
Queensland concessional loans opened on 3 February also, and guidelines are now being considered by South Australia and Victoria. I hope that information is helpful.
Updated
Cool beans.
.@MathiasCormann tells the Senate "of course" they will welcome Bridget McKenzie back down the track. "She has paid a high price." @10NewsFirst #auspol
— Tegan George (@tegangeorge) February 6, 2020
Angus Taylor's office confirms AFP investigation is not proceeding
The AFP still hasn’t got back to anyone, but Anne Davies has confirmed the Sky News story with Taylor’s office.
No investigation.
David Littleproud likes Rebekha Sharkie’s mum’s mulberry jam: “Best I have ever tasted.”
Updated
Mike Kelly to Scott Morrison:
The Long Stock Brewery in my community this time of year would be paying 24 to 30 casual shifts a week. Because of the bushfires they’re currently paying four.
Loss of wages for casual and permanent staff is hurting my community. They’re losing jobs, they’re leaving the region, and the government, they tell me, is not providing any help. Why is it that after they were promised bushfire-affected businesses immediate relief that they are still unable to access that help?
Morrison says he’ll get Stuart Robert to add to the answer, but then takes up all the time and just answers it himself:
Now, when it comes to small businesses, as the member would be aware, there are qualifying criteria for businesses that have been directly impacted by those fires which is the same criteria that applies to small businesses that are affected by the floods up in north Queensland that occurred at this time last year.
They apply the same criteria to those affected businesses in the bushfire-affected zones today.
That is important because we will provide the same support that was provided to those in devastating disasters as to this disaster as well.
... But if the member is suggesting that the disaster recovery arrangements should change that, the taxpayer should be the insurer of last resort on all matters, then that is not a policy that your government pursued and it is not a policy that this government is pursuing.
Those grants ... [are] for small businesses that need those grants, those businesses we have put the support through with the NSW government access to the support they need. These individual cases, I’m sure the minister who is responsible for emergency management would be pleased to pass on through the recovery agency to provide whatever assistance we can.
But this government is providing the most significant package of relief we have seen in relation to a disaster of this nature. It’s initial, it’s additional and it will keep rolling every single day and it will be there for years and years and years to come.
Updated
The next dixer is just on how amazing the economy is.
Pretty amazing, says Josh Frydenberg. The most amazing economy you’ve ever seen. It’s a beautiful economy. Everyone says it. It is so much more amazing than Labor’s economy, don’t cha know.
Oh, also the drought and the fires and coronavirus is an issue, but don’t you worry about that.
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
Is the prime minister aware that the deputy prime minister foreshadowed yet another reshuffle when he told Kieran Gilbert on Sky News yesterday that Senator McKenzie would be coming back? Does the prime minister intend to return Senator McKenzie to his cabinet?
Morrison launches into a congratulations spree of the new ministers.
You get a congratulations. And you get a congratulations. YOU ALL GET A CONGRATULATIONS.
Coalition governments in this country have given Australians stronger economies, safer borders, Mr Speaker, stronger national security and a focus on the needs of rural and regional Australians.
Morrison accuses Labor of voting against the drought fund (it voted for it) so Albanese asks him to withdraw. Tony Smith doesn’t require Morrison to withdraw (procedure is you do this stuff after QT) but Morrison withdraws anyway. Just so he can get to this bit:
But this each-way leader of the opposition, Mr Speaker, each way, he’s for a drought fund, he’s against a drought fund. He’s for tax cuts, he’s against tax cuts.
... So this each-way leader of the opposition, he’s for things, he’s against things. What is the leader of the opposition...
Smith sits him down because the time is up.
Updated
The end of Stuart Robert’s answer is here:
These changes are designed to make the program more robust by requiring additional evidence ... when using income information to identify potential overpayments.
As stated in November this year, this means we’ll no longer raise a debt where the only information we’re relying on is the averaging of ATO.
For those debts raised to date, the statement was made that Services Australia will be carefully and methodically working to identify those customers whose debts may have been calculated using a portioned ATO PAYG income data. It’s complex to do that, it’s a highly manual process. It’s not appropriate to pre-empt the outcome of this process and we’ll advise the House in the future when that process comes to its conclusion.”
So, not sorry for it being illegal, just making robodebt “more robust”.
Updated
Question time begins
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
Does the prime minister regret administering an illegal robodebt scheme, a fact that was revealed in answer to a question on notice in the Senate today by the Australian Taxation Office.
Stuart Robert takes it:
As the House would know, on the morning of 19 November last year the government announced a further refinement of the income compliance program. This is part of my ... to strengthen and improve the scheme.
The program has already undergone a number of iterations and refinements since its inception under Labor in 2011.
In response to community feedback, these changes will make the program more robust by requiring additional evidence when the...
Albanese interrupts with “you’re breaking the law”, which Tony Smith takes as a point of order on relevance.
Robert continues reading his prepared answer (the release of the documents meant they knew this was coming) but does not address the question of regret.
Updated
Luke Henrique-Gomes has a story on when the government received legal advice about robodebt:
The government received legal advice that debts issued under the botched robodebt scheme were unlawful, confidential documents provided to a Senate committee have revealed.
Emails between top tax office officials published on Thursday show that the agency was told by the Department of Social Services that debts based solely on the controversial ‘income averaging’ method were ‘not lawful debts’.
Updated
The same year we were told the weekend was under attack because of electric cars, electric vehicle sales increased.
Electric vehicle sales triple in Australia as sales of combustion engine cars fall 8% https://t.co/bmM4HwAOOu
— Guardian Australia (@GuardianAus) February 6, 2020
I’ve just been alerted that Katie Allen and Tim Wilson have just made speeches on the fires in the federation chamber (the Michael McCormack of parliamentary chambers because no one pays attention to it).
Both have pushed for more action on climate. That’s of note because, as Sarah Martin reported this morning, Allen has called for a minister for climate change – and there have been suggestions Wilson should be it.
Updated
Earlier this week (I think it was Tuesday), Sky News political editor Andrew Clennell reported on air that he had heard there may be some “good news” for Angus Taylor later this week.
Updated
AFP drops Angus Taylor investigation – report
Sky News is reporting the Australian federal police has determined not to pick up the Angus Taylor investigation.
We checked in with the AFP this morning and have not heard back – a call to the media unit made in the last few minutes also hasn’t confirmed it, as yet.
Updated
Adani has another statement:
Adani will not have a conviction recorded after self-reporting to the Queensland government that we made an administrative error in our 2017/18 annual return for the Carmichael mine.
We today pleaded guilty in the Brisbane magistrates court for providing the administering authority an erroneous document and will pay a $20,000 fine.
This is in relation to an administrative error. There was no environmental harm, all relevant works were legal, and fully complied with our project conditions.
We took responsibility for the administrative error at the time and introduced improvements to internal processes when it was discovered in 2018 and reported by us, to ensure paperwork errors of this nature are avoided in the future.
We are pleased this matter is now resolved.
Updated
Bob Katter, who stepped down as party leader to concentrate on being a gladiator against his enemies or some such thing (presumably crocodiles), has had a very Bob Katter response to David Littleproud’s return to agriculture. From his statement:
Our farmers are in deep trouble with drought, so what’s his solution? Get rid of the farmers.
Now the only people out there buying the farms are the Chinese and others with foreign interests.
I’m looking forward to him being Ag Minister like the Pope watching Attila the Hun coming for the Peninsula.
He’s a free marketeer. His party’s free market policies have been the death knell of the dairy industry, the national cattle herd is down 20%, sheep are down 60% and we are a net importer of fruit and vegetables, pork and seafood.
I will continue to fight for a rural reconstruction bank, dams in north Queensland and across Australia, as well as vital freight links for our rural areas.
Updated
The Greens have held a press conference pressuring the government over the failure to release its anti-corruption commission bill.
Greens Senate leader Larissa Waters and senators Sarah Hanson-Young and Janet Rice were also asked if they’ll be keeping their portfolios after Adam Bandt became leader.
Waters replied:
We’ve just had some new leadership arrangements and we’ll be having, naturally, those discussions about what important issues we’ll continue to work on. That’s a matter for the leader, and always has been in our party.
Hanson-Young replied:
I love the environment portfolio, I love fighting for Australia’s environment, and I have every intention I’m going to keep doing it.
That was stated with a degree of confidence. Hanson-Young didn’t directly answer the question about whether she had confirmed this with Bandt but, if not, she has rowed the boat out very far.
Waters also commented on the mysterious $165,000 donation the Liberal party declared from a company run by Scott Briggs – a key Scott Morrison ally – and then revoked, claiming the declaration was a mistake.
Waters:
It just goes to show how much we need donations reform and a federal corruption watchdog. First, there was a donation made by a mate that was wanting a favour, to get a contract. Then a couple of days later, ‘Oh no, there was no donation.’ What’s the story here? And why are people able to make donations when they are applying for government approval or government contracts? Clean up the system!
Updated
The Brisbane magistrates court fined Adani $20,000 after it pleaded guilty for wrongly declaring land clearing to the Queensland environment department.
The court did not record a conviction.
The UK’s foreign minister, Dominic Raab, is in Australia to talk trade for the newly single nation, after its split from the EU.
This is pretty important for Australia, which is also negotiating an EU free trade agreement.
That one is a little more tricky, because as the French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told the AFR in November last year, France expects Australia to do more on climate before it agrees to any trade deal:
The other priority challenge is indeed for the future agreement to be highly ambitious in terms of sustainable development. Our two countries are nearly 15,000 kilometres apart and we must show that a trade agreement between the EU and Australia plays a positive role in the face of climate change: that’s a very important point for our parliament and our civil society,” he said at the time.
The UK is also strong on the need for more climate action.
Here was Boris Johnson at the Glasgow climate conference yesterday:
We’ve put so much CO2 in the atmosphere collectively that the entire planet is swaddled in a tea cosy of the stuff.
It’s now predicted, unless we take urgent action, to get 3C hotter, and in the hurricanes and the bushfires and melting of the ice caps and the acidification of the oceans, the evidence is now overwhelming.
We know as a country, as a society, as a planet, as a species, we must now act.
Scott Morrison insists Australia is doing just fine.
The UK may not be pushing quite as hard for Australia to do more on climate, as some in the EU, but in an interview with Sabra Lane on the ABC earlier this week, Vicky Treadall, the British high commissioner, said it was part of the talks:
Well, Britain has made it very clear that they want everyone to have a greater level of ambition.
We are taking a global leadership role on climate change. We are hosting COP26 (2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference) and at COP26 we will be asking all nations to look again at where they stand.
Obviously we are working closely with the Australian government to see what the art of the possible is.
Now I won’t go into details. These are ongoing conversations that we will have in the coming months but where we know we can work very closely with Australia is in the whole area of renewables, the new technology, the new jobs that will come. The transition of our own economy, the lessons we have learnt and how we can share that with others.
Updated
AAP has an update on the latest trade figures:
Australia’s trade surplus shrank to $5.223 billion in December, a drop of $295 million on the surplus in November 2019.
In seasonally adjusted terms, exports rose 1.0% to $41.29 billion for the month and imports were up 2% to $36.07 billion, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.
Westpac economist Andrew Hanlan said the result broadly met market expectations for a surplus of $5.5 billion.
He said a narrowing trade surplus was to be expected with commodity prices moderating in the quarter, notably iron ore, which had spiked in the June quarter due to the supply shock from Brazil.
“The key surprise for the month of December was around exports. Metal ores, gold and fuels all moved in the right direction ... However, we were looking for stronger gains – based on partial information and mindful of a potential pre Lunar New Year bounce,” he said.
Updated
The Senate is dealing with the government’s latest round of banking royal commission bills.
Labor is in support, so there’s no problem there.
But the banking royal commission was handed down a year ago. So there is a lot of chat about how long this is all taking.
Labor has supported a motion by Liberals Eric Abetz and Concetta Fierravanti-Wells asking schools to consider having children recite the same pledge that naturalised Australian citizens must make.
The motion states that the Senate: notes the Australian citizenship pledge, which in part reads as follows: I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey; and (b) calls on all schools to consider having the citizenship pledge recited by students on appropriate occasions.
This is a slight troll of Labor education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek – who supports the idea, has done since 2011, and reiterated the value of the pledge as recently as Australia Day.
It got up 51 to 9, with only the Greens voting against. Among the Labor members who voted on it: Tony Sheldon, Louise Pratt, Jenny McAllister, Tim Ayres, Murray Watt, Kimberley Kitching, Deb O’Neill, Helen Polley, Don Farrell and Kim Carr.
Updated
Eric Abetz and Connie Fierravanti-Wells look like they are trolling Labor in the Senate, calling a Senate motion over Tanya Plibersek’s repeated call for a citizenship pledge.
Labor is voting with the government on the (non-binding) motion that there should be one.
The pledge:
— Tanya Plibersek (@tanya_plibersek) January 25, 2020
From this time forward, I pledge my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey.
Updated
Mark Butler has some thoughts about Keith Pitt’s elevation to the cabinet:
The new minister for resources and water, Keith Pitt, is the government’s biggest advocate for nuclear power and a dedicated opponent to global action on climate change through the Paris agreement.
Minister Pitt’s history as a nuclear power advocate is well documented, most recently through pushing the energy minister into commissioning an inquiry into nuclear power.
Having appointed such a strong nuclear advocate to the resources portfolio, Scott Morrison must now come clean about his government’s nuclear power plan and let Australians know which regions are in his nuclear firing line.
Over 100 Australian communities have previously been identified as possible locations for nuclear reactors and nuclear dumps, including; Jervis Bay, Townsville, Gladstone, Perth, Western Port in Victoria and the New South Wales north coast.
Keith Pitt’s appointment to the crucial resources portfolio is also another signal that Scott Morrison is walking even further away from action on climate change.
Keith Pitt’s opposition to the Paris climate agreement is so deep that in 2018 he resigned from the assistant ministry in protest against Australia’s participation in global action on climate change.
Updated
The National Farmers’ Federation has welcomed David Littleproud’s return to the agriculture portfolio:
National Farmers’ Federation President Fiona Simson has congratulated David Littleproud on his appointment as Minister for Agriculture, Drought and Emergency Management.
‘Having held the agriculture portfolio before and most recently the responsibilities of water, drought, rural finance, natural disaster and emergency management, Minister Littleproud knows the farm sector’s issues better than most,’ Ms Simson said.
‘Importantly, Minister Littleproud’s appointment will provide our industry continuity during a period of unprecedented challenges.’
The NFF also welcomed Keith Pitt to the all-important water portfolio.
Updated
Sometimes the world looks perfect
Nothing to rearrange.
Sometimes you get a feeling
Like you need some kind of change.
No matter what the odds are this time,
Nothing’s going to stand in my way.
This flame in my heart,
And a long lost friend
Gives every dark street a light at the end.
Standing tall, on the wings of my dream.
Rise and fall, on the wings of my dream.
![Australian flag [left], curtain, Scott Morrison [c], Australian flag [right]](https://media.guim.co.uk/f692dca4e9f73d602cf1a63abf12ea7defc2055d/0_0_5184_3456/1000.jpg)
Updated
The department of community affairs has released a series of question on notice answers, after questions were raised over the legality of robodebt.
Greens senator Rachel Siewert said the government needs to answer how long it knew there were issues over robodebt – ahead of the court case.
This is a fundamental question and with the government making a claim of Public Interest Immunity over the release of legal advice it is clear that they don’t want Australia to know.
People in our community have been traumatised and harassed for years and years, many have large debts they don’t owe and are being forced to pay with interest and they want and deserve answers.
There is so much uncertainty around the review process and which debts have been paused and when. The government has a responsibility to be open and upfront about this process.
It should not be up to the slow court process for us to uncover what on earth has been going on and it’s clear that the government must come clean.
It’s a failure of both economic management and basic duty to not have provided a costing for the robodebt clean-up process in MYEFO.
Updated
Marise Payne will hold a press conference with her UK counterpart, Dominic Raab, at 1.30.
Updated
George Christensen spoke about Julian Assange’s case in the parliament yesterday. Andrew Wilkie and Christensen will travel to visit Assange on February 16 in UK (they are paying for the trip themselves).
In less than two weeks time the member for Clark and I will travel at our own expense to meet with Australian citizen and journalist-publisher Julian Assange, who is being detained in Belmarsh prison in London.
The social visit with Mr Assange will take place on Sunday 16 February. We want to see firsthand how Mr Assange is fairing, because of a number of concerning reports about his health and the severity of his treatment within the UK prison system.
We appreciate the cooperation of the British authorities at Belmarsh in confirming our social visit.
My concern is that a foreign country, the US, is seeking to extradite an Australian citizen from another foreign country for breaching laws of a foreign country that they were not subject to as they were not in that country, the US, to breach those laws. What is the alleged breach?
It is the receipt of information that was in the public interest that he then published.
That should not be a crime.
It is my view and the view of the Parliamentary Friends of the Bring Julian Assange Home Group that extradition proceedings should cease and Mr Assange should be brought back to Australia.
Mr Assange has been pursued for 10 years, and he spent more than six years holed up in an Ecuadorian embassy ahead of his arrest and imprisonment at Belmarsh.
Mr Assange must now be allowed to return home.
Updated
Federal MPs push to "free Julian Assange"
This is also ticking away on the backbench. Andrew Wilkie and George Christensen are leading a bipartisan (backbench) push to have Julian Assange returned to Australia.
They will be visiting him next week, ahead of his extradition hearing in the UK.
The Bring Julian Assange Home Parl Group welcomed @Aus4Assange to Canberra, who delivered the ‘free Julian Assange before it’s too late’ petition, which I will table in the HOR next week. The petition has over 270K signatures and is growing everyday #auspol #politas #FreeAssange pic.twitter.com/UbPdWfCygE
— Andrew Wilkie MP (@WilkieMP) February 6, 2020
Updated
Swimmingly well
Retail trade fell 0.5% in December - there's the correction to the November figures...
— Shane Wright (@swrighteconomy) February 6, 2020
Retail fall in December biggest since 2017 ... dept stores down 2.8, clothing/footwear down 1.5, food down 0.3 and cafe/restaurants down 0.9...
— Shane Wright (@swrighteconomy) February 6, 2020
The Greens will now move a motion in the Senate calling for Adani’s approval to be cancelled, using the guilty plea in the Brisbane magistrates court as a trigger. It will also wedge Labor on the issue.
From Larissa Waters’ statement:
The federal government must now cancel Adani’s approval and I’ll be lodging a motion in the Senate today calling for just that.
A criminal conviction is a legal trigger for the federal government to review and revoke Adani’s approval.
If the government keeps ignoring Adani’s breaches, it’s just one rule for coal donors and another for ordinary Australians.
Adani will be criminally convicted today, yet it is still in line for public subsidies. But if you miss one Centrelink appointment and you’re screwed. It shows where the government’s priorities lie - with the coal donors, not the community.
People will also be watching on Monday how Labor votes on my motion - they will have to finally pick a side on Adani and show whether they stand with the big polluters or a safe climate.
Updated
The Sydney Morning Herald has reported on some comments by Malcolm Turnbull to the Coalition for Conservation, that Liberal MPs who are sceptical about climate change are “reinforced and amplified ... by the rightwing media”, including News Corp, and “basically operates like terrorists”.
“Basically they say, unless you give us what we want we will blow the joint up,” he reportedly said.
Turnbull blamed entrenched internal opposition to his climate policy for his downfall in August 2018, and he’s used the “terrorist” line before – in comments to Guardian Australia and the BBC among others. Still, if it’s any sign of the content of his upcoming autobiography, he’s not holding back.
Turnbull also said:
If ever Australians were under any illusion that the consequences of a hotter and drier climate were real, harsh and dangerous, those illusions have been shattered this summer. These bushfires are utterly without precedent in our history ...
This has branded us in a way that we would never ever imagine could happen.
We are seen as very behind ... as a leader in a negative sense. That should really embarrass so many Australians.
Updated
Adani has pleaded guilty to providing misleading information to Queensland environmental authorities in the Brisbane magistrates court this morning.
It failed to report land clearing in its 2017/18 return.
Adani has responded by calling it “an administrative error”.
After self-reporting to the Queensland Government that we made an administrative error in our 2017/18 Annual Return for the Carmichael mine, Adani will today plead guilty in the Brisbane Magistrate’s Court for providing the administering authority an erroneous document.
Importantly, there was no environmental harm, all relevant works were legal, and fully complied with our project conditions.
We have taken responsibility for the administrative error and improvements to internal processes were introduced at the time the administrative error was discovered in 2018 and reported by us to ensure paperwork errors of this nature are avoided in the future.
We look forward to this matter being resolved.
The court is yet to deliver a sentence on the matter. The maximum penalty is $3m.
Updated
The press conference finishes on the bushfire royal commission. Scott Morrison:
I’ve also said that that royal commission needs to look at the preparedness and resilience in relation to these bushfire events.
And that means an understanding that that needs to be done in a hotter, longer and drier summer. And the impacts of climate change on that are acknowledged and understood.
And so that means that we need to have a discussion not just about emissions reduction, which happens in the broad, but if you’re talking about climate resilience, then hazard reduction is as important, if not more, for the direct safety of people affected by these fires than emissions reduction. The longer-term adaptation measures are also important.
I’m not going to allow a confined, narrow debate when it comes to understanding what it means to live in the climate we’re going to live in.
It’s not just about emissions reduction. That’s important. But it’s also about resilience and it’s also about adaptation.
Updated
Asked about the push within the Coalition to build new coal fired power stations/invest in coal, Scott Morrison sticks to the same old lines about “balance”. He is then asked by Sarah Martin about whether or not he is talking about retro-fitting some of the existing coal fired power stations, and his response is included below:
Our policy is a common sense one. It gets the balance right. It understands the need for the maintenance and sweating of those assets which are providing reliability to the system, and where those types of assets in the future can be developed in the way that would be required under the environmental standards, then that’s not ruled out either.
And so it’s common sense. It’s a common-sense, well-balanced policy and I think that embraces everybody, not just in the Liberal party room, but right across the Coalition.
Martin: Are you talking about retro-fitting existing coal-fired power stations to reduce emissions?
Morrison: Well, we work with all the energy companies, because we know that we don’t want to force people’s power prices up. And we don’t want to see a loss of capacity out of the system that is unnecessary. And so we take all of these decisions in the national interest.
Martin: So government funds could be used to do that?
Morrison: Look, that’s your speculation. That’s not what I’ve said.
Martin: But I’m asking you ...
Morrison: That’s not what I’ve said.
Updated
Asked about the hit to the economy by the coronavirus, Scott Morrison says:
So, yes, there will be an economic hit because of the coronavirus, just as there will be as a result of the bushfires.
But there will also be a recovery and there will be a recovery to the bushfires with the extensive works that will be undertaken with rebuilding and equally you can expect down the track.
[When?]
Hard to know, because there are so many unknowns about the duration of this virus.
You would have heard from [chief health office] Dr Murphy that they’ve been preparing a lot of work for the government on what the various scenarios are at a global level and how that might impact domestically.
So a lot of work [is] to be done but we’re being very transparent about that with states and territories and we intend to be, also, with the Australian people.
But we expect a hit, particularly in this quarter, on the coronavirus, and how much more it extends beyond that really does depend on how this virus continues to play out at a global level.
Updated
David Littleproud’s return to the agriculture portfolio was so readily expected that lobby groups already have their congratulation emails ready to go:
CropLife Australia’s chief executive officer, Matthew Cossey, said, “CropLife Australia and our members congratulate Minister Littleproud on his appointment to the important role of minister for Agriculture.
Minister Littleproud has shown he is a passionate advocate for agriculture and regional Australia more broadly.
There is still work to do to further improve the performance of the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority to ensure Australian farmers have timely access to the crucial innovations of the plant science industry.
Updated
Michael McCormack explains the need for a two-thirds majority in any future Nationals leadership spill (which, in a divided room of 21 people, would all but certainly shore up his leadership) with all the charisma of a bowl of overcooked pasta.
It’s a matter for the party and the party’s management as to whether this goes forward. Both of the other major parties have a similar sort of rule in place.
The fact is we want to make sure that for the member who brought this up and raised it, wants to end the speculation about the leadership.
And I think that’s probably an important thing.
This is the same man who yesterday told the Seven network after being asked how many votes he held on by:
Just how close I am not sure.
It is National party convention not to reveal the votes and at the end of the day, the votes do not count.
What counts, for me, is regional Australians.
Updated
Keith Pitt has been a massive, massive, massive advocate for nuclear power. Scott Morrison is asked about whether that will be a problem. He says the government is looking at all energy options, but the nuclear policy remains (that would be a no to nuclear).
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“Onwards and upwards from here,” says Michael McCormack.
The new ministry will be sworn in at 5.30pm.
That’s after question time, meaning the new ministers will get some time to scrub up on their portfolios before Monday when, no doubt, Labor will attempt to trip a few of them up.
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Scott Morrison:
On Mark Coulton:
Mark Coulton will continue to serve as minister for regional health, regional communications and local government.
Andrew Gee:
Andrew Gee will come into the ministry as minister for regional education, decentralisation and minister assisting the minister for trade and investment.
Michelle Landry:
Michelle Landry will continue to serve as an assistant minister for children and families, and will also serve as assistant minister for northern Australia. And you won’t find a stronger champion than Michelle Landry.
... other than Keith Pitt [the guy who actually holds the portfolio] for northern Australia, when it comes to ensuring that the needs of northern Australia are addressed.
Kevin Hogan:
And Kevin Hogan will come into the assistant ministry, where he will be the assistant minister to the deputy prime minister.
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Scott Morrison:
On Michael McCormack:
Obviously the leader of the Nationals will continue on in his current portfolios and that will also include a very big focus on the water grid and ensuring that Australia has the water infrastructure it needs for a resilient future.
On David Littleproud:
David Littleproud will continue to serve in cabinet. He will take on the portfolios of minister for agriculture and that will combine with his other portfolios of drought and emergency management.
The issue of natural disasters is one that encompasses all portfolios of government and obviously, as minister for emergency management, that will have particular responsibilities for him, but when it comes to dealing with natural disasters and our broader resilience to the environment and the climate we are living in – as I outlined at the Press Club last week – I believe this goes across every single portfolio of government.
On Darren Chester:
Darren Chester will be entering cabinet, but he will continue to do the wonderful and outstanding job he’s been doing as minister for veterans’ affairs and minister for defence personnel. I’m advised that this is the first time veterans’ affairs has been back in cabinet since the late Ben Humphreys in 1993 and I think that sends a strong message about our commitment to veterans in this government.
On Keith Pitt:
Keith Pitt will take on the role and enter cabinet as minister for resources, water and northern Australia, highlighting again the importance of all of those portfolio matters and their presence around the cabinet table.
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We are getting a short continuity with change message ahead of the cabinet reshuffle announcement.
Scott Morrison media conference
Everything is hunky dory with the Liberals and the Nationals, Scott Morrison says.
Never been stronger.
The heart of the relationship between the Liberals and the Nationals is our deep passion and conviction for supporting the needs of rural and regional Australians, and our belief in the future of rural and regional Australia.
And at its heart, that’s what the Coalition is about. That’s why we have come together so willingly over such a long period of time.
Andrew Giles had some things to say about Chris Knaus’s story this morning on the “mistaken” $165,000 donation made to the Liberal party by a Scott Morrison ally, who is also vying for the visa privatisation contract:
Peter Dutton and Scott Morrison won’t walk away from visa privatisation. And today this issue has descended into a complete farce. Mr Scott Briggs, the principal behind one of the bids, a close Liberal party associate of the prime minister and Minister Coleman, has declared donations of $300,000 to the Liberal party, $165,000 through an entity known as Southern Strategy.
This morning it’s reported that he says this donation was an accident. The Liberal party won’t comment or explain it. This is a complete farce.
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Mike Bowers was in the chamber for the Angus Taylor motion
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#BREAKING I understand the water portfolio will be moved out of Cabinet and go to NSW Nationals frontbencher Mark Coulton. He’s currently minister for decentralisation. #auspol @politicsabc @abcnews
— lucy barbour (@lucybarbour) February 5, 2020
Scott Morrison will hold a press conference at 10.45 to announce the new cabinet.
Keith Pitt gets Matt Canavan’s former portfolio of mining, resources and northern Australia.
Lucy Barbour of the ABC reports that David Littleproud won’t hold onto the water portfolio but will get agriculture back – which was also expected.
Darren Chester’s portfolio of veteran affairs will move into the cabinet.
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Darren Chester and Keith Pitt to get cabinet promotions
The frontbench reshuffle we were supposed to get yesterday, is coming today.
As expected, Darren Chester and Keith Pitt get the cabinet promotions.
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Scott Morrison also told Alan Jones that he had concerns over where the bushfire donation money was being sent:
Jones: Forget what you are giving, the government are giving, I’m talking about the public. People listening to you now have given a half a billion dollars. And can I just leave it with you? They’re down there. They’re seeing none of this money. And so something’s got to be mobilised to get the money to the people. If I could leave that thought with you.
Morrison: Look, absolutely Alan, I have a similar concern about this. I mean, I can tell you that over $111 million dollars has been paid out. I think it’s very important that charities, and state governments for that matter, are reporting on how much money is going out the door and to where.
Jones: Well … there are very few people who can tell the prime minister to stop talking but I’ve got to go to the news. But we’ll talk again soon about that and other issues.
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Alan Jones had a chat to Scott Morrison this morning.
From the transcript:
Jones: I was just thinking last night, when we’re going to talk to you today, you must feel as though you’ve gone 10 rounds with Muhammad Ali. It’s been pile on the prime minister for a couple of months, hasn’t it?
Morrison: Well, there’s been a lot of that. But, you know, that’s what this job’s about. You stand up to that and you stand up for what you believe in. You just put your head down and you just keep going. That’s what my dad always taught me.
Jones: Ah your dad, well I’m sorry about all that too, you’ve had a …
Morrison: Yeah, thanks for your lovely message.
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Annastacia Palaszczuk doubled down on her attack on the federal government when speaking to the ABC this morning, calling for disaster payments to be given to Queensland tourism operators over the coronavirus impact:
But we also know that this coronavirus is going to have an impact. It’s going to have an impact on the Queensland economy and a very large impact on the Australian economy.
So yesterday I convened large members of the stakeholder groups across Queensland, from the Gold Coast, from far north Queensland, from a whole different range of sectors, from resources to tourism, to seafood, to international education.
And what they told me very clearly is that they need assistance and support, and they need it now. And they want the state and the commonwealth to work together. So, that’s why I wrote to the prime minister, in the spirit of cooperation, to say, ‘Let’s treat this huge impact on our economy just as we would a natural disaster, like a cyclone or a bushfire.’
We need that help and we need to work together, and we need to contribute, I believe, equal share, like we do with natural disasters.
Queensland is moving forward, putting together its economic recovery group which is activated after natural disasters.
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The motion will fail.
Tony Smith also warns Labor that the motions are “becoming far too long” given that Mark Butler’s motion is two pages and took three minutes to read.
Butler takes it on board.
Leave is not granted.
Butler moves forward again, with pretty much the same motion which will also fail – but Labor takes these as a win, because it puts its allegations on the Hansard record.
Here is the motion:
That the House:
(1) Notes:
(a) New South Wales Police detectives formed Strike Force Garrad in November 2019 to investigate the creation of a fraudulent document that was disseminated by the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction as part of a political attack on the Lord Mayor of Sydney;
(b) New South Wales Police concluded “the document had to have been doctored from Canberra”;
(c) the criminal investigation by New South Wales Police, encompassing the use of the fraudulent document by the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, was referred to the Australian Federal Police in December 2019;
(d) the Australian Federal Police has not concluded its assessment of the state referral;
(e) the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction has not provided a full statement to the House about the role the Minister and his office played in the creation and dissemination of a fraudulent document which gave rise to long-running, and not-yet-concluded, criminal investigations in two jurisdictions;
(f) the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction has not advised if he and/or his office has assisted the criminal investigations related to his conduct by providing statements, documents and access to data;
(g) the Prime Minister has failed to uphold his ministerial standards by failing to sack the Minister for Emissions Reduction for repeated breaches of those standards, including bringing the government and this House into disrepute by creating and/or disseminating a fraudulent document;
(h) the Prime Minister has failed to explain why the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction holds a place in his Cabinet when the former Minister for Agriculture, Senator McKenzie, was forced to resign her place; and
(2) Requires:
(a) the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction to attend the House at any time before 1pm today and, for a time not exceeding 10 minutes, (i) provide a full statement to the House about his role in the creation and dissemination of a fraudulent document that targeted the Lord Mayor of Sydney (ii) advise how he has assisted New South Wales and Federal police in the conduct of their inquiries and (iii) apologise to the House for his conduct; and
(b) the Prime Minister to attend the House at any time before 1.30pm today and, for a time not exceeding 10 minutes, explain to the House why the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction is fit to serve as a Minister in his government but Senator McKenzie is not.
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Labor moves to suspend standing orders over Angus Taylor
Labor has started the day’s proceedings with an attempt to suspend standing orders over Angus Taylor.
Mark Butler is leading this charge.
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The parliament bells are ringing.
Sigh.
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Back on the economy for the moment, because this story in the Australian about cabinet ministers getting upset that the RBA governor, Philip Lowe, isn’t doing their job for them is amazing.
The Morrison government is increasingly frustrated with Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe’s calls for it to spend more to lift the nation’s flagging productivity, after a confidential cabinet briefing from the RBA boss on Monday left ministers exasperated by an absence of detailed policy ideas.
Dr Lowe in a speech on Wednesday again exhorted the Coalition to do more to foster business spending as he highlighted a “troubling decline in productivity growth”, despite “fantastic” economic fundamentals. “While the reasons for this are complex, it is hard to escape the conclusion that higher levels of investment spending would promote productivity growth and our collective living standards,” he said.
The Australian understands Dr Lowe relayed those calls in a rare confidential cabinet briefing on Monday, leaving senior cabinet members frustrated by a lack of detail from the governor on specific measures and projects he wanted the government to pursue.
Pro tip – coming up with government policy is YOUR job, guys. It is literally in the job description. Come up with policies and measures to keep the place ticking over is pretty much the only reason we have a government, because, as we have seen, the bureaucrats and departments are pretty good at keeping the machinery of government ticking over without you.
But if only there were reports, and predictions, and information to help you … oh wait THERE IS. Binders and binders and binders of it. Going back years. It’s your job to take that information and do something with it.
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While we’re on Peter Dutton, hopefully he will be pressed in question time over his deliberate muddling of information on the ABC yesterday when he was asked about climate change:
Obviously, as we’ve all pointed out, we’re experiencing hotter weather, longer summers, but did the bushfires start in some of these regions because of climate change?
No. It started because somebody lit a match. There are 250 people as I understand it or more that have been charged with arson. That’s not climate change.
Pulled up by Patricia Karvelas that the most common start to the fires was lightning strikes, not arson, Dutton says:
Nobody’s disputing that. There’s been lightning strikes for as long as there have been bushfires in this country.
I’m happy to accept the involvement of climate change but your point was about the views in our party room.
No one is saying that climate change *started* the fires. Just that it is making the seasons worse.
And in case it has to be debunked AGAIN, here is what police said in January about the numbers of arson charges. Not sure where the 250 figure came from, but the 183 legal actions police had issued from the start of the fire season, were mostly for things like ignoring the total fire ban, or throwing out lit cigarette butts. And you would hope a former police officer, and the man in charge of our border security, would be across the detail.
Victoria police say there is no evidence any of the devastating bushfires in the state were caused by arson, contrary to the spread of global disinformation exaggerating arsonist arrestsduring the current crisis.
A misleading figure suggesting 183 arsonists have been arrested “since the start of the bushfire season” spread across the globe on Wednesday, after initial reports in News Corp were picked up by Donald Trump Jr, US far-right websites and popular alt-right personalities.
The figure included statistics from some states covering the entirety of 2019, rather than just the current bushfire season, which began in September.
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Late on Wednesday Peter Dutton accused the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, of using the coronavirus for political point scoring (that’s a common theme from the government, which also accused the federal opposition of using the bushfires for political point scoring).
Dutton accused Palaszczuk of taking information from a confidential health briefing and using it for political gain:
It’s important to point out that premier Palaszczuk, having heard the recommendation from the expert medical committee, where her chief medical officer in Queensland was part of the discussion, knew that recommendation was coming to the PM and went out there gratuitously, calling for us to stop incoming flights from China, knowing frankly that was probably the decision we were going to make.
So we need to move quickly, particularly when there’s been that sort of breach, pretty egregious breach of the committee’s work and premier Palaszczuk still hasn’t apologised for that.
Palaszczuk was asked about Dutton’s comments on ABC Breakfast this morning:
That’s absolutely rubbish. That is absolutely rubbish. I stand up for what I believe is right. I won’t be silenced by the federal government. And what I say to you and your listeners is this is a public health emergency. And my focus has been on the containment and to make sure the virus is contained and does not spread.
These are big issues. And I just believed at the time that the federal government was acting too slow. So, we’ve taken measures. Other states have taken measures. But it’s a national issue, it’s a national health emergency, and my clear message is we all need to work together.
The Queensland election is in October, in case anyone was wondering.
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It seems Bridget McKenzie made another statement to the Senate late last night about some other memberships she had neglected to declare.
Here is her statement in full (minus the sound of her phone making cricket noises):
As it’s been widely reported I resigned from my ministry on Sunday February the 2nd due to breaches of the prime minister’s statement of ministerial standards. I’ve publicly apologised for this and today I wish to further apologise to the Senate, so it’s lovely we actually had a vote so that we could all be here.
I do not believe the gifted membership of the Australian Clay Target Association or my paid membership to Field and Game Australia contributed any real or apparent conflict of interest. However, I acknowledge my mistake in failing to declare these as required in the statement of ministerial standards in a timely way. I’ve also updated my Senate statement of interests, which states that senators much declare being an office holder or where they’ve contributed more than $300 to an organisation.
I am a member, a proud member, of Field and Game Australia, Sporting Shooters Association of Australia, Australian Deer Association, and the Country Women’s Association. I’m not an office holder of any of these organisations, nor have I provided them with any donations, which is a declarable requirement under the Senate’s statement of interests.
I’m no longer a member of the Australian Clay Target Association and therefore Wangaratta Clay Target Club, which commenced on the 29th of January 2019 and ceased on December 30 2019.
Having reviewed all my memberships in the recent weeks, I’ve become aware that I was a member of the Victorian Farmers Federation Ag-Force Country Connection, the Melbourne Cricket Club and Yarrawonga-Mulwala, a fabulous golf club, during 2019. All of these memberships have since ceased. None of my memberships have caused real or apparent conflicts of interest to my role, either as minister or as senator for Victoria.
However, I’ve chosen to fully disclose all my memberships to the Senate on this day to ensure complete transparency both to the Senate and the broader Australian community. I’ve been a senator for nine years and have the deepest respect for this chamber of parliament, which is so important to our democracy. I regret any confusion caused concerning my declaration of interests, and I apologise to each and every one of my fellow senators, for my transgression with regard to the register of interest. Thank you.
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In case you missed it, Sarah Martin had this story late yesterday:
The new Liberal MP Katie Allen has canvassed the need for the government to appoint a dedicated climate change minister as the Coalition splits on how best to “evolve” its policy response.
Allen, who was elected for the seat of Higgins in May, is one of a number of Liberal MPs who have been arguing internally for the government to increase its ambition on climate change against resistance from conservatives in the Coalition.
Allen’s suggestion for a climate change portfolio was made in a group chat of MPs in a discussion about how the government’s policies could be better communicated, sources have confirmed. She did not advocate in the group that the government needed to do more, but suggested there was frustration that voters were not hearing the government’s message. She argued that the “significant investment” being made by the government did not appear to be acknowledged in the community.
Allen proposed that her fellow Victorian MP Tim Wilson would be a good advocate to communicate the government’s policies.
That comes on top of John Alexander publicly pushing for the government to do more on climate policy.
But there are still some very loud voices who are pushing for more coal-fired power stations. And climate action now! apparently means more dams and hazard reduction burns, and no actual climate action, so don’t hold your breath.
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This is also something which will come up today:
I’ve often mistakenly donated $165,000. It’s a real problem and my 2020 new year’s resolution was to stop doing it.
Chris Knaus has a story on someone else who apparently had that problem:
The Liberal party is refusing to say why it scrubbed records of a $165,000 donation from a company run by Scott Briggs, a key Scott Morrison ally who is currently vying to win the government’s $1bn visa privatisation contract.
On Monday, the Liberal party declared it had received $165,000 from a company named Southern Strategy, a largely inactive political consultancy business Briggs started four years ago.
Briggs is a close friend and confidant of Morrison, a former New South Wales Liberal party deputy state director, a former colleague of immigration minister David Coleman, and a director of the Cronulla Sharks, where the prime minister is the number one ticket holder.
He is also leading a bid to win a highly lucrative but controversial contract to privatise Australia’s visa processing system on behalf of a consortium named Australian Visa Processing Pty Ltd …
When the Guardian queried the $165,000 donation, Briggs said Southern Strategy had never made it and that the Liberal party had made a mistake.
The Liberal party also said the disclosure was a mistake.
You’ll find the whole story, here.
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The Australian has an interesting story on a NSW Liberal branch president acting in –well, read it for yourself.
A NSW Liberal Party branch president is under investigation and faces sanctions after launching a controversial website that ridicules his own side of politics, accuses senior figures of heresy, and mocks the sexual orientations of former cabinet ministers.
The website, launched by Sean Burke, the NSW Liberal Party’s Freshwater branch president, bills itself as “unapologetically biased” in its coverage of centre-left politics and nerve-point issues that have occupied the NSW and federal parliaments.
Party officials told The Australian on Wednesday that while some of Mr Burke’s content appeared benign, some content appeared to cross the lines of basic decency, and in other cases seemed deliberately malicious.
You can read the whole story, here.
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Good morning
Josh Frydenberg has started the day on a somewhat sombre note, admitting that the impact of the coronavirus on the economy will be “significant”, with the Treasury saying it’s too early to say what the outcome will be.
The treasurer told Sky News:
It will have a significant impact because China is our No 1 trading partner. While the epidemic of Sars back in 2003 had an impact on our economy and provides us with a bit of a guide, we’re more integrated economically with China today than we were back then. In fact, the Chinese economy is four times bigger today than it was in 2003, so that means that what happens in China has a larger effect on the global economy too.
With the drought, the bushfires and shifting trading economies, things aren’t looking quite as rosy as the budget predictions, and Scott Morrison and Frydenberg have already started talking down the promised surplus.
Morrison was on the Sydney radio 2GB early this morning also talking about coronavirus:
The nature of its virus and how it spreads across the global economy is a bit of an unknown at the moment. At this stage, it hasn’t demonstrated the same sort of severe outcomes that the previous viruses – Sars and Mers – did but the rates of transmission are much higher.
The Reserve Bank governor, Phil Lowe, warned of much the same thing in his address to the National Press Club in Sydney yesterday.
As Ben Butler reported:
Sectors including tourism and education are likely to suffer billions of dollars worth of damage if the Morrison government keeps travel bans in place for more than six months, while the price of another key export to China, iron ore, has fallen by more than 10% in a month.
The RBA expects the ongoing drought to cut 0.25 percentage points from growth this year.
So keep an eye on that. We’ll also have the parliament shenanigans, as well as everything else that happens in the hallways and beyond. Mike Bowers, Katharine Murphy, Sarah Martin and Paul Karp are your team today, with a half-coffee Amy on the blog.
Ready?
Let’s get into it.
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