With the condolence motions rolling on, and everyone gearing up for the first real day of sitting tomorrow, we are going to bring the blog to a close.
It will be my last early mark for sometime, so I am going to seize it while I can. But tomorrow, we’ll be back to usual blog speed, as we see what the 46th parliament is going to be like for the very first time.
First proper debate. First question time. First actual parliamenting.
Thanks for following along with us so far this week. It has been a strange week – well, stranger than usual.
Mike Bowers, the Guardian brainstrust and I will all be back early tomorrow morning.
I hope you can enjoy your own early mark. And please – take care of you.
Tasmanians know a thing or two about having to hand back half of every dollar to the Fed Govt to cover our $157 million social housing debt. So before we talk tax relief for rich people let's talk about debt relief for Tassie. #auspol pic.twitter.com/Y3MqCF73Kq
— Jacqui Lambie (@JacquiLambie) July 3, 2019
If you hear about leadership rumblings within the Greens in the next few days, it is because cartoonist Jon Kudelka got bored on social media, and the joke seemingly hasn’t translated correctly to the real world.
I am assured that the Greens, who just elected their leadership, are doing fine. The party is talking to its membership about future leader ballots, but it is not on.
This has been a public service, so people will stop messaging me about it.
I am currently fomenting leadership discord in... the greens.
— Mostly Responsible Cartoonist (@jonkudelka) July 3, 2019
Jacqui Lambie’s statement would point to the government having the tax cut deal all but stitched up. But all of it will be happening tomorrow.
The condolence motions are still being delivered in the House of Representatives. It will adjourn at the conclusion of the last speech, just like the Senate.
Updated
Looking at that statement, it looks like one of Jacqui Lambie’s demands will be the federal government waiving Tasmania’s social housing debt.
Verrry interesting.
Talks were had on that front quite recently, but there was no final solution offered up. Perhaps, there will be one now.
Jacqui Lambie's demand to the Govt to secure her support for Income Tax Cut plan?
— Thomas O'Brien (@TJ__OBrien) July 3, 2019
Forgive Tasmanian State Govt's $157 million social housing debt - recently the subject of a @HobartMercury front page ahead of @MichaelSukkarMP 's visit. #auspol pic.twitter.com/LaqCvtrBun
Updated
Jacqui Lambie still considering tax cuts
Jacqui Lambie has released a statement on the tax cut package.
She is yet to arrive at a final decision:
I was elected by the people of Australia, I work for them and it is to them that I answer.
I am yet to arrive at a final position on the Coalition’s tax cuts. People in Tassie are doing it tough and for them $1k in their back pocket now will give them some immediate relief. But there are thousands of Tasmanians who are on the pension, Newstart and don’t earn enough money to pay tax, and they don’t see any benefit from a tax cut.
Tasmanian families are sleeping in cars, parks and tents – all in the dead of winter. Three thousand Tasmanians are on the housing waiting list. The state of Tasmania owes the federal government $157m in social housing debt. Tasmania is paying 50c in every dollar of our state housing budget back to the federal government in interest and debt repayments. That means we are building half as many homes, helping half as many people. This at a time when the Tasmanian treasurer is spruiking Tasmania’s “golden age”.
This debt is holding Tasmania back and denying shelter to thousands of Tasmanian families. The commonwealth coffers don’t need $15m a year from the Tasmanian budget. We’ve got families living in cars who need a roof and a meal, and they’re the ones I’m thinking about.
The state Liberal government keeps talking a big game but they haven’t achieved anything in debt relief. At this rate we’ll be paying this debt for another 23 years. This time last year Tasmanian families were living in tents in the showground – it’s a year later and the situation has only got worse. They need help now, not in 2042.
It’s only by having the balance of power for Tasmania in the Senate that real debt relief is going to happen and that’s what I am here to fight for. There is no way in good conscience I can vote for substantial tax cuts without making sure that the people who so desperately need a roof over their heads aren’t left to go without.
This isn’t going to fix every problem in Tasmania, but it’s a start. It would free up enough money to find a home for 3,000 people on the critical list through accommodation and casework.
The government doesn’t want to admit it, but the economy in rural and regional areas is flagging. We’ve got businesses struggling to the point of closure and they’re desperate to see some sort of stimulus happen now, not in the never-never. I’m here to use the balance of power for them, and to make sure that we don’t let people in rural and regional areas continue to slip through the cracks.
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Earlier this morning, Laura Jayes from Sky asked Ed Husic about the Quran he took his oath of office on yesterday. It’s a lovely story, if you haven’t heard it:
Well I visited Farid Ahmed, who lost his wife back in March [in the Christchurch massacre]. He had been in the mosque, consoling someone who was just diagnosed with cancer and she had gone and saved a number of people and made sure that they got off to safety. And then she went back in to save Farid because he is wheelchair-bound and the gunman got her.
A bloke like that, you would understand would feel a range of emotions and be really worked up about it and he took the view, ‘no I am going to forgive’, which he said publicly straight after and he has dedicated himself to bringing communities together.
I was very grateful he loaned me his family’s copy of the Quran and I took my parliamentary oath on that and I just figure given how close our countries are and given the way that Farid has dedicated himself to better, stronger communities and I am more than happy to stand with a person like that.
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Acoss is making a last-ditch bid to convince the crossbench, and Labor, not to pass the third tranche of the tax plan:
The government is asking the parliament to lock in tax cuts costing $36bn a year three to five years in advance, without knowing how the budget and the economy will then be faring,” Jacqueline Phillips said.
“These expensive, high-end tax cuts will deprive future governments of the revenue it needs to guarantee essential services like health, education and social security.
“This is not a decision that can be rushed and at the very least the stage 2 and 3 tax cuts should go to a Senate inquiry. Stage 1 (due this year) can be passed separately and the other stages would not come into effect for at least three years.”
Updated
The Senate has adjourned as a mark of respect for Bob Hawke.
Normal proceedings – including the first debates and question time – will resume tomorrow.
Updated
My bet? End of the year.
The spot would most likely go back to the Liberal party.
.@corybernardi: We all have a used by date in politics, that’s for sure. I know my time in politics is coming to an end, but whether that’s in six months or 12 months or 18 months, I don’t know. There are some things I want to do.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) July 3, 2019
MORE: https://t.co/ykweMeNddk #kennyreport pic.twitter.com/IHTxhmhSlU
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The Nationals whip, the new senator Perin Davey, had a chat to the ABC about the tax debate tomorrow:
We are all prepared to sit for as long as it takes, because getting the tax package through is the priority of government, it’s what the Australian people voted for, so as a Senate we are prepared to do what it takes, but what happened in the House of Representatives was very positive, getting it through, so we hope that it’s the way it pans out and plays out in the Senate, and that would be a very positive thing for all of us to move into the next parliament.
How long the Senate sits of course is not a decision for the government – it is a decision for the Senate to extend sitting hours.
Updated
Given some of the interest of this I have seen on social media, I thought I would post the conversation Fran Kelly and Kristina Keneally had on the religious freedom inquiry.
This isn’t a new position for today – Labor has said it is open to look at it. But here was the chat:
FK: OK just finally and when Anthony Albanese meets with Scott Morrison today, one of the things they’re going to be talking about is the Religious Discrimination Bill, which we could see as early as this month. We understand the prime minister’s keen for bipartisan support on this. Will Labor back the bill if it goes further than simply including religion as one of the allowable attributes under anti-discrimination law? Will you back it if religion protections are kept to a minimum? What’s Labor’s red line here?
KK: Well the Labor party under the leadership of Anthony Albanese has made clear that we are willing to have discussions with the government and to work with the government on a religious discrimination and religious freedom act. We are waiting to have those conversations. We do stand ready though to work with the government on this.
FK: On what, to what level though? I mean, do you personally, do you think churches and religious organisations deserve specific protections, rather than exemptions from the current law that allow them for instance to discriminate in the name of their faith? The obvious example is schools and not being able to hire or being able to fire employees who are gay for instance.
KK: Well, Labor in fact in the last term of parliament put forward legislation that made clear that we do support the right of religious schools to be able to require staff and teachers to act in ways that, in their professional capacity, that uphold the values and the ethos of the institution, the religious faith, in which that school operates. But this is an issue that is broader than that. What the government are talking about is an issue that goes to protecting religion in an affirmative way, as a freedom, and that is a conversation we are quite willing to have with the government.
FK: And it’s a conversation you think has some merit?
KK: Well, given the…
FK: Just briefly.
KK: Given the conversations that we’ve had over the past few weeks and, briefly, yes.
Updated
This issue popped up a couple of weeks ago, but the second RBA cash rate cut in a row has brought it up again.
Linda Burney has put out this statement:
In light of yesterday’s rate cut by the Reserve Bank, Labor is calling on the Liberals and Nationals to urgently reduce the deeming rates and ease the pressure on pensioner’s budgets.
The Reserve Bank has cut interest rates five times since 2015, with the cash rate now down to just 1 per cent. But the Liberals and Nationals have kept the deeming rates at up to 3.25 per cent.
The deeming rates determine how much the Government assumes pensioners earn on their savings – and are used to calculate how much pension a person receives.
Up to 627,000 age pensioners, who are on a part-pension because of the income test, are impacted by the Government’s refusal to reduce deeming rates.
The gap between interest rates and the deeming rates is growing – and the Liberals and Nationals are doing nothing about it.
Scott Morrison is counting income many pensioners simply aren’t getting.
How does Scott Morrison expect pensioners to find term deposits or other secure investments that pay anything like 3.25 per cent?
This is a double-whammy for pensioners. It means lower earnings on savings, and reduced pension payments.
With interest rates at record lows – the Government has run out of excuses.
Every day the Morrison Government refuses to reduce the deeming rates is another day they are short-changing pensioners.
At this stage, the Senate looks like wrapping up just after 3. The House will go for longer, because there are more MPs.
Bill Shorten delivered his speech to Bob Hawke.
I’ll bring you parts of it when I can. It would have been a bit of a surreal experience for him, I’d imagine.
This is an interesting press call:
The National Farmers’ Federation and the Rural Doctors Association of Australia ask the Government to explain the delay in implementing the ACCC’s quad bike safety recommendations.
If only there was a party dedicated to representing farmers and the concerns of regional and rural communities.
It’s been 50 years since man landed on the moon:
One giant leap for audiovisual preservation! This morning @NASA and @CSIROnews donated Australia's official copy of the restored #Apollo11 Moon landing broadcast, to be preserved in our collection! @karenandrewsmp presented it to @PaulFletcherMP and @JanMullerNFSA this morning. pic.twitter.com/5lOlsFIJ3H
— NFSAonline (@NFSAonline) July 3, 2019
Updated
Just back on the temporary exclusion laws Peter Dutton has been talking about, it might be worth pointing out that these ‘urgent’ laws have been legislated in the UK since 2015 – more than a year after the Coalition first came to power. Amber Rudd admitted in 2017 that the UK had only used the order once in that time, but the legislation existed.
The joint intelligence committee returned its report and its recommendations in April this year. The government will decide if it adds the recommendations to the legislation. Labor remains in support of it, but wants to see if the recommendations are included as amendments to the bill.
So yes, it has been ‘fast tracked’ and yes, we did see terror arrests yesterday and yes, there are reasons the government is talking about it now.
But let’s remember that the Coalition has been in power since 2013. This is not a first-term government. There have been opportunities for Dutton to have introduced this ‘urgent’ legislation previously. Just something to keep in mind.
Updated
As always, it has been a very strange week – the first week of parliament is so heavy with pomp and tradition, it tends to weigh down everything around it.
But the first question time is tomorrow. And it will be Anthony Albanese’s first time in the opposition leader’s chair, directing the questions. My guess? That it won’t always be the prime minister in Labor’s sights – if not tomorrow, then soon. There are quite a few people who don’t like answering questions on that front bench, and what better way to bring that forward, than #theministerdidnotanswerthequestion time.
Updated
Mike Bowers has been in both chambers, listening to the speeches in honour of Bob Hawke.
He just compared it to the ones he heard when Gough Whitlam died, remembering that then, while there was a lot of tribute, there was also a “sting in the tail” from the other side, with politicians talking about how he got them into politics because of how much they disliked his prime ministership.
Bowers said he hasn’t heard any of that today. It’s partly because Hawke was beloved by the public, so they wouldn’t take politicisation of the speeches (as Tony Abbott learned) but also because, well, a lot of what he and Paul Keating did is now so deeply ingrained as Australian ‘never touch’ policies, all sides now claim to support them.
Updated
The meeting between Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese is also about finding areas of consensus, with reconciliation and religious freedoms high on the list, as well as the press and whistleblower freedom inquiry.
Morrison really doesn’t want a fight on religious freedoms – not only because of what will happen in the public debate, but because he doesn’t want to reignite a war in his own party room. His election win has so far proclaimed peace in our times. But those issues still simmer under the surface, between liberals and conservatives.
And of course, it is not as if the National party is one big happy family. While the Liberal party room may have lost some of its biggest disruptors at the last election, the Nationals did not.
Updated
Just a little jump outside of modern politics for the moment – the high court will be asked for special leave to hear a case regarding the letters to the Queen from John Kerr over the Whitlam dismissal.
So far, the letters have been kept private, but the historian Jenny Hocking has been fighting to make them public. If the high court says yes, this case will be Ah-MAZING.
Updated
The Senate is also delivering condolence speeches for Bob Hawke.
Richard Di Natale looked at whether or not, in today’s political environment, “someone like Bob Hawke would be able to rise to the heights that he was able to” considering his life before politics.
He also looked at some of the decisions he made, comparing it to now:
Some people have highlighted the parallels between the campaigns on the Franklin and, of course, the campaign that we’re fighting today to stop the Adani coalmine from going ahead.
If you look back on the Franklin River, it’s true: there were divided views within all parties, voracious and greedy corporations desperate to see that project go ahead and a lot of local conservative politicians telling those out-of-towners to bugger off, but you had a growing grassroots environment movement committed to the preservation of Australia’s precious places.
What separates those issues is 35 years and the courage and leadership of Bob Hawke.
The 1983 election that brought him to power saw all seats lost by Labor in Tassie, yet on the night of the election, after acknowledging his win and the hard work of his colleagues, the next people he acknowledged were Tasmanians.
This is what he said to them:
“I want to give you, the people of Tasmania, the confidence that my government will be particularly concerned with the issues that were close to your mind when you cast your vote.
“My government will go ahead and honour the promises that we’ve made, but the dam will not go ahead – your concerns, legitimately, with issues of power and employment – and I’ve made it clear that we’ll meet your concerns. So, from this moment, I commit myself to an undertaking, a task, of national reconciliation. I ask that you give us your trust and cooperation and, if we work together, there will be no bounds as to what we can do together.”
He showed leadership; he sought to unite; he didn’t equivocate; he worked hard to provide people with alternatives and he succeeded. It was Barry Jones, Bob Hawke’s science minister, who told Fairfax that he’d brooded a lot; about the likelihood of such interventions now.
He said: “If there’s a comparable situation to the Tasmanian dam dispute in 2019, would we act the same way that we did? I’m not sure that we would.”
Updated
Interesting for anyone who is looking at the election result and trying to understand it:
today we're running two extremely detailed election maps! the first one from @pixelpioneer uses voronoi areas made from polling booth locations, and is v handy for looking at places where minor parties did well https://t.co/pzgMripiNv pic.twitter.com/tjCWZlrCYR
— Nick Evershed (@NickEvershed) July 3, 2019
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Niki Savva’s book, Plots and Prayers, has the August leadership spill floating around the edges of this place once again. Particularly, Mathias Cormann’s role in it.
It’s led to some uncomfortable conversations for the government’s Senate leader. And questions he wants to continue to avoid.
On Sky this morning, James Paterson took the whole ‘he has my full confidence’ cliche to a whole new level:
“We would follow Mathias Cormann into a burning building if he asked us to,” he said.
Updated
Some very fine words flowing from both sides during the Bob Hawke condolence motion, afterwards Treasurer Josh Frydenberg sat with his Labor mate Ed Husic on the Opposition side of the chamber @GuardianAus @murpharoo @AmyRemeikis @msmarto #PoliticsLive pic.twitter.com/eIrRWfThYb
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) July 3, 2019
Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese will meet very shortly to talk about the inquiry into press (and whistleblowers, which I would argue is just as if not more important) freedoms.
The meeting is to see if the two parties can come to a consensus about what the inquiry should involve and who should take charge of it.
Updated
Should the committee that ticked off on the national security laws look into the press and whistleblower freedoms that are being impinged because of those national security laws?
Paul Fletcher told Fran Kelly this morning that yes, maybe it should:
Well, the starting point, Fran, for any inquiry is the terms of reference and the terms of reference ask the committee to inquire and to report back on such things as the experiences of journalists and media organisations that have or could become subject to the powers of law enforcement or intelligence agencies and the impact of the exercise of those powers on journalists’ work. So the key point here is what are the terms of reference for this committee in weighing up these matters and providing advice including, ultimately, to the parliament and to the government.
So these terms of reference do go squarely to the issue which has generated a lot of commentary in recent weeks following the execution of those two search warrants by the AFP in early June, which is how do we strike this balance? When the AFP are going about their work – bearing in mind that they do that without reference to government, minister’s aren’t involved in these decisions – what are the factors that impact on that? What the committee’s being asked to look at is what is that balance? And so the terms of reference are key and these terms of reference go squarely to the issues which have been the subject of a lot of commentary over recent weeks.
Updated
The condolence motions will continue – but the tax debate continues to go on behind the scenes.
But as far as the parliament is concerned, this is Bob’s day.
This morning the Parliament remembers this great man. We'll miss you Bob. May you rest in peace. #bobhawke #auspol pic.twitter.com/oxntISRFbL
— Bill Shorten (@billshortenmp) July 2, 2019
Updated
Anthony Albanese finishes the speech with Bob Hawke’s impact on the Labor party:
I must also say, on behalf of the Australian Labor party, that our party and our movement remembers our great fallen chief.
He transformed Labor so that Labor could transform the nation.
He took on internal fights and won them so that he could lead the nation. He taught us also how real reform occurs. You require successive victories. He was Australian Labor’s greatest leader with four successive victories, which consolidated the reforms like Medicare and superannuation, so that they couldn’t just be wound back easily.
We know, of course, also that he never stopped singing Solidarity Forever. He particularly used to get to the line, “Is there anything left to us but to organise and fight?”
The music is done now, in the quiet that is fallen we farewell this giant – a beloved Labor leader, our most popular prime minister.
A man who, in so many ways, was Australia amplified. We farewell him, not with sadness, but with gratitude and with love.
Our gratitude and love also go to his children, Susan, Steven and Roslyn, who had to share their dad with the nation, and to the memory of little Robert Jr, who, tragically, never got the chance.
To Blanche, who was the great love of Bob and cared for him so compassionately during his later years.
To the memory of Hazel Hawke, who was Bob’s first great love. To the memory of Clem and Ellie Hawke who raised their son to turn his back on hatred and embrace the brotherhood and sisterhood of humanity.
And finally, we turn to that driver outside the MCG that night, and we say, “You were right! Bob Hawke, legend!”
Updated
Albanese:
During the decades after he left office, Australia’s affection for him not only didn’t dim, I think it actually grew.
The year that he turned 80, Bob was walking out of MCG with delegates to the annual American-Australian Leadership Dialogue.
A passing car slowed down. Its young driver yelled out, “Hawkey, you’re a bloody legend.”
Bob’s reply was both gracious and practical. “Well, if I’m such a bloody legend, why don’t you give me a lift back to the pub.”
And with that, the former PM hopped into a car – no security, with perfect strangers – and sped off!
One of the American delegates with their security was gobsmacked. That could never happen in America! And, indeed, it wouldn’t. It is a perfect Australian story! I hope we never lose that character.
Later that year, during his birthday celebrations, Bob stepped out on to the stage at the Sydney Opera House to conduct a number from Handel’s Messiah.
It was quite extraordinary when that was shown at the memorial service at the Sydney Opera House.
One of the songs in Messiah includes the biblical line that had leapt out at Ellie a lifetime earlier – “And the government shall be upon its shoulder” – but fittingly it was the Hallelujah Chorus us that Bob conducted.
Handel’s joyous expression of a prophecy fulfilled. There was a lot of love in the room that day – a perfect snapshot of the long romance between one Australian and his compatriots.
Today in the national parliament, we remember a genuinely national figure.
Updated
Albanese:
What can all of us here learn from Bob? Don’t fear risk.
Don’t let the word “no” be your first instinct.
Persuade people, bring them with you. Be among the people who chose you to represent them.
Listen, engage. Stay true to your philosophies and make them the bedrock upon which you build your policies.
You won’t get agreement all the time, but you will get respect.
Bob showed us the [rewards] of a political life lived that way.
Albanese:
When they were elected to office, three in every 10 Australians finished high school. When that period of government ended, the figure was eight out of 10 – a revolution in opportunity for young Australians. So many more young people also having the opportunity to attend university.
The Antarctic, never to be militarised, never to be mined. In Tasmania, the Franklin River still flows wild and free. The Daintree in far north Queensland.
Among the exploits on the world stage, Bob was the driving force between what South Africa’s then finance minister described as “the dagger that finally immobilised apartheid”.
He drove that agenda on the global stage, and it was not a uniform agenda – far from it. It took courage. So that when Nelson Mandela arrived in Canberra, he said, “I want you to know, Bob, that I am here in Canberra at this time because of you.”
Fighting that was just one of Bob’s loathing for racism. He knew the strength in laying in unity, and he was always ready to fight those who sought to divide.
When the dog whistle of racism was blown loudly, Bob responded in parliament with thunder.
Last year, three decades later, almost to the day, parliament united right here around Bob’s words, to condemn another politician who tried to divide us.
That day in this place matched the vision Bob had for us. The prime minister shaking hands with the opposition leader. Muslim embracing Jew. All united in the knowledge that racism has no place among us. I spoke to Bob about that day. He was thrilled.
Updated
Albanese:
When Labor was swept to power in the first of his four election victories, Bob was blessed with a ministry of rare breadth, depth and talent. The political equivalent of a greatest hits collection.
The Whitlam collection drove them into politics, but it was never going to steer them. This was no time for crash or crash through.
Bob, Paul Keating his treasurer, and their team had a clear and urgent agenda to rescue Australia from what they saw as a state that they knew how to implement it, and how to sell it. Their energy was coupled with pragmatism.
Their courage with intelligence. Their impatience with clear heads. They were united in the quest for an open and competitive and free society, and an intelligent, creative and benevolent society.
They foresaw the rise of Australia and prepared Australia for it. They saw our future prosperity dependant on Australia becoming a confident, outward looking nation. They laid down the foundations of a robust, vibrant economy, that has repeatedly with stood forces which have felled other economies in our region and throughout the industrialised world.
On to some of the achievements Apec, the floating of the dollar. Putting Australia in a position to benefit from global economic engagement.
The Sex Discrimination Act. The affirmative action act. The return of Uluru, the physical heart of the nation, to its traditional owners. Universal superannuation. Landcare. Medicare.
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Albanese:
Bob was a genuine folk figure long before he became the prime minister. He was, indeed, the first politician who built a reputation on TV before he became a parliamentarian. Once asked how he could simultaneously be president of the ACTU and president of the Australian Labor party, he replied with remarkable candour and typical Bob style.
“If you can’t ride two horses, you shouldn’t be in the bloody circus!”
Now, doubt was not a regular visitor to Bob’s mind. And he wasn’t keen on it from others, but that doesn’t mean that no one felt it. As a Hawke prime ministership grew ever more likely, some were worried.
His talent and the sharpness of his economic mind were not questioned, but mightn’t his larrikin streak embarrass us domestically and on the world stage? Never mind the future – what about the damaging revelations about his past?
With the cheer of someone who once explained that he had credibility because he didn’t exude morality, Bob pointed to his biography and said that there would be no shocks – it’s all in the book!
But the strength of personality sometimes masked his dedication to his work and to detail. The pay-off of habits formed in his long, hard years as an industrial advocate. All this energy was channelled into making life better for his fellow Australians. He was at once our leader and our cheerleader.
He was ahead of us, calling us on, and yet somehow he was also walking alongside us, and for good measure giving us an encouraging push from behind.
Bob was hardly a stranger to ambition, but his ambition embraced the rest of us. He knew we were capable of better, and he knew we could do it together.
Think of some of his by-words that characterised his leadership. “Reconciliation, accord, consensus.”
They’re all about us heading in one direction, as a nation, rather than division or conflict. And even though he was Labor to the core, you didn’t have to vote for Bob to feel the love. He was no one-man band, of course.
Updated
Anthony Albanese delivers the first speech for Labor.
I thank the prime minister for his generous comments, not just today but at the memorial service at the Sydney Opera House, which was a remarkable event for an extraordinary Australian.
I also welcome the announcement by the prime minister of the government’s Bob Hawke scholarship foundation.
It is, indeed, appropriate to recognise a young person and to give them support in Bob Hawke’s name.
Because Bob Hawke was always supportive of young people coming through. I first met him as the president of Young Labor, meeting with him about policy issue, that at the time Young Labor didn’t always agree with Bob Hawke, it must be said!
But he was always encouraging and he was a mentor and, indeed, a very dear friend, and he’s missed on a personal level.
Bob Hawke was the first prime minister in this new parliament. Close your eyes for a moment, and you can picture him by the despatch box – that famous cumulus of hair, the sparkle of his voice.
He towered in this place with the confidence of a man who always felt destined for it.
Bob had long known that he wanted to be the prime minister of Australia.
More importantly, he knew that he would be – how could it be otherwise? Family legend always had it that when Bob’s mother, Ellie, was pregnant with him, her bible fell open at Isiaah, chapter nine. “For unto us a child a born and the child is given, and the government shall be upon its shoulder.”
Between this early touch of Messiah and the clarifying effects of a near-death experience on his motorbike years later, Bob had a sense of destiny.
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Morrison finishes with this:
Mr Speaker, on behalf of the government and indeed this parliament and the nation, I sincerely want to extend to Mr Hawke’s widow, Blanche, and to his family, the deepest sympathies of our country, and we share and thank you for caring for Bob through the long sunset of his life.
Again, today, as I did on the day that he passed, Jenny and I, particularly, want to acknowledge the support and contribution of the late and wonderful Hazel Hawke, who was a tremendous support and inspiration to Bob and his family, and is also deeply and sorely missed by a nation who loved her also.
Mr Speaker, Australia is grateful for the leadership and service of Robert James Lee Hawke. Australians all can rejoice for his life, having served his country tirelessly, diligently, selflessly and passionately. May he now rest in peace.
Updated
Bob Hawke scholarship announced
Morrison:
The achievements under Bob Hawke were not just economic, they were social as well. After all, economies are meant to serve people. He understood that. They make those great social reforms possible.
They were landmark social reforms made possible by that economic success. Social reforms that became embedded in our national life and now, in so many cases, enjoy bipartisan support ... the card we all carry in our pockets is a reminder of his great contribution.
And its promise of universal access is an achievement that has stood, and will always stand the test of time. As was the outlawing of gender discrimination in the workplace.
Morrison announced the government would fund the Bob Hawke scholarship foundation at Monash University in his honour, to help “young Australians with ability and leadership potential to develop their skills at leading overseas universities”.
I believe that this is an appropriate way to recognise the memory of such a great Australian.
To see it lived out in the lives of many great Australians who will follow in his footsteps in this regard and into the future.
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Morrison:
In 1983, Bob Hawke campaigned on the slogan, “Bringing Australians together”, and so he did. From 1983 to 1991, Bob Hawke led a government that redefined our nation forever.
Floating the dollar, deregulating the financial system, admitting foreign banks, dismantling tariffs, starting the privatisation of government-owned businesses. Microeconomic reform in partnership with the states and territories. Retirement incomes for all workers.
With sights firmly fixed on the long-term with his team, Bob Hawke opened up the Australian economy to the world, increasing competition, laying the foundation for 25 years and more of economic growth that continues to this day.
Now, of course, it might not have seemed that way during the dislocation of the 1980s and the recession of the early 1990s, but our country had certainly, at that point, turned outward under his leadership, and I also wish to acknowledge that this work was done in a partnership most significantly with his treasurer, Paul Keating.
But it was also a work that was largely, almost completely supported by those who sat in opposition.
Now, this was achieved by Bob Hawke’s leadership, and that’s what I acknowledge. His leadership to embrace common-sense, common good economic reforms, to make Australia stronger and to bring Australians together for that purpose. He had many fights. Within this place, within his own ranks of his own party, and outside of this place.
But such was his passion, such was his commitment, such was his determination to see the future of Australia going down a common ground path that will be forever to his credit, and we will be forever in his debt. And as a result of his vision and commitment, the tempo and direction of this economic reform agenda that, indeed, started under the Hawke government, has continued long after that to this day. Under my government, and beyond.
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Scott Morrison leads condolences for Bob Hawke
The condolence motions have begun for Bob Hawke.
Scott Morrison has started the speeches in the House. Following the condolence motions the House will adjourn as a mark of respect.
Morrison:
The honourable Robert James Lee Hawke AC, the 23rd prime minister of Australia, and places on record its appreciation of his remarkable service to our nation, which he loved.
And offers its deepest sympathy to his family in their bereavement and, indeed, to the nation. Mr Speaker, the first prime minister to speak at this despatch box in this chamber, in this magnificent parliament building was Robert James Lee Hawke. But that meant he was also the last prime minister to do so at the despatch box at the old parliament house in the House of Representatives chamber down the hill.
And in so many ways, not just that physical way, he took our country from the old to the new.
He was personal enough that everyAustralian felt connected to him, regardless of their politics. And big enough that we actually entitled an era after him – the Hawke era. As I said at his memorial, which I was very grateful to the Hawke family and to Blanche for being invited to participate – Australians loved him just as he loved them.
There was a great romance that played itself out in every part of this land with Bob Hawke. They knew each other, he and the Australian people. They forgave each other. They understood each other’s virtues and they identified with each other’s weaknesses. In Bob Hawke’s own words, it was a “love affair”, and indeed it was.
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The bells are ringing – the day is officially about to get under way.
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The speaking list for the Senate condolence motions for Bob Hawke has been released. As you would expect, it is mostly Labor senators. But there are a few non-Labor senators, including Malcolm Roberts and Matt Canavan. Sarah Hanson-Young and Janet Rice are also on the list.
Anyone can add or remove themselves from the list and they can do it at anytime, so expect that to grow.
Jim Chalmers had a chat to ABC’s AM this morning. He was asked about Labor’s position on the tax package now, as compared to before and during the election:
We’ve shifted our position in recognition that the economy has deteriorated, even since the election, and that we weren’t successful at the election. We’ve shifted our position. We’ve said we’re prepared to cop stage two. We’ve got a better way to deliver it sooner. The government, remarkably, voted against their own tax cuts being delivered sooner. The so-called “party of lower taxes” voted against a tax cut this year because they’ve put a higher premium on tax cuts in five years than tax cuts this week.
But the point that I wanted to make, Sabra, is our position is guided by boosting the economy, by giving every Australian worker a tax cut in this term of the parliament.
But thirdly, not saddling the budget with stage three of the tax cuts, which is a $95bn cost to the economy, which doesn’t come in for another five years. This is a government which hasn’t got the economy right at any turn now pretending that they know what the budget and the economy will look like in five years’ time. We don’t think that’s responsible.
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Meanwhile, back in the real world, confidence in the economy is not fantastic. The RBA has made as much of a plea as it can for the government to kickstart spending. From Philip Lowe:
It is important to think about the task ahead holistically. Monetary policy does have a significant role to play and our actions are helping to support the Australian economy, but we should not rely on monetary policy alone. We will achieve better outcomes if the various arms of public policy are all pointing in the same direction.
That is as much of FRICKING DO SOMETHING as the very dry RBA governor can make. A big part of the problem? Stagnant wage growth. We know that people on low and middle incomes tend to spend their money. If they are trying to hold on to as much of their income as possible, it’s because they can’t afford to live, so they make choices. Foregoing discretionary spending is one of the first moves. We also know that Newstart hasn’t shifted in real terms for more than two decades. The business community wants Newstart increased because not only can people not afford to look for work on the allowance, they can’t afford to live. That’s not necessarily altruistic – business knows that any increase in Newstart will be spent. And that’s what capitalism relies on.
Higher income earners, though, they don’t tend to spend their increases. They save it. Because they can.
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You may have seen we posted the list of legislation for the next few sittings.
You may have also noticed some of the parenthesis legislation names. And just how utterly out of control they are. For example, the tax bill’s name is ‘tax relief so working Australians keep more of their money’.
Well Labor added to that bullshit overnight, calling its amendment ‘tax relief so working Australians keep more of their money, but not for a really long time’.
It’s not funny. It’s cheap.
Leader of the Opposition @AlboMP moving an amendment to the bill #auspol pic.twitter.com/reJYhY5c65
— Political Alert (@political_alert) July 2, 2019
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The schedule for the day is out:
Today is an unusual day in the House of Representatives. The House will consider a condolence motion for former Prime Minister Bob Hawke, and will then adjourn for the day as a mark of respect. pic.twitter.com/Mm5ZUhmquF
— Australian House of Representatives (@AboutTheHouse) July 2, 2019
Greg Hunt’s office has released some good news on the health front:
HIV diagnoses in Australia is the lowest in almost 20 years due to increased prevention measures, earlier testing and treatment.
In an Australian first, we have now seen significant reductions in new HIV diagnoses recorded at the national level thanks to the commitment of governments, healthcare, community and research sector.
The Kirby Institute at UNSW Sydney’s National HIV Quarterly notifications 2014–2018 report confirmed 835 HIV diagnoses across Australia in 2018 compared to 964 cases in 2017.
This represents a decline in new diagnoses of 23 per cent in the past five years and this is the lowest number of new diagnoses since 2001.
The largest decline in HIV diagnoses has been seen in men who have sex with men, which has declined by 30 per cent in the past five years.
This incredible result is also because of a strong uptake among gay and bisexual men of the daily HIV prevention medication pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which our Government listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) on 1 April 2018.”
And just your semi-regular reminder that a HIV diagnosis is not a death sentence.
Kristina Keneally was speaking on that very issue this morning:
Australia continues to face a number of threats and that is something that our security agencies are quite alive to, as I’ve said, when it comes to this particular legislation, we know that it deals with a specific cohort of people in limited cohorts of people, and the people that we know and understand, some of whom may seek to do Australia harm, or endanger public safety on their return.
We support the intent of the legislation which is to have an appropriate mechanism in place to manage the return of these people to Australia. And we do stand ready to work with the government once they have responded to the PJCIS report, that report that Andrew Hastie from the committee he chairs and one that Labor and Liberals have given bipartisan support to 18 recommendations.
Here is what Peter Dutton had to say this morning about the temporary exclusion laws he wants:
We are going to introduce the laws this week. This passed through the party room and it’s been to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, so it’s been a welcome bill based on the UK law where the government can exclude people for up to two years, which is what we are proposing here, and we need the support of the Labor party, obviously, but we want to get the laws through as quickly as possible. They build on the changes we have already made to make sure that we can keep Australians safe.
Now the PJCIS hasn’t exactly waved it through. Here is its report from 3 April.
This isn’t Labor holding it up. The intelligence committee is bipartisan, but the Liberals hold the numbers. It is also chaired by Andrew Hastie. And it wants the bill changed.
Including this:
The Committee recommends that the Bill be amended so that:
subject to the third dot point below, consistent with the preventive detention order regime, a temporary exclusion order may only be issued by an ‘issuing authority’ (being a judge, a retired judge or a senior member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal) on application by the Minister,
the issuing authority must approve any condition set out in a return permit, and in respect of urgent situations, the Minister may issue a temporary exclusion order, or impose a condition in a return permit, without the approval of an issuing authority, provided that:
the Minister obtain the approval of an issuing authority for the temporary exclusion order as soon as reasonably practicable, and if the issuing authority does not approve of the temporary exclusion order, the Minister must immediately revoke the order.
It is up to the government to say whether or not it wants to amend its bill to include those recommendations. That’s the holdup.
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Jacqui Lambie speaks!
The Tasmanian senator stopped and had a chat to media outside the Senate doors on her way into the building a couple of minutes ago. She didn’t say what she is doing, but she did say that she had some concerns over stage three – that’s the part of the tax plan which will cost the budget $95bn from 2024, by creating a flat 30% tax rate for those earning between $45,000 and $200,000.
Lambie said she had spent the past 18 months on the ground (after she resigned from the 45th Senate because of section 44 issues) and she had not seen a lot of evidence that the benefits were being translated where they were needed most.
But asked about the politics of the bill, given that Labor’s amendments will most likely fail because the government would just strike them back out in the House, Lambie said:
I am watching it play out. You know what politics is like, it changes more than you change your undies.
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Good morning
That was quite the evening.
After almost two days of pomp and ceremony, the 46th parliament jumped straight into it. The government’s tax plan was first off the bat but press freedom also got a guernsey.
Labor voted to pass the tax cuts through the House – not that it matters from a numbers point of view, as the government has a majority. But it matters from the optics. All eyes are on Labor, because the tax plan – particularly tranche three – stands against everything the opposition has been building its policy platform on for the past six years. If it decides to pass the whole package in the Senate, that’s a signal that things are about to change for the party.
But first, Labor will attempt to have its amendments to the bill passed in the Senate. It wants the already legislated stage two to come into effect earlier, and the third tranche of this package delayed. The government says no, and looks to have the necessary crossbench support to get it across the line – so watch this space.
Meanwhile, about an hour after Kristina Keneally announced Labor’s plan to hold an inquiry into press freedom, the government announced it too was looking at an inquiry into press freedom.
Whether there are two inquiries (and at this stage, that is a possibility) will depend on what is in the government’s suggestion – and whether or not whistleblowers are also included.
Peter Dutton meanwhile, wants to bring in laws to ban Australians involved in terrorism activities overseas from returning for at least two years. They’re based on similar UK laws but the joint intelligence committee which looked at the issue last year – and is led by the Liberal Andrew Hastie – had some concerns about the laws, particularly the lack of judicial oversight. In the UK, a judge signs off on the order, while in Australia it was to be the minister. Still, the government will push forward – we will wait to see if it responds to the joint intelligence committee’s recommendations.
So a big day. But most of that will be happening behind the scenes, with the official parts of the day taken up by condolence motions for Bob Hawke. So no debate until tomorrow.
We’ll bring you everything that happens, as it does. Mike Bowers was here late last night, so I’ll bring you some of what he shot. The Guardian brains trust is on the job. I need another coffee, quite desperately.
Ready?
Let’s get into it.
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