And that’s it for us today.
What.
A.
Day.
Thanks you to Mike Bowers, who I could not get through the day without, and the Guardian Australia brains trust. They do so much to keep me running, you have no idea.
And to you. Even when criticising. Thanks for following along, for playing and taking the time to give your thoughts. (Well most of you) I appreciate it and it keeps me entertained through the long days.
We’ll be back tomorrow morning. You can catch Mike Bowers at @mikepbowers and @mpbowers and you can catch me at @amyremeikis and @ifyouseeamy (where you’ll find an update as soon as I wake up)
Have a lovely night!
He is given a standing ovation and roundly hugged by his Senate colleagues, including Penny Wong.
I don’t think I saw Eric Abetz in the Senate as Brandis delivered his speech
Updated
And he finishes with his voice cracking, and a few tears:
And so now, as I close this, the longest chapter of my life, I leave as I arrived – an unapologetic, committed liberal, a little bloodied perhaps, but nevertheless unbowed. So farewell to you all. I thank you for the memories, I thank those who gave me the opportunity to make whatever contributions I have been able to make to Australia and, most of all, I thank all of those who have shared the journey with me.
Updated
Among the thanks was this for his media team:
My media team, Scott Bolitho, Gabriel Young, Rachelle Miller and Michelle Perks performed their job with great skill ... They also staunchly resisted frequent entreaties by one or two journalists to engage in transactional journalism: cabinet leaks or classified national security information in exchange for favourable coverage in the tabloids. I am reminded of Lyndon Johnson’s advice to Richard Nixon about leaks from the National Security Council: ‘Read the columnists and if they call [somebody] thoughtful, dedicated, or any other friendly adjective, fire him immediately. He is your leaker.’ We have seen a bit of that recently but it never happened in my office, a fact that would be obvious to the readers of the Daily Telegraph, so I thank my team, not just for their professionalism but for their integrity as well.
Updated
George Brandis thanks his staff and mentions that his office “was well-known to be a very happy place and people never wanted to leave”.
A lot of his staff, including all four of his chiefs-of-staff, are in the gallery to watch his speech.
I think I just saw the former Queensland premier Campbell Newman in the gallery as well.
Updated
Deviating from George Brandis for one moment, Josh Frydenberg has returned Tony Burke’s earlier service (delivered as a media release during question time).
After not asking a question on the environment for 566 days, the shadow environment minister, Tony Burke, asked two questions in 48 hours. With the Batman byelection looming, his intention is to distract from Labor’s crab-walk away from its previous support for Adani.
When it comes to the Abbot Point terminal and Adani, there are three points to make:
• The Queensland government is the primary regulator of the existing Abbot Point terminal, as its construction predates the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999.
• The only existing asset regulated by the commonwealth is a stormwater return dam which ironically was approved under Tony Burke when he was environment minister in 2011. In the aftermath of Cyclone Debbie, my department investigated the stormwater return dam on 27 April 2017 and found that it was not being used and as a result there had been no discharges to the Caley Valley wetlands from the dam.
• A separate sediment dam regulated by the Queensland government is the dam that is subject to ongoing court proceedings relating to allegations around excessive discharge.
What Tony Burke’s political mischief does show is how far Labor will go in its desperate attempt to stave off the Greens from taking its inner-city Melbourne seat of Batman.
It was only last year that opposition leader Bill Shorten was in Queensland, saying: ‘I support the Adani coalmine.’
Opposition leader Bill Shorten, Yatala, Queensland, 12 April 2017
His assistant climate change spokesman, Pat Conroy, proudly states on his website of the Adani project: “I welcome the jobs that it will provide in Queensland.”
Assistant climate change spokesman Pat Conroy, website
Tony Burke’s tactics are transparent. In order to create a smokescreen as Labor backtracks from their previous support for Adani, they are peddling misinformation.
Having himself approved under the EPBC Act in 2012 a new coal mine in the Galilee basin and an accompanying rail line as well as an expansion at Abbot Point, Tony Burke knows all too well the importance of resources development to jobs in the region. Today, it’s an inconvenient truth for him that he would rather forget.
With its disingenuous double-speak, inconsistent positions and populist playbook, the Labor party would destroy Australian jobs and our proud international reputation as an investment destination.
Updated
Senator Brandis, in front of a full public gallery, says marriage equality and the national security reforms were two of the most important pieces of legislation he saw passed. He regrets not being able to see through the reforms of the federal courts.
Amongst the thank yous he offers, including to all four leaders he served under, he also thanks: Robert McClelland, Philip Ruddock, Canon John Morgan, John Kerr, Nicola Roxon, Mark Dreyfus, Scott Ryan, Simon Birmingham, Marise Payne, Michaelia Cash, Nigel Scullion, Bridget McKenzie, Ian Macdonald, Connie Fierravanti-Wells and Arthur Sinodinos .
He receives gentle laughter with this line:
Throughout my time as the attorney general, my opponent was Mark Dreyfus QC. This was also a stroke of good fortune. There were a couple of controversies over the last four-and-a-half years but I could always rely on the member for Isaacs to blunder in and get me out of trouble.
I will be forever grateful that Mr Dreyfus was my shadow. One of the many reasons I am cautiously optimistic about the outcome of the next federal election is that I believe the leader of the opposition is quite close to Mr Dreyfus, and often seeks his advice.
Updated
Most of the Liberal party room is in the Senate watching George Brandis deliver his speech, including the prime minister. Or, at least, most of the liberal Liberals.
Updated
Then there is this warning (and an insight into cabinet/party room?)
I have heard some powerful voices argue that the Coalition should open a political front against the Labor party on the issue of domestic national security. I could not disagree more strongly. One of the main reasons why the government has earned the confidence of the public on national security policy is that there has never been a credible suggestion that political motives have intruded. Were it to do so, confidence not just in the government’s handling of national security, but in the agencies themselves, would be damaged and their capacity to do their work compromised. Nothing could be more irresponsible than to hazard the safety of the public by creating a confected dispute for political advantage. To his credit, the prime minister has always resisted such entreaties.
Updated
And who could he mean here? It’s so subtle.
I have also sought to defend the fragile institutions which enshrine those values: Parliament, the courts, the rule of law. Just as liberal values are not always easy to defend, neither is the rule of law, for it means insisting upon the equality of all in the eyes of the law: not just those who live blameless lives in the mainstream of society. The rule of law applies equally to the guilty as to the innocent. As Sir Robert Menzies, Australia’s greatest lawyer-statesman, said: ‘Do not let us begin to think lightly of the law. It rule, its power, its authority are at the centre of our civilization’.
I have not disguised my concern at attacks upon the institutions of the law: the courts and those who practice in them. To attack those institutions is to attack the rule of law itself. And it is for the attorney-general always to defend the rule of law – sometimes from political colleagues who fail to understand it, or are impatient of the limitations it may impose upon executive power – because although the attorney is a political official, as the first law officer he has a higher duty – a duty to the law itself. It is a duty which, as my Cabinet colleagues know, on several robust occasions, I have always placed above political advantage.”
He follows up with this:
Being a liberal is not easy, because it means respecting the right of people to make choices which we ourselves would not make and of which we may disapprove.
It means respecting the right of people to express their opinions, even though others may find those opinions offensive. It means respecting the right of people to practice their religion, even though others may find the tenets of that religion irrational. It means, in a nation of many cultures, respecting the right of people to live according to their culture, even though, to others, that culture may seem alien. It means respecting the right of everyone to marry the person they love, even though others may find their understanding of marriage confronting. It means rejoicing in the richness of a nation which accepts that every single person is unique, and respects the right of every individual to live their lives in their own way, so long as they respect the equal right of others to do so as well. It does not require us to be comfortable with those different opinions, beliefs or ways of life.
But it does mean, as the minimum condition of a liberal society, at least that we be tolerant of them. A liberal society is not based upon any notion of moral equivalence: it is perfectly consistent for me, for instance, to denounce Senator Hanson’s views while defending her right to express them. But it is based upon the principle of mutual tolerance; which demands respect for the equal right of every Australian to live their lives in accordance with their own choices: in the way they live, in what they believe, in what they say, in whom they worship, in whom they love.
“Those are the values for which I have fought for nearly two decades: in the Parliament, in the media, in the party room, in the Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet – sometimes with success, sometimes not, but always, I hope, consistently.”
Who, oh who, could George Brandis be talking about here?
But increasingly, in recent years, powerful elements of right-wing politics have abandoned both liberalism’s concern for the rights of the individual and conservatism’s respect for institutions, in favour of a belligerent, intolerant populism which shows no respect for either the rights of individual citizens or the traditional institutions which protect them. If I might adopt a brilliant phrase of yours, Mr President, we have seen the development of right-wing post-modernism: a set of attitudes which had its origin in the authoritarian mind of the left has been translated right across the political spectrum. This presents a threat both to liberalism and conservatism, and a profound challenge to the Liberal Party as the custodian of those philosophical traditions.”
George Brandis is about to deliver his final speech to the Senate.
Updated
Here is what it looked like as Susan Lamb delivered her statement
It’s been so busy this afternoon, I have been tardy with delivering you some Mike Bowers magic from question time.
What a roller coaster.
Government not changing course after the Lamb statement
I’ve checked in with some government folks about Susan Lamb, and the impact of her statement to parliament after question time. The view is: sad story, but it makes no difference. Her circumstances in terms of the family story are similar to Fiona Nash, the former Nationals deputy leader, and to Malcolm Turnbull, whose mother left the family when he was a boy.
And the questions about her eligibility to sit in parliament remain live as far as the government is concerned. A senior government person says the Labor MP could have written to her mother to access a copy of the marriage certificate, and has also pointed to a legal mechanism to obtain the marriage certificate that could have been pursued, but wasn’t.
Just to be clear what the government’s inclination on Lamb is: the Coalition in the lower house has the numbers to refer her case to the high court immediately. I mentioned in news reports last week that this was unlikely to happen instantly. The government’s thinking has been to build a public case that Lamb has questions to answer, and see what happens. Perhaps she could resign like David Feeney. Perhaps Labor would come on board with a high court referral. In the event Labor digs in, then a hostile referral could be pursued.
Updated
Full Susan Lamb statement
“I can only answer, by providing the house and the Australian people a deeply personal part of my story.
“I am proud to be the member for Longman. I am proud to be a member of the Labor party. When I put up my hand to be a candidate for the 2016 election, I received a call letting me know that I may hold entitlement for citizenship for another country. I asked for my party’s assistance and I received it and I received it immediately. I completed the forms required by the UK office and I paid the required fee. I posted this by registered post with the required supporting documents. I waited for the fee to be processed, and for my papers to be accepted. Then I was nominated.
“The administrated process that followed requested if I could provide some additional documents. One of those requests was have I ever held a British passport. For the record, I have never held a British passport, in fact, I have never been to the UK in my life. Another request was for a copy of my parent’s marriage certificate. I was advised that I did not have a legal right to obtain a copy of my parent’s marriage certificate. My mother has that legal right. As did my dad, if he was still alive, but sadly he left us far too early.
“I want to explain to the house why I can’t obtain a copy of my parent’s marriage certificate. It is a complex and traumatic story, a story I don’t usually share.
“One day when I was around six years old, my mum dropped me off at school, and she never came back to pick me up. I don’t remember every detail of what happened afterwards, I remember lots of tears, I remember lots of confusion. I remember my dad trying to explain. I remember sometime later dad taking me to the train station late one evening, to come and collect my mother. I thought she was going to come home. The train came, the train went, no sign of her, so we went home.
“Then one day, I remember going outside the front of the mill gates. We lived on the mill grounds in Mackay in north Queensland. I remember there being a small store and petrol bowser out front. A car turned up, I think it was a Torana, it’s funny how these things stick in your mind, my mother got out, words were exchanged and then my mother drove away. My dad was now a single parent, an amazing man who’s example I try to live up to every day of my life.
“My mother wasn’t at my seventh birthday, or any birthday after that, she wasn’t there to help when I brought my fourth son home from hospital to meet his brothers. She wasn’t there for my school graduation, she wasn’t there for my youngest son’s graduation when he was 17 last year. In fact, they have never met. She wasn’t there to help me campaign, she wasn’t there to celebrate me when we won, or support me when I needed it.
“Many years ago, we made an attempt to build a relationship. Regrettably, that failed. I don’t know what was going on in my mum’s life back then. I don’t know when she dropped me off and never came back what was going on. I don’t know what is going on in her life now, I have no idea. The fact is, we don’t have a relationship. I imagine she carries her share of pain and trauma and if it’s anything like mine, I wouldn’t wish that on anybody. I don’t speak about this trauma. So when people ask me why I just couldn’t call my mother, well, this is why.
“I’d rather not share this with my closest friends, let alone the parliament of Australia. But telling people it was deeply personal circumstances wasn’t enough for the political attacks to back off. So now it has been said.
“The good people of my electorate of Longman, well they need to hear it. The fact is, my mum is not around to grant me access to her marriage certificate and dad, he passed away nearly 20 years ago, and spent the decade before that unable to care for himself and in need of 24-hour care. These are not things I find easy to reveal.
“Speaker, this is not a story to gain sympathy. I don’t speak out of hatred for my mother, I carry hurt, I carry disappointment, it is fair to say I still carry a fair bit of anger. What this story is, is about explaining as simply as I can, that that extra document that the UK Home Office requested after they received my renunciation, my parent’s marriage certificate, was a document I was advised I do not have a legal entitlement to obtain.
“So I would simply ask those opposite, take a moment and think about the circumstances, think about the consequences of attacks like this on my family. My family, like so many others are studying and working, weekends and nights, my family who work hard, pay their fair share of tax, they are single parents, my family who are tradies and hospitality workers, my family like every other family in my community are good people. They are good people and they do not deserve to have the media digging through their lives, or turning up on their doorstops. Yes, I put my hand up for public life, but they didn’t.
“These attacks have caused pain. And opened up wounds that have never healed, wounds that were inflicted on a very confused six-year-old little girl. I have fought that pain my whole life, but I can tell you now there are bigger fights I care about. That is why I am here. And that is the fight I want to continue, on behalf of the people of Longman. In December last year, I voted yes to end uncertainty this parliament had over a number of members in this house. I did this, confident in more of 40 pages of evidence of reasonable and necessary steps I took. Knowing that a letter from the UK Office HQ could not be satisfied that I am a British citizen has been disclosed. And knowing that three independent barristers, including a retired justice of the federal court of Australia, have resoundingly agreed that I took all reasonable steps to renounce my citizenship and I was validly elected to parliament and I am eligible to sit in this house. I remain confident I took all reasonable steps to renounce my citizenship and nothing will change.
“Everything to see has been shown. Except now I have been forced to rip that bandaid off a very painful story. Painful to me and painful to my family. Mr Speaker, the simple fact is, not all families look like the Australian version of the Little House of the Prairie. Let me tell you. In fact, most don’t. Families are complex, they face challenges, and sometimes, sometimes for whatever reason, they are just like mine.”
David Speers from Sky has reported his government sources have confirmed they will continue to pursue Susan Lamb over her citizenship. “This changes nothing,” he reported they said.
Jim Molan: "I did nothing wrong"
Jim Molan has appeared on Sky. He says he has nothing to apologise for.
I don’t apologise for it, because I did nothing wrong,” he says. “I did not realise at that time, and 99% of the world did not realise, these videos were coming from that organisation, before Donald Trump made it public.
As to what he thinks about Muslims:
I have no particular view of Muslims ... I have much the same view of Christians. I have lived and worked in overseas countries, the biggest Muslim country in the world. I spent five years in our embassy in Jakarta, where I worked everyday with Indonesians, most of whom happened to be Muslims. I put my life on the line, literally, on any number of occasions. I would count 15 which were very, very serious attacks and I was fighting for an Islamic country. The bizarreness of people like Adam [Bandt] or Richard Di Natale, the silliness of it, is they don’t apply scepticism. I don’t ask people to believe me because, if you are anti-American, you are not going to believe me. But I demand scepticism.
I am not anti-Islam. I am not a racist in any way, shape or form, and we know what lies behind this, what lies behind this is the Batman byelection. These people are flogging themselves to death and I am just the middle person in it all.
Updated
Tanya Plibersek, talking education cuts in the chamber, just faced down a heckle from Alan Tudge:
“It’s in the budget papers, you moron,” she says.
She withdraws. “The name. I withdraw the name”.
I’ll do my best to get you that whole statement as soon as I can.
“Not all families look like the Australian version of Little House on the Prairie … in fact some of them look just like mine,” she finishes.
“You’re a disgrace,” someone from Labor, (who I am told was Anne Aly)*, says towards Alex Hawke.
Lamb’s colleagues, including Bill Shorten, surround her to give her comfort. Lamb moves to the back of the chamber, where a large chunk of the caucus walks out with her.
*I originally said I thought it was Tanya Plibersek
Updated
Labor's Susan Lamb delivers citizenship statement
The chamber is absolutely silent as Susan Lamb delivers her statement. She is in tears, as she explains her mother was not there for much of her life.
I don’t know what was going on in my mum’s mind back then. I don’t know what was going on when she dropped me off and never came back. I don’t know what is going on her life now – we don’t have a relationship.
She speaks of the distress and trauma she has experienced and how she doesn’t talk about it.
So when people say, ‘Why couldn’t you just ring up you mum and ask for it?’, this is why.
This is not a story to gain sympathy. I don’t speak out of hatred for my mother. I carry hurt, I carry disappointment … what this story is, is about explaining simply as I can that when that request came for my parent’s marriage certificate … it was a document I do not have a legal right to obtain.
Alex Hawke starts telling her from across the chamber that he “has heard sad stories too” and says something about her having entered public life. One of his colleagues, I think it was Ian Goodenough, censures him with “Alex” and he stops.
Updated
She says she was nominated after the UK authorities took her money for her documents to renounce her British citizenship by descent. Afterwards, she was asked for more supporting documents, including her parents’ marriage certificate:
I was advised I did not have a legal right to obtain a copy of my parent’s marriage certificate. My mother has that right. As does my dad, if he was still with us, but he left us far too early.
It is a complex and traumatic story, one I don’t usually share … One day when I was six-years-old, my mother dropped me off at school and she never came back.
Updated
The member for Longman is almost in tears as she says she can only answer the attacks against her by sharing a “deeply personal part of my story”.
Updated
Susan Lamb is making a statement on indulgence
Question time is done.
Public service announcement: George Brandis will deliver his valedictory at 5.30pm.
Switch off, or tune in, at your will.
Updated
Mark Dreyfus to Malcolm Turnbull:
I refer to the prime minister’s answers yesterday about Senator Molan. Is the prime minister aware that last year the prime minister of the United Kingdom publicly rebuked President Trump for sharing material from the same racist and bigoted group as Senator Molan has shared? If the prime minister of the United Kingdom can rebuke the president of the United States for sharing material from Britain First, why can’t the prime minister of Australia publicly rebuke his most junior backbencher for doing exactly the same thing?
Turnbull:
I suppose we can be pleased that the member for Isaacs did not repeat the scurrilous attacks on Major General Molan that we saw yesterday, the disgraceful attacks on a great Australian, a great Australian soldier who has defended and fought for the values and the freedoms we enjoy in this parliament. Senator Molan has taken down all of those postings. He’s taken down, closed his Twitter account and taken down all of those postings, and he’s made a public statement about it, regretting that he posted them in the first place.
Errr, except no, he didn’t. He expressed regret that they were used by his political opponents to misrepresent him. He expressed regret that he didn’t clean up his social media before taking his Senate seat. But, as for the posts themselves, he has expressed no regret.
Updated
Dan Tehan has another go with a Dixer. He’s told not to look towards Jenny Macklin and just table his notes. He says he doesn’t think it’s a laughing matter. We move on.
Amanda Rishworth to Malcolm Turnbull:
The Productivity Commission has confirmed that, since this conservative government came to office, families are paying over $2,000 more a year for childcare and now this prime minister is introducing childcare changes which will leave 279,000 families worse off. Just how much more will these 279,000 families have to pay because the prime minister doesn’t understand the cost of living pressures facing families?
Turnbull:
The simple fact of the matter is that over a million families are benefitting from our childcare reforms. The Labor party opposed them ... They are means tested. There are families on high incomes that are no longer getting a benefit and the, we have done that to ensure that the help is where it is most needed and it is ensuring that more Australian families can stay connected to the workforce when their children are small. And, Mr Speaker, you can see that this is all part of our consistent policy to create more jobs and more opportunities. 403,000 jobs in the last year, 75% of them full-time. The highest female participation rate in our history. What we are determined to do is to ensure that more families are able better to manage that work/life balance. Manage to be with their children, especially when they’re small, stay connected to the workforce and not suffer the consequences of a long absence from the workforce that, as we all know, is tough on parents – on both fathers and mothers, but especially tough on mothers. Our childcare reforms are historic, they are equitable, they are generous and the honourable member should be backing them instead of trying to find fault where none exists.
Updated
Peter Dutton is rebooted through his daily exactly-how-strong-are-our-strong-borders question.
Moving on.
Jenny Macklin to Dan Tehan:
How many people will be worse off under this conservative government’s plan to axe the bereavement allowance to grieving widows and other vulnerable Australians?
Tehan starts talking about press releases he was waiting for Macklin to release yesterday.
The Labor backbench starts yelling for him to get to the answer. Tehan answers he is getting there. Even some members of his own backbench look like they want him to get there.
Tony Smith tells him to bring his preamble to “a conclusion”.
Tehan tries again but doesn’t address the question. Smith tells him to get to it and Bill Shorten yells “phone a friend”.
“I’m not phoning a friend, as the opposition leader has said,” Tehan says.
He finishes his point on the media release (apparently Macklin referred to him as a “L-plate minister”) and he yells, “I don’t want you in the car with me while I want to drive.”
He does not answer the question. He doesn’t even attempt to.
Updated
Joanne Ryan, the member for Lalor, questions Malcolm Turnbull on taxes:
Can the prime minister confirm that this conservative government has delivered the worst pay conditions for working Australians since record began? When Australians are already suffering from the worst pay conditions on record, why does this prime minister have legislation in the Senate right now to increase the tax on someone earning $60,000 by $300 every year?
Turnbull:
I gather the honourable member wants to know why we have legislation in the Senate to increase the Medicare levy, and the answer is to pay for the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Remember that? The reason we’re doing that is because the Labor party did not fund it.
That’s the reason we’re doing it. We’re doing it because the parents of disabled children who are concerned whether there will be the money in place to pay for their children’s care after they’re gone, we’re doing it so that they will know that the money is there, the funding is secure and the NDIS is guaranteed. Labor’s approach to the NDIS has been fraudulent. They have claimed, claimed some kind of moral high ground for supporting it and then failed to pay for it. And then failed recklessly to pay for it. They have mocked the families of disabled children, they have mocked them by seeking to elicit their praise and thanks for a disability insurance scheme they wouldn’t pay for. The Labor party should stop its hypocrisy and it should get behind that legislation and pay for that great, compassionate national enterprise.
Updated
Just a small update on my Adani story from last week , over suspicions the mining giant altered lab documents, a spokesman for the Queensland environment minister tells me the investigation is ongoing.
Moving on from the world’s most boring Dixer to Julie Bishop ... God I wish coffee was allowed into the chamber. Or a bar.
Bill Shorten to Malcolm Turnbull:
The Productivity Commission has found that the government’s intervention in the housing sector, and I quote, ‘led to a windfall gain for the banking sector’. Up to half of this gain is in effect being paid by taxpayers as interest on loans is tax deductible. The commissioner says the cost borne by taxpayers was up to $500m a year, does the prime minister agree or disagree?
The PM handballs the question to Scott Morrison. Who, it must be said, has kept his delivery quite measured (for him) today. Disappointing.
I don’t agree. I don’t agree. No, I don’t agree. And I’d be very happy for the shadow treasurer, given he’s so interested in Treasury briefings, to have a briefing on this from Treasury. I can make my own assessment on these things, Mr Speaker, as I do, and it’s for this simple reason: the Productivity Commission’s report does not prove a costing on this at all as the shadow treasurer and the leader of the opposition should know. The Productivity Commission’s report does not take into account the fact that price growth in housing, say in Sydney, has fallen from 17% to 1%, Mr Speaker, and as a result those interest-only loans under a higher price growth environment means they would have borrowed a lot more, Mr Speaker. So they don’t take around the substitution effect and the behaviour effects. If what they’re saying is true, Mr Speaker, then every time the Reserve Bank either decides to lift or lower cash rates, that is somehow a tax to the taxpayer up or down, Mr Speaker.
He wanders off topic, for which the Speaker, Tony Smith, pulls him up, and then delivers this “burn”:
I confess I did, Mr Speaker, but the leader of the opposition has strayed off the topic of the economy for his entire time in the job.
Someone get the aloe vera.
Updated
Bill Shorten to Malcolm Turnbull:
Last year company profits increased by 20%. But average wages for Australians only rose by 2%. At a time when workers are not getting their fair share, how can the prime minister possibly expect Australians to believe that a Trump-style $65bn tax giveaway will trickle down to the pay packets of millions of ordinary Aussie workers?
(You may have noticed that “Trump-style” has been slipping in to quite a few of Labor’s questions/statements on government policy lately.)
Turnbull:
I thank the honourable member for his question and, of course, Mr Speaker, this once upon a time powerful advocate for company tax cuts driving investment, productivity and higher wages, this leader of the opposition now says that the proposition that lower business taxes result in more investment, more employment and higher wages is a fairytale. A fairytale, Mr Speaker. Well, Mr Speaker, it’s always good to look out for fairytales. And I wouldn’t have thought the leader of the opposition – look, he’s quite capable, obviously we see it all the time – of doing 180 degrees on his own views, but what about ... what about the 2010 budget? Written by the members for Lilley and of course ably assisted by the member for Rankin. I reckon the member for Rankin wrote this bid. He said the reduction in the company tax rate is expected to increase GDP by 0.4% in the long run. Together with resource tax reforms, this will lead to a long-run increase in GDP of around 0.7% and increase real after-tax wages by 1.1%. Over time this will lead to an increase in investment. This in turn will flow through to higher real wages for Australians. Now, Mr Speaker, this 2010 budget overview, which is now being – that part has now been dismissed as a fairytale by the leader of the opposition. I have to say, to be fair to the leader of the opposition, that the document is not entirely without fairytale content.
He continues. But it is more of the same.
Updated
Adani is yet to be brought up in question time but no doubt it is coming.
Tony Burke has just released this statement:
This morning [Josh Frydenberg] was discussing allegations around the spill of coal-laden water in to the Caley Valley wetland. He again reiterated that the matter was a state matter and therefore relieving himself of any responsibility.
The protection of the downstream impacts on the Caley Valley wetland is clearly a condition in the federal approval for the Adani Abbott Point terminal (The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 referral 2011/6194) signed by the then environment minister, Greg Hunt, on the 10th December 2013.
The reference is on page 5 at 21. (a) (i).
Yesterday in question time I sought to present the minister with relevant documents showing that this issue was solely his responsibility. The minister refused these documents.
When will the minister for the environment start defending and advocating for the environment of Australia?
He claims Labor is ‘muddying the waters’. The only muddying of waters happened when coal-ladened water spilled in to the Caley Valley wetland. If Australia’s minister for the environment has no responsibility for enforcing federal environmental approvals, then he may as well still be the minister for mining.
Updated
Barnaby Joyce gets up to answer a #deathtodixer and he barely raises his voice beyond normal. He is almost drowned out by the sound of camera shutters going off. He delivers the answer without flush. There are no heckles. He finishes and goes back to his reading.
(For those asking, it is reports, not novels)
Cathy McGowan has the crossbench question.
(Side note on the crossbench, I can’t remember seeing Bob Katter here this week. Happy to be corrected but I don’t think he has made an appearance.)
I really welcome your announcement that the defence is entering negotiations with Tellis Australia for the continuation of the warehouse. This provides certainty to the 640 workers and the supply chain of 130 small to medium enterprises. Minister, will you commit to continuing the support for the growth of existing defence industry in Indi including the BAE’s system bid?
Christopher Pyne:
I would say at the outset it’s a nice try from the member of Indi to get me me to talk about a tender that is close to completion for the Land 400 project, which is the combat recognisance vehicle project worth about $4bn-$5bn of value to the Australian economy over time. I will avoid breaking the tender, particularly at this late stage. But, in terms of the very good announcement that we have made in the last 24 hours about the munitions factory at Benalla, I think the member would like the opportunity to ask this question as well, because the two areas cross the electorate of Indi and Farah. It’s an important announcement. It secures 640 jobs for people in regional Victoria and New South Wales. As you said in your question, 130 businesses across the supply chain and a success story in the defence industry.
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Blow me down with a feather – we have just seen a question time miracle.
Tanya Plibersek asked a question of the prime minister and he ... answered it.
Plibersek:
Will the prime minister rule out abandoning the four pillars policy, which would allow the big four banks to merge and get even bigger and more powerful?
Turnbull:
The four pillars policy has been part of Australian governments’, of both sides, financial sector policy for many years, and I expect it will remain so for many years and I can assure you we have no intention of [contemplating] mergers between the big four banks.
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Back to the questions. Chris Bowen has one for Scott Morrison:
The Productivity Commission has found that the government’s interventions into the housing sector deliver a windfall gain for the banks. And that up to half of this gain is paid for by taxpayers because of negative gearing. Why should Australians, including young Australians struggling to buy their first home, pay for an annual bonus of $500m to the banks because this government refuses to reform negative gearing?
I could hear Petrie MP Luke Howarth say something but, if he wants a cameo here, he’ll have to speak up. (To be fair, he is basically sitting right below me.)
Morrison (after talking about when Wayne Swan supported negative gearing, “in the current environment” nine years ago, and then talking about the regulation changes the government had made):
The approach proposed by the shadow treasurer is now on top of that to bring about negative gearing’s abolition but, not only that, but to increase capital gains tax by and he – 50%, he wants to do that on a house price in Sydney. How much do they want property prices to fall in this country as a result of their reckless policies? But it goes further. He knows that his capital gains tax policy doesn’t just apply to housing. They are going to increase the capital gains tax by 50% on retail shops, on factories and on shared transactions, on a time like this when superannuants are worried about the impact of global share markets, the Labor party is out there saying, ‘I want to up a big, fat tax on people’s share earnings’. Now he bleats and blusters. All I know about this shadow treasurer and this leader of the opposition is they couldn’t find an economic compass between them.
Morrison is obviously proud of that pun because he repeats it, and much of the same answer, during the next Dixer.
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#deathtodixers
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Question time begins
Bill Shorten to Malcolm Turnbull:
The Productivity Commission has found that the government’s intervention in the housing sector delivers a windfall gain for banks. Up to half of this gain is paid for by taxpayers as interest on investment loans is tax deductible. Therefore, prime minister, by refusing to reform negative gearing, isn’t the government giving banks an annual bonus of $500m of taxpayers’ money? When will the prime minister put people ahead of the big banks?
Turnbull:
What the Labor party is proposing on its ban of negative gearing is the most ill-thought out tax grab you can imagine. Now, for our part, we have no doubt that it would hit the housing market with a sledgehammer, with very, very negative consequences. But let’s leave that – let’s leave opinions on the value of real estate to one side. Let’s look at how Labor discriminates against the very people they claim to represent. More than two-thirds of the people who file negative gearing claims are middle-income Australians – nurses, teachers, policemen. Yeah, and you can hear the Labor party sneering about it. That is where most of the negative gearing claims are laid.
He goes on to say that Labor’s changes would only benefit “wealthy people with large investment incomes” and finishes with:
They’re such hopeless generals, they can’t even manage a class war.
Someone from the Labor backbench yells out “hard when your opponents don’t have class, Malcolm”.
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As one wag just pointed out to me, the Batman byelection date is also St Patrick’s Day, where traditionally, everyone wears green.
I’ll let you guess what party they were from.
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Just before question time, there is a condolence motion for Ron Walker
Batman byelection date is set
The Batman writ is in. The dates are:
14 Feb – rolls close
22 Feb – nominations close
17 March – byelection day
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Andrew Hastie just made a “leader of the opposition ... I mean the member for Grayndler” joke in his member statement, just ahead of question time.
The eye rolls were audible.
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Barnaby Joyce has just walked into question time, with Julie Bishop and Scott Morrison
The ABC’s Cabinet Files story has led to a review of security procedures:
The secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C), Dr Martin Parkinson AC PSM, has asked Mr Ric Smith AO PSM to conduct a review of PM&C’s security procedures, practices and culture. This review will address the implications for the Australian public service more broadly.
Mr Smith will commence his review upon completion of the AFP investigation into how and when the classified documents, obtained by the ABC, left the commonwealth government. That investigation is expected to make its initial findings shortly.
Mr Smith is a highly respected former Australian public servant and diplomat. Mr Smith served as Australia’s ambassador to Indonesia and China and as the secretary of the Department of Defence.
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All has gone quiet in this building, which can only mean everyone is gearing up for question time.
I’ll be heading into the chamber to see how everyone is looking. I can’t believe it’s only Wednesday. As the 30 Rock joke goes, what a week.
The Australian Public Service Commission has published its new bargaining policy, which sets how agencies will bargain with the federal public service.
The new policy preserves a pay cap of 2% on wage rises.
“Remuneration increases are to be modest and to remain within agencies’ existing budgets, reflecting the need for wages restraint in the current economic circumstance,” it said.
The Community Public Sector Union is concerned by the new policy – because staff who have not negotiated a new enterprise agreement and those who did make a new workplace deal granting pay rises at the level of inflation have effectively not had pay rises for three years.
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The security committee looking into the super home affairs ministry has started. They spent the first 40 minutes or so in a private meeting.
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It doesn’t look like Jim Molan’s day is getting any better.
Luke Henriques Gomes from The New Daily has just revealed Jim “not a racist bone in his body” Molan had retweeted a racist joke from his social media account mid-last year:
The New Daily can reveal that on May 4, 2017, the former Australian defence force general’s Twitter account retweeted a post that said: “Exam. I was asked to name two things commonly found in cells. Apparently ‘young Muslims’ and ‘Somalians’ were not the correct answers.”
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Barnaby Joyce will appear on ABC’s 7.30 tonight.
Linda Reynolds did defend Jim Molan though.
I know Jim Molan very well and I have worked on him on many programs in a private capacity over the last couple of years and I can tell you this; there is no one less racist, or less Islamic-phobic ... I was utterly appalled when I heard Richard Di Natale, his comments yesterday were totally unjustified and it was just completely disgraceful.
Senator Molan and the prime minister and others have talked about this incident from over 12 months ago and I know from personal experience there is no one in this country who has fought for democratic freedoms harder than Jim Molan has, and he is neither a racist nor an Islamophobe.
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The Liberal MP Linda Reynolds, who has spent three decades in the army reserves, has criticised those who don’t believe women can fight on the front line.
Women have been progressively fully integrated into army, airforce and navy now since the late 80s and every time women go into new trades, new professions, there is always this ‘Oh my God, the world is going to end, women can’t do it’, and guess what? Women are now doing all the roles that men are now doing and they do it well, and they do it without fuss, and I would point out that women are already in combat roles. We just saw last year our first female fighter pilots, we have women fully integrated on submarines and, if you recall, when women were going to go into service on submarines, the world was going to end, men couldn’t cope serving with women and all of that has proved to be a scare campaign.
I have talked to Cory this morning and we have agreed to disagree on this subject.
But Reynolds did say the entry-level physical requirements had not been changed to allow for women, despite what Bernardi claimed.
Entry standards have not dropped, so that is a complete and utter furphy. Entry standards are still the same. I have met women who are now going on the Special Air Service Regiment [course], women who are already serving with the SASR and coming achingly close to passing those requirements. So it is disappointing that this issue, after so many decades, has come up again. In a way it is much ado about nothing but, for the women who are currently serving in the military, and the young girls who are looking to join the military, it just doesn’t help having them being somewhat disheartened by very old-fashioned thinking.
But what did she think of her colleague Andrew Hastie’s views on the matter, which were very similar to Bernardi’s?
Andrew is a friend, I have a great deal of respect for him, but in this case we are going to have to agree to disagree.
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Human Rights Watch has released its report into Australian prisons.
From the statement:
More than half the Australian prison population has a physical, sensory or psychosocial (mental health) disability and they routinely face bullying, racism, sexual and physical violence from prisoners and staff. These prisoners are at times locked up in solitary confinement for 22 hours or more a day for weeks, months, and sometimes years. One man with a mental health condition has spent more than 19 years in solitary confinement. We are calling for an end to the use of solitary confinement of prisoners with disabilities and for an inquiry into this practice.
The 93-page report can be accessed here.
You can read Christopher Knaus’s story here:
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If you get a chance, I also recommend you read this.
Brendan Cox, the widow of the UK MP Jo Cox who was assassinated in 2016 by a man who yelled “Britain First” as he attacked her, has spoken to Latika Bourke from Fairfax about the danger of politicians sharing such extreme material.
You’ll find it here.
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Anthony Albanese and Christopher Pyne enjoyed their regular chat with Adelaide Radio station 5AA this morning. And, of course, Albo’s popularity as preferred leader was brought up. And he explained it by talking about … football.
Albo: No, he’s the leader of that team. He’s the captain of the team. Tanya Plibersek’s vice-captain. I’m the half back, or the midfielder in AFL terms.
Presenter: But Bill Shorten is …
Albo: Sneaking up in the forward line occasionally to kick a goal against the Tories.
Presenter: But maybe you’re kicking a few too many.
Albo: No one’s ever kicking a few too many goals for Labor again the Tories. That’s the important thing. It’s not surprising. I’ve got a pretty good portfolio given I’ve got infrastructure and this government isn’t building any. South Australia’s share drops to under $100m in the federal infrastructure budget in three years’ time.
Of course, Pyne couldn’t be left out of the fun. Or resist talking up his mate.
Pyne: I’ve got a cricket one. Remember Ron Brearley, who of course while he was the captain of the English cricket team, certainly wasn’t the best player.
Albo: Mike Brearley*.
Pyne: Mike Brearley was the captain of the English cricket team.
Albo: Ron Brierley was a businessman
Pyne: He was, a good businessman.
Albo: You’re always on the top-end-of-town folk, Christopher.
Pyne: You’ve had a lovely run. Now it’s my turn.
Albo: Away you go.
Pyne: Everyone knew Mike Brearley wasn’t the best English cricketer. He was the captain because he was trying to hold the fort. The reality is that Bill Shorten is exactly the same. He’s not the best player in the Labor party and he’s not going to be there for the long term. And the problem with Anthony’s thesis about winning an election this Saturday, is there isn’t an election this Saturday. There’s not election till mid-2019.
Presenter: Chris, what does it say though about your government that you’re trailing a party led by a bloke who is the third most popular leader?
Pyne: Well, John Howard was behind most of the polls throughout the 11-and-a-half years that we were in government in the Howard era and he won in 1996, 1998, 2001, 2004. You only have to win – and Malcolm Turnbull is vastly more popular than Bill Shorten. Vastly more popular. In fact, extending his lead as preferred prime minister. Now if Anthony’s right, and Bill Shorten is doing all these marvellous things and everyone thinks he’s so tremendous, it seems surprising that that Malcolm Turnbull is extending his lead over Bill Shorten. Anthony’s being very generous today. We know that Anthony is up and about. He’s sneaking into the forward line much more often than I think the captain wants him to be doing, and he’s had a great start to the year. He’s everyman, everywhere. He’s everywhere man. It used to be Eddie McGuire, now it’s Anthony Albanese.
Presenter: You’re sounding like his hype guy.
Pyne: And good luck to him. As one Labor MP said yesterday, the thing about Anthony is you get Anthony.
*Excuse my original spelling error
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Natalie Joyce releases statement
Caroline Overington at the Australian has reported that Natalie Joyce has spoken:
I am deeply saddened by the news that my husband has been having an affair and is now having a child with a former staff member. I understand that this affair has been going on for many months and started when she was a paid employee.
This situation is devastating on many fronts. For my girls who are affected by the family breakdown and for me as a wife of 24 years, who placed my own career on hold to support Barnaby through his political life.
Our family life has had to be shared during Barnaby’s political career and it was with trust that we let campaign and office staff into our homes and into our lives. Naturally we also feel deceived and hurt by the actions of Barnaby and the staff member involved.
The situation for myself and the girls will be made worse by the fact that this will all be played out in public so at this time, I would ask that the girls and I are given some privacy and time to come to terms with the consequences and take steps to plan our future.
You’ll find the whole article here.
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The Greens MP Adam Bandt weighed in on the Barnaby Joyce story this morning:
He had this to say on Facebook – and Sky:
It’s despicable that Murdoch tabloids ran a front-page paparazzi snap of a pregnant woman just because the father happens to be Barnaby Joyce. I’m no fan of Barnaby, and he’s a hypocrite for opposing equal marriage on the basis of ‘family values’ and putting the LGBTI community through the wringer while leading a different life himself, but this isn’t about him, it’s about her. She hasn’t chosen to be a public figure and she has the right to a private life, especially while pregnant.
You’ll find his interview here:
Front page of the Tele is despicable. There's an argument Barnaby is fair game after he put LGBTI community under such awful scrutiny b/c 'family values', but leave her out of it. She's not a public figure. https://t.co/5BU2WpUshG
— Adam Bandt 🏳️🌈 (@AdamBandt) February 6, 2018
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Still no apology from Jim Molan:
Full @Jim_Molan statement - he's closing down his private social media accounts pic.twitter.com/QKiDHNI0qW
— Stephen Dziedzic (@stephendziedzic) February 6, 2018
You may remember Cory Bernardi had a bit to say about women in the ADF fighting on the frontline yesterday. To the surprise of absolutely no one, he doesn’t think it is a good idea. On Sky yesterday, he made points about women feeling uncomfortable if their male colleagues have to relieve themselves while in close contact in a combat situation, and how men might feel the need to protect women. Sigh.
Marise Payne wasn’t impressed:
Disappointing and ill informed views from Sen Bernardi re women in combat roles. The ADF is strengthened through engagement of great serving women and men. You can’t ignore the abilities of half the population in the 21st century.
— Marise Payne (@MarisePayne) February 5, 2018
And let’s not forget that women have to go through the same tests as men to reach those positions. But her colleague, Andrew Hastie, also came out last night and expressed his reservations:
"The fighting DNA of a close combat unit is best preserved when it's exclusively male" - Liberal MP and former SAS officer Andrew Hastie says only men should be allowed to serve in frontline combat roles #auspol
— Jane Norman (@janeenorman) February 6, 2018
Jane Norman from the ABC has written more on that here.
Sigh.
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Here is how Jim Molan explained himself last night on The Bolt Report:
.@Jim_Molan says he retweeted the videos in question because he was appalled by the 'shocking violence' contained within them. #auspol MORE https://t.co/v1qxVKAz8D pic.twitter.com/RZat5yM828
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 6, 2018
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Mike Bowers was out the front of parliament this morning, taking a look at the protests (there is always more than one) when he came across a CFMEU union organiser, Dusty Miller.
Miller, 60, was protesting with fellow unionists against moves to ban CFMEU symbols from work sites, including the Eureka flag, as well as in relation to the ongoing dispute between Glencore and the union at the Queensland Oaky North mine site. Miller said miners there had been locked out of their site for 211 days.
He told me he was the first person to pour concrete on the Parliament House site back in the 80s and was outraged by the Australian Building and Construction Commission ban on the Eureka flag, which he said was “against freedom of speech, and our rights of association”.
“It’s a disgrace. Imagine if they banned football colours, or the Liberal shirts.”
He also had a bit to say about Peter Dutton’s address to CFMEU members who were watching question time for the public gallery. My transcript yesterday was limited because of all the yelling, but here is the Hansard record of what he said:
I acknowledge the CFMEU workers up in the gallery today, the true champions; there you go, mate, throw your arm up – out on building sites breaking arms and carrying on. They give millions of dollars to the Labor party and they own and control this bloke 100%.”
Miller:
Most of our colleagues think that was a disgraceful comment and he should be censored for it.
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Jumping back to the Chris Bowen press conference, he was also asked about Barnaby Joyce and whether politicians having affairs with staffers was in the public interest. He had this to say:
Let’s go to the nub of this issue, because it’s obviously prominent in the media today. The Labor party has made no public statement about Barnaby Joyce’s personal situation for the last six months, despite the fact it’s been well-known in this building, and we’re not about to start today. I have plenty of criticisms of Barnaby Joyce. I think he’s a very poor deputy prime minister. But my criticisms of him are of his job. And frankly, his personal situation is none of my business. With respect, it’s none of anybody else’s business. I am very critical of his performance as deputy prime minister. In terms of his personal life, I wish him nothing but the best, and his family nothing but the best, and I have absolutely nothing else to say on the matter.
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The former cabinet member Darren Chester has had a chat to Sky (having been dumped from the ministry frees him up to give his opinions, which I guess is the one silver lining to the brutality of last year’s reshuffle).
He wants to do more to lower the road toll. “I personally don’t accept that 1,300 Australians have to die on our roads, I think we can do more,” he said.
As to the dumping, he said he was moving on.
It is pretty disappointing to lose your job and you can crack it, you can be a sook and whinge about it, or you can try and work your way through it and think what else can I do with my job as the member for Gippsland and I wanted to make it clear to the joint party room, that I wasn’t going anywhere, that I am really passionate about representing regional Australia, and my electorate which has sent me up here now. And I look forward to continuing to do that. I wanted to make them well aware that I did not have any sour grapes and I am getting on with the job.
And on Barnaby Joyce:
Barnaby has been a friend of mine for the past 10 years and I really believe that private matters really should stay private. I don’t think it helps the operation of this place if I was to comment any further on those personal matters. I wish Barnaby well, I wish his new partner well and I wish the impending arrival well. I think it is best left to that.
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The Productivity Commission report has put a bit more of a spring into Chris Bowen’s step this morning.
He’s held a press conference on some of its findings this morning:
Let us remember that Scott Morrison has, for months, been saying that the answer to Australia’s housing affordability problems is to leave all the heavy lifting to the regulators. To leave all the work to Apra. That Apra could engage in macroprudential regulation, and that would fix everything. He told us there was no need to fix negative gearing. He told us that as recently as yesterday. The Productivity Commission report has found that,because Scott Morrison has left the heavy lifting to the regulators – to Apra – that, in fact, banks have increased their profit margins, and that has been subsidised by the taxpayer due to negative gearing. The Productivity Commission says that this has led to a windfall for the banks – their words. “A windfall for the banks.” And that half of that windfall has been subsidised by the Australian taxpayer through negative gearing. Now, we’ve said, all along, that negative gearing must be fixed. Evidence mounts, day after day – for months now – that negative gearing has to be fixed. It appears that Scott Morrison is the only person who doesn’t want to fix negative gearing.
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The Molan matter continues to roll on after the prime minister gave it life yesterday, by passionately defending his new senator as not having “a racist bone in his body”.
“I think there is a difference between respect and cowering to colleagues,” Ed Husic just told Sky. He added:
I think a senator in his first week in office will obviously take the time to learn a lot more things and be, as I said, a lot more judicious about the arguments which are being made. Again, my focus is on someone who has been here a long time, in the prime minister, making judgment calls which I think are beneath him. And he should have taken the proper step of bringing the country together and putting community cohesion above Coalition cohesion.
The Labor senator Kimberley Kitching was also on Sky last night, talking to Andrew Bolt.
Bolt: You surely, you surely don’t think. I just want to ask you this question, you surely don’t think that Jim Molan is a racist?
Kitching: I think that, I don’t think he looked at those videos properly.
Bolt: No, the question, is Jim Molan a racist? This politics of personal destruction makes me sick makes a lot of voters sick. You can’t possibly believe Jim Molan a racist?
Kitching: I don’t think anyone who has served in a senior position in the ADF is a racist, actually.
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Good morning and welcome to day three
Well, that was quite a night.
The former major general and new Liberal senator Jim Molan fronted Andrew Bolt overnight and expressed regret ... for not cleaning up his social media before taking his seat in parliament.
He said:
The reason that I didn’t do it of course was I saw nothing wrong with it. Those videos … certainly looked real to me, and the aspect of those videos that I was particularly interested in was the violence and the antisocial behaviour.
Australia’s race discrimination commissioner, Tim Soutphommasane, spoke to Katharine Murphy and had some opinions about the responsibilities of those in parliament. Here’s a little of what he had to say:
But those in public life must do nothing to promote prejudice, bigotry or hatred.
You’ll find more on that here.
The Productivity Commission has warned banks are exploiting loyal customers. Paul Karp has written about that here. That comes as the Commonwealth Bank hands down its half-year profit, reporting it had come in flat but still saw a revenue increase of 2%. So its $4.74bn profit was lower than expected, mainly because it has had to set aside money for any potential penalties Austrac might level against it.
There’s a parliamentary committee hearing into Peter Dutton’s super ministry as well. So that should be fun.
Finally, I’m sure you have all seen the Daily Telegraph front page and you all have opinions on it. I’ve seen your comments about why we weren’t reporting on the Barnaby Joyce baby rumours. And the simple truth is, we did not have proof. People went looking during the New England byelection, and while the rumours abounded, no one came forward with evidence. Joyce was asked, repeatedly, face to face, but would not answer the questions. He would not confirm his marriage breakdown when repeatedly asked, until he mentioned it, in parliament, during the marriage equality legislation debate. Even off the record, no one would confirm it. But the debate is going to continue to rage over what is in the public interest and what’s not and when private lives should be made public, and what the press gallery should have done. I look forward to your contributions, but just ask you keep them respectful.
Headache slayed, Mike Bowers has already been out and about. I’ll bring you some of his work very soon. You can find more at @mikepbowers or @mpbowers. I’ll be hanging around in the comments when I can, but you can reach me on Twitter at @amyremeikis or on my Instagram story, where I talk politics and Canberra throughout the day on @ifyouseeamy.
Got your coffee? Let the day’s games begin!
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