Night time politics
It’s time to shuffle off so let me tell you what happened in reverse order.
- The Coalition lost a vote in which Labor briefly amended a government bill on the Great Barrier Reef. The amendment said the government was failing to protect the reef and failing to act on climate change. According to reports from the chamber, those that missed the vote included the Julie Bishop, Barnaby Joyce, Tony Abbott, Paul Fletcher and Michael Keenan (who missed a previous vote). While the government managed to overturn the amendment on its numbers, there were moments of madness on the floor and manager of opposition business Tony Burke could not believe his luck.
- The government bill watering down cross-media ownership restrictions is closer to passing, with One Nation announcing its in-principle support in return for greater restrictions on ABC finances and neutrality. One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, announced on Tuesday it had done a deal with the government in return for concessions, including an inquiry into whether the ABC competes unfairly with commercial competitors and measures to ensure its impartiality.
- Question time was dominated by the citizenship issue. Barnaby Joyce confirmed he was a NZ dual citizen when he said he was awaiting notification that his renunciation application was finalised. Labor tried to suspend standing orders. Generally, things spiralled downhill.
- The government insisted that contact between Australian Labor and NZ Labour amounted to a foreign conspiracy. NZ Labour leader Jacinda Ardern confirmed there was some contact via an ALP staffer. But the NZ MP Chris Hipkins who asked a question in parliament about citizenship said he had not been asked by the ALP to ask the question.
-
Anyway, Ardern said it should not have happened. Julie Bishop said it would be very hard to build trust with a future NZ Labour government. Ardern said she would ring Bishop but she didn’t have her number. (It was that kind of day.)
- Penny Wong has just released a statement on the ALP staffer, reported to be Marcus Ganley:
A staff member in my office had informal discussions with New Zealand friends about domestic political issues, including the section 44 debate. At no point did he make any request to raise the issue of dual citizenship in parliament, a fact confirmed today by Mr Hipkins and the New Zealand Labor leader. As Mr Hipkins has said “the question was not asked on behalf of Australian Labor”. In fact, neither I, nor my staff member had any knowledge the question had even been asked until after the story broke. New Zealand minister Peter Dunne has since confirmed it was questions by Fairfax journalists, and not the question on notice, which led to the outing of My Joyce as a New Zealand citizen. For the Turnbull government to then turn this into a diplomatic incident to try to distract attention from the failings of the deputy prime minister is both reckless, and damaging.
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Independent Bob Katter declared his agreement to provide confidence and supply to the Turnbull government is over because Turnbull had not followed through with his wishlist. Fellow indie Andrew Wilkie said he never had such an agreement and Cathy McGowan said everything remained the same. Nick Xenophon said he would consider his options if Barnaby was ineligible. None of this matters unless Turnbull loses a number in the house (say Barnaby Joyce) but it was worth nailing down.
- That is my summary but an alternative might be Josh Butler’s summary via tweet:
Tuesday in govt:
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) August 15, 2017
- deputy PM is a Kiwi, off to High Court
- accused NZ of treachery
- Katter withdraws supply guarantee
- lost a House vote pic.twitter.com/US6j1nz3sb
All this happened since 7am so I am almost scared to go to bed tonight. But thanks once again for your company and to my brains trust, Gareth Hutchens, Paul Karp, Katharine Murphy and Mike Bowers – who excelled himself today.
Good night.
Updated
So due to the government numbers, the Coalition manage to overturn the Labor amendment on the reef.
Labor has moved a suspension of standing orders to debate the reef but it was lost.
Chaotic scenes for the past half hour.
The government benches are not happy.
Faces like dropped pies.
Updated
The last time the Turnbull government lost a vote on the floor was soon after parliament returned after the last election.
Labor’s amendment followed Greens MP Adam Bandt’s attempt to amend the bill in this way:
That global warming is the greatest threat to the Great Barrier Reef and calls on the government to immediately take all available steps to stop the Adani Carmichael coalmine.
Bandt lost this vote.
Updated
Coalition loses vote that condemns Turnbull government on Reef and climate change
To explain, the government failed to get enough MPs into the chamber for a vote on a Labor amendment.
The Labor amendment said this:
whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House notes that:
(1) the Government is failing to protect Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef by:
(a) failing to act on climate change;
(b) supporting the Liberal National Party in Queensland in blocking reef protections aimed at halting the broad scale clearing of trees and remnant vegetation; and
(c) winding back ocean protection, put in place by Labor, around Australia and specifically in the Coral Sea; and
(2) this Government cannot be trusted to protect the Great Barrier Reef and fight for Australia’s unique environment.”
This was carried 69-61.
Updated
There is general argy bargy over the lost vote, what happens next and what the next vote means. The house is now voting again.
If you are wondering about the actual bill, this is what it does.
The purpose of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Bill 2017 (the Bill) is to amend the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 (the GBRMP Act) to ensure that management plans are not revoked when regulations under the GBRMP Act are repealed and remade as a result of the sunsetting regime under the Legislation Act 2003. The proposed amendments are technical in nature and do not appear to change the substance of the regulatory measures applied under the GBRMP Act.
The government has just lost a vote in the house.
AYES: 69
— Mark Di Stefano 🤙🏻 (@MarkDiStef) August 15, 2017
NOES: 61
… on Great Barrier Reef Marine Park amendments.
The government just a LOST a vote on the floor of the House.
ABC understands one of the properties that just sold to Water Minister Barnaby Joyce is called... Kiaora #notkidding #auspol
— Jodie Gunders (@JodieGunders) August 15, 2017
One Nation is holding a press conference shortly to discuss media reforms.
Here are some more comments from the NZ Labor leader Jacinda Ardern via Guardian correspondent Eleanor Ainge Roy.
I am not going to escalate this situation, my resolve is to make sure we get our relationship back on track I am not going to let this issue get in the way of that.
It was an ALP staffer ... [who got in touch with Hipkins].
My last conversation with Bill Shorten was when he called to congratulate me. We have had no conversation about any of these issues and matter.
From my perspective we have made it clear this shouldn’t have happened, but ultimately it was questions raised by the media that caused this situation, rather than questions by us so I wanted to make it clear our level of involvement because we have been implicated far beyond what we should have been.
[Hipkins] certainly knows that what he did was wrong and has apologised many times. I have apologised many times.
When you are talking about the future of MPs, it is a heightened environment and I absolutely accept that. It is very important from my perspective that we convey our involvement and that I convey that what has happened here is unacceptable.
I don’t believe [the ALP staffer] worked for Bill Shorten
Australia and New Zealand historically have had to deal with issues of this scale. I have absolute faith that we will be able to maintain our important relationship.
Updated
What would Tony do?
Updated
Barnaby Joyce messing with photographers.
Updated
One Nation gives conditional support to media changes
Via the One Nation Facebook page:
After extensive consultation with industry bodies, government representatives and regional communities, One Nation senators have given conditional support to the government for its media reform bill. In securing One Nation’s support, the government has agreed to make provisions for ABC reforms, greater community radio funding, and foreign ownership reporting.
The government agreed to pursue a number of measures designed to assist the ABC in increasing its regional focus, as well as its financial transparency and political impartiality.
One Nation has been at the forefront calling for more transparency of wages at the ABC and we have received assurances from the government that they will be asking the ABC to start providing details of the wages and conditions of all staff whose wages and allowances are greater than $200,000, similar to what is being implemented by the British Broadcasting Corporation.
The government has also agreed to undertake a competitive neutrality inquiry into the ABC and to legislate a requirement for the ABC to be ‘fair’ and ‘balanced’.
Updated
Ardern doesn’t want a bar of it, by the sounds.
This had nothing to this and we should not have been involved.
Ardern does not want it to get in the way of the Australia-New Zealand relationship.
NZ Labor leader Jacinda Ardern is speaking in Wellington.
She says the question by her MP Chris Hipkins was wrong but he didn’t know which member it related to – ie Barnaby Joyce.
This is the question in question #auspol #qt pic.twitter.com/MyRHVtJOq2
— Paul Osborne AAP (@osbornep) August 15, 2017
Ardern says it was an Australian Labor staffer who rang Hipkins to ask him to put the question.
She said Hipkins has recognised it was wrong to ask the question.
She would be happy to talk to foreign minister Julie Bishop but she doesn’t have her number. Ardern has told the Australian high commission she would be happy to talk to Bishop.
Updated
Tony Burke is detailing all of the crossover between Bruce Billson’s habits and the Franchise Council prior to leaving parliament. It is a forensic account of Billson’s media releases, his Twitter feed and other appearances.
Burke said they raise serious issues while he was reportedly being paid by the Franchise Council. He wants to refer it to the parliament’s powerful privileges committee.
He raises some very substantial and serious allegations. I will try to get a copy of the statement so I don’t muck it up.
Tony Burke is questioning Speaker Tony Smith on the money paid to former Liberal small business minister Bruce Billson prior to him leaving parliament from the Franchise Council of Australia.
It goes to the details reported by 7.30.
Updated
The government successfully gagged Labor’s Joel Fitzgibbon and then voted down the suspension motion. Question time is over.
Smile and wave boys, smile and wave.
Updated
Barnaby is obviously the key target for photographers in the house today. Bowers reports he keeps putting his hands up to his head so the photographers lift their lenses to shoot him but then he brings them down and laughing uproariously.
He knows the photographers are after exasperation photos so he has now put his hands in his pockets.
The government successfully gags Labor. Barnaby’s shadow, Joel Fitzgibbon, rises to second the suspension of standing orders motion.
Fitzgibbon says the suspension motion goes to the very heart of our Westminster system.
A Minister of the Crown should not serve in in place, should not exercise the power of the Executive without the confidence of this place.
Christopher Pyne moves to gag Fitzgibbon.
Updated
The man of the moment.
Updated
Labor suspends standing orders over Joyce admission he was a NZ citizen
Given Barnaby Joyce’s acknowledge that he was a citizen, Tony Burke moves to suspend standing orders. He moves that the House:
1. Notes:
a) Yesterday, this House unanimously asked the High Court to determine whether the deputy prime minister is constitutionally qualified to be a member of parliament;
b) Yesterday, the prime minister claimed “The deputy prime minister, is qualified to sit in this house, and the high court will so hold” despite confirmation from the prime minister of New Zealand that the deputy prime minister is in fact a New Zealand citizen;
c) Today in question time, the deputy prime minister confirmed he was a citizen of a foreign power prior to the weekend; and
2. Therefore, calls on the prime minister:
a) To come clean with the Australian people and acknowledge that the deputy prime minister of Australia is ineligible to hold office;
b) Rule out accepting the vote of the deputy prime minister while his constitutional qualifications are in doubt; and
c) Direct the deputy prime minister to immediately resign from cabinet.
Leader of the government in the house Christopher Pyne moves to gag Burke.
A vote is required. Ring the bells.
Updated
Tony Burke to Turnbull: In the last answer, given by the Deputy Prime Minister, he confirmed that up until the weekend, he was in violation of the Australian Constitution as a member of parliament. He had confirmed that he had renounced a foreign citizenship, which you are ineligible to nominate for Parliament if you hold. Why is he still a member of your cabinet? Why is he still voting in this Parliament when, by his own admission, it’s against the Constitution?
Turnbull makes mention of Burke’s thunderous indignation regarding citizenship.
He says section 44 is not so clear cut.
The proposition that a person who is a citizen of Australia and a citizen of another country and by that reason alone is disqualified from a member a Parliament is not an unqualified position. The High Court has set limits on it and at least one of the members opposite is relying on those limits.
That is to say, the member for Braddon, who was a British citizen at the time she nominated, says, “It is OK because of what the High Court said in Sykes v Cleary, I made reasonable efforts to renounce.”
Senator Dastyari is still a citizen of Iran. He says he has put in a big effort to renounce but it hasn’t been effective to Iranian law. He may well be right. The point of the matter is the section is to be read with its purpose and intent. The court has made that very, very clear.
Joyce expecting advice he is no longer a NZ citizen
Labor’s Tony Burke to Turnbull: it goes to the eligibility of members of cabinet to hold office. Is the deputy prime minister a citizen of a foreign power?
Pyne takes a point of order on sub judice.
He argues that Speaker Smith has written to the high court to refer Joyce’s case, therefore it is subject to the sub judice rule.
Speaker Smith says he has given this a lot of thought.
With the high court the highest court of the land adjudicating this matter … I am confident the high court is not going to be swayed.
Tony Burke is like the cat that got the cream.
Barnaby Joyce answers instead.
Over the course of the weekend we went through the process of renunciation. We’ve received verbal communication from New Zealand before question time that that has now been accepted and we’re looking forward to the written advice turning up pronto.
Updated
Scott Morrison takes a question in which he calls Bill Shorten a slidey snake.
Labor to Turnbull: Senator Canavan resigned from cabinet over issues that he claimed he didn’t know about. The deputy prime minister has been referred to the high court for issues that he’s known about his whole life. How is it possible that Senator Canavan had to resign from cabinet but the deputy prime minister has not?
Turnbull says Joyce and Canavan disclosed the facts relating to their cases but Labor has not. Then we are back on foreigners.
They’re not prepared to ask the deputy prime minister a question in this parliament. They’d rather get a member of the NZ Labour to ask a question in the New Zealand parliament. They’ve rather conspire with a political party in a foreign country to obtain concessions or statements which can been used to undermine the sovereignty of this country, the country in which they’re in the parliament. You would think a political party of Australia would owe its first loyalty to Australia.
Updated
Labor has released statements from three of their MPs being questioned by the Coalition.
MARIA VAMVAKINOU:
I was born in Greece to Greek parents. On 9 August 2000 I formally renounced Greek citizenship via the consul general in Melbourne. I received an acknowledgement of my letter on 21 August 2000.
In Sykes v Cleary, the high court of Australia stated that a candidate would not be disqualified under section 44(i) providing they had taken “reasonable steps” to renounce any foreign citizenship prior to nominating for election.
TONY ZAPPIA:
I ceased being an Italian citizen on acquiring Australian citizenship in December 1958.
The Italian consul confirmed that is the case by letter dated July 2004 – before my election to parliament.
SUSAN LAMB:
As part of my nomination, I was advised that I may have been entitled to UK citizenship through my father, who is deceased.
On 23 May 2016 I took all necessary steps to renounce by completing and sending the UK Home Office form RN, “Declaration of renunciation of British citizenship”, and paying the requisite fee.
Australia Post confirmed the renunciation form was received by the UK Home Office in Liverpool on 25 May 2016.
I was subsequently cleared to stand by the Labor party, and nominated on 7 June 2016.
In Sykes v Cleary, the high court of Australia stated that a candidate would not be disqualified under section 44(i) providing they had taken “reasonable steps” to renounce any foreign citizenship prior to nominating for election.
I am immensely proud to have the privilege to serve as the member for Longman.
Updated
You find some funny things in the Constitution #qt #auspol pic.twitter.com/GG9uJfu2A7
— Paul Osborne AAP (@osbornep) August 15, 2017
Joel Fitzgibbon to Turnbull: “Why is Barnaby Joyce different to anybody who has stood aside for this particular interest?” Why hasn’t the Prime Minister directed the Deputy Prime Minister to resign? Is it because the Prime Minister relies on his single vote to cling to power?
Turnbull repeats his previous statements, saying Joyce is the DPM, he sits in the cabinet, his citizenship was referred to the high court not because it was wrong but because the government wanted to clear up the law.
I’m out of sync. Missed a question from Tanya Plibersek to Turnbull: The Prime Minister is due to attend the Pacific Islands forum in Samoa on 8 September. Who will be Acting Prime Minister while the Prime Minister is overseas?
Turnbull says the usual arrangements will apply.
ie. Barnaby.
A government question from Andrew Hastie to Christopher Pyne regarding deviant behaviour, employer-employee organisations in order to do over Bill Shorten on citizenship and union history.
Indi independent Cathy McGowan asks about the north east Victorian trainline: Could you please outline the scope of the works, how will the money be spent, and on what? What is the timeline for delivery? Most importantly, how will the communities of north-east Victoria, particularly of Indi, be put in touch with these decisions and know what the intentions of both ARTC and theGovernment are in this regard.
Transport minister Darren Chester says there will be community consultations following the $140m in funding to the service.
Government question to Julie Bishop: Will the minister advise the house how serious it is for a political party in Australia to engage a foreign political party to undermine the Australian government?
General uproarious laughter and heckling.
Bishop repeats her press conference messages.
Mr Speaker, the leader of the opposition has shown that he has no interest in the true concerns about section 44. Uncertainties are awash across his side of the parliament.
Updated
Labor’s Tony Burke to Julie Bishop: I refer to the foreign minister’s extraordinary press conference today where the minister announced that Australia’s relationship with New Zealand would be undermined by the partisan politics of New Zealand’s next election. If the foreign minister won’t be able to work with the New Zealanders, how will the foreign minister be able to work with the deputy prime minister?
ZINGER!
Question is ruled out of order.
Updated
The Coalition doubles down on the foreign interference argument.
The first government question to the PM.
Will the prime minister update the house on the risk posed by foreign state interference in Australia’s democratic processes and the measures the government is taking to protect the national interest?
Turnbull describes previous behaviour by Labor senator Sam Dastyari regarding Chinese-linked political donations.
What we have seen this week is a member of the Australian Labor party contact a member of the member of the New Zealand parliament and ask them to check on the citizenship of Australians with the purpose and intent of undermining the commonwealth of Australia. So outrageous and improper has that conduct been that it was condemned already by Jacinta Ardern, the leader of the Labour party in New Zealand. The question for the leader of the opposition in Australia, is does he have the same character as Jacinta Ardern?
Updated
Turnbull: Joyce judgement on Greens MPs was wrong in constitutional law
Shorten to Turnbull: The Deputy Prime Minister told ABC, “Unfortunately, that’s the law.” He went on, “They were members of Parliament but it is quite clear on Section 44, you can’t be a member of Parliament and have dual citizenship.” “It’s black and white”, he said. Why isn’t the Prime Minister holding his deputy to his own standards.
Turnbull says Joyce does not claim to be a constitutional expert, i.e. he got the constitution wrong.
What the Deputy Prime Minister said in that interview was not a correct interpretation or description of the way the law operates. That’s the fact!
Uproarious laughter.
You can laugh as much as you like. You can laugh as much as you like. But the constitution is interpreted by the High Court of Australia.
Updated
QUESTION TIME!
*live blogger rushes off to grab hot beverage*
I want to revisit Andrew Wilkie’s statement today regarding confidence and supply because I was not entirely clear last time.
Wilkie said that he had not guaranteed anyone anything.
This is what he said today:
I wish to make it absolutely clear that my relationship with the government has not changed.
I will continue to approach all issues in the parliament on their merits and have not guaranteed anyone anything.
A copy of my relevant press release from 9 July 2016 is attached.
This is the press release from 9 July when Malcolm Turnbull was trying to form government.
Reports in some media that I support Malcolm Turnbull are wrong.
What I said yesterday is that I am committed to approaching all issues on their merits and will not vote against budget supply or confidence unless doing so would be clearly warranted.
I remain steadfast in my commitment to doing no deals with any political party. Nor have I cut any deal with Malcolm Turnbull.
But more than ever Australia does need certainty and stability. I will not try and exploit the current political fragility by being politically destructive.
Updated
Cathy McGowan stands by confidence and supply agreement with Turnbull
The Indi independent has released a statement on the supply issue.
The federal independent member for Indi, Cathy McGowan, stands by her position of support for the government on the questions of confidence and supply. The confirmation follows the revelation of the deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce’s entitlement to dual citizenship.
My relationship with the government stays the same. I am not going to be distracted by party politics. We have an agenda and we still have work to do on trains, renewable energy and mobile black spot funding.
Ms McGowan said she would support an audit of the citizenship status of all MPs and senators.
She plans to move a motion seeking the register of members’ interests to include citizenship status.
Updated
Treachery/conspiracy: Coalition party room a "Kill Bill (Shorten)" affair
The foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, is not alone in using fighting words about the ALP and New Zealand Labour asking questions about Barnaby Joyce’s citizenship status.
In the Coalition party room, Malcolm Turnbull said that the Australian Labor party “has been conspiring with the New Zealand Labour party to undermine the position of the deputy prime minister and the government of Australia”.
There is a conspiracy between the ALP and NZ Labour party to do so.
Turnbull labelled this “sneakiness, dishonesty and disloyalty” and attacked Shorten’s record of “betrayal” under Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard and his representation of workers’ interests at the Australian Workers Union.
Joyce also described the “inappropriate use of the NZ Labour party” as “treachery”. He said Shorten was “not much of a bloke” and the tactics of Labor would “not pass the pub test”.
Bishop discussed same-sex marriage, urging colleagues regardless of whether they are campaigning for Yes, No or neither to encourage Australians to have their say.
We should all encourage the public to participate in the postal plebiscite, to make it credible.”
It’s a good point but it does tend to contradict Turnbull telling 3AW on Friday that if some (or many) Australians don’t vote, it should not “delegitimise” the votes of those who do.
One senior Coalition member said Shorten’s speech last week on same-sex marriage (blasting the postal survey but announcing Labor would urge a Yes vote) was “the ugliest, most vile and most aggressive” speech he had ever heard in the parliament, particularly in its “vilification” of Turnbull.
That member warned if Shorten is the spear-carrier for the Yes case it would be “shedding votes every day”, and several others who do support the Yes case agreed Shorten does not represent them.
Despite all the talk of how vile Shorten’s speech was, there was no discussion of acting special minister of state Mathias Cormann’s offer to draft a bill setting the ground rules and applying electoral act protections to the postal survey debate.
Updated
#BREAKING: Jacinda Ardern says Julie Bishops comments "highly regrettable" will register her disappointment with Aust HC @SkyNewsAust pic.twitter.com/RReRjRIM82
— James O'Doherty (@jmodoh) August 15, 2017
Lunch-time politics
- The citizenship fallout continues with the Turnbull government threatening to refer Labor MPs to the high court over potential dual citizenship. The Coalition has also accused Labor of deliberately conspiring with a “foreign party” – aka the NZ Labour party – to undermine confidence in the Australian government.
- Bob Katter says he is not sticking by his agreement on confidence and supply with Malcolm Turnbull because he has not delivered his rural and regional wish list. This does not matter so much at this stage because the government still has a majority of one but, if Joyce were to be struck out, then it would become an issue.
- Independent Andrew Wilkie said he has always approached the parliaments on the issues and said he never had an agreement.
- Nick Xenophon, whose MP Rebekha Sharkie is in the lower house, says that, until the high court rules, nothing to see here.
- Independent Cathy McGowan is due to put out a statement.
Updated
Nick Xenophon has just visited. He is not entering into the confidence and supply issue because, until the high court rules otherwise, Joyce remains an MP.
Updated
Richard Di Natale and Sarah Hanson-Young are outlining the Greens’ position on the media reforms.
Hanson-Young says if the government wants the media package they need to protect the public broadcasters from Tony Abbott and One Nation. The Greens don’t want the ABC and SBS to be punching bags.
Updated
Re the Furreners’ argument:
Bishop also told party room it was "treachery" for ALP to "conspire" with NZ Labour #auspol
— Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) August 15, 2017
The implication here is Australia's foreign minister would not trust a Labour government in New Zealand #auspol
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) August 15, 2017
And JBish said as much to reporters.
New Zealand is facing an election. Should there be a change of government, I would find it very hard to build trust with those involved in allegations designed to undermine the government of Australia.
I’m referring to Bill Shorten using a foreign political party to raise questions in a foreign parliament deliberately designed to undermine confidence in the Australian government.
Updated
I have been pretty slow on JBish due to various visits from various people.
The foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, has come out to deliver the argument that Malcolm Turnbull delivered in the party room – that is, the FOREIGN POWER argument.
The New Zealand Labor leader, Jacinda Ardern, has revealed that Bill Shorten sought to use the New Zealand parliament to undermine the Australian government.
Bill Shorten has sought to use a foreign political party to raise serious allegations in a foreign parliament designed to undermine confidence in the Australian government.
Bill Shorten has serious questions to answer. This is highly unethical, at least. But, more importantly, puts at risk the relationship between the Australian government and the New Zealand government.
Bill Shorten must reveal who he put up to this dirty task and the details of the urging of a foreign political party.
Updated
Andrew Wilkie: I have not guaranteed anyone anything
Independent Andrew Wilkie has made it clear that he had no* supply and confidence agreement with the Turnbull government – never has, never will.
I wish to make it absolutely clear that my relationship with the government has not changed.
I will continue to approach all issues in the parliament on their merits and have not guaranteed anyone anything.
* amended as this post made no sense
** it made total sense in my head but sometimes I forget you are all not in here with me
Updated
Greens party room
The Greens party room this morning discussed the dual citizenship issue hanging over the eligibility of members of parliament and media reform negotiations.
On citizenship:
- The Senate will vote on an audit of all members of parliament’s citizenship
- The Greens have given notice of a motion for the Senate to order the government to produce the solicitor general’s advice that Barnaby Joyce is eligible to sit in parliament. That will be voted on on Wednesday
- The Greens say that referrals to the high court should continue on a bipartisan basis and would frown on a “tit for tat” process of one side referring the other’s members to the court
On media reforms the Greens seem open to abandoning the two-out-of-three rule and have resolved to continue negotiations with the government but there’s no final decision yet.
Their wishlist on media reform:
- Government support for the ABC and SBS, and it sounds like that will include more money for the public broadcasters
- More protections for creation of local content
- Protecting journalists’ jobs (unclear how to achieve that)
The Greens are on board with Nick Xenophon Team demands on protecting the ABC and tax breaks for not-for-profit media organisations but are working out how to prevent media organisations dodging tax.
Updated
This is so much utter nonsense - while Hipkins' questions were inappropriate, they were not the instigator. Australian media inquiries were https://t.co/AwLrMYSapk
— Peter Dunne (@PeterDunneMP) August 15, 2017
Bob Katter withdraws agreement on supply and confidence to Malcolm Turnbull
Speaking to Sky, Bob Katter is critical of Malcolm Turnbull, who after the last election promised him an hour-long meeting at the beginning of this parliamentary term but looked at his watch and left after 25 minutes.
I wanted and need certain things. I wasn’t delivered certain things.
The certain things included the Hell’s Gate dam, Indigenous land title, and Galilee rail project.
He said he has no preference for Labor or Liberal but, after the last election, Labor was not in a position to form a government.
Samantha Maiden asks, so you are no longer guaranteeing confidence and supply?
Absolutely. Absolutely. It’s back to the drawing board.
This does not materially change things at the minute but, if the government loses a number, things could get interesting.
Updated
Independent MP Bob Katter says the rules as he sees them are pretty clear. Barnaby Joyce is a dual citizen, he just has to face a by-election.
Katter also makes the point that the banking royal commission will be done, given the impending (in Bob’s mind) loss of the Turnbull government’s majority.
NZ Labour leader confirms MP was asked by Australian Labor to raise citizenship
The Coalition have been arguing all morning that the Australian Labor party asked the New Zealand Labour party to ask a question.
AAP reports:
The New Zealand MP responsible for setting in train the possible removal of Barnaby Joyce from parliament was asked to raise the question of dual citizenship by the Australian Labor party.
The revelation by NZ Labour leader Jacinda Ardern on Tuesday has outraged the Turnbull government.
Junior minister Michael Sukkar says the situation “stinks to high hell” while cabinet minister Christopher Pyne accused Labor of stooping to new lows.
“Clearly the Labor party are involved in a conspiracy using a foreign government, in this case New Zealand, the try and bring down the Australian government,” Mr Pyne told Sky News.
NZ Labour MP Chris Hipkins, in a parliamentary question last week, asked the internal affairs minister whether a child born in Australia to a Kiwi father would automatically have citizenship. He’s yet to receive an answer.
Ms Ardern said she’d since asked her MP why he asked that question.
“He’s been very clear: Yes, someone from the ALP put some legal question to him around citizenship, no mention was made of anyone’s name, no rationale for any particular case being pursued was ever raised,” she told radio NZ.
“He asked the questions without knowing how that might be used and has made it very clear, in hindsight, had he known how it would be used, he would not have asked the questions.”
Updated
Mother of Pistol and Boo.
To comfort Mr. Joyce in his hour need, I have sent him a box of New Zealand's finest kiwi fruit (assuming this passes his biosecurity laws) pic.twitter.com/lQHJzMyXT9
— Amber Heard (@realamberheard) August 15, 2017
Barnaby visits his ancestral lands.
Through the streets of your town- photoshop fakery from Dunedin @gabriellechan @GuardianAus @murpharoo #politicslive https://t.co/aFRYLbMuBA pic.twitter.com/kzGMVVeR2S
— Mikearoo (@mpbowers) August 15, 2017
Dick Smith says he wants a tax on the wealthiest 1%.
He says it’s totally ridiculous that there are no inheritance taxes and that billionaires can pass every cent on to their children.
Smith also says Australia cannot sustain a larger population and he said Australia needs to cut immigration as our birth rate will ensure the population is replaced.
All of our problems in the world today are harder to fix with more people.
Updated
FYI in Sydney, businessman Dick Smith is launching his $1m advertising campaign calling for a cut to immigration and an increase in tax on the rich.
On Monday night on Lateline, the attorney general, George Brandis, issued a rebuke to people attempting to turn the marriage debate into one about freedom of religion, speech or political correctness (as Tony Abbott did last week).
There is only one question in the postal plebiscite ... do you think the law should be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry. That’s the only question. It’s not a question about religious freedom. It’s not a question about freedom of speech. It’s not a question about political correctness. It’s about one issue, and one issue only.
Brandis said that both the exposure draft he circulated last year and Liberal senator Dean Smith’s private member’s bill contained “extensive protections of religious freedom”.
One of the points that people like Archbishop [Anthony] Fisher need to remember – if the Labor party were in charge of this process there wouldn’t be the protections of religious freedom that a Coalition private members or senators bill will guarantee.
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Jacqui Lambie is asked about her dispute with her former chief of staff, Rob Messenger.
She has confirmed to Samantha Maiden on Sky that she did take her staff to a sex shop, as Messenger alleged.
What is stopping me from going in and speaking to those people in that business, as well as we were getting Christmas trinklets [sic]. We do this, we have pretty good morale in my office, it’s pretty open. There’s no doubts about that. We are like normal people out there ... we like to have a joke with each other. Everybody participated in those Christmas trinklets. That is quite clear.
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In July 18 ABC radio interview: Barnaby Joyce on Waters-Ludlam is just amazing https://t.co/B75JuNfLU1 pic.twitter.com/QZ7tUwFpsX
— Mark Di Stefano 🤙🏻 (@MarkDiStef) August 15, 2017
News from the party room:
PM to party: The Australian people elected this Govt, Bill Shorten wants to steal Govt by entering into a conspiracy with a foreign power.
— Chris Uhlmann (@CUhlmann) August 15, 2017
He's going to call the police again isn't he? #AlwaysLaborsFault 🚓🚨😭 https://t.co/2thoxm2S2m
— Tim Watts MP (@TimWattsMP) August 15, 2017
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Malcolm Turnbull's former chief of staff appointed to NBN board
Here is the statement:
The Government has appointed Mr Drew Clarke AO PSM as a non-executive Director of the Board of NBN Co Limited (nbn) for a term of three years, commencing on 22 August 2017.
Mr Clarke has extensive experience having served in a range of senior government positions. He served as Secretary of the Department of Communications from 2013 to 2015, where he was involved in the large scale review and reform of the National Broadband Network (NBN) project and developed an in-depth understanding of the telecommunications market.
Mr Clarke also served as Secretary of the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism from 2010 to 2013 where he made substantial contributions to public policy.
Mr Clarke also served as Chief of Staff in the Office of the Prime Minister from September 2015 to April 2017.
Mr Clarke is uniquely placed to assist the nbn Board as the rollout increases in scale and the company transitions from network construction to an operational business.
Mr Clarke’s extensive government and regulatory experience will enhance the Board’s capability through to the completion of the NBN rollout in 2020.
Eleanor Ainge Roy, our erstwhile New Zealand correspondent, has been on the trail of Barnaby’s forebears. Here is the street. No evidence of a plaque as yet.
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The other James Joyce.
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Labor MPs may be open to challenge, says Pyne
Christopher Pyne is thinking about what to do about Labor and citizenship.
He told AM:
I’m thinking about what to do because the Labor Party of course can say we’re supposed to take their word, Bill Shorten’s word, not a word that Julia Gillard or Kevin Rudd were capable of taking when they were the prime ministers of Australia.
If they haven’t got the evidence, they need to have their status clarified by the High Court. So all they need to do is produce the evidence that they are qualified to be in the House of Representatives, that they’ve renounced their citizenship successfully.
To take Justine Keay, for example, she claims that she was still a UK citizen on the day of the election and received her information from the UK after the election that she wasn’t any longer, which is no different to the situation Malcolm Roberts finds himself in, in the Senate, for example, from One Nation.
We haven’t seen any evidence from Tony Zappia or from Maria Vamvakinou of whether the Greek or Italian governments have renounced their citizenship and the same for Susan Lamb from the UK, so the Labor Party needs to produce the evidence or the government will obviously consider its options.
Later, talking to Sam Maiden on Sky, he again warns Labor that they have citizenship questions to answer on their own side and may be referred to the high court, including:
- Braddon MP Justin Keay
- Longman MP Susan Lamb
- Makin MP Tony Zappia
- Calwell MP Maria Vamvakinou
He named them in parliament yesterday. Maiden asks him if it is appropriate to include Labor employment shadow Brendan O’Connor, reported in a list this morning as open to challenge. Maiden says, given O’Connor’s wife is undergoing chemotherapy this morning, is it appropriate?
Pyne says the question is unfair because he did not name O’Connor in the house yesterday.
Pyne says he does not know who will pay Barnaby Joyce’s legal fees but says it would be appropriate given he is “an officer of the government”.
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Housekeeping. Party room meetings are on this morning.
Then, the House and Senate begin sitting around midday.
We expect media reforms to dump the two out of three rules and the reach rule in the senate. Negotiations between the Turnbull government, the Greens and the crossbenchers continue.
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Tony Abbott fears moral bullying over marriage postal vote
Tony Abbott, captain of the case against marriage equality, has written an op-ed for his old paper, the Oz. He argued that the plebiscite was most likely to reassure people that their views had been taken seriously and the outcome was fair. Then he set into marriage equality advocates.
Here is a little taste:
Now that the vote looks like going ahead, the challenge is to have a debate that takes seriously the ramifications of changing something that is so central to the way we live. It’s a pity that the advocates of change haven’t finalised what they think are fair protections for freedom of religion and freedom of speech in an era of same-sex marriage because it’s hard to be sure about something without knowing exactly what it may entail.
Another disappointment is the tone of so much of the same-sex marriage advocacy. If polls are right, most support change so the plebiscite should be a way of reassuring people that it won’t strain the social fabric. Instead, the activists have insisted that the general public can’t be trusted to have a sensible debate and make a considered decision.
Last week, one very senior Labor senator attacked the prime minister for allegedly exposing her children to “hatred” because of their family circumstances.
It is not homophobic to maintain that, ideally, children should have both a mother and a father. Yet I fear much moral bullying in the weeks to come – invariably from those demanding change.
It is probably no coincidence that Abbott’s op-ed followed a piece by his former ministerial colleague Amanda Vanstone yesterday which tore strips off him, his use of the word honour and his behaviour, particularly since losing the leadership.
It’s almost unbelievable to hear him speak as though he has some insight into why people are turned off politics at the moment. If he did have that insight, he wouldn’t behave the way he does. If he had a quick look in the mirror he’d see what it is that aggravates people about politics today. He’d see someone who is behaving as though what’s important is his importance.
The people don’t get a look-in. His first priority is to advance his own position, to make life hard for Malcolm Turnbull. In Abbott’s eyes, Turnbull took his job. The truth is the party room took his job because he wasn’t doing it well.
He’d see someone who is great on the bif-bif and short on sensible policy. He’d see someone who has real trouble finding common ground with others. He wants the whole ground to himself. Worse, he’d see someone who thinks he’s better than all his colleagues. I’ve met some fairly self-centred people in my life but he truly takes the cake.
Then this morning on ABC, she nixed the view that the people had to decide rather than politicians voting in parliament.
There has been a lot of commentary lately that has amazed me from well-respected journalists, for example, it is the job of a parliament to put forward the views in their electorate and I find myself laughing.
Why? Because the views in the electorate will be divided. The job is not ... if I vote for you ... do what I want. I am electing you to make the best decision on my behalf.
That is what representative democracy is. You just can’t vote for people to do what you want because the person might agree with you on one thing and on the next issue they disagree with you. It doesn’t work that way. It can work that way. It never will work that way.
Vanstone said she will be campaigning for the yes vote.
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There is a lot of riffing on Barnaby this morning.
— Stephanie Anderson (@stephanieando) August 14, 2017
Look – a shellshocked Barnaby Joyce
Bowers spotted Barnaby Joyce coming in the front of parliament. There were no journos there, so he and the cameraman fired off a few questions, bless them.
Q: How are you feeling?
Shellshocked, I suppose. I was born in Tamworth. My great-grandmother was born in Tamworth. I only had it confirmed on Thursday from an inquiry that was made in New Zealand that apparently my father being a New Zealander, I was a New Zealander. Now I am trying to fix it up. I am sure the high court, who is vastly wiser than me, will come up with all of the answers.
Q: You should resign, shouldn’t you? Stand down?
No, the balance of opinion by the attorney general is the more likely outcome is clear we should continue on with our work.
Q: Will you re-contest?
That is hypothetical. Let’s cross that bridge when it happens.
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Before you start this day, Katharine Murphy has written on the last day.
Never mind the separation of powers. Never mind the appearance of firing off a direction to the good justices (people who, one suspects, don’t appreciate directions from parliamentarians and, in this case, the most powerful parliamentarian in the land).
Never mind the risk that you’ll look pretty damned foolish if the high court has a different idea of what it might do with the deputy prime minister, and your words come back to haunt you.
Short-term political calculations – the need to project a sense of certainty, to project a sense that your government isn’t turning to custard around you – trumps everything, apparently.
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The Parliamentary Friends of AFL is an annual shindig that draws out all the footy fans in the building in a bit of bipartisan fandom.
Things were a little chilly after a willing day in parliament.
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Essential is out by Katharine Murphy:
Public disapproval of the postal ballot on same-sex marriage has increased over the past week as political and public controversy about the concept has intensified, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll.
The latest survey of 1,815 voters found that 47% of the sample disapproved of the postal vote while 39% approved of it.
When a similar question was asked only a week ago, before marriage equality advocates mounted a legal challenge in the high court, more voters approved than disapproved of the postal vote.
Raw numbers here:
Labor is maintaining its election winning lead over the Coalition on the two-party preferred measure, 54% to 46%. That result is the same as last week.
The Coalition primary vote is on 37% to Labor’s 39%. The Greens are steady on 9% as is Pauline Hanson’s One Nation on 8%.
The Nick Xenophon Team has dropped a point in each of the last three polls. Three weeks ago the NXT was on 4%, two weeks ago it was on 3% and the latest poll has them on 2%.
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45th parliament: off piste, one ski, no poles
Good morning dual citizens,
Welcome to #politicslive, where too much excitement is never enough in the 45th parliament.
After the extraordinary developments of yesterday – in which the deputy prime minister confirmed he might have a teensy citizenship problem – Australian politics has skiied off piste, one ski, no poles as Paul Keating would say. This is because the Turnbull government has a one0seat majority so the long white cloud hanging over Barnaby Joyce’s head has emboldened the opposition.
But first, according to Rosie Lewis of the Oz, Nick Xenophon has conceded he never heard back from Greek and Cypriot authorities when he attempted to renounce any Greek citizenship.
Senator Xenophon, who leads a crucial bloc of four MPs, is pushing for an independent audit of the eligibility of all members and senators, and said he would happily comply. With a mother from Greece and father from Cyprus, Senator Xenophon declared he had “never been a citizen of another country” but acknowledged there was no written proof.
“I’ve never had, never sought, never received citizenship of another country but out of an abundance of caution I wrote to the Greek embassy and Cypriot high commission saying essentially, ‘I’ve never been a citizen, I don’t want to be, so if there’s any question that I could be, I renounce any rights to be’. I don’t know what else I can do in the circumstances,” Senator Xenophon said.
But in the lower house, Labor’s strategy is emerging, if you combine question time yesterday with this Sabra Lane’s interview with Labor’s manager of opposition business Tony Burke.
Labor is pushing for Barnaby Joyce to stand aside while the citizenship matter is resolved - as Matt Canavan has done in the senate. At the same time, Labor is in talks with the crossbench over two issues that were lost by one vote - penalty rates and the banking royal commission.
We are talking to them and they are the two issues we have been focusing on.
Burke said the lower house resolved unanimously that it did not know whether Joyce was eligible to sit.
A brave man, Burke was supremely confident that Labor MPs are all G.
He said the Labor process goes through the country of birth of the candidate, their parents and grandparents. Burke said the examples of the Greens, Malcolm Roberts, Matt Canavan and Barnaby Joyce would have been picked up by the Labor process.
They are all examples that would have been easily caught by our process.
Burke was also highly critical of Malcolm Turnbull’s emphatic assertion in parliament yesterday that the high court would clear Joyce’s case.
He stood up and announced what conclusion the high court will reach...They are clinging on to power and there is nothing more than that...This is a government without legitimacy.
But attorney general George Brandis said the prime minister had not challenged the separation of powers by declaring Joyce was clear.
Nowhere near it. The prime minister who is himself an accomplished lawyer...doesn’t need any instruction about the separation of powers...As a lawyer he is entitled to inform his own view.
Which is true, except as prime minister, he is also the head of the executive government. But hey, I’m no lawyer so what would I know.
Stick with us - it will be a big day. Talk to me in the thread or on the Twits @gabriellechan or try Facebook if that’s your bag.
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