National security, Julia Gillard and asylum seekers
Well, it is time to get off the hamster wheel that was today. I barely had time to glance over my shoulder, let alone pull myself above the news cycle and try to make sense of it. National security continued to dominate the news cycle but there was quite a bit else to take note of.
So, dear readers, what did we learn?
- The government will sign a deal to send asylum seekers we are holding in offshore detention to Cambodia. Scott Morrison will fly to Cambodia on Friday to finalise the arrangements which the Greens say is equivalent to “dumping” asylum seekers.
- The Foreign Fighters bill was introduced to parliament while the first tranche of the national security reforms was debated in the Senate. George Brandis compared the current security situation to the Cold War.
Certainly there has been no time since the cold war, or even before the cold war, when the domestic threat posed by those who would us harm has been so immediate, so acute, so present in the minds of our people.”
- Peter Slipper escaped jail for misusing Cabcharges but was ordered to repay the $940 and serve 300 hours of community service. He has appealed the guilty verdict on three counts of dishonesty.
- Julia Gillard released her book My Story and in the pages wondered “should I have let myself feel more”. Kevin Rudd referred to the book as “fiction”.
- A fresh push to change the Racial Discrimination Act will be introduced to the Senate on the next sitting day, removing the words “insult” and “offend” from section 18C. The bill will be introduced by Family First senator, Bob Day, and co-sponsored by the Liberal senator Cory Bernardi and Liberal Democratic senator David Leyonhjelm. It will still be unlawful to humiliate or intimidate someone on the basis of their race if the bill passes. A notice of motion has been made to the Senate to introduce the changes next sitting day.
Katharine Murphy will take her rightful place at the reins of this blog tomorrow.
Speaking of former prime ministers, as we seem to have been doing all week, Kevin Rudd has a new job. At the UN.
It’s not quite secretary-general, as has been widely reported as his position of choice.
AAP reports:
Mr Rudd will co-chair the Independent Commission on Multilateralism (ICM) with Norwegian foreign minister Borge Brende and Canadian foreign minister John Baird.
The commission is a two-year program run by the International Peace Institute which will examine the work of the United Nations and other multilateral bodies.
Mr Rudd said there was a growing sense that the world was “fraying at the edges”, which made the ICM’s work all the more important.
Shadow Minister for Citizenship and Multiculturalism, Michelle Rowland, says Labor will not support the fresh push to change the Racial Discrimination Act 18C.
“Communities around Australia have already made their view clear. Section 18C has served Australians well for almost 20 years and should not be changed,” she said in a statement.
“Labor will fight any move to weaken protections against racist hate speech and Tony Abbott should pull Cory Bernardi into line.”
A fresh push to change the Racial Discrimination Act will be introduced to the Senate on the next sitting day, removing the words “insult” and “offend” from section 18C.
The bill will be introduced by Family First senator, Bob Day, and co-sponsored by the Liberal senator Cory Bernardi and Liberal Democratic senator David Leyonhjelm.
It will still be unlawful to humiliate or intimidate someone on the basis of their race if the bill passes. A notice of motion has been made to the Senate to introduce the changes next sitting day.
There’s a certain symmetry to introducing this bill while we are are in the midst of hysterical reporting on national security. The government shelved its initial watering down of 18C on the same day it announced it would be introducing the national security reforms as the prime minister said he wanted to preserve “national unity”.
Bernadi dismissed concern about the timing of the fresh push when questioned by our Daniel Hurst.
“One of the most important principles and freedoms that we have in this country is freedom of speech. I want to strengthen that. It’s always a good time to strengthen freedom of speech,” he said.
The Greens senator Penny Wright said the timing was “insensitive”.
“A groundswell of public opinion has defeated this legislation once and we are confident any proposal to bring it back will also fail,” she said.
Updated
Alternative title for Julia Gillard’s book? I do recall there being much discussion about what she could have called her book after a broad section of the online community decided “My Story” lacked imagination.
— ABC News Intern (@ABCnewsIntern) September 24, 2014
A Guardian Australia commenter got their 15 minutes of fame today. Well, 45 seconds of their 15 minutes of fame. We have video of a Guardian Australia commenter being mentioned in question time, as Jamie Briggs ribbed Albo over this piece.
Briggs was referring to this comment:
I grew up in Indonesia and has lived in Australia for over a decade.
Anyone who has ever visited Jakarta can attest that having scooters instead of cars do not solve any congestion problem.
If anything, hundred of thousands people have died every year due to accident involving motorcycle, which tend to be more fatal compared to car crash – for obvious reasons.
So this is, in my opinion, the dumbest idea I have ever heard from Australian politician, and that is saying a lot.
Updated
Kevin Rudd has delivered his verdict on Julia Gillard’s book: fiction.
He sort of managed a dignified a silence for most of the day, though there was a swipe in the Australian, but he has released his assessment to news.com.au, through a spokesperson:
Consistent with the past, Mr Rudd has no substantive comment to make on Ms Gillard’s latest contribution to Australian fiction. The Australian people have long reached their own conclusions about Ms Gillard’s relationship with the truth – from the coup to the carbon tax.
They have also reached their own conclusions on Ms Gillard’s continuing efforts to reconstruct a justification after the event for her actions in June 2010, by trying to dress up personal political ambition as some higher purpose for the party and the government.
Thoughts on this? Blunt? Inelegant but warranted? Hilarious?
Updated
My colleague Paul Farrell has filed an expansion on Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young’s comments that Cambodia will become a “human dumping ground for the Abbott government” in a deal to send asylum seekers to the country.
The question is of course what this deal consists of. What Australia has used to bribe one of the poorest and most corrupt governments, to act as a human dumping ground.
Hanson-Young is concerned about the risk of “abuse and exploitation” asylum seekers may face there.
We know that the levels of rape and sexual assault and sexual exploitation of girls and women in Cambodia are skyrocketing. They’re higher than they’ve ever been before.
Hanson-Young said young female asylum seekers would be at risk as soon as they walk off a plane in Cambodia.
What does Scott Morrison say to a 16-year-old unaccompanied girl who he is about to send and dump in Cambodia? How is she going to be kept safe from sexual exploitation?
Updated
Attorney general George Brandis is tabling the foreign fighters bill – the second “tranche” of national security reforms.
It is being sent to the joint intelligence committee until 17 October nd we will see a debate in the Senate on 27 October.
Updated
As the House of Representatives chamber empties Mike Bowers caught the health minister with his shadow.
Me and my shadow- Health Minister Peter Dutton with Shadow Catherine King #QT @GuardianAus @bkjabour #politicslive pic.twitter.com/IgEv5oeZje
— Mike Bowers (@mpbowers) September 24, 2014
There was a minor technical meltdown here at #politicslive which I tried to shield the readers from. I thought I had successfully vaulted back into the saddle but it seems I missed an eviction from Question Time. The only one, as far as I’m aware. Thank you to Mike Bowers for bringing me up to date! The booting of Labor MP Jim Chalmers brings Bronwyn’s tally to 201, by our count.
Evictee 201 mem. for Rankin Dr Jim Chamlers @bkjabour @GuardianAus #politcslive http://t.co/rtwccSqwfy pic.twitter.com/38gnUlq9Zx
— Mike Bowers (@mpbowers) September 24, 2014
Greens immigration spokeswoman, Sarah Hanson-Young, is speaking on the reports Australia will sign a deal with Cambodia to send asylum seekers being held offshore to the country to be settled.
The minister is dumping asylum seekers there...we want the minister to table in parliament the details of this dirty deal.
Hanson-Young says Greens will not support the deal and is particularly concerned about women and girls being sent to Cambodia.
Updated
With that Question Time is over. *Exhales*.
Bill Shorten draws together the strands of a cost-of-living theme:
Given that the government is undermining the retirement savings of millions of Australians by watering down consumer protection, given the government is Americanising universities and condemning students to a debt sentence, and with Australian families already struggling to make ends meet, isn’t it clear that the government is part of the problem, not the solution?
Joe Hockey has a riposte. Hypocrisy, the treasurer declares. The former government was the problem, he maintains, and that is why Labor was voted out.
Updated
Dorothy dixer to the government on early childhood education. The government has re-signed an agreement with the states to provide 15 hours of free pre-school for young children. The agreement is valid for a year.
Sussan Ley said under Labor there was no certainty and the Abbott government had provided certainty with this one-year extension.
A couple of questions on the nitty-gritty of Sydney and Melbourne’s roads projects.
Assistant minister for infrastructure, Jamie Briggs, is ribbing Anthony Albanese over this comment piece on Guardian Australia today which praises scooters.
To hows of laughter from only one side Briggs says:
In fact on the Guardian website one of the contributors to the Guardian website said ‘this in my opinion is the dumbest idea from an Australian politician’. I thought bringing Kevin Rudd back to prime ministership was!
Another dixer from the government on defence/national security. Which means our two competing Question Time narratives are terrorism and education.
Now shadow agriculture minister Joel Fitzgibbon takes the box and speaker, Bronwyn Bishop, grins slyly.
I was a little mean to you yesterday.
She allows the house to giggle along with her for a few seconds before we return to the question. It’s to Barnaby Joyce, but still on the universities theme. Will regional universities suffer more from the “Americanisation” of universities?”
Joyce:
I have received two questions in this place now. The first question was from the member for Sydney. Now I have a question from the Shadow Minister for agriculture on education. But you have to take small graces as they come!
Joyce says Universities Australia broadly supports the deregulation of universities and the government was in discussions with the University of New England about the changes as their position is “the status quo is unacceptable”.
Christopher Pyne’s Question Time workout - the backward talk-to-the-hand. Cheers to Mike Bowers for the photo
We have Cathy McGowan, the independent for Indi, asking communications minister Malcolm Turnbull about *gasp* an issue that directly affects her electorate. She asks about the quality of the National Broadband Network rollout in her electorate and is the government is prioritising the areas identified with worst broadband and mobile coverage.
Turnbull talks about government’s fixed wireless rollout and of course, kicks the opposition.
This fixed wireless rollout was bungled by the Labor Party. Not only did they have – not only did Labor not have the spectrum, they didn’t even own the spectrum that was required to do the job, so we have had to go to great lengths to secure that additional spectrum, something Labor had no plan for. But incredibly, Madam Speaker, the Labor Party estimated there would only be 230,000 users of the fixed wireless network by 2021. It turns out that there is going to be somewhere between a minimum of 440,000 and 620,000.
Updated
Another question from opposition on education. It seems we have a Question Time narrative from Labor. Christopher Pyne is getting quite the workout.
Pyne accuses Joanne Ryan, the member of Lalor, of giving a “xenophobic speech about the United States” because of her question about the “Americanisation” of Australia’s education system through university fee deregulation.
How low has the Labor Party sunk? I am very happy to answer the member for Lawlor’s question. Because as a former school principal, it’s very disappointing that she doesn’t know how the education system in Australia works.Because the United States does not have a higher education loan program. It doesn’t have a higher education loan program. So it bears very little resemblance at all to the Australian education system.
Updated
Another government dixer on national security, justice minister Michael Keenan takes it.
He says the thoughts of the government are with the families of those officers who were injured and also with the family of the deceased.
The work the Government is doing with our agencies is not about targeting any particular community and it is not about religion. It is not about any particular community and it is not about religion. It’s about dealing with extremists who would seem seek to do Australia harm. I want to assure everyone in Australia that our law enforcement community, our intelligence agencies and our Government is doing everything we can to keep our country safe.
Next question is to, Christopher Pyne, on education again, seems he is warming up quite comfortably.
The Labor Party can fabricate figures as much as they like, they can make up quotations as much as they like, they can pick out sentences and tables. The reality is our reforms will mean that students will be required to pay 50% of the cost of their education across the university sector and they’re currently on average paying40%.
Pyne moves on to Australian journalist Paul Kelly, who has recently released the book into the Labor’s years in government, Triumph and Demise.
Returning to Paul Kelly who you think is an absolute riot on that side of the House, most see him as avery serious person and I certainly do. He was quoting [on the weekend] the executive director of the group of 8. Mike Gallagher says, ‘It is outrageous from the Labor Party have washed their hands of responsibility for the mess they created.’ The mess you created.We are prepared to fix it up because we are an adult, responsible Government and methodically, calmly and carefully of fixing this country after the 6 years, the six Rip Van Winkle years of the Labor Government.
Mike Bowers is on location, at Question Time.
Acting PM Warren Truss checks his notes before #QT @bkjabour @GuardianAus #politicslive http://t.co/C6Ly1OTP2q pic.twitter.com/jxlFP2psjb
— Mike Bowers (@mpbowers) September 24, 2014
Second question is a dixer from Nationals Michelle Landry on national security. Acting prime minister, Warren Truss takes the question. He talks about the “tranches” of national security reforms which are “strongly supported” by Asio and the AFP.
We’re determined to ensure that our country is ready and prepared and takes whatever action it needs to keep Australians safe and to make sure as much as we can that Australians are not the perpetrators of violence in other parts of the world.
Now to the questions.
First one is from Bill Shorten to the education minister, Christopher Pyne. Monash professors says deregulating universities is a recipe for disaster, why is the Abbott government putting the cost of university out of reach of average Australians?
Pyne:
Students who go to university can borrow every single dollar from the Australian taxpayer so it is not out of reach for any Australian.
Pyne cites academics and business leaders who support the deregulation of university.
This Government is preparing to reform our universities and provide more opportunities for students.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten is also making a statement to the parliament about the shooting of a teenage terror suspect. He says his thoughts are with the injured Australian Federal Police officer, the Victorian police officer and the victim’s family.
The young man who died, Abdul Numan Haider, had a family too. In their grief they will be asking themselves how did it come to this?What drove the boy they loved to this desperate end?And as difficult as it may be, I suspect many Australian s will be asking themselves this same question too. We must ask ourselves why would a very small number of people raised in Australia be attracted to the cause of ISIL and the like? The answer is not clear.
Question Time begins
Acing prime minister, Warren Truss, is making a statement to the house on the shooting of a teenage terrorism suspect last night.
While the matter will be subject to a formal investigation it appears the officer who fired upon the suspect saved his own life and the life of his colleague...earlier today the prime minister spoke to the wives of both injured officers and the thoughts of the Australian parliament go out to these officers and their families. We wish them a full and speedy recovery and commend them on their bravery.
He urges Australians to remain calm.
I urge the Australia public to remember that violence against anyone regardless of religion or race is never acceptable. To turn on each other because of religion or race is to do exactly what the terrorists want.
Late lunch summary
In lieu of the usual lunch time update, I bring you a very short and sharp late lunch update. Apologies, I got caught in breaking news in the past hour and Question Time is upon us.
What we have learned so far this Wednesday:
- A teenager shot yesterday by Melbourne police was a terrorism suspect, police and politicians have confirmed. He had not presented a specific threat though and was shot dead after attacking two officers.
-
Peter Slipper has avoided jail and being sentenced to 300 hours community service over his misuse of Cabcharges. He has appealed the verdict.
- Australia may sign a deal with Camnodia to send asylum seekers being held offshore to the country, the Cambodia Daily reports.
- Julia Gillard’s book has been released with her reflecting on whether she should have “let herself feel more”.
Cambodia Daily reporting deal with Australia on asylum seekers
Australia may seal the deal by the end of the week to send asylum seekers currently being held in offshore detention to Cambodia.
The Cambodia Daily is reporting the resettlement deal with be signed this Friday by the countries’ foreign ministers:
Cambodia will sign a long-awaited agreement with Australia on Friday to resettle some of the refugees Australia is currently holding offshore, a deal that has drawn heavy rebuke from the U.N., human rights groups and opposition lawmakers in both countries.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry announced in a statement Wednesday morning that Australia’s immigration minister, Scott Morrison, will be in Cambodia on Friday to sign the memorandum of understanding with Foreign Minister Hor Namhong.
This is the grand mufti of Australia’s statement in full, as read out by sheik Yahya Safi, executive member of the Australian National Imam’s Council in the wake of counter-terrorism raids, national security reforms and Australia’s military participation in combatting Islamic State.
As we have repeatedly preached in private and in public in arabic and in english, the horrors conducted overseas in the name of religion are crimes against humanity and sins against god.
The recent so called fatwa from overseas, making no reference to Australia as a target has no religious authority and must be rejected.
The noble Quran states clearly, that whoever kills a person it is as if he has killed all of humanity. And whoever saves the life of a person is as if he save all of humanity.
The sanctity of life is of paramount importance to all people of faith and to all people of goodwill. Protection of human life is one of the five basic rights in Islam.
Sadly, a reaction to understandable fear, some people have given in to abuse and victimising the innocent.
We call on everyone to exercise restraint and civility. Community harmony should be maintained at all costs. We must not let emotions take over common sense. I call on categorical calm for all Australians.”
Peter Slipper sentenced
Former speaker, Peter Slipper, will not go to jail after being found guilty of three counts of dishonesty in relation to the misuse of Cabcharges.
He has had a conviction recorded, will repay the $954 charged to the Cabcharged and will serve 300 hours of community service.
Slipper has already lodged an appeal against the guilty verdict.
Slipper given a two year good behaviour bond. Has to pay back 954. And do 300 hours community service. .
— Mark Burrows (@MarkWBurrows) September 24, 2014
Updated
If the government or the opposition wants to make any deals, that could be considered unsavoury by certain sections of their base, then this week is likely one of the best of the year to do it.
National security is well and truly entrenched as THE topic of the week so if the government wants to tinker with its welfare reforms and save as much face as possible, this would be the time to do it.
On that note, Fairfax Media is reporting Labor may drop their opposition to Temporary Protection Visas.
Sarah Whyte reports:
Labor is considering ditching its longstanding opposition to temporary protection visas if the Abbott government offers an option for permanent residency to asylum seekers who cannot return home.
Fairfax Media understands that Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and immigration spokesman Richard Marles will meet refugee experts on Friday to discuss visa options for the 30,000 asylum seekers who are living in limbo and who arrived under both governments.
“If the government is prepared to swallow its pride and come up with a sensible plan that gives people certainty over their future, we would be willing to take a closer look at the detail,” Mr Marles told Fairfax Media.
Remarks from the ACT magistrate sentencing, Peter Slipper, over misuse of Cabcharges:
Misusing parliamentary allowance seen as a mid range offense by ACT Chief Magistrate #slippersentencing
— Catalina Florez (@florezcata) September 24, 2014
Slipper is on one hand unblemished character, good character, history and low seriousness for these types of crimes, court says.
— Christopher Knaus (@knausc) September 24, 2014
Chief Magistrate says Mr Slipper “Abused the trust placed on him by the nation” but subject to intense scrutiny @NewsTalk2UE
— Frank Keany (@redneckninja) September 24, 2014
Magistrate says financial loss is negligent but "greater loss is the undermining of public confidence of those appointed to Govt" #slipper
— Laura Jayes (@ljayes) September 24, 2014
Peter Slipper’s sentencing hearing:
It was a case of greed not need. Mag. about to sentence Peter Slipper.
— Mark Burrows (@MarkWBurrows) September 24, 2014
Reporters at Peter Slipper’s sentencing hearing are sending out live updates:
Magistrate has taken into account his mental health & public humiliation he has suffered, though, will not disregard general deterrence.
— Laura Jayes (@ljayes) September 24, 2014
Meanwhile, Peter Slipper has arrived at court. We will be hearing what his sentence is this afternoon, though he has already lodged an appeal against his guilty verdict on three dishonesty charges for misusing Cabcharges.
Former Speaker Peter Slipper has arrived in court for sentencing. Didn’t say a word to waiting media @NewsTalk2UE
— Frank Keany (@redneckninja) September 24, 2014
Updated
Anthony Albanese has been asked about Julia Gillard’s book at the National Press Club, specifically about loyalty.
I was loyal to the Labor Government and to the PM of the day, each and every day. Anyone who observed parliament must know that that is the case. When there was an issue and some hard yards to be done, guess who got handed the ball? And I did it each and everyday, might I say, if the entire Caucus was concentrating on the needs of the Labor Government rather than internals every day then I might be here without shadow before my portfolio.
Albanese said he is friends with both Gillard and Kevin Rudd.
Anthony Albanese has a new title. He is now the shadow minister for cities, on top of his infrastructure, transport and tourism responsibilities.
Opposition leader, Bill Shorten, says the appointment is to “sharpen Labor’s focus on the importance of urban Australia to the national economy”
Albo is addressing the National Press Club and has written for Guardian Australia on the answer to traffic jams: vespas!
It’s a trend that should be encouraged. It means fewer cars on the road, less call for parking spaces and greater convenience for commuters. But I worry that while people are happily making the switch to two wheels, policy makers continue to view these vehicles through the prism of safety only, rather than also on the basis of their contribution to reducing urban congestion.
Guardian photographer-at-large, Mike Bowers, has been patrolling the perimeters of Parliament House.
Lebanese Muslim Association president, Samier Dandan, says four Muslim mosques have been the target of attacks since the national conversation about security was taken up 10 notches.
A group of Muslim and Christian leaders in Sydney addressed the media to decry extremism and call for a co-ordinated effort in combating it.
Dandan said a few individuals were tarnishing Islam and the rhetoric around national security needed to be considered.
They [the Muslim community] are providing security for mosques, but right-wing extremists - I don’t want to give them the liberty of mentions their name, but they have made certain amount of threats not just attacking mosques, but bombing the mosques. Talking about major mosques in Sydney.
When asked to explain what the problem with rhetoric was, Dandan responded:
The rhetoric that you talk about where now every issue that you see is being done in the name of Islam and I stand here in front of you all today that we do not stand for our faith to be hijacked by any minority group whatsoever, whether it’s an Islamic group or whether it’s a Christian group or Jewish group. You’ve seen in the US the Jewish community had the campaign not in my name, we say not in the name of my faith. Not in the name of what Islam stands for.
Pulling back from national security for a moment, and turning back to the issues of yester-month - budget measures. Some of the most controversial budget measures are yet to be legislated though there is potential for the social services bills, carrying the welfare reforms, to face the Senate this week.
Data wizard, Nick Evershed, has pulled together these graphs on stated positions on particular measures such as the Medicare co-payment, stripping under-30s of income support for months at a time and education reforms.
Do note, the stated positions do not mean the measures will certainly pass or fail in the Senate. Negotiations, back room deals, changes of heart: it all happens.
Back to the Senate debate on the first tranche of national security reforms. Liberal senator, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, was one of the first speakers and I missed her remarks but have since obtained a copy, which I think are interesting enough to give a run here.
Fierravanti-Wells, who is parliamentary secretary to the minister for social services, emphasised the need to reach out to Muslims.
“It is vitally important at this time that all Australians, irrespective of their ancestry, are tolerant and supportive. To turn on each other on the basis of religion or race would be to play straight into the hands of Isil, who want nothing better than to divide us.
She continued:
This will take time. The incident that has occurred overnight with the shooting death of an 18 year old by police in Melbourne, known to be a terror suspect, reinforces the absolute priority and need for this sort of intervention.
Young people become disenfranchised for any number of reasons. When this happens, they become vulnerable. They turn to drugs, gangs, crimes or other activities.
What we are seeing with some young people is this disenfranchisement manifesting itself in radicalisation. They are vulnerable and susceptible to being preyed on by those intent on radicalising them, especially through social media.
The takeaway from the press conference from the Victorian premier and chief police commissioner on the shooting, as far as I can see is:
- no specific threat had been made
- the suspect had been seen with an Islamic State flag
- his passport had been cancelled
- there was nothing to indicate the man was mentally ill
Victorian premier, Denis Napthine, and police chief commissioner, Ken Lay, are answering questions about the shooting of the teenage terrorism suspect in Melbourne.
You can follow the updates at the press conference at this live blog.
While the Senate debates the first “tranche” of national security reforms, the foreign fighters bill - the second “tranche” is being examined by journalists, lawyers, the opposition etc.
Paul Farrell, frightfully well informed on all matters of freedom and national security, brings us this update:
Leading criminal lawyers have raised serious concerns about the federal government’s plans to retain and expand laws to detain people without charge, despite the laws never being used since they were created a decade ago.
The attorney-general George Brandis released the government’s second tranche of national security legislation late on Tuesday night. The bill creates new offences that could see people who engage in foreign incursions overseas face life in prison.
But the government is also seeking to retain the Howard era preventative detention and control order regimes - which are seen as highly controversial because they allow people to be subject to police restrictions or detention without charge and with limited judicial oversight.
Preventative detention orders allow a person to be detained without charge for up to 14 days. Control orders can restrict a person’s freedom of movement or their associations for much lengthier periods of time.
Updated
George Brandis brandishing his first “tranche” of national security reforms, from the work horse Mike Bowers
Independent, Nick Xenophon, tried to amend the first national security reform bill so that courts take into account the public interest when someone (say, I don’t know, a journalist) publishes intelligence.
The amendment was voted down with Labor, the Palmer United Party and Motoring Enthusiast party, Ricky Muir, joining the government in voting against it.
Courtesy of Mike Bowers, we have Xenophon arguing for the amendment.
Updated
As I desperately clamour with the threads of today my colleague, the darling Daniel Hurst, (official title) has watched attorney-general George Brandis address the Senate in the debate on the first bill of the national security reforms.
Freedom is not a given. A free society is not the usual experience of mankind. Freedom must be secured and particularly at a time when those who would destroy our freedom are active … and are among us. It is all the more important that our freedoms be secured by those with the capacity and the necessary powers to keep us safe. I want to reassure you Senator Leyonhjelm that the powers that are invested in the agencies by this bill are a proportionate and a judicious and a limited response to the threats we face.
The prime minister has released a statement, via YouTube, on the teenage terrorism suspect shot dead by police last night in Melbourne.
Tony Abbott calls the shooting a “nasty” incident and says he has spoken to the wives of the two injured officers.
The suspect did mount a fierce attack on both officers...obviously this indicates that there are people in our community who are capable of very extreme acts.
My Melbourne-based colleague, Melissa Davey, is live blogging today’s developments and reactions to the shooting over here.
Mike Bowers has been in the Senate chamber for the debate on the first bill of the national security reforms and brings us these sombre shots.
Updated
Palmer United Party senator, Jacqui Lambie, has spoken in support of the national security bill in the Senate. Her speech was fairly standard until the end when, in what is becoming so regular we could set our watches by it, she spoke out against Sharia law.
It’s important to note we would not be in this position with armed guards on high alert patrolling the parliament and legislation which admittedly curtails our freedoms if we had cracked down and taken a hard line with the enemy we face today..if politicians of the past had cleaned up our own backyard of Sharia extremists.
Lambie accuses her critics of attacking her right to free speech and trying to intimidate her
Just get out of Australia and leave us in peace.
I am beginning to wonder the value in reporting her repeated comments about Sharia law. We know what she thinks but every time she says something against Sharia law it is headline news. It seems she does not quite understand Sharia law, the government is certainly not going to legislate against it, she is not supported in her views by her leader, Clive Palmer.
So should we keep recording her comments which could be potentially stoking xenophobic coals in our community? Or is there a duty to because she is in a position of power, and some argue it exposes her ignorance on such matters?
Julia Gillard’s book is released today and Katharine Murphy has had her nose in it for a couple of days (while live blogging at the same time!). She brings her usual thoughtful approach to her interpretation of the book here.
On “the question of the memoir”:
Then she poses a really tough question to herself – one political leaders normally avoid. “Should I have let myself feel more?” It’s the question of the memoir in my view, not because it’s a womanly question, that interpretation would be truly ghastly – but because it’s a question politics doesn’t dare ask itself. Politics should ask itself this question. By cutting off empathy, by limiting opportunity for displays of natural human instinct, politics is gradually consigning itself to estrangement with the people it seeks to serve.
And a quote from the book which particularly caught my eye:
Existing in a “binary world of good women and bad women – the one dimensional portrayal meant it was impossible to be received as a full human being, with the normal complexity that comes with being neither perfect, nor evil. Living in the middle of all of this name calling and double standards, I had to harden my heart.
Also, something to consider:
Gillard's political timing for bringing out a memoir this early is not great. But then, it never was.
— The Piping Shrike (@Piping_Shrike) September 23, 2014
Palmer United Party senator, Glenn Lazarus, is moving an amendment to the national security bill to increase the penalty for exposing an Asio agent’s identity.
We must take safety and security of our country seriously...we must afford them [Asio officers] the highest level of security.
PUP wants the penalty for exposing an officer’s identity increased from one year to 10 year.
In summary I love Australia...this great country must be protected, many people have fought and died for this country. Everyone in Australia has a responsibility to ensure we act to protect our interests.
PUP and motoring enthusiast party senator, Ricky Muir, support the bill.
Liberal Democratic party senator, David Leyonhjelm, is voting against the first bill of the government’s national security reforms.
He tells the Senate:
To those still inclined to support the bill on the basis of the current security environment, the decency of the government, and our security agencies, I say this: the security environment will change, the government will change, and our security agencies will change, but this law, if enacted, will remain.
Updated
In the Senate the first national security bill is being debated. The bills increases security agency powers and criminalises disclosure of information about special intelligence operations.
Liberal Democratic party senator David Leyonhjelm is speaking. It was largely thanks to his efforts a clause was inserted explicitly banning torture but he still thinks “the case for the bill has not been made”.
These concerns relate to changes to the role of Asis, to changes to Asio powers to access computers, and to disclosures of information about special intelligence operations.
Leyonhjelm is not happy the bill authorises Asis to:
- cooperate with foreign authorities in undertaking training in the use of weapons.
- provide weapons and weapons training, for self-defence purposes, to an officer of a foreign authority with whom ASIS is cooperating.
These provisions would seem to change fundamentally the nature of Asis. Asis is our international spy agency. It is not a military force like the SAS...Asis should have no particular expertise in weapons and weapons training.
He also has concerns about Asio’s powers to access computers would being expanded.
This provision is an abuse of both language and judicial oversight.
Updated
An update on our troops, who have been deployed to not participate in a war against Isis.
From AAP:
Australian fighter jets and air force personnel have arrived in the United Arab Emirates.
There are 400 Royal Australian Air Force officers, eight Super Hornets, a multi role tanker transport aircraft, and a Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft in the contingent.
The deployment is in addition to Hercules and Globemaster planes that have been carrying out humanitarian and weapons drops in northern Iraq.
Defence says the aircraft are on standby awaiting the go ahead for operations to combat Islamic State extremists.
Updated
Katharine Murphy may be absent from the blog for the moment but she is, of course, still finding ways to make us ponder. She’s doing a one person survey over on Twitter, do feel free to respond in the comments. I’ll hopefully be ducking “below the line” directly.
Play along. Let's say you could ask a prime minister/leader a question. Just one. What would it be? (Take personality out of it)
— Katharine Murphy (@murpharoo) September 23, 2014
Labor have raised concerns with aspects of the foreign fighters bill, in particular the plan to create “no-go” zones that Australians will have to prove they had legitimate reasons to travel to.
The shadow attorney-general, Mark Dreyfus, said the opposition was still going through the bill and while there were some “sensible” measures there were also some proposals raising a red flag, so to speak.
On the creation of “no-go” zones he told ABC radio:
Now that the provisions have been made public, it’s possible to see that it’s an unprecedented measure. It appears to curtail, not only the right to the freedom of movement, but also the right to silence and the presumption of innocence.
Dreyfus said Labor supported hastening the passage of the bill, but public consultation was still vital.
On “sensible” proposals he cited new powers which would allow passports to be temporarily suspended and making foreign evidence admissible in Australian court in relation to terrorism offences.
Updated
The House of Representatives has started sitting this morning and will debate the Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2014 Measures No. 4 & 5) Bills.
In plain language the bills contain the changes to tax receipts which will show how much of someone’s tax has gone to certain areas. You know $5 to welfare, $7 to education, $6 to fighting terrorism, $4 to paying off “Labor’s deficit disaster”. That may or may not be the exact language.
The house to watch today is the Senate. Attorney-general, George Brandis, will be introducing the Foreign Fighters bill and we may get to the social services bills which contain most of the welfare reforms the government introduced in the budget. Reforms such as taking people under 30 off income support for months at a time, reviewing some people’s Disability Support Pension, increasing the pension age to 70 and changes to Family Tax Benefits.
The social services bills were supposed to be introduced yesterday but national security has taken precedence, which may mean they are pushed back again today.
Well, after that running start to the morning we can take a step back and survey the day.
Julia Gillard does not regret her ascension to the prime minister’s office in 2010, although she does regret “feeding hope” to Kevin Rudd before the challenge.
Still, even with the benefit of hindsight, [I] don’t see an alternative to what I did that day.
The usual captain of this blog, Katharine Murphy, has filed on Gillard’s channel Nine interview:
Gillard also declared she would have “out-campaigned Abbott” if the Rudd forces had not destabilised her and run her down before the 2013 federal poll. “If I’d had a clear run ... I would have out-campaigned Abbott. I would have run a better campaign and I could have landed us in the same spot. That’s my view, others will contest it, I get that.”
Did you watch? Any thoughts? Reactions? Grievances?
Courtesy of Mike Bowers here is justice minister Michael Keenan at the end of his statement to the media over the police shooting of a teenager terrorism suspect last night.
Justice Min. Michael Keenan after reading a statement on the Melbourne shootings @bkjabour @GuardianAus #politicslive pic.twitter.com/XH32LiwQqw
— Mike Bowers (@mpbowers) September 23, 2014
The Victorian assistant police commissioner, Luke Cornelius, has called the police shooting of a teenage terrorism suspect “tragic” and emphasised the 18-year-old was working on his own.
In terms of just providing some reassurance to the community, it’s our belief at this stage that this is an isolated incident, although it has ended in tragic circumstances. Tragic obviously for the individual concerned and that individual’s family and of course my heart and my regret and concern goes out to them. But also of course, I am very concerned about the safety of my members and although they are seriously injured it is a matter of some relief to me that they will live to fight another day.
Justice minister, Michael Keenan, also expressed regret over the shooting.
The Australian Government’s thoughts and my personal thoughts are with the injured officers and their families at this time.
Updated
More from the justice minister’s press conference where he made a statement about the teenager shot in Victoria overnight by the police after he attacked two officers:
Michael Keenan said the 18-year-old came to Endeavour Hills police station of his “own volition” after discussions with police earlier in the night. Keenan said he was a “known terrorist suspect”.
He says he carried out an “unprovoked” attack on two officers about 7.45pm.
The incident occurred during a police investigation and it appears that the shooting by the police officer was in self-defence. Whilst this is a horrible incident we do need to remain calm and go about our daily lives.
Keenan said an AFP officer was in a serious but stable condition and a Victoria police officer is in a stable condition, Keenan said his thoughts were with their families.
The police are our frontline against people who wish todo us harm and it is exactly this type of bravery and dedication shown by these officers that will continue to keep our communities safe and secure.
Keenan did not take any questions and said the AFP will address media later this morning.
Updated
Government confirms teen shot overnight was terror suspect
Justice minister, Michael Keenan, has confirmed the teenager shot by police overnight was a “known terrorist suspect”.
Keenan said the teenager stabbed two police officers in an “unprovoked attack”. He did not take any questions.
As we wait for the justice minister to address the media we can cast an eye over the other headlines circulating this morning.
The foreign fighters bill was released to media at 5pm yesterday and will be introduced to parliament today. It’s the second “tranche”, as George Brandis is so fond of saying, in the government’s national security reforms.
My colleagues Paul Farrell and Daniel Hurst took a good look at the bill last night and have this report.
Offences that will carry a life sentence under the bill are:
• making an incursion into a foreign country with the intent of engaging in hostile activities.
• Preparing for incursions into foreign countries for the purpose of engaging in hostile activities.
• Giving or receiving goods and services to promote the commission of an offence.
• Allowing use of buildings, vessels or aircraft to commit a foreign incursions offence.
The prime minister has left for New York for a security council meeting to discuss foreign fighters, Syria and Iraq. Warren Truss is our prime minister in Tony Abbott’s absence.
Updated
The day starts
Good morning. Bridie Jabour here with you this morning as Katharine Murphy attends to another project.
Clear blue skies here in Canberra and after a enjoying a few minutes of fresh air this morning, let’s dive straight into things.
We start the morning with news of a teenager shot dead overnight by police after stabbing two officers. There are reports he had made threats against the prime minister and the justice minister, Michael Keenan, will be addressing the media very shortly on the matter. We will bring you the updates on that press conference as they come.
Updated
