Night time politics
- The key crossbench senator Nick Xenophon has signalled publicly to the Turnbull government he will look at cutting tax for big companies if the government guarantees it will implement a bipartisan emissions intensity trading scheme in the electricity sector.
- The senate has ordered attorney general George Brandis to produce certain documents relating to the Bell litigation matter, which reportedly caused a fallout between Brandis and his solicitor general Justin Gleeson, who has since resigned.
- Pauline Hanson threatened to stop any votes until the Wilmar sugar issue was resolved to get ahead of any resolution on the issue, which has been in the works for months. Hanson was true to her word and she and her three senators were absent for the only two divisions, on of which was on the Brandis documents. Hanson previously voted with the government to support Brandis.
- The Fairfax Ipsos poll showed a 10 point lead for Labor over the Coalition on a 2PP basis.
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One Nation senator Peter Georgiou was sworn in to replace his brother in law Rod Culleton.
That is it for the evening. Thanks to the brains trust Paul Karp, Gareth Hutchens, Katharine Murphy and Mike Bowers.
Tomorrow, you can look forward to party room meetings and the debate into 18C amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act.
Thanks for your company.
Good night.
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Labor’s David Feeney does not look swayed by former colleague Bernie Ripoll’s lobbying.
I support Fair finance for Australians. Well done @consumer_action who are campaigning to stop abuse of payday loans @FCAupdate #auspol pic.twitter.com/zWZmOevBp1
— David Feeney (@Feeney4Batman) March 27, 2017
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Christopher Knaus reports:
The payday loan industry is using Labor’s former shadow financial services minister to lobby against stronger protections for vulnerable and low-income borrowers.
Consumer advocates have put pressure on the government to act on a promise to tighten regulation of the controversial sector, following repeated accusations that unscrupulous lenders are giving high-fee loans to borrowers who are unable to repay.
Cash Converters, one of the most well-known short-term lenders, was forced late last year to refund 118,000 small credit contracts worth $10.8m and pay $1.35m in fines for irresponsible lending practices.
This week, the organisation representing short-term lenders, the National Credit Providers Association, is in Canberra meeting with government and opposition MPs to voice its concerns on one aspect of the planned reforms.
It engaged Labor’s former shadow financial affairs minister Bernie Ripoll to lobby on its behalf last year and has taken him to Canberra for the meetings.
Senate orders attorney general to produce certain Bell documents
The senate orders the attorney general to produce those Bell documents on a vote 35-24.
There was a second order to produce documents related to the Bell matter which passed on the voices.
It is unlikely George Brandis will comply.
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While we wait for the vote on the Brandis matter, it should be made clear that the Senate orders governments to produce documents from time to time and governments freely ignore this order.
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Labor tries to force George Brandis to produce documents on the Bell matter
Labor is currently trying to pass the following motion in the senate.
That the attorney general be required to provide to the legal and constitutional affairs references committee, by no later than noon on 7 April 2017, the following documents relating to the Bell Group liquidation and the Bell Act:
(a) correspondence between the attorney general and Ms O’Dwyer in March and April 2016;
(b) a letter from the former solicitor general Mr Justin Gleeson to the attorney general regarding the high court proceedings in the Bell matter, dated 15 March 2016;
(c) the email chain between the offices of the solicitor general and attorney general entitled “Bell - Commissioner of Taxation request for advice from the Solicitor General – referral to Counsel Assisting the Solicitor General [SEC=PROTECTED, DLM=Sensitive: Legal]”, dated 6 and 7 March 2016; and
(d) the submission from the attorney general’s department to the attorney general’s office on the question of intervention in the Bell matter, dated 28 January 2016.
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Labor loses the vote to throw out the company tax package so the house is voting on the bill.
In the lower house, the Labor shadow treasurer, Chris Bowen, has moved an amendment to the company tax cuts, which essentially says, chuck out the bill on the following grounds.
(1) Government has failed on fiscal policy, tripling the deficit and increasing net debt by $100bn, and putting our hard-earned and coveted triple-A credit rating at risk;
(2) Prime minister and the treasurer have failed to deliver the economic leadership that this country needs and deserves; and
(3) Government’s plan to give a $50bn tax cut to big business is not affordable in the current fiscal and economic circumstances.
The House is voting now.
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Barnaby Joyce has also told the Country Hour that the government is lining up the national disaster relief.
Stating the bleeding obvious, most people that get killed in cyclones do not get killed by the cyclone, they get killed the day after. They drown or they go and get themselves electrocuted or get outside: so just stay safe.
I am sure the people of north Queensland are more experienced than most about this, so if you prepare for it well then it gives you the best chances.
But we will be there as well, making sure we do everything that we can. We’ve got concessional loans and other things that will be lined up because, no doubt if this hits the coast as a category four, it’s going to be a very big show indeed.
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Company tax cuts are currently being debated in the house.
People before possums, says Barnaby.
Barnaby Joyce accused Labor of putting possums before people after the Victorian Labor government reduced the logging quota for the Heyfield mill.
If it wasn’t chasing leadbeater possums and votes in St Kilda it might actually stand up for some of these forestry workers and stand up for these people. We know that these people who are working, they are probably some of the people doing it toughest, they are probably some of the poorer people in our community with unskilled jobs or jobs in the forest and have been supporting their families. It is a shame when the Labor party no longer represents labourers.
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The weight of office.
Ta-da!
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What meme is that?
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Labor to Turnbull: Why is the that, under this prime minister, companies like James Hardie pay no tax but workers on award wages end up with a pay cut?
Turnbull uses the multinational profits tax change to make his point against Labor.
My government is cracking down on multinational tax avoidance in a manner that has no precedence. Our multinational tax avoidance legislation went through at the end of 2015. The Labor party voted against it. Can you believe that? They didn’t want multinationals to have to pay all the tax they should.
One more Dixer and question time is over.
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Christopher Pyne does a little stand up on the subject of payments to Shorten’s former union and scene at the Bamboo House restaurant in Melbourne.
It reminds me of the wonderful movie, Muriel’s Wedding. Fancy meeting you here, Deidre Chambers ... We have been there many times for the duck pancakes. You can imagine the Alcoa executives at the Bamboo House in Bourke Street. Who should come into the restaurant? Bill Shorten, what a coincidence.
They probably wouldn’t have called him that but their favourite union leader came in. Make some room, fellows, while we discuss our enterprise business agreement and the secret payments back to the union to ensure the workers are sold down the river but the AWU has more power in the Australian Labor party and this man has more power.
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Shorten to Turnbull: The prime minister is giving a $50bn handout to big business and a tax cut for millionaires on 1 July, whilst supporting pay cuts for nearly 700,000 Australians. Why does the prime minister have a plan for big business but always has an excuse to do nothing for Australian workers and their penalty rates?
Turnbull starts up.
The plan for big business that the opposition leader has is taking secret payments to the AWU, that’s what he had. Let’s go through a few. He said he is proud of his time as a union leader ...
Tony Burke takes a point of order.
Turnbull:
There he is, can’t take it.
Speaker Smith warns the PM:
The prime minister knows he can’t reflect on members.
Turnbull starts up again on payments by big business “kept secret from the members of the Australian Workers’ Union and paid to the Australian Workers’ Union” when Shorten was leader.
So, Mr Speaker, we are not going to take lectures from the Labor party about dealings with big business. They say they are proud of the opposition leader’s record as a union leader. One secret payment after another. If he was so proud of those payments, why doesn’t he tell the world? Why doesn’t he tell us?
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The immigration minister, Peter Dutton, gets a Dixer: Will the minister update the house on the government’s efforts to assist persecuted minorities seeking refuge from terrorism in Syria and Iraq? What steps has the government taken to ensure the integrity of the program?
He says that, through information from Five Eyes partners and biometric testing, the government have excluded 30 applicants.
Dutton says none will ever move to Australia. He thanks all agencies those taking part in the program.
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Bowen to Morrison: I refer to reports the treasurer’s colleagues say his job could be on the line if he doesn’t succeed with this year’s budget. With one frontbench colleague saying, “He will need to perform or he will be out”. Is that why they are cutting tax for business instead of protecting ordinary Australians?
Speaker Smith says you can’t have a question that is mostly out of order and expect it to be ruled in order.
Let me put it in more simple language: you can’t come along with a Holden badge and stick it on a Mazda and say it is a Holden. The question is out of order.
That’s a bit rough. My first car was a Mazda.
Labor loses the question.
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The foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, gets a Dixer on the importance of the fight against Isis.
Bishop says it was important to encourage voices of moderation in Islam. She also spoke about the spread of Isis to the Philippines.
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Bowen to Morrison: Is the treasurer aware that last week he failed on no fewer than 12 occasions to confirm that the entire $50bn handout to big business would be in his budget this year? Is the treasurer also aware that, over the weekend, the prime minister did what he could not and confirm the entire tax cut would be in the budget? Given the treasurer’s clear incompetence, will he stand down and take a pay cut instead of inflicting a pay cut on 700,000 Australians?
Morrison says Bowen will get a chance to vote for the company tax cuts this afternoon.
Later this afternoon, the shadow treasurer will have the opportunity to walk the to this parliament and vote for something he says that he has always believed in. It is a Labor thing to have the ambition of reducing company tax because it promotes investment, creates jobs and drives growth.
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In response to a Dorothy Dixer from John Wacka Williams, the resources minister, Matt Canavan, confirms that the government “is openly considering new coal-fired power stations around the country”.
Canavan reports that the Isogo power ultra-supercritical coal power plant in Japan produces “virtually no pollution at all”, referring to dust pollution, nitrous oxide and sulphur oxide, before adding it only reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 17%.
The Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson is unimpressed, interjecting “oh that’s OK!”
Canavan accuses Labor and the Greens of being a “cabal trying to shut down coal-fired power” and asks, rhetorically, “What’s wrong with clean coal?
“We are lucky that God has given us high-quality coal.”
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Labor’s Jim Chalmers to Turnbull: Can the Prime Minister confirm that scrapping the deficit levy in the budget will scrap a tax cut for millionaires. Why does the Prime Minister think millionaires deserve a tax cut but retail workers cop a $77 tax cut.
Turnbull flicks the question to Morrison, who reminds the house that Labor formerly supported tax cuts for high income earners.
Labor’s Sam Dastyari is targeting Pauline Hanson’s comments about her desire to “vaccinate against the disease of Islam” in Senate question time by citing the prime minister’s warning that demonising Muslims was “exactly what the terrorists want”.
In response, George Brandis said Turnbull was “absolutely correct to say that”.
I think Senator Hanson was quite wrong to make the observation that she made. The advice I’ve received for both Asio and AFP is that constructive engagement with Muslim leaders is absolutely vital ... The overwhelming majority of Muslims are peace-loving, patriotic Australians.
Labor starts a round of interjections, calling One Nation “your preference partners” and making jibes about how Arthur Sinodinos had said Hanson was “more sophisticated” than in the 1990s.
Dastyari follows up by asking Brandis to rule out a preference deal with One Nation.
Brandis makes the point that the Coalition can respect the right of Pauline Hanson to sit in parliament without agreeing with everything she says but does not rule out a preference deal.
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Senator Doug Cameron has asked attorney general George Brandis about the government’s submission on transitional arrangements for penalty rate cuts.
Brandis replies that the government’s submission did not address the merits of the Fair Work Commission’s decision to cut penalty rates, because the commission is independent.
On the point of when the cuts should be phased in, he quoted from the submission:
It is important that in making its determination, the FWC implement transitional arrangements which ensure the positive employment benefits flow to businesses and the Australian economy in a timely fashion, while at the same time taking into consideration the potential economic impact and effects on employees.
So that’s a slight lean towards bringing the cuts in sooner rather than later, but really the government wants FWC to decide itself how best to implement its own cuts.
Tanya Plibersek to Scott Morrison: The Australia Institute found the decision to cut penalty rates could blow a $650m hole in the budget over the forward estimates. Has the government modelled to cost to the budget of the decision to cut penalty rates?
Morrison starts on Labor failing to support the independent umpire, the Fair Work Commission. Tony Burke takes a point of order:
The question has no effective preamble and no barb in it. It is avery straight question about costs and he should be brought back to the answer.
Speaker effectively warns Morrison.
Morrison says all the relevant parameters will be considered when updating the forecasts for the budget.
Barnaby Joyce gets a government question: Will the Deputy Prime Minister update the House on what action the Government has taken to secure the future of 250 employees at the Heyfield timber mill? Is the minister aware of any threats to the jobs of hard working Australians?
Barnaby uses it to attack Labor for failing to stand up for the workers at Heyfield..
Bob Katter asks a long question on the growing number of 457 visa workers being underpaid while Australians lose out on jobs. He references the baggage handlers being underpaid at Sydney Airport.
Speaker Tony Smith says he is not sure whether there was a question in there.
Christopher Pyne, representing the employment minister, says,
I have learnt to be able to interpret much of what the Member for Kennedy has said over that almost quarter of a century.
He does not answer the numbers of 457s but says the government cares about workers.
Brendan O’Connor to Turnbull: On Friday Labor made a submission to the Fair Work Commission including opposing any view to remove and cut the penalty rates of workers in the hairdressing and beauty industry. Why won’t the prime minister admit to the House and to the Australian people that he did absolutely nothing to protect the penalty rates of hairdressers and beauticians?
Turnbull does not address the penalty rates of hairdressers or beauticians.
In their focus on workers today, [Labor] should have regard to 450 workers at Hazelwood who are going to lose their jobs. They should be paying attention to that. We, on the other hand, are providing over $40m in funding to support enterprise development, new jobs, new opportunities in the Gippsland area.
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Both government questions have been on the ACCC review on electricity retailers.
Scott Morrison:
I have tasked the ACCC to prise open the books of electricity retailers to ensure that Australian consumers, families, households and businesses are going to get a fair deal
Just as an aside, it really is hard to keep up who the baddies are. First it was the carbon tax that was increasing power prices and causing $100 lamb legs, then it was renewables, now it is opaque energy retailer arrangements.
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Shorten to Turnbull: In question time last Thursday the prime minister refused to say whether his submission would ask the Fair Work Commission not to implement the penalty rates decision. Can the prime minister advise whether the government took any action at all in its submission to stop workers from having their pay cut?
Turnbull says he defends the independent umpire, the Fair Work Commission, and respects its decision on penalty rates.
It is not just the leader of the opposition that’s defended the independent umpire. That other tribune of the workers, that other populist hero, the member for Gorton [Brendan O’Connor], who said only two years ago, he said, these questions would be best left to the independent umpire. That’s what he said. Now he’s denouncing the Fair Work Commission. He must be ringing up all the time apologising to all his union mates who sit on it. He is denouncing it now.
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Shorten to Turnbull: Why is the prime minister looking after big business with nearly a $50bn tax handout while doing nothing to stop nearly 700,000 workers having their pay cut?
Turnbull starts on Labor’s previous support for company tax cuts.
Chris Bowen interjects.
I’ll get to you, sunshine, says Turnbull.
Bowen shakes in anticipation.
What has the Fair Work Commission done? Established by the Labor party, the personnel chosen by the Labor party, the reference written by the Labor party, it has considered all of the evidence that it’s had and it’s concluded that bringing Sunday penalty rates closer to Saturday rates will result in more businesses offering more employment to more Australians.
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Bill Shorten gives a similar message, for the people from Townsville in particular to Mackay, household names like Ayr and Bowen, Proserpine, the islands – Hamilton and Magnetic and other islands – we’re thinking of them today. Shorten says the MP for Herbert, Cathy O’Toole, is on leave to be in the area. Bob Katter and the other local member affected, George Christensen, speak briefly on the challenges.
It’s in the hands of God at this stage, says Christensen.
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Malcolm Turnbull rises to speak to the people of north Queensland.
He says police have confirmed the storm has already claimed one life through a car accident.
He asks people in effected areas, please heed advice, take care and stay safe.
Tropical Cyclone Debbie is expected to intensify into a severe category-four cyclone before making landfall between Townsville and Proserpine around 8am tomorrow morning. The region is already experiencing winds up to 100km/h along the coast and the wind strength will continue to increase throughout the day. There have been up to 50mm of rain along the coast and this will continue today and tomorrow.
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Condolence motion for the former National MP for Cowper Ian Robinson first up.
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Question time coming up. Grab your choice of beverage.
Nick Xenophon: getting rid of Mayo would be an act of bastardry
But, while he is in a negotiating mood, there are reports that the major parties are poking the bear.
Tory Shepherd of the Adelaide Advertiser has reported there could be a bit of a scheme afoot to redistribute Mayo – the seat belonging to the only NXT MP Rebekha Sharkie, out of existence.
If the Liberal/Labor duopoly in SouthAustralia reckons they are going to get away with abolishing the seat of Mayo without having an almighty fight on their hands, they have got another thing coming.
If the Liberal and Labor parties want to declare war on Rebekha Sharkie, me and others who have interest in and say duopoly is not a good thing, they have got another thing coming.
Makin was a seat created in 1984. Mayo has a distinct personality, the Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island, getting rid of it would be an act of bastardry. If they think they are going to do it without a fight, they have got another thing coming to them.
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Nick Xenophon: an emissions intensity scheme guarantee would get me back on the paddock
Xenophon has been loudly telling the government he would not negotiate on any bills until the government addressed the energy crisis. The emissions intensity scheme is one option and he starts off a bit coy.
David Crowe of the Oz:
Malcolm Turnbull and I used the same people at Monash [for research into an EIS] and it is robust and has stood the test of time, manufacturers and CSIRO, big businesses like BHP Billiton have come on board and the emissions scheme would drive real changes to power prices in this country.
Katharine Murphy asks Xenophon, so yes is the answer if the government gave you a guarantee on [the EIS], you are back on play?
He then warms to the task.
It would have to be a guarantee that is locked in in terms of bipartisan support. You would actually unleash billions of dollars of investment in this country, but as part of the equation, it could be a significant part of the jigsaw.
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Nick Xenophon has been speaking again on energy policy. He is in negotiations with the government over the company tax cuts. He does not want to telegraph his list of demands on energy.
It is hard to say because you lose negotiating leverage. We have discussed issues with the government in good faith. In recent days you saw we supported the changes to the omnibus bill after sensible changes. It is not as if we are being obstructionist but we do want there to be tackling [it] in a comprehensive way to lead to energy outcomes in this country.
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After the earlier outbreak of bipartisanship in the Senate, it looked as though everyone went home.
So the duty senator, the Liberal minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, had to “call attention to the state of the chamber”. A quorum bell has been sounded, which translates to “can someone get in here please?”
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Three One Nation senators, Brian Burston, Peter Georgiou and Malcolm Roberts have just been appointed as participating members of the joint standing committee on the national broadband network.
Their leader, Pauline Hanson, is already a full member of the committee. Participating members don’t get to vote on reports but get a chance to take part. There are many participating members of this particular committee, given its ambit around the country.
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The Nick Xenophon Team has failed to make a submission to the Fair Work Commission on penalty rate cuts as it had promised but insisted it was still considering ways to exempt current workers from losing take-home pay as a result of the cuts.
On Monday Nick Xenophon told Guardian Australia the party had not made a submission on the transitional arrangements, which closed on Friday, because of concerns FWC did not have the power to make orders protecting take-home pay – but insisted the party was still determined to find a way to prevent current workers bearing the brunt of cuts.
The comments suggest the party may seek a “third way” in between asking FWC to make take-home pay orders and the preferred solution of Labor and the Greens, which is to use legislation to reverse the cuts in full.
Labor’s employment spokesman, Brendan O’Connor, said:
Just like Malcolm Turnbull, Nick Xenophon is all talk and no action ... Any political party that cares about workers and doesn’t want to see them getting a pay cut would support stopping the cuts to penalty rates.”
Xenophon told Guardian Australia:
Given the legal impediments to the Fair Work Commission with respect to take-home pay orders, we’re working through the issues and getting advice about how to protect workers’ pay. We still don’t want to see existing workers getting an actual pay cut.
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Madness erupts in Senate: six bills pass without amendment or rancour
In the Senate, six bills have passed without amendment. We are now now on number seven.
1– Treasury Laws Amendment (2016 Measures No. 1) Bill 2016
2– Treasury Laws Amendment (2017 Measures No. 1) Bill 2017
3– Farm Household Support Amendment Bill 2017
4– National Health Amendment (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2016
5– Education and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2017
6– Social Services Legislation Amendment (Simplifying Student Payments) Bill 2017
All passed.
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Lunchtime politics
- The government has referred electricity retailers to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
- Fairfax Ipsos polling backs in last week’s Essential polling, giving a 10-point lead to Labor on a two-party preferred basis.
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Pauline Hanson has threatened not to support any government legislation until the Wilmar sugar dispute is resolved, despite Scott Morrison saying a draft deal had already been formulated.
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It started with a kiss.
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Malcolm does Mount Rushmore.
Malcolm Turnbull again says Australia needs to take a technologically neutral approach.
He again says Labor and the Greens have taken an ideological approach.
There is nobody with credibility and authority in the international sector, the agencies, take your pick, that will tell you coal is not going to have a big part to play, although a diminishing part in percentage terms in the energy mix for many decades. The critical thing we have got to do in Australia is to make sure for Australian consumers, business and households, that we keep the lights on.
That is all, folks.
PS. He did provide an emergency warning for Cyclone Debbie.
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Katharine Murphy asks if the PM is prepared to entertain the idea of more regulation, given the problems he has identified. But he says we should not talk about electricity as if it is not regulated now.
There is a lot of regulation in the electricity market already. Through the national electricity law, for one, and of course other regulation affects it as well. So we are expecting to see recommendations to changes in regulation from the [chief scientist Alan] Finkel review.
Finkel is due midyear.
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Malcolm Turnbull is asked about the chellenges of the changing energy system.
A large part of your electricity bill is in transmission and distribution, poles and wires.
Now, for example, in New South Wales and Queensland, there was a very big investment in poles and wires and it has been criticised as being gold plating, over investment to get the regulated return and profit.
In Victoria, there was less so but nonetheless as the Grattan Institute pointed out, Victorian prices have been rising as well and it is a reason we need to have the ACCC inquiry.
Josh Frydenberg, the energy and environment minister, says:
The prices can make up to 25% of the household bills and they are very high profit margins enjoyed by the retailers.
In fact, the Grattan Institute pointed out it is three times what a comparable provider in the United Kingdom might earn or double the food sector or motor vehicle and fuel sectors.
We know that customers do benefit from moving suppliers to get the best possible rate. But 50% of customers and households have not changed suppliers over the last five years.
We are told by the Grattan Institute, and others, Australians could save hundreds of millions of dollars if they had more information available to them in order to choose the best possible deal.
This is what it is about, to empower consumers. To ensure that the opaque level of information that we know exists becomes a lot more transparent and with that transparency, consumers can get a better deal on their electricity bill.
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Meanwhile in other parts of the world:
A target to double annual solar installs to 8.8GW in 2017 will take India to #3 globally behind China & America. 6GW of new tenders pending. https://t.co/AhxeJoCb29
— Tim Buckley (@TimBuckleyIEEFA) March 27, 2017
Malcolm Turnbull starts.
Electricity prices for Australian households doubled in the six years of the Labor government, they came down with the abolition of the carbon tax but we are seeing further upward pressure on electricity prices.
We need to get to the bottom of this, he says.
We are taking action here and at every other level available to us. We have hauled in the gas producers and made sure we have a commitment that gas is available for peaking power. We are tackling the problem of planning, so we are delivering on the energy storage with Snowy Hydro 2.0 and other initiatives to make sure we have the backup to deal with the changing and evolving energy market.
(We are action men and women.)
At the weekend, Labor collected all the supporters of an emissions trading scheme so far. Labor’s words follow, not mine.
- SNOWY HYDRO
- BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA
- BHP
- AGL
- ENERGYAUSTRALIA
- NATIONAL FARMERS FEDERATION
- ORIGIN ENERGY
- AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKETS COMMISSION (AEMC)
- CSIRO
- ENERGY NETWORKS AUSTRALIA
- CHIEF SCIENTIST
- CLIMATE CHANGE AUTHORITY
- CLEAN ENERGY FINANCE CORPORATION
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DANNY PRICE (MALCOLM TURNBULL’S FORMER ENERGY ADVISER)
- STATE GOVERNMENTS, LABOR AND LIBERAL ALIKE
- FEDERAL LABOR
- AND MANY OTHER ENERGY STAKEHOLDERS
As night follows day, Labor has followed the PM’s press conference announcement with a reminder of its policy.
- A national interest test for future gas developments.
- An emissions intensity scheme that is supported by all stakeholders and experts, estimated to save households and businesses up to $15b over the next decade and provide the investment signal industry needs to renew our nation’s ageing electricity infrastructure.
- Investing in renewable energy.
- Give the ACCC an independent market studies power so it can decide when to investigate markets that disadvantage Australian consumers, rather than wait for a direction from the government.
We have a press conference coming up with the prime minister, Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg on ACCC electricity retailers review.
Bill Shorten was just about to talk about the two big problems in this country around energy policy. One is the lack of a national energy policy. The other remains a mystery as the coverage cuts to Cyclone Debbie.
Bill Shorten, the shadow employment minister, Brendan O’Connor, and the shadow assistant treasurer, Andrew Leigh, are speaking about penalty rates.
O’Connor suggests the prime minister sits down with workers affected by the Fair Work Commission decision, if he thinks a $50-70 penalty cut is not much.
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Take the oath.
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The shadow employment minister, Brendan O’Connor, is speaking to Labor’s penalty rates bill, which would amend the Fair Work Act 2009 to remove the Fair Work Commission’s cuts.
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Independent Bob Katter is speaking on his private “People of Australia’s Commission of Inquiry (banking and financial services) bill 2017”. Liberal National party MP George Christensen is sitting directly behind him. Labor’s Luke Gosling is in the stalls.
He says the deputy PM, Barnaby Joyce, came to Queensland and said there were only four farmers in trouble in that state.
Katter says the local Catholic priest in Longreach told him 42 farmers in that area alone were in trouble.
And yet the government says there is no need for an inquiry!
He takes the mickey out of the banks, going to Queensland doing their “mea culpa” in a high-pitched voice.
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In an odd anomaly, Western Australia is not included in the ACCC’s electricity retailer review.
"National" electricity review that doesn't look at WA - Perth has had the highest increase in country since end of carbon price....
— Shane Wright (@swrightwestoz) March 26, 2017
The West Australian’s economic guru Shane Wright makes the point that power prices have gone up by 9.4% since the end of the carbon price, yet they have gone down 1.9% in Victoria.
Scott Morrison has been on 2GB, playing down the government’s poor standing in the polls by noting how volatile they are (well, down 55-45 in Ipsos and Guardian’s Essential poll but only 52-48 in Newspoll).
Morrison agrees that the welfare system is too complex, with 20 payments and 50 supplements, and blames Labor for stopping the government from simplifying it.
Labor keeps stopping us – they want taxpayers to pay more for higher welfare bills.
Morrison continues his attack on One Nation’s threat relating to the Queensland sugar dispute, saying they are “behind the play” because a draft agreement has been produced today.
On the issue of a code of practice: Queensland legislation requires binding arbitration where the parties haven’t agreed, well the parties have agreed in this case.
On top of that, on whether there should there be a belt and braces approach at federal level, that’s something the government has been considering for some time.
Morrison said One Nation shouldn’t go on strike because the Senate will consider legislation on multinational tax avoidance and small business tax cuts.
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Liberal pollster Mark Textor raises a little red flag: focus, people
The video interview with Mark Textor in the Oz is worth watching.
Asked a question on the division in the Liberal party, Mark Textor talks about the feeling in the electorate more generally about division in parties. Generally.
People worry about the focus of government. The perception of people in general about the political machine is it has got to stay focused. It’s not about going on Q&A. It’s not about a highly technical interview about the ins and outs of the latest machinations of the polls ... this is why budgets are so important in Australia. Budgets have become effectively state of the nation addresses because it is really the only time when all this craziness fuelled by the internet and social media slows down for a day or two and can concentrate on what are fundamental issues about our nation.
Textor says the fracturing of the political base tends to happen when parties don’t stick to their knitting. Asked about the threats from the right and conservatives breaking away, he says you never dismiss a problem in politics.
These things tend to be a challenges when there is an interregnum period between now say when a budget has been formalised and when a budget is delivered, or when we go through a very anxious election where there’s a lot of unknowns, where the leadership has effectively just changed before it and the government for whatever reason hasn’t set its agenda and focused on it ... focus is key.
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The Senate legislation list is a tad optimistic.
Monday, 27 March
- Treasury Laws Amendment (2016 Measures No. 1) Bill 2016
- Treasury Laws Amendment (2017 Measures No. 1) Bill 2017
- Farm Household Support Amendment Bill 2017
- National Health Amendment (Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2016
- Education and Other Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2017
- Social Services Legislation Amendment (Simplifying Student Payments) Bill 2017
- Treasury Laws Amendment (Combating Multinational Tax Avoidance) Bill 2017
Diverted Profits Tax Bill 2017 - Customs and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016
- Customs Tariff Amendment Bill 2016
- Transport Security Amendment (Serious or Organised Crime) Bill 2016
- Veterans’ Affairs Legislation Amendment (Digital Readiness and Other Measures) Bill 2017.
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WA One Nation senator Peter Georgiou will be sworn in this morning to replace his brother in law Rod Culleton.
The Liberal strategist and pollster Mark Textor has spoken to John Lyons at the Oz.
He has given the business community a touch up on their lack of engagement on public policy.
You don’t really have the Hugh Morgans any more from a rightwing perspective, or even some business people on the left. You really don’t have those great change agents as orators and people willing to go out there and sell a message in the community.
He also described Pauline Hanson as a “temporary device” to wake up the political class.
She’s probably a more temporary device than Donald Trump but she is a device to send a message to the political class that there is an alternative. I don’t agree with her position on immunisation or the economy, maybe somewhat on some cultural issues, but, if she’s a device to wake up the political class, fine.
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Ipso facto, my point on Pauline Hanson getting out ahead of a government deal.
Last night @Barnaby_Joyce said the Govt was prepared to sign a national code of conduct to resolve sugar dispute #auspol @SkyNewsAust
— PatriciaKarvelas (@PatsKarvelas) March 26, 2017
Today, this is the plan for the lower house from the government.
- Treasury laws amendment (enterprise tax plan) AKA the company tax cuts.
- Competition and consumer amendment (misuse of market power)
Private members have a bit of interesting business this morning when the parliament sits at 10am.
- Independent Andrew Wilkie will talk to his banking code of conduct bill.
- Independent Bob Katter will talk to his banks commission of inquiry bill. The Katter bill is the same bill as the bill by the Greens’ Peter Whish-Wilson, which has support in the Senate for a commission of inquiry. But, if the Whish-Wilson bill comes to the house, it will have the support of both Katter and Nationals MP George Christensen. That would still leave it one vote shy of success. A commission of inquiry is a parliamentary-inspired banking royal commission, headed by judges appointed by the parliament.
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Nick Xenophon says meh to the ACCC power review. He reckons it might be the Turnbull government stalling from doing what it needs to do.
Why is it that power companies in this country are making double and triple the profits of power companies in other countries?
He said eight years ago Frontier Economics provided a report to the Coalition on power.
Xen doesn’t want to wait another 12 months on energy when “we” know what needs to be done.
- A public interest test in our gas supplies.
- Tougher competition laws for non-competitive behaviour
- Put squeeze on power companies making extraordinary profits
- Reform energy market rules to have efficient and consumer-friendly system.
Businesses will hit the wall in the next 12 months while the ACCC is looking at this issue because of energy prices.
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Re the sugar deal, Scott Morrison said the government had been working very hard on the issue and got Queensland Sugar Ltd and Wilmar to a point of agreement some weeks ago.
I understand a draft agreement will be before QSL today. So we have been doing the work on that and we have been getting the results on that.
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Fairfax Ipsos mirrors Essential poll showing 10 point 2PP lead to Labor
A Fairfax Ipsos poll has mirrored an Essential poll last week which showed a huge stretch for Labor on a two party preferred basis. Our friends at AAP report:
The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, will be under pressure with a new opinion poll showing the Coalition’s support has tumbled.
Labor has a 10-point lead over the Coalition with a two-party-preferred result of 55-45, a Fairfax-Ipsos poll published on Monday has found.
If an election were held last weekend, the government would have lost 24 seats.
The poll shows Turnbull’s personal approval rating has also dived five points to 40%, but he still narrowly leads against the opposition leader, Bill Shorten, as preferred prime minister.
The nationwide poll of 1,400 people, conducted from Wednesday to Saturday last week, follows the West Australian Liberal party’s disastrous state election result a fortnight ago.
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Good morning blogans
Welcome to the last sitting week before the May budget. The cats are all over the shop today as the government tries to drive two pieces of key legislation through the Senate.
- The $50bn company tax cuts
- The 18C changes to water down the Racial Discrimination Act.
The company tax cuts has faced two hurdles.
- Pauline Hanson says she will boycott any votes until the Wilmar sugar dispute in Queensland is resolved. She wants a code of conduct governing the industry.
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Nick Xenophon wants the government to sort the energy crisis.
The Xen Master has said he will support company tax cuts for businesses up to $10m turnover. We are checking on One Nation’s position.
The treasurer, Scott Morrison, is not impressed with One Nation but does not mention Nick Xenophon.
I don’t think that’s a very helpful approach to issue. I don’t think Australians expect their parliamentarians to go on strike. I think they expect them to turn up to work. I don’t think that is the mature way to deal with these things.
Hanson’s position is pretty disingenuous on this.
- The Queensland government is in charge of this.
- Agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce has been warning he will impose a code of conduct on the sugar industry if it is not resolved since last year. He met Wilmar representatives last year.
Hanson simply wants to get out ahead of any imposition to claim credit.
On the changes to 18C, on current indications the bill will go down in a flaming heap. Xenophon will not support, so when you add Labor and the Greens, that equals a blocking vote. The bill was slated for Tuesday after the Senate inquiry which met on Friday reports to the Senate.
But the treasurer’s main sales pitch this morning is around his direction to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to review retail electricity prices.
Main message: the government feels your pain on power prices.
The ACCC will review the retail system and report by 30 June 2018 to report with a paper within six months on the “strategies and pricing behaviours of key electricity retailers”. Power companies, consider yourself warned.
But he and the energy and environment minister, Josh Frydenberg, also have a message for Australians who tend to be “sticky consumers”. In English, that means they are loathed to change energy companies and review their bills. A bit like the banking sector, says Morrison.
Morrison won’t speculate about the causes of high power prices – brackets – given we have no carbon price – close brackets. He won’t entertain gouging, let’s see what the review brings.
There is plenty more besides so stick with us for #politicslive. Talk to me in the thread, on the Twits @gabriellechan or on Facebook. All aboard.
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