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Australian politics live: Tuesday December 4

Radio host Ray Hadley has lashed out at Malcolm Turnbull’s son for making a “disgusting” comment about a female journalist.

Sam ClenchSam Clench
@SamClench
25 min read
December 4, 2018 - 5:44PM
Turnbull urges Morrison to call a March federal election

Welcome to news.com.au’s live politics blog.

Parliament is sitting again today after a late night surprise from the Liberal Party, which changed its rules to make it harder to remove a sitting prime minister. Follow all the latest news live.

5:45pm

WHAT HAPPENED TODAY

Let’s summarise today’s major events.

• Malcolm Turnbull lashed out at “idiocy” inside the Liberal Party and urged the government to revive the National Energy Guarantee;

• The government reached a deal with Labor on its encryption legislation;

• Labor secured a vote on its bill to protect LGBTQI students from discrimination. That vote will happen tomorrow;

• Mr Turnbull’s son Alex was slammed after making a snide remark about the personal life of a female columnist;

• The government’s party room approved a watered down version of its “big stick” policy to force big energy companies to divest their assets;

• Senator Jim Molan learned Prime Minister Scott Morrison would not intervene on his behalf, leaving him stuck in an unwinnable position on the Liberals’ Senate ticket;

• There will be a three-month moratorium on live sheep exports to the Middle East during the Northern Hemisphere summer;

• Former Liberal leader John Hewson sledged Mr Morrison;

• Other former leaders, including Mr Turnbull, praised the Liberal Party's new rules making it harder to challenge a sitting prime minister.

5:35pm

‘AN ADMISSION OF GUILT’

Animals Australia has issued a scathing response to the three-month live sheep export moratorium.

“This is a classic PR move designed to pre-empt the pending heat stress review outcome,” Lyn White said.

“For decades the industry has been willing to subject sheep to intolerable suffering across this period. They haven’t suddenly found their conscience.

“They realise that they are a single vote away from their industry being shut down.

“This should be seen for what it is, an admission of guilt and an attempt to save their own skins.”

5:25pm

GOVERNMENT CLAIMS VICTORY

Attorney-General Christian Porter just spoke about the deal on encryption. In short, he is pleased.

“The position has moved very substantially from that that we faced as a government at the beginning of the week,” Mr Porter said.

He is particularly happy that serious drug, gun, homicide and child sex offences will be subject to the new law enforcement powers.

4:40pm

MORATORIUM ON LIVE SHEEP EXPORTS

There will be a three-month moratorium on live sheep exports to the Middle East during the Northern Hemisphere summer next year.

The ban will start from June 1 and cover the period of the year with the highest risk of heat stress.

“This is about maintaining and growing a strong, viable nine-month-a-year live sheep trade and, more broadly, securing the future of Australia’s livestock export industry,” said former Labor leader Simon Crean, who is now with the Australian Livestock Exporters’ Council.

“The live sheep trade to the Middle East needs to be reset,” Mr Crean said.

“June to August sheep exports to the Middle East are worth $55 million per annum, so the moratorium will, without any doubt, impact farm gate returns. But this decision shows the genuine care exporters have for livestock – values we share with producers – and our commitment to the industry’s future.”

4:20pm

DEAL REACHED ON ENCRYPTION BILL

The government has reached a deal with Labor on its legislation to allow national security agencies and police to access the content of encrypted messages being sent by alleged criminals and terrorists.

The bill has been the subject of fierce debate. Labor wanted more safeguards built into it, whereas the goverment has been pushing for it to be urgently passed before the end of the year.

Labor claims it has secured a number of concessions.

The legislation will continue to be scrutinised by a parliamentary committee into next year, the powers in question will be limited to serious offences (crimes carrying a three-year sentence or more), and there will be greater oversight of how they are used.

Each time law enforcement seeks to access encrypted messages, it will need approval from an expert panel, which will include a former judge.

The government secured concessions from Labor on the scope of the powers, and of course, it gets to pass the bill this week.

But the argument over who has conceded more ground matters less than the fact that a deal has been done.

4:10pm

HADLEY SLAMS TURNBULL’S SON

Earlier we told you about the backlash against Malcolm Turnbull’s son Alex after he made a snide remark about the personal life of columnist Janet Albrechtsen on Twitter.

2GB radio host Ray Hadley unleashed on Turnbull Jnr during his show today, calling his comment “disgraceful” and saying he was suffering from “attention deprivation syndrome”.

“He’s entitled to say what he likes about his dad,” Hadley said.

“But he’s really gone beyond that now.

“He’s a young man saying dumb things and I’ve cut him some slack, because it’s mainly been about his father, but now he’s entered the debate in the most unsavoury, disgusting way. And for that he should be condemned.

“His mother and father should be talking to him about his behaviour, and saying, ‘Listen, we don’t mind you supporting your father, but get out of the gutter, because that's where you are at the moment. You’re better than that.’

“Disgraceful, disgraceful stuff.”

Mr Turnbull has deleted the offending tweet.

Alex Turnbull.
Alex Turnbull.

3:50pm

BREAKTHROUGH ON DISCRIMINATION AGAINST KIDS

Penny Wong’s attempt to secure a vote on her bill to stop discrimination against LGBTQI students at religious schools has succeeded.

Mathias Cormann just said the Prime Minister had reached out to Labor to ensure laws protecting students would be passed by the end of the year.

The Senate then voted in favour of Ms Wong’s motion to put her amendment to a vote by 12:35pm tomorrow. It was carried on the voices.

This is an abrupt backflip from yesterday, when the government voted to send Ms Wong’s bill to committee for further examination, essentially delaying it until next year.

The suggestion coming from Labor is that Mr Cormann knew he would lose today’s vote, so decided to head it off.

3:30pm

NO HELP FOR MOLAN

Scott Morrison will not be intervening on Senator Jim Molan’s behalf.

Mr Molan has been selected in an unwinnable position on the Liberals’ Senate ballot for the next election, but says he intends to stay with the party anyway.

3:20pm

RIGHT TO BARE ARMS CONFIRMED

We have a new twist, and some closure, in the saga of Patricia Karvelas's arms.

Speaker Tony Smith has looked into the matter and concluded the ABC journalist “should not have been asked to leave” Question Time yesterday.

“Previous speakers have indicated that members should dress in a formal manner, in keeping with business and professional standards. These standards have been codified in the media rules for journalists attending the chambers and they have been published and indeed, tabled,” Mr Smith said.

“When in the chambers, press gallery members should maintain the standards of dress adopted by the majority of senators and members. The rules continue and state: ‘In the House of Representatives, this may include a shirt with a collar, jacket and trousers for men, and a similar standard of formality for women.’

“Questions about whether dress meets the standard are inevitably matters of judgment. In this case, and having regard to the attire of members generally, the journalist in question was attired in a way which would be reasonably considered professional business attire.

“She should in hindsight not been asked to leave. Any future review of the media rules may wish to reconsider the best way to describe the chamber dress code for journalists.”

Christopher Pyne apologised to Ms Karvelas on behalf of the government.

The outfit that got Patricia Karvelas kicked out of the chamber yesterday. Picture: Twitter
The outfit that got Patricia Karvelas kicked out of the chamber yesterday. Picture: Twitter

3:15pm

CONTROVERSIAL ABORTION MOTION

As Question Time ends our focus shifts to the Senate, where a few interesting motions are looming this afternoon.

Most importantly, we will learn the fate of Penny Wong’s bill to protect LGBTQI students at religious schools from discrimination. It could be voted on this week, or sent off to a committee for further examination.

We are also anticipating a motion from Fraser Anning, Amanda Stoker and Barry O’Sullivan asking the Senate to condemn the Queensland government’s new abortion laws.

“Given killing a child is crime punishable by imprisonment for life, it is repugnant to treat killing a child only days before its due date as anything less than a crime,” the motion says.

3:00pm

BLOW-UP OVER ‘SLUR’

Clare O’Neil asks about this report, which says Assistant Treasurer Stuart Robert will headline a Liberal Party fundraiser that promises to give donors an insight into the government’s potential responses to the banking royal commission.

“Can the Assistant Treasurer confirm that, instead of cracking down on misconduct in the banking sector, he voted against the royal commission 26 times? And how he is now exploiting the victims of the banks’ misconduct by using the royal commission as an excuse to raise funds for the Liberal Party?” Ms O’Neil says.

Afer a lengthy procedural debate in which Christopher Pyne accuses Labor of attacking Mr Robert with a “slur", Speaker Tony Smith rules the second half of the question out of order.

“This is the government that instituted the royal commission,” Mr Robert finally gets to say, sparking laughter from Labor’s side of the House.

Clare O’Neil during Question Time.
Clare O’Neil during Question Time.

2:55pm

STICK-MEASURING CONTEST

Chris Bowen asks about reports some Coalition MPs, including Julie Bishop, urged the government to drop its so-called “big stick” divestment policy during today’s party room meeting.

“Given the Prime Minister has already turned his big stick into a toothpick, will he now abandon his discredited divestment laws which even his own members do not support?” Mr Bowen says.

Can we stop talking about the Prime Minister’s big stick please.

Mr Morrison responds with a rather venomous spray.

“That’s something coming from the biggest wet newspaper in the parliament,” he says.

“This is a form of Blue Steel, with his sharp suits and his slick look, swaggering around the electorate, measuring up the curtains to the Treasurer’s suite, thinking he’s already there.

“This is a Shadow Treasurer that, when he was treasurer, was presiding over economic wreckage and a budget that was forever in deficit.”

2:45pm

‘THAT’S WHAT WE’RE FIGHTING FOR’

Mr Morrison fires up in response to a question from Ged Kearney, delivering this salvo with extra gusto:

“I can assure the Labor Party members opposite that on this side of the House, we’re going to fight for a stronger economy, we’re going to fight for lower taxes, we’re going to fight for

small and family businesses, we’re going to fight for mums and dads, we’re going to fight for those Australians who haven’t got the time to go around and get on Twitter and turn up at protests, Mr Speaker.

“We’re going to fight for the Australians who are out there putting their kids through school, running their businesses, getting their kids educated, ensuring they’re supporting their communities and running their sporting organisations. That’s what we’re fighting for.”

Some backbenchers appear to have woken up.

2:40pm

MORE ENERGY

Tanya Plibersek brings up Mr Turnbull's comment about “just about everyone” in the government supposedly regretting the abandonment of the NEG.

“Does the Prime Minister also regret abandoning his own National Energy Guarantee?” she asks.

“Our government is committed to bringing power prices down,” Mr Morrison says.

“The Australian people are interested in one thing. They're interested in electricity prices being more affordable for them and their families.

“A reliability guaranteed to ensure the increased contracting of reliable power supply

in our market remains our policy.”

Mr Morrison also spruiks the government’s policy to force big energy companies to divest their assets if they behave badly.

2:30pm

FASHION UPDATE

Patricia Karvelas has relented and put a jacket on for Question Time today.

But Labor MP Emma Husar has bared her arms in solidarity with the ABC journalist, who was absurdly kicked out of the chamber yesterday for showing “too much skin”.

2:20pm

‘IT’S A SIMPLE QUESTION’

Another question about the NEG.

“Why won’t the Prime Minister implement a National Energy Guarantee with his own government’s energy targets?” Mr Shorten asks.

Mr Morrison mentions Mr Turnbull’s tweet from a few moments ago, and again hammers Labor on its 45 per cent emissions reduction target.

“We are implementing our reduction targets and meeting those targets through our renewable energy target,” the Prime Minister says.

“Per capita emissions are now at their lowest level in 28 years, so our government is implementing and meeting our targets.”

Mr Shorten isn’t satisfied, and accuses Mr Morrison of dodging.

“It’s a simple question,” he says.

2:15pm

SPEAK OF THE DEVIL

As parliament debates his words, Mr Turnbull pops up on Twitter to deny he has endorsed Labor’s energy policy.

2:10pm

DEJA VU

Mr Shorten’s second question plays out in much the same way.

Once again, he brings up Mr Turnbull’s comments about the NEG earlier today. And again, the Prime Minister responds by slamming Labor’s 45 per cent emissions reduction target.

2:05pm

QUESTION TIME STARTS

“Does the current Prime Minister agree with the recently retired former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who said today about the National Energy Guarantee, and I quote: ‘It was a vital piece of economic policy. It had strong support, and none stronger, I might say, than that of the current Prime Minister and current Treasurer,” Bill Shorten asks.

Scott Morrison says the government’s NEG proposal had a 26 per cent emissions reduction target, compared to Labor’s target of 45 per cent, and the opposition’s policy will force up power prices.

1:55pm

‘PLEASE EXPLAIN’

Pauline Hanson has pulled the government up on a procedural issue.

1:45pm

QUESTION TIME SOON

At this point I’m half expecting Malcolm Turnbull to show up.

1:35pm

CHECK YOUR LETTERBOX

The Australian Electoral Commission is sending letters to almost a million households whose federal electorates have changed.

Take note, lest you end up at the wrong sausage sizzle — um, I mean, polling station — on election day.

1:20pm

CHEEKY ADMISSION

Michael Keenan was just on Sky News spruiking the Liberal Party’s leadership rule changes, which he said would allow prime ministers to focus less on their position in the polls.

“I think you and I know that politicians always have one eye to the polls,” Mr Keenan said.

“It’s not that helpful to be out there talking about it all the time. But we all look at the polls.”

That’s a refreshingly honest admission. Most politicians will tell you the only poll that matters is on election day. They tend to say it with a rye grin on their face, because everybody knows it’s nonsense.

Mr Keenan didn’t want to talk about Malcolm Turnbull, but he did cite John Howard and Julia Gillard as examples of how former prime ministers should behave.

1:05pm

FORMER LEADER SLEDGES MORRISON

Former Liberal leader John Hewson has delivered a rather scathing assessment of Scott Morrison.

“Morrison’s problem is he’s basically a marketing, PR type guy. He’s got a pocket full of slogans,” Mr Hewson said, in comments reported by Channel 10’s Jonathan Lea.

“You ask him a question, he gives you a slogan. On a good day it’s a three-word slogan. On a more sophisticated day it’s a four-word slogan.”

Tell us what you really think, John.

John Hewson. Picture: AAP
John Hewson. Picture: AAP

12:40pm

‘BIG STICK’ GETS A BIT SMALLER

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Energy Minister Angus Taylor have announced that a watered-down version of the government’s (big stick” divestment policy, designed to give it the ability to make big energy companies split up their assets, has been approved by the party room.

The new version of the policy forces any move to force companies to divest to be approved by the federal court.

“This is about putting in place the right checks and balances,” Mr Frydenberg said.

The Ministers also addressed Malcolm Turnbull’s comments on the National Energy Guarantee.

“We’ve seen more investment in renewables under the Liberal-National government than we ever saw under Labor,” Mr Frydenberg said.

“We’ve made it clear. The NEG is not the government’s policy.”

12:15pm

LARISSA WATERS RETURNS

While everyone was watching Malcolm Turnbull, the party room meetings were happening.

The most significant development is that Greens Senator Larissa Waters, who retook her place in parliament earlier this year after her Section 44 issues, has once again been chosen as co-deputy leader of the party alongside Adam Bandt.

Meanwhile the Labor party room decided it would support Kerryn Phelps’ bill to move asylum seekers needing medical attention off Nauru and Manus Island, as long as three conditions are met — the creation of an independent health advice panel, the minister being granted sign-off power on all transfers, and a requirement for the minister to tell parliament why any transfers are refused.

Greens Senator Larissa Waters is back as co-deputy leader. Pic: AAP
Greens Senator Larissa Waters is back as co-deputy leader. Pic: AAP

12:05pm

AUSTRALIA’S MISSED OPPORTUNITY

A new report has warned Australia is lagging behind the rest of the world in the growing field of bioenergy.

What is bioenergy? Essentially, it’s the conversion of organic material or waste to power. It is often cheaper than other forms of energy and produces fewer carbon emissions, but still only accounts for 4 per cent of total power used in Australia.

In the European Union, that figure is as high as 10 per cent.

The Bioenergy State of the Nation Report, which you can read here, argues Australia has a “significant and multifaceted” opportunity to kickstart its bioenergy economy and potentially attract billions of dollars in investment, if it can develop a national plan.

“It is the perfect transition plan for Australian from where we have gone — from our fossil base — to replace those jobs with renewables. It’s a fantastic opportunity and it is job-heavy,” Bioenergy Australia CEO Shahana McKenzie told the ABC.

Former Liberal leader John Hewson spoke at the launch of the report this morning.

“An overlooked and very important consequence of the ‘climate wars’ in the last couple of decades has been the failure of governments to develop a comprehensive national waste and bioenergy strategy,” he said.

“This is particularly hard to understand and accept given our national addiction to the barbaric environmental practice of land filling, the lack of a fuel security strategy, the failure of both state and federal governments to design and implement effective regional policies, and the availability of a host of proven and commercial technology solutions.

“Short-term politics has again served to only squander significant growth and employment opportunities.”

11:55am

PM LAUNCHES HOWARD LIBRARY

Scott Morrison has spoken at the official opening of the Howard Library at Old Parliament House in Canberra.

“I want to thank you for your friendship and advice over a long period of time,” Mr Morrison told his predecessor.

“What are the lessons of John Howard? Resilience. Perseverance. Conviction more than anything else. And may I also add courtesy and respect.”

11:45am

TURNBULL ADDRESSES CRAIG KELLY DRAMA

Had enough Malcolm Turnbull in your day yet? I hope not, because he just held a press conference.

Mr Turnbull addressed his intervention in the Craig Kelly preselection drama, which placed him in direct opposition to Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

“On Sunday I spoke to a number of members of the state executive. As I’m entitled to. As anyone is entitled to, particularly as a member of the Liberal Party. And I said the preselection process should go ahead in the electorate of Hughes and the Liberal Party members of Hughes should have their say as to who their candidate should be,” he said.

“Now, those were private discussions. At least one of the people I spoke to chose to share a very colourful and not entirely accurate version of that discussion with the media. Which then put me in the position where I either allowed myself to be verballed by that, or set out clearly, calmly, cogently, what my position was, which is what I did.

“So you know, my intervention, so-called, was in fact a series of private discussions. The reason they get into the public domain was because of the indiscretion of at least one of those people I spoke to.”

The person in question, NSW MP Matt Keane, leaked his conversation with Mr Turnbull because he was “f***ing furious with what Malcolm did to Dave Sharma” in Wentworth, Samantha Maiden reported yesterday.

A reporter at the press conference asked Mr Turnbull whether an MP could save themselves from preselection by threatening to defect to the crossbench.

“You may very well say that, but I couldn’t possibly comment,” he replied.

For the uninitiated among you, that is a famous line from the House of Cards character Frank Underwood (or Francis Urquhart, if you prefer the British version of the show, which you should).

The character says it when his answer is yes, but he doesn’t want to actually say yes out loud.

11:30am

AWKWARD FINAL QUESTION

The last question for Mr Turnbull was a curly one.

“Seeing as the Liberal Party seems incapable of not preselecting climate change science deniers, is the way forward that moderate Liberals run as independents and win?”

Julia Banks would probably have an opinion on that.

“I’ve been a member of the Liberal Party for much of my life and the Liberal Party can count on my support,” Mr Turnbull said.

“At the moment there is an impasse in terms of the politics of the federal Coalition on this issue, and I think everyone understands that.

“I’m sure the media will report what I’ve said today as being sensational, but it’s just a statement of the fact that we all understand, and which I’ve described before.”

11:10am

TURNBULL LASHES OUT AT ‘IDIOCY’

After his speech to the Smart Energy Summit, Mr Turnbull took questions from the audience.

“Why, to be blunt, when you had the opportunity as prime minister did you not lock in a clean energy target?” asked the first questioner.

In response, Mr Turnbull took aim at the people inside his party who undermined the National Energy Guarantee, and called out Barnaby Joyce by name.

“The challenge is that in the Coalition, there is a huge gulf between members on their views on energy,” Mr Turnbull said.

“There is a significant percentage of the Coalition members who do not believe that climate change is real, who believe that we should get out of Paris.

“There are even some who would rather the government, instead of building Snowy 2.0, built a new coal-fired power station. You may recall Barnaby Joyce made that helpful suggestion during the last week of the Wentworth by-election.

“You have got a very entrenched difference of opinion and the people that hold those views have been, as you saw with the National Energy Guarantee, prepared to cross the floor, blow up the government in order to get their way.”

Mr Turnbull returned to the subject a few minutes later, condemning “idiocy” inside the Liberal Party.

“Part of the problem with the politics of energy, at least at the federal level, it has been bedevilled by what I would call ideology and idiocy,” he said.

“I mean I would — there are people who would look you in the eye and say: ‘Coal-fired power is cheaper, new coal is cheaper.’ And I’d say: ‘OK, what price of coal are you assuming?’

“Crickets. How much coal do you have to burn to generate a megawatt of power? Crickets. What’s the coal plant going to cost to build and operate? More crickets.

“This is not a religious issue. This is an issue that has to be grounded in engineering and economics. We know that we need to decarbonise, and by the way, we have the opportunity to decarbonise and deliver cheaper power as well. So how good a deal is that?”

10:50am

TURNBULL INTERVENES AGAIN

Malcolm Turnbull has urged the government to revive the National Energy Guarantee, saying its demise has created a “vacuum” in energy policy at the federal level.

“It has been abandoned by the federal government, I regret that, naturally, as does just about everyone in the federal government,” Mr Turnbull said.

“It did have the overwhelming support of the party room, and indeed the Cabinet. There was a minority of Coalition MPs who effectively torpedoed what was fundamentally a very good, technology agnostic energy policy.”

Mr Turnbull was accused of ditching the policy himself during his last week as prime minister in an effort to save his job.

“I just want to note that I did not abandon the NEG as our policy, but in fact it remained. But in the frantic last week of my prime ministership, and the insurgency that undermined it and ultimately brought it to an end, the Cabinet resolved not to introduce the legislation until we were confident we could secure its passage,” he said.

“Anxious to keep the government together, I didn’t want to see an important piece of economic legislation being defeated on the floor of the House.

Anyway, that was very disappointing.”

Former foreign minister Julie Bishop recently told her Liberal colleagues they should negotiate with Labor to bring back the NEG. Mr Turnbull echoed that call.

“There’s never been a national energy policy that’s had more universal support than the National Energy Guarantee, and like Julie Bishop and many others — at the risk of being criticised for speaking about politics, which apparently former prime ministers aren’t allowed to do, according to some of the media — I strongly encourage my colleagues to work together to revive the National Energy Guarantee,” he said.

“It was a vital piece of economic policy. It had strong support, and none stronger I might say than the current Prime Minister and the current Treasurer.”

10:35am

‘JUST A FACT OF LIFE’

Malcolm Turnbull has popped up again, this time to deliver a delightfully nerdy speech at the NSW Smart Energy Summit.

He quickly mentions how he spent a summer as prime minister thoroughly researching hyrdoelectric power and energy storage in his spare time.

I spent last summer investigating all the different varieties of quiche available for public consumption.

You decide which pursuit was a better use of time.

“It’s a well-worn observation, and it’s occasionally parodied I know, but you do in fact need something to keep the lights on when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. That’s just a fact of life,” Mr Turnbull says.

“The great news is the technological advancement and in particular the reduction in cost of both solar, number one, batteries number two, and of course wind as well.”

In other words, clean energy is getting cheaper as its technology improves, and that is good.

“New coal-fired generation simply cannot compete with the cost of renewables plus storage,” he says.

10:20am

THE RIGHT TO BARE ARMS

ABC journalist Patricia Karvelas, who was absurdly kicked out of Question Time yesterday for showing “too much skin”, is back today, and so are her arms.

10:05am

ENCRYPTION DEAL LOOMS

The government’s main focus this week is on passing laws to help police and intelligence agencies access encrypted messages.

Scott Morrison wants it done by Thursday, and there are reports a compromise with Labor is imminent. But in the meantime, both sides are still posturing.

“We want the parliament to act in a bipartisan way. The government is doing all it can to make sure we can achieve a bipartisan consensus,” Steve Ciobo said this morning.

“What we’re also saying is we won’t be held to ransom. So if Bill Shorten can’t get his camp in order, then the government will take decisive action to move forward on this.”

Labor Senator Jenny McAllister said Labor preferred an “interim solution”, which would give parliament time to address its concerns about the full bill.

“We have tried to work through these things, as we always do. That process was on track until the ultimatums were presented by Mr Morrison and Mr Dutton a couple of weeks ago, demanding that this bill be passed before Christmas,” she said.

9:50am

SCOTT MORRISON’S BACKFLIP

There is always a quote.

In early November, Scott Morrison was interviewed on Studio 10 and rejected the idea of changing his party’s leadership rules.

“Are the Liberals going to put in place a policy where they can’t roll their leader as Labor has done?” a viewer asked.

“We have a parliamentary democracy in Australia, it’s not a presidential system,” Mr Morrison said.

“John Howard also had this strong view, and that is that we represent our elected members of parliament. They go to parliament and they elect who their leader is to run their parliamentary party. That has been the case since Federation began, and that is what a representative democracy is.

“So we don’t have any plans to change our process, but what we have plans to do is just get on with the job of governing.”

Last night Mr Morrison said he had consulted Mr Howard and the former prime minister was supportive of the changes.

9:40am

‘EXPLOSIVE’ MEMOIR COMING

Former Australian Border Force commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg, who’s made a habit of sledging the government on Twitter in recent months, has written a book.

Tour de Force is due to be released on March 5, well before the election. The publisher promises it will be “explosive”.

9:30am

‘BETTER LATE THAN NEVER’

Malcolm Turnbull just spoke again on his way to an event in Sydney.

“I think they’re good changes, yes. They’ll be very welcome. And yes I’m pleased to see they’ve been made,” he said of the new leadership rules.

“If they’d been in place a few months ago, you would still be prime minister,” a reporter pointed out.

“That’s true. That’s a very good point. Perhaps, you could say, better late than never,” Mr Turnbull replied.

9:15am

RULE CHANGE ‘THE WRONG DECISION’

The reaction to the Liberal Party’s rule change has been broadly positive, but former Labor minister Stephen Conroy was scathing on Sky News this morning.

Mr Conroy said the change was “fundamentally undemocratic” and “absolutely the wrong decision”.

“This pretence that we have, that has been perpetrated over the last few years — and Kevin (Rudd) started it for his own self interest — was entirely about protecting their bums on their seats,” he said.

“They left Malcolm Turnbull in the job too long. He should not have remained as long as he did. He had a political tin ear, he brought it on himself.

“Now what you’re doing is you’re entrenching an incompetent like Malcolm Turnbull, with no political judgment, in the job.

“If you believe the Australian people should directly elect the prime minister of Australia, feel free to start a campaign to change our constitution.”

8:50am

TURNBULL SON’S LOW BLOW

Malcolm Turnbull’s son Alex is being slammed after posting a snide tweet last night referring to the personal life of Janet Albrechtsen, a columnist for The Australian.

He posted it in response to a remark from Albrechtsen, saying he had “become a very funny caricature of the sore loser”.

The backlash to Alex’s comment, which news.com.au has chosen not to publish, was immediate. Albrechtsen’s fellow News Corp columnist Andrew Bolt called the tweet “contemptible and misogynist”. 2GB host Chris Smith said Alex was “gutless”.

“Why on earth do you think any woman’s sex life is something you can comment on?” Fairfax journalist Latika Bourke asked.

“If Abbott or any of the right-wing Libs made such a comment about a female journalist would you consider that decent, respectable and a sign of your progressive credentials?”

“Using sex to publicly attack a woman. So woke,” said radio and TV host Ben Fordham.

Alex has since deleted the offending tweet.

The Australian is published by News Corp Australia, which also publishes news.com.au.

8:40am

GOVERNMENT LOSES GROUND AGAIN

A new Essential poll has found Labor is still way ahead of the government with a two-party-preferred vote of 54-46. The margin was 52-48 two weeks ago.

Scott Morrison continues to be the preferred prime minister. He leads Bill Shorten 40-29 on that measure.

8:30am

BARNABY JOYCE’S $878,000 SALE

Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce is selling more than 1000ha of farmland in NSW to free up money for a divorce settlement with his wife Natalie, The Australian reports.

The land has an asking price of $878,000. Mr Joyce bought it for $572,000 more than a decade ago.

“The unfortunate breakdown of the relationship means there has to be the necessary settlement to secure Natalie’s position,” Mr Joyce said.

“It has had very good rain, the dams are full, and cattle and sheep prices are very good.”

Barnaby Joyce and his wife Natalie arriving at the 2017 Midwinter Ball. Picture: Ray Strange
Barnaby Joyce and his wife Natalie arriving at the 2017 Midwinter Ball. Picture: Ray Strange

8:20am

TURNBULL REACTS

Malcolm Turnbull has briefly reacted to the Liberal Party’s rule change outside his house.

“The prospect of there being fewer, or less of the sort of revolving door prime ministership, I think is the way Scott Morrison referred to it last night. So I think it’s a welcome reform. Of course, how effective it will be, time will tell,” he said.

Mr Turnbull and Tony Abbott, for that matter, would have survived their respective leadership challenges under the new system.

8:00am

LIBERALS’ SURPRISE RULE CHANGE

The Liberal Party surprised us last night with a sudden change to its leadership rules.

At an evening meeting, called just before 8pm, the Liberals passed a motion requiring a two-thirds majority of the party room to remove a sitting prime minister who has been elected by the Australian people.

The new rule does not apply to Scott Morrison, who has not faced an election yet. Nor does it protect opposition leaders.

Mr Morrison said the change was “putting the power back into the hands of the Australian people”.

“Australians have the very reasonable expectation that when they elect a government and a prime minister then they should be the ones to decide if that prime minister should continue in that office,” Mr Morrison said.

The PM described the rule change as “a historic decision” and said it was “the biggest change of how our party deals with these issues in 74 years”.

Labor changed its rules five years ago after Kevin Rudd reclaimed the leadership, having been knifed by Julia Gillard in 2010 before returning the favour.

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/australian-politics-live-tuesday-december-4/news-story/bbbeb1f4b8680d7582c2389a4ef94c3f