Scott Morrison under pressure as internal Liberal tensions explode
The PM’s timing is being questioned after he walked out of parliament just as an important first speech was being delivered.
- ‘Give me a break’: PM blows up
- Kerryn Phelps delivers maiden speech
- Morrison finally reacts to Victorian election
- ‘Urgent’ housing market warning
- Fierce debate over Liberal Party’s base
Welcome to news.com.au’s live politics blog.
Scott Morrison is under immense pressure on multiple fronts today amid the bitter aftermath of the Victorian election. Follow all the day’s news live here.
7.45pm
Scott Morrison is a busy man, but surely he had time to stick around for the maiden speech by Dr Kerryn Phelps on Monday.
Pictures have emerged showing Mr Morrison walking from the House of Representatives just as the independent member for Wentworth took stood up to speak.
Critics suggested the PM might’ve been better off sitting and listening, given he might come to lean on crossbench support in the very near future.
Dr Phelps told Sky News she thought the PM’s decision to leave early was “disrespectful”.
“The disappointment really was that it was very disrespectful for the voters of Wentworth. I would’ve thought the government of the day would’ve wanted to hear what the new member for Wentworth had to say to, and on behalf of, the voters of Wentworth.”
PM Scott Morrison exits the House of Representatives as Dr Kerryn Phelps gets ready to deliver her first speech pic.twitter.com/fZsLkDgAuH
— Alex Ellinghausen (@ellinghausen) November 26, 2018
3:45pm
Kerryn Phelps just delivered her maiden speech in the House, telling her constituents she would “focus on the human experience that is generated by political decisions”.
Here are the key points:
• The ABC
Dr Phelps said the national broadcaster should be “fiercely protected” from political interference.
• Health policy
On the My Health Record, and the balance between data and patients’ privacy, she said it was “better we go slowly or not proceed at all than get it wrong”.
• Climate change
“The time to take action is now,” Dr Phelps said.
“There can be no excuses for continuing climate change policy paralysis.
“Look at the symptoms, examine the evidence, turn to the experts.”
She said Australia was “running out of excuses” for failing to act, and reiterated her support for an orderly and “carefully planned” transition to renewable energy.
• Asylum seekers
Dr Phelps said she would seek a “compassionate compromise” on asylum seeker policy.
“Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers is a source of shame and sorrow for me,” she said.
“I cannot be an idle bystander to the mental and physical state of children held on Nauru, helpless victims of Australia’s offshore processing policy.
“No longer can we tolerate our government holding the lives of these people to ransom to make a point.”
• Indigenous Australians
She said the Closing the Gap strategy “is not working” and “must be fundamentally reworked”.
“How can it be that in this nation of opportunity, being born indigenous still means being born into disadvantage?” Dr Phelps asked.
She said she supported recognising indigenous Australians in the constitution.
• Our political system
Dr Phelps’ personal struggle for marriage equality shaped her views of Australia’s two major parties.
“I saw at close quarter the dysfunctionality of the two-party political system,” she said.
“Political decisions were deeply affecting our lives, our human experience.
“Politicians who I knew privately to be supporters of equality were forced by their party to speak out against their own conscience and beliefs.”
She said the legalisation of same-sex marriage was “a vote for a new way” and “the tectonic plates beneath the current two-party system” were shifting.
“There is an unmistakable mood in Australia, a mood for change. Trust in the political system has reached a low ebb,” Dr Phelps said.
“They have had enough of the way party politics is being practised.
“The people of Australia want and deserve authenticity.”
She promised to approach policy from the “sensible centre”.
3:05pm
We finally get a mention of the Victorian election. Mr Morrison had said nothing on the subject since Saturday’s result, but is raring to go when Labor brings it up.
“Well they are very cocky over there today. They are very cocky. Very, very cocky. The Leader of the Opposition has got that cocky swagger again as he’s walking around,” Mr Morrison says.
“I congratulate the Premier of Victoria. I said so. I texted him on the night and I congratulated him.”
The Prime Minister argues Premier Daniel Andrews benefitted from a strong economy, and suggests his government will as well.
“What does that sound like? Our government is running a strong economy,” he says.
Labor’s next question broaches the same topic.
“Can the Prime Minister tell parliament more about how Saturday was a ringing endorsement of his government's policies?” Catherine King asks.
“All I note is the hubris and arrogance of the Labor Party. Premier Andrews won the election in Victoria. Not you,” Mr Morrison fires back.
“The truth is, if you want to win an election at a federal level, there is no state premier on the ballot.
“There will be a choice at the next election and it will not be involving any premier of any of the states, it will be between me and you.”
2:50pm
The rowdiest moment of Question Time so far comes as Mr Shorten hands the interrogation over to Mark Dreyfus.
“How can Australians know when this Prime Minister is actually committed to something or whether he is just pretending?” Mr Dreyfus asks.
“I’m not going to be lectured on integrity by the Labor Party. The party of Craig Thomson, the party of Sam Dastyari, the party of Joe Tripodi,” Mr Morrison responds.
“This is the only Australian political party that can open up branches in prisons, because it has enough people in them who have been convicted of corrupt conduct.
“The Labor Party, when it comes to integrity, give me a break.”
Much shouting ensues.
2:46pm
While we listen to a dixer from the Coalition backbench, let’s briefly change the subject.
The progressive McKell Institute has released a new report on negative gearing, arguing the recent fall in house prices has done nothing to change the economic rationale for reforming the policy to apply to new properties only.
In fact, the Institute says reform is “even more urgent” now than it was in 2015, when it released its previous report on the subject.
That contradicts the government’s assertions that Labor’s proposed negative gearing changes will have a severely negative impact on the market.
There are five key findings in the report:
• The economic rationale “remains unchanged despite recent developments in the housing market”;
• The recent drop in median house prices reflects “the centrality of variables other than negative gearing in dictating prices”;
• Property prices are still growing faster than wages;
• Housing affordability has worsened “on most indicators” since the 2015 report;
• Banks have raised their interest rates since 2015, increasing the government’s tax expenditures on negative gearing by $1.6 billion.
All of that adds up to an argument supporting the restriction of negative gearing.
You can read the whole report here, if you’re into that sort of thing.
2:45pm
Mr Shorten pounces on the Prime Minister’s earlier comment about a national integrity commission being a “fringe issue”.
“As the Prime Minister believes that a national integrity commission is a fringe issue, why has he told the House today that his government has been working on it for months?”
“This is a government able to deal with many, many issues,” Mr Morrison says.
Other members picked up on Mr Morrison’s choice of words as well.
so by the way, the PM just described the push for a national anti-corruption watchdog as a ‘fringe issue’ #qt #greens
— Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) November 26, 2018
2:40pm
Greens MP Adam Bandt asks Mr Morrison to join him in praising students who plan to go on strike from school on Friday to protest global inaction on climate change.
“Kids should go to school. That is what we are committed to, kids should go to school. We don’t support the idea of kids not going to school,” Mr Morrison shoots back.
“We do not support schools being turned into parliaments. We think kids should be in school.
“What we want is more learning in schools and less activisim in schools.”
2:35pm
Mr Shorten tries again.
“Why did the government vote today to support a national integrity commission if it still has not decided whether it wants one?” he asks.
“The government is considering its position through a normal Cabinet process,” the Prime Minister replies.
“While the Leader of the Opposition is off on some sort of fringe issue, what we are focused on is the strength of our economy, because that is what delivers the services, Medicare, disability insurance, support for veterans, defence force support - that is what delivers it.”
2:25pm
“Does the government actually support a national integrity commission? Yes or no?” Mr Shorten asks.
Mr Morrison says there is a “Cabinet process” to go through that is “prudent, responsible and works through all the unintended consequences”.
“We’re not going to engage in half-baked ideas from the opposition,” he says, bringing up the spectre of the Rudd government’s pink batts policy.
“All the failures from when they were last in government. It’s just a distant memory to them, and they haven’t learned a thing.”
2:20pm
Question Time gets underway a little late, but with no less fervor than usual.
The first question deals with the idea of a federal anti-corruption watchdog.
“What is the Prime Minister’s timetable to establish a national integrity commission, and will he work with all sides across parliament to make the national integrity commission a reality as soon as possible?” Mr Shorten asks.
Attorney General Christian Porter responds, reiterating the government’s position that it will consider the idea “in a dutiful and cautious way”.
He then proceeds to accuse Labor of hypocrisy, pointing out that “for all the grandstanding”, its members did not always support establishing an integrity commission.
2:10pm
Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten made statements about the Melbourne terror attack before Question Time started.
Mr Shorten shared a charming story about visiting Pellegrini’s, whose owner Sisto Malaspina was killed in the attack, on a date as a “nerdy Year 11” student, and how proud he was when Mr Malaspina greeted him with a friendly “Ciao”.
Mr Morrison also paid tribute to the beloved restaurateur.
“A man who in every way covers a lot of what we love about this country, a man who came to this country as a young man and brought with him his Italian joy and an unquenchable
openness of heart, and we grieve with his family,” the Prime Minister said.
2:00pm
Former speaker Bronwyn Bishop’s official portrait was unveiled earlier. Here it is.
1:45pm
There are 15 minutes left until Question Time and the Prime Minister still has not commented on the result of the Victorian election, which happened on Saturday.
1:40pm
Labor frontbencher Tony Burke has given a speech in parliament claiming the government “doesn’t believe in modern multicultural Australia”.
“No one should think that dog whistling works anymore. The concept that you can give a coded message and it will only be heard by certain people in the community is not how things work anymore. They’re not dog whistles, they’re foghorns,” Mr Burke said.
1:30pm
Labor and independent Andrew Wilkie both feel the government is suddenly supporting the idea of a national integrity commission for cynical reasons.
Nevertheless we call on the government cooperate with us and the crossbench to get this done properly, and as soon as possible. @cporterwa needs to step out of his bizarre denialism - let's get to work! #auspol (2/2)
— Mark Dreyfus (@markdreyfusQCMP) November 26, 2018
https://t.co/CzXk4THg9V The Government didn’t have the numbers to stop a motion for a federal integrity commission. It’s good to see the now power-sharing Parliament reflect the will of the people but don’t hold your breath that this Government will act on it. #auspol #politas
— Andrew Wilkie MP (@WilkieMP) November 26, 2018
1:20pm
The boss of ASIO, Duncan Lewis, has called for legislation giving law enforcement agencies easier access to encrypted messages to be passed as quickly as possible.
Mr Lewis has told a parliamentary committee there is “without question” an operational urgency to the matter, with Christmas generally a “high point” for terror attacks.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is not in Canberra to push for the proposed laws himself, having injured his arm on Friday and taken medical leave.
12:45pm
Cathy McGowan, who introduced the national integrity commission Bill, had a blunt question for the government: “What will you do to help us to make this legislation better?”
“From the bottom of my heart, I hope the government will come back and tell us (it supports the measure) this week,” she said.
“Most of your backbench seems to be in favour of it.”
This morning the New Daily reported Scott Morrison could face a revolt from his backbench over the government’s opposition to the legislation.
12:30pm
The House is debating legislation for a national anti-corruption watchdog.
Labor and the crossbenchers, including new MP Kerryn Phelps, support the idea. The government is not so sure.
Attorney General Christian Porter just spent five minutes listing his various problems with the legislation, saying an “abundance of caution” was needed.
Mr Porter claimed ABC journalist Andrew Probyn would be found corrupt under the proposal before the House. Mr Probyn was found to have breached the ABC’s code of conduct when he said Tony Abbott was the most destructive politician of his generation.
“Under this Bill, no ifs, ands or buts, Andrew Probyn would be found to have committed corruption,” Mr Porter said.
He also said hundreds of instances of misconduct at the Australian Federal Police could be considered corruption under the current Bill.
Labor’s Deputy Leader Tanya Plibersek said the best way to address the government’s concerns would be for it to work on the idea of a national integrity commission in a bipartisan manner.
12:05pm
Julie Bishop has given the red heels she wore when she announced her resignation as foreign minister to the Museum of Australian Democracy.
“The shoes were seen as a bold statement and a symbol of solidarity and empowerment among Australian women,” the museum says.
Ms Bishop continues to slay.
12:00pm
Fear not! There will be a government senator on the Q&A panel tonight.
Senior conservative Eric Abetz has replaced Jim Molan, who pulled out after being bumped down the party’s Senate ticket.
11:50am
If you’re wondering why so many Liberals are cranky this morning, this map of the Victorian election results tells the story.
The incumbent Labor government actually picked up 16 seats, and there was a large swing of more than 5 per cent towards it.
If that swing is echoed at the federal election next year, at least six Liberal seats in Victoria will probably fall, and several more could become dangerously close, including those of senior ministers Greg Hunt and Kelly O’Dwyer.
The most vulnerable seats are Corangamite, Dunkley, Chisolm, La Trobe, Casey and Deakin.
11:30am
Hey remember Fraser Anning, the guy who called for a ban on Muslim immigration in his maiden speech?
This morning he formally advised the Senate he had left Katter’s Australian Party and become an independent.
The party announced he’d been booted last week.
“The party cannot and will not have any representative from our executive, members of parliament, senators or candidates dividing Australia along racial ‘Europeans’ and ‘non-Europeans’ divides,” the party’s federal President Shane Paulger said on Thursday.
“In spite of the most severe and clear warnings, Senator Anning has continued down this pathway and consequently we announce the termination of his endorsement by the KAP.
“Clearly Fraser wants the freedom to pursue his crusade. And we think it is best for he and the party to give him this freedom.”
Mr Anning entered parliament as the replacement for One Nation’s Malcolm Roberts, who was disqualified from parliament over dual citizenship. Pauline Hanson kicked him out of that party on his first day as a senator.
He attracts drama.
11:00am
Crossbench MPs have held a news conference voicing their support for a national integrity commission.
“It beggars belief that in a country like this, in this day and age, we still do not have a federal anti-corruption body,” Andrew Wilkie said.
Kerryn Phelps also spoke, getting straight to business after being sworn in as an MP an hour or so ago.
We can expect this issue to come up in the House at some point before Question Time.
We could be on our way to having a national corruption watchdog by Xmas.
— Adam Bandt (@AdamBandt) November 26, 2018
We’re in power-sharing Parl & gov’s 1st test is #Greens motion calling on gov to establish national corruption body (Federal ICAC). It has already passed Senate and House being asked to agree. Up soon.
10:30am
The President of the Senate, Liberal Scott Ryan, spoke to Radio National this morning and backed up Tim Wilson’s comments about the party’s base.
“These voters who are our electoral base, this is our real base of the Liberal party, they sent us a message,” Mr Ryan said.
“A lot of Liberal voters, they’re fairly conservative in their own lives, they raise kids, they work hard, they run small businesses, they support strong local communities, they volunteer, but they’re pretty liberal in their political outlook. They don’t want views rammed down their throat and they don’t want to ram their views down other people’s throat.”
He said he thought some of the tone and the “noise” out of Canberra and some commentators, which he refused to name, did strongly influence the scale of the loss.
RELATED: Far-right blamed for election bloodbath
Mr Ryan pointed to comments in the wake of the Wentworth by-election loss that tried to dismiss those local voters as “not part of real Australia”.
“Labelling people, dismissing them, that’s not the Liberal way. I want to cast the net wide in the Menzies and Howard tradition, as to give people a reason to be Liberals, not come up with litmus tests and say if you don’t hold this view o a social issue, or if you don’t hold this particular view on climate change or renewable energy, that somehow you’re not a real liberal,” he said.
“That is not the path to electoral success. And I am sick of being lectured to by people who are not members of the party, by people who have never stood on polling booths about what it means to be a real Liberal.”
10:05am
Independent Kerryn Phelps has been sworn in as the MP for Malcolm Turnbull’s old seat Wentworth, robbing the government of its majority.
That changes the arithmetic in parliament. Mr Morrison will no longer be able to pass legislation without support from the crossbench.
Dr Phelps plans to push for legislation to set up a national integrity commission, and the Prime Minister may face a revolt from his own backbench in support of the idea, the New Daily reports.
There is also the looming prospect of Labor again trying to refer Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to the High Court to determine whether he is eligible to sit in parliament.
Mr Dutton has taken medical leave this week after suffering an injury to his arm on Friday afternoon, which required immediate surgery.
9:45am
As if the chaos in Victoria weren’t enough, internal Liberal tensions are also springing up in New South Wales.
Over the weekend, Senator Jim Molan was snubbed on the party’s Senate ticket, claiming third place behind Hollie Hughes and Andrew Bragg. It means Mr Molan is almost certain to lose his place in parliament at the next election.
He responded by pulling out of his scheduled appearance on the ABC’s Q&A program tonight.
“I cannot bring myself to defend my party at the moment,” Mr Molan said.
2GB radio host Ray Hadley blew up about the snub during an interview with Tony Abbott this morning.
“This deal done with Andrew Bragg, to parachute him there, a moderate and probably a left-leaning moderate, is an embarrassment to your party,” Mr Hadley said.
The former prime minister didn’t exactly shut him down.
“I have some sympathy with what you’ve said. There’s no doubt what we saw was a factional power play, a sense that Hollie Hughes and Andrew Bragg were ‘owed’,” Mr Abbott said.
9:30am
Federal Victorian MP Tim Wilson followed up Mr Kroger’s interview by directly contradicting him.
“You can go on saying this has got no federal implications, but sorry, not true,” Mr Wilson said.
“You saw a heartland and a voter base who turned around and said to us, ‘We’ve had enough’.”
He disputed the idea that the Liberal base was opposed to action on climate change and the environment.
“Some of us have been saying this internally for some time. We have a choice. We can keep trying to stuff reality through people’s ideological opinions. Or we can listen,” Mr Wilson said.
“If anybody thinks that there’s this great public sentiment out there that people hate renewables, I say get real.”
The party can’t seem to agree on what its own base wants, let alone the rest of the voting public.
.@TimWilsonMP on the Victorian election: You saw a heartland and a voter base who turned around and said to us ‘we’ve had enough’.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 25, 2018
You can go on saying this has got no Federal implications, but sorry, not true.
MORE: https://t.co/nCa56qqjCY #amagenda pic.twitter.com/iRWewbxs3c
9:15am
Mr Morrison held a crisis meeting with Liberal MPs from Victoria this morning to discuss the implications of the weekend’s electoral “bloodbath”.
But adding to his troubles, that discussion has already exploded in public.
The Liberal Party’s Victorian President, Michael Kroger, went on Sky News this morning and downplayed the role federal issues had played in the Victorian election.
“People need to grow up. Was there a federal factor? Yes there was. Was it the biggest factor? No it was not the biggest factor by any measure whatsoever,” he said.
“Grow up. This is just a nonsense.”
Meanwhile, Mr Kroger himself is under siege. The Herald Sun reports MPs are preparing to call for his resignation, and former premier Jeff Kennett has publicly urged him to step down over his “appalling” leadership.
“For goodness’ sake,” Mr Kroger said.
“You get all this petty point scoring after elections. We’re too sophisticated down here for that kind of petty nonsense.”
Michael Kroger: Of course the Federal election is winnable. I would say to my colleagues who are running around saying it’s all the Federal Liberals fault - grow up. We were beaten on policy.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 25, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/nCa56qqjCY #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/IzwTrzF2xM
9:00am
So, here we are, at the final sitting fortnight of the year. The torture is almost over. Emphasis on almost, particularly if your name is Scott Morrison.
Mr Morrison has been conspicuously quiet in the aftermath of the Victorian election. The state’s Labor government picked up 16 seats on Saturday night, with a swing towards it of more than 5 per cent.
On top of that, today’s Newspoll carried more bad news for the Prime Minister.
The Coalition’s primary vote fell for the third consecutive fortnight to a near-record low of 34 per cent. The two-party-preferred split is 55-45.
Mr Morrison’s preferred prime minister rating did rise by 4 per cent, lifting his lead over Bill Shorten to 46-34, but that will matter little unless the party vote turns around.
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