Federal Politics Wrap: October 27, 2014

Since Alex Ellinghausen and Andrew Meares have called it a day I think I will too. My thanks to them for another super day.

Let's look back on the day that was:

• Prime Minister Tony Abbott has begun a campaign to raise the GST by reforming Commonwealth-state relations;
• Mr Abbott asked Opposition leader Bill Shorten to join him in a mature discussion on the issue;
• but Labor is already outraged about it so it will be fascinating to see who can win the hearts and minds on this one;
• Labor caught Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce changing Hansard;
• Mr Joyce admitted the wrong thing was done but said it was done by his staff without his knowledge; and
• Labor's immigration spokesman Richard Marles assured his colleagues there was no change to the party's policy after he flabbergasted them by suggesting on Sunday it might adopt the government's position on turning back the boats.

It feels more like a Thursday than a Monday, no?

Alex, Andrew and I will be back in the morning. As always, thank you for your company. Until then.

 

 

 

And in case you're wondering which way the raising-the-GST debate is going to go Labor has helpfully counted the number of times Mr Abbott said before the 2013 election that the GST would not change - it's 33. Plus another 13 after the election (someone actually had to count that).

Once you get over the jaw dropping hypocrisy of Mr Abbott as prime minister asking the opposition leader to engage in a mature debate with him, the show moves on.

Can Mr Abbott and his team convince people that the taxation debate is needed and that they might need to countenance a higher GST? Or will they be swayed by the more immediate concerns of price rises and the cost of living?

Only time will tell.

Other than wondering why Mr Palmer felt the need to pop his head up on this particular issue I might go back to the case of the minister, the drought relief figures and Hansard.

The original statement made by Mr Joyce was made last Monday. The opposition asked him about it on Wednesday and later that night Hansard was amended to correct the figures contained in his original answer.

What the opposition sees as more egregious is that a number of phrases were also inserted into Hansard.

It is a procedural issue, yes, but it goes to whether or not Mr Joyce feels he should be able to amend the parliamentary record without telling anyone (instead of formally notifying the house that he wants changes to Hansard made).

By going into the House and asking for the changes to be struck out the minister is admitting he did the wrong thing but also hoping this will draw a line under the incident.

FYI - Mr Joyce said he "counselled his staff" and that the alteration was made without his knowledge.

And here's Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer talking about the goverment's paid parental leave.

He would like the government to ditch the scheme and instead spend the same amount of money on childcare.

Mr Palmer - if we really want to set women free we have to look at childcare.

(The Productivity Commission will hand its report into childcare to the government on Friday.)

Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer addresses the media at Parliament House on Monday.Credit: ALex Ellinghausen

Minister for Agriculture Barnaby Joyce has now gone back into the House of Representatives and asked that the changes that were made to Hansard be struck out.

The Senate has finished early for the day:

 

There, there Barnaby. You've got nothing to worry about.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott pats Agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce after question time on Monday.Credit: Andrew Meares

Question time is now over.

Chief political correspondent Mark Kenny has finished his piece on Mr Abbott's new political modus operandi - negotiation and bipartisanship.

Take a look and see what you think.

The government won that vote.

A division has now been called on whether the motion should be heard. (The government will win that too and I suspect that will be the end of question time.)

Hansard can be altered if, for example, a name was mispronounced. In other words, it can be changed if the essence of the statement is not being changed.

But for all other matters the record is supposed to be corrected (that's the official language for coming back into the house and explaining).

Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Leader of the House Christopher Pyne and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce in discussion during Question Time on Monday.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen