Politics Live: September 30, 2014

With that, it is time we ventured out into the Canberra evening to buy some Cheezels.

(We've had a craving all day.)

Before that, what did we learn?

• Campbell Newman should watch out. There is a Senate inquiry coming to a hearing room near him;
• The Coalition is responding to the royal commission report into Labor's home insulation scheme with another report;
• The government's planned changes to the dole could be a breach of Australia's human rights obligations;
• But that's OK. Because no one has a right to just sit at home and eat chips.
• Right?

 

Thanks for tuning in today.

Alex Ellinghausen, Andrew Meares and I will see you tomorrow.

Adios!

Clive Palmer during a press conference in Parliament House on Tuesday. Photo: Andrew Meares

The House continues to debate the Fair Entitlements Guarantee Amendment Bill about redundancy payments for those working for companies that go bankrupt.

The Senate is debating a matter of public importance: "the Abbott government’s failure to address multinational tax integrity while attacking the living standards of pensioners, students and young jobseekers".

 

The PUP statement comes four minutes later, by way of PUP Senate leader Glenn Lazarus.

"Premier Newman has made many questionable decisions since he was elected and Queenslanders deserve an honest and consistent government and leader," Lazarus says.

"This inquiry will serve to investigate Premier Newman's questionable tactics concerning the reformation and operation of the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Commission.

"Premier Newman has also sought to politicise the Queensland Police Service and bring the state’s judiciary and legal process under his control ...

"This inquiry will put an end to [Newman's] abuses of power."

 

 

The Greens have combined with Labor and PUP to support the inquiry.

Environment spokeswoman Larissa Waters is out quickly with a statement, explaining her party's position:

She says the Greens are "proud to have secured improvements to the terms of reference for the Senate inquiry into Queensland, which has just passed the Senate with our support.

"Our amendments include extending the inquiry so that it can look at coal seam gas approvals of the Bligh government ..."

Waters notes that given the deal with PUP, "we now have the numbers in the Senate to protect our federal environment laws from Tony Abbott’s one-stop shop [for environmental approvals], which would have wound back environment protection in Australia by more than 30 years".

 

Clive Palmer on Tuesday. Photo: Andrew Meares

In the Senate, PUP have got support for their inquiry into the Newman government in Queensland.

30 ayes to 27 noes.

This after Abetz labelled the venture a "bitch session".

 

Meanwhile ... big fat sigh.

 

And to note that the results are in from today's poll!

The 735 votes have been counted, re-counted and lost off the back of a truck in WA.

In response to the question about what you would do, if you were unemployed:

• 46 per cent would worry about finding a job;

• 36 per cent would worry about being able to afford chips;

• 7 per cent would eat Twisties;

• 6 per cent would eat Cheezels (a la Ewen Jones); and

• 5 per cent would eat Burger Rings.

 

Personally, I am surprised that the Burger Rings vote was not higher, but just goes to show how much I know about chips.

 

 

We break from the Senate for a moment, to note a fresh baked release from Eric Abetz, who has ministerial responsibility for the public service.

There has been some attrition in the public service of the natural kind.

The Australian Public Service Statistical Bulletin shows a reduction in the size of the APS, from 167,051 at June 2013 to 159,126 at June 2014.

More than half (53.5 per cent) of "separations" were "natural attrition".

This demonstrates that the government's policy re: reducing the public service was "moderate and reasonable, as opposed to the scare campaign promoted by Labor", Abetz reasons.

Confusion continues to abound in the Senate.

A very grumpy Bill Heffernan has just interrupted with a point of order.

He hasn't seen Lazarus' motion.

"I don't know what we're talking about!"

Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan during the debate in the Senate. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen

Actually, no, no he can't.

At least, not yet.

Despite being called by Senate President Stephen Parry to move the inquiry motion, George Brandis hops up in protest.

He points out that the only difference between the motion today and the defeated one last week is that it allows the inquiry to look into Queensland government activities around coal seam gas.

This is what we call "democracy in the weeds".

Attorney-General Senator George Brandis during the debate in the Senate on setting up the Queensland committee. Photo: Alex Ellinghausen