Politics Now: New CFMEU demerger laws pass the Senate after AFL threat
The bill was supported by the Opposition but opposed by the Greens, with senator Nick McKim arguing the new laws were backed by the Liberals who were 'no friends of unions' and had a 'history of union bashing'.
Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone. Picture: Richard Dobson
Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone is reportedly considering a tilt at the Senate in 2025.
As reported by the Daily Telegraph, Mr Carbone and Fowler MP Dai Le have renamed their joint political party from the Dai Le and Frank Carbone Network to Western Sydney Community as they make a bid to shore up influence across both houses of parliament.
“If the major parties don’t look after our community, I’ll always do what’s best for them – and if that means contesting the election, so be it,” Mr Carbone said to the Daily Telegraph.
“The Labor Party can’t take its heartland for granted.”
The Dai Le and Frank Carbone Network was registered in August 2023 and holds ten of the 13 seats on the Fairfield City Council.
The move comes as Muslim populations in safe Labor seats express growing frustration with federal leadership regarding the war in Gaza.
Anthony Albanese has criticised Peter Dutton for pressuring him to appear at the 2024 Washington NATO Summit, despite previously criticising his attendance at the APEC conference in California last year.
The opposition leader has previously hounded the Prime Minister for making a large number of trips overseas, but today criticised him for putting “local politicking ahead of his obligation to stand up for our country”.
“I find (it) extraordinary that Peter Dutton moved a motion in the Parliament last year, demanding that I not go to APEC, where Australia is a member… and needed to participate in that forum, as opposed to NATO, where for a lot of the NATO summit, as an observer country, we're not there,” Mr Albanese told ABC’s 7:30.
“I’m not going because we’re not members of NATO.
“We never accepted the invitation.”
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles will be sent to the NATO summit in Albanese’s stead.
“I must say (Mr Marles) is a higher level representation than the three previous Liberal prime ministers who all sent ministers (to NATO Summits) rather than go themselves.”
While former Prime Ministers Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull delegated NATO Summit appearances to their respective Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop and Marise Payne, Scott Morrison never appeared or delegated a NATO Summit.
This was in large part due to disruptions brought on by the Covid pandemic.
Anthony Albanese says that suspended senator Fatima Payman rejoining the Labor caucus is a “decision for her” despite her reported discussions with competing political groups.
Speaking to ABC's 7:30, the Prime Minister said he did not "take personally" Senator Payman reportedly considering a move to the crossbench and enlisting the help of 'preference whisperer' Glenn Druery.
The Muslim Vote, a lobby group intending to bolster independent candidates appealing to Muslim communities in Labor seats, claimed it was open to support Senator Payman should she leave the ALP.
“She has made a decision that she can't be bound by what puts our team together,” Mr Albanese said.
“If people aren't clearly part of the team, and they say and declare that they can't be part of the team, then they themselves, by their own actions, have excluded themselves for the period of time in which they cannot undertake that collective principle
“I would like to see her rejoin the team and that option is available to her.”
When questioned on the potential impact of The Muslim Vote, Mr Albanese said that voters would seek to avoid having “conflict brought here”.
“Overwhelmingly, Australians don't want conflict brought here,” he said.
“But we have taken a principled position in accordance with Labor principles since we came to office.
“We have 104 members of our Caucus, and 103 people are supportive of the road we have taken on this issue.”
Greens accused of 'recycling' Truth and Justice Commission bill
Senator Lidia Thorpe. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
Lidia Thorpe has criticised the lack of outcomes for Indigenous Australians under the Albanese government, while accusing the Greens for “recycling” a bill she developed while in the party.
Senator Thorpe called for the reform push while addressing the findings of the coronial inquest into the death of Josh Kerr, a 32-year-old Indigenous Australian who died in his cell at Port Phillip Prison in 2022. A coronial inquest yesterday found that he died as a result of "disproportionate focus on security concerns" on the part of prison staff.
Senator Thorpe argued that Indigenous deaths in custody could be reduced by implementing the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and passing through a Greens proposal for a Makarrata Commission.
“Deaths in custody are always preventable. The ongoing lack of action from governments shows a clear lack of value placed on First Peoples' lives in this country,” Senator Thorpe said on Twitter/X.
“This country needs Truth-telling and Labor needs to urgently take action on implementing the recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.”
The coronial findings on the death in custody of my cousin, Josh Kerr, were handed down yesterday.
The Coroner found Josh's death to be a 'preventable tragedy'; the result of prison staff disproportionately prioritising security protocol over care for Josh's life. (1/4)
— Senator Lidia Thorpe (@SenatorThorpe) July 2, 2024
Greens senators Dorinda Cox and David Shoebridge introduced a bill to establish a Truth and Justice Commission, a variant of the Makkaratta Commission, on Tuesday that would address disparities in justice for Indigenous Australians.
A Makkaratta Commission is outlined in the Uluru Statement and was designed to succeed an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, a proposal rejected in October’s referendum.
The Albanese government promised to establish its own Makkaratta Commission ahead of the 2022 federal election.
“The establishment of a national Truth and Justice Commission is something I have long argued for,” Senator Thorpe said in Parliament.
“I hope the Greens remember that this is a policy I developed … I know the Greens are big on recycling, but a bit of acknowledgement on this would have been nice.
“When it comes to Labor, they keep saying they’re taking their time and doing more consultation, but no one knows who they are actually talking to. It is obvious there is no commitment.”
Lack of funding forces 'life-saving' services to shut-down
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie said the Albanese government should fund two Tasmanian health bodies which announced their closures in response to axed state funding.
“Both Autism Tasmania and Disability Voices Tasmania announced that they had been forced to close their doors due to lack of funding, despite being life-saving services for people living in the state,” Mr Wilkie said in Parliament.
“So much for national cabinets signing an intergovernmental agreement last December acknowledging they must work better together to address growing pressures on the health system and on the NDIS.”
Tasmania has a rate of disability above the national average, with 26 per cent of Tasmanians living with a disability compared to 18 per cent nationally.
“Many Tasmanians and their families feel like they are being forced to walk the plank right now and that’s simply not good enough,” he said. “Governments, frankly, have to fix it.”
The Clark MP also announced the end of the Bring Julian Assange Home parliamentary group, established and co-chaired by Mr Wilkie in 2019. A dissolution motion was filed to Speaker Milton Dick today.
“The band is breaking up,” Mr Wilkie said on Twitter/X.
“Proud to have set up the Bring Julian Assange Home parliamentary group way back in 2019.
“This was a remarkable mix of Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum and played a big part in ending the injustice.”
The band is breaking up!
Proud to have set up the Bring Julian Assange Home Parliamentary Group way back in 2019. This was a remarkable mix of Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum & played a big part in ending the injustice. #AssangeFree#auspol#politaspic.twitter.com/XSYzv6YiR6
The working group included Mr Wilkie, Greens Senator David Shoebridge, Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, Independent MP Monique Ryan and more.
Tasmanian local issues also dominated the Senate today when Agriculture Minister Murray Watt discussed the future of the Cradle Mountain cableway in question time.
Liberal MP criticises Payman's pro-Palestine rhetoric
Senator Fatima Payman. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
Liberal MP Zoe McKenzie has criticised suspended Labor senator Fatima Payman's pro-Palestine rhetoric, walking back the Coalition's sympathy extended over her “bravery”.
Yesterday, Nationals leader David Littleproud appealed for Senator Payman’s vote against the live export ban, while Nationals senator Matt Canavan praised her “bravery” compared to other Labor colleagues.
“We have to be really clear. Senator Payman has repeatedly said in the chamber and elsewhere, ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’,” Ms McKenzie said on ABC News.
“She is clearly anti-Israel's right to exist. There is a fundamental issue with that point of view.
“There are much broader problems with the views that Senator Payman has expressed than just the nuanced debate within the Senate in recent days.”
Since May, Peter Dutton has called on Anthony Albanese to eject Senator Payman from the party over her use of the phrase ‘from the river to the sea’.
Greens accused of 'stirring the pot' on Palestine state
NDIS Minister Bill Shorten has accused the Greens of “stirring the pot” by continually proposing a resolution to recognise the state of Palestine.
Labor senator Fatima Payman crossed the floor to support the Senate motion for recognition on Friday, with Greens leader Adam Bandt denying that he or a member of his party told Senator Payman to break caucus conventions.
"The Greens know their resolution can't get up. Now they've planted their flag in the sand,” Mr Shorten told ABC News.
“Why do they want to keep putting this resolution up? I know it doesn't change anything. It's stirring the pot.”
Mr Shorten said his party was not “critical” of Senator Payman for breaking their unilateral position.
"I don't think anyone in the Labor is critical of her view about Palestine. I mean it's a traumatic time. People are dying,” he said.
“I would rather that there wasn't discord, but we are where we are.
“I think a bit of time and distance can work these issues through."
Turning to the government’s delayed NDIS reform bill, Mr Shorten said he was "airing dirty laundry" of fraudulent spending to push the Senate into action, rather than to promote the party’s savings in the scheme.
“What appalls me is that the Senate has had for 12 weeks a proposal to tighten (the NDIS) up a bit and no-one seriously disagrees,” he said.
“You don't have to be a Rhodes scholar to work out that the NDIS is not for cryptocurrency or paying rent.
“There's nothing controversial about not wasting money… There's no human rights which says you should get to go on a cruise to Japan or cryptocurrency.
“When did it become unreasonable to stop BS-ing each other?”
Labor isolated in opposition to divestiture: Greens
Greens economic justice spokesman Nick McKim has claimed the Albanese government is isolated in its refusal to support divestiture powers, after the Coalition unveiled it would take a policy to split up major hardware and supermarket chains for breaches of competition law to the next federal election.
“The Coalition’s support for divestiture powers in the supermarket sector makes this a moment of choice for Prime Minister Albanese,” Greens economic justice spokesperson Senator McKim said.
“He can either keep holding hands with Coles and Woolworths, or he can side with Australian shoppers.”
Senator McKim said the minor party was prepared to pass divestiture legislation during this term of parliament, rather than wait until after the next federal election as proposed by the Coalition.
“The Greens are ready and willing to work constructively to urgently deliver cheaper food and groceries,” Senator McKim added.
New laws allowing members of the CFMEU’s manufacturing division to vote to break away from the union have passed the Senate.
The bill, fast-tracked by the government after The Australian revealed CFMEU Victorian leader John Setka’s threat to wage a work to rule campaign against the AFL, was supported by the Opposition but opposed by the Greens.
The ACTU supported the bill, accusing Mr Setka of waging a personal vendetta.
But Greens senator Nick McKim told the Senate the minor party was not convinced the new laws would not weaken the union movement.
Senator McKim said the bill was supported by the Liberals who were “no friends of unions” and had a “history of union bashing”.
But Senator Jacqui Lambie, who proposed a bill earlier this year to allow the manufacturing division’s female-dominated textile worker membership to escape from Mr Setka, attacked the Greens for opposing the bill.
“This is the party whose leader (Adam Bandt) proudly proclaims that he is a feminist,” she told the Senate.
“This is the Australian Greens who have a lot to say about women on their website including, and I quote, 'women have the right to equal access and participation in decision making processes in all areas of political, social, cultural, intellectual and economic life.' How’s that quote going on your website right now?”
CFMEU manufacturing division national secretary Michael O’Connor welcomed passage of the bill and thanked MPS and Senators who “did the right thing by our members”.
“A notable and disappointing absence from the large parliamentary consensus which supported the legislation was the Australian Greens,” he said.
“The Greens oddly seem to think they are better placed than our members to determine what is best for them, their families and their communities”.
He said the division would act to facilitate proceedings providing members with a vote by secret ballot conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission.
Jim Chalmers has attacked the Coalition proposed regulatory crackdown against supermarket and hardware retailers, claiming the Opposition's policy remains “half baked” and could intensify competition issues.
Accusing the opposition of being “hopelessly divided” on its divestiture proposal, the Treasurer said the policy demonstrated the National Party had trumped senior Liberals in the Coalition party room.
“The shadow Treasurer has been rolled, the shadow finance minister has been rolled, the leader of the National Party has got his way over the wishes of so many others on that frontbench,” Dr Chalmers told question time.
Citing previous inquiries into competition policy, including a review of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, helmed by former Labor minister Craig Emerson, Dr Chalmers said the Coalition’s policy could actually undermine efforts to ensure consumers and suppliers were treated fairly.
“Obviously the Food and Grocery Code [review], when it looked at this matter, said that the risk was that it could actually make things worse, not better.”
Forced divestiture could also result in some supermarkets selling their stores to other existing retailers, or enforced closure of stores, Dr Chalmers warned.
Labor has blasted Peter Dutton’s forced divestiture policy as an abrogation of Liberal Party principles, accusing the opposition of outsourcing policy development to the Nationals.
The start of last decade saw the beginning of two things – the rapid rise of social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram, and the rapid fall in the mental health of young women. Coincidence?
