PoliticsNow: Gender census questions scrapped
ABS scrapped 20,000 test census forms it printed that listed trial questions about gender, sexuality.
- Labor calls cops over ‘forgery’
- Dutton, Lambie working on medivac
- ‘Why Labor doesn’t support borders’
- ‘Raise drought fund or lose’
- ‘Pleased Setka’s gone’
Hello and welcome to PoliticsNow, covering all the happenings at Parliament House in Canberra.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics scrapped 20,000 test census forms it printed that listed trial questions about gender and sexuality after holding discussions with the office of the assistant treasurer Michael Sukkar.
Appearing before a Senate Estimates hearing on Thursday, outgoing Australian Bureau of Statistics boss David Kalisch said “ultimately” the decision to do away with the new set of questions for its census test in the NSW town of Wagga Wagga and Queensland town of Logan.
Greg Brown 11pm: Massive Robodebt bungle
About 10,000 robodebt notices were accidentally distributed because of a bungle in the Department of Human Services.
Department general counsel Annette Musolino said about 10,000 debt notices were sent to people in April before the final tick-off from the bureaucracy.
She said the notices were accidentally sent because of a “manual staff error”.
“The issue was identified within a couple of days and remediation action was taken to address that,” Ms Musolino told Senate Estimates.
Department general manager customer compliance, Craig Storer, said debt recovery was “re-paused” and a special team was established to notify people who were accidentally sent notices.
“Of the 10,000 debts that were issued, approximately 9400 related to non-current customers that we had not been able to contact for at least the past 12 months,” he said.
“So we are pretty sure that those letters did not find the customer.
“Of the phone line that we set up we received 247 phone calls from customers and were able to deal with their issues as they arose.”
Michael Roddan 4.30pm: Gender census questions scrapped
The Australian Bureau of Statistics scrapped 20,000 test census forms it printed that listed trial questions about gender and sexuality after holding discussions with the office of the assistant treasurer Michael Sukkar.
Appearing before a Senate Estimates hearing on Thursday, outgoing Australian Bureau of Statistics boss David Kalisch said “ultimately” the decision to do away with the new set of questions for its census test in the NSW town of Wagga Wagga and Queensland town of Logan.
“I have had some conversations with the minister’s office about helping them understand the nature of the consideration around the decision,” Mr Kalisch said.
“They did express a preference but ultimately it was my call,” he said.
The census is scheduled to take place in 2021, and the questions on gender and sexuality were short-listed alongside eight potential new topics on which Australians would be quizzed on census night.
Mr Kalisch said the ABS already asked Australians about their sex and their living arrangements and that there may be some confusion within the “broader community” about separate questions relating to gender.
Opposition assistant treasury spokesman Stephen Jones said the move showed the government was “playing politics” with the five-yearly census and that gay and transgender Australians had been ignored by policy makers for too long.
“Australians should feel let down that their Government are more interested in playing politics than doing the job Australians expect and deserve,” Mr Jones said.
“Even after years of progress, there are still significant health and wellbeing disparities that affect Australia’s LGBTI community,” he said.
The 2016 census was marred when the online system was taken offline after a series of cyber-attacks, known as distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.
The DDOS attacks meant millions of Australians were unable to fill out the online forms for the census until later. The census is generally designed to be filled out on a single night in order to capture a snapshot of the nation.
Later, reviews by the Australian Cyber Security Centre and a senate committee found contractor IBM had failed to test a recovery process for the cloud-based infrastructure.
Following the cyber-attacks, there were fears that Australians would give false information to the census to protect their privacy.
In August, Mr Sukkar confirmed the head of the ABS David Kalisch would not have his five-year term extended in December. Mr Kalisch had served as the Australian Statistician since December 2014.
Greg Brown 4.10pm: Labor calls cops over Taylor document
Labor will ask NSW police to investigate whether the office of Energy Minister Angus Taylor forged a document used to attack Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore.
Opposition climate change spokesman Mark Butler said Mr Taylor had refused to prove he downloaded a document forwarded to the Daily Telegraph from the City of Sydney website.
“It is a claim that just does not stand up to scrutiny and for which he will not provide any evidence,” Mr Butler said.
“It is quite clear that Angus Taylor has refused or declined to make a report himself to the NSW police, the Prime Minister is clearly not intending to make a referral himself to the NSW police.
“In the absence of any action by this government to clear this up and ensure that the public has the right to know what has happened here, the Labor Party, through the shadow Attorney-General will be writing to the NSW police, seeking an investigation about all the circumstances surrounding this matter.”
The document asserts Lord Mayor Moore’s office spent more than $15m on travel. The City of Sydney figures show the council spent less than $300,000 on travel.
Olivia Caisley 3.50pm: Opposition’s QT energy jolt
Labor used the final question-time of the parliamentary sitting week to launch an attack on Energy Minister Angus Taylor over a document he used to grill City of Sydney Mayor Clover Moore over her travel expenses.
But the letter to Ms Moore, which criticised the Sydney mayor for “hypocritically driving up carbon emissions by spending over $15 million in council money on domestic and international travel”, turned out to have grossly-inflated her travel costs.
The letter, which was later reported in The Daily Telegraph, said City of Sydney councillors had spent $1.7 million on international travel and $14.2 million on domestic travel.
But the 2017/18 annual report available online shows international out-of-pocket travel costs were only $1,727.77 and domestic costs were $4,206.32 — well short of the minister’s quoted figure.
The Opposition used six questions to probe the minister over the figures, but Mr Taylor repeatedly denied that an alternate report with different figures had been forged by him or his office.
“We need to know whether the forgery was tailor-made, because it looks exactly like that,” opposition frontbencher Tony Burke told parliament.
Mr Taylor told parliament he was “advised” the document was drawn directly from the City of Sydney’s website.
When asked by Labor’s Mark Butler where he got the “forged” document, Mr Taylor said he “absolutely rejected” the premise of the question and the “assertions being peddled by the opposition”.
Scott Morrison also shut-down questions from Labor regarding the Nationals’ leaked $1.3 billion drought-plan by offering swift one-word answers.
When asked if he wouldn’t commit to a bipartisan response to the drought because he “can’t even manage a bipartisan approach with the National Party?”, the Prime Minister said “No.”
Again, when asked whether it was the prime minister or the National Party backbench that was “running the government’s chaotic drought response,” Mr Morrison said: “The cabinet.”
3.30pm: Hockey’s offer over Russia inquiry
Australia’s ambassador to the US Joe Hockey made an unsolicited offer to help with the controversial White House inquiry into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, AAP reports.
US and Australian officials have since met six times to discuss the probe, which was the subject of an unusual telephone call between Scott Morrison and Donald Trump.
Earlier this year, Mr Hockey suggested he make a proactive offer to take part in the so-called Barr inquiry.
Department of Foreign Affairs secretary Frances Adamson endorsed his proactive approach.
“I would say that Ambassador Hockey’s forward-leaning approach on this … was exactly what I as DFAT secretary would expect him to do,” Ms Adamson told a senate estimates hearing on Thursday.
“An inquiry had been launched, Australia had been mentioned by the president, the foreign minister had indicated our willingness to assist.”
“That’s what he (Hockey) was doing, effectively saying we’re here, we’re ready to help in whatever way you want,” she said.
Mr Hockey flagged his letter with the foreign minister before sending it in May and subsequently met US attorney-general William Barr to discuss the inquiry.
Ms Adamson also shed more light on Mr Trump’s call to Mr Morrison to ask for a point of contact.
Asked why the US president had called the prime minister directly, Ms Adamson explained it was simply because Mr Hockey was away at the time. The secretary also confirmed she was the primary contact for the Barr inquiry, along with Mr Hockey and she met Mr Barr in Washington in September. Department officials refused to say whether Australia had handed over diplomatic cables to the Barr investigation, saying it would be prejudicial to the ongoing inquiry.
Mr Barr is spearheading the investigation into an earlier inquiry which looked at Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election. He is examining how the investigation by US Special Counsel Robert Mueller started.
— AAP
Olivia Caisley 3.09pm: Motion targets Taylor
Opposition industrial relations spokesman seeks to move a motion against Energy Minister Angus Taylor.
“I seek leave to move the following motion,” Mr Burke says. “The Prime Minister’s statement in the House on Monday this week states that whether they are politicians, journalists, public officials, anyone, there is no-one in this country who was above the law.”
“The reported provision of a forged document to The Daily Telegraph by the Minister for emissions reduction was an attempt to influence the public duty of the Lord Mayor of Sydney.”
“The creation and/or knowing use of a forged document in an attempt to influence public duty is a serious indictable offence under New South Wales law, punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
“The failure to report knowledge of a serious indictable offence is also an offence under New South Wales law, punishable by up to two years in prison.
“The Minister for emissions reduction has failed to explain his role in or acknowledge the creation and/or use of a forged document used in an attempt to influence the public duty of the Lord Mayor of Sydney, and the Minister has refused to give straight answers to simple questions about these crimes.”
Olivia Caisley 3.02pm: Spotlight on energy minister
Opposition small businesses spokesman Mark Butler seeks to grill Energy Minister Angus Taylor for the fifth time over the Clover Moore letter.
Mr Butler asks whether Mr Taylor realises it’s an offence to fail to notify NSW police of forged documents “designed to influence public duty.”
“Has the Minister reported this matter to the New South Wales Police or does he still seriously claim that the document he provided The Daily Telegraph is not a forgery?,” Mr Butler asks.
“If he does make that claim will he provide metadata to support it as the City of Sydney has?”
Attorney-General Christian Porter steps in, saying Mr Taylor has answered the questions properly.
“The Minister has been absolutely straight in his answers with respect to the [letter’s] origins,” Mr Porter says. “It may not have been the answer that members wanted, but the answer was provided.”
Mr Taylor comes back swinging. He reiterates that he rejects the premise of Labor’s question and accuses Mr Butler of attempting to distract from the Labor Party’s internal ructions.
“They are all smear and no idea,” Mr Taylor says.
Olivia Caisley 2.55pm: Butler tries again
It’s now the fourth question from opposition small businesses spokesman Mark Butler regarding the false document that inflated figures surrounding City of Sydney mayor Clover Moore’s travel expenses.
“Does the Minister stand by his claim that he downloaded the document from the City of Sydney’s website in light of information released today by the city that metadata logs proved conclusively that the original documents had not been altered since being uploaded to their website almost 12 months ago?”
“I say again, I’m advised,” Energy Minister Angus Taylor begins, before being interrupted by Labor MPs who have started booing.
“The document was drawn from the City of Sydney website and it was publicly available,” Mr Taylor says. “I reject the bizarre suggestions and assertions being peddled by those opposite.”
In a letter to Ms Moore, Mr Taylor criticised her for hypocritically driving up carbon emissions by spending over $15 million in council money on domestic and international travel.
As reported in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Taylor said City of Sydney councillors had spent $1.7 million on international travel and $14.2 million on domestic travel.
But the 2017/18 report currently available online shows international out-of-pocket travel costs were only $1727.77 and domestic costs were $4206.32 — well short of the minister’s quoted figure.
— With AAP
Olivia Caisley 2.44pm: Angus under the pump
It’s the third question in a row from opposition small businesses spokesman Mark Butler, who asks again where Energy Minister Angus Taylor got the document, which inflated the figures surrounding City of Sydney mayor Clover Moore’s travel expenses.
“The document was drawn directly from the city of Sydney’s website,” Mr Taylor says. “It was publicly available.”
Olivia Caisley 2.40pm: Taylor attacks ‘bizarre’ assertion
Opposition small businesses spokesman Mark Butler rounds on Energy Minister Angus Taylor again and asks him where he got the forged document with the false travel expenses figures.
Mr Taylor delivers a slightly longer response this time.
“I absolutely reject the premise of the question and the bizarre assertions being peddled by those opposite,” Mr Taylor says.
Olivia Caisley 2.39pm: Labor chases paper trail
Opposition small businesses spokesman Mark Butler asks Energy Minister Angus Taylor whether he can confirm his office did not forge a document that used hugely-inflated figures for the City of Sydney Mayor Clover Moore’s travel expenses.
“Yes,” Mr Taylor says during a very brief visit to the dispatch box.
Olivia Caisley 2.32pm: Albanese bowls one up
Labor leader Anthony Albanese asks Scott Morrison whether he believes politicians are above the law in Australia.
It comes after the Prime Minister told parliament on Monday: “Whether they are politicians, journalists, public officials, anyone, there is no-one in this country who was a love the law”, in regards to a question on press freedom.
Mr Albanese asks whether Mr Morrison applies the same standard to his own ministers.
Mr Morrison delivers a brief response.
“It’s a fairly obvious answer to that question,” Mr Morrison says. “No-one is above the law in this country.”
Olivia Caisley 2.27pm: ‘No return to reckless Labor’
Labor backbencher David Smith asks Scott Morrison if he “obsesses” over Labor because he’s trying to distract from the fact the net government debt has “more than doubled on his watch.”
“Net debt under this government now is coming down. We are in surplus this year,” the Prime Minister says, after “six painstaking years of getting the budget back into shape”.
“I’ll tell you why I talk about Labor,” Mr Morrison says. “It’s because they don’t think we should ever return to the reckless policies of the Labor Party when it comes to the budget and many other things.
“Australians know the mistakes that Labor made when they were last in power.”
Olivia Caisley 2.22pm: Horse industry report ‘disturbing’
Independent crossbencher Andrew Wilkie asks Scott Morrison if he will acknowledge the “systemic failings” of animal welfare in Australia and establish a national independent office of animal welfare.
It comes after the ABC revealed last week race horses were being slaughtered across the nation after they were no longer deemed “useful”.
The Prime Minister said he found the report “concerning and disturbing.”
“I have no doubt that Australians across the country were equally disturbed,” Mr Morrison says. “We are a country that cares for our animals and in particular our farmers and those across our rural districts care deeply for their livestock and want to manage those issues in the best possible way.
“The government of course will consider all its options in relation to dealing with these matters.”
Agriculture Minister David Littleproud adds that he is working closely with the Queensland government to overhaul the industry.
Olivia Caisley 2.15pm: Climate protesters removed
Five climate protesters have been escorted from the public gallery while Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack is answering a question from opposition resources spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon.
He asked whether Scott Morrison endorses the Nationals’ $1.3 billion drought plan that was leaked to the media last night.
“Entire ecosystem are collapsing, people are dying and the blood in on your hands,” the protester is heard saying.
Mr McCormack jokes that he thought the disruption was his “national colleague parties cheering me on”.
“The National Party always comes up with a range of policies because we care about regional people,” Mr McCormack says. “We care about rural people, those who live in country and coastal remote Australia, and they are doing it tough at the moment.”
Olivia Caisley 2.05pm: Short retort
Question Time kicks-off with Labor leader Anthony Albanese, who calls on Scott Morrison to answer if the reason he won’t commit to a bipartisan approach to the drought is because he “can’t even manage a bipartisan approach with the National Party?”
“No,” the Prime Minister responds.
Olivia Caisley 1.53pm: Equestrian probe push
Sports Minister Richard Colbeck has opened the door to a parliamentary inquiry into Equestrian sport following a NSW Coronial inquest into the deaths of teenage riders Olivia Inglis and Caitlyn Fischer, and after an elite athlete was charged with raping another rider.
Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick, who has been pushing for greater scrutiny of the sport and its national body, Equestrian Australia, gauged the government’s interest for an inquiry at a Senate Estimates hearing into Community Affairs on Wednesday night.
“I’m just wondering what options the government had available, indeed I’m trying to get an understanding of the level of concern, because my office has been approached by a number of people,” Senator Patrick said.
“If you’re interested in having a conversation about that sort of process, I’m open to having that conversation,” Senator Colbeck said on Wednesday.
The exchange comes two weeks after Equestrian Australia moved to provisionally suspend the membership of accused rapist and prominent eventing rider Callum Buczak after the international equestrian body temporarily barred the athlete from competing in light of the allegations.
The prominent eventing champion, who was charged with raping another rider in February of this year, had been allowed to continue to compete by the sport’s national body because the alleged attack was not at an official event. Buczak strongly denies the charge.
Sport Australia CEO Kate Palmer told the hearing on Wednesday she thought it was a “good sign” the national body had followed Federation Equestre Internationale’s lead in issuing a provisional suspension.
“I think this is a good sign of an international body, working in partnership with a national body to guide decision making and it will set a set a standard globally, I suspect in equestrian.”
Ms Palmer said Sport Australia had been working closely with national sport organisations, including Equestrian Australia, around safeguarding policies to improve responses to sexual abuse.
Earlier this year, Senator Patrick used parliamentary privilege to question the body’s handling of separate sexual misconduct claims in a Senate estimates hearing on community affairs.
The allegations cap a tumultuous year for the national sporting body, which in May fronted a coronial inquiry into the deaths of two teenage riders, and saw its entire board reconstituted in March.
In October, NSW Deputy State Coroner Derek Lee handed down over 30 recommendations to improve the sport’s safety, finding the jump Olivia fell and died at breached international equestrian guidelines.
1.10pm: Assange blocks info to Oz officials
Julian Assange has instructed British authorities to stop releasing any information about him to the Australian High Commission in London. Consular officials have written to the Wikileaks leader four times since the order was made on June 14, but have yet to receive a reply.
“The High Commission continues to reach out to Mr Assange to offer consular assistance,” Department of Foreign Affairs assistant secretary Andrew Todd told a Senate estimates hearing on Thursday.
Mr Assange, 48, has been held in London’s Belmarsh prison since his sensational April 11 arrest at the Ecuadorean embassy, where he had lived in asylum for almost seven years. He is fighting extradition to the US. His next case management hearing is on December 19 and a full extradition hearing is scheduled for February 25.
AAP
Olivia Caisley 1.05pm: Nationals’ 10 point drought plan
Barnaby Joyce’s 10 point plan to assist farmers in drought affected areas includes setting up a Drought Committee in each shire of a drought region which would be given to a drought fund to be disbursed for any issue that has a clear nexus to drought requirements in that shire.
Read the full 10 point plan here.
Rosie Lewis 12.35pm: MPs reject identity bill
Liberal and Labor MPs have rejected a government bill that would allow the Department of Home Affairs to create and maintain facilities to share facial images and other identity information between government agencies and some private businesses.
The powerful Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, chaired by Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, has called for the Identity-matching Services Bill to be redrafted and built around privacy and transparency and be subject to robust safeguards.
Click here for the full story
Zoe Samios 12.10pm: Southern Cross — level playing field
Southern Cross Media Group will look for opportunities to grow its regional broadcasting footprint, but has called for changes to legislation to allow the business to compete against digital platforms.
At its Annual General Meeting, chairman Peter Bush said the business believed in the “resilience” and “value” of regional radio, but said the regional television model faced challenges that needed to be addressed.
Click here for the full story
Olivia Caisley 11.10am: Dutton ‘working closely’ with Lambie on Medivac
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says he is “working closely” with crucial crossbench Senator Jacqui Lambie on the Medivac repeal legislation as he seeks to reform the bill that enables asylum seekers to come to Australia from offshore detention centres for medical treatment.
Speaking on 2GB Radio on Thursday Mr Dutton said he was “working closely” with Senator Lambie on the bill he has referred to as “a con” and a national security issue.
Senator Lambie, who holds the crucial swing vote, has not yet indicated which way she will vote when the repeal bill comes up next month.
“I’m working closely with Jacqui and she wants to consider a report that was done in the Senate,” Mr Dutton told 2GB. “The Labor Party is saying there’s nothing wrong here, nothing to see, keep the law as it is.
“Our people rightly said this is a bad law, it’s a backdoor way into Australia and if people needed medical attention they were already getting it under the old model.”
Mr Dutton said it was “without precedent” that Australia would be required to take people “even if they’re not in need of medical attention and they’re of bad character.”
Labor says the laws, which make it easier for doctors to medically-evacuate refugees and asylum-seekers to Australia, are working well and “do not need to be ‘repaired’.”
It comes a week after Mr Dutton used his legislative powers to block a father from accompanying his 21-year-old daughter to Australia for medical treatment due to his history of violence.
Rebecca Urban 11.00am: Private schools may access ‘slush fund’
High-fee private schools, such as Geelong Grammar, would not be explicitly excluded from accessing the federal government’s $1.2 billion “Choice and Affordability” fund, a senate estimates hearing has been told.
Department of Education officials Education figures have been grilled on the fund, announced by Prime Minister Scott Morrison last year, revealing that guidelines being drawn up ahead of its commencement in 2020 did not set out school eligibility.
Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqui asked whether Geelong Grammar School, one of the nation’s most expensive schools charging $42,792 per year for day students and more than $70,000 for boarders, would be able to access the “slush fund”.
“The guidelines don’t set out any eligibility criteria so they don’t rule any schools in or out,” said Education Department deputy secretary Alex Gordon.
Instead, the fund guidelines would be based on the government’s priorities of school choice and affordability as well as to support to drought-affected schools and student wellbeing, Ms Gordon said.
Mr Morrison’s Choice and Affordability Fund has come under fire amid concerns about how the money will be distributed to the non-government sector. It is not available to government schools.
Ms Gorden said the guidelines would be publicly released in December.
Olivia Caisley 10.50am: ‘Why Labor doesn’t support borders bill’
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has accused Labor of not supporting a new border security bill because of the party’s links to the CFMEU, a union he lashed as a “modern day mafia”.
The bill, introduced in parliament on Wednesday, seeks to ban bikie and drug-smugglers from working at Australia’s airports and docks.
But speaking on 2GB on Thursday, Mr Dutton said Labor wanted to “turn a blind eye” to the legislation because of the millions of dollars in donations it receives from the CFMEU.
“The Labor Party won’t support the bill through the parliament because of their links to the bikies, who are the biggest distributors of drugs in our country,” Mr Dutton said. “And yet the Labor Party wants to turn a blind eye. Why? Because they’re receiving millions of dollars a year from the CFMEU.”
Current laws allow the government to do background checks on people applying for maritime or aviation identification cards, but only to check if they pose a security risk.
The new bill would expand those checks to include whether a person has prior convictions for gang-related offences or organised crime.
Mr Dutton introduced a similar bill in 2016 but it was blocked by Labor.
“Mr Albanese I think needs to stand up and say John Setka is a terrible person and has been before the courts more times than you can count. Sure he’s out of the Labor Party now. Big deal, there are dozens behind him in the CFMEU who are just as bad and he needs to stand up because at the moment, the lawlessness, it’s like a modern day mafia.”
But Mr Albanese on Thursday distanced himself from the notorious Victorian boss, saying he was “pleased” John Setka was no longer a Labor member because his values “weren’t in line” with the party.
“Setka is out of the Labor Party, that is what I sought to achieve, that is what I have control over,” Mr Albanese said.
He said he made no apology for Labor’s relationship with the CFMEU, explaining his issues were with Mr Setka and not the union itself.
“The fact is if you removed the construction union from construction sites, what you would see is more exploitation, more workplace deaths and tragedies, more wage theft.”
Mr Albanese first moved to expel Mr Setka in June and Labor’s national executive was poised to bar him at a meeting on Friday.
Mr Setka pre-empted that by submitting his resignation to the Victorian ALP on Wednesday, having withdrawn a planned court action.
Olivia Caisley 9.50am: ‘Raise drought fund or lose government’
Former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has warned the Coalition could lose government if it doesn’t deliver a big drought stimulus package before the next election.
Sky News reported on Thursday the Nationals have demanded an extra $1.3 billion in government stimulus for drought-affected communities as part of a 10 point plan that would see councils in drought zones given $10 million each.
“If this drought keeps going you are going to have to go ahead with extra funding otherwise you just won’t be in government,” Mr Joyce said on Thursday.
Click here for the full story
Olivia Caisley 8.00am: ‘I’m pleased Setka’s gone’
Labor leader Anthony Albanese says he is “pleased” John Setka has been forced out of the Labor Party, declaring the notorious Victorian CFMEU boss’ values “weren’t in line” with the party.
MORE: Crossbones, cobras at Fortress Setka | PoliticsNow: Setka ‘doesn’t have ALP values’
Mr Setka’s lawyers on Wednesday notified the ALP legal team that he was withdrawing a legal appeal against being expelled, ahead of Friday’s meeting of the party’s national executive, which was poised to tear up his membership.
“He’s out of the Labor Party and that was what I sought to achieve. That is what I have control over. His values aren’t the same as Labor’s values. We respect women,” Mr Albanese told Nine’s Today show on Thursday.
“John Setka of course pleaded guilty to two very serious charges. One of harassment and one of breaching an order to stay away from someone and we have circumstances here whereby I made it very clear that the direction I want to take Labor in is an inclusive party.
“It’s one that shows respect for people and that’s why John Setka isn’t welcome to stay as a member and I’m pleased that he has gone.”
The calls for Mr Setka’s dismissal began in June when Mr Albanese moved to tear up his ALP membership following public outrage over offensive remarks Mr Setka allegedly made about antidomestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty.
When questioned whether Labor would continue to take millions of dollars in donations form the CFMEU each year, Mr Albanese said the party would continue to be affiliated with unions and that construction workers weren’t responsible for the actions of Mr Setka.
Mr Albanese defended Labor’s links to the unions as a “good thing” and said he would continue to support such an affiliation.
“The fact is that if you removed the Construction Union from construction sites, what you would see is more exploitation, more workplace deaths and tragedies, more wage theft, you would see increasing problems in those workplaces that need unions,” Mr Albanese said.
“Workplaces need unions and the Labor Party makes no apology for the fact that we stay connected with working people through our affiliation from trade unions.”
Olivia Caisley 7.30am: Veterans officially recognised
The contribution of veterans will be officially recognised through an Australian Defence Force Covenant.
The laws, which cleared parliament on Tuesday, will also allow veterans and their families to get lapel pins, cards and other artefacts to recognise service in the nation’s armed forces.
Scott Morrison welcomed the introduction of the new Veterans Lapel Pin on Thursday, saying it would be an opportunity to acknowledge and show respect to the hundreds of thousands of men and women who have served our country.
“The lapel pin recognises the service and sacrifice that has given us the country we have today, and is protecting it for the future,” the Prime Minister said.
“It provides a way for the community — employers, businesses, community groups, veteran or sporting organisations — to acknowledge this.
“Our Government delivers more than $11 billion in annual support for veterans and their families, but we can never do enough. We are committed to setting Australia up to support the veterans of today and tomorrow.”
““Our government is committed to putting veterans and their families first,” Veterans’ Affairs Minister Darren Chester said. “The new lapel pin is a simple way we can demonstrate our respect for our veterans and say “thank you for your service on a daily basis”.”
Labor MP Luke Gosling, who is a veteran, welcomed the move to increase recognition of Australians who have served.
Olivia Caisley 7.16am: ‘Cancel school holidays’
Scott Morrison has shared details of an unusual request he received from a young primary school student from Caloundra in south east Queensland.
According to a video on the Prime Minister’s Twitter profile, 5-year-old Jude asked for school holidays to be cancelled because he loves learning and being in the classroom.
“I love getting letters from kids. They say the greatest things and this letter from Jude, aged 5, is a cracker,” The Prime Minister wrote on Twitter. “He wants me to cancel all school holidays because he loves school so much. Good on ya Jude.”
In a video accompanying the Tweet, Mr Morrison assured other students he wouldn’t seek to cancel school cancel holidays, but congratulated Jude for his enthusiasm.
I love getting letters from kids. They say the greatest things and this letter from Jude, aged 5, is a cracker. He wants me to cancel all school holidays because he loves school so much. Good on ya Jude. pic.twitter.com/ekWFJG4qeh
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) October 23, 2019
What’s making news
Notorious Victorian CFMEU boss John Setka has been forced out of the Labor Party, having dropped a legal appeal against Anthony Albanese’s move to have him expelled over his treatment of women.
Australia will meet its Paris emissions reduction targets if it continues its current ramping up of renewable energy deployment, which has been among the fastest in the world.
Richard Marles has leapt to the defence of Anthony Albanese’s leadership of the Labor Party and condemned the strategies and electoral failure of Bill Shorten.
A controversial proposal from the peak body for farmers to offer “exit packages” for farming families has been attacked by MPs from both major parties, as key stakeholders search for new ways to help Australians living in drought.
New Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy says he is “cautiously optimistic” about the Australian economy strengthening and is calling for patience in evaluating any positive impact from the government’s flagship tax-cut package on consumer spending.
Scott Morrison assured the “brave and courageous” alleged sexual abuse victims of Malka Leifer he has not forgotten them, as he ramped up Australia’s fight to extradite the former Melbourne school principal from Israel.
Liberal Party federal director Andrew Hirst has called for shorter pre-polling periods and fewer early voting centres, and condemned “appalling and illegal behaviour” in the lead-up to the May 18 election.
There have been more than 230,000 assessments under the so-called robodebt scheme where the government has found there is no debt or the amount owed must be reduced, while 169 welfare recipients were already dead when a potential debt was identified.
Dennis Shanahan writes: The good news for Anthony Albanese’s Labor leadership is that Richard Marles is defending him. The bad news for Anthony Albanese’s Labor leadership is that Richard Marles is defending him.
Alice Workman’s Strewth: It pays to be in power. Especially if you’re one of the 52 people in Scott Morrison’s so-called “Star Chamber” lucky enough to score a secret taxpayer-funded pay rise. Her Sketch is here.
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