PoliticsNow: Labor cancer plan ‘already free’, says PM
Scott Morrison has uses a Liberal Party luncheon to sharpen his “pay for Labor for a decade” election message.
- PM opens door to Sharrouf kids
- ‘No delay’ to Adani
- ‘This is for you Gary’
- Shorten dismisses cancer fee hike
Hello and welcome to PoliticsNow, The Australian’s live blog on the happenings at Parliament House in Canberra.
Scott Morrison has used a NSW Liberal Party luncheon to sharpen his “you pay for Labor for a decade” election message.
3.30pm: Good news for first home buyers
Australians buying their first home are making up a bigger share of all people purchasing properties throughout the nation, AAP reports.
Treasury has revealed the trend — which comes as house prices continue to fall — at a Senate estimates hearing in Canberra.
“The share of first homebuyers in the market has been increasing,” the department’s Angelia Grant said today.
“I don’t have the exact numbers, but it is over the last little while ... it’s a fairly significant increase.”
House prices fell by 4.8 per cent nationally in 2018, according to CoreLogic data, and are expected to continue declining this year.
Treasury does not forecast changes in the prices of assets such as homes. But Dr Grant said supply and demand factors were contributing to recent house price falls.
They include the housing supply increasing as earlier investments come to fruition and credit lenders tightening their purse strings.
Figures released last week found falling house prices contributed to a 2.1 per cent decline in the net worth of Australian households in the three months to December.
Real holding losses on land and dwellings totalled $170.8 billion.
Richard Ferguson 2.21pm: Who do the people trust?
A new poll shows Bill Shorten is considered more “untrustworthy” than Scott Morrison, but most voters still appear ready to put the Labor leader in the Lodge.
In a YouGov/Galaxy poll for The Daily Telegraph, 34 per cent of respondents labelled Mr Shorten untrustworthy — his highest marking on any quality — compared to 30 per cent for the Prime Minister.
Yet every age bracket apart from 65 and over have put Labor over the Coalition when asked whom they intend to vote for next month.
The over 65 bracket was the only group to stick with the government, with a two party preference of 48 per cent for the Coalition compared to 28 per cent for Labor.
Mr Morrison’s most rated quality was “well intentioned” (34 per cent), but respondents also rated him as “smug” (31 per cent), “arrogant” (31 per cent) and “untrustworthy” (30 per cent).
Mr Shorten was rated “well-intentioned” (30 per cent), “arrogant” (30 per cent), “smug” (29 per cent) and “useless” (26 per cent).
Labor has led the past 50 Newspolls but Mr Shorten has consistently trailed behind Mr Morrison as preferred prime minister.
Richard Ferguson 1.58pm: ScoMo wraps fiery speech
Scott Morrison finishes his campaign-esque speech at the NSW Liberal luncheon with a message that Labor “has not changed, but they will change it all.”
“Labor does not have the plan. Have not learned nothing from the time in Opposition or their time from when they were last in government,” he says.
“Labor has not changed. But they will change at all.
“And that is something for which we should be very, very mindful of as we head towards the next election.”
Richard Ferguson 1.55pm: Expect Bill’s bill: ScoMo
Scott Morrison unveils another campaign slogan at the NSW Liberal budget luncheon.
“You will be sent the bill for all Bill’s spending,” the Prime Minister says.
“You can be assured of that, on every single occasion.
“Let me remind you, that $200 billion before he even got to his reply, $200 billion of higher taxes on the Australian economy.
“He made much the other night of how we are facing these headwinds, and he is right. He is absolutely right. We are.
“If someone said to me that you would go a lot quicker if you put a weight belt on, I would not believe them, and I would be right. But that is what Bill Shorten‘s plan for the economy is.”
Richard Ferguson 1.45pm: ScoMo into campaign mode
Scott Morrison attacks Bill Shorten’s tax policies and energy plans while addressing the NSW Liberal Party, in yet another signal of the election campaign to come.
“The harder you work, the better you do, good for you. I do not understand what the point would be of working hard under a Labor government,” he says.
“I really do not know. Why would you bother? Because the better you do, the harder you work, the more you put in, the more Bill Shorten puts his hand in your pocket.
There is much merriment when the Prime Minister references Mr Shorten’s electric car policy.
“He wants to tell you what car to drive now, also,” he says.
Apparently it only takes six to eight minutes to recharge an electric car.
“I have got some news for you, Bill, they do not want to run around in those little ones your kids have.”
Richard Ferguson 1.40pm: ScoMo sharpens message
Scott Morrison is using a NSW Liberal Party luncheon to sharpen his “you pay for Labor for a decade” election message he has been rolling out over the past few weeks.
“You vote for Labour once and you pay for it for a decade. That was the election in 2007’s lesson, that’s what occurred last time when as a nation they turned to Labor,” he says.
“More than 10 years to get back into surplus … more than a decade — elections are important things.
“We believe that having a strong economy and managing the nation’s finances well enables us to do important things and that is, as a Gladys (Berejiklian) says, to guarantee funding for the essential services that Australians rely on.”
Richard Ferguson 1.30pm: Is this a campaign launch?
Scott Morrison is currently addressing a meeting of the NSW Liberal Party about this week’s federal budget, but you would be forgiven for thinking it was a campaign launch.
The Prime Minister is standing in front a blue Liberal banner with the slogans “A Secure Future” and “A Stronger Economy” emblazoned all over it.
In attendance are John Howard and victorious NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
Richard Ferguson 12.55pm: Hanson discharged
Pauline Hanson is getting out of hospital and claims to know when the next election is.
“I’ve just been discharged from hospital today. The biggest fight for our country is due to be called this weekend. The election will be on the 18th of May,” she posted on Facebook.
“I know this because the Liberals advertising has been leaked and runs through until the 15th of May.”
Senator Hanson missed the last week of the 45th parliament as she had her appendix removed.
12.05pm: Frydenberg slams coward graffiti
Josh Frydenberg says vandals who defaced his campaign signs with Nazi symbolism are cowards.
Some of the Victorian frontbencher’s election posters have been graffitied with Hitler moustaches, devil horns and the words “right wing fascist”.
“Vandalism is unacceptable and these people are cowards,” Mr Frydenberg told reporters in Melbourne this morning.
“It is one thing to graffiti a sign but it is another to invoke the horrors and the evils of the Holocaust and Nazism.
“These people are despicable, they are cowards and they are very ignorant of the horrors of history.”
AAP
Richard Ferguson 11am: Shorten on Adani “split”
Bill Shorten says environmental decisions cannot be made on the “whim of infighting in the government” as a Coalition split emerges over the slow progress of the Adani coal mine.
“We need to get to the bottom of the split in the Government,” he said in Canberra today.
“Doesn’t matter what day it is. This is a very divided Government.
“I understand that the minister (Melissa Price), by the media reporting, has not wanted to sign off due to pressure from Liberal MPs in the big cities. But now other MPs want to pressure her to sign the approval.
“We can’t have significant environmental decisions made at the whim of the infighting in the Government.”
Richard Ferguson 10.15am: Shorten’s admission on free checks
Bill Shorten concedes some of the cancer checks he wants to fund are already free of charge in public hospitals.
Scott Morrison said this morning that many of the services in the Opposition Leader’s plan are already available in public hospitals and that his government has invested $9bn in cancer medicines.
Mr Shorten said today: “Some treatments are available in public hospitals, but I don’t want to be too disrespectful to the current fellow (the Prime Minister) but how out of touch is he?
“Is he saying that there is not an out of pocket problem?
“Mr Morrison, yes we do pay for some things already in a public health system. But it is not good enough. I want this country to do better.”
Richard Ferguson 10.12am: Medicare plan ‘all new money’
Bill Shorten claims his $2.3 billion Medicare cancer plan is all new money.
“In our cancer package, yes it is,” he said in Canberra today.
“The reason why we can have the big vision, the big picture about the next step change
in Medicare and helping people fighting cancer is because we made economic reform decisions.
“We can make this vision for helping people with their out-of-pocket costs in the fight of their lives because we have decided as a country I want a better deal for cancer patients, and not so much tax loopholes for the top end.”
Richard Ferguson 10.10am: $300m radiation treatment plan
Bill Shorten has announced $300m for radiation treatments and regional cancer centres as part of his Medicare cancer plan.
“I am excited to announce that we will provide $300 million in capital costs to provide radiation and other cancer treatments support right across Australia,” he said in Canberra.
“As part of our $300 million of capital works to cancer assessment pre-treatment right around Australia we will have 13 regional cancer treatment centres.
“We will go around in the next five weeks and talk to regional Australia because people in the bush deserve the same quality of healthcare, your postcode should not determine the quality of your healthcare, your credit card should not determine the quality of your healthcare, it should be your Medicare card.”
Richard Ferguson 9.55am: Canavan denies quit threat
Resources Minister Matt Canavan has denied he threatened to quit the ministry over the Adani coal mine, despite contrary reports.
“These reports are incorrect. I support the Government’s position to progress the Adani Carmichael mine because we support the creation of jobs in regional Queensland,” he said in a statement this morning.
Richard Ferguson 9.25am: Canavan quit reports denied
The Australian has been told by senior Queensland LNP sources that Resources Minister Matt Canavan has not threatened to quit the ministry over delays to the Adani coal mine, disputing reports this morning.
Scott Morrison says there is “no delay” in approving the Adani coal mine, despite Queensland MPs raising concerns with him yesterday about Environment Minister Melissa Price’s handling of the process.
The Australian revealed yesterday that a delegation of Queensland MPs and the Prime Minister met over concerns that Ms Price was refusing to sign off on the plan in the face of intense lobbying by federal Liberal MPs in Victoria.
Senator Canavan would not comment on the reports.
Richard Ferguson 9.12am: PM opens door to Sharrouf kids
Scott Morrison has opened the door to letting the children of infamous Islamic State terrorist Khaled Sharrouf back into the country if they can reach an Australian embassy.
The Prime Minister again ruled out extracting the children from a Syrian refugee camp, but said Australian officials would co-operate if they got to an embassy.
“We are working with the Red Cross … where there are particularly children and mainly that’s where our focus is exclusively,” he said in Canberra today.
“There are the normal assessments that are done. The identification process, there are issues relating to people’s citizenship that has to be confirm and you’d expect that, but where those issues are able to be addressed, we would follow the normal processes for issuing of travel documents after all those other matters have been addressed
“But where there are Australians who are caught up in this situation, particularly as innocent children, we will do what I think Australians would expect us to do on their behalf.”
Richard Ferguson 9.10am: Labor cancer plan ‘already free’
Scott Morrison has dismissed Bill Shorten’s $2.3bn Medicare cancer plan and says many of the treatments the Opposition Leader wants to fund are already free in public hospitals.
The Prime Minister also noted his $9bn investment into cancer medicines.
“We stand with every Australian and I think everybody who serves in this parliament, stands with every Australian that is fighting the insidious disease of cancer,” he said.
“All of those treatments that he spoke of, are available in public hospitals free of charge today.
“We have put in $9 billion worth of affordable medicines, 130 separate cancer treating drugs as a result of the strong economy that we have been raising. So that’s a $9 billion investment in treating cancer that we’ve already done.
“Equally, a lot of measures that he announced last night overlap with things that are also being done currently.”
Richard Ferguson 8.57am: ‘No delay’ to Adani
Scott Morrison says there is “no delay” in approving the Adani coal mine, despite Queensland MPs raising concerns with him yesterday about Environment Minister Melissa Price’s handling of the process.
Environment Minister Melissa Price received a recommendation from her department on Monday to approve a groundwater management plan for the project.
The Australian revealed yesterday that a delegation of Queensland MPs and the Prime Minister met over concerns that Ms Price was refusing to sign off on the plan in the face of intense lobbying by federal Liberal MPs in Victoria.
Mr Morrison says the rubberstamping by Environment Department officials was for a “sub-approval” and the normal process is being followed.
“There has been no delay. This has one of a large number of approvals. This is a sub approval to a previous approval,” he told The Australian today.
“It is part of the administrative process that relates to that project and all processes that are required in relation to that approval are being followed.
“I have always said we will pursue our responsibilities in relation to this project fully and we’ll make sure that in providing any of the consents that are required under the act that they’re done properly with the fullest of information.
“We are just following the normal process and the decisions we made in the normal course of business.”
Mr Morrison would not answer a question on the concerns Queensland MPs raised with him yesterday.
.@ScottMorrisonMP on Adani mine: There has been no delay. This has been one of a large number of approvals and is part of the administrative process.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) April 4, 2019
There has been 'excited' reporting on this topic.
MORE: https://t.co/bCHQObCKpH #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/zCFehSWzUn
8.15am: ‘This is for you Garry’
An emotional Scott Morrison has dedicated a royal commission into the abuse and neglect of disabled Australians to his brother-in-law, Garry Warren, who suffers from multiple sclerosis.
Officially launching the inquiry, the Prime Minister said people with disabilities were much more likely to suffer abuse, violence, neglect and exploitation than other Australians.
“It was my brother-in-law Garry who said to me ‘It’s not flash being disabled,’” he said. “But the good thing is you’re in Australia and you’re an Australian, and that means a lot to me.” Looking on the brink of tears he collected himself before added: “This is so above politics.”
He added: “I can’t begin to understand what Garry goes through every day.”
“People living with disability have faced the most difficult of circumstances because of their own condition.
“But worse than that is the lack of a culture of respect towards people with disability that leads to their abuse and mistreatment.
“We have to establish a culture of respect for people living with disabilities and the families who support, love and care for them.” The royal commission will hand down a final report in April 2022. An emotional Mr Morrison dedicated the royal commission to his disabled brother- in-law Gary.
“To all those Australians with a disability, their families, to Gary, this is for you.”
The $528 million inquiry, which will be headed by Justice Ronald Sackville and be based in Brisbane, will examine mistreatment across institutions, workplaces, schools, homes and the wider community and “Australians living with disability and their families have spoken and my government has listened and is taking action,” Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra.
.@ScottMorrisonMP: State and territories have all expressed their support of this inquiry. Any suggestion that this inquiry could proceed without the full cooperation of states and territories, is ridiculous.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) April 4, 2019
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AAP
Richard Ferguson 7.50am: Shorten denies cancer ‘lottery’
Bill Shorten has denied his Medicare cancer plan turns the universal healthcare system into a “lottery” because it will not cover the same costs for other life-threatening diseases.
“The logic of that argument is do nothing,” he told ABC radio.
“The fact is cancer is something that will hit one in two people. We want to do more generally.
“Do we do nothing on cancer because we do nothing on everything else?”
Richard Ferguson 7.45am: Shorten dismisses cancer fee hike
Bill Shorten has not provided details on how he will stop cancer specialists hiking their fees if demand for scans and consultations blow up under his Medicare cancer plan.
“We will work with the medical community about monitoring that … so overservicing doesn’t occur,” he told ABC radio.
“Right now in Australia, if you’re living in the bush or outer-suburban Australia … what we want to do is remove the costs.
“This is what a government should be doing.”
Richard Ferguson 7.35am: PM to call disabled abuse inquiry
Scott Morrison will officially call a $527m royal commission into the abuse and neglect of Australians with disabilities today.
The Prime Minister decided to call an inquiry earlier this year despite initially wanting to focus on the ongoing creation of the NDIS and the royal commission into the aged care sector.
He is expected to name six commissioners this morning and outline the terms of reference at 8am this morning.
Richard Ferguson 7.25am: Cancer ‘touches all of us’
Opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen says the $2.3bn Medicare cancer plan is not a change in election strategy away from hitting Scott Morrison over the rising cost of living.
“I don’t think that’s a choice that we or the Australian people need to make and we think we can make progress on both,” he told ABC News.
“It is interesting that you mentioned cost of living because one in two Australians will get cancer during their lives and one in two of the rest of us will have somebody in our family or close friends that gets cancer, it touches all of us in some way or another.
“Not only is it the biggest health challenge you will face, but for too many people, it is a huge economic challenge.”
What’s making news:
Bill Shorten will claim the most significant reforms to Medicare since it was created by Bob Hawke in 1984, with a $2.3 billion expansion of bulk billing to cut out-of-pocket expenses and provide free services for cancer patients.
Bill Shorten’s suite of election commitments in his budget reply speech has been entirely funded by the government’s decision to match Labor’s tax cuts for middle- income earners.
A Coalition split has emerged ahead of next month’s election, with Queensland MPs holding urgent talks with Scott Morrison, asking him to sign off on a key federal approval for the Adani coalmine or risk losing marginal seats in the battleground state.
Attorney-General Christian Porter has declared there will be protections for journalism, advocacy, research and artistic works under the Morrison government’s contentious crackdown on tech giants, which passed federal parliament in just two days amid a growing backlash from the tech and media industries.
The Morrison government is quietly bypassing Labor’s medevac laws to medically transfer refugees to the Australian mainland from Manus Island and Nauru, as the number receiving treatment in Australia exceeds the number in offshore detention.
Defence Minister Christopher Pyne has bowed out of federal politics with a valedictory speech for the ages.
Environment Minister Melissa Price has been forced to deny nearly $40,000 of environment grants were awarded in a key marginal electorate before applications for the program were opened.
Free market path to lift Indigenous
Labor has handed its new tsar for Aboriginal business extraordinary powers that could make remote-community residents the owners of defence infrastructure and the funders of energy projects.
Call for origin labels on imported timber
About a quarter of timber tested in Australia last year had incorrect species or origin labels. The industry wants new laws to prevent it happening and to support Australian producers.