PoliticsNow: Jacqui Lambie backtracks on union bill threat
Jacqui Lambie won’t talk to the government about their union-busting bills until they release confidential report into the alleged sports rorts scandal.
- Falinski fuels coal war
- LNP breakaway ‘not on cards’
- Lambie threatens unions bill
- Chalmers downplays right turn
- Nats ‘messy two weeks’
Hello and welcome to PoliticsNow, The Australian’s live blog on the happenings at Parliament House in Canberra.
As Nationals leader Michael McCormack continues to weather the storm-set from within his own party, attention is also cast on Labor and how it deals with coal and climate policy difference in its ranks.
Ewin Hannan: 7.48pm: Lambie backtracks on threat
Senate crossbencher Jacqui Lambie will continue negotiations with the government over the Coalition’s union-restricting Ensuring Integrity Bill despite threatening to put talks on hold.
Senator Lambie said on Thursday that she intended to suspend talks over the bill, criticising the government’s failure to release the Gaetjens sports rorts report and the retention of Bridget McKenzie as Nationals Senate Leader.
Asked on Sky News if she was going to put the talks on hold, she said: “Yeah, I’m going to put a hold on them this morning, I’ll be honest with you. Yeah, I’m done.”
However, The Australian understands that while Senator Lambie remained concerned about the government’s conduct , she has decided to keep negotiating with Attorney-General, Christian Porter about her proposed amendments to the bill.
Elias Visontay 3.45pm: Question Time wrap
Labor used Question Time to attack the government over aged care and a controversial submarine contract, while the Coalition ribbed Labor over revelations of a grouping within the party aimed at supporting the coal industry.
Opposition ageing spokeswoman Julie Collins peppered Health Minister Greg Hunt with questions including the government’s response to findings out of the royal commission into the sector.
Mr Hunt responded with targets the government has agreed to that came out of the royal commission, and reminded the opposition his government had established the inquiry.
“Not only have we adopted all of the findings of the interim report, but it stands in stark contrast to the utter hypocrisy and failure of the Opposition,” he said.
Asked about deaths of younger Australians entering aged care facilities, Mr Hunt brought up targets.
“There are three targets which the royal commission included in its interim findings, that no people under the age of 65 should enter residential care by 2022. We have accepted and embraced that.”
“No people under the age of 45 should be living in aged care by 2022.”
Opposition defence spokesman Richard Marles spearheaded the attacks on Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price, in light of comments from the head of a French naval company with the $80 billion contract Future Submarines contract that local content could form less than half of the project.
Mr Marles quizzed Ms Price about commitments in the contract for minimum local content in the production of the 12 submarines.
Ms Price responded by saying “we’re currently in the design phase for the submarines” and “mandating a minimum portion of Australian industry, particularly at this time during the design phase, would be counter-productive”.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack attempted to mock Anthony Albanese over a group of Labor Right MPs who have been meeting regularly at a Canberra restaurant.
“I realised it was in fact the Otis Group … Imagine that, a rebel group within parliament, Mr Speaker,” Mr McCormack said.
The Deputy Prime Minister recently survived a leadership spill, had ex-National MP Llew O’Brien leave his partyroom, and then had Nationals MPs vote for Mr O’Brien for deputy speaker against his own wishes.
Richard Ferguson 3.20pm: Why no local jobs guarantee on subs?: Marles
Opposition defence spokesman Richard Marles asks Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price why the government did not put a local jobs guarantee in the future submarines contract.
Ms Price says Labor cannot lecture the Coalition on submarines as they never commissioned any.
I think it is worth reminding what I have said earlier which is that there are currently 137 Australian companies who are already in the project,” she says.
“We on this side and I am sure all of those on the other side are very committed to ensuring that we’ve similar Australian industry content, with respect to our $200 billion investment.
“But Mr Speaker, getting this lecture from Labour, it is quite extraordinary. We do know in six years, Labor did not commission the building of one naval vessel in an Australian yard.
“Not one naval vessel in an Australian yard. By contrast, we currently have 4000 shipbuilding jobs in this country and we need 15,000.”
Richard Ferguson 3.12pm: Doctor and MP queries NDIS waits
Labor MP and paediatrician Michael Freelander asks Scott Morrison why children with severe disabilities in disadvantaged areas are waiting to get on the NDIS.
The Prime Minister praises Dr Freelander’s years of medical service, and gets NDIS Minister Stuart Robert to respond.
“You don’t need a diagnosis to enter the NDIS,” Mr Robert says.
“In terms of people accessing a plan, it has dropped from 54 days. Anticipating a range of issues the Commonwealth leaned on the second phase of functional assessment trial which will conclude this month, all going well with results and so far they are very positive.
“I tell parents to get hold of the NDIS, speak to an early childhood early intervention partner and get that intervention as quickly as possible.”
Richard Ferguson 3.05pm: We’ll build 12 subs in Australia: Price
Opposition defence spokesman Richard Marles asks Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price why the government is “sending jobs” to France instead of keeping jobs in Australia to build future submarines.
Ms Price says there will be 15,000 jobs in Australia to build the subs here.
“But once again, we’ll not be lectured by those opposite,” she says.
“4000 jobs now, 15,000 jobs now, and we’re working very hard to ensure we have the skill set in this country to ensure that we have the sovereign capability.
“We’ll build those 12 submarines in Australia. We will build the workforce that we need.”
Elias Visontay 3.02pm: ‘Where is the local content in subs contract?’
Opposition defence spokesman Richard Marles asks Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price again about the $80 billion Future Submarines program.
“This government asserted that 90% would be local content. Why on earth is there no binding percentage requirement for local content in the government’s contract for the future submarines?”
Ms Price responds by saying “mandating a minimum portion of Australian industry, particularly at this time during the design phase, would be counter-productive.”
“We are delivering a sovereign defence capability.”
“We won’t be lectured by those opposite. I would like to know how many submarines those opposite were considering to build. I think it’s zero.”:
Elias Visontay 2.58pm: Submarines questions surface
Opposition defence spokesman Richard Marles asks Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price if the government wrote a binding commitment for local content into an $80 billion contract with a French submarine manufacturer.
The questions comes after revelations from the company that less than half of production could be Australian.
Ms Price responds by saying “we’re currently in the design phase for the submarines.”
“There’s over 130 Australian companies and organisations subcontracted. The actual proportion of Australian content on the submarines, Mr Speaker, will be determined as the design of the submarines is completed.”
“We are all committed here to building 12 submarines in this country, using Australian industry content. We have faith in our Australian industry. We are backing Australian industry. We are building 12 submarines in our country, because we are going to create more shipbuilding jobs.”
Elias Visontay 2.50pm: Shorten wants answers on robodebt repayments
Opposition government services spokesman Bill Shorten asks Minister for Government Services Stuart Robert about the “illegal robodebt scheme” and when citizens owed money by the government will be repaid.
Mr Robert says “the process is highly manual in terms of finding the data and complex.”
“It’s not appropriate to pre-empt that process and as I advised the House last week, I say the same thing now.”
Richard Ferguson 2.40pm: Aged care Question Time’s sole focus
Opposition ageing spokeswoman Julie Collins asks Health Minister Greg Hunt why the government is privatising the Aged Care Assessment Team despite its success.
Mr Hunt says things can be better in the assessment process.
“Under the current scheme, there are non-government contracts. And that is a very important thing to note,” he says.
“The second thing, though, and I want to challenge the fundamental assumption that things need, say, stay exactly as they are. They couldn’t be better.
“We are responding to David Tune’s report (on aged care).”
Labor has been focusing solely on aged care in question time so far.
Elias Visontay 2.35pm: Hunt quizzed on aged care deaths
Anthony Albanese asks Health Minister Greg Hunt why more than one quarter of younger people who into aged care die within a year of entry.
Mr Hunt says the deaths are “very much dependent on the circumstances”.
“Younger people who go into aged care would be going into because they have a very serious condition, whether it’s an acquired brain injury, whether it’s some form of degenerative condition, or some other form of accident or illness.”
“There are three targets which the royal commission included in its interim findings, that no people under the age of 65 should enter residential care by 2022. We have accepted and embraced that.”
“No people under the age of 45 should be living in aged care by 2022. So living in, let alone entering. And thirdly, that no people under the age of 65 should be living in residential aged care by 2025.”
Richard Ferguson 2.30pm: McCormack ribs Albanese over ‘rebel group’
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack ribs Anthony Albanese over a group of Labor Right MPs who have been meeting regularly at a Canberra restaurant.
“I realised it was in fact the Otis Group … Imagine that, a rebel group within parliament, Mr Speaker,” Mr McCormack says.
“The Otis menu, very interesting reading. On the menu, ravioli egg yolk … No wonder the member for Hunter (pro-coal Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon) had that when he went there, because today he has egg on his face.”
Labor MPs start pointing at Mr McCormack’s Nationals colleagues.
The Deputy Prime Minister recently survived a leadership spill, had ex-National MP Llew O’Brien leave his partyroom, and then had Nationals MPs vote for Mr O’Brien for deputy speaker against his own wishes.
Elias Visontay 2.25pm: Hunt defends Aged Care Royal Commission record
Opposition ageing spokeswoman Julie Collins asks Health Minister Greg Hunt about the Aged Care Royal commission finding inadequate prevention and wound management had led to septicaemia and death.
Mr Hunt responds by saying the findings of neglect from the royal commission prompted the government to adopt “every one of the royal commission’s findings”.
“Not only have we adopted all of the findings of the interim report, but it stands in stark contrast to the utter hypocrisy and failure of the Opposition,
“Given a chance, given a chance only a few months on, they could have provided one, how many home care places did they provide? Zero. Now, in terms of the other items within the royal commission, it’s an uncomfortable truth for the opposition, they had a chance and their provision was zero.”
Richard Ferguson 2.20pm: Sports grants scheme ‘not corrupt’: Porter
Independent MP for Indi Helen Haines asks Scott Morrison if their model for a national ICAC would be able investigate scandals like the recent alleged sports rorts scandal.
Attorney-General Christian Porter responds and says that the Commonwealth Integrity Commission would have strong powers, but the sports grants scheme is not corrupt.
“There was nothing in the recent report of the Auditor-General that suggested anything of the nature that was inferred in the question,” he says.
“In fact, the Auditor-General’s report made it very, very clear every single one of the projects that was ultimately approved, pursuant to guidelines where the minister had ultimate discretion was an eligible project.
“But what is also clear is that under our model, if an Auditor-General who would be a
key referring agency ever took a view, in any circumstances, that there was the potentiality of an offence having been committed of any type – he could refer that matter up to the Commonwealth Integrity Commission which would have powers greater than a royal commission to investigate.”
Richard Ferguson 2.10pm: Hunt under pressure over aged care
Opposition ageing spokeswoman Julie Collins asks Health Minister Greg Hunt why older Australians are facing up to three year waits for home care packages.
Mr Hunt says the government has provided thousands of more care packages and claims Labor did not contribute to a discussion on increasing those.
“That included 10,000 additional home care places, which has been part of
a 44,000 place increase in the last year and a half and a tiny bit more,” he says.
“We have taken the number of home care places from 60,000 when we came to office to 150,000 now. That is a 150 per cent increase.
“That is a dramatic increase in the number of home care places and at the last election, I
note the opposition had a chance to contribute to the number of home care places and they provided zero.”
Elias Visontay 2.07pm: Why are half aged care residents malnourished?
Anthony Albanese begins Question Time by asking Health Minister Greg Hunt: “Why are up to half of all older Australians in residential aged care malnourished?”
Mr Hunt responds by defending the royal commission into aged care the coalition introduced that uncovered the statistic.
“The government called a royal commission and it was one of the first acts of the Prime Minister on coming to office, precisely because we were concerned about the circumstances of Australians in aged care.”
“When the Prime Minister called this, he said that we had to be prepared for findings which would be of concern. Which would be something that would confront all of us.”
“We thank the royal commission for their findings. We embrace what they have found.”
Elias Visontay 12.10pm: Falinski fuels coal war
Liberal MP Jason Falinski has said his government should not fund coal-fired power stations, fuelling the war within the Coalition between moderates in his party and vocal Nationals.
Mr Falinksi’s comments come after the government commissioned a feasibility study into a proposed new coal-fired power station in the Queensland town of Collinsville.
“I’ve got to be honest and say I don’t think that this is the role for the commonwealth government,” the MP for Mackellar in Sydney’s north told Sky News.
“This is really a role for state governments.
“They’re traditionally the level of government that have built and operated power plants.
“In NSW they’ve had a free market for quite some time, the same in Victoria. If there are private companies that want to come in and build or retrofit coal fired power stations then they should do so.
“I’m a Liberal. I don’t think that taxpayers should be involved in private sector businesses and if they are it should be to the minimal amount as possible,” he said.
Elias Visontay 11.40am: LNP breakaway ‘not on cards’
Nationals Senator Matt Canavan has said discussion of a breakaway LNP group in parliament isn’t serious, saying such a move is “not on the cards”.
Senator Canavan’s comments come after Larry Anthony, the federal president of the National Party, labelled the idea a “red herring” as he looks to restore calm after “a very messy two weeks within the National Party”.
“I don’t think the discussion is a serious one,” the Queensland Senator told Sky News when asked about the LNP sitting separately in parliament.
“Obviously our former colleague Llew O’Brien has left the Nationals party and created an LNP room here I suppose with himself.
“It’s not something I supported, I tried to talk him out of it (leaving the Nationals).
“That’s happened though … but I’m not aware of anybody else considering joining Llew.
“I’ve spoken to the LNP in the last few days, that’s not on the cards.
“I don’t think Llew had the intention at all to create a separate room as such … He’s made his decision to leave the Nationals party and it’s left him with no other real choice.
“What’s happened in the last week in this instance has been a bit of a shock to people.
“It wasn’t something that people thought would happen but it has happened and I don’t think it’s going to lead to much else.” Senator Canavan said.
Elias Visontay 10.40am: ‘Complete breach of faith’
Deputy Labor leader and shadow defence spokesman Richard Marles has accused the government of “a complete breach of faith” over mismanaging a submarine program that is the “most expensive thing Australia has ever bought in any context since federation.”
Mr Marles comments come after The Australian revealed Naval Group, the French company building Australia’s $80bn Future Submarines, says local firms may not get half of the value of the subs’ contracts and warns that the capability of defence suppliers is falling short of expectations.
“This government promised to build 12 submarines in Australia, but promised to build them in Adelaide. Now we’re hearing from Naval that less than half the content is going to be Australian,” he said.
“That is absolutely not what this government committed. Christopher Pyne when he was minister talked about a 90% build in Australia. This is a complete breach of faith.
“It ought to be an enormous concern to the Australian people.
“Of all the failures of government that we’ve seen on behalf of the Morrison government, particularly since the last election, this ranks right up there with the top of them.”
Ewin Hannan 10.10am: Porter plays down Lambie threat
Attorney-General Christian Porter has played down Jacqui Lambie’s threat to torpedo the union busting bill.
Mr Porter, who is also the Minister for Industrial Relations said: “The Government has had constructive discussions with Senator Lambie around her proposed amendments to the bill and will continue to do so”.
Richard Ferguson 9.40am: Lambie threatens unions bill
Crossbench senator Jacqui Lambie has declared she will not talk to the government about their union-busting bills until they release a confidential report into the alleged sports rorts scandal.
The Ensuring Integrity Bill would give courts the powers to disqualify and deregister rogue unions and union officials.
Senator Lambie has not settled on a firm position on the bill, originally saying she would only vote for it if Victorian CFMEU boss John Setka did not resign.
Now she has said that she cannot discuss the bill until the Gaetjens report into former minister Bridget McKenzie is released.
“If you can’t discipline your own from here … if you can’t show integrity up here, why would I be voting for an Ensuring Integrity bill,” he said.
“No-one’s been taught anything up. We’re supposed to be leaders and show by example.
“We haven’t finished with the Ensuring Integrity bill … I don’t want workers penalised, workers should be able to go on strike.
“I’m getting to the point where I’m thinking you can’t discipline your own and you can’t show integrity, maybe we should put those talks on hold.”
Richard Ferguson 9.10am: Travel ban extension unclear
Scott Morrison will not confirm whether he will extend a ban on foreign nationals coming from China, as business groups warn any extension will “compound” the damage coronavirus has done to the Australian economy.
“The national security committee (of cabinet) is continuing to meet on these issues,” he said.
“The current ban extends to this weekend and we will be considering these issues on the best medical advice.”
Australia’s sandstone universities are “unfortunately” preparing for the Prime Minister to extend the ban, as banks predict the coronavirus crisis could wipe $6bn off Australia’s GDP and result in a quarter of negative growth.
Richard Ferguson 9.00am: ‘No concerns’ over breakaway LNP
Scott Morrison says he has no concerns about a breakaway Queensland LNP faction forming.
There are some Coalition MPs who wish for the LNP in Queensland to form its own partyroom, which could supercede the Nationals as the number two force in the Coalition.
The Prime Minister said he had no concerns, and used the question to poke fun at a group of Labor Right MPs who have been regularly meeting for dinner at a Canberra restaurant.
“The only breakaway I know about is the Otis breakaway,” Mr Morrison said.
“More than 20 Labor MPs getting together. I don’t think there’s a lazy Susan at the Otis but that tends to be the way things are done in the Labor Party. They go off to lunches and make deals.”
“I have no concerns (about the potential Queensland LNP break-off).”
Elias Visontay 8.45am: Chalmers downplays turn to right
Labor’s treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers has downplayed the significance of a group of party colleagues who want to push Labor to be more supportive of coal-based jobs.
Responding to a report in The Australian of the ‘Otis’ faction of about 20 Labor politicians that meet for dinner in Canberra to discuss how to prevent a leftward shift in the party under Anthony Albanese, Mr Chalmers said he hadn’t heard about the grouping until the news report.
“I knew afterwards, but I didn’t know at the time.”
“There’s nothing unusual about colleagues catching up for dinner, and there’s certainly nothing unusual about people getting together to talk about policy. So I think this is getting a bit more attention than it deserves,” Mr Chalmers said.
He also said Labor’s policies towards new coal-fired power generators won’t make it harder for the party to win votes in Queensland, hitting out at Nationals senator Matt Canavan in the process.
“New coal fired plants are not a smart investment. They don’t make economic sense when there’s cheaper and cleaner renewable technology available. And investors have made that clear for some time,” he said.
“As a Queenslander, there’s no prouder Queenslander than me … I don’t like it how Queensland gets kind of caricatured on these issues and this sort of simplified belief that there’s one homogenous view in Queensland and that Matt Canavan is somehow the arbiter of that view.”
On Labor’s energy policy, he said: “There’s also a recognition that we can find a way to do something about climate change without abandoning some of our traditional strengths and being cognisant of the impact on some of the communities particularly in Central and North Queensland. That is not beyond us.”
Mr Chalmers also criticised the government’s economic performance, saying the bushfire crisis and Coronavirus can’t be used as excuses if a surplus isn’t met.
“I think the budget surplus is really a test that the government has set for itself. And so we won’t know for a little while yet whether they met that test,” he said.
“The economy was already slowing before these fires hit, and before anyone had even heard of coronavirus, and so that needs to be recognised as well.
“We’ve had this long period where they haven’t had an economic plan and that’s had consequences for the economy.
“The government itself has been downgrading its expectations for growth, as has the Reserve Bank, as has the International Monetary Fund.”
Elias Visontay 8.25am: Nats ‘messy two weeks’
Nationals Federal President Larry Anthony has labelled the idea of part of the LNP sitting separately in parliament as a “red herring”, as he looks to restore calm after “a very messy two weeks within the National Party”.
Asked about the idea that Queensland LNP members would sit separately from Liberal and Nationals colleagues in Canberra, Mr Anthony said: “I don’t think so.”
“It’s a red herring … I genuinely know what’s going on,” he said.
“The LNP works well in Queensland.
“It’s been a very messy two weeks within the National Party,
“We’re going to end the parliamentary week today, couldn’t come quick enough, get back into communities and focus back on the things that matter,” Mr Anthony said.
Asked about speculation over and leaking against Michael McCormack’s leadership, Mr Anthony said: “It’s not sustainable.
“This is not something we do in the National Party. Our base … expect better of our members.
“Let’s have a little bit more order and let history unfold.”
Mr Anthony urged his party to “come together” because last week’s leadership spill had delivered a result against Barnaby Joyce.
“It all comes down to numbers and he (Mr Joyce) didn’t have the numbers last week,” he said.
“Focus on the things that matter for the Australian public and move on because people do not like this dissension … I don’t want to see the party go into tribes,” Mr Anthony said.
Mr Anthony also said it was “very disappointing” that Matt Canavan was no longer the resources minister.
What’s making news:
The French company building Australia’s $80bn Future Submarines says local firms may not get half of the value of the subs’ contracts and warns that the capability of defence suppliers is falling short of expectations.
Australia’s sandstone universities are “unfortunately” preparing for Scott Morrison to extend a ban on foreign nationals coming from China, as banks predict the coronavirus crisis could wipe $6bn off Australia’s GDP and result in a quarter of negative growth.
Anthony Albanese will need to think hard about how he deals with a group of up to 20 Labor MPs and senators calling themselves the Otis Group — named after a restaurant in the Canberra suburb of Kingston.
A charity set up by senior GetUp officials, which is being investigated by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, has appointed the left-wing activist group’s former campaign director to its board.
Alice Workman’s sketch: Barnaby Joyce’s Weatherboard Nine a few planks short of constructive
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