Roman Quaedvlieg ‘may have been mistaken’ on au pair evidence
Roman Quaedvlieg has conceded evidence he gave regarding Peter Dutton’s interventions in two au pair cases was wrong.
- Bragg exits Wentworth
- Bandt claim on Dutton ‘false’
- ScoMo: NAB’s good call
- ‘We’ve got a fighting chance’
- ‘Libs need action on women’
With Parliament back sitting in Canberra today, Scott Morrison faced his first Question Time as Prime Minister, and questions about his former leadership rival Peter Dutton and the au pair controversy just kept on coming. As Morrison staved off Opposition questions about why Malcolm Turnbull isn’t PM anymore, back in Sydney, Turnbull’s old seat was all but earmarked for a woman.
Roise Lewis 5.50pm: Au pair evidence wrong: Quaedvlieg
Sacked Australian Border Force commissioner Roman Quaedvlieg has conceded evidence he gave to a Labor-led Senate committee looking into Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton’s interventions in two au pair cases was wrong but claims there was another, similar matter he was asked for advice on.
Mr Dutton last week unleashed a blistering rebuke of Mr Quaedvlieg, the man he appointed as the nation’s first ABF commissioner on July 1, 2015, declaring that evidence provided by his former friend to the au pair inquiry was “entirely false and indeed fabricated”.
In fresh evidence published by the committee today, Mr Quaedvlieg said “I may have been honestly mistaken” in claiming he received a phone call in mid-June 2015 from the Minister’s chief-of-staff, Craig Maclachlan, seeking help for “the boss’s mate in Brisbane” after one of the au pair’s was detained.
Mr Dutton has said it was “impossible” for the alleged conversation between Mr Quaedvlieg and Mr Maclachlan to have occurred at that time because the latter was not employed by him until October 2015.
Mr Quaedvlieg’s original evidence related to Italian au pair Michela Marchisio, who was detained at Brisbane airport in June 2015 when her tourist visa was cancelled due to suspicions she intended to work.
Mr Dutton intervened to allow her entry into Australia on a tourist visa after his former Queensland police colleague Russell Keag wrote to his office via a publicly available e-mail address asking for assistance.
Mr Quaedvlieg had also not been sworn-in as ABF commissioner in June 2015 despite telling the committee he was in the role at the time of the events.
“I concede that I may have been honestly mistaken in anchoring that conversation to a date in June 2015 however in light of the remarkably coincidental information I will provide to you below I contend that not only is it an understandable error, but moreover renders the only logical conclusion that a second Brisbane ministerial intervention case may merit the committee’s further inquiry,” Mr Quaedvlieg said in new evidence.
Mr Quaedvlieg alleged he had a conversation with Mr Maclachlan “between October 2015 and the end of calendar year 2016” about “the boss’s mate in Brisbane” who had an au pair or nanny.
“The information I was provided (from officials) was that a young European female travelling on a tourist visa had been detained at Brisbane International Airport. I do not recall her exact nationality however I am reasonably confident she was from a Western or Southern European country,” he said.
“The reason for her detention was that ABF officers had spoken to her after she presented at the Primary Line. I cannot recall whether she had been on an incoming alert or whether ABF officer’s suspicions had been triggered by her behaviour or by her responses to questions.
“As a result of the remarkably coincidental circumstances, and without access to records, I had made the apparently erroneous assumption that the conversation I have just recounted was in fact related to the ‘Brisbane Case’ currently under scrutiny of the inquiry, however it now appears that the records of the department and the ABF, and officers involved in the described chain of inquiry, need to be examined to correlate it to a different Brisbane visa case.”
Mr Dutton has tabled the e-mail from Mr Keag following a request from Labor.
Mr Quaedvlieg rejected Mr Dutton’s characterisation that he was engaging with the committee because of his bitterness over losing his job at the ABF in March for misbehaviour in the wake of a lengthy review into his misconduct with a younger female staffer.
“(I) categorically reject his view that my engagement with the committee has been catalysed by an accumulation of disaffection and stress,” Mr Quaedvlieg said.
Mr Dutton said Mr Quaedvlieg had “lost his credibility” and today’s statement had “no more validity than his fabricated statement from last week”.
“He should provide the detail of the case to which he refers,” the Minister said.
3.25pm: The women for Wentworth
Two women have emerged as the likely candidates for Malcolm Turnbull’s seat of Wentworth after Andrew Bragg withdrew from the race, telling the Liberal party to “preselect a woman”.
Woollahra councillor Mary-Lou Jarvis, president of the NSW Liberal Women’s Council, was previously considered one of the biggest threats to Mr Bragg’s preselection chances.
But it’s understood senior Liberals in Canberra now want Sydney East Business Chamber chair Katherine O’Regan to be the party’s candidate.
Mr Bragg said allegations of bullying by outgoing MP Julia Banks and comments by former foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop about the lack of women within the party were behind his decision.
“I believe these recent events and comments have changed the mood and accordingly I will withdraw my nomination,” Mr Bragg said.
It comes as Victorian Liberal party president Michael Kroger said the party’s level of female representation is “unacceptable”, and warned the executive could be forced to intervene to put more women in safe seats.
“The level of representation is unacceptable, we have been talking about this since I joined the Liberal Party in 1973. We need a bit of direct action,” he told Sky News this morning.
Mr Bragg had the blessing of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull to try and take over his seat in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, but said he was “genuinely shocked” by Ms Banks’ allegations.
There’s speculation Mr Bragg stood aside in return for a high-up spot on the party’s NSW Senate ticket.
Some 210 selectors from Wentworth branches will be involved in the Liberal preselection on Thursday night.
Any candidate who receives less than five per cent of the vote will be eliminated from any further rounds. The first person to receive more than 50 per cent of the vote is preselected.
Tim Murray is Labor’s candidate. He’s being supported by Mr Turnbull’s son, Alex Turnbull.
City of Sydney councillor Kerryn Phelps is considering whether to stand as an independent with many pundits convinced she’d have the best chance of seizing the seat from the Liberals for the first time since the party’s inception in 1944.
Former Prime minister Tony Abbott’s sister, Sydney City councillor Christine Forster, initially declared she’d run for Liberal preselection, but withdrew earlier this month, amid fears it might stoke divisions within the party.
— AAP
Greg Brown 3.05pm: ScoMo’s had a “gutful”
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus asks if Peter Dutton will be referred to the High Court for eligibility concerns.
Scott Morrison says the Australian people have had a “gutful of these games”.
“They want us to get on with business and that is exactly what my government is going to do,” the Prime Minister says.
Greg Brown 2.45pm: Hunt’s “profound belief”
Opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King asks Health Minister Greg Hunt about his support of Peter Dutton for Liberal leader.
Hunt says Labor is too scared to ask questions on health.
“That is because they’re ashamed of what they did when in the 2011 budget, they pulled the plug on the listing of new medicine,” he says.
Hunt — a high profile Dutton backer — went on to describe his “deep and profound belief in this Prime Minister”.
“This Prime Minister has done more in the raising of funds for allowing new medicines to be listed than arguably any other person in the history of this parliament,” he says.
Greg Brown 2.35pm: No bullying lectures
Bill Shorten asks Scott Morrison the process in the Liberal Party for dealing with bullying complaints from last month’s spill.
The Prime Minister says he will not take lectures of bullying from the Opposition Leader.
“I’m not going to take lectures from a Leader of the Opposition who could not have a warmer embrace with John Setka, the head of the Victorian CFMEU,” Morrison says.
“If they were any closer, they would be Siamese twins. Joined at the head and joined at the heart.”
Greg Brown 2.33pm: “No” on Dutton
Greens MP Adam Bandt asks Scott Morrison about allegations Peter Dutton misled parliament over the au pairs scandal.
“Prime Minister, hasn’t the minister clearly misled parliament? Isn’t this a clear breach of your ministerial standards? Will you now dismiss him?”
The Prime Minister shows brevity: “no”.
Greg Brown 2.30pm: Curtains for “Muppet show”
Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek asks about the series of leaks from inside government ranks last week.
“Is this what the Prime Minister said when he said his own government was a Muppet show?”
Scott Morrison says the “curtain has come down” on the government’s Muppet performance.
“The long running performance of the Muppet show on that side of 9 house is setting new records,” the Prime Minister.
“We don’t hold a candle when it comes to their performance. It is the longest running show in the history of the Australian parliament on that side of the house.”
Greg Brown 2.25pm: But why, asks Shorten
Bill Shorten goes again on the reason for the change of leadership.
“I asked not how the Prime Minister was replaced but why?”
Scott Morrison says the party chooses the person they want to lead them to the next election.
“The Leader of the Opposition has a negative plan for Australia. He has no plan to ensure a strong economy,” Morrison says.
“Everything he says, every promise he makes is not believable.”
ScoMo: "We believe the best form of welfare is a job." Just not for Malcolm Turnbull, obviously.
— James Jeffrey (@James_Jeffrey) September 10, 2018
Greg Brown 2.10pm: Drought “Dixer”
Scott Morrison’s first Dixer as Prime Minister is about the drought, which he has labelled a “first order” priority for the government.
He talks about his trips to drought affected areas over the past fortnight.
“The challenge is great and there is no one single answer,” Morrison says.
Greg Brown 2.15pm: People “deserve answer”
Bill Shorten opens up QT with a pointed question: why is Malcolm Turnbull no longer prime minister?
Scott Morrison references John Howard saying it was up to the Liberal party room to choose its leader.
“John Howard used to say something quite simple and that is the privilege of serving as the leader of your parliamentary party is the decision of your parliamentary party,” Morrison says.
“That’s what it is. That’s who decides who the leader of the parliamentary party is, just as it is true that caucus members of the Labor Party decide who the leader of the Labor Party is.”
Shorten has another crack, a loudly asks: “The Australian people deserve an answer: why did you change the Prime Minister?”
Morrison says Shorten is “hard of hearing”.
“I made it pretty clear, the privilege of serving as the leader of the Liberal Party is a decision of the parliamentary party and they have made their decision,” Morrison says.
“I have accepted their decision and more than that, I have decided to take charge of that situation and deliver the strong economic growth.”
Greg Brown 2.05pm: Civil start for ScoMo
Scott Morrison opens up his first question time as Prime Minister by telling the House of Representatives he is new Liberal leader.
Morrison pays tribute to former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
“I had the opportunity to extend my remarks and sincere best wishes to him on other occasions and I don’t intend to prolong the house here today on that matter,” Morrison says.
Bill Shorten congratulates Morrison on becoming PM.
“This is a great country, a remarkable country, and it’s a distinct and special privilege to be elected Prime Minister,” Shorten says.
Morrison leans over the aisle and shakes Shorten’s hand. Let’s see how long the good manners last.
Greg Brown 1.50pm: Dutton defender
Crossbench senator Rex Patrick has defended Peter Dutton in the wake of the au pair scandal — but he was not so generous on the Home Affairs Minister’s eligibility issues.
The Centre Alliance senator said there was nothing wrong with using ministerial intervention to overturn departmental rulings.
“People must realise we do contact ministers from time to time, directly as a senator, I’ve actually done so on two occasions to get assistance from a minister in relation two immigration and they have given that assistance,” Senator Patrick told Sky News.
“So unless there was a really close connection I would be inclined to say this is pretty normal process.”
But he argued Mr Dutton should be referred to the High Court due to concerns his indirect stake in childcare centres that receive government subsidies could make him ineligible to sit in parliament.
“Well there is no question there is a controversy there, and indeed the Solicitor General has indicated that in his advice to government. I think in this instance it is prudent to put the question to the High Court and they will make a determination,” he said.
Greg Brown 1.40pm: Bragg exits Wentworth
Former Liberal Party acting director Andrew Bragg has stepped aside from the race for the Wentworth preselection race and called on the party to chose a female candidate.
“I believe the Liberal Party should preselect a woman and my withdrawal can pave the way,” Mr Bragg said in a statement posted to Facebook.
“The allegations made by the Member for Chisholm genuinely shocked me. Julia Banks is an incredibly impressive woman who has made it in the upper echelons of corporate Australia.
“Julia Banks’ exit from public life is a loss for all of us. Julia is exactly the type of professional woman that the Liberal Party must be able to attract and keep in Parliament. Her loss is an enormous step in the wrong direction.”
Mr Bragg was endorsed by Malcolm Turnbull.
Rosie Lewis 1.18pm: Burke’s new crack at Dutton
Labor’s chief tactician in the House of Representatives, Tony Burke, has attempted to pass a procedural motion to that would give precedent to the au pair controversy surrounding Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton. Mr Burke claims that, following Mr Dutton’s statement to the chamber this morning, he has “misled the parliament again”. Mr Burke is told he can bring up the motion at a later time but it was not relevant to the business being debated. The House moves on.
Rosie Lewis 1.15pm: ScoMo ‘not innocent bystander’
Attempting to suspend standing orders, Bill Shorten declared Scott Morrison was “not an innocent bystander in the (Liberal Party) leadership coup any more than he was a bit player in the Abbott and Turnbull leaderships”.
“There is a simple fact here which deserves more attention: 45 members of the Liberal Party voted to spill the Liberal leadership and sack Malcolm Turnbull — 45! — but only 40 voted for the member for Dickson. Who are these other five Liberal MPs who wanted their own man, the current Prime Minister?” he told the chamber.
“They were clever enough to spill the former Prime Minister’s position and clever enough not to vote for the member for Dickson. Who is the person who has benefited most from the instability in the current Liberal workforce? Who has benefited most from the spill of Prime Minister Turnbull and by not voting for the member for Dickson? It’s the current Prime Minister, the man who now holds the office.
“This Prime Minister was not an innocent bystander in the leadership coup any more than he was a bit player in the Abbott and Turnbull leaderships. Every day at the cabinet table for the past five years, he’d done over working and middle-income families in Australia. Saying ‘fairness’ repetitively, like a mantra, doesn’t make up for five years of unfairness. His record speaks for his character far louder than anything he yells in question time.
“The Australian people are sick and tired of watching the Liberal Party fight themselves. They deserve better than a government consumed by jealousy and ambition and animosity. No more badge-wearing, covering up and evangelical lectures — it’s time for the Australian people to have a say on the government of this country.”
Rosie Lewis 1.05pm: Labor’s visa cases
In The Australian today we’ve looked at two visa cases when Labor frontbenchers Chris Bowen and Tony Burke were immigration ministers. In the Burke case, there was a push by the then minister to grant a Lebanese man permanent residency despite the immigration department telling him such action was “not considered appropriate”.
The man Mr Burke tried to help, Samer Al Shaar, entered Australia on a tourist visa in December 2012 with the support of businessman Talal Yassine, who is the managing director of Islamic superannuation and investment fund Crescent Wealth, which donated $61,250 to the Labor Party in 2016-17.
In yet another twist, The Australian can reveal Mr Bowen’s wife, Rebecca Mifsud, was appointed a board director of the Crescent Foundation in 2016.
In an update to the Labor frontbencher’s register of members’ interests on 22 December, 2016, he said: “My wife Rebecca Mifsud has been appointed to the board of the Crescent Foundation. This is a charity and she is not remunerated.”
Part of Labor’s attack against Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton for intervening in two foreign au pair visa cases has focused on claims he was helping a mate. Mr Dutton used his ministerial powers to grant the two au pair tourist visas after appeals from a former Queensland police colleague, Russell Keag, and AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan.
Greg Brown 12.44pm: Doggie fallout continues
The fallout from The Australian’s revelation Scott Morrison was a Western Bulldog’s fan continues.
It would appear this tweet by the @westernbulldogs has now been deleted. @gregbrown_TheOz the scandal deepens! #auspol pic.twitter.com/isk60Xo4eA
— Anthony Galloway (@Gallo_Ways) September 10, 2018
Rosie Lewis 12.29pm: Standing orders bid fails
Labor’s bid to suspend standing orders and stoke chaos in the House of Representatives has been defeated 68-72. Bob Katter voted with the government, Rebekha Sharkie and Cathy McGowan abstained, while Adam Bandt and Andrew Wilkie voted with Labor.
The motion Bill Shorten tried to get up read:
That the House:
1. Notes:
a) The last time this Parliament sat, the Government shut down this House because this Government was unable and unwilling to govern itself;
b) The next day, the Government deposed the elected Prime Minister but nobody is able to explain why;
c) The Government continues to be wracked by infighting, with Government Members leaking against each other on an almost daily basis;
d) The current Prime Minister claims he remained loyal to Malcolm Turnbull, but his own Liberal Party colleagues have been briefing that he was plotting to depose the former Prime Minister for some time;
e) The current Prime Minister has described his own Government as a “Muppet Show” and his own colleagues as Muppets;
f) Government Members don’t trust each other, are only focused on fighting themselves, and cannot possibly be trusted to look out for the interests of the Australian people; and
2. Therefore, condemns this Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government for only being focused on itself and not on helping Australians.
Rosie Lewis: 12.20pm: ‘No contact’ from Keag
Mr Dutton said Mr Keag did not have contact with him about the au pair visa case, but wrote to his “publicly available” e-mail address.
“That e-mail account is monitored by my staff. A staff member in my office asked me whether I knew this person, my initial response was ‘who?’ As is the case in any of these matters, my staff are asked for information from the department to examine the facts,” Mr Dutton said.
“The staff member in my office then sought further information through the DLO and at no time did I speak to the ABF commissioner, the departmental liaison officer or any other member of the department regarding this matter.
“Despite his evidence otherwise, no one in my office spoke with the ABF commissioner on this matter. Any statements made by a current or former departmental officials are not informed by any communication with me.
“I actioned the submission on the facts of the case before me. Nothing more, nothing less.”
.@PeterDutton_MP in the House just said- “On 26 March 2018, the Shadow Minister for Immigration asked me a question asserting I had granted a visa for a person to be employed by me and my wife as a nanny.â€
— Shayne Neumann (@ShayneNeumannMP) September 10, 2018
Here’s the actual question I asked… pic.twitter.com/GN0anaqTeW
Rosie Lewis 11.55am: Bandt claim on Dutton ‘completely false’
Mr Dutton has slammed Greens MP Adam Bandt’s claim he misled parliament as “completely false”. Taking the chance to explain his intervention in two foreign au pair visa cases, Mr Dutton tells the chamber:
“On the 26th of March, 2018, the shadow minister for immigration (Shayne Neumann) asked me a question asserting I had granted a visa for a person to be employed by me and my wife as a nanny. That is completely false. On the 27th of March the member for Melbourne (Mr Bandt), after a short preamble, asked me ‘can you categorically rule out any personal connection or any other relationship between you and the intended employer of either of the au pairs?’
“My answer was in the context to the baseless allegation about the employment of this person by my family as the answer on that date states. As I stated on the 27th of March, I do not have a personal connection or any type of relationship with the people involved in these matters.”
On the Adelaide matter, which was referred to his office by AFL government relations officer Jude Donnelly after the organisation’s chief executive Gillon McLachlan was contacted by his second cousin, whom the au pair was due to visit, Mr Dutton says: “To the best of my knowledge I’ve never met the visa holder or anyone else involved in the matter.
“A representation was received by my office, specifically my chief of staff, from an AFL government relations officer. My chief of staff requested information regarding the matter from the department. The department compiled a submission including all relevant information, as we provided in evidence to the Senate inquiry hearing last week. On the front page of that submission was a recommendation to intervene. I actioned the submission on the facts of the case before me.”
On the Brisbane au pair visa case, which was referred to his office by one of Mr Dutton’s former Queensland police colleagues Russell Keag, he says: “To the best of my knowledge I have not socialised, met with or had a personal connection with the man involved. In fact I finished work with the Queensland Police Service in July of 1999. At that time from my recollection there were 5500 police officers within the Queensland Police Service.
“He does not have my personal phone number or my personal email address. The use of terms such as ‘personal connection’ or ‘relationship’ as used by the member for Melbourne in his question, signify much closer relationship between two people than working in the same organisation two decades ago and not speaking with each other since that time. No reasonable person could come to the conclusion that my professional association through working on the same large public service some 20 years ago constitutes either a personal connection or relationship.”
Rosie Lewis 11.25am: Shorten’s standing orders stunt
Bill Shorten is trying to suspend standing orders, noting the last time the House of Representatives sat the government shut down the chamber because it was “unable and unwilling to govern itself”. The political stunt came after Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton refuted Greens MP Adam Bandt’s claim he misled parliament over the au pair controversy. More coming from Mr Dutton and the Opposition Leader shortly.
11.20am: Live export ban ‘racist’
Crossbench senator David Leyonhjelm has accused animal welfare advocates of racism for wanting to end live sheep exports to the Middle East. The upper house is debating legislation to phase out the controversial trade over five years and end live sheep exports to the Middle East during the northern hemisphere summer.
“Calls to ban live exports are wrong from every perspective. They are racist, imperialist, arrogant and anti-animal welfare,” Senator Leyonhjelm told parliament on Monday.
— AAP
Greg Brown 11am: Trump’s trade plan ‘concerning’
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says it is “very concerning” Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on nearly every product from China.
“These are very concerning comments and we would certainly urge all parties to abide by long standing practices of international trade rules and law, to exercise calm and to recognise that actions that might be taken now might have negative impacts upon the economies of those nations as well as economies around the whole world,” Senator Birmingham told Sky News.
Senator Birmingham said the government would stay in the Paris agreement, after warnings from the European Union leaving the international climate change group would put a free trade deal at risk.
He played down global concerns that Australia was part of Paris “in name only” after dumping the national energy guarantee.
“Reality is, Australia met and exceeded its Kyoto targets, we are on track to meet and exceed our second Kyoto targets, we are well and truly in a position where we can see a pathway to meet our other Paris commitment targets,” he said.
If the U.S. sells a car into China, there is a tax of 25%. If China sells a car into the U.S., there is a tax of 2%. Does anybody think that is FAIR? The days of the U.S. being ripped-off by other nations is OVER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 9, 2018
Rachel Baxendale 10.35am: ‘Good call by NAB’
Scott Morrison has tweeted congratulating the National Australia Bank on its decision not to change variable interest rates.
“Good call by @NAB not to lift mortgage rates. They seem to get it,” he tweeted.
Good call by @NAB not to lift mortgage rates. They seem to get it.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) September 10, 2018
10.16am: Burney doubles down on Abbott
Labor MP Linda Burney has doubled down on her fierce criticism of Tony Abbott’s appointment as special envoy on indigenous affairs.
The indigenous MP is scathing about the former prime minister’s new role as details emerge about what the job entails.
“This is just a joke. They are making it up as they go along with Tony Abbott as the special envoy for indigenous Australians,” Ms Burney told reporters.
— AAP
Greg Brown 10.14am: Turnbull formally resigns
Speaker Tony Smith tells the House of Representatives that Malcolm Turnbull has formally resigned from parliament.
Mr Smith said he does not yet know when a by-election will be held in the seat of Wentworth
“Consideration is being given to possible dates for the by-election and I will be consulting with party leaders on this matter during the course of this week,” he said.
“I will inform the house about the dates which I have fixed for the by-election.”
Greg Brown 10.10am: Waters sworn back in
Greens senator Larissa Waters has been sworn back into the parliament.
She was ruled out of parliament last year for being a dual citizen but her replacement, Andrew Bartlett, has stepped aside to run for the lower house seat of Brisbane.
Elias Visontay 10.03am: ‘We’ve got a fighting chance’
Tony Abbott has downplayed fresh Newspoll figures that show the Coalition continues to trail Labor, despite Scott Morrison’s usurping of Bill Shorten as preferred prime minister.
Speaking to Ray Hadley on 2GB Radio in Sydney, Mr Abbott said: “I don’t think we should worry too much about polls.”
“I think we should focus on … performance and already I’m quite encouraged by what I’ve seen from Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
“He’s got a minister for getting power prices down, he’s got a minister for congestion busting in our cities and as far as I can work out he’s also got a minister for deregistering the CFMEU. I reckon they are all pretty important things.”
“If we can do all of that … I think we’ve got a good fighting chance of winning the election,” Mr Abbott said.
Greg Brown 9.50am: ‘We need action on women’
Victorian Liberal Party president Michael Kroger says the party’s level of female representation is “unacceptable”, warning the executive could be forced to intervene to put more women in safe seats.
“The real challenge for the party is to preselect women in safe seats, that is what needs to happen,” Mr Kroger told Sky News.
“If the current preselection branches don’t work to preselect women then the party executives have to do it. The level of representation is unacceptable, we have been talking about this since I joined the Liberal Party in 1973.
“We need a bit of direct action.”
With Victorian MP Julia Banks arguing she has been bullied, Mr Kroger said the matter should be dealt with by the party whips.
“We have policies win place in Victoria where we deal with any complaints about behaviour and obviously if it is to do with the federal members then that is the matter for the whips to deal with,” Mr Kroger said.
“If those complaints are brought to the whips then I am sure they will be dealt with, as they should be because it is a serious issue and it should be treated seriously.”
9.40am: Farmers let the dogs out
Farmers and their supporters are holding a rally in Canberra to demand the federal government take urgent action on climate change. A ute convoy with farm dogs made its way around State Circle on Monday morning before speakers addressed the crowd.
“Rural Australia is on the front lines of climate change, and while our politicians have dithered for a decade, we have dealt with the harsh realities of inaction,” Farmers for Climate Action head Verity Morgan-Schmidt said.
AAP
Greg Brown 8.55am: Labor: 7 ministers misled parliament
Manager of Opposition Business Tony Burke says Labor will probe “up to seven ministers” it claims has misled the parliament, including Peter Dutton over the au pair controversy.
Mr Burke said it would be difficult for Dutton backers — such as Steven Ciobo, Alan Tudge and Greg Hunt — to claim they did not mislead the parliament when they pledged their support for Malcolm Turnbull in Question Time last fortnight.
“It’ll be an interesting attempt at credibility if they go down that path of saying immediately before Question Time they supported Peter Dutton, during Question Time they supported Malcolm Turnbull and then shortly after they supported Peter Dutton again and then by the end of the week they were locked on supporters of Scott Morrison,” Mr Burke told the ABC last night.
“If they want to argue that they can but I think it puts a really serious question of credibility for them forevermore as to whether anyone believe a word they say.”
Mr Burke said Mr Dutton should refer himself to the High Court over concerns he is contravening section 44 of the constitution.
“There is no doubt that there is a legal question mark, a really serious legal question mark and both sides of politics have seen fairly brutally how strictly the High Court takes its interpretation of these issues,” he said.
Greg Brown 8.30am: Cormann ‘disappointed’ at bullying claims
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann — a Peter Dutton backer — says he would be “very disappointed” if anyone was bullied in last month’s leadership spill.
“I think it is very important in our parliamentary democracy for people to exchange views and try and convince each other of the merits of our arguments but it should always be done with courtesy and respect,” Senator Cormann told the ABC.
Senator Cormann said he had “had conversations” with Liberal senator Lucy Gichuhi about her threats to name the bullies in the Senate under the protection of parliamentary privilege. He would not say whether he thinks she will act out on her threat.
“I support Senator Gichuhi in whatever she chooses to do,” he said.
Greg Brown 8.15am: Newspoll shocker ‘not surprising’
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says today’s Newspoll shocker for the Coalition was “not surprising”, but declared Scott Morrison has had an “outstanding start” as Prime Minister.
Senator Cormann, a backer of Peter Dutton in the leadership contest, said he had not spoken to Malcolm Turnbull since the former prime minister was rolled more than a fortnight ago.
“Scott Morrison has had an outstanding start as Prime Minister, people are embracing him, people clearly was to see more of what we have to say and what we are going to keep the economy strong, keep Australians safe and keep Australians together,” Senator Cormann told reporters at Parliament House.
“Clearly we made a judgment that under Scott Morrison’s leadership and under the leadership of Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg we were in the best position to win the next election, we were in the best position to provide strong and united and effective government in the future.”
Senator Cormann this morning told the ABC that the disastrous result for the Liberal Party in the Wagga Wagga state by-election was because of local issues.
“I think it is very clear that the previous member had to resign under a serious cloud and in the circumstances combined with a very popular local independent running I am not surprised at the result at all,” Senator Cormann said.
.@MathiasCormann: @ScottMorrisonMP has had an outstanding start, people are embracing him.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) September 9, 2018
We made a judgement that under Morrison’s leadership we will be in the best position to win the next election.
MORE: https://t.co/zcLpy0S1Ju #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/mYj0He19Kc
Elias Visontay 8.00am: ‘Witch hunt against Dutton’
Pauline Hanson has defended Peter Dutton, describing criticism over the au pair visa saga as “a political witch hunt” against the Home Affairs Minister.
“I wish they’d just get over it. They are dead set determined to get rid of Peter Dutton,” she said.
“This man’s done a fantastic job in protecting the borders of Australia and I support him.”
Speaking on Channel 7’s Sunrise, the One Nation leader revealed that she had on one occasion sought visa assistance from Mr Dutton.
“I’ve been one of the politicians that have gone to him about getting two girls that were abandoned by their parents to actually come to Australia to live with their aunt and uncle.
“That took a year and a half … he was so pedantic about making sure everything was right and done properly.”
Responding to a discussion on a confidence motion against Mr Dutton being moved by the Greens, she said: “These people make me sick. They go there wanting to bring in their illegal mates or people tied up with crime and all the rest of it and they scream blue murder.
“I think it’s ridiculous. There’s other things to deal with on the floor of parliament without this.
“People want to move on.”
Greg Brown 7.55am: Protesters scale flag poles
Greenpeace protesters have climbed flag poles outside Parliament House unfurling a banner saying “get your hands off it Prime Minister”.
The banner was in reference to Scott Morrison bringing a lump of coal into the House of Representatives.
“Two weeks ago we saw a coal coup that successfully installed a new Prime Minister,” said Greenpeace Australia director Dominique Rowe.
“Today he returns to parliament with literally no climate policy, which is a slap in the face to the 96 per cent of Australians who want renewable energy solutions, not coal pollution.
“This irreverent message from the more than one million Greenpeace supporters is here to remind the government who they’re really accountable to — their voters.”
Seen at Parliament House just now. My guess is it’s an image of Morrison waving a lump of coal around with the words ‘get your hand off it’ Couldn’t agree more! pic.twitter.com/tL3WtR5Mmv
— Nick McKim (@NickMcKim) September 9, 2018
What’s making news:
Scott Morrison has emerged as the favoured prime minister over Bill Shorten and a more popular leader than Malcolm Turnbull after just two weeks in the job but he leads a decimated Coalition that faces an election wipe-out with the potential loss of up to 30 seats.
Scott Morrison is viewed as less arrogant and more in touch with voters than Malcolm Turnbull, while Bill Shorten’s likability and “caring for people” leadership qualities have sunk to the lowest ratings for a Labor leader in a decade.
Scott Morrison’s pledge to scrap Malcolm Turnbull’s national energy guarantee and drive down energy bills has seen the Coalition extend its lead over Labor in relation to which party is best placed to maintain Australia’s energy supply and keep power prices lower.
Former Labor immigration ministers Chris Bowen and Tony Burke allowed Italian soccer star Alessandro Del Piero’s nanny into the country on a tourist visa, and fast-tracked the case of a Lebanese national whose entry into Australia was supported by a Labor donor.
Labor’s biggest vote-winning Tasmanian senator, Lisa Singh, has urged a rethink of the power of union leaders within the party, after being dumped to a virtually unwinnable spot on its Senate ticket.
Scott Morrison has portrayed himself as a one-eyed Cronulla Sharks fan but it wasn’t that long ago that he preferred rugby union while also being a supporter of the AFL’s Western Bulldogs.
Attorney-General Christian Porter has accused Labor of dragging out an inquiry into the government’s family courts restructure for political purposes, which are “not at all in the best interest of Australian families”.
The Liberal Party will attempt to keep bullying claims in-house as pressure intensifies for more women to win preselection.
The Australian’s Simon Benson writes that Scott Morrison faces a herculean task as he attempts to reshape the government as a competitive electoral force.
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