PoliticsNow: Gladys Liu not in Sam Dastyari’s league, PM Scott Morrison says
The PM defends the Liberal MP as Labor attempts to attack the Coalition on donation scandals.
- Liu not in Dastyari’s league: PM
- Liu admits part in to CCP-linked groups
- Coalition MPs comfort Liu
- Wong warns PM over Liu
- Hewson to back climate emergency
Hello and welcome to PoliticsNow, The Australian’s live blog on the happenings at Parliament House in Canberra.
Top story: Scott Morrison defends Liberal MP Gladys Liu as Labor attempts to attack the Coalition on donation scandals and meetings with Chinese donors.
Rosie Lewis 6.50pm: ‘Doesn’t pass believability test’
Former Labor senator Sam Dastyari has declared the only reason Liberal MP Gladys Liu is still sitting in federal parliament is because she is a member of the government.
Mr Dastyari was forced to resign in January 2018 after he allowed a company owned by Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo to pay a legal bill for his office.
Other links to Mr Xiangmo, including that he warned the businessman his phone was likely being tapped by US agencies, and a position on the South China Sea that contravened party policy also led to his downfall.
Mr Dastyari said Ms Liu’s failure to recollect she had been a member of organisations linked to the Chinese Communist Party did not pass the “believability test”.
“The Prime Minister himself set a test when it came to me. I failed that test. I rightly should have resigned from parliament and I did resign from parliament,” Mr Dastyari told Sky News.
“But this idea that she’d been a member of an organisation for perhaps up to 10 years and pretended and lied she wasn’t a member of them – it just doesn’t pass the believability test.
“Does anyone honestly believe that if she wasn’t a member of the Liberal Party, the Prime Minister and others wouldn’t be calling for her scalp right now?”
Days after giving evidence to the NSW ICAC about advice he gave former state secretary Kaila Murnain about alleged “improper” donations, Mr Dastyari said he had always felt that was the “right” advice.
“My view was action needs to be taken and she needs to go see the lawyers. And frankly as far as I understand that’s what happened,” he said.
Asked by host David Speers if the right advice would in fact have been to declare the donation, Mr Dastyari responded: “No, because we declare donations through the lawyers.”
Richard Ferguson 4.00pm: Liu not in Dastyar’s league: PM
Labor spent question time trying to drag the Liberals into questions of integrity and dodgy donations, on the back of embattled Liberal MP Gladys Liu’s car-wreck interview on China.
After days of the Prime Minister attacking Anthony Albanese over the donations scandal plauging the NSW branch of the ALP, opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus tried to attack the government on Liberal donation scandals and ministers’ meetings with Chinese donors.
The opposition attempted to broach the issue of Ms Liu’s support for Australian policy and asked Mr Morrison if Ms Liu should be held to the same standard as disgraced ex-ALP senator Sam Dastyari.
Mr Dastyari was forced to quit over Chinese donors paying for his legal expenses, and making statements on the South China Sea in support of the CCP’s position.
Mr Morrison defended Ms Liu in parliament and said she had clarified her support for the government’s stance on the South China Sea.
He then denied she should be held to the same standard as Mr Dastyari, as the former Labor senator had uttered pro-China comments after directly benefiting from Chinese money.
“Money changed hands between then senator Sam Dastyari (and Chinese donors) … Money changed hands …
“Hs position was bought ... to off his legal expenses, and he was caught in his own web of corruption, Mr Speaker. He should have resigned, and he did.”
Many of Labor’s questions on Ms Liu and other donation scandals were ruled out of order.
Even as Mr Morrison tried to answer one of them, Speaker Tony Smith said he would not accept unparliamentary questions even if the Prime Minister was keen to answer them.
Richard Ferguson 3.01pm: National ICAC legislation in ‘next 12 months’
Anthony Albanese asks Scott Morrison when he will introduce legislation for a national ICAC.
Attorney General Christian Porter says a draft will be out within 12 months.
“Members opposite said that when they came into government that they would take 12 full months of consultation before presenting a draft,” Mr Porter says.
“We will do it well within that time.”
Richard Ferguson 2.59pm: ‘I wasn’t talking about donations’
Labor’s legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus asks Scott Morrison if he plans to investigate a dinner between Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton and Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo.
Mr Huang — who is no longer allowed to enter Australia — is at the centre of accusations of corrpution unfolding at an ICAC hearing into the NSW Branch of the Labor Party.
The Prime Minister references back to his attack on disgraced ex-Labor senator Sam Dastyari, and says he was talking about personal expenses being paid and not donations to political parties.
“When I was talking about money changing hands, I wasn’t talking about donations. I was talking about expenses that were picked up personally by Senator Dastyari, by Senator Dastyari personally, his legal expenses and his travel expenses,” he says.
“I have made no reference, Mr Speaker, to donations. Donations should be declared in the ordinary course of business, and they are, and they should be transparent, and that is the case here, Mr Speaker.”
Labor says embattled Liberal MP Gladys Liu should be held to the same standard as Mr Dastyari for her recent comments on China.
Richard Ferguson 2.47pm: Labor press Libs on donations
Labor’s legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus asks Scott Morrison why the Liberal National Party accepted a donation from the chief executive of a company who later won a contract with the Department of Home Affairs.
Mr Dreyfus’s question is ruled out of order.
The Opposition has deviated from asking about embattled Liberal MP Gladys Liu, but wants to stay on the topic of integrity and the influence of money in the Coalition.
The Prime Minister has been using the integrity issued against Labor over the ongoing donation scandal ripping apart the NSW branch of the Labor Party.
Richard Ferguson 2.35pm: Drama over Liu question
Labor’s legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus asks Scott Morrison if embattled Liberal MP Gladys Liu was right to say a story that $300,000 of donations associated with a function she ran had to be returned was “made up.”
Speaker Tony Smith says he the question is out of order, despite the Prime Minister wanting to answering it.
Richard Ferguson 2.30pm: Labor floats the ‘Dastyari test’
Labor’s legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus asks Scott Morrison if he stands by statements against disgraced senator Sam Dastyari’s links to China, and if he will apply the same standards to Liberal MP Gladys Liu.
The Prime Minister says Ms Liu’s statement earlier today shows she supports Australia’s position on the South China Sea.
He says Mr Dastyari’s position was different because his South China Sea comments came after donations from Chinese Communist Party-linked donors.
“(The thing) he will remember about Senator Sam Dastyari is, not only, Mr Speaker, not only was he a shadow minister,” he says.
“He seems to forget the fact that money changed hands between then Senator Sam
Dastyari (and Chinese donors) … Money changed hands …
“Hs position was bought … to off his legal expenses, and he was caught in his own web of corruption, Mr Speaker. He should have resigned, and he did.”
Richard Ferguson 2.22pm: First Liu question out of order
Labor’s legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus asks Scott Morrison what measures he took to ensure he took that Gladys Liu was a fit and proper person to sit in parliament.
Speaker Tony Smith rules the question out of order.
This is the first time Labor has brought up Ms Liu’s recent woes over comments on China, and her admission today she was a former member of Chinese Communist Party-linked organisations.
Richard Ferguson 2.18pm: Plibersek goes again on TAFE
Labor’s education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek stays on the subject of TAFE.
Ms Plibersek asks Scott Morrison why $3bn has been taken out of TAFE when she says 75 per cent of businesses cannot find skilled workers.
The Prime Minister says that TAFE is funded by state governments, not the Commonwealth.
“The funding and spending going into skills education, every year, was not getting the results, the results they were not getting was that people went been trained with the skills, for the skills needed by the employers who wanted to employ them,” he says.
“That’s because of the outdated funding model, the process is put in place over many years, run by previous governments ... this is what we intend to fix.”
Richard Ferguson 2.13pm: ‘You are a disgrace’
Deputy prime minister Michael McCormack has blown up in parliament amid taunts from Labor’s agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon over the drought.
“Behave yourself occasionally! Country people are doing it tough. You should behave yourself, you are a disgrace,” the Deputy Prime Minister says.
Mr McCormack gets red in the face and fails to sit down — when ordered several times — because he is so angry.
Mr Fitzgibbon has been pushing for a new drought strategy from the government as the Murray Darling faces it worst drought.
“How is the Deputy Prime Minister’s unhinged attack on me relevant to the question asked? The farmers just want him to do something,” Mr Fitzgibbon yells back.
Richard Ferguson 2.08pm: Plibersek’s figures ‘wrong’
Labor’s education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek asks why the government has cut $3 billion from TAFE and training, with the lowest number of apprentices in a decade.
The Prime Minister says Ms Plibersek’s figures are wrong.
“I have learnt when the Member for Sydney puts forward figures they can never be taken at face value,” Mr Morrison says.
“At the last election our government committed to 80,000 new apprentices.
“As the government program has been wound out, 2000 people have taken up the program. We look forward to further success.”
Richard Ferguson 2.05pm: QT begins on economy
Anthony Albanese opens question time by asking Scott Morrison if real wages growth is at its slowest pace in decades.
The Prime Minister says that real wages growth is still growing because of his government’s policies.
“When it comes to wages growth, and the most recent quarter, it was 0.7 per cent.” he said.
“I can confirm, in the September quarter of 2013 when we came to government, it came to 0.5 per cent. Wage growth was higher than what we inherited from the Labor Party.”
Labor is opening this question time on the economy, but we will see if it turns to embattled Coalition MP Gladys Liu in further questions.
Richard Ferguson 1.54pm: Dastyari calls for Liu axing
Disgraced ex-Labor senator Sam Dastyari says embattled Coalition MP Gladys Liu should be forced out of parliament for her comments on China.
Mr Dastyari was forced out of the senate in 2017 over links with Chinese donors, and for giving statements in contradiction with Australia’s position on the South China Sea.
It’s clear @GladysLiuMP needs to answer some serious questions. Her statement is shocking. She should be held to the same standard that I was - a standard the PM set. I resigned. I took responsibility. That was the right decision in my circumstances.
— Sam Dastyari (@samdastyari) September 11, 2019
Labor frontbenchers on Wednesday said that Ms Liu’s position in parliament was Scott Morrison’s “Dastyari” test.
“It’s clear @GladysLiuMP needs to answer some serious questions,” Mr Dastyari said.
“Her statement is shocking. She should be held to the same standard that I was - a standard the PM set.
“I resigned. I took responsibility. That was the right decision in my circumstances.”
Richard Ferguson 1.38pm: ‘We shouldn’t overreact’
Resources Minister Matthew Canavan has refused to call Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator, as embattled MP Gladys Liu refused to do, and says he has confidence in her.
Senator Canavan said the Chisholm MP had not contradicted government MP and had admitted she has poorly answered questions in her train wreck Sky News interview on Tuesday night.
“She has said she is a proud Australian ... we shouldn’t overreact,” Senator Canavan told Sky News.
When asked if would describe President Xi as a dictator, the minister declined.
“I try to build friendly relations around the world,” he said.
“Building friendly relations around the world is not helped by using labels to others ... I absolutely accept that China has an authoritarian system of government.”
Senator Canavan also defended Ms Liu’s clarification that she was a former member of a number of organisations linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
“She’s corrected the record as soon as possible,” he said on Sky News.
“Gladys has done that ... my understanding is that her Labor opponent was a member of these organisations.”
Richard Ferguson 12.42pm: Liu admits part in CCP-linked groups
Gladys Liu has admitted she has been a past member of a numbers of Chinese Communist Party-linked organisations, as she walks back from a train wreck interview on China and declares she is a “proud Australian”.
Labor frontbenchers have accused Ms Liu of having “somewhat confused” loyalties to Australia, after refusing to denounce China’s activities in the South China Sea, refusing to label Communist Party leader Xi Jinping a dictator, and shirking questions on her alleged links to a Communist Party-backed organisation.
Ms Liu on Tuesday night said she could not recall being a honorary president of an overseas exchange organisation linked to the CCP’s United Works Department.
The embattled MP admitted today to being involved in three organisations under the spotlight for their links to the CCP.
“I am a proud Australian, passionately committed to serving the people of Chisholm, and any suggestion contrary to this is deeply offensive,” she said in a statement on Wednesday.
“I can confirm my previous association with the following community groups, which have been the subject of media inquiries.
“Honorary President of the United Chinese Commerce Association of Australia. My involvement was done for no other reason than to support the promotion of trade between Australia and Hong Kong, and to encourage individuals in the Australia-Hong Kong community to undertake community work. I no longer have an association with this organisation.
“Honorary President of the Australian Jiangmen General Commercial Association Inc in 2016. I no longer have an association with this organisation.
“Honorary role of Guangdong Overseas Exchange Association in 2011. I no longer have an association with this organisation.”
Ms Liu maintained that some of these organisations give people honorary positions without their knowledge, and says she will know do an audit of every position she has been on.
“I do not wish my name to be used in any of these associations and I ask them to stop using my name.
“I have resigned from many organisations and I am in the process of auditing any organisations who may have added me as a member without my knowledge or consent.”
In a statement on Wednesday, Ms Liu said she was not clear in the interview, and that she stood by Australia’s position on foreign policy. She also clarified that she believes China is not a democracy.
“Last night in a TV interview I was not clear and I should have chosen my words better.
As a new Member of Parliament I will be learning from this experience,” she said in a statement.
“Australia’s longstanding position on the South China Sea is consistent and clear. We do not take sides on competing territorial claims but we call on all claimants to resolve disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law.
“China is not a democracy and is run under an authoritarian system.”
Richard Ferguson 12.30pm: Liu walks back China comments
Embattled Liberal MP Gladys Liu says she backs Australia’s position on the South China Sea and declared China is “authoritarian”, as she walks back from her train wreck interview.
Labor frontbenchers have accused Ms Liu of having “somewhat confused” loyalties to Australia, after refusing to denounce China’s activities in the South China Sea, refusing to label Communist Party leader Xi Jinping a dictator, and shirking questions on her alleged links to a Communist Party-backed organisation.
In a statement on Wednesday, Ms Liu said she was not clear in the interview, and that she stood by Australia’s position on foreign policy. She also clarified that she believes China is not a democracy.
“Last night in a TV interview I was not clear and I should have chosen my words better.
As a new Member of Parliament I will be learning from this experience,” she said in a statement.
“Australia’s longstanding position on the South China Sea is consistent and clear. We do not take sides on competing territorial claims but we call on all claimants to resolve disputes peacefully and in accordance with international law.
“China is not a democracy and is run under an authoritarian system.
“We have always been and will continue to be clear-eyed about our political differences, but do so based on mutual respect, as two sovereign nations.”
The MP for Chisholm was comforted in parliament by her Coalition colleagues the morning after her Tuesday night train wreck interview on Sky News.
Richard Ferguson 11.25am: Coalition MPs comfort Liu
Liberal MP Gladys Liu has been comforted in parliament by her Coalition colleagues the morning after a train wreck interview which has led Labor to question whether she is “fit and proper”.
Fellow Coalition MPs Ross Vastra and Philip Thompson put their arms around Ms Liu when she appeared in the lower house chamber on Wednesday morning.
She also looked upset at points as she was talking to NSW Liberal MP and former tennis star John Alexander.
She has not addressed parliament yet, despite calls for her to do so to reassure Australians on her position on China. Ms Liu’s office told The Australian she would not make a statement in the morning, but did not rule out one later in the day.
Labor frontbenchers have accused Ms Liu of having “somewhat confused” loyalties to Australia, after refusing to denounce China’s activities in the South China Sea, refusing to label Communist Party leader Xi Jinping a dictator, and shirking questions on her alleged links to a Communist Party-backed organisation.
Labor senate leader Penny Wong has called on Scott Morrison to assure Australians Liberal MP Gladys Liu is a “fit and proper” person to be in Parliament, saying it was his “Sam Dastyari” test.
If Ms Liu were to be forced out of parliament, it would set up a by-election battle in her Melbourne seat of Chisholm, which the Liberals only hold by 0/57 per cent after the May election.
Richard Ferguson 11.00am: Steggall: I still can’t afford an electric car
Independent MP Zali Steggall says she has not yet fulfilled her promise of changing to an electric vehicle, and says she would “appreciate” if the government made EVs cheaper.
Ms Steggall came under pressure during her ultimately successful campaign to unseat Tony Abbott for having a gas-guzzling car while advocating for climate action.
As she prepared to push for parliament to declare a “climate emergency”, Ms Steggall said she could still not afford an EV, but committed to ultimately getting one.
“I like every other Australian have budget pressures, mortgage pressures,” she told Sky News.
“I would really welcome the government taking some steps to make EVs more affordable so I could accelerate the process in which I could transfer my car.
“I am committed to when it comes time to changing my vehicle, that I will change it to an EV.”
Richard Ferguson 9.00am: Wong warns PM over Liu
Labor senate leader Penny Wong has called on Scott Morrison to assure Australians Liberal MP Gladys Liu is a “fit and proper” person to be in Parliament, saying it was his “Sam Dastyari” test.
Opposition frontbenchers have accused Ms Liu of having “somewhat confused” loyalties to Australia, after refusing to denounce China’s activities in the South China Sea, refusing to label Communist Party leader Xi Jinping a dictator, and shirking questions on her alleged links to a Communist Party-backed organisation.
Senator Wong said the Prime Minister had to make a statement on Ms Liu — comparing to Liberal Party calls in 2017 to force out ex-ALP senator Sam Dastyari for his links with Chinese donors.
“He needs to come to the Parliament, make a statement and assure the Australian Parliament and through them the Australian people that Gladys Liu is fit and proper to be in the Parliament,” she said in Canberra.
“I can recall the Liberal Party making Sam Dastyari a test for the Labor leadership. This is Scott Morrison’s test.”
Senator Dastyari was also forced to resign from the senate in late 2017 after he declined to denounce China’s position on the South China Sea.
Richard Ferguson 8.40am: Fitzgibbon warns over drought ‘calamity’
Labor frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon is calling on Scott Morrison to adopt a comprehensive drought policy to avoid “calamity” as the federal body in charge of the Murray-Darling runs out of water.
The Australian revealed on Wednesday that the Murray-Darling river system faces catastrophe this summer because the federal body in charge of its health does not have any water available to conduct major environmental flows in the north of the basin.
The Prime Minister has set up a $3.9 billion Future Drought Fund — which Labor resisted for months, before backflipping post-election — and provided payments to drought-affected farmers.
Mr Fitzgibbon — the opposition agriculture spokesman — said on Wednesday that Mr Morrison’s current suite of plans do not go far enough, and that he needed a bigger drought policy.
“When Scott Morrison became prime minister he said our farmers would be his number one priority … the farmers have become Scott Morrison’s forgotten people,” he said.
“The Future Drought Fund will not deliver any assistance till next year, that is eight years into a drought period.
“The Farm Household Allowance has been a failure. Many of our farmers haven’t been able to access it.
“I want action … I again extend a bipartisan offer to work with the government on a drought strategy.”
Mr Fitzgibbon also hit out at Water Minister David Littleproud for refusing to say whether he believes man-made climate change is real.
“David Littleproud the nation yesterday, live on television, that he doesn’t accept climate change,” Mr Fitzgibbon claimed.
“He doesn’t accept humankind as a role in addressing it (man-made climate change) … the very foundation of a comprehensive drought policy is an acknowledgment of that.”
Richard Ferguson 8.00am: Liu’s loyalties ‘confused’
Labor is calling on Liberal MP Gladys Liu to prove she is a “fit and proper person” to be in parliament, as opposition frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon says her loyalties to Australia “seems somewhat confused”.
Ms Liu had a train wreck interview on Sky News on Tuesday night in which she refused to call Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator and refused to answer questions about her alleged links to organisations backed by the Chinese Communist Party.
Mr Fitzgibbon said Ms Liu must now make a statement to parliament to reassure Australians that she is loyal to Australia and called on Scott Morrison to also come out and clarify Ms Liu’s position.
“She made the situation worse last night in what was a train wreck of an interview in which her loyalties, at the very best, seem somewhat confused,” he told ABC.
“It’s now incumbent upon her to make a statement to the parliament reassuring Australians, particularly in her electorate, that she is a fit and proper person to sit in the House of Representatives.
“It’s now time for Scott Morrison to make a similar statement … he has been prepared to not speak one word of defence of Gladys Liu. The Australian people deserve that reassurance.”
Ms Liu said she could not recall being a member of the China Overseas Exchange Association between 2003 and 2015, after an ABC report revealed Ms Liu’s name had appeared on documents outlining her membership of the association.
Experts say that at the time of her membership, the China Overseas Exchange Association was an arm of Beijing’s powerful State Council, and has since been merged with the Communist Party’s United Front Works.
Ms Liu also refused to condemn China’s actions in the South China Sea as unlawful, a position at odds with her government, during a combative interview with Andrew Bolt on Sky News on Tuesday night.
Richard Ferguson 7.50am: Today’s key legislation
Scott Morrison’s welfare agenda and his “war on pedophiles” will be introduced to the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
Crimes Legislation Amendment (Sexual Crimes Against Children and Community Protection Measures)
The Prime Minister’s sex crimes reform are the biggest changes to the law punishing pedophiles and rapists in 25 years. He wants minimum mandatory sentences for pedophiles, life in jail for the worst offences against children, and tough bail rules for repeat sex offenders.
Labor is set to back the reforms, despite a historic reluctance to support mandatory minimum sentencing.
Social Services Legislation Amendment (Drug Testing Trial)
This is the Coalition’s third push to drug test welfare recipients since 2017.
Labor will not back the bill, arguing it is ineffective and will only stigmatise welfare recipients.
Mr Morrison is also missing the key votes of independent senator Jacqui Lambie and Centre Alliance in the senate at present.
Social Security (Administration) Amendment (Income Management to Cashless Debit Card Transition)
The Morrison government wants to expand its trials of cashless welfare cards in targeted communities.The cards reserve large sections of dole payment to essential items.
Labor does not back the expansion, but Mr Morrison has support from One Nation and Senator Lambie.
Richard Ferguson 7.30am: Hewson to back climate emergency move
Former Liberal leader John Hewson will return to parliament on Wednesday to back a crossbench move to declare a climate change emergency.
Dr Hewson — who lost the “unlosable election” to Labor’s Paul Keating in 1993 — will support a motion from four crossbench MPs which calls on the government to follow France and Canada’s “emergency” climate stances.
“Climate was an emergency some thirty years ago. If this had been recognised at the time, we would already be well past the Paris targets and enjoying many thousands of new jobs and billions of dollars of investment, with much lower electricity and gas prices,” Dr Hewson said.
Greens MP Adam Bandt will move the motion with the backing of Victorian independent Helen Haines, Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie and the NSW MP who knocked off Tony Abbott, Zali Steggall.
Dr Hewson himself has long broken from the Liberal Party, regularly criticising it over refugee and climate policy since John Howard was prime minister.
The climate emergency motion could be an interesting test for Labor. Anthony Albanese has promised climate change would be a key focus on any government he leads, but the party’s environment policies are still under review after the shock election loss.
The government has also struggled with climate issues in recent days as Water Minister David Littleproud said on Tuesday evening that he was not sure if man-made climate change is real.
“I’m not a scientist … I don’t know,” he told Sky News.
What’s making news:
The Labor Party is fracturing internally under pressure from left wing activists and the centre-right Coalition as the Australian public drifts away from ideological anti-mining protests and GetUp’s progressive social agenda.
Scott Morrison has said his government is committed to delivering major infrastructure projects more quickly, but has cautioned that the rollout of the $100bn pipeline depends on the co-operation of the states and territories.
About 10 per cent of the 5000 welfare recipients trialled under the government’s random drug tests could fail a test, said Social Services Minister Anne Ruston, as she comes under pressure to reveal how much the tests will cost and who will oversee them.
Labor’s attempts to target Energy Minister Angus Taylor over alleged conflicts of interests have opened a new Ave of attack for Scott Morrison against Anthony Albanese over the corruption scandal that has rocked the NSW branch of the ALP.
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus will on Wednesday urge Scott Morrison to fast-track plans for a national corruption body and accuse the government of showing a “lack of commitment to integrity”.
Labor has set up a closed-door committee to examine Australia’s bilateral relationship with China, amid a split within the party over the security and economic challenges posed by Beijing.
Liberal MP Gladys Liu has dodged questions about her alleged links to a Chinese Communist Party organisation that is said to exert foreign influence in countries including Australia.
Alice Workman’s Sketch: Endangered species to left and right
Dennis Shanahan writes: Labor is fraying at the edges and splitting in the middle.
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