Politics Now: John Howard scolds Julia Banks over resignation from the Liberal Party
PoliticsNow: John Howard scolded Julia Banks on the 7.30 Report this evening following her resignation from the Liberal Party.
- ‘Personal ambition’ fuelled coup
- Consumed by ‘division, dysfunction’
- Lib MP quits to sit on crossbench
- Emma Husar wants to run again
- Labor targets religious schools
Hello and welcome to PoliticsNow, The Australian’s live blog on the happenings at Parliament House in Canberra. Liberal MP Julia Banks has quit the Liberal Party to sit on the crossbench, while the PM has announced the budget will be held on April 2.
Top story: Banks must answer for actions: Pyne
Sascha O’Sullivan 8.28pm: Howard scolds Banks
Former prime minister John Howard scolded Julia Banks on the 7.30 Report this evening, following her resignation from the Liberal Party.
“I did campaign for her in her marginal spot of Chisholm and she, like me, owes a lot to the Liberal Party,” Mr Howard told Leigh Sales.
“I think it is always important to remember that they are overwhelmingly there because of the patronage of their own party and they should never forget it.”
Mr Howard admitted that the Liberal Party is going through a difficult time, but said he is convinced they can win at the next federal election.
“I think one of the things that people have got to understand is there is a long history in Australian politics of disconnect between a heavy defeat at a state level and victory at a federal level,” Mr Howard said, pointing to the Liberal party winning the federal election in 2001 despite a wipeout loss in Queensland at the beginning of the year.
“When you look at the fundamentals nationally, we have got a very good story to tell,” Mr Howard said.
While Mr Howard refused to comment on how Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull behaved after being ousted, he maintained that the Liberal Party is not as divisive as it has been portrayed to be and the “broadchurch” it was during his time as prime minister still stands.
“(The Liberal Party) is the custodian of two Liberal traditions… it doesn’t mean that the Liberal party is made up of half classical Liberals and half conservatives,” Mr Howard said, and questioned what commentators meant by “hard right”.
“It is a broad church of people who hold classical liberal views and conservative views, most of us, as my experience has been, are a mixture of the two.”
Primrose Riordan 6.23pm: Australia joins Trump push-back
Australia will join European countries and China in a push to reform the World Trade Organisation in order to stop the Trump administration undermining the body.
The broad coalition of countries which does not include the US put together a proposal to fix the WTO dispute settlement system which the US has been refusing to appoint new judges to.
Australia, Canada, Iceland, India, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore and Switzerland have been involved in developing the proposals and China recently jointed the group.
The proposed new rules make clear in which cases judges can stay on to complete the appeal proceedings they are working on.
The proposed rules also include measures to make sure appeal proceedings are finished on time in line with the 90-day timeframe set out in the WTO rules and make sure the appellate body only addresses issues necessary to resolve the dispute.
On Tuesday the first post-Brexit trade agreement between Australia and the UK moved ahead when the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties tabled a report supporting a deal to allow for Australian uranium to be exported to the UK.
Richard Ferguson 5.55pm: Vic Greens ‘have an issue’
Greens leader Richard Di Natale says his party in Victoria “has an issue” after poor results in the Victorian election but that he was happy Labor was adopting his policies.
The Greens have only secured one lower house seat in Victoria and may lose two more seats still in doubt. They have also lost four seats in the upper house.
“In Victoria, we had a massive swing to the Labor Party in key lower house seats ... of course there’s an issue,” he told Sky News.
“The Greens worked very hard to push on a range of progressive issues: safe injecting rooms, voluntary assisted dying, rights for renters, a treaty, more renewables.
“We pushed Labor hard, they adopted some of those policies. You don’t always see electoral success but we’re seeing those policies implemented.”
Richard Ferguson 5.42pm: ‘I won’t be lectured to by Labor’
Greens leader Richard Di Natale says he will “not be lectured” by Labor and the Coalition as his state-level party figures have been hit by a litany of sexual violence and hate speech allegations.
“We won’t be lectured to by the Labor Party,” he told Sky News.
“I don’t think it serves anyone’s interest to play this game of ‘You’re just as bad as the rest of them.’ It’s up to all of us as individuals, and as an institution to lift our game.”
The Victorian Greens’ state election campaign was derailed after one candidate was found to have been behind rap lyrics involving date rape, another was forced to step down over rape allegations, and a staffer resigned over offensive Twitter posts.
And in NSW, state Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham has faced calls from Senator Di Natale and other Greens figures to step down over sexual violence allegations.
Senator Di Natale said the party needs to do a better job vetting candidates, but that candidates should not be immediately disqualified for comments they made when they were young.
Senator Di Natale was suspended from the Senate for the rest of the day after he refused to withdraw comments whereupon he called Coalition Senator Barry O’Sullivan a “pig” for a slur he made against Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young in the chamber.
Richard Ferguson 5.15pm: Banks will ‘bear consquences’ of defecting
Julia Banks will “have to bear the consequences” for defecting from the Liberal Party to the crossbench, Defence Minister Christopher Pyne says.
“She was elected as a Liberal, she’s now sitting as an independent. And she’ll have to bear the consequences for that decision,” he told Sky News.
“Sometimes you win policy battles, sometimes you lose ... I’m sorry that Julia doesn’t agree some of those policies. That’s what it’s like being in a team. You can’t always get your own way.
“She has to answer for that. Not me.”
When asked if he thought Ms Banks’ defection was comparable to that of Australian Conservatives senator Cory Bernardi, Mr Pyne said that Ms Banks was a friend.
Mr Pyne called for Senator Bernardi to resign when he defected from the Liberal Party last year.
The Defence Minister also said there had no formal complaints of bullying against MPs made after August’s Liberal leadership crisis.
.@cpyne: @juliabanksmp has made her decision. She was elected as a Liberal and has decided to leave and sit as a crossbencher and will have to bear the consequences for that decision.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 27, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/Wm00vMGAhV #Speers pic.twitter.com/Xtnyp9375b
Richard Ferguson 5:10pm: PM announces budget date
Leader of the House Christopher Pyne tells Sky News he will release the parliament’s sitting calendar this afternoon and there will be 17 sitting weeks.
Scott Morrison announced today that the federal budget will be delivered on April 2 next year, before the federal election.
Mr Pyne also said he assumed that the parliament would return from the summer break in February.
And finally, the proposed sitting calendar for 2019 #auspol @australian pic.twitter.com/SO2rP12Ece
— Rosie Lewis (@rosieslewis) November 27, 2018
Richard Ferguson 4.55pm: O’Sullivan comment ‘sexist filth’
Senator Wong said Labor did not vote to suspend Senator Di Natale because the party believed that what Senator O’Sullivan said was appropriate.
“I have no doubt as to the offensiveness of the words that were allegedly said,” Senator Wong said.
She said these were “difficult circumstances” but Labor supported the proceeding of the senate and the rulings of the president of the day.
Senator O’Sullivan was accusing Senator Hanson-Young of poor attendance at senate committee hearings when he made the remarks.
“She didn’t turn up. She didn’t front. She didn’t turn up. It was her inquiry co-sponsored with the Australian Labor Party and she didn’t turn up. There’s a bit of Nick Xenophon in her – and I don’t mean that to be a double reference – but there’s a bit of Xenophon in her, references committees and not attending,” he said.
"We have endured, on this side, days of sexist filth coming from that man, he is a pig," Greens leader Richard Di Natale on Nat senator Barry O'Sullivan #auspol pic.twitter.com/dqryo09rxy
— Brett Worthington (@BWorthington_) November 27, 2018
Rosie Lewis 4.20pm: Di Natale suspended for ‘pig’ insult
In a rare show of bipartisanship, the Coalition and Labor have voted to suspend Greens leader Richard Di Natale from the Senate for the rest of the sitting day after he called Nationals Senator Barry O’Sullivan a “pig”.
“We have endured, on this side, days of sexist filth coming from that man, he is a pig,” the Greens leader said of Senator O’Sullivan.
Senator O’Sullivan is alleged to have made “offensive” comments about Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young that prompted Senator Di Natale’s response.
Senator O’Sullivan withdrew his remarks but Senator Di Natale refused to withdraw his.
Richard Ferguson 4.10pm: No problem with bullying in Liberal Party
Assistant minister Sarah Henderson says she does not believe there is a “systemic problem” of bullying against women in the Liberal Party, despite Julia Banks’s defection to the crossbench.
“I am very proud to be a Liberal woman,” she told Sky News, “I think politics is a walk in the park compared to what I endured in the media.
“The notion that there has been fundamental or systemic bullying in the Liberal Party, from my perspective, is just not the case.”
Ms Henderson, who holds the marginal seat of Corangamite in Victoria, also said the party must do better to connect with “all communities” after the Liberals’ landslide loss in the state election.
When asked if climate sceptics such as Liberal MP Craig Kelly were affecting the vote in Victoria, Ms Henderson responded that voters do not like “extreme views.”
“We hear obviously a lot of Craig Kelly ... I think most Australians don’t like extreme views on either the right or the left,” she told Sky News.
Rosie Lewis 3.52pm: Lucy Gichuhi applauds Banks resignation
South Australian Liberal senator Lucy Gichuhi appeared to applaud her former colleague Julia Banks when she heard the news she had defected to the crossbench.
Senator Gichuhi told The Australian earlier this year she “recognised” bullying and intimidation in the midst of her party’s leadership crisis.
“Sometimes you just have to do what you need to do. Julia has a case and I think the issue affecting the Liberal Party and women can’t hide our face in the sand. If that is what she’s pushing through good on her,” Senator Gichuhi told the ABC.
Richard Ferguson 3.17pm: Dutton eligibility query dismissed
Opposition immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann asks Scott Morrison if Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton will be referred to the High Court over his eligibility since his powers are being challenged in a legal suit.
“The Minister for Home Affairs does not have responsibility for cancelling of visas. That power is actually held by the Minister for Immigration (David Coleman),” he says.
“So, the shadow minister may wish to pay attention to when ministry changes are announced.”
Richard Ferguson 3.12pm: Shorten a ‘swaggering arrogant’ leader
Bill Shorten asks Scott Morrison if he will “take the sage advice” of former foreign minister Julie Bishop and work on a deal on the national energy guarantee.
Scott Morrison says he can guarantee “one thing” — that he would not introduce a carbon tax.
“I can assure him of one thing — that this Government will not introduce a carbon tax. We won’t introduce a carbon tax,” he says.
“The Australian people have heard from the Labor Party about carbon taxes before.
“It is a wrecking ball on the Australian economy … they (Labor) believe they are just going to walk into government. The leader of the Labor Party is the mostly, swaggering arrogant sort of leader at the moment”
Other media outlets are now reporting that Ms Bishop is absent from question time today because she is giving a speech in Sydney.
The seat next to hers in the house is also empty because Julia Banks has moved to the crossbench.
Richard Ferguson 3:00pm: ‘Gender pay gap reduced under Liberals’
Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek asks Women’s Minister Kelly O’Dwyer if she agrees with her reported comments that the Liberal Party is considered by some voters to be “homophobic, anti-woman climate deniers.”
The Women’s Minister responds by talking about the government’s Women’s Security Statement.
“There are more women in work than ever before, and more women in full-time work than ever before, and we have seen a reduction in the gender pay gap, which went up under the previous Labor government, but has come down under us,” she says.
The Deputy Opposition Leader makes a point of order.
“The minister still hasn’t told us whether she agrees with herself,” Ms Plibersek says.
Richard Ferguson 2.55pm: Hobart awaits light rail commitment
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie asks Scott Morrison when the Hobart City Deal will be finalised and whether it will include commitments to light rail.
“l’ll ask the Minister for Cities to respond. But, Mr Speaker, I would add that a total of $2.2 billion in transport infrastructure in Tasmania, including $921 million for projects we announced in this year’s budget,” the Prime Minister says.
Cities Minister Alan Tudge is called to respond too and says the city deal should be finalised by the end of the year.
Richard Ferguson 2.38pm: ‘Personal ambition’ fuelled Turnbull coup
Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek asks why Malcolm Turnbull is not prime minister, and mentions criticisms made by now-Independent MP Julia Banks’ criticisms of the party.
“The former Liberal and now Independent member for Chisholm today confirmed the coup against Malcolm Turnbull was led by, I quote, “Members. Reactionary right wing”, and was supported by MPs who traded their votes for personal ambition,” she says.
“Saying, and I quote, “Their actions were undeniably for themselves, for their position in the party, their power, their personal ambition, not for the Australian people.”
“Prime Minister, the member for Chisholm has explained why Malcolm Turnbull is no longer prime minister. Why won’t you?”
Leader of the House Christopher Pyne tries to have Ms Plibersek’s question dismissed, but Speaker Tony Smith allows it.
Scott Morrison says in his answer that Ms Banks would be proud of the government’s policies on women including the recent Women’s Economic Security Statement.
Richard Ferguson 2.27pm: I’m here because Turnbull lost support: PM
Bill Shorten asks again why Malcolm Turnbull is not the prime minister.
The Prime Minister responds: “The former prime minister lost the support of the Liberal Party party room. That’s what happened. That’s what happened.”
“And I was elected to lead the Liberal Party. That’s why I’m here. There you go.”
Richard Ferguson 2.25pm: Libs ‘consumed by division, dysfunction and chaos’
Bill Shorten asks Scott Morrison if it was a mistake for him to take the Prime Ministership after Malcolm Turnbull was ousted in August.
“Given that his minority government is consumed by division, dysfunction and chaos,” he asks.
“Was it a mistake for the current Prime Minister to replace Malcolm Turnbull and again today I ask why isn’t Malcolm Turnbull still the prime minister of Australia?”
The Prime Minister responds: “Our Government’s getting on with the job.”
Richard Ferguson 2.20pm: Julie Bishop a no-show
Former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop is not present yet in question time.
Since she left the ministry, she has sat next to Julia Banks.
Ms Banks is now sitting on the crossbench.
Richard Ferguson 2.12pm: Bonita Mabo a ‘leader in her own right’
Scott Morrison opens question time by paying tribute to late Indigenous activist and Eddie Mabo’s widow Bonita Mabo, who died yesterday at the age of 75.
“Bonita was once described as the silent woman behind the man,” he says.
“But while she was reserved, she was much, much more than a supportive spouse. Bonita was a leader in her own right and in her own way, and we honour that today as we mark her passing.
“Bonita was often quiet, sometimes unassuming, but she was no less effective, no less powerful. Her strength was quiet, drawn from her history, her family, and her deep sense of justice.”
Bill Shorten says Bonita Mabo was a “remarkable woman” and lauds her advocacy for human rights and education.
“Today, our Parliament and our nation pauses to remember and honour a remarkable woman. A person who gave hope and heart to so many for so long,” he says.
“She was there for all those false dawns and dark nights of the long struggle for justice. Those emotional footsteps of a quest to overturn two centuries of legal discrimination and historical denial, a victory that Eddie himself would not live to see.
“I had the privilege of catching up and meeting with her in Cairns back in 2015. I
was struck by her vitality, by her fire. She exerted the pride and the power and the presence of a true matriarch.”
Richard Ferguson 2.01pm: Banks sits on crossbench
Julia Banks has taken her new seat on the crossbench before Question Time starts.
She walks in with fellow independent MPs Cathy McGowan, Kerryn Phelps, and Rebekha Sharkie. But she sits alone.
Richard Ferguson 1.45pm: Liberal Party ‘not unfriendly for women’
Human Services Minister Michael Keenan says the Liberal Party is not “an unfriendly place for women”.
Recently defected MP Julia Banks has criticised the treatment of women within the Liberal Party, and Women’s Minister Kelly O’Dwyer reportedly told a meeting of Victorian federal MPs yesterday that voters see the party as “anti-women”.
“We all want to attract more women into the Liberal Party … we will do what we can to attract women without actually having a quota which we don’t believe is the right way to go,” he told Sky News.
“We do want to represent the broad base of the Australian population — women, men, people of all backgrounds.
“I don’t think the Liberal Party is an unfriendly place for women and we’ve got to do all we can to convince good female candidates to step up.”
1.40pm: The state of the House
The House of Representatives has 150 seats, here’s the breakdown after Julia Banks today quit the Liberal Party.
Coalition — 74
Labor — 69
Crossbench — 7
Adam Bandt (Greens) Bob Katter (Katter’s Australian Party) Cathy McGowan (Independent) Kerryn Phelps (Independent) Rebekha Sharkie (Centre Alliance) Andrew Wilkie (Independent) Julia Banks (Independent)
(Also of note: Nationals MP Kevin Hogan sits on the crossbench but attends Nationals party room meetings.)
— AAP
Richard Ferguson 1.35pm: Business as usual, MP claims
Human Services Minister Michael Keenan says Julia Banks’s defection does not “fundamentally” change the government’s position in the House of Representatives.
“This doesn’t fundamentally change anything,” he said, “The government will continue.”
“This is not something that we would welcome but we will deal for the parliament as it presents itself.”
The Human Services Minister says an election will be “maybe in May” and suggested parliament would sit for normal sitting weeks in February and March.
1.25pm: More from Emma Husar
The Parliament has a women problem, slut-shamming, power plays and the boys club. https://t.co/VfXIAiIRpG
— Emma Husar MP (@emmahusarmp) November 27, 2018
Richard Ferguson 1.15pm: ‘We need a Labor government’
Opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen says “the nation needs a Shorten Labor Government” after Julia Banks’s defection to the crossbench during Scott Morrison’s budget date announcement.
“Before Scott Morrison could even get back to his office, he’d lost another member of parliament,” he said. “The biggest contribution Scott Morrison has made since becoming Prime Minister is losing two Liberal MPs.
“There’s only one way to end the chaos and dysfunction and that’s the election of a Shorten Labor government.”
Ben Packham 1.05pm: ‘We can be trusted’
Scott Morrison earlier sought to turn the political debate to the question of economic management, confirming a surplus 2019-20 budget would be handed down in April next year, in a move that would kick off a May election campaign.
The Prime Minister said only the Coalition could be trusted to manage the nation’s economy.
“We’ve been delivering on our commitments as a government. We have been getting things done. We can be trusted to run Australia’s budget and trusted to oversee a growing economy,” he said.
“Labor will make lots of claims, but they are making those claims on the back of putting a higher tax burden on the Australian economy which will suffocate growth, which will suffocate jobs, which will ensure that they do not have the wherewithal to deliver on the essential services that Australians rely on.”
Dennis Shanahan 1pm: Bombshell ghost of PM past
As the PM tried to get the Coalition back on track, former Malcolm Turnbull supporter Julia Banks cut his legs from under him.
Richard Ferguson 12.50pm: ‘Given up on governing’
Opposition MP Tim Watts says the “government is giving up on governing” and calls for an early election after Julia Banks’s defection to the crossbench.
“The nation needs an election as soon as possible,” he told Sky News. “If I was Scott Morrison, I’d be wondering if I could hold the government together by the end of the week, never mind May.”
The Victorian federal Labor MP would not say if he wanted an election in December.
Mr Watts also said that “options were open” to refer Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to the High Court over his eligibility to sit in parliament.
Richard Ferguson 12.45pm: Coalition MP disappointed in Banks
Coalition MP Luke Howarth says he is disappointed by Julia Banks’s defection to the crossbench but expects the government to keep control in the House of Representatives.
“It’s always disappointing to see a member of the government move to the crossbench … Julia Banks is a grown woman and she’s made her decision,” he told Sky News.
Mr Howarth said voters want the parliament to go full term and expected some crossbench MPs to support the government because of their past links to the Coalition.
Chris Kenny 12.40pm: Many grievances, little loyalty
A disaffected Julia Banks has blown up the Prime Minister’s plan to get back on the front foot.
Rosie Lewis 12.15pm: Lib MP quits to sit on crossbench
Julia Banks has announced she will sit as an independent for the rest of the parliamentary term, plunging Scott Morrison further into minority government.
Richard Ferguson 12.10pm: Morrison plays down O’Dwyer comments
Scott Morrison says Women’s Minister Kelly O’Dwyer does not believe the Liberal Party is seen as “homophobic, anti-women, climate deniers”.
The Herald Sun reported today that the Women’s Minister told a post-election meeting of Victorian federal MPs that the party was viewed as “homophobic, anti-women, climate deniers.”
“That’s not our view and it’s not Kelly O’Dwyer’s view that is what the Liberal Party is about. What we’re about is the women’s economic Security Statement which Kelly O’Dwyer handed down,” the Prime Minister said.
Richard Ferguson 12.02pm: Election timing ‘options open’
Scott Morrison has kept open the option of holding an election earlier than May 18 next year.
“I’ll let you do the maths (from a budget on April 2),” he told reporters in Canberra. “There are options available to the government. There are always options available to the government to call be an election any time between now and to have a half Senate election and the a House of Representatives election concurrently. That would be conducted by 18 May.”
Richard Ferguson 11.56am: Budget brought forward
Scott Morrison has announced he will deliver a “surplus” budget on April 2 next year, making an early election unlikely.
“The budget will be handed down on 2 April next year. There’ll be a MYEFO in the normal course of events before the end of this year,” he told reporters in Canberra
“We will be handing down a budget and it will be a surplus budget. It will be a budget which is the product of the years of hard work of our government.”
Richard Ferguson 11.25am: Husar wants to run again
Labor MP Emma Husar says she wants to recontest the federal NSW seat of Lindsay for the party but has not ruled out running as an independent. Read more here
Richard Ferguson 10.50am: Bishop backed on NEG
Julie Bishop’s call for a bipartisan deal on the National Energy Guarantee has got an endorsement from Atlassian billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes.
The Sydney software billionaire has repeatedly attacked Scott Morrison over his support for coal and co-opted the Prime Minister’s use of the term “fair-dinkum power” for his own campaign for more renewable energy.
“@JulieBishopMP supporting the NEG (and bipartisan support for Labor’s similar proposal) shows actual leadership on issues and common sense — and guts to grit up to the Luddites in her own party. Too rare these days. Well done! #fairdinkumpower” Mr Cannon-Brookes tweeted.
The former foreign minister told the Australian Financial Review today that the Coalition and Labor should do a deal on the NEG in order to provide business with certainty on energy policy.
Joe Kelly 10.30am: Skills crisis hits rail sector
The skills shortage will delay a $100 billion “renaissance” in rail investment and contribute to cost blowouts, a report has found. Read more here
10.15am: Nats on notice
The Nationals will have to work twice as hard to represent the regions after coalition partners the Liberals were smashed in the Victorian election, says the party leader, AAP reports.
“(Premier) Daniel Andrews really can’t see past Bendigo in the north, past Ballarat in the west or past the Latrobe Valley in east,” Peter Walsh told ABC radio on Tuesday.
“One of the concerns I have out of the election results is that it has been so dominated by the change of seats in Melbourne we’ll have to work doubly hard to get regional issues on the agenda.”
— AAP
9.50am: Religious freedoms review due soon
Attorney-General Christian Porter says the federal government is in the final stages of responding to a review into religious freedoms and will release the document “very soon”, AAP reports.
Mr Porter said the review, led by former Liberal minister Philip Ruddock, contained complicated issues such as protecting gay teachers at religious schools.
He told ABC radio on Tuesday the government was aiming to balance non-discrimination of LGBTI students and staff against the need for religious schools to organise themselves in accordance with the doctrines of their faith.
— AAP
Richard Ferguson 9.20am: ‘Let’s make a deal’ on NEG
Scott Morrison should follow Julie Bishop’s advice and make a deal on the National Energy Guarantee, opposition environment spokesman Mark Butler says.
The former foreign minister told The Australian Financial Review today that the government should make a deal on the NEG to provide certainty to business on energy policy.
“Julie Bishop is right; this is the last best chance for a solution to the energy crisis that has the support of both parties,” Mr Butler told reporters in Canberra.
“As Julie Bishop has said this morning, the way in which energy companies will have confidence to make the investments we need in our energy system is to have bipartisan support for an investment framework.
“Julie Bishop has made those points very eloquently this morning but business group after business group made that point on Thursday and Friday after Bill Shorten released Labor’s energy policy.”
Richard Ferguson 9.10am: PM’s plan ‘won’t work’
Scott Morrison’s attempt to frame the next federal election as a personal battle between him and Bill Shorten will turn off voters, opposition industrial relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor says.
“I’m not sure that’s what Australians want to see their prime minister say at the dispatch box, that it’s about a battle between two individuals,” he told Sky News.
“I don’t think people will warm to the sort of the idea that’s it a gladiator sport.”
The Prime Minister led Mr Shorten by 12 points as preferred prime minister in Newspoll yesterday. But the government is behind 45 per cent to Labor’s 55 per cent on two-party-preferred.
Richard Ferguson 9am: Carbon price conversation
Labor will talk to industry before announcing any possible carbon price, opposition industrial relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor says.
ALP frontbencher Mark Dreyfus refused to rule out a carbon tax on Sky News this morning. Mr O’Connor says the opposition will announce their position on a carbon price closer to the election.
“We’re talking to other industries about reducing emissions, and we’ll do that methodically, and we’ll announce our position before the election,” he told Sky News.
Mr O’Connor reiterated that Labor wants to work with the government to pass the National Energy Guarantee.
Richard Ferguson 8.55am: Libs seen as ‘homophobic, anti-women’
Assistant Treasurer Stuart Robert has denied that the Liberal and National Parties are “homophobic, anti-women, and climate deniers”.
The Herald Sun reports today that Women’s Minister Kelly O’Dwyer told colleagues the Liberals were widely regarded as “homophobic, anti-women, climate-change deniers” during a post-Victorian election meeting of federal Victorian Liberal MPs yesterday.
During the meeting, Ms O’Dwyer called on Mr Kroger to quit as Victorian Liberal Party president.
Mr Robert said he could not comment on Ms O’Dwyer’s reported comments, but noted he had never come across homophobic or anti-women elements in the Coalition.
“Not that I’ve seen at all in any way, shape or form,” he told Sky News.
When asked if there were climate sceptics in the party room, Mr Robert said the Coalition was a “broad church”.
8.30am: Bishop wants energy deal
Former foreign minister Julie Bishop wants the federal government to come to an agreement with Labor over its dumped energy policy, now that the opposition has put it back on the table, AAP reports.
Bipartisan agreement on the National Energy Guarantee was needed to secure private-sector investment in the energy sector, Ms Bishop told the Australian Financial Review today.
“The generators need long-term certainty to give them confidence to make large- scale capital investments that will provide affordable and reliable energy, and with an appropriate level of return,” she said.
The coalition officially scrapped the National Energy Guarantee in September, after debate over the policy played a key role in the downfall of former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.
But Labor has now thrown its support behind the NEG, leaving business leaders briefly hopeful of an end to the decade-long climate wars in Australia. Prime Minister Scott Morrison quickly dashed those hopes on Friday, refusing to back the plan developed by now treasurer and then energy minister Josh Frydenberg.
The NEG was the only policy that could achieve the “elusive” bipartisanship on energy business is craving, Ms Bishop said.
The government’s current approach to energy involves prioritising reducing household power costs, including by taking a “big stick” to energy companies through new divestiture laws.
Ms Bishop said reliability and affordability of energy is important but “this must and has to be balanced with concerns for our environment and preservation for our planet”.
— AAP
Richard Ferguson 8.20am: Anti-corruption bill ‘flawed’
Attorney-General Christian Porter says he wants to improve the Commonwealth’s anti-corruption framework, but will not back Cathy McGowan’s National Integrity Commission.
“We are committed to improving the present arrangements, they are complicated,” he told ABC radio.
“We’ve been working on this and it’s subject to a cabinet process … I have been working on this for about six months.”
Mr Porter said Ms McGowan’s bill was “fundamentally flawed” and that state corruption commissions had mixed success. But he would not rule out establishing such a body.
Richard Ferguson 8.05am: Sticking point on discrimination law
Negotiations over banning discrimination against gay students have broken down over the right of schools to compel students to attend religious services, Attorney-General Christian Porter says.
Labor will move a bill to remove discrimination against LGBTI students this week.
Mr Porter says the government still supports removing discrimination and thought negotiations were still ongoing until this morning.
“The first I heard that negotiations had ended were through media this morning,” he told ABC radio.
“We think it’s not at all unreasonable that a religious school should be able to compel its students to attend chaplain or religious service once a week … irrespective of whether those students are LGBTI students or not.
“Labor’s view now appears to be that there should be no, even modest, protection for schools … that is not something that we fundamentally view the appropriate path forward here.”
Greg Brown 8am: Carbon tax not ruled out
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus has refused to rule out a future Labor government implementing a carbon tax.
“We produced detailed policies last Thursday, more to come, and I am not going to play the rule out game,” Mr Dreyfus told Sky News.
When asked again if he could rule out a carbon tax, Mr Dreyfus said: “I’m not going play rule in rule out with you. I’m going to say that we are going to develop policy cautiously and carefully and in the interests in Australia.
“But we are very clear: we will have strong action on climate change under a Labor government.”
Greg Brown 7.35am: Labor’s indigenous pledge
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus says the First Nation’s voice will be Labor’s first constitutional priority if it wins power, despite the party vowing a republican plebiscite in its next term of government.
Mr Dreyfus said it was “nonsense” to suggest Labor was walking away from constitutionally enshrining the voice, after The Australian revealed the party is set to endorse a parliamentary report that rejects indigenous constitutional recognition until further work is done.
“We support the voice, we support enshrining it in the constitution and it is our first priority for constitutional change,” Mr Dreyfus told ABC radio.
He said Labor was “up for discussion” about the timing of the referendum on the voice.
“I’m not going to say exactly what the timing is going to be, I’m not going to say exactly what the mechanism is going to be,” Mr Dreyfus said.
“I am going to say and reconfirm that we support the voice, we support enshrining it in the constitution, we accept the Uluru Statement and it will be our first priority for constitutional change.”
Labor has promised to legislate the voice before enshrining it in the constitution, a move that has angered indigenous Australians who want a referendum in the first term of parliament.
Richard Ferguson 7.25am: ‘Harder line’ on proposed ICAC
Labor agrees the definition of corruption under independent MP Cathy McGowan’s ICAC bill is too low, Mark Dreyfus says.
Attorney-General Christian Porter yesterday said ABC and SBS journalists could be found corrupt under the current anti-corruption watchdog bill over questions of their impartiality.
When asked if he agreed with Mr Porter’s reading of the bill regarding public broadcasting journalists, Mr Dreyfus said he did.
“Yes, that’s one of the issues,” he told ABC Radio this morning. “You don’t want to cast the net too wide. You want to make sure what the commission is dealing with serious and systemic corruption.”
Richard Ferguson 7.15am: ‘Time’s up for Morrison’
Labor will introduce a private member’s bill to prevent religious schools from discriminating against LGBTI students.
Mark Dreyfus said Labor want the ban on discriminating against gay students passed by Christmas.
“This is another one that time’s up for Scott Morrison on. He promised Australia before the Wentworth by election, his words, that the parliament would deal with removing the discrimination against LGBTI kids,” he told ABC Radio.
“There were a couple of attempts made by the Attorney-General Christian Porter to produce a bill which we didn’t think was adequate … we will introduce a private member’s bill to ensure this happens.
“There was a very clear promise made by the Prime Minister.”
Richard Ferguson 7.10am: Labor’s encryption position
Labor will still not rush on encryption laws, despite calls from ASIO chief Duncan Lewis to pass them through parliament soon, Mark Dreyfus says.
“It’s clear that the agencies think this bill needs to be passed as quickly as possible,” Mr Dreyfus told ABC Radio this morning.
“I’m not seeking in any way to diminish Duncan Lewis’s very helpful evidence. What I will say is Labor will not pass laws that are inadequate.”
Labor has publicly floated the idea of splitting new encryption laws in order to hand more powers to security and intelligence agencies before Christmas.
After The Weekend Australian revealed that splitting the bill was under consideration, Mr Dreyfus asked public servants yesterday about the proposal during a hearing of parliament’s joint intelligence committee yesterday to consider expediting their hearings.
What’s making news:
• Scott Morrison is promising to open an intimate war with Bill Shorten over the next six months, using his clear personal electoral dominance over the Opposition Leader to redefine the political battleground.
• One of Scott Morrison’s most senior ministers has called for Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger to urgently vacate the post as the party scrambles to sandbag dozens of seats across Australia.
• Labor has banked a significant lesson from the Victorian poll and is planning to unleash a nationwide negative campaign against the Greens and any suspect candidates in the critical final week of the federal election.
• Internal polling by the Nationals shows the junior Coalition partner is holding its vote in key Queensland marginal seats, giving it confidence that brand loyalty can help inoculate against a seemingly inevitable swing against the Liberal Party at the next federal election.
• A clear majority of Australians — including nearly 60 per cent of Labor voters — has backed new laws to prevent individuals, schools and companies from being discriminated against because of their religious beliefs and practices.
• Labor is set to abandon the push for an early referendum recognising an indigenous voice to parliament, instead accepting a parliamentary report expected to recommend rejecting indigenous constitutional recognition until further work is done.
• Attorney-General Christian Porter has warned that hundreds of thousands of public servants, including journalists with the ABC and SBS, could be declared corrupt under proposed legislation to establish a federal anti-corruption watchdog.
• Australia’s newest federal politician Kerryn Phelps has called for a “compassionate compromise” for refugee children and their families on Nauru, as she talked up the “power of balance” she would bring to the House of Representatives.
• Labor has publicly floated the idea of splitting new encryption laws in order to hand more powers to security and intelligence agencies before Christmas.
• The dumping of former army general Jim Molan from a winnable Liberal spot on the NSW Senate ticket for next year’s federal election has been branded “suicidal” for the party’s chances of defeating Labor, and the likely spark for years of internal warring.
• One Nation is eyeing off former Northern Territory chief minister Adam Giles as a candidate for the federal election, as Pauline Hanson continues her search for high-profile recruits.
• Former NSW Labor minister Diane Beamer has confirmed she is willing to run for the western Sydney federal seat of Lindsay, removing a political headache for the ALP as it searches for an alternative for disgraced sitting MP Emma Husar.
• James Jeffrey’s sketch — ‘This is a place of war’: symmetry at unveiling of Bronwyn Bishop’s official portrait
• Dennis Shanahan writes that Scott Morrison makes virtue of poll rout, calls out Bill Shorten.
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