Treasurer warns Commonwealth Bank over alleged money laundering
PoliticsNow: Scott Morrison has met the CBA chair, warning all options are on the table over alleged money laundering.
Australian politics live: Thank you for joining us for PoliticsNow, as same sex-marriage and the eligibility of MPs with dual citizenship dominated the day’s agenda.
• You can follow Wednesday’s live coverage from Canberra here.
HOW THE DAY UNFOLDED
5.30pm: Morrison’s warning to Commonwealth Bank
Scott Morrison has turned up the political heat on the Commonwealth Bank, saying the government is prepared to “consider all options” in responding to the latest financial sector scandal which will see the bank hauled before the Federal Court, Joe Kelly writes.
The open ended threat came after the Treasurer met in person with CBA chair Catherine Livingstone to discuss the legal proceedings initiated against the bank by the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre.
Mr Morrison said the allegations against the CBA were “very, very serious” and revealed he had been briefed on the issue in detail by AUSTRAC on Monday before requesting a briefing from Ms Livingstone. Read the full story here
4.55pm: Brandis: no evidence to refer Roberts to High Court
Attorney-General George Brandis said he had not seen any evidence or facts that warranted referring One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts’ election to the High Court.
“It is a very serious matter for a group of politicians sitting in a parliamentary chamber to effectively disqualify or put a question mark over the eligibility of one of their number to sit in that chamber. It’s a decision that should only be made if there is sufficient evidence to support it,” Senator Brandis told Sky News.
The Greens have the support of Labor, Jacqui Lambie and Cory Bernardi to refer Senator Roberts’ case but will need two more crossbenchers for its motion to succeed.
Liberal Democrat senator David Leyonhjelm declined to reveal how he would vote.
“I’m also interested in what view One Nation takes, I work fairly closely with them, I have good relations with the four (One Nation senators), we look out for each other on the crossbench a fair bit,” he said.
.@JacquiLambie says @SenatorMRoberts is telling you one thing one day and something else the next. MORE https://t.co/uoYTLVK7bF pic.twitter.com/imDbEEoMiD
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 8, 2017
4.22pm: Xenophon leaves options open
South Australian crossbencher Nick Xenophon, who leads a bloc of three independents in the Senate, said his party needed to look at the evidence to date on Senator Malcolm Roberts’ citizenship status and “whether it’s sufficient for referral” to the High Court.
Tasmanian Jacqui Lambie will support the motion while Victorian Derryn Hinch said he had not heard from the Greens yet so could not comment.
Paul Garvey 4.30pm: Twiggy won’t go there
While numerous companies have already signed up to express their support for marriage equality, Nev Power, the chief executive of Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group, said the company would not be taking a public position on the debate despite Fortescue regularly weighing in on matters of public policy.
“I don’t see that as something we’re going to get involved in,” he said on Tuesday.
“We chose what issues we want to pick up and look at carefully. Our workforce reflects the broader community and ultimately our politicians will decide what is the best way to resolve that.”
Mr Power said he did not have a personal position on the outcome of the vote, saying only that he wanted the country to move on to other matters.
“From a personal perspective, I’d like to see us move to a resolution so the country can move past that and deal with the other issues we have to deal with as a country.”
3.45pm: Roberts referred to High Court?
The Greens will put a motion to the Senate tomorrow asking to refer the election of One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts to the High Court. Labor sources confirmed the opposition would support the motion. If it also receives the backing of Victorian senator Derryn Hinch, the parties will need three more votes for the motion to be carried and the eligibility of Senator Roberts tested in court.
3.15pm: Joyce grilled on water theft
Labor’s Tony Burke asks Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce about allegations of water theft unearthed in the ABC’s Four Corners.
He grills Joyce about the teeth of a government inquiry which will be held on the issue.
“Can the Deputy Prime Minister confirm that the inquiry to be conducted by the Murray Darling Basin Authority cannot compel witnesses to appear? Cannot take evidence under oath? Cannot seize documents and cannot protect whistleblowers?”
Joyce says the government is taking the issue seriously. He noted there was also an independent review by the Murray Darling Basin Authority.
“We are taking this thing abundantly seriously and we are pursuing this issue to make sure that if someone has thieved something, that they will be found out,” Joyce said.
“But right now, we always say you have to understand that these are allegations that have been put forward and they are allegations that are being tested.”
3.10pm: ‘Labor left energy up to us’
Energy and Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg up now on what the government is doing to drive down electricity prices and the cost of gas.
“The Labor Party have left it to us because they didn’t take any action when they were in government. And tomorrow the Prime Minister is speaking to energy retailers, wanting to ensure that Australian households, particularly vulnerable Australian households, are getting the best possible market deal, not the more expensive standing offers.”
3.07pm: Greens ‘worse than disgusting’ over Manus
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has attacked the Greens as “worse than disgusting” for holding a minute’s silence for late Iranian asylum seeker Hamed Shamshiripou.
Mr Shamshiripou, 28, was found dead at Manus Island on Monday. He lived at the East Lorengau Refugee Transit Centre.
Senator Cash has said the man’s death was “currently under investigation by PNG coroner’s office” when asked whether the government would return his body to Australia for an autopsy or whether the autopsy would be overseen by an independent observer.
Asked about claims he may have been denied medical treatment, Senator Cash said: “health care is provided to all transferees on Manus Island”.
Senator McKim and the Greens held a minute of silence to mark the man’s death.
“There are eight people who have died on Manus Island and Nauru while being Australia’s responsibility, they have effectively died at Australia’s hands,” he told the Senate.
Senator Cash hit back, saying the Greens helped create a situation where there was a need for detention centres.
“Had the Australian greens not made the deals they did to wind back Australia’s border protection policies, we wouldn’t be standing here today having the suspension of standing orders moved by Senator McKim.”
She said the Greens were using the death for political gain.
“It is always disappointing in this place, doesn’t matter which party they belong to use the death of someone merely for political purposes.”
“I would say disgusting; I have to say it is way worse than disgusting.”
3.05pm: ‘I’m no good at tax avoidance’
The Labor Treasury spokesman brings out a Turnbull 2005 statement which was critical of the use of family trusts.
Turnbull says he has never used a family trust because he is “not very good at tax avoidance”.
“I do not claim to be an expert in the use of trusts. I don’t have a family trust so I can say ... I am not very good at tax avoidance,” he said to laughter.
“I’ve paid a lot of tax and I’ve done so gladly. So I’m not an expert in this area.”
Turnbull said the government had business-friendly policies that would grow the economy.
“The reality is that trusts are used largely by small and medium businesses. Overwhelmingly,” he said.
3.00pm: Shorten, PM spat on inequality
Bill Shorten to Malcolm Turnbull: How can the government claim inequality isn’t a problem when an investment banker on the top marginal tax rate can use their family trust to pay zero tax on some of their income, while a nurse or teacher has to pay their full marginal tax rate on all their income?”
Mr Turnbull replies: “I’m sure in the days when the Leader of the Opposition spent his time sucking up to Richard Pratt he would have been making all these points ... ‘You’re doing too well, Dick. You’ve gotta pay a bit more tax’.
“Now he wants to be an Australian version of Jeremy Corbyn. You haven’t got what it takes, you need to do a bigger makeover than you’ve done already.”
2.50pm: Inequality — better or worse?
Terri Butler kicks off Labor’s first question on inequality.
“Does the Treasurer consider that inequality in Australia is getting better or worse?”
Morrison concedes household incomes are flat; “And that is why the government is taking the actions that I just outlined to grow the opportunity in this economy for people to get jobs and earn more wages,” he said.
“You cannot boost someone’s wages by reducing someone else’s. That’s the Leader of the Opposition’s plan.
“He talks about redistribution of income. Well, Australians should be very clear: what he wants to do is redistribute the income you have earned back to the government.”
Morrison says Australia’s tax and transfer system has protected against inequality.
2.47pm: Labor’s politics of envy
Scott Morrison hits out at Labor’s “politics of envy”.
“The Turnbull government is getting on with the job ... 17 separate pieces of budget legislation passed in the budget sittings, and that means the budget is passing this parliament despite the frustration and opposition and negativity and cynicism of the Leader of the Opposition. The most slippery customer ever to occupy that chair.”
2.45pm: ‘How many scandals before banks inquiry?’
Bill Shorten brings up the Commonwealth Bank allegations on money laundering.
“How many more scandals will it take before the PM supports Labor’s call for a royal commission into the banks?”
Mr Turnbull says legal proceedings have commenced.
“AUSTRAC has commenced legal proceedings, it has done its job, and were there to be any inquiry held into that, of the kind the honourable member suggests, it would mean delaying or staying the legal proceedings,” Turnbull says.
“So, AUSTRAC is on the case, doing its job. It’s uncovered the wrongdoing and it’s pursuing it.”
Treasurer Scott Morrison says the warnings are a “very very serious matter” and it would await the findings of the courts.
2.40pm: Shorten ‘greatest fraud’
Dutton labels Shorten the “greatest fraud” in the history of the Australian parliament while spruiking his proposed changes to citizenship laws.
The Opposition Leader hit back with a pamphlet which he claims is authorised by a former Liberal member. He says the pamphlet claims children of gay couples are more likely to abuse drugs, have sexually transmitted diseases and be unemployed.
“How does this fit with the Prime Minister’s guarantee today of respectful discussion? Why is the Prime Minister making Australians pay $122m to give licence to this vile rubbish?,” Shorten asked
Turnbull says the government respects the will of the people.
“We’re not gonna shut down democracy and debate, because people here or there say outrageous things or defamatory things. We have a robust democracy. We respect Australians’ ability to have a frank and forthright discussion on this issue,” he said.
“But above all we respect them so much that when we say we will give them their say, we are doing everything we can to ensure that they have their say.
2.35pm: ‘Are you worse than Trump?’
Greens MP Adam Bandt notes the death of an asylum-seek on Manus Island yesterday. He asks the PM: Is Donald Trump right when he said you are worse than he is?
“We all regret the death the honourable member referred to, the person detained in Papua New Guinea,” Mr Turnbull responds.
“We stand for the integrity of Australia’s borders. We are not going to do what the Labor Party did with the support of the Greens, and would do again, which is outsource our borders to people smugglers.”
2.30pm: ‘Why is SSM ‘no’ vote binding?’
Tanya Plibersek asks why a ‘no’ vote for gay marriage in a postal plebiscite will be binding on government MPs while ‘yes’ vote would not be.
Turnbull dodges the question.
“We would give all Australians their say,” he said.
“If they supported same-sex marriage being legalised, we would facilitate a bill, a private member’s bill, coming forward into the parliament. If they did not support it, we would not. That was the commitment we took.”
2.25pm: Terror threat ‘real’
The first Dorothy Dixer this Question Yime is on the foiled terrorist plot to bring down an aeroplane. Malcolm Turnbull praises the work done by authorities to disrupt one of the biggest terrorist plots in Australian history.
“This plot was directed by Daesh, ISIL, from Syria. These are cowards in the Middle East radicalising and directing people in Australia to kill in the name of their mad, demonic, deathly Islamic terrorist ideology. This is a real threat, this terrorist threat is very real, and very close,” he said.
The aviation terrorist threat level had been raised but the PM advises the House it has now been restored back to the pre-existing level. “Stronger protections” will remain in place at airports.
2.20pm: ‘Was LGBTI community consulted?’
Bill Shorten kicks off Question Time asking the Prime Minster if he consulted the LGBTI community about the postal plebiscite.
Malcolm Turnbull says his government is committed to hearing the views of the community.
“My government is committed to standing by the commitment it made at the election to give every Australian a say. And the only reason that every Australian has not had their say on this issue is because of the Opposition of the Labor Party in the Senate. That’s the truth. That’s the fact,” he said.
2.17pm: ‘Show us what you’ve got’
Barnaby Joyce has likened the Coalition to boxer Jeff Horn in his famous Brisbane bout last month with Manny Pacquiao.
The Deputy Prime Minister told the Coalition party room this morning that during the boxing match the referee said to Horn: “Show us what you’ve got”.
“That is what we have to do,” Mr Joyce said, indicating he believes the Coalition is capable of a Horn-style comeback against Labor at the next election.
“We have so many opportunities to counterpunch on energy, on visionary projects like inland rail and dams, on the opening up of the Galilee Basin to create jobs for people in central and north Queensland,” Mr Joyce said.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull meanwhile highlighted national security, a strong economy and energy policy as the government’s strengths, saying Labor had no plan for energy affordability or reliability.
“Their motives are all ideological. They would make all Australia look like South Australia,” Mr Turnbull said.
“Mr Shorten is trying to be an antipodean version of Jeremy Corbyn. We’ll show him up for the left wing fraud that he is.”
On the same sex marriage debate, which dominated yesterday’s Liberal party room meeting, Mr Turnbull said: “People want us to deal with it and go back to running the country. Yesterday the Liberal Party reconfirmed emphatically out commitment to give all Australians a say.”
Deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop said the Labor Party had had six years to reform the marriage act and had done “absolutely nothing about it” in government.
“Mr Shorten is blocking a plebiscite to allow the people to decide the issue at the same time as asking for a series of plebiscites on whether Australia should become a republic and on other issues such as four year parliamentary terms as well,” she said.
“This could have been done and dusted last February if the Australian Labor Party had not blocked the plebiscite legislation in the Senate last year. Only the Coalition is trying to find a constructive way through the issue. Labor for their own selfish reasons are blocking it.”
A Coalition spokesman said all five Liberal MPs who had called for a free parliamentary vote on same sex marriage had spoken on the issue during this morning’s meeting.
“They all in various ways indicated that notwithstanding the views they put in the Liberal Party meeting yesterday, they were accepting of this process,” the spokesman said.
Mr Turnbull is understood to have told the party room that the postal plebiscite is a “constitutionally valid alternative option” to a plebiscite.
Acting Special Minister of State Mathias Cormann said the government believed the postal plebiscite methodology was “legal and constitutional”.
2.15pm: Tributes to Dr G Yunupingu
Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten have paid tribute to Dr G Yunupingu, who died last month from kidney disease, and offered condolences to his family and friends ahead of Question Time. The PM says many did not understand the beauty and significance of the First Australians’ lanaguges but the singer “opened our hearts and minds to them”. The Opposition Leader said the Aboriginal man’s death — at too young an age and easily prevented in other parts of the country — should “prod at our national conscience”.
“Perhaps next time we scurry from one meeting to another, from one press conference to a division, perhaps we can imagine ourselves hearing the rattle of the flag above our building, we can look up, we can remember Dr Yunupingu and remind ourselves there is more to do.”
2.00pm: Dean Smith — I’ll wait for plebiscite
Liberal MP Dean Smith says he will not table a private-members bill to legalise same-sex marriage until a plebiscite has been held.
Senator Smith, who designed a bill to legalise same-sex marriage with protections for religious organisations, said he was disappointed the party remained committed to a plebiscite but he would abide by the will of his colleagues.
He said a free parliamentary vote was the best option to decide on same-sex marriage but noted that a compulsory plebiscite would have more legitimacy than a voluntary postal vote.
“I was asked to delay releasing that bill to the senate because I would like my bill to be given the best possible chance of success,” Senator Smith told Sky News.
“The party has made its decision that it would like this decision to be resolved by a postal plebiscite.
“I do think my bill is a good bill, it is not designed to appease everybody on the far left or the far right, it is a sensible bill.”
Senator Smith said he still believed a postal plebiscite was a flawed process to decide the issue.
“It is expensive, we now know it costs $122m, it is three months in its execution, the points of concern that I raised over the last few weeks have proven to be true,” he said.
“I do think this is a tremendous deviation, I do think the history books will look back on this as not the brightest moment in this government’s history, not the brightest note in our democratic practice.”
1.55pm: Postal vote: what we know
The Coalition has agreed on a date for a $122 million same-sex marriage postal vote if a bill for a compulsory plebiscite fails in the Senate as expected.
The government has found a way to dodge one of the biggest legal threats against its postal vote on gay marriage, asking the Australian Bureau of Statistics to conduct the survey rather than relying on electoral law.
1.35pm: Greens relax stance on media ownership
The Greens have indicated that they may be open to replacing the “two out of three” media ownership rule, which prevents companies holding controlling TV, radio and newspaper interests in the same area, with a more modern means of ensuring diversity of ownership.
However, the party has made it clear that it is not prepared to see the rule abolished, as the government and a coalition of media companies have proposed, and is concerned to protect any media company “except” News Corp Australia, publisher of The Australian, regardless of size or influence and under the guise of maintaining diversity.
A Greens spokesperson this morning said that although the Greens have long opposed changes to the two out of three rule and haven’t formally changed their position, they are listening to those in the media industry arguing that there are workarounds to the rule in the modern media landscape which means it’s not necessarily doing the job it was originally designed to do.
Communications Minister Mitch Fifield is currently negotiating with crossbenchers including the Nick Xenophon Team, One Nation and the Greens in the hope of passing long debated media reforms this sitting fortnight.
The Greens have indicated they are concerned about the fate of the ABC and SBS amid calls from One Nation for their funding to be reviewed.
Asked which media companies they viewed the two out of three rule as being designed to protect, a Greens source said: “Probably anyone who’s not Rupert Murdoch (chairman of News Corp)”.
Asked whether that meant the Greens supported protecting other media organisations, large and small, including Fairfax, the ABC, Guardian Australia and Crikey, the source said: “All of the above”.
1.25pm: Wong supports High Court referrals
Labor’s Senate leader Penny Wong says a proposal by the Greens and One Nation to audit the eligibility of all senators to sit in parliament is “no solution”, but she backs the referral of Senator Canavan, Ms Waters and Mr Ludlam to the High Court.
“It is a very serious matter to question the eligibility of a senator to sit in this place. It is not a decision that should be taken lightly and it can’t be taken without consideration of evidence on the public record. I know some in this place have called for the appointment of some body or eminent person to ‘audit’ the eligibility of senators. This isn’t an approach the Labor Party supports,” she said.
“We don’t support reversing the onus of proof and requiring all senators to prove their eligibility where no serious question has arisen. However where the public record reveals serious credible doubts, the only appropriate resolution is through a referral to the one body that can make an authoritative determination and that is the High Court of Australia.
“Those who propose an administrative audit need to appreciate that nobody other than the High Court can authoritatively resolve questions of eligibility so their proposed solution is no solution. Any audit can only ever assess eligibility at a point in time.”
1.20pm: Postal vote ‘dodgy’
Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek says a postal vote for same-sex marriage would lack legitimacy because it is a “dodgy process”.
Ms Plibersek doubted the Australian Bureau of Statistics would be able properly to run the voluntary vote.
“We saw the problems that the ABS had with the census and now we are supposed to imagine that this unprecedented vote is handled by the ABS,” Ms Plibersek told Sky News.
“I think that people will question the legitimacy of it because it is a dodgy process, we know that both the plebiscite and now this postal plebiscite are dreamt up by people who are opponents of marriage equality to delay the inevitable.”
Ms Plibersek said Malcolm Turnbull was locked in by the right wing of his party.
“We know the majority of Australians support this, our parliament should just get on and do it,” she said.
“I think it is interesting that this approach was not good enough for Malcolm Turnbull when it came to the republic, he was critical of this approach when it came to the republic, it was not good enough for George Brandis just a few months ago but once again, because the right wing of the Liberal Party are determined to block marriage equality, come what may we are now considering this proposition.”
Labor transport spokesman Anthony Albanese said the move for a postal vote was a “humiliation” for the Prime Minister.
“He has shown that he is just not up to the job. This is now a farce whereby we apparently are going to have a plebiscite that will bind if it says ‘no’ ... but won’t bind if it says ‘yes’. It is just pathetic,” he said.
Mr Albanese said the $122 million cost of the postal plebiscite could be better spent elsewhere.
“I can think of a lot of community-based organisations out there who can fix up their oval, a lot of childcare centres which could fix up the access to the local childcare centre, a lot of local governments could do a lot of local community infrastructure work creating jobs doing something.
“The point about this plebiscite, is whether it is a proper one or a pretend one is that, guess what, after it is all over there is still going to have to be a vote in the parliament because the way that we change our (laws) is to vote in the parliament.”
12.50pm: Canavan matter heads to High Court
The Senate process is under way to refer former cabinet minister Matt Canavan’s election to the High Court under section 44 of the Constitution, which states: “Any person who … is under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or a citizen of a foreign power … shall be incapable of being chosen or of sitting as a senator or a member of the House of Representatives.”
Attorney-General George Brandis says the government will seek a directions hearing on Senator Canavan’s case at the “earliest opportunity”, with a reference heard by the court on an “expedited basis”. The High Court will be asked to determine: A) Whether by reason of section 44(i) there is a vacancy in the representation of Queensland in the Senate for the place for which Matthew Canavan is returned? B) If the answer to question A is yes, by what means and in what manner a vacancy should be filled? C) What directions and other orders, if any, should the court make in order to hear and finally dispose of this reference? D) What, if any, orders should be made as to the costs of these proceedings?
Senator Brandis also sums up the steps leading to Senator Canavan’s apparent discovery of his Italian citizenship: “On the afternoon of Monday the 24th of July, Senator Canavan approached me in my office in Brisbane to advise that he had been informed by the Italian embassy that he was an Italian citizen. Senator Canavan also informed the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister. In 2006 Senator Canavan was apparently registered with the Italian consulate in Brisbane on a register known as the AIRE … It seems this occurred as part of an application for registration made by Senator Canavan’s mother. Senator Canavan did not authorise this registration to be undertaken on his behalf.”
12.35pm: PM encourages ‘yes vote’
Malcolm Turnbull says “strong leaders carry out their promises, weak leaders break them”. “I’m a strong leader. I made that promise again and again. The important thing is every Australian gets their say. Every Australian, as Mathias said, every Australian on the electoral roll will get a ballot paper as long as they are on the electoral roll and they will fill that in and have their say and their vote will be counted.” The PM says all Australians should be able to marry and he and wife Lucy will be voting ‘yes’ in a postal plebiscite. “I’d encourage others to do so,” he said.
“There are arguments against having a plebiscite, I understand that. But the weakest argument of all is that the Australian people are not capable of having a respectful discussion on this issue.
“Do we think so little of our fellow Australians and our ability to debate important matters of public interest that we say, ‘You’re not able to have a respectful discussion about the definition of marriage’, which is a very significant, important, fundamental element in our law and culture. Australians are able and have demonstrated that they can have a respectful discussion.”
.@TurnbullMalcolm: I will encourage others to vote in favour of same-sex marriage in a plebiscite. MORE: https://t.co/LYFg2QuCWb pic.twitter.com/kKcYh13L0C
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 8, 2017
12.15pm: Postal vote to cost $122m
Acting Special Minister of State Mathias Cormann confirms the postal plebiscite will cost $122 million, down from $160m for the original plebiscite proposal.
Here’s some more detail about how it will work: “The Treasurer will be directing the Australian statistician to ask to request on a voluntary basis information, statistical information, from all Australians on the electoral law as to their views on whether or not the law in relation to same-sex marriage should be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry.
“Incidentally, there is a precedent in Australia for an Australian government asking Australians for their opinion in relation to a matter of public policy, namely the Whitlam Government in 1974, conducted a phone survey of 60,000 randomly selected Australians through the ABS as to what their view was in relation to Australia’s national anthem and at the end of that process, 51.4 per cent of Australians so survey by the ABS opted for the Australian national anthem to be changed to Advance Australia Fair.
“This is essentially the same process using the same constitutional head of power, using the relevant legislation underpinning the operations of the ABS and the Australian statistician … The ABS has the power to expend funds in relation to its functions under its legislation.
“As the Finance Minister, I have the power to make the relevant appropriation to the ABS. I pause here, under the appropriations act, the current appropriations act passed by the parliament, there is what’s called a finance minister’s advance, a longstanding arrangement that’s been in place under governments of both political persuasion, where I’m able to make appropriations under circumstances of up to $295 million.
“That is more than enough to be able to fund the postal plebiscite should the Senate not support the government’s preferred scenario, the government’s preferred option of a compulsory attendance plebiscite.
“There will be an arrangement between the ABS and the Australian Electoral Commission under those provisions in the ABS legislation for the Electoral Commission officers to be seconded to the ABS to assist the Australian statistician in conducting this process.”
.@TurnbullMalcolm: I am certain Australians can have a respectful public discussion about same-sex marriage. MORE: https://t.co/LYFg2QuCWb pic.twitter.com/eLdoV7KTZV
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 8, 2017
12.05pm: ‘All Australians to have their say’
Malcolm Turnbull declares integrity and trust are “fundamental to political leadership” as he confirms the government will set up a postal vote if the Senate rejects the original, compulsory-attendance plebiscite. “We all remember Julia Gillard’s, ‘There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead’, and how she broke that promise and what followed. Now, we’ve made a very clear commitment here and we are sticking with it,” the Prime Minister says at a press conference with Mathias Cormann. “If there’s a ‘yes’ vote recorded in the postal vote then we will facilitate the introduction of a private member’s bill to legalise same-sex marriage. And if there is a no vote, we will not.”
.@TurnbullMalcolm: fundamental to political leadership is integrity and trust. #auspol MORE: https://t.co/LYFg2QuCWb pic.twitter.com/wHUJ0pz4d2
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 8, 2017
David Crowe 11.45am: Plebiscite dates set
The Turnbull government has found a way to dodge one of the biggest legal threats against its postal vote on same sex marriage, asking the Australian Bureau of Statistics to conduct the survey rather than relying on electoral law. Coalition MPs were told on Tuesday morning that the government will commission the ABS to run the postal vote to ensure Australians have their say on the issue amid legal threats from marriage equality advocates who oppose the public vote.
The party room meeting heard that the Whitlam government used a similar approach with the ABS to get the views of Australians on the national song, suggesting it could be done without being defeated in the courts.
The government’s first option is to hold a compulsory plebiscite on November 25 but this option appears likely to be defeated in the Senate as soon as this week, given Labor, the Greens, the Nick Xenophon Team and independent Derryn Hinch intend to vote against it.
The second option is the optional postal vote to be conducted by the ABS, with ballot papers sent out on September 12. The last date for receiving the completed ballot papers would be November 7, with the result to be declared by November 15.
This would clear the way for a vote in parliament in the final fortnight of parliament, which starts on November 27.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott told the Tuesday party room meeting that he did not favour the postal vote and wanted to stick to the compulsory plebiscite, a view also expressed by Kevin Andrews but not by any others who spoke at the meeting. Mr Abbott raised a similar concern at the Liberal meeting on Monday afternoon, when he said the postal vote was “not what we promised” to the Australian people at the 2013 federal election.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann responded to Mr Abbott in the Liberal meeting by saying the promise of a “people’s vote” had not specified the way the vote would be conducted.
Senator Cormann told the meeting that he had checked the records and at no stage had Mr Abbott or Mr Turnbull told voters the popular vote had to be done by a compulsory plebiscite at polling booths.
The plan to use the ABS to run the ballot raises questions about how it would be conducted ——given the furore over the census last year — but sidesteps the legal threats raised by marriage equality advocates.
The Human Rights Law Centre has legal advice saying the postal vote could be challenged in court, but the advice assumes the government would use Section 7 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act and use the Australian Electoral Commission to conduct the vote.
The Australian has been told the ABS vote would be funded from the “discretionary funding” with the finance portfolio, avoiding the need for a bill to be put to parliament to authorise the spending. This is another question that could give rise to a court challenge.
11.35am: Greens’ ultimatum to Roberts
The Greens say they’ll give One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts 24 hours to release documents proving he renounced his British citizenship before running for parliament, or move to refer his election to the High Court. Senator Roberts, who was born in India to a Welsh father, says he was never a British citizen but the UK government registered his renunciation in December last year, six months after he nominated to be a One Nation candidate. The Greens want to establish an audit of every member’s citizenship status and say if Senator Roberts does not comply “he’s got a day to own up and say he’s got nothing to hide”.
David Crowe 11.05am: Rebel Libs back down
Liberal MPs have moved to hose down speculation they will cross the floor to force a conscience vote on same sex marriage on the floor of federal parliament. The “rainbow rebels” fuelled talk of the extraordinary move over the past week by refusing to rule out the option of crossing the floor, a move that would threaten the government’s management of the parliament.
The new signals mean Malcolm Turnbull is safe from the most drastic option in which rebels joined Labor, the Greens and four crossbenchers in the lower house to suspend standing orders and bring marriage equality to a vote. The four Liberals in the lower house who led the charge on marriage reform are Warren Entsch, Trevor Evans, Tim Wilson and Trent Zimmerman, but the suspension motion would only succeed if all four of them crossed the floor. Read David Crowe’s full story here.
10.40am: Postal vote ‘probably illegal’
Labor legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus has claimed a postal plebiscite is “probably illegal” as he called on the government to release its legal advice proving the process would be constitutional. “I have had the chance to look at the two separate (pieces of) advice that have been obtained from eminent barristers, one by the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays and the other by the Human Rights Law Centre and both of them have very clear, definite advice that it is not possible to conduct a postal vote without legislation,” Mr Dreyfus told Sky News. He called on the government to release its advice which leads it to believe it is legal to hold a postal plebiscite without passing legislation through the parliament. “It is not clear that that advice has come from the Solicitor General or the Australian Government Solicitor,” he said.
Mr Dreyfus said the process could be unconstitutional as the Commonwealth cannot spend money that is outside the ordinary activities of a department unless it was authorised by parliament. “On no view could the conduct of a national voluntary postal vote be seen as part of the ordinary activities on any of the Commonwealth’s departments,” he said.
.@markdreyfusQCMP says legal advice confirms it's not possible to have a postal plebiscite without legislation. MORE https://t.co/kzpxJcG6tx pic.twitter.com/lL82kSNYw5
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 7, 2017
10am: ‘Clarify eligibility of Roberts’
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus says the election of One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts should be “cleared up”, indicating the opposition will support referring the Queenslander to the High Court. The Greens and Victorian independent Derryn Hinch have also said they would support a referral motion, meaning there is enough support in the Senate to refer him to the court and test his eligibility to sit in parliament. “All of these uncertainties and challenges to the validity of someone’s election to the Senate need to be examined by the High Court of Australia, just as occurred in (the cases of) Senator Day and Senator Culleton,” Mr Dreyfus told Sky News. “(The government is) referring Senator Canavan to the High Court and so too these doubts about Senator Roberts should also be cleared up.”
Labor sources said they were not aware of any motion to refer Senator Roberts’ election to the High Court at this stage. A majority vote of the Senate is required to refer any MP to the court.
The issue will be discussed at a meeting of crossbenchers today, reports AAP. Senator Hinch says he contacted Senator Roberts on the weekend about the Indian-born senator’s right to sit in parliament. “So we’ll have a little chat,” Senator Hinch told reporters this morning. Greens senator Nick McKim says an independent audit by a person appointed by a parliamentary committee would allow every MP to provide proof of their citizenship status. The minor party has lost two of its senators — Scott Ludlam and Larissa Waters — after both revealed they had been ineligible to stand for parliament because they held dual citizenship. Nationals senator Matt Canavan also has stood down from cabinet over dual citizenship his mother obtained for him from Italian authorities Ms Waters says she has cleared up her citizenship affairs and today confirmed she intends to recontest the Senate.
9.40am: MPs bound by wishes of Australians
Assistant treasurer Michael Sukkar, who is against gay marriage, said MPs should be bound by the result of a postal vote. “Every member of parliament supporting this plebiscite should accept the wishes of the Australian people, whichever way it goes,” he told Sky News. “If the Australian people endorse a change, I will put my faith in them and I will give effect to the will of the Australian people. I don’t think people will boycott it, I don’t think either side of this debate is going to want to lose the postal plebiscite. They might say some things publicly about boycotting but my sense is each side of this argument and every Australian will want to have their say. I think it’ll be an extraordinarily high turn out if it was a postal vote.”
He called on those in favour of gay marriage to vote “no’’ in parliament if Australians voted against any change to the definition of marriage under the postal plebiscite. But he conceded the government wanted a “full-blooded, compulsory attendance plebiscite” rather than the non-compulsory postal vote.
.@MichaelSukkarMP says he thinks the Liberal Party should be bound by the outcome of a same-sex marriage plebiscite. https://t.co/kzpxJcG6tx pic.twitter.com/3jSs9IUJJt
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 7, 2017
9.20am: ‘PM too frightened’
Bill Shorten could not say if a constitutional challenge of the postal plebiscite has a realistic chance of success, declaring it was a matter for the courts. Mr Shorten would not be drawn this morning on whether he thought a legal challenge on the postal plebiscite could succeed. The Australian Marriage Equality has vowed to challenge the legality of a postal plebiscite in the High Court of Australia. “That will be up to the courts to decide,” Mr Shorten said. He accused Malcolm Turnbull of being “too frightened” of his party to legalise same-sex marriage.
“Yet again the hopes of people who want to be able to marry the person they love have been dashed by a weak prime minister and the right wing of the Liberal Party,” Mr Shorten said. “We should just get on and have a vote on marriage equality straight away in the parliament. Instead, yet again, the Liberal Party has turned themselves inside out obsessing about marriage equality. This postal plebiscite, this postal opinion poll, is a colossal waste of money and time. The parliament should just do its job, the government should just do its job.”
.@billshortenmp says the Liberal Party's focus on delaying marriage equality is absurd. #auspol https://t.co/kzpxJcG6tx pic.twitter.com/eIikOYQqr0
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 7, 2017
9.10am: Shorten blasts Narev
Bill Shorten has lashed out at the Commonwealth Bank for allegations it broke money laundering laws. Mr Shorten this morning accused CBA chief executive Ian Narev of running a “loose” organisation. The Labor leader said the scandal, which is before the courts, showcases the need for a royal commission into the financial services sector. “The one thing you can set your clock by is a problem in the banks, it comes around time and time again,” Mr Shorten said. “You have the CEO of the Commonwealth Bank (Mr Narev) telling Labor that we should go back in our box, know our place and not have a royal commission and in the meantime his own operations seem to be operating on a pretty loose fashion. So again, if you want to fix the banks have a royal commission.” His comments came as the CBA board confirmed it had slashed to zero the 2017 bonuses for chief executive Ian Narev and senior executives in the wake of the money-laundering scandal.
The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre has accused CBA of “serious and systemic” breaches of money-laundering and terrorism-financing laws involving 53,506 transactions, and of failing to monitor customers suspected of breaches of the law even after it became aware of suspected money laundering. CBA is preparing a defence against the allegations.
South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon criticised Mr Narev’s response to the scandal.
“I’m disappointed in Ian Narev’s response on this scandal to date, I think they’ve been woeful,” Mr Xenophon told ABC radio. “This is a big deal. We’ve got the so-called intelligent deposit machines were in clear breach of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws in terms of very serious issues. In fact in the last six months of these IDMs, $1bn a month was going into them.
“There ought to be criminal liability attaching to directors and senior executives of banks and the law needs a change, similar to what the UK and US have done.”
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann would not comment on the allegations, noting the matter was before the courts. “I’m not going to provide commentary, law enforcement processes are underway and it will be entirely inappropriate for me to comment,” Senator Cormann told ABC radio. But he rejected the need for a royal commission into the banking sector. “The Australian regulatory framework is a very high quality regulatory framework and, arguably, in this circumstance it is the regulatory framework at work,” Senator Cormann said. “There is no legal framework and no regulatory framework, there is no legal framework where you can entirely avoid people doing the wrong thing.”
9.00am: What we know about postal plebiscite
A meeting of the Coalition party room will decide whether or not to proceed with a non-compulsory postal plebiscite today. Here’s what we do and don’t know so far about the proposal, thanks to Acting Special Minister of State Mathias Cormann’s interview on ABC Radio National this morning.
— Every voter on the electoral roll will have the opportunity to participate in the postal vote, but it is not clear how many people will need to vote in order to make it legitimate.
— The government will not release legal advice it has received which it says confirms the postal vote is “constitutional”.
— We do not know how much the postal ballot will cost.
— We do not know if government money will be spent on the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ campaigns under the postal vote scenario.
— The question Australians will have to answer is whether they support changing the law to allow same-sex couples to marry.
— We do not know if online voting will be allowed.
— The government believes the issue of gay marriage can be resolved by Christmas under both the postal and original plebiscite proposals.
8.30am: ‘Parliament in paralysis’
Senate powerbroker Nick Xenophon says “no one wins” after the Liberal Party recommitted to its plebiscite policy on gay marriage.
“We believe this is something that ought not to go to a plebiscite. This is something that parliamentarians are paid for to decide and our position hasn’t changed,” Senator Xenophon told ABC radio.
“Australians get two votes when they go to the polls, they get a vote for the lower house and a vote for the upper house, so in effect there are two mandates and our mandate is to have this determined by the parliament. No one wins, it just shows the parliament in paralysis. There are many other issues that people want to be talking about.”
Senator Xenophon said the government had assured him a postal plebiscite would be legal.
8.07am: Roberts backtracks
A source close to One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts, who was born in India to a Welsh father, says he will not table relevant renunciation documents in the Senate until other MPs do the same. Senator Roberts’ office said last week he would present documents to the parliament to clear him of any doubt over his citizenship status. His leader Pauline Hanson even said she would advise him to make the paperwork public because they were “in the public interest”.
But Senator Roberts appears to be backing away from that undertaking. “We’re interested to see the documents of renunciation from Greens senator Nick McKim and (Labor frontbencher) Penny Wong, then we’ll work out what we’re going to do,” the source said.
“The senator will release his documents when the process is established (for all MPs to release their documents), it is not a reversal at all.”
Senator McKim was born in Britain, while Senator Wong was born in Malaysia. Both say they renounced their dual citizenship before running for parliament — in 2015 and 2001 respectively — but have not publicly released their forms.
Here you go peeps. Hope to see Malcom Roberts' empirical evidence soon pic.twitter.com/WSOU7nwmLb
— Nick McKim (@NickMcKim) August 1, 2017
A cloud has been hanging over Senator Roberts after he revealed the UK government did not register renunciation of his British citizenship until December last year, six months after nominating as a One Nation candidate. But the party insists there is “no evidence” the Queenslander was ever British. Greens leader Richard Di Natale said “many serious questions” had been raised over the eligibility of Senator Roberts to sit in parliament, and will support a motion to refer his election to the High Court.
Victorian senator Derryn Hinch said he would talk to Senator Roberts before “making any other decisions” about whether to refer him. Under section 44 of the Constitution, “any person who is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or a citizen of a foreign power” is incapable of being chosen to sit in parliament.
8.00am: Gay marriage ‘resolved by year’s end’
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann expects same-sex marriage to be resolved by the end of the year. Senator Cormann could not say whether online voting would be included if a postal plebiscite went ahead, saying that further details would be discussed in a joint party room meeting of the Liberals and Nationals today. But he thinks the issue will be resolved by the end of the year whether a compulsory plebiscite or a voluntary postal plebiscite is held. “We believe that we have a process that could achieve an outcome before we go to the summer break,” Senator Cormann said. “If there is a positive outcome out of a plebiscite, whether that is a compulsory attendance plebiscite or a voluntary postal plebiscite, under both scenarios if there is a yes vote then the government will facilitate the consideration of a private members bill by the parliament and then we believe that that could happen before the parliament rises for the summer break.”
7.45am: ‘Back original plebiscite’
The government is calling on Bill Shorten to support its original plebiscite proposal of a compulsory people’s vote, suggesting it is a better option than the alternative postal plebiscite idea. “Our clear preference is to give effect to our election commitment through legislating for an attendance plebiscite,” Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said. “If the Labor Party don’t allow us to do that then we need to look to options to give effect to our election commitments. If Bill Shorten doesn’t like the idea of a postal plebiscite then he can support our legislation in the Senate for an attendance plebiscite.”
7.40am: ‘Postal vote must be legal’
Veterans Affairs Minister Dan Tehan said the government would not move ahead with a postal plebiscite on same-sex marriage unless it had “very good” advice it was constitutional. The government faces a challenge in the High Court of Australia from marriage equality advocates about the legality of postal plebiscite. Lobby group Australian Marriage Equality believes the postal plebiscite could be unconstitutional. “We will hear today in the joint parliamentary room about what measures have been taken to seek advice on a postal plebiscite, that will be part of the consideration which will be made this morning,” Mr Tehan told ABC radio. “I don’t think the government will go forward unless it has got very good advice, my understanding there is very good advice but we will hear more about that advice this morning. We won’t go ahead unless that advice is clear.”
Mr Tehan said the Liberal Party stuck with a plebiscite to decide on gay marriage to keep its election promises. “We want to demonstrate to the Australian people that we want to honour our election commitment and that is incredibly important, we said we want to take a plebiscite to the Australian people and we want to do that,” Mr Tehan said. “Now our preferred option is to get it legislated. If we can’t we will look at other options. But we want to make sure that we have demonstrated to the Australian people that this is a government which is determined to honour its election commitments.
“Bill Shorten has a record of saying one thing before an election and doing another thing afterwards. The government he was a member of was punished for that we don’t want to fall for the same trap.”
7.20am: Green to recontest seat
Former Queensland Greens senator Larissa Waters has vowed to recontest her ex-Senate seat after resigning from parliament following a dual citizenship bungle. The Greens lost both its former co-deputy leaders, Ms Waters and Western Australian Scott Ludlam, after they discovered they were citizens of Canada and New Zealand respectively. Their elections will be referred by the Senate to the High Court tomorrow. Ms Waters has now renounced her Canadian citizenship and said she would recontest her former seat “whenever the membership decide that process should commence”.
“I said when I resigned that I felt I was leaving a lot of unfinished business, and after a couple of weeks of personal reflection, I have decided that I will put my hand up to recontest the seat,” she said.
I'm no longer Canadian! & I have more to do in the Senate, so I'll nominate to recontest. In meantime we @QldGreens have state seats to win!
— Larissa Waters (@larissawaters) August 7, 2017
Former Democrats leader Andrew Bartlett was the Greens’ No 2 candidate on the Queensland ballot and is likely to replace Ms Waters following a special recount, but could have his election “immediately tested” if he wins.
Mr Bartlett was a researcher at the Australian National University’s College of Law at the time he nominated to be a Greens candidate, and a person who holds “any office of profit under the Crown” can be disqualified. He has not confirmed if he would take up the seat if eligible. Mr Bartlett could resign from the Senate and create a casual vacancy to be filled by Ms Waters.
Greens leader Richard Di Natale said Mr Ludlam “doesn’t plan on returning to politics in the short term” and is calling on parliament to “immediately initiate” an audit of every MPs’ citizenship status. Under section 44 of the Constitution a person who is a dual citizen is deemed incapable of standing for parliament, unless they can show they took “reasonable steps” to renounce before nominating as a candidate.
“Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten must join us in putting the Australian people first, even if it means the loss of a senator or MP from one of their parties,” Senator Di Natale said.
“Many serious questions have also been raised about Senator Malcolm Robert’s eligibility under Section 44, and the Greens will support a motion that he be referred to the High Court.”
7.00am: Parly preview
Parliament returns for the spring sitting today after a six-week break and a special meeting of the Liberal party room yesterday, where it was agreed they should stick to the status quo and try and push the plebiscite through the Senate one more time. If that fails, as is expected, the government will propose a postal plebiscite and a free vote in parliament if Australians back the change. The government will be hoping the plan will resolve the issue of gay marriage but Labor, the Greens and others are seizing on the latest developments, labelling them “ridiculous”.
Here are some of The Australian’s top political stories today:
* The Australian Christian Lobby is threatening to take the unprecedented step of campaigning against a Coalition government, warning Liberal MPs that it could direct members to support minor right-wing parties if a free vote on gay marriage is allowed in parliament.
* One Nation has indicated it will consider supporting proposals from Nick Xenophon that would force tech giants such as Facebook and Google to face a consumer watchdog inquiry, while publishers with revenue of less than $30 million would get a 40 per cent tax break.
* Malcolm Turnbull lives amid wealth, with 41 per cent of voters in his suburb of Woollahra in the top 20 per cent of earners, a concentration of income surpassed only in Mosman in the electorate of his predecessor, Tony Abbott. Read more here.
* Australians want more incentives to work harder and increase their take-home pay, in a significant finding that backs the case for tax reform, amid fears of the growing burden that is hurting families, according to a special Newspoll.
* Malcolm Turnbull faces the threat of a new round of “zombie measures” in the Senate, with at least $12 billion in key revenue and savings policies in doubt.
THE WEEK AHEAD FOR FEDERAL PARLIAMENT:
* First order of business in the Senate will be referrals of senators to the High Court over their dual citizenship and eligibility to sit. The Senate will open on Tuesday with a statement from President Stephen Parry and the government asking that former minister Matt Canavan be referred to the High Court to test whether he is eligible to sit after he discovered last month his mother registered him as an “Italian resident abroad” a decade ago. Section 44 of the constitution bans MPs from being dual citizens, but Senator Canavan has initial legal advice his lack of consent could save his job. The Greens are expected to refer Larissa Waters and Scott Ludlam to the court, having resigned their Queensland and WA seats over dual citizenship.
* The House of Representatives will debate laws to strengthen requirements for citizenship and deliver the remainder of the government’s corporate tax cut plan. Labor says Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has overreached and badly misread community sentiment, particularly on plans to toughen English language proficiency requirements.
* Senate inquiry report on university funding reforms due on Wednesday, which will inform debate and crossbench talks on passing the bill.
* The government is expected to make progress in talks with crossbenchers about media reforms listed for debate on Wednesday.
* Labor is seeking a cross-party Senate inquiry into Murray Darling water rorts and the disallowance of building code changes.
* Question time will be dominated on the government side by national security, power prices and the economy. Labor will pursue inequality, tax fairness and division in government ranks — AAP
Additional reporting: Greg Brown
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