PoliticsNow: Turnbull announces ban on sex between ministers and staff
PoliticsNow: PM calls on Barnaby Joyce to rethink his position as he unveils a ban on sex between ministers and staff.
- Joyce won’t be acting PM
- Joyce stands by statement
- ‘Immoral but not wrong’, Dutton says
- Hope for Murray-Darling deal
- Kristina Keneally sworn in
Hello and welcome to PoliticsNow, The Australian’s live coverage of the happenings in Parliament House.
The big news out of question time is that Barnaby Joyce is taking leave next week and will not be acting prime minister while Malcolm Turnbull is in the US. Government Senate leader Mathias Cormann will step in, as deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop will also be overseas.
Joe Kelly 6.36pm: ‘It is a very bad workplace practice’
Malcolm Turnbull has called on Barnaby Joyce to “consider his own position” and unveiled a new ban on sex between ministers and their staff in a bid to stem the political damage over the Deputy Prime Minister’s affair with former staffer, Vikki Campion.
Mr Turnbull also revealed he had encouraged Mr Joyce to take a period of leave instead of serving as acting prime minister when he leaves the country next week to visit the United States. Only 48-hours earlier he expressed confidence in Mr Joyce’s ability to step-up to the top job during his absence.
The Prime Minister said the Nationals Leader was guilty of a “shocking error of judgment” for having an affair with a “young woman working in his office” and had humiliated his wife and four daughters.
“Barnaby has acknowledged his fault,” Mr Turnbull said. “He has to consider his own position, obviously.”
“These are matters for Barnaby Joyce to reflect on. He’s made a very grave error of judgment.”
But the warning to Mr Joyce is likely to inflame tensions within the Coalition and be seen as an attempt to meddle with the leadership of the party. One Nationals source also questioned the appropriateness of Mr Turnbull’s deep reflection on Mr Joyce’s private life.
When pressed on whether he could move against Mr Joyce, Mr Turnbull signalled he was unable to make decisions which affected the Nationals Party leadership without bringing the Coalition arrangement into question.
“Barnaby is the Leader of the National Party,” he said. “They are our Coalition partners… we have a Coalition agreement.”
Mr Turnbull said Mr Joyce had “set off a world of woe” and “appalled all of us,” but warned the crisis over his personal life had raised some “very serious issues about the culture” of the workplace in parliament house.
Making the case for tougher workplace guidelines for ministers, Mr Turnbull warned the code of conduct was “truly deficient” and did not speak strongly enough to the values of respect or give sufficient protection to women.
“Most of the bosses in this building if you like are men,” he said. “I am making today some changes to the ministerial standards.
“These will not be the last ones I will make…. I will be working through this rather old document and making sure it speaks clearly about the values of respect in workplaces.”
The new standard will state that ministers “regardless of whether they are married or single must not engage in sexual relations with staff.”
Mr Turnbull said the new standard was appropriate for 2018.
“It is not acceptable for a minister to have a sexual relationship with somebody who works for them,” he said. “It is a very bad workplace practice.”
Rosie Lewis 6.18pm: MP calls on backbencher buy-in
Liberal MP Sarah Henderson has called for all MPs, including backbenchers, to comply with the new “sex ban” standard set by Malcolm Turnbull.
“I welcome the Prime Minister’s change to ministerial standards and the very strong stand he has taken. Ministers are expected to perform to the highest professional and personal standards,” Ms Henderson said.
“It is absolutely not appropriate that ministers enter into sexual relationships with members of their staff.”
Geoff Chambers 5.52pm: Labor responds to code of conduct announcement
Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said “it’s clear the Prime Minister has lost all confidence in his Deputy, but he’s refusing to do the right thing and sack him”.
“This isn’t about Barnaby’s private life, it’s about his use of public money and use of his Ministerial Office. If Turnbull doesn’t get that, he’s living on another planet. Malcolm Turnbull has called his Deputy’s behaviour a shocking error of judgment, and has told him to consider his position,” Mr Dreyfus said.
“Turnbull should have sacked his Deputy today, instead he’s handed him a leave pass. Malcolm Turnbull is ignoring his own Statement of Ministerial Standards – that he signs off on. His integrity is in tatters.”
Mr Dreyfus said “a Prime Minister with real judgment and leadership would have sacked Barnaby Joyce days ago”.
5.20pm: Code of conduct ‘deficient’: PM
The Prime Minister then went on to foreshadow a wide review of the ministerial code of conduct, including announcing the ban on ministers engaging in sexual relationships with staff.
“(The Joyce matter) raises today... some very serious issues about the culture of this place, this parliament,” he said.
He said there had been “a lot of discussion about the ministerial code of conduct”, which had been drafted a long time ago and amended from time to time.
“But it is deficient; it is truly deficient. It does not speak strongly enough of the values we all must live” that included respect and a respectful workplace.
Noting that “most of the bosses here are men”, Mr Turnbull said there was a “gender perspective”.
“I am making here today some changes to ministerial standards and these will not be the last ones I make.
“I will be working through this rather old document and making sure it speaks clearly about the values of respect in workplaces, the values of integrity that Australians expect us to have.”
.@TurnbullMalcolm: This change couldn't be clearer, ministers must not have sexual relations with their staff. pic.twitter.com/Y8JDFChJ3X
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 15, 2018
5.10pm: “Barnaby has set off a world of woe’
Malcolm Turnbull has been scathing about the behaviour of Barnaby Joyce.
“The real issue is the terrible hurt and humiliation that Barnaby, by his conduct, has visited on his wife, Natalie, and their daughters and indeed his new partner,” the Prime Minister told reporters in the courtyard at Parliament House after calling a media conference late in the day.
“Barnaby made a shocking error of judgment in having an affair with a young woman working in his office. In doing so he has set off a world of woe for those women and appalled all of us.
“Our hearts go out to them... it has been dreadful for them to go through the glare of publicity.
“Barnaby knows he made that shocking error of judgment, let down his wife and daughters and he has apologised for that and to them.”
The Prime Minister said Mr Joyce was taking leave next week “and I have encouraged him to take that leave”.
“He needs that time to reflect, seek forgiveness and understanding” and he “needs to make a new home for his partner and baby”, Mr Turnbull said.
more to come...
#BREAKING : @TurnbullMalcolm has announced changes to the ministerial standards, including a clause that ministers, regardless whether they are married or single, must not engage in a sexual relationship with their staff. pic.twitter.com/Frg7n0VGq5
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 15, 2018
5pm: PM bans ministers from sexual relations with staff
Malcolm Turnbull has moved to ban ministers, whether married or single, from having sexual relations with their staff.
“It is not acceptable for a minister to have a sexual relationship with someone who works for them,” he said, while foreshadowing a wide-ranging updating of the ministerial code of conduct, in a statement to the media called late this afternoon.
more to come...
Ministers, regardless of whether they are married or single, must not engage in sexual relations with their staff, @TurnbullMalcolm #auspol
— Rosie Lewis (@rosieslewis) February 15, 2018
So Barnaby Joyce is still going on leave, and the PM will update the ministerial code of conduct to prohibit future minister-staffer affairs
— Rosie Lewis (@rosieslewis) February 15, 2018
4.37pm: Hanson-Young: he shouldn’t be deputy PM
After the Senate passed a motion calling on Barnaby Joyce to resign as Deputy Prime Minister, Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has told Sky News that “if he can’t be acting prime minister next week I don’t think he should be Deputy Prime Minister today”.
.@sarahinthesen8: If @Barnaby_Joyce can't fill the role of acting Prime Minster next week, I don't think he should be deputy prime minister today.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 15, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/KshjbBHmxD #Speers pic.twitter.com/I77VJir4XH
Meanwhile the Senate Twitter account has some interesting facts about senators being prime minister or acting prime minister.
Correction: typo in the tweet (oops!)
— Australian Senate (@AuSenate) February 15, 2018
John Gorton was senator and Prime Minister from 9/1/68 to 1/2/68 https://t.co/7uH6cMJrEr
Greg Brown 4.20pm: Joyce ‘asked for leave to support family, partner’
Barnaby Joyce’s office has issued a statement saying the Deputy Prime Minister asked Malcolm Turnbull if he could take leave next week to “support” his family and his girlfriend Vikki Campion.
A spokesman for Mr Joyce said the Deputy Prime Minister asked to take time off work in the period when he was supposed to be acting prime minister.
“The Deputy Prime Minister is on leave next week after he advised the Prime Minister he wanted to support his family and partner after such intense public focus on personal matters,” the spokesman said.
Greg Brown 3.55pm: Senate passes motion calling on Joyce to resign
The Senate has passed a motion calling on Barnaby Joyce to resign as Deputy Prime Minister, succeeding where Labor earlier failed with a similar tactic in the lower house.
The motion that passed in the Senate, 35 votes to 29, called on the National Party to sack Mr Joyce as leader if he won’t resign.
The motion passed was: “The Senate calls on the Deputy Prime Minister to resign from his position of Deputy Prime Minister of Australia for clearly breaching the standards required of ministers; and if he does not resign, calls on the National Party to sack him as leader.”
Greg Brown 3.15pm: A ‘stunning vote of no confidence’
Bill Shorten asks Malcolm Turnbull why he won’t sack Barnaby Joyce as Deputy Prime Minister.
The PM says he has been given “unequivocal assurances” that Joyce maintained ministerial standards.
“If the members opposite wish to assert that he has breached a clause in the ministerial standards, then they should say so and identify the clause,” Turnbull says.
Shorten’s next question: he asks whether Joyce taking leave next week is a “stunning vote of no confidence in the Deputy Prime Minister to be the acting prime minister”.
“Does the Deputy Prime Minister taking leave next week concede he can’t do his job both as acting prime minister or indeed deputy prime minister of Australia?”
The PM replies simply with: “it does not”.
And that is the end of QT. Joyce leaves the chamber quickly with hunched shoulders.
Greg Brown 3.05pm: PM ‘not aware’ of free accommodation
Labor’s Chris Bowen asks if Malcolm Turnbull was aware Barnaby Joyce was getting free accommodation. Bowen says Joyce was supposed to advise him of that under the ministerial standards.
The PM says he was not aware.
Turnbull then turns around to ask Joyce when he updated the register of members’ interests.
“When was it January or February? Just checking because it was quite recently.”
Labor MPs found this amusing.
Turnbull goes on to politely tell Labor there was no problems with Joyce’s disclosure.
“He filed a member’s interest statement and one of the obligations is to do that under the ministerial standards, he has done that, and he disclosed that he had free accommodation in Armidale,” he says.
Turnbull later gave a supplementary answer, saying Joyce’s disclosure was signed on January 3, was received by the clerk on January 15 but not updated to the register of members’ interests until February 12. “So that’s dealt with that comprehensively,” he says.
Greg Brown 2.57pm: Joyce questioned on ‘mates’
Labor’s Mark Dreyfus points to the ministerial standards, which state that decisions made by ministers should be unaffected by bias or considerations of private advantage.
“How can the Deputy Prime Minister be satisfied that he has complied with this ministerial standard?”
Barnaby Joyce has got some information on the grant, which he tells the House about.
“I’ve been advised that it was for a function in Armidale, obviously decisions in the vicinity of $5000 don’t generally go across the minister’s table,” Joyce says. “I’m unaware of any decision that I would ever have made to be part of that decision, and anything beyond that, I will take it on notice.”
Next up, Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese asks Joyce how many times he has given government grants to his “mates”.
Joyce says he cannot at this point in time determine who his mates are and labelled the question as “absurd”.
Labor used the answer to make jibes about his dwindling standing in the Coalition.
Greg Brown 2.40pm: ‘Where people stay... I would have no idea’
Mark Dreyfus now asks Barnaby Joyce if there were further taxpayer funds given to Greg Maguire than the $5000 grant that the Labor frontbencher has been questioning the Deputy PM over.
“Did Mr Maguire’s business receive any more taxpayers’ money because any of the more than 80 attendees were booked to stay at the hotel which was selected by the government to host the event?”
Joyce says he will take it on notice. “As to where people stay after a function, honestly, I would have no idea so I won’t be able to answer that part of the question,” he says.
As has become customary, Government Leader in the House Christopher Pyne has stepped in to try to halt the line of questioning, and his Labor opposite Tony Burke has popped up to oppose Pyne. Speaker Tony Smith allowed it.
Dennis Shanahan 2.38pm: No holiday from Joyce saga
Malcolm Turnbull’s announcement on Barnaby Joyce going on leave next week has solved nothing for the Coalition and ensured the saga stays alive.
It is a sign of a government in retreat and unable to cauterise the bleeding wound that is the Nationals’ leader.
Why is the deputy prime minister going on leave next week and can’t be acting PM? No explanation has been given apart from the obvious political problem- it has not been described by the Prime Minister or Joyce.
Read Dennis Shanahan’s opinion piece in full and comment here
Greg Brown 2.33pm: Joyce ‘was at Maguire hotel event’
Labor’s Mark Dreyfus keeps up the line of questioning, saying Barnaby Joyce attended the event of Greg Maguire’s that had $5000 from one of his departments.
“How can the Deputy Prime Minister claim he was unaware of the payment of more than $5000 of taxpayers’ money to a business owned by Greg Maguire when the payment was made for an event at the Quality Hotel Powerhouse in Armidale, and the Deputy Prime Minister personally attended (the event) in front of more than 80 witnesses?”
Joyce says he just did not know.
“It would not seem surprising if (I oversee) a multiple billion dollar department that I’m not aware of a $5000 payment,” he says.
Dreyfus then asks Joyce if his office had anything to do with the $5000 grant.
“Or is the House meant to believe that it was just an extraordinary coincidence that an agency under his administration chose a venue owned by his close friend out of all the venues in Armidale?”
Joyce says, again, he had no idea the payment was made.
“We’ve said we will take it on notice because I was unaware and I will get back to you,” Joyce says.
2.30pm: Last senator to be acting PM?
Twitter’s been asking when, if ever, a senator has been acting prime minister. Several people say it was Labor’s Chris Evans for one day in 2008.
Greg Brown 2.25pm: Joyce ‘unaware of $5000 payment’
Labor’s Mark Dreyfus asks Barnaby Joyce if any taxpayer funds have gone to businesses owned by his mate Greg Maguire, owner of the townhouse in which My Joyce has been living.
Mr Joyce says he is “not aware” of any but will take the question on notice.
In his next question, Mr Dreyfus says Senate estimates “made clear” a business owned by Mr Maguire was paid $5000 by one of Barnaby Joyce’s departments.
“Is it the position of the Deputy Prime Minister that he was unaware of this payment?”
Mr Joyce had no clue. “I have to admit I was unaware of that $5000 payment,” he says.
.@markdreyfusQCMP has questioned a $5000 payment made to a business owned by Greg Maguire, however @Barnaby_Joyce says he was unaware of the payment. MORE: https://t.co/W7RX8h9YjW pic.twitter.com/haicpRQF1U
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 15, 2018
2.20pm: Cormann the ‘Steven Bradbury’
In the Senate, Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson has apparently just asked a question of the man he referred to as the “Steven Bradbury of the Liberal Party”, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann, who finds himself about to fill the acting prime minister’s chair next week.
(While we’re on the subject, check out our Winter Olympics live blog too)
Turnbull and Joyce have been discussing since Monday the idea of DPM taking leave next week. Joyce only agreed to the idea today.
— David Speers (@David_Speers) February 15, 2018
Greg Brown 2.15pm: Joyce stands by statement
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus asks Barnaby Joyce if he misled the parliament over his claims millionaire businessman Greg Maguire offered his apartment rent-free to the Deputy Prime Minister.
“The Daily Telegraph and The Australian have both publicly confirmed that Mr Maguire told them it was the Deputy Prime Minister who phoned Mr Maguire. Has the Deputy Prime Minister already misled the parliament four times today in breach of the ministerial standards?”
Mr Joyce digs in and says his account was accurate.
“I stand by my statement... I did not ring Mr Maguire and ask him for a place for free,” Mr Joyce tells the House.
“Mr Maguire approached me. He made an offer. I offered to pay for it. He said that he didn’t have to worry about it because I was a mate.”
.@Barnaby_Joyce says multi-millionaire Greg Maguire said he didn't have to pay to use his apartment as they are 'mates'. MORE: https://t.co/W7RX8h9YjW pic.twitter.com/K3wlqVK7lp
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 15, 2018
Greg Brown 2.10pm: ‘Are we simply meant to believe it’s all a big coincidence?’
Bill Shorten asks whether Malcolm Turnbull’s announcement of Barnaby Joyce’s leave confirms the PM has lost faith in the Deputy Prime Minister. “Or are we simply meant to believe it’s all a big coincidence?”
Mr Turnbull responds: “The Deputy Prime Minister is on leave next week, as I’ve said.”
Greg Brown 2.05pm: Joyce will not be acting PM
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is taking leave while Malcolm Turnbull is in the US next week and will not take the role of acting prime minister.
Mr Turnbull announced in Question Time that Mr Joyce would be on leave from the 19th until the 25th of February. The Prime Minister said deputy Liberal leader Julie Bishop would be overseas next week, leaving the role of acting prime minister to be taken by Senate Leader Mathias Cormann.
.@TurnbullMalcolm: @Barnaby_Joyce will be taking leave next week and will not serve as acting prime minister. MORE: https://t.co/W7RX8h9YjW pic.twitter.com/yYcCo3ARBe
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 15, 2018
2pm: Florida school shooting senseless and horrific: PM
Malcolm Turnbull has sent his sympathies for the people killed at a school shooting in Florida.
“Australia mourns the lives lost in the senseless and horrific shooting at a Florida school,” the Prime Minister tweeted. “We pray that those injured have a swift recovery and send our love and sympathy to the victims and their families.”
Australia mourns the lives lost in the senseless and horrific shooting at a Florida school. We pray that those injured have a swift recovery and send our love and sympathy to the victims and their families.
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) February 15, 2018
Greg Brown 1.55pm: Burney slams ‘reprehensible’ PM over indigenous ‘voice’
Labor frontbencher Linda Burney has slammed Malcolm Turnbull for claiming an indigenous “voice” would be a third chamber of parliament, arguing the Prime Minister’s claims were “simply not true”.
Ms Burney, the first indigenous woman elected to the House of Representatives, hit out at Mr Turnbull for threatening to turn the voice proposal into an election issue, calling his behaviour “reprehensible”.
“The Prime Minister’s refusal and a threat to make this an election issue is nothing short of scaremongering,” Ms Bruney said this morning.
“He has described a voice to the parliament as a third chamber. Not true. He has also said that this puts the rights of Aboriginal people above the rest of Australians. I think the rest of this country would be shocked if they truly understood the disadvantage of Aboriginal people.
“This is threatening the bipartisan of Aboriginal affairs that has been established over two decades now. We want to work with the government. But if the government is not prepared to work with Labor, we will not wait for the government.”
Stand by for question time
Greg Brown 1.45pm: Cormann looks to crossbench for Clean Energy Finance
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says the government holds hope of persuading the crossbench to support its proposal to amend the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to allow it to fund carbon capture and storage projects.
Senator Cormann said the proposal is “irresponsibly” opposed by the Labor Party but it was proven technology.
“Carbon capture and storage is proven technology right around the world which helps to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions,” Senator Cormann told Sky News.
“We believe that is something that ought to be supported and we have proposed to amend legislation governing the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to allow them to make investments in carbon capture and storage projects.
“So far that is something that has been resisted but we are hopeful that with more conversations that over time we will be able to persuade enough non-government senators to support us.”
Origin chief’s clean-coal slapdown
Meanwhile Australia’s biggest electricity and gas retailer Origin Energy has rejected calls for the government to support the development of clean coal technologies and said subsidies or tax breaks would not reverse its commitment to exit coal by 2032.
Origin Energy chief executive Frank Calabria said the country needed to exit coal-fired generation and focus on ensuring there was a smooth transition to more renewable energy, batteries and gas-fired power.
“Subsidies for new technologies are not the way to go,” Mr Calabria said.
“We need to get out of coal and that remains our commitment, to do that.”
Read Andrew White’s full report here
Greg Brown 12.50pm: Shorten optimistic on Murray-Darling deal
Bill Shorten says he is optimistic a “deal can be done” on the Murray-Darling Basin after Labor and the Greens blocked the Coalition’s plan to reduce the amount of water diverted to the environment.
Victoria and NSW are threatening to leave the Murray-Darling Basin Plan if the government’s reforms don’t pass through the Senate.
“I think there’s a deal to be done. I think that people of goodwill can make it work, but the government really has left it at five minutes to midnight,” Mr Shorten said.
Trickle-down effect for farmers
Greg Brown 12.15pm: Katter: Barnaby should stay
Crossbench MP Bob Katter says Barnaby Joyce should not lose his job.
The maverick north Queenslander was the only crossbencher to not vote in a motion moved by Labor to demand Malcolm Turnbull should sack Barnaby Joyce. The rest of the crossbench supported Labor’s motion.
Mr Katter told Sky News that Mr Joyce did the wrong thing but it was a personal matter that should not impact his work as Deputy Prime Minister.
Greg Brown 12pm: ‘Immoral but not wrong’
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says Barnaby Joyce’s affair with a former staffer was immoral but he did not need to be sanctioned as he broke no laws.
Mr Dutton said the Deputy Prime Minister was embroiled in a “mess of his own making” but noted Malcolm Turnbull did not have a say in the Nationals’ leadership.
“He has made a mistake and you can only feel for his wife and his daughters and the whole situation is a mess of his making, he admits that,” Mr Dutton told Sydney radio station 2GB.
“Has he broken the law? No. Has he acted immorally? Yes.”
Read the rest of Dutton’s comments here
Greg Brown 11.45am: Dutton: we’re willing to cut migrant numbers
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says the government is willing to cut migrant numbers after concerns raised that the infrastructure in capital cities was struggling to cope with expanding populations.
Mr Dutton said migrants should be encouraged to move to the regions rather than cities and talked up the cut in migrant numbers from more than 300,000 per year under Labor to less than 200,000 now.
Liberal senator Jim Molan used his first speech in the Senate yesterday to voice concerns about migration levels while former prime minister Tony Abbott has called for a cull in migrant numbers.
“We have to try and encourage people out into regions, we have to reduce the numbers where it is in our national interest,” Mr Dutton said.
“We’ve done that from over 100,000 since Labor was in, it has come back considerably. If we have to bring that back further, if that’s what’s required and that’s what’s in our country’s best interests, that is what we will do.”
Rick Morton 11.15am: Maguire: He had nowhere else to go
Mr Maguire told The Australian on Monday that Barnaby Joyce approached him because he was looking for a place to stay.
“He had nowhere else to go, I don’t know if you’ve ever left a girlfriend or wife, but you’ve got nowhere,” he said.
“He asked me because we are mates and he knew I had property around town. This apartment was empty at the moment and there is no way I would have said no.”
Mr Maguire said Mr Joyce offered to pay rent but he refused, saying the rules of Australian mateship forbid asking a friend in trouble to pay for help.
Comment is being sought from Mr Maguire today.
Rosie Lewis 11am: Cormann defends Joyce
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has defended Barnaby Joyce’s rent-free tenancy at his mate Greg Maguire’s Armidale townhouse, and said he would trust the Deputy Prime Minister’s explanation to parliament.
Mr Joyce told parliament Mr Maguire approached him and offered the townhouse after he’d been disqualified in the dual citizenship fiasco. But Mr Maguire told The Australian this week Mr Joyce “had nowhere else to go” when he asked for a place to stay.
Asked about the apparent contradiction, Senator Cormann told Sky News: “I can’t speak for the person involved, I don’t know him, I’ve never met him, I can only go by what Barnaby has told the Prime Minister, what he’s told the parliament. I take him by his word.
“The friend of his made the offer, Barnaby offered to pay rent, an offer which was declined and then subsequently on being elected to parliament he made all the appropriate declarations.”
Greg Brown 10.40am: Crossbench abandons Joyce
The crossbench has lost faith in Barnaby Joyce, backing Labor in its motion to demand Malcolm Turnbull sack Mr Joyce as Deputy Prime Minister.
Greens MP Adam Bandt, Nick Xenophon Team MP Rebekha Sharkie and independent MPs Andrew Wilkie and Cathy McGowan supported Labor’s proposal in the House of Representatives.
Peter van Onselen 10.20am: Comment: Joyce akin to a feudal lord
I clearly misunderstood the role of what being the leader of the Nationals was all about. I had thought it meant acting like any other political leader, not a feudal lord. It turns out that so long as Barnaby Joyce retains the support of a mere 10 other Nationals in parliament he can pretty well do whatever he likes.
That’s the only conclusion one can draw, as ministers and even the Prime Minister continue to bat away questions about the appropriateness of staffing allocations, receipt of rent-free accommodation and the notion of inappropriate fiduciary relationships between a boss and a subordinate.
These are matters for the Nationals, we are constantly being told. If the conservative party of the regions won’t properly consider such matters, doesn’t the government and the parliament have a duty to ensure reasonable standards are maintained? According to the logic of the government a Nationals leader could literally moon the nation as long as he retained the support of 10 other members who didn’t grasp the inappropriateness of doing so.
If a leader of the Nationals can control his party room numbers he can do whatever he likes. What sort of standard is that for the Prime Minister to abide by? Or indeed elected MPs and senators who so often claim to have the courage to stand up for the regions. A poll out today highlights that their constituents agreed with the exposing of Joyce’s actions, which is hardly surprising given the dislocation between his philosophical utterances over the years and his recent actions.
But that’s not even the main issue here. It’s the professional flaws in Joyce’s conduct which demand more attention.
Read PVO’s opinion piece in full here
Greg Brown 10.05am: Joyce survives sack motion
Labor’s attempt to move a motion to demand Malcolm Turnbull sack Barnaby Joyce has failed. The House voted against suspending standing orders by 73 votes to 70.
Greg Brown 9.57am: Joyce defends himself
Barnaby Joyce has stood to respond to Labor’s motion. He says millionaire businessman Greg Maguire was a “personal friend” who offered his apartment to Mr Joyce after his marriage breakdown.
Mr Joyce said he did not approach Mr Maguire for any help.
“Most people would realise that the time of a marriage break-up, it is not unusual for those who you are close to offer support,” Mr Joyce told the House.
Mr Joyce said he was continuing to pay for the house of his estranged wife and daughters in Tamworth and he plans to find another home.
“I did not approach Mr Maguire for any help. What I can also say is that he made the approach to me when I was not a minister, I was not a member of parliament,” Mr Joyce said, in reference to the fact he had been kicked out of parliament over dual citizenship at the time he started living in the Armidale property.
“What I can also state is that I offered to pay for it. I can also state that basically, he said, as a friend, he would not take any money, that he was quite happy to help me for that period of time.”
Greg Brown 9.48am: Labor motion to sack Joyce
Labor is attempting to move a motion in the House of Representatives demanding Malcolm Turnbull sack Barnaby Joyce as Deputy Prime Minister for breaching ministerial standards for accepting rent-free accommodation from a millionaire businessman in Armidale.
Here’s the motion moved by Mark Dreyfus and seconded by Chris Bowen:
I move –
That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Deputy Manager of Opposition Business from moving the following motion immediately.
The House:
1. Notes:
a. The Daily Telegraph reports today that the Deputy Prime Minister rang a benefactor for a place to stay and received a gift of rent-free accommodation worth an estimated $12,000;
b. The Deputy Prime Minister continues to benefit from this gift;
c. The Prime Minister’s own Statement of Ministerial Standards clearly states Ministers “must not seek or encourage any form of gift in their personal capacity”;
d. The Prime Minister alone is responsible for enforcing his own Ministerial Standards;
e. This is an open and shut case of a breach of the Ministerial Standards; and
f. If the Prime Minister will not take action on such a clear and egregious breach of his Ministerial Standards then they are worthless; and
2. Therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to immediately sack the Deputy Prime Minister for clearly breaching the Prime Minister’s Statement of Ministerial Standards.
Greg Brown 9.35am: Keneally sworn in
Former NSW premier Kristina Keneally has been sworn in as a senator in the federal parliament.
Senator Keneally has taken over the spot vacated by former NSW senator Sam Dastyari.
She was accompanied into the lower house by Labor’s senate leader Penny Wong and NSW senator Deb O’Neill.
“I Kristina Kerscher Keneally do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors according to law, so help me God,” she said with her right hand on the Bible.
A procession of senators lined up to congratulate her and welcome her into federal politics.
Looking forward to taking my oath as a Senator this morning. Brought my Bible from home for the occasion. pic.twitter.com/WosmVsCuVQ
— Kristina Keneally (@KKeneally) February 14, 2018
Greg Brown 9.25am: ‘Put up or shut up’
Nationals cabinet minister David Littleproud says a poll indicating a drop of support for Barnaby Joyce in his electorate is a “concern” but he backed the Deputy Prime Minister to win back the support of the seat of New England.
Mr Littleproud said the Nationals leader would work hard to rebuild the trust of his constituents after a ReachTEL poll showed a third of voters on his electorate no longer supported him after the revelations of his affair with a former staffer Vikki Campion.
“Any poll that indicates a reduction in support is a concern to any candidate or any party,” Mr Littleproud told ABC radio.
“The reality is I know Barnaby will work hard to rebuild that trust in the electorate and that is about the things that he has promised to deliver to get on and do the job that he is paid to do, which is to deliver infrastructure and outcomes for the people of New England
“He has to have an honest conversation with his electorate, as we all do, about the action he has undertaken but it is always about our capability and capacity to deliver for the electorate. They want outcomes, they want government out of their lives and they want elected officials to deliver the services they expect.”
Mr Littleproud dismissed attacks from Labor that Mr Joyce did not uphold ministerial standards after accepting a “gift” of free rental accommodation from a millionaire businessman in Armidale.
“If Barnaby Joyce has broken the law charges should be laid, if they haven’t go away and put up or shut up,” he said.
Greg Brown 8.50am: ‘I’ve got support’
Barnaby Joyce has declared he was “very confident” of remaining Deputy Prime Minister as he entered Parliament House in Canberra this morning.
“I’ve got the support of my party room, we are back into business, we are working hard, doing what we are supposed to do,” Mr Joyce said.
Greg Brown 8.45am: Joyce position ‘untenable’
Bill Shorten has labelled Barnaby Joyce’s position “untenable” as he blames Malcolm Turnbull for the ongoing “circus” engulfing federal politics.
The Opposition Leader said the Prime Minister should tell Mr Joyce to vacate the role of Deputy Prime Minister due to concerns he did not uphold the ministerial code of conduct.
“Australians want us to stop talking about ourselves and get on with talking about them, I think Mr Joyce’s position is untenable and I think Malcolm Turnbull: time for leadership, you need to act,” Mr Shorten said this morning.
“Most Australians are not interested in Barnaby Joyce’s private life, but there are conflicts of interest coming out daily which are being revealed. The Prime Minister has a ministerial code of conduct which if he doesn’t uphold is not worth the paper it is written on.
“In 2017 I said that was a low point in the way Australians view parliament but it was never in my wildest imagination that we would see the circus we have got now.”
The position of Deputy Prime Minister is decided by Nationals MPs as part of the Coalition agreement.
Mr Shorten said the government was too consumed in its own “soap opera” to focus on the big policy issues.
“The issues which affect jobs, and agriculturalists and affect climate, that is just not getting the attention it deserves because this government is so racked with its own internal crises,” he said.
What’s making news:
Barnaby Joyce has been granted a temporary leadership reprieve after colleagues agreed to “let the dust settle” following a dramatic intervention by senior party figures led by Nationals president Larry Anthony.
Dennis Shanahan writes that Barnaby Joyce is hanging onto the Nationals’ leadership by “the skin of his teeth.
One of the ABC’s newest board members, pastoralist Georgie Somerset, has been dragged into the scandal engulfing Barnaby Joyce with confirmation yesterday that she was present at a Canberra pub on the night he was accused of inappropriate behaviour towards women.
Labor MP Susan Lamb will contest the next election without taking further steps to renounce her British citizenship, as the Barnaby Joyce saga “diminishes” internal concerns about her status.
Former premier Kristina Keneally received a standing ovation from her Labor colleagues, and a seated one from NSW Coalition members, as she attended a joint sitting at state parliament to allow her to become a senator yesterday.
Retired army general Jim Molan has used his first speech to warn that Australia’s cities are struggling to deal both culturally and physically with the “excess” numbers of legal migrants, and told colleagues he will not be beholden to a faction.
Freedom of religion must be enshrined in law and churches should be allowed to stop the use of their property for weddings that go against their religious beliefs, Catholic bishops have argued.
The head of the International Energy Agency has called on Australia to follow the US lead and provide tax subsidies for carboncapture technology to drive down electricity prices and secure supply.
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