PoliticsNow: Michaelia Cash refuses to answer questions over union raid
Michaelia Cash has come under fire in Senate Estimates over a media tip-off of police raids on the offices of the AWU.
Hello and welcome to PoliticsNow, The Australian’s blog of the happenings of Parliament House in Canberra.
By-elections and super have dominated QT, with the PM claiming Labor has been lying about hospital funding cuts.
This is where we will leave our live coverage for the day.
Ewin Hannan 8.30pm: Cash stonewalls over AFP probe
Jobs Minister Michaelia Cash has refused to answer questions about whether she has been interviewed by the Australian Federal Police in relation to its probe into the media being tipped off about police raids on the offices of the Australian Workers Union.
Senator Cash was questioned today by Labor’s Doug Cameron during an estimates hearing about whether she had been interviewed or provided a statement to the AFP.
She claimed public interest immunity in refusing to answer questions directly, saying the extent of her knowledge was set out in evidence she gave to previous estimates hearings and answers during Question Time.
Opposition workplace relations spokesman Brendan O’Connor accused Senator Cash of continuing to conduct an “outrageous cover-up”.
Greg Brown 3.10pm: Labor ‘at war with itself’ on border protection
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton uses a Dixer to accuse Labor of being “at war with itself” on border protection.
“When it comes to border protection policies, the Labor Party is tearing itself apart,” Dutton says.
He slams Bill Shorten for delaying the border protection debate at Victorian Labor’s state conference. The delay was supported by the Australian Workers Union and the militant construction union.
“The CFMEU rode into town on their Harleys, they hopped off, went to his side, and the debate was closed down,” Dutton says.
“They don’t only muscle up on building sites, they turn up at the Convention Centre ... and they closed the debate down.
“What deal was done between this Leader and the Opposition and the CFMEU that they would move their block of considerable votes and stop this debate in relation to border protection?”
Greg Brown 2.57pm: Labor’s ‘shocking lies’ on hospital funding
Now opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King asks a question aimed at the Longman by-election.
She asks why Malcolm Turnbull supports $80 billion of corporate tax cuts but won’t support a $10 million cancer treatment centre at Caboolture Hospital in the electorate.
The Prime Minister says Labor has been lying about hospital funding cuts in Longman.
“I want to record with respect to Caboolture Hospital, the shocking lies being told by the Labor Party. Shocking lies,” Turnbull says.
“These are the facts: the government is spending a record amount on public hospitals in Queensland.”
Greg Brown 2.51pm: Braddon on Labor’s mind
Labor MP Julie Collins asks a questioned aimed at the Braddon by-election. She questions why the government would not back bigger tax cuts for the 39,000 lower and middle income earners in the Tasmanian electorate.
Scott Morrison says Labor was trying to turn a $140 billion plan into a $70bn one.
“This just goes to show how they seek to hoodwink the Australian people. It is a shifty practice. Out there saying they provide twice as much tax cuts and they cut the tax cut plan in half,” the Treasurer says.
Greg Brown 2.46pm: QT criticism on Russia’s role in MH17 tragedy
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop uses question time to criticise Russia for its role in the downing of MH17.
“The actions of the Russian Federation demands a response and we have urged Russia to admit responsibility,” she says.
“This atrocity represented a threat to global civil aviation safety and we stand with the grieving families and with our international partners in the pursuit of answers and ultimately justice.”
Bill Shorten speaks on indulgence to back Bishop.
“We wholeheartedly agree with the conclusions in the international report about the origin of this murder weapon and, despite what the Russian Ambassador to Australia has said that these are merely reports on social media, they most certainly are not,” he says.
“I make these remarks on indulgence, not just for the Australian people, but also to send a message to the Russian Federation that whatever the debates we have here, when it comes to the MH17 atrocity, this parliament is of one mind.”
Greg Brown 2.36pm: Labor goes again on super
Bill Shorten asks again why Malcolm Turnbull gives incentives to businesses who “steal” superannuation payments from their workers.
The Prime Minister says the policy is designed to collect $200 million in unpaid super which is given back to employees.
“What the government is foregoing, as part of that amnesty, is some fines,” he says.
“More money for more workers and here, the champion of the workers, does not want to help them out.
“It won’t come as a surprise to anyone who is a member of the AWU under his hopeless leadership.”
Greg Brown 2.32pm: NDIS ‘bureaucratic brick wall’
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie asks about too many people hitting a “bureaucratic brick wall” while trying to access the National Disability Insurance Scheme.
Malcolm Turnbull says the government is committed to the NDIS, which he calls “one of the most important social and economic reforms in our nation’s history”.
The Prime Minister says the National Disability Insurance Agency launched a review based on poor feedback.
“In response to that review, the agency’s been developing and trialling a new model of requires more face-to-face time to ensure people are listened to and receive better quality plans,” he says.
Ben Packham 2.25pm: Coalition party room erupts over energy policy
The Coalition’s energy wars erupted today in the joint Liberal-National party room, with Josh Frydenberg forced to defend the fact that COAG would see the National Energy Guarantee legislation before Coalition MPs.
Six Coalition MPs raised the subject of energy in the joint party room today, with at least one raising alarm over today’s Newspoll, which suggests voters believe Labor is the better party to maintain electricity supply and lower energy prices.
Greg Brown 2.20pm: Treasurer pulled up on unparliamentary language
Scott Morrison pulls out an old quote from Labor MP Ged Kearney when she called paying tax a “bloody privilege”.
The Treasurer cops a rebuke from Speaker Tony Smith for using unparliamentary language.
“You can’t use the quote to bring unparliamentary language into the house,” Smith says.
“I won’t allow that again, I’ll take action.”
Greg Brown 2.15pm: No businesses off the hook on unpaid super: O’Dwyer
Opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen has a crack at the government over its proposed superannuation reforms.
“Is the Prime Minister even aware that it is now government policy to reward dodgy businesses who have robbed workers by failing to pay their superannuation for more than 25 years, by not only waving all penalties for the businesses, but also giving them a tax deduction as well?”
Financial Services spokeswoman Kelly O’Dwyer says the government was not letting any businesses off the hook from paying superannuation entitlements.
“This government has put in place a mechanism to allow small and medium-sized businesses, who otherwise have not paid superannuation guarantee entitlements to come forward, under an amnesty, and make good every single dollar, every single dollar, that they owe their workers,” she says.
Greg Brown 2.08pm: QT kicks off on super
Bill Shorten opens Question Time on superannuation, asking Malcolm Turnbull why he as giving a “leave pass to dodgy bosses” who don’t pay sufficient superannuation.
The Prime Minister accuses the Opposition Leader of removing protections for people with low balance super when Labor was last in government.
“His legislation failed to protect people with low balanced superannuation account. A matter that is being addressed by the government’s superannuation reforms,” Mr Turnbull said.
Joe Kelly 1.55pm: Differences with China ‘inevitable’
Deputy Liberal Leader Julie Bishop said that Australia needed to “uphold its principles” in managing the relationship with Beijing, acknowledging this would “inevitably lead to differences from time to time”.
Ms Bishop said these differences could sometimes be overstated, arguing that her meeting with Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, at the G20 Foreign Minister’s meeting in Argentina last week was “warm”, “constructive” and “candid”.
Ms Bishop also provided an update of Australia’s involvement with the Netherlands in asserting Russian responsibility in the downing of MH17 in July 2014 and took aim at Bill Shorten’s opposition to the government’s tax cuts.
Joe Kelly 1.50pm: Coalition’s focus ahead of by-elections
Malcolm Turnbull says the government must lift its efforts to counter Labor scare campaigns in the lead-up to the five by-elections on July 28 because of the shift in focus to new forms of online media platforms.
Speaking to the joint party room meeting today, the Prime Minister said the Coalition should focus its attack on Labor around the issues of border protection and the economy to cut through to the public.
He also said the government would need to promote its record on key issues including jobs, electricity prices and the provision of essential services -- including health -- ahead of the Super Saturday by-elections.
However, Mr Turnbull noted that it was difficult for governments to claw back seats in by-elections.
He stressed that the government would need to quickly respond to “Labor’s lies” about cuts to public hospitals, arguing there was a danger that false information could be repeated through new online platforms.
“We are in an age where a lot of people get their news not through the curated media -- TV and newspapers -- but unfiltered social media,” Mr Turnbull said. “That makes it easier for Mr Shorten to get away with his lies”.
“We need to remind people that Mr Shorten is duplicitous, remind people of the risks to retirees’ savings from his policy. We need to remind people about border protection,” he said.
Mr Turnbull also warned that the Labor caucus as well as the ALP rank and file did not agree with the government’s border protection measures.
Greg Brown 1.30pm: Labor considers backing super report
Opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen says Labor will consider supporting the Productivity Commission’s recommendations into improving superannuation, as long as the government doesn’t use the findings as an excuse to attack industry super.
Badly misjudged: Unions slam super report
Mr Bowen said the Productivity Report, released today, showed eight of the top 10 performing superannuation funds were industry funds.
“I am certainly not ruling out supporting the recommendations of the Productivity Commission because it is a serious report that should be taken seriously from both sides,” Mr Bowen said.
“If the government chooses to take a constructive and cooperative approach on the Productivity Report they will find engaging partners in the Labor Party.
“This government, and frankly this minister in particular, have chosen to engage in an ideological war against one part of superannuation, industry funds.”
Greg Brown 12.35pm: Privacy reform ‘nonsense’
A former leading barrister says Barnaby Joyce’s proposal for a tort of privacy would make the media “not workable”.
Peter Faris QC said Mr Joyce’s proposal would have an “enormous” impact on the media, labelling the idea “nonsense”.
“First of all you won’t be able to take photographs of anyone because that is obviously an invasion of privacy,” Mr Faris told The Australian.
“And you wouldn’t be able to do interviews and ask them things on the street, even for politician. It would make the whole of the media not workable.
“It is desirable in a democracy to have an open media and for the media to have reasonable access to its citizens. So it is really just a nonsense suggestion.”
’I wouldn’t have charged’: Barnaby opens up about interview
12.00pm: Labor denies Carr funnelled Senate China questions
Labor denies a former minister now heading a research institute with ties to Beijing is directing senators to ask questions in Senate committees. Former foreign affairs minister Bob Carr reportedly funnelled questions to Labor senator Kristina Keneally regarding an adviser to a clandestine report on China. “Senator Keneally asked the questions, she wrote the questions,” Labor frontbencher Brendan O’Connor told reporters in Canberra today.
“They were absolutely relevant to Senate estimates.”
Fairfax and ABC reports claim Mr Carr sought employment details of John Garnaut, tasked in 2016 to inquire with ASIO into Chinese influence in Australia. Mr Carr is the director of the Australia-China Relations Institute, billed as the first Australian think tank devoted exclusively to studying the relationship.
While Mr Carr denied the reports, he released a statement describing Mr Garnaut as leading “recent anti-China panic in the Australian media”.
“Fuelling a campaign against a friendly foreign country is incompatible with an advisory and speech writing role on the Prime Minister’s staff,” he said.
Reports claim Mr Carr suggested Senator Keneally ask the questions, but it was Labor senator Kimberley Kitching who asked them in Senate estimates last week. Widespread reports of a diplomatic chill in the relations have seen both Chinese media and officials criticise Australian policy.
Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek refused to speculate on reports regarding Mr Carr but said Labor was prepared to work with the government on the changes. “Our concern is that the government has seemingly mishandled some of the drafting of these laws,” Mr Plibersek told reporters.
“That criticism isn’t just a Labor criticism, it looks like there is widespread criticism about the unworkability of some of the laws we are talking about.”
Greg Brown 11.55am: ‘Our business is by-elections’
Bill Shorten has told Labor MPs the party is now completely focused on holding all four of its seats in upcoming “Super Saturday” by-elections.
“Our business is now by-elections,” the Opposition Leader told caucus today.
He told colleagues he had now visited Longman, Braddon, Perth and Fremantle, telling voters they faced a “clear choice” between Labor and the government, particularly over company tax cuts.
He said the “simple question” for voters in by-election seats was: “How many of your tax dollars do you want to give to the big four banks?”
“Because the only way to stop the big four banks getting a $17 billion bonus is to vote Labor,” Mr Shorten said.
“The only way to stop the cuts to hospitals and schools to $80 billion can go to multinationals is to vote Labor.”
Richard Ferguson 11.50am: ACTU slams super report
Australia’s peak trade union body has slammed a landmark report into superannuation, saying there were critical flaws in the Productivity Commission’s draft findings.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions have labelled a finding in today’s Productivity Commission draft report that super and enterprise bargaining should be de-linked as “badly misjudged”.
To read the story in full, click here.
Greg Brown 11.20am: E-voting for House of Reps
Electronic voting will be implemented in the House of Representatives.
Leader of the House Christopher Pyne said electronic voting would be operational by 2019.
“The implementation of electronic voting will reduce significantly the time required for each vote in the chamber,” Mr Pyne said.
“Voting outcomes will be transparent, accurate, and known immediately freeing up more time for important parliamentary business to be conducted each day the House sits.
“Electronic voting will also provide an electronic solution for recording division voting and improve online accessibility to division process and results.”
Greg Brown 10.40am: ‘I wouldn’t have charged for interview’
Barnaby Joyce says his family never would have agreed to a paid interview with Network Seven if Australia had sufficient privacy laws, as Seven confirms the interview will air this Sunday.
“This is Ms Campion’s first interview since details of her relationship with Mr Joyce were made public,” the Seven Network’s Sunday Night program tweeted.
This weekend, #SN7 will air an #exclusive interview with @Barnaby_Joyce & his partner, Vikki Campion. This is Ms Campion’s first interview since details of her relationship with Mr Joyce were made public. The interview with @Alex_Cullen airs this Sunday at 8.30pm on @Channel7. pic.twitter.com/GYEfMRIiSd
— Sunday Night (@sundaynighton7) May 28, 2018
The former deputy prime minister told The Australian his partner Vikki Campion made the decision to accept money for a Network Seven interview because she was being “screwed over” from the constant media attention.
Mr Joyce said he would be “only too willing” to talk with Malcolm Turnbull about creating a tort of invasion of privacy in common law.
He also claimed an attempt to start defamation proceedings against News Corporation, the publisher of The Australian, fell over because he was advised he would lose the case because the media conglomerate earns more money than he does.
“If we had a proper tort of privacy we would never have had to do this,” Mr Joyce said, when asked about reaction to the Prime Minister who said this morning he would raise the paid interview with the former Nationals leader.
“If Malcolm wants to talk to me about introducing a proper tort of privacy I am only too willing about having that conversation.
“We tried everything else, we tried to burn this out and none of that worked.”
Mr Joyce argued he was not getting paid for an interview with Network Seven because all of the money is going to his son Sebastian.
He said Ms Campion decided to accept money for an interview because the media had profited from invading the couple’s privacy.
“Remember there are other people in this interview being Vikki and Seb, so if it was just an interview with me as a politician, sure, I am not going to charge for that,” Mr Joyce said.
“But that is not what they wanted, they wanted an interview obviously to get Vikki’s side of the story and like most mothers she said: ‘Seeing as I am being screwed over and there are drones and everything over my house in the last fortnight, paparazzi waiting for me, if everybody else is making money then (I am) going to make money out of it’.”
Jared Owens 10.21am: Super report ‘wake up call’
The Productivity Commission’s “damning” findings about superannuation must be a “wake-up call” for the federal government to reform the system, says Queensland Treasurer Jackie Trad.
The Deputy Premier signalled she would re-examine her state’s public service super scheme, QSuper, to see if it could be improved. However, she stressed, she believed QSuper was “one of the best in the world”.
She said it was open to the federal government to bulldoze the corporate super system, but argued savers should have “competition and choice” of where to put their retirement savings.
Ms Trad is acting premier while Annastacia Palaszczuk leads a trade mission to Japan, which risks being overshadowed by a heated coal industry brawl.
Greg Brown 10.00am: Shorten’s ‘lies, dishonesty’
Malcolm Turnbull has urged the people of Braddon to cast a judgement on the “lies”, “dishonesty” and “duplicity” of Bill Shorten in the upcoming by-election.
The Prime Minister talked down the government’s chances of winning the Tasmanian seat but urged its constituents not to fall for “lies” being promoted by the Opposition Leader and Labor’s candidate Justine Keay.
“What Labor does, and what Shorten does in particular, is he has no regard for the facts and he feels that if he repeats a lie often enough some people will start to believe it is true and repetition doesn’t make a lie the truth,” Mr Turnbull told Tasmanian radio station LAFM.
“The lies that they are peddling about health for example, saying that we have cut health funding.”
9.50am: ‘We’ve had drones over the house’
Barnaby Joyce has broken his silence over his and partner Vikki Campion’s decision to accept $150,000 for an interview with Seven Network.
“We tried for privacy. In the last fortnight we’ve had drones over our house. We’ve had paparazzi waiting for us....We tried just burning this out & that didn’t work.,
Mr Joyce told the Nine Network.
#BREAKING Barnaby Joyce breaks his silence on a paid interview with @sundaynighton7 "We tried for privacy. In the last fortnight we've had drones over our house. We've had paparazzi waiting for us....We tried just just burning this out & that didn't work." @7NewsSydney
— Taylor Aiken (@tayloraiken7) May 28, 2018
Greg Brown 9.40am: PM to speak to Joyce over interview
Malcolm Turnbull says he will speak with Barnaby Joyce about accepting $150,000 for a media interview.
The Prime Minister would not publicly criticise the former deputy prime minister but said he would raise the issue privately.
“It has been very widely criticised, I will no doubt have the opportunity to talk about it with Barnaby privately but it is certainly not a course of action I would have encouraged him to take it, I will put it that way,” Mr Turnbull told Tasmanian radio station LAFM.
“I think you can understand how I feel about it but I will just be circumspect, uncharacteristically circumspect, on this and leave it to a private discussion.”
Greg Brown 9.05am: ‘Be delighted’ over Martin
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack says the Tasmanian Liberals “should be delighted” senator Steve Martin has joined the Nationals.
The Mercury has reported the Tas Liberals will not allow @Senator_Steve to run on a joint Coalition ticket at the next election.@M_McCormackMP says the Tas Liberals should be 'delighted' by Mr Martin's recruitment to the Coalition.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) May 28, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/yR1AChQy5V #amagenda pic.twitter.com/7x4dQfv9XE
Mr McCormack said he is not concerned the Tasmanian Liberals may refuse to run a joint Senate ticket with the Nationals at the next election.
But he said the Liberals should be happy Senator Martin was now part of the government.
“It is another voice for Tasmania in government, it is another voice for Tasmania in the Coalition, and they should be delighted,” Mr McCormack told Sky News.
“We’ve now got a new state in our family, Tasmania, and we are delighted that Steve Martin who is very well equipped to serve the needs of Tasmanians, particularly regional Tasmanians has joined us.”
Greg Brown 8.40am: Young ‘ripped off’ by super
Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer says the behaviour of parts of the superannuation industry is scandalous, arguing low income earners and young people were being “ripped off”.
Ms O’Dwyer said a Productivity Commission review of the industry released today had “blown the whistle” on problems in the sector, arguing the government had already tried to give the Australian Prudential and Regulatory Authority more powers to crackdown on poor practice.
She left the door open to the government accepting a recommendation for establishing an independent body to rate the top performing funds.
“We certainly look very favourably at the recommendations made by the Productivity Commission,” Ms O’Dwyer told ABC radio.
“It has blown the whistle for millions of Australians on the fact that superannuation funds have not always been acting in the best interest of their members, they have often acted in their own vested interests, they have charged very high fees and charges.”
She agreed it was “scandalous” as much as $2.6 billion of retirement savings are being eaten away each year in unnecessary charges.
“I think it is a massive rip off, I think, in particular, young people have been ripped off, I think low income earners particularly have been ripped off and it must stop,” she said.
Greg Brown 8.05am: Aussies would be ‘disgusted’ at Barnaby
Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer says Barnaby Joyce has made a mistake for accepting $150,000 for a media interview, believing most Australians would be “disgusted” at the move by the former deputy prime minister.
Ms O’Dwyer this morning gave the biggest public serve of the Nationals MP by a government minister, declaring Mr Joyce had acted poorly by accepting cash for an interview.
But she fell short of calling from him to pull the pin on the deal with Network Seven’s Sunday Night.
.@KellyODwyer says she thinks Australians would be ‘disgusted’ by @Barnaby_Joyce's decision to accept $150,000 for his tell-all interview.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) May 28, 2018
‘I don’t think it’s appropriate for a parliamentarian to be paid money for an interview.’
MORE: https://t.co/vSFmuUsBB0 #amagenda pic.twitter.com/qiIJoW6r3m
“Ultimately it is a matter for him and his judgement, I personally wouldn’t do it, I don’t think it is right, I think most Australians are pretty disgusted by it,” Ms O’Dwyer told ABC radio.
Nationals leader Michael McCormack this morning said he would never accept money for a media appearance.
“Whilst you are a serving member of parliament you have to wonder about the merit of these things,” he told the ABC.
What’s making news:
Malcolm Turnbull’s national energy guarantee has failed to deliver any political gain, with the Coalition now trailing Labor on which party voters believe is better placed to deliver lower power prices and a secure energy supply.
Malcolm Turnbull will challenge Bill Shorten to vote down nearly $180 billion worth of company and personal income tax cuts ahead of the “Super Saturday” by-elections and transform the contest into a referendum on the major parties’ competing economic visions.
A pitch to recruit Tasmanian independent senator Steve Martin was made by two Nationals colleagues at a Canberra Thai restaurant after several weeks of private negotiations led by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack.
The biggest shake-up of the $2.6 trillion superannuation sector for three decades would unshackle the retirement system from workplace bargaining agreements, end the proliferation of multiple accounts and rip $1 billion a year in contributions out of underperforming funds, under the proposals of a draft Productivity Commission report.
The federal government has won the backing of at least one state to permanently redraw the legislation underpinning the $22 billion National Disability Insurance Scheme in a bid to regain control over how much money goes out the door and what risks must be taken into account.
Tony Abbott — who once threatened to “shirt-front” Vladimir Putin over the downing of MH17 — has called on Australia to kick out the Russian ambassador if Moscow refuses to apologise for the atrocity.
Liberal maverick Craig Kelly has walked away from his threat to quit the Liberal Party and move to the crossbench if he loses preselection, just hours after repeating the warning.
Anthony Albanese has declared himself a “team player” but won’t rule out a future bid for Bill Shorten’s job after he pulled ahead of his former leadership rival as preferred Labor leader.
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