PoliticsNow: Rolling news, analysis, comment from Canberra
PM uses Adam Bandt grilling to say there are no differences between Greens and Labor left after a heated first QT of 2018.
- ‘No difference between Greens, Labor left’
- Shorten: Citizenship ‘takes two to tango’
- Abbott: What we need to do to win
Hello and welcome to PoliticsNow, The Australian’s live coverage of the happenings in Parliament House.
The first parliamentary sitting of the year sees Bill Shorten under pressure due to a drop in his personal standing and the citizenship crisis, with Labor fighting the Batman by-election and pressure to refer Longman MP Susan Lamb to the High Court.
Greg Brown 3.11pm: ‘Sam Dastyari’s great defender’
Bill Shorten asks of Malcolm Turnbull if he will support Labor’s push for a National Integrity Commission.
Turnbull ridicules Shorten’s history of clamping down on corruption.
“The summer break is a time for reflection and renewal no doubt but I don’t think the Leader of the Opposition has turned into an anti-corruption warrior,” the PM says.
“This is Sam Dastyari’s great defender. It took weeks and weeks and weeks of public pressure and outrage before finally he had to cut Senator Dastyari loose.”
Greg Brown 3.05pm: Treasurer talks property
Treasurer Scott Morrison uses a negative gearing question to argue the property market was moderating, with prices in Sydney falling from 17 per cent a year to 3 per cent.
“That followed the targeted, calibrated interventions by APRA to deal with the overheating that it had caused in the Sydney and Melbourne market. It was a targeted, tailored intervention which was about ensuring the hotter investment activity in those markets could be curtailed and we could have a soft landing in the Australian housing market,” Morrison says.
“If it’s fallen to less than 3 per cent, how far do you want to see property prices fall in this country and undermine the consumer confidence which is at the highest level in four years?”
Greg Brown 2.58pm: ‘Utterly dangerous assault on healthcare’
Labor’s health spokeswoman Catherine King asks why the government wants to give a tax cut to large private health insurers but not do more to reduce premiums.
Health Minister Greg Hunt says Labor’s plan to cap prices was a “con”.
“What we saw yesterday was a con, a game and a smokescreen. It’s to pretend they can keep some headline rate,” he says.
“The industry has said it will be disastrous and after two years it would lead to double digit premium increases and most significantly ... a reduction in the quality of the product.
“This isn’t just an ideologically foolish policy, it is an utterly dangerous assault on healthcare for those Australians who have the most need of private health insurance.”
Greg Brown 2.51pm: Private health costs targeted
Bill Shorten asks why Malcolm Turnbull won’t intervene in the private health insurance market and cap prices.
Turnbull accuses Labor of “hating” the private health system.
“They’ve done everything they can to undermine the private health system. This is another typically cynical move by the Labor Party, all sound bite and no substance,” he says.
He accuses Labor of wanting to abolish the private health insurance rebate, which Labor has denied.
“We’ve seen an increase in the premiums, the lowest since 2001. We would like it to be lower still. But the Opposition Leader’s cynical move will only disadvantage millions of Australian families,” the PM says.
Greg Brown 2.43pm: ‘No difference between Greens, Labor’
Malcolm Turnbull uses a grilling from Greens MP Adam Bandt to say there was no difference between the far-left party and the Labor left.
“The Australian Labor Party has now taken up this left wing anti-business, anti-free enterprise approach which is calculated and indeed designed to destroy thousands of jobs, thousands of opportunities. The very jobs we’re creating,” the PM says.
Greg Brown 2.40pm: Government, Labor trade barbs over Adani
Labor’s environment spokesman Tony Burke asks if the government is investigating reports Adani gave false evidence to get environmental approvals for the Carmichael mine.
Labor MPs say: “Good question”.
Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg says the investigation was a state matter.
“We on this House looked over the most vigorous environmental assessment on the Adani mine and it led to 36 of the strictest requirements. And, as a result of the Adani mine going ahead, thousands of people will be employed in regional Queensland,” he says.
He says Labor only jettisoned its support for the mine as it is attempting to win Batman.
Greg Brown 2.34pm: Medicare levy increase targeted
Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek asks Malcolm Turnbull about the planned tax increase for the middle class through the increase in the Medicare levy.
“Why is the Prime Minister increasing taxes on ordinary working Australians by about $300 every year at the same time as wages growth is at record lows?”
Mr Turnbull hits back that the government increased the middle class tax bracket from $80,000 to $87,000, which prevented “500,000 Australians from going into the second highest tax bracket,” he says.
“(Labor) want to roll back the tax cuts on small and medium businesses. These are businesses, not huge businesses, but they employed more than half of the private sector work force.”
Greg Brown 2.26pm: Company tax debate kicks off QT
Bill Shorten asks his first question for the year on company tax cuts, noting corporate profits were strong while wage growth was weak.
“Why is the PM giving the top end of town a $65 billion tax cut while increasing taxes on ordinary workers up to $300 every year?” he asks.
Malcolm Turnbull labels Shorten the most anti-business Labor leader in generations.
“This guy has declared war on business. He went to the Business Council of Australia and told them they could expect nothing from him,” the PM says.
“He does not have one policy to encourage one business to invest $1 or hire one employee.”
Greg Brown 2.21pm: ‘One of the great journalists’
Malcolm Turnbull pays tribute to Michael Gordon, saying he was “shocked”, “saddened” and “astonished” by the Fairfax journalist’s death.
“He was gentle, he was wise. He was always calm in a business not known for calm. A great man, a good man, great writer and mentor,” Turnbull says.
“In the maelstrom of a newsroom, as political stories broke and events moved and shifted,
Mickey was the personification of calm. He was able to do that rarest of things under pressure, reflect on what was before him rather than rush to judgement.”
He also notes Gordon’s humility.
“When he retired last year he attempted to sneak out the back door to avoid the fuss,” he says.
Bill Shorten says he was shocked by the news of Gordon’s death.
“I think he will be recorded as one of the great journalists of the generation and of any generation,” Shorten says.
“He was a person of complete integrity, absolutely trustworthy. An honest soul and a compassionate one. Mick took the best side of everybody. And I think he believed in the fundamental decency of politics.”
He commends Gordon’s writing on indigenous affairs.
“Not from the airconditioned comfort of a Canberra office, but out there on the ground. He planted himself in the red dust and absorbed the wisdom of people who live with disadvantage and strive every day to overcome it,” he says.
Greg Brown 2.08pm: ‘Cohen inspired hope’
Malcolm Turnbull opens up QT paying tribute to former Hawke government minister Barry Cohen, whose funeral was in Canberra today.
“Warm and hearty, unrestrained and blissful, soft and controlled, Barry Cohen courted laughter in all its forms,” the PM says.
“He did so with a sharp wit and an endless store of anecdotes. That’s how he connected with his constituents and his fellow parliamentarians, how he inspired hope and kept two feet on the ground in a good lesson to us all.”
Turnbull says Cohen had a passion for fairness and was a passionate advocate for indigenous Australians.
Greg Brown 2.02pm: Tribute to Michael Gordon
Before QT there was a tribute in the House to veteran Fairfax journalist Michael Gordon, who died suddenly on weekend.
There is a banksia flower on the desk on the Press Gallery where he normally sits. MPs stood and took a moment’s silence.
Farewell Michael Gordon. One of the most wise and calm of journalists. A good friend and great mentor to so many. He left us far too soon. Love and sympathy to Robyn and his family at this tough time.
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) February 3, 2018
Greg Brown 1.39pm: Labor ‘controls people’: Bandt
Greens MP Adam Bandt says Labor is the wrong party to represent Batman because it believes in digging up coal and locking up refugees.
Mr Bandt used his first Canberra press conference of the year to promote the Greens in the Batman by-election, painting Labor as a party controlled by right factions.
“The Labor candidate will vote to lock up refugees and (likely Greens candidate) Alex Bathal won’t,” he said.
“Why? Because the factions in the Labor Party has enormous control over people. The Labor candidate (Ged Kearney) can be as nice as pie but it doesn’t matter because when they come to Canberra, Labor candidates do whatever the factions tell them, even if it means locking up refugees, cutting single welfare payments, digging up more coal and flogging off our assets.”
Rosie Lewis 1.27pm: One Nation just ‘a lot of hype’
Nationals senator Matthew Canavan says voters have realised Pauline Hanson’s One Nation “did not really deliver” at least year’s Queensland state election as the minor party records its lowest primary vote since the 2016 federal poll.
One Nation’s vote has halved since November, dropping to 5 per cent in the latest Newspoll, conducted exclusively for The Australian.
“Post the Queensland election there’s a level of disappointment that One Nation are a lot of hype, a lot of talk, but did not really deliver at the state election last year. The reality is if people want to elect members of parliament to be able to deliver jobs, deliver projects like dams and more investment, the Bruce Highway, they’ve got to elect people who can form government,” Senator Canavan said.
“One Nation can’t, they’ve shown themselves (they) cannot do that and so our job is just to get out there and do our job and I think ultimately people will see the truth in that if you vote for One Nation you end up with a Labor government.”
Greg Brown 1.18pm: Bishop heads across the ditch
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop will visit New Zealand on the weekend to meet Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters.
It will be the the second time Ms Bishop meets Mr Peters, who will be Acting Prime Minister for six weeks when Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has a baby.
But she is yet to meet Ms Ardern after the pair stoushed during the Kiwi election last year when Ms Bishop said she would struggle to trust a New Zealand Labour government.
“We will discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of importance to both our countries,” Ms Bishop said.
“Australia’s relationship with New Zealand is the closest and most comprehensive of all our bilateral relationships. It is underpinned by deep and dynamic links between our peoples through family, business enterprise, cultural activity and sporting rivalry.
“Mr Peters and I will discuss how to increase our shared efforts to support Pacific Island countries to tackle development challenges and promote a stable and resilient region.”
Greg Brown 1.01pm: Labor set to refer Lamb
Attorney-General Christian Porter says Labor will likely refer Labor MP Susan Lamb to the High Court over her citizenship issues “in the very near future”.
Mr Porter said Bill Shorten would yield to “irresistible” pressure to refer the member for Longman, but he refused to say if the government was prepared to refer her if the Opposition Leader dug in.
“I think it is almost at a point now where it is irresistible the argument that the should refer and my view is he likely will in the very near future,” Mr Porter told Sky News.
“How could he not refer? The public pressure and the pressure of every reasonable commentator for Bill Shorten to do the right thing is utterly overwhelming at this point.
“What we are doing is hoping the Labor Party and Bill Shorten will do the right thing and if they don’t ... then it may be the case that further action is required.”
.@cporterwa: The Coalition believes there is a 'sufficiently reasonable case' that @SusanLambMP was a dual citizen at the time of the last election. #auspol MORE: https://t.co/hyjGTdhkjX pic.twitter.com/9D8rw2pOOi
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 5, 2018
Greg Brown 12.39pm: ‘It takes two to tango’
Bill Shorten has warned it “takes two to tango” as he faces pressure to refer Labor MP Susan Lamb to the High Court.
The Opposition Leader said he wanted a compromise from the government if Labor would refer its MPs.
Labor is trying to get the government to refer questionable MPs on both sides of the House.
“I think the public will mark all sides of parliament down if we repeat the squabbling in 2018 as 2017,” Mr Shorten said this morning.
“I think there is compromise available here but, of course as I say to Mr Turnbull, it takes two to tango.”
12.07pm: Anti-Adani campaign ramps up
Protesters who want the Adani mine scrapped say their movement is poised to make 2018 the year they break the politics of coal in Australia.
In a carnival of colours and costumes, bearing banners and waving flags, protesters gathered outside Parliament House on Monday, as politicians returned for the first sitting day of the year.
“This coal must stay in the ground,” Greens senator Jordon Steele-John said.
“This is the central issue in relation to climate change at the moment on the Australian political agenda.”
This year the Stop Adani movement will release a second documentary on the impact of the Adani coal mine, introduce campaign boot camps and increase its mobilisation activities.
Speaking at the protest, Joseph Zane Sikulu, Pacific Project Co-ordinator for 350.org, said the Stop Adani movement had also spread beyond Australia.
“We called Australia out for the fact that they are not a good big brother to the people in the Pacific,” he said.
“Those realities are no longer just ours, they are yours as well,” he said of rising sea waters and reef bleaching caused by climate change.
Earlier, Indian mining group Adani said groups opposed to its Queensland coal mine development were using “vicious personal attacks” to push their agenda. Chairman Gautam Adani told a forum in New Delhi on Friday resistance to the project in the Galilee Basin has been intense.
“In recent years our project has faced intense resistance abetted by some international NGOs and competitors who have turned to vicious personal attacks and used the press to their advantage,” Mr Adani said, according to Indian business news website Livemint.
Last week, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said he was “increasingly sceptical” of the project, which is being supported by Queensland’s Labor government. Mr Shorten’s spotlight on the mine is likely to intensify as Labor tries to fight off the Greens in the by-election for the marginal federal seat of Batman in Melbourne’s inner-north.
Labor’s candidate for Batman, union leader Ged Kearney, told reporters last week she didn’t think the Adani mine would go ahead.
— AAP
Greg Brown 11.40am: Private health ‘will be in crisis’
Labor’s health spokeswoman Catherine King says the private health insurance industry will be in crisis unless the government intervenes to ensure there are lower increases in price premiums.
Ms King said Labor would ensure there would not be an increase in exclusions under its pledge to reduce premiums for 2 per cent a year while a sector review is underway.
“Value for money is an issue and if we don’t do something this industry itself is going to be in crisis,” Ms King told Sky News.
“But more important what we are seeing is for Australian families is that they cannot afford this product, they are not getting value for this product and the premiums are just getting out of control.”
Ms King said it was a mistake for the Abbott government to privatise Medibank.
“We’ve since seen this industry (make) $1.8 billion of pre-tax profits last year alone,” she said.
“Enough is enough. We have started to see many people leave private health insurance, the complaints are up about this product across the board.”
Shadow Health Minister @CatherineKingMP: The private health insurance industry is incredibly profitable and there's little doubt the public isn't receiving value for money. #SkyLiveNow https://t.co/3ZTuX6i41a pic.twitter.com/AHMdNSkIHH
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 5, 2018
Rosie Lewis 10.35am: ‘Welcome back, JA’
Julie Bishop has tweeted John Alexander a welcome back to the House of Representatives.
Welcome back @JAforBennelong 😊Great to have you in the House of Representatives again advocating for the people of #Bennelong #auspol 🇦🇺
— Julie Bishop (@JulieBishopMP) February 4, 2018
Rosie Lewis 10.20am: Senate back in session
The bells have rung and the Senate is back in session. The Liberal Party has two new senators today in Jim Molan (from NSW) and Lucy Gichuhi (formerly an independent from South Australia).
Senator Molan has been sworn in and Senator Gichuhi has advised the Senate that she’s become a Liberal Party member and “will sit with the government accordingly”.
That means the record 12-MP Senate crossbench has been reduced to 11. The government will need nine of those 11 votes to legislate if it does not have the support of Labor or the Greens.
Also in the Senate, former One Nation senator Fraser Anning has officially severed ties with One Nation. “As of this day forward I’ll be sitting as an independent senator,” he told the chamber. Speculation is mounting that he will join the Nationals or another conservative Queensland party. His spokesman said he was “keeping his options open”. “He’s going to find a party that aligns with his core values and represents the forgotten people of rural and regional Queensland,” the spokesman said.
If Senator Anning does join the Nats, the crossbench would be reduced to 10 MPs and the government would need eight of the 10 votes to legislate, as it did in the previous parliament.
Rachel Baxendale 10.10am: Cohen memorial service today
Bob Hawke, Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten are all due to speak at a state memorial service for Hawke government minister and former columnist for The Australian Barry Cohen at Old Parliament House this morning.
Mr Cohen died late last year aged 82, following a battle with Alzheimer’s.
Victorian Labor MP Michael Danby, who worked for Mr Cohen, will also speak, and the eulogy will be given by Mr Cohen’s son Stuart.
A memorial service is being held this morning at Old Parliament House for former Hawke government minister and columnist for The @australian Barry Cohen, who died late last year following a battle with Alzheimer’s. Hawke, @TurnbullMalcolm, @billshorten & @MichaelDanbyMP speaking. pic.twitter.com/PzLmRmF9C5
— Rachel Baxendale (@rachelbaxendale) February 4, 2018
Greg Brown 10.00am: ‘Here’s how we’ll win’
Tony Abbott says the result in today’s Newspoll shows the next election is winnable for the government, as long as it “sharpens” the policy difference with Labor.
The former prime minister said policy changes were needed to compliment the government’s stronger rhetoric against the opposition. He said the government should build a new coal-fired power station and cut immigration levels.
“It is good that government ministers from the Prime Minister down are on the front foot against Labor, pointing out the fact that if Shorten were to win the election you would have the Greens in charge of social policy, you would have the unions in charge of economic policy,” Mr Abbott told Sydney radio station 2GB.
“But what we need to do also is complement that by sharpening up our difference.
“The point I keep making is we can dramatically take the pressure of power prices if we build a new coal-fired power station and end the emissions obsessions, that is every bit as necessary as Snowy 2.0.
“The other thing we can do is boost wages and make housing more affordable if we are prepared to scale back immigration quite substantially because at the moment our cities are choking.”
Greg Brown 9.45am: Shorten’s left turn
Cabinet minister Christopher Pyne says Bill Shorten has taken a “left turn” and “taken from the playbook” of British Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Pyne said the best way to help “battlers” and low income earners was through growing the economy and cutting taxes, not through high spending that will damage the budget.
“Bill Shorten has taken quite a left turn, there is no doubt about that, the days of Hawke and Keating wanting Labor to look like they had economic credentials seem well and truly over,” Mr Pyne told ABC radio.
“He has taken the playbook from Jeremy Corbyn in the UK and thinks: ‘If I have a populist platform that appeals to everybody’s nascent desire for more cash from the government then somehow that will get me elected’.”
Mr Pyne played down today’s better Newspoll result for the Coalition but leapt on its findings that Mr Shorten ran third as preferred Labor leader behind Tanya Plibersek and Anthony Albanese.
“The only poll that really matters is the one on election day in 18 months from now, I remind you we are only half way through he parliamentary term, it is a three year term there certainly won’t be an election in 2018,” Mr Pyne said.
“But the really interesting thing about that poll is both Tanya Plibersek and Anthony Albanese are more popular Labor leaders than Bill Shorten, this shows that it is going to be a very bleak year for Bill Shorten, unfortunately for him the public have found him out and what we are seeing on dual citizenship is his total inability to act like a leader.”
Mr Pyne claimed the 26th consecutive Newspoll that the Turnbull government was behind Labor did not compare to the 30 Newspolls the Abbott government trailed Labor.
“I would remind you in those days, which seems like a dim, distant past, that the prime minister at the time was also behind Bill Shorten as the preferred PM so we can’t just refer to certain parts of polls and ignore the rest of it,” he said.
Greg Brown 9.00am: ‘Refer everyone under cloud’
Manager of Opposition Business Tony Burke says Labor’s offer to refer all questionable government and opposition MPs to the High Court is still on the table.
Mr Burke said he had moved for Labor’s Susan Lamb to be referred to the High Court last year but the government rejected the proposal because it was protecting its own MPs who were under a citizenship cloud, such as Mackellar MP Jason Falinski.
“I’ve moved that they be referred to the High Court with all the people who are under a cloud,” Mr Burke told ABC radio.
“Let’s not forget what will otherwise happen: if the government refers one person to the High Court the whole national focus will then go to who is the next person under a cloud who has not yet been referred.
“And we will spend the entire year still talking about whether or not we have a parliament that is legally making laws. That is a ridiculaous outcome.
“The only way to prevent it is, anyone who the Liberal Party thinks the Labor Party has a problem with gets referred and anyone who the Labor Party says on the Liberal side who has a problem gets referred as well.
“And you just get the High Court to sort it out and it is done.”
Greg Brown 8.50am: Burke ‘more alarmed’ at Adani
Labor’s environment spokesman Tony Burke says he has become “more alarmed” at the environmental impacts of the Adani coal mine.
Mr Burke said he was being “cautious” in opposing the mine in central Queensland because the company could take legal action if Labor won government.
“If we win government, I become the minister and I cannot have prejudged a final decision, if I (did) then you would simply guarantee that Adani would overturn that decision in court,” Mr Burke told ABC radio this morning.
“So what I can tell you right now is the more I have looked at this the more sceptical I have become about the approvals that have been given.”
Mr Burke pointed to a report, denied by the Indian company, that Adani provided false information to the government to secure environmental approvals.
“Making sure that companies give accurate information is absolutely essential and, certainly, the more I’ve looked at the Adani approvals and seen new information come to light, the more alarmed I have been,” he said.
Greg Brown 8.10am: Lamb ‘should resign today’
Leader of the House Christopher Pyne has labelled Susan Lamb’s citizenship woes an “open and shut case” and confirmed the government would refer her to the High Court if she refused to resign.
Mr Pyne said this morning the government would prefer that Member for Longmanreferred herself to the High Court for not successfully renouncing her British citizenship before she was elected.
But he warned the government would be prepared to act if she stayed in the House of Representatives despite question marks over her eligibility.
“We will refer, if necessary, if Labor refuses to do the right thing,” Mr Pyne told ABC radio.
“She should be resigning this morning. She should have resigned months ago,” he said.
Mr Pyne said Liberal MP Jason Falinski had “no case to answer” despite Labor’s claim he could be Polish.
“That is a distraction, a smokescreen an embarrassing fig leaf that Labor has thrown up to cover the fact that Susan Lamb, the member for Longman is still right now a UK citizen, she is sitting in there House of Representatives and she is a citizen of the United Kingdom,” Mr Pyne said.
“It is disgraceful and scandalous that Bill Shorten is so weak and incapable of acting like a leader that he doesn’t require Susan Lamb to resign.”
Greg Brown 7.55am: ‘Great start’ to 2018
Treasurer Scott Morrison says the focus for the government would be on “jobs and growth”, declaring the economy was off to a “great start” in 2018.
He said the Turnbull government would try and secure tax cuts for all businesses to help the economy grow.
“I have just returned from the US, where I have seen the psychological impact of the Trump administration’s tax cuts flowing through to business, with their most recent January jobs figures, particularly on wages.” Mr Morrison said this morning.
“I think this year is one of great economic opportunity, not just here in Australia but all around the world. It’s for us to ensure that businesses, all Australians, can realise the opportunity.”
Company tax cuts will increase job security, investment, and wages. My interview in the @FinancialReview today: https://t.co/RyQLUNS2tN
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) February 4, 2018
Greg Brown 7.40am: ‘Lamb should resign’
Education Minister Simon Birmingham says Bill Shorten should “admit” that he “misled” the public over the citizenship chaos and should tell Longman MP Susan Lamb to resign from parliament.
Senator Birmingham said the government would hold the Opposition Leader to account over his role in the citizenship crisis, despite calls from Coalition backbenchers to drop the issue altogether.
“We do believe that Bill Shorten ought to admit that, firstly, he misled the Australian people through the second half of last year, he stood there hand on heart and repeatedly said that Labor has no problems and yet now he has a by-election in a Victorian seat, a senator before the High Court, and of course the case in Queensland of the member for Longman, whose situation is very clear that she is still a British citizen, that her renunciation steps weren’t completed,” Senator Birmingham told ABC radio.
“Rather than wasting the parliament’s time or any of the court’s time, she should follow David Feeney’s lead and Susan Lamb should resign from the parliament.”
What’s making news:
Malcolm Turnbull has cemented his command over Bill Shorten as the nation’s preferred prime minister as the two leaders brace for a showdown over economic policy, with the government beginning to close the gap on the opposition amid signs disaffected voters are drifting back to the Coalition from One Nation. Labor leads the government in the two-party preferred stakes by 52-48.
Almost half of all voters would prefer someone other than Bill Shorten as leader of the Labor Party with Anthony Albanese and Tanya Plibersek more favoured to take the opposition reins.
Liberal minister Christopher Pyne has sent a strongly worded letter to Bill Shorten, refusing his request for a joint referral of MPs whose dual-citizenship status is in doubt to the High Court, and telling the Labor leader the crisis has become one entirely of his own making.
Resources Minister Matt Canavan has accused Bill Shorten of trading jobs in north Queensland for votes in Melbourne, as the Labor leader’s criticism of the proposed Adani coalmine intensifies amid the party’s Batman by-election battle with the Greens.
Bill Shorten’s three-week family holiday at Bawley Point on the NSW south coast has been the talk of the town after the million-dollar luxury home he rented required repairs to return it to its “immaculate” condition.
Josh Frydenberg has labelled Bill Shorten’s refusal to rule out nationalising the energy grid as “illogical, irresponsible madness”, which reveals a “desperate need to appease his green-left flank and keep them at bay”.
Graham Richardson writes that Bill Shorten’s lurch to the left will get the Labor Party nowhere.
Miners change tune on climate change
Peak mining industry body The Minerals Council of Australia has joined the fight on climate.
Labor to turn up heat on Taylor
Labor will use the final two weeks of parliament to heap pressure on Energy Minister Angus Taylor.