PoliticsNow: Local members ‘expressed displeasure’ with Tony Abbott
PoliticsNow: Local branch members in Warringah expressed “some displeasure” with Tony Abbott says Christopher Pyne
- Coalition ‘dysfunctional’
- ‘Hunt down berry terrorists’
- Marriott interview ‘commendable’
- PM cancels COAG
Hello and welcome to PoliticsNow, The Australian’s live blog on the happenings at Parliament House in Canberra.
Scott Morrison will try and get free air from disunity and bullying claims as he uses parliament to sell the government’s economic record and a need for a royal commission into aged care.
TOP STORY: The electorate of Warringah expressed “displeasure” with Tony Abbott.
Greg Brown 3.15pm: Dutton childcare questions resurface
Manager of Opposition Business Tony Burke asks why Scott Morrison “won’t fulfil the commitment he made to the house last week” and say whether Peter Dutton excused himself on cabinet discussions on childcare.
The Prime Minister says Dutton has already answered the question.
“He said he complied with the requirements under the cabinet handbook and I take advice in relation to this position which puts the question beyond doubt,” Morrison says.
“I have nothing further to report on that matter.”
A delegation from Saudi Arabia during Question Time has 25% female representation, the coalition today has 13 women out of 69 members, so 18% female representation. #auspol #qt pic.twitter.com/h2rjev7Qua
— Mick Tsikas (@AAPMick) September 19, 2018
Greg Brown 3.10pm: ‘Why isn’t Turnbull PM?’
Bill Shorten asks a regular QT question: “why isn’t Malcolm Turnbull the Prime Minister of Australia?”.
Scott Morrison tells the Opposition Leader to look at his previous answers on the question.
“He has had five years and he can’t convince anyone that he should be the prime minister,” Morrison says.
Greg Brown 3.05pm: School funding queries will still be tackled
Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek goes again on the cancelled COAG leaders meeting, asking about the uncertainty it would add to school funding.
Scott Morrison says none of the premiers were annoyed the event was cancelled because meetings between education and health ministers would go ahead.
“You don’t need to have meetings for everybody to come and have a cup of tea,” the Prime Minister says.
“The reason we don’t have to have that meeting is because the very education funding issues that are referred to by the member will be addressed within that time frame.”
Greg Brown 2.50pm: ‘Why was COAG canned?’
Opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen asks Scott Morrison about his decision to cancel next month’s COAG meeting.
“Doesn’t this just confirm the government is too busy fighting itself to govern for Australians, and is this what the Prime Minister meant when he called his own government the Muppet show?”
Mr Morrison says the government is having a drought summit instead.
.@Bowenchris asks why the PM has cancelled a scheduled COAG meeting. @ScottMorrisonMP: You know why we are not having that in October? Because we are having a drought summit.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) September 19, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/ykweMevBOK #QT #auspol pic.twitter.com/GrnGkXg8jf
Manager of Opposition Business Tony Burke calls a point of order, because COAG was on October 4, whereas the summit is on October 26.
Mr Morrison says Mr Burke thinks the house is a “high school debating chamber” where he makes “cheap debating points”.
“My priority is not to hold a bunch of meetings, my priority is to get things done,” he says.
Greg Brown 2.45pm: ‘Responsibility to live within their means’
Scott Morrison greets a delegation from Saudi Arabia who are in the chamber.
Meanwhile, Labor’s Julie Collins asks Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt whose fault it was for the $1.2 billion “cut” to aged care.
Wyatt denies there were cuts to the sector, saying funding had increased from $13.6 billion to $23.6 billion.
“The funding instrument was capped at a time in which there were claims that were much higher than the trajectory and all governments have a responsibility to live within their means,” Wyatt says.
Collins goes again on cuts to the Aged Care Funding Instrument.
“Has the per resident funding for the complex Aged Care Funding Instrument gone down as a result of the 2016 budget?”
He says funding for the ACFI expenditure has “continued to increase”.
A colleague observes the visiting Saudi delegation currently sitting in the House of Representatives has a higher ratio of women (25%) than the coalition (17%) #auspol @SBSNews
— Brett Mason (@BrettMasonNews) September 19, 2018
Greg Brown 2.40pm: No basis to budget cut report
Labor’s Julie Collins asks Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt about a report in The Australian that he privately confessed cutting $1.2 billion out of the aged care portfolio would be bad but it was “controlled by Treasury”.
Wyatt claims he never said it.
“It is not a comment that I would make when I am in an aged care facility,” he says.
Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt up in Question Time being the most honest so far about the ACFI funding: he says it was capped in 2016 because of a high trajectory of overclaiming. Says it still grew (true, by $1.8bn) but it was budgeted to grow by $2bn.
— Rick Morton (@SquigglyRick) September 19, 2018
Greg Brown 2.28pm: ‘Why take from senior Australians?’
Opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen asks Scott Morrison why he won’t ensure people earning less than $450 a month a year get paid superannuation.
The Prime Minister says the Opposition Leader would drop his dividend imputation crackdown if he was interested in people’s retirement savings.
“If they are so interested in retirement savings, why do they want to put their hand in the pocket of senior Australians who have saved and take around $5 billion out of their savings?” Morrison says.
Greg Brown 2.15pm: ‘Cut strawberries, not farmers’
Bill Shorten indicates Labor is likely to give bipartisan support to the government’s tough new penalties on food contamination, including jail time of up to 15 years.
“I can assure Australians that we will work with the government in supporting farmers, and deterring and stopping these despicable acts,” Shorten says.
“We want to say to Australians, a couple of isolated cases is no reason to stop buying strawberries.
“Keep having them with breakfast, keep supporting the growers, cut the strawberries up, don’t cut the farmers out.”
Greg Brown 2.08pm: ‘Two million women’ with inactive super
Bill Shorten asks if Scott Morrison will support Labor’s policy announced today to top up superannuation accounts of working women by more than $400 million over the next four years.
The Prime Minister says the government’s reforms to superannuation were beneficial for women.
“We have two million women that hold a low balance (super account), with inactive accounts, that will be protected through the excessive fees in the appropriate insurance arrangements we are getting rid of, they are measures we are pursuing which I announced in this year’s budget,” Morrison says.
Greg Brown 1.50pm: More than 100 contamination cases
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says there are more than 100 cases of strawberry contamination cases being investigated but “a lot of these” are probably hoaxes or copycat cases.
Mr Dutton said the issue was mostly confined to Queensland as he urged people to take down content showcasing fake cases of food contamination.
“It is a diversion of resources, policing resources, when we want to find the true culprits. We don’t want policing resources being distracted and diverted into posters being put up,” Mr Dutton said.
“People might think they are funny, people might think that somehow this is an image to be shared, but all it does is distract from the main policing effort.
“I would encouraged anyone to pull any of that content down that they have posted up that is fictional or is of a fabricated arrangement.”
Mr Dutton said people should take caution before eating any type of fruit.
“If somebody has the intent, if they are deranged enough to put needles or some foreign object into strawberries, they can do it with other fruits as well. People need to be cautious about that consumption, and the preparation of it,” Mr Dutton said.
Greg Brown 1.22pm: PM announces drought summit
Scott Morrison will host a National Drought Summit next month, putting national leaders and key organisations “at the same table” to advise on drought strategies.
The Prime Minister will be joined by co-ordinator-general for drought, Stephen Day, and the special envoy for drought assistance and recovery, Barnaby Joyce.
“They want co-ordinated action to support drought-affected families and their communities, and hosting a Drought Summit will unite our national efforts,” Mr Morrison said in a statement.
“The summit will put our national leaders, key people and organisations together at the same table. We will look at actions to deliver assistance, cut red tape and tackle gaps that need addressing.
“We’re ensuring families and communities in drought-affected areas are getting what they need. We need to act and respond to the immediate issues while we are putting in place better frameworks for long-term preparedness and resilience.”
Greg Brown 12.45pm: ‘Cowards’ to face 15 years jail
People who tamper with food could spend up to 15 years behind bars under new legislation proposed by Scott Morrison, who labelled people who stick pins in strawberries as “cowards” and “grubs”.
The Prime Minister has also created a new offence of “recklessness” which will cover people who engage in hoaxes or contaminate food without the intent of hurting someone.
The legislation will be introduced into federal Parliament tomorrow.
“Any idiot who thinks they can go out into a shopping centre and start sticking pins in fruit and thinks this is some sort of laugh or put something on Facebook that is a hoax, that sort of behaviour is reckless and, under the provision that we will be seeking to introduce swiftly, that type of behaviour would carry a penalty of up to 10 years in prison,” Mr Morrison said.
“It is not a joke, it is not funny. You are putting the livelihoods of hardworking Australians at risk. And you are scaring children and you are a coward and you are a grub.
“And if you do that sort of thing in this country we will come after you and we will throw the book at you.”
Read the article in full here.
Greg Brown 11.55am: Abbott faced ‘displeasure’ in Warringah
Defence Minister Christopher Pyne says local members in the electorate of Warringah expressed “some displeasure” with Tony Abbott after 30 per cent of voters opposed his preselection.
Mr Pyne, a leading South Australian moderate and key ally of Malcolm Turnbull, said it was a “matter for the organisation” to decide whether the party would be doing better if the former prime minister was out of parliament.
Peter van Onselen: When to go Abbott’s decision
Mr Abbott suffered a substantial protest vote against his preselection despite being the only candidate who nominated.
“In spite of the fact that there was no other candidate, they indicated some displeasure and that is a matter for the organisation on the Northern Beaches. That’s just the fact,” Mr Pyne told Adelaide radio station 5AA.
“I defeated a sitting member in pre-selection 26 years ago. That is part of the democracy of the Liberal Party. It’s the same in the Labor Party, the same in the Greens for that matter.
“The truth is that everyone has to be selected before they can actually run for the seat if you are running under the flag of a political party, rather than as an independent.”
Greg Brown 11.50am: ‘We could be victim of trade war’
Bill Shorten has warned Australian industry could be the “innocent bystander victim” of a trade war between Donald Trump and China, urging the government to strengthen anti-dumping laws to avoid being a “soft touch”.,
The Opposition Leader said the mounting protectionist barriers being raised between the world’s two largest economies was “greatly concerning” and Australia should resist being flooded with cheap steel from overseas markets that could not enter the United States or China.
“I think it is greatly concerning the mounting trade protectionist barriers between United States and China,” Mr Shorten said in Canberra this morning.
“This is not just an issue that affects the United States and China. If you have got product made in either country, which usually goes between United States and China, and because of tariff walls cannot enter the United States or China, this product needs to find a home.
“And we have a very open borders in Australia. I am greatly concerned that Australian industry could be the innocent bystander victim of a trade war between China and the United States.”
He said the government needed to explain the moves it was taking to protect Australian industry.
“We have proposed measures about strengthening our anti-dumping laws. What we have to make sure in this time of increased trade conflict is that Australia is not seen as a soft touch,” he said.
Greg Brown 10.45am: ‘Closing pay gap’
Bill Shorten is out talking up his announcement to top up the superannuation accounts of working women by about $100 million a year.
“We are proposing to make one step to close the gap between the unequal treatment of men and women in Australia,” he said.
Greg Brown 10.40am: Sabotage ‘harms food safety name’
Opposition agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon has warned Australia’s reputation on food safety could be impacted by the strawberry contamination scandal.
“Our key competitive advantage on exports markets with respect to our food is our reputation as a provider of clean, green, safe and ethically produced food,” Mr Fitzgibbon told ABC radio.
“And if that reputation becomes undermined, it’s going to put enormous pressure on the industry. So we can’t afford to leave any stone unturned here and the commonwealth and the states need to work together.”
Mr Fitzgibbon said Labor supported the federal government’s move to devote $1 million to deal with the contamination scare.
Richard Ferguson 10.20am: ‘Jail for berry saboteurs’
People who put needles and foreign objects into strawberries and other foods would face a mandatory three years in jail under a new plan from the Victorian Liberals.
Opposition Leader Matthew Guy told Melbourne’s 3AW radio this morning he wants an amendment to the Victorian Crimes Act that would officially outlaw anyone from interfering with food.
The Liberal leader’s new plan comes after more than twenty incidents nationwide of needles being found in strawberries, apples and bananas.
“I’m going to call for … a new offence of contaminating or interfering with food which will have a three year mandatory jail sentence.”
“We can’t let these people hold us hostage, and I think Victorians are being held hostage … we have to send a message to these people that when you’re caught, there will be a serious penalty.
“Just think of all the food that’s been wasted. Think of the parents … I’ve had enough of it.”
Greg Brown 9.50am: COAG cancellation ‘shows dysfunction’
Opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen says Scott Morrison deciding to cancel next month’s COAG meeting shows the government is in a state of “dysfunction”.
“It’s now September and school principals don’t have their budgets for next year because of the dysfunction in the school funding model which this government has imposed,” Mr Bowen told ABC radio.
“I mean closing the gap is an urgent national priority and yet we are not even going to meet about it.
“We scoff at the dysfunction in the government and the Muppet Show and fair enough but it has a real life impact. Scott Morrison is not governing at the moment. The Liberal and National Parties are not governing.”
Tanya Plibersek agreed, tweeting: “Scott Morrison has cancelled COAG because the Liberals are so unstable and chaotic.”
Scott Morrison has cancelled COAG because the Liberals are so unstable and chaotic. He still hasn’t fixed his school funding mess. He doesn’t propose to even talk about school funding with state premiers until December.https://t.co/y3HVZjnL2u
— Tanya Plibersek (@tanya_plibersek) September 18, 2018
Greg Brown 9.45am: Marriott interview ‘commendable’
Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek has labelled the ABC’s interview of Barnaby Joyce accuser Catherine Marriott as “commendable”.
“She is a gutsy women. I am full of admiration for the way she spoke up for herself and the hope that she’s given other women, good on her,” Ms Plibersek said.
She would not comment on Mr Joyce’s claim that Ms Marriott’s statement was “spurious” and “defamatory”.
“I’m not going to comment on what he says. I think Catherine Marriott — her testimony speaks for itself,” she said.
Remy Varga 9.25am: ‘Hunt down berry terrorists’
Former deputy PM Barnaby Joyce says the strawberry saboteurs who have forced the industry to the brink of collapse must be “pursued and hunted down”.
A sewing needle was found in a strawberry one week ago and a string of copycat incidents have since taken place across six states and territories.
"It is not only a threat to the strawberry industry, but it is a threat to the food production industry." -@Barnaby_Joyce #9Today pic.twitter.com/HRABiFoDdD
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) September 18, 2018
“The reward … has to be substantially increased to hunt this person down,” Mr Joyce told the Nine Network on Wednesday.
“It is not only a threat to the strawberry industry, it is a threat across the food production industry. We have got to treat it as such.”
Meanwhile Health Minister Greg Hunt ate a strawberry at Parliament House to encourage people to keep buying them.
STRAWBERRY GROWERS IN THE RED: read the full article.
Greg Brown 9.05am: ‘Important day for women’
Opposition financial services spokeswoman Clare O’Neil says it is an “important day for Australian women” after Labor announced plans to top up superannuation accounts of women.
The policy, worth $400 million over four years, would see the government pay superannuation on paid parental leave payments and make it easier for employers to make extra payment’s to a woman’s super account.
“Labor is so proud of superannuation, it’s a system that we invented, that we nurture and protect while we are in government,” Ms O’Neil said.
“But the truth is that today it’s not working very well for Australian women. Australian women retire with, on average, 40 per cent less in their superannuation accounts than Australian men.
“Labor is very serious about making sure that Australian women live in economic security, and we’re very proud today to be making some very significant changes.”
.@tanya_plibersek: The changes we are making would mean a women with two kids can expect to be $24,000 better off in their retirement. If you have three kids, the amount becomes more than $30,000.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) September 18, 2018
That is a significant change.
MORE: https://t.co/ykweMevBOK #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/AGQnuShjTd
Greg Brown 8.45am: Labor TPP concerns ‘no secret’
Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek says it was no secret the opposition had concerns about the Trans-Pacific Partnership after leaked minutes from last week’s caucus meeting shows a stack of MPs opposing the trade deal.
The minutes, leaked to the Herald Sun, showed frontbencher Doug Cameron issuing concern voters would flock to Pauline Hanson if Labor supported the deal that would “hurt the working class”.
Opposition Leader @billshortenmp is facing internal dissent over the decision to back the TPP trade deal.@tanya_plibersek: I do not think it is any secret that Labor has serious concerns about the TPP trade deal.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) September 18, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/ykweMevBOK #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/5NTaoZhF1q
Ms Plibersek said a “clear majority” of the caucus supported the TPP.
“But with the acknowledgment that we have some work to do in fixing the clearly identified problems from our perspective, should we win government,” Ms Plibersek told Sky News.
“I don’t think it is any secret that Labor has serious concerns about this TPP deal, we have been on the record publicly saying that we don’t support investor state dispute settlement mechanisms that allow private companies to sue governments that are acting in the national interest.
“We’ve said we have got serious concerns about what the government has been saying about Labor market testing. We have been very upfront about that.
“Just as Jacinda Ardern has fixed a number of problems from New Zealand’s perspective, in these trade deals on coming to government, if we are elected we can fix these Labor market testing provisions and the ISDS clauses from government.”
The Australian revealed last week 23 MPs spoke who spoke in the meeting were opposed to the deal, including former union officials Ged Kearney, Pat Conroy, Glenn Sterle and Alex Gallacher.
Jason Clare, Chris Bowen, Richard Marles, Penny Wong and Andrew Leigh spoke in favour of the trade pact.
The Opposition Leader spoke out after the debate, declaring “no trade agreement will solve the industrial relations problems in Australia”, and urging “unity, stability and focus” from the party ahead of the election.
Greg Brown 7.25am: PM cancels COAG
Scott Morrison has cancelled a meeting between with state and territory leaders scheduled for next month as his government tries to lock down key policies of school and hospital funding.
The Prime Minister contacted state premiers last night and told them the Council of Australian Governments meeting would not take place when next scheduled, on October 4.
The next COAG meeting will be in December. Sources close to the Prime Minister say the COAG leader meetings will be reduced to two a year, which was the usual protocol.
The COAG’s domestic violence summit, led by Women’s Minister Kelly O’Dwyer, will still go ahead in October.
What’s making news:
The Reserve Bank has warned that the trade war between the US and China is emerging as a threat to the economy, as Donald Trump dramatically raises the stakes, imposing tariffs on $US200 billion of Chinese imports and promising more severe trade limits if China retaliates.
Michael McCormack is backing away from a commitment to deliver a new class of agriculture visa to source up to 100,000 overseas farm workers a year, angering Nationals MPs who believed the measure was written into the top-secret Coalition agreement.
Scott Morrison is promising to pump at least $4 billion into schools funding under a complex new deal to appease Catholic and low-fee independent schools facing campus closures and fee rises under former education minister Simon Birmingham’s policies.
Scott Morrison is expected to recuse himself from any decisions on a contract worth up to $1 billion to outsource Australia’s visa processing, if a consortium led by his close political ally Scott Briggs is recommended to win the tender.
It would cost taxpayers and consumers up to $3.5 billion extra every year to grant aged-care nurses and personal-care workers a 15 per cent pay rise and boost contact time with residents, the federal government has been told.
The Morrison government’s new bid to make it easier to disqualify law-breaking union officials has hit a Senate hurdle after crossbencher Tim Storer signalled he would oppose the proposals.
Malcolm Turnbull “took charge” of a meeting with Great Barrier Reef Foundation chairman John Schubert and former environment minister Josh Frydenberg, offering the charity a $443.3 million grant without a tender process.
Tony Abbott says he will deliver a statement to parliament by the end of the year offering a pathway to improving indigenous attendance at remote schools with a view to introducing changes early next year.
Labor has attempted to wedge the Liberal Party on female representation ahead of the next federal election, after Bill Shorten told his colleagues their opponents “seem to struggle” with the notion of women in parliament.
The former West Australian rural woman of the year who accused Barnaby Joyce of sexual harassment says she did not report the incident to police because she feared the emotional and financial toll of a court case.
James Jeffrey’s sketch: behold, it’s a fair dinkum Muppet show of hands
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