PoliticsNow: Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon’s trainwreck interview over negative gearing plan
PoliticsNow: In a trainwreck TV interview, Joel Fitzgibbon battled to explain the effect of Labor’s negative gearing proposal.
- Turnbull still has a role to play: PM
- New Wentworth count breaks for Phelps
- Bali decision ‘in national interest’
- ‘Looking for a fight’
- Power, asset plan ‘unnecessary’
Hello and welcome to PoliticsNow, The Australian’s live blog on the happenings at Parliament House on Canberra. Scott Morrison has defended the decision to send Malcolm Turnbull to an oceans conference, denying reports he is angry with the former PM.
Rachel Baxendale 10.36pm: The human impact of finance industry misconduct
ASIC chairman James Shipton has highlighted the human impact of finance industry misconduct and the heightened role of financial regulators in a market where deterrents to misbehaviour are weak.
Reiterating his call at parliamentary hearing in Canberra last week for the Senate to pass measures to beef up the watchdog’s powers and increase penalties for wrongdoing, Mr Shipton said he wanted to acknowledge the seriousness of the observations made in the banking royal commission’s interim report, including those made of ASIC.
“Crucially, I want to underscore ASIC’s long recognition of the human impact of misconduct in finance,” Mr Shipton told a Senate hearing this evening.
“Financial misconduct can and does have devastating and at times catastrophic impact on individuals and families.
“The royal commission has reinforced that this conduct has real and enduring impact across the community, including on more financially vulnerable consumers.
“The commission has also clearly reinforced that the financial industry has abandoned its core role of being custodians of other people’s money.”
Mr Shipton noted that the royal commission interim report had observed that market deterrents to misconduct were missing in the Australian financial industry.
“Those missing market deterrents are firstly the absence of meaningful, competitive pressures, secondly the absence of a fear of failure or collapse of an institution, and thirdly the absence of a fear of failure of individual financial transactions,” Mr Shipton said.
“It is difficult for consumers to exert pressure on large financial institutions.
Mr Shipton said he wanted ASIC to “fill the vacuum left by the absence of these market forces.”
“What we now need is a constructive conversation about the powers, positioning and right sizing of ASIC,” he said.
Michael Roddan 6.43pm: ATO admits to failing to apply law in super cases
The Australian Tax Office has admitted it failed to apply the law and allowed businesses to skirt any penalty for failing to pay employees’ superannuation.
ATO deputy commissioner James O’Halloran, who is in charge of the department’s superannuation division, told senate estimates he had mistakenly believed the tax office had the discretion to waive penalties to businesses that came forward and declared they had failed to pay into workers superannuation.
The ATO is required by law to apply a $20 per employee per quarter penalty for employers who fail to contribute into workers’ nest eggs. It is mandatory for all employees to pay 9.5 per cent of wages into super.
“There was a period certainly, where I felt that under the law, we did have some discretion and we did not apply $20 admin penalty,” Mr O’Halloran told senators.
“Obviously last year was a big year of super guarantee focus, I sought clarification on what sort of discretion the commissioner may have had in terms of application of the $20 penalty,” he said.
“That’s when I stopped that process occurring. I didn’t want to put the staff in jeopardy of remitting that penalty.”
The admissions came following questioning from Labor senator Chris Ketter, who hounded the ATO over figures that showed the number of bosses failing to pay employees superannuation had increased by more than 50 per cent over the past year — breaches that are soon to carry penalties of up to a year in jail for employers.
It also follows evidence in front of the banking royal commission that financial watchdogs the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority failed to pursue companies for breaches of the law and seek to apply the maximum penalties.
According to ATO data, the number of employers forced to lodge a superannuation shortfall statement after failing to pay the required amount on time surged 60 per cent to nearly 18,000 companies over the past financial year.
Small businesses are the usual culprits.
The tax office has estimated that between 2 and 11 per cent of businesses fail to pay super each year.
The tax office estimates workers are missing about $2.85 billion in super each year, while Industry Super Australia believes it is closer to $6bn.
Under new laws, businesses have been given a 12-month amnesty to pay unpaid super to workers, with interest, or face new penalties, including possible jail terms.
It is estimated the amnesty will result in $230m in unpaid super being handed to about 50,000 employees.
“Given the scale of the unpaid super problem it beggars belief that the ATO would waive all statutory penalties for eight out of ten employers who don’t meet their legal obligations,” Industry Super Australia public affairs director Matt Linden said.
“Employers who do the right thing should be furious that the ATO is effectively sanctioning the late payment of super by their competitors,” he said.
Rosie Lewis 5.25pm: Labor MP’s trainwreck interview
Labor frontbencher Joel Fitzgibbon has declared Labor’s curbs on negative gearing will neither drive housing prices down nor increase them and was unable to explain how the policy would make the market more affordable.
In a trainwreck interview on Sky News, the opposition agriculture spokesman also said he expected Labor would implement the policy “at the first opportunity” if it won government at the next election despite opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen insisting Australians would be given time to get their investment strategy in order.
Labor’s plan to limit negative gearing to new houses has come under scrutiny after a report commissioned by Master Builders Australia found there would be up to 42,000 fewer dwellings over five years under the policy and 32,000 fewer jobs.
“I’m not sure what Chris Bowen has said about the timing but it’s the policy of the opposition to implement it I expect at the first opportunity,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.
Asked if the restriction on negative gearing would not drive prices down, Mr Fitzgibbon responded: “The majority of economists say no, not at all.”
Mr Fitzgibbon later said: “I see no evidence from any of the economists, including the Grattan Institute survey of economists, that suggests prices are going to rise as a result.”
The senior Labor MP could not say how the policy would make housing more affordable and help young people or first home buyers get into the market.
“By maintaining negative gearing for new housing stock and expanding new housing stock,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.
“If you have in place policies that continue to allow the housing stock to grow, and you can knock down an old house and build a new home, you’d like to think you’re going to extend the housing and by maintaining negative gearing in new housing you’re going to increase the stock of housing.”
Labor says its negative gearing reform is aimed at shifting the incentive to the construction of new housing, arguing the tax subsidies are largely used by high income earners to reduce the income tax they pay and benefits investors over first home buyers.
It would also change the composition of demand, according to Labor sources, bringing in more first home buyers and less investors.
Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, who was Mr Fitzgibbon’s portfolio counterpart when he sat on the frontbench, told the Labor MP: “You make no sense whatsoever.
“The best thing I could’ve done is let you talk then, I think it worked perfectly.”
Primrose Riordan 4.05pm: Payne flags Saudi sanctions
Foreign Minister Marise Payne has opened the door to banning arms sales to Saudi Arabia amid a diplomatic storm over the death of columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey.
Australia is still pursuing a defence export deal with Saudi Arabia, but despite only flagging it last month, officials said it now was not a priority.
In September before the incident, Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said the government was hoping to sign a defence export MOU with Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Senator Payne was asked by Greens leader Richard Di Natale about whether Australia was considering following Germany in halting arms sales to the kingdom and imposing sanctions.
She replied: “the Australian government, with our partners and our allies, … is in a position of placing all options on the table because of the issues that you’ve raised.”
“It is a matter for government consideration and that is what we are doing.”
Senator Payne said it was “an extremely serious situation of the highest order”.
Australia also decided to cancel an official Australian delegation’s trip to a major investment summit in Saudi Arabia after a growing number of companies, business executives and media companies pulled out of the Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh.
Greg Brown 3.12pm: ‘For the cash’ accusation wrong: Price
Labor’s Mark Butler asks Environment Minister Melissa Price about her inconsistent response to accusations she told a Pacific Islands dignitary he was in Australia “for the cash”.
Butler notes Price denied ever saying it before later saying she didn’t recall the conversation.
Price says the accusations, aired by Labor senator Pat Dodson, were wrong.
“The way that the conversation was reported by Patrick Dodson was incorrect,” she says.
Greg Brown 2.58pm: New tech to assist climate fight: Price
Opposition energy spokesman Mark Butler asks Environment Minister Melissa Price about the United Nations study on climate change.
He asks what the report’s warning is on what will happen to the Great Barrier Reef if global temperatures increase by 2 per cent by the middle of the century.
Price says the report by the International Panel on Climate Change made observations on the impact on several environments, including reefs.
“It presents a series of model pathways to limit global warming. I might point out those model pathways include a range of technologies in the energy mix beyond 2050,” she says.
“We are very determined to protect the health of the reef. We are the ones who have invested significantly in the reef, unlike those opposite.”
Greg Brown 2.49pm: ‘If you want to see deaths at sea again, vote for Labor’
Peter Dutton leaps on interjections from Labor MPs who are yelling across the chamber “bring them here”, in relation to sick kids on Nauru.
“If you want to see children in detention, vote for Labor. If you want to see deaths at sea again, vote for Labor. If you want to see those 17 detention centres, reopen, vote for Labor,” the Home Affairs Minister says.
Greg Brown 2.46pm: Price keeps it brief
Labor’s Tony Burke asks Environment Minister Melissa Price if she will rule out approving a nuclear power station.
Price was brief in response.
“There is no change to government policy,” she says.
Greg Brown 2.43pm: ABC must run ‘within its means’: PM
Bill Shorten asks Scott Morrison whether he will reverse the government’s cuts to the ABC.
The Prime Minister says the ABC needs to run “efficiently” and “within its means”.
“For many years, unlike all other government agencies who are subject to an efficiency dividend, the ABC never was,” Morrison says.
“We believe the ABC should be run efficiently, run independently and it should do a great job for taxpayers and I believe it does do a great job but they have to live within their means.”
Labor’s Ged Kearney doesn’t like Morrison’s response and yells: “you’re a disgrace”.
Greg Brown 2.39pm: No Morrison-Turnbull feud
Labor’s Linda Burney asks about reports Scott Morrison will no longer use Malcolm Turnbull as a “special envoy” for international events because he was unhelpful to the government in the Wentworth by-election.
She asks how Turnbull has been more unhelpful than the Prime Minister’s other special envoy’s, Tony Abbott and Barnaby Joyce.
Morrison says the reports he was angry with Turnbull are “false”.
“I would encourage the opposition to spend a bit more time focusing on questions about the economy, about drought, about electricity prices and get their heads out of the Canberra bubble,” he says.
The Prime Minister says the Indonesian president warmly welcomed Mr Turnbull’s attendance, given their personal history.
“We thought it would be a good opportunity if the former prime minister were able to attend that summit, given their very strong close working relationship,” he says.
With AAP
Greg Brown 2.27pm: Turnbull’s infrastructure projects?
Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese asks about a series of infrastructure projects Malcolm Turnbull reportedly approved when he was prime minister but have not yet being announced.
Albanese asks why the government hasn’t started building them, given the congestion in major cities.
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack says the government is “delivering” on infrastructure.
“Those opposite talk, we deliver,” McCormack says.
“We build for road safety and we build for better connectivity. We’re getting on with the job. We have got a $75 billion, a record amount of infrastructure that we are rolling out.”
Greg Brown 2.22pm: Abbott arrives late
Tony Abbott has arrived in the chamber for QT, 22 minutes late.
Greg Brown 2.18pm: Bowen asks for an apology
Opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen asks Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to apologise for quoting a Master Builders Australia report that he claims does not scrutinise Labor’s negative policy. Bowen says the report does not take Labor’s plan to grandfather the policy into account.
Frydenberg says the report, published in The Australian today, does not need to take grandfathering into account because it was about future investment.
“So the hits in terms of increased housing means future investment is less likely and therefore we will see a downturn in the housing sector as a result of Labor’s policy,” Frydenberg says.
Greg Brown 2.10pm: QT begins with Turnbull’s Bali trip
Bill Shorten starts Question Time by asking Scott Morrison about Malcolm Turnbull representing the Australian government at a conference in Bali next week.
“Given the Prime Minister clearly thinks so highly of his predecessor, would he please tell the Australian people why is Malcolm Turnbull no longer the PM of Australia?”
Morrison defends the decision to ask Turnbull to attend the Our Ocean conference, which he says was supported by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
“We thought it would be good opportunity if the former Prime Minister would be able to attend that summit, given their strong close working relationship,” Morrison says.
“I will always put the diplomatic and national interest of Australia ahead of any other considerations.”
Greg Brown 1.50pm: Take ‘rejected’ asylum seekers: McKim
Greens immigration spokesman Nick McKim says Australia should consider accepting asylum seekers on Nauru and Manus Island if they have been identified as a security concern.
Senator McKim said there should be new assessments on asylum seekers rejected by the United States for security reasons because he does not trust Donald Trump.
When asked if people should be banned from Australia if they are deemed to be a security risk, Senator McKim told Sky News: “I’m not saying that at all. There may be arrangements that could be entered into. These are matters that apply to an extremely small number of people.”
Greg Brown 12.30pm: Turnbull ‘in winning position’
Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese says Malcolm Turnbull was in a “winning position” when he was rolled as by the Liberal Party in August.
“There is no reason why Malcolm Turnbull should have been removed. I used to think he was very competitive,” Mr Albanese told Adelaide radio station 5AA.
“They were on 49 per cent of the two-party preferred vote, which if you look at what’s happened in previous elections is actually a winning position for a government at this stage in the cycle.
“And Malcolm Turnbull had led on 58 consecutive Newspolls as preferred prime minister.”
Cabinet minister Christopher Pyne argued the Wentworth result would not be replicated in the general election.
“The local member in Wentworth, Malcolm Turnbull, was very popular in his electorate and they were very upset with the way he was replaced as prime minister and they wanted to make their annoyance well known,” Mr Pyne said.
“There’s lots of examples of by-elections that have been lost by governments and then subsequently returned the following election.”
Greg Brown 12.00pm: Gillard portrait unveiled
Julia Gillard’s portrait has been unveiled in Parliament House.
The former prime minister said the she wanted her portrait, by Vincent Fantauzzo, to be unique given she was the nation’s first female leader.
The portrait unveiled! pic.twitter.com/xJdXmOCKNG
— Australian House of Representatives (@AboutTheHouse) October 24, 2018
Ms Gillard said she had mixed feelings about getting the portrait done but relented on the advice of a staffer who told her she would look “a hell of a lot older” in her portrait than when she was prime minister if she waited too long to get it done.
“For me, being in Parliament House was always about purpose, it was about policy, it was about getting big things that mattered done for the nation,” Ms Gillard said.
“I was always less attracted with the pomp that goes with being in a place like this, and I put in my mind, getting my portrait done in that category of pomp and ceremony.”
Andrew Clennell 11.45am: Lib scrutineers abandon posts
Liberal scrutineers are said to have abandoned posts in the Wentworth count after a visual look at a new batch of 500 postal votes appears to have them breaking Independent Kerryn Phelps’ way.
Kerryn Phelps was already ahead of Liberal candidate Dave Sharma in the seat by 1554 votes when counting resumed this morning.
Previous batches of postal votes had been breaking Mr Sharma’s way but later votes in the count appear to have gone the same way as the vote on election day — in Dr Phelps’ favour.
Greg Brown 11.20am: ‘Focus on Nauru health’
Health Minister Greg Hunt has defended the medical care given to asylum seekers on Manus Island and Nauru, despite doctor’s groups waging a campaign against the government because of the deteriorating health of detainees.
Mr Hunt said there were over 60 healthcare workers on Nauru, including 33 who focus on mental health.
“So there is a very high focus and if any child needs to seek help elsewhere then we’ve facilitated that with over 200 transfers,” Mr Hunt said this morning.
He said Labor should back the government’s proposal to block the “backdoor entry” to Australia for asylum seekers who are resettled in third-party nations.
“Here is the moment for the ALP, if they are serious, having caused this chaos, having caused this carnage at sea, having lea 8000 children into detention in Australia to actually finally for the first time be part of the resolution to this challenge,” he said.
Greg Brown 10.55am: Turnbull’s ‘amazing history’
Health Minister Greg Hunt says he is “happy” Malcolm Turnbull is representing Australia at the Our Ocean Legacy conference in Bali next week.
Mr Hunt, a key figure in the push to roll Mr Turnbull, said the former prime minister had an “amazing” history on protecting oceans. He said the relationship between Mr Turnbull and Scott Morrison remained “very strong”.
“He has amazing history in this space and I know having worked with Malcolm over more than a decade that we share a common passion for the oceans,” Mr Hunt said at Parliament House this morning.
“It’s one of my deep personal passions and I know it’s one of his deep personal passions and he’ll bring something significant to this and he’s respected internationally in this space for his commitment to the oceans.”
Primrose Riordan 10.47am: Bishop silent on embassy move
Former Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has declined to disagree publicly with the Morrison government’s decision to consider moving the Australian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
As recently as June this year, Ms Bishop argued against such a decision.
“Jerusalem is a final status issue and we have maintained that position for decades,” Ms Bishop said.
Now, after delivering a speech at the Women in National Security Conference at the Hyatt Hotel, Ms Bishop said it would not be “fair” on Prime Minister Scott Morrison for her to run a commentary on the issue.
She said it was open for new leadership teams to consider new foreign policy positions.
Greg Brown 10,40am: Labor ‘will lower new builds’
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says Labor’s negative gearing policy would lower new housing construction, despite the policy being limited to existing dwellings.
Mr Frydenberg said Labor was wrong to dismiss a report on its policy commissioned by Masters Builders Australia because the analysis did not account for the fact the changes would be grandfathered.
“Labor’s argument is a phony argument because what this modelling is focusing on is what happens going forward, the Labor Party, by ending negative gearing, will actually see a reduction in the number of dwelling constructions, that is the main take out of this modelling,” Mr Frydenberg told Sky News.
He noted the housing market had slumped since Labor announced the policy in the middle of a boom in 2015.
“When Labor came up with this policy it was in a very different housing market, what we have seen in the last 12 months is prices come down each and every month in the capital cities,” Mr Frydenberg said.
.@JoshFrydenberg: Labor’s argument is a phony argument. What this modelling is focusing on is what happens going forward. The Labor Party by ending negative gearing will see a reduction of a number of dwelling constructions.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) October 23, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/7MYRGGUHAN #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/e5WJdUBj26
Michael Roddan 10.35am: Gaetjens CV ‘well known’
Treasury secretary Phil Gaetjens has revealed he didn’t supply a CV to the department of Prime Minister and Cabinet during the appointment process for the top job as the government’s key economic adviser.
Appearing before a Senate Estimates hearing, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann defended the government’s selection of Mr Gaetjens, who was appointed Treasury secretary in August after more than a decade working as chief of staff to former treasurer Peter Costello and former treasurer Scott Morrison.
“The CV of Mr Gaetjens is well-known,” Mr Cormann said. He said the appointment process across the public service was a matter for the Prime Minister’s portfolio.
Joe Kelly 10.25am: AIG sounds caution over energy
The Australian Industry Group has sounded the alarm on the government’s energy policy announcement, warning that the “absence of a clear long-term policy on emissions is unfortunate”.
Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox warned that if this was sustained it would “significantly undermine the case for investment in new assets and reinvestment in existing generators”.
“That would undermine not just emissions, but also the investment that can moderate prices and sustain reliability,” he said.
Mr Willox also took aim at the government’s decision to hand the Treasurer new powers to break up the assets of energy companies, describing it was an “extreme step”.
“Australian businesses and households rightly expect that energy suppliers should be making the most competitive offers they can to customers of all sizes,” he said.
“Forced divestiture would set a dangerous precedent for the whole economy, and was specifically ruled out by the ACCC in their recent comprehensive report on improving electricity prices”.
Mr Willox warned the brief consultation period opened by the government to design a new system under which taxpayer funds could be used to finance new baseload power generation was too tight and risked “cruelling what could be a worthy effort”.
He described the package as containing some sensible ideas, but warned other elements needed to be treated with “great caution”.
Rosie Lewis 10.28am: ‘Protectionism, nationalism is a dangerous combination’
Former foreign minister Julie Bishop has warned of the rise of populism and a “crisis of confidence” in democracy in a keynote address questioning if Australia has “learned the lessons of history or (is) doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past”.
Speaking at the Women in National Security Conference at the Hyatt Hotel in Canberra, Ms Bishop said the international rules-based order that had evolved since World War II was “under strain, even direct challenge”.
She cautioned against leaders taking “populist stances” for political gain.
“Protectionism, nationalism is a dangerous combination when overlaid with socialism — where the logic is overwhelming to look after ourselves before we look after others. It is unfortunately self-defeating, as we have seen in Venezuela, the former Soviet Union and elsewhere,” Ms Bishop told the conference.
“The current head of the ACTU Sally McManus is leading the charge in Australia to adopt policies that history shows will ultimately impoverish her supporters.”
US President Donald Trump, Ms Bishop noted, had campaigned on a platform of disruption and disregard for the political establishment and its norms.
“To be fair, he has largely honoured his campaign commitments,” she said.
“One feature of President Trump’s approach to policy is that his ‘America First’ approach is perceived by many nations as a zero-sum game, where the United States can only win if some other nation loses.
“President Trump has a professed preference for bilateral agreements, where he appears to believe that a better deal can be negotiated on behalf of the American people. This is fine in principle as all world leaders act in the interests of their nation, however there also needs to be an acknowledgment that any agreements can work to be the benefit of both nations, and preferably to the benefit of others.”
Ms Bishop reflected on the 2017 Pew Research Centre survey of tens of thousands of people in 38 countries, in which only 40 per cent of Australians indicated a commitment to democracy as the best form of government.
“As our Foreign Policy White Paper, released late last year, detailed, we are living in a more contested, competitive world and it is in our interest more than ever, that the rules-based order is supported and defended,” Ms Bishop said.
“We argued that Australia must work with other nations to support and buttress those institutions to ensure the rules-based order did not fray, as it would not be in the long-term interests of any nation to return to an environment where might is right.”
Greg Brown 10.14am: Power asset plan ‘unnecessary’
Opposition energy spokesman Mark Butler says the government’s plan to legislate powers to force power companies to sell assets was unnecessary.
Mr Butler said the divestiture powers were not recommended by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
“What I’m concerned about is this is really going after power companies that don’t toe the Liberal Party’s line on their coal versus renewables war,” Mr Butler said told ABC radio.
“It seems to be targeted at companies that aren’t doing what the party room of the Coalition wants in building new coal-fired power and extending the life of existing ones.”
Greg Brown 10.05am Neg gearing report ‘misses grandfathering’
Opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen has dismissed a new report claiming the party’s negative gearing changes will lead to a $12 billion hit to construction activity.
Mr Bowen said the report commissioned by Masters Builders Australia was not based on Labor’s policy because it did not account for the fact the changes would be grandfathered.
“Labor’s policy is to limit negative gearing to new properties going forward, but to fully grandfather all existing investments,” Mr Bowen told ABC radio.
“It’s a fatal flaw in the modelling and it’s a very fundamental issue. You can’t claim that you’ve modelled Labor’s polices when in fact your own document says you haven’t.”
Mr Bowen said there was no need to reconsider the policy, despite a property market downturn in Sydney and Melbourne.
“There are plenty of economists who will say, well, given that many investors are already leaving the market because they can’t get finance, and because of the changes in macroprudential regulation, for example, this would be exactly the right time to limit negative gearing, because of a lot of those investors leaving the market has already been factored in,” he said.
“So in fact Labor’s policies would be implemented even more smoothly than they otherwise would be.”
Greg Brown 9.25am: ‘What else can ERF do?’
Environment Minister Melissa Price says she is advocating for a top up to the Emissions Reduction Fund as government MPs are divided over whether the climate change fund should be given more money.
“This is something that I am advocating for but I am not the only one that is looking at the ERF but it is a matter for cabinet, as you would expect,” Ms Price told Sky News.
.@ljayes: You are the Environment Minister – are you saying your major focus isn’t reducing emissions? @Melissa4Durack: If we’re talking about the environment more broadly, I think the Emission Reduction Fund can do more.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) October 23, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/QyTn8sKDOv #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/VwnwdiPFsj
Ms Price said the ERF — a key plank of Tony Abbott’s direct action policy that helps fund carbon abatement projects — could be broader than a climate change fund.
“I’m particularly interested in the ERF with respect to how it can support farmers, we know that there is various parts of the country that are doing it tough in drought so the ERF has been able to provide a second income to many farmers,” Ms Price said.
“So what I’m interested in is: what else can the ERF do? There is a big focus at the moment on emissions and climate change but let me tell you, Australians are interested in other elements of the environment.
“I would like the ERF to work harder, it doesn’t only deal with emissions reduction it also provides habitat for threatened species for example, it is helping with the degradation of land.
“Of course emissions is its number one objective but I think, if we are talking about the environment more broadly, it can do more.”
Ms Price criticised interpretations of a United Nations report of climate change that claimed coal needed to be phased out by 2050.
“There have been a lot of discussions in the media with respect to what it says about coal. There has been allegations that what it says is that by 2050 that coal should be gone to be able to meet the targets. But in fact that is not what it says,” she said.
“I think coal still has a role to play and we have said all along in our government that a variety of technologies will always play a part of our energy mix, and we make no apology for the fact that we need to get our energy prices down.”
Greg Brown 8.50am: ‘Looking for a fight’
Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese has slammed the government’s division over Malcolm Turnbull representing Australia at a conference in Bali next week.
“This is a government that is just looking for things to fight over. Now they are fighting over whether Malcolm Turnbull should attend an oceans conference in Indonesia,” Mr Albanese said.
“This is just pathetic and it comes at a time whereby this is a government that simply doesn’t have policies in key areas. They don’t have an energy policy. What they have is platitudes. Platitudes aren’t policies.”
Greg Brown 8.35am: ScoMo defends Turnbull Bali decision
Scott Morrison has defended his decision to ask Malcolm Turnbull to represent Australia at a conference in Bali next week, despite Barnaby Joyce criticising the decision because of the former prime minister’s silence during the Wentworth by-election.
Malcolm Turnbull will represent Australia at the ‘Our Ocean Our Legacy’ conference, a climate change forum in Bali.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) October 23, 2018
.@ScottMorrisonMP: This decision was made weeks ago … and is in Australia’s national interest.
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The Prime Minister said he asked Mr Turnbull to attend the Our Ocean Legacy conference eight weeks ago.
Mr Morrison said he could not attend the event and noted Mr Turnbull had a close relationship with Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
“Former prime ministers continue to have a role to play, I think they should be treated with respect, I think they should be offered the honour to them for the service they provided to their country and they can continue to serve,” Mr Morrison said.
“I think sometimes we have got to get above the ruck of personality politics and actually just focus on what the national interest is.”
Greg Brown 8.10am: Labor ‘puts AAA at risk’
Scott Morrison says Labor’s plan to axe negative gearing for existing homes will put Australia’s AAA credit rating at risk.
The Prime Minister has leapt on a report commissioned from Master Builders Australia, revealed in The Australian this morning, showing Bill Shorten’s housing policies would lead to a fall in new housing construction of up to 42,000 dwellings over five years and 32,000 fewer jobs across the country.
“(Labor’s negative gearing policy) will put our AAA credit rating at risk, I know this for a fact as (a former) treasurer,” Mr Morrison said this morning.
“The risk of a hard landing in the housing sector was one of the key risks to Australia’s AAA credit rating, the fact that our government was able to put in place a set of controls and policies that achieved a soft landing in the housing market was one of the key reasons we kept our AAA credit rating.”
.@ScottMorrisonMP: To abolish negative gearing as we know it and to put up the capital gains tax will risk Australia’s AAA credit rating.
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) October 23, 2018
MORE: https://t.co/7MYRGGUHAN #FirstEdition pic.twitter.com/NIuxNjBWal
Mr Morrison said the Opposition Leader’s policy, which will also slash the capital gains discount, would lead to fewer jobs in the construction industry.
“So to all those tradies out there, understand this: Labor’s policy to put up taxes on housing will cost jobs in the residential construction sector,” Mr Morrison said.
“It will mean fewer homes are getting built, it means that the value of people’s own home already, which has been flat particularly now in Sydney and Melbourne, all of that comes under risk.”
Opposition treasury spokesman Chris Bowen this morning dismissed the research, arguing it did not take into account Labor was grandfathering the policy.
“The Master Builders modelling assumes that on day one of Labor’s policy, all property investors who are currently negative gearing immediately lose access to negative gearing,” Mr Bowen said in a statement.
“That is a major flaw in the modelling — that does not represent Labor’s negative gearing reforms.”
Greg Brown 7.35am: ‘No hokey pokey politics’
Scott Morrison has declared he will not play “hokey pokey politics” and shift to the Left on climate change or border protection after the Liberal Party’s hammering at the Wentworth by-election.
The Prime Minister said he would lead a “sensible centre-right” government and would not be persuaded by the “shouts from the Left and the shouts from the Right”.
“I’m not going to play hokey pokey politics, it is not going to be a left foot in, right foot in, all that sort of nonsense,” Mr Morrison told Adelaide radio station 5AA.
“We are a centre-right party.”
He said the government would try and get the balance right in border protection and energy policy.
“Where you can look after kids and have a strong border protection policy, where you can get electricity prices down and meet reduction targets that we have set for Paris,” Mr Morrison said.
“You don’t have to choose between these two things, you don’t have to get caught up by the shouts from the Left and the shouts from the Right, you just do your job every day and you stay in the sensible Centre-Right where successful Liberal National governments have always been and that is certainly where I will be.”
Mr Morrison said the government had been getting children off Nauru after rejecting a compromise from Labor to block the “backdoor entry” into Australia which would pave the way for people being sent to Nauru.
“We are getting kids off Nauru, we have been doing for years and will continue to do that in the way we have been getting about it and we will continue to maintain integrity of strong border protection policy,” he said.
“You don’t get kids off Nauru by putting more on, by having weak border policies.”
What’s making news:
Labor’s $32 billion plan to end negative gearing for existing homes and slash the capital gains discount would lead to a fall in new housing construction of up to 42,000 dwellings over five years and 32,000 fewer jobs across the country, according to independent modelling of Bill Shorten’s key property policies.
Nationals deputy leader Bridget McKenzie will shift her electoral office into the federal seat of Indi, setting up a bid for independent Cathy McGowan’s seat and a potential tilt at the party leadership.
Operation Sovereign Borders has prevented more than 3300 asylum-seekers coming to Australia by turning back 33 boats and successfully disrupting nearly 80 people-smuggling ventures in the past five years.
Scott Morrison will seek advice on whether taxpayers’ money should provide discounted loans for new baseload power generation — including new clean coal plants — as he seeks to draw up a “pipeline” of potential projects to make electricity supply more reliable.
A quarter of the child detainees on Nauru are likely to remain in limbo after members of their families were rejected for resettlement in the US on security grounds.
Barnaby Joyce has hit out at Scott Morrison for his decision to send Malcolm Turnbull to an environmental conference in Bali despite anger with the former prime minister for his failure to support Liberal candidate Dave Sharma in Wentworth.
Labor is too “cocky” about winning the next election and will be punished for its “overconfidence”, Defence Minister Christopher Pyne says.
The Coalition is moving on a major aged-care workforce report that could lift pay rates for nurses and personal-care workers, after the federal government was told these employees were underpaid by about 15 per cent.
The federal government has urged Labor to support the Peru trade deal amid concerns the opposition’s new trade policy will blow up an agreement that has already been signed.
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