Alan Tudge to confirm resignation around 3.15pm
Katharine Murphy, who always knows all the things worth knowing, tells me that Alan Tudge will confirm his departure from federal politics following question time.
It will be “on indulgence”.
So that will be about 3.15pm (Canberra time) for those wanting to watch.
Key events
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Anthony Albanese gets up to answer that question while Jim Chalmers yells across the chamber “you had a recession, you had a recession”.
So you know, it is all very adult.
This question from Sussan Ley is…something.
My question is to the Prime Minister: Over the course of the previous Coalition Government’s time in office, the Reserve Bank of Australia met almost 100 times and raised interest rates once. Under the Albanese Government, the Reserve Bank has met on eight occasions, and has raised interest rates eight times. Using his economics degree, can the Prime Minister confirm that under the Coalition interest rates rose about 1% of the time but under Labor they are rising 100% of the time? Why do Australian families always pay more under Labor?
Siiiiiiggggghhhhhhhhh
Question time begins
After a moment of silence for condolence motions which have passed through the federation chamber (the spill over chamber for debates which the house of reps wants to continue, but doesn’t have room for in the house chamber) it is straight into the questions.
Peter Dutton:
My question is to the Prime Minister. Before the election, this Prime Minister misled Australians where he said families will be better off under a Labor Government. Since Labor was elected, interest rates have gone up 8 times, and mortgage repayments have increased by $1,400 for a typical family. To make it worse, the Albanese Government’s economic policies are fuelling inflation and driving interest rates higher. Prime Minister, why do Australian families always pay more under Labor?
Anthony Albanese, who has had a version of this question every day since parliament resumed on Monday, gives a version of the same answer he has given.
Australian man dead after devastating Turkey earthquake
Ahead of question time, AAP has confirmed an Australian man has died in the Turkey Syria earthquakes:
A Sydney man has died in Turkey after a powerful earthquake shook the country – the first confirmed Australian death in the disaster.
Can Pahali’s body was found in rubble after members of his family flew to Turkey from Australia to help search for him.
A family member told AAP he was heading to the site where Pahali’s body had been found in the rubble of a collapsed building, to dig his uncle out from underneath.
Pahali’s family had urged the Australian government on Wednesday to help in the search for him, as he was visiting his sister in the badly affected Hatay province.
The magnitude 7.8 quake struck the southern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras on Monday, which has claimed the lives of more than 12,000 people in the country and neighbouring Syria.
Pahali was an active community member in Sydney’s inner-western suburb of Glebe.
A friend paid tribute to Pahali, who was also known as “John”, in a social media group.
“A sad update. In recent hours John’s (Can Pahali’s) body has been recovered from earthquake rubble in Turkiye,” the post says.
“He has had a wonderful six months reuniting with his large family in different areas of his country.
“He is now with his beloved Jesus. God bless you John! We shall miss you so much.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is assisting about 40 Australians and their families who were in the earthquake area.
In a previous post, the friend said Pahali would be remembered for “making wonderful feasts and food for Have A Chat Cafe”.
“His nephew’s flown from Sydney to help in the search for him and other family members, also now missing,” the post says.
“Pray for him and his family in Turkey and here in Australia.”
Liberal MP Bridget Archer lends support to voice to parliament referendum
Josh Butler
Liberal MP Bridget Archer has swung more support behind the voice to parliament referendum, lending her name to a new parliamentary group backing the Uluru statement from the heart.
Federal parliament sees the creation of a lot of support groups known as the “parliamentary friends of…”, a wide variety of cross-party groupings backing causes from music and sport to housing and abolishing the death penalty. Usually the groups are a good excuse to hold a function, put on some drinks and host speeches or forums (the parliamentary friends of red meat event earlier this week, which saw an enormous meat smoker wheeled into a Parliament House courtyard to dish out free brisket burgers, was particularly popular).
But the announcement of a new group caught our eye, ahead of its launch next week. Labor MP Dr Gordon Reid MP, independent MP Allegra Spender and Archer will co-chair the Parliamentary Friends of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a group which the APH website says will be “a non-partisan forum for parliamentarians to meet and interact with relevant stakeholder groups on matters relating to The Uluru Statement from the Heart”.
Archer has been more vocal than most of her colleagues on the statement and the voice to parliament. The launch of the group, on Monday with a function inside parliament, comes as Archer’s Liberal colleagues still argue over the voice and leader Peter Dutton calls for more detail on the government’s proposal.
Dutton said this week that the Liberals were not in a rush to come to a position on the voice.
Alan Tudge to confirm resignation around 3.15pm
Katharine Murphy, who always knows all the things worth knowing, tells me that Alan Tudge will confirm his departure from federal politics following question time.
It will be “on indulgence”.
So that will be about 3.15pm (Canberra time) for those wanting to watch.
Henry Belot
Andrew Wilkie calls for communications minister’s resignation
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie has called for the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, to be sacked after reports alleging she accepted donations from gambling company Sportsbet before the federal election.
The donations, first reported by the Sydney Morning Herald, were allegedly received when Rowland was the shadow minister responsible for online betting.
Wilkie said:
At the time of the alleged donations she was the Labor spokesperson for communications with the very real prospect of becoming minister for communications if the ALP was to win the election.
This would give her responsibility for the Interactive Gambling Act and the Australian Communications and Media Authority, so how on earth she thought it was OK to accept donations from an online gambling company is unfathomable.
Willkie said if the media reports were accurate, Rowland is “deeply conflicted and it is patently untenable for her to remain in her position”.
Rowland’s office has been contacted for comment.
A spokesperson for the minister told the Nine papers that “all donations the minister receives are compliant with the AEC’s disclosure. requirements”.
Lambie weighs in on Labor’s defeat over donation transparency rules
And Jacqui Lambie, who moved the disallowance motion which saw Labor’s super regulations quashed, has also weighed in on the government’s defeat in the Senate:
For a government that’s all about transparency, I don’t know why allowing super funds to hide donations and payments was high on their agenda.
One super fund spent $3 million of your money on getting their logo on to a footy. Some of them are giving bonuses to their directors worth over $10 million dollars. They’ve spent $24 million of your money on a lobbying firm.”Funds give money to unions, who give money to the Labor party, and it’s not their money to give. It’s yours. If you want to donate to the Labor party, go for it. But if someone else is going to donate your money for you, they should have the courtesy of telling you.”
That’s what they’ll have to do now the Senate has disallowed this regulation.
Tamsin Rose
The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, has defended the appointment of Liberal official Charlie Taylor to a productivity council set up to provide independent advice on innovation in the state.
Asked about the appropriateness of Taylor’s new role as council chair, Perrottet said it was not a paid position and Taylor had an extensive track record that made him suitable.
He said:
He is somebody who’s perfectly suited. Productivity is crucial and key to growing our economy moving forward and we’ve enacted a whole range of measures from the productivity commissioner and I think Charlie Taylor is very, very well suited to take on that role.
This is David Littleproud country, for those wondering
(It is bloody hot in the greatest nation on Earth at the moment and I hope my fellow Queenslanders are staying hydrated.)
It’s not just humans trying to cool off as Queensland’s scorching summer temperatures soar! 🏊☀
A cheeky echidna has been spotted going for a paddle in a pool in the rural town of Muckadilla, in the Maranoa area.#9News pic.twitter.com/IpouYitSsw
— 9News Queensland (@9NewsQueensland) February 9, 2023
Senate inquiry to scrutinise government’s new cultural policy
The Greens have set up a Senate inquiry to look at the Albanese government’s new cultural policy, Revive.
Sarah Hanson-Young says it is great there is a policy, but they just want to check there are no gaps:
After a decade of neglect, a national cultural policy was very welcome. A number of initiatives proposed by the Greens were adopted and that was particularly pleasing.
But we must make sure the policy is as strong as it can be, with adequate funding behind it. A Senate inquiry will provide an opportunity to examine the policy in detail ahead of the May budget.
Artists and creatives were confused last week to hear the government was backtracking on a minimum wage and policy gaps around skills, training and education have already appeared. Funding is yet to be allocated to save our national cultural institutions or the national library’s online archive the Trove, which runs out in July. Matters such as this will be examined by the committee.”
Daniel Hurst
‘We must redouble our frontline diplomatic efforts,’ Coalition defence spokesperson says
The Coalition defence spokesperson, Andrew Hastie, argued the region had witnessed “a creeping strategic disorder over the past six months” and said “a new reality is darkening our region”.
He cited the response by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, the self-governed democracy that Beijing claims as a province:
PRC rockets streaked across the skies of Taiwan in August, and PRC spy balloons breached sovereign airspace in the United States and Central America.
Authoritarian powers are on the move, and the rules-based global order has groaned under the strain. The risk of miscalculation has risen to dangerous levels …We can’t afford to be weak in this new reality, and nuclear submarines will make us strong*.
(General proviso that the submarines may take decades to be ready. Watch this space.)
But Hastie also included a nuanced message that it is “not enough” to rely on military power and “we must redouble our frontline diplomatic efforts”:
As the minister [Richard Marles] said, we must build our friendships to reduce tension and create pathways for peace.
We are blessed to live in a colourful, dynamic region of many countries and cultures.
Modern Australia reflects this regional diversity with our multicultural society. This is a strength as we step out into our Indo-Pacific neighbourhood.
We understand and respect differences as we encounter them. Our neighbours are important to us. Friends such as Japan, Singapore, South Korea, India and Indonesia.
We benefit from their strategic insights and perspectives. And we uphold their sovereignty with the same zeal that we wish to safeguard our own.
But we all the share the same desire for a brighter future and – on that common ground – we must work together to avoid conflict, disorder and strife with all nations in our region – sometimes with outstretched arms towards those that wish to remain aloof. We must stay engaged and we must maintain a bias for dialogue.
Not long until the last question time of the week.
Given the mood of parliamentarians and the weird muggy rain in Canberra, it could go either way.
Ignore Aukus naysayers, says shadow defence minister
Daniel Hurst
As foreshadowed earlier, Richard Marles has given a ministerial statement to parliament seeking to play down concerns about the impact of the looming Aukus deal on Australia’s sovereignty.
The defence minister’s speech was followed by a response from his opposition shadow, Andrew Hastie. He said the Coalition “shares the minister’s view that defending our sovereignty, our territory, our values and our way of life are a sacred duty of the Australian government and, indeed, of this parliament”.
Hastie promised that the opposition would “always work with the government, in a spirit of goodwill, to provide for the safety and security of the Australian people”.
After recapping the history of Aukus (ie the Coalition started it), Hastie acknowledged the practical difficulties in implementing the overall goal to “build our military strength through the acquisition of nuclear submarines, and other advanced defence capabilities”. He said:
This task will span multiple parliaments, governments and generations of Australians. It requires leadership from government, and institutional support from this parliament.
For this is a truly complex and demanding nation-building project that engages government, business, industry, our schools and universities, our workers, our allies and our regional neighbours. Most importantly, this task demands resolve. For we do live in a contested and competitive world.
There are naysayers and opponents of Aukus – here in Australia and abroad. They will counsel doubt, delay, and deferral. We must ignore them, and stay the course.
Delivering nuclear boats to the Royal Australian Navy on time demands singular focus and resolve. It demands relentless mission focus – not just from government, but from all of us in this House.
The opposition believes in the Aukus mission, and we are resolved to see it through to completion – at best speed with the most capable nuclear submarine that we can get. This must be our priority as time is not on our side. Our strategic circumstances have changed, for the worse—as the minister has outlined today. The past twelve months have added urgency to the Aukus mission.
Hastie also called for “our American friends to retain an outward-facing posture, to stay engaged in the region, and to be responsive to the needs of allies – particularly when it comes to the liberalisation of defence and technology transfer”. He urged the US congress, the UK parliament and the Australian parliament to “work together to realise the host of legislative changes that will enable the smooth operation of Aukus beyond respective governments of the day”. He encouraged Marles to consider “institutional experimentation” (he did not elaborate).
Alan Tudge’s rumoured resignation sparks speculation of Frydenberg comeback
There may be no confirmation about Alan Tudge’s rumoured resignation from the parliament, but it took about three minutes for it to become part of the Hansard record, thanks to Labor MP Patrick Gorman:
Because what we have seen in reports today is that we might be having a member of the shadow executive walk out the door and be replaced by former treasurer Frydenberg. The former member who gave Australians $1 trillion of debt is now going to come back to finish the job – I don’t know, try and add an extra $2 trillion of debt?”
Barnaby Joyce did not like this and tried to make a point of order, but Gorman continued:
Maybe there is some sensitivities amongst the Coalition parties about the idea that the former member for Kooyong may return to this place. We know that, however much he spent, we definitely know there was billions of dollars wasted on jobkeeper through poor policy design. It is the talent that is being brought back into this place, and indeed, a record from the former member for Kooyong who may be the new member for Aston, the highest-taxing treasurer in Australia’s history, and I note that when I say the highest-taxing treasurer in Australia’s history I am not being pulled up on accuracy … because it is a fact.