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| Ministers confirm Australia will be involved in military action in Syria for years – politics live | Ministers confirm Australia will be involved in military action in Syria for years – politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 11.39pm BST23:39 | |
| Shalailah Medhora | |
| As well as addressing the Syrian refugee issue, the social services minister, Scott Morrison, has vowed to reintroduce legislation that would force jobseekers under the age of 25 to wait an extra four weeks before accessing the dole, after the measure was shot down by the Senate on Wednesday. “This will be coming back because we believe in it,” Morrison told ABC Radio this morning. Just a bit of background on this particular measure. In its first budget in 2014, the government introduced a measure that would have made under 30s wait six months before accessing unemployment benefits. There was a public outcry. The government then watered the 2014 measure down to four weeks. But even the watered-down version of the four-week waiting period failed to secure the support of Labor, the Greens, and the majority of the Senate crossbench. | |
| 11.35pm BST23:35 | |
| Speaking of Mr Bowers, he thought we could all use a bit of spring zen this morning. Isn’t this gorgeous? | |
| 11.31pm BST23:31 | |
| Treasurer Joe Hockey has also done an interview on Sky News about the economy this morning. Unfortunately he’s been squeezed out of my morning coverage thus far because he appeared in the middle of Kevin Andrews second and Julie Bishop’s third interview. | |
| Here too is Julie Bishop – either enhancing the treasurer’s photo opportunity, or making off with it – depending on your point of view. | |
| Mike Bowers caught this photobomb just outside the Sky studios. | |
| 11.19pm BST23:19 | |
| Triggs concerned about bombing Syria, and a two tiered refugee system. Scott Morrison says nope, nope, nope | |
| The human rights commission president Gillian Triggs has been on the ABC addressing the point that was put to Julie Bishop in the last post. Triggs says first up yesterday’s decision by the Abbott government to bomb Syria was a matter of concern. It was inevitable increased military action would increase the refugee flow. | |
| She’s also concerned that the 12,000 people coming from Syria will be subject to completely different arrangements than Syrians already here. The new cohort would be settled permanently, the people here now would get temporary protection visas. | |
| Gillian Triggs: | |
| What we are doing is creating a double system. | |
| Triggs says the government needs to sort this out, given the majority of Syrians already here will pass the refugee test. | |
| I think, frankly, we have to be practical about this. (They) should be treated equally. | |
| The social services minister Scott Morrison doesn’t sound like he’s interested in being practical. He’s on the ABC now. | |
| The government hasn’t made a decision to change our border protection policy. What we’ve decided to do is to respond to a genuine refugee and humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. And that’s what we’re responding to and we will be helping those who are in that zone. That’s what we will be doing. | |
| Those who have come here courtesy of people smugglers, there is a process in place for those individuals. And those processes will be followed. | |
| We’re not reversing our strong border protection policies. We’re extending the most generous humanitarian responses the country has seen. | |
| Updated at 11.21pm BST | |
| 11.09pm BST23:09 | |
| A bit more from Kevin Andrews and Julie Bishop from their morning media blitz. | |
| Q: So what will success in this fight look like? | |
| Kevin Andrews on the Today show. | |
| A regime in the Middle East that doesn’t commit genocide against its own people and a regime in the Middle East that doesn’t export terrorism else where around the world, including, unfortunately, here to Australia. | |
| Julie Bishop was asked on Radio National Breakfast given the new generosity towards Syrian refugees, why don’t we bring Syrians on Nauru or Manus Island to the mainland? She said Australia was responding currently to a particular crisis. Under the arrangements confirmed yesterday, the Australian government would decide who comes here and the circumstances in which they come. (Yes, I know that was John Howard, not Julie Bishop, but she was echoing the Howard rationale). Bishop said Australian officials will select the Syrians from refugee camps – the people smugglers would not select the Syrians. | |
| 10.52pm BST22:52 | 10.52pm BST22:52 |
| Good morning fine people and welcome to Thursday in Canberra. Too early for corn beer? Having now tried it, I’d argue it’s always too early for corn beer. | Good morning fine people and welcome to Thursday in Canberra. Too early for corn beer? Having now tried it, I’d argue it’s always too early for corn beer. |
| Fear not, nobody associated with Politics Live is drinking corn beer at 8am. These pictures are from last night. | Fear not, nobody associated with Politics Live is drinking corn beer at 8am. These pictures are from last night. |
| Labor’s Anthony Albanese on Wednesday night ventured out of the parliamentary precinct to launch a beer that has been named after him. The brew is much like the man, goes down easy, but leaves a feisty after-taste, rather like fighting tories in your mouth. Disconcerting to say the least. | Labor’s Anthony Albanese on Wednesday night ventured out of the parliamentary precinct to launch a beer that has been named after him. The brew is much like the man, goes down easy, but leaves a feisty after-taste, rather like fighting tories in your mouth. Disconcerting to say the least. |
| Perhaps I needed the memory of the beer to possess the strength to tune into Alan Jones at 7.10am. Alan has been editorialising thunderously and periodically letting the trade minister Andrew Robb get a word in about the China free trade deal. He thinks opponents of the deal are running rings around the government. | Perhaps I needed the memory of the beer to possess the strength to tune into Alan Jones at 7.10am. Alan has been editorialising thunderously and periodically letting the trade minister Andrew Robb get a word in about the China free trade deal. He thinks opponents of the deal are running rings around the government. |
| Alan Jones: | Alan Jones: |
| Why don’t you put the boot in? | Why don’t you put the boot in? |
| Andrew Robb: | Andrew Robb: |
| We’ve been attempting to. | We’ve been attempting to. |
| Alan Jones: | Alan Jones: |
| You aren’t getting your point across. | You aren’t getting your point across. |
| Robb, possibly confused why Alan Jones is suddenly supportive of free trade, and attempting to help the government on the China deal, explains the government is up against millions in advertising and trade union robocalls. The union advertising overwhelms, Robb says. Alan knows this. Alan has done some research and ascertained that unions have unlimited funds because they collect dues from their members. But despite these challenges, one must make oneself heard over the clamour. | Robb, possibly confused why Alan Jones is suddenly supportive of free trade, and attempting to help the government on the China deal, explains the government is up against millions in advertising and trade union robocalls. The union advertising overwhelms, Robb says. Alan knows this. Alan has done some research and ascertained that unions have unlimited funds because they collect dues from their members. But despite these challenges, one must make oneself heard over the clamour. |
| Alan Jones: | Alan Jones: |
| Well, introduce truth in advertising legislation. | Well, introduce truth in advertising legislation. |
| Andrew Robb: | Andrew Robb: |
| Those things have been tried. | Those things have been tried. |
| As diverting as this conversation is, Syria of course remains the main game in national politics after the big announcements yesterday: Australia will shortly take part in airstrikes in Syria, and we will take 12,000 refugees from the region. | As diverting as this conversation is, Syria of course remains the main game in national politics after the big announcements yesterday: Australia will shortly take part in airstrikes in Syria, and we will take 12,000 refugees from the region. |
| On other open microphones, Robb’s colleagues Kevin Andrews and Julie Bishop are softening up the public for the long haul for military engagement in Iraq and Syria. The defence minister Kevin Andrews has told NewsRadio the conflict will take a couple of years, or so. Then Andrews told the Nine Network Australia would probably be there for a number of years. | On other open microphones, Robb’s colleagues Kevin Andrews and Julie Bishop are softening up the public for the long haul for military engagement in Iraq and Syria. The defence minister Kevin Andrews has told NewsRadio the conflict will take a couple of years, or so. Then Andrews told the Nine Network Australia would probably be there for a number of years. |
| Two or three years, I can’t say in exact terms. | Two or three years, I can’t say in exact terms. |
| On Sky News, foreign minister Julie Bishop says the government’s focus is not arbitrary timeframes but taking out Daesh. | On Sky News, foreign minister Julie Bishop says the government’s focus is not arbitrary timeframes but taking out Daesh. |
| We’ve always spoken about our involvement in Iraq in terms of years, not months or days. We should be thinking in terms of years, not months. | We’ve always spoken about our involvement in Iraq in terms of years, not months or days. We should be thinking in terms of years, not months. |
| So noted, we march on into Thursday. The comments thread is open for your business. We are up and at ‘em on the Twits. He’s @mpbowers and I’m @murpharoo | So noted, we march on into Thursday. The comments thread is open for your business. We are up and at ‘em on the Twits. He’s @mpbowers and I’m @murpharoo |
| Buckle up. Here comes Thursday. | Buckle up. Here comes Thursday. |