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| Labor accuses Malcolm Turnbull of misleading parliament – politics live | Labor accuses Malcolm Turnbull of misleading parliament – politics live |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| 5.59am GMT | |
| 05:59 | |
| Bye! | |
| Now, I’m sorry to love and leave you but my services are required elsewhere, off campus, at an event about political reform. | |
| So let’s sum up Tuesday. | |
| So much chunky Magic Mike goodness I’ve not had time to share today. Shocker. | |
| Must do better tomorrow. | |
| Now, today: | |
| There was more, but that’s your main course. | |
| See you in the morning. | |
| 5.42am GMT | |
| 05:42 | |
| When Scott met Ben and things got testy | |
| While I’ve been trying to think the treasurer Scott Morrison has been booted around the 2GB yard by broadcaster Ben Fordham. Most of the discussion was about foreign investment, and it was reasonably willing, but Fordham could not resist a bit of needling at the end. Fordham wondered whether or not Morrison had been hiding from his stablemate, Ray Hadley. | |
| Scott Morrison, on that proposition. | |
| That’s crap, Ben, and I think it’s a bit cheap. | |
| Morrison said no reasonable reading of his distinguished record of making himself available to Ray would bear out an analysis that he was hiding, under his desk, or anywhere else. | |
| Fordham urged the treasurer not to get sensitive. He was just a jobbing journo, asking the questions. | |
| Morrison: | |
| You are insinuating and I don’t appreciate it. | |
| Fordham persisted in the needle. The treasurer, he noted, was a little glass jawed about my very mild criticism. | |
| No mate, Morrison said, in the way where you say mate but you mean something other than mate. | |
| (If you are wondering what this is about, Morrison skipped his regular appearance on Hadley yesterday morning. Ray was unhappy.) | |
| Updated | |
| at 5.43am GMT | |
| 5.30am GMT | |
| 05:30 | |
| Not drowning .. | |
| Let’s take this quickie analysis step by step. | |
| The first thing that needs to be said is the tempo of the parliament and political discourse has accelerated notably this week. The major parties have locked into election formation, which means we’ve moved beyond sparring, beyond practice punching, we are now firmly in go for the knock out territory. Why? Because both sides know we could be in a campaign the day after the budget lands. As Bill Shorten told caucus colleagues earlier today, we all have to dig a little deeper. | |
| Presumably that’s why the prime minister has diverted from his ‘smile and take it gently’ approach that characterised the opening phase of his political leadership. He’s moved into lobbing tabloid soundbites. Scary Labor will drive down the value of the family home, because you know scary Labor. Shorten too is sharpening (by his still periodically woolly standards) his characterisations of Turnbull – arrogant, the agent of the investor class, sell-out, Tony Abbott in disguise. What you are watching right now is like the process of sending a file to someone online: it needs to be compressed before it can be dispatched successfully to the recipient. | |
| Labor’s policies on negative gearing and capital gains tax are politically risky. The practical consequences of restricting a concession to one segment of the housing market are not currently known. If Labor has commissioned modelling attempting to scope out the consequences, this material is not currently in the public domain. There is also a risk associated with telegraphing your intentions before implementing them: that you create a bubble of speculative activity. So the bottom line here? I think there are legitimate questions to ask about the practical implications of the policy. Perhaps there are better ways to wind back concessions that many experts believe distort Australia’s housing market. Bring that conversation on. We’d all benefit from it. | |
| But Turnbull has pedalled past obvious lines of calm and sensible interrogation to alleged full scale house snatching by the alternative party of government. Some of the overstatements hurled in question time today were, truly extraordinary. Take this one: “Every single home owner in every single electorate represented in this House will be poorer if the Labor Party is elected to government.” Really? Like, really, prime minister? | |
| We expect the Liberal and National parties to stand up for the aspirational investor class in Australia – this posture isn’t a shock – but the vehemence of the beat down, and the hyperbole associated with it works against one of Malcolm Turnbull’s core principles when he took the Liberal leadership: to respect the intelligence of voters, to cease and desist from cheap political slogans, not rush pre-emptively in half panic to rule policy things out that, by rights, should be considered. | |
| He’s (in part at least) pitching to the conservatives in his own ranks in an effort to keep the government stable, but what Turnbull actually needs to do – what Tony Abbott couldn’t do – is pitch to the sensible centre in Australian politics. And the fact of the matter is Turnbull has both the credibility with the public and the political capital to win the next election by being a grown up, by expanding the discourse, not by contracting the discussion into the same mind numbing nonsense Australians have already seen and don’t much care for. | |
| Fact is, right now at least – all things in this joint liable to change without notice – the party offering the politically risky policy has the prime minister exactly where it wants him: running against type, mouthing a half baked script, jumping at shadows, over-egging, and tripping up on the great rush through. | |
| 4.39am GMT | 4.39am GMT |
| 04:39 | 04:39 |
| Further questions have been placed on the notice paper. I’ll be back with some thoughts on that session shortly. | Further questions have been placed on the notice paper. I’ll be back with some thoughts on that session shortly. |
| 4.33am GMT | 4.33am GMT |
| 04:33 | 04:33 |
| 4.28am GMT | 4.28am GMT |
| 04:28 | 04:28 |
| Labor’s Tony Burke, seconding the motion. | Labor’s Tony Burke, seconding the motion. |
| I thought they had changed prime ministers! I thought we were told that there was going to be a new respect for the intelligence of theAustralian people! | I thought they had changed prime ministers! I thought we were told that there was going to be a new respect for the intelligence of theAustralian people! |
| I thought people had a sense that the new prime minister would change the culture of the Liberal party, we were told that he would change the Liberal party but, no, the Liberal party has changed him, from the moment he got that job. | I thought people had a sense that the new prime minister would change the culture of the Liberal party, we were told that he would change the Liberal party but, no, the Liberal party has changed him, from the moment he got that job. |
| 4.26am GMT | 4.26am GMT |
| 04:26 | 04:26 |
| A brief diversion into live cattle before back to Labor’s secret plan to drive down the price of your home. Labor’s negative gearing policy will cut the value of your home. | A brief diversion into live cattle before back to Labor’s secret plan to drive down the price of your home. Labor’s negative gearing policy will cut the value of your home. |
| Malcolm Turnbull: | Malcolm Turnbull: |
| It will mean you can’t afford to borrow money from your home to give money to your kids so they can buy a place. It mean you can’t afford to go on a holiday when you want to start a business, and you go to the bank and you want to borrow some money to start a business, the bank will say: “Well, you better get a valuation.” And you will discover that your home has been reduced in value and it will be entirely the consequence of a deliberate, calculated act by a Labor government. | It will mean you can’t afford to borrow money from your home to give money to your kids so they can buy a place. It mean you can’t afford to go on a holiday when you want to start a business, and you go to the bank and you want to borrow some money to start a business, the bank will say: “Well, you better get a valuation.” And you will discover that your home has been reduced in value and it will be entirely the consequence of a deliberate, calculated act by a Labor government. |
| 4.22am GMT | 4.22am GMT |
| 04:22 | 04:22 |
| Malcolm Turnbull: | Malcolm Turnbull: |
| Mr Speaker, all of – every single one of those Australians after 1st July 2017, if the honourable member becomes prime minister, will not be able to claim a net interest loss on investment made in existing property. | Mr Speaker, all of – every single one of those Australians after 1st July 2017, if the honourable member becomes prime minister, will not be able to claim a net interest loss on investment made in existing property. |
| Now, their cunning plan, Mr Speaker, their cunning plan is to say that they can only invest in new property. | Now, their cunning plan, Mr Speaker, their cunning plan is to say that they can only invest in new property. |
| Now, we all know that the reason that housing is less affordable than it ought to be, particularly again, I have say, in my own area of Sydney, is because of lack of supply. | Now, we all know that the reason that housing is less affordable than it ought to be, particularly again, I have say, in my own area of Sydney, is because of lack of supply. |
| They are going to cut the value of your home. | They are going to cut the value of your home. |
| Mr Speaker, that is Labor’s policy. They want to make housing more affordable by making your house worth less. | Mr Speaker, that is Labor’s policy. They want to make housing more affordable by making your house worth less. |
| 4.18am GMT | 4.18am GMT |
| 04:18 | 04:18 |
| The prime minister is defending himself in this censure debate. Turnbull says negative gearing is an activity undertaken by nurses and teachers – not surgeons and finance managers. He’s face first in the stats right now. | The prime minister is defending himself in this censure debate. Turnbull says negative gearing is an activity undertaken by nurses and teachers – not surgeons and finance managers. He’s face first in the stats right now. |
| 4.15am GMT | 4.15am GMT |
| 04:15 | 04:15 |
| Shorten: | Shorten: |
| This fellow here ... he thinks the Australian dream is the ability to negatively gear your seventh house. | This fellow here ... he thinks the Australian dream is the ability to negatively gear your seventh house. |
| 4.13am GMT | 4.13am GMT |
| 04:13 | 04:13 |
| Mere mortals don't understand the extent of the Wentworth genius .. | Mere mortals don't understand the extent of the Wentworth genius .. |
| Shorten, continuing. | Shorten, continuing. |
| Now, I feel a little bit of a pang for poor old Member for Warringah (Tony Abbott). He got undermined by Malcolm Turnbull for making captain’s calls, but as soon as Mr Turnbull is up there, the captain’s call! | Now, I feel a little bit of a pang for poor old Member for Warringah (Tony Abbott). He got undermined by Malcolm Turnbull for making captain’s calls, but as soon as Mr Turnbull is up there, the captain’s call! |
| We know what this leader of the government said. He said there would be no changes to capital gains tax whatsoever. So today we ask him to back in his words and there are really three options the PM could have picked: tell the truth or indeed tell us what was happening with capital gains tax or he could have just said: “Everyone else is wrong.” | We know what this leader of the government said. He said there would be no changes to capital gains tax whatsoever. So today we ask him to back in his words and there are really three options the PM could have picked: tell the truth or indeed tell us what was happening with capital gains tax or he could have just said: “Everyone else is wrong.” |
| We are lucky enough to have an infallible prime minister in this country, we are very lucky to know that we are led by the smartest man in Australia, self-declared – that even when he gets it wrong, he is still right, us mere mortals just don’t understand the extent of Wentworth genius. | We are lucky enough to have an infallible prime minister in this country, we are very lucky to know that we are led by the smartest man in Australia, self-declared – that even when he gets it wrong, he is still right, us mere mortals just don’t understand the extent of Wentworth genius. |
| 4.09am GMT | 4.09am GMT |
| 04:09 | 04:09 |
| This is the second censure order of the day against the prime minister for misleading the House. | This is the second censure order of the day against the prime minister for misleading the House. |
| Bill Shorten: | Bill Shorten: |
| Either this prime minister is dishonest or he is incompetent, he cannot be both. The prime minister needs to rule out increasing capital gains tax on the superannuation accounts of millions of people. | Either this prime minister is dishonest or he is incompetent, he cannot be both. The prime minister needs to rule out increasing capital gains tax on the superannuation accounts of millions of people. |
| What is it about this prime minister that makes him so out of touch that he will defend to the last drop of Liberal blood, reducing the 50% capital gains discount to 25%, when it comes to defending the capital gains tax discount of millions of Australians and their superannuation - well, he is out of town for that. | What is it about this prime minister that makes him so out of touch that he will defend to the last drop of Liberal blood, reducing the 50% capital gains discount to 25%, when it comes to defending the capital gains tax discount of millions of Australians and their superannuation - well, he is out of town for that. |
| The prime minister is so arrogant that he thinks he can say unsay words and make them miraculously disappear, but the problem for him is this: every journalist in the press gallery heard exactly what he said, every newspaper in Australia showed that he was ruling out tackling capital gains tax, and what does he do? | The prime minister is so arrogant that he thinks he can say unsay words and make them miraculously disappear, but the problem for him is this: every journalist in the press gallery heard exactly what he said, every newspaper in Australia showed that he was ruling out tackling capital gains tax, and what does he do? |
| No, they are all wrong. | No, they are all wrong. |
| 4.04am GMT | 4.04am GMT |
| 04:04 | 04:04 |
| Rightio, here comes the suspension of the standing orders. | Rightio, here comes the suspension of the standing orders. |
| 4.03am GMT | 4.03am GMT |
| 04:03 | 04:03 |
| Turnbull is persisting with his argument that he was taken out of context yesterday on CGT. | Turnbull is persisting with his argument that he was taken out of context yesterday on CGT. |
| It is perfectly obvious that - perfectly clear that I was talking about Labor’s proposal to increase capital gains tax on individuals, and it was perfectly obvious that that’s what the Member for McMahon (Chris Bowen) was talking about. | It is perfectly obvious that - perfectly clear that I was talking about Labor’s proposal to increase capital gains tax on individuals, and it was perfectly obvious that that’s what the Member for McMahon (Chris Bowen) was talking about. |
| (Nope, nope, nope.) | (Nope, nope, nope.) |
| Malcolm Turnbull: | Malcolm Turnbull: |
| When you are in a tax hole, stop digging. | When you are in a tax hole, stop digging. |
| (Quite universal, that advice, I reckon.) | (Quite universal, that advice, I reckon.) |
| 3.59am GMT | 3.59am GMT |
| 03:59 | 03:59 |
| We are proceeding. | We are proceeding. |
| Malcolm Turnbull: | Malcolm Turnbull: |
| I think what the opposition is doing here demeans this House. It demonstrates a desperation that really insults the intelligence of the Australian people. | I think what the opposition is doing here demeans this House. It demonstrates a desperation that really insults the intelligence of the Australian people. |