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| PM grilled on Senate voting reform, super and Queensland nickel – question time live | PM grilled on Senate voting reform, super and Queensland nickel – question time live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 4.18am GMT | |
| 04:18 | |
| Time for me to take stock. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be back with what we’ve missed and with the afternoon in Canberra. | |
| 4.16am GMT | |
| 04:16 | |
| Question time is over. | |
| Clive Palmer seeks a personal explanation. He says the prime minister has misrepresented his role in Queensland Nickel. Palmer says he has not been in control of the company, and the administrator has decided not to pay workers entitlements, not him. | |
| 4.12am GMT | |
| 04:12 | |
| Bowen is back with a niggle. He notes the government has previously said it will release a tax policy before the budget, but today, the advice is wait until the budget. | |
| Malcolm Turnbull: | |
| I thank the honourable member for his question and appreciate his curiosity in the government’s timing on tax but I can assure him all the government tax policy, all of it, will be set out in full in the budget. | |
| (Well, you’d hope so. That is the convention.) | |
| 4.08am GMT | |
| 04:08 | |
| The prime minister is now deep in flying foxes, birds and light flashing drones. | |
| 4.05am GMT | |
| 04:05 | |
| Bowen is unkind enough to remind the prime minister that Tony Abbott recently observed changes to superannuation tax concessions were “a seniors tax in the shape of more taxes on super.” Does Turnbull agree with Abbott is the question. | |
| Malcolm Turnbull thinks now is the time to talk about Labor’s negative gearing policy. What a botch up this is, he thinks. | |
| 4.01am GMT | |
| 04:01 | |
| The best minister in the world is summonsed to the dispatch box to speak about foreshore land release in Sydney. Greg Hunt is heckled about his recent accolade. A quick retort. | |
| They never said that of you! | |
| The backbench quite likes that one. Chortling ensues. | |
| 3.58am GMT | |
| 03:58 | |
| Shadow treasurer, Chris Bowen. | |
| Q: Last year the treasurer said, and I quote: “The government has made it crystal clear that we have no interest in increasing taxes on superannuation now or in the future.” Does the treasurer stand by this remark and will the treasurer rule out making changes to superannuation which reduced the retirement incomes of low and middle income Australians? | |
| The treasurer isn’t inclined to rule things out. Not at this point. | |
| 3.55am GMT | |
| 03:55 | |
| The immigration minister Peter Dutton has gone from kids in detention to Labor’s negative gearing policy and back again. Just because. | |
| 3.53am GMT | |
| 03:53 | |
| Labor’s deputy leader Tanya Plibersek would like to know whether the prime minister agrees that a hike in the tobacco tax is a revenue raising measure that’s consistent with guidance from the WHO. He accepts it is a revenue raining measure. | |
| 3.50am GMT | |
| 03:50 | |
| Resources minister Josh Frydenberg is up now on the golden age of gas. His ebullience is such that he cannot be stopped. | |
| 3.49am GMT | |
| 03:49 | |
| Labor resumes on reports the government will follow its lead and hike the tobacco tax despite mildly poo poohing the idea. (The government has been signalling for some time it might grab that revenue in the budget.) | |
| The prime minister points out that he proposed a hike in tobacco taxes when he was the opposition leader. | |
| Malcolm Turnbull: | |
| We are now at that annual fever which builds up and up of budget speculation and we’ll get lots of questions of this kind, essentially designed to find out what’s in the budget and all I can say to the honourable member opposite is that he will just have to wait until the budget and then he will discover what tax measures are contained within it. | |
| 3.45am GMT | |
| 03:45 | |
| Quick sanity break. This picture cannot be seen too much. | |
| 3.42am GMT | 3.42am GMT |
| 03:42 | 03:42 |
| It’s a bit strange that both Pyne and the treasurer Scott Morrison in the past two questions have both called on Labor to pass the ABCC bill, given the government today rejected the option of considering that bill immediately. Probably best not to expect things to make sense today. Too ambitious. | It’s a bit strange that both Pyne and the treasurer Scott Morrison in the past two questions have both called on Labor to pass the ABCC bill, given the government today rejected the option of considering that bill immediately. Probably best not to expect things to make sense today. Too ambitious. |
| 3.39am GMT | 3.39am GMT |
| 03:39 | 03:39 |
| All you need to know about the Dorothy Dixer is Christopher Pyne just threatened to sing a Whitney Houston song. The greatest love of all. Sadly, we got speak singing instead. | All you need to know about the Dorothy Dixer is Christopher Pyne just threatened to sing a Whitney Houston song. The greatest love of all. Sadly, we got speak singing instead. |
| 3.37am GMT | 3.37am GMT |
| 03:37 | 03:37 |
| Dreyfus again. | Dreyfus again. |
| Q: I refer to [the prime minister’s] previous answer. Why, according to reports, did the prime minister cause an agreement to be reached to ensure that his private company would be repaid more than $1m before the workers employed by Playup received the $1.2m in wages that they were owed? | Q: I refer to [the prime minister’s] previous answer. Why, according to reports, did the prime minister cause an agreement to be reached to ensure that his private company would be repaid more than $1m before the workers employed by Playup received the $1.2m in wages that they were owed? |
| Malcolm Turnbull: | Malcolm Turnbull: |
| While my wife and I invested in Rivo which is a company that had the Playup online site – application – at no time were we responsible for or involved in the management of the company, nor did we have any insight into the management of the company other than such accounts as the company produced for the benefit of their shareholders, and investors. | While my wife and I invested in Rivo which is a company that had the Playup online site – application – at no time were we responsible for or involved in the management of the company, nor did we have any insight into the management of the company other than such accounts as the company produced for the benefit of their shareholders, and investors. |
| So the responsibility for paying employees is obviously something that lies with the management of the company and the directors of the company which we were not numbered among those people. We were very much outside investors. | So the responsibility for paying employees is obviously something that lies with the management of the company and the directors of the company which we were not numbered among those people. We were very much outside investors. |
| Turnbull, for good measure. | Turnbull, for good measure. |
| There may well be criticism of the directors, there may well be criticism of whether an administrator should have been appointed sooner, all of those criticisms can be made but they cannot be directed at external creditors such as ourselves. | There may well be criticism of the directors, there may well be criticism of whether an administrator should have been appointed sooner, all of those criticisms can be made but they cannot be directed at external creditors such as ourselves. |
| And the honourable member knows this full well and his attempt to compare that to a business that’s actually controlled by another honourable member here, is quite unworthy and it is a very, very low and unworthy smear for someone so learned in the law as him. | And the honourable member knows this full well and his attempt to compare that to a business that’s actually controlled by another honourable member here, is quite unworthy and it is a very, very low and unworthy smear for someone so learned in the law as him. |
| 3.32am GMT | 3.32am GMT |
| 03:32 | 03:32 |
| Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus. | Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus. |
| Q: The treasurer in his last answer and the prime minister have been deeply critical of the member for Fairfax’s action in relation to Queensland Nickel. The prime minister said the member for Fairfax had let down the workers and the only thing the PM was concerned about was that the workers were looked after. So why, according to reports, did the prime minister receive $50,000 in monthly payments from Playup while Playup workers weren’t being paid? Hasn’t the prime minister let down the workers at Playup? | Q: The treasurer in his last answer and the prime minister have been deeply critical of the member for Fairfax’s action in relation to Queensland Nickel. The prime minister said the member for Fairfax had let down the workers and the only thing the PM was concerned about was that the workers were looked after. So why, according to reports, did the prime minister receive $50,000 in monthly payments from Playup while Playup workers weren’t being paid? Hasn’t the prime minister let down the workers at Playup? |
| This question relates to a story in yesterday’s Australian Financial Review, which I’ve had no time to get anywhere near. It concerns an investment Turnbull’s family made while in opposition. | This question relates to a story in yesterday’s Australian Financial Review, which I’ve had no time to get anywhere near. It concerns an investment Turnbull’s family made while in opposition. |
| Turnbull goes through the investment he made, with his family, while in opposition in a start up tech firm called Rivo. He says everything was disclosed in accordance with the rules. The prime minister also rejects that his investment is in any way comparable with Clive Palmer’s interests in Queensland Nickel. | Turnbull goes through the investment he made, with his family, while in opposition in a start up tech firm called Rivo. He says everything was disclosed in accordance with the rules. The prime minister also rejects that his investment is in any way comparable with Clive Palmer’s interests in Queensland Nickel. |
| The member for Fairfax’s position with respect to Queensland Nickel is that he at all times was in charge of Queensland Nickel. He ran that company, he was responsible for it. He had – we had no management involvement with the Rivo company. Our position was simply as an investor and then subsequently as a creditor. | The member for Fairfax’s position with respect to Queensland Nickel is that he at all times was in charge of Queensland Nickel. He ran that company, he was responsible for it. He had – we had no management involvement with the Rivo company. Our position was simply as an investor and then subsequently as a creditor. |
| So our dealings were entirely at arm’s length. | So our dealings were entirely at arm’s length. |
| 3.22am GMT | 3.22am GMT |
| 03:22 | 03:22 |
| As for the government’s plans on super, Morrison says we will make those announcements at the appropriate time. | As for the government’s plans on super, Morrison says we will make those announcements at the appropriate time. |
| (The treasurer this morning again signalled the government would look at generous super tax concessions in the budget.) | (The treasurer this morning again signalled the government would look at generous super tax concessions in the budget.) |
| 3.20am GMT | 3.20am GMT |
| 03:20 | 03:20 |
| Clive Palmer has the cross bench question. It’s about superannuation. Will the government allow people to draw on their super savings to buy a house. What’s the point of slaving for 50 years to never enjoy the benefits of your own hard work? | Clive Palmer has the cross bench question. It’s about superannuation. Will the government allow people to draw on their super savings to buy a house. What’s the point of slaving for 50 years to never enjoy the benefits of your own hard work? |
| Given Palmer led with his chin, the treasurer, Scott Morrison can’t resist. | Given Palmer led with his chin, the treasurer, Scott Morrison can’t resist. |
| I thank the member for his question and I’m sure he’s equally concerned about those at the Queensland Nickel plant where he’s had some involvement in recent times and I’m sure he must be very concerned about their entitlements and their future. | I thank the member for his question and I’m sure he’s equally concerned about those at the Queensland Nickel plant where he’s had some involvement in recent times and I’m sure he must be very concerned about their entitlements and their future. |
| I know that our member is. I know our member for Herbert is very concerned about those Queensland Nickel workers. | I know that our member is. I know our member for Herbert is very concerned about those Queensland Nickel workers. |
| 3.15am GMT | 3.15am GMT |
| 03:15 | 03:15 |
| Shorten is back with Senate voting reform. Isn’t the government proceeding with Senate voting reform to impose $100,000 university degrees? | Shorten is back with Senate voting reform. Isn’t the government proceeding with Senate voting reform to impose $100,000 university degrees? |
| Malcolm Turnbull: | Malcolm Turnbull: |
| The leader of the opposition’s conspiracy theory knows no bounds. | The leader of the opposition’s conspiracy theory knows no bounds. |