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Ricky Muir moves to disrupt the Senate program – politics live
Ricky Muir moves to disrupt the Senate program – politics live
(35 minutes later)
10.51pm GMT
22:51
Gabrielle Chan
As Murph mentioned, I’m eyes on the NBN committee. Labor’s Stephen Conroy, a former communications minister, is grilling Broadspectrum executives this morning in a senate select committee, before moving to the NBN Co.
Before the committee started, Conroy had a win of sorts, succeeding in forcing the NBN Co chief technology officer Dennis Steiger to appear before a senate select committee later this morning. Albeit by video conference. NBN Co had been resisting Steiger’s appearance until the chair senator Jan McLucas reminded the NBN Co chief executive Bill Morrow that the committee “had the power to send for and examine persons or documents”. Steiger is up at 10.30am, all things being equal.
Conroy’s first forays seem to be digging into the delays of the NBN rollout with one of the contractors, Broadspectrum - formerly known as Transfield. Conroy is trying to establish the delay through the contractors financials.
10.48pm GMT
22:48
Stutchbury is concerned that 80% of older Australians are on the pension. As Tony Harrison might say, this is an outrage. Doesn’t this have to change, the AFR editor wonders.
Scott Morrison:
Well it depends on the composition of the 80%.
After about fifteen minutes.
My objective would be to see that be less.
10.45pm GMT
22:45
They are into Q&A now in Melbourne. This must be an AFR conference because AFR editor in chief Michael Stutchbury is now manfully trying to get a news line out of Morrison. No far, no banana. The treasurer is in artful non-specific mode.
10.37pm GMT
22:37
Action on super taxes in the budget, if not before: Morrison
Morrison has flagged some movement on super taxes will be contained in the budget, if it’s not announced before.
Scott Morrison:
How tax incentives are structured will ... form part of these changes but the changes will be about delivering a fairer and more sustainable retirement income system for our 21st century economy building on the pension reforms in last year’s budget.
It’s not about revenue raising. It is not about higher taxes to fund higher spending. It’s about a better retirement incomes.
Morrison says the pension is a welfare payment that applies to people who can’t fund their own retirements.
Updated
at 11.02pm GMT
10.26pm GMT
10.26pm GMT
22:26
22:26
What if you never had a tie?
What if you never had a tie?
#JustAsking
#JustAsking
10.26pm GMT
10.26pm GMT
22:26
22:26
Morrison, on FinTech. Shiny, happy, tie-less people, hubbing away on landing pads in Shanghai.
Morrison, on FinTech. Shiny, happy, tie-less people, hubbing away on landing pads in Shanghai.
It is shiny. A lot of the people involved in it are quite shiny. It’s an exciting industry.
It is shiny. A lot of the people involved in it are quite shiny. It’s an exciting industry.
If you want to get involved in it, you better you better get a T-shirt and lose the tie.
If you want to get involved in it, you better you better get a T-shirt and lose the tie.
10.24pm GMT
10.24pm GMT
22:24
22:24
The treasurer Scott Morrison is currently giving a speech at a conference in Melbourne. We are deep in FinTech right now.
The treasurer Scott Morrison is currently giving a speech at a conference in Melbourne. We are deep in FinTech right now.
10.21pm GMT
10.21pm GMT
22:21
22:21
This morning there is also a Senate committee hearing on the NBN. My colleague Gabi Chan has ears on that.
This morning there is also a Senate committee hearing on the NBN. My colleague Gabi Chan has ears on that.
10.18pm GMT
10.18pm GMT
22:18
22:18
The government’s move to alter the Senate business for this week is the point at which the procedural throw downs will commence.
The government’s move to alter the Senate business for this week is the point at which the procedural throw downs will commence.
10.16pm GMT
10.16pm GMT
22:16
22:16
Here is the "hours" motion the government will put to the Senate this morning for this week's business
Here is the "hours" motion the government will put to the Senate this morning for this week's business
1) The Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Bill 2016 have precedence over all government business until determined.
1) The Commonwealth Electoral Amendment Bill 2016 have precedence over all government business until determined.
(2) On Tuesday, 15 March 2016:
(2) On Tuesday, 15 March 2016:
(a) the hours of meeting shall be 12.30 pm to 7 pm and 7.30 pm to adjournment;
(a) the hours of meeting shall be 12.30 pm to 7 pm and 7.30 pm to adjournment;
(b) the routine of business from 7.30 pm shall be government business only; and
(b) the routine of business from 7.30 pm shall be government business only; and
(c) the question for the adjournment of the Senate shall be proposed at 10.30 pm.
(c) the question for the adjournment of the Senate shall be proposed at 10.30 pm.
(3) On Wednesday, 16 March 2016:
(3) On Wednesday, 16 March 2016:
(a) the hours of meeting shall be 9.30 am to 7 pm and 7.30 pm 11.10 pm;
(a) the hours of meeting shall be 9.30 am to 7 pm and 7.30 pm 11.10 pm;
(b) the routine of business from 7.30 pm shall be government business only; and
(b) the routine of business from 7.30 pm shall be government business only; and
(c) the question for the adjournment of the Senate shall be proposed at 10.30 pm.
(c) the question for the adjournment of the Senate shall be proposed at 10.30 pm.
(4) If by adjournment of the Senate on Wednesday, 16 March 2016, the following bills have not been finally considered:
(4) If by adjournment of the Senate on Wednesday, 16 March 2016, the following bills have not been finally considered:
(a) on Thursday, 17 March 2016:
(a) on Thursday, 17 March 2016:
(i) the hours of meeting shall be 9.30 am to adjournment,
(i) the hours of meeting shall be 9.30 am to adjournment,
(ii) consideration of general business and consideration of committee reports, government responses and Auditor-General’s reports under standing order 62(1) and (2) shall not be proceeded with,
(ii) consideration of general business and consideration of committee reports, government responses and Auditor-General’s reports under standing order 62(1) and (2) shall not be proceeded with,
(iii) the routine of business from not later than 4.30 pm shall be government business only, and
(iii) the routine of business from not later than 4.30 pm shall be government business only, and
(iv) divisions may take place after 4.30 pm; and
(iv) divisions may take place after 4.30 pm; and
(b) the Senate shall adjourn after it has finally considered the bills listed above in paragraph (4) only, or a motion for the adjournment is moved by a minister, whichever is the earlier.
(b) the Senate shall adjourn after it has finally considered the bills listed above in paragraph (4) only, or a motion for the adjournment is moved by a minister, whichever is the earlier.
10.11pm GMT
22:11
Another useful contribution in the AFR this morning – Ed Tadros has written a useful backgrounder about pollsters and polling which I think many readers will find interesting. I was actually having a conversation on Twitter last night with Scott Steel, a polling expert who tweets at the handle @Pollytics to get his thoughts on the latest batch of opinion polling.
My layman’s observation is basically there’s two clusters: there’s Newspoll/Essential that has the government and the opposition on 50/50 on the two party preferred measure, and then there’s Ipsos/Morgan which has a two PP of 53/47. Basically these surveys are all moving around within a poll’s margin of error, but it is interesting to see the divergence. I also note that the two big media companies, Fairfax and News, have recently changed their pollsters.
Here’s just a short excerpt from Ed’s piece, which subscribers can find here.
There are currently six major national polls in Australia – Fairfax/Ipsos, Newspoll (by Galaxy), Galaxy, Roy Morgan, ReachTel and Essential.
These polls use a range of methods, from the traditional phone interviews of Ipsos/Fairfax through to the fully automated robo-polling of ReachTel.
Two of these polls are relatively new – Fairfax/Ipsos and Newspoll (by Galaxy) – and untested in a national election.
They have come about because the emergence of cheaper-to-produce robo-polling hurt the traditional pollsters.
Nielsen, which had produced the Fairfax political poll since 1995, pulled out of the political polling market in mid-2014, and the Newspoll research business, which ran the “old Newspoll” for The Australian, shut down in mid-2015.
Fairfax, which publishes The Australian Financial Review, turned to international pollsters Ipsos to produce its poll, while Galaxy Research took on the Newspoll brand for The Australian.
There is debate about the accuracy of robo-polling, but companies that use the technique are confident of its accuracy.
9.55pm GMT
21:55
I was going to write an explanatory post about the tactical thinking behind the Muir sortie today but Phil Coorey from the Financial Review has done a good job of that this morning. This is all about a concept known as failure to pass.
To give itself momentum to call a double dissolution, [the government] is banking on using the ABCC bill which has already been voted down once. The Senate has already deployed delaying tactics to stop the ABCC bill being debated a second time and there has been a view that it may already qualify as a trigger under a provision known as “failure to pass”.
Constitutional legal expert George Williams said “failure to pass” had not been established. If the Greens and the government reject Senator Muir’s offer, that will be confirmed.
Professor Williams said the government could still establish the ABCC as a trigger but it needed a week to put it to the Senate. That would require bringing forward the budget to May 3. If the budget was left to May 10, there would not be enough time to pass the supply bills and test the Senate over the ABCC because a double dissolution would have to be called the next day.
9.48pm GMT
21:48
I should have mentioned in the quick summation of Richard Di Natale’s comments on Radio National that he wasn’t entirely definitive about whether the Greens would reject Ricky Muir’s motion this morning to bring on the ABCC vote.
Yesterday Di Natale told the ABC the Greens wouldn’t assist efforts to disrupt the Senate program this week. This morning, he said the Greens party room would make that call this morning.
9.38pm GMT
21:38
Apart from the mayhem, I’m still recovering for the shock of the environment minister Greg Hunt declaring this morning we hit peak emissions in 2005-06. I strongly suspect we didn’t hit peak emissions in 2005-06.
9.36pm GMT
21:36
Never a man to shy away from chain saw juggling.
9.30pm GMT
21:30
Far too early to call my favourite picture of the day, but I’ll do it anyway. Why it’s hard to herd cross benchers, in a single frame.
It’s the usual Tuesday morning shock and awe before parliamentarians disappear into their partyrooms. On the ABC, the environment minister Greg Hunt has just declared Australia hit peak emissions in 2005-06 – meaning our emissions will never be higher than they were at that point.
Greg Hunt:
I believe we have reached peak emissions. In my best judgment ... we reached peak emissions in 2005-06.
On another ABC radio outlet, the Greens leader Richard Di Natale says his party will make a decision at this morning’s partyroom meeting about whether or not it will support an effort by David Leyonhjelm to bring on a vote on the Greens same sex marriage bill. Di Natale is sounding like he doesn’t want to support the Leyonhjelm frolic – noting it would be a huge mistake to deploy marriage equality as a political tactic. ABC Radio National breakfast Fran Kelly isn’t sounding convinced about that. What if this is an opportunity to pass marriage equality in the Senate, Kelly wonders? It might be an opportunity to lose the vote, Di Natale counters.
Labor’s deputy leader Tanya Plibersek is building up to the visit by the Iranian foreign minister. She’s told AM Australia’s foreign minister Julie Bishop needs to explain why she was once very cautious about engagement with Iran, but now is fully into it. Plibersek says if the main item on the agenda today is trying to negotiate an agreement to involuntarily return asylum seekers to Iran, then Australia needs to secure “very strong assurances” about safety.
9.03pm GMT
21:03
Just to cheer us all up, the Family First Senator Bob Day has observed down at the Senate doors that the government is juggling chainsaws on a double dissolution.
8.57pm GMT
20:57
Good morning, assume the brace position
Hello everyone and welcome to Tuesday in Canberra. This week is supposed to be the last sitting week before the federal budget in May. Whether it is or not remains to be seen.
There’s only three sitting days scheduled this week but our predictive weather forecast is turbulence, especially in the red chamber. The government wants to extend the Senate sitting hours for today, Wednesday and Thursday. We anticipate a week of procedural ding dongs, ranging from a threat by Ricky Muir to bring on the government’s Australian Building and Construction Commission bill, to a same sex marriage stunt from David Leyonhjelm. I suspect Labor will also attempt to draw out the substantive legislative debate of the week – the debate on Senate voting reform – as long as possible. Just because. Mayhem, people, mayhem.
This morning, Muir told reporters he was hoping to give the government a chance to put their cards on the table when it came to the ABCC.
Ricky Muir:
The government have tried to use the ABCC bill as a reason why electoral reform needs to happen so I’m giving them a chance to put their cards on the table and actually discuss this bill as they’re trying to say that the cross-bench is actually preventing that from happening.
Thanks but no thanks Ricky. Finance minister Mathias Cormann has said this morning the government will revisit the ABCC bill on its own terms.
We will put the legislation to re-establish the Australian Building and Construction Commission to the Senate when we come back in May.
When in May remains, for now, moot.
To put the week’s political dynamic most simply: the government will attempt to clear a path for a double dissolution election post budget, and Labor and the cross benchers will do everything possible to make the government’s path to the polls as messy and cluttered as possible.
Arriving in Canberra for the sitting last night a couple of government backbenchers voiced their concerns about an early sprint to the polls. Victorian Liberal Russell Broadbent spoke up recently, telling the Herald Sun an extended double dissolution election campaign would be like an extended political suicide note. These sentiments were echoed by Queensland’s Ewen Jones, who told reporters at Canberra airport he’d never been in favour of an early poll or a double dissolution.
LNP Senator Ian Macdonald said the government risked sweeping out one lot of Senate recalcitrants and replacing them with another lot of “equally recalcitrant Senators.” I’m spitballing here, but I suspect Macdonald means the Greens more or less holding permanent balance of power in the upper house. Macdonald isn’t a bit fan of the Greens.
In addition to Senate mayhem, the Labor leader Bill Shorten is due to speak at the National Press Club today to set up the release of a report on inequality and disadvantage. The Iranian foreign minister is in town and the Indonesian trade minister is either in Canberra or on his way to Canberra.
Today’s comments thread is wide open for your business. Magic Mike and I are up and at it on the twits, I’m @murpharoo and he’s @mpbowers You can also reach me at my new Facebook forum. Feel free to pitch in to the conversation there.
