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Government MPs launch round two in opposing the Safe Schools program – politics live
Government MPs launch round two in opposing the Safe Schools program – politics live
(35 minutes later)
11.36pm GMT
23:36
Back to Chris Bowen for a moment. The shadow treasurer was asked about his own negative gearing policy. Was Labor really prepared to implement this policy, particularly if it discovered significant implementation issues along the way? Paul Keating tried to fiddle with negative gearing in the 1980s and ditched it after-all. Might he do the same thing?
Bowen says he’s not for turning.
Our policy is clear. It will be implemented by an incoming Labor government.
11.32pm GMT
23:32
While I’ve been trying not to smack my head on the desk, Magic Mike has been shaking his tail feather bringing me visuals of the day. He visited grandmas for refugees earlier today, bless them.
11.28pm GMT
23:28
There is a lot about today that is making me laugh out loud. There’s quite a large laugh coming up a bit later on as well, but we’ll get to that in due course. The big guffaw.
11.25pm GMT
23:25
Down in the courtyard, the shadow treasurer Chris Bowen is laying into the treasurer Scott Morrison. It’s quite clear Scott Morrison should hand back the keys to the treasury portfolio, Bowen says.
We don’t even know when the budget will be.
11.17pm GMT
23:17
Over in the Mural Hall, the prime minister Malcolm Turnbull is making sure we are all pulling in the same direction. Worthy aspiration. This is a speech about regional development.
11.15pm GMT
23:15
Bob Day, continuing.
A petard is French for bomb.
11.13pm GMT
23:13
Over in the senate, debate has begun on the voting reform legislation. Family First senator Bob Day is speaking presently, saying he can’t believe the government has moved to stifle independent voices in the senate. This is an odd line of argument from this particular parliamentarian given he has voted with the government more often than any other cross bencher. But why sweat the small incomprehensible things when the big things are equally incomprehensible. Day says this proposal will see the government introduce first past the post voting by stealth. Foul deeds will rise.
11.05pm GMT
23:05
Politics tragics who still watch the telly will be aware that there is a lot of taxpayer funded advertising on TV at the moment, some of it quite general in nature.
Labor isn’t worried about the lack of verbs, it’s worried that at least one current campaign – welcome to the ideas boom – breaches official guidelines on taxpayer funded advertising.
Pat Conroy has written to the Commonwealth auditor-general asking whether the $28m innovation policy campaign uses a political slogan. The guidelines prohibit the use of political slogans.
The campaign says: “There has never been a more exciting time to be an Australian.” If that formulation sounds familiar, it is. We know who says this because he says it very often. Most days. Sometimes several times a day. He’s a politician, and a senior one.
Conroy has asked the auditor-general to rule on the matter, and also rule on whether or not the campaign is factual and verifiable.
10.49pm GMT
10.49pm GMT
22:49
22:49
Sometimes you’ve just got to dive in.
Sometimes you’ve just got to dive in.
10.41pm GMT
10.41pm GMT
22:41
22:41
Persisting on Safe Schools, Shorten says Turnbull is going to have to decide whether to back his education minister, or side with the “tin foil hate brigade” in the Liberal party’s right wing. Shorten says the prime minister can’t do both.
Persisting on Safe Schools, Shorten says Turnbull is going to have to decide whether to back his education minister, or side with the “tin foil hate brigade” in the Liberal party’s right wing. Shorten says the prime minister can’t do both.
Bill Shorten:
Bill Shorten:
The idea behind Safe Schools is that children who are grappling with their sexuality, who are dealing with the toughest issues teenagers can in terms of bullying, that Safe Schools would provide resources for schools to be able to help students. It’s a voluntary scheme. Schools opt in to the Safe Schools program.
The idea behind Safe Schools is that children who are grappling with their sexuality, who are dealing with the toughest issues teenagers can in terms of bullying, that Safe Schools would provide resources for schools to be able to help students. It’s a voluntary scheme. Schools opt in to the Safe Schools program.
Who is Mr Turnbull or indeed the sort of the tin foil hat brigade in the Liberal right wing in the senate to start second guessing school councils, school principals and the administrators?
Who is Mr Turnbull or indeed the sort of the tin foil hat brigade in the Liberal right wing in the senate to start second guessing school councils, school principals and the administrators?
10.37pm GMT
22:37
Shorten rounded out his opening remarks by calling on the prime minister to stand up to the “hard right” on the Safe Schools program, and while he’s at it, share the date of the budget.
If Mr Turnbull is in the mood to stop the chaos and start governing, stop playing games with the date of the budget, just say that the budget is on May 10 and if Mr Turnbull is feeling really bold and excited about governing, he might even tell us the date of the election so we can all get on with the business of governing Australia in the interests of all Australians.
Updated
at 10.43pm GMT
10.33pm GMT
22:33
Down in the courtyard, the Labor leader Bill Shorten is holding an event with a couple of workers who have been poorly treated by their employers. Later today the ALP will release a paper about inequality.
Bill Shorten:
Listening to those two workers tell their stories reveals a picture of Australia, an under belly which Mr Turnbull likes to pretend doesn’t exist. It is not an exciting time, if you work in hospitality, or at 7-Eleven, if you’re casualised and you’re getting ripped off.
10.28pm GMT
22:28
Another unknown of the political week is how long Labor will push out the parliamentary debate on Senate voting reform. Readers with me yesterday will know the senate roiled for several hours, with procedural skirmishes and forceful protestations of dishonour and treachery. The legislative debate is back on the agenda for today.
Labor’s senate leader Penny Wong didn’t answer specifically when asked this morning how long Labor intended to filibuster on senate voting reform. She said the opposition would continue to press its case. By that we can read they will talk it out.
One other moving part associated with events yesterday. The Greens yesterday voted against an opportunity to bring forward their own marriage equality bill for a vote. (Yes, that happened.) It happened because the government and the Greens had agreed that this week in the senate would be dedicated to the senate voting reform issue.
To paper over the political embarrassment associated with being seen to gag your own proposal, the Greens proposed to have the marriage equality bill considered in private member’s business on Thursday. The Greens are saying the issue can come to a vote on Thursday if Labor agrees. Wong was asked about this on radio this morning, would she support it being put to a vote?
Penny Wong to host Fran Kelly from Radio National Breakfast.
Are you saying that’s a smart way to deal with marriage equality? Three speakers and a gag?
Kelly thought this might be a case of a bird in the hand. Why sweat the procedure if you get the outcome?
Wong didn’t sound convinced, but she said Labor’s door was open. If the Greens were flexible, then Labor would consider being flexible.
10.10pm GMT
22:10
Defend! Defend!
10.01pm GMT
22:01
Shalailah Medhora
A bit more on that parliamentary inquiry into Safe Schools that Murph flagged before. The LNP backbencher George Christensen will today write to fellow Coalition MPs to ask them to seek change to the program.
Christensen wants a parliamentary inquiry into the program or for it to be radically overhauled in order to remove its “political agenda”.
“I am confident that something has to happen on this,” Christensen told Guardian Australia, adding that the “majority” of the backbench has concerns with Safe Schools.
9.58pm GMT
21:58
More vigorous clean family fun on the sporting field. Endorphins. A marvel. I only run in emergencies but I don’t seek to prohibit anyone else from running.
9.47pm GMT
21:47
Some other major moving parts of the morning.
Let’s open with the budget.
Budget cycles are funny things. I see in today’s early news cycle that we are pretending that it’s new that the treasurer Scott Morrison is hosing down the notion he’ll be delivering personal income tax cuts in the coming budget.
It isn’t new. Morrison has been hosing that prospect down at least since his famous press club speech several weeks back when he apparently forgot he was the treasurer and thought he was just some guy at a lectern having a conversation about backing “in” the Australians he approved of (whatever that means).
But anyway, let’s pretend it’s new. Morrison is sending ever stronger signals that there won’t be generous tax cuts in the budget because the government can’t afford generous tax cuts without a switch in the tax mix, which is a polite way of characterising a GST increase. All that raving from Morrison about how bracket creep was the end of humanity and enterprise and personal fulfilment has come to two fifths of bugger all.
So noted.
Now let’s consider the budget date.
The government is leaving its options open on budget timing while trotting out various formulations pretending the budget will be on May 10.
It was the communications minister Mitch Fifield’s turn this morning.
The budget is scheduled for May 10.
Which of course is a distance from being definitive. Fifield added on the ABC May 10 was the timetable he was working towards as communications minister.
Labor and the Greens are making it clear they will not support bringing the Senate back early to accommodate the prime minister’s timetable for a double dissolution election.
The government could bring the House back early to deliver the budget on May 3 rather than May 10, and pass a supply bill to keep the apparatus of government ticking over despite the onset of an early election.
There are a number of balls in the air currently. It will remain pretty much unfathomable until the government starts making concrete decisions.
Updated
at 9.48pm GMT
9.29pm GMT
21:29
Before we return to the sporting field, some further and betters now on Safe Schools. In terms of the motion I flagged in the opening post, I gather the story is this.
LNP senator Barry O’Sullivan several weeks ago flagged internally a fighting words motion on Safe Schools. He was persuaded not to proceed with the motion by the education minister Simon Birmingham. But this motion is highly likely to re-appear today. The Liberal senator Cory Bernardi is also expected to put his name to it.
Unless I’m forgetting procedure, the senators would have to give notice of the motion today, and proceed to debate tomorrow. There is also talk around the government of a House of Representatives committee inquiry into the program.
MPs opposed to the program say the review of the program had ridiculously narrow terms of reference. It didn’t look at supplementary materials associated with the program, and it looked at a handful of schools that had not yet implemented the program in classrooms. The word whitewash is being used.
9.08pm GMT
21:08
Far too early for this I fear but I’ll share regardless. Mike Bowers has been hanging out with parliamentarians as they indulge various sporting activities this morning. National Darren Chester is looking pretty happy with the aquatics.
Lots more photographic marvels, I’ll share more shortly.
8.58pm GMT
20:58
Well hello there
Greetings earthians and welcome to Wednesday in Canberra, and what a lovely Wednesday it is. At least before the hollering starts.
There are a number of issues bubbling away early. The Safe Schools program is back on the political agenda after a meeting last night of Coalition backbenchers. The backbenchers were briefed on the outcome of a review into the program by the University of Western Australia emeritus professor Bill Louden.
Regular readers will remember that particular review happened after a spot of foot stamping in the Coalition party room about the program – an anti-bullying initiative. Conservatives feel the program is pushing a rainbow agenda, which sounds harmless, peaceful even, remunerative too, in the event one can find a pot of gold at the base of the colourful arc, but apparently isn’t. Apparently it is the end of civilisation.
The ABC reports this morning that one MP, post Louden briefing, declared: “The minister needs to fix this [the Safe Schools program] or resign.” The voluble declaration was sadly detached from a name, so it’s not clear who is talking so tough safely under the cover of anonymity. In any case, it doesn’t much matter – bottom line is this story was always going to travel in a predictable arc. The government MPs who want this program gone would only be happy with one review outcome: the cancelation of the program. There’s some talk this morning of a parliamentary motion calling for the program to be defunded. I’m not sure whether it’s serious or not. I’m sure we’ll find out.
The education minister Simon Birmingham, a supporter of the program, has a difficult path to walk. The prime minister will also have to make a decision about whether he draws a hard line and asserts a principle (something he’s not readily inclined to do during head ons with conservatives in his own ranks) or whether there’s some other means of putting critics back in their boxes.
Many more things on the go in Canberra but let’s get your conversation cracking. The thread is open for your business. Magic Mike and I are up and about on the twits. He’s @mpbowers and I’m @murpharoo You can also make a contribution to today’s conversation at my new Facebook forum, which you can find here.
Shun all moonbeams and rainbows. Here comes Wednesday.
