This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2017/mar/21/malcolm-turnbull-bill-shorten-liberals-parliament-racial-discrimination-act-politics-live

The article has changed 17 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 11 Version 12
Labor grills Turnbull over weakening of race hate laws on Harmony Day – question time live Labor grills Turnbull over weakening of race hate laws on Harmony Day – question time live
(35 minutes later)
3.42am GMT 4.15am GMT
03:42 04:15
Not a single Q so far from Govt on their decision to water down Racial Discrimination Act #QT Labor’s Tony Burke is speaking on a matter of public importance on the changes to 18C.
3.40am GMT Do they want to lower the bar on racial hate speech in Australia?
03:40 Will be interesting to see who does the speech defending the changes for the Coalition.
3.38am GMT There appears to be no one in the chair at this stage.
03:38
An energy question to health minister Greg Hunt.
3.38am GMT
03:38
Labor to Turnbull: I refer to reports today that some Australian police officers face pay cuts of up to $35,000 a year because of cuts to allowances for working late nights and weekends. Why is the prime minister cutting the pay of hard-working police officers who protect Australians at the same time as he’s cutting the penalty rates of nearly 700,000 Australians? Why is the prime minister determined to cut the pay of Australians who work on Sundays?
Turnbull says his government does everything to support national security agencies and then flicks the question to justice minister Michael Keenan.
It relates to this story:
The Australian federal police union has demanded Malcolm Turnbull intervene to stop the nation’s elite officers from having their pay cut by $35,000.
The AFP Association has sent an urgent letter to the prime minister asking him to stop a proposal by AFP executives to cut the pay of more than 200 officers, including his own personal bodyguard and surveillance officers tasked to the counter-terrorism unit.
Keenan goes through the government’s record supporting agencies and Labor’s record but does not address the pay issue.
UpdatedUpdated
at 3.44am GMT at 4.17am GMT
3.32am GMT 4.10am GMT
03:32 04:10
3.31am GMT Shorten to Turnbull: Wages growth is at record lows. Underemployment is at record highs. The unemployment rate has increased to nearly 6%. Is the prime minister still committed to his entire $50bn tax cut for big business, a plan that the prime minister has previously modestly described as his greatest achievement? And if not, what’s left of the prime minister’s 1-point plan for jobs and growth?
03:31 Malcolm Turnbull says the suggestion from Shorten and Plibersek was utterly false.
Next government question is on reliable energy to trade minister Steve Ciobo. He reads a transcript of the interview concerned, when he was asked “what would you say is your greatest achievement since being prime minister?” Turnbull says he responded, “Jobs and growth, 3.3% economic growth”.
3.30am GMT Completely and utterly false. The answer is there. Once again, no regard for the truth. Talk about post-truth politics. The parallel universe in which they inhabit.
03:30
Shorten to Turnbull: The ABC has today revealed that workers at Sydney airport are sleeping rough between shifts in their own workplace, because they cannot afford to go home between their shifts. When there are real problems like this, why is the prime minister’s priority today weakening protections against racist hate speech, and ignoring workers like this who are suffering?
Turnbull says his government is focussed on delivering economic growth, segues on to the trade union royal commission and then flicks the question to transport minister Darren Chester.
Chester says he has sought assurances, he understands concerns were raised with the ground handling company Aerocare involved and if anyone has a problem, raise it with the regulatory bodies.
UpdatedUpdated
at 3.32am GMT at 4.13am GMT
3.24am GMT 4.06am GMT
03:24 04:06
Third government question to energy minister Josh Frydenberg on Labor’s energy policy. 4.01am GMT
3.23am GMT 04:01
03:23 Bowen to Morrison: Days after last year’s budget, the treasurer said, “At the centre of our plan for jobs and growth is a 10-year enterprise tax plan.” Is the treasurer still committed to his entire 10-year plan, a plan the prime minister described as his greatest achievement? If not, isn’t the government’s so-called plan for jobs and growth just in tatters?
The Racial Discrimination Act changes and Harmony Day are duking it out for top spot in Australia on Twitter. Morrison says he is absolutely committed to his tax plan.
TT AUSTRALIA 12:071.#HarmonyDay2.Racial Discrimination Act3.#SMP20174.#salesforcetour5.De Goey6.Chair7.#WorldPoetryDay8.#ANIRC2017 Then he attacks Labor’s change of support for company tax cuts (as Keating once supported).
3.21am GMT
03:21
Greens Adam Bandt to Turnbull: Senior members of the US military and national security establishment last night warned that climate change is a massive security threat, with [rising] sea levels [and] droughts fuelling conflict and terrorism. Do you agree that there are national security implications from climate change? If so, given that most fossil fuel reserves need to stay in the ground to meet the 2C limit we agreed to in Paris, will you rule out letting the northern Australia infrastructure fund or any other public money subsidise the Adani coalmine and associated infrastructure, or are you happy to use taxpayer funds to threaten our way of life?
Turnbull says the government is very alert to the risk of climate change and the national security implications, particularly of rising sea levels, particularly in the region.
And he gets that the Greens want to stop coalmining in Australia.
Were Australia to stop exporting coal tomorrow, not only would billions of dollars of export revenue be lost, not only would thousands of jobs be lost, but there would be no benefit to the global climate whatsoever. Because if our coal exports stopped, they would simply be sourced from other countries.
UpdatedUpdated
at 3.26am GMT at 4.03am GMT
3.57am GMT
03:57
Plibersek to Turnbull: On 9 September last year, when asked to name his greatest achievements since deposing the former prime minister, the member for Warringah, the current prime minister said, “Reforms to business tax.” Is the prime minister still committed to his centre piece $50bn tax cut for big business in full? If not, what will the prime minister’s new greatest achievement be?
The PM does not exactly answer but he sings the praises of the policy.
Updated
at 4.00am GMT
3.55am GMT
03:55
Updated
at 3.57am GMT
3.53am GMT
03:53
Updated
at 3.55am GMT
3.51am GMT
03:51
Government question on secret payments between unions and employers to Christopher Pyne.
3.50am GMT
03:50
Chris Bowen to Scott Morrison: There are reports today that the government is preparing to back down on its centrepiece $50bn tax cut for big business. Just like the treasurer backed down on an increase to the GST, state income taxes and dealing with the excesses in negative gearing. Can the treasurer name one major tax reform he has been able to hold on to for more than a year?
Morrison says:
Multinational anti-avoidance legislation,
diverted profits tax legislation,
low-value goods legislation to make sure that people are paying taxes on the goods that they buy from overseas,
superannuation “that those opposite didn’t have the gall to bring into this chamber”.
Updated
at 3.53am GMT
3.46am GMT
03:46
Labor’s Brendan O’Connor to Turnbull: The Reserve Bank ofAustralia has today said, “Growth in labour incomes had been unusually weak and if it were to persist it would have implications for consumption growth and the risks posed to household debt.” Why is the government threatening demand and the economy by supporting pay cuts for Australians?
Turnbull says O’Connor supported the Fair Work Commission as did Bill Shorten.
But not now. What did they justify those changes for? The increase in employment. More jobs. More businesses opening. Page after page of examples of small businesses that said that the high rate of Sunday penalty rates and public holiday rates at the moment prevented them from opening. There are pages and pages of them, Mr Speaker. It was a decision based on evidence. The Fair Work Commission is backing small business and so are we.
Updated
at 3.53am GMT