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Julie Bishop questions Penny Wong's fitness for office – politics live
Julie Bishop questions Penny Wong's fitness for office – politics live
(35 minutes later)
2.13am BST
02:13
Coalition closes loophole which allowed teens to vote on marriage
Paul Karp
Acting special minister of state, Mathias Cormann, has released a statement announcing he has issued a direction to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, closing a reported loophole that could have allowed 16 and 17 year olds to vote in the same-sex marriage postal survey.
According to the Australian Electoral Commission, 16 and 17 year olds would never have been able to vote:
The normal enrolment processes apply – 16 and 17 year olds are not added to the Commonwealth electoral roll until they turn 18. They are ‘provisionally’ enrolled until they turn 18. Under section 90B of the Commonwealth Electoral Act the AEC only provided the details of electors that are enrolled, not provisionally enrolled. Section 90B is the AEC’s authority to provide the roll to the ABS, therefore 16 and 17 year olds will not be included in the Australia Marriage Law Postal Survey.”
But now Cormann has put it beyond doubt, announcing he has issued a direction “to make the intention absolutely clear” that only Australians who are 18 years or older on 24 August, 2017 be allowed to vote.
2.10am BST
02:10
Cory Bernardi on foreign conspiracies: no one here is without sin
Senator Cory Bernardi is always an interesting character to watch because he does not always jump the way you think he might.
He voted against the government’s suspension of standing orders on the Penny Wong censure, accusing the Coalition of over reach on the foreign conspiracy theory. He explained why to Sky:
Getting factual knowledge is what politics and politicians are all about. They will exploit that for their own base political purposes. I know myself the prime minister and others in the government contacted someone in the Tory party when I was flying over there to speak at a conference because they didn’t want me to speak.
No one here is without sin and they would all exploit the same opportunity and the fact is if the journalists knew about it, the Labor party knew about it, how did the government not know about it? That’s the real question or were they trying to cover something up.
1.41am BST
01:41
Barnaby: I'm terribly humbled and I love youse all
From Tamworth to Tenterfield, my office has been inundated with people offering their support. Thanks New England. #auspol pic.twitter.com/gfYjwmdoVB
1.39am BST
01:39
Meanwhile in the diplomatic sphere...
1.32am BST
1.32am BST
01:32
01:32
As much as it pains me, I have to turn to Malcolm Roberts and the logic trail which is about as easy to follow as the scent of a mad hare.
As much as it pains me, I have to turn to Malcolm Roberts and the logic trail, which is about as easy to follow as the scent of a mad hare.
He has been arguing in support of One Nation’s proposed media amendments which seeks to cut bits off the ABC and feed it to our good Aunty.
He has been arguing in support of One Nation’s proposed media amendments which seek to cut bits off the ABC and feed it to our good Aunty.
Roberts says the media reforms have been a journey for him because he started this tour thinking Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp was the “one with the power”.
Roberts says the media reforms have been a journey for him because he started this tour thinking Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp was the “one with the power”.
He has since learned that “Google and Facebook” and other interwebs channels are making inroads into the mejia.
He has since learned that “Google and Facebook” and other interweb channels are making inroads into the mejia.
And that’s hurting...some of the commercial media outlets. And what we’re seeing is that Guardian, Fairfax are plummeting in circulation, plummeting in their influence, because the public is waking up.
And that’s hurting ... some of the commercial media outlets. And what we’re seeing is that Guardian, Fairfax, are plummeting in circulation, plummeting in their influence, because the public is waking up.
(It is immodest to say but Guardian only started in Oz in 2013 and is in the top 6 news rankings by Neilsen. :-P)
(It is immodest to say but Guardian only started in Oz in 2013 and is in the top six news rankings by Neilsen:-P)
Anyway, sans facts, Roberts pushes on in his quasi-empirical fashion suggesting the public is waking up to the likes of Fairfax and the Guardian. He says luckily we have audience numbers (yes we do) and that tells you all you need to know about why that Rupert Murdoch is totally savvy and smashing it out of the park.
Anyway, sans facts, Roberts pushes on in his quasi-empirical fashion, suggesting the public is waking up to the likes of Fairfax and the Guardian. He says luckily we have audience numbers (yes we do) and that tells you all you need to know about why that Rupert Murdoch is totally savvy and smashing it out of the park.
There followed this fabulous exchange with Michael Rowland of the ABC.
There follows this fabulous exchange with Michael Rowland of the ABC.
Roberts:
Roberts:
[Murdoch]’s got outstanding newspapers, he’s got tabloids and what he does is he goes to the audience. And so Murdoch’s papers are more balanced than the ABC, more balanced than Fairfax and the Guardian, and that shows in his circulation. So what we’ve got now is a market that’s opening up to the customer and the customer deciding where he or she will put their money and their eyeballs...
[Murdoch]’s got outstanding newspapers, he’s got tabloids and what he does is he goes to the audience. And so Murdoch’s papers are more balanced than the ABC, more balanced than Fairfax and the Guardian, and that shows in his circulation. So what we’ve got now is a market that’s opening up to the customer and the customer deciding where he or she will put their money and their eyeballs ...
Rowland: Excuse the interruption, you’re looking at the News Corp tabloids just this week but certainly over a period of time, they seem to be running a fairly strong campaign against Labor. How does that stand on your fair and balanced spectrum?
Rowland: Excuse the interruption, you’re looking at the News Corp tabloids just this week but certainly, over a period of time, they seem to be running a fairly strong campaign against Labor. How does that stand on your fair and balanced spectrum?
Roberts:
Roberts:
Well, you know, the Murdoch press has jumped [sides] over the years. I’ve watched them since I was a boy and that’s clear.
Well, you know, the Murdoch press has jumped [sides] over the years. I’ve watched them since I was a boy and that’s clear.
Rowland: But therefore you say they take sides. So how can they be balanced?
Rowland: But therefore you say they take sides. So how can they be balanced?
That’s correct. That’s what I said. All the media - privately owned, takes sides.
That’s correct. That’s what I said. All the media – privately owned – takes sides.
#that’swhatIsaid #fairandbalanced
#that’swhatIsaid #fairandbalanced
Updated
at 1.49am BST
1.14am BST
1.14am BST
01:14
01:14
The latest on media via Gareth Hutchens:
The latest on media via Gareth Hutchens:
1.13am BST
1.13am BST
01:13
01:13
Coalition loses attempt to censure Penny Wong
Coalition loses attempt to censure Penny Wong
The vote to suspend standing orders to debate the censure of Penny Wong goes down 29-34.
The vote to suspend standing orders to debate the censure of Penny Wong goes down 29-34.
1.12am BST
1.12am BST
01:12
01:12
While the Senate is voting, a bit of housekeeping. Later today in the Senate, we will have the vulnerable workers bill, which imposes maximum civil penalties on franchisors and holding companies for contraventions of the Fair Work Act.
While the Senate is voting, a bit of housekeeping. Later today in the Senate, we will have the vulnerable workers bill, which imposes maximum civil penalties on franchisors and holding companies for contraventions of the Fair Work Act.
Updated
Updated
at 1.18am BST
at 1.18am BST
1.06am BST
1.06am BST
01:06
01:06
Given the numbers, Wong says just call it on the numbers, but the government wants a vote so vote it is.
Given the numbers, Wong says just call it on the numbers, but the government wants a vote so vote it is.
Updated
Updated
at 1.17am BST
at 1.17am BST
1.04am BST
1.04am BST
01:04
01:04
Nick X, Greens and Labor reject suspension on Wong staffer
Nick X, Greens and Labor reject suspension on Wong staffer
Nick Xenophon says he does not support the suspension, so along with the Greens and Labor, the Coalition can’t win the suspension.
Nick Xenophon says he does not support the suspension, so along with the Greens and Labor, the Coalition can’t win the suspension.
Derryn Hinch says he supports the suspension but it does not mean he would support a censure, given he thought Bishop’s attack yesterday amounted to underarm bowling.
Derryn Hinch says he supports the suspension but it does not mean he would support a censure, given he thought Bishop’s attack yesterday amounted to underarm bowling.
Updated
Updated
at 1.06am BST
at 1.06am BST
1.01am BST
1.01am BST
01:01
01:01
Labor frontbencher Kim Carr says the censure motion should be against foreign minister Julie Bishop and attorney general George Brandis who has aided and abetted her.
Labor frontbencher Kim Carr says the censure motion should be against foreign minister Julie Bishop and attorney general George Brandis who has aided and abetted her.
12.58am BST
00:58
One Nation’s Pauline Hanson is giving a robust defence of the government, and Hanson and her ducklings will be voting for the suspension of standing orders.
There is general heckling and catcalls from the opposition side.
Hanson says if Labor was in government they would be screaming blue murder.
Even Senator Wong’s citizenship has been questioned.
Penny Wong’s eyebrow shoots up.
Updated
at 1.00am BST
12.52am BST
00:52
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson says the government is a joke and a citizenship audit is the way to go rather than pulling stunts and wasting taxpayer time and money.
If this is your version of a haka – looking the enemy in the eyes – it’s not a very good one.
Whish-Wilson says Australians would have no confidence in a foreign minister Julie Bishop when she picks a fight with New Zealand as a smoke screen.
He says Bishop’s press conference yesterday was a debacle.
If you want to suspend standing orders with Greens support, says Whish-Wilson, why don’t you suspend standing orders to discuss sending ADF troops to the Korean peninsula (for training exercises) when the madman is making threats?
Updated
at 12.55am BST
12.47am BST
00:47
Communications minister Mitch Fifield says he has never seen Penny Wong speak in the chamber with less conviction.
He says the action of Wong’s staff member was inappropriate and unwise.
He wants to know what did she know, when did she know it and what did she do.
12.44am BST
00:44
Penny Wong says it is a distraction from the government’s mess. She says by not conceding that the NZ conservative government had confirmed Barnaby Joyce’s citizenship as a result of media questions, the government is calling the NZ minister for internal affairs a liar.
I understand they are in trouble. I understand they are prepared to throw grenades.
But Wong does concede,
it was unwise for my staff member to engage in that discussion.
LNP senator Ian Macdonald says “why did you lie”?
He is asked to withdraw and does so.
Updated
at 12.49am BST
12.40am BST
00:40
Government moves to censure Penny Wong
The government is trying to suspend standing orders in the Eenate to censure Labor Senate leader Penny Wong over her chief of staff Marcus Ganley and his discussions with NZ Labour people.
This is attorney general George Brandis’s motion:
I move that the Senate censures the shadow minister for foreign affairs (Senator Wong) for:
(a) causing her chief of staff to engage in inappropriate conduct with a foreign political entity for the purpose of causing damage to Australia;
(b) causing her chief of staff to interfere in the political process of New Zealand for the purpose of undermining the Australian government;
(c) misleading the Senate by suggesting that the issue of the deputy prime minister’s citizenship arose in New Zealand as a result of media inquiries, rather than orchestration by her chief of staff;
(d) embarrassing the government of New Zealand, and thereby potentially causing damage to Australia’s relationship with one of our closest allies; and
(e) engaging in conduct which makes her unfit to ever hold the office of foreign minister of Australia.
Updated
at 12.48am BST
12.25am BST
00:25
A bit of snap analysis here. Two things about this citizenship debate and the charges of conspiracy.
Firstly, of all the grey lobbying, colluding and cross-pollination in Australian politics, the fact a Labor staffer rang and queried what the rules are in a politically aligned office across the ditch is hardly breaking news. Oppositions and governments specialise in digging up issues to trip the other side.
Secondly, the fact is Barnaby Joyce is a dual citizen. As a result, fairly or unfairly, the constitution appears to rule out the deputy prime minister’s eligibility on that plain unvarnished fact. So it should be tested in the high court along with the other four senators.
Thirdly, the NZ conspiracy theory worked up ahead of yesterday’s Coalition party room has assured a Mutually Assured Destruction pact in the Australian parliament on this issue now. It was all very well while it affected the minor parties – said the majors – but the conspiracy theory has ramped it up to a whole new level. No gentlewoman’s pact will be observed on citizenship now.
Updated
at 12.31am BST
12.18am BST
00:18
Julie Bishop questions Penny Wong's fitness for office
Foreign minister Julie Bishop has talked to Sky’s Kieran Gilbert. She has doubled down on the collusion angle. She asks whether Bill Shorten was raising the citizenship issue in other parliaments around the world regarding MPs in Australia. And Bishop rejects the suggestion that she would not have gone as hard on another country, such as China or India, in her charges of a conspiracy between NZ Labour and the ALP.
This is about an Australian constitutional issue and it is improper for Penny Wong to seek to use the New Zealand parliament and the person so being used, the New Zealand [Labor] leader has said the conduct was wrong, unacceptable and should never have happened. That calls into question Penny Wong’s fitness for office.
11.50pm BST
23:50
11.49pm BST
23:49
Maaaate, how about that Barnaby Joyce?
Labor foreign affairs shadow Penny Wong has addressed the issue of her chief of staff Marcus Ganley having discussions on the Barnaby Joyce dual New Zealand citizenship issue with friends in New Zealand.
Wong starts at the beginning.
The first point is the questions about the deputy prime minister’s citizenship have been on the record for some time. His office denied that there was a problem last month. He himself denied it last month.
Then she questioned why Joyce’s office told people that they had information from the New Zealand authorities that he didn’t have a problem.
Second, the story became public as a result of questions asked by an Australian journalist. That is very clear. That’s what the New Zealand minister has said.
Wong said her staff member did have a chat with some mates.
It is correct that my staff member has mates in New Zealand, he lived and worked in New Zealand for some time and he has had chats with people about the issue that’s consuming politics here and to some extent there, which is the citizenship issue, and amongst the people, the mates with whom he has had contact, is Mr Hipkins...
Chris Hipkins was the Labor MP who asked the question about citizenship in the NZ parliament.
Asked if one of those questions was about having a father born in New Zealand, Wong says citizenship was discussed.
At no stage did my staff member request questions be lodged in the New Zealand parliament. Mr Hipkins has absolutely made that clear. The second thing I want to make clear is this: neither I nor my staff member were even aware questions had been lodged until after this story broke. So any suggestion that this is somehow – what did Julie Bishop say? – a conspiracy, is ridiculous.
Updated
at 12.06am BST
10.54pm BST
22:54
Media reforms between a rock and hard place
Good morning media junkies,
It’s all about the mejia today people, apart from flurries of citizenship debacles and blustery conditions expected in question time.
The media bill, which has been a long time in the works, is coming to a vote in the Senate. Last night, One Nation announced they had a deal with the government.
The starting point was this: the bill would abolish the 75% reach rule that prevents Nine Entertainment, Seven West Media and the Ten Network from owning their regional affiliates and the two-out-of-three rule preventing moguls from controlling a free-to-air TV station, newspapers and radio stations in the same market.
Labor is opposed to the bill.
Pauline Hanson was originally opposed to the media package, particularly the two-out-of-three rule.
But last night she said the government had given an assurance it would ask the ABC to provide “details of the wages and conditions of all staff whose wages and allowances are greater than $200,000, similar to what is being implement[ed] by the British Broadcasting Corporation”. The requirement extends to “on-air talent”.
The government has also agreed to undertake a competitive neutrality inquiry into the ABC and to legislate a requirement for the ABC to be ‘fair’ and ‘balanced’.
She told Andrew Bolt, a fierce critic of the ABC and employee of News Corp, she had raised some of his points with the government.
WATCH: One Nation's @PaulineHansonOz on why she's backing the Turnbull Government's media law reforms. Live now on @SkyNewsAust pic.twitter.com/iB2nh4LvcW
But the government also needs Nick Xenophon’s three votes in the Senate and Nick has nixed the ABC changes on the grounds that it would disadvantage the ABC in favour of commercial broadcasters.
Xenophon told Fran Kelly he could not see where the ABC changes come into the media package, given the ABC already had a charter to be neutral.
I support the charter, I cannot see the need for a fair and balance test ... I don’t think the ramifications have been thought through.
He said he wants an inquiry into the effect of Facebook and Google on the media landscape, given their domination over advertising revenue, and tax breaks for hiring journalists at small publishing outfits. Xenophon said it would turbocharge media diversity in Australia and ameliorate media takeovers.
The upshot of the gap between the demands of One Nation and Nick Xenophon would mean the Coalition must again look to the Greens, who have cautiously entertained the abolition of the two-out-of-three rule in return for similar diversity measures to Xenophon.
The Greens will not entertain any limitations to the ABC and SBS and they want a commitment to local content. They are working with NXT on measures to protect journalists’ jobs while trying to ensure tax breaks are not exploited by larger publishers.
The government would pass the bill with the Greens and NXT so the Hanson deal might be all fluff and filler.
So stick with me, this my second-last day in blogland. Speak to me in the thread or on the Twits. I will post to my Facebook page as well. Penny Wong coming up next and her staffer, NZ Labor and citizenship shenanigans.
