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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| NBN blame game continues as Kevin Rudd weighs in – politics live | NBN blame game continues as Kevin Rudd weighs in – politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 10.44pm BST | |
| 22:44 | |
| Mitch Fifield was on Today explaining why the NBN back and forth was not a blame game, because it was Labor’s fault. | |
| “It’s not a matter of playing the blame game, what we inherited from Labor was essentially a failed project. | |
| “...It was a failed project. They’d spend about six and a half billion dollars over four years and connected a grand total of 51,000 people. We’ve turned it around. We’ve got it on track. NBN is now available to more than half the nation. It’ll be 75 per cent by the middle of next year. And it will be all done and dusted by 2020. And the good news is, that’s a good six to eight years sooner than would have been the case under our predecessors. | |
| “But our job is not to look in the rear view mirror. Our job is to focus on getting this thing rolled out. Which we’re doing. Getting it completed by 2020. Which we’ll achieve. And, as I say, that’s six to eight years sooner than would have been the case under our predecessors. And the good news is because of the approach we’re taking, Australians will have internet bills of $500 a year less than would have been the case under Labor’s approach.” | |
| 10.35pm BST | |
| 22:35 | |
| Kevin Rudd returned to the Sunrise couch this morning. Other than giving brief descriptions of former colleagues and rivals (Mark Latham: slightly mad, Julia Gillard: doing well, Joe Hockey: good bloke) he also spoke about how he thought he handled the pressure of politics: | |
| It honestly depends on the day. The thing I would say to bear in mind is that within six months of taking over we have the avalanche of the GFC, the global financial crisis. To put it in these terms we did two jobs at once. We got elected six months also before with a mandate for change in 40 or 50 different areas, chugging our way through that, I took my word to the Australian people seriously and then the tidal wave GFC comes. It was like you had that job, 12 hours a day, then the rest of it. The honest answer is many of us did not sleep much. Tough time.” | |
| And as for reports he was hard to work with, the former PM had this to say: | |
| What I would say to that is, who do you work most closely with? Your own staff. When I came back as prime minister, my own staff came back with me, people who worked for me for years. When people knife you in the back, which is what happened, they will invent their own narratives and say he was a nasty person to me, he didn’t smile at me in the lift one morning. Well, grow up.” | |
| Updated | |
| at 10.37pm BST | |
| 10.24pm BST | |
| 22:24 | |
| Scott Morrison has also been out selling his new plan to boost the nation’s productivity. | |
| Katharine Murphy had this report: | |
| The treasurer, Scott Morrison, will flag ongoing reforms in health, education and energy to boost national productivity in response to an inquiry by the Productivity Commission to be released on Tuesday. | |
| Morrison will use a speech to the Committee for Economic Development Australia to outline the main findings of the new work on productivity – which includes recommendations to adopt patient-centred healthcare, transform teaching capacity in the education system to help workers manage the profound transitions in the labour market, and the creation of more functional cities, which could boost gross domestic product by $29bn. | |
| The report is the first instalment in a series of five-yearly reviews by the Productivity Commission examining contemporary methods to boost productivity – advice that will sit alongside the intergenerational report produced by the treasury every five years. | |
| Speaking to ABC radio this morning, Morrison said the reason he initiated the report was “I wanted … a sister publication to the intergenerational report”. | |
| And that looks at the big pressures on the budget over, you know, the next 50 years, and the things that drive living standards, boost more and better-paid jobs, really falls to productivity and I believed it was time that we had a close look at the things that would drive that. Now, as I said in my previous answer, the traditional areas where we’ve seen productivity growth lift in the past, they remain relevant and they – tax cuts remain vital to boosting wages because we know that the more capital there is invested per worker, then we know the better wages that are paid. I mean that’s the clear analysis from Treasury and the data that is available to us. It’s all of the above. Look,the Coalition has always been supporting health and education. It has always been part of our budgets and what we’ve always said is it’s not just about how much money you spend. The commission has said it’s how you spend it. | |
| Updated | |
| at 10.35pm BST | |
| 10.01pm BST | 10.01pm BST |
| 22:01 | 22:01 |
| As we said, it’s the prime minister’s birthday (63rd we believed). I predict there will be some FM radio interviews on the horizon. It’s one way to guarantee a softer landing. | As we said, it’s the prime minister’s birthday (63rd we believed). I predict there will be some FM radio interviews on the horizon. It’s one way to guarantee a softer landing. |
| He started the day with a walk. | He started the day with a walk. |
| 9.55pm BST | 9.55pm BST |
| 21:55 | 21:55 |
| Good morning | Good morning |
| It’s day two of estimates and the House of Representatives’ second sitting week. | |
| It’s also the prime minister’s birthday. And what a day it is shaping up to be. Mike Bowers was up and about early and snapped the birthday boy on his morning walk. But that may be the only bit of peace he’ll get all day. | |
| The NBN blame game continues after the Four Corners report last night. Yesterday Turnbull pointed the finger at Labor for the “train wreck”. Kevin Rudd, spruiking his new book, pointed it right back at Turnbull for the decision to “change horses midway” and switch fibre-to-the-premise to fibre-to-the-node. Scott Morrrison has been sent out to sell the government’s side on that this morning and it is going as well as you could expect. | |
| Josh Frydenberg has also been out and about early talking energy, as the government desperately tries to take back the agenda. It’s still after bipartisan support, while at the same time attacking the opposition over its policy. Yesterday, it tried to talk energy by making almost every dixer about it during question time, while Labor had moved on to the NBN. Will it have any better luck today? | |
| Estimates continues and the attorney general, George Brandis, is back in the hot seat, this time representing his own department (yesterday he stood in for the prime minister). The Senate committees sat until late last night, so there are going to be a few cranky members on both sides of the table, which should make for fun viewing. | |
| The Guardian Essential poll is out. Katharine Murphy reports: | The Guardian Essential poll is out. Katharine Murphy reports: |
| More than half of people who have returned their ballot in the same-sex marriage postal survey say they have voted in favour of marriage equality, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll. | More than half of people who have returned their ballot in the same-sex marriage postal survey say they have voted in favour of marriage equality, according to the latest Guardian Essential poll. |
| The new survey of 1,859 voters records 60% saying they have voted yes, which is down 4% from the last time the question was asked three weeks ago, and 34% saying they have voted no, which is up 4% in the same timeframe. | The new survey of 1,859 voters records 60% saying they have voted yes, which is down 4% from the last time the question was asked three weeks ago, and 34% saying they have voted no, which is up 4% in the same timeframe. |
| Before new postal survey participation estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics expected on Tuesday, 75% of the Guardian Essential sample reports that they have already voted in the ballot, and 8% say they will definitely vote. | Before new postal survey participation estimates from the Australian Bureau of Statistics expected on Tuesday, 75% of the Guardian Essential sample reports that they have already voted in the ballot, and 8% say they will definitely vote. |
| So stay tuned for all of the fun and games. Let me know how your question time bingo card is shaping up as we head into the afternoon. The Guardian Australia brains trust are on board, as always and Mike Bowers will be creating his magic throughout the day. | So stay tuned for all of the fun and games. Let me know how your question time bingo card is shaping up as we head into the afternoon. The Guardian Australia brains trust are on board, as always and Mike Bowers will be creating his magic throughout the day. |
| You can reach the man with the lens at @mpbowers and @mikepbowers and you’ll find me stalking the comments, or more frequently at @amyremeikis. | You can reach the man with the lens at @mpbowers and @mikepbowers and you’ll find me stalking the comments, or more frequently at @amyremeikis. |
| Grab that morning coffee, or whatever it is that helps you through the day (no judgment) and let’s begin! | |
| Updated | |
| at 10.34pm BST |