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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2017/oct/26/coalition-defends-michaelia-cash-after-admission-over-awu-raids-leak-politics-live
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| Turnbull says Michaelia Cash 'acted entirely properly' over leak of AWU raid – politics live | Turnbull says Michaelia Cash 'acted entirely properly' over leak of AWU raid – politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 5.54am BST | |
| 05:54 | |
| Barnaby Joyce’s office have sent out a media release a little under 24 hours from when Joyce will learn his fate in the high court. | |
| The headline? | |
| “Investing in leadership to ‘raise the baa’ across the agriculture sector” | |
| 5.48am BST | |
| 05:48 | |
| Some more Mike Bowers magic. | |
| Updated | |
| at 5.51am BST | |
| 5.40am BST | |
| 05:40 | |
| Paul Karp | |
| The employment estimates committee has agreed to meet again for an extra hearing on Friday, but employment minister Michaelia Cash will be a no show. | |
| A spokesman for Cash said: “The minister is unavailable due to previous commitments in Perth that day.” | |
| The hearing can still examine witnesses from the Fair Work Ombudsman and Registered Organisations Commission. | |
| This morning Labor senators hit a brick wall on who the “media source” that tipped off Cash’s senior media adviser, David De Garis, about the AFP raid on the AWU because De Garis refused to tell Cash on Wednesday night who it was, and she hadn’t spoken to him since. | |
| Cash and De Garis are due to have a conversation this afternoon – but given Labor will not be able to examine her on Friday, it appears Cash is using these “previous commitments” to avoid further scrutiny. | |
| Updated | |
| at 5.49am BST | |
| 5.39am BST | |
| 05:39 | |
| In news outside of Michaelia Cash, Labor senator Pat Dodson spoke to the ABC about the government’s reported decision not to back the recommendation for an enshrined Indigenous Voice in Parliament. | |
| That’s a real kick in the gut to the referendum Council, and certainly a slap in the face of those proponents for the entrenchment of a voice of the Indigenous peoples in our constitution. In other recommendations that have been made over a long time to the government and the Australian people, that go to constitutional reform as well as to legislative responses, for truth telling and for agreement making, and those matters are still afoot, and I would hope that the effort of the prime minister will be to bring people together to see if there’s away forward on such matters. If that doesn’t happen, then not only has the prime minister and the cabinet killed the constitutional proposition, the entrenchment of the voice of Aboriginal people in our Constitution, but the rest of those significant recommendations that would improve our constitution will also lie in abeyance. | |
| Updated | |
| at 5.42am BST | |
| 5.35am BST | |
| 05:35 | |
| Bill Shorten has just finished giving a speech on the Michaelia Cash issue in the chamber. | |
| I’ll bring you some of that in just a moment. | |
| As #qt ends, Bill Shorten calls out: "catch you later Barnaby." | |
| Updated | |
| at 5.37am BST | |
| 5.19am BST | 5.19am BST |
| 05:19 | 05:19 |
| Kelly O’Dwyer gets a go on the dixer express after all of that to tell us how well the government is working to protect workers’ money. She uses this example of why the government says there needs to be more transparency: | Kelly O’Dwyer gets a go on the dixer express after all of that to tell us how well the government is working to protect workers’ money. She uses this example of why the government says there needs to be more transparency: |
| Questions were asked of the former RBA Governor and industry fund director Bernie Fraser in a recent Senate committee inquiry about a payment made by Australian super to the AWU in the 2006-7 financial year, specifically described by the AWU in its 2007 declaration as a donation. The $27,500 payment was made at the same time that the leader of the opposition was the AWU national secretary, and also a director of Australian Super. Alongside Bernie Fraser, current Labor senator Doug Cameron, and former Labor MP Greg Combet. A subsequent donation was subsequently made by, yes, the AWU, to the leader of the opposition’s political campaign in the seeds of Maribyrnong, but it was only when this payment by Australian Super to the AWU in June following reports by the Australian newspaper that the AWU resubmitted its original declaration, changing the very nature of the AWU payment from donation to other receipt on 15 June this year, some 10 years later. What role did the leader of the opposition have in deciding that a payment should be made to his own union when he was both a director of Australian Super and the national secretary of the AWU? What steps did the leader of the opposition take to fully disclose his conflict to the board, and how did he and fellow Australian Superannuation directors satisfy themselves that this was an appropriate use of members’ money? | |
| And question time has officially ended. | |
| Updated | |
| at 5.26am BST | |
| 5.14am BST | 5.14am BST |
| 05:14 | 05:14 |
| Divisions are still occurring in the house, but it’s not a time waster for everyone. | Divisions are still occurring in the house, but it’s not a time waster for everyone. |
| Katharine Murphy, who is in the chamber tells me that Barnaby Joyce spent most if his time in question time signing documents and spending more time on his folder than usual. Watching Joyce on the feed, he seems to have been isolated today. He is definitely not engaged in what is happening around him. | Katharine Murphy, who is in the chamber tells me that Barnaby Joyce spent most if his time in question time signing documents and spending more time on his folder than usual. Watching Joyce on the feed, he seems to have been isolated today. He is definitely not engaged in what is happening around him. |
| Updated | |
| at 5.52am BST | |
| 5.10am BST | 5.10am BST |
| 05:10 | 05:10 |
| Malcolm Turnbull put a new test in that question time for ministerial responsibility: | Malcolm Turnbull put a new test in that question time for ministerial responsibility: |
| A minister is accountable for what she says and her obligation is to speak the truth. She was misled, as she said. She was misled, as she said. And once her staff told her the truth and made the admission that he had done the wrong thing, she corrected the record. She acted entirely properly.” | A minister is accountable for what she says and her obligation is to speak the truth. She was misled, as she said. She was misled, as she said. And once her staff told her the truth and made the admission that he had done the wrong thing, she corrected the record. She acted entirely properly.” |
| Labor came prepared. Here are some of the examples Bill Shorten’s office had prepared on Turnbull’s previous positions on ministerial responsibility: | Labor came prepared. Here are some of the examples Bill Shorten’s office had prepared on Turnbull’s previous positions on ministerial responsibility: |
| Utegate: | Utegate: |
| “But the fact of the matter remains that the seriousness of the treasurer’s conduct cannot be overstated, because it is not simply a matter of misleading the house – that in itself is bad enough and justification for him to resign. | “But the fact of the matter remains that the seriousness of the treasurer’s conduct cannot be overstated, because it is not simply a matter of misleading the house – that in itself is bad enough and justification for him to resign. |
| Speech – 22 June 2009 | Speech – 22 June 2009 |
| “… when I criticised the prime minister and said that, unless he could justify his actions and reconcile the contradiction between the evidence of the treasury official and his own statements, he should resign. | “… when I criticised the prime minister and said that, unless he could justify his actions and reconcile the contradiction between the evidence of the treasury official and his own statements, he should resign. |
| “The opposition’s calls for the treasurer to resign rely on the solid, incontrovertible evidence drawn from those emails presented by Treasury. All of that evidence is authentic and beyond dispute. | “The opposition’s calls for the treasurer to resign rely on the solid, incontrovertible evidence drawn from those emails presented by Treasury. All of that evidence is authentic and beyond dispute. |
| Speech – 24 June 2009 | Speech – 24 June 2009 |
| “Wayne Swan has misled the parliament about the way in which he’s dealt with John Grant, this crony and benefactor of the prime minister, and he must resign. | “Wayne Swan has misled the parliament about the way in which he’s dealt with John Grant, this crony and benefactor of the prime minister, and he must resign. |
| Look, the only person whose tenure in the parliament is in issue today is Wayne Swan. He’s the one that has misled the parliament. That is an offence that should result in the dismissal or resignation of a minister. It is perfectly clear. | Look, the only person whose tenure in the parliament is in issue today is Wayne Swan. He’s the one that has misled the parliament. That is an offence that should result in the dismissal or resignation of a minister. It is perfectly clear. |
| Doorstop – 23 June 2009 | Doorstop – 23 June 2009 |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 5.15am BST | at 5.15am BST |
| 5.04am BST | 5.04am BST |
| 05:04 | 05:04 |
| Labor tries again, with Brendan O’Connor managing “the prime minister must show some leadership” before there is another gag motion. | Labor tries again, with Brendan O’Connor managing “the prime minister must show some leadership” before there is another gag motion. |
| 4.59am BST | 4.59am BST |
| 04:59 | 04:59 |
| Anthony Albanese manages to get in: “It’s time to cash out this minister” before he is also interrupted by a second gag motion and the house divides again. | Anthony Albanese manages to get in: “It’s time to cash out this minister” before he is also interrupted by a second gag motion and the house divides again. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 5.01am BST | at 5.01am BST |
| 4.58am BST | 4.58am BST |
| 04:58 | 04:58 |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.59am BST | at 4.59am BST |
| 4.55am BST | 4.55am BST |
| 04:55 | 04:55 |
| Side note from me: given that the government is clearly moving to back Michaelia Cash, with the prime minister using question time to defend her, her actions and her integrity, it seems a little strange that the government would seek to gag this debate. It doesn’t look good. The smarter move would have been to allow the debate, and continue to defend your minister. But maybe there is a reason I am not a politician (and never will be). | Side note from me: given that the government is clearly moving to back Michaelia Cash, with the prime minister using question time to defend her, her actions and her integrity, it seems a little strange that the government would seek to gag this debate. It doesn’t look good. The smarter move would have been to allow the debate, and continue to defend your minister. But maybe there is a reason I am not a politician (and never will be). |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.57am BST | at 4.57am BST |
| 4.53am BST | 4.53am BST |
| 04:53 | 04:53 |
| Labor calls on Turnbull to sack Cash | Labor calls on Turnbull to sack Cash |
| Tony Burke is back to suspend standing orders. | Tony Burke is back to suspend standing orders. |
| Maybe the prime minister should have got Burke to give his pre-question time briefing, because the back bench is suddenly very excited. | Maybe the prime minister should have got Burke to give his pre-question time briefing, because the back bench is suddenly very excited. |
| I move that so much of the standing orders be suspended from moving the following motion immediately. The house notes that yesterday morning the media aired an allegation the Employment Minister’s office had leaked the raids, which allowed television crews to turn up to the rates before the police did. By midday yesterday the Employment Minister had five times denied that her office had been involved in leaking the raids. At the Prime Minister’s QuestionTime briefing yesterday attended by the Employment Minister and the senior media adviser who has now resigned for leaking the raids, the Prime Minister according to the government’s account failed to ask a single question about the involvement of the Minister’s office in leaking the raids. At 6:10pm Alice Workman, an employee of Buzzfeed confirmed journalists received a tipoff before the raids began. At 7:30pm, after the truce had been exposed, only then did the Employment Minister finally admit that she had misled the Senate on five separate occasions. And during the Utegate scandal the Prime Minister himself said that misleading Parliament should result in the resignation or dismissal of a minister. It’s perfectly clear. And therefore calls on the Prime Minister to therefore sack the Employment Minister for breaching ministerial standards for misleading the Senate, and explain to the house his involvement, is officers’ involvement and his government’s involvement in this serious public matter where the public statement of events does not add up. | I move that so much of the standing orders be suspended from moving the following motion immediately. The house notes that yesterday morning the media aired an allegation the Employment Minister’s office had leaked the raids, which allowed television crews to turn up to the rates before the police did. By midday yesterday the Employment Minister had five times denied that her office had been involved in leaking the raids. At the Prime Minister’s QuestionTime briefing yesterday attended by the Employment Minister and the senior media adviser who has now resigned for leaking the raids, the Prime Minister according to the government’s account failed to ask a single question about the involvement of the Minister’s office in leaking the raids. At 6:10pm Alice Workman, an employee of Buzzfeed confirmed journalists received a tipoff before the raids began. At 7:30pm, after the truce had been exposed, only then did the Employment Minister finally admit that she had misled the Senate on five separate occasions. And during the Utegate scandal the Prime Minister himself said that misleading Parliament should result in the resignation or dismissal of a minister. It’s perfectly clear. And therefore calls on the Prime Minister to therefore sack the Employment Minister for breaching ministerial standards for misleading the Senate, and explain to the house his involvement, is officers’ involvement and his government’s involvement in this serious public matter where the public statement of events does not add up. |
| Josh Frydenberg moves to gag the debate. The house divides. | Josh Frydenberg moves to gag the debate. The house divides. |
| 4.48am BST | 4.48am BST |
| 04:48 | 04:48 |
| Bill Shorten: Is the reason why it the employment minister has not been sacked by the prime minister the fact that the prime minister is up to this to his neck? | Bill Shorten: Is the reason why it the employment minister has not been sacked by the prime minister the fact that the prime minister is up to this to his neck? |
| The speaker, Tony Smith, has a problem with the question and thinks it might out of order. He goes to hear from Tony Burke, who begin to move a motion, but Smith shuts him down and moves to the next question. | The speaker, Tony Smith, has a problem with the question and thinks it might out of order. He goes to hear from Tony Burke, who begin to move a motion, but Smith shuts him down and moves to the next question. |
| It’s a dixer for Peter Dutton. He has not finished speaking, but I can take a guess that the answer is basically – you are very safe, the Coalition respects the police, unions have thugs and Labor does not support the working class. | It’s a dixer for Peter Dutton. He has not finished speaking, but I can take a guess that the answer is basically – you are very safe, the Coalition respects the police, unions have thugs and Labor does not support the working class. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.50am BST | at 4.50am BST |
| 4.44am BST | 4.44am BST |
| 04:44 | 04:44 |
| Christopher Pyne takes a dixer on behalf of Michaelia Cash’s portfolio and has a lot of fun talking about what the royal commission into trade unions found. | Christopher Pyne takes a dixer on behalf of Michaelia Cash’s portfolio and has a lot of fun talking about what the royal commission into trade unions found. |
| A lot of fun. | A lot of fun. |
| It is the most alive anyone in the government has looked in days. | It is the most alive anyone in the government has looked in days. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 4.45am BST | at 4.45am BST |
| 4.41am BST | 4.41am BST |
| 04:41 | 04:41 |
| Tony Burke: My question as to the Prime Minister. During the recent scandal, the prime minister spoke of following, saying it was ‘an offence that it should result in dismissal and minister, it is clear’. Given it is patently clear that the employment minister misled the Senate five times, why won’t the Prime Minister, in his own standards, sack the employment minister? | Tony Burke: My question as to the Prime Minister. During the recent scandal, the prime minister spoke of following, saying it was ‘an offence that it should result in dismissal and minister, it is clear’. Given it is patently clear that the employment minister misled the Senate five times, why won’t the Prime Minister, in his own standards, sack the employment minister? |
| Malcolm Turnbull: ...The minister for employment, senator Cash, gave evidence in the course of estimates in which he described the facts of the matter as known to her at the time. When a staffer admitted to doing the wrong thing, she corrected the record, in light of that admission. That is precisely what she should have done, and she did it with integrity that the Honourable member might reflect is has been all too readily shown by those who claim to represent and lead trade unions in this country. | Malcolm Turnbull: ...The minister for employment, senator Cash, gave evidence in the course of estimates in which he described the facts of the matter as known to her at the time. When a staffer admitted to doing the wrong thing, she corrected the record, in light of that admission. That is precisely what she should have done, and she did it with integrity that the Honourable member might reflect is has been all too readily shown by those who claim to represent and lead trade unions in this country. |