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Sam Dastyari resigns, Jim Molan and John Alexander sworn in as MPs return – politics live Sam Dastyari resigns, Jim Molan and John Alexander sworn in as MPs return – politics live
(35 minutes later)
Matt Canavan has just held a press conference. Shock, horror, he was defending Adani.
He suggested Labor’s switch in position on Adani had something to do with the Batman byelection.
Will wonders never cease?
Julie Bishop is heading across the ditch, with a visit planned to New Zealand next week.
But she won’t be meeting with Jacinda Ardern. *Cough*
From her statement:
I will visit Auckland from 9 to 10 February to meet with the Rt Hon Winston Peters, New Zealand’s deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs.
This will be my second meeting with Mr Peters since New Zealand’s general election and Minister Peters’ appointment in October 2017. We will discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of importance to both our countries.
Australia’s relationship with New Zealand is the closest and most comprehensive of all our bilateral relationships. It is underpinned by deep and dynamic links between our peoples through family, business enterprise, cultural activity and sporting rivalry. Around 650,000 New Zealanders live in Australia, and close to 70,000 Australians live in New Zealand.
Together with nine other like-minded countries, earlier this month New Zealand and Australia concluded the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. Our total two-way trade with New Zealand in 2016-17 was valued at $26.8bn, with strong growth in the two-way services trade. Australian investment in New Zealand is valued at almost $107bn and New Zealand’s investment is valued at $A46.2bn.
We share with New Zealand a commitment to the international rules-based order and to an open global trading system.
New Zealand is an essential and valuable partner in supporting economic growth, stability and security of the Pacific. Mr Peters and I will discuss how to increase our shared efforts to support Pacific Island countries to tackle development challenges and promote a stable and resilient region.
Sarah Hanson-Young is calling for a full audit of the Murray-Darling basin plan.
From her release:
The intervention by economists and scientists today shows that there’s serious lack of trust amongst policy experts. Experts and the community alike know that things are not as rosy as the federal government or the Murray-Darling Basin Authority would like everyone to believe. Scandals of water theft, tampering of water metres and rorting of public money spent on water and irrigation subsidies with little water being returned to the river has undermined the plan and wasted billions of taxpayers’ dollars. The longer authorities and politicians turn a blind eye to what is happening the harder it will be to get things back on track.
Despite these scandals, the Senate is being asked to agree to a further weakening of environmental allocations. The Greens will not stand by and let this happen, which is why we will move to disallow the government’s recent push to weaken the plan’s existing sustainable diversion limits.
The parliamentary committee looking into modernising Australia’s power grid has handed down its report.
You’ll find it here. We are just having a look at it now, so we’ll let you know the key points, if you actually have a life and don’t want to spend part of it reading a parliamentary report.
Here’s a blast from the (not so distant) past. Malcolm Roberts, who is now on the payroll of Pauline Hanson, was out and about outside parliament this morning. Novelty joint for scale.
Speaking of the Adani protest:
The Adani protest is picking up steam outside Parliament House (and Batman)
The Queensland Greens senator Andrew Bartlett has been on Sky this morning talking about Labor’s need to pick a position. Queensland Labor remains in support of it. Federal Labor is backing away. The Queensland Greens are going through an internal preselection battle for the state Senate spot. This isn’t going away as an issue anytime soon. In fact, it is just getting started.
.@AndrewBartlett: the Adani coal mine is 'dodgy' and we need a statement from Labor indicating whether they support the mine or not. MORE: https://t.co/j81O8Ni7lX pic.twitter.com/32DJHxOZgP
Some Mike Bowers chamber magicSome Mike Bowers chamber magic
A memorial is being held for the former Hawke minister Barry Cohen.A memorial is being held for the former Hawke minister Barry Cohen.
Malcolm Turnbull:Malcolm Turnbull:
He also believed Australian parliamentarians should never stop learning and obtain every skill possible. This was hardly surprising. He was a first-class golfer, postman, clerk and businessmen. To Barry, no vocation was more enthralling or rewarding than writing, that he continued to write even after Alzheimer’s cast its long shadow. His writings opened the door on what had previously been a very private pain of those who lived with Alzheimer’s. He fought for greater awareness of dementia and often did it, again, with his trademark humour. When John Howard asked him how he found life in a nursing home, he replied, ‘[Better than] question time!’ Australia has been enriched by his presence. To his family, I offer the supreme thanks of a nation for a life of service well served. Thank you.He also believed Australian parliamentarians should never stop learning and obtain every skill possible. This was hardly surprising. He was a first-class golfer, postman, clerk and businessmen. To Barry, no vocation was more enthralling or rewarding than writing, that he continued to write even after Alzheimer’s cast its long shadow. His writings opened the door on what had previously been a very private pain of those who lived with Alzheimer’s. He fought for greater awareness of dementia and often did it, again, with his trademark humour. When John Howard asked him how he found life in a nursing home, he replied, ‘[Better than] question time!’ Australia has been enriched by his presence. To his family, I offer the supreme thanks of a nation for a life of service well served. Thank you.
Bill Shorten:Bill Shorten:
We remember a remarkable man with an extraordinary legacy. He safeguarded some of Australia’s most precious national treasures for future generations, from Uluru to Kakadu to the Great Barrier Reef. He championed the security of Israel and a stronger tie between the two nations. And even when his time in public life had ended, even when he became more than one of 400,000 Australians living with dementia, he did not go gentle into that good night. In fact, that is when I came to know him best. Not from his remarkable ... six columns in the Australian extolling my virtues, a feat never to be repeated, but in his search for a better deal for older Australians. I think we know that all that charisma, all that humour, all that passion and undoubted love for his family, for whom he was very proud and talked to me at length about, that lifetime of campaigning experience channelled into a course so often overlooked. We do not have a cure for dementia yet and we have a long way to go before, I think, we are doing aged care in this country worthy of the generation that taught us and helped us build a modern Australia. But when we find the cure, when every older Australia and in their family can enjoy a life of great dignity and security, Barry Cohen will be due a measure of great credit. On behalf of the Labor family and your family, I say thank you ... We are all the better for his contribution to our country. May he rest in peace.We remember a remarkable man with an extraordinary legacy. He safeguarded some of Australia’s most precious national treasures for future generations, from Uluru to Kakadu to the Great Barrier Reef. He championed the security of Israel and a stronger tie between the two nations. And even when his time in public life had ended, even when he became more than one of 400,000 Australians living with dementia, he did not go gentle into that good night. In fact, that is when I came to know him best. Not from his remarkable ... six columns in the Australian extolling my virtues, a feat never to be repeated, but in his search for a better deal for older Australians. I think we know that all that charisma, all that humour, all that passion and undoubted love for his family, for whom he was very proud and talked to me at length about, that lifetime of campaigning experience channelled into a course so often overlooked. We do not have a cure for dementia yet and we have a long way to go before, I think, we are doing aged care in this country worthy of the generation that taught us and helped us build a modern Australia. But when we find the cure, when every older Australia and in their family can enjoy a life of great dignity and security, Barry Cohen will be due a measure of great credit. On behalf of the Labor family and your family, I say thank you ... We are all the better for his contribution to our country. May he rest in peace.
Speaking of backbenches, Keith Pitt and Darren Chester have taken their new seats in the back row, for the first week of parliament since both were demoted.Speaking of backbenches, Keith Pitt and Darren Chester have taken their new seats in the back row, for the first week of parliament since both were demoted.
That came after Matt Canavan came third in the ballot to choose Barnaby Joyce’s Nationals deputy. Canavan was Joyce’s choice. Bridget McKenzie was the eventual victor and the cabinet reshuffle saw two popular and performing Nats booted. Read into that what you will. Plenty of others certainly have.That came after Matt Canavan came third in the ballot to choose Barnaby Joyce’s Nationals deputy. Canavan was Joyce’s choice. Bridget McKenzie was the eventual victor and the cabinet reshuffle saw two popular and performing Nats booted. Read into that what you will. Plenty of others certainly have.
For the politico watchers:For the politico watchers:
In case you missed it! @SabraLane has been appointed as President of the National Press Club. Sabra is the second female correspondent to be become President in the 55 year history of the club. #NPChttps://t.co/bQSdMG8dWnIn case you missed it! @SabraLane has been appointed as President of the National Press Club. Sabra is the second female correspondent to be become President in the 55 year history of the club. #NPChttps://t.co/bQSdMG8dWn
The calm before the storm
Speaking to Fran Kelly on the ABC this morning, Simon Birmingham did not rule out the government using its numbers to force Susan Lamb’s referral:
So the point is that the law set down by the high court is now quite clear. We don’t all like the law, the government took different propositions to the court, however the court found that the Australian constitution is black and white and Susan Lamb’s case appears to be black and white. She should do the right thing. She and Bill Shorten should both show some honour about this and simply not waste the parliament’s time, not waste the court’s time, not set any precedents, but just follow David Feeney’s lead and go to a byelection.”
Just so you know how big a departure from tradition this is, when Malcolm Roberts (who was ultimately found to be a dual citizen) was refusing to refer himself to the high court, despite the piles and piles and piles of evidence he did not renounce his UK citizenship before nominating, Labor and the government went to One Nation together, to convince them to make the move themselves.
That was because no one wanted to see a departure from tradition by forcing the referral. Fast forward to now and, well, things are getting ugly.
In the Senate, we are moving VERY quickly. It is almost as if everyone has spent the break working out how they are going to move forward in an election year (and they are all preparing for an election, even if one is not due until 2019 and even though one could not be reasonably be held because of the double dissolution until August. Labor has admitted it, and I see you all had fun in the extended comment thread. Yes, I was lurking.)
Jim Molan has been sworn in.
Sam Dastyari has officially resigned.
George Brandis has not yet resigned (he’s going to be our man in Britain) but he is on the backbench. He’ll get a valedictory on Wednesday. So stay tuned for that.
Fraser Anning has officially quit One Nation. He will sit as an independent. (For now.)
Lucy Gichuhi has announced her switch to the Liberals.
Don’t expect Kristina Keneally to take her seat until after the New South Wales parliament has had its joint sitting and officially nominated her.
Adam Bandt will be introducing the Greens bill to legislate for more paid family and domestic violence leave.
They flagged that last year.
Tony Abbott has started 2018 as he means to go on – calling on the Turnbull government to “sharpen up the policy difference” with Labor by building a new coal power station and “ending the emissions obsession”.
In an interview on 2GB Radio in which he noted the government had lost 26 Newspolls in a row, Abbott also called for a reduction in immigration which he suggested would improve housing affordability.
It’s the same conservative manifesto the former prime minister has been spruiking since mid last year.
Abbott said that flying the Aboriginal flag on the Harbour Bridge “sends all the wrong signals … it sends a signal that we are effectively two nations”.
Ahead of the New South Wales branch considering party reforms, Abbott said there “is not unity in our party when it comes to empowering the members”. The Liberal moderate faction – which Abbott repeatedly referred to as “leftwing” – had put up a Bennelong motion which he described as “a little bit of democracy in five years’ time”
“It allows the left faction to say ‘yes we have reformed’ while preserving their own position.”
In another swipe at the Turnbullites, Abbott said that “serendipity” now sees Jim Molan enter the Senate due to the citizenship crisis after the “leftwing faction tried to keep him out”.
John Alexander is back in the parliament. He will take his oath first thing.
This will not be the only reminder we have of the citizenship drama today. The government is pushing VERY hard to have Susan Lamb resign or referred and Alexander’s return gives it the numbers it needs to force a referral. That would be a huge departure from protocol and tradition. It would also signal quite a brutal determination to use its numbers to force other parties into actions, which would be quite the statement.
Labor is hoping to ride it out, at least until the high court decides what reasonable steps to renouncing citizenship is.
For those needing a refresher, Lamb renounced her citizenship, but didn’t have all the documents, so it wasn’t processed in time by her nomination to the parliament. Labor senator Katy Gallagher also didn’t have her documents in order by the time of the nomination for the 2016 election, so she referred herself to the high court, where reasonable steps will be the foundation of the ruling.
My colleague Paul Karp has handily put together this explainer. I would bookmark it if I was you. We are going to be back here many, many times.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The bells are ringing, which means the parliament is almost back.
It is largely ceremonial today. But you’ll find the Reps schedule here and the Senate schedule here.
Adani is back on the national agenda. Labor, after this story, have switched up their language on the company’s Queensland mining project.
Protesters were outside parliament this morning. And with the Greens a very real and present threat (to Labor) in the Batman byelection, well, it’s only going to get more relevant.
The chairman of Adani, Gautam Adani, had a few things to say to Indian business news website Livemint on the opposition to his company’s project:
“In recent years our project has faced intense resistance abetted by some international NGOs and competitors who have turned to vicious personal attacks and used the press to their advantage,” he told the website.
“The fact is that renewable energy technologies are not currently ready to provide uninterrupted base load power.“The fact is that it is our responsibility to get electricity to the Indian child who needs to light that single bulb to educate himself.”
Before we start with the day’s events, I’d like to take a moment for something personal.
Michael Gordon, a friend and mentor to many in the gallery, died at the weekend, and the grief is still coming in waves.
Micky was the best of us. Courageous, fair to a fault, fearless in speaking truth to power, incredibly humble and always seeking to use his platform for good.
He left the Age last year, where he spent 37 of his 44 years in journalism, and wrote about what he’d learnt during his career. You’ll find his piece, Looking for something good and trying to do better, here. It’s pinned up at my desk at home. Along with the words he shared with me when I first started in the gallery – “Be good, be kind.”
So many of us have a Micky story. Know the power of a Micky hug. I was one of the many privileged enough to work alongside him. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones, whom he held above everything.
We don’t have the words. I doubt we ever will. So I ask you: Be good, be kind.
A statement on Michael Gordon from all of us at the Press Gallery committee. Words just aren’t enough, but here are some: pic.twitter.com/oPYy5mpape
Your federal leaders are back, and so are we.
I hope everyone has managed to have some kind of rest because our federal MPs have sprung into the first sitting week chomping at the bit.
The latest Newspoll has Malcolm Turnbull facing his 26th loss in a row but the Coalition has slightly improved its primary vote and Bill Shorten is still chasing Turnbull as preferred PM. Labor still leads the Coalition in the two-party-preferred measure – 52 to 48.
But Shorten is starting the year with a byelection looming in Batman, which Labor only just won from the Greens in 2016. David Feeney has resigned and Ged Kearney is running. That doesn’t seem to be the end of the citizenship drama though, with Christopher Pyne still calling for Susan Lamb to be referred to the high court. Labor has returned fire with calls for Jason Falinski to front the bench. And so on and so on.
On the policy side of things (I know), Scott Morrison is pushing his tax cut agenda HARD, while Labor is zeroing in on inequality and wage growth. The two things aren’t exactly simpatico, so that should make for some interesting debates.
And Lucy Gichuhi will sit on the government benches for the first time after defecting from the crossbench. Which doesn’t really do a lot for the government’s numbers, because Gichuhi voted with the government anyway, and let’s not forget Cory Bernardi was elected as a Liberal before jumping ship to his own party.
Fraser Anning will formally leave One Nation today as well – keep an eye on where he could eventually end up. (I know Bernardi will be.)
I would also recommend you read this from my colleague Anne Davies – the Murray-Darling basin plan will be one of the sleeper issues this year. Don’t underestimate its impact in the regions.
Parliament resumes at lunchtime. The leaders are at the traditional church services while their lieutenants take potshots at each other. I hope you’ve had your coffee. I’ve had about three and it still doesn’t seem enough.
Mike Bowers has been out and about for hours so follow along with him at @mpbowers and @mikepbowers while you’ll find me at @amyremeikis and @ifyouseeamy. And of course, the comment section is open for your enjoyment. I’ll be making visits when I can, but if it’s urgent, hit me up on Twitter.
Let the games begin!