Scott Morrison says government 'not for the big end of town' – politics live

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2018/jun/25/coalition-polls-tax-hanson-politics-live

Version 8 of 15.

Grab your afternoon pick me up - we are sliding into QT, or as it is now called, the aspiration wars.

Pauline Hanson is still saying no to the company tax cuts ... while leaving the door open. As for the government numbers, she had this to say:

Look, I have no idea, I understand they need another four votes. They haven’t got One Nation and I give the people my guarantee on that, unless they really target multinationals and it’s so important to me. We have to see a revenue stream come into the country. I was very pleased to pass the personal tax cuts last week which helps everyday working Australians, but when it comes to the corporate tax cuts, we actually supported it up to $50 million turnover. Now, let’s, you know, look at where the revenue is going to come from.

And as for the other crossbenchers and who is lobbying her:

No, I haven’t spoken to any other crossbenchers. Derryn Hinch is quite happy and he just indicated he’d like to sit down and have a cup of coffee with me, but no, any interactions with Clive Palmer’s party. That was interesting. He rang up my staff yesterday, and said, ‘Listen, I got $450 million in the bank. If I move my money overseas I’ll get an extra million dollars in it.’ He sees his lobbying on behalf of – I don’t know, himself. He is a man who couldn’t pay his workers. He’s having another tilt at politics, hopefully the people of Australia will see through that. And he said, ‘If you don’t support this,’, he said, ‘You won’t get my preferences.’

Expect this to come up in one of the QT dixers – the ABCC has put out a statement on a federal court ruling:

In a significant decision today the full federal court confirmed it will order a CFMMEU official to personally pay his penalty for breaking the law, without seeking or receiving financial assistance from the union.

This decision follows the ABCC’s successful high court appeal in February this year.

CFMMEU official Joseph Myles has been made personally liable for a $19,500 penalty following his unlawful blockade of the Regional Rail Link project site in May 2013.

In addition, the penalty imposed on the CFMMEU was almost doubled to $111,000 for three contraventions of the Fair Work Act.

The charity sector is on board with the foreign interference bill – now. From the Hands Off Our Charities statement:

The Hands Off Our Charities alliance has today expressed great relief that the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has agreed that civil society work of charities, arts organisations and industrial associations should be exempted from registration requirements of the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Bill.

“The bipartisan recommendation to exempt charities from the registration requirements when they are doing their day-to-day work to achieve their charitable purpose is a victory for common sense. This exemption will ensure that charitable work is not unfairly targeted. We welcome the Committee’s collaboration in recognising our concerns,” said Marc Purcell, CEO of the Australian Council for International Development.

“Without these measures being implemented, the international partnerships that underpin international development, aid and conservation work could require independent charities to register as agents of foreign principals,” said David Ritter, CEO of Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

“If a charity like Caritas collaborates with an overseas government on a program to reduce violence against women in that country, and then uses information from that work in its communications to the Australian Government, the original Bill would have branded them as ‘acting on behalf of foreign principal’. We welcome the committee’s recognition that in scenarios like this, charities are not doing the bidding of any government. They are working together with a partner government to improve the effectiveness of their interventions,” said Paul O’Callaghan, CEO of Caritas Australia.

“Labelling independent charities and the people we work with as “acting on behalf of foreign principals” makes no sense and serves no public interest objective,” stressed Dr Barry Traill, Australian Director of Pew Charitable Trusts Australia. “For example this original Bill would have cast Indigenous Rangers, advocating to care for their country, as agents of foreign principals. The measures in this Bill, if not amended as the PJCIS has recommended, would have posed a grave threat to our charitable work”.

The Hands Off Our Charities alliance recognises the need for efforts to prevent foreign interference in Australian politics, but argues that the process for developing the government’s foreign influence package has been deeply flawed.

“We are relieved at the recommendations from the Committee and look forward to their full implementation in amendments to this Bill. However, our alliance remains concerned about the related Espionage Bill which is being rushed through Parliament. Efforts to protect Australian democracy from covert foreign interference should not damage our democracy and put the good work of Australia’s charities and not-for-profits at risk,” Mr Purcell concluded.

I’ve been chatting to all sides about the upcoming byelections – with Longman and Braddon the ones on everyone’s lips.

Longman looks like being OK for Labor, at this stage, but it depends on preference flows. One Nation voters don’t usually follow how to vote cards, but you still never know.

Braddon appears to be the problem for Labor – which they acknowledge in chats. There are a lot of local issues which are fuelling that one, like pokie machines, and it is going to be tough.

Plus the general feeling of apathy that comes along with a byelection – people just don’t get as engaged as they do in general elections, so that makes turnout a problem, let alone ensuring your message is cutting through. Graham Richardson wrote about that on the weekend in the Oz.

Jim Chalmers addressed that in his press conference a few minutes ago:

Obviously we’re in both of those contests to win them. We don’t – we never go into a contest like that expecting or hoping to lose. We want to make sure we give a good account of ourselves and I think for the reasons I have just identified, we’ll be very competitive. In Longman and in Braddon, [it] will be very tight... what we say to the people of Longman and to the people of Braddon is if you want a political party to put the interests of middle Australia before the interests of multinationals and the big banks and the millionaires, then people will support the Labor party. We got the better candidates, we got the better leader and better policies for both seats.

Amanda Stoker, Queensland’s newest senator, revealed a little more of her thoughts to Sky News:

On personal responsbility:

“There is a place for government support, for people who are really in need, but when we fail to help our families, fail to build the social networks that have traditionally bound us as a society we all suffer. We are a stronger, more resilient society, we get more out of life when we have strong social networks.

“...I am not saying we should limit services [in something like aged care], we should have an attitudinal change as individuals, which means we are more willing to make the sacrifices we need to, to be able to provide for those who need – it needs to be a choice.

“...I want to be it to be an individual choice. Another example is in the caring for children – there has been a lot of talk in the government sphere over many years over the importance of child care and making it accessible and affordable and all of that is true. But we should also be having a conversation about fairness for those families who choose to make the sacrifices needed to have someone at home. Maybe we could do family taxation rather than individual to try and facilitate people who want to invest more into that.”

On 18c

“Look I think 18c has got to go. I think 18c is a drag on our society. I am not saying that people need to be obnoxious, but if have freedom of speech, people can be socially called out for the things they say, which are you know, really quite out there. But being able to have the debate matters.

“And at a time where people are expressing religious views feel like they aren’t as free to do so as they once were, more than ever, those who express religious or unpopular or traditional views are being called before discrimination boards and commissions to be able to say what they believe and do what they believe, with integrity, to the things that are core to them, I think is really important.”

Mark Dreyfus is speaking on the foreign interference bill – he says that Labor feels it has worked for safeguards and tightening up of definitions – and will be supporting it, meaning it will sail through the parliament later this week.

While the division was going on, Doug Cameron and Pauline Hanson were having a little tete-a-tete across the chamber.

Cameron said she was ‘just another Lib’ always ‘doing what Mathias told her’ while Hanson called back that she would be ‘glad to see the back of him’ (Cameron is retiring), to which he replied ‘not as pleased as many others who want to see the back’ of Hanson.

So, good times.

Division

Ayes 32

Noes 36

Business resumes as usual.

Centre Alliance has also said no to supporting the suspension of standing orders – but Rex Patrick says they won’t be supporting tax cuts.

Penny Wong could be heard yelling ‘you’re a disgrace’ across the chamber, so I think emotions might still be raw from last week.

Pauline Hanson just spoke on the motion... and I think she was against it. It was hard to tell, because she didn’t actually say. Just spoke about Labor and Greens “bullies”

“Senator Wong accuses me of... it seems to come down to One Nation and her words, grubby deals that are being done.

“I have made my stance quite clear, that I will not be supporting the corproate tax cuts with my, with my, senator Peter Georgiou is actually also indicated no support for this.

“If you think that bullying is going to change my opinion about this, it is not going to happen.

“It has nothing to do with shutting down the chamber. The last time I looked, excuse me, I think the numbers in this chamber is, the government has the numbers and they are, they will determine, they will have their say about how this chamber is run. But if you think that you will sit there and bully me into making a decision on how I vote on this to bring a debate - no I’m not. No I’m not, alright?

“When this is opened up, and it is on the floor of the parliament for this to be debated, fair enough. Now, as I have just supported, the Greens amendment to do with raising it, lowering it to $50m for accountability, for those in business, I have just supported that.

“So I look at the legislation based on what is right for the country and for the people, not because I am going to be bullied into it.

“And I will make my case quite clear. Whether I support the corporate tax cuts or not has got nothing to do with the seat of Longman, because that is only one part of Australia. We are talking about the whole benefit to all Australians. The same as, the same as backing, you know the personal tax cuts.

“Now, when you talk about grubby deals, let me remind the Greens when they supported the government’s backpacker tax, the $100 m grubby deal they did there. Isn’t it lovely, everyone wants to throw around the word grubby deals, you are not concentrating on the job that the people have elected to do in this parliament.

“You have all done it. Even the Labor party, when you were in government, you all do your grubby deals, you all come knocking on the door.

“So let’s get some accountability and honesty on to the floor of this parliament, because I tell you what, the public are actually sick and tired of it. You are throwing these innuendos across the chamber, anyone who doesn’t agree with you.

“Base it on debate, base it on what the people of Australia want. They are all watching you. They tell me all the time. It is like a sandpit in this place because the public is sick and tired of it.

“Why do you have to lie to the public. Why do you have to put out false robocalls in Longman.

“Has it been a wake up call to the Labor party what happened in WA on the weekend? That people are tired of where you’ve got htis country headed.

“So the same with senator Murray Watt, all his lies that he puts out all the time, and Chisholm with regards to One Nation, the people will judge me on my performance and what I have achieved in this chamber, if there is good legislation put up by the government, I will support it.

“As I have supported other legislation put up by the Greens or by the other minor political parties, or independent senators in this chamber, or even the Labor party, I will support good legislation.”

It goes on, but you get the drift.

Christian Porter is looking forward to passing the foreign interference laws:

The attorney general, Christian Porter, welcomed the release today of the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security’s (PJCIS) report on the government’s foreign influence transparency scheme bill 2017.

“The committee report is a critical step in securing the passage of this crucial legislation to help protect Australia’s democratic systems and institutions,” the attorney general said.

“Most importantly, the committee report recommends the bill be passed, reflecting a continuation of the bipartisan approach to national security legislation.

“The Turnbull government’s number one priority is to keep Australians safe and this bill, along with the espionage and foreign interference bill, which the PJCIS reported on two weeks ago and also recommended be passed, are critical elements of achieving that objective.

“The government intends to accept all of the committee’s recommendations for amendments to the bill, with a view to debating and passing both bills into parliament this week.

“The foreign influence transparency scheme bill creates a register for individuals or entities which are undertaking activities on behalf of foreign principals. This will provide transparency for the Australian government and the Australian community about foreign influence in Australia.

“We don’t seek to restrict those activities through this bill; rather to ensure such activity is undertaken in a lawful, open and transparent way.”

Two weeks ago the government presented the committee with a series of drafted amendments which addressed key issues of concern to stakeholders.

The committee has made 52 recommendations, the majority of which represent minor and technical drafting amendments.

Of the significant amendments recommended by the PJCIS, more than 20 relate to the amendments previously drafted and submitted by the attorney general.

The most significant remaining recommendations relate to the creation of new exemptions for charities and arts groups in limited circumstances and extending requirements on former cabinet ministers and public servants.

The attorney general said the government would consider those recommendations and was aiming to have any necessary amendments drafted ahead of introduction of the bill this week.

“I thank the PJCIS and the co-operative approach of the opposition to bring this inquiry to a conclusion and the delivery of today’s report,” the attorney general said.

Labor has distributed the transcript of Bill Shorten’s speech on the penalty rates bill. This bit lays out where I think you’ll see the election campaign going:

Now of course what we’ve seen from the government propaganda machine is they say that Labor supports cutting penalty rates because we endorse enterprise bargaining.

There is a world of difference between workers consenting and bargaining for improvements in their overall rates of pay and arbitrary penalty rate cutting with no compensation any hour of the day, any day of the week.

This government has never – and when we listen to their ministers carry on, always remember when you hear their ministers and their prime minister and they talk about workers – reality is they need to get the microscope out, they have no knowledge of how people really construct their lives.

Ask them next time: have you ever negotiated a pay rise for a worker? Have you ever sat there and bargained – constructively with business – but always on the side of workers? Have you ever stood up to improve their redundancy pay? Have you ever stood up to give them a greater say in their rosters and their shifts? Of course not.

This is a government who loves to talk about life experience – no life experience ever representing workers and getting them a better, safer, more reliable and secure job in their lives.

And of course, though, we’ll hear the other argument about penalty rates. They have a second argument, which is: we’re now in a seven-24 economy.

Somehow penalty rates are a thing of the past because somehow we now live 24 hours a day, seven days a week – as if we never did before penalty rates.

But the point about it is that if we want to have a seven-day-a-week, 24-hour economy, there’s always a worker making that happen.

And we do believe and we make no apology for saying, when you’re on 40 and 50 and 60 and 100,000 dollars a year – we actually want to see you do better. And we appreciate the work that you put in for our economy.

But fundamentally, this legislation about penalty rates goes to the heart of the national priorities of this parliament and the values of the two competing parties and movements who seek to form a government in this country.

We think that if you earn penalty rates, you’re not selfish or greedy. You’re not an inconvenience to the business. You’re not just another loaf of bread, which we should try and find the lowest unit price, as the prime minister once famously said in the exchange of labour for pay.

Richard Di Natale is speaking in support of the Labor motion. He says it is the biggest change of the corporate tax structure the nation has ever seen and deserves to be debated.

Greens and Labor staffers are also lolling at Mathias Cormann argument that the standing orders should not be suspended, because of due process and order – because of the gag order that was put on the income tax debate last week.

“Here is an opportunity through the week to debate corproate tax,” Di Natale says.

“Not to have it locked in for debate late at night ... To have it rammed through for a vote in the early hours of the morning, outside of scrutiny.”

Mathias Cormann is speaking against Penny Wong’s attempts to suspend standing orders to bring on the corporate tax debate. He says no, but only because the government is concerned with the proper and orderly order of things.

I just switched over to catch this:

Bill Shorten’s approach to this is un-Australian. Bill Shorten’s approach to this is un-Australian.

Sigh. The sooner we put to bed the “un-Australian” debate, when it’s not being used for irony purposes, the better.

Clive Palmer, who last week claimed that 20,000 people had contacted his office about joining his party in less than 24 hours, is offering free membership to United Australia, if that is your thing.

He’s also accused Pauline Hanson of stealing his GST policy. From his website:

The United Australia Party called out senator Pauline Hanson today for copying one its policies introduced in Western Australia by senator Dio Wang of the Palmer United Party.

United Australia Party federal leader Clive Palmer slammed the behaviour today, saying Senator Hanson was devoid of new ideas.

“She is stooping to plagiarising our party policies to maintain the relevance of her last remaining parliamentary colleague Peter Georgiou in Western Australia. She has no relevance left. Her party is dissolving before her eyes,” Mr Palmer said.

The copied policy was originally presented by Palmer United Party senator Dio Wang back in April 2014.

Senator Wang’s policy sought to keep 100% of the GST earned in WA to stay and be spent in WA.

At the time Senator Wang stated: “WA must see its full share of GST returned to the state to ensure our ageing schools and hospitals are upgraded, to ensure our regional communities, industries and people are supported to the best of our ability.”

Clive Palmer said One Nation would cease to exist by the next election.

“Party members are deserting Pauline Hanson and it’s easy to see why,” Mr Palmer said.

Oxfam is also in town – and campaigning against the corporate tax cuts. From the statement by Oxfam Australia’s economic policy adviser, Joy Kyriacou:

The proposed $65bn hand-out for big business would make Australia the latest country to join the global race to the bottom on corporate tax rates.

Slashing the corporate tax rate would undermine attempts to tackle inequality and poverty, both in Australia and around the world. When governments enter a race to the bottom on corporate tax rates, everyday people lose.

It is utterly inconceivable that the federal government wants to push ahead with slashing the corporate tax rate when Australian Taxation Office data shows that more than one in three large Australian companies paid no tax at all in Australia for the past three years of reporting.

Passing the corporate tax cut for large companies would be a further step in unravelling the fairness of our tax system.

Right now, the use of tax havens and other loopholes by Australian multinationals is ripping billions of dollars from public coffers in developing countries, as well as in Australia.

Oxfam estimates around $5-6bn is lost to Australia’s public purse through the tax avoidance practices of multinationals – and global estimates are that the poorest countries lose well over $100bn annually.

This is money that should be spent on the things everyday people need: schools, hospitals, roads and public infrastructure.

It would also be completely nonsensical to promise a crackdown on multinationals that are avoiding paying their fair share of tax in exchange for rewarding big business with these tax cuts.

And the stubborn push for these tax cuts comes with little evidence of benefits to the economy and community – and in exchange for no more than a ‘pinky promise’ that big business will invest more in jobs and wage growth.

What Australia should be doing is cracking down further on tax avoidance, including by introducing public country-by-country reporting that requires large companies to declare details of income, taxes paid and profits around the world.

Oxfam calls on senators to support the Australian people this week, not further profits for large companies. The corporate tax cuts for large businesses should be rejected.