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| Hanson on Shorten: 'I don’t warm to him, I don’t trust him' – politics live | Hanson on Shorten: 'I don’t warm to him, I don’t trust him' – politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| While we are on morning radio interviews, Tasmanian Labor MP Ross Hart didn’t have a great one with Brian Carlton on LA FM this morning. | |
| David Crowe over at Fairfax caught that one. | |
| From Crowe’s report: | |
| The leader has announced that he would support a reduction in, I’m sorry, a repeal of the tax rate. It has not been discussed, as I understand, by shadow cabinet,” Mr Hart said. | |
| When Carlton interrupted to point out the “equivocation” in this answer and to ask again if the Labor MP backed his leader, Mr Hart dodged the question again. | |
| “I would support businesses in northern Tasmania, and Tasmania generally, being profitable and making a profit so that they can pay tax, irrespective of whether there’s going to be a tax cut at a particular tax rate or not.” | |
| Carlton interrupted to ask again: “Do you back the leader?” | |
| Mr Hart: “That’s a matter that’s been announced by Mr Shorten – .” | |
| Carlton: “So you don’t Ross… you don’t support what your leader’s done?” | |
| Mr Hart: “I’m not saying that, Brian, I’m not saying that.” | |
| Carlton: “But you’re not saying you agree with him, either.” | |
| Mr Hart: “Let’s have a conversation about that another time.” | |
| Anthony Albanese and Christopher Pyne both appeared for their weekly scheduled chat with Adelaide radio 5AA. | |
| Labor has released the transcript. This is the first time we’ve heard from Albo (in detail) since the Whitlam address last Friday: | |
| HOST: We will kick off with you if we can thanks Albo. Now last Friday, in a very widely reported speech, and a pretty well received speech , you talked about how it is important for Labor to maintain a strong working relationship with the business community. Fast forward five days and we have seen Bill Shorten unilaterally embrace a tax position which reportedly does not have the support or the endorsement of caucus or indeed even Shadow Cabinet, which could see businesses - very small businesses - with a turnover as low as $2 million - being stripped of tax relief. Is Bill Shorten’s position an example of exactly what you were warning against?ALBANESE: No. Labor is engaged with business, including small business. One of the things that we did when we were last in Government of course was do the instant asset write-off that was opposed by the Coalition at the time and indeed when they came to Government they abolished it. Then they brought it back and pretended it was their policy, having said it was a bad idea. It was good policy and it is good that it is there now and one of things that we have also said for businesses of whatever size is the investment guarantee for investment of a 20 per cent discount for investment above $20,000, excluding only passenger vehicles, so it would apply for utes and capital equipment and that sort of investment to encourage that support.HOST: What about current policy? What about this policy and particularly what about the way it has been handled by Bill Shorten?ALBANESE: Well, we opposed of course these changes in the House of Representatives and in the Senate when they were debated and dealt with on the floor of both of those chambers over the last year and a bit.HOST: But are you surprised and troubled, as other shadow ministers reportedly are, that Bill Shorten could be advocating a threshold as low as $2 million for taking tax cuts away from very small businesses?ALBANESE: Well, what Bill said yesterday is that Shadow Cabinet will consider the issue of businesses with a turnover between $2 million and $10 million and that will be a decision that we’ll make at an appropriate time and announce.HOST: No-one has yet, as far as I understand, given you the opportunity to have your say about what you think about the tax cuts being wound back for businesses between $10 million and $50 million. Bill Shorten came out and made the announcement yesterday without consulting. What would have you said if he asked?ALBANESE: Well I think that Bill Shorten has got a right to announce Labor policy. He did that. He did that consistent with the way that Labor had voted in the House of Representatives and the Senate when these changes were considered.HOST: So if he asked you, you would have said yes?ALBANESE: Well, it is a matter of priorities. It’s a matter of whether the priority is for education or for health and or for infrastructure for that matter and Labor has clearly said that our priority is education, is health, is infrastructure, is paying down the debt, is making sure that we’ve been fiscally responsible so we have had a number of policy announcements, indeed more than oppositions in the past have done, and that is a good thing – the fact that we have so much policy out there.HOST: Albo, your speech last Friday was widely reported as you putting yourself out there in the leadership context and saying I am available for the top job. Is that a valid analysis of your speech?ALBANESE: No it is not. If you look at speeches I have given for similar occasions in the past few years, be it the Light on the Hill function that is held in Bathurst, the Earle Page lecture that is done in Armidale at the University of New England, the Eddie Graham Lecture, which is done in Wagga Wagga in rural New South Wales, on each of these occasions I always give a considered speeches - not about what happened in Question Time that day. I mean for goodness sake, the Whitlam Oration, and I make no …HOST: They key criticism of Bill Shorten right now is that he is too anti-business. The key point you made in your speech is that Labor needs to be more pro-business.ALBANESE: Well that wasn’t the key point. That was one of a range of points that I made, was that Labor has to appeal to not just members of trade unions, but we have to appeal to small businesses, to people who are contractors, to people who are professionals and aren’t in any union and that’s just common sense. And that’s what Labor Governments do. That’s what I did and Bill did and others all did as members of the Ruddand Gillard Governments. That’s what Hawke and Keating did. That’s what Whitlam did. That’s what modern Labor is about.HOST: Or should be about?ALBANESE: No. That is what modern Labor is about and Bill Shorten, Chris Bowen, we all have extensive relationships with the business community. We are sitting in Canberra this week, I have a business lunch on Friday which is all about that engagement that we have with the community and indeed the New South Wales state conference of the Labor Party is being held on the weekend. There will be business observers there and I have a range of meetings with them on Friday and indeed on Saturday.HOST: So Albo, if you are comfortable with the manner in which Bill Shorten, as you are saying, he is well within his right to make an announcement repealing those tax cuts, make the case to small business owners listening right now about why they should pay more tax and will pay more tax under Labor.ALBANESE: Well the fact is that a number of – you’ve got to look at the policy as a whole and I think the support for the investment guarantee that we are putting forward will be worth more than the tax changes which come in over a period of time of course, for businesses between $10 million and $50 million and that will be of significantly more benefit for them. And that is something that the current government opposes and all businesses know that we need a strong economy and that having a strong economy means making difficult decisions in terms of investment in education and training and skills for example, something that businesses say to me they are suffering from as they can’t get a skilled workforce.HOST: Chris Pyne, you’ve been very polite and very patient. I’m going to bring you in now.ALBANESE: I thought he wasn’t here. I thought he hadn’t turned up.PYNE: I thought you were doing a lovely job trying to dig yourself out of a hole there. So I thought I would let you keep doing it.HOST: Now Chris, you’ve been an MP since the early 1990s.PYNE: Since the early 1890s.ALBANESE: He’s a very old man.HOST: You’ve seen a lot of leadership dramas in that time. Does what’s happening in the Labor Party now look to you like a leadership battle?PYNE: Look there’s absolutely no doubt that Bill Shorten has said he’s going to have a war on business. He wants the unions front and centre of Labor Party policy-making. He wants the CFMEU to be involved in every forum. And he’s repudiated the aspiration of Australians, that the Hawke-Keating Government understood, that Keating’s actually criticised modern Labor for, because Hawke and Keating got that Australians are aspirational. It’s why they were a successful Labor Party. And Bill Shorten says he’s not going to do that. He wants to increase personal income taxes at the next election by $70 billion. And yesterday he’s about to kick small businesses in the teeth and South Australia is a small and medium enterprise state.And yet Anthony Albanese on Friday last week said that they had to remember that the unions are small part now of the workforce. It’s not 1950 anymore, he said. He said that Labor needed to be close to business and cooperate with business and that they should remember the Hawke-Keating legacy and that Australians are aspirational. So, Anthony stated a very, very clear contradiction to Bill Shorten. And that’s why the speech has had such a great run over the last few days, because everyone can see that Bill Shorten is now a man on borrowed time.And yesterday he reacted under pressure, announced without consultation with his party room or his front bench, that Labor would roll back the company tax cuts for small businesses. So now 94,000 small businesses across Australia have a motivation to campaign against Labor because if Labor gets elected they’ll have their company taxes increased. If Labor gets elected people’s personal income tax will increase.And Bill Shorten’s saying people on $95,000 a year are the top end of town. He’s now saying that small businesses with a turnover of more than $2 million are the top end of town. He’s boxed himself in because he lives day to day. And what Anthony said last Friday was that Labor should stop living day to day and look at their history and have a vision for the future and that’s why we’re talking about Labor Party leadership.HOST: There will be more to come on this over the coming days, we’re sure.ALBANESE: Chris Pyne and Anthony Albanese, thanks so much for joining us this morning for Two Tribes.PYNE: It was a great pleasure this morning.ALBANESE: Good to be with you. I’m glad Christopher got a crack.PYNE: It was a good crack. | |
| Labor’s Doug Cameron stopped by doors this morning: | |
| It’s just nonsense. Yesterday we see this $80bn tax cut to the big end of town being pushed by Mathias Cormann, just machine gun mouth, on he goes, on and on about rubbish. | |
| He can’t answer any of the questions, didn’t deal with the issue that Marco Rubio in the United States, a Republican candidate for the presidency said, that business had not increased wages, that business was not growing, that the money was simply going to the salaries of the executives and to buybacks of shares. | |
| This is a nonsense what this government is doing and the sooner we get a change of government, the sooner we get a government that can look after ordinary people, a government that understands the issues of the economy and we stop having a government that is led by the nose by the Australian newspaper and Rupert Murdoch the better. | |
| It looks like Pauline Hanson might be doing another flip flop. Pauline Hanson is the most unstable senator I have ever seen in my decade in parliament. | |
| This is a woman who is prepared to do anything to kowtow to the Liberal party and it wouldn’t surprise me if she ends up backing these tax cuts in. | |
| She has got absolutely no idea about economic policy. She’s got absolutely no idea what drives the economy in this country, and to have her in a position where she could end up handing $80bn to the big end of town, $17bn to the banks is just outrageous. | |
| She is totally unstable when it comes to economic policy; she is totally unstable in her voting position. No one knows what she will do and if she backs this in, then she can never ever claim to understand what battlers in this country need. | |
| While reading through the Senate debate last night on the higher education legislation (which will see students repaying their debt earlier, and at higher levels) Pauline Hanson had this to say about someone earning $45,000 a year: | |
| So, yes, repayment of the student loan will start earlier, and so it should – as soon as income allows for it. I challenge anyone to say that $8 a week will be a hardship for someone who is on a taxable income of $45,000 a year. I’m sure they could go without a couple of coffees a week to pay back their obligation to the Australian taxpayer. | |
| And here is an idea of where the government will be taking today’s tax debate. Scott Morrison was on Sky this morning and had this to say about Bill Shorten’s company tax position: | And here is an idea of where the government will be taking today’s tax debate. Scott Morrison was on Sky this morning and had this to say about Bill Shorten’s company tax position: |
| He was counting the money but wasn’t being clear about the fact that he was actually going to rip back, roll back, take back legislated tax cuts from the Australian parliament. | He was counting the money but wasn’t being clear about the fact that he was actually going to rip back, roll back, take back legislated tax cuts from the Australian parliament. |
| So my question to him today is: “Come clean on $2m to $10m. Come clean on $2m to $10m, tell the Australian people, will you roll back the small business tax cuts?” | So my question to him today is: “Come clean on $2m to $10m. Come clean on $2m to $10m, tell the Australian people, will you roll back the small business tax cuts?” |
| It’s not about hitting the top end of town, he’s hitting small and medium-sized businesses. The only top end of the town he’s helping is the top seven towns overseas – in New York, in Singapore, in London and Paris. They’ll have lower rates of tax than Australia will. Our businesses will be at a disadvantage, our jobs will go offshore. | It’s not about hitting the top end of town, he’s hitting small and medium-sized businesses. The only top end of the town he’s helping is the top seven towns overseas – in New York, in Singapore, in London and Paris. They’ll have lower rates of tax than Australia will. Our businesses will be at a disadvantage, our jobs will go offshore. |
| The Greens are also attempting to have the Lord’s prayer removed from the start of Senate proceedings. From Paul Karp’s report: | The Greens are also attempting to have the Lord’s prayer removed from the start of Senate proceedings. From Paul Karp’s report: |
| The Lord’s prayer would be abolished from the start of Senate sittings and replaced by a statement that includes religious and non-religious beliefs, under a push instigated by the Greens. | The Lord’s prayer would be abolished from the start of Senate sittings and replaced by a statement that includes religious and non-religious beliefs, under a push instigated by the Greens. |
| On Wednesday the Greens senator Lee Rhiannon will move a motion for a Senate inquiry into the proposed alternative: “Senators, let us in silence pray or reflect upon our responsibilities to all people of Australia and to future generations.” | On Wednesday the Greens senator Lee Rhiannon will move a motion for a Senate inquiry into the proposed alternative: “Senators, let us in silence pray or reflect upon our responsibilities to all people of Australia and to future generations.” |
| The move is supported in a letter signed by progressive religious leaders, including Fr Rod Bower, of the Anglican parish of Gosford, the reverend Margaret Mayman, of Pitt St Uniting church, and rabbi Jeffrey Kamins of the Temple Emanuel at Woollahra. | The move is supported in a letter signed by progressive religious leaders, including Fr Rod Bower, of the Anglican parish of Gosford, the reverend Margaret Mayman, of Pitt St Uniting church, and rabbi Jeffrey Kamins of the Temple Emanuel at Woollahra. |
| Thank you to a reader for sharing this with me: the OECD has released its latest international migration outlook report, (which you will find, here) | Thank you to a reader for sharing this with me: the OECD has released its latest international migration outlook report, (which you will find, here) |
| This is of particular interest, given the debates we have been having on migration: | This is of particular interest, given the debates we have been having on migration: |
| Relative to other OECD countries, there is basically no gap in unemployment between people born in Australia and those born overseas. This is probably a large source of perceived social cohesion. pic.twitter.com/B12XBCbvDP | Relative to other OECD countries, there is basically no gap in unemployment between people born in Australia and those born overseas. This is probably a large source of perceived social cohesion. pic.twitter.com/B12XBCbvDP |
| Peter Dutton’s office announced Australia will be providing more money to Care Australia for humanitarian assistance for Syrian refugees who have fled to Jordan: | Peter Dutton’s office announced Australia will be providing more money to Care Australia for humanitarian assistance for Syrian refugees who have fled to Jordan: |
| The US$3m funding will provide critical support to people affected by the Syrian and Iraq conflicts and help them rebuild their lives. | The US$3m funding will provide critical support to people affected by the Syrian and Iraq conflicts and help them rebuild their lives. |
| Australia has provided and committed more than $613m to the humanitarian response since 2011. | Australia has provided and committed more than $613m to the humanitarian response since 2011. |
| The minister for home affairs, Peter Dutton, said he was pleased the Australian government would once again partner with Care Australia and expand on the $2m worth of services delivered to the region in 2016-17. | The minister for home affairs, Peter Dutton, said he was pleased the Australian government would once again partner with Care Australia and expand on the $2m worth of services delivered to the region in 2016-17. |
| “The funding will provide more than 100,000 people with support and information to gain access to essential services, as well as providing 800 households with emergency cash assistance to meet urgent protection needs,” Mr Dutton said. | “The funding will provide more than 100,000 people with support and information to gain access to essential services, as well as providing 800 households with emergency cash assistance to meet urgent protection needs,” Mr Dutton said. |
| “More than 2,000 individuals will receive additional services, including vocational training and mental health support.” | “More than 2,000 individuals will receive additional services, including vocational training and mental health support.” |
| New activities such as incentives for children’s enrolment in school and an expansion of education-related activities through the Jordan River Foundation will be provided in the provinces of Irbid, Mafraq, Zarqa, Azraq and Amman. | New activities such as incentives for children’s enrolment in school and an expansion of education-related activities through the Jordan River Foundation will be provided in the provinces of Irbid, Mafraq, Zarqa, Azraq and Amman. |
| This funding will be provided in addition to the Australian government’s three-year $220m assistance package to support those affected by the crisis in Syria and neighbouring countries hosting large numbers of refugees. | This funding will be provided in addition to the Australian government’s three-year $220m assistance package to support those affected by the crisis in Syria and neighbouring countries hosting large numbers of refugees. |
| Since 1 July 2015, the Australian government has granted more than 30,000 visas for those displaced by the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. | Since 1 July 2015, the Australian government has granted more than 30,000 visas for those displaced by the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. |
| Donald Trump is due to visit the region in November, which has raised the question of whether the US president will come through Australia. | Donald Trump is due to visit the region in November, which has raised the question of whether the US president will come through Australia. |
| The Greens are being proactive – and have put a motion up in the Senate calling on the government not to issue an invitation, or officially, calls on the government to rule out: | The Greens are being proactive – and have put a motion up in the Senate calling on the government not to issue an invitation, or officially, calls on the government to rule out: |
| extending an official invitation to President Trump to visit Australia; and | extending an official invitation to President Trump to visit Australia; and |
| conferring him the honour of an address to a joint meeting of parliament. | conferring him the honour of an address to a joint meeting of parliament. |
| On that, they quote the UK House of Commons speaker, John Bercow, who said: “An address to both houses of parliament is not an automatic right; it is an earned honour ... My view is that he has not earned that honour.” | On that, they quote the UK House of Commons speaker, John Bercow, who said: “An address to both houses of parliament is not an automatic right; it is an earned honour ... My view is that he has not earned that honour.” |
| The Greens motion says a visit by Trump, and his addressing parliament, would “represent the normalisation of racism, bigotry and misogyny”. | The Greens motion says a visit by Trump, and his addressing parliament, would “represent the normalisation of racism, bigotry and misogyny”. |
| But in case you missed it at the bottom of that other post, Pauline Hanson, who this morning said she was still talking to the government, now says it is definitely a no, until after the election. | But in case you missed it at the bottom of that other post, Pauline Hanson, who this morning said she was still talking to the government, now says it is definitely a no, until after the election. |
| “Let them take it to the next election, let’s see what the people say,” she told 3AW | “Let them take it to the next election, let’s see what the people say,” she told 3AW |
| “We’re standing firm on it, we’re not supporting corporate tax cuts.” | “We’re standing firm on it, we’re not supporting corporate tax cuts.” |
| Pauline Hanson also had a chat on 3AW about what she really thinks about Bill Shorten: | Pauline Hanson also had a chat on 3AW about what she really thinks about Bill Shorten: |
| If you ask a lot of women ... and a lot of men, actually, take note of what their wives think when you meet someone. You just have this feeling about someone and I have that feeling about Bill. And I have sat down with him, I have had a couple of meetings with him and I just don’t warm to him and that is just my feeling. And actually, when you look at the numbers coming in, people don’t warm to Bill Shorten to be the next prime minister of this country and that is evident in the polls that he gets. | If you ask a lot of women ... and a lot of men, actually, take note of what their wives think when you meet someone. You just have this feeling about someone and I have that feeling about Bill. And I have sat down with him, I have had a couple of meetings with him and I just don’t warm to him and that is just my feeling. And actually, when you look at the numbers coming in, people don’t warm to Bill Shorten to be the next prime minister of this country and that is evident in the polls that he gets. |
| I have heard from a lot of men as well, a lot of men feel the same way, they don’t like the way he comes across, the way he speaks, they just, I just don’t trust him, I really don’t trust him. Forget about the politics, I am talking about on personal basis. Should I be saying this? Who knows. But a lot of people feel the same way about me, so be it. | I have heard from a lot of men as well, a lot of men feel the same way, they don’t like the way he comes across, the way he speaks, they just, I just don’t trust him, I really don’t trust him. Forget about the politics, I am talking about on personal basis. Should I be saying this? Who knows. But a lot of people feel the same way about me, so be it. |
| Asked if she was describing him as “sleazy”, she said: | Asked if she was describing him as “sleazy”, she said: |
| Would I put it that way? Look, we are talking about someone who is going to be possibly the next prime minister of this country. I think we need a person who we feel comfortable with, that we can trust, that is there for the right reasons, that has the best interests of this country at heart and the people, and I am sorry, I don’t pick it up with Bill Shorten. | Would I put it that way? Look, we are talking about someone who is going to be possibly the next prime minister of this country. I think we need a person who we feel comfortable with, that we can trust, that is there for the right reasons, that has the best interests of this country at heart and the people, and I am sorry, I don’t pick it up with Bill Shorten. |
| Would she vote with Labor if it formed government after the next election? | Would she vote with Labor if it formed government after the next election? |
| I am talking about the individual. There are some issues of policy with Labor that I would support them on, but, look, they are not government. Let’s see what legislation they put up, because I will be in the parliament. If they do happen to be [in] government after the next election, I will look at legislation based on merit for the people and for Queensland and for the people and for the country. And I will not knock it back just because Bill Shorten happens to be the prime minister. | I am talking about the individual. There are some issues of policy with Labor that I would support them on, but, look, they are not government. Let’s see what legislation they put up, because I will be in the parliament. If they do happen to be [in] government after the next election, I will look at legislation based on merit for the people and for Queensland and for the people and for the country. And I will not knock it back just because Bill Shorten happens to be the prime minister. |
| If that be the case, I hope I can have a good working relationship with him, because it needs to happen, but I am just saying at this point in time, I have had meetings with him, I have walked out of them, those meetings, and I felt, I don’t feel comfortable, I don’t warm to him, I don’t trust him and I just feel this is all about a man who doesn’t connect with me. | If that be the case, I hope I can have a good working relationship with him, because it needs to happen, but I am just saying at this point in time, I have had meetings with him, I have walked out of them, those meetings, and I felt, I don’t feel comfortable, I don’t warm to him, I don’t trust him and I just feel this is all about a man who doesn’t connect with me. |
| Does she have the same thoughts on Anthony Albanese? | Does she have the same thoughts on Anthony Albanese? |
| I got to know Albo, Anthony Albanese, when I went on the delegation to India last year. We had a lot better, I like Albanese, as a person, I warm to him a lot better, we had a laugh, we had a joke, I think it was reciprocal, but do I think he will make a great prime minister? Again, I don’t think so. | I got to know Albo, Anthony Albanese, when I went on the delegation to India last year. We had a lot better, I like Albanese, as a person, I warm to him a lot better, we had a laugh, we had a joke, I think it was reciprocal, but do I think he will make a great prime minister? Again, I don’t think so. |
| Does she believe a leadership challenge will happen in Labor? | Does she believe a leadership challenge will happen in Labor? |
| I think that is on the cards, because they know that Bill Shorten is not liked by the people and they may not vote for Labor purely based on Bill Shorten, but Anthony Albanese worries me greatly, because I think that there will be a breakdown in border security. His attitude, that he said, is just [to] let the boats come in and that will be detrimental to Australia. | I think that is on the cards, because they know that Bill Shorten is not liked by the people and they may not vote for Labor purely based on Bill Shorten, but Anthony Albanese worries me greatly, because I think that there will be a breakdown in border security. His attitude, that he said, is just [to] let the boats come in and that will be detrimental to Australia. |
| Wayne Swan braved the cold Canberra morning for a short press conference this morning, where he addressed the decision to repeal the company tax cuts already passed for businesses with a turnover of between $10m and $50m – as well as Pauline Hanson: | Wayne Swan braved the cold Canberra morning for a short press conference this morning, where he addressed the decision to repeal the company tax cuts already passed for businesses with a turnover of between $10m and $50m – as well as Pauline Hanson: |
| Well, Labor has never supported tax cuts for big business. They come with a huge cost: $80bn. And that money will inevitably be ripped out of health and education. But I see this morning, Pauline Hanson has said that she’s going to jump into bed with the Coalition on the big company tax cuts. | Well, Labor has never supported tax cuts for big business. They come with a huge cost: $80bn. And that money will inevitably be ripped out of health and education. But I see this morning, Pauline Hanson has said that she’s going to jump into bed with the Coalition on the big company tax cuts. |
| Well, Pauline Hanson might as well go and join the Liberal party. Here’s the membership form. She can take out a bronze, silver, gold or platinum membership. Well, the truth is she votes with them 90% of the time so she might as well get platinum membership of the Liberal party. | Well, Pauline Hanson might as well go and join the Liberal party. Here’s the membership form. She can take out a bronze, silver, gold or platinum membership. Well, the truth is she votes with them 90% of the time so she might as well get platinum membership of the Liberal party. |
| This question of tax cuts for big business is incredibly serious for the future of our country. What it means is less money available for health and education. They will not bring the benefit in terms of jobs and growth that is promised by the Coalition. They are effectively a con job and now we see Pauline Hanson getting into bed with the government. | This question of tax cuts for big business is incredibly serious for the future of our country. What it means is less money available for health and education. They will not bring the benefit in terms of jobs and growth that is promised by the Coalition. They are effectively a con job and now we see Pauline Hanson getting into bed with the government. |
| She might as well go and join the Liberal party of Australia. In my home state of Queensland, this will mean dramatic cuts to health and education, particularly hospitals like the Caboolture hospital. | She might as well go and join the Liberal party of Australia. In my home state of Queensland, this will mean dramatic cuts to health and education, particularly hospitals like the Caboolture hospital. |
| Hanson was just on 3AW, where she said the government could take the policy to the next election, and she was sticking to her position. | Hanson was just on 3AW, where she said the government could take the policy to the next election, and she was sticking to her position. |