This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2018/oct/16/scott-morrison-israel-embassy-wentworth-politics-live
The article has changed 19 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 10 | Version 11 |
|---|---|
| Government grilled over 'It's OK to be white' vote – question time live | Government grilled over 'It's OK to be white' vote – question time live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| And because there is not enough going on, Daisy Turnbull Brown is also letting loose with opinions on the Liberal party (on teachers, which makes sense, given she is one) | |
| This disgrace of a week in Canberra is providing a lot of #SOR resources... #studiesofreligion #teachingresources #religioninaustraliapost1945 #itsnotoktoberacist https://t.co/cx4yuVOTmp | |
| As Scott Morrison defends the government’s position on Israel, this comes through | |
| Breaking: Indonesia is considering suspending its imminent trade deal with Australia over PM @ScottMorrisonMP 's position on moving Australian embassy to Jerusalem | |
| Bill Shorten to Scott Morrison: | |
| The secretary of DFAT has said that the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem had not been helpful and had made what was already a very,very difficult process even harder. | |
| Why is the Prime Minister ignoring the view of Australia’s top diplomat and making up foreign policy on the run? Does the Prime Minister seriously expect anyone to believe that this stunt was about anything other than when workers lack is he really so desperate that he will say and do anything to save Wentworth including overturning 70 years of bipartisanship and foreign policy? | |
| Scott Morrison: | |
| Bob Carr | |
| Peter Dutton gets another chance to tell you how safe you are. | |
| Very. Because Labor is not in government [insert spooky music] | |
| Tanya Plibersek to Scott Morrison: | Tanya Plibersek to Scott Morrison: |
| In June, when asked whether Australia would follow President Trump and move its embassy to Tel Aviv, the now Prime Minister said, and I quote, no, no, it is not the government’s policy, it has never been under review and we are not doing it. | |
| Does the prime ministers stand by this statement or is the Prime Minister really so desperate to save Wentworth that he will say and do anything, even if it means overturning 70 years of bipartisan foreign policy? | |
| Morrison: | |
| “My statement in June reflected the policy the government at the time. It did, as Prime Minister had made announcements today which flagged that our government is to considering, in the context of a two state solution, which we do not resile from, in fact it is because of our commitment to a two state solution that we believe that we need to be open to more innovative ways to progress that a gender, and that should involve consideration not only of the recognition of the capital of Israel being in Jerusalem, but also of a Palestinian state in East Jerusalem, and for an embassy to potentially be located in West Jerusalem, Mr Speaker. | |
| Tomorrow morning, the United Nations will vote on the G 77 decision that would allow or Palestine to take up the chair of the G 77. | |
| Our government will not be sitting on the fence, will be voting no on that decision, Speaker. And in addition to that, as has been explained by the Minister forDefence, we are viewing without prejudice our position on the joint comprehends it fan of action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, Mr Speaker. | |
| This is an issue of real concern within the Jewish community, Mr Speaker, as I am sure members opposite know and are being silenced by members like the Member for Sydney, or the Member for Watson, Mr Speaker, or the faction within New South Wales controlled by Bob Carr, who is making the Labor Party walk away from their support of Israel, which was once understood and was once appreciated, and now, and now the Labor Party cannot form a view on this, Mr Speaker. | |
| Well, our government can form a view, we can form a view, we for a two state solution and we are for, our support for the nation State of Israel, and we for working together to go and achieve that solution in a way that considers, it considers, Mr Speaker, the proposal that we could potentially have recognition of the capital in Jerusalem and potentially have embassy is located in Jerusalem. | |
| Now, at the Labor Party will not even allow that brought to pass their minds, all I have simply said today is we have not made progress, we are not making progress to a two state solution in the Middle East. | |
| If you keep doing the same thing, Mr Speaker, as the Labor Party wants to do, you will not get a different outcome. We believe in a two state solution and we are prepared to listen to innovative ideas like the former ambassador to Israel, Dave Sharma, you would know more about this issue than any single person sitting on those benches, Mr Speaker. | |
| And I would welcome his contribution in this chamber as someone who understands the sensitivities and the complexities of achieving a two state solution, so we know what Dave Sharma stands for...[he runs out of time] | |
| Christopher Pyne just took a dixer on Israel and turned it into Labor’s problem: | |
| “They keep claiming bipartisanship on national security. What is their position on the decision that we have taken, the announcement that we have made today. [To vote no in the UN vote on Palestine taking up the leadership of the G77] | |
| What is Labor’s position on the announcement that we have made today to strengthen our relationship withIsrael, Mr Speaker? The truth is Labor is riven by division overIsrael, Mr Speaker. Bob Carr and New South Wales Labor Party have taken control of the agenda on Israel insider Labor Party and it is time for the Leader of the Opposition to stand up and support the government’s announcement that he made today.” | |
| Tanya Plibersek to Scott Morrison: | |
| “The prime minister is refusing to act on removing discrimination against LGBTI teachers until after the government has released the Ruddock report. Why is the prime minister keeping the Ruddock report a secret until after the Wentworth byelection? | |
| “After five months, why do Australians, including voters in Wentworth, have to wait until after the byelection to know what the government will do? If the prime minister is not planning anything harmful, what does he have to hide?” | |
| Morrison: | |
| All the recommendations of the report had been reported in the press already. They are out there. So they are well known, they are out there. What I am doing, Mr Speaker, I am ensuring that the government’s response will be prepared, and will be provided in an orderly way, and that will provide the opportunity for this parliament to properly consider what are very sensitive and complex issues, conflict issues that the member for Isaacs has properly recognised as being quite difficult to work through. | |
| There are many different views in this chamber, and outside of this chamber, and I think we should work together to resolve those and deal with these matters in an orderly way. It was only a week ago, it was only a week ago that the member for Sydney said – when asked should these laws be abolished and should we have this discrepancy – she said “Is not Labor’s plan to reduce any existing exemptions”. That was her policy from a week ago. | |
| And now she is coming in here and lecturing us on laws that the Labor party introduced and took through their cabinet, which provided the very discrimination that she is now saying should be reversed, only a week ago she said they should not be reversed. | |
| Forgive me, Mr Speaker, if the government is going to take a more responsible and orderly process to provide our response. Mr Speaker, seven weeks ago, just over, I took on the role of prime minister. I had not seen that...report. | |
| It had not been into cabinet to be considered prior to that time and in the last seven weeks I have been focusing on the drought, I have been focusing on small and family business tax cuts, I have been focusing on royal commission into residential aged care, I have been focusing on electricity prices and bringing them down. These are the issues that I have been focusing on as prime minister with our team, Mr Speaker. | |
| And we will deal with these very important issues around religious freedoms in an orderly way and in a way that is respectful to all the participants. What I would ask, and what I have written to the leader of the opposition to do, is that in the area of most acute anxiety...in the Ruddock review, that created unnecessary anxiety with students because of their sexuality or their gender identity, we would like to see that issue resolved, with these matters coming before this parliament. | |
| I think we should operate in the area of obvious consensus and get it done and not allow other issues to distract us from that task. | |
| Mark Dreyfus to Scott Morrison: | |
| Yesterday when asked about laws which allowed discrimination against LGBTI teachers, the treasurer said and I quote “I don’t think these laws are right”. Today Liberal senator Dean Smith has said he supports “amendments to remove discrimination against LGBTI teachers”. Will the prime minister join with Labor to ensure that teachers cannot he sacked just because of who they are and who they love? | |
| Morrison: | |
| What I have said yesterday and will say again today is that the issues relating to the broader religious freedom report will be dealt with once we have had the opportunity as a government to provide our response and release the full report, and there will be time enough to deal with those important issues down the track, and we look forward to doing that. | |
| What I have written to the leader of the opposition about is ensuring that we act right now, right now, in an area of absolute consensus when it comes to the issue of ensuring that there is, that children who are in schools, who may have fears or anxieties related to the way that this issue was misrepresented over the last couple of weeks, that we can deal with that once and for all and practically deal with this issue, and we should not play politics with it. | |
| We should be able to get on and do it because, Mr Speaker, even the member who asked me a question today has admitted in his interview with Fran Kelly today that the question of exemption for staff, teachers and other staff working in religious schools, is a complex one. | |
| We will deal with these views and deal with it in an orderly way and do it in an adult way, with proposals before us that can be consulted on and discussed. What I think we should be doing now is legislating and taking the opportunity of this sitting fortnight to legislate to ensure that children are protected from the laws that were introduced, I remind those opposite, by the Labor party, they introduced them, the member for Sydney only said in January that there were no plans to change anti-discrimination exemptions and she said on the talk of October that it was not Labor’s plan to reduce any of those existing exemptions. | |
| I am happy to concede that there are many positions on this and this is a complex issue, as the member for Isaacs said. We will deal with this when there is a proposal on the table from the government to the review, but for now the attorney is working with the shadow attorney to make sure we have a legislative amendment to honour what I wrote to the leader of the opposition about, flagged on the weekend, and I rang him on Monday. | |
| An emergency meeting of representatives from Middle Eastern and North African countries is currently under way at the office of the Palestinian delegation to Australia in Canberra to discuss Scott Morrison’s comments regarding moving the embassy to Jerusalem. | |
| The Palestinian representative to Australia, Izzat Salah Abudulhadi, was joined by representatives from the embassies of a number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa: Kuwait, Jordan, Algeria, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Sudan, Qatar, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Iraq. | |
| Abdulhadi has called Morrison’s plan to consider moving the embassy “deeply disturbing”, saying it could embolden the Trump administration in their plans to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict in a way that leaves the status of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees “off the table”.“The short-term political gain that could be secured by moving the Australian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would surely be outweighed by the detriment both to Australia’s international standing and in its relations with Arab and Muslim-majority countries and the international community more broadly,” Abdulhadi said. | |
| The delegation urged the government to “exercise caution and prudence towards this sensitive final-status issue and to seriously consider the consequences of any such move”. | |
| Michael McCormack gave everyone a chance to have a water break again, and we move on to Chris Bowen with a question to Scott Morrison, which is taken by Josh Frydenberg: | |
| Can the prime minister confirm that when we said the GST floor needed to be legislated, the government ignored it and then agreed to it? And then we called for that legislation to ensure that no state or territory is left worse off, the government rejected it but today it accepted it? | |
| Frydenberg: | |
| You had lots of different positions and misspoke in a Sky interview. | |
| We move on. | |
| Rebekha Sharkie has today’s crossbench question and it’s on the crossbench bill to support the AMA call to have the children of asylum seekers, and their families, temporarily relocated to Australia for medical treatment: | |
| Will you support the call of the crossbench and some of your backbench and temporarily relocate children from Nauru so that they can receive the medical care that every child deserves? | |
| Scott Morrison: | |
| (After saying any member can ask for an update on what is happening from the immigration minister and then moving onto an attack of Labor’s record following an interjection from Tony Burke) | |
| (The transcript will get a bit bitsy, because he gets too shouty for the transcription service to keep up): | |
| I note the interjection from the member who was previously only the second most [failed] immigration minister in Australian history. He does hold the record to see more boats turn up in one month than any other immigration minister. [While I sat as] the shadow immigration minister, while they just that there and failed and the bodies piled up, Mr Speaker, is an absolute disgrace. | |
| He can sit there in all of his outrage and all of his squawking, Mr Speaker, but he has delivered the fact that he failed on his watch. | |
| There was also a bit where he pointed and said “failure, failure, failure” so I guess the ‘keep a lid on the shoutiness’ attempt is all but over. | |
| Tanya Plibersek to Scott Morrison: | |
| The government claims its decision to endorse white supremacist slogans in the Senate was an administrative error. Was it an administrative error when the government voted to cut $14bn from public schools? Was it eight administrative errors when it voted to cut penalty rates, was it six administrative errors when the prime minister voted against a banking royal commission? Is the government’s message in Wentworth really, vote for a government that has absolutely no idea what it is doing? | |
| Christopher Pyne says the question is “offensive” because the government re-put the motion and voted against it today. (I WISH it was that easy to rewrite history. Do-overs for all!) | |
| Tony Smith rules the question in order. | Tony Smith rules the question in order. |
| Scott Morrison: | Scott Morrison: |
| The electors of Wentworth have an important choice to make on Saturday. They can support a government that can support economic growth, that has been the envy of the developed world, they can support a government that has demonstrated working with business and those all around the country, more than one million jobs over the last five years, they can support a government that has ensured that they are able to keep Australians safe, and you know the Labor party likes to talk about bipartisanship on these sorts of issues. | |
| What I know about the Labor party is that they subcontract the hard decisions on national security, and the economy, to the government. | |
| They are happy to support us on occasion, Mr Speaker. They are happy to support us on occasion, but what would actually happen if the Labor party was sitting on these benches when it comes to Australia’s national security? When it comes to our border security? | |
| When it comes to our economic security? When the Liberals and Nationals are not there to make the decisions about taking down taxes for individuals and small business? | |
| What would happen if the Labor party was one step closer and this leader of the Labor party that thinks that his version of leadership and his vision to Australia is to divide Australians on one side and the other into winners and losers? Those who employ and those who turn up in worker wages. Between parents who want to send their kids to an independent school and parents who want to send their kids to state school, Mr Speaker. | |
| The leader of the opposition only has a plan to divide this country for his own political interests and purposes, Mr Speaker. Our government has a plan to keep our economy strong, to ensure that we can guarantee the essential services that Australians rely on, that we take the difficult decisions to keep Australians safe, whether it is in the playground or whether it is overseas or whether it is on our borders, and we have the record for achieving that, Mr Speaker, and it is our plan and our record of government that we are keeping Australians together. | |
| That is a plan that Australians can vote for in Wentworth on Saturday. And a vote for anyone other than the Liberal candidate puts the wrecker, the leader of the Labour party, one step closer to taxing you more, slowing our economy, being less safe and driving Australians apart. | |
| We move back to dixers and looking at the despatch box, Nicole Flint has been moved to directly behind it. | We move back to dixers and looking at the despatch box, Nicole Flint has been moved to directly behind it. |
| She’s a splash of pink jacket in a sea of [mostly] blue suits, but she is most definitely smack bang behind the despatch box. | She’s a splash of pink jacket in a sea of [mostly] blue suits, but she is most definitely smack bang behind the despatch box. |
| Tony Burke to Scott Morrison: | Tony Burke to Scott Morrison: |
| Does the prime minister honestly expect Australia to believe that an administrative error led to the government supporting a white supremacy slogan, when a review of the motion in September... Today the government refused to allow this house to debate and rejected. Is this what the prime minister meant when he called his own government the Muppet show?” | Does the prime minister honestly expect Australia to believe that an administrative error led to the government supporting a white supremacy slogan, when a review of the motion in September... Today the government refused to allow this house to debate and rejected. Is this what the prime minister meant when he called his own government the Muppet show?” |
| Morrison: | Morrison: |
| “I always expect the Labor party to play politics with serious issues. That is what I expect. | “I always expect the Labor party to play politics with serious issues. That is what I expect. |
| “These are serious issues, Mr Speaker. The leader of the government has said it and made a statement to the Senate, and I am pleased to table that for the information of members, and Mr Speaker, I would refer the matter to the attorney general.” | “These are serious issues, Mr Speaker. The leader of the government has said it and made a statement to the Senate, and I am pleased to table that for the information of members, and Mr Speaker, I would refer the matter to the attorney general.” |
| Christian Porter: | Christian Porter: |
| (after repeating much of his statement today) | (after repeating much of his statement today) |
| I simply want to say that the criticism of me and my office is a completely fair cop, and I accept and apologise for the processing [mistake of] my office. And I use the language “fair cop” Mr Speaker, because that is the language the leader of the opposition wisely used when he was criticised about a year ago for producing a full political television ad meant for the Queensland market with an all-white cast, under the banner “Australians first”. | I simply want to say that the criticism of me and my office is a completely fair cop, and I accept and apologise for the processing [mistake of] my office. And I use the language “fair cop” Mr Speaker, because that is the language the leader of the opposition wisely used when he was criticised about a year ago for producing a full political television ad meant for the Queensland market with an all-white cast, under the banner “Australians first”. |
| “...The leader of the opposition will recall his explanation that although the final ad was cleared through his office, he had not seen the final product and he said that that was a bad oversight that won’t happen again. | “...The leader of the opposition will recall his explanation that although the final ad was cleared through his office, he had not seen the final product and he said that that was a bad oversight that won’t happen again. |
| “So it is very interesting that the Labor leader is unwilling to accept an admission of a bad oversight on the part of my office with respect to an email, when it was an entire TV commercial that went out of his office, starring him, which he says that he never saw and we are meant to accept that.” | “So it is very interesting that the Labor leader is unwilling to accept an admission of a bad oversight on the part of my office with respect to an email, when it was an entire TV commercial that went out of his office, starring him, which he says that he never saw and we are meant to accept that.” |
| Ross Vasta gets the first dixer. My, my, my Queensland MPs are getting some love in QT lately. | Ross Vasta gets the first dixer. My, my, my Queensland MPs are getting some love in QT lately. |
| Anyone would think that the LNP was in trouble in Queensland and could decide the election. | Anyone would think that the LNP was in trouble in Queensland and could decide the election. |
| Not that I am convinced that standing up in QT and reading a question which has been written for you helps get voters across the line, but what would I know? | Not that I am convinced that standing up in QT and reading a question which has been written for you helps get voters across the line, but what would I know? |
| Bill Shorten to Scott Morrison on...Malcolm Turnbull: | Bill Shorten to Scott Morrison on...Malcolm Turnbull: |
| “The Liberal candidate for Wentworth said yesterday that he was appalled at the treatment that was meted out to Malcolm Turnbull. Does the prime minister agree that the way he and his government treated Malcolm Turnbull was appalling, and when will the prime minister tell the voters in Wentworth, why isn’t Malcolm Turnbull still the prime minister of Australia?” | “The Liberal candidate for Wentworth said yesterday that he was appalled at the treatment that was meted out to Malcolm Turnbull. Does the prime minister agree that the way he and his government treated Malcolm Turnbull was appalling, and when will the prime minister tell the voters in Wentworth, why isn’t Malcolm Turnbull still the prime minister of Australia?” |
| Morrison: | Morrison: |
| We have dealt with this before and Dave Sharma is an awesome candidate and also, strong economy. | We have dealt with this before and Dave Sharma is an awesome candidate and also, strong economy. |
| And we are almost at question time! | And we are almost at question time! |
| Get those bingo predictions ready | Get those bingo predictions ready |
| I’m not sure this helps the government’s argument today: | I’m not sure this helps the government’s argument today: |
| .@tomwconnell: Do people read motions when they vote on them?@MichaelKeenanMP: There is a lot going on in this place at any given time. Sometimes instructions can get mangled in the telling. MORE: https://t.co/ECcDiJepZz #newsday pic.twitter.com/3asKFhxSGw | .@tomwconnell: Do people read motions when they vote on them?@MichaelKeenanMP: There is a lot going on in this place at any given time. Sometimes instructions can get mangled in the telling. MORE: https://t.co/ECcDiJepZz #newsday pic.twitter.com/3asKFhxSGw |
| The Greens also stand against the accelerated tax cuts for businesses with a turnover of between $10m and $50m. | The Greens also stand against the accelerated tax cuts for businesses with a turnover of between $10m and $50m. |
| Richard Di Natale made that position clear last week – here is Adam Bandt on why: | Richard Di Natale made that position clear last week – here is Adam Bandt on why: |
| Meanwhile, the small to medium accelerated tax cut debates is also going on: pic.twitter.com/JVsz2HJ91j | Meanwhile, the small to medium accelerated tax cut debates is also going on: pic.twitter.com/JVsz2HJ91j |