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Scott Morrison questioned over 'disastrous performance' in Wentworth byelection – question time live Scott Morrison questioned over 'disastrous performance' in Wentworth byelection – question time live
(35 minutes later)
The Australian Conservation Foundation CEO Kelly O’Shanassy, is also not a fan:
“After declaring the National Energy Guarantee dead, Prime Minister Morrison today announced a suite of policies to cut electricity prices and boost electricity reliability. There was one crucial factor missing, a policy to curb climate pollution.
“It beggars belief that in the week following a by-election wipe out, where climate concern was the number one issue, the Morrison Government has put forward an energy policy that ignores climate change.
“The Morrison Government’s plan to underwrite investments in new ‘firm’ power could be a useful mechanism if designed properly, but it should not become a Trojan horse to fund new coal-fired power stations or refurbish old ones.
“While the Prime Minister and Energy Minister say their approach is technology neutral, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has just told us that some technology – burning coal – poses a grave risk to life.
“There are a range of ways the government could support cleaner, cheaper, on-demand power and increase competition, but none of them should allow public money to be used for investment in new or extended coal-fired power.
“The government could support cleaner, cheaper, on-demand power by underwriting more pumped hydro and battery storage and positioning the Clean Energy Finance Corporation to manage the scheme.
“The last thing Australia needs is a new dirty, expensive coal-fired power station.
“It’s time for our government to take an approach to energy that doesn’t continue to damage our climate, our health and our future,” Ms O’Shanassy said.
Adam Bandt is also not a fan of the government’ latest energy plan:
“This price ‘safety net’ move is an absolute con,” said Mr Bandt in a statement.
“When you read the fine print, the so-called ‘cap’ won’t apply to 80-90% of customers.”
“And the CEO of Energy Australia has even threatened to put up the prices of the 80-90% of customers to make up for their lost profits if the government forces the power bills of 10-20% of customers down.
“The government’s so-called safety net has holes so big that most people will fall through them.”
“The government’s energy plan is also to pay polluters to keep on polluting through a coal-slush fund.
“While the Greens want to make the polluters pay, the Liberals want to pay the polluters to keep on polluting.
“The government’s latest appalling move is to strip money from schools and hospitals and give it to coal-fired power stations.
“It’s like taking money from the health budget and giving it to an asbestos business.”
“Scientists are telling us to shut down one coal-fired power station per year between now and 2030 but instead the Liberals want to build more.”
“If the government takes public money and gives it to coal, they’re toast. They won’t survive the next election and I’ll be glad to see the back of them.”
Bill Shorten to Scott Morrison:
Can the Prime Minister confirm that, a year ago, he said, “Evidence-based policy is the National Energy Guarantee - it means lower prices, more reliable energy, and we meet our obligations to the environment. I mean, why wouldn’t you want that, Bill Shorten?” Well, I still want that, and the Prime Minister used to want that. So why is the Prime Minister walking away from the National Energy Guarantee he backed last year?
Morrison:
The government’s energy policies are about bringing down electricity prices, and the key component of what we announced today was the reliability guarantee, which forces big energy companies to contract reliable energy supply into the market, which is what keeps power prices down and keeps the lights on, Mr Speaker. That’s what our policies are focused on. It’s about taking the big companies to task on energy and electricity to make sure they do the right thing, Mr Speaker, and to ensure that the big stick of legislation is there to ensure that those companies do the right thing.
Those opposite jeer and sneer when it comes to the government taking a big stick to electricity companies, Mr Speaker. That’s what they do. They don’t share our view that electricity companies need to take [be held to account].By the end of this year, they will have the opportunity to vote for our legislation, Mr Speaker
Butler waves his ‘big stick’ again, Morrison talks about unions, and I start looking for a monkey’s paw to wish me anywhere but here.
The big stick
Honestly, there is a reason my dad calls this place bullshit castle.
Gossip in restaurants indeed. *eye roll emoji*
Mark Butler to Scott Morrison:
The member for North Sydney has said, “The challenge the government faces is that, following the demise of the national energy guarantee, there’s a strong feeling that we don’t have a climate change plan.” But the member for Hughes has said, “To suggest that more people would have voted for Dave Sharma if we had passed some version of the Neg is a fantasy.” Who’s right when it comes to this government’s policy on the national energy guarantee?
Morrison:
Our government will continue to pursue the plans that have ensured that we’ve met Kyoto 1, that we will meet Kyoto 2, and that we will meet our commitments in 2030 and the targets that have been set throughout the adoption of that policy some years ago – Arena, the CEFC, Snowy 2.0, the Emissions Reduction Fund, which continues to be under review in terms of future support.
But most of all, what we understand on this side of the house is that common sense and technology are also driving Australia to a lower-emissions outcome.
That is what will enable us to achieve those outcomes into the future. Not by jacking up people’s power prices, as those opposite wish to do, with reckless targets which will see a burden placed on households, on pensioners, on small businesses, of greater than the carbon tax they inflicted when they were last in government.
Our policies are about reducing electricity prices. Our policies are achieving the emissions reduction targets, emissions reduction which has given us the lowest emissions per capita in 28 years.
So we’re getting on with the job, Mr Speaker. We’re focusing on the issues that matter to Australians, which is equally, Mr Speaker, getting their electricity prices down and meeting our obligations to the environment.
What are we getting from the Labor party? Questions about gossip in restaurants, Mr Speaker. That’s what they’ve been reduced to as an opposition. It doesn’t get more in the bubble than that.
I just spat out my tea. Insulting our Pacific neighbours, who are the most worried about climate change and have been lobbying Australia about what it is going to do, those same Pacific neighbours we have restored aid and attention to, because we are so worried about China’s soft power influence, is now GOSSIP IN RESTAURANTS.
Anne Aly has the next question to Melissa Price:
Last week, the minister managed to insult all of Australia’s Pacific neighbours at the same time, as well as twice misleading the parliament. Does this minister take any responsibility for her stumbles, and for the role she played in the government’s devastating performance on the weekend?
Price:
As I said in the house last week, and I’ve repeated numerous times, I did not mislead parliament. I did not ... I’m asked a question, I’m now responding to the member for Cowan.
I did not mislead parliament. The way that the conversation was reported in the media was inaccurate. It was inaccurate. But the question, Mr Speaker, you have to ask yourself – why does the Labor party continue with this line of questioning?
Why do they do that? It’s because it’s a distraction. You know that we, on this side, have actually got the economy humming.
You know that the Australians are watching us, and that they know that we have everything under control from an economy perspective. We know about all the fabulous things that are going on in our economy. We know – there’s a ‘hear, hear’. We now know, since 2013, we’ve now created one million jobs.
That’s something to celebrate. Australians also know that we’ve got the unemployment rate down to 5%. They’re pretty happy about that too, prime minister. They know that we’re looking after the small- to medium-sized businesses and we’ve cut their taxes. They also know that we’ve now got a very sensible GST solution. And I would have thought the member for Cowan would be cheering that on for Western Australia. Cause I’m pretty happy about that. Are you happy about that?
Just a couple of points – the conversation, as first reported by David Crowe, was backed by a witness who put his name to the record. Also, when Price rang Anote Tong to apologise, he said to move on, not that it was wrong.
And if all those things were so fantastic, why on earth did the Coalition need to change leaders?
Peter Dutton delivers his daily dose of you’re safe, your borders are safe, your laws are safe – but – DUM DUM DUMMMMMMMMM – what would happen if Labor was in power question, and I really think we need to get an organ in the house, just for the full effect.
Tony Burke to Scott Morrison:
Given the evidence that his key supporters conspired to depose Malcolm Turnbull, how can the prime minister stand by his statement to the house – “I came to this position of leadership not seeking it” in support of the prime minister?”
DING DING DING!!!!!!!!
Confetti rains from the ceiling as Burke is revealed to have cracked the code. Tony Smith allows the question.
And now, as a reward, following on the heels of big sticks, we now have the prime minister talking about swagger. I am not sure if it’s Bee Gee swagger, or Ye swagger – sadly, we don’t get that amount of detail
Morrison:
I absolutely stand by my comments in this house, Mr Speaker. I absolutely stand by my comments in this house. And I’m not going to take a lecture from a leader of the Labor party who cut down two prime ministers. One was here yesterday, the other one was here today.
He cut down two. There’s no dispute about that, Mr Speaker. I have supported prime ministers in this place, Mr Speaker. That’s my record. But what I have noticed about the Labor party today ... is they are obsessed about politics, Mr Speaker – what we see in their smirks and in their sneers and in their jeers, and in the swagger that we also see from militant unions, Mr Speaker, is a cockiness that has crept into this leader of the Labor party ...
An arrogance. A smarminess, Mr Speaker, which has crept into this leader of the Labor party. This leader of the Labor party thinks he’s already there. They all think they’re already there, Mr Speaker.
From the weeping member for Rankin, Mr Speaker, to all of them over here – all of them here – they know, Mr Speaker, they know that they should not be treating the Australian people with such contempt in the way they behave in this place with their sneering and their jeering and their swaggering. And you know what happens when the Labor party gets more cocky? The unions get more cocky, Mr Speaker. The cockier the Labor party get, the cockier the unions get. That’s what we’ll see around the country if this leader of the Labor party gets to run the country like a union, like he said he would, Mr Speaker.
Some more news out of New Zealand:
The New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said the New Zealand offer remains open, regardless of domestic Australian politics, and getting women and children off Nauru was a “particular priority”.
“Our offer, we have been completely consistent on, remains the same,” Ardern said in her weekly media stand-up.
“We’ve made provisions to act on the offer”.
Talking of big sticks, Mark Butler has come prepared.
He has taken in a toothpick and seems to wave it each time someone in the government says “big stick”.
I told you. These jokes write themselves.
Now Clare O’Neil tries her luck at the same question Mark Dreyfus was denied.
But it’s now the New Coke version – formula is basically the same but it has been reworked slightly:
Journalist David Speers has revealed the now-prime minister’s numbers men, who were recently awarded with treasurer and special minister of state conspiring to depose Malcolm Turnbull. Given this revelation, how can the prime minister stand by his previous statement in question time that he didn’t seek to become prime minister?
But much like New Coke, this question is also rejected.
Tony Smith basically tells Labor to get rid of the preamble and it might have a hope of getting through in order. Basically. He couldn’t possibly comment.
But wait, we did just get the line
“We’ll introduce a big stick ....
(A delay while Angus Taylor refers to written answer where, presumably, the big stick introduction is put into context)
... legislative package”.
It’s just too easy.
Mark Dreyfus to Scott Morrison:Mark Dreyfus to Scott Morrison:
In Question Time, the Prime Minister told the House “I came to this position of leadership not seeking it in support of the previous Prime Minister.” Does he stand by that answer, given the member for Warringah has told journalist David Speers that the now-prime minister “part his half a dozen votes into the prime ministership, manoeuvring to bring on the spill and then harvest Turnbull votes to get the top job”? In question time, the prime minister told the house: “I came to this position of leadership not seeking it, in support of the previous prime minister.” Does he stand by that answer, given the member for Warringah has told journalist David Speers that the now-prime minister ‘put his half a dozen votes into the prime ministership, manoeuvring to bring on the spill and then harvest Turnbull votes to get the top job’?
Is the reason why the Prime Minister won’t explain why Malcolm Turnbull deposed was because he was up to his neck in it?” Is the reason why the prime minister won’t explain why Malcolm Turnbull was deposed because he was up to his neck in it?”
Christopher Pyne pipes up that Morrison is not responsible for the comments of Tony Abbott.Christopher Pyne pipes up that Morrison is not responsible for the comments of Tony Abbott.
Tony Burke tries again, but Tony Smith is having none of it, and the question is ruled out of order. Tony Burke tries again but Tony Smith is having none of it, and the question is ruled out of order.
All that does is inflict an Angus Taylor dixer on us earlier than it usually would be infliected on us, so really, there are no winners here. All that does is inflict an Angus Taylor dixer on us earlier than it usually would be infliected on us, so really there are no winners here.
Michael McCormack gets the next dixer, and apparently, being told you are almost about to lose your job has actually IMPROVED how he reads these answers. Michael McCormack gets the next dixer and, apparently, being told you are almost about to lose your job has actually IMPROVED how he reads these answers.
I mean, it is still not great, and there are backbenchers behind him still asking for water, texting and passing papers to each other, but no one is turning to watch the paint peel off the wall.I mean, it is still not great, and there are backbenchers behind him still asking for water, texting and passing papers to each other, but no one is turning to watch the paint peel off the wall.
It’s like how you would treat the substitute teacher you know, rather than just the one who rocks up out of the blue.It’s like how you would treat the substitute teacher you know, rather than just the one who rocks up out of the blue.
Susan Lamb gets a question. Susan Lamb has a question.
It’s to Scott Morrison:It’s to Scott Morrison:
Can the Prime Minister confirm reports that he’s asked Malcolm Turnbull to come out of retirement to represent the Australian government at an international summit on oceans this week?” Can the prime minister confirm reports that he’s asked Malcolm Turnbull to come out of retirement to represent the Australian government at an international summit on oceans this week?
Morrison:Morrison:
Mr Turnbull will lead the Australian delegation at the next Our Ocean Conference in Bali on October 29 to 30 of 2018. He was personally invited to attend that originally by the Indonesian President. Mr Turnbull will lead the Australian delegation at the next Our Ocean Conference in Bali on October 29 to 30 of 2018. He was personally invited to attend that originally by the Indonesian president.
It was the subject of our discussions when I met with the Indonesian President, President Widodo. It was the subject of our discussions when I met with the Indonesian president, President Widodo.
I was unable to follow through on that invitation and so, to ensure that we had very senior-level representation - which was well-received by the President of Indonesia - I did request the former prime minister to represent us at that conference, and he’ll be there representing the policies of our government. I was unable to follow through on that invitation, and so, to ensure that we had very senior-level representation – which was well-received by the president of Indonesia – I did request the former prime minister to represent us at that conference, and he’ll be there representing the policies of our government.
Mr Speaker, in that capacity, I think he presents a very serious, a very senior, and a very duly recognised status of our relationship with Indonesia, and I know that his attendance at that summit will be well-recognised and appreciated by President Widodo, and I thank him for representing Australia on that occasion.” Mr Speaker, in that capacity, I think he presents a very serious, a very senior, and a very duly recognised status of our relationship with Indonesia, and I know that his attendance at that summit will be well-recognised and appreciated by President Widodo, and I thank him for representing Australia on that occasion.
A friend in America, interested in what it is we do down here, has begun listening to question time, and just sent me a video of what it sounds like to her, and honestly, I don’t think I have seen anything more accurate:A friend in America, interested in what it is we do down here, has begun listening to question time, and just sent me a video of what it sounds like to her, and honestly, I don’t think I have seen anything more accurate:
Lynx are experts at arguing 😳Lynx are experts at arguing 😳
A post shared by The Dodo (@thedodo) on Oct 22, 2018 at 12:48pm PDTA post shared by The Dodo (@thedodo) on Oct 22, 2018 at 12:48pm PDT
Chris Bowen to Scott Morrison:
Wait, it is interrupted for Christopher Pyne to get in trouble by the Speaker, for what sounds like being Christopher Pyne.
We return to Bowen’s question:
A week before the Wentworth by-election, the Prime Minister warned that a hung parliament would cause “uncertainty” in our economy. Does the Prime Minister stand by this statement? If not, why does the Prime Minister always say one thing before an election, and something completely different after the election?
Morrison:
“The Shadow Treasurer may not be aware that, following the weekend’s results, the ANZ consumer confidence index actually fell over the course of the weekend, and the ANZ economists attributed that result to the uncertainty that resulted from the election result on the weekend.”
The House goes a bit mental, because Morrison has seemingly, just admitted that losing Wentworth has created an uncertain economy.
He continues:
“..the outcome and uncertainty of the election on the weekend did produce a - Mr Speaker, it did produce the result that I indicated that it would.
... Now, that said, the government that we have been part of - and particularly over the last eight weeks, we have been effectively in the position of a minority government ever since that time. (Because Kevin Hogan became the Clayton’s crossbencher)
And in that time, we have worked constructively with those on the crossbench to deal with legislation, to get measures through.
We’ve passed small business tax cuts, Mr Speaker. We’ve passed important legislation to protect our strawberry farmers.
We’ve passed legislation every single day we have been in here, and we have been getting on with the job of government. Now, we will continue to do that.
The business as usual of our government of getting things done will continue. And that business as usual means more jobs, it means lower taxes, it means lower electricity prices.
It means ensuring that we pay for affordable medicines. It means that retaining our AAA credit rating. It means a stronger economy that guarantees the essential services that Australians rely on.
That’s what we’re getting on with. The leader of the Labor Party is stuck in the Canberra bubble.”
We are back to more dixers that should just be a press release.
So while Scott Morrison helps drain what is left of my will to keep typing, a big thank-you to reader Cressida for the small plaque she sent us – for surviving dixers that should have been a press release.
We appreciate it.
#deathtodixers
Tanya Plibersek to Scott Morrison:
Just before my question, can I add my words of support to acknowledge what an important day yesterday was.
My question is to the prime minister: On Sky News this morning, when asked why Malcolm Turnbull was no longer prime minister, the minister for defence industry said it was “because Malcolm Turnbull couldn’t sell the government’s message.”
Is this why the government … deposed Malcolm Turnbull and installed “the advertising guy” as prime minister? And given the government’s disastrous performance on the weekend, how does he think The Muppet Show’s going?
Scott Morrison gives a rundown of the government’s achievements and then returns to his latest favourite catch-phrase (sigh).
There is no surprise that the Labor party only wants to talk about politics. Because they have no plans for the future. They want Australians to pay more for everything. Higher taxes, higher electricity bills, more for their private health insurance, Mr Speaker. These are the issues that Australians are focused on. These are the issues our government is focused on. The leader of the Labor party is just another politician trapped in the Canberra bubble.
Ok – you can’t have no plans for the future and then list how the party wants people to pay more. Because that makes no sense. Because if Labor wants people to pay more things, then obviously it has plans for the future.
Someone outside the Canberra bubble would probably pick that up.
The first dixer is on yesterday’s apology.
It’s worth a read:
Scott Morrison:
I want to thank all those survivors who attended here yesterday – not just in this building but outside of this place and on the lawns, where we had the opportunity to meet and listen to their stories.
And as they came back into this parliament and in the offices of members and they recounted their stories, I want to thank all members of this chamber for the welcome that they provided to all of those survivors, and all Australians for their solidarity in standing by those survivors and their families.
It was a very, very moving day. But an apology without action, as we said yesterday, is just a piece of paper, and the concrete actions that are necessary are about implementing the recommendations of the royal commission – 108 of those 122 recommendations are being implemented.
There were ones directed towards the commonwealth, and 18 further recommendations have been worked through with the states and territories. The National Redress Scheme has commenced. The national office of child safety was stood up in July, and now, as I said yesterday, it will report directly to me – not just to the Department of Social Services – and I’ll be assisted in that role not only by the minister for social services, but by the assistant minister to the prime minister, who has done an outstanding job in working with the advisory group and working towards the national apology yesterday.
I want to add my thanks to my assistant minister. The national database to ensure higher standards for child protection is under way with states and territories.
The work with survivors who are anxious about going into institutional aged care as a result of their most horrific experiences when they were last in institutions is an important issue that has been raised, and is one that we’ll be working closely with the minister for aged care and minister for senior Australians, but also be looking to the royal commission into aged care that we have announced to be sensitive to that issue and the solutions that need to be made available.
We are establishing the national centre for excellence to raise awareness and understanding of the impacts of child sexual abuse and removing the stigma so the stories can be told, and so the understanding can be generated. The national museum, which we announced support for, [and on] which we’ll be working with survivors, in particular, so the stories can be told, and we will never turn our back again on the shame that is rightfully sitting across our country – a stain on our country – and that national museum will be a place for reflection, for learning, for understanding.
And I would add to that that it will draw on excellent proposals from the care leavers who have got a particular proposal relating to an old orphanage building, and whether it’s that proposal – that’s what inspired this idea for this museum – and I want to thank the representatives for bringing that forward.
There were many people yesterday who I know felt they weren’t recognised, and I particularly also want to recognise, if I can have indulgence on this one point, to recognise those in our defence forces who also suffered sexual abuse. I want to acknowledge them here today, and I particularly want to thank the member for Dunkley for bringing that to my attention.
And I want to particularly, in this place, acknowledge their suffering as well.
Bill Shorten:
It was a very emotional day, as the prime minister and I discussed in the Great Hall, the level of emotion and hurt, and all of the conflicting emotions – it was almost physical, you could almost feel it against your skin.
We appreciate the attendance of survivors and victims and all those who came to hear it.
It was a very big compliment these people paid to the parliament, having been let down by institutions and people in power their whole lives – to come here and trust us to apologise, at the very least, was remarkable.
We acknowledge, too, that too many people didn’t survive or weren’t able to be there yesterday. I also acknowledge that action, not words, is what people want. And we promise not to second-guess the royal commission – it’s a global standard, it’s the best set of recommendations, the best set of proposals, and I understand – especially for those who are dying and very ill at the moment – we need to do everything to speed up redress.
Kevin Rudd has blamed Rupert Murdoch for prosecuting a “direct agenda” through his newspapers that toppled both himself and Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister.
Speaking at the launch of the second volume of his autobiography in Canberra, Rudd nominated Australia’s media concentration in Murdoch’s hands as one of the factors in its culture of deposing leaders, which he said had become “nationally embarrassing”.
Rudd used the launch to publicly plead with the Liberal party to follow his lead and adopt a rule raising the threshold to depose a leader.
Rudd:
[Rupert] Murdoch – who I’ve met many times – is ideologically deeply conservative, deeply protective of his corporation’s commercial interests and, therefore, prosecutes a direct agenda through his newspapers which I’ve been on the receiving end [of]. So, most recently, has Malcolm [Turnbull]. Let’s not pretend it’s been anything other than that.
The launch was well attended by colleagues on both side of the aisle, with a few notable absences from the Labor leadership team.
The Coalition’s former foreign minister Julie Bishop and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce were in attendance.
From Labor I spied: Chris Bowen, Kim Carr, Anthony Albanese, Richard Marles, Mike Kelly, Terri Butler, Andrew Giles, Justine Elliott, Gavin Marshall, Patrick Gorman, Joel Fitzgibbon, Steve Georganas, Mike Freelander, Julian Hill and Stephen Jones.
The book was launched by the Labor senator Claire Moore and the University of Melbourne vice-chancellor, Glyn Davis. Moore revealed that Rudd used to do a killer Alexander Downer impression back in the day but, sadly, he did not oblige with a reprise on Tuesday.
Bill Shorten opens the questioning with ...
Wentworth.
“[The government saw] … a primary swing in Braddon of 2%, and in Longman it was 9%. Then it deposed Malcolm Turnbull. But on the weekend, the government suffered a 19% swing in Wentworth … so, given the government’s disastrous performance in Wentworth, why is Malcolm Turnbull gone but you’re still here?”
Scott Morrison:
People have suggested that Labor were running dead in the Wentworth byelection. But the real proof of that would have been whether the leader of the opposition turned up in Wentworth, Mr Speaker.
Then they would have really known that they were running dead in Wentworth …because that would have suppressed the vote even more, Mr Speaker.
It is true – it is true – that a third – around a third of the Liberal party vote in Wentworth, Mr Speaker, was lost to the Liberal party in that Wentworth byelection. It is also true that a third of the Labor party vote was lost in the Wentworth byelection.
A third of the Greens vote was lost in that byelection, Mr Speaker. Now, as I said on the weekend, I am very, very happy to stand up as leader of the Liberal party and cop it on the chin, Mr Speaker, for the anger that was expressed by Liberal voters, in particular, about the events of two months ago.
And we said that, and we were honest with our supporters and followers about that on the weekend. And we have committed to them to ensure that, as we have continued to come together, unified as a party, to go forward and fight this Labor leader who wants to put more than $200 billion worth of taxes on Australians, who wants to see a resurgence in militant unionism in this country, who wants to put their electricity prices up with reckless policies, and we will fight this leader of the Labor party all the way until the bell rings, and we will be successful.
Question time is about to begin.
While you get your bingo cards in order, Labor has launched its latest attack ad.
The book, volume two, is launched.
Don’t count on ABC estimates starting on time:
It's a total mystery how #estimates hearings get behind schedule pic.twitter.com/GVj9VtpN9e
Oh look – the government fixed Father Chris Riley’s funding issue, for his Youth Off the Streets schools.
For next year.
Dan Tehan says the government will “look at the issue going forward” because it is a “unique” issue.