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| Foodbank funding cut reversed by Coalition after outcry – politics live | Foodbank funding cut reversed by Coalition after outcry – politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Australian council of social services head, Cass Goldie spoke to Sky News about some of the wider cuts to Austalia’s social services budget this morning, in the wake of the decision to reverse the funding cut to Foodbank. | |
| .@ACOSS Cass Goldie: Since the Coalition government has come into office, we've seen an overall cut of about $1.5 billion to a range of community service programs.MORE: https://t.co/12xTAfCBb0 pic.twitter.com/mD8iKzoXK1 | |
| But Scott Morrison says this is not a migration issue, but a radicalisation issue, pointing out, again, that Hassan Khalif Shire Ali, was radicalised in Australia. | |
| He came here when he was five years old, for goodness’ sake and those who suggest it’s an issue of migration, he was five years old. | |
| What happened here, happened here. And so we need to focus on what happened here and that is a man grew up in this country, and was radicalised with these hateful views and beliefs and he didn’t get it from the postman. | |
| He didn’t get it from the police. He got it from the community he was living in and the people he was speaking to. And this is what we have to ensure does not take hold in this country. | |
| We’re in a position where we can deal with this. So I’m urging positively to encourage all leaders, all those who take positions of responsibility in these communities to ensure that they work closely with authorities so that this does not take hold, because it’s your children, your cousins, your family members, your community, and I want to work with you to protect the integrity of these communities, so they are resilient to this sort of hate and violent extremist Islamic practices are not taking root in this city, or any part of Australia or any other part of the country. | |
| The prime minister said he believes his spiritual leaders would know what is happening within their congregation: | |
| Communities need to ensure they weed this out. We can’t have the situation frankly where you have in religious communities, you know, police officers and others - these are places of faith. | |
| These are prayer rooms. These are places of instruction. There are people who are seeking counselling and guidance on any number of issues as they should be able to do and that’s happening in their communities. | |
| I’m a member of a religious community and my pastor knows what’s going on in our church community. | |
| He would know if there was someone, or his wife would know if there was someone leading a local Bible study group or something like that who was teaching things that were not in accordance with what our faith believed. | |
| They’d be pointing that out and they’d be dealing with it because that’s the responsibility of a religious leader, to actually protect the integrity of your faith community. | |
| Now, this is an assault on those communities, I should stress. I’m standing up for the integrity of their communities and want to work closely with religious leaders and others in the community to ensure that they don’t allow these wolves in, because these wolves will take advantage of vulnerable people. | |
| And I want to protect those people and I am looking to work together with religious communities, particularly Islamic communities, where we know that radical extremist Islam can take seed and we’ve seen it here again and we have seen it on other occasions and let’s not forget about the attack in Parramatta. | |
| That radicalisation took place at lightning speed with a young boy so this can happen fast. It can happen over a longer period of time and I’m not going to look the other way and I’m not going to allow others to make executions for people who want to look the other way. | |
| On his calls that Islamic community, particularly it’s spiritual leaders, need to do more to root out extremist terrorism, Scott Morrison said: | |
| I will say simply what I said on the weekend, that the violent extremist Islamic terrorist who did this on this street was radicalised in this country. | |
| He wasn’t radicalised in a suburban mall he wasn’t radicalised in a schoolroom. He was radicalised in a community here in Melbourne. | |
| Now, we all have jobs to do to keep Australians safe. It’s my job to ensure that our intelligence agencies and our law enforcement agencies both have the resources and the powers to enable them to do their jobs. | |
| It’s the job of communities to protect themselves and to keep the wolves from coming in amongst the sheep in their own religious communities. | |
| We want a country where people can have freedom of expression and freedom of belief. | |
| Of course we do. I’m a passionate supporter of this. But with that comes great responsibility. | |
| In religious communities, we need to ensure that people who would seek to infiltrate, people who would seek to take advantage of vulnerable people and spread hateful doctrines and idealologies that can inspire people to the most evil of acts, religious communities have a responsibility. | |
| So I won’t cop the excuses. There are responsibilities for all of us and, importantly, in religious communities, there are Imams and Muslim communities that are absolutely doing this and they are protecting the integrity of their religious communities. And I applaud them. | |
| And I know people and I’ve worked with people who are doing exactly that and they are brave and they are courageous. | |
| But for those who want to stick their head in the sand, for those who want to make executions for those who stick their head in the sand, for those who want to walk post those comments and make excuses, are you not making Australia safer. You are giving people an excuse to look the other way and not deal with things right in front of you. | |
| If there are people in a religious communities, an Islamic community, that are bringing in hateful, violent, extremist ideologies into your community, you’ve got to call it out, because it will take root and it will take root with your sons and daughters, with your friends, with your uncles, with your cousins, and it will infest and it will lead to the sorts of things that we have seen here on Bourke Street and I don’t want to so see that happen ever again. | |
| Scott Morrison: | |
| But there are so many Sistos here in Melbourne. The Sistos of Melbourne built this city, particularly after the Second World War. They created the businesses, they raised their families, they worked hard. They were honest people. They looked after each other. They were caring. They were compassionate. And this is the great city it is today because of people just like Sisto. | |
| And so to come here and be able to pay respects to him today - as others have, and rightly have, and more will - you know, the best way we respond to these and radicalist, extremist, Islamist attacks, is to do the very thing that they would have us stop doing and that would be to stop smiling, like Sisto would every day, to stop living a life full of joy and full of compassion and full of freedom, like Sisto did every single day. | |
| I mean he came here for the life that he was able to live here, and he lived it. He lived it. And he touched so many other lives. | |
| And they would have that taken away and for us to live a different way in this country and so to wear that Sisto smile, to follow his example, to embrace that. | |
| I think is the greatest tribute we can pay to him but it also says to those who want to have none of this, and would have us live very differently, that we won’t cop that and we will always live the way that we have the freedom to live in this country and you will never take from from us, you will never wipe that smile from our face, because we will always know that this is the greatest country on earth in which to live and the values that beliefs that enable it to be that great country, and the sacrifices that have been made from people to make it this great country are things that will always put a smile on our face and on those of our children. | |
| As the end of the year draws closer to us, so do all those end of year events – which includes the annual cabinet document release. | |
| This year, we are up to 1996 and 1997. Which is John Howard’s first year of government – and when Australia’s gun laws were introduced and passed, following the Port Arthur massacre. | |
| Scott Morrison says he has been very touched by the stories he has been hearing about Sisto Malaspina, as the cafe, well, Melbourne institution he co-owned, re-opened following his death on Friday, in the Bourke Street terror attack. | |
| “One day when the lady inside came in and she was feeling a bit blue, and he came over and he smiled at her, and he sung to her. How good is that? That is the heart of Melbourne. ...The families who run these businesses, it is not a job, it is a passion. | |
| “...They are celebrating a life well lived.” | |
| The ACCC has released its latest report on NBN speeds: | The ACCC has released its latest report on NBN speeds: |
| Almost 4.5 million residents now have an NBN broadband connection at home, and nearly half of them are on fast plans with speeds of 50mbps or more, the latest ACCC quarterly Wholesale Market Indicators Report shows. | |
| The ACCC’s report for the September quarter shows the number of NBN residential broadband connections rose from about 4.1 million last quarter (up almost 8.6%). | The ACCC’s report for the September quarter shows the number of NBN residential broadband connections rose from about 4.1 million last quarter (up almost 8.6%). |
| More than 2.2 million consumers are now on these high-speed plans, an increase of 20% on the previous quarter. Of these, there are now 1.8 million services on the 50mbps speed tier, a more than a tenfold increase compared to about 159,000 residential customers on 50mbps plans in December 2017. | |
| Scott Morrison is in Melbourne, ahead of jetting off to Singapore. | Scott Morrison is in Melbourne, ahead of jetting off to Singapore. |
| He’s signing the condolence book for Sisto Malaspina, who was killed in Friday’s attack, outside the cafe he co-owned. | He’s signing the condolence book for Sisto Malaspina, who was killed in Friday’s attack, outside the cafe he co-owned. |
| Matthew Guy is right behind him. | Matthew Guy is right behind him. |
| Anne Aly was also on ABC radio this morning, expanding on what she meant when she criticised Scott Morrison’s first comments following the Bourke Street terror attack. | Anne Aly was also on ABC radio this morning, expanding on what she meant when she criticised Scott Morrison’s first comments following the Bourke Street terror attack. |
| Can I just first of all, just take a pause to express unequivocally my condemnation of the terrorist attack last Friday and also send my condolences to the family and friends of those affected. Emma, my frustration is that in the wake of terrorist attacks we are presented with a very familiar refrain from our political leaders that calls on Muslim communities to do more, that calls on Muslim leaders to condemn terrorism again and again and again, even more louder, and I think that we need to move beyond words of condemnation. I think we need to move beyond these calls for the Muslim community which every law enforcement agency that I’ve ever spoken to recognises is a very important ally in security. And move towards working towards an effective prevention and intervention – early intervention mechanism. | Can I just first of all, just take a pause to express unequivocally my condemnation of the terrorist attack last Friday and also send my condolences to the family and friends of those affected. Emma, my frustration is that in the wake of terrorist attacks we are presented with a very familiar refrain from our political leaders that calls on Muslim communities to do more, that calls on Muslim leaders to condemn terrorism again and again and again, even more louder, and I think that we need to move beyond words of condemnation. I think we need to move beyond these calls for the Muslim community which every law enforcement agency that I’ve ever spoken to recognises is a very important ally in security. And move towards working towards an effective prevention and intervention – early intervention mechanism. |
| And what would that look like? | And what would that look like? |
| Years ago when I was a professor in counter-terrorism, there was a radical preacher by the name of Junaid Thorne operating in Perth’s outer suburbs where he was trying to recruit young men. I spoke out against him, did a lot of media interviews against him, confronted him and confronted those young men who were being radicalised by him. The Muslim community here in Perth: teachers, imams, sheikhs, parents all banded together. They closed their doors to him, they prevented their sons from mingling with him, they reported his activities to the police. And together, working together, they effectively removed him from the streets of Perth. These are the kinds of things that we need to be doing. We need to be looking at how we can best generate community expertise, community intelligence, communities working together to eradicate terrorism from within our midst. | Years ago when I was a professor in counter-terrorism, there was a radical preacher by the name of Junaid Thorne operating in Perth’s outer suburbs where he was trying to recruit young men. I spoke out against him, did a lot of media interviews against him, confronted him and confronted those young men who were being radicalised by him. The Muslim community here in Perth: teachers, imams, sheikhs, parents all banded together. They closed their doors to him, they prevented their sons from mingling with him, they reported his activities to the police. And together, working together, they effectively removed him from the streets of Perth. These are the kinds of things that we need to be doing. We need to be looking at how we can best generate community expertise, community intelligence, communities working together to eradicate terrorism from within our midst. |
| So no problem in calling out extremist behaviour, Aly says, and she believes that to be important. Her main issue with the comments: | So no problem in calling out extremist behaviour, Aly says, and she believes that to be important. Her main issue with the comments: |
| I do take issue with calling out that behaviour by wholly and solely blaming an entire community and putting the responsibility of terrorism on an entire community. | I do take issue with calling out that behaviour by wholly and solely blaming an entire community and putting the responsibility of terrorism on an entire community. |
| Kelly O’Dwyer has been chatting about the gender pay gap. Spoiler – it still exists. | Kelly O’Dwyer has been chatting about the gender pay gap. Spoiler – it still exists. |
| You can’t actually pay somebody more if you’re doing exactly the same job, but there is certainly a national gender pay gap. Happily it’s the lowest level it’s been in 20 years at 14.5% but it’s still too high. It’s come down from 17.2% under the previous Labor government, but we certainly know that there is a gap between men and women and it’s based on the fact that men and women can be paid different amounts in different industries in different jobs, and we know that it can often be because women are working part-time, not full-time, and they’ve got caring responsibilities and don’t necessarily get paid overtime because they don’t have the capacity to take on that work. There are many reasons for it – and we are very fortunate to have the Workplace Gender Equality Agency that measures this. | You can’t actually pay somebody more if you’re doing exactly the same job, but there is certainly a national gender pay gap. Happily it’s the lowest level it’s been in 20 years at 14.5% but it’s still too high. It’s come down from 17.2% under the previous Labor government, but we certainly know that there is a gap between men and women and it’s based on the fact that men and women can be paid different amounts in different industries in different jobs, and we know that it can often be because women are working part-time, not full-time, and they’ve got caring responsibilities and don’t necessarily get paid overtime because they don’t have the capacity to take on that work. There are many reasons for it – and we are very fortunate to have the Workplace Gender Equality Agency that measures this. |
| That’s from her interview with ABC radio this morning. | That’s from her interview with ABC radio this morning. |
| And it’s because the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s latest report is out. You can read more about that, here. | |
| And those citizenship changes that are bubbling away, which we alerted you to yesterday? | And those citizenship changes that are bubbling away, which we alerted you to yesterday? |
| Well, they are still on the boil. | Well, they are still on the boil. |
| There is not a lot of time for the government to actually do anything – there are two sitting weeks left and it no longer has its majority in the House, meaning it is highly unlikely any changes will be made in the short term. | There is not a lot of time for the government to actually do anything – there are two sitting weeks left and it no longer has its majority in the House, meaning it is highly unlikely any changes will be made in the short term. |
| But it sounds to me as if the government is preparing an election policy; | But it sounds to me as if the government is preparing an election policy; |
| .@MichaelSukkarMP on Bourke Street: We should expand the grounds by which people have their visas cancelled, we should be finding ways of revoking citizenship for people who clearly hate the society we live in. MORE: https://t.co/AeXIK8mgAX #amagenda pic.twitter.com/3FK9ii1Vzv | .@MichaelSukkarMP on Bourke Street: We should expand the grounds by which people have their visas cancelled, we should be finding ways of revoking citizenship for people who clearly hate the society we live in. MORE: https://t.co/AeXIK8mgAX #amagenda pic.twitter.com/3FK9ii1Vzv |
| Senior Liberal minister Mathias Cormann was interviewed on ABC TV this morning, and was asked about Tim Fischer’s criticism of ideologues in the Coalition who constantly criticise the ABC. | Senior Liberal minister Mathias Cormann was interviewed on ABC TV this morning, and was asked about Tim Fischer’s criticism of ideologues in the Coalition who constantly criticise the ABC. |
| Just to recap, former Nationals leader Tim Fischer on Monday said regional Australia “would be Siberia without the ABC” and “perhaps the ideological warriors should tone it down a bit”. | Just to recap, former Nationals leader Tim Fischer on Monday said regional Australia “would be Siberia without the ABC” and “perhaps the ideological warriors should tone it down a bit”. |
| “[They] should listen to all that the ABC, for its dynamic professionalism, is offering. I salute the ABC,” he said. | “[They] should listen to all that the ABC, for its dynamic professionalism, is offering. I salute the ABC,” he said. |
| “I could not live in and around Albury-Wodonga, Yackandandah, but for the ABC.” | “I could not live in and around Albury-Wodonga, Yackandandah, but for the ABC.” |
| Cormann was asked about Fischer’s comments on Tuesday, and he said he had never criticised the ABC. | Cormann was asked about Fischer’s comments on Tuesday, and he said he had never criticised the ABC. |
| “I agree with him that the ABC has got a very important role and a very important responsibility in the public interest,” he said. | “I agree with him that the ABC has got a very important role and a very important responsibility in the public interest,” he said. |
| “You will find that personally I’ve never ever criticised the ABC. I love the ABC. I appear on ABC outlets on regular occasions and I respect the job that you have as journalists. Go your hardest. | “You will find that personally I’ve never ever criticised the ABC. I love the ABC. I appear on ABC outlets on regular occasions and I respect the job that you have as journalists. Go your hardest. |
| “From time to time, whether it is the ABC or any other media outlet, there can be questions raised in relation to accuracy of certain reports. Personally, I do not believe I’ve queried an ABC story directly myself. I have certainly queried stories with other journalists in private sector outlets. | “From time to time, whether it is the ABC or any other media outlet, there can be questions raised in relation to accuracy of certain reports. Personally, I do not believe I’ve queried an ABC story directly myself. I have certainly queried stories with other journalists in private sector outlets. |
| “So there’s nothing wrong with having a conversation about whether a particular report was accurate or not. In the broad, the ABC is a very important organisation and we recognise it as such.” | “So there’s nothing wrong with having a conversation about whether a particular report was accurate or not. In the broad, the ABC is a very important organisation and we recognise it as such.” |
| When Michael McCormack says “this is really going to help” he means it is going to help Foodbank do the job they were already doing before the government, through the department, made the decision to cut the key staples program funding. | When Michael McCormack says “this is really going to help” he means it is going to help Foodbank do the job they were already doing before the government, through the department, made the decision to cut the key staples program funding. |
| Three years ago, Foodbank was running this program with about $1.5m in funding. The $323,000 cut would have been the third cut it had been asked to absorb and reduced its funding, for this program, to just under $500,000. The decision to reverse the latest cut means it’s back to $750,000 a year, for 4.5 years. | |
| .@M_McCormackMP on Foodbank Funding: I certainly think the right decision has been taken. MORE: https://t.co/12xTAfCBb0 #amagenda pic.twitter.com/cKp9Gl0bgX | .@M_McCormackMP on Foodbank Funding: I certainly think the right decision has been taken. MORE: https://t.co/12xTAfCBb0 #amagenda pic.twitter.com/cKp9Gl0bgX |
| That “big stick” the government has been talking about when it comes to energy companies? | That “big stick” the government has been talking about when it comes to energy companies? |
| Turns out it might be the high court which decides whether or not the government can use it. | Turns out it might be the high court which decides whether or not the government can use it. |
| As Katharine Murphy reports: | As Katharine Murphy reports: |
| Australia’s major electricity companies have raised questions about whether the Morrison government has the legal authority to proceed with its so-called “big stick” threat to break up companies for price gouging, and to impose the regulation of power prices. | Australia’s major electricity companies have raised questions about whether the Morrison government has the legal authority to proceed with its so-called “big stick” threat to break up companies for price gouging, and to impose the regulation of power prices. |
| The commercial law firm Ashurst has provided advice to the Australian Energy Council, which represents 22 major electricity and gas firms, saying there are concerns about the “framing and constitutionality” of the Morrison government’s measures intended to force price relief for consumers and business. | The commercial law firm Ashurst has provided advice to the Australian Energy Council, which represents 22 major electricity and gas firms, saying there are concerns about the “framing and constitutionality” of the Morrison government’s measures intended to force price relief for consumers and business. |
| The legal advice revealed on Tuesday says if the government intends to proceed with what amounts to “quasi-judicial” interventions, such as imposing price regulation, requiring generators to contract with third parties, and forcing divestment, then the power should be exercised independently of ministers “so that the decision-making process is not influenced by the potential for political interference, or the appearance of political interference”. | The legal advice revealed on Tuesday says if the government intends to proceed with what amounts to “quasi-judicial” interventions, such as imposing price regulation, requiring generators to contract with third parties, and forcing divestment, then the power should be exercised independently of ministers “so that the decision-making process is not influenced by the potential for political interference, or the appearance of political interference”. |
| You can read the rest of that report, here. | |
| Paul Fletcher ended yesterday by promising to look into “transitional” funding for Foodbank, as well as why the organisation was given just six weeks’ notice of the decision to cut $323,000 from its funding. | Paul Fletcher ended yesterday by promising to look into “transitional” funding for Foodbank, as well as why the organisation was given just six weeks’ notice of the decision to cut $323,000 from its funding. |
| This morning he has announced an increase to the amount of money allocated for food relief funding. | This morning he has announced an increase to the amount of money allocated for food relief funding. |
| From his statement: | From his statement: |
| The Liberal National Government will increase funding for food relief by $1.485 million over the next 4.5 years, to $5.985 million. | The Liberal National Government will increase funding for food relief by $1.485 million over the next 4.5 years, to $5.985 million. |
| This decision means that Foodbank’s funding will be maintained at $750,000 per year over the next 4.5 years, with Second Bite and OzHarvest to be funded as announced last week. | This decision means that Foodbank’s funding will be maintained at $750,000 per year over the next 4.5 years, with Second Bite and OzHarvest to be funded as announced last week. |
| The extra funding will enable a stronger focus on drought relief, while continuing existing service levels around Australia. | The extra funding will enable a stronger focus on drought relief, while continuing existing service levels around Australia. |
| I will be inviting the CEOs of Foodbank, Second Bite and OzHarvest to meet with me in a roundtable discussion in coming days to allow us to finalise the arrangements and co-ordinate a continuing collaborative approach to food relief. | I will be inviting the CEOs of Foodbank, Second Bite and OzHarvest to meet with me in a roundtable discussion in coming days to allow us to finalise the arrangements and co-ordinate a continuing collaborative approach to food relief. |
| This additional funding will be sourced within existing resources of the Department of Social Services. | This additional funding will be sourced within existing resources of the Department of Social Services. |
| The Government looks forward to working closely with Foodbank, Second Bite and OzHarvest to maximise the benefit of the vital food relief services they provide for vulnerable and homeless Australians. | The Government looks forward to working closely with Foodbank, Second Bite and OzHarvest to maximise the benefit of the vital food relief services they provide for vulnerable and homeless Australians. |
| Well, after 24 hours of criticism from everyone from the National Farmers’ Federation, to Jimmy Barnes, Labor and Kochie, the government has decided to reverse its funding cut to Foodbank’s Key Staples program. | Well, after 24 hours of criticism from everyone from the National Farmers’ Federation, to Jimmy Barnes, Labor and Kochie, the government has decided to reverse its funding cut to Foodbank’s Key Staples program. |
| Just before leaving for Singapore, Scott Morrison intervened to ask for the issue to be fixed. Paul Fletcher has responded by boosting the funding for food relief by $1.485m over the next four and a half years, bringing the total budget to $5.985m. | Just before leaving for Singapore, Scott Morrison intervened to ask for the issue to be fixed. Paul Fletcher has responded by boosting the funding for food relief by $1.485m over the next four and a half years, bringing the total budget to $5.985m. |
| That means no one gets cut and a third provider is funded. | That means no one gets cut and a third provider is funded. |
| It’s a problem which didn’t need to be created. While there was a tender process, and while OzHarvest, the third provider chosen, does do excellent work, it does a different job to the one Foodbank provides, so cutting one to pay for the other was a pretty shortsighted decision, especially when we are talking about the small amounts of money (for a national budget) we are seeing here. | It’s a problem which didn’t need to be created. While there was a tender process, and while OzHarvest, the third provider chosen, does do excellent work, it does a different job to the one Foodbank provides, so cutting one to pay for the other was a pretty shortsighted decision, especially when we are talking about the small amounts of money (for a national budget) we are seeing here. |
| So good to see common sense won out. | So good to see common sense won out. |
| Elsewhere, the Senate is still sitting, as it continues its solo week, but it will most likely be action outside the chamber that captures attention. | Elsewhere, the Senate is still sitting, as it continues its solo week, but it will most likely be action outside the chamber that captures attention. |
| Summit season has officially began, which I think makes Michael McCormack our acting prime minister. Morrison has Singapore, then PNG, then Argentina, as well as two more parliament sessions, but the domestic issues keep ticking over as well. | Summit season has officially began, which I think makes Michael McCormack our acting prime minister. Morrison has Singapore, then PNG, then Argentina, as well as two more parliament sessions, but the domestic issues keep ticking over as well. |
| We’ll keep you abreast of all of them. You’ve got Mike Bowers behind the lens and the Guardian brain’s trust on the job. I’ve got my second coffee. So we are all good. | We’ll keep you abreast of all of them. You’ve got Mike Bowers behind the lens and the Guardian brain’s trust on the job. I’ve got my second coffee. So we are all good. |
| Ready? | Ready? |
| Let’s get into it. | Let’s get into it. |