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| Kerryn Phelps delivers her first speech in House of Representives – politics live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Phelps, on her approach to politics: | |
| I have been a general practitioner in my electorate for almost twenty years. | |
| I have had the privilege of seeing it from a profoundly human perspective. Ihave helped to deliver my constituents’ babies, guided them through cancerdiagnosis and treatment, grieved with them for the loss of loved ones, helpedthem wrestle with depression, and celebrated their happy news. | |
| A career in general practice grounds you in reality like no other professionpossibly can ... it is a career that deals with life and death and all that liesbetween. It is a career where what really matters in this world is presented toyou every single day. | |
| As a doctor I was trained to examine evidence, and to draw carefulconclusions. Doctors are presented with symptoms, we arrange appropriateinvestigations, we diagnose the problem, devise a management plan and seethat plan through to a resolution. And we know when to call on a specialist forexpert advice. | |
| Every decision we make must address the fundamentalquestion: what will this mean for this person’s human experience?This is the template for the human-centric approach I bring to the job ofparliamentarian and Member for Wentworth. | |
| Phelps on Wentworth: | |
| Wentworth is a diverse and harmonious community. | |
| We hear a lot about its “harbourside mansions” but the reality is that many people in Wentworth live in apartments, often renting their homes. | |
| They come from myriad backgrounds from all over the world. Wentworth has one of the largest Jewish communities in Australia; many families fleeing here from Europe around the time of the Second World War. | |
| Others coming from Russia or South Africa. There are the surfers, the yachties, the young families, the retirees, the business men and women and a large gay community. | |
| Wentworth is home to some of the wealthiest people in Australia, but there are also those who struggle to make ends meet, and the marginalised and dispossessed who live on the fringes of society.” | |
| Kerryn Phelps is detailing the path she has taken to politics. | |
| I’ll bring you more of the speech in a moment, but she has continued the recent Wentworth MP tradition of favouring the word “resolutely”. | |
| “My first marriage ended in 1993 and, four years I met Jackie [Stricker-Phelps] and the following year we married in a religious ceremony in New York. | |
| “On our return we were outed by a Sunday tabloid newspaper. Outed. That sounds almost quaint and anachronistic now but [then was used as an instrument of oppression]. [We could have hidden, but that is not in either of our DNA and we] resolutely began a long battle for marriage equality, sacrificing our personal privacy and Jackie , her teaching career. We became accidental activists.” | |
| Christian Porter has announced a press conference for 3.30pm to talk the national integrity commission. | |
| There is a bit of mopping up to do after that question time. Most particularly calling it a “fringe issue” while simultaneously trying to argue that the government has been working on it for some time. | |
| Darren Chester calls for a suspension of standing orders to allow Kerryn Phelps to deliver her maiden speech. | |
| Most of Labor and all of the crossbench, except for Bob Katter, are still in the chamber. | |
| Less than 20 government MPs remain, Julie Bishop and Julia Banks are watching, as is John Alexander, Trent Zimmerman, Warren Entsch, Julian Leeser, Tim Wilson, Andrew Laming, Sarah Henderson, Kelly O’Dwyer, Ken Wyatt and Christopher Pyne. | |
| Scott Morrison calls an end to question time. | |
| Given the number of side conversations in the government benches, the text messages and the general malaise, it never really started for a lot of the Coalition today. | |
| Dismal. Absolutely dismal. | |
| I am not sure there is a more visual representation of regret and despondency than what I am seeing in the government backbench right now. | |
| Catherine King to Scott Morrison: | |
| Can the prime minister tell the parliament how Saturday was such a ringing endorsement of his government’s policies?” | |
| Morrison: | |
| All I note is the hubris and arrogance of the Labor party. Premier Andrews won the election of Victoria, not you. That is who won the election in Victoria. Premier Andrews won the election in Victoria. We have worked with Premier Andrews over the last a lot of years, Mr Speaker, and we have our differences. But there is no doubt that at the election on the weekend, they choose to return the incumbent government of Victoria. And I congratulate Premier Andrews on that result. Why wouldn’t you, Mr Speaker? It is a significant achievement with an increased majority … In Victoria we have been delivering with the Victorian government record investment in infrastructure, Mr Speaker … | |
| “There will be a choice at the next election and it will not be involving any premier of any of the states, it will be between me and you!” | |
| Richard Marles to Scott Morrison: | |
| On Saturday, the people of Victoria rejected the Liberal party’s record on cuts to schools, hospitals and infrastructure. What lessons as the federal government learned from Victoria? | |
| “Cuts, what cuts,” a government MP yells, but he may need to work on his annunciation, because I heard something verrrrrry different for a moment there. | |
| Morrison: | |
| Well, they are very cocky over there today. They are very cocky. Very, very cocky. The leader of the opposition has got that cocky swagger again as he’s walking around. The unions, they are feeling pretty cocky about what they will be able to get the leader of the opposition to do if he occupies this side of the house. I congratulated the premier of Victoria. I said so. I sent him a text message on the night and I congratulated him” | |
| And then, he says this and Labor loses it: | |
| Our government is delivering infrastructure and services that the Australian people respect and want more of, Mr Speaker. | |
| “And our government will continue to do that and … listen to the jeers and guffaws of an arrogant and out-of-touch opposition, they put the cue in the rack and think they are there and can do whatever they want and I will never forget, I will never forget what Peter Garrett said back before the 2007 election. We all remember it. While they were all trying to pretend they wouldn’t be anything dramatic, that he would just be John Howard-lite if Kevin Rudd was elected, Peter Garrett let the cat out of the bag when he said we will change it all. That is what the leader of the opposition’s plan is, that is what the Labor party’s plan is. | |
| “They want to change it all, Mr Speaker. And that means the economy, that means the very things that Australians depend on for their jobs, their livelihoods. You won’t hear from the opposition plans to support small and family businesses. | |
| “You won’t hear plans to ensure a strong female workforce participation in the country, Mr Speaker. You will not hear that. | |
| “What you will hear is taking the lawbreakers and the union movement and turning the lawmakers on their very bench, Mr Speaker. | |
| “This is a cocky and arrogant leader of the Labor party who thinks the job is already done. That is not our view! | |
| “We will fight every day to the next election because he will destroy our economy” | |
| Somehow, and I didn’t think it possible, Morrison has managed to up the yelling volume with every single answer. Someone get that man a butter menthol, because it can’t be great for the throat. Vocal cord trauma is real, people. | |
| Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison: | |
| Why isn’t Malcolm Turnbull still prime minister of Australia? And why was Scott Morrison sacked as Tourism Australia head? | |
| Tony Smith interrupts to say that the question is not in order “as generous as I am”. | |
| Albo says that it is at least, partly in order, and it’s the most animated the government benches have been all day. | |
| Christopher Pyne says the question has a small “tree frond” of relevance, which I think is supposed to be bigger than a “fig leaf”. | |
| While we are all still pondering the size of fronds v fig leaves, Smith rules the question out of order. | |
| That just brings forward an Angus Taylor dixer, where he has to pretend that “minister for lowering electricity prices” is a better moniker than “minister for big sticks”, which Labor has taken to calling him. | |
| I couldn’t possibly comment. | |
| Mark Dreyfus to Scott Morrison: | Mark Dreyfus to Scott Morrison: |
| The prime minister voted against the banking royal commission 26 times before claiming it was his idea. | |
| He supported the national energy guarantee before he opposed it. Now he can’t say whether he supports a national integrity commission. How can Australians know when this prime minister is actually committed to something or whether he is just pretending? | |
| Morrison: | Morrison: |
| (Who has upgraded his shouting to “the Sharks being down two with three minutes on the clock”.) | |
| I’m not going to be lectured on integrity by the Labor party. The party of Craig Thompson, the party of Sam Dastyari, the party of Joe Tripodi, the party of WA Inc. This is the only Australian political party that can open up branches in prisons because it has enough people in them who have been convicted of corrupt conduct. | |
| “This is a Labor party that knows all about market because they live their lives in it. That is the Labor party Australians have gotten to know, and more. | |
| “Whether it was Rex Jackson all those years going all the way through to Eddie Obeid. And the member for Watson, we always remembered the ski trip you had down at Eddie Obeid’s place, saying, ‘I just went there, we are not that close, I just went down there to spend a bit of time at Eddie’s place.’ | |
| “The Labor party, when it comes to integrity, give me a break.” | |
| Could someone please let the government backbench know that this year, like all others, will end. | Could someone please let the government backbench know that this year, like all others, will end. |
| They look like they need some light at the end of the tunnel today. Goodness me. Anyone would think they just witnessed Collingwood lose a grand final. | They look like they need some light at the end of the tunnel today. Goodness me. Anyone would think they just witnessed Collingwood lose a grand final. |
| Ken O’Dowd inflicts a Michael McCormack dixer on us. | Ken O’Dowd inflicts a Michael McCormack dixer on us. |
| He starts with “picture this”. | He starts with “picture this”. |
| “No,” says someone from Labor. | “No,” says someone from Labor. |
| It has to be said that the deputy prime minister could learn a thing or two from Sophia Petrillo. If you are going to invoke a Golden Girl, you will be judged by the standards of that Golden Girl, at least in my world. | It has to be said that the deputy prime minister could learn a thing or two from Sophia Petrillo. If you are going to invoke a Golden Girl, you will be judged by the standards of that Golden Girl, at least in my world. |
| Bill Shorten to Scott Morrison: | Bill Shorten to Scott Morrison: |
| If you think the national integrity commission is a fringe issue, why did you say you’ve been working on it for months, and why did you vote for it today?” | If you think the national integrity commission is a fringe issue, why did you say you’ve been working on it for months, and why did you vote for it today?” |
| Morrison: | Morrison: |
| (Who is back to full shoutyness) | (Who is back to full shoutyness) |
| We will continue to cover the field, Mr Speaker, in interests of all Australians and what is quite clear is we are yet to see a policy from those opposite that will do anything useful to the economy and as a result, Mr Speaker, that is why Australia and do not trust this leader of the opposition! | We will continue to cover the field, Mr Speaker, in interests of all Australians and what is quite clear is we are yet to see a policy from those opposite that will do anything useful to the economy and as a result, Mr Speaker, that is why Australia and do not trust this leader of the opposition! |
| “We see it! It has been five years now, Mr Speaker! | “We see it! It has been five years now, Mr Speaker! |
| “Five years they have had a good look at this leader of the opposition! | “Five years they have had a good look at this leader of the opposition! |
| “And after five years, they are not buying, Mr Speaker! They are not buying this leader of the opposition because they know they cannot trust the leader of the Labor party to run a strong economy!” | “And after five years, they are not buying, Mr Speaker! They are not buying this leader of the opposition because they know they cannot trust the leader of the Labor party to run a strong economy!” |
| Josh Frydenberg is trying to give a dixer, but keeps being interrupted by Chris Bowen who is yelling “we are going to run an 18-year-old against you, Josh”. That’s in reference to Labor almost winning Brighton, a blue-ribbon Victorian state seat, with a 19-year-old candidate who spent less than $2,000 on his campaign. | Josh Frydenberg is trying to give a dixer, but keeps being interrupted by Chris Bowen who is yelling “we are going to run an 18-year-old against you, Josh”. That’s in reference to Labor almost winning Brighton, a blue-ribbon Victorian state seat, with a 19-year-old candidate who spent less than $2,000 on his campaign. |
| Kerryn Phelps looks like she is currently questioning all her life decisions which have brought her to this place, at this moment, right now, and I don’t blame her. | Kerryn Phelps looks like she is currently questioning all her life decisions which have brought her to this place, at this moment, right now, and I don’t blame her. |
| She is watching these proceedings quite stony-faced. | She is watching these proceedings quite stony-faced. |
| To be fair, this is not a great example of the genre today. Not by a long shot. | To be fair, this is not a great example of the genre today. Not by a long shot. |
| Adam Bandt has the crossbench question: | Adam Bandt has the crossbench question: |
| This Friday many thousands of students across the country will go on strike from school, calling for emergency action on climate change. These brave and courageous kids are joining young people around the world who are angry at the failure of governments, including yours, to secure their future from global warming. Prime minister, will you join me in praising these students for having a go? And will he meet with and listen to these kids who are demanding action from the government to keep coal in the ground?” | This Friday many thousands of students across the country will go on strike from school, calling for emergency action on climate change. These brave and courageous kids are joining young people around the world who are angry at the failure of governments, including yours, to secure their future from global warming. Prime minister, will you join me in praising these students for having a go? And will he meet with and listen to these kids who are demanding action from the government to keep coal in the ground?” |
| Scott Morrison: | Scott Morrison: |
| Climate change is a very real and serious issue which demands the attention of government at all levels. | Climate change is a very real and serious issue which demands the attention of government at all levels. |
| “And it has the attention of this government through the emissions reduction fund, the renewal energy target, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, our Snowy 2.0 initiative, and energy-efficiency measures, and our commitment to 26% of emissions reduction target, which we remain committed to. We are committed to all of these things but I will tell you what we are also committed to, kids should go to school! | “And it has the attention of this government through the emissions reduction fund, the renewal energy target, the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, our Snowy 2.0 initiative, and energy-efficiency measures, and our commitment to 26% of emissions reduction target, which we remain committed to. We are committed to all of these things but I will tell you what we are also committed to, kids should go to school! |
| “That is what we are committed to! We don’t support the idea of kids not going to school … for things that can be dealt with outside of school. | “That is what we are committed to! We don’t support the idea of kids not going to school … for things that can be dealt with outside of school. |
| “Each day I send my kids to school and I know other kids should also go to school but we do not support our schools being turned into parliaments, Mr Speaker. | “Each day I send my kids to school and I know other kids should also go to school but we do not support our schools being turned into parliaments, Mr Speaker. |
| “We think kids should be in school. | “We think kids should be in school. |
| “About whether it is those issues, maths, science, English, literature, Indigenous history, Australian history, Mr Speaker! That is what they should be there doing. | “About whether it is those issues, maths, science, English, literature, Indigenous history, Australian history, Mr Speaker! That is what they should be there doing. |
| “And so what we want is more learning in schools and less activism in schools!” | “And so what we want is more learning in schools and less activism in schools!” |
| Morrison appears quite pleased with this answer, and turns around to Michael McCormack with a grin. | Morrison appears quite pleased with this answer, and turns around to Michael McCormack with a grin. |
| Cos yeah, that’ll show those kids. | Cos yeah, that’ll show those kids. |