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| Coalition attacked over forced energy divestments – question time live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Christian Porter is sticking to the government line that it is Labor’s fault (pin tweet) that the anti-discrimination legislation won’t be going through the House before the end of the year: | |
| Anyone concerned that exemptions to discrimination against gay students will remain in the Sex Discrimination Act over the Parliamentary break should be in no doubt about who is now responsible – Bill Shorten. | |
| It was Bill Shorten’s Labor Party that put these specific exemptions into the Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) in 2013. | |
| Now Labor says they agree with the Government that Labor’s 2013 exemptions which allowed for discrimination against gay students should go. | |
| Labor also says agrees with the Government that faith-based schools should be able to educate students consistent with their beliefs and the tenets of their religion. | |
| But Labor is not prepared to accept the common sense principle that religious schools should be able to impose reasonable school rules evenly on all of their students, such as a requirement that all students – regardless of gender – attend chapel. These rules are no different to those imposed in many workplaces. | |
| And worst of all Bill Shorten will not agree to the common sense process of allowing a conscience vote of all members to allow these common sense changes to happen right now. | |
| In stark contrast, our Government has repeatedly offered ways to ensure children don’t face discrimination, and protect religious freedoms. | |
| The Government’s proposals simply mean that any action against a school, in a court or the Human Rights Commission, would be decided after consideration of the reasonableness of the rule in the context of the institution’s religion and whether there was regard for the best interests of the student. | |
| Religious leaders and schools have warned Bill Shorten there is a risk that Labor’s current approach would limit faith-based teaching beyond the classroom and extend into churches, synagogues, mosques and temples. | |
| Bill Shorten should be ashamed, and anyone concerned about these exemptions need look no further than to the fact that the Labor party which put them there in the first place will not allow a conscience vote to have them removed. | |
| Question time ends. | |
| WE ARE ALMOST THERE PEOPLE! ONE MORE TO GO | |
| Chris Bowen tells Scott Morrison about Stuart Robert appearing at a LNP fundraiser with Kate Carnell, the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise ombudsman, in November and asks “is that appropriate and in keeping with the statement on ministerial standards?” | |
| Morrison takes it on notice. | |
| That’s about this event: | |
| LNP Small Business LEADER Roundtable breakfast - will be held on Thursday 8th November at the Storybridge Hotel, Brisbane. Speakers -Stuart Robert, assistant treasurer for Australia, and Kate Carnell, Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise ombudsman. 6.30AM arrival for a 7AM start: Cost $35.00 breakfast and coffee/tea. | |
| This is a workshop – so bring along your best questions, and points of view. | |
| And these are the ministerial standards Bowen mentioned: | |
| APS Values | |
| The APS Values articulate the parliament’s expectations of public servants in terms of performance and standards of behaviour. The principles of good public administration are embodied in the APS Values. The APS Values require that we are: | |
| Impartial | |
| The APS is apolitical and provides the government with advice that is frank, honest, timely and based on the best available evidence. | |
| Committed to service | |
| The APS is professional, objective, innovative and efficient, and works collaboratively to achieve the best results for the Australian community and the Government. | |
| Accountable | |
| The APS is open and accountable to the Australian community under the law and within the framework of Ministerial responsibility. | |
| Respectful | |
| The APS respects all people, including their rights and their heritage. | |
| Ethical | |
| The APS demonstrates leadership, is trustworthy, and acts with integrity, in all that it does. | |
| This is still going on: | |
| The only racism around me is the Greens, who don’t want Indians to have electricity using our clean coal. https://t.co/mJZDammQtK | |
| Labor has released its legal advice claiming Liberal MP Chris Crewther is ineligible to sit in the parliament #auspol pic.twitter.com/SFwBzz7nd9 | |
| There is no lie here | |
| They would miss two sitting weeks, based on the current sitting calendar for 2019. https://t.co/7fd2GGvDI8 | |
| The prime minister said we’d hear the result of the Israel embassy move conversation before the end of the year. The foreign minister has helpfully narrowed that down to the last month of the year. | |
| You can’t write satire anymore. It is just a series of observations. | |
| Foreign minister Marise Payne says there will be a statement made about the embassy move "in the month of December" #SenateQT | |
| @ClareONeilMP just asked Stuart Robert how many bank victims he’d met with. The Speaker ruled he wasn’t responsible for banking. Which would be news to those who’ve paid to attend his coming fundraiser #auspol #qt pic.twitter.com/l8KDjp6Fnb | |
| Chris Bowen to Stuart Robert (or Stuey, as the prime minister calls him): | |
| Today’s media reports that the assistant treasurer is supporting labelling changes for pharmaceuticals. Given that he has interests in pharmaceuticals, how can he say there is no conflict between his ministerial responsibilities and his private interests? Has the minister learnt nothing from last time he was a minister? | |
| Robert: | |
| I thank the member for his question. The first thing I’ll say, policy responsibility for all things pharmaceutical resides with the minister for it, not with me. | |
| ... I’ll reiterate, the industry minister has policy responsibility for the Australian-made campaign and all details [of it]. When it comes to my interests, they are all updated, they have been blind-trusted, so I have no responsibility with assets [in] that regard. | |
| Claire O’Neill to Stuart Robert. | |
| “The assistant treasurer is responsible for financial services, including the big banks. Since becoming assistant treasurer, how many victims of financial misconduct has he met with? Or does the assistant treasurer only share his ministerial assessments with LNP donors? Will he now cancel his attendance at the event advertised for 19 September?” | |
| Tony Smith tells Labor to redraft the question, ruling most of it out of order. | |
| The manager of opposition business won’t be surprised to know that the last part of the question is completely out of order. Asking ministers things that are not their responsibility, whether they are attending a fundraiser or going through the diary, it is out of order. I made that point yesterday and I won’t allow questioners to keep restating it so I have to make the same point of order. That is completely out of order … | |
| The only part of the question that may be in order is his responsibilities as assistant treasurer with respect to financial services. But even in that case, I would make the point that as the assistant treasurer he is not the primary minister. That, in fact, it is the treasurer. He has overall responsibilities. If somebody wants to tell me I am wrong on any of that, I am happy to hear. There is one I’m certain of, for all the time that has been in this place, and that is that the assistants are subordinate to treasurers. I’m sorry, assistant treasurer, but they are. | |
| Bill Shorten to Scott Morrison: | Bill Shorten to Scott Morrison: |
| I refer to his previous answer. Does his answer mean that his government is seeking the power to privatise electricity assets in Tasmania, Queensland, Western Australia and Snowy Hydro? And if it doesn’t, what exactly does divestiture mean for publicly owned electricity assets? | |
| Morrison: | Morrison: |
| Well, I refer the leader of the Labor party to the statement issued by the treasurer and the minister for energy, where it is very plainly, on the second page, [stated that] the legislation will apply to government-owned enterprises. In such cases, any divestiture must be made to another energy company where the two entities generally compete with one another. | |
| So ... it has nothing to do with privatisation, but given you asked in relation to my previous answer, and I made reference to the Queensland government retail electricity companies, you may be interested to know, Mr Speaker, that Queensland-government owned electricity retailers made $1.9 billion in profits in 2017, up 45% on 2016. | |
| Talk about putting their hands in the pockets of hard-working Australians, with government-driven higher electricity prices. Mr Speaker, the hide of Labor, when their cousins in Queensland in the state government, Mr Speaker, are smacking Queensland retail customers in the electricity market around the head on a daily basis. They should be joining us, the Labor party, and standing up to anyone who would want to doubt Australians, do the wrong thing by Australians, Mr Speaker. | |
| I remember it was the same thing from the Labor party when it came to dealing with section 46, Mr Speaker, of the Consumer and Competition Act, when our government stood up for small business, to make sure they got a fair go. Do you know who voted against them? The Labor party … We are happy to stand up to anybody who wants to play the Australian people for [mugs], and that includes the leader of the Labor party.” | |
| I’m a little confused – should we be running government corporations at a loss? I mean, a socialist would say yes, absolutely, but a Liberal? | |
| Also, this line of attack is interesting, given that in Queensland particularly, voters are really, really, REALLY against privatisation. Just ask Campbell Newman and Tim Nicholls. Strong Choices, the campaign to privatise the electricity network in Queensland in 2015, to take advantage of the federal government $5bn infrastructure recycling fund (which encouraged the states to sell off their electricity networks, something you would have to say it now regrets) contributed to the LNP being turfed out of government after just one term. | |
| Bill Shorten to Scott Morrison: | |
| The Courier Mail says the Morrison government is threatening Queenslanders with the forced privatisation of their state-owned power assets with the energy minister saying they’re on notice. Why does the prime minister support this [given privatisation drives up prices]? | |
| Morrison: | |
| As is his habit, the leader of the Labor party is not telling the truth. One truth he can point to though is the Queensland electricity industry is owned by the Queensland government. | |
| As the Queensland government has been dividend-stripping out of the Queensland electricity industry to prop up their financial mismanagement, you know who’s been paying for it? Queenslanders, Mr Speaker. Why are power prices higher in Queensland for Queenslanders? Because the Queensland government is gouging them, | |
| Mr Speaker, it is because they – [the] Queensland Labor government that doesn’t know how to manage money – they are irresponsible. They’ve been jacking up power prices to strip that money away from mums and dads and pensioners and small businesses and family businesses. | |
| If the leader of the Labor party wants to come into this House and talk about the ownership of electricity assets in Queensland, he must take responsibility as the leader of the Labor party for having a partnership with a Queensland Labor government happy to rip off electricity customers and put the money in their own failed budgets. | |
| Very quick fact check – because Queensland is one topic I am very familiar with in this parliament (you’re welcome) – this is not entirely correct, but it’s not incorrect either. | |
| The Palaszczuk government, in a bid to shift debt off the government books, transferred a huge chunk of it to the gencos – the generation companies it owns. And to try and manage that debt, prices were put up. The government then denied the gencos the right to do that, at least for a bit, so it is at a bit of an impasse, at the moment. | |
| Testy Christopher Pyne is still testy. | Testy Christopher Pyne is still testy. |
| Which is a shame. He always seemed to have so much fun with the daily unions-are-terrible dixer. | Which is a shame. He always seemed to have so much fun with the daily unions-are-terrible dixer. |
| Michelle Rowland to Scott Morrison: | Michelle Rowland to Scott Morrison: |
| Is the prime minister aware that according to today’s media reports, energy companies, business groups and even government members are warning that the prime minister’s discredited forced divestments policy sets a dangerous precedent that would threaten investment across the economy? Does the prime minister agree? | Is the prime minister aware that according to today’s media reports, energy companies, business groups and even government members are warning that the prime minister’s discredited forced divestments policy sets a dangerous precedent that would threaten investment across the economy? Does the prime minister agree? |
| Morrison: | Morrison: |
| I don’t, Mr Speaker. I don’t support that. Mr Speaker, what the ACCC retail electricity pricing inquiry report found, and I initiated that report, Mr Speaker, as treasurer, we’ve been taking action on electricity prices. | I don’t, Mr Speaker. I don’t support that. Mr Speaker, what the ACCC retail electricity pricing inquiry report found, and I initiated that report, Mr Speaker, as treasurer, we’ve been taking action on electricity prices. |
| We have been doing things to force them [down], unlike the Labor party. They found retailers taking advantage of confused and disengaged customers and competition restricted through dominant players choosing not to offer financial contracts, and conduct undermining the operation. | We have been doing things to force them [down], unlike the Labor party. They found retailers taking advantage of confused and disengaged customers and competition restricted through dominant players choosing not to offer financial contracts, and conduct undermining the operation. |
| Mr Speaker, that is the misconduct, that’s the practices which they found, Mr Speaker, and the member opposite says what did they say about divestments? It’s a very good point. | Mr Speaker, that is the misconduct, that’s the practices which they found, Mr Speaker, and the member opposite says what did they say about divestments? It’s a very good point. |
| The ACCC didn’t recommend divestments, what they recommended was if you could do everything you possibly could, it wouldn’t be necessary, but those options are available, Mr Speaker, and our government has taken the decision, and it was also taken under the previous prime minister, that we would introduce divestments powers to ensure big electricity companies did not take advantage of Australian consumers. | The ACCC didn’t recommend divestments, what they recommended was if you could do everything you possibly could, it wouldn’t be necessary, but those options are available, Mr Speaker, and our government has taken the decision, and it was also taken under the previous prime minister, that we would introduce divestments powers to ensure big electricity companies did not take advantage of Australian consumers. |
| It’s pretty simple – you’re either with the top end of town over there, and big electricity companies, or you’re standing with the government, who wants to put in place – and even up with the national laws – to ensure those big electricity companies cannot play the mark-it-up [game] and cannot play mums and dads who are paying too much for their electricity prices. | It’s pretty simple – you’re either with the top end of town over there, and big electricity companies, or you’re standing with the government, who wants to put in place – and even up with the national laws – to ensure those big electricity companies cannot play the mark-it-up [game] and cannot play mums and dads who are paying too much for their electricity prices. |
| I know why Labor probably don’t want to support this measure – because they’re for higher electricity prices | I know why Labor probably don’t want to support this measure – because they’re for higher electricity prices |
| How do I know? They have a 45% emissions reduction target, which will drive up prices. When they were in government they doubled those prices despite the fact they gave $1 billion to brown coal generation, Mr Speaker ... they just had to send them their bank account details! I’m not going to take lectures from the Labor party, who only has one agenda – to punish mums and dads, pensioners and small businesses with higher prices as they cuddle up to the big energy companies. | How do I know? They have a 45% emissions reduction target, which will drive up prices. When they were in government they doubled those prices despite the fact they gave $1 billion to brown coal generation, Mr Speaker ... they just had to send them their bank account details! I’m not going to take lectures from the Labor party, who only has one agenda – to punish mums and dads, pensioners and small businesses with higher prices as they cuddle up to the big energy companies. |
| Kelly O’Dwyer finishes her dixer with “which is why we say, don’t vote Labor”. | Kelly O’Dwyer finishes her dixer with “which is why we say, don’t vote Labor”. |
| “Well, we wouldn’t expect you to say vote Labor, to be fair,” Bill Shorten replies. | “Well, we wouldn’t expect you to say vote Labor, to be fair,” Bill Shorten replies. |
| Mark Butler to Scott Morrison: | Mark Butler to Scott Morrison: |
| Does the prime minister agree with the now independent member for Chisholm that the forced divestments policy of the government is totally counter to values of free enterprise and small government and will be a deterrent for future investment, and won’t lower energy prices but will in fact have the reverse effect? | Does the prime minister agree with the now independent member for Chisholm that the forced divestments policy of the government is totally counter to values of free enterprise and small government and will be a deterrent for future investment, and won’t lower energy prices but will in fact have the reverse effect? |
| Morrison: | Morrison: |
| The Liberal party members in this chamber want to see electricity prices come down, and we are going to side with the customers who have been paying too much and have been taken advantage of by big electricity companies, and that is what our bill is designed to achieve. | The Liberal party members in this chamber want to see electricity prices come down, and we are going to side with the customers who have been paying too much and have been taken advantage of by big electricity companies, and that is what our bill is designed to achieve. |
| That is why we are taking action, because we want to stand by the families and small businesses and family businesses of Australia who are paying too much. Why would the Labor party not want there to be a power to take action against price gouging and the sorts of conduct that would be anti-competitive and could lead to an increase in prices?Why would he be opposed to a power that would help even out the score for mums and dads and businesses? We ... know who we stand for – mums and dads and small businesses ... | That is why we are taking action, because we want to stand by the families and small businesses and family businesses of Australia who are paying too much. Why would the Labor party not want there to be a power to take action against price gouging and the sorts of conduct that would be anti-competitive and could lead to an increase in prices?Why would he be opposed to a power that would help even out the score for mums and dads and businesses? We ... know who we stand for – mums and dads and small businesses ... |
| (what if you are not a mum or dad or small business owner?) | (what if you are not a mum or dad or small business owner?) |
| Butler asks about relevance, but Morrison has decided he has had enough. | Butler asks about relevance, but Morrison has decided he has had enough. |
| He is not Robinson Crusoe there. | He is not Robinson Crusoe there. |
| Christian Porter ran out of time to talk encryption, so lucky he has had a million media opportunities and press releases and speeches to do just that. | Christian Porter ran out of time to talk encryption, so lucky he has had a million media opportunities and press releases and speeches to do just that. |
| Chris Bowen to Josh Frydenberg: | Chris Bowen to Josh Frydenberg: |
| Can the treasurer confirm reports this morning that the member for Curtin told the government that its discredited energy investment policy could be regarded as sovereign risk and was inconsistent with Liberal values? | Can the treasurer confirm reports this morning that the member for Curtin told the government that its discredited energy investment policy could be regarded as sovereign risk and was inconsistent with Liberal values? |
| The member for Curtain is Julie Bishop, who is very busy doing paperwork at her desk. | The member for Curtain is Julie Bishop, who is very busy doing paperwork at her desk. |
| Frydenberg: | Frydenberg: |
| We introduced legislation to lower power prices and it’s awesome. | We introduced legislation to lower power prices and it’s awesome. |