This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2018/dec/17/labor-national-conference-day-two-politics-live
The article has changed 16 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Labor conference: Shorten announces $500m for UNHCR, increased humanitarian intake – live | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BREAKING: Andrew Broad has resigned from the Morrison ministry after a woman went on the record about his behaviour on an overseas trip. Story from @CroweDM soon #auspol | |
| What does that announcement mean? | |
| Labor plans on increasing the humanitarian intake from 27,000 people, to 32,000. | |
| Bill Shorten finishes with this: | |
| Our approach – Labor’s approach – is strong, compassionate and sustainable. I want to rekindle Australia’s reputation as a good international citizen when it comes to dealing with these complex humanitarian challenges. | |
| You can have secure borders and you can live up to our humanitarian obligations. | |
| You just require leadership in this country. We can keep the people-smugglers out of business but we will most certainly if elected keep faith with our enduring Labor values – proud at home and proud overseas, confident that we can work together as a community and as a nation, listening to each other, getting this right, being a welcoming nation, being consistent and strong. | |
| This is the Labor mission. | |
| Bill Shorten is announcing what Labor would do, if elected: | |
| Around the world, one person becomes displaced every 20 seconds. Nearly 70 million people have been driven from their homes. | |
| Many will not find permanent safety. The United Nations reports that in some cases there’s a third generation of children being born into displacement. This is an issue of a most enormous scale and complexity. | |
| No one country can hope to fix it on its own but Australia can do better. So if elected, we will look to take up New Zealand’s offer to resettle refugees from Manus and Nauru by immediately negotiating an agreement on similar terms with that that has already been negotiated with the United States, and today I’m pleased to announce that if elected ... | |
| [a fire alarm interrupts the speech] | |
| “I’m not going to blame the government,” Shorten laughs. He then continues: | |
| I’m pleased to announce today that if elected, we will commit $500m over the next five years to support the important work of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. | |
| This funding will directly improve orderly regional processing and resettlement in the region and countries closer to where refugees originally come from. | |
| This funding will speed up legitimate settlement pathways. It will deny people smugglers a product to sell. | |
| If we are elected, I will seek the immediate advice from the chief of the defence force, the Department of Home Affairs, Asio and other relevant agencies about our state of preparedness to disrupt people smuggling operations before people depart. | |
| A Labor government will triple the number of Australian federal police officers working overseas in cooperation with other countries to stop the people smugglers at their source, to prevent people even contemplating getting on that unsafe vessel in the first place. | |
| And finally, delegates, along with our responsible international role where Australia should have always been, along with our commitment to strong borders, Labor will build on the proven success of the existing community-sponsored refugee program. | |
| This means state and local governments, community organisations, businesses and unions and faith-based institutions will be able to sponsor humanitarian entrants into Australia and support the economic and social integration of refugees into communities. We will seek to expand this scheme from 1,000 to 5,000 places. | |
| And to be clear – this would be in addition to the existing humanitarian intake, not instead of it. | |
| So we will take more refugees as part of our migration mix. We will make sure that it is a safe process. | |
| Our approach is both more practical and more affordable. We’re not afraid of immigration in the country. Immigration has been a success in this country. Skilled migration, family reunion and indeed refugees. | |
| What we will do with our sensible, strong-yet-compassionate approach, is we will ensure that people go to where they are needed, wanted and welcomed in this country in a neighbourly way. | |
| Labor will empower local communities, country towns, business and community groups, if country towns and regions want to sponsor humanitarian intake. Well, it is not the job of the commonwealth to get in the way. | |
| This will make sure there’s no cost to the taxpayer. | |
| Bill Shorten: | |
| It has never meant allowing people’s mental and physical health to deteriorate whilst under direct or indirect Australian care. | |
| It has never meant fighting every step of the way against medical advice which says that more needs to be done to treat people. | |
| I believe that Australia can meet our international humanitarian and legal responsibilities without compromising our national security or a commitment to strong border protection. | |
| I wonder sometimes even deep down that some of our opponents know this to be true – that it is not one or the other – strong borders or indefinite detention. | |
| Because after all on the current government’s watch, there are 800 asylum seekers in Australia who have been transferred here eventually for medical treatment. | |
| That’s far more than remain on either Manus or Nauru right now. | |
| This has already happened. But have no doubt that our opponents will never let the truth get in the way of the pursuit of low political advantage. | |
| We saw that when they were in opposition when this current prime minister was the spokesman for immigration and the Liberals decided to team up with the Greens’ political party to vote against the arrangements with Malaysia. | |
| Never forget that over 600 people drowned on their way to Australia after that decision. | |
| The Liberals did not vote against the Malaysia arrangement because they thought it wouldn’t work, they voted against it because they were afraid it would work. | |
| They decided that they would rather have a slogan, they would rather weaponise the issue than solve the problem. | |
| And we saw a recurrence of this behaviour again in the very last week of parliament, the government relying on Pauline Hanson to run down the clock in the Senate rather than be seen to help a handful of sick children on Nauru get the urgent medical attention they need. | |
| And every time you see the government ministers on television telling lies about Labor, they are doing the dirty work of the people smugglers. | |
| The Liberals are acting as spruikers for the criminal syndicates. | |
| Every time they get up and say that there will be a change in terms of border security, they are signalling criminal syndicates to try their hand again. They should be ashamed, they know what they do and they still do it. | |
| On asylum seeker policy, Bill Shorten says: | |
| Today we’ll deal with our policies on border security and refugees. Whilst we debate over the course of the day, I wanted to take this opportunity this morning to say to all of you – I sincerely respect the right of delegates to put arguments, to make the case. | |
| I appreciate that everyone in this room comes to this issue with a passion that is genuine and deep. | |
| I’m sure as we did a conference in swift, we will engage in a constructive debate which produces the right policies for our party and, more importantly, for our nation. | |
| Delegates, my own view on this is straightforward – we cannot and we must not and we will not allow criminal people smuggling syndicates to get back into business but, let me say, it is not a crime to want to come to this country. | |
| All of us other than our First Australians came here from somewhere else. It is not a crime to want to come to this country. | |
| But it is a crime to exploit vulnerable people to put them in dangerous and unsafe vessels and have them drown at sea. | |
| We cannot, we must not, and we will not permit the reopening of their trade in human desperation and the drownings and the irreplaceable loss of life that it brings. | |
| This requires rigorous security, character and health assessments throughout both our humanitarian and general migration programs. | |
| It means pursuing regional resettlement, turning back boats where it is safe to do so and maintaining offshore processing. | |
| But also in your party we understand that keeping our borders secure and keeping the people smugglers out of business should and has never meant leaving men, women and children to languish for years and years in indefinite detention in substandard facilities and unacceptable conditions. | |
| Bill Shorten: | |
| So I can confirm and announce to this conference that if we are elected, a Labor government will initiate an urgent review into the inadequacy of Newstart payments, the overdue first in a quarter of a century. We will ensure the review will be completed within 18 months. I acknowledge the work already of the conference and the delegates to have us arrive at this position. We believe in the greatness of the Australian safety net. We want to lift everyone’s aspirations up, but we are the great safety netters of Australian politics. | |
| As we reported yesterday, Bill Shorten says that, if elected, Labor will issue an “urgent review” into Newstart, to be completed within 18 months. | |
| He says Labor is the party of the “safety net”. But, as we also reported, there is no commitment to increase the payment. | |
| The official statement on the reconciliation action plan has been released: | |
| A Shorten Labor government will become the first political party to put in place a Reconciliation Action Plan – committing our party to practical measures to give First Australians a voice in our party, in our parliament, and in our society. | |
| For Labor, reconciliation and recognition is about ensuring that First Nations people have the same rights, opportunities and outcomes as every other Australian. | For Labor, reconciliation and recognition is about ensuring that First Nations people have the same rights, opportunities and outcomes as every other Australian. |
| Labor’s Reconciliation Action Plan includes strategies to work to better understand how to improve the current involvement of, and relationships with, First Nations People. | Labor’s Reconciliation Action Plan includes strategies to work to better understand how to improve the current involvement of, and relationships with, First Nations People. |
| Labor recognizes its role in building a more equitable relationship – one in which the rights and obligations flow both ways. This includes a commitment to establishing a Voice and enshrining it in the Constitution. It is our first priority for Constitutional change. | |
| Labor’s Reconciliation Action Plan is a practical plan with measurable timeframes – ensuring that at every level of our party we are constantly building our understanding of the issues that affect First Nations People’s equality and aspirations, and developing practical ideas for achieving sustainable change. | Labor’s Reconciliation Action Plan is a practical plan with measurable timeframes – ensuring that at every level of our party we are constantly building our understanding of the issues that affect First Nations People’s equality and aspirations, and developing practical ideas for achieving sustainable change. |
| These goals have eluded us as a nation for more than two centuries. It is time for that to change – and Labor wants to lead this change. | These goals have eluded us as a nation for more than two centuries. It is time for that to change – and Labor wants to lead this change. |
| Reconciliation and recognition is about acknowledging – and celebrating – the unique place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people and custodians of Australia and recognising the need for change through real partnerships. | Reconciliation and recognition is about acknowledging – and celebrating – the unique place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people and custodians of Australia and recognising the need for change through real partnerships. |
| In doing this Labor can continue to lead the way on our nation’s path to Recognition, Reconciliation and Justice. | In doing this Labor can continue to lead the way on our nation’s path to Recognition, Reconciliation and Justice. |
| A fair go for Australia also means a fair go for First Nations People. | A fair go for Australia also means a fair go for First Nations People. |
| More information on Labor’s Reconciliation Action Plan can be found here. | More information on Labor’s Reconciliation Action Plan can be found here. |
| The conference is going to go straight into asylum seeker policy (further debating what will be the final amendment resolutions) after the reconciliation announcement. | The conference is going to go straight into asylum seeker policy (further debating what will be the final amendment resolutions) after the reconciliation announcement. |
| Meanwhile, in Canberra. | |
| Josh Frydenberg & Mathias Cormann MYEFO presser in the blue room of parliament house Canberra this morning. @AmyRemeikis @murpharoo #PoliticsLive https://t.co/vzTH6iRseq pic.twitter.com/I1E7AgRMtz | Josh Frydenberg & Mathias Cormann MYEFO presser in the blue room of parliament house Canberra this morning. @AmyRemeikis @murpharoo #PoliticsLive https://t.co/vzTH6iRseq pic.twitter.com/I1E7AgRMtz |
| Bill Shorten said sometimes closing the gap could be seen as giving advantage to First Nations people – but that ignores the fact that Indigenous Australians are so often starting from behind. | |
| He says to those critics: | He says to those critics: |
| Why are you so scared by providing an equal go to people who don’t have an equal go to start with? | |
| And he reiterates that First Nations people need to be at the forefront of any policy. | |
| Unions and welfare groups that have campaigned against the community development program have welcomed the announcement Labor will abolish it. | Unions and welfare groups that have campaigned against the community development program have welcomed the announcement Labor will abolish it. |
| The Australian Council of Trade Unions president, Michele O’Neil: | |
| The announcement that an ALP government would abolish the CDP is a huge win for 30,000 workers who have been racially discriminated against through this scheme for the last 3 years, and for workers’ rights in this country. | |
| This program discriminated against people on the basis of the colour of their skin and the place they chose to live ... | |
| This scheme is an appalling example of state-sanctioned racial discrimination and worker exploitation and Australia will be a better place without it. | |
| The Australian union movement will continue to campaign to ensure that workers in remote communities are not exploited, are given access to paid job opportunities and that remote communities are given back the financial autonomy which was taken from them by the Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison government. | |
| The Australian Council of Social Services chief executive, Cassandra Goldie: | |
| We applaud the opposition for listening to First Nations peoples and announcing its intention to abolish the CDP. First Nations organisations have repeatedly stood up against CDP and put forward their own solutions. Today is a great day when the alternative government has committed to self-determination for First Nations peoples. | |
| Bill Shorten said it has taken Labor 120 years to have three First Nations members of its caucus “but we’re here now”. | |
| You can follow along with Bill Shorten’s speech here: | You can follow along with Bill Shorten’s speech here: |
| LIVE from Adelaide - I'm launching @AustralianLabor’s Reconciliation Action Plan. Because Reconciliation is Australia’s unfinished business, and it’s everyone’s business. #LabConf18 https://t.co/BJBh3CK5Ih | LIVE from Adelaide - I'm launching @AustralianLabor’s Reconciliation Action Plan. Because Reconciliation is Australia’s unfinished business, and it’s everyone’s business. #LabConf18 https://t.co/BJBh3CK5Ih |
| Pat Dodson has just labelled the community development program “discriminatory punitive and ineffective”, confirming that a Shorten Labor government will abolish and replace it. | Pat Dodson has just labelled the community development program “discriminatory punitive and ineffective”, confirming that a Shorten Labor government will abolish and replace it. |
| Dodson said Shorten was “ready willing and able to step up in partnership with First Nations people, to deliver justice and equality, deliver a voice [to parliament] and constitutional recognition”. | Dodson said Shorten was “ready willing and able to step up in partnership with First Nations people, to deliver justice and equality, deliver a voice [to parliament] and constitutional recognition”. |
| He spoke about what was needed to make the reconciliation action plan “a lived reality” – suggesting the first steps were to get the Shorten Labor team elected to government, and to improve Indigenous enrolment so First Nations people can vote in a referendum on constitutional recognition. | He spoke about what was needed to make the reconciliation action plan “a lived reality” – suggesting the first steps were to get the Shorten Labor team elected to government, and to improve Indigenous enrolment so First Nations people can vote in a referendum on constitutional recognition. |
| Bill Shorten is delivering his second speech, following the announcement of Labor’s reconciliation plan. | Bill Shorten is delivering his second speech, following the announcement of Labor’s reconciliation plan. |
| Labor’s reconciliation action plan motion looks like this: | Labor’s reconciliation action plan motion looks like this: |
| The Australian Labor party acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the first peoples of Australia, and have sustained spiritual beliefs, cultural and ceremonial practices on their traditional estates. In the true spirit of reconciliation, the Australian Labor party affirms its equal partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for the ongoing custodianship and maintenance of land and “sea country” throughout this nation. | The Australian Labor party acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the first peoples of Australia, and have sustained spiritual beliefs, cultural and ceremonial practices on their traditional estates. In the true spirit of reconciliation, the Australian Labor party affirms its equal partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for the ongoing custodianship and maintenance of land and “sea country” throughout this nation. |
| National conference commits Labor to the 2018-2020 reconciliation action plan. | National conference commits Labor to the 2018-2020 reconciliation action plan. |
| For Labor, reconciliation and recognition is about ensuring that First Nations people have the same rights, opportunities and outcomes as every other Australian. | For Labor, reconciliation and recognition is about ensuring that First Nations people have the same rights, opportunities and outcomes as every other Australian. |
| These goals have eluded us as a nation for more than two centuries. It is time for that to change – and Labor wants to lead this change. | These goals have eluded us as a nation for more than two centuries. It is time for that to change – and Labor wants to lead this change. |
| Reconciliation and recognition is about acknowledging – and celebrating – the unique place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first inhabitants and custodians of Australia. We are home to one of the oldest surviving cultures on Earth. That is something that we can all take pride in. | Reconciliation and recognition is about acknowledging – and celebrating – the unique place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first inhabitants and custodians of Australia. We are home to one of the oldest surviving cultures on Earth. That is something that we can all take pride in. |
| Reconciliation and recognition is about acknowledging the truth of our history, the wrongs that have been committed against first peoples – and not shying away from our historical pain. Without truth, there can be no healing. | Reconciliation and recognition is about acknowledging the truth of our history, the wrongs that have been committed against first peoples – and not shying away from our historical pain. Without truth, there can be no healing. |
| Reconciliation is about building relationships, and about listening. | Reconciliation is about building relationships, and about listening. |
| Above all, it is about taking action to tackle disadvantage and inequality. It is about introducing practical measures to close the gap in health, housing, education, employment and life expectancy. | Above all, it is about taking action to tackle disadvantage and inequality. It is about introducing practical measures to close the gap in health, housing, education, employment and life expectancy. |
| To achieve these outcomes and create a truly reconciled nation, First Nations people must have a say in all of the decisions that affect their lives. | To achieve these outcomes and create a truly reconciled nation, First Nations people must have a say in all of the decisions that affect their lives. |
| Labor is committed to ensuring that First Nations people have a voice – entrenched in our constitution. | Labor is committed to ensuring that First Nations people have a voice – entrenched in our constitution. |
| The reconciliation action plan sets out practical measures to give First Australians a voice in our party, in our parliament, and in our society. | The reconciliation action plan sets out practical measures to give First Australians a voice in our party, in our parliament, and in our society. |
| It outlines Labor’s commitment to come together with First Nations’ people and work towards equality, and a reconciled and just nation. | It outlines Labor’s commitment to come together with First Nations’ people and work towards equality, and a reconciled and just nation. |
| The reconciliation action plan outlines a comprehensive strategy for ensuring First Nations people are actively supported to participate in our party, our parliament, and our nation. | The reconciliation action plan outlines a comprehensive strategy for ensuring First Nations people are actively supported to participate in our party, our parliament, and our nation. |
| The reconciliation action plan focuses on building relationships, respect and opportunities. | The reconciliation action plan focuses on building relationships, respect and opportunities. |
| It identifies a range of practical measures that Labor will adopt to ensure that First Nations people have more opportunities to be involved in our party, at every level. | It identifies a range of practical measures that Labor will adopt to ensure that First Nations people have more opportunities to be involved in our party, at every level. |
| By implementing the reconciliation action plan, Labor will ensure we are constantly building our understanding of the issues that affect First Nations people’s equality and aspirations, and developing practical ideas for achieving change. | By implementing the reconciliation action plan, Labor will ensure we are constantly building our understanding of the issues that affect First Nations people’s equality and aspirations, and developing practical ideas for achieving change. |
| As outlined in the reconciliation action plan, the ALP’s national executive will have responsibility for the oversight and reporting of the Rap. | As outlined in the reconciliation action plan, the ALP’s national executive will have responsibility for the oversight and reporting of the Rap. |