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Greens back at the bargaining table over medical evacuation bill – question time live
Greens back at the bargaining table over medical evacuation bill – question time live
(35 minutes later)
And we just hit the hour mark. Question time is yet to begin.
The language in the draft amendments circulating at the moment from Bill Shorten says on timeframes: The minister must make a decision under subsection (2): (a) as soon as practicable after being notified; and (b) unless the decision is made on the ground set out in paragraph (3)(a)—no later than 72 hours after being notified.
Julie Collins is now speaking about the Tasmanian fires.
Bob Katter is back on his feet.
He has a story about sandbagging.
According to the latest draft of the amendments on the medical evacuations bill, the decision making timeframe is "no later than 72 hours after being notified" @AmyRemeikis #auspol
An update: #QT has not yet technically started, as Members are making statements on indulgence on a range of matters that occurred during summer. Following statements on the 10th anniversary of Black Saturday, Members are now addressing recent natural disasters.
Cathy O’Toole is also speaking on this motion (Herbert is in north Queensland, taking in Townsville.)
Bob Katter tries to speak again. I don’t know why. I am not sure if Bob knows why. Tony Smith certainly has no idea and sits him down.
George Christensen (Dawson) is now adding his speech to the motion.
There are 149 or so people in the chamber right now trying to look solemn while Bob Katter speaks on the natural disaster indulgence motion, while having no idea what the speech is about.
There are some very interesting facial contortions going on at the moment and more shifting in chairs than the occupants of a kids table on their last warning before dessert.
We are rapidly approaching the 45-minute mark in what should be question time ... and not a single question has been asked as yet.
Bob Katter, whose electorate of Kennedy is among one of the worst impacted by the floods in north and western Queensland, said it is a “great honour” to be able to speak on this area, which makes up “one tenth” the surface area of Australia.
The House moves on to a motion acknowledging the natural disasters across the country.
Over in the Senate, the government, seemingly sensing a deal is very close to being struck on amendments to the medevac bill, are now talking on the Greens motion – including Mathias Cormann, who rarely speaks himself on stuff like this.
Over in the Senate, the government, seemingly sensing a deal is very close to being struck on amendments to the medevac bill, are now talking on the Greens motion – including Mathias Cormann, who rarely speaks himself on stuff like this.
What that does is delay the government reaching its own legislative agenda. Which delays any other business, if you are picking up what I am putting down.
What that does is delay the government reaching its own legislative agenda. Which delays any other business, if you are picking up what I am putting down.
It is inching closer
It is inching closer
Independent MP Cathy McGowan will be supporting the crossbench medical transfer bill. Statement here: #auspol pic.twitter.com/ol2fAxEZ7M
Independent MP Cathy McGowan will be supporting the crossbench medical transfer bill. Statement here: #auspol pic.twitter.com/ol2fAxEZ7M
Scott Morrison is now moving a motion acknowledging the 10-year anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires.
Scott Morrison is now moving a motion acknowledging the 10-year anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires.
Yes, even Bob Katter is in the parliament.
Just as an update, everyone is in their seat. Ann Sudmalis and Jenny Macklin are back from their New York UN exchange.
Quips aside, a bit more from Cory Bernardi and the filibustering on demand:
“It really depends on what it ends up like, but I am opposed to the bill as it stands,” he tells Murph.
The chamber has been called to order.
It’s dealing with a few condolence motions first, so question time is a few minutes off.
Just a quick by-the-by on the asylum bill before we enter the hour of glower: Folks with longish memories will remember that last year the government was saved by Cory Bernardi, who engaged in a filibuster to ensure the Coalition was not humiliated by losing a vote on the floor of the House for the first time since 1929.
Cory talked and talked and talked to prevent that humiliation. I thought it prudent to ask Bernardi if he was ready to talk and talk and talk again, in the event the medical evacuations bill passes the House amended later today and has to bounce back up to the Senate for amendments.
Cory is, of course, happy to serve.
I am always available to contribute to Senate processes in the best way possible.
Question time is about to begin. I’ll be heading into the chamber, so hit me up with your QT predictions!
Peter Dutton was asked about the AFP’s role in what happened to refugee footballer Hakeem al-Araibi by Samantha Maiden earlier today and said he believed Andrew Colvin would have something to say on it, some time in the future.
But Craig Foster, who was absolutely instrumental in bringing Hakeem al-Araibi home, had this to say about moving forward:
There’s no question that, going forward, there will have to be a thorough investigation into the role of the AFP in what occurred with this red notice.
For many reasons. One is because, as the public, we need to be completely confident that the processes have been followed and, secondly, we need to ensure that the system is going to be changed. And one of the issues to come out of this … as I said before, we intend to ensure that we utilise this case to hold people accountable within the governance of sport, and there are some people here within Asia and elsewhere who we don’t think have acted appropriately.
And that’s a big issue for us in sport. We think that this was very much about the soul of sport, which has been sold and money has infiltrated the values of both football and other sports and we think that it’s time to start to climb that back, and Hakeem al-Araibi standing here and talking to Australia is a big blow in that regard. But also we want to see an investigation into Interpol and the use of red notices itself – not just Australia’s role, which was after the Interpol red notice was placed on him.
But this concept of countries using the red notice in order to try to re-foul people that they want to return for nefarious reasons has to now become a very serious issue and it is something that we’ll be taking up in the coming months.
Labor is supporting a motion moved by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young calling for the cap on water buybacks in the Murray-Darling Basin plan to be repealed immediately.
An emotional Hanson -Young asked her Senate colleagues to back the repeal of the cap, saying that the objectives of the plan had been corrupted due to politics and corporate greed.
The cap was introduced by legislation into the plan in 2015 by the Coalition, which feared the backlash in rural communities from the economic impacts of buybacks.
But this left the plan far more reliant on other measures to meet the overall target of recovering 2750GL for the environment.
These alternatives include projects to help manage the river better, removing constraints on the river, more efficient farming practices and reducing evaporation.
The latest drought and the spectacle of hundreds of thousands of fish dying in the Darling at Menindee has focussed attention on whether the plan is actually working.
Hanson-Young says it’s clearly not working, as evidenced by recent reports and the fish deaths.
“The prime minister might want us to pray for rain, but clearly something is rotten and it needs to be cleaned up now,” she said.
“Millions of dead fish, a stressed river and some pretty happy irrigators.”
She pointed the finger clearly at the former water minister, Barnaby Joyce, and the Nationals.
“The system has been overallocated for decades and we have to give water back to the environment,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter what tricks of accounting this government does, mother nature is crying out for help,” she said.
Hanson-Young is also backing a royal commission. Labor had backed the cap in 2015, but is now supporting its removal, which would require an amendment to legislation.
A report by the Productivity Commission found that buying water rights from farmers is a far more efficient way of returning water to the environment and that projects designed to achieve similar outcomes were both uncertain and expensive.
As I have just been reminded, if the crossbench comes on board with Labor’s proposed amendments to the medevac bill, and then it is passed in the House, it will have to go back to the Senate, because it’s been amended from the bill which was originally sent through to the House.
And we all know what happened the last time this bill was in the Senate.
Let’s come back to (medevac bill) time frames for a minute
I can only apologise really. There are so many moving parts it’s almost impossible to deliver smooth and linear coverage of a process that is neither smooth, nor linear.
I mentioned earlier the intel out of the talks was the time frame for determinations was heading for a landing point of 48 hours rather than where things started at the beginning of the day, which was as soon as practicable.
People are now counseling me away from 48 hours.
Several people are saying what’s under discussion at this moment is a seven-day time frame, with provision for urgent medical transfers.
Just flagging this more up-to-date advice in the event this is where things ultimately settle. I’ve been saying all morning this is a movable feast.
