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Parliament sits for first time since Scott Morrison's election victory – politics live
New parliament opens with Scott Morrison intent on passing income tax cuts – politics live
(about 2 hours later)
When being sworn in, Members can choose to make an oath or an affirmation. Those making an oath can choose their own religious text, ranging from texts owned by the House to family texts.
Just wondering - has anyone checked whether Kevin Andrews is OK?
The Senate will elect its president (spoiler – it will be Scott Ryan) and then the House of Representatives will elect its Speaker (double spoiler – it will be Tony Smith) and then boom – lots of speeches.
He has only spent one term in the parliament since his election in 1991 without Tony Abbott. I mean, he has Ian Goodenough as a bench buddy now, but still.
The tax bill will be entered into the chamber this afternoon/evening, where Labor will wave it through, before entering the Senate. There, Labor will attempt to amend it. Not that it is looking like that matters – word is the crossbench will give the government the numbers it needs to pass it.
Much diversity. Many differences.
Let the games begin. May the odds be ever in your favour.
What do we call a flock of flag pins?
The Usher of the Black Rod is walking from the Senate to the House of Representatives at the behest of the chief justice, Susan Kiefel, who is acting as the deputy governor general, to ask the lower chamber to come on over.
Shining happy people:
Everyone got that?
Seating arrangement is out:
The Usher of the Black Rod has just given the nod to the Sergeant of Arms, and now the House of Reps will wander over to the Senate.
House of Representatives Seating Plan #auspol pic.twitter.com/GSbZIjWYyw
All of this because a bunch of blokes in England back in the day had a riot when the king tried to arrest a bunch of MPs. Since then, the monarch and their representatives can’t enter the House of Reps.
The governor general will read the agenda speech at 3pm, which is written by the prime minister’s office.
I mean, there was a civil war after Charles I attempted to arrest MPs for treason, so I suppose there was a reason for the rule. And now it is to give everyone something to do when parliament begins.
He uses the phrase ‘my government’ and the pronoun ‘we’ quite a bit, which is a bit weird, but it will give us an insight into what this government is actually planning, outside of tax cuts.
Thus concludes your history lesson with Amy.
Hit me up with the buzzwords you think may appear.
PM Scott Morrison and Opposition leader Anthony Albanese share a moment after the ecumenical service and Scott and Jenny Morrison after the smoking ceremony on the forecourt of Parliament @AmyRemeikis @murpharoo #PoliticsLive pic.twitter.com/zgF9hrnkqi
Michael McCormack also said some things.
The bells are ringing for the first time in months, which means the 46th parliament is about to get under way.
Anthony Albanese on Tony Smith:
I never realised what a pavlovian response I have to that sound until my eye started twitching at the first shrill note. I am not sure if androids do dream of electric sheep (I mean, are they battery operated or do they plug them in?) but my dreams are certainly haunted by these bells.
You love this institution. You are passionate about it. You bring great credit to all of us with the way that you conduct yourself. Of course, we, on this side of the House, would have preferred a different result on May 18, but I am pleased to see that you are back in control of the House.
About the House doing the work so you don’t have to:
You are as fair and impartial a Speaker as I have seen on either side of politics in Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2017 than two decades in this House.
A new Parliament means new Members. We've assembled a Twitter List of every Member of the House in the 46th Parliament with a Twitter account - view and follow it here: https://t.co/xigmglDpCO pic.twitter.com/JGpcEedWIg
Indeed, Mr Speaker, you are for the third time elected unopposed. That is the first time that that has occurred in more than a century since the beginning of, indeed, this parliament going back to federation.
Well this seems pretty definite. Stirling Griff on the tax plan:
The fact that you have been nominated by the government’s side and seconded by the opposition side is to your credit and also I think will be welcomed by Australians who want to see solutions, rather than arguments, in this place wherever that is possible.
I would think, all things considered, I would imagine that the tax cut legislation will pass this week.
Of course, from time to time, it will be the case that there are arguments, but you have always conducted yourself with diligence, grace and good humour and that has assisted, I think, in focusing attention from members of this House on outcomes on what unites us, rather than what divides us in the legitimate contests that will take place over the future direction of this country. Where at times it will be passionate.
Centre Alliance has a loose working arrangement with Jacqui Lambie. They will work together on issues where they have common ground, and do their own thing where they split. They have also agreed not to talk about each other’s position.
I will be, too. You might have noticed, but what we need to do always is to recognise that the standing orders and the procedures that are in place are here so that those debates are conducted in a way that produces outcomes and really focuses on the needs of the Australian people, rather than on ourselves. You have always conducted yourself in that way. Of course your task is more than just chairing the parliament. As the prime minister has said, you also lead the parliament in terms of the officers, the clerks, all who work to make this institution operate on a day-to-day basis, and you do that in a way which always has been consultative, particularly over some difficult issues. National security is a much greater issue today than it was when I and yourself were elected those years ago.
Jacqui is her own person. We’ve had initial discussions with Jacqui in relation to what we’re looking for. But, um, we’ll just have to see where she ends up in the end.
It is important to get this balance between the openness of a parliament, whereby people can come along and can hear debates and participate with those national needs. Your job also is to be the representative of the parliament of all of us, which is why it is important that you have been elected unopposed.
But given that the government either needs Lambie or One Nation to pass the tax plan, if Labor doesn’t come on board, and Pauline Hanson is still opposed, well, that from Griff is an indication of where this is all heading.
Scott Morrison on Tony Smith’s election:
A little earlier, Rex Patrick said he had been down to Tasmania to speak to Lambie after her election and had spoken to her at least three times since yesterday. That is going to be quite the interesting voting bloc at times.
But to you, Mr Speaker, you have many great loves and passions in this life, none greater than Pam and the boys, who I know once again will be deeply proud of their dad today.
I’m told that quite a bit of Anthony Albanese’s speech ahead of the smoking ceremony was off the cuff. That he had a prepared speech, and read from some of it, but that he ad-libbed quite a bit, as he had something he really wanted to say.
But you have the great passions, as we have heard, for the Carlton Football Club and your Holden panel van and many other things which we have discussed on so many occasions as great friends.
Reconciliation is shaping up as the major sleeping issue of this parliament – and so it should be. It is outrageous that we haven’t done more already.
But one of your great passions is this House. This chamber. The role that it plays in our great country.
Back to the tax debate, and Jim Chalmers had this to say about Labor’s position:
You bring a real honour to this institution. This is the second time that you have been elected to this position, following an election unchallenged and I think that says much about the respect with which you are held by all members of this House. You understand its responsibility.
If the Reserve Bank cuts interest rates today, that will further bolster our strong case that we need to get more money into the hands of more workers sooner to boost this floundering economy. The Reserve Bank can’t do all the heavy lifting on its own. The Reserve Bank has already cut interest rates to extraordinary lows – much lower than they were even during the global financial crisis. It’s time for the government to do their bit. Labor’s prepared to do our bit to get stage one of the tax cuts into the economy and to bring forward stage two. That’s what my amendments will seek to do tonight. The test for Scott Morrison is does he want a tax cut for every Australian worker this term or not? That’s the question for him.
You understand that we all come here, particularly on a day like today, expressing great hopes, noble intentions, but these are things that you have always lived as a man, as a member of your community, in your family, as a friend and as a member of this House.
Scott Morrison and Josh Frydenberg need to stop obsessing about Labor, stop spending all of their time poring over our transcripts and writing op-eds about the Labor party, and they need to actually do something about this floundering economy. They’ve been pretending that nothing’s wrong for some time now. We’ve got slowing growth, we’ve got stagnant wages. People are worried about their mortgages, people are worried about their standard of living. People are worried that their wages aren’t keeping up with their costs of living. We can’t have a government that keeps pretending that nothing’s wrong. It’s time for them to act. We’ve proposed a responsible way forward, which would pass stage one of the tax cuts, bring forward part of stage two of the tax cuts and take out stage three, which commits $95bn five years down the track when we don’t know what the economy or the budget will look like in 2024-25.
That is what best commends you to this role, more than any of each of us here could. You have a wise and calming presence in this place.
The smoking ceremony is being held on the forecourt of Parliament House.
The normal passions in the heat of the debate that occurs in this place, you accept and you celebrate, but at the same time you temper us in those times when, of course, there is overreach.
Albanese ends with:
But in this role, Mr Speaker, you also do something which I think is truly great and that you honour and you work so well with those who service in this chamber and you lead them incredibly well.
We know that for parliament to be asked to be welcomed by the traditional owners of the land on which we meet is a modest step. It is more than a decade since the apology.
Tony Smith has been dragged to the Speaker’s chair after Labor seconded the motion for his nomination.
It is time to go further in reconciliation. The parliament should show its respect for the strength and determination of First Nations peoples by working with you to progress the agenda of the Uluru statement from the heart, to establish a voice, recognise First Nations people in our constitution and to close the gap which remains so vast across so many categories.
Scott Ryan has been elected as president of the Senate.
We have to acknowledge the patience and persistence of First Nations people in their wishes, including the nature of future agreements with them that was made clear in the Uluru statement.
Someone voted for Gavin Marshall in the Senate ballot. Scott Ryan is returned as Senate president #auspol
The parliament should do more than hear an Aboriginal welcome, the parliament should also hear an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voice, that would be a significant change for our country.
Dean Smith and Rachel Siewart appointed scrutineers for the first spill of the 46th. We have a third pile which is intriguing. Who is the donkey vote? #auspol @AmyRemeikis
We would all be stronger for it and once done, we would wonder, just like with the apology, just like this welcome to country, why we hadn’t done it before?
I say to the prime minister, I look forward to working with you in the spirit in which we’ve already had discussions.
We will work with you, this can be done. We have been welcomed to this country today in such a generous spirit, with such a hopeful heart, and we should respond with courage, kindness and with determination. Forty five times we have opened the parliament in this country without a voice to parliament for the First Nations of this great land.
This 46th parliament should be the last time in which we do that.
Anthony Albanese:
I also think of the first welcome to country here when we gathered in this place in February 2008.
I’m very proud to have been leader of the House of Representatives when we instituted that reform. It is a great example whereby people at the time thought “Why haven’t we done this before?”
And once done, just like the apology, no one could imagine us not doing it. It was indeed a rare moment where the parliament showed humility and respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
What I remember most from that February day was the same strength, the strength of your culture, to survive everything that has been thrown at you, to survive everything that this institution has done to you and the strength of your character to welcome us with the oldest continuing human culture and custom in the world, customs whose antiquity stretches back beyond our comprehension.
The generosity of First Nations people to offer that welcome is quite extraordinary. I welcome the fact that we now regard this as an essential component of the beginning of the parliament.
Anthony Albanese also spoke ahead of the smoking ceremony. He said that when he first spoke to Scott Morrison following his election as Labor leader, the first issue they spoke about was reconciliation:
I am so grateful to be welcomed again to Ngunnawal country by the traditional owners here. Linda [Burney] said to me this morning “We’ll be back, we always do come back”.
When I was elected to this place some 23 years ago, there was no welcome to country, simply because the parliament didn’t ask for one. I came down from a lifetime in the inner west of Sydney, the land of the Gadigal clans, to a new era in this Ngunnawal and Ngambri country, without any acknowledgement of the cultural significance of that moment.
What a lost opportunity to learn about this place.
We now begin every shadow ministry meeting with the acknowledgement of country from Linda Burney who informs us about the cultural significance of where we are meeting, wherever it is.
Just like, of course, the parliament didn’t ask to be welcomed by your leaders when we first met in this building in 1988, nor when we first met in this city in 1927.
But even when the parliament has tried to ignore First Nations people, they have been here and the prime minister has outlined that extraordinary history with Jimmy Clements and John Noble, proud Wiradjuri men and the actions that they took and the response that they got from their fellow Australians.
Mike Bowers was at the ecumenical service held this morning to mark the opening of the new parliament. This year, it was held at St Christopher’s Cathedral. As they were leaving, Anthony Albanese quipped that as a Catholic, he held the home ground advantage.
