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Police called to Canberra hotel after reports of incident involving Victorian state MP – politics live 'Expect and respect': Scott Morrison announces public service shake-up – politics live
(30 minutes later)
Treasury boss, former chief of staff to Scott Morrison when he was in Treasury - Phil Gaetjens - has been named Morrison’s new departmental secretary.
Steven Kennedy, who is in infrastructure, will move over to Treasury.
Steven has obviously worked on the Labor side, Phil has worked on the coalition side. This is about merit, this is about people that know how to get a job done, and people have earned the respect for the roles that I think they will now be able to serve in.
Scott Morrison continues:
The review is in its final stages, but I have already made it clear in speaking to all the secretaries of all departments, in fact, even before I swore my ministry in, what my expectations were.
And this is of a very public facing public service, a public service that is very focused on the delivery of programs, whether it is in our infrastructure programs and the pipeline of support to the states to get those projects happening, and water infrastructure, in delivering in the government services agenda where we have a new minister responsible for service in Australia, government services in Australia, these are the initiatives I want to see the public service focus on.
Implementation, implementation, doing. And it’s not just the regulations that can frustrate investment and getting services to people, whether it is Indigenous remote communities, supporting our veterans, or delivering education services in a major capital cities.
It’s just not the funding and the regulations that can frustrate this. It can just be the practices of administration within the bureaucracy. And I know that frustrates the bureaucracy as much as it can those who are expecting and waiting on those services. So that’s the culture of service that I want to see in the public sector, and that is the approach I’ll be taking and working closely in partnership with the secretaries.
Scott Morrison:
But the purpose of being here today is to say, when it comes to the public service, that is the engine room through which a government implements its agenda, and I have always had the good experience of working with the public service in providing very clear direction and leadership to the agencies I have worked with that enable them to get on with the job.
And I have always seen the public service at its best when it is really getting on with things. I have had that experience in multiple portfolios, and as prime minister, I have seen it in the eyes of our public service officials when they are responding to difficult challenges.
The north Queensland floods, I think, was a very good example of our public service at its best, responding to people’s needs, understanding what needed to be done, getting rid of barriers that were in the way of them helping people. So when it comes to the public service, my view is to respect and expect.
Respect their professionalism, respect their capability, respect what they can bring to the table and what they can do, and expect them to get on with the job of incrementing the government’s agenda. That has always been my approach in working with the public service, across many portfolios, including as prime minister.
Scott Morrison has welcomed Boris Johnson’s elevation to the UK prime ministership:
I had the opportunity to talk to Boris Johnson and congratulate him on being the elected leader of the UK Conservative party.
Since then he has now become the prime minister of the United Kingdom. We are going to have a very strong relationship. I am looking forward to spending time with him on meeting with him at the G7 next month, and we are both looking forward to that opportunity. Moving very quickly, when the opportunity presents, to be able to move to an agreement between the United Kingdom and Australia on trade.
We will be one of the first cabs of the rank, as has been the case in our discussions with the UK for some time. This is a time of change for the United Kingdom, and I think the new prime minister will bring a new opportunity, I think, to resolve what had been some very difficult issues, and that it is in the interest not only of the United Kingdom and Europe to resolve these matters, but for the order global economy to get some resolution of these issues. So I wish him all the best on those matters, and it was good to be able to catch up with him last night and I look forward to our meeting.
Anthony Albanese is speaking against the medevac repeal bill in the House.
He says it is possible to be tough on border security but still have humanity.
Katharine Murphy tells me a replacement for Martin Parkinson, the secretary of Prime Minister and Cabinet, will be named at Scott Morrison’s press conference.
Peter Dutton wins the vote to suspend standing orders (no surprise there, the government has the numbers) and we move to the third reading of the medevac repeal bill.
The Greens are getting ahead of Scott Morrison’s public service announcement:
Greens spokesperson for the public service, Adam Bandt MP, today commented on reports that the Prime Minister will make “immediate and sweeping reforms” to the public service, warning that the Greens will fight to defend the public service from any attempts by an increasingly authoritarian government to weaken it.
Without a policy agenda, this government seeks only to destroy,” said Mr Bandt.
The Prime Minister’s words today are riddled with euphemisms that foreshadow an attack on the public service.
The erosion of the public service has been steadily occurring under the old parties, through privatisation by stealth and relentless outsourcing.
Now, emboldened by the election, the government looks to be preparing for a direct attack.
The Greens will take up the fight to this government to defend the public service and will not allow the outcomes of the Thodey review to be a stalking horse to weaken the public service.”
Yup – it is about bringing on the third reading of the medevac repeal.
Mr Dutton (Minister for Home Affairs), pursuant to contingent notice, moved – That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the motion for the third reading being moved without delay.
Peter Dutton has called for a suspension of standing orders in the House (I think it is over the medevac repeal).
Odds are Scott Morrison will be talking about this story in the Australian at his press conference:Odds are Scott Morrison will be talking about this story in the Australian at his press conference:
Scott Morrison has signalled immediate and sweeping reforms to the public service to make man­darins more accountable and ensure they are serving the “quiet Australians”, confirming a changing of the guard at the top levels of the bureaucracy.Scott Morrison has signalled immediate and sweeping reforms to the public service to make man­darins more accountable and ensure they are serving the “quiet Australians”, confirming a changing of the guard at the top levels of the bureaucracy.
The Prime Minister has told The Australian he plans to move swiftly with a cultural shake-up across the 18 government departments and more than 100 agencies before the final recom­mendations from a 12-month review of the public service.The Prime Minister has told The Australian he plans to move swiftly with a cultural shake-up across the 18 government departments and more than 100 agencies before the final recom­mendations from a 12-month review of the public service.
“We don’t expect the public service to run the government. That’s what we were elected to do,” Mr Morrison said. “In my ­experience, the public service ­always works best when it has strong guidance and leadership. “We don’t expect the public service to run the government. That’s what we were elected to do,” Mr Morrison said. “In my ­experience, the public service ­always works best when it has strong guidance and leadership.”
By now aficionados of climate science / people who do not want the world to reach catastrophic levels of heating will be familiar with the distinction between weather (brrr it’s cold today) and climate (oh my god, on average the world is 1.5 degrees hotter and we’re headed for much more).
But not so Nationals MP George Christensen who has this morning told his Facebook followers not to worry:
“Normally, on the road to Parliament House, MPs and Senators are greeted by extreme green protesters with alarmist banners banging on about global warming and declaring that there is a ‘climate emergency’. This morning, with a temperature of -3 degrees, there’s not a protesting soul in sight.
I don’t know why. For a North Queenslander, -3 degrees is a bloody climate emergency. It’s just not global warming.”
Scott Morrison has called a press conference for 10.45am in the prime minister’s courtyard – the Beyoncé of political press conference locations.
Rex Patrick’s motion to suspend standing orders was defeated, 36 to 36 (when there is a tied vote, the status quo rules, which means continuing on with the schedule in this case).
The Finance Minister @MathiasCormann chats to One Nation’s @PaulineHansonOz during the vote on Senator Patrick’s TEO bill motion. #senate @AmyRemeikis @murpharoo @mpbowers pic.twitter.com/qcUDNKafUB
There seemed like an easy fix to this – giving Centre Alliance a private (and confidential) briefing of the advice. But that doesn’t appear to have been made available, which is a strange tactic, given how important Centre Alliance is in the Senate.
Oh, and Labor is still keeping count on government MPs.
Ed Husic called for a quorum after noticing there were less than 31 government MPs this morning.
For those who missed it, after the government pulled some shenanigans on Monday, rushing a bill through, Labor told the government it would play hardball of its own.
And it is, calling for a quorum every time there aren’t enough MPs in the chamber. Usually it is one of those rules that is just politely ignored. But not this week.
The Senate is dividing to see if Rex Patrick can suspend standing orders.
Doesn’t look like he has the numbers.
It’s excitement plus in the House right now.
The offshore petroleum and greenhouse gas storage amendment bill is being debated.
I may need a fainting couch, I am so overcome.
For those interested, there is also this:
Of special interest today, it's #Budget2019 Day! ...Sort of. Appropriation Bills 1 and 2, plus Parliamentary Appropriation Bill 1, will be introduced this morning. Interim supply bills were passed following the actual Budget in April. pic.twitter.com/w3A7i7kwNp
Police are speaking with a man at Civic police station.
Politician in Canberra hotel incident now confirmed to be Victorian Labor MP Will Fowles https://t.co/b9xPzqHGGk
Pauline Hanson says she trusts the law is constitutional because the government told her it was
Whole lotta lobbying goin’ on. One Nation gets lobbied by Senator Rex Patrick (top pics), and the Finance and Defence Ministers (bottom pic). On Senator Patrick’s motion on the TEO bill. @AmyRemeikis @murpharoo @mpbowers pic.twitter.com/cmkJaBp3O8
The government denied Rex Patrick leave to move his motion – which is why we are having this debate.
So it will come down to whether the rest of the crossbench supports him. Labor and the Greens are in.
There could be two votes – one to suspend standing orders in order to move the motion.
If that fails, that is it. If it succeeds, then there is another vote on the motion itself.
It looks like Pauline Hanson is against it.
Centre Alliance Senator Rex Patrick moves in the Senate a motion to (as he says) improve the constitutionality of the TEO legislation. @AmyRemeikis @mpbowers @murpharoo pic.twitter.com/9XX5o4nxTg
The Sydney Morning Herald and the Age have reported this:
First term Victorian Labor MP Will Fowles has been questioned by police over a disturbance at a Canberra hotel on Thursday morning.
...When approached for comment by the Age and the Sydney Morning Herald Mr Fowles would not comment on the incident but said he would make a statement later in the day.