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'Expect and respect': Scott Morrison announces public service shake-up – politics live
Senate will review Newstart payment – politics live
(32 minutes later)
No one knows who wrote the letter, who gave him the letter, or what it says, or even why it didn’t show up in any of the freedom of information requests.
And yes, of course we are asking. But that doesn’t mean we get answers
For those asking, here is the whole statement Rex Patrick made to the Senate on why he won’t be supporting the motion for an inquiry into Angus Taylor:
Patrick: I just want to state to the chamber that I’ve been shown evidence that Minister Taylor was asked to make representation on behalf of some constituents. I disagree—
... If someone is presented with a concern by a constituent they should be allowed to go to a minister—I do that all the time. If I get a—
Scott Ryan: Order! Senators Di Natale, Hanson-Young and Rice, please—other senators were heard in silence. Can we let Senator Patrick be treated with the same courtesy?
Patrick: If I am presented with a concern by a constituent, I do go to ministers and I do ask them to get a briefing from a department. So what’s happened is not unusual. It’s not unusual for things that have happened to me. So, my problem with the motion is, and Senator Wong’s statement, is that there’s an error of fact in there in that—
... in this instance I’m quite satisfied that Minister Taylor was making representation on behalf of some constituents.
Australians are continuing to abandon private health insurance, new data from the prudential regulator shows.
Statistics released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority today shows that 64,700 Australians dumped their private hospital cover last year, on top of more than 21,000 the year before.
And the proportion of the population with private cover has fallen for the third year running, dropping from 45.6% to 44.6% in 2018. Coverage peaked at 47.3% in 2014.
The falls come despite the government’s hefty subsidies for the private health insurance industry through tax rebates and come amid warnings the system is “broken”.
Earlier this week, the head of one of Australia’s biggest funds, NIB, said Medicare should be abolished and his industry propped up by making private insurance compulsory – a suggestion immediately rejected by the health minister, Greg Hunt.
Pauline Hanson is on Sky News telling Chris Kenny that Labor senator “Kimberley Kitchiner” who she thinks is “great” has reached out to her to set up some sort of formal working relationship, with regular meetings.
We assume she means Kimberley Kitching.
Hanson also says that Penny Wong has never spoken to her. Kenny seems to think this is OUTRAGEOUS. I mean, you could probably point him to Hanson’s maiden speech for a refresher, but sure. You do you, Kenny.
Labor’s Katy Gallagher will respond to the appointment of Phil Gaetjens as head of Prime Minister and Cabinet at 1.30 in the Senate courtyard.
Sarah Martin reported on this earlier this week but the Senate has passed another motion – this time calling for the disability royal commission senators, John Ryan and Barbara Bennett, to be replaced over what Jordon Steele-John has called “unmanagable conflicts of interests”.
Bill Shorten had also raised concerns.
The motion passed with the support of the Labor party, Centre Alliance, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation and Jacqui Lambie.
“These commissioners have lost the confidence of the disability community and they have now lost the confidence of one of the chambers of the Australian parliament,” Steele-John said. “Their positions have now become untenable and they must be replaced.“The government must now, immediately, engage with [the] disabled to appoint new commissioners in line with the criteria set out by the community, our organisations and our supporters:
is a person with disability;
has minimal and manageable conflicts of interest;
has respect and trust from people with disability and the wider community;
has high-level standing and experience in the application of the law and their impact on people with disability;
understands the rights, laws and policies for people with disability, particularly the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
has knowledge of all forms of violence inherent in all settings and the existing legal and policy frameworks;
understands the way age, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, intersex status, ethnic origin or race intersect with disability and violence.
The moods of @JacquiLambie #senate @murpharoo @AmyRemeikis @mpbowers pic.twitter.com/KFpgqm6B2o
Labor says it will put its motion for an inquiry into the conduct of Angus Taylor and Josh Frydenberg on Monday after it failed to get crossbench support.
Labor says it will put its motion for an inquiry into the conduct of Angus Taylor and Josh Frydenberg on Monday after it failed to get crossbench support.
The Greens have also given notice they will move for a production of documents, including the letter Rex Patrick said he was shown that he told the senate had satisfied him it was constituent matter
The Greens have also given notice they will move for a production of documents, including the letter Rex Patrick said he was shown that he told the Senate had satisfied him it was constituent matter.
Linda Burney has also spoken on the Newstart inquiry. The government voted against it, hence her reference to them below:
Linda Burney has also spoken on the Newstart inquiry. The government voted against it, hence her reference to them below:
People can’t find work because Newstart is inadequate.
People can’t find work because Newstart is inadequate.
The Liberals and Nationals have no agenda and Australians doing it tough deserve better than a Prime Minister that doesn’t even acknowledge Newstart is too low.
The Liberals and Nationals have no agenda and Australians doing it tough deserve better than a prime minister that doesn’t even acknowledge Newstart is too low.
Labor is determined to get Newstart working to lift people out of poverty and get Australians back into the workforce.
Labor is determined to get Newstart working to lift people out of poverty and get Australians back into the workforce.
Victorian Labor MP @willfowles arrives at Melbourne Airport after being questioned by police over a disturbance at a Canberra hotel on Thursday morning. @theage pic.twitter.com/NyrKluKlrj
Victorian Labor MP @willfowles arrives at Melbourne Airport after being questioned by police over a disturbance at a Canberra hotel on Thursday morning. @theage pic.twitter.com/NyrKluKlrj
The Western Australian police commissioner, Chris Dawson, has defended his officers after the revelationon two occasions WA police applied for – and obtained – a journalist information warrant from a person not authorised to provide it.
Dawson told 6PR Radio the “administrative error” was made shortly after law changes in 2015 which required a “higher threshold” to obtain metadata for journalists through a journalist information warrant, to be granted in consultation with an appointed public interest advocate.
Dawson explained the WA Police had applied for a warrant from a judge in South Australia and then WA, but the first judge and the WA Police were under the mistaken belief he had been validly appointed.
Dawson conceded that an invalid warrant can result in “tainted” evidence which must be disregarded by a court, but played down the metadata failure by claiming that there was “no value” in the telecommunications billing information police had access to as a result of the invalid warrants.
Dawson declined to name the journalist. The WA Police have not yet explained whether the journalist was notified.
The Senate will look into the Newstart payment after a motion from Rachel Siewert and Patrick Dodson won the numbers.
Siewert in a statement:
I’m very pleased that the Senate has supported our reference to the Community Affairs References Committee.
This week we’ve had people from all sides of politics come out in support of an increase to Newstart which has not had a real term increase since 1994.
This inquiry will also look into a wide range of issues that interact with Newstart and other income support payments including impacts of the current approach, the changing nature of work, mechanisms that set payments, as well as the role of independent and expert decision-making in setting payments.
It is vital that the government pay close attention to this inquiry where we will hear from the community on what it is like to survive on Newstart. Their refusal to raise the rate is out of step with community expectations.
I urge members of the community to make submissions to the inquiry.
The motion is defeated, after the crossbench side with the government.
Larissa Waters gives notice that she plans on moving a motion for production of documents regarding the Angus Taylor issue.
Penny Wong:
Minister Taylor has a direct interest in Jam Land. He has a … by another company, I think it’s called Gufee Proprietary Limited, which is a third owner of Jam Land. There is no declaration of Jam Land on his own registered interests.
The government’s defence for Minister Taylor is that because he declared Gufee, which is another company which owns the shares in Jam Land, that’s sufficient, that’s sufficient.
The whole point of declarations - the whole point - is that they go to declaration of conflict.
They go to declaration of conflict of interest. You report the conflict on your register of interest, so it is a disclosed potential or actual conflict of interest.
How can you disclose a potential conflict of interest if you hide the fact that you actually are, via another company, an owner in the company that has the issue in terms of the property and the environmental regulations?
It is just hiding behind companies. That is the government’s defence – oh, he declared it because he declared the other company.
It’s not a standard that the public recognise.
Now, it may be, it’s been put to me, ‘well, he didn’t make any money out of it’ - that is not the test. I don’t know if he did or didn’t.
I don’t know, I assume there was some impact on the value of the property or the use of the property.
I mean, all of those issues can be explored. But that’s not the test. The test is what is appropriate for a cabinet minister.
And again, just go back to this: who else gets to ring up a cabinet minister in charge of a portfolio where there’s been an environmental regulation imposed, that affects your property, and says can [I] have a meeting with the department to discuss it.
It’s only Minister Taylor, he’s the only one. Do we really think that’s the standard we expect for ministers of the crown?
Kristina Keneally is asking who the letter Rex Patrick says he has seen, is from – and whether the whole Senate can see it – making the point that the Senate doesn’t know if the letter writer is related to Angus Taylor.
Rex Patrick is on his feet now and says he has been shown evidence that says Angus Taylor was asked to make a representation on behalf of a constituent. “If I am presented with a concern by a constituent, I do go to ministers and I do ask them to get a briefing from the department. So what has happened is not unusual,” Patrick says.
Patrick says he believes there is an “error of fact” in the motion and he is “quite satisfied minister Taylor was making representations on behalf of constituents”.
Larissa Waters points out the Greens tried to get their own inquiry into this issue (but it was a lot broader), which is slated to be voted on for Monday – but it is a lot broader and unlikely to get support. Waters says the Greens will support Labor and asks why the crossbench has gone cold on it.
Penny Wong is on her feet in the Senate, delivering a statement by leave, on what she says is the government protecting Angus Taylor and Josh Frydenberg from an inquiry.
The official statement on the prime minister’s department staff changes is out:
After a distinguished career in the public service, Dr Martin Parkinson AC PSM will conclude his tenure as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet on 30 August 2019.
I want to express my deep appreciation to Dr Parkinson for his record of service to Australian Governments and to the Australian people over many years.
Martin has been a highly valued source of advice to me, both as Prime Minister and in other portfolios, and he has led the Australian Public Service with great distinction. His policy acumen across a range of domestic and international policy areas has helped Australia navigate a complex and rapidly changing world.
I wish him well for the next phase of his career and I look forward to him serving the national interest in other capacities.
Mr Philip Gaetjens will be the next Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The appointment was made by the Governor-General for a period of three years from 2 September 2019.
Mr Gaetjens has held leadership roles in the Commonwealth and State public sectors as Secretary of the New South Wales Treasury between 2011 and 2015 and, most recently, as the Commonwealth Treasury Secretary. He has also served in a range of other senior executive positions in the Commonwealth and South Australian public services and as Chief of Staff to the Treasurer on two separate occasions.
Phil will bring enormous experience to the position and help drive the Government’s ambitious agenda over the next three years in delivering for the Australian people. He is the ideal candidate to steer the Australian Public Service into the future.
Dr Steven Kennedy PSM will be appointed as the next Secretary of Treasury. He will move from being Secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development.
Steven brings broad expertise and strong leadership to the Treasury Secretary role. In recent years, he has led work on infrastructure planning and delivery, the cities agenda, regulatory reform, public data and digital innovation. Steven has twice been seconded to the Prime Minister’s office, working as the Director of Cabinet and Government Business and Senior Economic Adviser.
Climate change is not such a clusterhucked trash fire in the UK. Which means the conservatives can pass a 2050 net zero emissions target.
And did.
Which Labor is keen to highlight, now that Boris Johnson is prime minister and, well, Australia’s emissions reduction target is ... not great. Mark Butler had this to say about it:
The UK is an extraordinary demonstration of the impact of political maturity and bipartisanship when dealing with climate change.
In 2030 Australia’s pollution is projected to be only 7% below 2005 levels, well short of the government’s inadequate commitment of a 26-28% cut. Compare that to the United Kingdom, which is currently projected to meet a reduction of 61% over the same time period. Their fifth carbon budget reflects a bipartisan process that is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
The UK parliament has taken the science of climate change seriously and have acted in accordance. Scott Morrison should take a note from the UK handbook and work with Labor in delivering credible climate policy.
