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Angus Taylor addresses questions over grasslands saga – politics live Angus Taylor addresses questions over grasslands saga – question time live
(32 minutes later)
It’s the downhill slide into question time. Anthony Albanese to Josh Frydenberg:
Angus Taylor has attempted to get in ahead with his statement. Will it work? Hit me up with your predictions. I refer to his previous answer. Is annual wages growth now better or worse than when his government came to office?
And the beginning of the statement, which I originally missed: Frydenberg:
First, Mr Speaker, I want to address the matter of my declaration of interests. Growth is 2.3 % and wages continue to go up.
I am required by the rules of this place to disclose my shareholdings. Llew O’Brien summons Michael McCormack to the despatch box.
My Register of Member’s Interests discloses my shareholdings in my family company, Gufee Pty Ltd. Moving on.
I am required by the rules of this place to disclose any partnerships I am part of. Peter Dutton is not in the chamber – he’s in the UK for a meeting with the Five Eyes partners.
My Register of Member’s Interests discloses Gufee’s interest in Farm Partnerships Australia. That leaves Christian Porter to deliver the JUST HOW SAFE YOU ARE segment today.
This is a legal partnership set up with my three brothers and a business associate over twenty years ago to farm across this region, close to where I stand now, via leased, managed and owned farms. Jim Rankin to Josh Frydenberg:
We originally set it up to work with ageing and absentee farmers, to allow them to continue to living on, and owning their farms, beyond their ability to farm themselves. Why does the government support cutting penalty rates when the Reserve Bank says that stagnant wages are a key contributor to slowing growth in the economy?
This farming partnership – a common legal structure for rural holdings – has in recent years held a one third interest in a farm near Delegate in South Eastern NSW Frydenberg:
If the Register of Interests were required to record minority, non-controlling interests held at three levels down in a family company structure, this would be a major change to the current practice. We don’t support cutting penalty rates but we do support an independent arbitor, and it’s taken 53 questions from those opposite for the member for Rankin to get a question to the treasurer.
For instance, investments made by public companies held by members would need to be disclosed. “Tell us about wages growth,” someone from Labor yells out.
It would require changes in disclosures for many in this place, including for those opposite. “Labor, Labor, Labor, Labor,” Ed Husic yells, as Frydenberg talks about when Labor was last in office. That was six years ago.
I therefore have fully met my obligations to declare my interests in Gufee and Farm Partnerships Australia. Labor leader in the Senate Penny Wong has just accused the government of filibustering an obscure bill about the East Timor maritime sea boundary, despite ministers Marise Payne and Matt Canavan asking Labor to help secure “speedy passage” of the bill.Wong cites the addition to the speaking list of Dean Smith, Slade Brockman, Andrew Bragg and Paul Scarr. Labor thinks the government is stalling because it risks running out of business or faces hostile Jacqui Lambie amendments to a veterans bill.Wong:
Mr Speaker, I turn to the revised EPBC listing, the natural temperate grasslands of the Southern Tablelands Ecological Community. “With all due respect to the senator, [Dean] Smith, because he is very well spoken and can speak at short notice, but it is very clear the government is seeking to delay the passage of this bill before question time. [The ministers] owe the Senate an explanation why we were asked to facility speedy passage and you’re now filibustering it.”
In late 2016 and early 2017 I spoke with farmers from Boorowa and Goulburn in my electorate, and Yass which had been in Hume until mid 2016, about this listing and their concerns with the listing. On 21 February 2017, I spoke with a farmer near Yass who expressed strong and detailed concerns about the revised listing, pointing out that it had occurred despite the concerns of the National Farmers’ Federation and NSW Farmers, and with little consultation with farmers themselves. All of these farmers were completely disconnected from our family farming operations. Senator Jane Hume insists there has been “no delay”, it’s just the government senators have something “significant” to say.Smith then argues it is important for every senator to make a contribution if they wish. Smith then refers to himself in the third person, explaining that “Senator Smith’s” state of Western Australia shares a maritime boundary with East Timor. We’re now into question time.
Angus Taylor continues: Scott Morrison takes the first dixer. He’s super on your side.
Officials in attendance were determined by the department. Labor and the Greens, along with the Senate crossbench, have voted to investigate how much Newstart should be increased by and how much that would cost.
In conclusion, Mr Speaker, the facts are clear and straightforward: Scott Morrison:
· My interests have been declared in complete adherence to the rules. The best form of welfare is a job, that’s what those on this side of the House believe and I believe Australians believe and I want to commend all those Australians who are on Newstart and looking for a job.
· I have had no association with the events leading to the compliance action that has been the subject of these allegations, and I have never made a representation in relation to it. I never would. All available information supports my repeated statements that the compliance action was never raised. Our government won’t rest until we get them all into jobs. That’s the pledge we made at the last [election] … 1.25 million new jobs over the last few years and that’s on the … over 1 million jobs created since we came to government.
· My focus was advocating for the interests of the farmers in my electorate and across the region. This is my job as the elected representative for Hume with a large farming population and agriculture sector I’m asked about the rate of Newstart, $555 a fortnight. But on average an additional $153.50 is paid a fortnight to recipients and some 99%, I am advised, receive payments over and above Newstart.
Mr Speaker, I am proud to represent the interests of farmers - the backbone of so many regional communities. I will continue to do this at every opportunity. But what I tell you, what I won’t do when it comes to Newstart in this place, I will not engage in the unfunded empathy of the Labor party.
Angus Taylor: I will not go out as the Labor party did at the last election, pretending they’re going to do something about Newstart, but they won’t tell Australians how much they’re going to increase it by, how much is that going to cost and how are they going to pay for it.
There has been strong antagonism expressed by the farming community about federal and state native vegetation regulation for some time. The concern was very serious. The revised listing requires farmers to assess whether there is 50% native vegetation down to parcels of one-tenth of a hectare and highly unfavourable times of year, because clover, an introduced species, must be excluded from the assessment. I won’t do that. Our government has set priorities on investing in health, in schools, on education, on mental health, on combating the terrible curse of suicide in our country, supporting our veterans.
The revised listing extends beyond most of my electorate’s farming country, both pre and post the 2016 redistribution, as well as much of Eden-Monaro. It goes well beyond NSW regulations, and is costly and unmanageable, as it is difficult or impossible to be sure that routine pasture improvement, or weed management, is compliant. We have made those choices about priorities rather than increasing the size of the welfare budget.
The revised listing would ultimately halt pasture improvement and efficient weed control across the southern tablelands and Monaro. It has the potential to do untold damage to agriculture productivity throughout the region, undermining the livelihoods of 2500 people who work in agriculture in my electorate. At the last election the Labor party came up with $387 billion of higher taxes and they still didn’t come up with a way to fund an increase in the Newstart allowance.
On the 21st of February 2017, at the suggestion of the Yass farmer, I contacted the policy director of the NSW Farmers’ Association, who provided me with their June 2014 submission to the then department of environment, expressing serious concerns about the proposed revised listing. On the basis of these concerns, I sought a briefing on the revised listing from the then-ministers office, which I made clear was not to include any discussion of compliance matters. I will not allow this Labor opposition to go out and make all sorts of promises to Australians about Newstart when they have no intention of funding it and no intention of backing it up with a real policy.
This has already been confirmed by departmental documents released to journalists under FOI in which an official writes in internal correspondence, that the meeting with me was, and I quote ‘to answer questions on the technical aspects of the listing outcome and highlights that they would stay out of completely any compliance action under way’. Sharon Bird to Scott Morrison:
The official also writes, and I quote, ‘we will confine discussion to the EPBC Act listing process’. My question is to the prime minister. Could the prime minister live on the Newstart rate of $40 a day?
On the 20th March 2017, I attended the meeting. At no time during this meeting was any compliance matter or any personal interest of mine discussed. At that meeting we discussed precisely what the departmental official said we would discuss. “Of course he couldn’t,” calls out Anne Aly.
Christian Porter is attempting to have this dealt with tomorrow, while Adam Bandt is asking the House to deal with it immediately. Morrison:
The government has the numbers. I thank the member for her question and, like all of those who are on Newstart or many of the other welfare payments that are provided to them by the taxpayer, those payments are certainly modest, Mr Speaker. And those payments are indexed every six months, along with every other welfare payment, and the Australian public provides that support. But the most important support that is provided by this government is to ensure that people can get off welfare and work, and this government has, and this government has set records both for youth unemployment, getting people into jobs, people across the spectrum, older Australians, younger, female Australians, getting them into work, because the best form of welfare is ...
The House has received a message from @AuSenate, in relation to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. Leader of the House @cporterwa has moved that the message be made an order of the day for the next sitting. pic.twitter.com/1aap0bBFAJ Tony Burke calls a point of order on relevance.
He says all the available information backs up what he is saying, and he has never been involved in the compliance action. Tony Smith says he has reviewed direct relevance, and he is relying on Harry Jenkins’s ruling on a Julia Gillard answer ruling:
“My interests have been declared in complete adherence to the rules,” Angus Taylor says. ‘So far I believe she’s been directly relevant if not giving a direct answer. And they are different things. The standing orders demand direct relevance’, and he then went on, I think, as the leader of the opposition would remember, to say if there’s going to be any other changes the procedure committee needed to look at it, etc, etc. But I think that’s the principle I’m sticking with.
Angus Taylor is making a statement in the House about the grasslands issue. So he’ll listen to Morrison and make sure he remains relevant, but it is not for him to say how he answers the question.
So far, the government is not budging, in terms of policy, on raising Newstart. Scott Morrison has entered the chamber with Angus Taylor.
This was Scott Morrison on July 18: That’s a deliberate statement.
It’s about getting people into jobs. The latest jobs figures show 20,000 additional full-time jobs. That’s good news, that’s great news, more jobs. How good are jobs. Perhaps the prime minister is ambitious for Taylor.
At the moment, Newstart is only slated to rise by the usual indexation increase. The government appears to be adding speakers to the maritime boundaries legislation.
The Senate is getting down to the government business of the day: Senators, of course, are able to speak on whatever legislation they would like, as are MPs. But adding MPs to this one, given its support, has Labor smelling a filibuster.
The time for considering private senators' bill has now expired and the #Senate has moved on to government business. Currently being debated are three Timor Sea Maritime Boundaries Treaty Bills. The bill homepages are available from Dynamic Red https://t.co/Wi8bN9E81O Why? Well, it’s discuss legislation, or move on to the Governor-Address-In-Reply, which is what happens when the Senate runs out of legislation to discuss.
That’s pretty definitive, but will also be used by Pauline Hanson to gain support from her supporters. The union bill probably won’t make it to the Senate today, because Labor will most likely hold it up in the House by adding as many speakers as it can to the list – one, because Labor is against it, and two, because it gives Labor an opportunity to point out the lack of legislation in the Senate.
Just the standard Cornelian dilemma thrown up by the Senate
The Senate has voted 54-2 against @PaulineHansonOz's proposal for a plebiscite into Australia's immigration rate #auspol @SBSNews pic.twitter.com/7UUp3CrF6G
This is very interesting:
Victoria is on track to get an extra seat before the next election while WA & the NT could both drop one according to the boffins in the Parliamentary Library. This would take Vic to 39 seats in a 150 seat House - up from 37 since 2016. #auspol https://t.co/nTIMcyuo2o
On ensuring integrity:
.@ayrestim on the Ensuring Integrity Bill:Labor will vote against the bill. It’s bad for Australian workers and unions and I believe bad for democracy.MORE: https://t.co/QfeCMf5xuo #firstedition pic.twitter.com/gxJ3D09ESe
Barnaby Joyce on Sunrise this morning:
I wouldn’t have picked the headline ‘I’m skint’. I would have said, you know, I have a greater empathy for what people are going through on Newstart. Someone has got to speak up for them and so often, Nat, if you say, you know, we have to do a better deal for these people and people say, “How would you know? You’re a politician.” A lot of people, I suppose, hate to really talk about it but I have to because of the front page. In a marriage breakdown you go from supporting one family to supporting two, in many instances.
And here are his comments in the Courier-Mail, which kickstarted all of this:
I’m just saying these circumstances have made me more vastly attuned … it’s just a great exercise in humility going from deputy prime minister to watching every dollar you get.
A politician [renting a duplex without a dishwasher] for 415 bucks a week, he’s not living high on the hog, is he? There is a reason for that and that’s basically what I can afford. You do become a lot more mindful.
So the big thrill of the day, to be honest, is a cup of coffee. We [he and Vikki] rarely, if ever, go out for dinner.
Because 2019 is the new 2004, Pauline Hanson wants to make the next election about immigration numbers.
Let’s look at the numbers, shall we?
The government has announced an immigration target of 160,000. That is no change from what is actually happening, because in the last year, despite a high ceiling of 190,000, just 162,000 permanent residents were accepted in Australia.
Over that same period, Australia’s economy grew by just 1.8%. Low, but growth is growth. Of that, about 94% of growth was attributed to population growth – our economy grew because of the extra people in it. Total per capita growth was 0.1%.
Without migrants, Australia’s economy goes backwards. The government knows that. It’s why it dances a line between cutting immigration and just keeping things at the status quo.
But hey – it gets breakfast TV headlines, so let’s dance.
"I ask the question: Do you think the current rate of immigration to Australia is too high?" - @PaulineHansonOz #auspol @SBSNews pic.twitter.com/8GMG5fflyb
IMMIGRATION VOTE@OneNationAus leader Pauline Hanson will today ask the Senate to support a vote on immigration numbers.PLEBISCITE (FUTURE MIGRATION LEVEL) BILLhttps://t.co/72EwrrAtyS #Auspol pic.twitter.com/1PJNqwktU7
The Australian is reporting that #deathtodixers is gathering steam.
OK, it is not that specific. But Greg Brown has some detail on the parliamentary procedures committee:
The conduct of federal parliament’s question time — including Dorothy Dixers, the behaviour of MPs and arcane standing orders — will be the subject of an ­inquiry, amid warnings from across the political spectrum that it diminishes the reputation of politicians.
Coalition and Labor MPs on the parliament’s procedures committee will this week finalise the terms of an inquiry of how question time can be reformed, with submissions to be sought from the public.
Liberal National MP Ross Vasta and Labor MP Milton Dick, the chairman and deputy chairman of the committee, said the community was “fed up” with the spectacle of question time, which is the only part of parliament that is televised every sitting day. The inquiry will examine whether Dixers — prearranged questions from government backbenchers to ministers — should be axed.
The government’s big push this week, ahead of the five-week break, will be unions, with the ensuring integrity bill to dominate much of the debate.
So far, the numbers are not there in the Senate. One Nation has concerns, Centre Alliance wants to expand the definition of organisation to include the private sector and Jackie Lambie isn’t thrilled with John Setka, but hasn’t landed on a final position as yet.
Christian Porter spoke to RN this morning about it.
Katharine Murphy has spoken to Cory Bernardi over whether he will support the motion to launch a Senate inquiry into Angus Taylor and the grasslands issue and says he has decided to vote no.
So that’s that then – the numbers are not there.
This being a sitting Monday, the morning is set aside for Private Members’ Business. On today’s agenda, we have two bills on altering the Constitution, introduced by @MakeMayoMatter, followed by motions from @RowanRamseyMP and @JoanneRyanLalor.