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| Labor targets ministers over 'misleading' statements – politics live | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Authorities in Western Australia have charged live export company Emanuel Exports and two former directors with animal welfare offences over a shipment to the Middle East in August 2017, in which more than 2,400 sheep died of heat stress. | |
| Footage of the voyage was leaked by whistleblowers to Animals Australia and prompted the review of the heat stress standards for sheep export, which saw both the live export industry and the federal regular place a ban on the export of sheep from Australia to the Middle East during the northern summer this year. | |
| The charges follow an 18-month long investigation from the WA department of primary industries and regional development, which began before the whistleblower footage was leaked. | |
| Emanuel Exports managing director Nicholas Daws said the company would “vigorously defend the matter in court.” | |
| The court date has not yet been set. | |
| David Gillespie is delivering a personal statement on the reporting of his comments at the doorstop this morning. | |
| He says he has been misrepresented because he was unaware of the allegations raised in the SMH and the Age, because he hadn’t read the story, and thought it was in relation to the leadership spill last year. | |
| So he was “misrepresented” because he commented on something without knowing anything about it. | |
| And apparently thought it was normal journalists would be asking about a story almost a year after it was first aired. Just randomly bringing it up on a Wednesday morning. | |
| Cool. Beans. | |
| Labor’s Penny Wong and Kristina Keneally have been asking Mathias Cormann about the objectionable views of attendees of the CPAC conference, using them to attack the government because MP Craig Kelly and senator Amanda Stoker have agreed to speak at the same event. | |
| For the most part, Cormann took the questions on notice, but Keneally quoting Raheem Kassam’s comments about taping Nicola Sturgeon’s mouth shut and her legs “so she can’t reproduce” finally elicited a response. | |
| Cormann: | |
| The comments that senator Keneally just quoted are disgraceful, highly objectionable and completely outrageous, that I entirely abhor and I’m sure anyone in this Senate chamber abhors. I don’t think that that is a partisan position. These are disgusting comments and I reject them entirely and utterly. | |
| I would make the general point that just because you are at an event, you’re not expected to agree with everything that everybody says at that same event. We’ve all been at events in our electorates where people have made highly objectionable points.” | |
| When Keneally asked if the Australian government will cancel Kassam’s visa, Cormann replied that he won’t comment on individual cases but all non-citizens must meet the character requirements. | |
| “The strong provisions to refuse or cancel a visa where a person is not of good character will be considered balancing the risk with well established freedom of speech/beliefs.” | |
| Wong is now taking note of answers, describing the CPAC conference as an “academy to learn the dark arts of hate speech”. Wong called on Scott Morrison to make good on promises to promote harmony after the Christchurch attacks and prevent Coalition members from attending. | |
| Senator James Paterson said it is a “cheap and nasty smear” to tar Coalition members with the opinions of others speaking at an event. | |
| Mark Coultan has a statement to make. | |
| He says for the information of the House, the Labor party did instigate a number of trade agreements. | |
| Mark Coultan, adding to an answer about trade. He says Labor did in fact conclude trade agreements when in office (he said the opposite in an answer earlier). He notes the agreements Labor concluded were initiated by John Howard #qt | |
| Question time ends. And it ends when the papers aren’t even stacked! | |
| The government is on the side of flood victims. It will personally yell at the clouds for the next six years for inflicting this tragedy upon you. | |
| Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison: | |
| In May the prime minister said his government had “introduced some passed legislation to deal with the threat of wildlife extinction”. Legislation that at the time didn’t exist and still doesn’t. Why does the prime minister just make stuff up? | |
| That is in relation to this story. | |
| Morrison: | |
| Our government is committed to taking action on the concerns of Australians when it comes to protecting the local quality of our environment. The member for Latrobe, now the assistant minister, during the last election, and in the lead-up to that election, mounted a campaign amongst his local community to ensure that our government was taking action to protect species. That is what our government has been doing and that is what we will continue to keep doing.” | |
| Siri, show me “non answer”. | |
| The government is so on the side of workers, it will cover your shift and give you the money no problem. It will deal with Karen in finance for you. It will talk to the Michael McCormack of your office at the Christmas party and act like a human shield. And it will never eat your lunch in the office fridge. | |
| Bill Shorten to Stuart Robert | |
| The government’s given an absolute undertaking that the debt recovery in the Townsville area hasn’t commenced. Why was that absolute undertaking given when people in Townsville are currently receiving debt recovery notices as recently as this month including this $2,000 robodebt issued on the 8 July? | |
| Robert: | |
| The far north Queensland floods are no different. During natural disasters, such as cyclones, bushfires or floods, it is routine practice of the department of human services to temporarily suspend all complaints activities within an affected local area. This occurred in New South Wales and Victoria after the devastating bushfires earlier this year, as well as in previous natural disasters under governments of all persuasions. I agree is the right thing to do. | |
| As a general rule, this suspension is in place for six months unless extended. I have asked the department to extend the absence of debt recovery in northern Queensland for the foreseeable future until I’m satisfied that the region has recovered. For the benefit of the house, when the department sends a notification to a citizen, this is what the notifications is. | |
| And I’ll table it so we are all clear exactly what communication is sent to Australians. It says we need you to check and update your past income information. We need to make sure you receive the right amount of payments from us in the past. | |
| The ATO has given us information about how much income you earn from work in the past. The information from the ATO is different to the information you’ve reported to us. | |
| We need your help to check and update your information, you need to do this even if you haven’t received any CentreLink payments for a while. | |
| Then has a nice big box on what you need to do. You have 28 days from when you receive the letter to update your information. | |
| Over the page, you’ll find the information we have received from the ATO. Please check this carefully, and then go to human services.gov.au,/ confirm income, or go to MyGov. Documents like payslips or bank statements will help you do this. | |
| This might mean you will have to pay back money. If you need help, go to human services.gov.au | |
| I table that documentation for the benefit of the House so everyone can be quite clear as to the type of information that the department sends out. It is sensitive, it doesn’t seek to raise a debt in the first instance, it simply says to Australians, there is a discrepancy between what your assessment is and what the ATO has told us, and please call us. I reiterate to all Australians: if you receive a letter like that, call the department, because it is here to assist. | |
| The government is on the side of Australians who can’t find car parks. It is so on your side, it will personally carry your car, wearing bread packets on its feet, through the snow and floods, to make sure you can grab that Newtown piccolo. It will insert molecules into its DNA to turn itself into a bus and get you to where you need to go. It will drive around the block for three hours while you watch Top Gun II. | |
| Meanwhile Mark Coulton, who Labor says has misled the chamber in his answer through his characterisation of Labor’s trade agreement record, has so far received counsel from Barnaby Joyce, David Littleproud and Michael McCormack. | Meanwhile Mark Coulton, who Labor says has misled the chamber in his answer through his characterisation of Labor’s trade agreement record, has so far received counsel from Barnaby Joyce, David Littleproud and Michael McCormack. |
| Jason Clare to Paul Fletcher: | Jason Clare to Paul Fletcher: |
| Why did the assistant minister for home affairs claim that the rate of homelessness is quote “not ahead of population growth”, when in fact homelessness is nearly growing at nearly double the rate of Australian’s population? | |
| Fletcher: | Fletcher: |
| I think our government has a strong track record when it comes to housing, including a strong track record, $1.5bn under the national homelessness agreement to support homelessness services and under that agreement $125m is set aside for homelessness services in 2019-20. | |
| The states are matching this funding and have a focus on women and children affected by family and domestic violence. And of course the prime minister earlier this year announced that hundreds more women and children are escaping domestic violence to a safe place to sleep with a $78m investment by the Morrison government, including forming part of our $328m investment to support the fourth action plan of the national plan to reduce violence against women and their children. | |
| And I would certainly hope, Mr Speaker, I would certainly hope, that there is acknowledgment of the bipartisan commitment to the importance of government action in this area under the fourth action plan of the national plan to reduce violence against women and their children. And of course, as part of that, Mr Speaker, one of the very practical ways in which we are responding to the challenge of homelessness is $60m in grants to eligible organisations to provide new or expanding emergency accommodation facilities as well as $18m to support keeping women safe in their homes initiatives. | |
| So, Mr Speaker, we have a strong program and commitment when it comes to homelessness, $1.5m, and of course, funding of which can be provided thanks to our strong management of the economy. | |