Liberals face more pressure over Gladys Liu – politics live
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Version 0 of 14. Scott Morrison is off to the US next week. He’ll be at the White House, but not the UN climate summit. Katharine Murphy has this report: Scott Morrison will not attend the UN climate action summit despite him being in America to visit the Trump administration at the time – deploying the foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, and the Australian ambassador for the environment, Patrick Suckling, instead. Guardian Australia understands speaking slots at the event in New York on 23 September were reserved for countries announcing new emissions reduction targets or financial commitments to the UN Green Climate Fund – and Morrison has been signalling Australia won’t be going further, at least at this point, than commitments previously announced. A draft program for the summit, and a list of member states intending to present at the event, seen by Guardian Australia, did not include any reference to Australian participation. Scott Morrison won't attend UN climate summit despite being in the US It’s the last sitting day for this week, and the government has its first official “embattled” MP. The member for Chisholm, Gladys Liu has had the adjective proceed her name in morning news coverage, as the fallout from an unsanctioned interview she gave to Sky News’s Andrew Bolt continues. A statement Liu released on Wednesday to clarify her comments raised more questions. Question time was largely dedicated to the first-term MP, but most questions on the subject were ruled out of order. The foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, said it was “offensive” to suggest that Liu’s previous associations suggested she was not fit and proper to sit in parliament, during question time in her chamber. “The member is duly elected as the representative of the people of Chisholm,” she said. Labor and the crossbench are expected to ask more questions today, as parliament prepares for the weekend break. Meanwhile, questions over what policies Labor will hold on to and what the party is looking to scrap, continue for the opposition, as the much-lauded 50% carbon reduction plan by 2030 comes under the microscope. The review is ongoing, so Labor won’t say, but it has so far not revealed which way it will vote on the crossbench motion to have the parliament declare a climate emergency. Why is that important? Because Labor has spent much of the six years talking about climate, and if it suddenly walks back its position, it tells you more about the direction of the party moving forward. We’ll have all that and whatever else the day throws at us, so I hope you come along. Mike Bowers is wandering around the hallways and Katharine Murphy, Paul Karp and Sarah Martin are here for you as well. It’s a four-coffee day. I’m just saying. Ready? Let’s get into it. |