Liberals face more pressure over Gladys Liu – politics live
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Version 2 of 14. The bells are ringing. I hear them in my sleep Richard Marles was sent out by Labor this morning to give the opposition’s position on Gladys Liu. Here is some of that doorstop: Q: Should Gladys Liu resign? RM: Well, right now, I think there are questions which are at large, and I think actually it is for the Prime Minister to act. The Prime Minister needs to be fronting the Australian people and making it really clear what his position in respect to these allegations are. Q: The Labor candidate for Chisholm, Jennifer Yang, she was also associated with some of these organisations that Gladys Liu has been linked to. How can Labor then criticise her? RM: Well firstly, the allegations that are being made in this morning’s paper are being made in respect of Gladys Liu. And the other point to make is that Jennifer Yang isn’t here. Gladys Liu is. Gladys Liu was sworn in as the Member for Chisholm and represents that constituency in this Parliament, right now, and forms part of the Government’s majority. It is absolutely essential given the seriousness of the allegations that have been made in the papers this morning that the Prime Minister provides an answer to the Australian people on these questions immediately and I would imagine that from Gladys Liu’s point of view she would want those answers given straightaway. But the Prime Minister needs to be speaking on this. Greg Hunt has been asked about Gladys Liu as he was leaving an event this morning: I am very uncomfortable with the way that some people have focused on her Chinese heritage, the fact that she has an accent, I think Senator Payne set that out and I agree with Senator Payne’s concerns about the characterisation. I have a deep discomfort at the way that some have focused on her Chinese heritage. I’ve just had a look through some of the comments. I’m just going to say it again. Think about what you are posting. I don’t want to see those “jokes”. Be better. As Alice Workman first reported in the Australian, Gladys Liu is meant to head the Sydney Institute’s “How the Coalition won Chisholm” event on 25 September. We have a feeling this event will be quietly shuffled off the Sydney Institute’s calendar after their headline speaker is suddenly unable to attend. Sarah Henderson will be officially sworn into the Senate at 9.30am today. Seems there might be something in the water when it comes to our water ministers lately. On the heels of David Littleproud admitting that he did not know if climate change was manmade or not, we have this from NSW water minister, Melinda Pavey. Oh my god. Water minister for NSW on climate change and drought. She’s remembering there was no rain in King Arthur’s time. pic.twitter.com/O8C8Y9jJJp Sarah Henderson is back in the building. Henderson lost the seat of Corangamite at the last election, after a boundary change, but scrapped by in the Victorian Senate selection to replace Mitch Fifield. Frank Bainimarama will arrive for his first official Australian visit since becoming Fijian prime minister today, with a meeting scheduled with Scott Morrison for Monday. It’s also the pairs first meeting since Bainimarama said this about the Australian leader in an interview with Guardian Australia, after the Pacific Islands Forum last month: After yesterday’s meeting I gathered [Morrison] was here only to make sure that the Australian policies were upheld by the Pacific island nations,” said Bainimarama. “I thought Morrison was a good friend of mine; apparently not. “The prime minister at one stage, because he was apparently [backed] into a corner by the leaders, came up with how much money Australia has been giving to the Pacific. He said: ‘I want that stated. I want that on the record.’ Very insulting.” Morrison has since said the pair are cool friends again, and message each other all the time. Bainimarama has said he thinks the meeting will be more positive. Given one of the major concerns of our Pacific neighbours is climate change, and Australia isn’t shifting on that end – and, as Katharine Murphy revealed, Scott Morrison will not attend the UN climate summit, despite being in the US, that might be a little bit of a stretch. Government MPs have been pretty quiet this morning. Senate crossbencher Rex Patrick though, has not been. He was on ABC RN this morning and had this to say about Gladys Liu I actually think that with all of the evidence that’s emerging, she’s reached the Sam Dastyari threshold, where she must consider her tenure.” Patrick said he believed Liu had not been “candid” with the Australian people or the parliament and he wanted more answers. There’s a standard that’s been set for the parliament...I don’t think she’s been open and transparent about it.” 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. |