PM says Labor attack on Gladys Liu a 'grubby smear' after what was a 'clumsy' interview – politics live

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2019/sep/12/liberals-labor-morrison-albanese-politics-live

Version 6 of 14.

Also in the Senate, Kristina Keneally has just had this motion passed:

I give notice that, on the next day of sitting, I shall move that:

1) The Senate notes that:

a. Paladin – the small company registered to a beach shack on Kangaroo Island which was awarded a $523m contract without a proper tender process – has been fined over one thousand times in eighteen months for failing to provide contracted services.

b. The Minister representing the Minister for Home Affairs, Minister Cash, told the Senate on Tuesday 10 September 2019 that these fines “often related to relatively minor administrative failures”.

c. Documents produced under order of the Senate revealed that the total abatement could have totalled $11 million, if not for monthly penalty limits.

2) There be laid on the table by the Minister representing the Minister for Home Affairs, by no later than 12:20pm on 16 September 2019:

a. An unredacted copy of each Performance Management Report, which details the aforementioned fines, relating to Paladin’s contract to provide services on Manus Island.

b. A copy of the full report prepared by the Independent Health Advice Panel for the Second Quarter of 2019 in accordance with Section 199E of the Migration Act 1958.

Which means the un-redacted Paladin documents and the full independent health panel report on medevac has to be tabled in parliament by Monday lunchtime.

Over in the Senate

Govt & ALP have just voted together to limit the time of the inquiry into drug testing of income support recipients, the inquiry has to report 10 Oct. They have also limited the time for inquiry into the extension of cashless debit card reporting 7 Nov

Peter Dutton has phoned in for his regular love in with Ray Hadley on 2GB.

They are still really cool friends, yadda, yadda, yadda.

But then the home affairs minister gets into the Tamil family from Biloela. And, well, Dutton is going a new direction on this now. And it’s not the direction Michelle Obama recommends we all take.

He says the family’s case has cost taxpayers “literally millions of dollars”.

“The matter has been to the high court. These people came by boat. It’s been made clear to them at every turn that they were not going to stay in Australia and they still had children. We see that overseas in other countries, anchor babies so-called: the emotion of trying to leverage a migration outcome based on the children and they claim they have new grounds to test with the federal court in Victoria.

“... I regret to say I don’t think this will be dealt with quickly. I think it will go on now for potentially a couple of months because lawyers will try and delay and that is part of a tactic. They think if they delay they can keep the pressure on the government and we’ll change our mind in relation to this case.”

Hadley says his listeners in Biloela don’t agree with the “left-wing advocates in the southern part of the continent”.

The assistant minister for superannuation and financial services, Jane Hume, has launched the Australian financial complaints authority roadshow in Canberra, along with its chair, Helen Coonan.

Since December the authority – the “one-stop-shop” financial complaints body established by the Turnbull government when it was avoiding calling a banking royal commission – has received 60,000 complaints and resolved 73% of them, resulting in $144.7m of compensation being paid.

At a doorstop, Hume said that rather than being surprised by the number of complaints she is surprised there aren’t more, and the roadshow will lift the authority’s profile so disgruntled customers know where to go.

Hume also confirmed that not only is it still government policy to have an amnesty for employers who fail to pay superannuation but we should expect fresh legislation to do so “imminently”.

Hume:

“It is still our plan to go ahead with that superannuation guarantee amnesty that will allow companies that have inadvertently not paid the correct amount of superannuation to come forward to the tax office ... to make sure we can reunite as many people as possible with superannuation they haven’t been paid.”

“Grubby smear” and “clumsy interview” is the official government line when it comes to Gladys Liu.

Jane Hume is repeating it on Sky.

Angus Taylor, the energy and emissions reduction minister, just told an off-the-record Australian Industry Group gathering at parliament that Australia is doing “extremely well” on its emissions reduction task.

Taylor cited as evidence that Australia is expected to exceed its 2020 target by 367m tonnes but strangely neglected to mention that Australia’s emissions are at a record high and still rising.

In the context of the fact Scott Morrison won’t attend the UN climate summit because Australia has no new emissions reduction goals to unveil, Taylor said that Australia – unlike other countries – does not “lecture” at these international events. It just gets on and “achieves”.

The rest of the speech rehearsed facts about strong investment in renewables in 2018, although as Katharine Murphy has reported this is set to drop off a cliff in 2020 because of a lack of certainty after the renewable energy target expires.

This bullish view of the renewables scene was rebutted thoroughly by Labor’s Mark Butler and the Greens Richard Di Natale at a Clean Energy Council event on Wednesday night, both of whom noted the success was despite rather than because of Coalition government policy.

But at the AIG event Taylor was followed by the immigration minister, David Coleman, so it seems the business types wanted to hear a lot more from the re-elected Coalition than a bit of back and forth on what we’re doing for the planet.

On the British-Australian bloggers who have been detained in Iran, named as Jolie King and Mark Firkin, Scott Morrison said:

I refer to the comments made by the foreign [affairs] minister. These are always very sensitive cases. They are never issues that are addressed well by offering public commentary on them and I note that in at least one of these cases that is a view that has been expressed by family members.

“We will continue to pursue these matters in the interests of the Australians at the centre of these cases and we will do that carefully and in close consultation through our officials who have been part of this process now for some time. I will respect the wishes of the family and I will respect the best interests of those citizens.”

Question: [I’ve been] involved in the reporting on [these issues] for the last four years. A lot of that involves China and we have been accused of racism from start to the finish of that. Clearly that is a concern the government has. How do you propose we report about this if it [does] involve some people who are members of the Chinese-Australian community?

Morrison:

What I think the problem here is Gladys Liu has given a clumsy interview. That is all that’s happened here. There is no credible suggestion of any inappropriate behaviour in relation to Gladys Liu.

What we’re left with is just a grubby smear by the Labor party who is in one of their most desperate hours unable to explain their position on anything and so they have gone after a Chinese-Australian woman, the first so elected in this parliament.

They should be celebrating their election, not attacking it.

Question: You mentioned earlier some local Chinese community groups of which Ms Liu seems to have been a member. What concerns do you have about the China Overseas Exchange Association? It is not a local Chinese community group but an organ of the communist party of China.

Morrison: We are looking at all these issues carefully in terms of the impact on Australia’s interests and will take whatever action we have to ensure Australia’s interests.

Question: On the broader issue of the smoke and mirrors around the advice or otherwise from security agencies, do you think it is worth considering given the concern of foreign interference in Australia ensuring that all MPs undergo security clearances so the Australian people can be confident that everyone who is sitting in parliament has passed those security checks?

Morrison: Honestly I don’t think that is a practical suggestion given the broad range of candidates you have at any election. There are foreign interference laws in this place. We know because we introduced them and the standards are very clear and the agencies undertake their work as is appropriate and deal with the government on those matters as they think is appropriate.

Question: Firstly, have you inquired with Gladys Liu as to the nature of her work with the Chinese consulate down in Melbourne? Secondly, what advice, if any, have you received from security agencies about Gladys Liu’s background or the people with whom she associated?

Morrison: Let me deal with the second question first because this is a very important question ... I’m not suggesting anything by your question that this is any sort of alliance or alignment in your reasoning for asking them.

The Labor party has been saying that these are questions the government has to answer today.

Anyone who sits around the national security committee of cabinet table, and anyone who takes the management of our national security issues and how we deal with security agencies seriously, and to ensure that that is never compromised, to ensure that it is always carefully attended to, always knows that you are never in a position to be able to offer commentary on inquiries of that nature.

That would be to undermine absolutely the nature of the relationship between agencies and the government. Anyone who would suggest that responding to a question like that in that way provides any inference in any way, shape or form, would know that that could not be done.

What’s worse, and I’m not suggesting you are doing this at all, but I think there is a concern, given what we saw in the parliament yesterday, when Labor deliberately sought to ask questions, it would appear, as the speaker inferred, with a view to them not being able to be actually raised under the standing orders – simply to smear.

Labor knows that that is the responsible answer to that question. So why do they raise it? They seek to smear an Australian of Chinese heritage simply for the fact that she did a clumsy interview. Now if that were the case the entire Labor frontbench would have to resign. She gave a clumsy interview. Fair enough. She is in her first term. She has been here for a few weeks and I think she should be extended some comfort and support.

I know full well what Gladys Liu had to overcome to get here. I remember sitting in the chamber and listening to her maiden speech.

It was a story of great Australian success and you know, Australians of Chinese heritage, regardless I think of their political persuasion, celebrated the fact that we had the first Chinese-born Australian woman in our parliament and I think Labor should think carefully at the way they’re dressing up a political attack on Gladys Liu and I think they should reconsider the line that they’ve taken. There is no matter before me that would give me concern.

Question: Firstly, she has made that statement publicly but she hasn’t made to the parliament. Why is she not required to do that or why are you not requiring her to do that? Secondly, do you advise your members not to have any association with these Chinese groups now? Are you saying this is racist?

Morrison: I will let others draw their conclusions but what I do know is that – firstly, let me deal with your first point. I would be happy to table Gladys’s statement she has made publicly in the parliament. I have no problem with that.

[Let’s] get into is this accusation by Labor in seeking to exploit this issue. Gladys is a Chinese-born Australian. Does that make her in cahoots with the Chinese Government? Of course not. It is a ridiculous suggestion and I think it is an insult to every single Chinese-Australian in this country.

You know, it wouldn’t be the first time – wouldn’t be the first time – the Labor party has made comments like this in my home state of New South Wales. We all remember the last NSW state election. What did they say? “Asians will take your jobs.” The Labor party have to take a good, hard look at themselves as to why they are pursuing this matter. They might want to dress it up as national security but I think 1.2 million Australians of Chinese heritage get the point. I don’t think they would be too fussed by it.

Scott Morrison on Gladys Liu:

Gladys Liu has made a very clear statement. Let’s be clear. Gladys gave a clumsy interview.

She is a new member of parliament. If that were the grounds for which people weren’t sitting in the parliament, it would be a pretty empty place. None of you would have had a good story in your lives.

There are clumsy interviews that are given from time to time. On this occasion one was given by a new member of parliament. Let me tell you about Gladys Liu.

Gladys Liu, yes, was a Chinese-born Australian. Born in Hong Kong. Gladys has overcome incredible challenges to be a member of this place.

She’s overcome disability. She’s overcome domestic violence. She’s overcome the challenges that people from many different backgrounds in our ethnic communities face in this country to actually come through the ranks of our own party and to represent our party here and represent the people of Chisholm in this parliament.

She is someone who has run a small business. She is someone who came here to get an education and has created a life here for her and her family. Now she is a part of her community and as anyone in this building knows, particularly in communities of Chinese-Australian, there are many, many different organisations and those organisations confer membership on lots of different people, oftentimes without their knowledge, but these organisations are part of the community.

Indeed, her Labor candidate at that very same election was a member of at least two of the organisations that Gladys has been a member of.

Let me tell you what Gladys Liu hasn’t done. She hasn’t had someone pay for her legal expenses which we understand was up to about $40,000 in the case that Labor wants to create an equivalency over.

She didn’t take travel expenses personally. She didn’t stand at a lectern like this in Sydney with a crest on the front of it with a person who paid for those expenses and advocate for a change in her party’s policy on the sensitive issue of the South China sea. She didn’t do any of these things.

Gladys Liu is part of a community. She is a great Australian. What I am very concerned about – very concerned about – given what I have just outlined to you about her background. There is 1.2 million Australians of Chinese heritage in this country. This has a very grubby undertone in terms of the smear that is being placed on Gladys Liu and I think people should reflect very carefully in the way they have sought to attack Gladys over this matter and the broader smear that I think is implied in that to over more than one million Australians.

And just on that, Labor’s Tanya Plibersek pointed to the party holding firm on its climate change policy, if nothing else, in a doorstop interview a little earlier:

The leader has made it very clear – Anthony has made it very clear – that all of our policies are up for re-examination ...

“But I would say Labor party members are proud of our ambitious climate change agenda and it’s really the government that should be answering questions about what is happening with climate change policy in Australia. We have got a government – I mean I have literally lost count of how many energy policies they’ve had. I don’t know if we are up to 15 or 16 and what we know about those policies is power prices are still going up, pollution is still going up, we are spending billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money and achieving none of the objectives that the government has set itself. Energy prices are up, and pollution is up.

“We need in this country certainty for people to invest in new electricity generation capacity. We know that renewables are getting cheaper all the time. We need to act strongly in Australia to reduce our pollution, and that has the added benefit of reducing power prices for households. There is a reason that people are putting solar panels and batteries on their homes: renewables are becoming cheaper all the time.”

Q: So saying all of that, you would be opposed to changing the reductions target that Labor took to the last election?

TP: We are years out from the next election. Our leader has made it very clear that we are looking at all of our policies and we are not in any rush to make these sorts of announcements.

“What I would say is that Australians understand that we need to act decisively on climate change or we are leaving our grandchildren a diminished planet. I’d also say it is up to the government, that the government actually needs to have an energy policy and a climate change policy. We have people in this government today who are still saying that they’re not really sure whether manmade climate change is actually a thing. I mean, truly, in 2019 we’ve got government ministers who aren’t really sure whether the overwhelming evidence, scientific evidence, the overwhelming scientific opinion around the world – they aren’t really sure whether that’s right or not. Come on.”

Just for a change of pace, the Greens are calling for David Littleproud to step down from his ministries after he said he didn’t know whether manmade climate change was real or not.

David Littleproud has admitted that he does not believe the accepted science that human action is driving climate change, so how can he possibly be responsible for oversight of the water resources, drought, natural disaster and emergency management portfolios?” Richard Di Natale asked.

“That’s why the Greens are calling on minister Littleproud to do the right thing and immediately resign from the frontbench so that he can be replaced with someone who understands the science of climate change. If he refuses to do so, then Scott Morrison must stand him down.

“If Scott Morrison won’t remove minister Littleproud from the frontbench now that it’s clear he doesn’t believe the overwhelming scientific evidence that manmade climate change is real, then the public would have no choice but to assume that the prime minister agrees with his position.”

I mean, obviously they are just discussing the Caroline Calloway article in the Cut.

What is anyone else talking about?

Sarah Henderson will be officially welcomed back by the prime minister in that press conference. She has just walked into the PMO for her briefing now.

Seems like the ideal time to look at memes.

I’ve just heard from people within the chamber over what Tim Watts said that had him kicked out from the chamber under 94a during the debate to suspend standing orders:

You’ll regret this, Porter. It’s going to come back and bite you on the arse.”

That’ll do it.