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Version 7 Version 8
Scott Morrison grilled on Coalition funding for new dam – question time live Scott Morrison grilled on Coalition funding for new dam – question time live
(31 minutes later)
Alan Tudge is taking a lickspittle and I’m suddenly reminded of those old school end of transmission broadcasts I’ve seen on YouTube. Amanda Rishworth to Scott Morrison:
Jim Chalmers to Scott Morrison: My question is to the Prime Minister. Why won’t the Prime Minister admit childcare fees have increased by 30% under his three term government?
Why do the prime minister’s talking points make no reference to the 1.9 million Australians looking for a job or for more work, the worst wages growth on record, weak household consumption and retail spending. The worst household savings rate in a decade?
Morrison:Morrison:
I’m very pleased the member made reference to the talking points. I suspect we might want to make a habit of issuing these on a weekly basis because it was the first time I had seen our policies faithfully recorded in some publications for some period of time. I will invite the Minister for Education to add to this answer, but on this matter, as Minister for Social Services, which had responsibility for childcare at the time, it was actually our government that introduced package to childcare, which those opposite when they were in government and those opposite when they were in opposition failed to deliver.
(It’s us. He’s talking about us. OH THE HILARITY.) And that is ensuring the people particularly on low and middle incomes are getting access to up to 85% rebates, 85% rebates and our government and we got rid of the caps that were applied to those seeking childcare rebates that had previously seen them run out of childcare support by about February and much of every year. We took action to address the manifold in the childcare system that turn into a money pit from what was designed under those opposite when they were in government and I invite the Minister for Education to add further.
There’s a lot about tax after this. Dan Tehan:
Josh Frydenberg, who has once again forgotten HOW MICROPHONES wOrK, is doing his best to explain that the economy is JUST FINE. And thanks Prime Minister, because it pretty much covered it all.
Somehow, the people who are not in government are still very relevant here. (Dill, dill, dill,” yells Labor)
Andrew Wilkie has the independent’s question today – and it’s to Angus Taylor: Tehan finishes his non-answer with “and, Prime Minister, I commend you for what you did because you have put this sector on the right path” which just leads to a chorus of “get a room” from the opposition.
The government claims Australia will meet its Paris agreement targets at a canter. The truth is the government is relying on accounting tricks to meet the targets, by counting artificially inflated credits left over from the Kyoto protocol, credits most developed countries have agreed to reject. Official government figures show emissions have reached record highs and continue to rise, feeding the climate emergency, the effects we are seeing in our backyard with the drought and fires. Our planet is cooking while the government cooks the books. Minister, why the denial and when will the government take real action to reduce emissions? Phil Thompson, who can’t be taken seriously, given his preference for tomato sauce on bacon and egg rolls (I mean honestly – and for this to come from a Queenslander as well is a knife to my hot sauce heart) invokes Peter Dutton for the HOW SAFE ARE YOU troika of minutes.
Taylor starts talking about how Australia will meet its targets, without addressing the Kyoto issue. VERY SAFE. BUT JUST IMAGINE HOW UNSAFE YOU WOULD BE IF LABOR WAS IN POWER.
“Literally no one believes you,” calls out someone from Labor. “You’re the government you dill,” someone from Labor yells.
Even the government benches seem to have given up on this one. There seems to be some who are yet to get the memo. I mean, they could just check their salaries. That’s one hint, if the side of the chamber they sit on isn’t enough of a clue.
There is barely a hear, hear to be heard. It’s such a mishmash of a QT that even Shayne Neumann gets a question.
Anthony Albanese is asking to table the prime minister’s media release – which shows the government has offered 50/50 funding contributions for dams, without mentioning that 25% of those contributions will be concessional loans – but the request is denied. My question is to the prime minister. Why does he claim the government has a drought policy, when the National Farmers Federation president says it doesn’t.
Anthony Albanese is back with a question for Scott Morrison, asking again why he is raising hopes and claiming the federal government is funding a new dam 50%, when it is only 25% (25% funding and 25% concessional loans). Michael McCormack gives his best impression of having a personality and tries to interject with something, but no one is buying it.
“Throw him out,” the Labor benches holler.
He stays and I’m pretty sure I saw a fairy die.
Scott Morrison:
I thank the member for ... his question because it gives me an opportunity to point out exactly what the National Farmers Federation has presented to me on these issues.
The National Farmers Federation has been extremely supportive of the government’s response to the drought. They said as much and last night at the 40th anniversary of the National Farmers Federation, I’m not sure whether the member was attending that night, I thank those members from around the chamber, including from the opposite side, that were attending.
The National Farmers Federation and the president was very clear about the appreciation they had for the extensive and comprehensive response that has been provided to the drought by the government in concert with the state and territory governments, where they are affected.
The point the National Farmers Federation has been making about the issue they have raised is about an agreement they would like to see, between all the states and territories, with the commonwealth, common standards and triggers for the activation of state-based drought response. That is what they are seeking, and that is what is currently not in place.
After the drought summit last year we have put in a reformed national agreement on drought, which added to the original agreement which made it clear states and territories were responsible for the initiatives that went directly to the welfare of animals, that is the fodder and support for the animals themselves. The commonwealth government was responsible for the direct assistance, income support for the farmers and graziers.
That’s what the agreement was reached at the end of last year. What they would like to see is a common set of standards, and triggers and policies by state governments. There has not been the response from the state and territory governments to move to that level of standardisation on the drought responses.
They believe they would like to keep complete autonomy about how they customise their response to the drought in their jurisdictions. That’s a matter for them. They are sovereign, they have constitutional authority for these matters, that’s what they would like to see, I understand why the National Farmers Federation would like to see greater consistency across these areas, that is a matter I have undertaken to work with them to see what such a common standard might look like.
At the end of the day we have to respect the autonomy of each of the state governments to deal with the issues they present at the end of the day. I thank the member for this opportunity to make the issues crystal-clear.
Meanwhile, in the Senate:
Jacqui Lambie has been asking about replacement of old tools in TAFEs.Simon Birmingham: "I regret that there's an opportunity to talk about Soviet-era equipment when Kim Carr is not present in the chamber..." #auspol #SenateQT
Tony Burke raises a point on the unparliamentary language.
The way Scott Morrison pronounced ‘dill’, you get the feeling that ‘dill’ wasn’t originally the ‘d’ word he was reaching for.
Tony Smith warns against the unparliamentary language, and says that if the government keeps doing it, then both sides will get to use it.
“Bring it on,” says someone from the government benches, because this is now apparently a schoolyard.
But with less cool kids.
Joel Fitzgibbon to Scott Morrison:
When will the prime minister admit his Future Drought Fund hasn’t delivered and will never deliver one cent directly to desperate farming families.
Morrison:Morrison:
I refer again to my answer. I was very clear, our 50-50... Our contribution is comprised half of grant and half of concessional finance. Mr Speaker, the question that has just been posed by the member for Hunter once again demonstrates his complete lack of understanding of the policy issues that that fund is seeking to address.
That is the commitment we made and we set out on Sunday. I refer the members opposite to the statements that have been made about this. We were very upfront. The drought fund, which he opposed from the day I first announced it at the drought summit, which he attended, and we were pleased for him to attend, on the very day he was speaking against it, he sought to have it frustrated even in this place, the national drought fund which begins at $3.9bn investment, over the course of the decade will grow to $5bn, from 1 July next year, it will draw down $100m to invest in water infrastructure resilience projects from the 1 July of next year.
I’m pleased the New South Wales premier was so pleased to receive the support because it was a month ago, we sat down, the deputy prime minister and I with the deputy premier and the premier of NSW to see how we could fast track important water infrastructure projects in NSW. That’s what we said the purpose of the drought fund was, it will draw down on investment from 1 July next year as we put it in place and we seek the advice of the board.
I was very pleased to get that collaboration and cooperation and the urgency the NSW premier was going to bring to this task, not only to bring their resources to the project, but their commitment to blast away the bureaucracy and congestion to prevent those projects going ahead. The $300m we spent last year on infrastructure and farm household allowance projects, and support, I have already explained to him once. He is interjecting again.
We are happy to partner in the way we have, took a $75m commitment to one of those projects to $280m indirect grant assistance, a very significant increase on the commitment we have made for important water infrastructure. The drought fund, the Future Drought Fund, is not to provide direct financial assistance payment to farmers, it’s there to provide direct support for water resilience projects, to fund for the future.
Now that the man has finished telling us how wonderful women are, we move on. If the member for Hunter doesn’t think it’s a good idea to invest in water resilience for the future of Australian agriculture, he should leave the post of spokesman on agriculture immediately because he doesn’t understand one of the most fundamental elements of agriculture in this country, which is you have to provide water!
Michael McCormack has Michael McCormacked his way into this dixer. It’s meant to be about the role of rural and regional women, but he manages to Michael McCormack it from the first line. When there is a drought, it means there is no water, therefore you need to provide storage facilities...
I thank the member for Mallee for her question and acknowledge that she is one of those fine women and there are many in the house, appreciate many on this side... Fitzgibbon is getting in trouble for his interjections, and Michael McCormack takes the opportunity to make a joke, because David Littleproud acts like it is the funniest thing he has ever heard. I mean, I know the Nationals party room isn’t the most supportive of rooms, but there has to be limits.
M E R I T Morrison:
Terri Butler has a question for Scott Morrison, on dams, but he does not have an answer for the specific question. He has an answer for the question he wanted to be asked – why are Labor state governments standing in the way of dams. If he took the time to understand what the Future Drought Fund was for, rather than seek to pay petty politics with this, he might understand that funder is there to provide for future water resilience.
We’ve had our first lickspittle and it’s about just how amazing is this government and are there any alternative views. What doing on farmhouse allowance in rural financial counsellors and support for mental health, to do everything from on-farm water infrastructure, whether it is to increase allowances for silage investments, or on-farm water infrastructure projects to farmers doing it themselves, or the water we are putting into counsellors to make sure they are keeping local community supported through the drought, or the more than $50m we have directly put into charitable organisations like the Salvos and Vinnies, this is a comprehensive response.
It’s a great government, thanks for asking. Also, Labor is terrible. I would appeal to the member for Hunter to support the government initiatives reaching out to farmers and stop being such a dill.
I am paraphrasing, but you know. It’s the mood. Labor’s Louise Pratt is testing the minister for youth, aged care and sport, Richard Colbeck, by asking if youth underemployment has risen from 12 to 20%.Colbeck pauses to thumb through his brief, Pratt gives him a few moments but then starts up with cries of “where’s that brief” and “it’d be under U for underemployment”.Colbeck finds some pre-canned lines about 1.4m jobs created in the last 12 months, more than 100,000 of which were for young people.
By this stage Anthony Chisholm and Murray Watt had started heckling about “Johnno” [Jonathon Duniam] not having to wait long for elevation to the ministry because “they’ll need another Tasmanian”.
When he gets through an answer, Labor applauds, which was ruled disorderly.
Jim Chalmers to Scott Morrison:
Why won’t the prime minister be upfront with the Australian people? About the slowest economic growth in a decade, the fact the OECD has lashed Australia’s growth outlook by twice as much as the G20 average, declining productivity and the fact that net debt has more than doubled on his watch?
Morrison:
Australia’s economic growth is the second highest in the G7, Mr Speaker. 1.4 million jobs have been created under the stewardship of this government.
In fact, today there are more people who are employed as a share of Australia’s total population than at any other time in Australia’s history.
Now, only the Labor party could find a problem with that. And that is why we took the strong economic plan we did to the election and it was a complete contrast to the plan that was taken by those opposite.
What we took was a plan to lower taxes, to ensure that we are cutting the cost of doing business in this country, that we are investing in the skills needs of the future of this country, that we are expanding their horizons of our economy by both supporting our traditional industries and developing new export markets and that we are investing in the infrastructure that Australia needs to grow.
That is what we are doing, that is what we talked of to the Australian people.
Those opposite offered a very different plan. Those opposite took a plan which was going to impose $387bn of higher taxes on the Australian economy.
How they thought that that was going to actually support Australia’s growth into the future was a mystery to Australians and they rightfully rejected those policies at the ballot box.
And so there is a clear alternative. It is a clear choice as we have continued to demonstrate and that is the sound, stable and certain policies – not getting riled up, not getting spooked by the international conditions we are faced with, but ensuring we protect budget resilience that enables us to meet the challenges ahead.
The shadow treasurer would have us blow the budget on reckless spending. The shadow treasurer would have us blow the budget of individual Australians and their families by putting up their taxes.
The shadow treasurer, who knows what his position is on the climate reduction targets? There is a climate fight club going on over the other side. The thing they have forgotten about climate fight club is you are not supposed to talk about it. They can’t help talking about it.
We have support for the 28 position over here from the member for Hunter, we have the, for the 28, but I am not sure if I’m for 45% from the climate change spokesperson, the minute is hidden – like the member for Sydney and the leader of the opposition who wants to come into this place and effectively engage in a protest and glue his hands to the dispatch box, with his latest today, which I know would see the full banning of coalmining in Australia.
Melissa Price gets a lickspittle for the first time in a while.
“Manufacturing in this country is alive and well,” Price says.
Scott Morrison nods along. He actually hasn’t stopped watching her deliver the dixer answer. It’s like a teacher watching a recalcitrant student do a make up oral exam.
Catherine King to Scott Morrison:
Why won’t the prime minister admit to this table from his own minister by the department shows that not a single project under the urban congestion fund announced over 18 months ago has actually commenced? Not one.
Alan Tudge takes it. (sigh)
Can I thank the member for Ballarat for her question, and what I can confirm is that we have 130 projects under way right now as we speak, supporting thousands of people across the country in work, across the country.
On top of that, we have 280 major projects under way as we speak. If I can find the list, I could go through them one after another after another of those projects, which are well under way.
“You sound like Bruce McAvaney,” yells Ed Husic. “So many projects, I’ll name them all.”
“Name them in alphabetical order,” someone else yells.
(The joke being he is not naming the projects.)
Tudge continues:
On top of the 130 major projects which we have under way, we also have 166 smaller scale urban congestion front projects which we announced before the election of which we are working in close consultation with state governments to get them going and the first ones will begin at the end of this year.
I just remembered, I just mentioned ones in Brisbane which will begin at the beginning of next year. She asked me again what about projects which haven’t started. Mr Speaker, there are two projects which haven’t started.
The one I mentioned last time is the East West Link. That is one we do want to get under way. We have $4bn on the table to get this started. The Labor party constantly said bring forward projects, get them done.
There is a project with $4bn ready to go and if only the leader of the opposition, the member for Ballarat would pick up the phone to her state counterparts and just say, let’s get the job going!
And the other one which I know is also strongly supported over in Western Australia is the railway project. Another project which we would like to see delivered.
The other not being delivered but our other projects absolutely are getting under way, delivering on our agenda, 166 smaller scale projects which we are negotiating with state governments, getting the job done and they will begin at the end of this year.