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| Peter Dutton claims war veterans want medevac laws scrapped – politics live | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| The official Labor press conference on the free trade agreement decision is out. | |
| From Madeleine King’s office: | |
| We will back these agreements, although we are concerned about how this Government will implement them. | |
| We have consulted widely on these issues with stakeholders in the union movement, industry, academia and the public service. | |
| I have written to Trade Minister Simon Birmingham seeking firm commitments to ensure that the implementation of the agreements safeguard Australian jobs and maximise market access for Australian businesses. | |
| We are seeking: | |
| A guarantee that these agreements protect Australian jobs. | |
| An assurance that working holiday makers are not exploited and are appropriately qualified for the work they undertake. | |
| The termination of the existing bilateral investment treaty with Indonesia. | |
| The termination or updating of out-dated bilateral investment treaties and investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) clauses. | |
| A review of recent ISDS mechanisms in trade agreements. | |
| An inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) into Australia’s treaty-making process. | |
| An assurance that there is no inference from the agreements that would require the privatisation of government services, nor restrict any future decision to bring acquire public assets. | |
| Labor’s call for the Government to pursue the termination of the existing Bilateral Investment Treaty between Australia and Indonesia was recently backed by JSCOT’s recent review of these trade agreements. | |
| This old treaty contains ISDS clauses with poor safeguards. | |
| Labor does not support the inclusion of ISDS provisions in trade agreements, but the report noted that the provisions in these new agreements include strong safeguards. | |
| Labor MPs on the JSCOT committee were instrumental in ensuring that these recommendations were included in the final report. | |
| Back in the Senate, One Nation put forward a motion to set up an inquiry into the “performance of Australia’s dairy industry and the profitability of farmers since deregulation in 2000”. | |
| Labor, the Greens and the crossbench all supported the inquiry. | |
| The government opposed it. | |
| Ayes - 33 | |
| Noes - 28 | |
| It is not often you see that section of the chamber supporting something One Nation puts up, but there you go. | |
| Just on Peter Dutton’s latest intervention on medevac, I have been reminded of this story from earlier in the year: | |
| A doctor on Nauru who blew the whistle on the deliberate medical neglect of refugees and asylum seekers on the island has been awarded a global award for free speech. | |
| Dr Nick Martin, the former senior medical officer for International Health and Medical Services on Nauru, spoke out publicly against what he described as Australia’s “inflexible, unswerving, and shameless” offshore immigration regime, that deliberately harmed asylum seekers and ignored doctors’ recommendations to treat dangerously ill people. | |
| In London on Wednesday night, he was awarded the 2019 Blueprint for Free Speech prize, an award previously won by Chelsea Manning, who revealed US military abuses and suspected war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, and John Kiriakou, the former CIA intelligence officer who revealed information about torture techniques including waterboarding. | |
| Martin is a veteran military doctor. | |
| The drug testing bill is on its way to the Senate. | |
| House of Representatives passed Social Services Legislation Amendment (Drug Testing Trial) Bill 2019 https://t.co/FusF2Vwh1A #auspol | House of Representatives passed Social Services Legislation Amendment (Drug Testing Trial) Bill 2019 https://t.co/FusF2Vwh1A #auspol |
| Labor is supporting the government’s call to abolish the $4bn education investment fund (the Coalition has wanted it gone since 2014 and, when it couldn’t get rid of it, just stopped spending the money from it, meaning it has sat there untouched), mostly because it doesn’t want to be seen as standing in front of emergency response fund (which is where the government wants to put this money). | |
| Jacqui Lambie has been calling for more Tafe funding for Tasmania since returning to the Senate. That’s why she is so angry. The money that is there, for that purpose, is now being officially taken away. | |
| Oh FFS. | Oh FFS. |
| From AAP: | From AAP: |
| Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has claimed Australian war veterans want refugee medical evacuation laws scrapped. | Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has claimed Australian war veterans want refugee medical evacuation laws scrapped. |
| Mr Dutton is locked in negotiations with Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie, herself an army veteran, as he seeks to repeal the so-called medevac laws. | Mr Dutton is locked in negotiations with Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie, herself an army veteran, as he seeks to repeal the so-called medevac laws. |
| “I believe very strongly that most Australians and certainly the vast majority of veterans would want us to abolish this law,” he told 2GB Radio on Thursday. | “I believe very strongly that most Australians and certainly the vast majority of veterans would want us to abolish this law,” he told 2GB Radio on Thursday. |
| There does not seem to be any evidence for this, other than Dutton is courting Lambie’s swing vote on this. | There does not seem to be any evidence for this, other than Dutton is courting Lambie’s swing vote on this. |
| We were expecting a press conference on the party’s position on free trade agreements after a lively caucus debate this morning, but it has now been called off. | We were expecting a press conference on the party’s position on free trade agreements after a lively caucus debate this morning, but it has now been called off. |
| We are still waiting to get the details of what has been agreed upon, but expect something on scrapping old investor state dispute settlement clauses with Indonesia, independent economic analysis of the trade deals, and a concession on future labour market access. | We are still waiting to get the details of what has been agreed upon, but expect something on scrapping old investor state dispute settlement clauses with Indonesia, independent economic analysis of the trade deals, and a concession on future labour market access. |
| The unemployment figures are out | The unemployment figures are out |
| Jobless rate edges down to 5.2% (s/a) but on a weak 14.7k lift in employment. Trend steady at 5.3% | Jobless rate edges down to 5.2% (s/a) but on a weak 14.7k lift in employment. Trend steady at 5.3% |
| That vote Paul Karp has been telling you about, on the $4bn education investment fund, is happening. Labor created it when it was in government. | |
| The Greens put in a motion to protect it. | The Greens put in a motion to protect it. |
| Labor is voting against the motion. | Labor is voting against the motion. |
| Jacqui Lambie is ESPECIALLY pissed about it. | Jacqui Lambie is ESPECIALLY pissed about it. |
| Jacqui Lambie has just got stuck into the deal struck between the Coalition and Labor – describing it as “pretty pathetic” that Labor has agreed to abolish a $4bn education investment fund in return for $50m for Tafe. | |
| “I can get more out of the government with just one of me, than all of you put together,” Lambie said. | “I can get more out of the government with just one of me, than all of you put together,” Lambie said. |
| The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi says the $50m is “measly” and criticises Labor, which she said “used to be the party of public education”. | |
| Mathias Cormann has moved the bill out of the committee phase and is now setting a limit on the time for debate – so we’re going to have a final vote by 11.45. | |
| Is there anyone in this building not having a tantrum right now? | Is there anyone in this building not having a tantrum right now? |
| If so, feel free to swing by the Guardian office for a chocolate. | |
| Because this whole place is one giant sulk right now, on all sides. | Because this whole place is one giant sulk right now, on all sides. |
| Like I said, totally and absolutely, fine. | |
| 1 senior Nat is furious that the PM dropped payment announcement on 2SM same time Nats held their Presser. “They’re shitting on us. Is PM going to go on TV when Dutton is? We look dopey standing around like swinging dicks at Class B presser because Class A is up at same time.” | 1 senior Nat is furious that the PM dropped payment announcement on 2SM same time Nats held their Presser. “They’re shitting on us. Is PM going to go on TV when Dutton is? We look dopey standing around like swinging dicks at Class B presser because Class A is up at same time.” |
| Everything is fine. | |
| Please see my statement below. pic.twitter.com/xMUpnuVp08 | Please see my statement below. pic.twitter.com/xMUpnuVp08 |