This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2019/oct/24/coalition-labor-morrison-albanese-drought-politics-live

The article has changed 19 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 11 Version 12
Joe Hockey offered to assist in Barr inquiry without official request – politics live Joe Hockey offered to assist in Barr inquiry without official request – politics live
(32 minutes later)
Christian Porter gets walking in privileges with Scott Morrison today. Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
It’s the last question time for a month (senate QT doesn’t really count, sorry not sorry) My question is to the prime minister. And I refer to his comments in this parliament on Monday, when the prime minister told the house that the following, quote, “Whether they are politicians, journalists, public officials, anyone, there is no one in this country who was above the law”. Does he apply the standard to his own ministers?
We are heading into the chamber for what, I am sure, will be the Angus Taylor hour. Morrison:
Because how could it not be. “It’s a fairly obvious answer to that question. No-one is above the law in this country.
Here is a bit of where Chris Bowen is going on the Greg Hunt attack: David Smith to Scott Morrison:
Under questioning from the Labor party last night the department confirmed that in fact only 227 new medicines have been listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme on this Government’s watch. Is the real reason the Prime Minister obsesses about Labor, because he wants to distract Australians from the fact that net government debt has more than doubled on his watch?
1,354 listings were at no cost to government. So every time Scott Morrison and Greg Hunt say ‘we can only list this medicine because of the strong budget’ the truth is the listings were made at zero impact on the budget and 316 listings have actually just been price changes for normal business of Government. Morrison:
Greg Hunt says he’s listed 2,200 medicines in fact it’s 227, around 10 per cent of what he claimed. 10 per cent of what he said. 10 per cent of what Scott Morrison boasts about. Net debt under this government now is coming down.
Facebook is still grappling with what role it plays in monitoring election misinformation which is being put on its platform. (It more than doubled, Jim Chalmers yells)
Australia was dragged into that in May. The US is dealing with it once again. Andrew Leigh says more needs to be done: We are in surplus this year, Mr Speaker. And it’s been a long time ... It has been a long time since we have been in surplus and after six painstaking years of getting the budget back into shape, getting spending under control, conservatively budgeting on their forecasts on revenue and ensuring we are getting Australians back into work so they are going off welfare and they are paying taxes, the budget is now in surplus this year and that means that debt ... is coming down as the budget was a by $50bn over the forward estimates.
In the most recent election, Facebook was used as a platform to disseminate misinformation by not only political parties, but also actors associated with them. They will tell you why I’d talk about Labor, Mr Speaker, because they don’t think we should ever return to the reckless policies of the Labor party when it comes to budget and any other things, Mr Speaker. Australians know the mistakes that Labor made when they were last in power and the reason we are talking about them again is because the shadow treasurer wants those policies reintroduced by Mr Speaker. In that wonderful book which the treasurer quotes, glory days, Mr Speaker, he talked about ... He asked me about Labor!
Australians should be able to see what political advertisements are being run on these platforms. Australians have a right to know what misinformation is being propagated. Facebook should not allow itself to become a platform for propagating mistruths. Anthony Albanese calls him up on relevance, but the question includes Labor, so it is allowed.
Politics should be a contest of ideas, not a war of falsehoods. I call on Facebook and other social media platforms to do the right thing. Morrison:
Anne Davies and Christopher Knaus have new information on one of the weirdest stories of the year so far: So in Glory Days, the shadow treasurer was talking about his glory days as the chief of staff to Wayne Swan. He said the chief of staff was my job is tremendous full it is worth the greying hair and expanding waistline. All at once you are the key advisor and confidant to the Treasurer. This requires a closeness with the boss and the ability to know his mind without even speaking to him about every issue.
The City of Sydney has produced evidence to back up its insistence that it never altered a document to introduce the false figures used by Angus Taylor in an attack on the lord mayor over her travel-related emissions. He was at one with Obi ... Swan, Mr Speaker. And as he listens to the [leader] of the time, Kevin Rudd, all he can hear is “Higher taxes, he must, higher taxes, you must”.
The evidence places further pressure on the office of the energy minister to explain how the false figures came to be in the document he used to launch the extraordinary attack on Clover Moore last month. On Thursday Taylor labelled the affair a “conspiracy theory being perpetrated by the lord mayor” and accused her of “hollow virtue-signalling” on emissions. This recklessness is because on our watch we will put in place for stable and certain fiscal matters. We will not return to the policies of panic and crisis of the Labor Party, which Wayne Swan and Kevin Rudd champion, Mr Speaker.”
The Guardian revealed on Wednesday that Taylor sent Moore a letter, which was received on 30 September, criticising what he said was a $15m travel bill during 2017-18 and suggesting she could reduce the council’s carbon emissions by cutting down on international travel. The Liberal backbench goes mental at this Star Wars reference, but jokes on them, because Obi Wan didn’t speak like that, Yoda, who trained Obi Wan, did. Ugh. Fakers.
Right. Also, Han shot first. Don’t @ me.
After the flurry of the morning, it is now the dead zone before question time. A lot of MPs are wearing red ribbons ahead of Day for Daniel tomorrow, the child safety charity set up by Daniel Morcombe’s parents, Bruce and Denise.
To recap, the bipartisan joint committee on intelligence and security cannot tick off on a government surveillance bill, and has sent it back to be withdrawn. It’s the first time since 2002 it has taken this step. The government doesn’t have to do it but it probably will, because to ignore this sort of response would be a pretty big deal which would have ongoing ramifications. Josh Frydenberg does not say yes:
Angus Taylor will have a lot of questions to answer over how his office came to have vastly different travel costs for the City of Sydney council, which were provided to a News Corp journalist. Mr Speaker, we’re not going to take a lecture from the Labor party, a lecture from the Labor party that delivered $204bn of accumulated deficit. Do you remember the four budget surpluses that the Member for Lilley, Wayne Swan ...
And we are finally getting some answers on Australia’s involvement in the William Barr investigation into the Mueller report – which we are involved in because of Alexander Downer. ... The reality is, Mr Speaker, we are paying that back, Mr Speaker and we are doing that by growing the economy. And what we will never do is we will never whack the Australian people with $387bn of higher [taxes].
From AAP: Jim Chalmers to Josh Frydenberg:
Private schools will be able to spend $1.2bn of taxpayer funds however they see fit, regardless of how much money they rake in from fees and donations. Is the real reason the treasurer always bangs on endlessly about Labor because he wants to distract Australians from the fact he has presided over higher household debt and business debt than any other treasurer in the history of this country?”
Education bureaucrats told senators on Thursday they would have no role in assessing applications for money from the special fund, set up in a side deal with Catholic and independent schools a year ago to ease their transition to new funding arrangements. “Just say yes, the answer is yes,” Ed Husic calls out.
The department will publish guidelines for the funds but it will be up to the Catholic Education Commission and associations of independent schools in each state and territory to dole them out. Labor cheers as Josh Frydenberg gets to the “I’m asked about alternative approaches” part of this lickspittle.
“The department itself won’t be assessing any applications for funding under the fund,” deputy secretary Alex Gordon told the estimates committee hearing in Canberra. “You’re obsessed. You’ve got issues,” Jim Chalmers yells.
The guidelines will set out the kinds of priorities the funds should be used for, but won’t set eligibility for individual schools. At the moment, the rugby field is as hard as this dispatch box, but thanks to their $1m drought community support program, it will be green as the leather on the chairs we are sitting on, and that is a great thing.
And Joel Fitzgibbon has responded to the Nationals backbench drought plan: These drought stricken communities want to see us talking about them, not about each other.”
The National Party backbench hasn’t produced a national drought plan, just a plan to save the Nationals,” he said Michael McCormack, on how drought-stricken communities want politicians to talk about their communities, not each other, straight after using a drought analogy using parliamentary chamber furniture.
The Nationals are in revolt within the Coalition because the prime minister doesn’t have a drought plan.” You just know he is the sort of passenger who reads out every sign the car passes. YOU JUST KNOW
Chris Bowen is starting to speak up a lot more in his new shadow portfolio (health) Joel Fitzgibbon to Scott Morrison:
He just held a press conference on this: Who is running the government’s chaotic drought response? The prime minister or the National party backbench?
Last night in Senate Estimates the department confirmed, out of the 2200 medicines the minister claims to have listed on the PBS, only 1 in 10 of those represents a new medicine. Morrison:
In an exchange with Senator Murray Watt, the department confirmed, since 2013 only 227 new medicines have been listed by the Abbott, Turnbull, and Morrison Governments. The cabinet.
Department of Health Official: “New PBS listings which mean a brand new molecule listed for the first time on the PBS or listed for the first time as a new indication, 227.” Michael McCormack is still talking.
And last night in Senate Estimates the Department of Health confirmed out of the 2200 medicines the minister claims to have listed, 316 are actually just price changes, and 1354 listings were at no cost to government at all. It’s like watching jelly melt in a slow cooker.
Department of Health Official: “Price changes, 316. And we have a number of listings that are all with nil financial cost, 1,354.” Michael McCormack says he “thought it was my national party colleagues cheering me on”. The prime minister and him then turn to the Nats, and they all cheer.
This government has been misleading Australians on how many affordable medicines they have listed on the PBS. The protesters are talking about “death and destruction” brought on by the drought, as well as “people are dying”.
Greg Hunt claims improving access to medicines is one of his four pillars of health. But sure. Sounds like a cheer squad.
Over in the house, the education amendment which deals with the state funding allocations A climate protester is being removed from the gallery.
There’s a series of them – the third or fourth is being removed now.
First mention of “panic and crisis policies of the Labor party”.
Point of order – the Labor party don’t actually have any policies. They are all under review.
Also, stop trying to make fetch happen.
It’s a short one to start off with.
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
Is the reason his government won’t commit to a bipartisan approach with Labor on the drought because he cannot even manage a bipartisan approach with the National Party?
Morrison:
“No.”
I appreciate the brevity.
I wish that same brevity was applied to this latest “how amazing is the economy and this government” dixer.
There really needs to be a moratorium on “alternative approaches”.