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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2019/nov/27/coalition-labor-westpac-morrison-albanese-politics-live
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| Jacqui Lambie says she'll repeal medevac bill if her one demand is met – politics live | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Tasmanian senator says she has one condition before she gives support to reversal, while Labor renews pursuit of Angus Taylor case. All the day’s events, live | |
| With the moderators closing up the comments, I am going to close up the blog for the night - but we will be back bright and early tomorrow morning for the last sitting day of the week. | |
| In the Senate Hollie Hughes is still getting upset about robodebt being referred to as robodebt. Because yes, that is absolutely the issue here. What the program is referred to as. So yup - have made the right decision to close up the blog for the night. | |
| Don’t expect medevac to come up between now and close of parliamentary business tomorrow. Jacqui Lambie’s statement is pointing to a lot more negotiations - which means we will most likely not see it again until next week. | |
| But we will keep you up to date with that - and whatever else happens. | |
| As will Mike Bowers, Sarah Martin, Katharine Murphy and Paul Karp - as will all the other people who keep the blog running - including the moderators who work their arses off making sure we can all keep the conversation going, without ending up in court. | |
| A big thank you to all of them - and of course all of you. We will be back tomorrow morning. And please - take care of you | |
| The Senate will return to the ensuring integrity bill in a bit – and then by the time you wake up, the second reading debate will be done. | |
| The government has the numbers. | |
| The Australian has reported that the comments Scott Morrison attributed to Victorian police detective Ross Mitchell about Julia Gillard being under investigation in 2013 in question time, were actually said by Sydney radio host Ben Fordham on 2GB: | |
| From the 2013 story (the quotes Morrison attributed to Mitchell are in bold): | |
| In question time, Morrison said: | |
| Morrison went on to say Gillard didn’t step aside, and he remembered the press conference. But just not who said what. | |
| Ahhhh ... this is why Bob Katter had a baby in parliament today: | |
| As expected, Labor lost the motion in the House (numbers don’t lie). | |
| Over in the Senate: | |
| In the House of Representatives Anthony Albanese is attempting to move a motion for the production of documents (this was the division Ken Wyatt had to run from his interview for). | |
| The motion: | The motion: |
| I seek leave to move the following motion – | |
| That the House: | That the House: |
| Chris Kenny included this in his column on Bruce Pascoe and Dark Emu earlier this week: | |
| This is of course, while Kenny is on the advisory committee reporting back to Ken Wyatt on the best way to establish an Indigenous voice to parliament – now being called the voice to government, because the government has ruled out enshrining it in the constitution. | |
| This was quite the exchange between Patricia Karvelas and Ken Wyatt on Afternoon Briefing just then: | This was quite the exchange between Patricia Karvelas and Ken Wyatt on Afternoon Briefing just then: |
| PK: One of the members of the senior advisory group [on the voice to parliament] has questioned whether historian and writer Bruce Pascoe is Aboriginal. What do you make of her questioning of his Indigenous heritage? | PK: One of the members of the senior advisory group [on the voice to parliament] has questioned whether historian and writer Bruce Pascoe is Aboriginal. What do you make of her questioning of his Indigenous heritage? |
| KW: Patricia, just on Bruce or any person for that matter, if they identify with a particular ethnicity, then I accept them on face value. | KW: Patricia, just on Bruce or any person for that matter, if they identify with a particular ethnicity, then I accept them on face value. |
| Now, the debate around Bruce – and my comments on Chris Kenny’s show – have certainly been misconstrued. | Now, the debate around Bruce – and my comments on Chris Kenny’s show – have certainly been misconstrued. |
| What disappoints me is this is escalating to vitriol of a nature that I just find unacceptable. | What disappoints me is this is escalating to vitriol of a nature that I just find unacceptable. |
| Even in my own office, my staff are receiving calls in which they are called Cs and other names. In fact, I have had one of my staff resign because she can’t cope with being abused because of the issue of Bruce. | Even in my own office, my staff are receiving calls in which they are called Cs and other names. In fact, I have had one of my staff resign because she can’t cope with being abused because of the issue of Bruce. |
| But people remain anonymous when they do it, and online – let’s take some time, reflect, allow people to respond. | But people remain anonymous when they do it, and online – let’s take some time, reflect, allow people to respond. |
| But do it in a courteous way, because vitriol doesn’t achieve an outcome that may question the integrity. | But do it in a courteous way, because vitriol doesn’t achieve an outcome that may question the integrity. |
| Any author who writes a book leaves themselves open for discussion with other people. If you have issues, then you should take directly to the author. | Any author who writes a book leaves themselves open for discussion with other people. If you have issues, then you should take directly to the author. |
| PK: OK. Tell me about what’s going on? I mean, what you have described sounds awful. You’re telling me you have actually lost a member of staff because of harassment exactly. What are the kind of complaints people are making to your office in relation to Bruce Pascoe and his Aboriginality? | PK: OK. Tell me about what’s going on? I mean, what you have described sounds awful. You’re telling me you have actually lost a member of staff because of harassment exactly. What are the kind of complaints people are making to your office in relation to Bruce Pascoe and his Aboriginality? |
| KW: His identity, and I doubt any of them would have talked to Bruce. Certainly elements of his book... | KW: His identity, and I doubt any of them would have talked to Bruce. Certainly elements of his book... |
| PK: These are people who are taking issue with Bruce Pascoe claiming he’s Aboriginal? | PK: These are people who are taking issue with Bruce Pascoe claiming he’s Aboriginal? |
| KW: That’s part of it. That’s a division, sorry. | KW: That’s part of it. That’s a division, sorry. |
| Patricia Karvelas: Just on this Angus Taylor matter, which has been unfolding in question time over the last day, Labor is now demanding a transcript of that conversation with the New South Wales police commissioner and the prime minister, all of its details in a transcript. Why should we see a transcript? | Patricia Karvelas: Just on this Angus Taylor matter, which has been unfolding in question time over the last day, Labor is now demanding a transcript of that conversation with the New South Wales police commissioner and the prime minister, all of its details in a transcript. Why should we see a transcript? |
| Mark Dreyfus: Because this is a call which should never have been made. It’s reflective of appalling judgment on the part of this prime minister, who seems to have forgotten that he’s not some Liberal head-kicker, trying to protect one of his cabinet mates, he’s the prime minister of this country. | Mark Dreyfus: Because this is a call which should never have been made. It’s reflective of appalling judgment on the part of this prime minister, who seems to have forgotten that he’s not some Liberal head-kicker, trying to protect one of his cabinet mates, he’s the prime minister of this country. |
| It’s completely wrong for him to have called directly, on his mobile – we learned from the police commissioner in the press conference this morning – called him three times, and because the police commissioner didn’t have the number in his phone, he didn’t pick up. | It’s completely wrong for him to have called directly, on his mobile – we learned from the police commissioner in the press conference this morning – called him three times, and because the police commissioner didn’t have the number in his phone, he didn’t pick up. |
| But apparently he finally got through. It’s a call which should never have been made. It is wrong at every level. It’s compromised the police commissioner, it’s compromised the investigation, and one can only imagine the pressure that’s now been put on the actual police officers who are conducting this investigation, the police officers who make up the strike force that the NSW police have established. | But apparently he finally got through. It’s a call which should never have been made. It is wrong at every level. It’s compromised the police commissioner, it’s compromised the investigation, and one can only imagine the pressure that’s now been put on the actual police officers who are conducting this investigation, the police officers who make up the strike force that the NSW police have established. |
| PK: Are you suggesting that Scott Morrison’s call to commissioner Mick Fuller was an attempt to influence the investigation into Angus Taylor? Or just that it’s a bad look? | PK: Are you suggesting that Scott Morrison’s call to commissioner Mick Fuller was an attempt to influence the investigation into Angus Taylor? Or just that it’s a bad look? |
| MD: We don’t know what the prime minister said to the police commissioner. We don’t know what the police commissioner said in return. We do know from question time today that there’s a complete inconsistency between the way in which the prime minister tried yesterday to describe his phone call to the police commissioner. | MD: We don’t know what the prime minister said to the police commissioner. We don’t know what the police commissioner said in return. We do know from question time today that there’s a complete inconsistency between the way in which the prime minister tried yesterday to describe his phone call to the police commissioner. |
| The police commissioner has said this morning that it was a very short call. The police commissioner has said that he said no more than what had already been stated in the media on behalf of the NSW police. | The police commissioner has said this morning that it was a very short call. The police commissioner has said that he said no more than what had already been stated in the media on behalf of the NSW police. |
| The prime minister told the parliament yesterday that it had gone to the substance of the charges. Now, they both can’t be right. That’s why we need to see a transcript. | The prime minister told the parliament yesterday that it had gone to the substance of the charges. Now, they both can’t be right. That’s why we need to see a transcript. |
| The prime minister stonewalled, in effect, throughout question time today, because he ought to be embarrassed. | The prime minister stonewalled, in effect, throughout question time today, because he ought to be embarrassed. |
| He ought to be embarrassed by his own performance. He ought to be embarrassed by the contempt that he has shown for the integrity of our system of government, and he ought to be embarrassed that he hasn’t applied the standards of John Howard, the standards of Malcolm Turnbull, which would require him to immediately stand down this cabinet minister, who has used a forged document while a cabinet minister to attack a political opponent. It’s just extraordinary, Patricia, that this prime minister’s standards seem to be in the gutter, and he needs to actually pay attention to past practice here, not of Labor governments, I’m pointing to – although in Labor governments | He ought to be embarrassed by his own performance. He ought to be embarrassed by the contempt that he has shown for the integrity of our system of government, and he ought to be embarrassed that he hasn’t applied the standards of John Howard, the standards of Malcolm Turnbull, which would require him to immediately stand down this cabinet minister, who has used a forged document while a cabinet minister to attack a political opponent. It’s just extraordinary, Patricia, that this prime minister’s standards seem to be in the gutter, and he needs to actually pay attention to past practice here, not of Labor governments, I’m pointing to – although in Labor governments |
| There’s plenty of ministers that were stood down over the past 30 or 40 years – this is Liberal governments ... | There’s plenty of ministers that were stood down over the past 30 or 40 years – this is Liberal governments ... |
| Mark Dreyfus on Jacqui Lambie’s statement: | Mark Dreyfus on Jacqui Lambie’s statement: |
| The federal government has settled a landmark challenge against its robodebt program – conceding a $2,500 debt raised against Deanna Amato was not lawful because it relied on income averaging. | The federal government has settled a landmark challenge against its robodebt program – conceding a $2,500 debt raised against Deanna Amato was not lawful because it relied on income averaging. |
| In orders made by consent on Wednesday, the federal court declared the debt was “not validly made”, an order to garnishee Amato’s tax return was also invalid and there was no basis to add a penalty to the debt. | In orders made by consent on Wednesday, the federal court declared the debt was “not validly made”, an order to garnishee Amato’s tax return was also invalid and there was no basis to add a penalty to the debt. |
| Rowan McRae, the executive director of civil justice access at Victorian Legal Aid, said the case has “helped to clarify the unlawfulness of the robodebt system for hundreds of thousands of Australians in the same situation, who received or paid off a robodebt based only on averaging”. | Rowan McRae, the executive director of civil justice access at Victorian Legal Aid, said the case has “helped to clarify the unlawfulness of the robodebt system for hundreds of thousands of Australians in the same situation, who received or paid off a robodebt based only on averaging”. |
| Last week the federal government abandoned sole reliance on income averaging to calculate debts, dismantling a central plank of the robodebt program’s automation, which has seen tens of thousands of welfare recipients overcharged for alleged debts. | Last week the federal government abandoned sole reliance on income averaging to calculate debts, dismantling a central plank of the robodebt program’s automation, which has seen tens of thousands of welfare recipients overcharged for alleged debts. |
| In a statement explaining the consent orders, the court noted the initial debt of $2,900 was calculated based on Australian Taxation Office income data averaged across fortnightly periods as if this were Amato’s actual income in each period. | In a statement explaining the consent orders, the court noted the initial debt of $2,900 was calculated based on Australian Taxation Office income data averaged across fortnightly periods as if this were Amato’s actual income in each period. |
| The court said the conclusion Amato had received social security benefits she was not entitled to was “not open on the material before the decision-maker” because there “no probative material” that the average reflected Amato’s actual income. | The court said the conclusion Amato had received social security benefits she was not entitled to was “not open on the material before the decision-maker” because there “no probative material” that the average reflected Amato’s actual income. |
| “In the circumstances, there was no material before the decision-maker capable of supporting the conclusion that a debt had arisen … The conclusion that a debt had arisen was therefore irrational, in the requisite legal sense.” | “In the circumstances, there was no material before the decision-maker capable of supporting the conclusion that a debt had arisen … The conclusion that a debt had arisen was therefore irrational, in the requisite legal sense.” |
| The court ordered the commonwealth to pay Amato’s costs and $92 of interest. | The court ordered the commonwealth to pay Amato’s costs and $92 of interest. |