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/nov/28/morrison-albanese-coalition-medevac-taylor-politcs-live

The article has changed 22 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 12 Version 13
Scott Morrison still under pressure over Angus Taylor response – question time live Labor grills Scott Morrison over call to NSW police commissioner – question time live
(31 minutes later)
PM concedes a misstep in his defence of minister as Labor continues its attack. All the day’s events, live PM says he was ‘upfront’ about decision as Labor continues its attack. All the day’s events, live
Senate question time has been all Angus Taylor all the time. Mathias Cormann stuck by Taylor and read a long list of his achievements - a list which did not include reducing emissions, despite him being the minister for emissions reduction. The motion:
Then Labor switches tack to Simon Birmingham - querying why he had said on the ABC that Taylor sourced the erroneous document from the City of Sydney website, but in the Senate he said only that that is what Taylor has advised.Murray Watt started singing The Wheels on the Bus (Go Round and Round), in reference to his belief Birmingham’s earlier answer had thrown Taylor under the bus. I seek leave to move the following motion —
Birmingham said he received briefings from Taylor, and repeated that he was advised it was sourced from the City of Sydney website. “They can continue to ask again and they’re going to get the same answer again.” That the House:
Labor’s Penny Wong then asked who doctored the document, and Birmingham rejected the premise because “according to Mr Taylor” it was downloaded from the council website. Wong makes much of the fact he won’t say in parliament that he doesn’t know who doctored it. notes that this week:detectives from the NSW Police Force’s State Crime Command Financial Crimes Squad launched Strike Force Garrad to investigate whether the Minister for Emissions Reduction committed a crime;
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison: the Prime Minister refused to stand down the Minister while the subject of a criminal investigation notwithstanding the Ministerial Standards;
My question is addressed to the Prime Minister. How can the Prime Minister claim that the Opposition made no objection to his statement that he would call the New South Wales police commissioner about the substance of Strike Force Garrad into one of his cabinet ministers when the Prime Minister has prevented the Parliament debating this deepening scandal 20 times this week. the Prime Minister called the NSW Police Commissioner and discussed the nature, substance and instigation of the criminal investigation;
Morrison: former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, former NSW ICAC Commissioner David Ipp QC, and former NSW ICAC Counsel Assisting Geoffrey Watson SC have criticised the Prime Minister’s call;
Labor points out it did not vote against the bill, but the prime minister has concluded his answer. the Prime Minister misled the House while defending the deliberate misleading of the House by the Minister and refused to apologise and correct the record;
So many chains to pull. So little time. the Prime Minister failed to answer questions about his conduct, or the conduct of the Minister, and prevented Parliament debating this scandal 20 times; and
It’s a small point, and I am sure a lot of people would argue semantics, but on the “who did you think I was going to call defence/I told you I was going to do it” that Scott Morrison is using, he didn’t actually say he would call the NSW police commissioner - my look over of the Hansard shows he said variations of this: therefore, the House calls on the Prime Minister to:acknowledge the Minister for Emissions Reduction deliberately misled the House;
Which is not ‘I am calling the police commissioner’. acknowledge the Prime Minister’s decision to call the NSW Police Commissioner was inappropriate;
That could have meant a departmental officer will call a NSW police departmental officer, to receive the same advice. Not I’m going to give the Commish a call directly about an investigation involving one of my ministers. correct the record in person and apologise for misleading the House on Wednesday;
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison: correct the record in person and apologise for misleading the House today by claiming the Opposition voted against the second reading of the Defence Service Homes Amendment Bill 2019 when it supported it;
Morrison: undertake to fully cooperate with the NSW Police Force criminal investigation; and
The man who accused those of caring about climate change of being inner-city raving lunatics, wants the chamber to know he has been “really disappointed in the antics this week”. stand down the Minister for Emissions Reduction.
Excuse me while I wipe that wet lettuce off my face. Would really like someone to unchain my heart from my love of politics at this stage
If you ever wandered what a fusty nut missing a kernel looked like, I invite you to look into the chamber as the deputy prime minister takes this dixer. Labor is now moving to suspend standing orders in question time for what is the third day in a row.
ARE YOU FRICKING KIDDING ME? Former foreign minister Julie Bishop spoke at lunchtime in Sydney at the Centre for Independent Studies, on “Waking up to the China Challenge”.
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison: She said she was asked “almost daily” about the choice Australia was allegedly confronted with, a choice between China (the trade relationship) and the US (the security alliance). Bishop argued it was a false dichotomy.
Former anti-corruption commissioner and supreme court judge David Ipp AO QC has said in relation to the prime minister’s phone call to the New South Wales police commissioner, and I quote, ‘You can’t see that it’s information that relates to matters of state interest. It can only relate to matters of party interest.’ How on earth was that phone call appropriate? “We back ourselves, our interests, our values, our principles. We always choose Australia.”
Morrison: “I do believe Australia can continue to maintain its relationship with China while remaining an ally of the US.”
Zali Steggall used her 90-second statement just before question time to call for silence for Australia’s domestic violence victims: Asked about self-declared Chinese “spy” Wang Liqiang, who this week outed himself in the Australian media as he seeks asylum, Bishop said she would not rush to judgement.
Anne Davies has an update on the Angus Taylor investigation: “I understand that Asio and security agencies are working hard to establish the veracity of the allegations. The fact that he has sought to out himself raises fascinating questions. In my experience, if there were truly a spy, from any nation, that person would be enveloped within our intelligence community and would be nowhere near the media.”
Barely half a kilometre away at the Lowy Institute, at the same time, Bishop’s erstwhile colleague, former prime minister Tony Abbott was speaking about ... China.
He told the audience there Australia’s China choice was becoming more difficult as the country grew more and more assertive.
“It was much easier to avoid hard choices when China appeared to be liberalising,” he said, citing its militarisation of the South China Sea, its repression and imprisonment of members of the Uyghur minority, and President Xi’s consolidation of power.
Abbott said when a country’s biggest trading partner was also its greatest strategic challenge “living with trouble has to be taken for granted ... we will need to become less starry-eyed about the Chinese government”.
If only there was a way MPs could enter information into some sort of internet search engine thing and find the answer to questions they yell out in QT
Scott Morrison:Scott Morrison:
“Political games” is getting quite the go here. Looks like the government has found it’s line for the day.
If you have a go at political games, you’ll get a go at political games.
Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison:
This morning [Scott Morrison] refused to attend this chamber and correct the record and apologise for misleading the House. Why does the Prime Minister think the usual standards of integrity and accountability don’t apply to him? I refer to the Strike Force Garrad investigation and to a report that just before 2pm it has taken copies of correspondence and the metadata showing details of any alterations from the City of Sydney website relating to travel and the suggestions from the minister for emissions reduction. Has the government also provided all relevant emails, documents, text messages, phone records, data, metadata and encrypted messages to the New South Wales police and will it ...
Morrison: “How do you know that,” comes from the government backbench, including Tim Wilson.
I don’t accept the assertion that has been put forward by the Leader of the Opposition. The matters that he referred to yesterday, Mr Speaker. Oh I don’t know? Perhaps because it is in the public domain?
With regard to the attribution of a quote. When it was brought to my attention I took immediate action to ensure that the House was informed of that correction. Now, Mr Speaker, I hear the interjection of the Leader of the Opposition ... The reason I wrote a letter last night is because I was on a plane on the way to Sydney for a family event which the Leader of the Opposition knew about. Mark Butler to Angus Taylor:
... Mr Speaker, that letter which I authorised was provided to the House and it was tabled here by the attorney general to ensure the House was immediately informed of the necessary correction that had to be made. My question again is to the minister for emissions reduction. On 24 October the minister told the House, and I quote, ‘The document was drawn directly from the City of Sydney’s website. It was publicly available.’ A claim he repeated in a written statement tabled in the parliament on Monday and stood by in his previous answer today. Does the minister stand by his statement on 24 October?
... Now, Mr Speaker, that was followed up with a further letter to the clerk and as you advised the House last night these are the appropriate forms of the House to correct the record. So if the Leader of the Opposition wants to take issue with the Speaker on this matter he’s at liberty do so. There is a lot of back and forth over whether or not Taylor should answer this question. We eventually get to him returning to the despatch box. Tony Smith looks like he is going to be chewing panadol like peanuts after this session.
But here we are in question time, in the nation’s capital... Taylor:
The Leader of the Opposition is bickering about a quotation in an answer to a question which has been corrected for the record. This is what the Leader of the Opposition believes are the real issues facing this country. Albanese points out that Taylor himself has apologised over the wrong figures. But we move on.
And the political games that the Leader of the Opposition, the tawdry political games ... has been engaged in, in this House this week, found their overreach particularly today when the Leader of the Opposition voted to see that the member for Herbert could no longer be heard when he was speaking, Mr Speaker, on the issue of veteran suicide. Ed Husic has just been told to “just end the conversation with yourself”.
... So the political games being played by the Leader of the Opposition and the Labor party this week descended so low that a veteran of this country speaking about veteran suicide ... Husic takes it with good grace. I mean, at least it was a conversation with someone he liked.
Anthony Albanese has taken the rare step of making a 90-second statement (they are usually for backbenchers) – and he has timed it on the list for just as Scott Morrison walks into the chamber. Here is the the bit the prime minister is talking about, in terms of shutting down Phil Thompson’s contribution:
“An ad man with no plan, a showman, covering up a scam,” says Albanese, as Morrison takes his seat. Phil Thompson: I’d like to start by addressing some of the falsehoods that the shadow minister decided to throw around just previously, and then I’ll talk on this bill as well as suicide prevention, and that all comes into the cost pressures, especially in north Queensland.
Who’s that MP? We’re talking about the NAIF, and I found it quite ironic that someone from the south-east corner would be sitting across from me, pointing and saying that we’re not doing anything in the north.
It’s Tony Pasin. Shayne Neumann: What would you know?
It was just hard to place him, given he was sitting in the back benches (Pasin likes to make a beeline for the front bench during division votes. Almost without fail. A MP can dream, I suppose) PT: Maybe you should stay in your patch, mate. Because the NAIF has rolled out some projects within north Queensland which include at JCU and at the airport – and the JCU did take quite a while to get over the line because the Labor state government decided to put up roadblocks because that’s how it works. It’s OK, I’m happy to educate the shadow minister on how the NAIF works a little bit later, because that’s not why we’re here.
We are here to talk about the prime minister’s and Minister Chester’s announcement that we would extend the eligibility –
Deputy speaker: The member for Herbert will resume his seat.
Michelle Rowland: I move:
That the Member be no longer heard.