Summary
The Government, looking for a circuit breaker all week away from the citizenship saga, allowed the Treasurer, the Hon Scott Morrison MP, to introduce legislation into the House of Representatives regarding the 0.5 per cent rise in the Medicare Levy to fund the NDIS shortfall. Speaking on ABC’s Radio National on Thursday morning, the Treasurer refused to concede his tactics, only saying “we are making progress. I am not overstating it. We always intended to bring the bill in in this sitting fortnight”. However, the Government did not count on the antics of Senator Pauline Hanson, who entered the Senate chamber during Question Time with her face covered in a burqa, forcing the media cycle again away from policy and onto politics.
And in very late news, Senator the Hon Fiona Nash confirmed last night (Thursday) that she is also a dual citizen, holding Scottish citizenship by way of her father.
On the final sitting day of the fortnight, the Opposition continued their attack surrounding the dual citizenship of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Barnaby Joyce MP, by focussing on legislation that has passed through Parliament by a singular vote, a vote according to the Opposition, as shrouded in illegality.
1.In a week where Opposition tactics in Question Time have been on point, the Opposition took a different approach, allowing members to cite job related issues in their electorates. The Member for Wakefield, Mr Nick Champion MP, asked the first question of the Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP. Responding to the question about threats to jobs in South Australia, a confident Prime Minister said “the greatest threat to the jobs of the workers in the honourable Member’s electorate in South Australia, is the highest and least reliable energy in Australia”.
2.Rising to his feet to second the motion of the Manager of Opposition Business, the Hon Tony Burke MP, to suspend standing orders, the Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon Joel Fitzgibbon MP, told Members “I’ve agreed to give up some of my time to Mr Wilkie so he can make a contribution on behalf of the Crossbench”. The Member for Dennison, Mr Andrew Wilkie MP, blunted the ferocity of the Opposition’s attack, saying on behalf of some of his Crossbench colleagues that, we “cannot support a move that his (Deputy Prime Minister) vote does not count, because frankly until the High Court has decided this matter, he has been elected, the people of New England deserve to be represented, and it’s proper to accept his vote. In the interim, why don’t we all just get back to work and focus on the issues that everyone in this country is concerned about like health, and education, and jobs”.
3.Thursday’s Question Time marked the final sitting day in the career of veteran press gallery leviathan, Mr Laurie Oakes. Mr Oakes, 74, has been covering politics in Canberra for over 48 years. Appearing on the Today Show on Thursday morning, Oakes bemoaned that he leaves at a low political ebb, telling Channel Nine colleagues “we really need good political leaders and that’s why it’s so sad that we haven’t got any”.
1.In a bizarre stunt, Senator Pauline Hanson arrived in Question Time in the Senate with her face covered, wearing a burqa. The President of the Senate, Senator the Hon Stephen Parry, confirmed to his fellow Senators, that “I’ve been advised by the Clerk, by the attendant, that the identity of Senator Hanson was established before she entered the chamber”. On the merits of her choice of clothing, a stony-faced President said “I’m not going to dictate the standard of dress for senators in this Chamber. I believe Senators should be making their own decisions about the standard of dress”.
2.Responding to a question from Senator Hanson, who asked the Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC, whether he would “work with me to ban the burqa in Australia?”, a resolute Attorney-General vehemently disagreed, saying “I am not going to pretend to ignore the stunt that you have tried to pull today, by arriving in the Chamber dressed in a burqa, when we all know that you are not an adherent of the Islamic faith. I would caution and counsel you, Senator Hanson, with respect to be very, very careful of the offence you may do to the religious sensibilities of other Australians”. Some Senators, notably members of the Labor Party and the Greens, rose to their feet to give the Attorney-General a standing ovation for his response.
3.In a radio interview following Question Time, Senator Hanson, conceded, “Is it extreme? Yes. Is it getting my message across? I hope so…. No better place to start than the Parliament”. Doubling-down on her comments, Senator Hanson also chided the cost of security in Parliament House, saying “we’re spending $16 million for security here at Parliament House yet here we are, anyone can work into that Parliament covered up, we wouldn’t know who they were”.
1.After repeated requests from Fairfax Media, the Minister for Justice, the Hon Michael Keenan MP, has sought to clarify any lingering doubt over his citizenship, tweeting multiple times today on the issue.
2.Australia’s unemployment rate has fallen to 5.6 per cent on the back of the creation of nearly 28,000 jobs in July. There was an increase in 48,200 part-time jobs and a fall of 20,300 full-time jobs with the proportion of the population in a form of employment, 65.1 per cent, now the highest since April 2013.
3.Leader of the Australian Conservatives, Senator Cory Bernardi, believes Parliament should be paused until the constitutional issues facing the Government are resolved. Speaking on Thursday, Senator Bernardi said “I believe there is only one way forward for this Parliament and that is for the Prime Minister to prorogue the parliament, [and] effectively end this session pending the outcome of the High Court, pending any by-elections that may be necessary”. Speaking with David Speers from Sky News, Senator Bernardi also revealed a further conspiracy saying “I can tell you that, that privately, some staff members in this place, (that) they know their Member of Parliament is not eligible to be here”.
4.Senator Slade Brockman, a former Liberal Party staffer to the Minister for Finance, Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann, has been sworn into the Senate today replacing the retired Western Australia Senator, Dr Chris Back.
5.Telstra (TLS) reported its financial results confirming it plans to scale back its dividend payouts. Telstra’s profit, a 33 per cent dive compared with last year, at $3.9b was still roughly in line with expectations after the sale of Telstra’s $1.8b stake in its Chinese Autohome venture. The 2018 dividend forecast will be lowered to 22 cents per share, down from 31 cents. The company returned about $13 billion to shareholders between 2015 and 2017 through dividends and buybacks. Telstra shares plunged in early trade. At the close of trade, the stock was down over 10 per cent to $3.87.
Thursday’s legislation focus included:
1.Medicare Levy Amendment (National Disability Insurance Scheme Funding) Bill 2017.
2.Anti-Money Laundering And Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill 2017.
3.Social Services Legislation Amendment (Cashless Debit Card) Bill 2017.
4.Regional Investment Corporation Bill 2017.
