Summary
Tensions reached fever pitch in Canberra today as politicians from both major parties have effectively put an end to foreigners being able to donate to the Australian body politic. Given Members and Senators have now been privy to the public excommunication of the former Minister for Human Services, the Hon Stuart Robert MP, and the short-lived excommunication of the Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate, Senator Sam Dastyari, after they both breached community standards over separate incidents involving foreigners and donations, the Prime Minister reaffirmed his commitment to introduce legislation in the Spring session in Parliament that “deals with it”.
Coalition Members and Senators were on hand this morning to welcome disability advocates to Parliament House to help spruik their commitment to fully fund the NDIS. Speaking to the press gallery after his morning media appearance, the Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP, said of the Government’s attempts to legislate prior to the next election “we’re focused on getting it approved by the Parliament now. That’s our commitment. We’re seeking support for it right now. We are very committed to this. We are committed to fully fund the NDIS”. The Opposition Leader, the Hon Bill Shorten MP, chose to appear with the Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy, the Hon Mark Butler MP, at a morning media event saying “if we’re going to have a clean energy target, it’s got to be a fair dinkum clean energy target”.
The Opposition, seemingly spooked by a Fairfax article which was critical of the NSW Labor Party’s links with the Chinese Communist Party, sort to ratchet up the pressure on the Government over their own historical links with foreigners and donations.
1.Answering a Dorothy Dixer from her West Australian colleague Mr Ian Goodenough MP, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, gave a pointed whack to the Opposition Leader over his and the Labor Party’s policy formulation citing Senator Sam Dastyari’s links with a Chinese national having undue influence over the Senator. The Minister said “his failure to do so (get a briefing from DFAT re: Senator Dastyari) means that the Leader of the Opposition is now personally compromised on national security.”
2.Not to be outdone on the issue, the Opposition, via questions from the Member for Burt, Mr Matt Keogh MP, and the Shadow Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the Hon Shayne Neumann MP, attacked the Government over the former Minister for Trade, the Hon Andrew Robb AO’s appointment to a Chinese business as a part-time consultant and the Minister for Foreign Affairs over the creation of the Julie Bishop Glorious Foundation which was set up by Chinese mining magnate Ms Sally Zou. Minister Bishop was adamant she had done nothing wrong telling Parliament “at no time have I ever compromised government policy in relation to foreign affairs. I have never given in to any influence unlike Senator Sam Dastyari”.
3.Labor continued the attack on the Government from Monday’s Question Time focusing four of their nine questions on energy policy, specifically the clean energy target coming from the Finkel Review and the rising costs of power in Australia.
4.The Minister for Social Services, the Hon Christian Porter MP, would be pleased with his zinger at the expense of his direct Shadow Minister, the Hon Jenny Macklin MP. After being invited by the Prime Minister to help answer a question from the Shadow Minister, the Minister for Social Services quipped “the Member for Jagajaga is probably the single greatest threat to this country ever returning to surplus because there is not a savings measure she has ever agreed with… There are so many positions here it is more like Bikram yoga”.
1.Fire has ravaged the 27-storey Grenfell Tower on the Lancaster West Estate, near White City in central London. Commencing just before 1am local time, hundreds of people have been evacuated with up to 200 fire fighters and 40 fire engines required in an effort to contain the blaze.
2.After Ten (TEN) was placed into a trading halt yesterday, warning that key shareholders were not prepared to support a new $250m refinancing package beyond December 23, the Network Ten has today entered voluntary administration. Mark Korda, Jennifer Nettleton and Jarrod Villani of KordaMentha will take on the role of voluntary administrators, effective immediately. The appointment of administrators means Ten shares will also be suspended from the ASX immediately.
3.The Turnbull government will break through the country’s former debt ceiling this week, breaching the $500 billion mark as it doubles the debt it inherited from Labor. On Tuesday, gross Commonwealth debt reached more than $499 billion.
4.The Government has agreed to compensate nearly 2000 Manus Island detainees, which will cost the budget up to $90m. The class action against the Immigration Department was scheduled to begin in the Victorian Supreme Court today but the Turnbull Government has chosen to settle the case rather than go through a six-month trial. The class action was run by law firm Slater and Gordon on behalf of 1,905 men who were detained on Manus Island between November 2012 and December 2014.
5.Fairfax has reported the Labor Party was gifted up to $140,000 in donations from gold dealers linked to a multimillion-dollar tax scam. Mr Simon Zhou, a 2016 ALP Senate candidate and gold trader, has resigned from the party. Respected Opposition MP and Member for Holt, the Hon Anthony Byrne MP, has called for a full parliamentary inquiry into foreign interference and donations, with public hearings by the joint parliamentary intelligence committee, of which he is deputy chair.
Today’s legislation focus included:
1.Passports Legislation Amendment (Overseas Travel By Child Sex Offenders) Bill 2017.
2.Regional Investment Corporation Bill 2017.
3.Treasury Laws Amendment (GST Low Value Goods) Bill 2017.
4.International Monetary Agreements Amendment Bill 2017.
5.Treasury Laws Amendment (2017 Measures ?3) Bill 2017.
