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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2017/may/25/george-brandis-malcolm-turnbull-bill-shorten-labor-coalition-politics-live
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| George Brandis personally regrets failure to pass on Monis letter – politics live | George Brandis personally regrets failure to pass on Monis letter – politics live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 12.38am BST | |
| 00:38 | |
| The agriculture department says the cost of the move is $26m over six years and one scientific officer is currently recruited to the Armidale office. They are working out of an old Centrelink office. | |
| Kim Carr says that will be good for APVMA scientists. | |
| 12.33am BST | |
| 00:33 | |
| Labor’s Kim Carr is asking David Williamson, deputy secretary of the agriculture department, if any other locations other than Armidale were considered for the decentralisation move. (Remember it was announced by Joyce in the midst of a electoral death battle with former independent Tony Windsor.) | |
| Williamson says no, we were implementing an election commitment to move the agency to Armidale. | |
| Not Toowoomba, asks Carr. | |
| No. | |
| Joyce has previously said Toowoomba was also considered. | |
| 12.25am BST | |
| 00:25 | |
| Thanks to Anna Vidot of the ABC. | |
| @lucybarbour #APVMA says its performance rates do fluctuate, but acknowledge the latest ones aren't *great* exactly... #estimates | |
| 12.24am BST | |
| 00:24 | |
| The Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority is before estimates right now, answering questions on the move to Armidale ordered by local member and aforementioned deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce. | |
| And lo... once more unto the #APVMA #estimates, tweeps, once more.Acting CEO Stefanie Janiec in the hot seat this time around. | |
| 12.19am BST | |
| 00:19 | |
| Barnaby Joyce: every religion has murderers at the periphery | |
| Deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has been speaking to Kieran Gilbert on Sky about life, religion and Manchester. | |
| He condemns the Manchester attacks, saying “these people” think murder will change the world. | |
| But he makes the point that terrorists have always been around in every religion. | |
| These people have always been around and every religion has them at their periphery. I’m Catholic, in Northern Ireland we had the IRA, who decided they were going to change the world by murdering people. I don’t agree with that. These people believe they are going to change the world by murdering people. We have seen it in Buddhism, we have seen it in Hinduism. It’s murder. It’s wrong and we have got to make sure as a nation, people can go to the cricket, can go to the rugby, go down the street, go to the park, enjoy life, be Australian and leave other people alone to have their beliefs because they are probably different to yours. Don’t change the world by violence, change the world by argument, cogent argument. | |
| Joyce says Australian values include equality, leaving other people alone, compassion, tolerance, being kind, doing your bit. | |
| People say it all sounds a bit old fashioned but its not. If you really had an empathy for other people around you, you wouldn’t want to blow them up. You would say they’re just like me. Leave them alone. | |
| Whatever you think of the DPM, Barnaby is very good on these messages and speaks to a constituency, part of which potentially crosses into One Nation territory. So it is heartening that he takes every opportunity to underline religious tolerance. This is not the first time he has said this stuff. | |
| 11.29pm BST | 11.29pm BST |
| 23:29 | 23:29 |
| Good morning blogans, | Good morning blogans, |
| The Canberra fog had enveloped parliament house as I trudged in, a little weary as a result of the possum rave on my roof last night. It seems every creature from the district was dancing on my flat roof, or perhaps there was a marsupial Olympics. Anyway, enough of my problems... | The Canberra fog had enveloped parliament house as I trudged in, a little weary as a result of the possum rave on my roof last night. It seems every creature from the district was dancing on my flat roof, or perhaps there was a marsupial Olympics. Anyway, enough of my problems... |
| George Brandis is the man of the morning. He has been speaking to media this morning after the NSW Coroner’s report into the Lindt cafe siege which ended with the deaths of Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson as well as the perpetrator Man Haron Monis. | George Brandis is the man of the morning. He has been speaking to media this morning after the NSW Coroner’s report into the Lindt cafe siege which ended with the deaths of Tori Johnson and Katrina Dawson as well as the perpetrator Man Haron Monis. |
| The Coroner had a lot to say about the NSW police service and they way they handled the raid. | The Coroner had a lot to say about the NSW police service and they way they handled the raid. |
| He also had a bit to say about the commonwealth - our purview - particularly in relation to passing on correspondence that may flag potential security threats. This was in relation to a letter Monis wrote to the attorney general’s department two months before the siege. | He also had a bit to say about the commonwealth - our purview - particularly in relation to passing on correspondence that may flag potential security threats. This was in relation to a letter Monis wrote to the attorney general’s department two months before the siege. |
| At the time, Brandis told a senate committee, | At the time, Brandis told a senate committee, |
| There was no reason to believe that any member of the Attorney General’s Department staff would have known that Monis ... was a person of concern at that particular time. | There was no reason to believe that any member of the Attorney General’s Department staff would have known that Monis ... was a person of concern at that particular time. |
| At the time, Labor’s Mark Dreyfus thought that the letter should have prompted further investigation, given it was “a letter from a man on bail for serious violence offences, who had been in litigation with the commonwealth in the high court, asking about communication with the head of Isil”. | At the time, Labor’s Mark Dreyfus thought that the letter should have prompted further investigation, given it was “a letter from a man on bail for serious violence offences, who had been in litigation with the commonwealth in the high court, asking about communication with the head of Isil”. |
| Last night Brandis was questioned by Labor in senate estimates about this comment in the NSW Coroner’s report, which says: | Last night Brandis was questioned by Labor in senate estimates about this comment in the NSW Coroner’s report, which says: |
| There does not appear to be an effective policy in place to require the commonwealth bureaucracy to forward correspondence received by it to Asio where that correspondence is relevant to security considerations. | There does not appear to be an effective policy in place to require the commonwealth bureaucracy to forward correspondence received by it to Asio where that correspondence is relevant to security considerations. |
| Brandis said it was not a consequential letter and the department had changed its practices. But after a semantic argument about what constituted an government wide policy, he declined to say that there was one across all agencies. | Brandis said it was not a consequential letter and the department had changed its practices. But after a semantic argument about what constituted an government wide policy, he declined to say that there was one across all agencies. |
| He is a little more forthcoming this morning. | He is a little more forthcoming this morning. |
| On ABC AM, Brandis said there were no adverse findings of commonwealth agencies but there were “helpful suggestions” for the feds. | On ABC AM, Brandis said there were no adverse findings of commonwealth agencies but there were “helpful suggestions” for the feds. |
| He said his department had reviewed their processes two years ago. The AG’s department also talked to other departments about their processes but Brandis said he would check again following the report. | He said his department had reviewed their processes two years ago. The AG’s department also talked to other departments about their processes but Brandis said he would check again following the report. |
| Brandis tries to avoid a question about regretting the failure to pass on correspondence. He says post fact reviews - including by the head of Asio - have found the letter would have made no difference to the outcome. | Brandis tries to avoid a question about regretting the failure to pass on correspondence. He says post fact reviews - including by the head of Asio - have found the letter would have made no difference to the outcome. |
| Sabra Lane presses him. Do you personally regret it? | Sabra Lane presses him. Do you personally regret it? |
| Well of course because I asked my department to tighten up their correspondence handling practices. I would prefer that it had been handed on and if that occurred today it would be handed on. | Well of course because I asked my department to tighten up their correspondence handling practices. I would prefer that it had been handed on and if that occurred today it would be handed on. |
| The other element of the Lindt siege crossing the state-federal boundary relates to when to engage other security agencies and the defence. | The other element of the Lindt siege crossing the state-federal boundary relates to when to engage other security agencies and the defence. |
| Brandis said military call-out powers were being reviewed and a submission would be taken to cabinet. | Brandis said military call-out powers were being reviewed and a submission would be taken to cabinet. |
| Plainly there is an argument, particularly when there is a serious terrorist event to deploy all of the capabilities the nation can summon, whether it be the policing and intelligence capability or the military capability. | Plainly there is an argument, particularly when there is a serious terrorist event to deploy all of the capabilities the nation can summon, whether it be the policing and intelligence capability or the military capability. |
| If you were not around late yesterday, you may have missed Tony Abbott’s intervention, rising to the challenge of all things national security. Shoot to kill, he told 2GB. | If you were not around late yesterday, you may have missed Tony Abbott’s intervention, rising to the challenge of all things national security. Shoot to kill, he told 2GB. |
| We need to change our protocols dealing with terrorist sieges because terrorists don’t expect to get out alive and they don’t care who they kill. I think we do need to give the police a shoot to kill power when they reasonably think they are in a terrorist situation, and we do need to ensure, without supplanting the appropriate role of the police as the lead agency in a terrorist situation, that there is close cooperation, without muddying the lines of command, close cooperation between the military and the police. | We need to change our protocols dealing with terrorist sieges because terrorists don’t expect to get out alive and they don’t care who they kill. I think we do need to give the police a shoot to kill power when they reasonably think they are in a terrorist situation, and we do need to ensure, without supplanting the appropriate role of the police as the lead agency in a terrorist situation, that there is close cooperation, without muddying the lines of command, close cooperation between the military and the police. |
| Talk to me on the Twits @gabriellechan on Facebook or in the thread. Writers Fest bloke @mpbowers should be back this morning, fog notwithstanding. Hey ho, let’s go. | Talk to me on the Twits @gabriellechan on Facebook or in the thread. Writers Fest bloke @mpbowers should be back this morning, fog notwithstanding. Hey ho, let’s go. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 11.55pm BST | at 11.55pm BST |