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Turnbull calls Labor dimwitted for playing politics over energy – question time live
Liberal Chris Back to retire from Senate – politics live
(35 minutes later)
6.32am BST
06:32
The matter of public importance on energy policy by Cathy McGowan and her fellow crossbenchers is unusual.
It is the first time in the last two terms of parliament that the cross benchers have come together to speak on an MPI. Cathy will be followed by Andrew Wilkie, Adam Bandt, Rebekha Sharkie and Bob Katter.
6.21am BST
06:21
Christopher Knaus reports on the politics of poverty porn.
The Coalition has been accused of “heartless vilification” for releasing a list of welfare “bludger hotspots” across Australia.
The federal government on Tuesday released a list of 10 suburbs and towns with the highest jobseeker non-compliance numbers.
The list, which News Corp dubbed a “list of shame”, referred to the number of welfare recipients who failed to meet requirements, usually by failing to attend appointments or interviews with job service providers.
Second on the list was Blacktown in Sydney, where 333 people failed to attend an interview without a reasonable excuse in the past year, according to News Corp.
That is about 0.097% of the estimated 340,000 people living in Blacktown city council and 2.87% of the 11,597 Newstart and youth allowance recipients subject to mutual obligation requirements in the area last year.
There are also fewer jobs in Blacktown city than resident workers. The jobs to residents ratio was 0.76 in 2015/16, according to the National Institute of Economic and Industry Research.
Blacktown city’s mayor, Stephen Bali, described the attack as the “politics of poverty porn”.
6.17am BST
06:17
Indi independent Cathy McGowan is prosecuting the matter of public importance, being “the urgent need for a national energy policy that supports a strong economy, vibrant communities and sensible environmental outcomes”.
Labor looks like it is staying around to hear it but not the government MPs.
6.15am BST
06:15
Paul Karp reports that defence minister, Marise Payne, has told the Senate that WA Liberal Chris Back will retire.
In answering a question on Australian defence, Payne said that Back had today announced his retirement, and said his contribution would be “sorely missed”.
6.15am BST
06:15
6.12am BST
06:12
6.09am BST
06:09
Labor’s Mark Butler to Josh Frydenberg: Will the emissions intensity threshold under a clean energy target be at, higher or lower than 0.6 tonnes?
Frydenberg says a clean energy target was the preferred recommendation over Labor’s emissions intensity scheme because the emissions intensity scheme was punishing coal.
Labor takes a point of relevance. Speaker Smith upholds the Labor point and says get on with it.
Frydenberg says the Finkel review provides a lot of “food for thought”, which does not answer the question.
6.03am BST
6.03am BST
06:03
06:03
5.59am BST
5.59am BST
05:59
05:59
Shorten to Turnbull: Is the prime minister aware that in just 18 days time, on 1 July, AGL power prices in NSW will go up by 16%, penalty rates will be cut for nearly 700,000 Australians and millionaires will get a tax cut. When household budgets for low- and middle-income Australians are getting even tighter, why is the prime minister’s only priority giving people who earn a million dollars a tax cut?
Shorten to Turnbull: Is the prime minister aware that in just 18 days time, on 1 July, AGL power prices in NSW will go up by 16%, penalty rates will be cut for nearly 700,000 Australians and millionaires will get a tax cut. When household budgets for low- and middle-income Australians are getting even tighter, why is the prime minister’s only priority giving people who earn a million dollars a tax cut?
Turnbull attacks what he calls Shorten’s feeble attempts at the politics of envy.
Turnbull attacks what he calls Shorten’s feeble attempts at the politics of envy.
Updated
Updated
at 6.03am BST
at 6.03am BST
5.52am BST
5.52am BST
05:52
05:52
Tanya Plibersek to Turnbull: Can the prime minister confirm wholesale electricity prices have more than doubled under his government?
Tanya Plibersek to Turnbull: Can the prime minister confirm wholesale electricity prices have more than doubled under his government?
Turnbull says increases in gas prices have been to blame – largely as a result of state government decisions,
Turnbull says increases in gas prices have been to blame – largely as a result of state government decisions,
but there is no doubt that wholesale electricity prices have considerably increased in very recent times.
but there is no doubt that wholesale electricity prices have considerably increased in very recent times.
Updated
Updated
at 6.04am BST
at 6.04am BST
5.50am BST
5.50am BST
05:50
05:50
News from the Senate is that WA Liberal senator Chris Back is retiring immediately. His term expires in 2019.
News from the Senate is that WA Liberal senator Chris Back is retiring immediately. His term expires in 2019.
Updated
Updated
at 5.51am BST
at 5.51am BST
5.49am BST
05:49
Emma Husar reacts to speaker Smith "Don't behave like a soccer crowd" @GuardianAus @gabriellechan #politicslive pic.twitter.com/arMYev8swj
5.47am BST
05:47
Shorten to Turnbull: On Friday for the first time in Australia’s history, gross debt will crash through half a trillion dollars. With debt at record highs under this government, how can the country possibly afford to give millionaires a tax cut in 18 days?
Turnbull attacks Labor’s plans, including its costings from the last election which had a slightly higher deficit before improving over the decade.
There is no answer to the question about removing the temporary deficit repair levy.
Updated
at 5.48am BST
5.43am BST
05:43
Albanese to Turnbull: Is the prime minister aware that Brisbane’s cross-river rail project was approved by Infrastructure Australia in 2012? It was the subject of a detailed agreement between the federal and Queensland governments in 2013 and funded in the 2013 budget? Why is the prime minister purporting to support public transport in our cities while pretending this essential project is not ready to go?
Turnbull says the project is being considered by Infrastructure Australia now.
Urban infrastructure minister Paul Fletcher says the coordinator general in Queensland showed the differences between the version that was approved in 2012 and the version that is now lodged.
This is not the same project.
Updated
at 5.49am BST
5.40am BST
05:40
People in glasshouses...
Gina McColl and Phillip Wen of Fairfax reported last year:
Chinese businessmen with links to Foreign Minister Julie Bishop have donated half a million dollars to the Western Australian division of the Liberal Party during the past two years, political disclosures reveal.
All the donors have links to the Chinese government, and the vast bulk of the money was given by companies with no apparent business interests in WA. Ms Bishop, the leading federal member of the party in that state, has singled out each of the three key donors for praise.
5.34am BST
05:34
Anthony Albanese to Turnbull: Is the prime minister aware that under the so-called national rail program, not a single dollar is available in this entire term of parliament? Nothing this year, nothing next year and nothing the year after that. Isn’t the national rail program in fact the new Naif [Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund] – the No Actual Infrastructure Fund?
Turnbull makes the inevitable jokes about Albo not able to get many questions through Labor strategy meetings.
He then moves on to how long rail projects take.
It is important that the commitment is made well in advance, which it has been and the money will be available as and when it is required.
Turnbull goes through various programs and then raises the national broadband network (NBN).
That hardly seems to have a commitment to the national interest. Right across the board, whether it is in rail, road, $75bn of commitment over the next decade and one of the honourable members opposite was speaking before question Time about the National Broadband Network. That train wreck we inherited from the Labor Party. We are connecting more paying customers every two weeks than Labor did in six years.
Uproar from the Labor benches at the thought of Turnbull claiming the NBN legacy.
Updated
at 5.41am BST
5.28am BST
05:28
Labor MP responds to Dutton.
Dutton trying to put the 'pressure' on #qt pic.twitter.com/pbnGEbPb8D
5.27am BST
05:27
Immigration minister Peter Dutton is taking a Dixer to attack Labor for not immediately supporting the citizenship package which is yet to be revealed completely.
Speaker Tony Smith throws out Nick Champion and Dutton welcomes the move, suggesting it lifted the IQ in the chamber.
Labor’s Graham Perrett protests and Smith said he did not hear Dutton’s comment.
5.24am BST
05:24
NXT MP Rebekha Sharkie to health minister Hunt: In the past, cuts threatened the child dental benefits schedule, a program which provides $1,000 of free dental care for low income families because the government claimed the program was under-utilised. In March 2016, a review of the program made four recommendations to increase uptake including targeted promotion, making letters more recognisable as a dental voucher and providing follow-up notification to families. Would the minister advise which recommendations have been implemented in the 15 months since the review?
Greg Hunt says the government has lifted the child dental benefits scheme from $700 to $1,000 but does not answer the question relating to the low-income dental care.
Updated
at 5.42am BST
5.20am BST
05:20
Malcolm Turnbull calls Labor fools and dimwits on energy policy
Shorten to Turnbull: The chief scientist has said about new coal-fired power stations “it would be surprising if governments were to endorse a scheme that incentivised them”. I give the prime minister another opportunity, does he agree?
Turnbull says the time for politics and ideology is over.
The clean energy target proposed by Dr Finkel ... would provide an incentive to forms of generation that are lower than the benchmark of so many kilograms per megawatt hour. That is how it would work.
The PM has its all very well to write him “lovely letters” but Australians just want consistent energy policy.
So dimwitted is this bunch of left wing ideologues opposite, so dimwitted are they, so dimwitted in anything to do with engineering or science, these fools were happy to have lots of renewable energy but it didn’t occur to them that sometimes the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine and they forgot to do anything about it.
Updated
at 5.49am BST
5.16am BST
05:16
Foreign minister Julie Bishop is taking a Dixer so that she can criticise Sam Dastyari’s brief departure from Labor’s South China Sea policy following the Four Corners revelations last week.
Christopher Pyne is yelling incessantly “shame on Labor”.
