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| Parliament pays tribute to Tim Fischer: 'He was an Australian original' – politics live | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| I know that we have had a break and we are all a bit rusty at this at the moment, but someone might need to tell the government backbench that the phrases “tax a lot” and “spend a lot” are not funny on their own, and their usually needs to be an actual attempt at a joke attached, in order to make laughter make sense. | |
| (Just a reminder that the unemployment rate hasn’t changed that much between governments, and there was that whole global financial crisis thing that happened as well) | |
| Back to ‘why are you ruining the economy/no, why are YOU ruining the economy’ hour | |
| Jim Chalmers to Josh Frydenberg: | |
| Can the Treasurer confirmed that on his watch Australia is experiencing the slowest annual economic since the Global Financial Crisis? | |
| Frydenberg: | |
| I can confirm that on our watch that the Australian economy continues to grow, Mr Speaker, and we continue to reduce taxes. Employment growth is 2.6%. Do you know what it was when we came to government? 0.7%! Less than a third of what it is today. A record number of Australians are now in work, workforce participation is at a record high, the gender pay gap has closed and the budget is coming back to surplus for the first time in more than a decade, Mr Speaker. When you look at the national accounts, economic growth was 0.5% for the June quarter, and 1.9% in terms of year average terms. The Australian economy has completed 28 consecutive years of economic growth and under our watch, more people are employed than ever before” | |
| Both Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese have given updates on the Queensland and NSW bushfire situation (it is not great and won’t be for a while) and pledged support. | |
| Just a reminder that rainforest is on fire. Rainforest. I grew up in the area which is under threat in Queensland at the moment, and I have never seen this before in my lifetime and I don’t know anyone who does. | |
| Bear with me, folks. The internet gremlins have been running riot all week in Guardian HQ and my backup to the backup is starting to fail, so excuse me if the blog slows down a little. | |
| Over in the Senate, Labor has been focusing on the economy and it looks like that is where Labor is headed in the House as well. | |
| Anthony Albanese to Scott Morrison: | |
| I refer to his weekend boasts that he was going to wedge Labor in the sitting period. As any golfer knows, while wedges are handy, drivers are what you need to get going. Given Australia is experiencing the slowest economic growth since the global financial crisis, why is the prime minister not concentrating on economic drivers to deliver growth, productivity and higher wages? | |
| Morrison: | |
| We are focused on growing the economy and Labor wanted to put on a bunch of taxes and also there are a bunch of other economies are shrinking and Australia grew, so so’s your face. | |
| I may be paraphasing there. | |
| Sussan Ley on Tim Fischer: | |
| He travelled among us, he spoke for us and we loved him for that. Whenever I drive the back roads of my electorate, I will be reminded of the Vietnam veteran, the farmer, in the flat chat, who strode amongst us, and his passion for finding a place for country Australia on the world stage. | |
| He defined a time when the body politic was a lot kinder than it was today, in part that will be his legacy. The thoughts prayers and love of Farrer are with Judy, who taught me economics at university, Dominic and Harrison, as they face the difficult weeks and months ahead | |
| On @afternoonbriefing at 4pm on @abcnews TV my guests are @JacquiLambie also Labor's @Tony_Burke #auspol | |
| Richard Marles on Tim Fischer: | |
| He was not just an example of the electorate of Farrer, he was the very best that that community, indeed the nation had to offer. | |
| So, as a result, his community loved him. | |
| As did his country. | |
| In a way which completely transcended partisan politics. But he also understood that to be a representative, is not just about reflecting the attitudes of your community at any moment in time, because he understood the role of leadership. | |
| Leading your community, leading your country to a better place, even if that is a place which, at the beginning your community can’t quite see. It was in that spirit that has advocacy for gun law reform and aftermath of the Arthur massacre, was truly inspirational. | |
| It places right at the centre of one of the most important legacies of the Howard government. And, in our own age of a pre-imminent, loud, self reinforcing social media, which sometimes seems to encourage populism, his making of an argument, that example is a beacon to all of us here. | |
| About how to do our job at the highest level, and in the best possible way. | |
| Michael McCormack on Tim Fischer: | |
| Behind the gentle man was an absolute determination to listen, to act and deliver. Most importantly to turn up, to turn up. | |
| Much has been said and written in recent weeks about Tim’s role with then prime minister John Howard in tightening semiautomatic and firearm controls after the horrific 1996 Port Arthur massacre. | |
| This was all about restricting the misuse of weapons, especially across urban areas. To be effective, the actions had to stretch nationwide. We need to understand he was the leader of a party representing regional Australians, not long in government after 13 long years in opposition. | |
| This was a time of intensive work to establish a new agenda. To establish credentials of the new government, to bring the people with them. This was not a time to rock the vote and it was particularly difficult for the National party. But the point is this: Tim Fischer and Mr Howard as well, John Anderson and others saw what needed to be done, and they didn’t flinch. They didn’t shirk. They did it. | |
| A lesser leader might have balked, but not Tim Fischer. He was convinced that action was needed, what was right took precedence over what might have seemed less risky, less challenging. | |
| It was a move of conviction. It was a difficult time, yes, but we had the right man in Tim Fischer. There are Australians today who are alive thanks to those reforms. There are Australians today who owe their lives to those reforms and to Tim Fischer. As we look back two decades, we see that gun control reforms have enjoyed rightly, appropriately, justly. | |
| Scott Morrison on Tim Fischer: | |
| Mr Speaker, Timothy Andrew Fisher was Australia all over. He was an Australian original, the boy from Boree Creek. He was loved, he was admired, he was respected, he was revered. | |
| He became from humble beginnings in Boree Creek and at the recent memorial service which the leader of the opposition and I and many in this place had the opportunity to attend, we learned of his humble family beginning, in a very loving and hard-working family, and coming from such a modest start, to become the titan of regional Australia, was his greatest achievement. | |
| Like Bob Hawke, who we remembered in this chamber just a few short months ago, Tim transcended the political divide probably more than any I could nominate in this place. | |
| That’s why I think so many of us in this chamber, and those who have been in this chamber, we all have a Tim Fischer story. | |
| If you ever wanted to know what it’s like to tour with Elvis, go on the Indian Pacific with Tim Fischer for three days. I did. | |
| And as you walked up and down the carriages, among so many other railway enthusiasts, there was none greater than Tim Fischer. | |
| He would stop, sit, listen to their stories, those big hands would shake the hands of his fellow Australians. And people would just light up as they engaged with him because Tim had an amazing ability just to focus all of himself on whoever was opposite him. And he made them the centre of the universe. | |
| There was no trick to it. No performance in it. It was 100% pure Tim Fischer. They got 100% of him when he was in that moment. This is why he was so loved. | |
| Question time is about to begin – but there are those condolence motions up first, understandably. | Question time is about to begin – but there are those condolence motions up first, understandably. |
| Mike Bowers went and saw the Spinifex Gum and the Marliya Choir perform in parliament a little bit earlier today. He said it was spine tinglingly beautiful. | Mike Bowers went and saw the Spinifex Gum and the Marliya Choir perform in parliament a little bit earlier today. He said it was spine tinglingly beautiful. |
| Along with the condolence motion for former deputy prime minister and Nationals leader Tim Fischer, the House will also be informed of the death of former Labor Lilley MP Elaine Darling. | Along with the condolence motion for former deputy prime minister and Nationals leader Tim Fischer, the House will also be informed of the death of former Labor Lilley MP Elaine Darling. |
| Just on that review, for anyone who is interested, there is a bit of to and fro-ing going on behind the scenes over how to handle what is being called “the Queensland problem”. | Just on that review, for anyone who is interested, there is a bit of to and fro-ing going on behind the scenes over how to handle what is being called “the Queensland problem”. |
| The Queensland Labor government goes to an election in October 2020 – one of the first cabs off the ranks – and it is not having too great a time at the moment (largely self-inflicted). But Labor has a much better chance of winning Queensland at a state level than federal at the moment (and probably for some time). | The Queensland Labor government goes to an election in October 2020 – one of the first cabs off the ranks – and it is not having too great a time at the moment (largely self-inflicted). But Labor has a much better chance of winning Queensland at a state level than federal at the moment (and probably for some time). |
| That’s because there are enough seats in the south-east to help it hold power. But those voters tend to worry about things like climate change. Which is different from voters in central and north Queensland, who need the jobs provided by the mining industry. | That’s because there are enough seats in the south-east to help it hold power. But those voters tend to worry about things like climate change. Which is different from voters in central and north Queensland, who need the jobs provided by the mining industry. |
| So the review can’t go too hard on Queensland, either way. And that is proving a little problematic, because obviously Queensland was a big part of the election story. | So the review can’t go too hard on Queensland, either way. And that is proving a little problematic, because obviously Queensland was a big part of the election story. |
| It’s a balance between state and federal goals. And that is not a job I envy anyone. | It’s a balance between state and federal goals. And that is not a job I envy anyone. |
| Mark Butler had a bit to say about the review Labor is currently undertaking into what happened at the last election. As Katharine Murphy reports: | Mark Butler had a bit to say about the review Labor is currently undertaking into what happened at the last election. As Katharine Murphy reports: |
| The shadow climate change minister, Mark Butler, has declared that after a federal election where Labor had its “backside handed to [it] by Fozzie Bear and Kermit the Frog – it’s time for some serious reflection”. | The shadow climate change minister, Mark Butler, has declared that after a federal election where Labor had its “backside handed to [it] by Fozzie Bear and Kermit the Frog – it’s time for some serious reflection”. |
| Butler, a senior Labor leftwinger and former federal party president, said on Monday the ALP should not attempt to sugarcoat the defeat in May, but instead ask itself hard questions. | Butler, a senior Labor leftwinger and former federal party president, said on Monday the ALP should not attempt to sugarcoat the defeat in May, but instead ask itself hard questions. |
| “We just lost our third election in a row and the only majority we’ve won in the past 25 years was the majority of eight seats in 2007,” he said. “We got our lowest primary vote in a century, against a government the prime minister himself described as the Muppet Show.” | “We just lost our third election in a row and the only majority we’ve won in the past 25 years was the majority of eight seats in 2007,” he said. “We got our lowest primary vote in a century, against a government the prime minister himself described as the Muppet Show.” |
| Butler used the opportunity of a book launch in Canberra to argue the current campaign review being spearheaded by Jay Weatherill and Craig Emerson “must be ruthless and unsparing” and include all policies, including in his portfolio area of climate change and energy. | Butler used the opportunity of a book launch in Canberra to argue the current campaign review being spearheaded by Jay Weatherill and Craig Emerson “must be ruthless and unsparing” and include all policies, including in his portfolio area of climate change and energy. |
| Question time will probably be shorter than usual today, because of condolence motions for Tim Fischer. | Question time will probably be shorter than usual today, because of condolence motions for Tim Fischer. |
| A motion of coldolence for the death of Tim Fischer will be moved today prior to Questions on Notice. As Mr Fischer was not a former Prime Minister, the practice of the House is not to adjourn following such motions being moved. https://t.co/qOR3GJOijl | A motion of coldolence for the death of Tim Fischer will be moved today prior to Questions on Notice. As Mr Fischer was not a former Prime Minister, the practice of the House is not to adjourn following such motions being moved. https://t.co/qOR3GJOijl |