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Josh Butler
We’ve got a little more info on the recently-reported ban on political fundraisers inside Parliament House, instituted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The Department of Parliamentary Services told a Senate estimates hearing that nine functions called up DPS to cancel their events, once news of that ban was made public before budget week.
DPS officials also said future bookings for events inside Parliament House will include a section where applicants must confirm that their shindig isn’t a political fundraiser. If there’s any doubt, DPS will further investigate and ask applicants to sign a statutory declaration about the event.
Rob Stefanic, Secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services, told the hearing that a final policy is currently being signed off by the presiding officers of the House and Senate.
He said the definition of banned political events includes:
…those organised by registered political parties and/or candidates for public office and/or any third party where funds are collected in connection to the event for the purpose of donating raised funds to a political party, campaign and/or candidate.
Josh Butler
Department rules that TikTok is OK for politicians
The federal Department of Parliamentary Services says it doesn’t believe politicians or parliament employees need to avoid downloading apps like TikTok to their work phones, despite such recommendations being made in other parliaments.
Appearing before a Senate estimates committee hearing on Monday afternoon, Liberal senator James Paterson – who has long raised concerns about security concerns about the Chinese-owned social media app – noted that parliaments in New Zealand and the United States had warned against the use of TikTok on political phones.
A DPS official said they were aware of that advice from overseas equivalents, but hadn’t received similar recommendations that Australia should follow suit:
We work closely with our partners at the five parliaments, the other parliaments around the world, and my understanding of that advice they provided is it was related to specific advice they’d received from other agencies in their country and we haven’t received an equivalent level of advice to us that would warrant us to be providing that advice to parliamentarians.
Paterson, chair of the parliament’s intelligence and security committee under the previous government, noted some federal departments had given such advice to their employees to not use TikTok on work phones.
DPS said it did not make similar recommendations, and said it had not recommended employees or politicians only use social media on a personal (not work) device.
For some background:
Don’t take any easing of those Melbourne storms as evidence they’ve gone away, either:
**UPDATED: Severe thunderstorms in the warning area have temporarily eased. However, the redevelopment of severe thunderstorms remains likely.**
— VICSES News (@vicsesnews) November 7, 2022
Bureau issues severe thunderstorm warning for parts of Melbourne
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe thunderstorm warning, with flash flooding likely in Melbourne’s inner west.
Metro Trains is already reporting that the subway at Ascot Vale station is inaccessible as it’s full of water.
⛔ Ascot Vale: No access to pedestrian subway at Ascot Vale station due to flooding.
• Alternative access across rail lines at Ascot Vale is available via the Bloomfield Rd underpass or Maribyrnong Rd overpass.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused. pic.twitter.com/Xy4ipa7CF5
— Metro Trains (@metrotrains) November 7, 2022
Paul Karp
In Estimates, the Australian government solicitor, Michael Kingston, has revealed fresh details of the public interest immunity claim that resulted in Afghanistan whistleblower David McBride withdrawing his Public Interest Disclosure Act defence.
Kingston said the claim was made by the Department of Defence way back in June 2021 but new correspondence on 18 October 2022 qualified the claim by identifying eight documents (two whole documents, and sections of six others) and asserting public-interest immunity over them.
The claim is designed to protect confidential information where disclosure would harm the public interest – such as security, defence or international relations of Australia and the proper functioning of a government.
Advocates are still pressuring the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, to discontinue the prosecution.
For some background on this case:
Minister pays tribute to outgoing president of Fair Work Commission
The minister for employment and workplace relations, Tony Burke, has released a statement regarding the resignation of Justice Iain Ross from the Fair Work Commission, as we noted earlier. Burke describes him a “man of great intellect and integrity”, saying his tenure has been “outstanding”.
His commitment to fairness, decency and justice hasn’t wavered in his ten years on the Commission.
His open and transparent approach has been an enormous asset – working in the interests of both workers and employers.
Justice Ross has served governments on both sides of politics and he is held in high regard by all.
He’s maintained the reputation of the Commission in the eyes of the public during turbulent times, particularly the lockdown period of the pandemic.
The Fair Work Commission is an institution the Australian people rely on and trust. As president, Justice Ross has cemented that trust.
Burke also charges Ross with some responsibility for fruit pickers receiving a minimum hourly wage, the government’s legislation for 10 days of family and domestic violence leave and other pay increases to workers.
Kristy McBain, the minister for regional development, local government and territories has been speaking just now about flooding assistance, but there isn’t very much new in there – she’s just noting that a bunch of disaster payments have been made today and referring to the various other supports the government has put in place.
There’s a dixer to the assistant treasurer, Stephen Jones, about scams – which descends into an attack on the opposition:
Jones:
Yes we have a lot of work to do to protect people who have disadvantage and who are vulnerable to scams but it is not just them. From the highest of those in the country to the public in the regions, all have fallen victim to scams. Crypto scams, romance scams, investment scams, invoice-interception scams. This is a legacy that we have inherited.
The member for Deakin has had a fair bit to say throughout question time. He has just gone quiet. There is a very good reason that he has gone quiet. This issue is beyond politics. But it is not beyond incompetence and it is not beyond indifference. On his watch it doubled and then it doubled again. The member for Deakin had more people working on branch-stacking in his office. This is his legacy! This is his legacy! No wonder he had so much to say.
There’s some argy-bargy now about whether or not the PM is answering a question about gas prices. Peter Dutton claims he is not; Albanese claims he is.
Dutton:
The question was: prime minister, at your budget how much will gas prices go up by? Mr Speaker, he refuses to answer a basic question.
Albanese:
I am certainly talking about gas which is what the question is about. Not the gas coming from those opposite. But the gas in the system that we need. And what we used to have was, we used to have questions of the minister…
There’s commotion.
Albanese:
He’s yelling. He is very angry, Mr Speaker.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has just finished speaking in response to a question about the government’s desire to host the 2026 COP – despite Australia being “one of the biggest fossil fuel exporters, with a further 114 new coal and gas projects in the pipeline.” Will he now commit to not opening any new coal or gas projects?
Albanese:
The government will be implementing the plan that we took to the election, our Powering Australia plan and our plan to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030. Our plan to engage with our Pacific neighbours. At the Pacific Islands Forum, which the prime minister hosted in Fiji, it was clear to me that the entry card to get into discussions around the globe is action on climate change, is taking climate change seriously. The fact is that the communique from that summit, from the Pacific Islands Forum welcome the Australian government’s new position, welcomed it.
It goes on much like this. No commitment, in other words.
Lovely readers, this is Stephanie Convery – I’m just jumping in unexpectedly because poor Amy Remeikis has lost internet at her house thanks to a big storm. Please bear with me while I attempt to catch up and with Amy while she tries to get back online!
Independent MP Allegra Spender has one of the crossbench questions today and, like most of the crossbench questions, it’s an actual question about policy.
(It’s still a surprise to hear someone ask something that matters beyond a political gotcha)
Allegra Spender:
A question for the prime minister. Do you agree that real effective wage rises in low-paid industries can be achieved through the awards as has been shown this week in the aged care awards, rather than through complex IR read legislation not taken to the election, delaying wage rises in protective negotiations?
Anthony Albanese:
I will start and ask the minister [for employment and workplace relations, Tony Bourke] to continue as well. I thank the member for Wentworth for her question and constructive engagement in this house. I think it is, though not credible to say to say that we did not take our policy to lift wages to the election.
We were very very clear, very very clear we would make clear that we would want to lift the wages and make submissions to those about those on minimum wage and the aged care workforce.
We were clear that we would make secure work an objective of the Fair Work Act. We were very clear that we would make gender-pay equity an objective of the Fair Work Act.
One of the things that is very clear on why we need to change the industrial relations system is that not only had real wages gone backwards over the previous decade, as a deliberate policy of the then-government, is that the feminised industries – people like our cleaners, our early learning educators, our aged care worker is, our disability care workers – have copped the brunt of the holding back of wages in this country.
That is why a fairer country deserves a fairer industrial relations system. That is what our secure work better pay bill will do. We believe there is a need to reform the system.
That was something we took and engaged very much with business and continue to do so, as well as with the unions.
We did so at the jobs and skills summit here. It is one of the challenges we need to meet and the Reserve Bank Governor made it clear that we need to lift wages, that it was something holding back the economy. And that is why our legislation is worthy of support by this parliament, because we believe very clearly we have a mandate for it…
Tony Burke:
I thank the member for Wentworth in the way she has engaged with this debate and the further conversations that are yet to happen. I do have to note as to why we do not just rely on the reward system – people with enterprise agreements [get paid] more and get more flexibility and productivity. They do provide a better outcome but are largely less available if you are a small business or medium-sized business unless available if it is a feminised workforce. If you deliver the pay rise in productivity, it is a much better outcome.
Liberal party deputy leader, Sussan Ley, has a prop (I think it is a front page) as she continues to find her groove as the opposition’s attacker-in-chief and Milton Dick (who was once thrown out of question time for using muppets as a prop) immediately tells her to lose the paper.
She does not.
Ley:
My question is to the prime minister and I refer the prime minister to the front page of the Australian on May 2, 2022, entitled Life will be cheaper under me, when the prime minister says that Labor has lasting plans to cheaper mortgages and electricity and given they confirmed it will rise 55% and interest rates have gone up six times since the election, how can the prime minister seriously suggest that life is cheaper under Labor? Why won’t he say sorry for yet another broken promise?
Dick is annoyed. Perhaps Ley could consider bringing in a muppet?
I specifically asked you not to use a prop and if she does it again shall be asked to leave the house. I cannot be clearer than that. That goes to every member in the house.
Nice try! I give the call to the prime minister.
Albanese:
Thank you, Mr Speaker, I always read the front page of the Australian and I read the front page of every paper in the country to try to keep on top of where things are. A couple weeks later, in May, in May, the first interest rate increase occurred by the Reserve Bank and I thought they were in government at that point in time. But what we also know there was also scheduled to be an increase in energy prices, in wholesale prices, at the same time. But I didn’t get to read about that on the front page of the Australian. I didn’t get to read about it! I wonder why that is the case?
Because it was scheduled to occur, scheduled to occur, during the campaign, just like the interest-rate increase occurred during the campaign but when you know about one but we didn’t know about the other one. When knew about one but not the other.
And we do not know about the other because someone, someone…
Who? Who was that! Someone, … someone introduced, actually introduced a change in the law so that, so that people could not know that there was this wholesale price scheduled to occur.
Why would they do that?
And what date did they pick?
What date did they pick? Because election was on May 21 so did they pick the day before May 21 or after May 21? Hands up those who think they pick the day after? Hands up those who think they pick the day after? You are all correct. They pick the day after because they were not transparent. They were not transparent about what they had intended and what they had intended as a result of this…
(Hands up never works well in this parliament)
Before the opposition can object, Albanese decides he has concluded his answer.
Question time begins
Peter Dutton:
My question is to the prime minister. Last week I met with Louis and Tess who run a Cafe in Fairfield. They were promised that the Labor government would bring down power prices by $275 a year. They are facing a 56 per cent rise in power prices over the next two years and are forced to take measures like turning off the air conditioning to try and rein in surging costs. Will the prime minister apologise to families and businesses like the one Louis and Tess run for not delivering on his $275 commitment cut electricity prices?
Anthony Albanese:
I thank the leader of the opposition for his question. We stand by the evidence which is that renewables are the cheapest form of power. And the best way to get power prices down is to get renewables up. And that is exactly what this budget has done. Nearly $24 billion for clean energy investing in renewable energies, offshore wind, pumped hydro, community batteries and solar banks. All of it making up for a decade of neglect, a decade of denial, a decade of chaos.
We had on those opposite’s watch four gigawatts leave the system and one gigawatt come in.
That is what occurred. From those opposite. Common sense tells you that with demand and supply, if you have less supply, but demand is going up then you will have pressure when it comes to prices.
But, of course, those opposite were too busy fighting for power amongst themselves to worry about generating power for the country. That is essentially the problem that occurred. That is essentially the problem that occurred. They had a rotation of ministers, they had every time that we had the potential of an energy policy being adopted, even ones that could’ve adopted with bipartisan support, instead of adopting them they rolled the leader. That is what occurred. They were too busy worrying about their own power squabbles.
Paul Fletcher steps in:
Mr Speaker on relevance. I ask that you follow in the tradition of Speaker Jenkins and direct the prime minister to make the material to the question at hand not some kind of historical explosion. He is looking for every reason to avoid answering the question.
Tony Burke counters:
To the point of order, this was hardly the type of question that went for the full 30 seconds available and asked what the impacts were on a cafe in Fairfield electricity prices. The prime minister is going to exactly why there is pressure on those families and those households and right now.
Dick says the PM is in order and we move on
Thank you very much Mr Speaker. Of course, what we know is that there are two big reasons why there are pressure on prices at the moment. One of which is I have outlined already, the failure of those opposite to actually build enough supply to generate power in the country, because they were too busy worried about power struggles within themselves. By the second of course, is – and this might be a news release for those opposite – the fact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to global power prices rising that has occurred throughout the entire world. It seems oblivious to those opposite that this has occurred, but it is just a fact.
Fair Work Commission boss retires
Paul Karp
The head of the Fair Work Commission, Justice Iain Ross, has announced his retirement, effective 18 November.
Ross, who has served 10 years and 8 months as president, was a federal court judge appointed to head the industrial tribunal during the Gillard government.
In a statement to FWC staff, Ross said:
“We have recently concluded the review of modern awards; our digitalisation strategy is on track and we are meeting or exceeding all of our performance targets. Of course there is always more to be done. But at some point all things end. And for me, now is the right time. We are in good shape as an institution and are well placed to successfully implement any legislative change determined by parliament. Leaving now will mean that whoever is chosen as my successor will be fully involved in the implementation of those changes from the outset, rather than splitting that responsibility between myself and the next president. I think it is in the interests of the institution that there is continuity of leadership through the implementation of any legislative change.”
Ross’ replacement will be one of the most significant appointments the Albanese government will make: with power over annual minimum wage reviews, award reviews and equal pay cases. The Fair Work Commission is an extremely powerful body, setting pay and conditions for millions of Australians.
Just on Friday the FWC awarded a 15% pay increase to workers in the aged care sector.
