Labor senator Fatima Payman at the swearing-in ceremony of the new governor general, Sam Mostyn, at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.Photograph: Lukas Coch/EPA
Labor senator Fatima Payman at the swearing-in ceremony of the new governor general, Sam Mostyn, at Parliament House in Canberra on Monday.Photograph: Lukas Coch/EPA
NDIS changes would crack down on ‘trips to Japan’ and ‘cuddles therapists’, Shortensays
Bill Shortenhas also called on the Greens and the opposition to support his proposed changes to the National Disability Insurance Scheme so he can crack down on participants “taking cruises or trips to Japan” and “cuddles therapists”.
The NDIS minister has been on somewhat of a warpath after the opposition and crossbench created an unholy alliance against his changes, saying there were concerns about the speed of the bill’s consultation process.
Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, Shorten said the Coalition’s role in delaying the bill would cost the “national credit card” around $1bn.
We want to make sure that people are not buying jewellery and watches. We want to make sure that people aren’t taking cruises or trips to Japan. We want to make sure that we have legal costs not paid for by the NDIS.
We want to make sure that I’ve, you know, trampolines and these are ordinary matters… the problem is, because the legislation isn’t well enough drafted when the operational guidelines are tested in the courts, we lose.
So what we want to do is use section 10 of the draft bill to say this is in and this isn’t, yeah, that provides certainty for participants, means we use evidence-based therapies – like, the Liberals are now fighting to the death to spend an extra billion dollars so people can get cuddles therapy.
Bill Shorten unveils his ‘waste website’ last week.Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
Coalition announces plans for divestiture powers as ‘last resort’ to address supermarket price-gouging
TheCoalitionhas announced another policy – what a day.
It’s an amalgamation of the government’s mandatory code of conduct for the grocery giants and the Greens’ push for divesture powers.
The Coalition is announcing it would “introduce sector-specific divestiture powers as a last resort to manage supermarket behaviour and address supermarket price-gouging”.
A joint statement fromPeter Dutton,David Littleproudand the various related portfolio ministers said:
Divestiture powers will address serious allegations of land banking, anti-competitive discounting, and unfairly passing costs onto suppliers.
…The Coalition’s divestiture powers will have appropriate safeguards in place, ensuring divestiture won’t lead to a loss of jobs and services.
The Coalition will also strengthen the Food and Grocery Code by making it mandatory for supermarket chains with annual turnover of more than $5 billion for the current signatories – Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and Metcash. Supermarkets will face infringement notices of up to $2 million for contraventions of the Code.
Nationals will fight for live sheep export industry, Littleproud says
The Nationals leader,David Littleproud,says his party will fight for the live sheep export industry (which only exists in Western Australia) as he calls animal rights campaigners “morally bankrupt” for valuing the “welfare and life of a sheep in Australia” over life “in another country”.
The WA Nationals do not have federal representation in the parliament and there is no formal coalition of the WA Nats and Liberals.
Shorten on Payman: ‘We want her… let’s just work this issue through’
Labor senator Fatima Payman in parliament.Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
The NDIS minister,Bill Shorten,has said it’s “OK to sit on the bench” in response to the Labor senatorFatima Payman’s indefinite suspension for voting against the party in a motion on Palestinian statehood.
Labor MPs in caucus on Tuesday endorsed suspending the 29-year-old after she said she would cross the floor again if faced with another Senate motion to recognise the state of Palestine.
Shorten described Payman on Sky News as a “clever, smart and clearly very tough-minded person” but said she had been “benched” for breaking the party’s caucus rules. He said:
If you don’t want to agree with the strategy of the team, then it’s OK to sit on the bench. We want her. Let’s be clear. We want her and let’s just work this issue through.
The broader question you raise about having a binding caucus position, when you sign up, you can have that conversation, but you wouldn’t do it now in the heat of the kitchen. It’s lasted us a long time. If there’s calls for greater flexibility in the future, we need to have that at a considered way.
Shorten also used the appearance to praise Albanese’s handling of the saga.
[I] for one, think that the prime minister has handled it pretty much as best he can here by saying, all right, you feel strongly, we still want you in our party. And Fatima says she still wants to be in our party, but we’ve got to work out what the road rules are. And so, I think, time to think and work through how we do it. That’s just sensible, isn’t it?
The CFMEU demerger bill is being voted on in the Senate – but first there are the amendments which the opposition have put up to get through.
The legislation would allow the manufacturing division to be able to vote to leave the CFMEU. The mining and energy division had already voted to form its own body.
Just on that press conference Amy mentioned theCoalitionare holding ahead of QT; the Coalition partyroom discussed the grocery code of conduct, a party room spokesperson said earlier, indicating the opposition leader may have more to say on that issue (and a potential Coalition response or alternative idea) later today – so watch this space in a little bit.
Greens push for federal truth-telling and justice commission
Josh Butler
The Greens senatorDorinda Coxsays Australia’s Indigenous community “want some sense of hope” in the wake of the failed voice referendum last year, as her party launches its own push to set up a federal truth telling and justice commission.
Cox has urged the prime minister,Anthony Albanese,to get behind the push at the Garma festival in the Northern Territory next month, suggesting the government has been to slow to act since the referendum went down 60-40 last October.
“We are not buying the lines that ‘we are continuing to consult’,” Cox said, referencing the government’s common refrain when asked about its next steps in Indigenous affairs policy.
The Greens on Sunday outlined plans for a bill to set up a truth and justice commission, which would “be empowered to inquire into particular matters relating to historic and ongoing injustices against First Peoples in Australia and the impacts of these injustices on First Peoples, and make recommendations to parliament”.
Greens senator Dorinda Cox speaks during a press conference with David Shoebridge.Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
On Tuesday, Cox gave a press conference to further discuss the bill, which the Greens hope the government will back. She said:
The government’s focus has been very different from ours. Our policy has been very clear… we wanted to do truth telling, we thought it was really important. We didn’t want to drop the ball on this and we will continue to pursue this.
We already see truth telling and treaty processes happening across the country at state and local levels… we would hope that the government and the prime minister in particular will go to Garma this year and actually announce that they’re supporting this, that they’re actually going to put some money behind it to start the process.
Cox said the Greens wanted to see a wide range of people engaged in the co-design of such a process, “but we also see a sense of urgency”.
I thinkAunty Pat Anderson’s comments yesterday also reflect the sentiment in the community, that there is a real sense of pain post-voice referendum and that they want some sense of hope, and that’s what we hope this bill will do today.
Opposition who dubbed PM ‘Airbus Albo’ now outraged he isn’t travelling
The deputy Liberal leader,Sussan Ley,claimsAnthony Albanesedeclined a trip to Washington because “the Coalition is always in his head”, as the opposition – which has previously criticised his international travel – now mounts outrage because he isn’t travelling.
Both the opposition leader,Peter Dutton,and Ley poked fun at the prime minister’s non-attendance at an upcoming Nato meeting in their regular Coalition partyroom meeting today.
Dutton joked “that could be because of strife in the ranks, it could be because he’s considering an early election, there could be an urgent Rabbitohs commitment”.
According to a partyroom spokesperson, Dutton said:
Whatever it is, it’s becoming easier and he genuinely does not understand what people are going through.
Peter Dutton has stepped up criticism of the PM and told colleagues he will have ‘more to say in the coming weeks’ on energy, cost of living and social policy.Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Ley described the PM as “a man without courage or imagination”, and claimed Albanese wasn’t taking the trip because he was worried aboutCoalitionpressure. This is the same opposition who gleefully called him “Airbus Albo” and demanded he spend more time at home.
The Coalition partyroom speeches from the leaders had the flavour of an early election to them. Dutton said there would be “more to say in the coming weeks” from the Coalition on energy, cost of living and social policy.
Dutton told the partyroom:
Colleagues should rest assured that work is well under way.
