2 weeks ago
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Thank you, Tory Shepherd! Let’s get straight on with the remainder of the day’s news…
I’m handing the steering wheel over to the dazzling Daisy Dumas, as my brain is fried and frazzled from my first question time in a few moons. See you back here tomorrow!
Question time ends
And with a final thundering answer from the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, to a Dorothy dixer (inflation, tax cuts, surpluses, rinse and repeat), question time is done for today.
Sharkie has question about veterans’ graves charity
The independent MP for Mayo, Rebekha Sharkie, has a question on a charity, the Headstone Project, which finds veterans in unmarked graves in South Australian cemeteries. Their application for tax deductibility status has been refused.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says he’ll “have another look”:
We get many more applications that we can afford to fund. We do our best working closely with the minister to work out how we can impose some sort of order and priority on those, but if there has been some obvious issue here for this one then I am obviously happy to take another [look].
The opposition MP Dan Tehan raises a point of order about relevance and prompts chortles by introducing Slovakia to the debate (it’s not entirely clear why, but I just wasted a couple of minutes looking at Slovakia’s interest rates).
Chalmers says Taylor should acknowledge ‘very encouraging’ inflation data
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, says the Monetary Fund is predicting Australia’s inflation will be the second highest of any economy in 2015.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says he thinks Taylor means 2025. He goes on to say:
I think it is unfortunately dishonest of the shadow treasurer to ask a question about inflation without acknowledging the very welcome and very encouraging data we got last Wednesday.
The inflation we inherited at 6.1% is now 2.8%. If he wants to ask me a question about headline inflation, he shouldn’t have spent the last six months saying that headline inflation doesn’t matter, only underlying inflation matters. He has to make up his mind.
He says inflation peaked lower and later in Australia than in other countries, and says if Taylor wants to compare Australia with other countries he should acknowledge that they have higher unemployment than we do here.
Chalmers has another stab at Taylor, saying he assumes he has “someone who turns the IMF reports into little cartoons so he can understand” them.
Bandt asks why student debt relief cannot be introduced immediately
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, cheekily says he welcomes the government’s adoption of the Greens policy on student debt, but asks why it can’t be introduced immediately.
“I really do thank the member for Melbourne for that question,” Anthony Albanese says, and accuses the Greens of working with the Coalition to hold up the government’s legislation:
Take, for example, our help to buy legislation … something that we took to the last election, something just like what they did with the HAFF [the Housing Australia Future Fund], they actually have motions moved in the Senate between the Greens and the Coalition, where they defer things off into the never-never. And say we can’t talk about it.
Albanese says Labor has committed to a range of legislation it wants to get through this year and next year, and has committed to legislation for a second term.
“So we make no apologies for … saying what a re-elected Labor government will do,” he says.
Littleproud asks why Labor won’t back divestitures for the big supermarkets
The s leader, David Littleproud, asks the government why it won’t back the Coalition’s policy on divestitures for the big supermarkets.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says it’s a “really important issue”. He says the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has said using those powers was “unnecessary”:
If we get in at the start and prevent the kinds of mergers which are anti-competitive … we can get the right outcome without going towards these sorts of proposals. And one of the reasons why we should be very wary about the proposals that the leader of the s has put forward today is we want to make sure there are no unintended consequences.
Divestiture powers are a blunt instrument, they are rarely used in any other jurisdiction and frankly … we have better ways to crack down on anti-competitive behaviour, especially when it comes to supermarkets.
PM says inflation now has a ‘two in front of it’, thanks to Labor policies
The Liberal MP Jenny Ware asks the prime minister to say “without reference to the treasurer” what the cash rate is (Albanese famously stuffed up his answer to that question during the election campaign).
Albanese says:
We understand that interest rates have caused pressure on Australian households and, of course, interest rates, we have seen a series of increases, many of which began under the former government, to the point whereby the Reserve Bank will meet tomorrow … and the rate is of course 4.35%.
Albanese says inflation now has a “two in front of it”, because of Labor’s policies and budget surpluses, “something that would be unrecognisable by those opposite”:
One of the reasons why inflation wasn’t such a problem in Australia, as the Covid inquiry confirmed, was a wasteful expenditure giving $20bn to companies that were not seeing a decrease in their revenue, some of which were seeing an increase in their revenue.
Taylor brings up ‘household recession’ again
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, has brought up the “household recession” again – it’s what the opposition uses in place of “per capita recession”.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, says if the Liberals care, they should support Labor’s cost-of-living legislation:
If he really cared about living standards, he wouldn’t have left us [with] real wages falling very substantially … we’ve now turned that around and real wages are growing again.
And so if he cares about per capita circumstances and if he cares about living standards in our economy, he should be supporting our efforts to clean up the mess those opposite left behind.
He says GDP per capita went backwards under the former Liberal government:
We have acknowledged in a number of ways that growth in the Australian economy has been very soft. And people are doing it tough … if you care about per capita living standards in this economy, you have got two options. One option is to try to help people where you can – that’s our approach – and the other option is to oppose wage increases and cost-of-living help – which is the approach of those opposite.
Wilkie asks if Labor will crack down on pokie machines
The independent MP Andrew Wilkie asks the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, about gambling advertising, and whether Labor would crack down on pokie machines (Albanese said in October that pokies cause the majority of gambling harm).
Albanese says he doesn’t question the question (after the leader of the house, Tony Burke, said it “offended the standing orders”). Albanese says his quote about pokie machines was “just a fact”.
Now Albanese is responding to a question from the deputy opposition leader, Sussan Ley: “Is Australia in a household recession?” There’s some faffing around about the wording of the question.
Albanese says the government understands that households are under pressure:
It’s precisely why we gave a tax cut to every Australian taxpayer. All 13.6 million of them, not just some … what was going to happen under their plan was we were all going to get a tax cut, but lower and middle-income earners were going to miss out. We wait for their policy to claw back the tax cuts they have called waste.
His government “provided energy price relief for every single household”, Albanese says.
“In addition to that, we have provided for cheaper medicines, something those opposite also opposed and said would be a disaster. We’ve introduced 60-day dispensing, literally cutting the cost in half.”
He adds in the fee-free Tafe spots they’ve announced, cheaper childcare, etc, and says:
There’s not a single cost of living measure that those opposite are prepared to support.
After a Dorothy dixer to the education minister, Jason Clare, on (you guessed it) the policy to reduce student debt, there’s an early ejection under 94A – that’s for the WA Liberal Rick Wilson.
Question time under way with Dutton criticism of student debt relief
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, accuses the government of “reckless spending” on reducing student debt.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says his government has halved inflation, created a million jobs, and provided cost-of-living relief.
For some people, their interest is more than their original debt, he says, outlining the details you can read in this story:
The first thing we will do if we are re-elected is we will introduce legislation … 3 million people would benefit.
We’re also raising their student debt repayment threshold from $54,000 to $67,000 and lowering the repayment rate.
You will save $1,300 if you’re earning $65,000 a year. In addition to that, we are also making free Tafe permanent.
He says that will allow more tradies to build homes, more apprentices to get a start and more carers for loved ones:
We understand that education is the key to opening those doors of opportunity and we want to widen it. That is what this government is about and I’m proud of the announcements that we have made over the last few days. And over the coming days or weeks and months, there will be more about what our second term agenda looks like.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, also offers his condolences, and now question time is under way. Hold on to your hats!
Albanese pays tribute to ‘trailblazer’ Fay Marles
Just ahead of question time, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is giving his condolences on the death of the defence minister Richard Marles’ mother, Fay Marles. She was a “trailblazer”, he says:
She made a real difference and a lasting difference for women in particular but ultimately for the nation. Fay was appointed Victoria’s first equal opportunity commissioner following the introduction of the Equal Opportunity Act. She was the first woman to become deputy chancellor of Melbourne University in 1996.
She was the first woman to become chancellor of Melbourne University in 2001. And she was made a member of the Order of Australia in 1986.
Throughout her 98 years, Fay led a life that was full and complete and was about compassion for others and making a difference.
Amanda Meade
ABC’s David Anderson unable to attend Senate estimates
The outgoing ABC managing director, David Anderson, is unable to attend Senate estimates tomorrow due to a medical issue, the ABC chair, Kim Williams, has told the communications committee.
Anderson resigned in August, a year into his second term after a 35-year career at the ABC, and will remain in the role until the new year.
The acting managing director and chief financial officer, Melanie Kleyn, chief people officer, Deena Amorelli, director of news, Justin Stevens, and editorial director, Gavin Fang, will appear before the committee to answer questions.
Williams notified the chair of the environment and communications committee, Senator Karen Grogan, last week that Anderson had taken leave to attend to medical issues. A spokesperson said:
This is only the second time in more than six years as managing director that Mr Anderson has been unable to attend an estimates hearing.
The ABC takes the accountability mechanism provided by Senate estimates with great seriousness.
Anderson is due to return to work on 9 December.
