1 month ago
Plibersek says Zali Steggall subjected to ‘unparliamentary behaviour’ from Liberals and s
The environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, has told Sky News why she and other Labor colleagues went and sat with Zali Steggall during the Palestinian visa motion Peter Dutton was attempting to move:
It was because she was just being shouted at so much by the Liberals and s. We could barely hear her. There was just a wall of noise being directed at her and she was standing there alone speaking.
I mean, if you’re talking about unparliamentary behaviour, the wall of noise and interjection she was facing from the Liberals and s was really extraordinary. And I don’t think anybody should face that sort of behaviour in a workplace.
Asked if the “wall of noise” was because of Steggall’s “stop being racist” comment, Plibersek said:
It was actually so loud and constant that it was pretty hard to pick out individual comments or even who was making them. It was really a wall of noise. But can we go, I think, to the substantive issue here? I think what Peter Dutton was doing in the parliament was once again seeking to win votes by frightening and dividing Australians.
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Reid MP Sally Sitou also gave a 90-second speech on the impact of visa policies:
My family has experienced the devastating consequences of conflict.
My mother felt the desperation of carrying her baby as she fled across the Mekong River.
They lived the uncertainty of waiting in a refugee camp.
My family has also experienced hope.
They’ve experienced the safety and refuge this country provided them.
And I have benefitted from the opportunities Australia has given me.
And I’m grateful – everyday I’m grateful.
My family’s story was only possible because men and women in this place turned to the better angels of their nature.
In 1977, then Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser developed Australia’s first comprehensive refugee policy, one year later, my family arrived in this country.
This is my direct appeal to the Leader of Opposition.
Do not stoke fear in our communities.
Do not undermine the work of our security agencies because they are doing the important work of security vetting to keep us safe.
Do not undermine public trust in these institutions.
From the daughter of migrants who had to flee conflict, this is my message to the Leader of the Opposition.
I am appealing to the better angel of your nature.
Be the person we need you to be, someone who aims to unite not divide.
Josh Burns continued:
We do not have an immigration policy based on religion or race. We have not had one for a long time and we should never go back.
Our security agencies have a process where they look at every single person who is seeking a visa.
Anyone currently fleeing Gaza is also checked by Egypt and Israel.
10 months ago on October 7, Hamas committed barbaric and unspeakable crimes against Israeli people.
Of course, anyone who supports those crimes should not be coming into this country.
But the Palestinian people of Gaza, like my family and friends in Israel, did not choose this war and we must maintain our humanity and respect human rights for all.
‘Collectively categorising people fleeing from war is harmful’, Josh Burns says
The member for Macnamara, Josh Burns, has delivered an emotional statement in the house, saying Australia can not go back to race-based migration policies.
In 1938, the Evian conference was convened in France where delegates from 32 countries around the world gathered to discuss options for settling Jewish refugees fleeing Europe.
Australia’s delegate, Colonel White, infamously said “we have no real racial problem; we are not desirous of importing one”.
My grandmother was one of the 9,000 European Jews who made it into Australia in 1939 before the war.
She was included in that approach by Colonel White as potentially importing a racism problem into this country.
But she, of course did not, nor was she any threat.
She was a teacher, held multiple degrees and was a proud Australian.
Back then it was my community, today it is another. But our approach should be the same.
I am in full support of having a sensible conversation about our national security and our immigration policy.
But collectively categorising people fleeing from war is harmful.
(continued in next post)
gender pay gap is the lowest on record (but still 11.5%)
In a tiny bit of good news, new ABS data shows the national gender pay gap is the lowest on record.
In not so good news, it is still 11.5%.
It has fallen from 14.1% in May 2022 and since then the average woman’s earnings have increased by $173.80 a week.
Anthony Albanese said it’s “not a coincidence”:
It’s because the government has taken action like banning pay secrecy clauses, modernising the bargaining system, enforcing transparent gender pay gap reporting and delivering pay rises for aged care and childcare workers.
Sarah Basford Canales
The borders to leave Gaza, and in particular the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border, have been closed for months, meaning there are few opportunities to leave the conflict zone.
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, confirmed in question time on Wednesday that 2,922 visas have been granted to Palestinians since 7 October 2023. More than 7,100 have been rejected.
Peter Dutton earlier denied the opposition’s stance was against “people of a particular religious belief” or political persuasion.
On 2GB, Dutton reiterated the point:
There are millions and millions and millions of people who want to come and live in Australia tomorrow, and why the government’s deciding to take people from a war zone without doing the proper checks, without even a face-to-face interview, and to bring them here on a tourist visa. If that’s racist, well, you know, it’s a strange definition of it.
The Asio boss, Mike Burgess, on Sunday urged politicians “to be careful about their robust political debate” amid the turbulent times, warning it could “drive violence in our society”.
Sarah Basford Canales
Dutton accuses Zali Steggall of holding ‘extreme views’
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has accused Zali Steggall of holding “extreme views” after she told him to “stop being racist” in parliament this morning.
The heated debate was sparked after the opposition attempted to disrupt the House of Representatives on Thursday morning over granting of visas to Palestinians fleeing the conflict in Gaza.
Dutton said on Wednesday there should be a temporary blanket ban on visas for Palestinians seeking to enter Australia from the conflict zone “at the moment” due to an unspecified “national security risk”.
Steggall, the independent member for Warringah, rose to oppose the Coalition’s motion, describing it as “extremely concerning” and “whipping up a sense of fear”. As Dutton interjected over her, Steggall responded: “We heard you in silence. You can hear me in silence. Stop being racist!”
She withdrew the comment to assist the house.
Dutton told 2GB radio shortly after it “didn’t come as any surprise” because of Steggall’s political views.
He said:
I mean, people who know Zali Steggall know that she’s really a Green, and they hold these extreme views … we shouldn’t be bullied into accepting a migration program which is not in our country’s best interests.
Dutton says missed deadline for Liberal candidates in number of council elections ‘disappointing’
Peter Dutton has spoken to 2GB, where he was asked about a “variety” of topics (I’m sure you can fill in the blanks) including the NSW secretariat missing the deadline to nominate Liberal candidates in a number of council elections:
Well, it’s, it’s disappointing would be the polite way to put it. And I hope that they can sort out … The mess is obviously an administrative error where they haven’t submitted the forms on time. And you’re right, that’s, it’s not acceptable. And those discussions are taking place at the moment. We want, you know, to make sure that there is a proper administrative process put in place. And they failed in that regard. And it’s very, very disappointing to see.
Much of the House has been busy with the Future Made in Australia legislation debate, which has been going on since a little after 10am.
But the chamber will move into 90-second statements very soon (also known as the MP airing of the grievances) and, from there, it will role into question time.
As we wait the committee report into murdered and missing Indigenous women and children, here are some figures which should shock you.
And not least because it is incomplete:
We are in the last hour before question time. It has been QUITE the morning, so if you need a little moment to regroup after everything we have heard so far, please take it.
Politics is not an easy listen at the best of times, so take whatever break you need.
Lorena Allam
Government to release national report on missing and murdered First Nations women and children
This afternoon, the federal government will release its landmark national report on Missing and murdered First Nations women and children.
The Djirra chief executive and Change the Record co-chair, Antoinette Braybrook, said it is a “defining moment” for the nation.
Djirra has called for:
* Accurate and up-to-date data on the rate of violence against our women and children.
* Urgent investment in Djirra and other specialist frontline family violence prevention and legal services.
* Police must immediately and thoroughly investigate every report of violence against an Aboriginal woman or child – every time.
Braybrook said:
Truth is uncomfortable. It can be painful. But it must be spoken, written down and heard. And governments must act upon it.
You cannot un-hear us now.
We will always remember what the government does now. We are watching, and we will continue to demand change. This MUST NOT be another report that sits on a shelf gathering dust.
Tanya Plibersek says Dutton wants to ‘frighten and divide’ Australians
On Peter Dutton’s tactics specifically, Tanya Plibersek had this to say:
The sad fact is that engendering fear in the Australian community is a tactic and a tool that is not beyond Peter Dutton.
I think it’s very clear that he wants to frighten Australians into believing that he is somehow a tough man that can keep them safe. It’s all about the politics and it’s a terrible thing to seek to frighten and divide Australians for such reasons.
Tanya Plibersek said she thinks some of the “difficulties” in Gaza has led to the high refusal rate of visas.
But I would also say that the best thing that we can do as a nation is do our bit as part of the international community to urge immediate ceasefire, as we’ve been doing for nine months, to insist on hostage returns and greater humanitarian aid so people can stay safely at home. Most people who flee their homeland as refugees don’t want to flee.
They want to be safe at home. And so, yes, we need to make sure that as we issue any visas to Australia, that Australians are kept safe, that proper checks are done.
But the other thing that we are doing, as the government is putting every effort into supporting ceasefire, because it is only when Israelis and Palestinians can live safely side by side that we will see peace, real peace, in the Middle East.
