‘I welcome the contest of ideas’: Ley
While the opposition is trying to turn up the heat on the government, it’s still facing plenty of volcanic action internally with public and private frustrations aired, and of course the very public quitting of Andrew Hastie from the frontbench.
Ley isn’t keen to get into the nitty gritty, after it was revealed yesterday MP Mary Aldred spoke up against the infighting during a Liberal partyroom meeting.
Asked about the comments, she says she “will not reflect conversations within our partyroom”.
I welcome the contest of ideas.
We did suffer a significant defeat at the last election and people are having their say and I welcome that.
Key events
Put the party ‘introspection’ on a deadline, says Leeser
The Liberals are somewhat battling to keep the attention on the government, over their internal infighting.
It was revealed on Tuesday that one Liberal MP, Mary Aldred, who only just joined the parliament in May, was not too happy about the public sniping taking place.
On RN, Julian Leeser is asked if the party risks looking like a “clown show” if the resignations and disunity continue – as said by Liberal backbencher Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (who herself was booted off the frontbench by Ley).
Leeser’s not really keen to delve in.
After two election losses, it’s reasonable that the political parties have a period of introspection, but that period can’t be particularly long. And I think that Australians want us to focus on the issues that are at hand.
Pressed on what he thinks about those within the party who are leaking, Leeser says people need to focus on their actual job. And as to who will replace Andrew Hastie on the frontbench? That’s “a matter entirely for Sussan”.
‘There’s an epidemic of child sexual abuse’: shadow attorney general
The Coalition is pushing for mandatory minimum sentencing for child sexual abuse offences. They’ve cited the case of a Victorian parent who was given a two and a half year sentence – after sexually abusing their five year old daughter on at least 19 occasions.
The shadow attorney general, Julian Leeser, told RN Breakfast this morning Australians are “very concerned” about the level of child abuse in the country.
The report of the Australian Centre for Countering Child Exploitation came down recently and it evidenced that there were over 82,000 reports of online child sexual abuse that have been reported to it. That’s an average of 266 reports a day. That’s an epidemic of child sexual abuse.
Asked whether the government is considering the bill, Leeser said:
I understand that she’s [attorney general Michelle Rowland] open to this legislation. She’s acknowledged that when we passed laws under the Morrison government to put in place mandatory minimums for child sexual offences, they worked.
And that’s correct because they saw increases in guilty pleas, they saw increases in people undergoing rehabilitation, but most importantly, they saw increases in sentences.
Government prepares for return of more Australian citizens from Islamic State
Australian authorities are preparing for the return of more women and children from former Islamic State caliphates in the Middle East, AAP reports.
Two women and four children who are Australian citizens have returned to Australia after smuggling themselves out of Syria to Lebanon, where they were issued Australian passports after passing security checks.
The women, who had travelled or were taken to Syria to become partners of ISIS members, and their children, had been living in refugee camps in Syria after the collapse of the terrorist group.
It has stirred up a political storm for the Albanese government as the opposition criticises their return, saying it had been kept secret from the public amid community safety concerns.
The federal government says they arrived on their own volition and were not assisted or repatriated by Australian authorities.
Stephen Nutt, an assistant commissioner at the Australian federal police, said authorities were preparing for the arrival of more people under similar circumstances, but would not confirm how many due to possible fluctuations.
Nutt also refused to confirm the location of the six people, saying there were ongoing investigations after their return which were part of the federal police’s management of “Australians of counter-terrorism interest offshore,” he told Senate estimates:
I can assure you that we have appropriate investigations, criminal investigations under way in relation to those who require criminal investigation as part of an Australian cohort offshore and their return.
Ley denies leaking Dutton comments on Liberal election review
Sussan Ley says she did not leak reported comments by Peter Dutton to the Liberal election review to the media.
On Monday Nine papers reported leaked comments by the former Liberal leader criticising Andrew Hastie. One of the reviewers, Nick Minchin, later told the paper Dutton did not directly criticise his shadow ministers.
It was later reported Ley told a partyroom meeting on Tuesday that the leak did not come from her.
On the Today show this morning, host Karl Stefanovic asked why she felt the need to defend herself when she wasn’t accused of the leak. Ley said:
I’ve obviously explained to my party room processes that relate to the review, Karl, and they’ve been takeouts by the media and commentators. As you would expect. I don’t go into those internal conversations or what is discussed, except to say we do have a vigorous debate about the contest of ideas.
Vigorous debate indeed.
Opposition claim Glencore copper bailout is ‘massive failure in economic policy’
The opposition has been critical of the government’s bailout of the Glencore copper smelter, calling it a “massive failure in economic policy”.
On News Breakfast, Sussan Ley said the $600m lifeline appears to be a “Band-Aid”.
Her shadow finance spokesperson, James Paterson, told Sky News a bit earlier the government should be creating an environment where bailouts aren’t necessary.
What would make great financial sense is providing the basic public policy settings that meant that it wasn’t necessary to bail out so many heavy industries and smelters, as this government has now been forced to do.
But when your taxes are higher, when your red tape is greater, and when your energy prices in particular, are going through the roof unfortunately, good businesses like this … are becoming unviable.
Opposition continues attacks over triple-zero outage
Opposition leader Sussan Ley has again attacked communications minister Anika Wells over the government’s handling of the Optus outage in September.
Continuing her media rounds, she joined ABC News Breakfast, and called for Wells to take more responsibility.
We are asking the government what on earth is going on … when lives are on the line, you don’t side with the telcos. You don’t jet off to New York. You don’t cover up your failures. These are three things the communications minister has actually done.
The minister has pointed the finger at everyone but the processes that she, as minister, is responsible for. So we are asking the questions of this government because ultimately it’s their responsibility.
Yesterday the Coalition unsuccessfully tried to move a motion to set up a parliamentary inquiry into the triple zero system (which was supported by the crossbench) and tried to move amendments to the government’s bill which enshrined a triple zero custodian into law.
Some experts believe rents could fall under 5% mortage deposit scheme, but others predict increased demand
Lower rents will be a bonus consequence of rules allowing first home buyers to get a mortgage with just a 5% deposit, analysts say, even though the policy is likely to push up property prices, AAP reports.
The key election promise from Labor was aimed at making it easier for young Australians to get on the property ladder. Allowing more people to buy their own house or unit could also reduce demand for rentals and pressure on rents, Domain’s chief of research and economics, Nicola Powell, said:
What that will do is fast-track a lot of tenants transitioning to being homeowners, which should also help ease the demand.
But experts warn the decision to remove a barrier to getting a mortgage – saving for a deposit – could increase demand among homebuyers.
Treasury modelling suggests cheaper deposits will push up house prices by half a percent over six years, but the insurance council has warned the impact could be as large as 10% in the first year alone.
A report from Domain, released on Thursday, also shows the string of rapid rent increases over the past three years has likely come to an end, with rent growth across Australia’s combined capital cities remaining flat for two consecutive quarters.
House and apartment rents are at record highs, but they’ve remained mostly steady over the past quarter.
Will Australia’s east coast get a gas reserve?
There have been growing calls for an east coast gas reserve to help combat sky high gas prices, including a push from the Bluescope steel CEO yesterday.
RN Breakfast’s host, Sally Sara, asks Ayres whether the government will implement one. Ayres says the energy minister, Chris Bowen, is leading a review of the gas market and there’s a “proper cabinet-style process” under way:
We will do a careful piece of work here. In the last term of government, we intervened on gas prices following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and the impact that had in global energy markets in order to support, of course, households, but also industry.
Gas is absolutely critical for sections of Australian industry … It’s a critical transition fuel to lower Australia’s industrial emissions.
And what about the issue of Japanese companies on-selling Australian gas to other Asian nations and the profit they make from that – will the government do something about it?
Ayres says he won’t speculate about the government’s approach but they’re “engaged in a process now”.
We’re a big exporter of gas, and it’s reasonable that I think for Australian industry and for Australians to say we need to make sure there is sufficient gas for Australian industry.
Ayres defends government bailout of copper smelter
Back in Canberra after a quick visit up to far north Queensland, Tim Ayres says yesterday’s $600m announcement to give the Glencore copper mine a lifeline was to protect a “really important strategic national industry” for Australia.
Speaking to ABC RN Breakfast, Ayres says the Australian industry has faced a tough global market and unfair trade practices.
This is a critical industrial capability for Australia. We have vast reserves of copper ore, and there is global trade imbalances, subsidies in some markets, volatility that is making it an unfair playing field for Australian copper producers in global markets. We need to see that.
Asked specifically whether he’s referring to China, Ayres says “it’s certainly not the only market where there is subsidies”.
‘I welcome the contest of ideas’: Ley
While the opposition is trying to turn up the heat on the government, it’s still facing plenty of volcanic action internally with public and private frustrations aired, and of course the very public quitting of Andrew Hastie from the frontbench.
Ley isn’t keen to get into the nitty gritty, after it was revealed yesterday MP Mary Aldred spoke up against the infighting during a Liberal partyroom meeting.
Asked about the comments, she says she “will not reflect conversations within our partyroom”.
I welcome the contest of ideas.
We did suffer a significant defeat at the last election and people are having their say and I welcome that.
Opposition questions government’s support for Australians who return from Syrian detention camp
Sussan Ley is on the media rounds this morning, and also pressing the government over its involvement in the return of the six Australians.
There’s a couple of key areas the opposition is pushing this week, this is one and the other big one has been Optus.
Ley tells Sunrise “something appears to have been done” by the government to support the repatriation of these women and children, as Labor has repeated lines that no help was provided.
In June we were told by the prime minister and his ministers that they did not know anything about this and they had no knowledge. Passports and citizenship papers they don’t create themselves. Something appears to have been done to support the repatriation of these individuals who willingly left our shores to join a death cult… They [Anthony Albanese and Tony Burke] are not confessing to what they knew and what assistance they have provided.
When host Nat Barr points out that the government also repatriated women and children from the Syrian detention camps, Ley says “we repatriated orphans, this is very different”.
Labor under pressure over Australian repatriates from Syrian detention camp
The government is still facing heat over the return of six Australians from a Syrian detention camp.
The opposition went hard on it at estimates last night, with security agencies revealing home affairs minister Tony Burke’s office was briefed about their intention to return in June.
This morning, the cabinet minister Tim Ayres – who’s also doing the media rounds after announcing a joint state and federal bail out of the Glencore copper smelter in Mt Isa – is facing plenty of questions on it.
On the Today show, he was at pains to say the government did not provide them any support to return.
We have taken the approach as a government not to provide assistance and the job of our security agencies in relation to these people, but also other people who they make an assessment about themselves, is to make sure that we keep Australians safe.
Ayres was on a panel with Independent MP Dai Le, who yesterday asked for assurances during question time that the six wouldn’t be resettled in her seat of Fowler in western Sydney, where she represents a large multicultural population.
I don’t buy the line that there’s no assistance.
I [have] the most multicultural electorate in the country that has large population of Assyrian communities … these communities fled the ISIS regime.
And so therefore, if there’s no transparency about where being resettled and I asked [for] guarantees yesterday that they’re not going to be resettled in my area of Fowler …
Krishani Dhanji
Good morning,
Krishani Dhanji here with you, for another day of parliamentary shenanigans, and we’ve got plenty to look forward to. Thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started.
Estimates (which went a bit wild yesterday with new revelations around the Optus outage) continues so we’ll have eyes on that, but before then Sussan Ley is doing the media rounds this morning trying to push a bill for mandatory minimum sentencing for child sexual offences.
The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, when asked about it yesterday said the government was “open” to ideas to combat child abuse. But mandatory minimum sentencing goes against Labor’s platform (despite them voting for mandatory minimum sentencing for terror offences earlier this year).
Stick with us, it’s going to be a busy one!
Man killed in shooting in Sydney’s north-west
In some non-politics news: a man has been shot dead in Sydney’s north-west in the latest shooting to hit the city, Australian Associated Press reports.
Emergency services were called to Riverstone at 6pm last night following reports of a shooting.
A man was found with gunshot wounds and died at the scene despite the efforts of paramedics. He is yet to be identified.
A car was found on fire just a few hundred metres away, raising suspicions that the shooting was a gang-related hit.
Cait Kelly
Almost half of total capital gains tax discount went to those earning over $1m in 2022-23
Nearly 50% of the capital gains tax discount went to just 24,000 people who earned over $1m in 2022–23, according to an Oxfam Australia report.
On average, each of these individuals gained a staggering $271,000 from the capital gains tax discount on profits from the sale of assets and investments – almost 1,500 times the benefit received by an average worker.
If the government scrapped the capital gains discount, it could restore around $22.7bn to the budget per year, the analysis found.
Oxfam Australia’s acting chief executive, Chrisanta Muli, said:
Our tax system is deepening inequality because it fails to tax wealth. For decades, Australia has been becoming a nation for the wealthy, not workers.
Today, billions of dollars in budget revenue is given away to the wealthiest in the form of tax discounts and because our tax system does not effectively tax the super-rich.
Instead, it allows them to amass wealth and fund lavish lifestyles through untaxed growth in assets and investments. It’s time we tax income from wealth like wages, and that starts by scrapping the 50% capital gains discount on profits from sales of investments.
Judges to rule on Sydney Palestine protest
Thousands of protesters will discover whether they can rally at Sydney Opera House as a trio of judges rule on the legality of a pro-Palestine demonstration, Australian Associated Press reports.
Police challenged the Palestine Action Group’s proposed protest in the NSW court of appeal.
Organisers believe Sunday’s march, if approved, will see about 40,000 people wind through Sydney’s city centre to the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House. But police believe the number could be greater and would cause a safety risk.
The judges, who are due to deliver a decision today, also raised concerns over crowd safety during earlier hearings.
Comparing the protest to a massive August rally at the Sydney Harbour Bridge, where between 90,000 and 300,000 marched in the rain, the chief justice, Andrew Bell, said even more could attend Sunday’s event.
He also noted Macquarie Street could become a “narrow funnel” that pushes protesters into a tight space.
But the organiser’s barrister, Felicity Graham, said previous unticketed events at the Opera House, like the popular light show Vivid, were managed capably. Read more here:
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then Krishani Dhanji will be your guide.
A ruling is expected at the NSW appeal court this morning over whether or not a pro-Palestine march can take place in Sydney this weekend. Police have asked for the rally to be banned on public safety grounds. More shortly.
And a new study by Oxfam has shown that the benefits of the capital gains tax discount are overwhelmingly enjoyed by the country’s best-off.
