Dreyfus ‘stands by everything’ he said on antisemitism in parliament
Earlier as we reported, Peter Dutton backed the Coalition’s attempt to gag the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, in question time on Monday after he accused the opposition of politicising antisemitism.
Dreyfus has issued a statement in response to Dutton’s press conference remarks on Tuesday, saying he “stands by everything” he said.
I never thought I’d see the day when a Liberal leader would try to silence a Jew for speaking about antisemitism in the Australian parliament.
I stand by everything I said yesterday.
We need to put an end to the wave of antisemitism in this country, which is exactly what the government I am a part of has worked tirelessly to do. The only way that will happen is if there is unity and bipartisanship.
Key events
The first crossbench question (following a dixer to the industry minister on manufacturing) goes to independent Kate Chaney who asks:
Governments from both sides rely on bracket creep caused by inflation to increase tax over time and surreptitiously fund their additional spending. Do you agree that indexing tax brackets like 17 other OECD countries have done would stop us sleepwalking into greater reliance on income taxes and provide greater transparency for taxpayers about new spending?
Treasurer Jim Chalmers says there are a “range of suggestions” for where to go next on tax reform.
There are more or less – to oversimplify – three different ways that you can return bracket creep. There’s the way that member for Curtin is proposing. There’s the way those opposite were proposing, which is to just return bracket creep to people who are already on the highest incomes, or it’s the Labor way, the way that we have chosen to return bracket creep and as the Treasury analysis makes clear that we released a little over a year ago now, when we made the changes to the tax cuts, the way that we chose has positive benefits for workforce participation and other benefits as well.
The second question from the opposition is from Liberal MP Jenny Ware and goes to the health minister on GP clinics closing down.
27,000 small businesses have collapsed since the last election. Minister, how many GP clinics have closed since the election of the Albanese Labor government?
Butler says he’ll take that question on notice, and talks through bulk-billing rates around the country.
Butler announced this morning that their bulk-billing increases have created an additional six million bulk-billed GP visits – an average of 100,000 additional visits each week. He says:
When we came to government, I made it very clear that of all of the myriad pressures on our health care system – and there are many – with an ageing population more chronic disease and the impacts of a once-in-a-century pandemic, there are many pressures on our health care system, but of all of them, the one we have focused on more than any other is rebuilding general practice.
The first dixer goes to resources minister Madeleine King. She’s in a jolly mood as the Senate last night passed the production tax credits bill with the crossbench, but was not supported by the Coalition.
She points out that the policy has been supported by the opposition’s state colleagues in WA.
The Coalition has voted against the resources sector.
Dutton quizzes PM on negative gearing as question time gets under way
Peter Dutton stands up first and asks this:
My question is to the prime minister. Will the prime minister rule out any changes to negative gearing and capital gains treatment on property during his time as prime minister?
It’s a bit of a step change from what the opposition has been asking over the last fortnight.
As Albanese starts his answer, mentioning Labor’s $32bn housing policy, he gets a bit snarky: “We actually are a political party that is saying what we are doing. Now, I know that’s unfamiliar, unfamiliar to those opposite.”
That prompts a point of order from the opposition, and speaker Milton Dick seems like he does not want to deal with drama in the house today. He tells Dutton to “be quiet now for the remainder of the question”.
Albanese continues:
After three years in the job, this bloke has had three ideas. One – $10bn to fund long lunches for business. Two – $600bn to pay for nuclear reactors. Three – cuts to everything else to pay for them.
He doesn’t ask about the Housing Australia Future Fund. That’s so important, building social and affordable homes for people, providing additional housing for women and children escaping domestic violence, providing additional housing for Indigenous communities, just like he doesn’t ask us about help-to-buy or about all those tens of thousands of Australians who have been helped in to home ownership as a result of what we have put in place.
Kevin Andrew’s wife, Margaret, is sitting in the chamber, and following the condolences there’s a line of MPs from both sides going up to speak with her.
Andrews was the member for Menzies in Victoria, and the current member Keith Wolahan also spoke to the chamber on his legacy.
The prime minister is speaking before we get to questions, on the passing of former Liberal MP Kevin Andrews.
His life was, indeed, a very full story indeed. Our condolences to all who loved him. Our condolences to the Liberal party of Australia, an organisation that he loved and served with loyalty and with distinction. May Kevin Andrews rest in eternal peace.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton also speaks on the former minister, and offers his condolences.
Administrative Review Tribunal bill under consideration
We’re counting down to question time and it’s anyone’s guess what will go down in the chamber today.
In the meantime, senators have been voting on Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) legislation.
The ART was set up last year, to replace the AAT (Administrative Appeals Tribunal) that Labor said was stacked by the previous Coalition government, and wasn’t doing its job properly.
So far, some amendments to the bill have been agreed to (but the whole bill will need to wait until after question time to be voted on). Greens senator David Shoebridge says:
Last year the government tried to sneak through changes that would have had a devastating impact on people seeking asylum and migrants making it far harder to challenge migration and refugee decisions.
Human rights organisations, refugee advocates and the legal community were quick to come out against it and demand change, and today we got it.
Critical amendments we have negotiated with the government will also double the time from seven to 14 days for people in immigration to bring review applications in the Tribunal. This has been a longstanding call from refugee advocates and we are very glad to help make it happen.
Confidence the key to dealing with Trump, says former ambassador
Former Australian ambassador to the US Arthur Sinodinos, who was Australia’s representative at the tail end of the last Trump administration says Trump “needs to be taken by his word”.
Sinodinos tells Sky News Trump had foreshadowed putting in place tariffs before the election in November.
He believes tariffs is the most beautiful word in the English language. He believes that tariffs raise money for the US Treasury.
Sinodinos says he expects the trade minister Don Farrell will be in discussions with his counterparts, but believes a lot of the work on negotiating a carve out for Australia will be done by Ambassador Rudd and the embassy team in Washington DC.
A lot of Americans say the best way to handle someone like the president is to be confident, to go in there … to put stuff on the table that shows that you can work together for mutual benefit. So it’s all about how you conduct yourself. Because he is the sort of leader that he thinks if I’m dealing with someone weak, he’ll treat them accordingly.
Emily Wind
Union says moratorium on regional bank branch closures contains ‘no new safeguards’
The Finance Sector Union says the government’s announcement of a moratorium on regional bank branch closures until mid-2027 “contains no new safeguards” and is “effectively a statement of the banks’ status quo.”
FSU national president Wendy Streets said the CBA previously announced a moratorium until 2026, and Westpac and ANZ until at least 2027.
The union said today’s moratorium announcement doesn’t cover smaller banks and mutuals, “leaving thousands of regional customers out.” Streets said:
We are troubled by what we have seen in recent months with smaller banks making significant announcements about regional branch closures. For example, BOQ has already closed 14 branches and the union has fears for the remainder of the 114 owner-managed branches it has bought back.
And the People’s Choice bank are closing 20% of their network in April this year. This announcement does nothing to address that, it’s just more of the same from the Big Four.
The FSU said an agreement struck between the government and the major banks to increase regional services through Australia Post outlets was not a replacement for banking:
Auspost is not a bank and does not provide banking services to regional Australia. It’s only provides an ATM service: cash in and cash out.
It is calling on the government to commit to the recommendations of last year’s senate inquiry into regional bank closures, to declare banking an essential service and develop a mandatory industry code.
Waters accuses Labor of snubbing Greens and crossbench on electoral reform
The Greens senator Larissa Waters spoke a little earlier at parliament on the prospect of a deal between Labor and the Coalition on electoral reform.
Neither of the major parties have confirmed a deal has been agreed, but Waters says their negotiations have been “the worst [kept] secret, and we have been waiting months for the two big parties to reveal their collusion”.
The special minister of state, Don Farrell, says he’s been consulting widely on the bill to find a path through the Senate.
Waters says she’s still expecting an announcement on a deal today.
The two big parties are so happy to scratch their own backs with this arrangement, and they will do everything they can to lock out challenges to the two-party system as well.
It’s been clear from the outset that the Labor party only wanted to deal with the Coalition on this and they have snubbed the Greens and the crossbench.
Funding for eating disorder helpline welcomed
The Butterfly Foundation has welcomed the government’s investment of $9.2m over three years to support Australians living with eating disorders.
The national charity for people affected by eating disorders and body dissatisfaction welcomed the funding for the foundation’s helpline, which provides support for people experiencing eating disorders, their friends and family and professionals including GPs and psychologists.
The foundation’s chief executive, Dr Jim Hungerford, says Butterfly reaches more than 300,000 children and millions of adults through its prevention and education services, with more than 20,000 people contacting the helpline every year.
4.4 million Australians, one in six of us, self-identify as having symptoms of an eating disorder.
These experiences can affect people from all walks of life. The Cost of Appearance Ideals report launched today shows that appearance-based discrimination is particularly prevalent among the age cohort of 15-17-year-olds, especially in females, which has devastating implications on both mental and physical health.
The assistant minister for mental health, Emma McBride, said the funding will held reduce barriers such as stigma, wait times and cost.
Eating disorders have some of the highest mortality rates of any mental illness and many Australians go undiagnosed … The Butterfly national helpline means there are now more ways for people with an eating disorder to get the professional and compassionate care they need
Dreyfus ‘stands by everything’ he said on antisemitism in parliament
Earlier as we reported, Peter Dutton backed the Coalition’s attempt to gag the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, in question time on Monday after he accused the opposition of politicising antisemitism.
Dreyfus has issued a statement in response to Dutton’s press conference remarks on Tuesday, saying he “stands by everything” he said.
I never thought I’d see the day when a Liberal leader would try to silence a Jew for speaking about antisemitism in the Australian parliament.
I stand by everything I said yesterday.
We need to put an end to the wave of antisemitism in this country, which is exactly what the government I am a part of has worked tirelessly to do. The only way that will happen is if there is unity and bipartisanship.
