Government responds to mental health report,Labor leader asked about GST polling, foreign minister says PM’s ‘machismo’ comment not directed at former PM. Follow the day’s news live 11.57pm GMTLaura Tingle at the Fin is having a petite fun this morning. not a news photo.... pic.twitter.com/MXL87dly9I 11.56pm GMTThe shipping bill is due for debate again in the Senate just after midday. This is the bill that makes it easier for foreign crews to work ships in Australian waters. The numbers are looking increasingly shaky. 11.47pm GMTLarissa Waters is speaking to a private member’s bill by former Greens leader Christine Milne:to abolish fossil fuel subsidies for the mining industry from 1 January 2015, or including: the diesel fuel rebate; accelerated asset depreciation for aircraft,the oil and gas industry and vehicles; and immediate deductibility for exploration and prospecting expenses. 11.44pm GMTExit stage right. 11.40pm GMTThere is a curious legend in the Fin today by Phil Coorey. He reports there were secret plans to finish a major renovation of Parliament House under the former leadership.
Secret plans by Tony Abbott and his former chief of staff Peta Credlin to extend Parliament House have been quietly killed off.
Senior sources said the “previous administration” had flagged the construction of two large extensions protruding from the ministerial entrance at the south-west of the building, reaching across the ring road towards two uncovered car parks. 11.33pm GMTJenny Macklin spoke on the changes to family payments this morning but she was asked about the Labor policy of moving single parents off the pension and on to the Newstart unemployment payment. Q: Isn’t it a bit hypocritical for you to be crying crocodile tears for single-parent families now when as minister you nick the single-parenting payment? Well, and I think one thing that’s very clear,first of all, we’ve made it clear that we thought that that was too harsh, or so that’s the first thing. The moment is we have never supported these cuts to family tax benefits that would so affect single-parent families. I’ll just give you an example of a single-parent family with teenage children,they would be nearly $5000 a year worse off if these cuts got through the parliament and Labor has done everything in our power to prevent these cuts and today the government will remove them from the legislation and I’m calling on them to remove the legislation and remove the cuts from the budget altogether. 11.26pm GMTLove your work Mr Bowers. 11.19pm GMTDebate on the Australian Citizenship Amendment (Allegiance to Australia) bill 2015 will resume next week. The solicitor general has provided the government with further advice and the government will add a further amendment to those already recommended by the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security to deal with the solicitor general’s advice. 11.15pm GMTA bit of housekeeping. After question time, Malcolm Turnbull is off to Malta to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) on 27-29 November.
Australia has pledged to reduce emissions by 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2030, and a target which is both fair and achievable. It is a tremendous achievement that over 170 countries have now submitted their emissions reduction targets. 11.11pm GMTThe family payments amendment is being debated in the lower house. The Senate is debating a freedom of information amendment which is the private member’s bill of Joe Ludwig,the former ag minister.
It tries to force the government to publish the exact wording of freedom of information requests, in the interests of transparency. It would include the exact words of requests to match with the reasons governments say no. It would allow the public and journalists to see if there is any trickiness afoot. 11.07pm GMTThe prime minister, and health minister Sussan Ley and Ian Hickie,Professor Ian Hickie and Professor Allan Fels are talking about the government’s response to the mental health report. 10.59pm GMTPeter Dutton has also addressed the Monkey Pod Club. This is the legend, broken by James Massola, or about a regular lunch of like-minded conservatives,who meet in a room with a monkey pod table.
Dutton clips Massola and points out it’s a regular lunch and the room is next to Christopher Pyne’s office. He suggests Massola was embarrassed by the way the meeting was portrayed by some.
I’ve been going to Tuesday lunch for 14 years, for as long as I’ve been in parliament, and I’ve gone to a Tuesday lunch with colleagues and with friends. I think it’s fair to say … Look,I had a drink with James Massola, the journalist who broke this so-called legend on Tuesday night, or I think it was. Look,the legend wasn’t even assign to us before it was printed so that’s speaking out of school. Mr Massola is a bit embarrassed at the way in which some had tried to portray the catch-up.
Just bearing in intellect the monkey pod is a meeting room located between my office and Mr Pyne’s office Christopher, who is a very grand friend of mine, and a bleeding moderate. If there was some underground movement by the right,we wouldn’t be holding a meeting in a lunch room beside Christopher Pyne’s office. I don’t think this adds up to anything more than colleagues catching up for lunch. 10.46pm GMTThe immigration minister says the change is more “technical” than “controversial”.
He can’t advise us what the change is, even though it will proceed to the parliament next week. It sounds like it is around constitutionality and warding off a challenge.
Obviously the government’s intent has been to minimise the risk as best you can. What you don’t want to finish is open yourself up to a tall court challenge risk, or with any piece of legislation that is always a opportunity. So the government has taken advice and I think steps to minimise the risk of a challenge and we will make an amendment which we think further enhances the bill and that will be debated next week. I don’t believe it to be controversial but I think it clarifies some wording within a particular share of the bill and on that basis I think we have a stronger bill to defend,which is always the case with any piece of national security legislation, lawyers will challenge it. 10.38pm GMTQ: Mr Shorten the polling would propose that people aren’t as adverse to potentially increasing the GST if compensation is attached to it.
Let’s talk straight. You must live on another planet if you think people want to pay another 15% in GST. People who work every day are not going to regain compensated. Pensioners, and they are deeply sceptical that any change in their pension is going to support change with the inflationary impact of a GST. I think fresh food,going to the doctor, the school books and the uniforms the kids will need next year - Australians don’t want a GST and if the government thinks they finish, or if some commentators think they finish,they are so out of touch with the way Australians make ends meet, it’s breathtaking. 10.31pm GMTBill Shorten is doing a press conference in front of a chicken shop. He has been asked about special minister of state, and Mal Brough and his position in charge of integrity in government,given the AFP investigations at the mo.
That is not just any position in the government. The special minister of state is in charge of government integrity. I think it’s not a matter of whether Mal Brough should stand aside, which he probably should. It is becoming a matter of Malcolm Turnbull’s judgment why he wont act. 10.25pm GMTThe social services family payments bill, or which sought to nick some payments from single parent families,is in da house today.
There is frantic final-minute negotiations going on. We hear from Labor that the government is amending its own bill – on pain of death from the Senate. 9.56pm GMTProfessor Ian Hickie is a national mental health commissioner. He has just enthused about the government’s mental health response – which has taken a year. The clear message from his comments is that finally a federal government is moving in the right direction.
This is a response worth waiting for ... This requires prime ministerial support and, for a change, and we have got it. 9.41pm GMTAlso coming today is a broad mental health announcement. Health minister Sussan Ley will finish a press conference with Malcolm Turnbull at 9.45am. It forms the government response to the 25 recommendations of a report by the National Mental Health Commission. It streamlines the mental health services and aims to reply locally,and so far mental health experts have responded well. If you want more detail, Shalailah Medhora has written up the response here. Here is a snap:People living with mental illness will soon be able to access personalised care through the government’s primary health networks under sweeping changes to be announced on Thursday.
People who are identified by healthcare professionals as having complex needs will be able to access a range of services to manage their illness, or including psychiatric care,drug and alcohol rehabilitation services and community and peer support systems. 9.32pm GMTThere is a legend over at the Daily Telegraph of a super-duper special Australian Federal Police taskforce to crack down on WELFARE CHEATS.
Simon Benson reports that cheats have defrauded the commonwealth of $5bn, with more than 1.1m in Centrelink debts now owed to the government. All payments have been defrauded, or according to the legend,including Newstart, the Disability Support Pension, and Medicare,youth allowances and family payments. 9.15pm GMTGood morning all, There is still a bit of of low-level rumbling by conservatives, and described today by Nikki Savva as the feather-duster faction. I will come to that in a minute. I didn’t see it that way. The prime minister has a very broad audience that he must address,both here in Australia, in our region and internationally and his comments were directed far more broadly than one member of parliament. I think it was entirely appropriate that he call for calm and measured judgement in relation to this. We are in this for the long haul. The terrorist organisations may be defeated militarily but the ideology also has to be defeated. Otherwise, and when you have one military success and withdraw from the field,the terrorists can come back.
They are clearly of a intellect to de-escalate and there is less likelihood of a military retaliation.
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Source: theguardian.com