Australia politics live: PM says he raised Zomi Frankcom’s death in Gaza with Isaac Herzog; speaker warns MPs over behaviour in question time
Speaker warns MPs over behaviour as question time beginsIt’s question time!Before the questions begin, the speaker, Milton Dick, issues another warning to members to improve their behaviour.There was a big flare up yesterday after Colin Boyce made some remarks to Elizabeth Watson-Brown that he had to withdraw.But Dick says that further incidents have occurred.
This week has been a particularly combative week in the chamber and this behaviour does not reflect well on the house. I shouldn’t have to say this, seeing as I already made a statement, but further incidents have occurred, it leaves me with no other choice.
After him, independent MP Allegra Spender rises and says:
People are sick of politicians saying “Do as I say but not as I do”. If as a parliament we expect this from our country, we must start by leading by example and start by doing it here.
ShareUpdated at 04.14 CETKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureHaines pushes government on anti-corruption commissionAre changes needed to restore public confidence in the national anti corruption commission asks Helen Haines.Haines was one of the most vocal campaigners for a NACC and says that the public has “heard more about the Commissioner’s conflicts of interest than findings of corruption.”She adds that in it’s near three years of existence, the NACC has made just one finding of officer misconduct and held no public hearings.Attorney-general, Michelle Rowland, says the inspector of the NACC is investigating the NACC commissioner’s “involvement in defence-related referrals and the Commissioner’s ongoing role with the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force.”
Since it commenced operations, the commission has received over 6,000 referrals. It is currently conducting 30 preliminary inquiries and 35 corruption investigations. Since 1 July 2023, there have been 11 convictions resulting from commission investigations and there are a further four matters currently before the courts.
To Haines’ actual question on whether changes are needed to restore public confidence, says the commission and the independent oversight is doing important work and there is “much more work to do.”ShareQuestion on aviation safety regulations goes unansweredIndependent MP Rebekha Sharkie asks the infrastructure minister, Catherine King, when the government will approve aviation safety regulations that “simplifies field maintenance requirements for aerial work Australian aviation companies” that she says has been waiting for approval since October 2024.King tells Sharkie to ask the question to her at a “drop in clinic” at her office this afternoon, and says she will “provide an answer to the member then”.That’s the whole answer.ShareUpdated at 05.03 CETBack to Jim Chalmers’ answer – he says Treasury officials have just been answering questions on that issue in Senate estimates, and that the biggest change to the medium-term budget is the hospital agreement made with the states and territories.Manager of opposition business, Alex Hawke, takes issue with Chalmers saying that the question has been answered “comprehensively”. Milton Dick says he’s fair to raise the point of order, but Chalmers is answering the question just fine.Chalmers continues:
I’ve answered his question comprehensively in at least three different ways. I refer him to the estimates transcript. I am trying to be respectful in case he doesn’t have many more question times as the shadow treasurer …
I conclude by saying no wonder he is unlikely to last the week.
ShareUpdated at 05.08 CETJulian Hill gets booted from the chamber after yelling ‘it’s Timmy time’Ted O’Brien gets to the dispatch box next and says the Australian Financial Review reports that the treasurer’s medium-term budget forecasts have blown out by around $57bn since the election.Jim Chalmers is quick to take a dig at O’Brien amid the leadership drama says:
He shouldn’t read anything into the fact that the member for Goldstein [Tim Wilson] got all the earlier questions today.
Wilson’s been touted as a potential deputy leadership candidate, which provokes Labor MP Julian Hill to shout “it’s Timmy time!” from the benches.He gets told very quickly to leave.ShareUpdated at 04.57 CETAlison Penfold (who has been trying to get a medicare urgent care clinic for Taree) gets the next question and asks Chris Bowen if he thinks he’s being “clever” in not answering questions about why Australian households haven’t received their promised $275 energy bill reduction (that was promised at the 2022 election).Bowen has a bit of fun and says he holidayed in Taree as a kid (which Penfold responds to saying “lucky you didn’t get sick!”)Bowen says the Nationals should be “honest” with Australians about how expensive their energy plan would be.Dan Tehan tries to make a point of order but Milton Dick says that it wasn’t a “tight” question (i.e Bowen has a bit of room for some creative flourish in his answer).Bowen continues:
I say to the members of the National Party, if you are going to ask the government about climate and energy policy, be honest with the people that you represent, that climate change is real and people in rural and regional Australia will pay the price.
ShareLey ties CFMEU report to house pricesSussan Ley is back and asks why home buyers are “paying the price for Labor’s failure to stand up to union corruption?”Albanese calls that a “very long bow” and accuses the Coalition of not having acted on the CFMEU and its former Victorian leader John Setka during its nine years in office.He says that Setka was expelled from the union within weeks of when the Labor government was elected (and takes a big dig at Ley in the process).
That is what leaders can do when they lead their party with authority. When they actually have people behind them as part of their party who are working for them, not undermining them.
He adds that home construction is increasing.ShareUpdated at 04.39 CETNationals continue to ask government about 2022 power bill promiseWhile the Liberals have today changed tack, the Nationals are continuing to pressure Chris Bowen on the government’s broken promise to reduce energy bills by $275 (a promise made at the 2022 election that was supposed to take effect by the end of 2025).Bowen says Nationals MP Pat Conaghan hasn’t actually asked a question, but acknowledges that energy prices are too high.He then turns the spotlight back on to the Coalition.
When you are dealing with higher energy prices, you can have a policy of introducing more of the cheapest most reliable form of energy available which is renewables, or you can have a $600bn plan, the most expensive form of energy available, which is what the honourable member and his friends took to the Australian people at the last election.
ShareUpdated at 04.35 CETLiberals press Labor on CFMEU reportThe shadow workplace relations minister, Tim Wilson, takes the baton from Sussan Ley and presses Amanda Rishworth again on what the government knew about parts of a report into the CFMEU that were removed on the request of the government-appointed administrator.Wilson asks whether the government sought a copy of the report before it received on 9 February, and whether that copy was the full version.Rishworth says again that “at no stage has my office, in any way, requested any changes to the report”.About 22 seconds in, Wilson makes a point of order because Rishworth hasn’t said whether her office had requested a copy of the report earlier. Milton Dick shuts him down but tells Rishworth to answer the question with her 2 minutes and 38 seconds remaining.She again doesn’t say whether the government requested the report earlier but emphasises that the report was “to the administrator, not a report to government”.View image in fullscreenAmanda Rishworth during question time. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAPShareUpdated at 04.50 CETJustice for Taree!The Nationals MP for Lyne, Alison Penfold, has been on a QT campaign to get a medicare urgent care clinic to Taree, in her electorate. So much so that she’s been previously kicked out of QT for shouting out at Mark Butler too many times (and too loudly) when he’s been answering questions about bulk-billing.But not today!While answering a dixer about the bulk-billing clinics, Penfold’s colleague Darren Chester did the shouting for her, while she held up her phone with Taree written out in bright green and gold.Butler says he “won’t respond to the provocation today” after getting “suckered in” during question time yesterday.ShareUpdated at 04.22 CETAlbanese says he raised Zomi Frankcom’s death in Gaza with Isaac HerzogTo the crossbench, Zali Steggall asks the prime minister if he will push for accountability from the Israeli president over the death of Australian Zomi Frankcom and her six World Central Kitchen colleagues who were killed by an Israeli airstrike on their convoy in Gaza in 2024.Anthony Albanese says he raised the issue of Frankcom and other concerns to Isaac Herzog this morning.Albanese says that Herzog promised to come back to the government on the issues raised.
If President Herzog wasn’t here I wouldn’t have been able to raise the issue of Zomi Framkcom with him, which is what I did this morning along with a range of other government concerns.
These deaths were a tragedy and an outrage. We said that at the time. We have made it clear that remains the Australian government’s position and we’ve also made clear our expectation that there be transparency about Israel’s ongoing investigation into the incident.
Albanese adds that the government will continue to push for “full accountability” including any appropriate criminal charges over the deaths.ShareUpdated at 04.21 CETGovernment denies involvement removal of sections from CFMEU reportSussan Ley begins question time probing the government on a report in Nine newspapers that the government-appointed administrator asked the watchdog to remove parts of his report that went to the Victorian Labor government turning a blind eye to allegations of corruption in the CFMEU.Ley asks if the federal government had any involvement in the removal of the parts.Workplace relations minister, Amanda Rishworth, says the report was to the administrator, not the government.
To be abundantly clear, my office received this report on 9 February and at no stage have we requested any changes to the report or made any request for amendments to the contents of the report. Any suggestion is misleading the parliament.
She says the administrator, Mark Irving, was “clear and transparent” about why parts of the report were removed, which he said was because “he was not satisfied that they were well-founded or properly tested”.She says the government retains “full confidence” in Irving.
Those opposite have irresponsibly called for his sacking, of an administrator that has achieved more progress in cleaning up the union in 18 months than they achieved in their whole time in government.
ShareUpdated at 04.16 CETSpeaker warns MPs over behaviour as question time beginsIt’s question time!Before the questions begin, the speaker, Milton Dick, issues another warning to members to improve their behaviour.There was a big flare up yesterday after Colin Boyce made some remarks to Elizabeth Watson-Brown that he had to withdraw.But Dick says that further incidents have occurred.
This week has been a particularly combative week in the chamber and this behaviour does not reflect well on the house. I shouldn’t have to say this, seeing as I already made a statement, but further incidents have occurred, it leaves me with no other choice.
After him, independent MP Allegra Spender rises and says:
People are sick of politicians saying “Do as I say but not as I do”. If as a parliament we expect this from our country, we must start by leading by example and start by doing it here.
ShareUpdated at 04.14 CETMeanjin to resume publishing after QUT takes over literary journalAmanda MeadeIn some non-politics news, the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) will become the new custodian of Meanjin, Australia’s most eminent literary journal.It means the university will be bringing the publication back to Brisbane where it was first established in 1940, after 80 years in Melbourne.ShareUpdated at 04.06 CET
