That’s all for today
Thanks for following along with today’s live coverage of question time in the House of Representatives. Here’s what we covered:
- Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke revealed that a member of the Iranian women’s soccer team delegation who received a humanitarian visa to remain in Australia has decided to return to Iran. Members of the delegation who were staying in a secure location had to be moved after Iranian officials became aware of their location.
- Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said the Liberal Party was in a “death spiral” because of a drift to the right and an ageing, conservative support base. He said a preference deal between the Liberals and One Nation in the upcoming Farrer byelection
- The opposition has continued to argue that Australia is facing a fuel shortage, which the government says is not true. Labor has said the Coalition is acting irresponsibly and causing consumers to panic buy petrol, creating a crisis.
- Newly minted Nationals leader Matt Canavan has said his politics are workable within the Coalition, and warned against the current rate of immigration, saying it was “chaotic”.
The question time blog will return tomorrow, but you can follow our live coverage of the war in Iran here.
National harmony at stake from immigration, says Canavan
New Nationals leader Matt Canavan has maintained his criticism of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson’s comments on there being no “good” Muslims, but has said the government is letting too many immigrants into the country.
“There’s a limit to how successful you can integrate people over time … If we keep going on this way, we’re going to lose that harmony as a nation. So I’m arguing for what I believe is a very practical, reasonable, common-sense position that we need to calibrate the number of people who come to this country to our ability to welcome into our home,” he said.
“If you invite 10 or 15 people over for dinner, it’s easy to manage, and everyone can get along. If your kids announce a street party, and everyone turns up, 1000 people turn up, you get chaos. You can’t manage that, and unfortunately, under this government, our borders have been managed in a chaotic fashion.”
Canavan said Hanson’s approach to migration was not “going to be the best in this country” and called her comments about Muslim Australians as being “out of line”.
Canavan says his politics are workable in a Liberal coalition
Nationals leader Matt Canavan has said it is “factually not true” that his personal politics are too far away from the Liberal Party’s and therefore unworkable, as asserted by One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce following Canavan’s election this morning.
“That’s just factually not true. I mean, the Liberal Party last year decided overwhelmingly to dump net zero to return our country to a more sensible use of our energy, as I said today,” Canavan told the ABC this afternoon.
“Things are pretty dire right now. Things are tough for the Australian people … but the good news is we have everything at our fingertips to solve these problems. We are blessed with enormous amounts of energy, and now the Liberal, Nationals Party are all on the same page to do that, so I’m really looking forward to working with Angus [Taylor],” he said.
Earlier in the interview, Canavan called Joyce, a former leader of the Nationals, “captain net zero” over his support for the policy under the Morrison government.
Canavan not a threat to Libs in urban seats, says McGrath
Liberal senator James McGrath has brushed off suggestions the new National Party leader Matt Canavan will damage the Coalition’s support in the cities.
A pro-coal conservative senator, Canavan has been observed as a potential hurdle for the Liberal Party reclaiming inner-city seats lost to teal independents.
“With a coalition, you need a strong National Party and a strong Liberal Party because we need to win seats in urban areas, and we need to win seats in regional areas,” McGrath said.
“We’ve got two separate parties. Of course, there’s going to be different views in relation to some issues, but Matt understands that we can’t deliver for regional Queensland and regional Australia unless we win seats in urban Australia.”
In pictures: new Nationals leadership enter the chambers
While today’s blog coverage focused on activity in the House of Representatives, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age’s photographer Alex Ellinghausen captured newly minted Nationals leader Matt Canavan took his seat in the Senate for the first time under his new role.
Upon his entry to the upper house he was congratulated by the Coalition’s leader in the Senate Michaelia Cash and the government’s Senate leader Penny Wong, among others.
Canavan is the 16th leader of the National Party, but only the first to come from the Senate.
Over in the House of Representatives, former Nationals leader David Littleproud and former deputy leader Kevin Hogan remained on the opposition frontbench as they hold shadow ministerial portfolios.
However, Darren Chester took Littleproud’s seat behind Opposition Leader Angus Taylor, after being elected the new deputy leader of the Nationals this morning.
PM ends QT with Coalition, One Nation attack
Question time has ended for the day with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offering a broadside attack against the Coalition and One Nation following a change in leadership of the National Party. Here’s what he said in response to a question from his back bench.
The surest thing [is when] something important is happening in Australia and the world, those opposite turn the spotlight on themselves.
On the national day of mourning for victims of the antisemitic Bondi terrorist attack, they announced they were splitting the Coalition again. On the day of the funeral of the former member for Higgins, the members for Hume and Canning publicly plotted against their leader.
On the day Israel’s President was in Canberra to support grieving members of the Jewish community, the member for Hume resigned and called for a spill. Now with Australians feeling the impact the war in the Middle East, the Nationals have elbowed their way to centre stage.
[Instead of] focusing on fuel security for regional communities they are focused on their front bench security … the fact is we will continue to govern in the national interests … there will be a different front bench when we get back here … maybe tomorrow, who knows.
Maybe by the time we come back in a week it will be different again. One thing will remain the same – same old Liberals, same old Nats, same old One Nation. Just three right wing parties not standing up for Australia
Question to government better directed to Trump, says minister
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy has told Liberal front bencher Andrew Hastie that a question about the war in Iran is better directed to US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after he was asked about the end of conflict in Iran.
“The Strait of Hormuz been closed to shipping since the start of the war in the Middle East. Given 20 per cent of the world’s oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz alongside LNG and alumina, can the minister advise how long he expects military effort also take critical choke point is reopened,” Hastie asked.
Conroy, who is representing Defence Minister Richard Marles while he is on a diplomatic trip to Indonesia, immediately responded by slapping down the question.
“I thank the member for his question, although I point out he’s probably directing the question at the wrong person. He’s effectively asking me to predict when the conflict between Iran and the United States and Israel will end. And I would submit there’s a question best directed to President Trump, the rulers of Iran and the Prime Minister of Israel,” Conroy said.
“In terms of what the broader question went to, which was the potential interruption to our supplies, I can report to the House that as a response to a recommendation of defense strategic review, we’ve doubled the fuel holdings for the Australian Defense Force,” he said.
“That’s something that should have happened under your watch, which you failed to do. And the latest advice from the chief of Defence Force is that our fuel supplies to the ADF, including from the Middle East, aren’t interrupted. So instead of scaremongering, they should ask constructive questions.”
Joyce calls for high-level fuel supply meeting
One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has used his opportunity to speak during question time to ask Treasurer Jim Chalmers to organise a meeting on fuel supply issues between independent distributors, the ACCC and relevant ministers.
Joyce said any assertions by the government that there was not a fuel shortage was “ridiculous” and “patently absurd”.
Chalmers said the government was already working to crack down on issues in the industry, including through increased penalties for fuel suppliers undertaking “false and misleading conduct, and cartel behaviour”.
“I say this respectfully to the member for New England … we don’t need his invitation to engage with the industry. We’ve been doing that all along, and we’ve been engaging with the ACCC as well,” he said.
Government blames opposition for panic buying, denies fuel shortages
Nationals MP Allison Penfold has returned the opposition to yesterday’s attack on the government over claims of a fuel shortage across the country. The government has repeatedly rebuffed this claim, saying panic buying is increasing demand, but that there is no supply issue.
Penfold asked Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen why businesses were struggling and “running out of fuel”.
Bowen responded, saying: “We recognise fully that in regional areas in particular, there are shortages in particular areas, and that the supply chain is under huge pressure, as we have seen a massive increase in demand.”
The minister criticised the Coalition’s policy of holding fuel reserves in the United States, saying it was a policy pushed by now Opposition Leader Angus Taylor.
Transport Minister Catherine King, in response to a subsequent question, said the opposition was acting irresponsibly and contributing to panic buying.
Iranian woman given visa leaving Australia, others moved after location revealed
One member of the Iranian women’s soccer team delegation has sought to return to Iran after being provided a humanitarian visa, and members of the delegation were moved by the government after Iranian officials became aware of their location, Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke has told the House of Representatives.
Burke said he travelled to Brisbane and Sydney to see if anyone from the team was interested in taking up Australia’s offer to remain in Australia. Two members of the delegation – one player and one support person – requested to remain in Australia and were issued with humanitarian visas, as already reported.
“I would advise that one of the two who had made the decision to stay last night, had spoken to some of the teammates who had left and had changed her mind. In Australia, people are able to change their mind. People are able to travel. And so we respect the context in which she has made that decision,” Burke told the House.
“Unfortunately, in making that decision, she’d been advised by her teammates and coach to contact the Iranian embassy and to get collected. My officials made sure that this was her decision, and every question you would want asked, was asked,” he said.
“As a result of that, it meant that the Iranian embassy now knew the location of where everybody was. I immediately gave the instruction for people to be moved, and that’s been dealt with immediately,” Burke said.
The minister said “we can all be very proud of the Australian Federal Police” and members of the Department of Home Affairs for supporting the provision of humanitarian visas to those who sought them.
“Australia is a country where they can see there is freedom of choice for women as well, and a country where those who have made the decision to stay will be very welcome and very much the rest of the Australian people will be wrapping them in our arms.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
