Anthony Albanese will be in the house of representatives very soon delivering the latest Closing the Gap update.

It is not going to be good news.

The crossbench (who have already been very busy this morning) are coming together to support Allegra Spenders’ private members bill calling for more transparency around government project spending (which is also known as pork barrelling).

Spender and the crossbench want more guardrails around project spending to ensure taxpayers are getting value for money, rather than governments bedding down electorates in tough contests.

You may remember the former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian admitting ‘everyone does it’ when she was questioned about pork barrelling, which is at least honest, if not depressing that it is so normalised.

Spender and the crossbench want business cases and value for money.

Spender:

“Many of these projects cost hundreds of millions if not billions, but there is often no business case, and no reason to be confident that they’ll be finished on time or on budget. My Better Value for Taxpayers Bill will ensure that both sides of politics are held to account. Australians deserve better than big ticket projects that go nowhere.”

It isn’t the first time the crossbench have attempted to address this – Helen Haines has introduced previous private member bills on the same issue:

While we are talking about the housing issue and retirees, we need to acknowledge that just raising rental assistance is not going to fix it.

Worth pointing out re the Housing issue and retirees that rather than just raise rental assistance as Grattan that

The problem is our entire tax system is geared towards benefiting the wealthiest.  $20bn worth of superannuation tax concessions go to the richest 10% of Australians. There concessions are notionally to help people save for retirement so they are not reliant on the age pension. Except of course the richest 10% are never going to be eligible for the age pension so instead the govt is giving the richest Australians a tax cut for no good reason at all.

The government is trying to reduce the tax breaks for the 80,000 people (about 0.5% of everyone with a super balance) with super balances of more than $3m, but crossbenchers and the LNP are against them because of some pretty spurious concerns about ‘farmers’.

Australia has the second lowest age pension in the OECD, and that’s a big reason why Australia has the 5^th highest level of retirees living in poverty.

The Superbowl has started (do not care) but Donald Trump is there (because of course) which means there is political news.

As AAP reports:

President Donald Trump says the United States will impose 25  per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminium imports, in another major escalation of his trade policy overhaul.

“Any steel coming into the United States is going to have a 25 per cent tariff,” he told reporters Sunday on Air Force One as he flew from Florida to New Orleans to attend the Super Bowl. 

When asked about aluminium, he responded, “aluminium, too” will be subject to the trade penalties. 

It’s not yet clear how and if Australia, which exports around $US300 million ($A479 million) worth of steel and a similar amount of aluminium to the US a year, will be affected.

The Australian government has recently argued that the country has a trade deficit with the US, and that should be taken into consideration.

During the first Trump presidency, Australia was given an exemption from such tariffs based on that argument but if tariffs are imposed, the flow-on effect for its producers could be challenging.

Chief burr in Anthony Albanese’s side, Max Chandler-Mather (known in this blog as MCM and yes, that is on purpose. iykyk) has signaled he will be making rentals an issue again – this time in response to the Grattan Institute report reminding politicians that you can not retire comfortably in this nation if you have housing costs.

MCM:

“In the short term we won’t solve this crisis without limits on rent increases. Right now landlords can put up the rent by however much they like and that needs to change immediately.

In the long-term, home ownership will keep declining until the government winds back negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount. An entire generation faces economic destitution unless the government stops dishing out tax handouts to property investors with multiple homes

Thousands of pensioners and retirees are one rent increase away from homelessness, and many more are already having to make impossible choices between skipping meals or paying the rent.

Rather than billions for property investors, the government should be investing in directly building hundreds of thousands of good quality homes and renting them to people who need them at prices they can actually afford.“

As with any private members bill (which is what the independents are introducing this morning) it is up to the government when, and if, they come up for debate in the house.

The crossbench has begun introducing similar/the same bills in the senate where they have a bit more control in setting the agenda, to try and bring on debates. But without government support, the bills will not go anywhere in the house.

Independent MP Sophie Scamps has introduced the Wellbeing of Future Generations Bill, which would make governments consider the wellbeing of the future in any decision it makes.

The bill would:

The Bill introduces four measures.

1. A federal legislative framework for the wellbeing of future generations. The framework
   established by the Bill is essential to protect long-term policy commitments from the shifting
   priorities of governments. The framework will advance intergenerational equity and
   wellbeing, requiring long-term considerations – the wellbeing and opportunities of current
   and future Australians – to be taken into account in parliamentary and governmental
   decision-making.
2. Impose a positive duty on public bodies to take into account the long-term impact of their
   decisions. Public bodies will be required to consider future impacts, work better with people,
   communities and each other, seek to prevent problems and take a more joined-up, less
   siloed approach.
3. Establish an independent, statutory Commissioner for Future Generations. The
   Commissioner will advocate for future Australians’ long-term interests, ensuring the concept
   of intergenerational fairness is integrated in governmental decision-making processes
4. Require a National Conversation on Future Generations. Led by the Commissioner, this
   exercise in participatory democracy will engage the public as active co-creators of the vision
   for Australia’s future, fostering inclusivity and building a sense of public ownership of long-
   term policies.

The Whistleblower protection bill has been officially introduced and debate has been adjourned. The house has moved on to Allegra Spender (with support from Kate Chaney) introducing a bill calling for business cases to be part of major infrastructure spends (yes I know. You would think it was the bare minimum, but here we are).

Spender describes the aim of the bill as:

Under the amendments, the Federal Government will need to:

• Prepare and publish a periodic, long-term national land transport plan – something
  more detailed the Government’s 2023 Infrastructure Policy Statement – outlining the
  Government’s stated priorities and assumptions underpinning investment; and
  decisions that determine Australia’s long-term infrastructure pipeline.
• Publish all business cases for federally funded projects above a threshold;
• Conduct and publish post completion reviews for all projects over a certain
  threshold, focussing on cost and time.

A friend to the blog has just reminded me of the time that Barnaby Joyce claimed being asked to accept climate science was ‘bullying’ while he was deputy prime minister.

When asked at the national press club in 2021 whether or not he accepted climate science, in a question which included climate science facts, Joyce said:

“I really don’t like when questions are presented like that, because it sounds like you’re at a baptism, on behalf of your child, denouncing Satan and all of his works and deeds, and on and on and on it goes.

…If the question you ask me is I do I believe that humans have an influence on climate, yes I do. (but he would not specify how much of an influence he accepted humans had on the climate)

…And if you then walk into the frame of saying, ‘I’m now going to grab you by the ear and make you comply with everything I say’, I won’t do that because it’s a free nation. I can say and think what I like.

…I’m not going to participate in some sort of kangaroo court of now you will agree to every statement I say because the IPCC said it.

And on his view of whether or not the Nationals (who are still having issues with a 2035 target) should have to accept the science Joyce said in 2021:

“This is why in regards to the previous question [about climate science], why we get so annoyed, because people say you must comply with my assertion, and that therefore justifies everything that I want to do next, because otherwise I just go back to the initial statement and say but didn’t you say this, therefore you must comply with that.

“And that’s bullying.“

Crossbench independent MP Andrew Wilkie has just introduced the Whistleblower Protection Authority Bill into the parliament, which is supported by Helen Haines, David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie and aims to establish a body with the power to oversee and enforce whistleblower protections.

Whistleblowers, transparency advocates and human rights groups have welcomed a push for an independent Whistleblower Protection Authority, with a landmark piece of legislation being introduced to Federal Parliament today.   

Associate Legal Director at the Human Rights Law Centre Kieran Pender, said of the bill:

Whistleblowers make Australia a better place by exposing human rights violations, government wrongdoing and corporate misdeeds. Whistleblowers are being punished for speaking the truth – from experiencing retaliation at work or even facing prosecution.  

A Whistleblower Protection Authority would be a game-changer to ensure that whistleblowers are protected and supported. We commend the crossbench for pursuing this landmark reform.”   

You can read more on the need for whistleblower protections in Australia, here Making Australia’s Whistleblowing Law Work: Draft design principles for a Whistleblower Protection Authority developed by Transparency International Australia, Human Rights Law Centre and Griffith University’s Centre for Governance & Public Policy.