Now Daniel Mulino is being asked to rule out any changes to how the family home is being taxed.

Honestly, this is just so tiring.

Mulino must feel the same way:

It reminds me of the old same the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome. I’ve just received four questions asking me to rule things out and I’ll say very briefly our tax policies are very clear. We have already delivered a HECS cut. We’ve already delivered a freeze in the beer excise and I keep working on those policies every day.

You can add Bob Katter to the calls for a domestic gas reserve. This comes after the AWU also officially called for the government to create a gas reserve. The tide is turning folks.

Prime Minister, the announced closure of Mt Isa’s copper smelter takes down mines and Australia’s giant fertiliser plant. Townsville enterprise estimates 15,000 jobs vanish. The and unpleasantness, not withstanding gas prices are $16, and Russia and America is $6. Surely a gas reserve resource policy is imperative? Further financial assist be given on a conditional 50% government ownership basis only to Glencorp. Enrich the aquifers of your soul, enhancing your Christianity and patriotism?

Of course being Katter, the question goes to the theological. Moving on.

Albanese:

And I thank the member for Kennedy for his usual eloquence when it comes to asking a question. And indeed my spirits have been uplifted whenever I’ve been with him in Mt Isa, including I think being the first Prime Minister since Hawke to go to the Mt Isa rodeo and visiting the facilities there at Glencorp which I’ve done at least on four occasions at both the years for both the member for Kennedy and myself have been in this chamber.

I understand and I’m very sympathetic with the member’s position. The Minister for Industry and science and I’ll ask his rep here to supplement this question, he’s been working with the Queensland Premier Crisafulli, as had direction discussions with the Premier as well.

The closure of the copper mine and we know how important these facilities are to the Mt Icea community. Part of the future made in Australia agenda is our understanding the areas like critical minerals are important for us and they are impacted by policies, whether it be domestic policies of some countries, such as the US, changes that they have made to tariffs. As well as the actions of countries such as China, as well, in the way they’ve responded on international markets. We’ll continue to work constructively. I know how important this is for the member for Kennedy. I was there this year as I have been just about every year.

Pat Conroy supplements the answer:

I also applaud the member for Kennedy’s long leadership on this issue. He’s fighting very hard for his community. As the Prime Minister said, Minister Ayres is engaging with the state government about this issue. As the Prime Minister has said, let’s be clear, a highly profitable has done very well out of Australia and it’s time for Glencore to be good for Australia. It is also important that Australian gas has to be available and affordable for all Australians. And that’s why we’ve launched a review into the mechanisms involved there. This follows our work on capping coal and gas prices which those opposite oppose. And will focus on making gas more affordable for manufacturers so that Mt Isa has a strong future into the next few

The opposition asked if the government would rule out cuts to the Fuel Tax Credit Scheme.

The Fuel Tax Credit Scheme is a great big subsidy for those who use diesel. It costs the budget $10 billion per year. It is Australia’s largest fossil fuel subsidy.

The biggest beneficiaries are miners. Coal mining businesses alone are getting more than $1 billion.

Reform of this huge subsidy would save the budget billions and help us reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

At the recent productivity roundtable there was talk about forcing electric vehicles to pay a road user charge. It seems strange that we are thinking of pursuing a tax on electric vehicles before we get rid of enormous subsidies for people using diesel.

There are a bunch of interjections and points of order and it is all just so pointless.

Chalmers continues:

The numbers that we saw today which I ran through a moment ago, were monthly figures which were often impacted by a volatile and one-off factors and they were in this instance and the biggest influence on the number the Shadow Treasurer has mentioned is the timing of the energy bill rebates that we are providing on this side of the House which those opposite don’t want us to be provided. That does go to a very important difference, Mr Speaker.

This side of the House providing help with electricity bills. That side of the House trying to prevent it. If they had their way, energy prices would be higher. Let me give you numbers – electricity prices in July would have been 7.9% higher without the energy rebates we are rolling out with our state and territory colleagues.

Second point, the timing of rebates in Western Australia, Queensland and Tasmania were the biggest contributor to the volatility and if this is the most important point, if you look at the official quarterly figures, electricity fell 6.2% through the year to the June quarter but they would have risen 1.7% without our rebates which was the course those opposite wanted, Mr Speaker.

…The member for fair can have as many nuclear meltdowns as he likes. The truth is we’re helping people with electricity bills. You’d prefer that we didn’t and that’s the difference.

Because we haven’t been punished enough this week it is time for Ted O’Brien, best described as if bumptious was made a person, to ask a question:

Can the Treasurer explain to the House why electricity prices have jumped an extraordinary 13% over the past 12 I give the call to the months?

Jim Chalmers:

Mr Speaker, I want to be really clear and say that the last person on earth that I’ll be lectured about energy prices is the member for Fairfax. The very last person on earth that I’d be lectured on energy prices is the member for Fairfax. The last people who took the member for Fairfax seriously on energy prices used to sit over there and now they watch Question Time from home.

And that was the madness of the nuclear meltdown that the member for Fairfax was responsible for and the pure madness of it was he wanted to waste hundreds of billions of dollars building nuclear reactors that would push energy prices up, not down, Mr Speaker. And we saved the Australian people from his madness.

Oh God, now the Coalition is back on the fuel tax credit scheme, which they like to pretend is helping hard working farmers but actually is just benefiting the mining industry.

Daniel Mulino takes this one (will the government rule out any changes to the fuel tax credit subsidy) and says:

I’m asked about the government’s tax policies. What I can say is that the government went to the last election with a very clear set of tax policies. Those tax policies included reducing taxes on every single taxpayer. What I might say is that reflects successive years in which we have reduced taxes on every single taxpayer. I might just by way of contrast, I know this question wasn’t about the Opposition, but it’s worth adding in that there is a direct contrast to those opposite who went to the last election with an explicit policy of coming into this place after the election and raising taxes on every single taxpayer

Which is not an answer, leaving open the prospect of the stupidest political fight the parliament has seen since the super tax changes.

Dipping into the senate and it is just as much a mess as always, but not as bad as the house today. Which is saying something.

Questions there have focused on the same line of attack on the IRGC listing timing as what we are seeing in the House, although the Coalition have given these questions to Liberal senator Claire Chandler, rather than Michaelia Cash.

There has also been attacks over Labor’s housing policy (criticism is of course very fair, but as always the Coalition misses the mark on what actually needs to be criticised) and Labor’s Tim Ayres responds with:

Senator, just put yourself in the shoes of those young Australians who are facing year after year after year of trying to save for a deposit, and this government has delivered for them consistent with our election commitment an even better proposition, bringing forward 5% home deposits for many young Australians, brings for them, in a practical and real way, some hope of being able to purchase a home and to save a deposit.

For some of them, that means a decade less savings paying somebody else’s mortgage, and what do we have from Senator Bragg – whinging in negativity, trying to find any reason why young Australians should be denied this opportunity?

He said yesterday that the children of billionaires will be getting access to this well, I’ll give you the tip if you’re a billionaire son or daughter and you’re worried (about saving for a deposit)….

He is interrupted, but you get the drift.

Sussan Ley is back:

In 2023, the Senate references committee on foreign affairs, defence and trade recommended that the Australian Government list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation. Prime Minister, why did your government take a deliberate decision to reject that recommendation two years ago?

Anthony Albanese:

On these issues, we take advice from the intelligence agencies, we go through our appropriate processes, including our national security committee, we’ve look at the legislation which at the moment would not enable us to list the legislation that we inherited as well from the former government.

And the member for Canning has made it very clear that he has had that view for a period of time going back to prior to him being a minister, indeed as chair of the committee.

And spoke about the fact that members, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Home Affairs, the former Leader of the Opposition, the former member for Dickson as well all sat on those committees. And this was a time where the chair of the intelligence committee, according to themselves, was recommending this. What we have done is take advice from the intelligence agencies. That came through on Monday. We had appropriate meetings and acted like adults in the national interest. That is what we will continue to do.

Greens MP Elizabeth Watson-Brown brings down the temperature in the chamber by asking:

The Australian Council of Trade Unions recently called on the Government to implement a 4-day working week. Studies have shown this boosts the health and happiness of workers and significantly boosts businesses’ productivity. When will the government commit to a national plan for a 4-day work week with no loss of pay?

Amanda Rishworth:

I’d like to thank the member for her question. And making sure that Australians have decent wages and conditions has been at the heart of what our government has done in our first term and continues to be what we focus on today.

We have in the Senate our penalty rates bill to protect penalty rates and it is disappointing those opposite have been playing with delaying tactics in the Senate to stop allowing those workers to get the protections they deserve. But of course when it comes to flexibility at work, our government put through laws in the last term that do allow workers to request flexibility at work. Whether that’s in the location of where they work or indeed how they might have a span of hours such as compacted work weeks.

We believe that we need a strong safety net in this country. But of course there is flexibility for workers and unions, as well as employers to get together to organise what works for them. So we will continue to make sure the protections are in place within the laws but importantly encourage enterprise bargaining where many of these conditions are put into place. I might say that one of the key things that our government wanted to achieve is to ensure that there was more enterprise bargaining in this country.

Of course, it feel a record low under those opposite. I am very, very pleased to report to the House as of today, there are more workers covered by enterprise bargaining than ever in the history since enterprise bargaining was first introduced. That is because we have been absolutely focused on getting workers and their unions back to the bargaining table to deliver better wages and better conditions.

He continues:

We also in the weeks following October 7 terrorist attack, we committed $25 million for improved safety and security at Jewish sites across the country including schools. We added to that within 24 hours of being requested, $32.5 million for security measures for schools and synagogues. We passed legislation to criminalise hate speech.

We provided $250,000 towards the replacement and restoration of torah scrolls in the synagogue. $1.2 million for security upgrades to current buildings and $30 million to restore the synagogue and community centre.

And I was the first Prime Minister to visit the school there at Adass. We provided $8.5 million to the Sydney Jewish Museum and I went for the member for Wentworth and the centre of Jewish life and tolerance.

We announced $100 million for countering violent extremism and provided additional $4 million to expand the social cohesion work of Together for Humanity in Schools and provided $4.4 million to establish the national Holocaust education centre here in Canberra.

Now this will be accessible to the more than 160,000 school students who visit Canberra each year. I myself was able to welcome Enfield Public School about an hour or so ago.

They may be in the gallery. It is important that when people visit the centre just like they visit the National Gallery or the National Museum, the Australian War Memorial, part of that itinerary for young Australians is a part of raising the issue of anti-Semitism, of education, we will do. We committed $18 million to the Jewish Arts Quarter in Melbourne.

I’m asked also in the original question as well about the response of the Jewish community. The Jewish community, the government’s actions send a powerful message that terrorism, foreign interference and hate have no place in Australia.

“The government has acted promptly and appropriately in response to ASIO’s confirmation of this Iranian aggression against Australia.” The New South Wales and Jewish Board of Deputies,

“The Government has taken the right and appropriate steps in prescribing the IRGC and expelling Iranian diplomats based in Australia.”

The Iranian community, as well, “We welcome the Australian Government’s decision to expel the ambassador, the Islamic Republic of Iran following ASIO’s information.” The Australian Iranian community organisation – “We commend Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his government for their clear and resolute actions. By taking this courageous stand, Australia is not only safeguarding its own national security, but also upholding justice, diversity and the protection of all its citizens regardless of faith or heritage.”

Mr Speaker, we on this side of the House, and I would hope across the parliament, understand that there are times when the nation should just come together.

I would have thought that yesterday was one of those times and it was.

It’s a pity it hasn’t lasted till today.