The dixers are focusing on Labor’s health package, particularly the $500m for women’s health and you can hear the whirring up of the Medicare would be in trouble under the Coalition campaign starting up. The point of these questions is two-fold – not just to talk about the health investment, but also to talk about Peter Dutton’s brief record as health minister (it was not great).

Kevin Hogan is back with another question on tariffs:

When the United States imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum in 2018 the Coalition was able to work with the Trump administration to secure an exemption for Australia. What steps has Ambassador [Kevin] Rudd taken to secure an exemption to the tariffs?

Albanese:

“As the member is aware, Ambassador Rudd has had a meeting with President Trump, but also what we’ve had is our defence minister, over the weekend, met with the US defense minister, our foreign minister was, of course, one of the few international representatives invited to the inauguration, and we will continue to engage diplomatically, diplomatically with the United States, not with loudhailers, but diplomatically. That is how we have got things done in our relationships right around the world.“

The speaker of the Kiribati house of assembly, Willie Tokataake, is in the Australian house of representatives today, and he has gifted Milton Dick a piece he is wearing today “to bring peace and tranquility to the House of Representatives.”

There is laughter at this and Dick says he remains “an eternal optimist”.

Peter Dutton has given the first question to the Member for Page, Kevin Hogan who asks:

Peace and tranquility, indeed.

My question is to the Prime Minister, did President Trump inform the prime minister that the United States would be imposing tariffs on Australian steel and aluminum prior to the measures been announced? If not, when did the prime minister last speak to President Trump?

Albanese:

I thank the member for his question, and the Australian people know I will always stand up for them, and I will always stand up for Australia’s national interests. And it is in Australia’s national interest to have free and fair trade. This government has a strong record, indeed, of working with other nations to protect and advance Australia’s trade interests. We will navigate any differences which are there diplomatically, and we will continue to make the case to the United States for Australia to be given an exemption to any steel and aluminum tariffs.

We have raised with the US administration in recent ministerial discussions, these issues Australian steel and aluminum are core input to us, supply chains and US based industry. Indeed, just this morning, I had a meeting with the global CEO of Rio Tinto. Australian companies have significant investment in us, steel industry, creating 1000s of jobs in both the US and in Australia. We will continue to make the case for Australia’s national interest with the US administration. And what’s more, we regard this as also being in the US national interest as well, because tariffs, of course, don’t tax us. They tax the purchases of our products. And that is something that’s very clear, and it’s also a fact that the US has had a trade surplus with Australia since the Truman presidency. I have a discussion with President Trump scheduled, and I will certainly keep the house the Australian people informed.

Barnaby ‘I won’t be bullied by climate science’ Joyce has launched his latest attack on wind turbines – this time, featuring microplastics.

Joyce, who conveniently ignores the dangers of fossil fuels to the planet’s health cherry picked from a Denmark University of Technology report which found that erosion of wind turbines could contribute to microplastics entering the environment (the conclusion of the report being the importance of upkeep of the wind turbines)

Joyce says

Now these micro plastics blow off the blade and onto the pasture to be eaten by cattle and consumed by you and into your bloodstream and into your BRAIN, or into the sea eaten by fish to be consumed by you and into your bloodstream and into your BRAIN (emphasis all Joyce).

As Professor Tamara Galloway Professor of Ecotoxicology at the Exeter Department of Biosciences, stated, ‘you cannot treat the environment as one big dumping ground’.

Well, that is how your intermittent power targets and their wind blade wind turbine blades are treating our countryside and our sea. So you may not be able to see the intermittent power wind turbine blades in the New England or off the member for Wannon’s coast, but don’t worry, because you get to eat some of them later on. But later on, you may not remember.

So Joyce has found an environmental cause he cares about – just not the giant existential one facing us all. Got it.

The MP airing of the grievances is on, which means we are one coffee and a chance to run from the coming existential crisis that is question time.

The Tveeder transcription service has forsaken me today, so this is going to be an interesting one.

If you don’t take the chance to run, we’ll see you back here shortly. (But seriously – run)

It’s not yet known whether or not Australia will be subject to Donald Trump’s 25% tariff on steel and aluminum. Trump said ‘everybody’ but a presidential statement at the Super Bowl (don’t care, but Go Birds) isn’t a diplomatic decree (although everything he says should be taken seriously)

Speaking to Sky News a little earlier Jenny McAllister said:

We’ll continue to advocate for our interests. And you’ve seen that already, you know, the phone call between the Prime Minister and President Trump, Minister Wong’s attendance at the inauguration, and just recently, you know, Deputy Prime Minister Marles in Washington speaking with counterparts. We’ll keep working to secure Australia’s interests.

If you were looking for something to do this St Valentines’ Day, have you considered giving the gift of Bob Katter? The Kennedy MP will be addressing the Rural and National Press Clubs on Friday with Indi MP Helen Haines, where the two will discuss the role of the crossbench in a minority government.

The discussion will be led by Gabrielle Chan, author of Rusted Off: Why Country Australia is Fed Up (and all round good human). Chan often gets under the Nationals skin because she is not only a damn good journalist and communicator, she is also a farmer. So she has a unique understanding of what is at stake and where the main country party often gets it wrong.

You can find more info on the address, here.

A little earlier today, the Liberal party welcomed Leah Blyth into the senate, with the South Australian sworn in as the replacement for Simon Birmingham, who announced he was retiring late last year.

While Blyth was being welcomed, there were several MPs preparing to deliver their farewells: Labor’s Graham Perrett and Maria Vamvakinou will give their valedictory speeches this week, as will the Liberal party’s Paul Fletcher.

But those three chose when to leave – independent Kylea Tink will join their ranks in bidding the federal parliament farewell, in a bittersweet address; Tink’s seat of North Sydney was abolished in the recent AEC redistribution, meaning she did not get the choice of whether or not to stay.

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has also responded to the Closing the Gap update:

After making the announcement over the weekend, Labor women MPs are holding a press conference to talk about the $500m announced for womens’ health.

It will give more affordable access for contraceptive and hormone treatment, as well as help subsidise specialist appointments.