Well those Tuesday morning feels like it was about a decade ago, which is a sure sign that the end of the parliament week is upon us.

Richard Marles is headed to Washington to meet with US defence secretary Pete Hegseth (a Trump appointee who seems to have been chosen as a humiliation test for the Republican senators confirming him) and Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton will spend the weekend on the faux-election campaign.

And then before we know it, it will be Monday and the start of the new parliament week! Aren’t we lucky!

We will be back to cover all the parliamentary happenings from sparrows on Monday morning, and we hope you join us, as we continue to see what this little blog becomes. That thousands of you have already come and had a look – and stuck around – has been heartening to us all. We really just want to provide a little bit more value in how your democracy is presented and deliver the hits (and snaps, rare as they are) when needed, as well as have a little bit of fun where we can.

But it is your heart, and your interest in your democracy which drives us. It matters. You matter. And we are grateful to have you with us.

Still though – please take some time to find little moments of joy over the next few days. We have a pretty rough trot ahead of us – globally and at home – and you need to make sure you rest, as well as find some light in life’s little mundane beautiful moments. It’s important.

Until Monday, take care of you. Amy x

Polly Hemming, the director of the Institute’s Climate and Energy Program has had an article published on The Mandarin, which you can read, in full, here.

It’s on Australia’s responsibility on the world stage, particularly when it comes to our obligations to the world, and our region, on climate. And how we are failing.

Hemming writes much more eloquently than I, so you I’ll direct you to her own words below:

Nature’s invertebrates are masterful shape-shifters. Sea cucumbers can liquify their tissues to squeeze through the tiniest cracks, then reinflate themselves when danger passes. Sea anemones contract into nearly invisible balls during low tide, only to bloom into magnificent forms when conditions improve. Nemertean worms can stretch to many times their length or contract to a tenth of their size depending on circumstance.

The ancient survival strategies of the spineless — compensating for a lack of structural integrity through remarkable adaptability — find an uncomfortable echo in modern Australian foreign policy.

Like a threatened sea anemone, Australia can contract into near invisibility when responsibility calls. While the Australian government promotes Australia’s influential role as a renewable energy “superpower”, contributing to global decarbonisation, it minimises its role as one of the world’s largest fossil fuel exporters, claiming Australia is responsible for just 1.3% of global emissions. When standing up to regional powers is required, Australia becomes too small and powerless to resist trade pressure — forgetting we’re the world’s 13th largest economy.

Yet like these adaptable creatures, Australia also knows when to expand. When seeking influence in the Pacific, Australia suddenly inflates into a significant regional power. When pursuing defence contracts or trade deals, it becomes a crucial middle power player to justify spending hundreds of billions on military kit. When courting allies, it transforms into an indispensable strategic partner. The diplomatic equivalent of a nemertean worm, Australia stretches or contracts its perceived influence to whatever size suits the moment.

For those who missed it earlier today (understandable, an hour of Auspol is like a month in the real world. It’s like Interstellar that way) the Australia Institute’s International and Security Affairs program has a new report out on Palestine and Australia’s role in upholding international law and human rights:

The January 2025 ceasefire notwithstanding, the outlook for Palestinians remains bleak.

In the pursuit of Hamas’s destruction—an understandably appealing but completely unrealistic objective—Israel has turned Gaza into an uninhabitable wasteland. At least 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, perhaps a majority of them women and children and non-combatants. Most of its housing and public infrastructure has been reduced to rubble. At least 1.9 million Palestinians are once again displaced.

Facing the likelihood of a continuing, mutually degrading cycle of violence in the Middle East, Australia needs to address the consequences for our interests, and for the values we uphold.

You can find the whole report, here

Everyone from the Traditional Owners to Jimmy Barnes are opposed to the North West Shelf gas export project, but Woodside boss Meg O’Neil is going to talk it up anyway.

There are many reasons why everyone (except gas executives and the WA Government) hates this project, but let’s stick to three.

1.      It will increase WA gas and electricity prices. This project will strengthen the link between WA and international gas prices pushing up WA prices, that have already tripled.

2.      It will damage rock art that is 40,000 years old and culturally priceless.

3.      It will cause 4.3 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.  

Apparently O’Neil will attempt to jujitsu this last point to claim that the project is actually good for the climate because Woodside’s customers would choose to burn gas not coal.

This is a particularly strange point for her to push because it has been contradicted by the CSIRO in a report commissioned (and covered up) by…checks notes…Woodside itself.

The International Energy Agency has also debunked this, making it clear that serious climate action will see “renewables and efficiency do the heavy lifting, [with] coal-to-gas switching [contributing just] 8% of the emissions savings required”.

The Government’s proposed changes to our electoral laws are on the notice board for today.

These are the ‘once-in-a-generation’ reforms that the Government tried to ram through in the final two weeks of parliament last year, before pulling them when they didn’t get the support.

On the latest episode of Follow the Money, Democracy & Accountability Director Bill Browne speaks with Ebony Bennett about what’s wrong with the legislation, how it can be improved, and the recent political donations data dump from the Australian Electoral Commission.

Question time ends with a whimper, which is on trend for the vibe of the week.

So what did we learn?

Well, we learned more about who Labor thinks is in trouble at the next election. Once again the dixers went to MPs who are all facing very serious election challenges. Labor ministers made sure to be even more lavish in their praise of those asking the dixers than usual, which is perfect fodder for all those social media clips their staffers will no doubt be busy clipping up as we speak.

What else did we learn?

Well, with Anthony Albanese not present for political attacks over the nontroversy Peter Dutton is trying to whip up over when he was told of the police investigation into the planned caravan bomb attack against Sydney’s Jewish community, the Coalition remembered cost of living might be an issue people care about.

The thing is, apart from some of the cherry picking of numbers, every Coalition attack on cost of living is dulled by the fact the Coalition, under Dutton’s leadership, has voted most of the cost of living relief measures. Dutton’s strategy as leader has been to oppose as much as possible to create division, which is all well and good on the floor of the parliament, but step outside into the real world and people just see wreckers. There is a lot of anger at the Labor goverment at the moment, but that anger isn’t necessarily translating to an embracing of the Coalition. People are just sick of both major parties, which is why the coming election – and the independent and minor party vote – is going to be very interesting.

Allegra Spender asks Tanya Plibersek (who is representing the workplace relations minister, Murray Watt)

“Small businesses in Wentworth are really struggling and one of the main reasons is complex regulation that has gotten worse this term. Members of the crossbench wrote to the government to raise the threshold of the definition of small business from 15-25 workers.

…Will the government support this reasonable and measurable practical implementation of a policy that would support small business?”

Tanya Plibersek says…kinda, but no.

There are a series of different definitions of small business through different pieces of legislation is, most members are aware. What needs to be remembered when people have their own commonsense view of what a small business is is under workplace relations Legislation, overwhelmingly in those figures, casuals are not counted. So when you consider a workplace that has 16 employees, that may in fact represent a much larger workplace and if you were to take that to 25, there are an good number, a very good number there are no person that were considered to be small businesses which would suddenly find the workforce there exempt from whole lot of rights that this parliament decided workers should have stop we want to make sure we get the balance right in providing the distinction between acknowledging the different pressures of small businesses are under particularly with paperwork, but making sure that the definitions are realistic because with every exemption, it carries two consequences.

One, it does mean for those businesses, they do have an easy compliance burden, that is true, but it does also mean that the workers who work there have fewer rights than they would have another business was not making the changing definition is a very big step and given the way many businesses are structured in respect to casuals, that is why we have not been supporting a change in that number.

Nationals leader David Littleproud then asks Tanya Plibersek to rule out bringing in any future nature protection bill, which seriously….come on.

Independent MP Zoe Daniel asks Richard Marles (who is being deliberately ignored by the Coalition)

Last week I met with Holly Morton Bowles’ father. Holly and Bianca Jones died after consuming alcohol in Laos last year. The family are desperate for information about the investigation and whether anyone will be held responsible. They are concerned about protecting other young travelers like their precious girls. What progress has been made on this important matter?

Marles:

“I thank the member for her question. I also thank her for her advocacy and giving voice to the families of Holly and Bianca. What happened to Holly and Bianca struck at the heart of the nation and all of us stand in the embrace of her family and it is unimaginable to think about what they are going through in facing the loss of their beautiful daughters.

What is understandable is a desire on their part, as you have raised here, to find out more information but ultimately to find out who did this terrible act and to see the perpetrators of this crime brought to justice and held to account.

This is an investigation which is being undertaken by the authorities in Laos. The Australian Federal Police have made an offer to the authorities in Laos to provide their assistance in the investigation and there is a whole lot of capability that the Australian Federal Police could bring to bear in terms of this investigation.

I have to report, sadly to the house, that, at this point, the Laos authorities have not taken up that invitation on the part of – that offer on the part of the Australian Federal Police but I would want to assure the families of Bianca and Holly that we remain in contact with the Laos authorities and that the offer of assistance is being consistently offered and raised with the Laos authorities.

Beyond that, I want to make this point as well. The Minister for Foreign Affairs has spoken to her counterpart in Laos and made clear that it is the expectation of the Australian government that there be a thorough investigation into these events, into this crime and that the perpetrators be found. That is the expectation in the context of our relationship with Laos. That has been directly related by the Minister for Foreign Affairs to her counterpart and we will continue to press Laos to pursue this investigation as we will continue to offer the assistance of the Australian government through the Australian Federal Police in this investigation. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have been in contact with Bianca and Holly’s families and they will continue to do so. Any information that we have we want to share with them. I really do want to finish in thanking and acknowledging you for your advocacy on their behalf. I know it means a lot to them but it means a lot to this house and it means a lot to this nation.

Continuing the tradition of having MPs facing tough election battles asking the question – next up is Meryl Swanson who is in a lot of trouble in Paterson.

Then it’s Tania Lawrence who rounds out the Labor problem seats in WA with Hasluck.

And then we get Rob Mitchell who is in a lot of trouble in the Victorian seat of McEwen.