Welcome

The parliament is a bit all over the place today. The focus is on the mining-friendly environmental laws, which Labor wants done by the end of the sitting. It is willing to make the parliament sit until Friday if it has to (and there has been talk of also sitting next week, but that seems unlikely at this point).

For all the talk of speaking to the Greens, Labor’s focus is on getting the Coalition across the line. It doesn’t want this legislation to have any more environmental protections – that is what got the industry and industry-captured states like WA all upset last time – so now it is all about getting the Coalition to agree to pass the legislation, without adding TOO much more for business, which would absolutely tank what is left of Labor’s environmental credentials.

So the parliament is in a bit of a flux at the moment – everyone is trying to work out who will blink first.

Ahead of question time, Mike Bowers caught Anthony Albanese arriving too late for a division and being locked out of the chamber (if you don’t get there before the speaker says LOCK THE DOORS, you’re out, no matter who you are)

Bob Katter, who is the longest serving parliamentarian in Australia, having chalked up 50 years between his state and federal careers, has received an official portrait.

He had threatened to wear his inflatable pig suit for the unveiling. Mike Bowers tells me he did not.

These ceremonies go forever, so we will bring you something from when the portrait is officially de-cur

Tanya Plibersek also addressed men directly in her statement:

When students made clear that universities remain places where one in six students experienced sexual harassment and one in 20 experienced sexual assault, we established the National higher education code to prevent and respond to gender based violence, mandating that universities prevent the violence driving progress takes action from us all,

And very importantly, it will take action from men.

The recent 10 to men study found that one in three men reported using violence. I find those figures truly shocking. It’s going to take leadership from men to change those numbers.

The same 10 to men study showed that men who grew up with positive father figure, role models who expressed, affection, were 48%, less likely to become perpetrators of family violence in adulthood.

Men, especially fathers, are powerful role models for the children and young people in their lives. My plea to you is this, show through your behavior every day what it is to be strong, to be loving, to be gentle, make your home a place that is safe and help build a society that is safe for women and children.

Be a role model raise boys and girls who are strong and confident and free from violence.

Sussan Ley is back:

As a self-described new minister, over the last two days, the minister has informed this house it is not appropriate for the Minister to express empathy. The email that alerted the Minister’s office to the escalating crisis needed no response from the Minister or her office, and the coalition’s request to double the penalty to Telcos who let Australians down is confusing when will the Minister step up and take responsibility and restore trust in the 000 network for Australians?

Which is a very bad faith interpretation of what Wells said in her previous answer. Wells said she asked about the “correct process for dealing with families in this situation” and was advised it was emergency services.

The opposition absolutely have a point with the questions they are asking about Wells’ reaction to the failure. But adding on cheap politics like this just cheapens the whole issue and does nothing to actually create change.

It’s bad enough that Milton Dick has to step in:

Look, I want to make all questions relevant, but simply give opinions, you know, it would help the health of any member, including Leader of the Opposition, could perhaps read something from Hansard or a newspaper article rather than just giving an opinion about what you think someone has said or hasn’t said. I don’t have every single word that anyone has said in the whole house. It is very hard for me then do know exactly what that there are or not. Trying to work with everyone here so perhaps moving forward for the rest of the week if people could just be a little more accurate with their questions in terms of what has been said, that would be greatly I think for all members and also ministers to be accurate with their responses as well. I hope everyone gets the point.

Hello and welcome back to the mid-week parliament sitting, which also happens to be the day of the Midwinter Ball. What is that? Well, if you don’t know – congratulations! What is it like having a life?

The Midwinter Ball is a parliament event hosted by the press gallery (of which I am a member but having been forced to attend by work previously, would rather spend my evening cleaning the toe jam from an entire retirement village than attend again). It started in 2000 and raises money for charity, with MPs having to be invited to the ball by news networks or those who have been deemed special enough unicorns to buy a table. The event is held in the parliament Great Hall and is limited to 640 people – people have to apply for a table/tickets and then have that application approved by the press gallery ball committee. Then it is your usual work dinner, but worse – the prime minister and opposition leader give a speech, there is a very torturous package of journalist bloopers shown, mostly featuring the friends of those who have put it together, occasionally some comedy and then some dancing. It goes for hours and in this time of falling trust in media is probably something that should be retired, given its main feature is journalists cavorting with the power they are meant to be holding to account.

Political journalist legend Laurie Oakes never went, so he could report on it. You may remember a few things leaking out at times – most memorably in modern history, the Donald Trump impression Malcolm Turnbull did as part of his speech. After that there was a very big debate about what should be reported and what shouldn’t be reported, which memorably included some journalists complaining they should be allowed “at least one night off” which, yes, of course – but not when you are in a room full of lobbyists, corporate titans and politicians. The end result was the speeches from the leaders are now broadcast, and there are still some who complain that has taken the ‘fun’ out of the night because the leaders are more circumspect in what they say.

The ball has come under fire for accepting sponsorship from fossil fuel companies, and also the big banks (around the time of the banking royal commission) and given that journalists are supposed to be reporting without fear or favour on all these industries, and people, the idea of the ball is not just dated, it is also impacting people’s trust in the media. All the big bosses from the media companies come to Canberra for the evening, but it is mostly for the access – there is time during the ball for chats, either with the minister/shadow minister invited at your table, or during the break in entertainment/speeches/hosting which is set aside for mingling. And that is also something the lobbyists/corporate heads etc can take advantage of. So for an industry which literally reports on payment for access, and the ridiculous per-head events political parties host for fundraising, holding one yourself, even if it is for charity seems…icky.

So that is your lesson in the Midwinter Ball. It will mean that the parliament tries to keep all its business in the daylight hours so there is time for getting ready for the evening event.

Which is where we will be – covering the parliament in the daylight hours and anything else that might happen. There is still the ongoing fallout from the decision to expel the Iranian ambassador (and shuttering our own embassy in Iran) after ASIO reported what it said was a direct link between Iran and anti-Semitic attacks in Australia. Plus the US continues to be unhinged, with most of the world’s major postal services shutting down deliveries (of parcels) to the States, because the US is trying to force senders to pay the tariff on goods they are sending to customers/family in the states and then apply to the US to have those tariffs reimbursed. The US decision was meant to target all those Shien and Temu hauls social media is full off (it’s aimed at China e-commerce) but it has captured everyone and means that any small business selling their product is caught up in it. (As well as loved ones sending gifts). Rather than deal with the mess, Australia Post and others have just suspended sending packages. The Liberal MP Tim Wilson thinks this is because Anthony Albanese hasn’t had a meeting with Donald Trump for…reasons. Mostly stupid ones.

Oh and Trump tried and failed to sack the deputy governor of the US Fed (the American version of the RBA) so that is bound to have very minimal impacts on world markets (sarcasm).

So if you are feeling up to it, join along as we cover the parliamentary day, along with the fact checks and explainers where necessary. You have Amy Remeikis with you (and it is at least a four coffee morning) so I hope you will stick around.

Ready? Let’s get into it.

In more news that everything it totally fine and he isn’t worried about anything at all, David Littleproud has spoken to Sky News to say the Australian article where Barnaby Joyce endorses Michael McCormack for leader (Joyce toppled McCormack) and the pair pose like they are at a CWA fundraiser (minus scones) ain’t no thang.

Littleproud has long had to battle allegations of arrogance (from within his own party and also anyone who has had to speak to him) and in a totally normal response says:

I’m not arrogant because I respect the position I’ve got.

He’s still D-Little from the block.

For those looking for a bit of good news this morning, here is what Angus Taylor looked like at the Coalition’s joint party room meeting, as seen through Mike Bowers’ lens:

Meanwhile, leader Sussan Ley wants the party room to know that everything is just fine actually:

AB asks I have a vague recollection of reading somewhere that if their numbers fell below a certain threshold in the Senate (which would happen with Perin Davey losing her spot), the Nationals would lose out on some staffing or similar there as well – could have been party status, if I remember rightly?

Well, they are going to lose out on staffing now anyway as they are no longer the opposition. So if the Liberals are the opposition and the Nats are not part of that, they lose staff (they’ll only have electoral staff like every other backbencher) and the Nats who were in the shadow ministry lose the 25% base top up.

And the Nats state parties aren’t known for paying their affiliation fees, so unlike the Greens, the party doesn’t have a lot of money to dip into for extra staff etc.

Which means National ‘spokespeople’ will be going it largely alone with no extra resources.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

Andrew Bolt is now having a coronary over the Greens, so I hope Adam Bandt and co are having a drink in celebration.

He is OUTRAGED that Labor won’t put them last, but demanded the Liberals put One Nation last.

I don’t know…racism and xenophobia and whatever else it is PHON is offering up these days is probably worse than saying everyone deserves an affordable home and landlords shouldn’t be able to ruin tenants lives and also wouldn’t dental in Medicare be great, and also genocide is bad – but what would we know. We don’t live in a multi-million dollar property complete with a built in studio so we never have to worry ourselves with commuting to work.

But like a true diva, Bolt did announce his change in circumstances in very dramatic fashion – he said he was quitting Melbourne and moving to the ‘bush’ in 2020 – until it was revealed the bush was the Mornington Pennisula.