Time for me to wrap things up. What happened?
- the government announced wide ranging changes to media ownership laws including scrapping the number of types of media a proprietor can own;
- a Senate inquiry has heard the government's proposed changes to electoral laws could face a High Court challenge;
- former prime minister Tony Abbott has urged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull not to change negative gearing;
- Liberal senator Cory Bernardi has been given a three month stint at the United Nations starting in September; and
- NSW deputy Labor leader Linda Burney has announced she will try and enter federal Parliament at the election.
My thanks to Andrew Meares and Alex Ellinghausen and to you for reading and commenting.
You can follow me on Facebook.
Andrew, Alex and I will be back in the morning. We hope to see you then. Good night.
One hard working staffer for Education Minister Simon Birmingham has written a poem (in four verses) to encourage children to enter a national poetry competition.
I have to share one verse of it:
"Waiting' is this year's theme,
And it should encourage you to dream,
We had 10,000 submissions in 2015,
More this year we aim to glean."
Time for the usual stories we missed while we were in question time.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has offered to hold "frank and open" discussions with East Timor about the unresolved maritime boundary but stopped short of the fledgling state's request for formal and discrete talks to settle the impasse.
And Liberal senator Cory Bernardi is off to the United Nations.
I think the Deputy Prime Minister was in a different question time to me.
Ms Parke, who was an international human rights lawyer before she entered politics, said the reason the High Court recently ruled offshore detention was constitutional was because the constitution offered no protection for human rights.
Ms Parke concluded by quoting author Tim Winton: "We live now as hostages to our lowest fears....A settlement built on suffering will never be settled. An economy built on cruelty is a swindle. A sense of comfort built upon the crushed spirits of children is but a delusion that feeds ghosts and unleashes fresh terrors....We have hardened our hearts. I fear we have devalued the currency of mercy."
Back to top"In the time I have been in Parliament Australia's position has become demonstrably worse and far more hypocritical," Ms Parke went on.
"Is there no limit to the cruelty to be imposed on people in the name of deterrence? It seems that not even proven murder, suicide and widespread raping and attacking of asylum seekers and refugees is sufficient to cause a change in policy or to implement something as basic and essential to good governance as independent oversight."
You might remember that Labor MP Melissa Parke is one of the MPs retiring at the election.
Ms Parke made a speech in the House of Representatives last night in which she made clear her disgust with the immigration policies of both parties.
Ms Parker said "the deliberate policy of cruelty that defines our offshore detention system" makes a mockery of Australia's various international human rights commitments.
"Australia's policy of off-shore processing for asylum seekers arriving by sea, and its interception and turning back of vessels, is leading to a chain of human rights violations, including arbitrary detention and possible torture following return to home countries," Ms Parke said.
And that's it for question time.
Mr Turnbull will not be rushed into announcing anything about any changes to tax policy by the opposition.
"What we are doing is working through the issues carefully," Mr Turnbull says.
"When we have completed our deliberations, when the government has concluded its work, we will present the conclusions."
Does anyone have the time?
The opposition is getting annoyed that Mr Turnbull likes to deflect questions to other ministers. It raises a point of order.
Leader of the house Christopher Pyne says it is entirely within the standing orders: "Fortunately we have an embarrassment of riches on the front bench."
The Speaker agrees.
Mr Turnbull and Mr Morrison have now refused to rule out retrospective changes to negative gearing five times.
It's not like the government would introduce a retrospective measure such as this but it's a useful tool for the opposition to make its broader point.
That's politics for you.
It's Liberal MP Fiona Scott's birthday so she gets to ask Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop a question. Which allows her to talk about the success of Mad Max: Fury Road at yesterday's Oscars.
Greens MP Adam Bandt wants to know why Mr Turnbull has ordered a review of the Safe Schools program.
Mr Turnbull says every child has the right to be safe wherever they are.
"We have no tolerance for bullying of any kind," he says. "It is unacceptable on whatever basis that bullying occurs, whether it is on the basis of a child's sexual
orientation, their perception of their sexuality, of their race, their gender, their religion, their appearance."
"We respect every member of this house because they represent, they represent Australians. They represent a constituency."
You can see the government is opening up the fronts of attack on Labor's negative gearing policy.
Treasurer Scott Morrison talks about the high number of people who have private investment properties that make up housing for members of the Australian Defence Force.
Diggers need houses which need investors.
Mr Shorten: "Today the former prime minister has shirt fronted the current prime minister over his lack of economic leadership."
Sometimes it's all about the zinger.
Mr Turnbull takes a question from his own side about changes to media ownership.
"They are a relic of the past economy," Mr Turnbull says. "They have been out of date for years."
"This is substantial micro economic reform."
Mr Turnbull talks about the challenges of switching from an economy reliant on the mining boom to one that needs to capitalise on the new economy.
"What is the Labor Party doing? Recklessly, thoughtlessly undermining the value of the family home."
And question time begins as it has on many recent occasions with Opposition leader Bill Shorten asking the Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to "finally show some leadership and rule out retrospective changes to negative gearing".
There is a brief flurry of points of order but Speaker Tony Smith allows the question.
Mr Turnbull welcomes the chance "to talk about our party room and the depth of experience on our side of the house".
And on that note let's get ready for question time.
Back to topSearch pagination
1 new post(s) available. View post(s) Dismiss