Australia politics live: Labor to legislate public ownership of NBN; Albanese makes second apology for Tourette remark | Australian politics
Key events
Good morning
Amy Remeikis
Hello and welcome to the midpoint of this short sitting week – and a very big thank you to Martin for taking us through the morning news.
You have Amy Remeikis with you for the parliamentary day.
Ready? It’s going to be at least a four-coffee day. We’ve got question time in just under three hours today and that’s a jolt none of us needed. So maybe five coffees. And a donut.
Let’s get into it.
Josh Butler
Report says 90% of those using paid family violence scheme say it has helped
The government is heralding the results of its new paid family and domestic violence leave program, with an independent statutory report showing 90% of those using the scheme said it had helped them.
The review will be tabled in parliament today. We understand it will recommend a focus on increasing awareness and understanding of the entitlement and making sure employers and employees know about the scheme.
The review also concedes there is an ongoing stigma among some workers around family violence, which can be a barrier to some people seeking to access the payment.
The program allows 10 days paid leave for people experiencing family violence. People surveyed for the review said they had used the payments to help them make arrangements for their safety or the safety of their children, or to access medical, legal and police services.
The payment, the review found, allowed people to take time off work to access services they could not access outside work hours, or let them access that help during work hours without the perpetrator of their abuse knowing about it.
Stakeholders – including peak union groups and employer groups – have also backed the change, saying it has improved workplace culture and helped support employees facing violence.
Greens aim to force gambling debate
Josh Butler
The Greens will try to force a debate on gambling reform today by introducing a bill modelled on the recommendations of the inquiry led by late Labor MP Peta Murphy, which called for a full ban on gambling advertising.
“The public are sick of the excuses and the delays,” said Sarah Hanson-Young, the Greens’ communications spokesperson.
Tim Costello, the chief advocate for the Alliance for Gambling Reform, was also concerned at the delay in enacting change.
“I’m completely mystified this has taken 16 months,” he said.
Karen Middleton
Labor to seek legal power to compel responses to hacks
The federal government is moving to gain greater legal powers to respond to serious cyber incidents, including compelling the private sector to provide information and issuing directions to businesses on how they must respond in the event of a serious attack.
The new measures, contained in a legislative package to be introduced to parliament today, will also introduce minimum cybersecurity standards for smartphones and force businesses to upgrade their risk management programs and report payments they make in response to ransomware attacks.
The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, will today introduce a bill to create a standalone cybersecurity act and implement measures flagged in the cybersecurity strategy published last year.
The package of measures will include restrictions on how the Australian Signals Directorate and National Cyber Security Coordinator can use the information that businesses share about their systems and will clarify the protective obligations applying to systems that hold business-critical data.
“This legislation ensures we keep pace with emerging threats, positioning individuals and businesses better to respond to, and bounce back from cybersecurity threats,” Burke said in remarks issued ahead of introducing the legislation.
“To achieve Australia’s vision of being a world leader in cybersecurity by 2030, we need the unified effort of government, industry and the community.”
Burke said creating a stand-alone cybersecurity act was “a long overdue step for our country” and reflected “the government’s deep concern and focus on these threats”.
Among the measures are changes to the existing Security of Critical Infrastructure Act, which will give government the power to step in as a last resort during a significant incident to manage the consequences.
They will also establish a cyber review board and shift responsibility for telecommunications security into the infrastructure legislation.
‘They are not just numbers, they are precious lives’
Metres from yesterday’s bitter debate in parliament about the motion remembering the 7 October Hamas attack, those with family and friends in Gaza pleaded for them to be seen as more than just headlines and numbers.
The Guardian’s Daniel Hurst listened as Dr Bushra Othman, a Melbourne surgeon who recently returned from a volunteering stint at al-Aqsa hospital in Gaza, told a media conference in Parliament House: “The people of Gaza are not just headlines. They are not just numbers. They are precious lives.”
Read his whole report here:
And Josh Taylor has written about a pro-Palestine professor from America whse visa is being reviewed after controversial comments at a rally in Sydney.
As mentioned at the top, the Middle East conflict is deeply and personally felt here in Australia, by so many who grieve for the lives lost. And it has also redrawn domestic political faultlines.
Political editor Karen Middleton tells Reged Ahmad how differing views of the Israel-Gaza war have percolated up into our political debate.
Prime minister issues second apology after Tourette syndrome remark
The prime minister has apologised for a second time for referring to Tourette syndrome during an exchange with the shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, during question time yesterday.
Taylor had asked a question on tax policy. After Taylor’s repeated interjections during Albanese’s answer, the prime minister remarked:
Have you got Tourette’s or something? You sit there, ‘babble, babble, babble’.
He was called to order and replied: “I withdraw, Mr Speaker. I withdraw and apologise.”
Later on Tuesday evening, Albanese returned to the chamber to deliver a fuller apology, saying:
Today in question time I made comments that were unkind and hurtful. I knew it was wrong as soon as I made the comment. I apologised and I withdrew as soon as I said it, but it shouldn’t have happened. I also want to apologise to all Australians who suffer from this disability. I regret saying it. It was wrong. It was insensitive and I apologise.
The Labor government will introduce a new bill to parliament on Wednesday to keep the $51bn network in public hands. AAP reports.
The move will put pressure on the opposition to declare whether it plans to privatise the network if it wins power at next year’s federal election.
“Keeping the NBN in public hands means high-speed broadband remains affordable for Australian families and businesses around the country,” Anthony Albanese said.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said more than 8.5 million customers would be worse off if the network was privatised.
“Australians don’t trust the coalition not to flog off the NBN just like they did with Telstra, resulting in higher prices and poorer services, especially in the regions,” she said.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said the NBN was a critical piece of national infrastructure that helped to fuel economic growth.
The Communication Workers Union, which represents NBN staff, hailed the move.
NBN workers will breathe a sigh of relief, national president Shane Murphy said.
“This bill will ensure that Australians will not be threatened with massive price hikes and service quality deterioration that would inevitably occur should this vital piece of our nation’s public infrastructure be sold to the highest bidder,” he said.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it’ll be Amy Remeikis taking the controls.
There’ve been reviews, investigations and a lot of talk but the Labor government will today announce a crackdown on the controversial way Qantas and Virgin manage runway slots as the fight against anticompetitive business behaviours gathers pace. Airlines that strategically cancel flights to block competition at Sydney airport could face civil penalties.
On another front on the war against the cost of living, Anthony Albanese will say today that new laws to keep the NBN publicly owned will ensure high-speed broadband remains affordable for all Australians. His government will introduce a new bill to parliament today to keep the $51bn network in public hands. More coming up.
The impact of the Middle East crisis continues to reverberate through Australian politics – in Canberra, the parties clashed again yesterday over how the country should be responding to the conflict. With more tough exchanges expected on the issue today, we hear from Palestinian Australians who have pleaded for the appalling humanitarian cost of the war to be recognised properly. And we also have a podcast on how it could change our politics.
And last night in Canberra, the prime minister returned to the chamber unexpectedly to apologise for an earlier comment, made in the heat of the question time debate, referring to Tourette syndrome. More on that in a few minutes.
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