The week began with reflection as Malcolm Turnbull returned from New Zealand and travelled to Darwin to commemorate 75 years since the bombing of the city in World War II. There was a reenactment, as well as speeches – and it appears that Japan is, year by year, becoming more involved in the commemorations. There was also a service for American soldiers based in Darwin who were killed during the bombing.
While not a sitting week, there was some controversy as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu coming to Australia, where he was met by the Prime Minister and the NSW Premier, amongst other government ministers. The whole Israel-Palestine conference is complicated and controversial. The Liberal government supports the two-state solution, but also sucks up to the Israelis a bit too – criticising the UN for a resolution that criticised Israel for building settlements. However, Labor is a divided house on this issue – many members believe Israel is in the wrong, mainly in their branches and grassroots groups. On the other hand, there are Jewish and Israel-sympathetic members of the party who disagree, but are increasingly shouted down within the party.
The end of the week saw Indonesian President Joko Widodo finally pay a visit to Australia, where he met with the PM, the NSW Premier and Australian business groups, as rumours of a Free Trade Agreement swirl.
Meanwhile, Tony Abbott reared his head and decided to cause some trouble, accusing the party of not being far enough to the right and saying they’ll be defeated at the next election. He was then criticised by Matthias Cormann and other members of the Liberal Party for being unhelpful and destructive. While Abbott doesn’t have the numbers to challenge, the concern is he may be setting the foundations for unrest within the party which could lead to a challenge from someone else.
It appears that the Medicare rebate freeze might be loosened at the next budget as long as the money is available to do so, while Labor continues to go on about Medicare privatisation.
The week’s biggest news was the Fair Work Commission decision on retail (including pharmacy), fast food and hospitality employee penalty rates. Rates will now be decreased on Sundays and public holidays. While the government is supportive of the Commission’s ruling, Labor is critical of the ruling and are suggesting that the Liberal party are behind the change, not the Commission. They also believe that this will allow other industries to challenge current penalty rates.
Finally this week, the RBA chief has said abolishing or reforming negative gearing will help with housing affordability; the government has announced that medical marijuana will be imported to give patients better access until local stocks grow; Julie Bishop travelled to the USA to visit Vice President Mike Pence; the Australia Post boss has quit shortly after his pay packet was revealed to be around $5.6 million – although it is unclear if this is what caused it; and there are calls for George Brandis to quit after Labor accused him of lying to Parliament.
Tweet of the Week
https://twitter.com/newley/status/834615245717008389
Things I’ve Been Looking at Online
Mem Fox (author of Possum Magic) was detained at LAX – ABC Online
Kara L 