The week began with a concession from the government on “Baby Asha”, being kept in the Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital on doctor’s orders. Asha, as she is being called, and her family are part of a group of sick and injured asylum seeker children who are in Australia with their families for medical assistance who are due to be sent back to detention on Nauru once well. Asha, who has severe scald burns on her torso after a pot of hot water fell onto her (her mum is understood to have been boiling it to make sure it was safe for drinking), was due to be discharged a few weeks ago. The medical staff at the hospital, decided that releasing her would cause harm, and refused discharge her if she was to be sent to Nauru. That, combined with the protestors outside the hospital supporting the medical staff, meant a lot of negative publicity for the government. So, the government eventually conceded to allow Asha and her family to stay in community detention for the time being.
Somehow the Labor party seems to have the upper hand when it comes to tax policy, and that may just be because they have been able to draw out confirmations and denials from the Turnbull government about just what is in the tax reform package. There were concerns at the beginning of the week that the Coalition would allow Superannuation be optional for low-income earners, I guess because that would give them more take home pay, but it also defies sensibility given that it would push them all onto the pension in old age, at a huge cost to the taxpayer. That idea seems to have disappeared now, as has the possibility of fiddling with capital gains tax – or it did on Monday night, only to apparently change on Tuesday morning. The week wasn’t any better for the government on tax, especially when there appeared to be contradictory messages on Labor’s negative gearing policy. Malcolm Turnbull has spent a long time saying that it will decrease the price of houses (which doesn’t seem like a bad thing to people in my generation who are unlikely to buy their first home anytime soon), only for Assistant Treasurer Kelly O’Dwyer to appear to suggest that Labor’s negative gearing plan could in fact increase the cost of homes. Oops.
Election rumblings are continuing this week, with the government announcing electoral reforms for the senate ballot papers. The reform is in an attempt to curb what is called “preference deals” in which small parties exchange preferences in the hope that one of them might get a person in the senate with the tiniest of margins (think 0.02% of the vote). The idea is to allow voters to write the numbers 1-6 (or 1-12 in a double dissolution election) in the boxes above or below the line for who they want to represent them in the senate, and once those 6 (or 12) people or parties are counted, the vote is exhausted. They are also tossing around the idea of logos on the ballot papers. This makes it more likely that more substantive parties, like the Liberals, Nationals, Labor and to an extent the Greens, will have the balance of power in the Senate, instead of some random guy from a one-issue party. At the moment, the Greens and Nick Xenophon are on board with the changes – mainly because they feel have enough support to get senate seats without preference deals (this is true for Xenophon as he came second in his last Senate election). On the other hand, the PUP, Liberal Democrats, Family First and the ex-PUPs Jacqui Lambie and Glen Lazarus, as well as ex-DLP John Madigan are not supporting the changes, as they are less likely to survive, and have found themselves support in the for of Labor.
Thanks to the Greens and Nick Xenophon, the government is likely to get the Senate reforms through. It also seems that the government could call the election in July in a Double Dissolution, in order to re-do the senate entirely, as most of the issues stemmed from the 2013 Election, and Senators voted in then still have until 2019.
The Defence White Paper was released this week, with plans to make Defence spending equal to 2% of Australia’s GDP in the next few years. Australia is essentially joining the “Asian Arms Race” with new ships, planes and submarines to be made. The aim is to make an investment in security, and it better pay off. At least $50 billion will be spent on buying 12 submarines from someone, yet the maintenance of them could be three times that. 75 Joint Strike Fighter Jets (which are the F-35 Jets that have been delayed by issue after issue to the point where Canada and Denmark began reconsidering their orders). 21 new ships will be built by Australian shipbuilders, contributing to the large amount of money and gear the Navy is getting as the major beneficiary of this White Paper.
Finally this week, survivors and family members of child abuse in the Catholic Church have travelled to Rome to hear Cardinal Pell’s evidence to the Royal Commission; Tony Abbott says that China doesn’t share Australia’s values while on the speaking circuit and Mal Brough will leave politics at the next election.
Tweet of the Week
Things I’ve Been Looking at Online
Annabel Crabb on trolls – SMH
The Side of Mardi Gras you don’t see – Buzzfeed
Cory Bernardi vs. Bill Shorten
Kara L 