Tag Archives: Climate Change

The Week That Was – February 24 to March 2

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With the Federal Election due to be called sometime after the Federal Budget on April 2nd, politicians are getting ready for the battle ahead. The Coalition have announced their climate change reduction policy, which is a re-animation of Tony Abbott’s scheme, which essentially gave out grants for emissions reduction actions like not cutting down trees. This plan had no real impact last time it was implemented, with research showing that Australia’s emissions have continued to climb. On the plus side, the “Snowy Hydro 2.0” – basically an upgrade to the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme to improve its energy generation capacity.

Meanwhile the Labor Party have announced that they will continue with the Turnbull-era National Energy Guarantee (NEG) that they agreed to support before Turnbull was overthrown because of it. Labor is copping criticism for using the NEG, but they’ve been more consistent in their support for any sort of climate reduction policy that might actually work and is also feasible. Labor also announced a plan to support the building of several merchant ships that would be commercially operated, but could be seconded and captained by the military in a national security emergency. The government has framed this as the Labor party bowing to the MUA (the maritime industry union).

This week, two more ministers joined the stream of Liberal Cabinet ministers retiring from politics. Defence Minister Christopher Pyne and Defence Industries Minister Steve Ciobo have joined Nigel Scullion, Kelly O’Dwyer and Michael Keenan in deciding to leave parliament at the next election. Ciobo’s seat of Moncrieff on Queensland’s Gold Coast is safe Liberal (on a margin of around 14%), leaving some to suspect that the LNP may reshuffle their candidates and parachute Peter Dutton into the seat to keep him in politics. Pyne’s electorate of Sturt in South Australia is also safe Liberal (around 10%), and it appears the South Australian Premier’s chief of staff will run for pre-selection in the seat.

Ciobo also left his ministerial position, so Scott Morrison has replaced him as Defence Industries Minister with Senator Linda Reynolds, who is a former Brigadier. It has also been suggested that should the Coalition win the next election she will become the Defence Minister. While Reynolds’ appointment does increase the number of women in cabinet to the highest number ever, there is concern that her appointment was more a political point scoring exercise to get another women in cabinet and break the record for the most number of women in an Australian Cabinet ever. All of this change also gives the perception that these ministers are evacuating a sinking ship. The Labor party is also jumping on this perception, and I’m tempted to agree, if only because I’m inclined to believe that if my spidey senses are anything to go by the Coalition are likely to lose the next election.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Party have had pre-selection challenges for candidates in Kelly O’Dwyer’s electorate of Higgins and Michael Keenan’s electorate of Stirling. Dr Katie Allen has been selected for Higgins, and Vince Connelly has been selected for Stirling.

This week, the ABC announced that they had settled the unfair dismissal case with former Managing Director Michelle Guthrie. Meanwhile, the Government has announced the new Chairperson for the ABC’s Board as Ita Buttrose. The media doyenne, whose father was an executive at the ABC when her career in magazines was taking off, is the second woman to become Chairperson since Dame Leonie Kramer in 1982. Buttrose has said that she wants to stabilise the management at the ABC – they still need an MD – and that if the ABC does need more money, she’s not afraid to ask for it.

Finally this week, Cardinal George Pell was found guilty of historical child sexual abuse offences dating back to 1996 at the end of last year. The trial was not public knowledge because of an injunction placed on the case by the Judge, who felt that media coverage would not allow Pell a fair trial in a second case that was due to go ahead this week – but charges were dropped. He’s had his bail revoked and is now awaiting sentencing, with former Prime Minister John Howard announced as one of ten character witnesses for Pell’s sentencing.

Tweet of the Week

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

Those who feel Pell is being hard done by are disrespecting the justice system – SMH

The reaction of Pell’s defenders just displays their power – The Guardian

Both Steggall and Abbott will need to work to woo Warringah’s voters – ABC Online

The Two Week That Were – November 25 to December 8

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The Victorian State Election saw the incumbent Labor government returned to power with a massive margin. Labor won seats they hadn’t held for decades, if ever, and this election results suggests that both the NSW and Federal Liberals have a big fight ahead of them in elections due in early 2019. NSW Liberal Premier Gladys Berejiklian says that the Victorian election was fought on local issues, and therefore the result bears no reflection on NSW, but I don’t think that’s entirely true – yes, a lot of the issues that got Labor over the line in Victoria were local, but the sentiment towards the Liberal party in general isn’t good. They’re seen by many to be homophobic, anti-women and climate denialists – and that is a problem for moderate Liberals who are trying to hold on to their seats.

This fortnight saw the final two sitting weeks of federal parliament, where the main focus was on national security, LGBTQ+ discrimination, and medical treatment for detainees on Manus Island. New Wentworth MP, Kerryn Phelps was sworn into the House of Representatives, and then Chisholm MP Julia Banks announced she was moving to the crossbench and would no longer be a Liberal MP, and would consider running in Chisholm as an independent at the next election.

Phelps introduced legislation during this fortnight that fulfilled her election promise to ensure the medical evacuation of detainees on Manus Island and Nauru when two doctors deem it necessary to do so. The Labor party and the cross-bench are on board, however, the Liberal party seems to be framing this legislation as a way to changing the way people are being processed (spoiler alert: it’s not), and lead the government to run out the clock on Thursday afternoon to avoid the legislation being voted on in the House of Representatives.

The government also moved to delay the vote on the Labor Party’s anti-discrimination legislation in the Senate. The legislation is to stop schools from being able to expel or refuse enrolment to LGBTIQ+ students, which the government referred to a Senate review committee, angering the Opposition. The Liberals then announced their own legislation that did the same thing yet allowed religious schools flexibility in order to reflect their beliefs – which kind of defeats the point of the legislation in the first place.

A parliamentary committee that was reviewing the Uluru Statement – a set of recommendations on constitutional recognition formed by indigenous scholars, politicians and indigenous elders – have recommended that many of the statement’s recommendations be implemented, including an “indigenous voice” to parliament, a truth-telling commission and a national resting place for indigenous remains. Labor has said if it wins the election in 2019, that implementing the recommendations, or at least seeing how they could be implemented, would be a top priority. The Liberal Party is yet to comment.

This fortnight also saw Prime Minister Scott Morrison attend the G20 Summit in Argentina, where he emphasised the need for the G20 member states to trade fairly and openly. Morrison met with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump – all of whom I think were slightly confused as to who the new Prime Minister was. Merkel was seen with briefing notes on Morrison, while Trump asked the PM what happened to Malcolm Turnbull. It seems that the G20 was quite successful, with Morrison doing well on the international stage, and the Chinese and Americans agreeing on some trade rules.

The Banking Royal Commission has come to an end with the major banks’ CEOs and Board Chairpeople appearing at the Commission to (somewhat) admit to, and apologise for the banks’ bad behaviour. Commissioner Kenneth Hayne QC thanked the witnesses for their evidence, and especially to the victims of rogue banking practices who had to speak about their financials in public. Hayne’s report is due in February.

The ABC’s board members, as well as former Managing Director Michelle Guthrie and former board chairman Justin Milne, have appeared at a Senate inquiry into the sacking of Ms Guthrie. Guthrie reiterated her allegations of both inappropriate behaviour and political interference on Milne’s part, while Milne continues to deny both allegations. Meanwhile the board members have expressed confusion as to why Guthrie only brought up the interference issue at the last moment in what looks like an eleventh-hour attempt to stave off being sacked.

Also this fortnight , the Australian Border Force has had a $300 million budget blow-out and they have to cut costs, mostly through sacking casual personnel. The concern from the union and Labor is that frontline staff will be sacked, a concern the government says is unfounded. The other fear is that should frontline staff go, many might come from Australia’s airports, delaying holiday travellers as the Christmas period gets underway.

Finally this fortnight, students skipped school during the fortnight to protest the government’s approach to climate change, while the government suggested they should go back t school rather than engaging in politics, which would only lead to the dole queue. There are also concerns that there are major delays in registering religious organisations for the redress scheme with only 20 payouts so far from 2000 applications.

Tweet of the Fortnight

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

Parliament House is designed for democracy, and dysfunction – ABC Online

Simon Royal on the career of ex-South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill – ABC Online

The Week That Was – April 17 to April 23

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The week began with Parliament being recalled, with three weeks for the Senate to pass the ABCC legislation, before Malcolm Turnbull calls a double dissolution election. The Senate didn’t let Turnbull wait long, rejecting the legislation a second time and giving Turnbull his trigger. Most media outlets are so certain that there will be a double dissolution, they’ve started using their “Australia Votes” graphics already, even without the actual campaign.

The issue is however, that while a double dissolution would have been great for Turnbull and the Liberals a few months ago, there is now a risk of either a hung parliament or a win to Labor. While there is still a decent chance of return of Liberal government, albeit without a couple of marginal seats that were always going to swing to Labor, that chance is reduced. Part of that is due to complacency from the Liberal Party, in thinking that their very popular leader would help them coast through, as well as limited change from the previous Abbott government’s policies and the fact that it became so obvious earlier this year that a double dissolution was on the cards that Bill Shorten was able to plan and get ahead of the Liberals in the policy-selling stakes.

The week also began with several Canberra rallies for and against the Road Safety Remuneration Tribunal (RSRT). Those against it are owner-drivers and small trucking business owners, concerned they will be priced out of the market, supported by the Liberal Party. Meanwhile, Bill Shorten and Labor, along with other truck drivers, usually employed by bigger trucking companies have argued the benefit of it, in that it keeps drivers safer. The government also added the legislation to remove the RSRT in the Senate this week, and that was successful.

The politics over banks has continued, with Bill Shorten and Labor still talking about having a Royal Commission into the industry while Turnbull and the Liberals came up with the alternative of making those who ASIC investigates foot the watchdog’s bill. There has also been some drama over dental health funding, with the Liberals announcing a $5 billion injection of funds into state run dental clinics. However this is at the cost of a $3 billion children’s dental care voucher program.

South Australia also got some attention this week with the government announcing that South Australian ship builders will be involved in the building of offshore patrol vessels and frigates, with patrol boats being made in Perth when it comes time for the South Australian to make the frigates. There are concerns though about whether or not that promise will be kept, and if the submarines will be made in SA, once the government finally picks a model – although it probably won’t be long now.

It’s been announces that the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) was hacked, presumably by Chinese People’s Liberation Army agents, back in December. The Bureau has links to the Department of Defence, and it is believed that it cost hundreds of millions to re-secure the Bureau’s systems. But that’s not all, recently the USA informed Australia that Parliament House had been hacked and that China could see all emails, from the PM down. Oops. It’s also been confirmed that the Australian Signals Directorate has the capability to hack other nations too.

Johnny Depp’s wife Amber Heard appeared in court this week over the drama last year involving her dogs, Pistol and Boo. Heard plead guilty to falsifying her quarantine document, was given a good behaviour bond and made a video with Depp about Australia’s quarantine laws, which makes for some interesting viewing…

Meanwhile, Bronwyn Bishop lost preselection for the seat of Mackellar and Jason Falinski will now be the Liberal candidate in the blue-ribbon (i.e. almost always safe Liberal) seat. There was also some major drama and controversy in Parliament house when Tanya Plibersek’s hand was not shaken by the Governor-General, and Labor’s Stephen Conroy got a bit too riled up about it, and suggested Australia become a republic and that Governor General Cosgrove was akin to Sir John Kerr.

Finally this week, Clive Palmer’s company Queensland Nickel will be liquidated and Palmer and his nephew will likely be pursued in the courts by creditors and/or the government; Malcolm Turnbull has said the Channel Nine journalists were “most unwise” to have gotten involved (including paying) in the ‘retrieval’ of two kids from their father in Lebanon, which resulted in their arrest; and Australia signed the Paris Climate deal, and now need to ratify it in Parliament, which they will do along with the second part of the Kyoto agreement.

Tweet of the Week

https://twitter.com/workmanalice/status/722360331079581696

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

Calling things Marxist is the new political correctness – The Guardian

Leigh Sales (of ABC’s 7.30) on the ‘vibe’ of the 2016 election – ABC The Drum

Annabel Crabb on political discipline and the election – ABC The Drum

I watched my lesbian girlfriend marry a gay man – The Guardian

The Week That Was – December 13 to December 19

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As Christmas approaches, the world of politics has mellowed a bit.

The week began with a Climate Change agreement in Paris, with an aspiration to cap temperature rises to 2ºC if not 1.5ºC. Australia did not get all of the things that it wanted, but nor did other countries.The next step, as Julie Bishop said, was the implementation of changes.  According to experts and activists the changes need to ba made now and that the government should do more than just the 26-26% reduction it promised at the talks in Paris – with suggestions that Australia needs to become a carbon neutral economy sooner rather than later.

As always, just before Christmas, the government releases MYEFO – basically a budget update in which, at least for the last few years, we’ve been told the deficit is just a little bit worse. It was the same this year, as iron ore prices continue to drop and tax reform is yet to occur, meaning that other options have been considered. The government has announced that bulk billing incentives for pathology services will either be decreased or removed, causing issues for patients who need regular scans, blood tests or other services, causing concern among doctor’s groups, as well as patient and community groups.

Malcolm Turnbull spent the end of this week in Japan, meeting with academics and other tech experts to talk about innovation, Turnbull took a selfie with a robot.

He also met with Japanese PM Abe, and talked about the economy and also about issues with Southern Ocean Whaling, after Japan set off this year for the Southern Ocean after a year off.

Finally this week, it has been a year since the Sydney Siege and a memorial service was held in Martin Place, Ian Macfarlane has been stopped by LNP state executive from changing party rooms, and Australia is now doing freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea to keep an eye on China.

Have a Merry Christmas.

Tweet of the Week

Hilarity from the latest Chat 10, Looks 3 episode

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

Annabel Crabb on the Paris Agreement – ABC The Drum

An AFR article on outgoing ABC Managing Director – AFR

2015 on ABC News 24

The Week That Was – November 22 to November 28

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The week began with Anti-Islam and Anti-racism protests in most capital cities and while there was some fighting between the groups, most people were well behaved and the police kept each group as far away from each other as possible.

Meanwhile, Malcolm Turnbull completed his first World Tour with a trip to Malaysia for the ASEAN East Asia Conference. Turnbull met with the Malaysian PM, discussing the battle against Islamic State as well as trying to encourage China to play nice in the South China Sea. Upon his return to Australia, Turnbull was in Parliament, where the government and the opposition made speeches of condolence to the people of Paris as well as talking about keeping Australia safe.

Turnbull has also been questioned by the media over the wording in some of his speeches as well as whether or not he has a grip on the more conservative faction of his party. Furthermore, there has been calls from Labor that Mal Brough should either stand down or be sacked from his ministry due to a police investigation into Brough’s role in the Peter Slipper scandal back in 2011-2012. Then, at the end of the week, he flew to Malta for the CHOGM meetings, where he met Queen Elizabeth and apparently made her chuckle when he spoke of Prince Charles’ visit to Australia a few weeks back, and then he will travel to Paris for the Climate Conference.

Climate Change was a big thing this week in the lead up to the Paris conference, with concerns that Turnbull is heading to France with Tony Abbott’s old, and somewhat sub-par climate plan. Labor has come out with an alternative, suggesting a 45% reduction by 2030 and a carbon neutral economy by 2050. This is based off the exact same model that the Liberals are using for their climate plan too, so it should be interesting to see the reaction.

Domestic Violence came to the fore this week for Wednesday’s White Ribbon day, with Malcolm Turnbull telling the country that there must be change and it will have to be lead by men, while surveys are showing that young men are more likely to blame others for their problems and play down their aggressive behaviour, while young women are more likely to blame themselves as well as justify the aggressive behaviour of their partners.

The government has changed the terrorism warning system indicators from High, Low, Moderate etc, to a simpler system suggesting the likeliness of an attack.

national-terrorism-threat-advisory-system-graphic.-data
The new terror attack warning system. (from: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-26/national-terrorism-threat-advisory-system-graphic./6976880)

 Under this simpler system the current warning is the second-lowest “probable”, so we’re pretty safe for now.

There are still national security concerns over foreign investment in Australia, with the US Ambassador meeting Australian officials to get more information on the Darwin Port deal, angry that they were not consulted. However, Defence Minister Marise Payne says that she was abroad with Julie Bishop when the decision was made and that as soon as it was, someone was dispatched to the Pentagon to tell US officials.

Finally this week, the coalition against Islamic State have completed more airstrikes on ISIS strongholds; the government wants the states to increase their trading hours to increase choice and the help the economy and Hillsong’s Brian Houston has been found to have had a conflict on interest over his father’s abuse of a young child at the Royal Commission into Child Abuse.

Also, if you live in the electorate of North Sydney, don’t forget you have a by-election on December 5!

Tweet of the Week

https://twitter.com/nthsydneyvotes/status/669365995148972032

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

First Dog on Bill Shorten’s dismal poll numbers – The Guardian

First Dog on White Ribbon Day – The Guardian

SBS2 The Feed’s retrospective for 2015

 

The Week That Was – December 21 to December 27

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It was inordinately busy in the days leading up to Christmas this year.

It began with a reshuffle of Tony Abbott’s Cabinet, during which he sacked David Johnston as Minister for Defence, putting Kevin Andrews in his place. That meant the role of Minister for Social Services was given to Scott Morrison, and Peter Dutton was made Minister for Immigration. Sussan Ley becomes the second woman in Cabinet, as Minister for Health and Sport, and there has also been a change of Parliamentary Secretaries and Assistant Ministers. You can see who has gone where on the ABC website.

At least two Australians are being implicated in the brutal treatment of Yazidi women by Islamic State militants. It’s believed that the ISIS militants have either sold women and girls into sex slavery, forced them to marry ISIS militants or sexually assaulted them. Activists and charities that have rescued and helped these women have reported that at least four Yazidi women were held by militants well-known to be Australian.

There are thoughts that the GST will be changed in the next budget, after the white papers on taxation are tabled. This announcement that the GST could change has led to State Treasurers clambering for more money, while also reminding the government that if their share of the GST is decreased they will not accept the changes.

Consumer confidence could rise after the Boxing Day sales given the high turnout, but it could be a one-off given that people are still concerned about the budget and the uncertainty in Canberra. It’s thought that retailers will keep the sales going for as long as possible in order to keep consumer confidence up for a bit.

Finally this week, it’s understood that someone warned the authorities about Man Haron Monis (the perpetrator of the Sydney Siege) two days before the siege, the siege victims have been farewelled at funerals and memorial services, two men were arrested in terrorism raids on Christmas Eve, and the Climate Change Authority is concerned that Australia will not meet its 2020 emissions target. Plus, it is looking like Peter Greste may be released very soon.

Oh, and before I forget: Tony Abbot announced that his greatest achievement as Minister for Women was the repeal of the Carbon Tax.

Tweet of the Week

An ABC Journalist in the Canberra Press Gallery is leaving the ABC for a new job:

…and NSW, QLD and Victoria police discuss what they’ve left out for Santa

https://twitter.com/jamus__/status/547737670248435712

Things I’ve been Looking at Online

Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin – NYT

Richard Glover on ‘staycations’ – SMH

Small NZ children re-enact the Christmas Story

The Week That Was – December 7 to December 13

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Tony Abbott still wants his Paid Parental Leave (PPL) Scheme to go ahead, although he may have to lower the cap again, with money saved going to childcare, but won’t share too many details other than the fact that he would prefer “in-home care” – i.e. nannies – and there is disquiet among the Coalition to do with city vs. rural mothers and how much money they get. In case you were wondering, the Labor party’s PPL is paying every primary carer 18 weeks at minimum wage (source here).

The Government is using taxpayer money to pay for advertising to convince people of the benefits of their plan for higher education funding. The government says that it is an “information campaign focused on facts”, while Glenn Lazarus has called the ad campaign “expensive propaganda for dud reforms”. The thing is, the bulk of students (including me), whether at uni, or planning to go in the next few years, still have an issue with the legislation, and it isn’t the fact that the interest on HECS is going up.

The $7 co-payment is technically gone. However, they are cutting $5 from the rebate doctors get from Medicare, meaning that if doctors want to make that up, they are going to have to raise their prices. There is an exemption for children, pensioners, veterans and concession card holders, however there is concern about chronically ill patients or patients needing long-term or ongoing care who are adults, as they will not be reprieved, and it may also lead to clogged Emergency Departments. This policy is yet to be introduced to Parliament, so it may not even get through, but people are worried anyway. Bill Shorten also had some choice words that scared a few people.

This is not a back down by the Abbott Government, this is a GP Tax that Tony Abbott can’t bring through your front door so he is going to bring it through your back door.

Not a pleasant thought, but I guess that’s the point.

NAPLAN is in the news again as it turns out that parents are pulling their kids out of school on NAPLAN day at record rates, because students are pressured to do well, or schools tell parents to keep their kid away in order to make the school look better when the NAPLAN results come out. This leaves an incomplete picture about how students are doing at schools.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is in Australia at the moment, meeting with Tony Abbott, who is apparently one of the most popular foreign heads of state in Ukraine. Abbott said that it was nice to be popular, even if it was in Ukraine, and that “shirt front” must have translated well into Ukrainian. Poroshenko wants more help from Australia to fight the separatists and also wants energy resources from Australia. Abbott has also been invited to come to Kiev on a visit, which could happen next year.

In the run-up to the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO), it has been announced that up to 200 agencies could be axed, including a LGBTI working group and a Returned Servicemen group. The government needs to save $500 million dollars, and the fact that mining revenues are down, as is the petrol price, Australia is not getting as much revenue as it was.

Finally this week, Tony Abbott has suggested those in the Coalition who are complaining about Peta Credlin are sexist, which has led to people calling Abbott a hypocrite…

…Australia will contribute $200 million to the world Climate Fund, unemployment has risen to a 12 year high, making Joe Hockey’s life more difficult and Nick Xenophon has started his own party.

Tweets of the Week

https://twitter.com/MarkDiStef/status/542852661507137536

Things I’ve Been looking at Online

The 20 Reasons 2014 was the Year of Lee Lin Chin – BuzzFeed

Explaining to American why Australian shops banned GTA5 – Polygon.com

An academic paper by Maggie Simpson and Edna Krabappel got published – Vox.com

The Week That Was – November 2 to November 8

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There has always been concern about the current government’s attitude to climate change, given last weeks passing of the Direct Action Plan, and this week had people more concerned. The government wants to scale back the renewable energy target and the use of renewable energy sources, which the Opposition has said they will oppose. The government wants to have a chat with opposition to see if there can be a compromise, so that there is still growth in the renewable energy market. This is despite the fact that the IPCC released a report saying that the use of fossil fuels should be stopped by 2100 and that the large amount of greenhouse gasses currently in the atmosphere are most likely caused by humans. However, coal is a major export for Australia, and while the Environment Minister Greg Hunt says there are ways to clean up the industry, Tony Abbott has been constantly saying that coal is essential for economic growth and the “foundation of prosperity”.

Australia has finally got itself sorted on sending people to the Ebola zone, however, they won’t be doing it themselves.They’re giving $20 million to a private health provider, Aspen, to run a 100-bed Ebola treatment centre. Hundreds of Australian medical staff have applied to go, although it is unclear how many Australian medics Aspen will take, as there has been talk of engaging local medics as well as international staff. There has been criticism of the government for taking this long to start sending people West Africa, especially since it was revealed that the EU has had a deal going for weeks, saying they’ll evacuate and treat any aid workers who contract Ebola, contradicting the government’s excuse that there was no plan to get Australians out of West Africa should they contract the virus. Other medical staff in Australia have been making the trip to West Africa with Médecins Sans Frontières and other aid groups because they’re unimpressed with the government’s response.

This week also saw the Gough Whitlam State Memorial Service at Sydney Town Hall. Several Gurindji Land Rights activists and descendants came to the service, as well as every Prime Minister that came after Whitlam. There were speeches from senior Labor figure John Faulkner, actress Cate Blanchett and academic and lawyer Noel Pearson, who is considered to have given the best speech of the service. There was a bit of a problem though when it came to seating. It became unclear as to how the organisers were running the public seating, whether by ballot or by first in, first served. It meant that for the 1500 seats available, 6000 people registered, and without confirmation, most showed up thinking they were good to go. It meant people ended up standing outside Town Hall watching on a big screen.

The Dutch Prime Minister visited for a couple of days to talk to Tony Abbott about the investigation into MH17, and the fact that more bodies have been found at the site, and will be brought to Amsterdam where they will be examined before being returned to the families. Tony Abbott also said that he would raise MH17 with Putin at some point in the next few weeks, with APEC and the G20 coming up. According to Abbott, Putin “owes it to us, he owes it to our common humanity to ensure that justice is done”. Tony Abbott will meet Putin for a short meeting on the sidelines of APEC next week.

Speaking of APEC, Julie Bishop is in Beijing, starting discussions, and also making sure that the last bits of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China are ready for the G20 and Xi Jinping’s visit to Australia. The FTA mainly involves labour and trade deals, including a live cattle trade worth about $1 billion annually.

This week, Jacqui Lambie has raised eyebrows, saying she won’t pass any government legislation until the Defence Force is given a pay rise. Lambie is a former soldier, and thinks the current pay offer, which is below the rate of inflation and therefore a pay cut in real terms, is unfair. Many of her fellow Palmer United Party colleagues are distancing themselves, and Lambie is trying to get Motoring Enthusiast Party Senator Ricky Muir to join her. This would, despite Joe Hockey telling people that threats won’t work against the government, make passing legislation in the Senate difficult, as the PUP and Muir hold the balance of power. Oh, and this is all despite the fact that the government had no involvement in the Defence Force pay offer, and the only thing the PM can do is ask the tribunal responsible to reconsider their decision.

Finally this week, a former Howard minister, Jackie Kelly, who left the Liberal Party last month will challenge a NSW state seat as an independent, only a small fraction of the 4400 special humanitarian visas available to refugees from Syria fleeing ISIS have been given out, and Australian troops are still in the UAE, yet to go to Iraq.

Tweets of the Week

One of the many protocol theories being made to figure out who stands next to whom in pictures:

https://twitter.com/smurray38/status/529870844168646656

Things I’ve been Looking at Online

Leigh Sales interview with Julia Baird – ABC Online

Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales have a podcast – Chat 10 Looks 3

One of the producers from the ABC’s Africa Bureau reflects on his job – ABC Backstory

The Week that Was – October 26 to November 1

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This week saw the Labor party announce that they may keep the current government’s policy of turning back boats, because it appears to be working. However, they have said that they will only do it with Indonesia’s permission, which probably won’t happen, and then they didn’t say much else about it.

Clive Palmer has signed a deal with the government to pass the Direct Action Plan through the Senate, allowing the government to pay emitters to reduce their emissions. This has annoyed people, because Palmer had initially said he wouldn’t let it through because he believed it to be a wast of taxpayer money, and would only accept an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) if Australia’s allies would do the same, especially China. The government has also found a way to get the Fuel Excise to rise without taking it through Parliament. It will go up by half a cent every six months and is estimated to rain around $19 million. There is a catch though, if the government can’t get Parliament to agree within 12 months the money has to be given back, not to the taxpayers, but to the oil companies. Tony Abbot has also said that he wants an adult debate on the GST so it can be changed. It’s led to a few people wondering about this ‘adult debate’, given Abbott was part of the protests about the Carbon Tax during which he stood in front of some pretty nasty signs about Julia Gillard.

Tony Abbot during Protests about the Carbon Tax (from http://images-2.drive.com.au/2014/08/04/5651350/1407146829758.jpg-620x349.jpg)

Tony Abbott during Protests about the Carbon Tax (from http://images-2.drive.com.au/2014/08/04/5651350/1407146829758.jpg-620×349.jpg)

Ebola scared the bejesus out of everyone again this week, after an 18-year-old Brisbane woman was taken to hospital with a fever after coming into the country from West Africa. She was in self-quarantine in her home before she came down with the fever, and as it turns out, she’s tested negative. However, refugees from West African Ebola countries will no longer be given visas for the time being, and those who already have visas will be quarantined for 21 days. This seems to be the only reaction Australia has made at the moment, as they haven’t forced aid workers into quarantine, like several US states have, although most aid workers are making sure quarantine themselves and check their temperature everyday, as is recommended by health authorities and aid groups. Again, the Australian Medical Association has said Australia should be sending staff to Ebola hot zones to help, however the government is still saying that they probably won’t until they have an evacuation plan in place should anyone contract the virus.

Parliament House got interesting earlier in the week, after three men staged a protest about the burqa ban being overturned. You can see the video from the ABC here.

Nova Peris is embroiled in scandal this week after being accused of using taxpayer money to get an international track star from the Caribbean to come to Australia because she was having an affair with him. She has denied the allegations and the Labor Party is standing beside her, while some believe News Corp may have got the emails illegally. Peris spoke in Senate to say that this is part of a blackmail attempt in a long running child access case.

The metadata laws passed this week, meaning that metadata will be held for two years. This is believed to cost the telecommunications companies money, so they will get subsidies from the government, but it is unclear at the moment as to how much money there will be. There are critics, especially the Greens and Nick Xenophon, but given Labor supported the legislation, it’s gone through.

The government is trying to confirm the death of an Australian ISIS member in the conflict zone. The man is thought to be the most high-ranking Australian in the organisation. Meanwhile, Australian troops are still in the UAE, yet to go to Iraq to advise the military there.

Finally this week, Medibank shares are on sale,  Australian couples are having trouble getting visas to India for surrogacy, Julia Gillard has been found by the Trade Union Royal Commission to have done nothing wrong, farmers are suing the government for damages after the live export ban a few years ago, and the West Australian town of Albany played host to commemorations for the centenary of the first ships leaving Australia for WWI.

Tweet of the Week

Things that I’ve been Looking at Online

How British Colonialism determines which countries celebrate Halloween – The Washington Post

With the US Midterms coming up, people are being reminded to vote:

The Week That Was – September 21 to September 27

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On Sunday, in cities across Australia there were climate change protests as part of international protests in the lead up to a UN Summit on Climate Change in New York. World leaders like Obama attended, but Australia sent Julie Bishop, instead of Tony Abbott.

However, I feel like most of this week has been about terrorism and terror laws and stuff like that, and I case you were wondering, no, the budget has not yet been passed in full. Tony Abbott spoke to parliament about the new terror laws, which make specific nations or regions no go zones, punishable by 10 years in prison (unless you have a good reason to be there, like being a journalist or an aid worker – but you have to prove it), ASIO and the police get more powers and international evidence can be used against you in Australia, as long as it wasn’t obtained through torture. There has been criticism though, from people who think the laws go to far, as well as those who think the laws don’t go far enough.

One of the main stories this week is about an 18-year-old being shot by a Victorian Police officer outside a police station. The young man was asked to come to the station to be interviewed after his passport was cancelled and concerns were raised about him being radicalised. He was met by two officers, one from Victoria Police, the other an AFP officer. The young man allegedly stabbed them before the Victorian officer shot the man, killing him. There were reports suggesting he was looking into the Prime Minister’s movements, which have since been debunked, and it is also believed that he was following the Islamic State fatwa declared at the start of the week, which his family has denied. Either way, he scared the authorities enough that they’ve upped security at Parliament House. Tony Abbott told the country that there were obviously people in Australia who weren’t nice and are essentially out to get us – mind you this is also the Prime Minister who keeps giving people a checklist of things for a terror attack (a knife, an iPhone and a victim, apparently), which has been the source of both amusement and concern in my house.

Unfortunately with these new laws, as well as the aftermath of the terror raids and the young guy being killed, people have started to be quite horrible to the Muslim community. At least four mosques in Sydney have received threatening letters, and people in the community are being threatened, taunted and assaulted. It also doesn’t help that an Australian Defence Force officer reported that he had been assaulted by two men of Middle-Eastern appearance, only to withdraw the claim 24 hours later. Then you have those in politics, namely Cory Bernardi and Jacqui Lambie, who seem to have decided that we should universally discriminate against the Muslim community by banning the burqa, or force Muslim women to remove their burqa in Parliament House – despite the fact I’m under the impression that they’re using burqa as a universal term for all head coverings.

Moving on, the US-led coalition against Islamic State (IS – aka ISIS/ISIL) began strikes on Syria this week, with help from regional partners like Jordan and Saudi Arabia. They’re trying to help Syrian Kurds fight IS. Australia was not part of the airstrikes, but may well join in soon as Cabinet is due to decide in the next few days, now that Abbott’s been at the UN and talked with Obama about it all.

Speaking of Tony Abbott going to the United Nations, he went to talk with world leaders, vote on resolutions to fight back against IS, and talked about how economic growth makes the world a better place – or something like that. He chatted with Iraq’s Prime Minister, as well as meeting with Egypt’s President Sisi to talk about Peter Greste – according to Abbott, Sisi is a “reluctant jailer”. He also checked out the FBI and NYPD offices before heading home.

This week there were two major developments in the realm of asylum seekers. First, in a deal with Clive Palmer, the government has brought back Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) for 30,000 refugees in detention centres in Australia and on Christmas Island. No one from Manus Island or Nauru will be eligible and the refugees that are will have to move to regional areas, or at least that’s what I took from the announcement. Second, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Cambodia to allow the resettlement of refugees in Cambodia. Australia will give Cambodia $40 million in the next four years, for the voluntary program, with no cap on the number of refugees to be resettled. The money will be used to pay for a resettlement package, paying for housing, language lessons and other start-up costs the refugees will have. Australians are not the only ones upset by this move though. Protesters demonstrated outside the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh, saying that Cambodia doesn’t have the resources to look after their own people, let alone asylum seekers.

Finally this week, the Royal Commission into Child Abuse looked into the Retta Dixon home in the Northern Territory, Sydney Airport had a security scare thanks to a passenger ambling around distracted by a tablet, Peter Slipper was sentenced to 300 hours community service for his issue of travel vouchers, and a Islamic School in Sydney went into lockdown after a guy with a knife threatened staff at the office.

Tweet of the Week

Things I’ve been Reading/Watching/Listening etc

Student democracy protests continue in Hong Kong – South China Morning Post

Christopher Pyne (the politician not the actor) wins an Ernie Award – Daily Life

Hamish Macdonald on how the West has reacted exactly as ISIS wanted them to – The Guardian