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
Kara L 