Jewish communities ‘really living in fear’, Dutton tells Coalition caucus
Dutton is talking to his Coalition colleagues this morning, before the parliament sitting.
There will be a big focus on antisemitism attacks this week and it’s an issue Dutton’s gone straight to in his opening remarks.
People in the Jewish community and right across the country now, Australians are watching their prime minister knowing he’s out of his depth and not up to the task.
People in Jewish communities are really living in fear at the moment.
The Coalition has said it will work with the government to pass hate crimes laws but they also want new mandatory sentencing penalties.
Key events
Free lunches cost how much?
There’s been plenty of back and forth this morning on the cost of the Coalition’s tax free lunch policy, and no doubt the debate will continue throughout the week.
The government says it will cost $1.6bn, all the way up to $10bn if small businesses use that policy to the max, while the opposition has accused the government of politicising the treasury department to get those numbers.
For a full rundown of how this has played out, Josh Butler’s got you covered:
If you’re wondering why parliament hasn’t yet started, normally on a Tuesday the parties hold caucus meetings, where they discuss policies, answer questions from members, and get themselves into gear.
We saw opposition leader Peter Dutton making his opening remarks ahead of the coalition caucus meeting a little earlier, where he attacked the government on the rise of antisemitism as well as the cost of living.
We’ll shortly get some some more info on how a few of those caucus meetings went down this morning, and then the house and senate will sit at midday.
Today marks the 25th anniversary of World Cancer Day
The Cancer Council is calling on the government for further support to prevent and treat cancer in Australia.
They say Australia’s been a leader in cancer care and over the past 25 years our public policies and healthcare sectors have helped to save more than 107,000 lives.
Research from Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) predicts that there will be an estimated 209,000 Australians diagnosed with cancer in 2034. So they’re calling on the government to:
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Increase participation in the national bowel cancer screening program
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Reduce the financial burden of cancer through improved services and support
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Invest in skin cancer prevention campaigns
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Tackle the rise of obesity to reduce the incidence of 13 types of cancer
Mark Nevin, Cancer Council Australia’s CEO says:
As new research and evidence emerges, so does new methods of prevention, detection and treatment, as well as improved ways to support those affected. The Australian government can support the adoption of these advances now, to continue to improve cancer survival rates.
Business council pushes for a cabinet minister for deregulation
A group of 30 chief executives will meet with the treasurer Jim Chalmers and shadow treasurer Angus Taylor and push the Business Council of Australia’s election policy platform.
It’s pushing for a cabinet minister for deregulation and to focus on making environmental approvals and business licensing more efficient.
Chalmers was asked about it during his earlier news conference:
Every couple of months or so, we have a discussion, very frank discussion, with business leaders, and I welcome it. We don’t pretend that we have all the answers here in the cabinet room next door, and so we engage enthusiastically and in a genuine way with the business community. I’m grateful for the opportunity to do that regularly and I’ll be grateful for the opportunity to do that tomorrow night as well.
Chalmers also points to cabinet colleague Katy Gallagher, the finance minister, who he says is already working to “streamline regulation”.
Benita Kolovos
Bail laws to be reviewed in Victoria
Jacinta Allan has also confirmed a review into the state’s bail laws, which the government only changed last year. She says:
It’s just simply unacceptable to me that many Victorians, particularly women and children, aren’t feeling as safe as they should … we do need to look at what more needs to be done.
Asked if this is a result of poor polling, and a byelection in Werribee this weekend, where crime has been a major concern of voters, Allan says:
This is because it’s unacceptable to me that too many working families, too many women and children, don’t feel safe and, as premier, I will act, I will listen to those concerns and take action to support the safety of Victorian families.
It remains quite unclear what the premier has ordered the attorney general and police minister to review.
She’s now saying it’s not specifically in regard to bail, it will be a review into “current laws”. Allan says:
It includes the justice settings in this state.
Jewish communities ‘really living in fear’, Dutton tells Coalition caucus
Dutton is talking to his Coalition colleagues this morning, before the parliament sitting.
There will be a big focus on antisemitism attacks this week and it’s an issue Dutton’s gone straight to in his opening remarks.
People in the Jewish community and right across the country now, Australians are watching their prime minister knowing he’s out of his depth and not up to the task.
People in Jewish communities are really living in fear at the moment.
The Coalition has said it will work with the government to pass hate crimes laws but they also want new mandatory sentencing penalties.
We’ve got some more photos from the the church service this morning.
Benita Kolovos
Inquiry announced into McCrae landslide
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has announced an inquiry into the landslide that occurred at McCrae last month.
In January, multiple homes were evacuated in McCrae and a council worker was hospitalised after a house slid down a hill and collided with other homes following the landslide.
Allan says a board of inquiry will be asked to determine the cause of the landslide, what happened and whether it could have been avoided. It will also determine the adequacy of preventive measures taken to mitigate the risks after other landslides in McCrae.
Its findings and recommendations will identify any measures deemed necessary to prevent or mitigate risk of similar events occurring in the future across Victoria.
Allan says:
We’re doing this because we’ve heard very clearly from the local community that they want to get to the bottom of the cause of this landslide. They want answers. Also too, I know the community want a pathway to be able to return back to their homes, and that is why there is work that is going on with the Mornington Peninsula shire to accept the formal transfer back from the Victorian State Emergency Service, so that we can get a pathway for residents to return to their properties.
She says the community will be able to engage with the inquiry, which will have to report back before the end of the year.
Jonathan Barrett
AGL penalised over energy bill increases
Power company AGL has paid $924,600 in penalties over alleged breaches of Victorian energy rules that led to increased prices for thousands of residential and small business customers.
Victoria’s economic regulator, the Essential Services Commission, said today that AGL charged customers more than the law allowed on 49,394 occasions.
AGL was contacted for comment.
The commission’s chairperson, Gerard Brody, said rules protecting customers from unexpected price increases were particularly important given cost-of-living pressures.
AGL’s conduct put an unnecessary financial burden on households and small businesses at a time when many were already under pressure.
Breaches like this weaken public trust in the energy sector, which should ensure fairness and certainty in pricing so customers know they’re not being overcharged.
The relevant retail code limits tariff increases to once a year.
Small business customers were charged, on average, about $979 more than allowed, according to the commission, while residential customers were charged about $21 more than allowed.
Treasurer says Coalition’s tax-free lunches would ‘smash the budget’
Jim Chalmers, who has been doing the media rounds this morning, has also just done a press conference in parliament.
The tax-free lunches are big feature – Chalmers is again criticising the policy and says Labor are “big supporters” of small businesses.
Peter Dutton’s policy would smash the budget and he hasn’t been able to answer basic questions about how he would prevent rorting, what would be the eligibility, and they haven’t released the costing.
Chalmers is also asked about Angus Taylor’s comments on Sky earlier, saying that the treasurer had “politicised” the Treasury department to do these costings on an opposition policy. Chalmers says Taylor was “losing it”.
I would rather not have to do it. I would rather a responsible opposition provided the costings of their policy … part of my job is to understand risks to the budget and this is a very substantial risk to the budget. This would smash the budget.
Benita Kolovos
Victorian Greens on anti-vilification legislation
The Victorian Greens are yet to form a position on the state government’s anti-vilification bill but say they’re pleased with protections for LGBTQIA+ people it includes. Their equality spokesperson, Gabrielle de Vietri, told reporters outside parliament:
We’re really pleased that the government has finally come on board and it’s introducing those expanded attributes that are protected from vilification. We have been speaking with stakeholders and we are concerned that there are some elements of this bill that present a risk of over policing and of criminalising the cohorts that this bill is, in fact, meant to protect. So we’re working very closely with those human rights, legal and community organisations to be able to put forth new amendments and negotiate with the government to improve this bill, to make sure that it does indeed protect the people it’s meant to protect.
She says adding vilification to the Crimes Act could lead to overpolicing:
The criminal element has had a significantly lower threshold and a higher penalty. So it’s really, really important that we keep guard rails on the policing of this bill to make sure that there is no overreach and to make sure that these aren’t weaponised against the communities that they’re meant to protect. We’re receiving advice from human rights and legal centres as we speak.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Peter Dutton says he is ‘ready for the election’
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, was also doorstopped outside the church service.
Asked if he was ready to lead the country after this year’s election, Dutton said:
I believe very strongly that there’s a mood for change in our country, and we’ve demonstrated over the course of the last three years that we have a stability and we have the depth of experience to make the decisions to keep our country safe and help families recover from a really tough period that many people didn’t predict two-and-a-half years ago, and I fear that it gets worse if the (Labor) government’s re-elected.
I am ready for the election. I believe it’ll be tough. It’ll always be hard fought but I do believe that we can, we can win.
Emily Wind
Taylor claims Labor politicising public service to attack Coalition on tax free lunch policy
As Krishani reported earlier, Treasury is estimating the Coalition’s plan for tax-free lunches for small businesses would cost the federal budget $1.6bn a year.
The shadow treasurer, Angus Taylor, spoke with Sky News earlier about this and continued to defend the Coalition’s policy as “a modest tax cut for small businesses” – adding he would write to the secretary of Treasury and ask “for a full explanation as to why he has done this”.
Taylor argued that Labor was using public servants to “attack, in pure political terms, the opposition.”
The public service is not there to make political attacks on your opponents. The code of conduct is very clear on this. This is an egregious politicisation of a public service, which Labor is bloating for its own purposes.
Taylor also claimed the cost of the Coalition’s policy would be under $250m.
We’ve had it costed. We’ve worked closely with the Parliamentary Budget Office. It’s nothing like what the treasurer is saying. We’ll be putting out the detailed costings in advance of the next election.
The host asked if it was politicisation, though, if Labor has come up with the costs the Coalition hasn’t announced yet? Taylor rejected this and said the Coalition had worked closely with the Parliamentary Budget Office. He doubled down, and claimed:
There’s no there’s no ambiguity about this, we’ve got a Treasury here who is politicising the public service. That’s why he needs to add 36,000 public servants, because he, frankly, is on a mission to turn the public service into an arm of the Labor party.
Emily Wind
Minns stands by Haylen, says having a driver is a ‘privilege’
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, says he doesn’t believe it’s acceptable for ministerial drivers to take kids to weekend sport. But he said in this instance the transport minister, Jo Haylen, says her kids were dropped at sport while she was on her way to work.
Haylen has apologised after using her ministerial driver to chauffeur her and some friends to and from a three-hour private lunch on the Australia Day weekend – at a cost of $750.
Speaking to Nine radio earlier this morning, Minns said it was a “privilege” to have a driver “so that you can work longer and harder on behalf of taxpayers in the state”.
That hasn’t happened. I am saying today on the program that we are changing the rules in NSW to ensure that it’s used for official business purposes.
If it’s private use, it’s only for incidental or minor parts of a minister’s job.
Minns also said he doesn’t believe it’s acceptable for drivers to take kids to weekend sport.
In relation to that, I asked and said, ‘that’s clearly not acceptable’. And her response to me was, ‘I was going to work. Yes, my child dropped off at sport on the way, but I was going to work’.
