The last sitting period before the budget is always a busy one in Canberra – and it was no different this week. Parliament House was buzzing with industry stakeholders and lobby groups, making their final pitch to ministers as the finishing touches are put on the budget to be unveiled in May. Take a look at the week’s big stories below.
Australia hosts Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
For the first time in eight years, Australia has hosted a visit by a Chinese Foreign Minister, with the Albanese Government holding official talks with Wang Yi this week.
The much larger-than-usual crowd of anti-China protestors at Parliament House made his presence hard to miss.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong and her counterpart discussed trade and economic issues, regional security and human rights issues, including Australians currently detained in China.
Minister Wang also made time to meet with former Prime Minister Paul Keating at the Chinese Consulate in Sydney yesterday. The meeting raised eyebrows in Canberra – the former PM is a vocal critic of Minister Wong’s performance as Foreign Minister and is opposed to the AUKUS agreement.
Minister Wong reiterated this week that Keating has no influence over the government’s foreign policy decisions.
Government cautiously pleased with employment figures
The latest employment data released this week showed an unexpected drop in the unemployment rate to 3.7 per cent.
The Treasurer confirmed the economy added 116,500 jobs in February – well exceeding the expected addition of around 40,000 jobs.
Welcoming the figures, the Government said it proved it’s economic policy settings were having the right effect in a cooling economy.
Meanwhile, the Government said an influx of international students was behind a huge jump in migration numbers – with net overseas migration in the year to September 60 per cent higher than the year prior.
The Opposition seized on the figures, using Question Time this week to accuse the Government of relying on high migration numbers to prop up the slowing economy while neglecting the housing crisis. They say the housing supply shortage is worsening due to Australia’s high influx of migrants.
Detainee drama drags on
While they await yet another potentially disastrous High Court decision regarding indefinite detention, the Government admitted late last week Australia’s migration laws were at the mercy of the courts – effectively admitting they were not in control of the escalating detention crisis.
This week it emerged Immigration Minister Andrew Giles had quietly agreed to remove some monitoring conditions on criminal detainees released last year, in an effort to avoid legal challenges.
The Albanese Government is scrambling to regain control of the national security narrative, fearing the Coalition could weaponise the issue at the next federal election.
The Opposition targeted Minister Giles again in Question Time this week over the revelations and continue to call for his resignation.
PM says religious freedom changes will only happen with bipartisan support
Before the last election, Anthony Albanese promised to legislate religious freedom laws to protect the right of faith-based schools to hire teachers whose views align with their own, and prevent the sexual discrimination of teachers and students.
The PM announced this week he would only progress those proposed laws if the Coalition offers its support of the legislation, kicking off fresh debate about religious discrimination and sparking accusations the PM was breaking a key election promise.
The Government yesterday tabled a report from the Australian Law Reform Commission, which recommended 11 changes to existing laws, including a recommendation that schools should lose the right to discriminate against teachers and students on the basis of their sexual orientation or sexual identity.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is yet to say whether he supports that key recommendation, and both sides now face a lengthy internal debate about how to progress the reforms.
Government backs in Rudd after Trump criticism
Both the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister have backed Australia’s representative in Washington, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, after Presidential hopeful Donald Trump said he was ‘not the brightest bulb’ and that ‘he will not be there for long’ if he retained his past views of the former President if he returned to the White House.
Trump made the remarks after being questioned about previous comments by Rudd that he was ‘the most destructive President in history’ and ‘a traitor to the West’.
The Government slammed Coalition attempts to wedge the Prime Minister over the issue, saying the politicisation of the Ambassador’s role was unprecedented.
Earlier in the week, Trade Minister Don Farrell was widely criticised for suggesting in Senate Question Time that New Zealand was Australia’s closest ally – not the United States. The Prime Minister has said many times since his election that the US is Australia’s closest and most important ally.
Queensland elections cast long shadow over Labor’s chances in the Sunshine State
Last weekend, Queensland voters headed to the polls to vote in the local council elections. Voters in Ipswich West and Inala also voted for a new state MP after the resignation of two sitting Labor Members.
Brisbane City Council is the only politicised local government in Queensland so all eyes were on Brisbane to see how the two major parties might fair at the October 2024 state election. Before the election it was widely expected that the Greens would take seats off Labor and maybe even secure enough to form Opposition. Fortunately for Labor, this didn’t happen.
While some Wards are yet to be formally declared, it appears likely the LNP will secure 16 (losing one), Labor will hold five, and the Greens will go from one to two Wards. Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner was also returned with an overwhelming majority.
The more interesting story is what happened in the two state by-elections. Senior political figures were shocked the LNP was able to secure an 18 per cent swing in Ipswich West which was more than enough for the LNP to win the seat from Labor.
Similarly, Inala, vacated by former Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, has long been the safest Labor seat in Queensland and while political analysts predicted a swing towards the LNP, no one expected the almost 22 per cent swing in Inala.
These results have the Queensland Labor Party very concerned in the lead up to the October 2024 state election. Senior party figures were hoping that the change in Premier late last year would allow them to reset the narrative and win back Queensland voters. However, the results on the weekend show that the plan has not worked.
LNP leader David Crisafulli has been campaigning hard on youth crime and the rising cost-of-living. Given the results on the weekend, it appears the LNP are on track to secure government in Queensland in October 2024. However, with over six months until the state campaign neither party can take this for granted, and we should expect to see campaigning ramp-up from both major parties.
And in news outside of the Bubble…
While it was an incredibly busy week in politics, both federally and in Queensland, it was also an action-packed week in Australian sport.
Hoping to leave the tumultuous end of 2023 in the past, Netball Australia launched the 2024 Super Netball in Sydney. The Team Girls Cup is on this weekend and fans will get to watch the new Melbourne Mavericks team in action.
Over in Rugby League, there was more disappointing news for the Brisbane Broncos. Star full-back Reece Walsh will join Broncos Captain Adam Reynolds on the injury bench after suffering a facial fracture in their loss to Penrith on Thursday night.
And Australia’s sporting capital Melbourne will host record crowds at the Australian Grand Prix this weekend, with Red Bull champion Max Verstappen widely expected to take home the win again. While the city’s retail and hospitality sectors will be thrilled with the tourism boost the Grand Prix provides, last year Victorian taxpayers coughed up a whopping $100m to host the event. Organisers will be hoping for another successful year to quieten a growing chorus of voices calling for the government to axe the event.