| Having started the week with fresh Newspoll results showing they had failed to arrest their declining primary vote, the Albanese Government’s hopes of a policy reset were quickly dashed. It was a short sitting week – just three days – but it was one of the most chaotic since the government was elected in 2022. Governments like to use the pre-budget Parliamentary break to build the narrative for their budget, pre-announcing a few key measures and setting the scene for what they hope will be a well-received fiscal policy. With an unresolved detention debacle, a brewing war on religious freedoms and open hostility from the states on NDIS reform, that now looks unlikely. Here’s a quick rundown of everything that happened this week in Parliament. |
| Coalition refuse to back government’s detention fix As a last-ditch effort to stem the political damage from the High Court’s detainee decision, the government released urgent legislation Tuesday morning – asking the Opposition and crossbench to pass the laws by Wednesday, when the House rose for six weeks. The bill gives more powers to the Immigration Minister to compel non-citizens to comply with forced returns, and would allow the government to declare a country not accepting its own nationals as a ‘removal concern country’. That designation would effectively ban any visa applications from citizens of that country. Having passed the House of Representatives, where the government holds a majority, it was stalled in the Senate by both the Opposition and crossbench who cried foul over the lack of consultation on the proposed laws and their impact. A hastily-arranged Senate committee hearing saw the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs grilled by senators, but the Coalition on Wednesday announced it would not support the passage of the bill, that will now be subject to a six-week Senate inquiry. The Home Affairs and Immigration Ministers faced a messy press conference on Wednesday, the first time the ministers responsible for the major legislation had held a press conference to explain their position and reasoning for the urgent request of Parliament. Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil then faced a barrage of questions from the Opposition about the authenticity of a news report suggesting Home Affairs Secretary Stephanie Foster had left the Minister’s office in tears after a meeting. It was suggested the Minister had berated her Secretary over the release of documents detailing the crimes of released detainees. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has made a politically risky move not to pass the laws, knowing the government will attempt to blame him in the unlikely event more detainees are released prior to Parliament returning. But with that prospect slim, the Coalition was in no mood to help remove any of the government’s own political barnacles. Bowen releases change to government’s vehicle efficiency scheme Facing industry backlash and the threat of another ‘ute tax’ scare campaign by the Coalition, Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen this week unveiled amendments to his vehicle efficiency policy, softening the rules for SUVs, utes and vans. Bowen fronted a press conference yesterday with executives from Toyota, Hyundai, Tesla and motoring industry groups, challenging the Greens and Coalition to support the bill. The Opposition has ruled that out unless the government provides a guarantee the new standards won’t drive up vehicle prices (they won’t), and the Greens have linked the bill with the government’s offshore gas regulation bill – saying they won’t work with the government until they rule out passing the separate gas legislation with the support of the Coalition. The move to overhaul the proposed laws was reported to have been sparked by the Prime Minister’s intervention, after stakeholders raised their concerns about the consultation process run by Minister Bowen and Transport Minister Catherine King. It’s yet another piece of contentious legislation the government will have to ram through the Senate when Parliament returns. PM changes position on religious freedom laws Last week, as the Australian Law Reform Commission report on religious freedoms was released, the Prime Minister declared he would not progress changes to religious discrimination laws without the bipartisan support of the Coalition. Well, as they say, a week is a long time in politics, and the PM this week said he would be prepared to work with the Greens to implement the recommendations of the report. Abandoning any attempt to work with the Coalition would set up a huge political fight over the protection of religious freedoms, with the Greens admitting they’re interested in nothing further than the protection of queer and transgender students and teachers. The government is again facing criticism over its consultation on the controversial reforms, with the draft bill yet to be released publicly. The Opposition has been provided with a copy but is unable to provide public comment on it. Before the last federal election, the Morrison Government was forced to shelve its own religious discrimination bill when religious lobby groups pulled their support. Labor took a commitment to the election that they would legislate to protect LGBTQ students and teachers at schools, while protecting schools’ right to practice their faith. Shorten facing revolt from states over NDIS reforms Late last year, the Prime Minister and NDIS Minister Bill Shorten claimed victory after National Cabinet agreed in principle to work with the commonwealth on NDIS reforms – including an agreement to co-fund ‘foundational supports’ outside of the NDIS to return the scheme to its original purpose of supporting those with the most severe, permanent disabilities. Minister Shorten this week introduced the first tranche of legislation to implement these reforms, which signalled an end to automatic ‘top-ups’ for NDIS plans and more rules that define what can (and more importantly, what can’t) be claimed under an NDIS plan. But the government is facing a fight from the states and territories, who all wrote to the Minister earlier this week to delay the introduction of the legislation until more work had been done on the redesign of the scheme, particularly those services which will now be funded outside of the NDIS. At National Cabinet, Premiers and Chief Ministers agreed to co-fund disability and foundational support outside of the NDIS, in exchange for an extension to the ‘no worse off’ GST guarantee. They say the Minister’s changes go beyond what was proposed and accepted at that meeting. This will prove to be yet another nagging issue for the government as they prepare to hand down their third budget. Government backs in above-inflation wage rise for lowest paid workers The Treasurer has advised the Fair Work Commission it supports an above-inflation pay rise for those on the minimum wage for the third year in a row, sparking concerns from business groups that spiralling wage costs will entrench inflation. And while business lobby groups urged the Commission to lift wages by no higher than 2 per cent, unions said this week they are asking for a minimum five per cent pay rise for Australia’s lowest paid workers. The annual wage review decision will be made by the Fair Work Commission in June. And in news outside the bubble… The shocking video of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse went viral on Tuesday, after a container ship lost power and crashed into one of the bridge’s support piers. It took just 40 seconds for the entire bridge to collapse, with grave fears held for a crew of roadworkers patching up potholes on the bridge’s road surface. Divers have recovered two bodies, with four others still missing presumed dead. An investigation into the tragedy is set to take years. The New Zealand Parliament has ratified it’s trade deal with the EU, which will come into effect in May. Interesting for observers here in Australia, with our own trade talks with the EU dissolving, New Zealand has agreed to protect around 2,000 geographical indications – meaning NZ producers have between 5-7 years to come up with alternative names for products such as Prosecco, feta and parmesan. And more than 10,000 people – including Queensland Premier Steven Miles and surfing champion Kelly Slater – are supporting a Gold Coast couple’s quest to have their pet magpie returned after it was confiscated by state environment authorities this week. The Insta-famous magpie, which has an unusual friendship with the family dog, was removed due to concerns it had been ‘taken from the wild and kept unlawfully with no permit, licence, or authority’. The Premier said he would ask the environment department to work with the couple on a solution. |