Coming off a disaster sitting last week, the government was desperate to reset the narrative and get some clear air. However, that was impossible with the government again under pressure over the immigration detainee mess. The immigration minister was caught in yet another blunder over comments he made about the monitoring of those released from detention.
This week we witnessed a rare occasion in the 47th Parliament – the government and opposition were finally united on an issue. They were both vocal in their opposition to antisemitism and specifically called out Greens leader Adam Bandt. Opposition leader Peter Dutton even went so far as to say the Greens leader was “unfit for public office”.
However, the unity ticket ended there with Senate Estimates uncovering a raft of issues that the opposition sought to capitalise on.
No doubt the government is glad the week is over, but with just two parliamentary sitting weeks before the winter break, they are running out of time to control the agenda and promote their election platform.
Economic growth stalls as RBA boss says rate hikes still on the table
Much anticipated GDP data released on Wednesday showed the economy grew by a very sluggish 0.1 per cent in the March quarter, leading Treasurer Jim Chalmers to claim their budget had been a huge success because it had been ‘right for the times’.
Chalmers’ argument was that, had he listened to the Coalition (or the chorus of respected economists) who urged spending restraint ahead of last month’s budget, the economy would have crashed faster and further.
Australians struggling to buy groceries or put fuel in their car are probably less thrilled than the Treasurer about the reality of Australia’s economic fortunes, and indeed RBA Governor Michele Bullock noted during her Senate Estimates appearance that inflation was still hurting Australians a lot more than high interest rates.
Bullock would not say whether the Albanese Government’s budget was inflationary or contractionary but said the centrepiece $300 energy rebates would not affect the RBA’s outlook on inflation as they “tend to look through things that are one-off and are going to be reversed”.
She said she “would not hesitate” to lift rates again should inflation prove to be stickier than expected, which she indicated may be revealed by quarterly inflation data (rather than monthly data, which was less reliable in showing the trends).
Minister under fire
The Minister for Immigration Andrew Giles has surprisingly survived another sitting week, even after he caused another mess for the government.
This week Giles was forced to correct the record after he previously said a group of detainees released from indefinite detention were being monitored by drones. Instead of owning his mistake, he blamed his department and said he was “misinformed”.
Some of his colleagues, including Minister Murray Watt, had previously echoed Giles’ incorrect statement about the drones before Border Force publicly acknowledged the error. The timing of the correction played into the hands of the opposition as it was made just before Question Time – giving the shadow minister plenty of ammunition.
As expected, the immigration detainee mess, and particularly the drone error, dominated Question Time with the opposition seizing the opportunity to highlight the government’s failures and record on border security.
Prime Minister Albanese is known for giving his ministers autonomy over their portfolio but surely he must intervene soon. Even the lead minister Clare O’Neil has gone very quiet on this issue, and one would suspect this is an attempt to distance herself from this mess to hopefully save her ministry position.
Almost every political commentator is speculating about a ministry reshuffle in coming weeks. Of course the opposition would claim victory if Giles is dumped, however it would also allow the government to move on from the issue, and they desperately need to do that before the winter recess.
Greens slammed for promoting antisemitism
On Wednesday, in response to a question from Teal independent Sophie Scamps about social cohesion, Prime Minister Albanese unloaded on the Australian Greens for their stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Prime Minister reiterated that Australia had been calling for a ceasefire since December last year, and that the Greens’ ongoing encouragement of pro-Palestine activists and their role in spreading misinformation was harming our democracy.
Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton rose to speak on indulgence and supported the PM’s comments, saying the chamber was standing as one to condemn antisemitism.
Both leaders called out protests and attacks on MP’s electorate offices, which have caused the closure of some offices due to security fears – particularly the Prime Minister’s own electorate office which has been closed since January.
They were both passionate speeches and it was a rare and powerful moment in Parliament. The Prime Minister – who has long supported the Palestinian cause – sounded genuinely disheartened when he said the Greens were undermining the cause of the Palestinian people by alienating Australians.
Greens leader Adam Bandt rose to speak in response, with Speaker Milton Dick issuing him a caution that speaking on indulgence meant he was to add his voice to a bipartisan issue. He was shortly sat down as he declared he would not “be lectured to about peace and nonviolence by people who back the invasion of Gaza”.
Despite the bipartisan push on Wednesday however, the government refused to back the Coalition’s motion yesterday to establish an inquiry into antisemitism on university campuses and are now under pressure from the opposition to declare they won’t preference the Greens at the next election.
Government announce changes to ADF recruitment
The government was no doubt hoping for praise for their changes to defence force recruitment, however they ended up facing significant criticism after portfolio ministers gave conflicting information about the changes.
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is facing a shortage of personnel and this week the government announced changes to recruitment eligibility in an attempt to increase the number of ADF recruits.
They announced from July 2024, eligible New Zealanders living in Australia can apply to join the ADF and then from January 2025 this will be expanded to eligible permanent residents from the UK, US and Canada.
It was this eligibility and which countries would be included that caused controversy and confusion. The government was forced to clarify the policy after Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh initially laid out a plan saying recruitment would be opened to all countries from January. Defence Minister Richard Marles then had to clarify in parliament that the expansion only covered the Five Eyes Countries, but they would look at other countries in the future.
Peter Dutton and shadow defence portfolio ministers Andrew Hastie and Phil Thompson wasted no time in criticising the policy and the minister’s conflicting statements. The opposition also used the opportunity to call on the government to look at why the ADF is struggling with recruitment and address those issues first. As a veteran himself, Phil Thompson gave a unique insight into the operation of the ADF and how Australia can improve conditions for the men and women serving our country.
The opposition has already outlined their policy to improve ADF recruitment and retainment which is focused on providing a more ‘family-friendly’ environment with regards to postings and deployment.
Pharmacy deal signed off by government
The Pharmacy Guild on Monday inked its $26.5 billion, five-year funding deal with the federal government, with Health Minister Mark Butler saying the 8th Community Pharmacy Agreement meant patients would continue to receive cheaper medicines, and worldclass healthcare from their local pharmacies.
A $3 billion boost was won by the Pharmacy Guild for community pharmacies in response to the government’s introduction of 60-day dispensing.
The agreement includes additional payments to pharmacies for 60-day prescriptions, CPI indexation on the dispensing fees paid to community pharmacies and the phasing-in of the $1 discount for all Australians, funded by the Commonwealth Government.
From 1 July 2024, the Government is establishing a new Additional Community Supply Support Payment, which will replace the Regional Pharmacy Transition Allowance (RPTA).
Queensland
The pre-budget announcements were coming thick and fast from the Queensland Government this week, starting on Sunday with Premier Steven Miles announcing a $500m plan to increase health checks and early interventions for at-risk Queensland children.
Struggling with perceptions of a health crisis, amid high-profile horror stories of the impact of ambulance delays, the government says they will spend $130m for 268 new Queensland Ambulance Service positions – although it does not say how many of those positions will be frontline paramedics.
It was up to Townsville on Wednesday for the Premier, who talked up the government’s investment in regional health services, announcing next week’s budget will deliver record spending for the Townsville Hospital & Health Service and new investments in mental health services.
But it’s today’s announcement that the government intends to spend $107 billion on Queensland’s infrastructure projects over the next four years that might have Queenslanders raising their eyebrows. The cost of the Miles Government’s “Big Build” program has blown out $18bn since last year’s budget. Yes, that’s billions – not millions.
While there’s no doubt the state is crying out for infrastructure that will support our growing population and deliver the Olympic Games in just eight years’ time, the budget simply can’t afford cost blowouts of that scale.
And the person who’ll be most concerned about today’s announcement is LNP leader David Crisafulli, who earlier this week said he’d back in every (disclaimer: fully funded) measure in Treasurer Cameron Dick’s budget, to be handed down next week.
Backing in a government’s budget from opposition, more than a week before it is revealed, is quite extraordinary and it copped a fair amount of criticism this week.
We’ll let you know how that goes in next week’s post-budget update.
And in news outside the bubble…
On Wednesday night, 3.44 million people watched rugby league superstars battle it out in the first State of Origin game. Queensland was unstoppable and ultimately defeated New South Wales 38 to 10. The Maroons had a strong performance with a hat-trick from Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, a brace from Ben Hunt, and a try from Xavier Coates. Despite being a man down for more than 70 minutes, the Blues managed to score two tries through James Tedesco and Zac Lomax. It was certainly a thrilling match. Bring on Game 2!
The Matildas secured a 2-0 victory over the People’s Republic of China in their final preparatory match before the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics. A record-breaking 76,798 fans attended the game at Accor Stadium in Sydney, marking a milestone for women’s football in Australia. The Matildas head into the Paris Games undefeated this year, with four wins and one draw in their last five matches. Their first Group B match at the Paris Olympics is scheduled against Germany on 26 July. With their impressive form, the Matildas aim to make a strong impact in the upcoming Olympics.