Australia politics live: Albanese blames Coalition for ‘legitimising’ One Nation; Joyce says his party will ‘go for government’ | Australia news
Key events
Joyce says One Nation ‘not an open door’ to disgruntled Coalition MPs
With One Nation’s byelection win has come rumours of more defections from the Coalition to join Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce’s ranks.
In fact, my colleague, Sarah Martin, spoke to Queensland Nationals MP Colin Boyce, who said “I consider a lot of things” in response to whether he was considering a shift to the minor right wing party.
But Joyce isn’t welcoming all potential defectors with open arms:
double quotation mark It’s not just because you jump doesn’t mean we catch you. What does that mean? Well, it’s not an open door that anybody who wishes, just walks into One Nation …I mean, obviously, the Liberal Party really do have to do some soul searching after the weekend because that was catastrophic. That is almost a signal that things might be over.
‘We’re not a party of government… yet,’ says Joyce
Barnaby Joyce is doing something of a victory lap for One Nation this morning, hitting the radio and TVs to celebrate the emphatic byelection win.
In the hot seat after the PM on the ABC’s RN Breakfast, Joyce says the party will go “as far as the Australian people want it to go” – ie he’s saying watch out major parties.
double quotation mark The sort of conceited statement, oh, you’re not a party of government. Well, let’s finish that with a rejoiner, yet.
He says the rightwing party is coming for Western Sydney – traditionally Labor heartland – and warns politicians that they need to “sober up” or risk being wiped out.
double quotation mark This is a dynamic change. And talking to people last night in the western suburbs of Sydney, last night, they’re quite at home with the idea of One Nation being a dominant force in western Sydney. Absolutely 100% on board with the idea.
Albanese defends breaking promise to not touch negative gearing and CGT
Good government makes “the right decisions for the right reasons for the times that you are in”, says Albanese, when asked why the government will reform negative gearing and capital gains tax in tomorrow’s budget.
Host Sally Sara asks if the PM is about to break a promise, and does that play into the narrative of people’s frustration with the major parties.
Albanese won’t say explicitly that the two policies are being changed tomorrow, but says intergenerational inequality needs to be dealt with.
He tells RN Breakfast that housing is a key priority for the government – and the government will use all levers at its disposal, including accelerating supply.
double quotation mark We know people are under pressure. And the easy path is to say, oh, well, we’ll just sit back and watch that occur. The difficult decision, but the right decision is to do the right thing with the right policies to deliver. And clearly, people are frustrated. Issues like intergenerational equity. People are worried that younger Australians are never going to get a crack at home ownership.If we do change our position on any policy, we will explain why it is that that is occurring.
Coalition ‘legitimised’ One Nation, says Albanese
Anthony Albanese says the Farrer byelection was “devastating” for Angus Taylor and his Liberal party, criticising the Coalition for adopting One Nation “lite” policies, and preferencing their candidate.
Speaking to RN Breakfast this morning, the prime minister says Taylor and the Nationals leader Matt Canavan “legitimised” the rightwing party.
double quotation mark I think the Liberal party and National party made a big mistake legitimising One Nation and saying, in adopting many of their policies, but a lighter version of them, and then following that up by giving them preferences, they were saying effectively that it was OK to vote for One Nation rather than the traditional conservative party.[One Nation] are a political party led by someone who’s promoted grievance rather than solutions. And I understand, though, a protest vote will be cast. In this case, it was a devastating result, I think, for Angus Taylor and the Liberal party.
He, like Jane Hume a moment ago, says that people have been disappointed over the two breakups of the Coalition.
‘We’ve heard the message loud and clear,’ says Hume on byelection loss
The Liberal party deputy leader, Jane Hume, has a tough job this morning fronting up to the camera’s after a big loss to One Nation at the weekend.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast this morning, the Victorian senator says the party has lost the trust of the people – not helped by two splits of the Coalition – and needs to build back a policy platform.
Host, James Glenday, asks why Angus Taylor and Matt Canavan weren’t able to stem the flow of votes to the minor rightwing party.
double quotation mark The community were feeling disillusioned. We’ve heard the message loud and clear. We need to rebuild trust.It’s only been 10 weeks that Angus Taylor has been the leader, and fewer than that that Matt Canavan has been a leader of the National party. I think that the breaking up of the Coalition twice just in the last 12 months alone has been a pretty devastating breach of trust for the Australian people. They expect a united and strong coalition. That’s what is in place now, but we pay the price for that breach of trust at the Farrer byelection.
Asked whether Hume could imagine the Coalition welcoming One Nation into its ranks, Hume says:
double quotation mark I’m not going to anticipate that.
It’s not a flat-out no, is it?
Barnaby Joyce says no to One Nation joining the Coalition
Barnaby Joyce says One Nation is on the up and up, and will “go for government” after bagging its first federal lower house win.
But the former deputy prime minister, who defected to the minor rightwing party late last year, says he’s not open to his new party joining his old one, ruling out a larger Coalition.
He tells Channel Nine this morning, One Nation is prepared to offer “supply and confidence” but no more than that.
double quotation mark We’ll offer supply and confidence on policy outcomes … and that is not a Coalition. We don’t want your ministries, keep your ministries and your salaries.You’ve got all the prizes, but you will deliver policy outcomes because we are not going to be constricted by cabinet solidarity that has done over the Australian people and the conservative side of balance of power so badly.
Ah cabinet solidarity, that old chestnut. It basically means that Joyce wants to be able to say what he wants to say on policy and not have to toe the Coalition party line.
One Nation win in Farrer, not a ‘protest vote’ says Farley
David Farley, the soon-to-be One Nation representative for Farrer, says he was humbled and excited winning Saturday’s byelection that was triggered by for Liberal leader Sussan Ley’s resignation.
Speaking to Sky News this morning, he says he doesn’t believe his victory was a “protest vote” against the major parties.
double quotation mark I don’t think it’s actually a protest vote. It was a vote of relief, someone seeking a better future.
Farley is an interesting character because his stance on migration is slightly more nuanced that leader Pauline Hanson’s. Farrer has a large and essential migrant population that work across the region, and Farley says he’ll ensure those workers are still coming in:
double quotation mark I will definitely continue to fight for skilled visas into Farrer. We are a big user of skilled labour, immigration labour, the Palm plan, the skilled aged care nursing plan, all those programs are still there.
Government repatriating passengers from hantavirus ship
Josh Butler
The federal government will charter a jet to repatriate five Australians from Tenerife, who had been on the MV Hondius, a cruise ship hit by hantavirus.
A government spokesperson overnight said four citizens, a permanent resident, and a New Zealand citizen will be repatriated on a flight due to leave today. None of the passengers have symptoms of the virus, according to government sources. The Australians live in NSW and Queensland.
double quotation mark The Australian Government is working closely with state authorities to coordinate arrival, health and transport arrangements. Quarantine and health arrangements are managed by states in accordance with their public health requirements.
The flight is expected to land in Perth on Tuesday, with quarantine arrangements being finalised. It’s expected the passengers will be transferred directly to a quarantine location upon arrival. A range of government departments, including Communicable Diseases Network and the National Emergency Management Agency’s national Crisis Coordination Team, are involved in the operation.
Tom McIlroy
Chalmers talks up faster approvals processes as productivity boost
Ahead of delivering his fifth budget tomorrow night, Jim Chalmers says the government’s moves to fast track approvals for priority projects is a key productivity measure for the country.
double quotation mark Our big productivity push is all about getting compliance costs down and cutting red tape, making it easier and faster to build, and making Australia a more attractive place to invest and that’s what we’re doing through the EPBC.We’re fast-tracking approvals to build more homes for Australians.
More efficient approvals mean projects get off the ground quicker and Australians get into homes sooner.
Budget to include $500m for faster environmental approvals
Tom McIlroy
Tomorrow night’s federal budget will include $500m in new funding for faster approvals for housing, energy and critical minerals projects, part of changes to national environment laws.
The government will also provide funding to states and territories to speed up environmental assessments around the country.
As part of the plans, $105.9m will be spent over four years to provide better access to information needed for approvals, including using AI to better access environmental data.
Labor passed major changes to Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act last year, and sluggish approval times have been identified as a key area of delays across the economy. The environment minister, Murray Watt, says:
double quotation mark Now, this new funding will put those laws to work, unlocking major projects and helping proponents get a faster yes or a faster no.That’s a win-win for our economy and our precious natural environment.
Krishani Dhanji
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you. Friends, it’s budget week, and it has come very quickly if you ask me!
We’re getting a few final announcements from the government before Jim Chalmers hands down his budget tomorrow. That includes some money to speed up environmental approvals to boost productivity (more on that in a moment). Of course, all the big-ticket items – including reforms to capital gains tax, negative gearing and trusts, have already been out for weeks.
Saturday’s byelection has (as many have commented) created huge waves across Canberra, and there will be plenty of reaction to it – and its impacts – today.
Stick with us, it’s going to be a huge day.
