WEBVTT - Amy Remeikis on parliament’s ‘messy’ return 0:00:00.960 --> 0:00:03.880 It is now my duty and my honor to declare 0:00:03.920 --> 0:00:07.520 the forty eighth Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia open. 0:00:07.840 --> 0:00:08.200 Thank you. 0:00:11.320 --> 0:00:14.720 When Parliament returned this week, the seating chart set at 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:18.160 all with one hundred and twenty three Labor members in Parliament. 0:00:18.440 --> 0:00:21.599 The Government is taking up much of the room, but 0:00:21.680 --> 0:00:24.560 it was the Nationals taking the oxygen with their growing 0:00:24.600 --> 0:00:28.040 calls to abandon that zero. Their position is at odds 0:00:28.040 --> 0:00:31.920 with Science, Economics and many within the Joint Party Room 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:34.880 as Susan Lee tries to keep the coalition on life support. 0:00:35.320 --> 0:00:37.960 Support for the Coalition is the lowest it's been in 0:00:38.040 --> 0:00:45.280 forty years. I'm Daniel James, and you're listening to seven 0:00:45.320 --> 0:00:49.800 AM today Contributing editor for the New Daily, Amy Remikus 0:00:50.400 --> 0:00:52.760 on the mess and mayhem of the first week back 0:00:52.800 --> 0:01:02.840 in Parliament. It's Friday, July twenty five, Amy, thanks for 0:01:02.880 --> 0:01:06.240 speaking with me. It's a new parliament. Albanese's thumping majority 0:01:06.319 --> 0:01:09.320 is on full display. So how is he talking about 0:01:09.319 --> 0:01:09.880 his mandate? 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:13.200 Yeah, Anthony Albanezi has stuck to the message that he 0:01:13.400 --> 0:01:16.880 started pretty much straight after the election win, when it 0:01:16.920 --> 0:01:20.240 became clear that Labor not only had a majority, they 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:23.480 had a thumping majority in the House of Representatives. 0:01:23.760 --> 0:01:27.120 So he has been on this we are going to remain. 0:01:26.880 --> 0:01:31.600 Humble, let's stay away from hubris, while also at the 0:01:31.640 --> 0:01:35.560 same time saying we have a mandate and this is 0:01:35.640 --> 0:01:38.160 going to be what he's calling a. 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:41.319 Year of delivery. That is our focus. 0:01:41.720 --> 0:01:45.120 We've just been through an election, we had clear commitments 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:47.120 and we want to deliver them. 0:01:47.400 --> 0:01:50.400 He said it practically in every single media interview that 0:01:50.440 --> 0:01:54.120 he has done since parliament started, and what he's doing 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:57.480 there is trying to signal to people who have been 0:01:57.600 --> 0:02:02.000 frustrated at the lack of the action of the Albanese 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:05.240 government in the last three years. He's trying to say 0:02:05.280 --> 0:02:08.680 to those people, now we're actually going to start in 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:12.960 acting policy. The question is, though, whether what they want 0:02:13.000 --> 0:02:16.959 to enact is actually going to go anywhere near close 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:20.880 enough to addressing all of those major issues that all 0:02:20.919 --> 0:02:22.320 of us are experiencing. 0:02:22.639 --> 0:02:25.280 So what is he actually promising to deliver in this 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:26.200 year of delivery? 0:02:26.600 --> 0:02:31.799 So the first up was reducing existing hex loans by 0:02:31.840 --> 0:02:32.640 twenty percent. 0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:36.400 We have a good education system in Australia today, but 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:38.960 the truth is it can be better and it can 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:42.079 be fairer, and this bill is part of that. 0:02:42.080 --> 0:02:45.560 That legislation was the first piece of legislation that went 0:02:45.600 --> 0:02:49.119 into the Parliament, which they've made a very big song 0:02:49.120 --> 0:02:51.359 and dance over, but it has to be said, does 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:54.280 kind of distract from the fact that they haven't actually 0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:59.120 addressed the fee increases that the Morrison government put in 0:02:59.200 --> 0:03:01.760 place for incoming university students. 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:04.760 Now the opposition have a chance to get this right, 0:03:05.440 --> 0:03:09.240 not just by voting for it, but actually speaking in 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:10.040 support of it. 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:13.360 So while if you've got an existing debt, you are 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:15.639 going to save, you know, a couple of one hundred 0:03:15.720 --> 0:03:18.000 to a couple of thousand dollars a year by the 0:03:18.120 --> 0:03:22.280 reduction in your debt, if you're entering in university, you're 0:03:22.320 --> 0:03:24.920 going to be paying higher fees for a whole lot 0:03:25.000 --> 0:03:29.079 of courses because the Albanese government hasn't got around to 0:03:29.360 --> 0:03:32.480 implementing any parts of the review that it is. 0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:34.520 Doing on university fees. 0:03:35.240 --> 0:03:39.120 They are enshrining the new penalty rate changes and they've 0:03:39.120 --> 0:03:43.520 also addressed some of the concerns around childcare safety when 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:47.320 it comes to workers and effectively, what that bill does 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:52.200 is that if childcare centers do not maintain national minimum standards. 0:03:52.240 --> 0:03:55.200 If they start slipping, they can lose their federal funding. 0:03:55.680 --> 0:03:58.520 The government this week was also one of twenty eight 0:03:58.520 --> 0:04:01.600 countries we signed a letter demanding an immediate end to 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:05.280 the war in Gaza and for Israel lift aid restrictions. 0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:06.760 How significant is. 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:11.000 That look in terms of language, it is significant because 0:04:11.080 --> 0:04:13.480 this is the strongest that the Australian. 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:15.000 Government has been on it. 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:18.720 But it doesn't actually have any concrete action behind it. 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:23.400 There are some sanctions on individual settlers, but that's to. 0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:25.359 Do with the West Bank. That's not to do with 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:25.920 what is. 0:04:25.839 --> 0:04:30.320 Actually happening in Gaza. But beyond that there hasn't been 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:34.200 much action. And in fact we saw stronger action in 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:37.920 the Parliament just this week when the Senate, with the 0:04:37.960 --> 0:04:42.159 Government and the Coalition banding together to chastise Green Senator 0:04:42.240 --> 0:04:47.159 Marine Feruki for her protest in the Senate on the 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:49.040 day that the Parliament opened. 0:04:49.800 --> 0:04:53.120 The Gada is starvin thanking it. 0:04:53.640 --> 0:04:56.880 She held up a sign saying Gaza is starving. Words 0:04:56.920 --> 0:05:01.000 won't feed them sanction Israel. Now that set off a 0:05:01.040 --> 0:05:03.719 whole chain of events in the Senate where we spend 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:09.400 a lot of time on Wednesday discussing the disrespect that 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:11.840 Marine Ferruki showed to the Senate. 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:18.120 Your actions during the Governor General's address were utterly disrespectful 0:05:18.400 --> 0:05:22.480 and showed a complete disregard for the rules, the traditions 0:05:22.960 --> 0:05:24.920 and the customs of this place. 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:28.800 And so while she wasn't officially censured, the Senate did 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:34.360 pass emotion expressing its displeasure and asking her to apologize. 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:37.200 Labor and the coalition in this chamber wants to avoid 0:05:37.240 --> 0:05:40.520 the truth. You don't want to see it or hear it. 0:05:41.080 --> 0:05:43.839 And now here we are you want me, you want 0:05:43.920 --> 0:05:47.159 forced me to apologize for telling the truth. Well well done. 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:51.120 You can all patch yourselves on the back and move on, 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:54.080 move on while Palestinians are slaughtered. 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:57.960 The juxtaposition to that was on the same day that 0:05:58.000 --> 0:06:02.920 Marine Ferruki did her protest One Nation, senators turned their 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:07.040 back on Mass on the indigenous Welcome to Country ceremony. 0:06:07.400 --> 0:06:10.960 It was done on that most sacred day of Parliament openings, 0:06:11.040 --> 0:06:14.680 when you know the sovereign representative, the Governor General was 0:06:14.760 --> 0:06:17.359 in the Parliament, which was a very big deal apparently 0:06:17.400 --> 0:06:20.760 for Marine Ferruki, But there was nothing. 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:22.240 Done about One Nation. 0:06:22.839 --> 0:06:25.040 And so this is also at a time when there 0:06:25.080 --> 0:06:30.400 were hundreds of people protesting outside the Parliament for Gaza, 0:06:30.480 --> 0:06:34.520 for the Australian government to actually act. And while the 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:38.120 government keeps pointing to the statement, and you've had senior 0:06:38.200 --> 0:06:42.120 ministers like Tony Burke come out and say Australians are 0:06:42.160 --> 0:06:45.839 just sick of seeing the slaughter. We're not actually seeing 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:50.960 any action. So significant on words, not very significant in 0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:51.640 the big picture. 0:06:54.360 --> 0:07:07.680 After the break, Barnaby Joyce yelling out a cloud. I 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:10.720 mean this week we had an extraordinary display from the 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:14.480 Nationals really highlighting the challenge that Susan Lee faces as 0:07:14.480 --> 0:07:18.040 he tries to hold together the coalition. Can you tell 0:07:18.040 --> 0:07:20.280 me about the fight over net zero? 0:07:20.560 --> 0:07:22.720 This is so ridiculous, isn't it? 0:07:22.760 --> 0:07:27.080 Like it's just I couldn't possibly comment so effectively. 0:07:27.120 --> 0:07:29.880 What has happened is that Barnaby Joyce, who has been 0:07:29.920 --> 0:07:33.400 anti net zero from date dot and who has rebuilt 0:07:33.440 --> 0:07:38.440 his political career multiple times by being anti renewables, by 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:42.119 being anti net zero, he has now taken that fight 0:07:42.240 --> 0:07:45.120 to the Nationals party room and he is saying to them, 0:07:45.560 --> 0:07:49.360 our constituency does not want renewables. It is going to 0:07:49.520 --> 0:07:53.119 destroy them. We need to actually stop net zero. 0:07:53.400 --> 0:07:55.600 If you get rid of net zero, then what does 0:07:55.640 --> 0:07:57.080 our energy system look like? 0:07:57.360 --> 0:07:59.120 So what's the point of us doing this if the 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:02.000 rest of the of the world, majority of the economies. 0:08:01.560 --> 0:08:03.000 Of the world's. 0:08:04.280 --> 0:08:06.800 Though zero. 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:09.760 Now all of this is just happening in the national's heads. 0:08:09.960 --> 0:08:13.960 It has zero impact on Australian policy. This bill to 0:08:14.000 --> 0:08:16.240 scrap and at zero that Barnaby Joyce wants to put 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:19.200 through the Parliament, it's not going anywhere. It might as 0:08:19.240 --> 0:08:21.520 well just be a piece of paper that he's yelling 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:22.240 at a cloud with. 0:08:22.600 --> 0:08:24.040 He used to have the chiefs power in the world, 0:08:24.160 --> 0:08:26.480 with those evil coll fire power stations. You just have 0:08:26.560 --> 0:08:30.120 really cheap, reliable power. Now you've got really unreliable, hellishly 0:08:30.200 --> 0:08:33.000 expensive power. And it's on the premise of you trying 0:08:33.000 --> 0:08:36.319 to achieve this ludicrous idea that Australia and the minority 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:40.319 of the globe can somehow change droughts, change cyclones, reduce 0:08:40.360 --> 0:08:43.720 the extinction of species because Australia is going to change 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:46.120 the temperature of the weather, which Unit is worried about. 0:08:46.280 --> 0:08:51.040 Miss but it is hijacking the conversation and that's the point. 0:08:51.200 --> 0:08:54.120 He wants to continue to suck up as much oxygen 0:08:54.240 --> 0:08:58.240 as possible he joined forces with Michael McCormack, the former 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:01.880 leader of the Nationals Party, who he toppled to. 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:03.719 Get back the Nationals leadership. 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:06.880 But the enemy of my enemy is my friend, and 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:10.760 David Little Proud is the enemy of both of those men. 0:09:11.080 --> 0:09:14.360 So you've got a pincer movement happening within the Nationals. 0:09:14.360 --> 0:09:15.880 You've got the net zero attack. 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:18.960 You've got those who don't like David Little Proud as 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:23.200 the leader joining forces to basically say we are going 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:27.120 to destroy the coalition if we have to in order 0:09:27.160 --> 0:09:28.360 to get our way on this. 0:09:28.840 --> 0:09:32.520 Mister Speaker, This new parliament begins after an election where, 0:09:32.960 --> 0:09:34.720 to be frank, the Coalition. 0:09:34.320 --> 0:09:37.600 Would have preferred a different result. That is the nature 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:38.280 of democracy. 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:42.320 You mentioned Susan Lee's job there, I mean still in 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:45.880 the party. Most people consider Susan Lee to be a placeholder, 0:09:46.080 --> 0:09:48.640 and I think that what we have seen this week 0:09:48.679 --> 0:09:51.800 from the Nationals show that she does not actually have 0:09:51.920 --> 0:09:55.160 authority over the joint Coalition party room. 0:09:55.520 --> 0:09:56.880 Thank you very much, mister Speaker. 0:09:56.920 --> 0:09:58.880 Well, colleagues, it feels a little bit like back to 0:09:58.920 --> 0:10:01.480 the future coming in here, and the reason for that 0:10:01.640 --> 0:10:03.800 is because we all recall those of us that were 0:10:03.800 --> 0:10:08.280 here when we left parliament. The jeering, the sneering, the 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:11.679 hubris and the born to rule attitude from this Labor 0:10:11.679 --> 0:10:14.360 Prime Minister and this Labor government, I mean. 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:17.120 Place hold her or not. Susanly also tried to set 0:10:17.160 --> 0:10:19.880 the tone this week with her party room. The coaltion 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:22.200 is going into the new turn with lower support they've 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:24.800 had in forty years. So how is she handled the 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:25.400 first week? 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:26.040 Yeah? 0:10:26.080 --> 0:10:29.880 Mostly with delusion. She is definitely leading with. 0:10:30.000 --> 0:10:33.600 Delulu is the Sululu as the way to get through 0:10:33.880 --> 0:10:36.240 this part of the coalition's history. 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:40.160 There was the exceptionally awkward meeting. 0:10:39.960 --> 0:10:44.239 With Anthony Albanizi at the church where ahead of Parliament, 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:48.120 where they basically both acted like divorced parents who had 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:50.559 not seen each other in twenty years having to get 0:10:50.600 --> 0:10:51.920 together for the kid's wedding. 0:10:52.120 --> 0:10:53.640 It was very, very frosty. 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:57.720 She came out of the church steps and immediately started 0:10:57.920 --> 0:11:01.960 right back into the politics, talk about how this government 0:11:02.520 --> 0:11:05.520 needed to be held to account and her coalition was 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:08.520 the ones to do that. And then she told her 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:12.200 party room that the government just wants the coalition to 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:14.640 get out of the way, for the opposition to stop 0:11:14.640 --> 0:11:17.319 being obstructionist. But they're not going to get out of 0:11:17.360 --> 0:11:20.400 the way because the Australian people just want the government 0:11:20.440 --> 0:11:23.080 to get out of the way, which is a bold 0:11:23.160 --> 0:11:26.600 statement for somebody who has been left with twenty nine 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:29.200 percent of seats in the House of Representatives. 0:11:29.480 --> 0:11:31.480 Is that what we can expect from her more of 0:11:31.520 --> 0:11:34.840 that type of rhetoric when it comes to working with 0:11:34.920 --> 0:11:37.880 the government, And is that a risk given how low 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:41.000 her party support is and how dominant Labor is right now? 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:42.600 It's a complete risk. 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:46.400 I mean, part of the reason that she's handstrung is 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:50.360 that every policy under the coalition is under review, which 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:53.880 is standard after an election. It is quite normal to 0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:57.000 have all of your policies under review. But they don't 0:11:57.000 --> 0:11:59.360 even have a position. They don't even have like a 0:11:59.480 --> 0:12:01.080 start position. 0:12:00.920 --> 0:12:03.079 On where they want to go on this. 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:06.320 And so that just means that they're falling back onto 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:09.800 old positions even when they come up with positions. Though, 0:12:09.920 --> 0:12:12.320 given what we've seen from the Nationals, given what we 0:12:12.400 --> 0:12:16.680 know other tensions within the Liberal party room itself, it's 0:12:16.720 --> 0:12:19.520 probably not going to play well for them anyway, because 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:22.480 they haven't actually worked out a what it is they 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:25.880 stand for, b what it is they want the Australian 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:29.400 people to think of them and see how they actually 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:31.040 ever get back to government. 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:35.319 So, finally, Amy, given what we've seen this week, how 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:38.400 would you characterize this term of parliament that we're likely 0:12:38.440 --> 0:12:40.000 to have based on the first week? 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:42.640 MESSI it's going to be messy. 0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:48.439 Labor do have a giant majority in the House of Representatives, 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:50.840 and as much as you want to pretend like that's 0:12:50.880 --> 0:12:53.800 not going to give you sub hubris, of course it is. 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:58.080 The Senate is still the main game, and as we 0:12:58.120 --> 0:13:01.000 saw this week, the Coalition and Labor are still going 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:03.720 to play respectability politics when it suits them. 0:13:04.000 --> 0:13:05.559 That doesn't particularly. 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:08.359 Vote well in terms of the Greens or the Independents 0:13:08.440 --> 0:13:11.200 actually managing to have some of their agenda put up. 0:13:11.559 --> 0:13:13.800 But I think it's just going to be messy, and 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:18.360 not necessarily even because of the parliamentary personalities. There are 0:13:18.400 --> 0:13:22.200 so many outside influences. There is so much happening in 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:25.559 the global space. The world is effectively on fire, and 0:13:25.600 --> 0:13:29.280 so while there are massive domestic issues to be addressed, 0:13:29.720 --> 0:13:32.680 I do think it's going to be largely overshadowed by 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:36.320 what is happening overseas and how the government. 0:13:35.960 --> 0:13:36.720 Responds to that. 0:13:38.120 --> 0:13:40.560 Amy great the heavy on the show again, thanks for your. 0:13:40.440 --> 0:13:41.760 Time, thanks for having me. 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:57.480 Also in the use, the US says it's made agriculture 0:13:57.640 --> 0:14:01.679 great again as Australia relaxis reached drictions on US beef imports. 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:05.040 No beef from the States has entered Australia since twenty 0:14:05.200 --> 0:14:08.439 nineteen due to the risk of mad cow disease. The 0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:12.480 US Agriculture Secretary said the relaxed restrictions were another example 0:14:12.520 --> 0:14:15.560 of the kind of market access the President negotiates to 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:19.760 bring America into a new Golden age of prosperity. Meanwhile, 0:14:19.800 --> 0:14:22.440 the Albanesi government insists the decision was made based on 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:27.040 science and not as part of wider tariff negotiations, and 0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:29.240 the New South Wales Court of Appeal has knocked back 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:32.280 a coal mine expansion in the Upper Hunter region. The 0:14:32.360 --> 0:14:35.520 ruling followed a campaign by a community environment group who 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:39.080 successfully argued that the state's Planning Commission failed to consider 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:42.440 the impact of the projects greenhouse gas emissions when approving 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:45.960 the expansion. If it went ahead, Mac Energy's Mount Pleasant 0:14:46.000 --> 0:14:48.600 coal mine expansion would have made it the largest in 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:52.800 the state. The community group demed Heg, said they hoped 0:14:52.800 --> 0:14:56.400 their win has wider implications for fossil fuel projects across 0:14:56.440 --> 0:15:02.480 the state. Seven Am is a daily show from Solstice Media. 0:15:02.640 --> 0:15:07.320 It's made by Atticus Basto, Shane Anderson, Chris Dangate, Ruby Jones, 0:15:07.600 --> 0:15:13.520 Sarah mcveee, Travis Evans, Zotonfecho, and me Daniel James. Our 0:15:13.560 --> 0:15:15.760 theme music is by Ned Beckley and Josh Hogan of 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:19.760 envelop Portio. If you enjoy seven Am, please like, review 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:23.600 and share it all helps a lot. Have a great weekend, 0:15:23.920 --> 0:15:24.800 See you next week.