Coalition confirms it opposes immigration bill
Karen Middleton
Following on from our post earlier, the shadow ministers for education, home affairs and immigration – Sarah Henderson, James Paterson and Dan Tehan – have described the government’s immigration legislation as “chaotic and confused”.
“Labor’s piecemeal approach does nothing to address the structural issues it has created. The proposed cap in the education bill before parliament will not even touch the sides of this problem,” the trio said in a statement.
They said it would “compound this crisis of the government’s making”.
The Greens are also opposing the bill.
Key events
Richard Marles has taken a dixer on cost of living measures, and the speaker has just sent the MP for Latrobe Jason Wood out under 94a.
Milton Dick urged MPs to “show some restraint today and to show each other more respect”.
Question time begins
Question time has begun, with Richard Marles standing in as acting prime minister until Wednesday as he attends the G20 leaders summit in Brisbane.
Liberal MP Melissa McIntosh asks Marles if the government can guarantee Australians will not face an increase in energy prices as a result of its “secret target”, with the government not releasing its 2025 emissions reduction target until next year.
Marles responds:
Since coming to government, what this government has understood is that the cheapest form of energy today is renewable energy …
He says that through increasing renewables in the grid the government is “putting both downward pressure on energy prices but also meeting our emissions reduction target by 2030.”
He argues the Coalition’s plan to introduce nuclear energy into the grid “will absolutely increase energy prices, because … what those opposite are doing is doubling down on the single most expensive form of electricity which exists in the world today.”
A reminder that Question Time is due to begin in the House of Representatives in about ten minutes – we’ll bring you all the key moments right here on the blog.
Kennedy on Kevin Rudd: ‘incredibly energetic’ and ‘capable of dealing with whatever comes’
Caroline Kennedy was also asked about Kevin Rudd’s role as ambassador to the US, after he deleted his previous tweets about Donald Trump.
Asked if he can he remain in that position, if she has any “advice” for how he should conduct himself, she responded:
Ambassador Rudd has the full confidence of the prime minister, and whoever is the ambassador is a choice of the government that sends them to Washington DC.
I will say that I have seen Ambassador Rudd, he’s incredibly energetic. He’s forged really strong relationships in Congress on both sides of the aisle. So I’m sure he is fully capable – I have seen Australians argue, so I’m sure he’s capable of dealing with whatever comes.
Responding to a question from our own Paul Karp, Caroline Kennedy says that “in terms of the tariffs, we just have to wait and see what really happens.”
Who knows, but also as the prime minister suggested, you know, Australia can come out ahead either way. So this is all speculation and we’re picking out sort of the most inflammatory and frightening things that were said.
Kennedy says ‘Australia has a very privileged position’
Another reporter asked Caroline Kennedy about her use of the work “best friends” to describe the US-Australia relationship, and questioned whether “best friends [should] really have to fight for tariff exemptions and submarine deals made under the office of the president?”
She says the FTA is about to be 20 years’ old and “there’s unprecedented two-way investment, record levels of trade happening every single year.”
The US invests here, you’re one of the biggest sources of foreign investment. I think that, as I said, Australia qualifies under the Defence Reduction Act and has a status that no other country except for the UK has.
I think out of all of those things, they do contribute to us being best friends. I don’t think Australia actually was subject to the tariffs under the previous Trump administration.
So there’s a lot of things that get said in the campaign, but I think that if you look at the positive side of it, which may not be the feeling sometimes, you’ll see that I think Australia has a very privileged position and that’s because we work so closely together across the board.
Caroline Kennedy says cousin RFK Jr’s views on vaccines ‘dangerous’
Sticking with RFK, Caroline Kennedy was also asked about his views on vaccines and fluoride in water – and if she is concerned about such views being mainstreamed?
She jokes that she is “not supposed to comment on politics and now you’re asking me to also comment on family” but says:
Yes, I think Kennedy’s views on vaccines is dangerous … but I don’t think that most Americans share them … I would say that our family is united in terms of our support for the public health sector and infrastructure and has the greatest admiration for the medical profession in our country, and Bobby Kennedy has got a different set of views.
Kennedy on Tulsi Gabbard nomination: ‘let’s just calm down and see what happens’
Earlier at the NPC, a reporter asked Caroline Kennedy about Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination by Donald Trump for director of national intelligence – with accusations she poses a threat to US national intelligence through vocal support of Russia.
Asked why Australia should trust the US with sensitive intelligence going forward, Kennedy responded there are “thousands” of people who work in their intelligence agencies and work closely with Australia.
Let’s see what happens with president Trump’s appointments … There’s another one, he’s nominated for health and human services. So let’s just calm down and see what happens. But obviously that would be of great concern and we’ll see who [actually gets the role].
Kennedy’s cousin, Robert F Kennedy, is to be nominated for health secretary by incoming president Trump.
Karen Middleton
Coalition says Labor’s foreign-students bill not good enough
The federal Coalition has confirmed it plans to oppose the government’s legislation to cap foreign students at universities, accusing Labor of having opened “the floodgates” on immigration.
In a statement, the shadow ministers for education, home affairs and immigration – Sarah Henderson, James Paterson and Dan Tehan – described the legislation as “chaotic and confused”.
Labor’s piecemeal approach does nothing to address the structural issues it has created. The proposed cap in the education bill before parliament will not even touch the sides of this problem.
They said it would “compound this crisis of the government’s making”.
The Greens are also opposing the bill.
The education minister Jason Clare has accused the opposition of hypocrisy for campaigning in favour of lower immigration but refusing to support the government’s bill.
Kennedy says Aukus is an ‘existential investment in Australia’s sovereignty and way of life’
Just circling back to an earlier moment in Caroline Kennedy’s speech. She spoke to those who “still question whether Aukus is necessary”, and said:
To those who still question whether Aukus is necessary, ask the Philippines and Vietnam what it’s like to have your ships rammed and sunk by Chinese ‘coast guard’ vessels, or Japan what happens when missiles land close to shore, or the Pacific nations when your most precious resource is destroyed by an industrial-scale fishing armada.
The long delays and higher prices that result from the Middle East conflict are insignificant compared to the global consequences of a conflict in this region. Aukus is an existential investment in Australia’s sovereignty and way of life, and you can’t put a price on that.
