PARLIAMENTARY PRACTICE – AUSTRALIA

PM’s big stick to be stuck in Senate

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Original article by Greg Bright
The Australian – Page: 6 : 7-Dec-18

The Senate’s standing committee on economics will examine the federal government’s bill to force electricity retailers to divest assets after Labor referred it to the upper house. The lower house debated the bill on 6 December, before parliament rose for the year, but further debate will not be possible until early April as the committee is not slated to report on the bill until 18 March. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has accused the government of trying to push the bill through the lower house with no scrutiny and minimal debate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS

Divestment powers put on fast track

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 6-Dec-18

Australia Energy Council CEO Sarah McNamara has flagged a possible legal challenge to the federal government’s legislation to force the divestment of energy assets. McNamara says there is still uncertainty regarding the constitutional validity of the bill, despite a compromise which will require the Federal Court to approve any application for asset sales. The bill is expected to be passed by the lower house after four crossbenchers backed a motion for it to be debated and voted upon before parliament rises for the year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN ENERGY COUNCIL, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Deserter fuels Coalition chaos

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Original article by Simon Benson, Rosie Lewis, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Nov-18

The federal government will require the support of at least two crossbenchers to pass bills in the lower house after Victorian MP Julia Banks resigned from the Liberal Party to become an independent. Banks’ defection to the crossbench means the Coalition has just 73 seats in the House of Representatives. This could give Labor sufficient support to refer Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to the High Court over his eligibility to be in Parliament. The government in turn has questioned the eligibility of several Labor MPs. Banks has promised to support the government on issues of confidence and supply.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, CENTRE ALLIANCE

Warning over integrity watchdog

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 4 : 27-Nov-18

The federal government agreed to support a Labor motion to establish a national integrity commission on 26 November, following a backdown by Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The Coalition did not oppose the motion after MP Llew O’Brien signalled that he may be prepared to cross the floor. Meanwhile, Attorney-General Christian Porter has warned that as drafted, a crossbench bill to establish an anti-corruption commission could apply to federal public servants, including ABC and SBS journalists.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

Eligibility case to test Morrison minority

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Original article by Rosie Lewis, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 6-Nov-18

The federal government’s loss of its majority in the House of Representatives means it will require the support of at least one lower house crossbencher to pass bills. However, some crossbenchers have requested access to legal advice on the eligibility of Liberal MP Chris Crewther to be in Parliament, amid speculation that they may seek a motion to have his case referred to the High Court. There are concerns that Crewther’s investment in Gretals Australia may breach the Constitution, given that the pharmaceutical company has benefited from taxpayer-funded research grants.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, GRETALS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

As TPP clears the Senate, Morrison hails export boon

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 18-Oct-18

The Senate has voted 33-15 to pass a bill to ratify the 11-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership, after it gained the support of Labor and several cross-benchers. Unions had opposed the TPP, particularly the provisions with regard to labour market testing and investor-state dispute settlements, and Labor will seek to remove these clauses from the TPP if it wins the next election. Prime Minister Scott Morrison notes that economic modelling suggests that the TPP will increase Australia’s national income by about $15.6bn a year by 2030.

CORPORATES
TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, CENTRE ALLIANCE

Bishop condemns culture of bullying

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Original article by Stephen Brook
The Australian – Page: 5 : 6-Sep-18

Former foreign minister Julie Bishop said on 5 September that she has witnessed some appalling behaviour in federal parliament. Bishop, who was speaking at the "Australian Women’s Weekly" Women of the Future awards lunch, said that parliament’s workplace culture, which includes bullying and intimidation, would not be tolerated in any other Australian workplace. She says that parliament’s adversarial nature impacts on the political process, while she urged the Liberal Party to take steps to lift the number of its MPs who are women.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Anning’s speech unites Parliament

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 16-Aug-18

The maiden speech of senator Fraser Anning has been widely denounced by fellow parliamentarians, particularly his call to ban Muslims from migrating to Australia and his use of the phase "final solution" with regard to immigration policy. The Katter’s Australian Party senator has refused to apologise for his comments, stating that he was exercising his right to free speech. Party leader Bob Katter has praised Anning’s speech, describing it as "solid gold", but One Nation leader Pauline Hanson says his remarks were "appalling".

CORPORATES
KATTER’S AUSTRALIAN PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Hanson to seal PM’s tax win

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 21-Jun-18

The Federal Government is set to pass its personal income tax cuts package after it gained the support of One Nation and the two Centre Alliance senators. The upper house approved the bill on 20 June, after endorsing Labor’s amendments to scrap the third stage of the tax cuts. However, the amended bill is set to be rejected by the lower house on 21 June, and the original bill will then be put to the Senate again. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and Labor have accused each other of deserting so-called "battlers" with their stances on the tax package.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

One Nation split boosts union clout

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 4-Jun-18

Further dissent within One Nation has emerged amid allegations concerning the Federal Government’s failure to pass legislation to subject union mergers to a public interest test. One Nation senator Brian Burston claims that his colleague Peter Georgiou opposed the Ensuring Integrity Bill in defiance of Burston and party leader Pauline Hanson. Burston says the latter then agreed to oppose the bill to ensure that the party was not viewed as being divided. A government source has backed Burston’s claim, stating that the government would have had sufficient support for the bill if Georgiou had voted for it.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP