INDIGENOUS POLICY PROMINENT AS THE PRIME MINISTER DELIVERS ANNUAL ‘CLOSING THE GAP’ STATEMENT TO PARLIAMENT WHILE CONTINUING TO HAMMER LABOR’S IDEOLOGY ON RENEWABLE ENERGY.
Tuesday, 14 February 2017
Summary
The annual Closing The Gap report was tabled by the Prime Minister in the Parliament today. Only one of the seven target areas is on track to be met to actually and effectively close the gap for Indigenous Australians. Despite bipartisan support, it is clear that a much stronger and ongoing commitment to actions and outcomes right across the federal, state and territory political divide needs to occur.
Neither party embraced the Valentine’s Day love with the Government using Question Time to continue to sheet home blame for the South Australian energy debacle to Labor’s ideology, while Labor suggested the Government was making Victorian female Police Officers worse off with a reduction in paid parental leave entitlements.
It was a disparate Question Time for the Government today with questions on the dairy industry, s457 visas, workplace relations reform and mental health improvements for members of the ADF joining energy security as prominent talking points.
1.The Prime Minister commenced Question Time channelling the formidable political master, former British Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher, when chiding the Opposition’s failure to fully fund the NDIS saying “the problem with socialists is that they eventually run out of everyone else’s money.”
2. Given the prominence that the energy debate is currently playing in the body politic, it was a tactical mistake for the Opposition’s Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy, the Hon Mark Butler MP, to allow himself to be ejected from Question Time, via Standing Order 94, a mere ten minutes into proceedings.
3. It was no surprise that the Government did not use any Dorothy Dixers to highlight their Indigenous Affairs policy platform. It was however interesting that the Opposition chose not to attack any of the Government’s shortcomings on Indigenous Affairs during Question Time.
4.The Opposition made a concerted effort to highlight budget and fiscal challenges facing the Government with five of its ten questions directed at Government Ministers and their plans for potential budget savings in areas such as paid parental leave, NDIS and school funding.
5.Manager of Opposition Business and Member for Watson, the Hon Tony Burke MP, arguably provided the best moment of jocularity in Question Time when referencing an obscure part of Practice. He implored the Speaker, the Hon Tony Smith MP, to force the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Barnaby Joyce MP, to provide his answers to the House in English.
1.Recriminations are continuing out west with the Western Australian Nationals indicating they would preference The Greens ahead of the Western Australian Liberal Party in some seats at the forthcoming State Election.
2. Powerful South Australian cross bench leader of NXT, Senator Nick Xenophon, has confirmed his bloc of four votes will oppose the Government’s $4B child care omnibus savings and measures.
3.Fairfax are reporting former Coalition Government Minister, the Hon Andrew Robb AO, pressed the Turnbull Government to hold a royal commission into Australian banks in an attempt to blanket the Opposition.
4.The ninth annual Closing the Gap report has found Australia is not on track to close the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Sadly the divide is widening and deaths are increasing when it comes to health issues such as cancer.
Today’s program saw a truncated legislative agenda. It focused on included the Building and Construction Industry (Improving Productivity) Amendment Bill 2017.
