Coalition MP ejected from question time after swearing at PM
Notions of respectful and civil debate appear to have gone out the window in today’s first QT ejection.
The prime minister is asked about “getting rid of the climate change department” and as he affirms climate change is real, parliament’s typical argy bargy returns and the MP for Wide Bay, Llew O’Brien, is ejected.
As O’Brien leaves to serve a three-hour ban from the chamber the speaker, Milton Dick, says:
Swearing in the parliament is completely unacceptable and he [O’Brien] will leave the chamber for three hours.
Honestly, we will not allow this parliament to have that language. None of us will accept that. I won’t accept it. Australia won’t accept it.
Key events
Richard Marles meets with US counterpart Pete Hegseth
Defence minister, Richard Marles has met with his US counterpart, Pete Hegseth, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus.
The two discussed investments at Australian air forces, ways to better coordinate on U.S. and Australian approaches to regional deterrence and advancing the AUKUS security partnership.
Federal police respond to bomb threat at Parliament House
Sarah Basford Canales
The Australian federal police responded to a bomb threat at parliament shortly before lunch today, but are continuing inquiries into who may have called it in.
After midday, a team of federal police officers, parliament security officers and sniffer dogs inspected the Senate wing to locate anything out of the ordinary. Nothing was found.
Despite the heightened focus on safety amid rising political violence around the country, Capital Hill quickly returned to business as usual with most of the press gallery appearing unfazed and question time carrying on as usual.
An AFP spokesperson told Guardian Australia a “comprehensive search was conducted and no issues were identified”.
APH has since returned to usual business. Inquiries into the source of the threat are underway.
Achol Arok
Good afternoon, thanks for sticking around! I’ll guide you through the arvo’s news updates.
Kat Wong
Thanks for following along today! My colleague Achol Arok will take the reins from here.
Australia ‘deeply concerned’ after consular visit with imprisoned democracy campaigner
Tess Ikonomou
Imprisoned democracy campaigner Tran Hiep told Australian officials during a consular visit that he was abducted from Cambodia and taken to Vietnam against his will, a parliamentary hearing has heard.
Vietnamese authorities claim the 51-year-old dual citizen was arrested while crossing the border from Cambodia with two other activists.
He is being held at a notorious detention centre in Ho Chi Minh City after disappearing on 18 September.
Elizabeth McGregor, from Dfat’s crisis management division, told Senate estimates on Wednesday that Australian officials visited Hiep on 15 October.
She told the hearing Australia remains “deeply concerned” by the campaigner’s report that he was abducted in Cambodia, and officials had sought clarification from both governments about the circumstances of his entry into Vietnam.
We’re seeking an expeditious resolution … and his return to Australia to be reunited with family.
We’re continuing to raise his case at senior levels with Vietnamese authorities, we’re pressing for regular consular access under the terms of our bilateral consular agreement with Vietnam, humane treatment, access to legal representation, and a quick process.
Payman apologises to Haines for comments after alleged attack
Achol Arok
The independent senator Fatima Payman says she has offered a personal apology to Helen Haines and her office following comments about the MP’s alleged attack.
The initial statements were made during a late-night committee hearing, where Payman accused Anthony Albanese of being “petty” by not granting her additional staff members after she defected from Labor in 2024.
She questioned whether the prime minister was “waiting for something like what happened to Dr Helen Haines to occur to my office, to me, for him to take our request seriously?”
In a statement, Payman said her comments were made in “frustration” and she wishes Haines a “full and speedy recovery”.
In Senate estimates, I was frustrated and exhausted after almost two years of asking for the staffing my office needs.
While my intention was not to diminish the attack on Helen, I understand that it could be seen that way, and I apologise if this has caused any distress to Helen or her family.
Payman said her office had seen an uptick of abusive messages from the public over the past day in response to the controversy. She said while her comments were “poorly worded, the issue I was trying to raise is real”.
Sarah Basford Canales
Shoebridge says his focus is peace with justice for Gaza
David Shoebridge declines to reveal whether he supports a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel, saying his core focus is achieving peace with justice for Gaza.
The question is asked because the UK Greens this month voted to adopt a policy that equates Zionism with racism and calls for Israel to be replaced by a single Palestinian state.
Shoebridge avoids the question initially by saying he’s “not focused on abstract philosophical discussions” but “engaged in the reality of politics”.
He said:
Do you know what I see in front of me when it comes to Israel and Palestine? I see a genocide … I see a state with an incredible amount of military power, de-housing and killing hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza and leaving two-and-a-half million people without the basic sustenance for life.
I see an ongoing illegal occupation in the West Bank, and I’m not interested in putting a label on that. But I tell you what I am 100% interested in, and I think I share this interest with millions of Australians, is stopping the brutality against the people of Palestine. It’s about ensuring peace with justice, and in my experience, you don’t do that through labels. You do it through hard work, through principle and through policy, and connecting with the millions of Australians who share those goals …
Our policy position is clear: the world needs to assist in coming to a solution driven by the people of Palestine, by the Israeli people, that provides all peoples peace and security. If that is a two-state solution and it’s achievable, and that’s what the people of Palestine and Israel want, well, absolutely. But we would not be limiting it. The core issue here is peace with justice.
Sarah Basford Canales
Shoebridge to stay mum while Steele-John inquiry under way
Returning to the Greens leader’s press club address, David Shoebridge is staying mum on any questions relating to allegations made against the Greens senator Jordon Steele-John, saying the independent inquiry into them should not be impeded by ongoing commentary and social media posts.
The Greens leader said politics needed to be safe for women and that is shown through ensuring the inquiry is independent and fair. He continued:
And in terms of social media posts or media discussions, that is obviously not the way to resolve an issue like this. It is not the way. This needs to be dealt with with the respect and the dignity and the care that it’s entitled to, and that is that independent inquiry. So I’d say, absolutely, women and all of us deserve a safe space, and I’m doing everything I can to ensure that they have that assurance by this independent inquiry.
Steele-John denies the allegations.
Asked whether the investigation’s scope should include reference to Steele-John’s claims that the complaints against him were motivated by state factional issues amid the state’s preselection process, Shoebridge said:
… Well, I don’t see any connection between the two. I’ll be entirely clear. But more fundamentally, it’s not for me to determine the timeline for an independent inquiry … that would undermine the very independence, but as I understand it, there is a commitment to have it as timely as possible, consistent with those other core issues about procedural fairness and justice. And everybody involved in this is entitled to not be prejudged and to allow that independent inquiry to work its way through.
Tl;dr here’s what happened in question time
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The latest inflation figures, released hours earlier, provided ample fodder for a combative question time, with the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and his shadow counterpart, Tim Wilson, trading barbs over the cost of living.
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A $6m grant for the Marrickville golf club returned to the spotlight, a day after the prime minister admitted he got it wrong, when he told parliament its purpose was to stop “raw sewage” going into the nearby river.
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Labor’s social media reforms, which passed the chamber earlier today, got good airtime as the government urged other parties to unite behind it.
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The typical question time argy-bargy has made a thunderous return, with two ejections and a slew of admonishments from the speaker.
Chaney asks why taxpayers are subsiding refineries
Independent MP Kate Chaney brings things back to the cost of living.
She asks:
When fuel prices spiked this year, Australians were told it was because of the war, but Australia’s two refineries are making super profits … Taxpayers subsidise these refineries, why shouldn’t they get a share of the windfall when refineries profit from a crisis?
The climate change minister, Chris Bowen, says: “We do think it’s appropriate to ensure that while government will ensure the refineries remain open – that when there are increased profits, the taxpayer can share in that. That is a conversation that we will have with the industry between now and the end of the year.”
Speaker reprimands opposition leader: ‘This yelling is completely unacceptable’
As the prime minister attempts to reference Australia’s credit rating, members of the opposition begin shouting across the aisle.
The speaker, Milton Dick, tells opposition leader to stop yelling:
You’re going to stop yelling at me … this yelling is completely unacceptable.
No leader of the opposition behaves like that … the prime minister can assist by lowering the temperature, as well, with the language being used.
The speaker reminds his colleagues “it is not business as usual”.
Second MP booted from question time
The Nationals MP Darren Chester has become the second member booted from the chamber, meaning today’s question time has clocked the most ejections of the week so far.
The speaker, Milton Dick, chides the member for Gippsland on the way out:
People are passionate about issues – I understand that, but it’s not the way to handle yourself in the house.
PM says he takes issue of AI-generated deepfakes ‘very seriously’
Crossbench MP Zali Steggall asks whether the government will make it illegal to create and disseminate AI-generated deepfakes.
She said a recent AI-generated deepfake video, targeting senator Jacqui Lambie, spread false statements in her name, resulting in increased threats to her.
The prime minister acknowledged the impact on the senator and responded:
It’s not just about politicians, of course. It’s people right across the board, seeing these deepfakes, and it’s hard, there’s videos of people standing outside Parliament House, making statements that aren’t them.
That distorts fact from fiction and that is a huge issue.
I take these issues very seriously, and so does the government. The digital duty of care is in part aimed at addressing these issues.
Speaker warns against a ‘war of tabling’
The manager of opposition business in the house, Dan Tehan, has continued hammering on the golf club, attempting to table a long list of government announcements, Hansard references, interview transcripts and more relating to the grant.
But the speaker, Milton Dick, steps in:
Don’t abuse question time by trying to do these tricks and stunts.
I’m over it, and everyone’s over it.
I don’t want this war of tabling to continue on … If people want to table documents, they’ve got the right to do that – but just be reasonable and responsible.
Marrickville golf club grant continues to haunt Labor
The $6m grant to the Marrickville golf club continues to follow Labor as the Liberal MP for Monash, Mary Aldred, asks why the infrastructure department had confirmed the funding was not for addressing sewerage flows when the minister had previously said it was.
The infrastructure minister, Catherine King, answered:
The decision brief for this project, which we’ve released for transparency, shows that funding for this project was assessed by my department against the criteria publicly available and found to be value for money.
Unlike those opposite, we are delivering our election commitments in a transparent way.
The prime minister on Tuesday admitted he got it wrong after telling parliament the grant was to stop “raw sewage” going into the nearby river.
Coalition attacks on PM continue in question time
Nationals MP Kevin Hogan returns to cost-of-living pressures in his question to the prime minister as he asks: “Why do Australians always pay the price because a prime minister can’t ever admit he’s made a mistake?”
As Anthony Albanese attempts to point to the conflict in the Middle East, interjections pour in from the Coalition and he issues a reminder:
We should turn the temperature down, and maybe people could stop interjecting.
Coalition MP ejected from question time after swearing at PM
Notions of respectful and civil debate appear to have gone out the window in today’s first QT ejection.
The prime minister is asked about “getting rid of the climate change department” and as he affirms climate change is real, parliament’s typical argy bargy returns and the MP for Wide Bay, Llew O’Brien, is ejected.
As O’Brien leaves to serve a three-hour ban from the chamber the speaker, Milton Dick, says:
Swearing in the parliament is completely unacceptable and he [O’Brien] will leave the chamber for three hours.
Honestly, we will not allow this parliament to have that language. None of us will accept that. I won’t accept it. Australia won’t accept it.
Chalmers says global oil prices are behind inflation
After another question on inflation, the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, points to the impact of conflict in the Middle East.
One of the reasons why the shadow treasurer and the leader of the opposition don’t have any credibility, is because they refuse to acknowledge the impact of higher global oil prices on inflation – not just in Australia, but, indeed, around the world.
If you look at the inflation numbers today, the biggest driver was petrol prices … those opposite might want to pretend that that’s not happening, but that’s a factor.
PM urges parliament to unite on proposed social media reforms
After the government’s digital duty of care bill passed the House of Representatives today, Anthony Albanese answers a dixer on the issue:
We know that the algorithms drive people towards more extreme positions and we know this is having an impact on our society.
The deliberate design of social media algorithms are designed to push people further and further down these rabbit holes, and to change society for the worst.
You see, the impact and harm of social media right across our society Australians are sick of it.
