NSW Liberal leader ‘not going to tell my federal colleagues what to do’ on net zero
Penry Buckley
Returning to the new NSW opposition leader, Kellie Sloane says she is “not going to tell my federal colleagues what to do” on net zero after the state Liberal party voted to back the policy in contrast with Sussan Ley’s federal position.
Asked by a listener on ABC Sydney if she will try to convince federal Liberals to reinstate the commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, Sloane says:
We have different responsibilities when it comes to the energy rollout and the roadmap in NSW. We’ve got those practical on-the-ground considerations in NSW, the Coalition’s … position on this has been consistent since 2016 when we had the roadmap. We’re not going to turn around and change that decision, and certainly I’m not going to do that a week after our parliamentary colleagues made that decision.
Sloane, who in her appearances since being named leader has echoed her predecessor Mark Speakman’s calls for NSW to build more metro lines, is played a clip from an early parliamentary speech in which she said “asset recycling has helped make this state what it is today”, including funding roads and public transport infrastructure.
Sloane refuses to be drawn on whether she would sell assets such as the remaining publicly owned half of Sydney’s power grid, but eventually says she is “open to it”.
I’m not going to get into specifics on day one. You know, a few, just a few days ago, I was the shadow health spokesperson. Your listeners would expect that I need to come up to speed with all these matters … I’m not asking any of those questions yet. I’ll be honest, I’ve been running around Sydney over the weekend, I’ve been catching up with colleagues, I still have about 500 unanswered text messages.
Key events
Environment laws must “actually protect nature” says David Pocock, who has 15 changes he wants the government to make on its EPBC reforms.
While the government doesn’t need Pocock’s support to pass these bills in the Senate, the independent has been a loud voice on climate action.
He told ABC TV a little earlier, that the government is in an “awful hurry” to get these reforms out of the way, but they need to be done right.
Things like the exemption from our environmental laws for native forest logging – that clearly has to change. There’s exemptions for land clearing. Those things have to change. You actually have to an independent EPA that is actually independent. It can’t just be independent by name … we are the world leaders in extinction, we have ecosystems in this country that are on the brink of collapse. And so, as a parliament, we have to get this right.
There’s a longer Senate inquiry that will go through the 1500 page bill and report back to parliament in March. Pocock says that inquiry will be necessary to dig into the details, but the government doesn’t need it to be complete to pass the legislation.
Helen Haines says repealing net zero would deny the regions a ‘gold rush’ of cash
Regional independent MP Helen Haines – who has been pushing the government to take further action on climate – takes a stand against Joyce.
She says repealing net zero would deny the regions a “gold rush” of cash from renewables projects.
This bill would wipe out almost $10bn in projected payments to farmers, strip $1.9bn from community benefit programs for regional councils and undermine thousands of jobs expected from renewable projects, and there is no alternative proposal – just repeal, rescind, omit.
She points out that Armidale regional council, which is in Joyce’s seat of New England, has already established a multimillion-dollar renewable future fund.
Barnaby Joyce’s repeal net zero bill up for debate
Over in the house, Liberal MP Ben Small is taking up the fight for Barnaby Joyce’s repeal net zero bill.
Joyce’s bill was first introduced before the Coalition came to a joint party position to dump net zero, but agreed to stay in the Paris agreement (which has its own remaining set of questions).
The government has kept putting the bill on the Monday program for debate as a political move to wedge the Liberal party.
Small points out that the speakers for the bill have grown as the Coalition has come to this position.
Slowly slowly and then suddenly, within the Coalition the speakers list on this bill started as something of a renegade action to begin a long and necessary debate on the need to dump Labor’s net zero agenda, especially the taxes, penalties and big government schemes.
We take tax money off a nurse to make a surgeon’s novated lease for his Tesla cheaper.
The government and crossbench have more numbers, however, to keep debating against the bill.
Defence honours bill to be discharged
In the Senate this morning, the government is moving to discharge a bill that would limit the period of time – to 20 years – that a defence act can be honoured or awarded.
There has been heavy criticism of the bill inside and outside parliament, and in the last sitting week, there were moves led by David Pocock for that bill to be discharged.
While time ran out last sitting week, the government has this morning made that final move to have the bill removed. It’s a blow for Labor.
It’s been welcomed by Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie, and Pocock who says:
One of the troubling things about this bill is that there was absolutely no consultation and I thank my Senate colleagues for sending a very clear message to the government that we expect you to go through a process of consultation before you move forward.
Pocock says that through the Senate inquiry process into the bill, just one of the many submissions supported the bill, and that submission was from the Department of Defence.
Eyes on the parliamentary corridors
Here’s a little look at who popped up in the press gallery corridors this morning:
NSW Liberal leader ‘not going to tell my federal colleagues what to do’ on net zero
Penry Buckley
Returning to the new NSW opposition leader, Kellie Sloane says she is “not going to tell my federal colleagues what to do” on net zero after the state Liberal party voted to back the policy in contrast with Sussan Ley’s federal position.
Asked by a listener on ABC Sydney if she will try to convince federal Liberals to reinstate the commitment to net zero emissions by 2050, Sloane says:
We have different responsibilities when it comes to the energy rollout and the roadmap in NSW. We’ve got those practical on-the-ground considerations in NSW, the Coalition’s … position on this has been consistent since 2016 when we had the roadmap. We’re not going to turn around and change that decision, and certainly I’m not going to do that a week after our parliamentary colleagues made that decision.
Sloane, who in her appearances since being named leader has echoed her predecessor Mark Speakman’s calls for NSW to build more metro lines, is played a clip from an early parliamentary speech in which she said “asset recycling has helped make this state what it is today”, including funding roads and public transport infrastructure.
Sloane refuses to be drawn on whether she would sell assets such as the remaining publicly owned half of Sydney’s power grid, but eventually says she is “open to it”.
I’m not going to get into specifics on day one. You know, a few, just a few days ago, I was the shadow health spokesperson. Your listeners would expect that I need to come up to speed with all these matters … I’m not asking any of those questions yet. I’ll be honest, I’ve been running around Sydney over the weekend, I’ve been catching up with colleagues, I still have about 500 unanswered text messages.
Tom McIlroy
Labor advances plans for universal childcare rollout
We know Anthony Albanese wants universal childcare to be part of his legacy, and signs are emerging on just how Labor plans to significantly expand services around the country.
The government is pursuing new laws to require private operators to hand over sensitive commercial data needed to design a new national system, including on the costs and staffing requirements for running centres.
The government has already commissioned a private research project on sector wages, property costs and the experience of families and operators, in order to understand the scale of the ambition.
Now new changes to tax laws used to facilitate childcare benefits and other government payments are being progressed through parliament to allow the Department of Education to require private companies to hand over data about costs and services pricing.
Full story here:
Sloane would ‘love to’ see an outcome on NSW workers compensation this week
Penry Buckley
The new NSW opposition leader, Kelly Sloane, says she would like to see an outcome on the government’s controversial workers compensation reforms before parliament breaks this week.
Sloane has hit the ground running after being elected unopposed on Friday morning, making media appearances across the weekend, including in western Sydney, where she was heckled on Saturday, and this morning.
Sloane, who is four days into the job, has been reluctant to commit to policy yet. But speaking to ABC Sydney earlier, Sloane was asked about an area that may require an immediate decision, as the government seeks to pass controversial workers compensation reforms before it breaks for the summer at the end of the week.
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said this month that negotiations were “over” after the Coalition and cross bench rejected raising the threshold at which workers can claim for psychological injuries, although the treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, has since indicated that the government is open to further talks.
Sloane says she would “love to see an outcome” this week.
We know as an opposition that reform is absolutely necessary for workers compensation. We can’t justify the cost blowouts at the moment, but we’ve been working actively to try to reduce the front end costs of the scheme, rather than what Labor is doing and targeting the seriously injured workers who never have a hope of getting back to work.
Sloane says she is being briefed this morning by the NSW shadow treasurer, Damien Tudehope, on the state of negotiations, saying the government needs to answer questions about changes to the threshold for psychological injury.
What is the government putting forward in its nature legislation – and what are the Greens and Coalition demanding to help it pass?
For a good look at what the government is putting forward with its environmental laws this week, and what the Coalition and Greens are pushing for, have a read of my colleague Josh Butler’s story here.
Getting these reforms through the Senate is the primary focus of the government this week.
As we brought you a little earlier, Murray Watt is still confident a deal can get done before parliament rises for the year.
Private members’ bills to be debated this morning
Mondays during sitting weeks mean debate on private members’ bills.
Up first – when the House begins sitting at 10am – will be a bill from Andrew Wilkie to end online wagering on greyhound racing.
Then will come Barnaby Joyce’s end net zero bill (yes, again). We’ll see who lines up to the speakers list this time (and who the government puts up to debate against it – they have a much longer list MPs who can keep the debate running).
Barnaby Joyce says he has not yet received dinner invite from Pauline Hanson
Barnaby Joyce, who’s widely rumoured to be about to defect to One Nation, says he hasn’t yet been invited to Pauline Hanson’s house for dinner to discuss further.
Speaking to journalists in the parliament’s corridors this morning, Joyce was also asked about the poor polling his current party is facing.
Current Coalition polling is very, very bad, but we are in opposition [and] the government’s polling is also very, bad. It’s just that the Coalition is worse … And out of frustration, [voters have] gone shopping, political shopping.
On whether he’s had a dinner with Hanson yet, Joyce revealed he hadn’t, and said he was “trying to wait till the end of the year” to make a decision on whether he would leave the Nationals.
She [Hanson] hasn’t actually rung up officially – I’ve been invited on television, but I’m waiting for personal invite. That’s all colour isn’t it? Colour and movement.
Liberals make light of leadership polling
The latest Newspoll doesn’t paint a particularly bright picture for the Coalition and its leadership.
Asked, ‘whom would you prefer as leader of the federal Coalition?’ Sussan Ley still sits ahead of the other contenders with 21%, followed by Andrew Hastie with 15%, then Angus Taylor with 9%, returned Goldstein MP Tim Wilson with 6% and Ted O’Brien with 3%.
The kicker is that 46% of people selected the “don’t know” option.
On the Today show earlier this morning, O’Brien joked that his votes were “thanks to Mum, who I think cast three votes”.
Over on X, Wilson was also having a bit of a laugh, saying that after six months back in the house he’s “already at 6%. Gaining at a rate of 1% a month. 29 months to go!”
Josh Taylor
Snapchat begins to notify Australian users aged under 16 ahead of social media ban
From this week, Snapchat users the platform believes to be under the age of 16 will begin getting notifications in-app, via email or SMS about the upcoming social media ban.
Snapchat is using age signals for account activity to estimate ages in addition to those who have self-declared to be under 16, and those believed to be under 16 who are not will need to go through age assurance processes.
The methods will be via checking an Australian bank account, government ID such as passport or drivers licence, or via facial age estimation, where a selfie is taken and estimated by age assurance company k-ID.
Users under 16 will be able to download their data before 10 December such as chats, memories and videos. The accounts will be locked from 10 December for up to three years or when the user turns 16 and reactivates their account.
Snapchat maintains that it disagrees that it should be covered by the ban, but is complying with the policy.
Behind the new BoM website’s $96m price tag
Let’s dive a bit deeper into how that $4m figure blew out to $96m.
Yesterday, the new BoM CEO and Director of Meteorology, Dr Stuart Minchin, issued a statement explaining the issue:
The total cost of the website is approximately $96.5m. This includes the previously stated $4.1m required to redesign the front-end of the website.
The remaining cost reflects the significant investment required to fully rebuild and test the systems and technology that underpin the website, making sure it is secure and stable and can draw in the huge amounts of data gathered from our observing network and weather models.
The timing is critical, as Severe Tropical Cyclone Fina hit the Top End over the weekend.
Minchin said the bureau is continuing to make improvements to the website, and postponed a scheduled website update due to the tropical cyclone.
