Australia politics live: US raised concerns with ADF chief about Brereton report | Australian politics

Burney says it is up to the prime minister to name the date of the referendum on a voice to parliament, but says it will not be on a grand final day for either the AFL or NRL.

She says she is buoyed by the various sporting codes and organisations joining the yes campaign in recent weeks.

When asked whether more work needs to be done to get multicultural communities in western Sydney on board – she said the Yes 23 campaign has some fantastic initiatives getting up and running to get more information out about the vote.

The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, is on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing following the passage of legislation in the House of Representatives to support the Voice referendum.

Burney says the referendum is a reality, it’s standing in front of us, and it’s time for a positive campaign.

The important thing is that I believe that there is such a growing momentum for the Voice and it is what it can do. It is not what it is not going to do. It is what it can do. Of course, the issue of recognition and the issue of listening to make sure there are good, practical outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is absolutely what this is about.

A lack of competition in the supermarket sector is making it easier for major players to charge shoppers more, AAP reports.

The consumer watchdog has a close eye on the big supermarkets to make sure they aren’t using their market position to charge much higher prices for groceries.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said in markets where there were few players, firms were under less pressure to compete on price.

“I would accept that there is less constraint on them in a price competition than we would want to see,” she said in reference to the two biggest players, Coles and Woolworths.

The supermarket sector is dominated by the two companies although Cass-Gottlieb said Aldi was growing and MetCash independent supermarkets were also adding to competition in some areas.

But she told a parliamentary committee there were several supply-side factors pushing up food prices, including problematic climate change-induced weather patterns and geopolitical factors.

“However, in a more competitive market, you may see those elements competed away.”

The New South Wales parliament has chosen Maria Kovacic to fill the vacant senate seat in the federal Senate, following the passing of Liberal senator Jim Molan.

She is expected to be sworn into the Senate in the next sitting period, commencing 13 June.

I am going to hand you over to Josh Taylor to take you through the evening.
We have one more day of house sitting and estimates to get through. Like Ted Lasso and AC Richmond, I believe in you. (Do I believe the finale will actually wrap up everything and give us a satisfactory ending? No. Will I still cry? Like a baby which missed its nap)

I will be back early tomorrow morning, swollen eyes and all. Thank you to everyone who joined today, and I hope to see you tomorrow. As always – take care of you Ax

Independents to host climate forum tonight in Canberra

The independent Warringah MP, Zali Steggall, and independent ACT senator David Pocock are co-hosting a climate forum in Parliament House this evening.

The pair said the forum would call on the government, policymakers, industry and business “to accelerate the emissions reduction ambition to 75% reduction by 2035 and urgently focus on the key warming accelerator, being methane emissions”.

Steggall:

Australia currently ranks poorly in global climate action, currently positioned in the bottom 10 countries on the Climate Change Performance Index. By adopting the ‘75 by 35’ target, Australia can transform itself into a leader on the global stage.

Pocock:

Climate change is the biggest challenge we face. It requires bold and ambitious action to safeguard the future of the people and places we love. Our transformation to a low-carbon economy presents incredible opportunities, but we need to move fast. Setting an ambitious 75% by 2035 target will send a strong market signal and allow Australian industry and innovators to lead the world in the transition.

On the panel are:

· Prof Nerilie Abram – professor of climate science, Australian National University (ANU)

· Martijn Wilder AM – founder and CEO of Pollination

· Charlotte Hanson – climate policy consultant to the Environmental Defense Fund

· Prof Frank Jotzo – head of energy, ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions

· Anna Freeman – policy director at the Clean Energy Council

US raised concerns with ADF chief about Brereton report

Daniel Hurst

Question time mood board as seen by Mike Bowers:

Roger Cook to officially put himself forward as replacement for McGowan

In WA, the deputy premier, Roger Cook, is officially putting himself forward as Mark McGowan’s replacement and says he has the backing to do so, making it all but a done deal that he will be the next “state daddy” of WA (yes, I hate myself too).

The LNP MP for Petrie, Luke Howarth, continues his long campaign to be crowned the best and brightest point-of-order raiser, but there is no love there from Milton Dick, who tells him there is no point of order.

Howarth doesn’t turn around to say “I am the eldest boy”, but you know he kinda wants to.

And question time ends.

David Coleman ejected from question time

There is a dixer for Michelle Rowland and Milton Dick has to again address the groans coming from the opposition benches, which for some reason, only seem to groan out loud when questions are directed to women ministers.

Yesterday, it was Tanya Plibersek and Anika Wells (as well as Clare O’Neil).

Today, it is Rowland.

Dick says:

The member for Banks [David Coleman], I have been crystal clear about having commentary when ministers are walking to the dispatch box. You will leave the chamber under 94A. It is a nonnegotiable. Ministers are entitled to talk without commentary and groans.

PM says primary advice to government should come from public sector, not private sector

The independent MP for Goldstein, Zoe Daniel, has the next crossbench question and asks:

Australians are rightly concerned at the evident lack of integrity that has become apparent in the relationship between the commonwealth and the consulting firm PwC. My question is twofold: will the government suspend all current contracts with PwC while the situation is fully investigated? And will the government trigger an integrity review of commonwealth relationships with all large private consultancy companies?

Anthony Albanese:

I refer to my previous answer to the member for Melbourne … I outlined the government position on this. The breaches in confidentiality by PwC are indeed extraordinary, outrageous and deserving of complete condemnation. Not just by the government but by all Australians, I believe. To have a brief that is then turned into an opportunity is what occurred here. And … of course, the Treasury has referred the matter to the Australian federal police.

The PwC breach did not arise, I repeat, as a result of an active procurement or commonwealth contract, which we have.

I am very concerned about it. I repeat that prior to the election, one of the things we spoke about – and [there] has been some criticism of an increase in use of the public service – but one of the things I want to do is restore the public service to the primacy that it should be in. The public service should be the body that provides the primary advice to government. Not the private sector. Not any other interest, be it industrial, be it community groups; everyone can have input into government policy, through the political process, and that’s important.

Daniel asks about relevance and Albanese addresses the other part of her question:

I take these issues very seriously indeed. Anything that we do will not interfere with AFP investigations as is appropriate. It is important that people be held to account, and sometimes, you need to take a step back and allow those processes to occur.

That is what the government is doing here. This is rightly troubling, but the government has taken very swift action, as soon as we were made aware of … [it].

Here is what the gallery looks like at the moment, as captured by Mike Bowers:

Albanese outlines timeline for constitutional recognition beginning in 2017

Anthony Albanese goes through the time line:

The First Nations constitutional convention was held at Uluru in 2017, just more than six years ago, and it was timed to commemorate the date of the 1967 referendum.

That arose out of, originally, the proposal from John Howard as prime minister who went to the election in 2007, saying that he would support a referendum on constitutional recognition.

Then the Gillard government began a process with the constitutional recognition working group that led to the process of people including the member for Berowra and others like Noel Pearson, other senior, legal commentators, working on proposals, and then a series of consultations in the lead-up to the Uluru statement, in the lead-up to that constitutional convention.

[What] occurred then was the former Coalition government went through a range of processes. There was a jointly chaired inquiry that was then chaired by Senator Patrick Watson and the member for Berowra that made recommendations.

There was then a process set up, chaired by Tom Calma and Marcia Langton. That process then led to a report that went to the cabinet of the Morrison government, not once, but twice.

This is a process that has been many, many years in the making, leading up to this process.

We also, I note, established a timeframe very clearly for people when I indicated that there would be a draft. I announced it at Garma last July. We then had a process in a referendum working group that included people like Ken Wyatt, the former minister for Indigenous affairs, who came to a common position.

It then went to the parliament here, and it is unfortunate that decisions were made but they are entitled to do that, before that process had even reported to this parliament.

The legislation will now go to the Senate and then it will go to the Australian people. The Australian people will get to decide, and I certainly hope that they vote yes.

LNP’s Garth Hamilton questions referendum timeframe

The LNP MP for Groom, Garth Hamilton, says the last time a constitutional change was proposed, the proposed republic model was agreed and the public was given more than 18 months to consider the detail:

Why is this prime minister is asking Australians to first agreed to put the voice permanently into the constitution and then to give him six months to work out how will work?

You may remember the speech Labor MP Tim Watts gave about his ancestor, John Watts, and the role John Watts played in the displacement and death of local Indigenous people in Queensland’s Darling Downs. That’s the area Groom takes in.

Crossbencher Kylea Tink highlights record Hecs rise due to indexation

The independent MP for North Sydney, Kylea Tink, asks Jason Clare:

Tomorrow, more than 3 million Australians will see their student debt rise in line with the inflation. The highest increase in more than three decades and nearly double the rate of wages growth this year.

… What plans does the minister have it these millions of Australians copping this smackdown tomorrow?

Clare (after acknowledging his friend Mem Fox):

The short answer to your question is there is no changes to Hecs. We are … increasing youth allowance, rent assistance.

… Changing the way Hecs is indexed doesn’t put an extra dollar in the pocket of a university student today. It is not the way that Hecs works, it is not like a mortgage [where] the amount you pay every year is based on your income.

I get that affordability is an issue, and that is why I have asked the universities accord team to look at these along with a whole bunch of other serious issues in … our higher education system.

I can advise the member that Prof Bruce Chapman has been advised to work on this. Going to university is important. Going to university is your ticket to the show. Nine out of 10 new jobs today require you to go either to university or Tafe and going to university makes you money.

The average income of somebody with a university degree is about 90 grand. The average income for someone with a last year of education is year 12 is $68,000. That is a big difference. A life-changing difference.

Hecs has made that possible for millions of Australians to go to university, get the degree and change their lives. But not everyone. In the member for Wentworth’s electorate, 67% of young people aged 24-34 have a uni degree but in the member for Rankin’s electorate, it is only 19%. In the member for Melbourne’s electorate, 69% of young adults have a university degree. In the Member for Longman’s electorate, it is only 16%. And in the member for North Sydney’s electorate, 71.3% of young adults have a university degree.

What is the cost of those kids missing out? I don’t want us to be a country … where your chances in life depend on your parent’s income, where you live, or the colour of your skin, but the statistics tell us that is where we live today and this is what the Universities Accord is all about.