Australia news updates live: bigger quarantine fines in NSW over Omicron; parliament under pressure on second-last day | Australia news
16:20
If you want to know how some government MPs are treating the government’s own social media law proposal, here’s just one example.
Victorian Liberal Senator David Van has apologised for interjecting while Jacqui Lambie asked questions in the senate yesterday, but has denied he made dog noises. He told journalist Samantha Maiden it may have sounded like an animal noise because he was wearing a mask. His colleague, Hollie Hughes had said on Twitter it didn’t happen at all (before Van’s apology for interjecting) and sarcastically praised Penny Wong’s “bionic hearing”.
Here’s how Van responded to Labor MP Graham Perrett as part of an ongoing thread on the incident
Senator David Van
(@VanSenate)How so curious, Graham? I did not make a ‘noise’ I spoke when making an interjection & I certainly did not make any kind of animal noise at all. Are you alleging otherwise? At least I won’t need our excellent new anti-troll laws to unmask you #justsayin
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16:06
Social media crackdowns must be playing well in focus groups: now there is an official inquiry.
From the release:
The Australian Parliament will put big tech under the microscope as it examines toxic material on social media platforms and the dangers this poses to the wellbeing of Australians.
The inquiry, which will be chaired by Robertson MP Lucy Wicks, was announced today by prime minister Scott Morrison and minister for communications, urban infrastructure, cities and the arts Paul Fletcher.
Prime minister Morrison said the inquiry builds on the world-leading legislation the government announced earlier this week to unmask anonymous online trolls.
“Mums and dads are rightly concerned about whether big tech is doing enough to keep their kids safe online,” The prime minister said. “Big tech created these platforms, they have a responsibility to ensure their users are safe.
Updated
16:02
Meanwhile, Labor isn’t confirming anything at this point, but the SMH is reporting the fuel emissions standards policy the opposition took to the last election is gone.
That shouldn’t come as a surprise; Labor has been working up its 2030 emissions policy for a while and part of that has been shedding parts it faces government attack over. With all the talk of “mandates” back (the government has claimed Labor wanted to mandate what vehicles people could drive, which isn’t true) as well as “taxes” (the government has also claimed things like the fuel emissions standard was a tax on family) Labor has been working on minimising as many attacks as possible (which doesn’t always lead to the best way to build policy, but here we are).
As Murph has been reporting, a 2030/35 target from Labor is expected very soon and it will be more ambitious than the Abbott-era policy the government is holding on to. With Labor starting its pseudo campaign this weekend (a campaign rally has already been announced) you can expect that policy announcement sooner rather than later. Once parliament is over, it’s game on for both sides.
Updated
15:55
Scott Morrison wants to make today about his social media bill, which is actually just a defamation bill, containing elements already available in state jurisdictions (social media platforms have always been publishers, for instance).
So you’ll be hearing a lot from the government about protecting young people and women from “anonymous trolls” on social media platforms. The legislation doesn’t do that though. It gives avenues for *some* people to be able to go to court to get an email address associated with an anonymous account. (And let’s not forget that when an actual pile on is on, a lot of it comes from accounts with names and not everyone can afford to sue for reputational damage.)
(Plus, just yesterday, the same day the Kate Jenkins report was handed down, the senate didn’t exactly cover itself in glory when it came to respect.)
Updated
15:47
We’re international news again.
The New York Times
(@nytimes)A report on the workplace culture in Australia’s Parliament paints a damning picture of widespread sexual harassment, with employees sharing harrowing stories of an alcohol-fueled environment where powerful men violated boundaries unchecked.https://t.co/KyLELQxPpi
15:36
Turns out those in the Victorian parliament are probably the most sleepy in the country:
Sharnelle Vella
(@SharnelleVella)Soooo you know how we thought the pandemic legislation would pass overnight? MPs have sat ALL night – and they’re still going! https://t.co/DqZvI4672i
15:33
Good morning
It’s the second last sitting day of the year and the government still has things like the voter ID legislation to get through, so it’s beginning to cut things a little fine.
There won’t be any federal integrity commission legislation from the government. We know that. Scott Morrison is blaming Labor for his government not bringing on the bill (which is currently just an exposure draft) because for some reason, Labor not supporting the government’s proposal is a stumbling block for a government which carries a majority in the house and has brought on countless bills the opposition does not support. But that’s the logic we’re being offered up on this one.
Labor doesn’t support the voter ID laws but at this point, the government is pushing ahead with those. There’s also religious discrimination, which is off to a joint committee, which will meet over the summer holidays in order to report back by early February. Morrison wants that one wrapped up before the election, hence the rush. So we’ll probably at least squeeze in the February sitting before the next election, but again, there’s no guarantees on that.
National cabinet met late yesterday and all the leaders agreed to hold the line on keeping domestic borders open, most likely anticipating a whole of country meltdown if Christmas is cancelled for the third year in a row. That, and no one knows enough about the Omicron Covid variant yet to want to make a decision which could end up looking a bit panicked. So far, there is no information warranting any other action than watch and wait (domestically at least). But there are a few more obligations for returning international travellers; in NSW those who don’t comply with quarantine/isolation rules face a $5000 fine, while Victoria is mulling whether to re-introduce a 14-day quarantine for returned travellers (no change as yet though).
Speaking of Victoria, it should pass its pandemic laws today, after securing the votes it needed from the crossbench.
We’ll keep you up to date with all the political news (and a little more, given Covid is still with us) with Mike Bowers, Katharine Murphy, Daniel Hurst, Sarah Martin and Paul Karp at your service. The entire Guardian brains trust is also chipping in, as usual, to make sure you know everything you need to know to stay up to date across the nation. It being a sitting day, Amy Remeikis is on the blog. Will there be enough caffeine? Probably not. But onwards anyway.
Ready?
Updated
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