Australia news live: PM says Coalition pledge to match $8.5bn Medicare plan is ‘pure politics’; Dutton claims to be election underdog
Albanese labels Dutton’s Medicare price-match pledge ‘pure politics’
A reporter has asked Anthony Albanese how he can label Medicare “one of the great divides in Australian politics” (see earlier post) after Peter Dutton agreed to match the pledge, therefore making it bipartisan?
The prime minister said it was “pure politics” from Dutton yesterday and, like Mark Butler a moment ago, said it echoed back to when Dutton was health minister:
What we saw from the opposition yesterday was just pure politics. It’s what they did prior to 2013. The 2014 budget papers are very clear about $50bn of cuts to hospitals, very clear as well about what they wanted to do in a GP tax, a co-payment every time people visited a GP, meaning the abolition, effectively, of bulk billing …
All of that wasn’t done while Peter Dutton was somewhere else, Peter Dutton was front and centre and was the health minister, and it was so bad that doctors voted him the worst health minister in their history …
Key events
Staff stop work at nine immigration detention centres amid breakdown in negotiations
Workers at nine onshore Australian immigration detention centres have conducted a national stoppage, as talks with outgoing contractor Serco broke down. Strike action is occurring at:
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Melbourne Immigration Detention Centre
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Villawood Immigration Detention Centre
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Brisbane Immigration Detention Centre
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Adelaide Immigration Detention Centre
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Perth Immigration Detention Centre
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Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre, WA
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Northern Alternative Place of Detention, Darwin
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Alternative Place of Detention, Adelaide
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Alternative Place of Detention, Brisbane
The United Workers Union claims Serco has failed to address workers’ claims for redundancies as they leave Serco’s employment and start a new agreement with incoming immigration detention centre contractor Secure Journeys-MTC.
The union said today’s stoppages are an escalation from earlier two-hour national stoppages on Friday. There will be a hearing at the Fair Work Commission this afternoon assessing the Australian government solicitor’s request for workers to end their strike.
Allied Industries director Godfrey Moase said:
It’s a stinging indictment of Serco that a multi-billion-dollar corporation is unable to deal fairly with workers who are seeking legitimate redundancies in a contract changeover. We need Serco and the Federal government to understand these issues need to be resolved with a great deal of urgency.
Detention centre controller, the Australian Border Force, has been contacted for comment.
Emergency doctors raise alarm on escalating crisis
Physical violence against emergency doctors is pushing them to “breaking point”, AAP reports, with experts saying the abuse is happening so often, it needs to be dealt with as a matter of urgency before highly skilled doctors move away from the workforce.
The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine sent a snapshot survey to the directors of emergency medicine at all 131 college-accredited emergency departments. The findings of that report show that Australian emergency departments are facing an escalating crisis, and as a result the college has demanded immediate and systemic intervention.
College president Stephen Gourley said that since the Covid-19 pandemic, members had reported the public was becoming less tolerant and more aggressive, both verbally and physically.
It is time for a national conversation about violence in EDs, with urgent and co-ordinated action from all levels of government. We must act now before the damage being caused by this daily crisis in our emergency departments ends up beyond repair.
The report found that while there was no justification of violent behaviour, understanding the underlying causes was essential, particularly as those in emergency departments are often struggling with pain, grief, psychosis, dementia, delirium, intoxication and anaesthesia.
It suggested that excessively long waiting times, poorly understood triage systems and emergency department overcrowding could also be identified as contributing factors to the violence against medical staff.
Krishani Dhanji
Debate over Coalition proposal to slash federal public service pops up in Senate estimates
The debate over the size of the federal public service has surfaced in Senate estimates today, with Tasmanian Labor senator Helen Polley asking the home affairs department what it would do if it faced a 20% decrease in its staff under the Coalition.
There was a bit of back and forth over whether the department should be answering questions about hypothetical opposition policy. But department secretary Stephanie Foster told the hearing:
Typically governments will be clear with us about what outcomes they want us to produce … If there were to be a cut – and as Senator Scarr has pointed out, I’m being careful to avoid speculating – it is likely that cut would come with clear government priorities.
The department said that, of its 15,244 staff, about 36% were based in the ACT. It also told the hearing the Australian border force had 6,178 staff within the department.
Polley tried to make the point that any cuts by the Coalition to the public service would have an impact on home affairs and border force operations, but Foster replied:
It depends very much on whether those cuts are applied to home affairs and in which areas.
Adam Morton
Coalition nuclear plan hides 2bn tonne ‘carbon bomb’ that puts net zero by 2050 out of reach – new analysis
Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy policy would add huge amounts of extra climate pollution to the atmosphere and make it “virtually impossible” for Australia to reach net zero by 2050, according to new analysis by a government agency.
The Climate Change Authority found the Coalition’s proposal to slow the rollout of renewable energy, keep ageing coal-fired power plants running until after 2040 and build taxpayer-funded nuclear reactors on seven sites would increase total carbon dioxide emissions by more than 2bn tonnes.
The authority’s chair, Matt Kean, said this would be equivalent to adding “two Beetaloo basins” worth of emissions to the atmosphere – a reference to the vast Northern Territory gas basin earmarked for development, which has been described as a potential “carbon bomb”.
You can read the full story from Adam Morton and Graham Readfearn below:
Sarah Basford Canales
Senate estimates shed more light on top public servant’s early exit
The former boss of the Department of Parliamentary Services, Rob Stefanic, lost the “trust and confidence” of the presiding officers, a Senate estimates hearing has heard.
The parliamentary department has appeared before senators this morning and its top officials have shed more light on why the former long-serving secretary’s appointment was suddenly “concluded”.
The Senate president, Sue Lines, read out a short statement confirming Stefanic’s role as the department’s head on 17 December was terminated after “procedural fairness had been afforded”.
“It was a decision that was not taken lightly,” Lines said. You can read more of our coverage here:
Stefanic was re-appointed as the secretary in December 2020 for another five-year term due to end in December 2025. His tenure covered rocky periods in Parliament House, including the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins in a minister’s office by another staffer, leading to criticism of the department’s role in managing the situation in the hours, days and weeks after.
The acting secretary, Jaala Hinchcliffe, said Stefanic was provided with a sum of $153,660.64 for compensation for early loss of office.
An independent inquiry conducted by a Sydney barrister into a conflict of interest between Stefanic and his former deputy secretary, Cate Saunders, is still ongoing.
Hinchcliffe said she hoped parts of the finalised report would be made public.
Dutton claims to be election ‘underdog’
The opposition leader was asked about polling showing 55% of surveyed Australians would preference the Coalition on a two-party basis, while 45% back Labor (see earlier post).
Peter Dutton said the Coalition “remain[s] the underdog in this election because a first-term opposition hasn’t won since 1931”. He went on the attack, and said:
This is the worst government since 1931, and Anthony Albanese’s the worst prime minister since 1931, and completely out of his depth …
Dutton said polling would “come and go” and the only poll that mattered was election day.
Asked if he would be ready if an election is called this Sunday, Dutton instead turned to the parliamentary schedule:
I think what’s important is that the prime minister should go back to parliament, as it’s scheduled to, in a couple of weeks so we can pass legislation to guarantee this funding in relation to Medicare, and also to make sure that the salmon industry in Tasmania can be taken care of.
With that, Dutton’s presser has wrapped up.
Dutton again flags public sector cuts
Asked if the Coalition has modelled how many thousands of public servant jobs would go to fund this, Peter Dutton responded:
The government’s put on an additional 36,000 public servants. We will reduce that number and the savings there will be about $6bn a year. That’s the advice that we have. So $24bn of savings over the four-year forward estimates period.
This policy is $9bn over that forward estimate period, so there’s obviously a much bigger save that we have identified and the $9bn not only is it counted for, but we have got a productivity gain, because I just don’t think more and more layers of approval and bureaucratic process out of Canberra is helping anyone.
Dutton says doctors ‘right to be sceptical’ on 90% bulk-billing target
Peter Dutton said doctors “are right to be sceptical” on whether 90% bulk-billing rates could be achieved.
The opposition leader said general practice needed to be made “attractive” to young doctors, “particularly … in outer metro regional and remote areas”.
So there are a lot of issues we need to get right. But I think what we have signalled is our desire to work with the sector, work with the doctors and make sure there’s a better outcome for patients and for doctors.
Asked if the move to back Labor’s plan is at odds with the Coalition’s commitment to be financially responsible, Dutton said that “we’re not supporting spending which is inflationary in the environment”.
It’s a big amount of money but we have identified the offset, the savings. Labor hasn’t done that. I think it’s a fair question for the prime minister as to where the money is going to come from.
Dutton addressing reporters in Brisbane
Let’s go to Brisbane now, where the opposition leader Peter Dutton has also been fronting the media.
Taking questions on the Medicare announcement, Dutton took aim at Labor and claimed bulk-billing rates are down by 11% and “people aren’t going to the doctors because they can’t afford the situation that Labor has created.”
He continued the Coalition’s line that Australian’s “can’t afford” three more years of Labor, and that “if you’re voting for Labor at the next election, you’re voting for Anthony Albanese and Adam Bandt, a Labor government-Greens government.”
Australians at the moment under Mr Albanese are cutting back every dollar of discretionary spending in their budget. Cutting out every, you know, ounce of fat in their household budget …
They would be thinking, ‘I want a prime minister, I want a treasurer and I want a government that is spending my tax dollars efficiently and that’s not what’s happening under this government at the moment.’ We’ll have more to say about costings and the detail of all of that in the run-up to the election.
Government says it will confirm 2035 climate target by September
Graham Readfearn
Australia will meet a request by the UN’s top climate official to have countries submit by September this year their climate targets for 2035.
In Senate estimates, climate change department deputy secretary, Kushla Munro, said the government was waiting for advice from the Climate Change Authority on the target.
But she said the executive secretary of the UN’s climate convention, Simon Stiell, had asked for targets to be submitted by September and well in advance of the next major climate talks in Brazil in November.
Munro said the government intended to meet Stiell’s request.
Australia’s current target is to cut emissions by 43% by 2030, and estimates heard the latest projections suggested emissions would be at about 42.6% lower than 2005 by 2030 and this assumed Australia’s electricity grid would have 82% renewables by 2030.
PM says claims Fowler MP not invited to citizenship ceremony in Reid electorate ‘non-story’
Anthony Albanese was asked about claims from the independent Fowler MP, Dai Le, that she was not invited to an Olympic Park citizenship ceremony, which was attended by home affairs minister Tony Burke and the Labor candidate for Fowler, Tu Le.
The prime minister labelled this “complete nonsense” and “a complete non-story.”
This was a big citizenship ceremony in Homebush, which is in the electorate of Reid. Nowhere else. The electorate of Reid. Not even next to Fowler …
All of the mayors for anywhere that was within [where] people were getting their citizenship, they were all invited.
The PM went on to say it was “unusual” that Le is the MP for Fowler and the deputy mayor of Fairfield as well.
The mayor of Fairfield was certainly invited as was appropriate. It was an arm’s length by the department, and it’s a good thing that people are committing to become Australian citizens.
Butler confident in modelling about bulk-billing rates
Continuing from our last post: Mark Butler said he was so confident in the Medicare plan it would be closer to 100% of appointments bulk billed than 90%.
We have delivered the three biggest annual increases to the Medicare rebate in our three years in government in three decades – since Paul Keating was the prime minister. Leaving aside bulk-billing incentives, we have increased Medicare income for doctors by more in three years than the former government did in nine …
So we’re very confident about the modelling we have put in place. If anything, it’s quite conservative. It suggests it will take some years to get to 90%.
The important thing is this funding takes effect this year. It takes effect very quickly. It’s not scaled up over time. It’s put in place very quickly for practices to make the business decision to return to what most doctors want to do, and that is to let patients come in without them having to think about their credit card.
Anthony Albanese said the government was “very confident” about reaching a 90% bulk-billing rate under the new Medicare plan, after the AMA said this would not be reached.
We’re very confident that we will reach it … This was been welcomed across the board … That’s an indication that we have got this policy right and that’s why we then took that experience and translated it into ensuring that every Australian can have that access.
Albanese criticises Dutton ‘thought bubbles’
Continuing to take aim at Peter Dutton, the prime minister said that all he is offering is “thought bubbles.”
Anthony Albanese questioned whether zonal taxation rates was still Coalition policy, after a previous announcement from Dutton, as well as a second referendum on Indigenous recognition.
These are all just thoughts, spontaneously thrown out there, and I think during an election campaign … this is what he will be held to account on …
Albanese labels Dutton’s Medicare price-match pledge ‘pure politics’
A reporter has asked Anthony Albanese how he can label Medicare “one of the great divides in Australian politics” (see earlier post) after Peter Dutton agreed to match the pledge, therefore making it bipartisan?
The prime minister said it was “pure politics” from Dutton yesterday and, like Mark Butler a moment ago, said it echoed back to when Dutton was health minister:
What we saw from the opposition yesterday was just pure politics. It’s what they did prior to 2013. The 2014 budget papers are very clear about $50bn of cuts to hospitals, very clear as well about what they wanted to do in a GP tax, a co-payment every time people visited a GP, meaning the abolition, effectively, of bulk billing …
All of that wasn’t done while Peter Dutton was somewhere else, Peter Dutton was front and centre and was the health minister, and it was so bad that doctors voted him the worst health minister in their history …
Butler says ‘we’ve seen this film before’ on Dutton’s promise to match Labor Medicare plan
The health minister, Mark Butler, has also been speaking to reporters about the Medicare promise.
The Coalition yesterday said it would match Labor’s plan “dollar for dollar”. But Butler has labelled this a “performance” from opposition leader Peter Dutton:
Yesterday we saw the most extraordinary performance from a man with such a legacy of destroying Medicare pretend[ing] that suddenly he loves Medicare, he wanted to protect it and he’d match the announcement that we made.
Well, we have seen this film before. They said exactly the same thing before 2013. They said they’d back in our health policies then. They said there would be no cuts to health. And what we saw a few months later in a horror budget in 2014 … was a health minister in Peter Dutton trying to abolish bulk billing, cut $50bn from hospitals, and make every single Australian somehow pay as they walked in the front door of a hospital emergency department.
Butler argued Dutton “simply cannot be trusted on Medicare” and asked:
Why on earth would any Australian trust the man who created this mess in the first place to fix it up?
Albanese addressing reporters in Melbourne
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking to reporters in Melbourne on Labor’s centrepiece election promise around Medicare.
Labor has promised 18m extra bulk-billed GP visits a year as part of an $8.5bn investment. The PM echoed earlier comments that Medicare is “the heart and, indeed, the soul of our health system.”
We believe that people should be able to see a doctor for free, and that stands in stark contrast to our opponents, Peter Dutton, who has said there were too many free Medicare services – which is why we are changing and reversing the cuts that Peter Dutton put in place.
He said the tripling of the bulk-billing incentive and applying this to “everyone across the board” will mean more Australians get to see a doctor for free.
It will lift bulk-billing rates to 90% by 2030, providing an incentive as well for more medical professionals to become GPs.
Billionaires amassed more wealth in January than poorest third of humanity owns in January, new analysis shows
Oxfam says that in January, billionaires across the world amassed more wealth than the poorest third of humanity owns.
In a statement, Oxfam said billionaire wealth surged US$314bn (A$493bn) – around A$16bn a day.
It would take 15 million workers an entire year to make as much money … this is more than the combined wealth of the 2.8 billion people who make up the poorest third of humanity.
The analysis was released today ahead of the first meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Cape Town, South Africa. Economist Jayati Ghosh said:
Extreme wealth isn’t just growing – it’s accelerating at breakneck speed, putting more and more power into the hands of a tiny few. Failure to act enables more unchecked greed and deepening disparities, allowing oligarchs to expand their vast fortunes and further extend their power over the rest of the world.
More than 50 international organisations, including Amnesty International, Oxfam and Greenpeace, are calling on G20 governments to ensure the super-rich are effectively taxed.
