Albanese government goes all out to back Future Made in Australia Bill

The Albanese government has gone on the offensive to spruik its centrepiece Future Made in Australia Bill, as the Coalition tries to obstruct its passage through parliament. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Labor’s centrepiece legislation would supercharge domestic manufacturing and turn Australia into a “renewable energy superpower”. “This Bill is at the heart of our government’s vision for a stronger, more prosperous, more resilient and more diversified Australian economy,” Mr Albanese aid. “It reflects our confidence in Australian workers, our respect for Australian scientists and innovators, our belief in the boundless potential of our regions and our resources. “Our support for the Australian private sector, our determination to work with business and industry to bring jobs and opportunity to every part of our country.” Later in question time, TreasurerJim Chalmers has called out his opposition counterpart Angus Taylor for his “mad and bizarre” hostility to the plan. On Tuesday, the Coalition announced it would oppose the legislative framework to implement Labor’s Future Made in Australia plan, arguing the policy to provide government-backed grants, loans and tax concessions to assist with the green transition and onshore manufacturing was an election slush-fund. But in question time on Wednesday, Mr Chalmers derided the Coalition’s arguments. “The shadow treasurer’s bizarre and unhinged speech last night reads like it was cut-and-pasted from the darkest, strangest corners of the far-right web, and that’s because it probably was,” Mr Chalmers said. “He bagged the Treasury Department that he wants to lead. He says that prioritising local communities, jobs and skills is Orwellian. He says putting national security and government together is ideological. “It was truly mad and bizarre stuff.” Mr Chalmers said Australia needed to embrace the “global net zero opportunity”. “We know that it would be self-defeating with the global net zero opportunity to pass us by, and it would make our economy weaker, our people poorer and our country more vulnerable”. CASH’S ULTIMATUM OVER CFMEU STOUSH Liberal senator Michaelia Cash has issued an ultimatum to the Albanese government, stating the Coalition will not support the government’s Bill to appoint an administrator to the CFMEU unless Labor accepts its 20 amendments. The changes to the Bill call on the administrator to be appointed for a minimum of three years, report to the parliament every three months, and appear before senate estimates. It also requires all delegates and officers to pass a “fit and proper person test” before they are able to assume office, and gives the administrator additional rules to deregister the union “if appropriate”. Speaking prior to her meeting with Workplace Relations Minister Murray Watt at 10am, Senator Cash said if the government accepted the 20 “common sense” amendments, Coalition senators would pass the Bill on Wednesday afternoon. “The Coalition stands here today, ready to help Labor and Mr Albanese clean up a mess of their own making,” she said. Senator Cash said the Coalition would also be introducing two bills next week, one which aims to restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission, which she described as the “tough cop on the beat”. A second Bill will focus on “ensuring integrity” within the building and construction sector. DUTTON CALLS FOR GAZA VISA BAN Peter Dutton has demanded the Albanese government refuse all visa applications from Gaza, claiming anyone leaving the war-torn Palestinian territory could threaten Australia’s national security. Coalition MPs wrote to Tony Burke on Tuesday, calling on the newly appointed Home Affairs Minister to tighten visa vetting for applicants from Gaza to ensure they held no rhetorical support for Palestinian militant group Hamas. But Mr Dutton went a step further. “I don’t think people should be coming in through that war zone at all at the moment,” the Opposition Leader told Sky News. “It puts our national security at risk.” Mr Dutton’s comments come as the government looks to set up a permanent visa scheme for Palestinian refugees. A visa applicant could be rejected if they are found to have given financial or material support to Hamas, a listed terrorist organisation that has governed Gaza since 2007. The same vetting process was used when Mr Dutton ran home affairs under the previous Coalition government, as senior government minister Bill Shorten noted when asked by the ABC. “So if he thinks our current process is no good, then what’s he saying about all the time when he was in charge?” he said. Education Minister Jason Clare, member for the Western Sydney seat of Blaxland, urged Mr Dutton to visit his community and speak to refugees who have fled Gaza. “There’s more than a thousand people from Gaza here now,” he said. “These are people who’ve had their home blown up, who’ve had their school blown up, who’ve had their hospital blown up, in some cases have had their kids blown up, and these are people who are trying to rebuild their lives here in Australia. “Come and visit them, look them in the eyes and I think that he’ll learn a bit.” Mr Albanese also weighed in, telling Sky the Opposition Leader was “always looking to divide” and that he would take pointers from intelligence agencies on national security. GOVERNMENT HIT WITH GAZA VISA QUESTIONS The Opposition continued to hit out at the government about how its visas processes during question time on Wednesday. Mr Albanese faced a barrage of questions on the visa processes, with Mr Dutton questioning whether “supporting a listed terrorist organisation like Hamas” passed “Australia’s character test”. The Prime Minister reiterated multiple times that current processes in place were the same as those implemented by the former Coalition government during humanitarian crisis which occurred under their watch. “That, of course, did not stop Australia from accepting people from Afghanistan. And rightly so,” he said. “Similarly, in Iraq, similarly in Syria, with the chaos that occurred, a special visa created for people from Syria.” New Minister Home Affairs and Immigration Minister Tony Burke also confirmed ASIO ensured “every single visa” granted by Australia, regardless of country, was cross-referenced with its watch list which is updated every 24 hours. “Every single visa that has been issued by this government and by the previous government went through that check against ASIO’s information,” he said. Directing a spray at the Coalition, he also said there “will be no compromise on national security”. “If it’s a choice between taking national security advice from a junior coalition shadow minister or the director general of our national security organisation, I’ll back our security organisations any day.” POCOCK TO FORCE GAMBLING AD VOTE Independent Senator David Pocock will use an urgency motion to force a vote on banning “all forms” of gambling ads, a move that will likely get backing from the Greens. The ACT senator’s motion calls on the “Australian government, with the cooperation of the states and territories, to implement a comprehensive ban on all forms of advertising for online gambling, to be introduced in four phases, over three years, commencing immediately.” The proposal goes against the Albanese government’s own reported plans to introduce advertising caps on commercial TV. TELSTRA AND OPTUS DELAY 3G SHUTDOWN Telco giants Telstra and Optus have delayed the complete shutdown of the 3G network to October 28, after concerns were raised some 4G phones defaulted to using the 3G network when making emergency calls. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the telco giants and committed to a national public media campaign expected to target 90 per cent of Australians. Telstra have also said it will begin independent testing in 3G-only areas to ensure there is no loss of coverage as a result of the switchover. “While I am pleased that customers and businesses now have additional time to prepare for the 3G switchover, I want to encourage all Australians to take action and check if their device could be impacted,” she said. “The Government remains concerned about a subset of 4G phones configured by the manufacturer to default to 3G for Triple Zero calls, and personal medical alarms that rely on the 3G network. “This is a sensible move by both major telcos and the Government looks forward to ensuring that all Australians have the opportunity to be informed about what the 3G switchover will mean for them.” NETWORKS ‘NEVER DONE ME ANY FAVOURS’: SHORTEN Bill Shorten says he is not batting for media networks following his comments defending their dependency on gambling ad money. Mr Shorten, who led Labor in opposition for six years, said the commercial channels had “never done me any favours”. “I’m not arguing in favour of Seven, Nine or Ten as individual corporations,” he said. “I’ve run for prime minister. I’ve seen how heavy media institutions can pile in.” The government is expected to propose caps on televised ads despite calls for a total ban.