5&5 and 9 to 5
Parliament is back for the first week of a sitting fortnight. A lot happened.
Here’s the 5&5:
BEST
Your Feed, Your Way
Securing more affordable gas for Australians
One year of the right to switch off
Setting a standard online for young people
Supporting suicide prevention
WORST
Divine intervention
Bringing back knighthoods?
Following the leader
Voting against online safety
No brains, no heart, no courage
1. Your Feed, Your Way
You should be able to choose what's in your feed without big tech choosing it for you. Our new Digital Duty of Care reforms will require platforms, apps, games and AI services to better protect children from harmful content and addictive features. In a powerful press conference on Monday with long-time advocates for online safety, the PM made it clear: “We have an opportunity to shape technology for the better rather than let it shape us. And that is what our reforms are all about.” Anika Wells added “With our Digital Duty of Care, we are taking the next step forward by requiring tech companies to take responsibility for the harms that their products, tools, and features are causing Australians.”
2. Securing more affordable gas for Australians
It’s our gas and we want to make sure it can be used to create our jobs. This week, Labor announced landmark reforms to develop Australia’s first domestic gas reservation. Madeleine King told the House on Thursday why this matters: “Australian consumers deserve and expect that they will be able to access affordable Australian gas before it heads overseas. This government will make that happen. What we are requiring of the gas industry is simple and it is fair. Simply set aside a portion of what you export for Australians, the nation that produces the product.”
3. One year of the right to switch off
While the Coalition have chosen to disconnect from the entire nation, the Labor Government has made sure you have the right to disconnect when you’re not working. We recently hit the one-year anniversary of Labor’s landmark right to disconnect laws being extended to all workers in this country. As Amanda Rishworth told Parliament: “Just last month was the one-year anniversary since the right to disconnect was extended to all workers in this country. This law provides stronger protections to workers to help them balance their work and their personal lives, allowing workers to unplug guilt free and spend their time off how they want to.”
4. Setting a standard online for young people
I dropped in early before Question Time on Tuesday and was so glad I did. In just 90 seconds, Ash Ambihaipahar captured an important part of what our Digital Duty of Care reforms are all about: “The behaviour we tolerate online influences how we think about ourselves and others. Yet some in this parliament ignore that reality. [...] I receive plenty of online hate and abuse because of the colour of my skin. Accounts tell me to go home or declare, 'You're brown; you're automatically wrong.' Don't worry about me; I have thick skin. But I do stress about the young people who follow me on socials, who see these comments and begin to believe that this is a normal way to treat each other, even when the abuse comes from bots.” Watch it in full here.
5. Supporting suicide prevention
Thursday marked both World Suicide Prevention Day and R U OK? Day, events that encourage people to have open conversations and help reduce the stigma around mental health. Mark Butler an additional $82.9 million to Australia’s leading national suicide prevention services. The Speaker also told the House that the exterior of Parliament House would be illuminated in yellow and orange to recognise those lost to suicide and those impacted. Powerful moments in and outside the Parliament
1. Divine Intervention
I was not surprised to hear Barnaby Joyce declare that he's not Jesus Christ. I was surprised that he felt the need to tell us. If you're launching a major economic policy, you would hope your treasury spokesman could explain how it works. Instead, when pressed on the modelling behind One Nation's superannuation plan, Joyce's answer was simply: "I'm the Treasury spokesman, not Jesus Christ." It's not every day a politician argues that understanding their own policy would require divine powers. You have to see this for yourself. Daniel Mulino summed it up best on Thursday when describing One Nation's position:“It builds on ideological fears by adding a theological justification for early release.”
2. Bringing back knighthoods?
Labor created superannuation because we believe Australians deserve to retire with security and dignity. Unfortunately, it became clear this week both One Nation and the Coalition have decided their priority is to weaken our super system. Daniel Mulino gave one of the best responses in QT this week: “This is just the latest example of the Liberals, Nationals and One Nation playing policy musical chairs—pinching each other's ideas, recycling each other's talking points and, increasingly, merging into one indistinguishable policy entity…what are we going to see next? One Nation soon announcing that they're going to bring back knighthoods?" Zaneta Mascarenhas also gave a great speech backing superannuation. Definitely worth the watch.
3. Follow the leader
The right wing parties want to let vapes flood the market, drive up smoking rates, and get into a price war with organised crime. But as Mark Butler said on Tuesday, “We're not interested in joining the Coalition in the game of ‘follow the leader’ that [Angus Taylor] pathetically appears committed to playing with the One Nation party. [...] We won't be joining in a policy plucked out of thin air with one apparent objective: to go a little bit further than One Nation.” Watch Julian Hill here for a clear picture of the problem at hand, what we’re doing about it, and why the Government won’t outsource our nation’s health policy to organised crime.
4. Voting against online safety
You’d imagine people feeling safe online is something everyone can get behind. Surprise, surprise the Coalition disagree. Melissa McIntosh even had the gall to suggest a bill protecting people online is a massive overreach. I’d encourage the Liberals to listen to Matt Smith’s speech before QT on Thursday to grasp why online safety is so important.
5. No brains, no heart, no courage
In Senate Question Time, Tim Ayres had this to say when asked about other approaches to getting young Australians into housing: “Senator Bragg over there playing the role of Scarecrow, no brains, apparently! The Nationals, One Nation and the Liberals competing for the role of the Tin Man, having no heart at all for ordinary Australians. But the role of the Cowardly Lion has already been taken. Mr Taylor unambiguously is a walk-up start as the Cowardly Lion—no courage at all.” No brains, no heart, no courage: a pretty good description of the Coalition’s housing policy. I don’t think Dorothy would find her way home with this lot.
On Thursday, the annual Prime Minister’s Literary Awards were held in Canberra. I loved being able to speak and thank Australia’s writers for what they do, alongside the Special Envoy for the Arts, Susan Templeman. Congratulations to all the winners – our nation’s understanding of itself is richer because of you.
Parliament is back again next week to wrap up the sitting fortnight.
‘til then,
Tony
PS. In honour of the anniversary of the right to disconnect and the passing of the great Dolly Parton, the song of the week is ‘9 to 5’.
